Passage:
The plan to take Damdcus was a failure. The Pilgrims had to make their way to Jerusalem without victory. Louis refused to wear his crown in the city where our Lord had worn the Crown of Thorns. (An elegant gesture, I thought). Odo’s letters were full of Louis’ worries: about Eleanor, about his marriage, about the fate of Jerusalem.
I could nothing about saving Jerusalem, but I could to save the marriage. I wrote to the Pope and told him of the serious quarrel that had occured between Eleanor and Louis. Then I wrote to Louis and urged him to return home by way of Rome. I suggested that a visit to the Pope would give Eleanor and him a chance to renew their marriage vows. A chance to begin again.

Response:This passage is talking about a Crusade Eleanor and Louis just went on, and when the passage talks about the “Crown of Thorns,” it means the thorn halo that was pushed deeply into Jesus’ head on the fateful day He died. Some say it is unholy to wear a king or queen’s crown in the Holy Land, where Jesus wore his Crown of Thorns. Also, as one can see clearly, Eleanor and Louis had some marriage troubles recently, so the person talking suggests some help. He says to stop by the church and visit the pope and try to renew their marriage. Kind of like the Reniassance, like a “Rebirth.” Anyways, this renwing of vows helps keep their marriage on track and well for a little while longer.

Book: The Midwife’s Apprentice

Question: What do you think of Alyce’s relationship with Edward?

Response: Both Alyce and Edward’s relationship is one very similar between close friends, or family. They both have good reasons to love and trust each other. Edward is always ready to protect and help Alyce while she is ready to do the same for him. Alyce and Edward would go to the ends of the earth for each other. That shows how much Edward means to Alyce and Alyce means to Edward.
Alyce feels brotherly love towards Edward because she sees a little bit of herself in him. They were both poor with no one to care for; they both had little means of survival. Alyce felt like an older sister the day she sent Edward to the manor in search of an occupation; Alyce felt responsible. From that time on, Alyce always wondered and worried about him. She finally gathered the guts to visit him, and when she did it seemed as though she was seeing family again. She loved him. That is why her heart throbbed in pain each step she took away from little Edward. As one can see it is evident that Alyce loves Edward like a brother.
Edward loves Alyce like a sister. He always looks up to her for guidance. The day he was scrounging around, Alyce found him and told him to go to the manor. Edward was not accustomed to people looking out for him, so this was new. However, one look at her face and he knew she was good, that she was pure. Believing and trusting in Alyce, he did as he was told. Ever since then Alyce was always a role model for Edward. He even went claiming Alyce was his sister! In his heart, Edward always knew that Alyce did what was best for him; just as a sister would for a brother. If Alyce told Edward to cliff jump, he would do it in a heart beat; that is how much Edward loves Alyce.
Alyce and Edward both love each other like family. They would do almost anything for each other, as long as it is in their best interest. I predict that Alyce and Edward will be like family for a very long time.

The theme of The Master Puppeteer is trust and loyalty demonstrated by Jiro and Kinshi’s trust, but also the loyalty Jiro must show to Okada and Yoshida at the end of the book.
At the start, Kinshi and Jiro created a strong bond because Kinshi let Jiro into the Hanaza in the first place. Through the weeks, their trust in each other grows as Jiro relies on Kinshi to help him learn the plays. When the conflict of the night rovers comes into the book, and after Jiro finds out that his mother is one of them, Jiro depends on Kinshi to bring his mother food, water, and good new about her son. Additionally, Jiro must be loyal to Kinshi because Jiro finds out that Kinshi has been sneaking out of the Hanaza at night to join in Saburo’s stealing from the rich. Throughout the whole story, Jiro and Kinshi have to be loyal to one another and trust each other.
Another issue of trust and loyalty comes up near the end of the book with the identity of Okada. As Jiro is just getting used to theatre life, he starts to find clues of what looks like Saburo’s appearance in the Hanaza such as a hat he used a disguise, a crest of his followers, and even Saburo’s own sword. When Okada confronts him, knowing that Jiro has found out that he is Saburo, he confides in Jiro that he will be executed, along with Yoshida, because of the crimes he has committed. Even though Jiro knows that he could support his starving mother and ill father with the money he receives as an award for turning Okada in, he was loyal to him instead. Okada was a very kind elder at the Hanaza who had persuaded Yoshida to take him in as an apprentice. To add, Okada let him borrow the script of a new play so that he could memorize it. Okada as well had to trust Jiro that he would not tell the authorities about him which was a huge risk to take. After the identifying moment of finding the sword and discovering that Okada is Saburo, an exchange of trust and loyalty happens between Okada and Jiro.
As one can see, the trust and loyalty exchanged between Kinshi and Jiro, and Okada and Jiro throughout The Master Puppeteer played a crucial role in the plot, making it the theme of the book.

What is one of the themes of The Master Puppeteer?

