The Great Gatsby Essay Example for Free

The Great Gatsby Essay The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald argues that the novel is a perfect example of the great American love story, but that is a negative. The Great Gatsby is not a tale about perfect love, throughout the story we follow multiple corrupted relationships. Tom and Myrtle they are both objects to one another. Daisy chooses Tom over Gatsby when the wait is longer than expected and he’s offering her fortune. This is a tale of love and lust corrupting individuals, and of an American dream that is never fulfilled. Many people dream of being rich and famous in this time era because they want to be honored and idolized by people. This is the goal of Jay Gatsby, the protagonist in The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby throws all these parties to get known as this â€Å"big timer† a well-known rich man he thinks that will attract Daisy. â€Å"If love is only a will to possess, it is not love†, there are three main relationships in â€Å"The Great Gatsby† and they are all unsuccessful because they are not based off of love, but on materialism. An example of an unsuccessful relationship in The Great Gatsby is the adulterous affair between Myrtle Wilson and Tom Buchanan. Tom and Myrtle meet on a train when Myrtle was on her way visiting her sister that lives in New York and the two were both infatuated with each other’s appearances, and neither of them could take their eyes off one another. Myrtle is married to a man unsuccessful man named George B. Wilson. She joins into a conversation with Catherine explaining how she feels about her marriage , which I feel makes it so easy to cheat with Tom Buchanan. â€Å"Well, I married him,† said Myrtle, ambiguously. â€Å"And that’s the difference between your case and mine. † â€Å"Why did you, Myrtle? † demanded Catherine. Nobody forced you to. † Myrtle considered. â€Å"I married him because I thought he was a gentleman,† she said finally. â€Å"I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe. † â€Å"You were crazy about him for a while,† said Catherine. â€Å"Crazy about him! † cried Myrtle incredulously. â€Å"Who said I was crazy about him? I never was any more crazy about him than I was about that man there. † She pointed suddenly at me, and every one looked at me accusingly. I tried to show by my expression that I had played no part in her past. â€Å"The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never even told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out. ‘oh, is that your suit? ’ I said. ‘this is the first I ever heard about it. ’ But I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried to beat the band all afternoon. †(F. Scott Fitzgerald 34-35). Myrtle is unsatisfied, annoyed, and aggressive. She is disgusted with everything about her marriage because she has so much hatred towards her husband, he is poor man. Myrtle is a superficial materialistic vacuous bitch! That’s the only way I can put it. Myrtle deserves every bad thing that comes to her for the betrayal of her husband. Tom only uses Myrtle for sex that’s all she’s good for and in return she receives gifts and money, not because Tom cares about her, but because he just have money to blow. Myrtle believes Tom will leave his wife for her, but to Tom she’s just a sexual toy, sexual object, nothing just being used. Tom makes it pretty clear that he isn’t leaving Daisy for her from the way he treats Myrtle at the party, especially when he breaks her nose for having the nerve to mention his wife Daisy’s name. Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! shouted Mrs.  Wilson. Ill say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand (Fitzgerald 43). The pathetic nature of their relationship is reinforced when she dies. After a fight with her husband, Myrtle runs away towards a golden car that she thinks is Toms. The gold color of the vehicle symbolizes money, the fortune that Myrtle craves for. When Tom hears that she was hit by the car he has no emotional reaction to her death. He hurries to tell her husband that he was not the one driving the car so he can get away from the situation clean. The relationship between Tom and Myrtle is best symbolized by an expensive dog leash Tom bought for Myrtles puppy. It deliberates on the fact that Tom is her master, the one who controls his pet with money. As the dog, Myrtle is rewarded treats (gifts and money) for acting accordingly. The unequal status of Tom and Myrtle demonstrates that their relationship was bound to have a lack of success from the inception. Daisy and Tom Buchanan marriage is also a complete failure. Daisy only marries Tom because the war separated her and Gatsby. However, the most important reason for her marring him is because he comes from money. Tom is from a wealthy family and has statues. He also wins Daisy over by giving her everything she wants, especially at their wedding ceremony. â€Å"In June [Daisy] married Tom Buchanan of Chicago, with more pomp and circumstance than Louisville ever knew before. He came down with a hundred people in four private cars, and hired a whole floor of the Muhlbach Hotel, and the day before the wedding he gave her a string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars (Fitzgerald 82). †

