Arnold van Gennep

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is one of the great classic books written during the Roaring Twenties that still resonates within many of the readers today. Much of his book criticises the spendthrift, shallow ways money was spent, and predicts the downfall of America, as shown in the Valley of Ashes, a fictional town reduced to ashes as a result of the people’s greed. The main theme of The Great Gatsby, however, is the American dream, distorted and manipulated to become a…

The myth of the American Dream Citizen Kane was one of the first movies to depict the American Dream as anything less than fascinating. As a child, Kane was happy as we see in the scene where he is playing in the snow outside the family’s home, even though his parents owned a boarding house they were categorized low class. But all that changed for Kane, when Thatcher took him from this low class lifestyle, and placed in what only seemed like the American dream, a luxurious life. Overtime he…

The concept of the American Dream has a spectrum of meaning and ideas among people, but which principle should we follow? The Argument by Parisa Changizi and Parvin Ghasemi and the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F.Scott Fitzgerald gives us an insight on the true American Dream. Changzi and Ghasemi argues that the basis of the American Dream has changed from the principles of freedom to materialism, stating that “The Great Gatsby” accurately depicted the corrupted materialistic dream. In fact,…

The American dream is the hope or vision of the average man making it big in America.For most people, this dream is becoming rich, famous, or just overall living like a high-class citizen. In John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, two men by the names of George and Lennie travel the country looking for work on ranches. The novel takes place during the great depression, this of course was a low point in the belief of the American dream. But like most people, George and Lennie both had hopes and…

Often considered the best work of American theater to date, the tragedy Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller leaves room for much more than simply theatrical analysis. The play gives us one of the most unique glimpses into post-World War II America that is available to us today. Arthur Miller attaches the capitalistic ideals of America to his characters, thus accurately portraying the standard middle class family of the 1940s. The play’s tragic hero Willy Loman, a Jewish man, is a representation…

Friendship has a lot of meaning in our world. Nick and Gatsby were close friends but their friendship came from Gatsby wanting a favor from Nick which involves Nick’s cousin that Gatsby is in love with. At the end of the day, You can only really find out who your real friends are is when you are in desperate moments and you need help from the ones you call “friends.” Nick and Gatsby’s friendship starts because of Nick and Daisy being cousins and Nick admiring Gatsby’s attitude and affection…

The famous short story “The Dead” published in 1907 in the book Dubliners by James Joyce represents the social, politic and economic aspects of Dublin in the pre-war period. This story that could seem unfilmable, was transformed into a 83 minutes movie by the director John Huston. The film follows meticulously the plot and enhances the themes of jealousy and intellectual pride through an Epiphany dinner in the Morkan's house. Many lines have been taken directly from the story. Joyce's…

The narrative Private Peaceful, written by Michael Morpurgo, is a World War One novel set in the early 1900s across countryside towns in England, France and Belgium. It follows the story of Thomas ‘Tommo’ Peaceful and his close family. It thoroughly explores their struggles through life in the early 20th century, including World War One. Throughout the story, injustice is a recurring theme before and during the war. This is evident in the class system of the era which treats lower class citizens…

Rising from the slums to becoming a millionaire is a one in a million chance. Jamal, the main character of Slumdog Millionaire, did accomplish that and became that chance. With his dying, he started off in the slums living pretty much off of dirt and garbage. From experience, Jamal was able to recall certain events and situations to help him answer certain questions in the game show. For example, Jamal was able to answer the question, “What does God Rama hold in his right hand?” by simply…

Essay Prompt 4: The Bitter and Sweet Life Of Walter Lee Younger Walter Younger can be compared to our President Donald Trump because they both think that money is important, they have biased views of different races, and tend to jump into things without really thinking it through.Walter is a middle-aged man and is older to his only sibling Beneatha. He is motivated by money and does not care about his family’s needs such as his mom’s dream to have a family home or his sister Beneatha’s pursuit…