Modern-Day Hero and Their Themes

In "The Brothers K", Everett Chance is characterized as a modern-day hero. Holding the characteristics of a hero, Everett was able to bring out the theme of Unification. By accepting Atheism, Everett unconditionally set himself up to be shunned by his church and town, but most importantly his mother. However, as the tragic events come to play (Irwin's restrain in the mental facility), Everett makes his comeback and returns. He organizes supporters and devises a genius plan in hopes to rescue and bring his younger brother Irwin back. Aside from the decisions and choices he made (not go to war, flee to Canada, become Atheist, etc.), he was successfully able to rally and unite everyone under the common belief that the situation concerning Irwin is unjust and justice needed to be served. The theme of Unification runs parallel to the themes of Justice and Human Morals, revitalizing Everett's characterization of a modern-day hero.

Character Hero

In "The Brothers K", Everett Chance is characterized as one of the main characters in the novel. In terms of basic background info, Everett is the eldest son of four brothers. He's an unique, intelligent character who can be labeled as a modern-day hero. Like any modern-day hero, Everett faces a variety of challenges and hardships, to which he has to inevitably conquer. The first and foremost, is his depart from the family. This happens because at one point in the novel Everett becomes so sick of his mother's constant rants and strong drives for a Christian family, that he breaks his ties and declares his devotion to Atheism. Following, he is shunned by his mother, resulting of his removal from the family picture for a while. The second conflict he faces is the military draft. Unlike Irwin who accepts, Everett escapes to Canada, so he wouldn't be charged for dodging military draft and being sentenced to jail. Everett is considered to be a modern-day hero because through all the struggles he faces, he returns and "saves the day", saving his younger sibling Irwin Chance. This "re-turn" of an event spiral into a series of falling actions, such as the reunification of the Chance family, acceptance back to the town and its people, and most importantly the retrieval of Irwin from the mental institution. These series of events along with many mild conflicts are surpassed, thus illuminating Everett Chance to be labeled as a modern-day hero.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Puck's Actions and its Relation to the Overall Theme

            “Love is not an equation, it is not a contract, and it is not a happy ending. Love is the slate under the chalk, the ground that buildings rise, and the oxygen in the air. It is the place you come back to, no matter where your headed” - Jodi Picoult. Similarly, William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream tells a tale of true love, depicting the course of true love. As the play's mischievous prankster, Puck plays inevitably plays a trick on the four Athenians who possess a interlacing web of affections towards one another, thus contributing to overall theme that the course of true love never did run smooth.

            The play starts out with the controversial conflict addressing the issue of Hermia's available choices. Either she marries Demetrius, faces the death penalty, or becomes a nun for the rest of her life. Hermia refuses to accept any of the three choices due to the fact she loves none other than Lysander. Aside from the love triangle present here, Helena is an addition to it - she loves Demetrius. The complicated love web is depicted early on in the play, establishing the conflict of the overall plot.

            As stated in the overall theme itself, true love would not have been found without the presence of a sophisticated, problematic journey. The king of faeries Oberon notices the way the poor human Helena is treated by Demetrius, so he sends his servant Puck to acquire a magical flower, the juice of which can be spread over a sleeping person’s eyelids to make that person fall in love with the first thing he or she sees upon waking. Mistakenly, Puck induces Lysander with the love potion, tragically leading to him waking up to Helena and abandoning Hermia. As the night progresses, Puck tries to correct his mistake, but ends up having Demetrius fall in love with Helena as well. Consequentially, the two Athenian men duel for the hand of the fair Helena. Hermia becomes jealous and challenges Helena to a duel as well.

            As complicated and awry events have unfolded, Puck finds this hilarious. His actions clearly support the theme of the play by reflecting the tragic turn of events, which eventually lead to a happy ending. Through the actions of Puck, Shakespeare constitutes the complicated journey of true love. In the end, true love finds its way and is rejoiced with the marriage of the four Athenians to their respective lovers. Although Puck's actions cause utter confusion and chaos, his actions ultimately unite the lovers with their true loves, illuminating the overall theme of the play, "The course of true love never did run smooth".