Bees

Author's Note: With this essay my goal was to analyze the text for am advanced novel. The novel that I used was The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd. Throughout the essay I show the symbolic references in the book.

While Lily was a small child, her mother passed away and her father, T. Ray, grew sour. The sourness spread over his soul, and he started to believe that it was okay for him to release his anger by abusing his daughter. When Lily turned fourteen, she was tired of the constant malice her father fed her with, so she took her courage and left with the nanny and housekeeper, Rosaleene, to search for her mother, who Lily believed still existed somewhere. With a few items to help them through their journey, they hitchhike to a city, Tiburon, S.C., written on the back of a photo that her mother kept with her belongings. Winding up at a pink beekeeping house, owned by black women, Lily learns how to keep bees and grow in love for others. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, the symbolism and messages throughout the story are tremendous, portraying the meaning of the bees in the story, the beehive, and racism.

The leadership of bees in this story is displayed through the entire novel. Dawning at the beginning of the book, Lily's room is crowded with bees, as it consistently is at nighttime, and whisper to her how she should leave T. Ray's house on her own. Farther into the novel, she follows a label on a honey company to Turban where she is then lead to a beekeeping house. As the women that own the house welcome her in, they make a pact to teach her how to keep bees. Every decision Lily makes in the novel has to relate to bees in one way or another. Even the title helps support the symbolic reference to bees, The Secret Life of Bees. This would mean the "secret" guidance, or job, of bees outlining the novel.

As bees direct us over to our next symbolic source, we come to the reasoning behind the beehive. Gather the common knowledge about beehives. It upholds a community of bees that all eat, breathe, and work in the same air; there is ultimately one queen bee. Similar to the atmosphere of the beehive is the running of the pink house owned by August, the queen bee. This home is contains August and her sisters as well as Lily and Roseleene that were lovingly welcomed in. Additionally, the work that everyone contributes benefits everyone in the household, or beehive. Without the business, they would all suffer financially. Without the love, the unification would collapse.

Rounding out the beehive with the people that work for it, is noticing the racism woven in the storyline. Way back in the foundation of the novel, while Lily accompanies Rosaleene to cast her vote, a fight broke out between Rosaleene and white men, showing the hatred for colored people. Afterward, when Lily and Rosaleene arrive to their destination, they notice the owners of the home are colored women. Lily is a bit perplexed at how these women can be just as intelligent and loving as any other white woman. A further example of how racism was characterized through this novel is when Lily meets and falls in love with a colored boy, Zach. The numerous occurrences of race in this novel show that the author wanted to get across to the reader that race is no object and people shouldn't be judged on whatever skin tone they have.

Pulling together the loose ends, there are endless ways for symbolism to be shown in the beautiful novel, The Secret Life of Bees. From the navigation of bees and their hives, to the future of racism back in the 1960's time period, Sue Monk Kidd pieced together a marvelous novel that many will love in upcoming generations with countless symbolic references and meanings that are read between the lines.

What Defines Fear?

Author's Note: This essay's purpose was to include text evidence from a novel in a piece, so I wrote a theme essay with supporting quotes from the novel Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks.

When a mysterious twig of a woman that goes by the name of Katie suddenly shows up in the close knit town Southport, North Carolina, the small town begins to question her past. Praying to not make any personal connections with anyone, Katie finds a home that's tucked away in the area. With the fear of her past continuing to haunt her, prayers were answered with a man named Alex who teaches her the real truths of love. Katie slowly lets down her guard, but she can't escape the fact that her abusive relationship will always be a threat. Throughout this novel, Safe Haven, by Nicholas Sparks, Katie, who previously went by the name of Erin, presents the theme of self-reliance in her earlier life which transitions into overcoming fear once her escape from her past is accomplished. This universal theme can follow the novel A Winter Dream, by Richard Paul Evans and Woods Runner, by Gary Paulsen.

