Emile Berliner

Question #2: Define in detail the Thomas Theorem, explain how it is relevant to sociology, and explain how it helps explain sociological events in Chicago. W.I Thomas (1863-1947) was an influential sociologist who was at the University of Chicago in the early 20th century. Thomas mainly focused on the importance of the interactive dependence of individuals and social life and culture. He is well known for his term “the definition of the situation”. This term means that before an individual…

Jon Krakauer's use of his own personal experiences, intertextual references, and McCandless journal entries to piece together McCandless motive for going into the wild and therefore, defending McCandless decisions. Jon Krakauer's purpose for writing Into the Wild was to explain exactly what happened to Chris McCandless and what led Chris to go into the wild. Jon Krakauer connects himself with the subject of identity throughout the novel by comparing his personal experiences with Chris McCandless…

I have chosen to write about Bill Bryson and his experience in Sweden. Bill Bryson is a backpacker from Iowa who is famous for documenting his culture shock experiences in a humorous way. This time, he writes about Sweden in one of his pieces called “Neither Here Nor There” and in it he includes how Sweden is a country that is hard to understand. It is my firm belief that Sweden is not a country that is as hard to understand like Bill Bryson makes it seem as long as you have an open mind. In…

After reading Into the Wild chapters 12 13 and 14, I had a lot of thoughts about the family background and why Chris would discard everything and get into the depths of the wilderness and start his own wild life without any hesitation. Chris’s inharmonious relationship with his parents, especially with his father, was one of the main causes that drove him away to the deserted, frigid Alaskan wild. Chris’s unquenchable anger towards his father was normal, however, unjustified. He would never be…

Harvey Cox’s work The Market as G-d is an analysis of “The Market” and religion—exploring their shared natures and functions as forces within the lived human experience. Cox (in all but name) dissects the structure of a neoliberal economy to discover that the notion of “Free Market” moves and speaks much like that of religion. As Cox explores the relationship between “The Market” and religion within the paradigm of neoliberalism, one witnesses how a neoliberal economy elevates and enthrones the…

Jon Krakauer, the author of Into the Wild and Paulo Coelho, the author of The Alchemist intertwine worlds of fiction and nonfiction through the personal aspects of pursuing a journey of self-discovery. Krakauer, a journalist, reports the events leading up to the death of Christopher McCandless, who embarks on a foreign path to Alaskan territory. McCandless cuts ties with his material lifestyle and relies on his newfound wits to persevere and endure the ways of the wild. Coelho depicts his…

A Walk in the Woods. In my opinion, a very appropriate title for Bill Bryson’s book. His trek through the Appalachian trail and its tributaries are perfectly be described as just that, a walk. The google definition gives you, “an unhurried rate of movement on foot,” you can see what is meant by this. As Bryson and Katz make their way through the woods, their movements can be described as anything but hurried, with Bryson waiting around every bend for Katz and normal hikers passing them on a…

Durkheim's definition of suicide is as follows, "Suicide is applied to all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result." Suicide (1897). Émile Durkheims theory of suicide 1899 is based on how social factors influence suicide. Durkheim was eager to find the effects of social causes on suicide, therefore he created four types of suicide; Egotistic, Altruistic, Anomic and fatalistic, in which I will…

The novel The Tortilla Curtain, written by author T. C. Boyle, gives us a telescope view into two different worlds of culture, highlighting the differences between the upper-middle and lower class in southern California. The book breaks into three different sections that contain eight chapters that deals with numerous parallels that connect the lifestyles of the characters, but also contrast them. The author tends to switch back and forth between each chapter in order for us to understand the…

For about fifteen years, there has been a man who has been living and surviving by himself in the Brazilian Amazon. From what I’ve read, he is an Indian, and is determined to be somewhere in his forties. Brazilian officials have also suspected that he is basically the last survivor of an unknown tribe. This man is considered important not only because he’s one of the few known isolated people, but also because of his extremely unique way of life. Not many people can live alone in such an area…