Philip K. Dick

Two of the most popular children's literature series of the 21st century, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, both put characters in situations with war and violence. In a world where there is a greater evil to defeat, characters are only benefitted when finding another ally with a common interest. Katniss Everdeen and Harry Potter gain allies when involved in a conflict. Both present the action of conflict directly in front of the characters, causing a change in a…

The Battle of Palo Alto took place on May 8, 1846 and lasted only 3 hours. The battle is marked as the first major engagement between Mexico and America during the Mexican-American war even though the battle took place days before America declared war on Mexico. The battle was short lived, proving the American artillery tactics and armament far superior to that of Mexico. The number of casualties Mexico took during this short battle was more than double that of America. Zachary Taylor, an…

The Odyssey by Homer tells the story of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca who is on his journey back home after fighting in the Trojan War. His journey home takes over a decade with many troubles and tribulations. For the over a decade he had to leave his wife, son, and kingdom. Odysseus serves as the model for an epic hero. An epic hero is a brave and noble character who is both physically and mentally stronger than the average man. Though this idea comes from an ancient story, it is still relevant…

Manifest Destiny was a term coined by John O’Sullivan in 1845 to describe the overwhelming notion that America wanted to expand exponentially. Most Americans during this time period felt it was a divine right to expand and settle the entire continent. This idea of expansion was not new, but an old view, that many great explorers and nations followed while establishing themselves. America was now no different, and looked to gain greater dominance over their own land. To do this, America took…

Spoiler Alert...Obliviate! On September, 1997, the magic was born. J.K Rowling had just published the book ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’. It was an instant success as children, teens, adults, and the elderly loved the magical world of Hogwarts and following Harry Potter on his adventure. Then on November 16th, 2001, the magic was literally brought to life as it came out as a movie. There were so many mixed emotions from people. Some loved seeing it come to life and some wished it…

The trajectory of U.S. foreign relations was well in place prior to the Mexican-American war, but was pushed further by the actions that took place therein. America was guided by a resurgence of the Monroe Doctrine under President Polk. This resurgence and in the spirit of Manifest Destiny, the American people, most notably expansionist democrats, pushed to expand the nation westward, and take control of the lands from coast to coast. This control was gained with a victory over Mexico in the…

Strain theory has been define in varies ways, Robert K. Merton describes it as social structures/societal goals that are presented to people as what they should strive towards in order to be successful in life, but at the same time society does not provide any effective legitimate means to reach that goals (Merton, 1938, Pg.675). Those who are in the lower brackets of society, and do to the pressure that society puts on the individual it leads to those individual finding other illegitimate means…

The Success of Manifest Destiny In the 19th century there was the expansion of the United States throughout the American Continent. Expansion was inevitable for multiple reasons. During this time there was a growing population. Not only was there a growing population, but America was prosperous. As Manifest Destiny was occurring, in the west there was the California Gold Rush. Americans were becoming more prosperous as they expanded west. There were new opportunities out West, so families…

In the Disney animated classic, “Beauty and the Beast”, there is a scene where Gaston is talking to Belle and he takes her book away and says to her, “It’s not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting ideas…and thinking..” Gaston saying this wasn’t even the part that is wrong with the entire picture; it’s the fact that the entire village agrees with him because women reading was not something women should be doing back in that day. Women were seen as cookers, cleaners, and the ones who…

Joseph Campbell defines a hero as "someone who has given his life to something bigger than himself." Throughout the epic poem/film the heroes ' life lessons have prepared them for the obstacles they face on the journey. Campbell 's definition is proven throughout J.K Rowling 's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer 's Stone and Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney. Heroes begin their journey by being chosen by a force, they then face a desire for acceptance that causes a vulnerability, but then…