Dred Scott

The Friendship Of Change In the coming of age novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, a struggling friendship of a change of heart between characters Gene and Finny takes place. In the beginning of the novel, Gene’s envious mindset and lack of communication with Finny, results in a one sided friendship where Gene does not share the same feelings of their companionship as Finny. By the end, Gene grows up to recognize that his childish ways were wrong, and how blinded he really is from reality.…

Boss Politics: Hollywood and the Political Machine Hollywood’s representations of the urban political machine are depicted in the movies The Last Hurrah and The Great McGinty. Using a historical context and definitions of piolitical machines and boss’s make it easier to understand and comapare the meaning of these movies. The Last Hurrah (TLH) depicts the failing political machine of Frank Skeffington in a new England city. The movie mimics the theme and charachteristics of the weakening…

The book “Undocumented,” captures the story of the author, Dan-el Padilla, an immigrant who came to realize the “American Dream.” This book serves as a reminder of the determination and perseverance that the immigrants must have to survive in the United States, or any other host country as they try to live the life of their dreams. Through the author’s accounts, we come to realize many aspects that surround the elusive American Dream. Firstly, the definition of this context is entirely…

There are many American myths, there is the idea that one will have a better life the moment they can work in the land of opportunity. One of the longest standing American Myths is the idea that there is a definition to the word American. There is also the myth that people define what it means to be American. As explored by Jean Paul- Sartre “Americans and their Myths”, both of these ideas are false. Sartre begins his article with an interesting idea, that we cannot agree what it means to be…

In This Boy’s Life, Tobias Wolff uses cars to highlight the irony of the American Dream, specifically the idea of reinvention. Cars are seen repeatedly throughout the text and are clearly used to further Wolff’s ironic views about the traditional idea of the American Dream. Cars have always been a symbol of escape and starting over, as it gives people behind the wheel the power to escape their old lives and old selves to start anew. However, in This Boy’s Life, we see that cars never give the…

“The escape of the prisoner” not “The flight of the deserter” (Tolkien “OFS” 79). This is how J.R.R Tolkien describes escape as one of the four main functions of fairy stories. With this, Tolkien suggests that the reader should be using fairy stories to escape the situation that they are born into; however, he disproves of readers using fairy stories to escape their responsibilities (“OFS” 79-80). A sub-creation is a secondary world that the mind can enter. It is extremely difficult to achieve…

The Peculiar Character of Judge Goodwill Banner The novel “The Natural” by Bernard Malamud is a story about a character named Roy Hobbs and his unique experience with major league baseball. Roy interacts with many unique characters through the story, however Judge Goodwill Banner stands out amongst all of the others. Through Judge Goodwill Banner Malamud tells a deep story. In the story the Judge servers to be a constant presence over the club while still remaining somewhat mysterious. The…

William O’ Douglas, former Associate Justic of the Supreme Court of the United States once said, “The great and invigorating influences in American life have been the unorthodox: the people who challenge an existing institution or way of life, or say and do things that make people think.” The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood presents unorthodox characters in Offred, The Commander, and Moira through freedom, relationships, and individuality. Offred, the protagonist of the novel, is an…

Professor Lisa Led-Aguilar English 124 American Dreams of Avarice `Often people become mislead by their desire for wealth, enchanted by the idea of the American Dream. Americans often lay morality by the wayside in the pursuit thereof. What is this American Dream, and what is this “money” that rests at its heart. Is it a mere social construct? Based on the amount of “money” one acquire’s, the overall experience of life can be re-rooted, causing many to do the unimaginable (Kasser, 1996).…

In 2008, journalist Malcolm Gladwell published Outliers, a best-selling book about how we measure success as a society. Gladwell employs a conversational tone when discussing how we measure success, and touches upon common misconceptions regarding the matter. One chapter, entitled “The Matthew Effect,” highlights how individuals born on a certain year and month are able to take advantage of any given opportunities that were offered to them, varying on the year and month they were born in.…