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Risk Taking In Blackheart

Decent Essays

Written Final- Spring 2016- Elena Drefs We see risk taking being defined as exposure to the chance or injury of loss; a hazard of dangerous chance. But what if there was another way of redefining risk taking? What must one overcome to be able to define their own accomplishments and or failure as taking risks in their lives? In the collection of unit 5 of the Close Reader by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, we as a class clearly got to understand the importance of risk taking and how risks can affect one's life in the decisions they choose to make. The stories of Beowulf, Blackheart, and lastly Are Genetically Modified Foods Scary? a perfect example of what the cause and effects are for risk taking. The importance of …show more content…

Emily is willing to risk the safety of her life to spend time with Blackheart. She is aware of the danger he (Black Heart) is capable of bringing to the unwanted people ( thieves) in his territory that he guards at night. She wants to know him without the bars between them. The denotation of bars is to prevent or forbid the entrance or movement of something. While the connotation is negative because the word bars is shown as a barrier preventing her from further contact with Black Heart. “The day she touched Black Heart, the air was a white mist. She couldn’t see her feet. But she knew the path to his cage as if it were illuminated. When she stood before it, she couldn’t see him; she could only hear his terrible bark.” (lines 181-183) Emily sees this connection between herself and Black Heart. Having moved to a new foreign country with a new foreign language to learn, also the lack of parenting her mother shows for her leaves Emily feeling quite alone. She in a way like Black Heart feels mistreated with the lack of needed attention. With the feeling of having nothing to lose, Emily shows courage in facing the dog. This risk-taking shows how someone who feels lost can sometimes see hope in something. Emily shows hope for a greater outcome with facing Black Heart. “...most days, her mother and Ed drive off into the Uca valley..” (lines 22-23) What this reveals is that Emily is often left feeling alone and left behind while her mother is out and about exploring with Ed. As I mentioned before, she seeks companionship as a way to fill in the gap of the lost relationship she has with her

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