In the Master Puppeteer, one of the themes is not to judge a book by its cover. This is a phrase that means not to judge someone without really knowing them. In the beginning of the novel, Jiro was not sure that his mother, Isako, loved him. He felt that she always seemed mean to him. She bossed him around and yelled at him. Jiro thought his dad was the nice one because he really believed his dad when he told Jiro that he was sick and needed to go somewhere else. However, Isako did tell him to “Hurry back,” when he left home. She also came to see him on the day Saburo attended the play. This was dangerous because, many people were worried that there was going to be a riot at the theater. Isako came anyway because she wanted to see her son. She also protected Jiro when she yelled at Yoshida and Okada after she heard them saying that Jiro was useless.

Jiro’s father actually lied to him about being sick. His father would leave home to get food for himself only. He was selfish. This shows that Isako was the person that actually was concerned for Jiro, which was not what he believed at first. Jiro should not have judged his parents until he knew them better.

A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver

Theme:

The theme of A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver is, if you want something you have to get it yourself. This is shown by Eleanor’s many attempt to bring more excitment, luxurie, and success into her life. For example she always looks for adventures. This included a dramatic change she made in one day by deciding to marry Henry. Also by starting a crusade that was almost pointless. Next Eleanor would try and surround herself with exspensive luxuries, like a group of musicians to follow her around, carpeting and tapestries for her castle, make-up and beautiful dresses, and pricy decoration and things that weren’t neccessary. Finally when Eleanor became more mature and knowledgable, all of her restless efforts went into improving the kingdom around her. Eleanor began to change the court system, try to stop problems in her family by boldly turnig her sons against their father, and work hard to organize both England and Aquitaine. The theme of A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver, a book about a stubborn queen named Eleanor, is if you want something, you have to get it yourself.

What is the theme of the novel?

In this novel, I believe that the theme of the novel is to never feed one’s greediness. This message is demonstrated in this book in numerous ways. The alchemist, Pan Kreutz, for example, lost much of his sanity and conscience when one of the university students, Johann Tring, persuaded Pan Kreutz to help him find the secret to transforming base metals into gold. Pan Kreutz obliged with this mission because the student, Tring, was able to hypnotize the alchemist with the Great Tarnov Crystal—an item desired by many. Tring also told him what power him and Pan Kreutz would gain when achieving every alchemist’s dream: to convert metals to gold. Driven by greed, the alchemist stole the Tarnov Crystal from Peter of the Button Face when he tried to steal it from Pan Andrew. He then showed it to Johann Tring, who stared at it with open envy.

This novel’s message that greed leads a person nowhere is also portrayed when Peter of the Button Face made many attempts to steal the crystal from the Charnetskis (or Kovalskis). Like the alchemist, Peter was driven by greed when he tried to steal the crystal from Pan Andrew. Also like the alchemist, his desire was for the Great Tarnov Crystal. He was even prepared to kill Pan Andrew just for this treasure. The exact reason on why Peter wanted this item so was not identified in the novel; however, there are many obvious reasons. Firstly, the crystal was like no other, for in its depths were many different colors, reflecting bright lights that varied in different lights. Also, the crystal seemed to reflect a person’s thoughts; but in the book, many mistook this for learning secrets of the world. These are the main examples that show the theme of this novel.

Question: Who was Jan Kanty and how did he help the Charnetskis?

Response: Jan Kanty played an important role the story “The Trumpeter of Krakow”. Jan Kanty was a scholar at a university in Krakow. At the beginning of the story, when the Charnetski’s were being unfairly accused of Black Magic by Peter the Button Face, Jan Kanty fortunately defends them. Because Jan Kanty had such a good reputation, he was listened to and Peter the Button Face, along with the accusing crowd, disappears. Without Jan Kanty and his courageous actions, the Charnetskis might have been further accused or even hurt and injured. In addition, when Joseph Charnetski and his family are in trouble, Joseph sends for the help of his good friend, Elzbietka. ELzbietka, after receiving the message, goes to Jan Kanty and, with his assistance, is able to rescue the Charnetskis. Jan Kanty was very important to the story because he helped the Charnetskis in many ways.

Although Alyce and Edward have only known eachother for a short amount of time, they seem to understand eachother and have a great relationship. Alyce really cares for Edward. She protects him from the bullies and brings him food. She wants to make sure he is happy. She also found him a place to work where he could be safe. Even when they are separated, Alyce never stops worrying about Edward. She cares for him so much that she had to visit him to see how he was doing. Edward looks up to Alyce as a role model and cares for her as well. He thinks of her like a sister. Both Edward and Alyce care for eachother and have a great relationship.

The quote above has one meaning. The phrase means that Joseph for once in his life felt that he could conquer anything around him. Joseph starts out in the beginning of the story thinking that he is worthless to his society. He told himself that the little girl that he saved would never have the time for him becuase he wasn’t noticeable. He really doesn’t think that he’s that unattractive, but not enough to get the young girl’s attention. When the book is getting towards the end, he tells himself that he can do anything that he wants to achieve. Joseph also knows that he has the power to protect himself and his family. But most importantly he feels as if he were a giant in the quote becuase he actually has confidence that he can be strong and there’s nothing that can stop him from being strong. The message at the end of the book shows a large transformation of attitude from the start of the story.