Jim Yardley

Both her work and how she works inspires the minds of many who wish to become an improvement upon society but also reaches out to those who have yet to realize their faults and dreams as well. Jonathan Yardley’s “In a Time of Posturing, Didion Dared ‘Slouching’” praises Joan Didion through his own experiences in reading her work. Yardley describes her as “a clear-eyed observer who declined to be roped in by fads” (Yardley 3) which allows Didion to comment on society from a broader perspective. In her “On Keeping a Notebook,” Didion discusses her own experiences in recordkeeping from a young age. She uses her own narrative to establish a collective understanding of people and notes that she is able to define an identity for herself and the people around her. This is her motivation in commenting on society from an observant lens that still remains subjective and fairly critical. Didion understands that “we are brought up in the ethic that others [...] are by definition more interesting than ourselves” (Didion 136). She notes that we are quick to compare ourselves to the success of others, which is why she turns to…

by Mark Twain, Huck and Jim escape civilization together to float down to freedom on the Mississippi river. The river has its good times and bad ones to, but Huck pushes through like a good friend would. He also meets his childhood friend Tom but ultimately leaves all of this to go out west. Friendship plays a very important role; Huck develops many new friendships throughout the text including those with Jim, a runaway slave, Huck’s friend Tom Sawyer, from a previous book The Adventures of Tom…

various authors use character development and unique writing/plot devices to demonstrate that people change, especially as they grow and mature. Although it is the sixth-most frequently banned book in the United States, Huckleberry Finn gives an admirable message to all readers: one can change who they are based on one’s own philosophies and ideas, just like Huck Finn throughout the novel. At the beginning of the book, Huck assimilates to the ideas of those around him (like Tom Sawyer’s cruelty…

The term globalization has many meanings such as technological and cultural processes. How often do you look at your article of clothing and/or other objects that you use in your day to day life, and see that it is made in a country other than US? This is why the US is considered a lazy country to many other countries. We put every other country through the labor just so we can buy it for cheap and sell it for more on US territory, while the people who worked their behinds off get paid way lower…

The book "1984" was a perfect example of how a group of "chosen" disguise their Dystopian society, behind the facade of an Utopian ideas. Everyone was brainwashed into thinking absolutely nothing was wrong. In the case of "Jonestown cult", the followers had nowhere else to go and thought the cult was the best they could do. Utopian ideas was used by Jim Jones to lure his followers and used them for his own Dystopian world. It is a common theme that can be found throughout many Utopian stories. …

Introduction Google is one of the most successful companies in the world. It was founded in 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Initially it was just a research project; however, in 1998 Google received $1 million from investors and it became a company. Today the company business is focusing on areas such as search, advertising, operating systems and platforms, enterprise and hardware products. Through the analysis of the case our group could identify some aspects that…

He grew up in a small town in Canada to a stay at home mother and a father who was a musician/accountant.(Wikipedia) Throughout school, Carrey struggled as an undiagnosed dyslexic. (Dyslexiahelp.umich.edu)” I wasn’t dyslexic, so he probably struggled more”, is what I would tell myself when comparing out struggles. However, not only did Carrey battle with dyslexia during school, but in the 8th grade, Jim and his family had to work an 8 hour evening as a custodian because his father had been…

Society and freedom are contradictory. Societal forces are detrimental to the human spirit. The novel, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the film, The Truman Show by Peter Weir, and the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, all are related to the contradicting themes of society and freedom. The more one is influenced by the society, the less freedom he has. Being free in a society that is savage has negative consequences. Freedom that one does not earn…

My Thoughts On I Am I Am is a documentary by Tom Shadyac the director of such comedy movies as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Liar Liar, Patch Adams, and many more. In 2007 he had a biking accident and suffered post-concussive syndrome or PCS. He was in very severe pain and even thought about killing himself to escape the agony he was enduring. Eventually the symptoms lessened and he began to feel better physically. But both spiritually and emotionally he still didn’t feel right. He began to…

In a dangerous turn, culture in the 21st century has recently shifted focus to the importance of the appearance of the individual rather than sincerity. In Giovanni’s life, there is a lack of tangible authenticity, which leads him to downward spiral into loneliness. For Truman, his single encounter with authenticity allows him to see how truly alone he has been. Rubin and Niccol use their protagonists to draw attention to the faults in 21st century culture related to unauthenticity and it’s…