Primarily, with the first theme of self-reliance, which focuses on Katie’s past, has her entwined in a relationship with a severe alcoholic and abusive husband, Kevin, who works as a police officer. While the hits from Kevin progressively increase, Katie, who is known as Erin at this time, develops her plan to escape, "In the bedroom, he was snoring within minutes, oblivious to her hatred of him, her hatred of herself. Oblivious to the money she'd been stashing away for almost a year or the hair dye she'd snuck into the grocery cart a month ago and hidden in the cupboard beneath the kitchen sink. Oblivious to the fact that in just a few days, if all went the way she hoped, he would never see or hit her ever again." (Page 147) Though this process is several times more difficult given her husband is a detective who prevents her from leaving the house in general alongside her meeting new people. Kevin refused to let Katie learn how to drive; he was her only means of transportation. Not only that but if Katie bought something herself, Kevin demanded the receipt and exact change. Discussing her past with her neighbor Jo, Katie talks about a "friend" who is constantly frightened due to the involvement of an abusive relationship, "'He used to drive by the house when he was supposed to be working, just to make sure she was there. He monitored the phone records and called all the time, and he wouldn't let her get a driver’s license.'" (Page 65) Lastly, Katie impressively poses that she still loves Kevin to drive her through the day with the least amount of hits possible, "She inhaled before offering a contented sigh, because she knew he wanted her to make those kinds of sounds." (Page 145) Overall, the clear point from this paragraph is how she showed her self-reliance skills by gathering enough resources, even with the challenges she was put against, to separate herself permanently from the relationship.

From one theme to another, the universal theme of self-reliance is transferred over to another universal theme of overcoming fear. When Katie arrived to Southport she was a toothpick, skinnier than imaginable. At night, nightmares arouse and day by day she lived hoping Kevin wouldn't show up at her door. Further example of her fears are in this quote, "The act was so familiar- putting two cups away after coffee in the morning- and for an instant, she felt engulfed by the life she'd left behind. Her hands began to tremble, and pressing them together she took a few deep breaths until they finally stilled." (Page 12) Katie had to overcome the fear of Kevin and his reappearance. This quote shows that she's went through these flashbacks many times before, and there will be times in the future that she will as well. At the time when she was at Southport, Katie met a man named Alex who helped her conquer her understandable fear. Alex was one of the contributors that allowed Katie to accept her past and overcome the fear to look forward to her future. Coming to simplistic terms on how Alex provided help, he loved her with all his heart. When she needed someone to cry her emotions to, he was there. Alex says to Katie, "'If you want to tell me about your past, I'm willing to listen and help in any way I can, but I'm not going to ask you about it. And if you don't want to tell me, that's okay, too, because, again- I never knew that person. You must have a good reason for keeping it a secret, and that means I'm not going to tell anyone, either. No matter what happens, or doesn't happen, between us.'" (Page 122) For other times when she wanted to enjoy a gratifying day with Alex, he was also there to love and support her. Katie is thinking to herself the how she loves Alex while they're out on a date, "This is what it feels like to love someone, she thought, and to be loved in return..." (Page 129) Alex's desire to be with Katie and have her defeat her fears are essential points in supporting the theme of overcoming fear.

Strengthening the theme of overcoming fear, another person was very important to the triumph of Katie's fears. After a few months of Katie's arrival to Southport, she met a new neighbor named Jo who was also there to talk with Katie, showing up miraculously at the times when she most needed someone to talk with and listening better than anyone she's ever known. Shown in this quote is her remembering her time with Jo, "The steady rhythm of her footfalls set her mind adrift and she found herself reflecting on her conversation with Jo." (Page 41) Additionally in this next quote where Katie invited Jo over for a bottle of wine, Katie needed to get her story off of her chest to someone she trusts and she considered Jo trustworthy enough to hear it, "Katie could feel something twisting and tightening in her chest. 'Maybe they want to talk about it but they know there's nothing you can do to help,' she whispered." (Page 63) Almost as if Jo were the other half of Alex, she spent time with Katie through the tears and the laughter. Being a true friend to Katie, Jo also consulted Katie's relationship with Alex and encouraged her be with him. Jo and Katie carry a conversation about Alex where Jo is reassuring Katie that she's interested in him; the text begins with Katie speaking, "'What's his story, by the way? I take it he's divorced, right?' 'You should ask him.' 'Me? Why would I want to ask him?' 'Because you asked me,' Jo said, arching an eyebrow. 'Which means, of course, that you're interested in him.'" (Page 39) Through friendship, Katie is supported and learns to outshine the darkness of Kevin in her shadows.

