Analysis of Four Books by McCunn, Angelou, Krakauer, and Morinaga - Essay Example

Analysis of Four books: I know why the caged bird sings - Maya Angelou, Into the wild - Jon Krakauer, Novice to Master - Soko Morinaga, Thousand pieces of gold - Ruthanne Lum Mccunn Introduction People write books for various reasons and target specific individuals or groups for their piece of work. When an individual does a piece of writing, be it a book, an article or even a note, they intend for that piece of writing to make sense and be understood either by themselves or by others. People write about their lives or the lives of those closest to them, fantasy and fictional writings about things that are unreal and just exist in the mind of readers and also true facts about certain issues like nature. Written articles and books have certain messages that they convey to those intended to read. Writing that is strong in literature has a lot of impact on readers. Depending on the book and the writer, certain significance is awarded to the piece of writing. Most books written have a teaching that can be learned from them. They relate to the real world where people face new challenges every day and have the strength to overcome these challenges while some do not. Literature about war and suffering teaches people to be more human, live peacefully and cultivate love. Literature about family teaches readers to be close together and not to ignore family since blood is thicker than water. Literature about the less fortunate in terms of living, clothing, food and shelter teaches readers to be more compassionate and selfless rather than self centered and selfish. In this essay, attention will be focused on four books which show human ability to be strong in certain situations and times. Strength is an important factor and is portrayed in different scenarios by different people. These four books show the real meaning of strength since they are all written to show significance in people. 1. I know why the caged bird sings - Maya Angelou The African American Community of Stamps looked out for one another. One example of this is when Mr. Taylor came to the store one stormy night and, "momma invited him to stay for supper." (Angelou, pg 154, chapter 22) The quote was said by Maya, who heard a knock during a storm and on opening found Mr. Taylor, who is a widower and has not been alright since his wife passed away. He barely eats anything but instead shares his grief with them. He tells them of a ghost story that his dead wife spoke to him and told him that she wanted children. It is from this that Momma talks him down, in that Mr. Taylor interpreted the message wrongly. She tells him that what his dead wife meant was that he work with the children from the church. That calms him down, and he is able to spend a peaceful night at the store. From where this quote is taken, the people that live in that area are welcoming and show hospitality to others. They have perfected the concept of sharing that which they have with one another. They look out for each other’s best interests at heart (Angelou, 154). They also in need assistance themselves. It requires mental, spiritual, emotional and physical strength. 2. Into the wild - Jon Krakauer "So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." Chris McCandless said this when he decided to leave all his possessions and head out for adventure into the forest. He abandons his possessions, and gives his savings to charity and goes on to hike in Alaska into the wilderness. Along the way he encounters challenges and other characters that change his life. Though he does not return home alive, he accomplishes quite a lot in his short lifetime. Chris died after some time while still living in the wilderness, surviving on wild berries and animals. He learnt and accomplished a lot, though he did not get to show others what he learnt. Chris has the strength to forge alone into the wilderness, and what he learnt transformed him (Krakauer, 122). 3. Novice to Master - Soko Morinaga "Not only in places especially set up for training, but anytime and anywhere, the person who exerts himself or herself with dignity, without worrying about results and without giving into disappointment, is a true practitioner, a true person of the Way. I believe that just this is the form of true human well-being."(Morinaga, pg 34, chapter 2) Soko Morinaga entered Zen practice after graduating from high school, and was ordained as a monk in 1948, and later trained in monastery. With this quote, he meant that the purpose of practice is not to increase knowledge, but to see life in a clear vision. With practice, an individual comes to see the reality of life. When in the Zen monastery, he came close to encountering situations that he terms were a moment of his idiocy. Morinaga had to endure sleepless nights, empty stomach and a strict master who would make him have the experience of knowledge that he needed. He learned how to manage his feelings for being superior and also inferior. What Morinaga needed was an ego that was broken, and in the Zen practice, he accomplished just that. It requires strength to be able to endure such in order to learn something, such as patience and being adverse. 4. Thousand pieces of gold - Ruthanne Lum Mccunn “You must learn as I have to let your mind take flight. Then you won’t feel, and if you don’t feel, nothing anyone does can hurt you.” (Mccunn, pg 46, chapter 3). Lalu, a thirteen year old girl is sold into a brothel, then again to a slave merchant bound for America. When she enters a new country, she is given a new name, Polly, and eventually auctioned to a saloonkeeper. She gets an admirer, Charlie, and he frees her from slavery, eventually proposing marriage and finally lives together. She has undergone faced challenges and learnt that life is harsh, gathering from what she has been through. She shows how she has struggled and survived in the harsh conditions during which she has become a slave to many masters, including prostitution. She eventually lives happily after she is freed from slavery by Charlie. The challenges people face determine what they become in the future. How individuals manage to overcome those challenges defines them. What matters most in an individual’s life is not where the person has originated from, but where they are headed. Every single day comes with its own challenge, and these challenges determine how far individuals can go to ensure that they conquer their fears and emerge victorious (Mccunn, 46). Confidence and stability is what Polly shows. She survives her obstacles by using her confidence as her strength and courage. Conclusion The four books show us the unique strengths that each character possessed in order to achieve victory in the end. Maya is able to overcome her fear of failure, Polly is able to find happiness despite the harsh living, Soko is able to find his true individual self, and even though Chris passed on, he is able to learn things he would not have learnt. Uncertainty is what defines the future, but one thing is certain; the past remains in the past, and the burdens that people carry from the past should not affect where one is headed. Being able to control a situation and handle it more wisely with confidence and courage prepares one for the future. Even though not all people’s dreams come true, it does not mean that one should give up. The best way forward is to forge ahead courageously with a clear vision in mind of what needs to be achieved. Life is not an easy thing to go through, as it poses challenges that one has to struggle through, but with the will and strength, anything is possible. Works Cited Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House, 1969. Print. Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. London: Macmillan, 1998. Print. Morinaga, Sōkō. Novice to Master: An Ongoing Lesson in the Extent of My Own Stupidity. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2004. Print. McCunn, Ruthanne L. Thousand Pieces of Gold: A Biographical Novel. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004. Print. Read More