Gertrude Flannery Gertrude Flannery is a little girl who lives in the Weeds’s neighborhood. She drifts from house to house, either making herself comfortable on other people’s porches or walking right into their homes. Those who do not know Gertrude’s family think her home life must be miserable, but her parents are actually attentive and…
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A collection of high-quality academic essays.
The Country Husband – Summary
”The Country Husband” opens as Francis Weed, a middle-aged family man, is aboard a plane that is making an emergency crash landing in a corn field. When he returns home, his wife, Julia, and their four children are uninterested in his experience. Francis, John Cheever however, feels that he has been given a second chance…
The Challenge by Mario Vargas Llosa – Analysis
Mario Vargas Llosa’s short story ‘ ‘The Challenge” is a seemingly straightforward story about a fight between two men, Justo and the Gimp. Although Vargas Llosa tells the reader little about them and thus does not fully develop any of the characters, he provides enough information about some of the characters to allow the reader…
The Challenge by Mario Vargas Llosa – Setting
Latin-American Literature Prior to Vargas Llosa’s arrival on the literary scene, twentieth-century Peruvian literature was dominated by the works of Jose Carlos Mari£tegui, Cesar Vallejo, and Jose Maria Arguedas. Maria’tegui’s work reflects his belief that Peru’s people provide the key to understanding the country’s past and future. Vallejo’s poetry, prose, and drama gained special recognition…
The Challenge by Mario Vargas Llosa – Literary Devices
Descriptions Julian, the narrator, provides detailed descriptions of characters’ appearances, settings, and actions. He also has a tendency to use similes in his descriptions. He remarks that the Gimp (once a friend of his) is “much taller than all the others. In the dark I couldn’t see but could only imagine the face armored with…
The Challenge by Mario Vargas Llosa – Themes
Loyalty Each character portrayed in “The Challenge” is loyal to either Justo or the Gimp. The battle lines are clearly drawn throughout the story, as no characters attempt to stop the fight or arbitrate the tension between the two sides. Although Briceno and Moses express doubt about Justo’s ability to win the fight, they remain…
The Challenge by Mario Vargas Llosa – Characters
Briceno Briceno is one of the young men in the central group of friends in the story. He speaks his mind, such as when he announces that he thinks the Gimp will kill Justo in the fight. When he sees Justo, however, he expresses nothing but confidence in Justo’s ability to win the fight. Chalupas …
The Challenge by Mario Vargas Llosa – Summary
As the story opens, the narrator, Julian, is sitting at the River Bar with his friends Leon and Briceno. Leonidas, an older man, arrives and joins them. He informs them that Justo (another member of the group) will be fighting the Gimp at the raft that night. When Leonidas leaves, Briceno says that Justo is…
A Boy And His Dog – Analysis
As indicated by the title, ”A Boy and His Dog” is about the relationship between the two main characThrough Vic’s reversion to an animal state as a result of his environment and Blood’s acceleration to a highly evolved state as a result of genetic manipulation, Ellison makes a strong statement about the power of external…
A Boy And His Dog – Short Story – Setting
American Involvement in the Vietnam War The Vietnam War began with a gradual escalation of U.S. forces in Southeast Asia during the 1950s and early 1960s and lasted until 1975, with the North Vietnamese and the National Liberation Front fighting the South Vietnamese and the United States military. America became involved out of fear that…