Following the supporting evidence on how Katie's friends helped her overcome her fears, is knowing that she actually overcame that fear; this is vital to recognize as well. Near the ending pages of the novel, Kevin returns for Katie and attempts to kill her and Alex as well. Although when Kevin appeared, he was intoxicated and could barely walk a straight line; this didn't help when he was trying to fire his gun at Katie, "Kevin's eyes were feral, his movements jerky. He took a step toward them, almost losing his balance. The gun swung back and forth. Unsteady." (Page 312) Through the struggle that Katie and Alex went through to get rid of Kevin, it came to an end when Katie shot Kevin and once again the alcohol in his system only fought against him. The powerful act of Katie defending herself and killing Kevin raged with emotion. She felt relief and sadness all at once and Katie's brain went into a perplexed mental state. Even though her emotions were confused, it was clear that she has overcome her fear of Kevin. Through the point of view of Kevin, he describes the pain of the bullet Katie shot him with, which would symbolically represent how Katie overcame the fear of him, “He felt something then, burning in his stomach, fire. His left leg gave way and he tried to stay upright, but his body was no longer his own. He collapsed on the porch reaching for his stomach.” (Page 321) Continuing to support the new confidence of Katie, she thinks to herself, “No, she thought. I’ll never go with you. I never wanted to go back.” (Page 322) Moreover, she rose above all of the other fears of everything else she might’ve been fearful of. Though the quote is brief, it gives a strong message, “She knew what she saw. She knew what she believed.” (Page 341)

While comprehending the themes in the novel Safe Haven, identifying the comparisons between these universal themes in other novels is crucial as well. Other novels I read, A Winter Dream, by Richard Paul Evans and Woods Runner, Gary Paulsen, have the theme self-reliance that's moved to overcoming fear. Within the covers of A Winter Dream, the main character, Joseph, was kicked out of a large family business to hope he would struggle in the large city, Chicago. This required self-reliance because of the abandonment and unfamiliar surroundings Joseph had to deal with, all over the more challenging job that he was transposed to. The overcoming fear comes in when Joseph has to constantly hop places where he works and then finally return to family business to come face to face with his brothers to consult purchasing their business. In the next novel, Woods Runner, the main character, Samuel, finds himself all alone in the Revolutionary War when his parents are captured by the British. He relies on himself to find his parents and reunite with them. Simply explained, Samuel overcomes his fears by diving into the British's territory to steal back his parents.

After showing the relation of these universal themes in other novels, we realize that maybe the life we have isn’t too awful after all. Imagine being beaten by one you once loved, then finally escaping, yet, still having to live with the possibility of its reoccurrence hangs in the air you breathe. Thankfully, in this piece, the once self-reliant woman conquers the terrors of her past. Though it is a fictional story, the messages sent through the universal themes of the novel provide wonderful examples to people around the world.

Willow

Standing tall and strong, I am a willow tree.

Though my roots beneath me remain hidden,

I outreach my arms to others,

All the way to their base.

Whispering of wind flows in my ears.

As my sways illustrate their song,

My branches embrace too much.

Until the end of me,

I will love.

Blackness

Author's Note: This piece I wrote in the point of view of someone with severe depression, and what could be the worst of it. This piece is ficticious and is a creative piece.

With school folders in hand, the muted hallways scream in my ears and I wonder why I was born once again. While passing the couples that swear they're in love and friends that sound like a broken record reciting their times together every time they meet eyes, my mind wants dissolve and my stomach begins to eat away at itself. Inside me, my gut rumbles as it's calling for food, but I know better than to give in to the pain. One day, I hope, my starvation will pay off towards a leaner body. Nonetheless, I deserve the suffer my diet is punching me with. Continuing to walk face down, I lunge for my locker ignoring the laughter that I'm sure is aimed at my obesity. I feel my cheeks flush and as soon as I open my locker, I tug at my backpack and slop in my textbooks and journal. Wrapping my bag around my shoulders, I follow the tiles on the floor that lead me out of the school.

