Thursday, April 12, 2012

Kidnapped - Robert Louis Stevenson


This was a great quick read! I can tell why it has remained a childhood favorite for generations. The narrative is fast paced and somehow David manages to survive even the most unlikely situations.

David, after being left an orphan, makes his way to his only living relative in the hopes of securing a position of some kind. What he doesn't anticipate, is that is old uncle Ebeneezer, besides being slightly crazy and an almost admirable miser...aims to kill or get rid of him as soon as possible! So on their way to discuss David's inheritance with the family lawyer, David instead finds himself kidnapped on a ship and on his way to the Carolinas for a life of indentured servitude.

Throughout the story David is constantly forced to sleep outdoors in the rain and wander around for days without food. I now occasionally think about both things when walking the one block from my apartment to the metro station and felling "chilly". I'm pretty sure if I was the protagonist of this story it would have ended much differently. Would I have had the gumption to challenge a boat full of hostile shipmates? Unlikely. Would I have survived one night under the stars, gently being rained on? Probably not. I would have probably waited until I got to the Carolinas...and then made a run for it? Hoped for the best? Exactly the opposite of what I said in the last post. But honestly..."camping" without a tent or food isn't really my thing. A little subterfuge here and there, sure why not as long as I get to sleep indoors!

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Henry V - William Shakespeare

In this essay, I will examine the rhetorical and dramatic effectiveness of King Henry’s speech to the Governor of Harfluer in Act 3 Scene 4 ...