Dariush Mehrjui

Anyone who has ever embarked the American dream must know that they are an impostor, in the sense that you cannot become who you want to be by remaining what you are. Every immigrant like myself who has ever set out to leave his country for a better life, all the ambitious dream chasers, and foreigners of well developed nations seeking education in America should first know how it all works. For the majority of my childhood, I always felt that American born non-first generation college students had an advantage over everyone else in understanding how college worked and how life would be like. Of course there are those that choose not to attend or dropout but that was a choice made by them, when they could have been anything and at a scholar at it also. I am a firm believer in the reality that college is potentially possible for anyone but we decide to take that for granted and eliminate ourselves due to our life desires or circumstance. Fortunately for me, my parents being Africans and understanding that there are so many struggling for the same opportunity I have received to an education, they did not want me to forsake such an opportunity and encouraged me to aspire to be somebody educated someday. Every day as a kid I was told clichés like I could be whatever I wanted to be, that anything was possible, and to dream big because the sky is the limit but like most of us I discovered different for myself in adulthood. You cannot be everything that you once wanted but as…

In Erdrich’s Tracks, the novel tells a story of a Chippewa tribe that is forced to adapt to colonizers in the post-colonization state of America. Through the eyes of two distinct narrators, Nanapush and Pauline, the reader gets an inside view of the perspective of a Native-American tribe in post-colonial America. At the very beginning of the novel, Nanapush describes Native Americans dying from the spotted fever (or yellow fever) due to the colonizers bringing disease as they intermingle with…

Chrysalids Essay A hero is someone who is admired for their acts of courage and bravery. Although David is the main character of the novel, The Chrysalids true hero is Michael. This is demonstrated by his composure and bravery during times of trouble, his willingness to make sacrifices, and his leadership skills. For these reasons and the examples that follow Michael proves himself to be the hero of the novel time and time again. In The Chrysalids Michael is part of a group of people who…

“Odysseus! We’ve been sailing for days, we must find a place to stay!” “Intruders!” Polyphemus said, “how dare they come onto my island! I must gather my foot power to stomp on these fools who decided to bare their scrawny human bodies onto my island! Brother Sam! I command you to stay on the lookout for any other people who dare to step foot onto my island.” Polyphemus wandered through the bright green trees; each one springing at least 60 feet high. He got to his home filled with everything…

On September 24, 1942, German police moved into the ghetto, fires were everywhere, some shops had to close, families separated, and more citizens perished everyday. Children young as four years old attempted to take care of their bedridden families. Desperate cries of agony heard in the streets were the most horrendous sounds anyone could ever hear. Paula and her father, Adam, had been living in this town for a while now, and they had predicted this would happen a while back. In the midst of…

It’s the year 2050, all of the glaciers in the world disappear. Planet Earth loses its winter season and the new generation of kids won 't experience snow. Everyday is like summer and regular day has sixteen hours of sunlight and 8 hours of night time. People everyday die of heat stroke. David is a average 14 year old boy. He likes to visit his grandpa to listen to his stories about snow and he always thought how it will feel like. As usual he arrived to his high school and his first class of…

The clouds broke, and light began to shine through the large, curtainless, loft-style windows flanking a four-hundred-square-foot apartment containing only a bed, a faded purple sofa, a birch-coloured dinner table, and a single chair. Hand-me-downs would be the explanation to friends regarding the eclectic range of furniture. The truth was that they were obtained for free through a series of favours to strangers. I sat down and opened a laptop bought off of Craigslist. The operating system was…

There is nothing as pointless as getting caught up trying to slow down time, and losing attachment to the moment you're in. Chris Mccandless and Holden Caulifield in Into the Wild by John Krakaur and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger are searching for belonging but are stuck in fantasy belief of humanity. Holden and Chris, only search for innocence, and are blind to the fact that our society is prone to change into an experienced place. Toward the end of both their stories, they are finally…

Katniss Everdeen. The girl from District 12 that took on the Capitol, the girl who saved Peeta, the girl who risked it all for love. Which is she? Or is it that she is all three of these things. Throughout the course of this essay I will explore which person she really is even though she might not know herself. At the begining of Catching Fire Katniss is back in District 12 trying to lead a normal life. However she will never lead the life she once did. The games have truely changed her and…

When we are born in the first place, we all are blank canvases that desire to be painted. Our family members, the artists who stroke the foundation of our personalities, play a crucial role in our life journeys either by inspiring us through our roads of trail or destroying us through their ruthless actions.The Catcher in the Rye, a fictional novel by J.D. Salinger, and Hamlet, a well-written play by Shakespeare, portray the influence that family has given to Holden and Hamlet, the main…