Throughout the bus ride home, my heavy heart only drops farther to the ground. My head leans on the fogged up window being rejected with every pothole the bus encounters. Amidst my thoughts, we pull up to my beaten up ranch style home and I step off the bus with the lingered bus exhaust surrounding me. Both of my hands are grasping the straps of my backpack with my fingernails digging into the stitching. Lining my driveway is a salty brown mush that blends into the blanket of snow layering over the ground. All of the trees are weighted down by thick buckets of white. Though I admit nothing compares to the weight I carry wherever I go, whatever I do. By the time I reach my front door, I stand there and come to a full summary on my life and how in the next few hours, I won't be in existence any longer; it's not like anyone will notice or care anyway. Examining the front door, I notice small details I haven't before. The moss green paint is peeling around the edges of the door and cracks are quite obvious in the molding. Precautiously, I turn around and scan up and down the road making sure no one was watching me and no one knows where I am. When all is silent, I acutely snap back to the door and shove my hand into my jean pocket grabbing a hold of the house key. Sticking the key in the silver handle, I whip my shoulder into the door and listen for the door's creak that gradually screeches louder.

"Hello?" I throw out into the blackness of the room and absorb that my voice sounds so alien to me for not using it the past few days. No one responded to my call, so I turned on the lights and ripped open my backpack for my journal and my black ball-point pen. As of now, I will proceed to paint a pleasing picture for the world by removing myself and all of the disgust that follows along with me. The pen, equal to the weight of my body, draws out my faintest memories from when I didn't know better than to be happy. Numbness surfaced my face when I noticed a damp part of the paper, where the words blurred together as if they were confused. Crowded in my throat is a lump of pain I let out in awkward hiccups. Outcrying to no one, my vision becomes disoriented and my cheeks are drenched with lonely sadness while the tears continue to rain down uncontrollably. I sign off my last farewell then drag myself over to the bathroom.

Last year, I was diagnosed depression pills for my constant bleakness. Instructions indicated that I'm highly recommended to swallow one pill right before I go to bed. Fearfully recalling this discipline, I stood in front of the mirror with knees that couldn't stay straight and with my eyes focused on the orange bottle of recently filled depression pills. Shaking like I have a terrible case of Parkinson's disease, I manage to wrap my hand around the bottle and twist off the cap. Attempting to quiet my tears, I set the bottle down to tie up my hair. For once I am grateful to be alone, for no one to see the mess of sobs and my last moments. Wiping my face I scoop up the medicine and spill out several pills, enough to do the job. Staring intently at the pills in hand, I listen to the silence of the house that helps drill in my decision. My elbow bends. My hand snaps. My throat swallows. Dropping the medication bottle, I fall to my knees and collapse on the ground, just laying there. Embraced by the cold floor, it pinches my skin and I realize that I can't move, but my eyes and ears are slightly functional. The bathroom entrance begins to appear fuzzy to me as I stare blankly out the door. When suddenly I hear something familiar, a door's creaking.

With the moments left I have to live and my rapidly decreasing knowledge of simplistic things, I recall who this person entering our house should be, my mother. I knew she would come home at one point. Confusion erodes my brain and I feel myself slipping away from reality even more. My mom calls out my name, as she would normally do, and her voice is left ringing in my ears over and over and over again. Dizzily I make out two brown shoes at the foot of the bathroom tile and hear a puzzled tone of voice coming from my mom. Once again, she repeated my name.

All at once, blackness overcame everything I ever knew and ever was.

Rewriting My Past-- Point Of View

Author's Note: This is a piece that I wrote for point of view on the song lyrics "Not Over You" by Gavin Degraw. I wrote in the girl's point of view where she really didn't want to break up with him, but she was faced with someone who didn't want their relationship to continue so she was forced to end the relationship and not be seen with him.

My arms limply fell through my raincoat's arms, and I push my way out the bulky restaurant door. Rain collects in my hood and mats up my hair, though, I don't acknowledge the mess a bit. My head is spinning, and no matter what I tell myself, I know I will never forget this day. Reviving back to just a few minutes ago, his eyes were glossed and red patches formed on his cheeks. Between each word of letting down the relationship with much sorrow, he clenched his teeth and tightened his jaw that featured the muscles on his face. I never wished for this to happen, I love him, but the threatening force I was challenged with prior to our break up demanded the worst.

