Blueprint and Refined Thesis Template

Time can change everything, it may even flip your world upside down in seconds.. If one makes a single wrong move, everybody tends to judge them. This can be clearly seen in Little Deaths by Emma Flint through the theme of the book. Moreover, by using makeup as a mask to hide feelings, and judging someone due to their appearance. This book portrays hardships of a single, driven mother living in a judgemental society.

Body

The theme of the book clearly showed how one wrong move can change one’s life completely. Helping one find the angel or devil inside them. Moreover,

POINT: This quote help show the true side of Ruth, how she cared about her kids. This quote helps ignore other people’s judgemental opinions.

“She stretched out a hand but Devlin was suddenly there, pulling her back. Forbidding her to touch. She opened her mouth, but the flies and the heat and the smell and the sudden awareness that this was the hair she had shampooed and combed and braided for four years made everything go dark for a moment.”

COMMENT: This is a clear example that shows how kids require time and attention of parents to survive, otherwise they disappear. This quote helps understand the theme of the book. Ruth is not just a woman that cares about her looks, lovers, and drinks. She has a very soft side for her kids.

POINT: This passage expresses the type of mindset Ruth had. She wasn’t very aware of where her kids were. She was also comfortable with the idea of strangers bringing her kids back home after they escape. This suggests that if anything ever went wrong with her kids, she wont know. Unless someone informs her.

PROOF: Ruth knew she should be proud of these kids. She should be proud of herself, bringing them up practically alone. They had toys and books, their clothes were neat and clean, they ate vegetables for dinner every night. They were safe here. It was a friendly neighbourhood: when they climbed out of their window back in the spring, an old lady brought them home before Ruth even knew they were gone.

COMMENT: Through this passage, Ruth's adoration for her children is evidently portrayed. How she provided them with everything they needed and wanted. However, it also show how careless Ruth truly was, as mentioned: when they climbed out of their window back in the spring, an old lady brought them home before Ruth even knew they were gone. Shows how careless she truly was. Unfortunately, even after providing her kids with everything, she failed to take care of them. She was a mother who guaranteed to be dedicated to her youngsters, yet she worked long shifts in a shabby bar as opposed to remaining home to deal with them, and she locked them in their room for quite a long time while she dozed late.

Concluding Statement (try and link points made in paragraph back to thesis)

Providing kids with what they need or want isn’t enough, one must spend time with their kids. As opposed to leave them alone at house. It’s not wrong to say that Ruth’s worst move was to abandon her kids for long hours. Believing that they lived in a “friendly neighborhood” and nothing could go wrong. Which eventually led people into judging her after her kids death, and believing that she was the murderer.

Topic sentence: Ruth's veil of cosmetics, her eagerness on looking right, fills in as a screen on to which social dreams are anticipated.

POINT: This passage portrays Ruth’s obsession with looking perfect. Doesn’t matter how critical a situation might be . Also proving that she, once again, cares more about how she looks than her dead children. Moreover, she also tends to use makeup to hide her true feeling that can evidently be felt in this passage.

PROOF: ‘She knew that there would be men, strangers, looking at her, asking questions. Their eyes all over her like hands. She had to be ready for them. She had to look right.’

COMMENT: As soon as ruth realizes that cops are on their way to investigate her young children's murder case. She doesn't hesitate even a bit to fix herself. Ruth's fragile cover of cosmetics and pride that also portrays her sadness, and misfortune with an extreme delicacy that is both correct and awful. She was grieving, yet she kept on dressing provocatively and to apply her substantial cover of make-up in the days following the revelation of her kids bodies.

POINT: Even during grieving for her children’s death, she couldn’t ignore the thoughts of how she expects herself to look. Again, showing her interests and first priorities. Priorities that depict the importance of her makeup mask she wears, rather than her kids.

PROOF: She wiped at it savagely and thought how she must look: smudged and blotched and swollen. Drooling. And for a while she did not care.

COMMENT: even during crying for her dead kids, she still hesitated to let out her feelings. Ruth always wanted to present herself elegantly in front of everyone. She cared way too much about her looks and reputation. To the point where her looks were always a bigger concern than anything else. This also hints how Ruth always kept her feelings to herself. As proven by the text: Finally she could weep. Even now she remembers the sweet relief of being able to let go in front of a woman who had seen the worst of her all her life. It was hard for her to express her feelings.

Concluding Statement:It was hard for her to express her feelings without being concerned about the way she looks. These insecurities and obsession with looking good destroyed Ruth completely. As people around her judged her, she kept possessing herself over make up.

Topic sentence: Society judged Ruth according to her appearance. The fact that she had lovers and drinked a lot, made her an indecent women in the eyes of her community and the police.

POINT: Since everyone around Ruth blamed her for her children’s death. Ruth also started believing that it was her fault. Showing how devastated and pitiful she had become.

PROOF: her leaking wet body that had betrayed her. It was her fault that someone had taken the children, her fault that Frankie was missing, that Cindy was . . . gone.

COMMENT: Women in the modern world are still judged and misunderstood based on their appearance and sexuality more than anything else. People blamed Ruth for her kids death. Which lead her into believing that it was her fault only.

POINT: This helps clarify the thoughts of people around Ruth. From police officer to neighbors, they all lead to the same conclusion, that Ruth was the killer. All judged by her appearance and without any evidence.

PROOF: Seen through the eyes of the cops, the empty bourbon bottles and provocative clothing which litter her apartment, the piles of letters from countless men and Ruth’s little black book of phone numbers, make her a drunk, a loose woman–and therefore a bad mother. The lead detective, a strict Catholic who believes women belong in the home, leaps to the obvious conclusion: facing divorce and a custody battle, Malone took her children’s lives. (from article)

COMMENT: The police just jumped to conclusions without proper investigation. Ruth was also involved with a lot of men, they also could've been culprit. However, because of Ruth's appearance, her drinking and other inappropriate habits. Sbe was automatically considered the murderer.

Concluding Statement (try and link points made in paragraph back to thesis)

Ruth suffered to prove herself guilty. As she feared of not looking perfect, people around her solved this puzzle, blaming Ruth for her children’s death. Without any evidence, and purely based on Ruth's outer appearance. Ruth’s wrong move here was that she still cared more about her looks at such a critical time. Which lead into the whole world pointing fingers at her.

Conclusion

Children require time and consideration of guardians to survive, or else they vanish. If one makes a solitary wrong move, everyone tends to judge them. This can be unmistakably found in Little Deaths by Emma Flint through the epic theme of the book. Also by using cosmetics as a cover to shroud feelings, and passing judgment on somebody because of their appearance. People should start considering the fact that you can't judge a person through their appearance. We might not know what someone else is going through. Either way, no one should have the right to blame someone for such a tragic crime.