M. Scott Peck

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…

(1987). The America Freshman: Twenty Year Trends. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Intstitute, Graduate School of Education, University of California Los Angeles Argyle, M. (1986). The Psychology of Happiness. London: Methuen (Bruce Carruthers,1998, http://abs.sagepub.com/content/41/10/1384.short) Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic. [Rev. ed.]. New York: Free Press…

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.…

I am fortunate enough to say that my father and I share a very close relationship. We both have the same morbid sense of humor. The same love for the cheesy acting in the original Star Trek series. Even a mutual involvement in the world of athleticism. But most of all, we share an extreme passion for fishing. We spend all of our time discussing lures, different casting methods and various types of fish. I’ve learned so much about fishing and my dad throughout the years, but I think what I…

One of our strongest sources of pride as American citizens is the fact that America is a land of opportunity; that one can pull himself up by his bootstraps and make something great of himself; that each individual has power over his own destiny. This represents the American belief system of self-determinism. With it comes a responsibility. Each person is also to be held accountable for his own actions, both good and bad. This represents the American value of retribution, or justice. In addition…

Many historical events occurred between 1865 and 1920. Two words that best describe these events are failure and unfair. Throughout this paper, I will discuss why these two words best suites this time period. The Fourteenth Amendment, industrial factories, and the Plessy vs. Ferguson case are examples of why this time period was unfair. The Fourteenth Amendment was created in 1868, in order to give everyone who was born or naturalized in the U.S. citizenship. This gave African American men more…

John McLemore’s Self-Alienation from his Shit Town and Shit Life The ultimate, yet unspoken goal in life is to be successful. Success comes in many forms, like gaining money, knowledge, and the ability to form friendships and relationships with other people. However, if people cannot obtain success in these different realms, they are often depicted in literature and in reality as being a failure. In Brian Reed’s podcast, “S-Town”, he is lured into Bibb county, Alabama after hearing rumors of…

Despite being written twenty years apart, these two novels have many similarities. Both novels are presented through first person narration and have a reflective story-telling quality to them. Both novels seamlessly shift from past and present throughout the narrative. In both novels, the narrator addresses the reader. One example of this arising in Never Let Me Go is the various times that Kathy says: “I don’t know how it was where you were” (13). In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred says: “ I am…

because the idea of America’s unique, opportunist culture had been prominent since the country’s founding. However, several creators utilized this idea for central themes in their literary works long before it had a name. One of these people was F. Scott Fitzgerald, who published The Great Gatsby in 1925. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald exposes the irrational and unattainable nature of the now infamous American Dream. One aspect of the American Dream that held true in Fitzgerald’s novel and the…

In the Victorian period men and women’s roles sharpened and became better defined. Gender relationships and stereotypes characterize a society which sees eccessive hypocrisy and social expectations. Oscar Wilde, in “The Importance of Being Earnest”, makes use of a simple and spontaneous writing style, associated with a refined and prone approach in the depiction of reality. In his play, Wilde continuously uses aphorisms and paradoxes to invite the reader to reflect upon the drastic change in…