Analysis Of Langston Hughes English Literature Essay

Analysis Of Langston Hughes English Literature Essay Change is hard to accept, but its also hard to bring. Change can be brought in a number of different ways; it can be brought through violence, speeches or words. Wars forced change through violence, Gandhi brought it through speeches and Hughes caused it by his poems. Winston Churchill once said, There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction. Winston Churchill believed in change as long as it was for the better. Langston Hughes also believed in the same change. He wanted to change America and make them accept African Americans as their own American brothers. Langston Hughes witnessed the racial prejudice against his community. He was terrified at the racial inequalities faced by African Americans, which influenced his poetry and made him dedicate his work to bringing change. Hughes changed his poetry style, during the Harlem Renaissance in 1920s, as he started to admire jazz music, manipulating his poetry towards music. During the early 1930s, Langston Hughes wa s largely influenced by The Great Depression. Hughes thoughts became pessimistic and his dreams became hopeless, as he started to express it in his poetic work. Hughes surroundings influenced his thoughts, which encouraged him to reflect it in his poetry. This caused Langston Hughes poetry to evolve from discussions of racial inequalities, to jazz poetry, and then to his pessimistic views on life. As a result from witnessing racial abuse, Langston Hughes decided not to be a bystander. Hughes started to reflect his surroundings in his work. He began to write in his poems the tough challenges faced by African Americans. Hughes based most of his work on the theme of social injustice. He expresses, in his poems, the racial inequalities faced by African Americans, as they were subject to low class and discrimination. His critics often objected that he portrayed lower-class aspects of life through his choice of subject matter, but Hughes often felt that he needed to communicate that, in order to convey his message. Hughes wanted to bring change through his poems; he wanted to show that Blacks are not really different from other ethnic groups. Hughes truly portrayed this through his poem I, Too Sing America. In this poem, he illustrates unimportance of blacks during that time when he writes, I am the darker brother / They send me to eat in the kitchen / When company comes (Hughes 2-4 ). Hughes first conveys the image of how blacks are treated. Then he continues on, Tomorrow, / Ill be at the table / When company comes. (Hughes 8-10). Hughes then shows the change that he strives to cause. The poem continues on to show that the change is accepted as, Theyll see how beautiful I am / And be ashamed (Hughes 16-17). Hughes then closes off the poem with, I, too, am America (Hughes 18) and shows that Blacks are not really different, as they are also American and sing the same national anthem as other Americans. Hughes expresses deep concern for the suffering that his community faced, through his poems, and aims to bring change. Later on during the 1920s, a new movement started in America known as the Harlem Renaissance. Most African Americans started to move from the rural agricultural South to the urban industrial North during 1914-1918. During this time many African American gathered in New York. Many settled in New York and in the district of Harlem. This movement brought many talented African Americans together. It also brought many good black musicians together, who publicized jazz music during that time. The Harlem Renaissance also brought many artistic Blacks who had their talents in art and literature. These African Americans found a new way to explore and experience black life in America. Many intellectual African American and artists challenged racism and rejected to mimic white American styles. These talented and intellectual artists celebrated their black dignity and creativity. This caused these African Americans to express their true feelings about the racism they faced, and their urge for fre edom and democratic rights. The African Americans explored their identities and celebrated their black culture, as they tried to renew it from the existing low class perception. With so many intellectual and talented figures, writers, artists, and poets started producing a variety of original work dealing with African-American life. These works then promoted and attracted many other blacks from all over the world and established a new cultural community within America. Hence, Langston Hughes became connected to the Harlem Renaissance. He quickly became known for his work during the Renaissance and led poetry division. He established a different style in his poetry and innovated jazz poetry in his work. Hughes started to listen and admire blues and jazz music. He spent much time in blues and jazz clubs, which influenced him to write about jazz poetry. Hughes really enjoyed listening to jazz and wrote it in his poems, as he said, I tried to write poems like the songs they sang on Seventh Street(these songs) had the pulse beat of the people who keep on going. (Famous Poets and Poems, www.famouspoetsandpoems.com). Hughes changed his theme of his poetry and started to write in the spirit of jazz. Many of his poems were set to music and communicated operettas, a genre of opera. Hughes jazz poetry is usually represented through the poem The Weary Blues. In this poem Hughes talks about him listening to jazz as he writes, He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool. Sweet Blues! Coming from a black mans soul O Blues! (Hughes 13-16). Hughes shows his love for jazz music during the Harlem Renaissance, as he changes the theme of his poetry and follows a transition to jazz poetry. Consecutively, The Great Depression brought an end to the Harlem Renaissance and the African American literary activities. It forced many of the talented and artistic African Americans to become full time labourers, as there was scarce of jobs. Many artists quit their literary work to make a living for themselves and to support their families. This destroyed the hopes and dreams of many artists of their freedom and rights. Some artists also became involved in radical politics, since they not only felt racial injustice, but they also suffered through job loss and lower wages. This made most intellectual poets hopeless about their survival and freedom. A struggle for life started as money and food become a big issue, and for the African Americans their colour was also another issue. It was hard for them to speak out, since they could not make a living from just literary work at a time like this, causing most to support radical politics for some hope. The Great Depression caused hopeles sness and people had negative views about their dreams, as it turned down hope for a bright future for the Black communities. This lead to people having pessimistic views on life and their life became more miserable as they continued to struggle and establish their dreams once again. However, Langston Hughes also suffered a lot from The Great Depression. His dreams of bringing change seemed hopeless now. Now that the literary activities had gone down, Hughes also struggled for survival. Langston Hughes poetry also changed during this time, as Hughes became interested in socialism. Hughes supported the Soviets ideologies of communism as there were no flaws of equality. The communistic economies presented struggle and poverty, but Hughes still believed in it since there was no racism or classes in society. Hughes took part in the communist party in the US, along with other Black figures. Seeing his dreams and of other Black artists become bleak, Hughes thoughts became pessimistic and were reflected in his poetry. In his poem Life Is Fine, Hughes writes his pessimistic thoughts, I took the elevator Sixteen floors above the ground. I thought about my baby And thought I would jump down (Hughes 10-13). In another poem Hughes writes about his dreams being put off as suggested by the title Dream Deferred, in which Hughes writes What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / Like a raisin in the sun? (Hughes 1-3). This shows that Hughes became hopeless about his dreams coming true, as they were belated due to The Great Depression. Hughes thoughts became pessimistic as his hopes for his dreams turned bleak, but he still retains some hope to keep him on track and to keep him writing his poems. In conclusion, Hughes brings a major change in the eyes of Americans, through his influential and powerful poetry. He witnesses the social injustice faced by African Americans, finds his admiration in jazz music, and suffers pessimistic thoughts and weakened hope through the 1930s. Langston Hughes reflects the ambience in his poetry, as his themes change according to his feelings, thoughts and setting. Hughes poetry emerges from examination of social injustice, followed by jazz poetry, and then to his pessimistic views on life. Hughes plans of bringing change are revealed in his poems and become his dreams. They are however, shunned as he faces the Great Depression and the suffering it causes to his community. His dreams are deferred and his hopes of bringing change among his people diminish. He learns from his experience and relates it in his poem Dreams, as he writes, Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die / life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly. (Hughes 1-2). Langston Hughes teaches his readers and admirers to fight their dreams and to not let them delay, as dreams become your success to life.

