Chauffeur

In 2013, there were about twenty thousand airplanes being used as passenger planes; on December 17, 1903, just 110 short years earlier, the first airplane ever defied gravity. Two brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, had a goal. That goal was to find out if it was possible for a human to fly, to see if human-powered flight could occur. The Wright Brothers grew up in a world with only a couple of ways to be transported, but they gave the world a tool. The Wright brothers were, and possibly still…

Innocence Lost In the early 1900’s, in the aftermath of WWI, New York City was the liveliest place in America. Wall Street 's booming opportunity is everywhere; people are looking for the good life. This world is captured perfectly in F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby”. Jay Gatsby is a man of good will who is caught up in the world around him. He acts as though he is invincible and this is what leads to his early demise. Jay is a romantic idealist and is blinded by his love for Daisy…

The Life and Works of Lorraine Hansberry Alveda King once stated, “Racism oppresses its victims, but also binds the oppressors, who sear their consciences with more and more lies until they become prisoners of those lies. They cannot face the truth of human equality because it reveals the horror of the injustices they commit” (Brainy Quotes). In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family lives in South Side Chicago and faces racial discrimination. The entire family…

I got word that my dad cried the entire day after I left. I had broken his heart. I hated myself for that. I was so mixed with regret for leaving my dad’s, but the pain and hurt I felt from him kept me away. At times I longed to be back with him but again, the pain and fear always won. When I got to my mom’s she had moved to an older home that she was purchasing through A Government Assistance Program. It had a living room, kitchen, 4 bedrooms, and 1 bathroom. The washer and dryer were in our…

Travis. The house used to belong to my father before he passed so I share it with my mama and sister Beneatha. Now that my father’s gone I have to be the man of the house, but I ain’t got a job that makes enough money for all of us. I work as a chauffeur, driving rich white men around all day. I’m still young, I can work hard and make more money than any of us could imagine. Me and the boys thought of the best idea on how to do it too. With the insurance money I’m going to get from my father, we…

Ransom E. Olds invented the assembly line in 1901, in order to keep up with the high demand for horseless carriages, but it was Henry Ford who improved on Ransom’s idea. Henry Ford installed conveyor belts on the assembly line and this improvement allowed him to mass produce automobiles at a rate that was once impossible. As a great inventor and entrepreneur, Henry Ford was able to transform the lives of the common American for the better. He was able to improve the working conditions for…

Ruth is the wife of Walter Lee and has a son named Travis. She works as a laborer in other peoples homes. The play describes her as about thirty. “We can see she was a pretty girl, even exceptionally so, but now it is apparent that life has been little that she expected, and disappointment has already begun to hang in her face” (1293 Hansberry). Throughout the play she talks about how life isn't always what it seems. It seems as if she has given up. She is tired settled woman. When she is…

Symbolism, Money, and Racism in A Raisin in the Sun Symbolism, Money, and Racism in A Raisin in the Sun. Lorraine Hansberry was born on May 19, 1930 in the windy city of Chicago, Illinois. Hansberry was the first African American women to produce a play on Broadway and the name of this tremendous playwright is A Raisin in the Sun. This play and book won countless awards including the New York critics’ circle award, the Garry Cooper award in 1962, and best supporting actress in 1961. Any family…

REALIZATION “Chicago,” I said, as we drove past the Chicago Theatre. I remember reading every word that my eyes could catch as we careened down the picturesque streets of downtown Chicago. I was not certain where my driver was taking me at the time, but I knew that I did not want to be in the car with that callous, old woman anymore. She was my caseworker, Ms. Jordan, and she was in charge of finding me a family. My preferred caseworker was Ms. Kelly, she was pleasant and she always made me…

It was a long summer’s evening in Colorado Springs, July 03, 1975. The air was warm and still, radiating through my chest and embracing my tanned arms and legs. Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” and Rod Stewart’s “Maggie Mae” were spinning on the AM station of my friend Paul’s Earl Schrieb freshly-painted turquoise-blue Karmann Ghia. “When you’re down and troubled, and you need a helping hand…” I felt accomplished to have memorized each song and with a convincing smile confidently sang the…