Children's Literature - The Owl Service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Children's Literature - The Owl Service - Essay Example Gardner’s story continues the legend into the modern era. Alison and her family along with Gwyn and his family are caught together in a generational re-enactment of the story that typically ends in disaster thanks to the magic of the valley in which they live. The story’s relationship with the legend can be traced within the language and structure of the individual scenes such as the one found at the beginning of Chapter 20 in which Gwyn attempts to convince Alison to run away with him. The passage in question begins with the changes in the atmosphere around the house. This atmosphere introduces the building tension of the legendary story and the conflict between ‘Lleu’, who is symbolically represented, and Gwyn for Alison’s affections. The oppressive atmosphere is suggested on a physical level first, opening with the knowledge that â€Å"the weather changed overnight. A wind came, dragging clouds along the mountains.† This oppressiveness is brought down to the human level by Nancy, who â€Å"went about in silence and did her work with a perfection that made the house unbearable† yet Alison is afraid to leave it for fear her mother may see her leaving her appointed place. This mother is an unseen presence in the seen, just as she is in the story, yet she is always watching, always aware of what is going on, â€Å"Mummy saw us up the mountain. She was watching through binoculars. She was waiting for me.† This ever-present, al l-seeing eye introduces the concept of being watched over by less-than-sympathetic supernatural eye without moving outside of the realm of the natural and the normal. This is what Jackson suggests is the heart of the menippean fantasy. â€Å"It does not invent supernatural regions, but presents a natural world inverted into something strange, something ‘other’. It becomes ‘domesticated’, humanized, turning from transcendental explorations to transcriptions of a human condition† (Jackson 1981: 17).

Personal statement, interview in your filed of interest Essay

Personal statement, interview in your filed of interest - Essay Example It reflects both the goals I have in life as well as what drives me in achieving them. I try to plan my life and set both the short-term and long-term goals in a way that will enable me to become each day better than I was yesterday, delimiting always some new horizons to be discovered. Knowing that my actions and my efforts were not in vain, but brought good and well-being to other people and society I live in is what fills the life with sense and brings inner satisfaction. Only by striving for more a person can expect to become versatile personality and knowledgeable professional. Following my credo, I know that any experience, either successful or not, is always good for a person, but it is essential to know how to make use of it and be ready to turn the past mistakes into the future gaining. My aim is not getting an access to material benefits as they are not the values I serve. However, I know that I possess all the skills and traits of character needed to reach heights in civil engineering. Finding and applying my own approach to challenges and seemingly desperate situations, I will be able to make a difference in this profession and prove that I am capable of much. The only indeed valuable award, in this regard, is seeing the outcomes of the completed work and to knowing that they will serve people good for ages. Subsequently, I believe that what I managed to achieve today will lay the ground for what I will gain tomorrow. The following confidence constantly encourages me to try even harder and applying even more efforts on the way to my