Memories strike back with the same racing heart, and same bewildered mind. Shrinking back even farther than the break up, I recall the writing on the wall that threw my life off-guard. The few seconds that the villainous I was faced with had to threaten my life were used well, and were very effective for her. Although, my memories that are hoarding my mind aren't coming in flashes, rather raw throwbacks to the entire scene. If it weren't for the criminal that I have never met, and had she not threatened my life and relationship, I would have continued my life happily with my boyfriend. Nevertheless, she did interrupt my life, and now I'm expected to live with the one person I can't live without while he knows none of the notion.

Every step I take is a hum for help that no one can recognize and my heart aches for how he's taking the hit now. Knowing him, he will probably take the blame, which I know is unquestionably not his fault. I want to approach him and tell him everything, but it would be the end of me if I did so. Each move of mine is being stalked as if I were legendary, but the attention I'm receiving from the criminal is making me feel infamous.

Later in the week, feeling like it has been months apart, I give him a longing call and he implies that I am no longer on his mind. What he doesn't know is that I understand him inside and out. The pain in his voice bleeds with sleepless nights and endless dreams of reuniting our relationship. Overcoming the yearning to see him again is like my stomach is a wrench and every word I hear from him makes my gut hinge. As I place the phone in it's dock after the conversation, It's certain that I can never speak to him again and it's imperative for me to get out of town, and that's exactly what I do.

Leaving the chaos all behind, I mournfully drag myself into my beat up blue sedan and start the engine. Leading my way into a new life, I have no destination, little cash, and a far cry of what is needed to make a fresh start. Though I will never come back to this place again, the memories will be imprinted into my soul, rejuvenating the remembrances every day.

While the night creeps along, with the moon glowing high in the sky, my travels come to an end for today. Trying to contain my sorrows, I'm hollow inside and stupefied that got through the day. With endless days like this to come, there is little hope for me and my future. Hours tick by as the drivers seat cradles my body and welcomes me to my new life. My optimism and prayers are minor, but as I notice a spark fly across the sky, I can't help but shut my eyes and lay out my wishes for the shooting star to materialize. I wish that he will understand that I still love him; I wish that he knows it wasn't my choice to leave him; I wish that he would move on and forget that he ever knew me. The star passes and I'm only left to imagine how my life and his will play out. Though each hour that passes me by, I notice the great amount of weight that drags my eyelids to the floor, while my head occasionally bobs from asleep to awake. Before long, I give in, and I lie in my car for the night on the warm padded chair awaiting my opportunity to ignite life into my new and renewed world, ready for me to reconstruct my days from the core.

---

Written in the lyrics of Gavin Degraw's "Not Over You" hit, is the point of view of a man that is trying his best to overcome the sudden breakup with his ex-girlfriend. What I wrote portrays the point of view from the ex-girlfriend's eyes and explaining her reasoning for the unexpected separation. I'm just going to point out a few things that I specifically made sure to add into the creative piece that are based off of the lyrics. 

Primarily, the main point I wanted to get across was how mortified the ex-girlfriend was that she had to end the relationship due to someone else's wanting instead of hers. I didn't want to get in too deep of detail about what happened the day where her life was threatened only because it would rail too far off and make it seem like she was more frightened instead of the complete depression I was looking for. In the song, the quote, "We both admit we had it good/ But until then it's alienation, I know/ That much is understood." Here, you can tell he knows that she at least loved him at one point, but now he thinks that she left him behind and she no longer has feelings for him. Partially relating to that, he sings, "And if I had the chance to renew/ You know there isn't a thing I wouldn't do/ I could get back on the right track." I added the thought that the ex-girlfriend is aware that the ex-boyfriend thinks he did something wrong because of this quote in the song. Dating someone brings out your compatibility, and she knew that he thought the ending of the relationship depended on him, which I brought out in the text that it doesn't.

