Sandra Day O'Connor

Roadside memorials are notably everywhere on the streets and highways of Hawaii, where accidents have occurred unexpectedly. In The New York Times, Robert Tiernan observes that roadside memorials use public property for private purposes. He believes they violate the constitutional principle of separation of church and state because public facilities are being used to promote religion. He concludes they are a distraction and danger to the motoring public. Though Tiernan makes a sensible point,…

David Guterson’s “Enclosed. Encyclopedic. Endured: One Week at the Mall of America” provides Guterson’s analysis and observations of the Mall of America as well as his views on modern megamalls in contrast with old marketplaces. According to David Guterson, the Mall of America is a disorientating shopping environment which disables social interaction and provides an insight into the dangers of American shopping culture. Guterson begins by describing the outward appearance of the mall as both…

She straitened her back as if ready to give a speech, “Well, weeks before Day of the dead, everyone begins preparing for the return of dead relatives of friends that have passed away. Families visit cemeteries to have a picnic and clean and decorate the graves of their loved ones. Graves and tombs are decorated with a gold colored flower found exclusively in Mexico and also with candles. The petals of the goldish flower are symbols of a trail to be used by the dead to come back into the world of…

The most common way to honor or respect an individual or event is by creating a very elaborate and well thought out monument. Through careful consideration, a monument can successfully commemorate an individual or event. With the proper size, location, design, and purpose. A monument can stand out and strongly memorialize that individual or event. A monuments size and location can depict an honorable moment of history. The amount of time taken to deliberately portray an honoree, a monument can…

you do differently? In Groundhog Day, reporter, Phil Connors experiences the blessing and curse of repeating Groundhog Day over and over again in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. This dejavu like course of events allows Phil to choose how his day goes, knowing that he will be able to relive it the next day without consequences. His character and demeanor changes throughout the film from his initial personality, through his repeating days, and once the repeating days end. While Phil’s journey in the…

Halloween focuses on accepting death for a day and shifting the norm upside down. However El Dias de los Muertos is a holiday that uses various forms of festivities to celebrate death accept it and one could argue actually cherish it. The notion that death is cherish in Los Dias de los Muertos, which is Spanish for the day of the dead, can be seen through the practices of festivities that are done. One portion of the festivities that are done within the day of the dead is the fact that many…

The movie Groundhog Day is used to analyze how a character can change from a bad to a good person by the end of the movie. We are able to analyze this change through the lens of Plato and Aristotle. I must argue that it is indeed possible for a character to change from bad to good by the end of a movie. At the beginning of the movie, Phil was not a good person because he was full of himself, sarcastic, and did not value people or work. Phil seems like he would be an easy person to get along…

loved one? Dia de los Muertos, also known as “The Day of the Dead” is a Mexican holiday in which family and friends gather together to remember the lives of their loved ones who have passed away. They also use this holiday to help support the spiritual journey their loved ones are taking. Many people from all religious and ethnic backgrounds celebrate Dia de los Muertos. It has its roots in pre-columbian cultures and beliefs (Day_of_the_Dead). The Day of the Dead usually begins on Wednesday,…

Halloween costumes are an exciting and intriguing part of the October holiday. People of all ages come together in this tradition of becoming something or someone else by adorning masks, makeup, wigs, and even sharp teeth. What was once a ritual of avoiding death's hand, has now become a popular event in modern society. Costumes themselves have a specific culture in Halloween. Young adults and teenagers in particular seem to have almost a conformity in their styles of costumes. The way our…

It is often said that a picture is worth a million words. If that is true, how many words would a statue be worth? When people or events are memorialized, they contain a message so powerful, it becomes a duty to let it be known. Sometimes it a difficult journey and other times it's very simple. Conditions have to be just right so that the memorial is well accepted. The factors to be take into consideration before memorializing a person or event include, the location, the design of the monument,…