My Philosophy of Education Essays -- Educational Educating Teaching Es

My Philosophy of Education â€Å"Your school work is much better today, Mr. Teddy Bear. I’m glad to see you’ve been paying attention.† I have spoken these kinds of words many of times during my youth, as I pretended to live out my dream of being a teacher. Lining up my stuffed animals and dollies, I would go over the daily lecture with my attentive class, making up homework and grading papers with the greatest of joy. These memories motivate me to fulfill my dream of preparing students for a live after high school, opening up the world of literature, and succeeding in ways my previous teachers did not. Because Literature is my passion, I plan to graduate from Concord College with a degree in English Education. After graduation, I would like to get my feet we teaching or substitution at a middle or high school while I apply to graduate schools. I hope to continue doing this while I take graduate classes so that I may gain experience in the education field. I hope to get my masters to that I can eventually become a college professor of literature. I have also toyed with the idea of acquiring my doctorate. I believe that English is a subject that all students need a firm grip upon to succeed in the real world. Reading and writing are major skills that everyone should possess because they can either move a person forward or hold a person back. Obviously, reading is important because we are faced with this requirement day after day. Whether it is road signs, cooking instruction, mailing addresses, or television advertisements, reading is something that a person cannot escape. Speaking properly is also very important because one can be judged by how well they speak. In simple terms, it ... ...tion is extremely important, because it instills important knowledge where it is lacking, so that a person can function properly in the real world. Without basic educational knowledge, a person can become alienated from society, and left to feel embarrassed. The possession of good education had become so dire that it is required for almost any occupation, especially one that is highly respected. As a teacher, I hope to convey basic English skills, critical thinking skills, and basic values that will remain with my students throughout their lives. In short, I have always dreamed of becoming a teacher, and with every day my desire grows. Teachers mold students, who are our future, so we must prepare them well. After all, would you want an uneducated person running our country or performing open heart surgery? I think we can all agree on that answer.