From the lingering confusion between the recently separated couple, the reason why I had her leave town was vital as well. The quote, "If you ask me how I'm doing/ I would say I'm doing just fine," because it seems like they were generating exclusively simple conversation, and he felt the longing to be with her again every time he saw her. This was the same for the woman as well, that is, every time she saw him she felt that same longing. Which lead to even more sadness, not only for the ex-boyfriend, but the woman as well. The pain was too dragging, so that is why I had her leave town, into the unknown world to be able to start over.

Later, after I made her leave town, I mentioned her looking to a shooting star and desperately desiring for her dreams to come true, while awaiting her new life. What provoked me to place this in here is the single line, "Hope, hope there's a conversation." I chose this not because it was talking about the conversation, but the fact that he was  longing and hoping for something to occur. When I figured that if we wants something, there must be another objective the ex-girlfriend is headed for; that would be her new life away from the threats and regrets.

Now that it the points I've made are clear, the change in the point of view is essential as well. When you are listening to the song "Not Over You" with the point of view of the man, you feel sorrow for him and wonder why the woman broke up with him. On the contrary, we don't have the perspective of the girl, accordingly we don't know what her emotions are up to at this point. Meanwhile, in the creative piece I've written, the point of view of the woman is emphasized and you feel pain for her, though, you feel deep ache for the man in this point of view in addition. On top of those sensations, there is the feeling of will for the woman to succeed in life after her love was separated by a fine line like water and oil. Although the feelings that are generated in both of the point of views differ, more information on the relationship is given in the perspective of the woman allowing the reader greater consciousness of the relationship's previously obscure points.

Resolving the details from the diverse perspectives, I just wanted to call attention to a few of those aspects that I included and why I thought to do so. The song, "Not Over You" by Gavin DeGraw, gives us many lines to be able to create an alternate perspective on the whole situation. There's always two sides to every story and this is why I chose to lay out what I did in my creative piece above.

Difference of War

Author's Note: This is a piece I wrote for Social Studies class intended to show the how even though the war was one, it can be viewed in different perspectives. The novel Woods Runner, and the movie The Patriot, show how The Revolutionary War can be viewed from multiple different situations.

Though the Revolutionary War was one war, many people visualize how the war happened in diverse perspectives. For example, in the movie The Patriot, the main plot is in the Revolutionary War and is shown up front with the main characters in an army form fighting the Red Coats. Whereas in the novel Wood's Runner, in the main plot, the main character sneaked his way through the war finding his kidnapped parents with no more than two people alongside him the whole expedition. These disagreeing aspects are only the beginning of the two different perspectives from the Revolutionary War. Adjoining that conflicting element, there is the difference of purposes, knowledge of the war, and the surroundings in which the main characters are used to.

The contrasted journeys that the two story lines went by began with a variation of intention. Throughout the novel Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen, the main character, Samuel, is searching for his parents who were trapped and being used as slaves for the Red Coats. Samuel's calling in this story is to rescue his parents and bring them back to the security of their hometown. On the contrary, the movie The Patriot, there were multiple people that were looking for their independence, and that was their motivation and hunger for the fight. Rather than chasing for parents or someone in particular, the colonists were on a quest to be the victor of their freedom. 

From the two different views of purposes, also notice the amount of knowledge on the war that the main characters have. Samuel, in the novel Wood's Runner, knew very little of the war and what was going on. Due to the fact that Samuel is from a wooded area and not near many houses, communication is limited and the war is less known in that area. The difference with the movie is that the main character was an adult, so he was more aware of the war and it's happenings. Not only did being an adult help, but the location of where they lived contributed to easier access to British updates.

Similar to where the knowledge of the main characters is coming from, there's also the factor of the surroundings that the main characters are living in. As mentioned previously, Samuel is searching for his parents coming from a thick forested area, where the communication is low, but adventure is unlimited. Furthermore, there was no say in whether the people of the forest wanted to go to war or not. Whereas in the film, colonists are constantly in communication. Additionally, the town that the movie was based off of decided whether or not to go to war, therefore they knew everything that was going on primarily only because they voted war or no war.

