Rudyard Kipling is a name that I associate with The Jungle Book. I have read various renditions of that book and seen numerous movie adaptations as well. However I would be hard pressed to tell you anything else that Kipling wrote. So when I stumbled across this title I thought it was the perfect opportunity to see what else Kipling wrote about.
The story is a fairly simple one and Kipling does a good job of describing how Dick Heldar is feeling throughout the book. He is a brash young man with the world at his fingertips. He has traveled as a war correspondent and following an injury returns to England. He then crosses patches with his childhood sweetheart and instantly realizes that he is still in love with her.
She does not have the same feelings but she does want the success that he has achieved as an artist. She tells him that she won’t ever have feelings for him but wants his advice and help to become a better artist. He agrees thinking in time she will fall in love with him. The story takes a turn when she returns to France and he goes blind.
Overall the story did not have an ending I anticipated and it changes this book from a 2 star into a 3 star rating.
Great literature should do more than entertain us. It should provide a roadmap to improving our lives.
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens introduced readers to Sydney Carton, one of literature's most compelling and deeply flawed characters. Dickens also gives him an unusual title: the Jackal.
His struggles raise questions that remain relevant today.
Are we defined by our past mistakes? Can we overcome our weaknesses? What separates the people we are from the people we could become?
Lessons From the Jackal is a 25-day character study exploring these questions through Sydney Carton’s life, decisions, relationships, and personal development.
This is not a traditional course on A Tale of Two Cities. Our reading assignments will focus specifically on Carton, with sufficient background provided to understand his story. No previous knowledge of the novel is necessary.
Each day will feature selected readings, historical comparisons, reflection questions, discussions, and practical challenges ...
Lessons From the Jackal will return next week. Based on the first five days are there any thoughts you want to share? Are there any changes you would like to see? What do you like most about the course? What do you like least? Any feedback would be great as a finalize the next lessons in the series.
Five days ago, we began with a simple question: How do you measure potential?
Over the course of this week, Sydney Carton has challenged us to reconsider what potential really means.
We met a man whose careless appearance concealed remarkable intelligence. We watched him make observations that others overlooked, only to receive little recognition for his contributions.
We discovered a man who recognized in Charles Darnay a reflection of what he might have become, yet seemed unwilling or unable to pursue that possibility.
We examined his relationship with Mr. Stryver and considered what it means to become a jackal: someone who possesses the ability to contribute to another person’s success while neglecting the pursuit of his own.
Finally, we learned that Carton’s habits began long before his professional career. Even as a schoolboy, he devoted his abilities to completing the work of others while neglecting his own.
Carton attributes some of his disappointments to bad luck. Perhaps circumstances have indeed worked ...