Although comparing the main topic is simple for the novel Wood's Runner and the movie The Patriot, being the American Revolution, the details to the different situations are mainly divergent. Overlapping the difference of purposes, amount of knowledge of the war, and the original surroundings of their homes, the contrasting components, are far greater than the comparing components in the novel and film. Perspectives on the war can be visualized in multiple ways, but the Revolutionary War is surely a war to remember.

Hopeless Soul- Theme Essay

Author's Note: This essay was written to show that the universal theme, losing hope, is found in the novel Breathless, by Lurlene McDaniel. Additionally, I also tried to show how this theme is related to other books as well. 

Hope only lives in the soul if you allow it. The summer before Travis Morrison's senior year of High School, he doesn't need any hope, because he already has everything he needs. When you're the best diver in the state, it's hard not to be cocky and proclaim you have it all. Besides, what could ever go wrong? When one diving stunt sends him to the hospital, Travis loses all the hope he never knew he had. Throughout the novel Breathless, by Lurlene McDaniel, the universal theme of losing hope is threaded between the pages; the theme in Breathless is similar to many other novels like: Virtuosity and The Secret Life Of Bees. 

Travis, the main character in this novel, was on cloud nine. He had the girl, the athleticism, and confidence was shown in the way he walked. Diving was his life, he simply couldn't live without it. For, one day his confidence level peaked and had the courage to dive off a towering cliff into a lake. As soon as Travis jumped he heard a snap in his leg and knew that his jump was a careless decision. What he did not know was that from this jump he was going to find bone cancer in his leg. Discovering this was an eye-opener, but he was extremely determined he would beat cancer, and there was no doubt in his mind that he wouldn't dive back into the water again. As he was thinking about his cancer, Travis tells himself, "I'm determined to do it a whole lot quicker." Travis thought he would never give up. 

After some time with that determination and hope on board, Travis was informed that his leg needed to be removed in order to clear the cancer from his body. Although he fought the doctors not to do so, he knew that his chances of diving again were one in a million now, even chances of the cancer spreading were quite high at this point. More hope was lost and Travis was now taken away from the one thing that he has only known in his life, diving. "My throat clogs up when I think about not looking down on pool water again with judges and teammates watching." Travis is mournfully convinced that he will never return to his regular life. The pain in his body is not only physical now, it's emotional as well; all the more reason to just give up.

With the power of losing hope overtaking his body already, there was another diagnosis revealed on Travis's case that lead to even deeper misery. Doctors found in his body that the cancer spread to his lungs. In addition to the pain before, it's now agonizing to move a muscle. However, Travis doesn't want to be hooked up to a thousand different machines, he wants to die naturally without a robot force feeding him and breathing for him. Until he had a seizure and was unable to control where he was taken to. Finding himself exactly where he did not want to be, Travis had a stroke from the seizure and can't say a word in his defense. His friend feels frustration while thinking, "He's alive- a machine breathes for him, another monitors his heart; another cleans his kidneys." Practically dead, Travis' friends know what he wants, and so does his sister. When one early morning, before the sun rose, Travis closed his eyes and escaped from his limp body.

While understanding the suffering and lost hope that Travis was dealing with, don't forget the numerous other novels that incorporate the power of losing hope theme as well. Similar to Breathless, the novels Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez, and The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd both had a theme of losing hope throughout the book, though in a more particular perspective. Within the covers of Virtuosity, the main character, Carmen, lives with a strict mother. Over time, Carmen learns to give up hope in pleasing her mother and moves out of the house. Linked to the theme in Breathless, Travis lost hope in his life. Lastly, in the book The Secret Life of Bees, one of the characters, May, gives up hope on looking for the good in the world. She was struggling to survive without her twin sister who was practically her backbone, therefore all hope was lost and she committed suicide to see her twin once again. Even though this isn't the main concern throughout the novel, the author does show the theme of giving up hope in this addition to the story. Mirrored to Travis' life, he simply wanted to reunite with his longing for diving. 

Recognizing the similar novels, remember that losing hope is a universal theme that's found in numerous books, like Breathless. Travis displays how effortless it is to surrender to the cancer he has. All he ever had disappeared, and Travis couldn't find the hope to replace the pain. Hope only lives in the soul if you allow it; Travis didn't allow hope, but gave up.