Grandpas House Essay -- Observation Essay, Descriptive Essay

Grandpa's House As I walk in through the door, I begin to sense the feeling of warmth come over me. This is the feeling I get every time I arrive at my Grandpa's house in Price, Utah. It's where I spent the first five years of my life. This is my second home. My family and I live about four hours away from Price, but that still doesn't stop us from going to visit as often as possible. The drive there is rather boring, but it's worth being able to see the familiar landscape of my past. After driving through a small town known as Wellington, I know that I am within minutes of being able to glance at my second home. I wait with anxiety as the car makes its way ever closer to the bridge that crosses the river, which runs right by the property of my Grandpa. Ahead I can see the old house and all the rickety, old buildings and corrals surrounding it. The excitement mounts inside as I let myself out of the car and make my way up toward the front porch. As I gently touch the cold, handmade iron railings that line the wooden steps, I know I've reached my destination. As I stand in front of the dark brown, wooden door with its small, yet beautiful etched glass window, I remember all of the times that I have passed through this portal and entered the warm, comforting rooms inside. Before entering, I take a step back to admire this old, stubborn house. It's a two-story, white house with a three-car garage attached to it. My grandpa built the entire house from the foundation up and a lot of the items in it. After observing this scene for a few minutes, I continue to enter the house. I slowly turn the brass knob of the door and anticipate the feeling of acceptance inside. As I open the door, a flood of warmth passes over and through... ...e property. There are corrals and sheds, which are beginning to show the effects of deterioration. Several fruit trees stand in a small orchard, which is next to a garden plot. My Grandpa's shop can also be seen from the window. This is where my Grandpa likes to spend most of his time creating new inventions or fixing old items. As I depart from the kitchen, I walk into the living room. There is a terrifying ugly brown couch with a crocheted throw draped over it. Two more Lazy-Boy chairs sit by it. On the opposite side of the room from me is a stone fireplace with shelves built on either side of it. These shelves are filled with books on every topic one can think of. Subjects range from the Civil War to cooking and mechanics. Above the fireplace rests an old, dependable clock. As it strikes the hour with its dings and dongs, I know I am where I belong. I am home.

The Road To Salvation Essay -- essays research papers

Dhanpat Rai Shrivastava was born on July 31, 1880 in the small village of Lamahi, located near the city of Banaras in India. Although born into the Hindu Kaystha caste, made up of professionals including writers, doctors and lawyers, his family was poor. His father was a low paid postal employee. His mother died when he was only eight years old. His father remarried, but Dhanpat Rai did not like his stepmother. He studied Urdu and Persian, languages used in literature and administration in 19th century North India at a nearby school. He recalles his childhood fondly in one of his stories, so it is fairly safe to assume that he was a happy and well cared for child. Dhanpat Rai was married at the early age of fifteen. This marriage did not last long, possibly because he was rushed into the marriage by his father. He later remarried a balavidhava, or childhood widow named Shivrani Devi. This marriage was a happy one, and they had several children together. She was said to be very supportive of him throughout their lives together. Dhanpat Rai graduated from school at the age of eighteen and began to teach around the countryside. He taught for a few years in various North Indian towns while earning a college degree. Dhanpat Rai began to write when he began teaching school. He took up the pen name Premchand when he began writing. His writing was more than just a past time for him; it was an attempt to change the social structure of India. Premchand died at the age of 56 on Oc...

Communication in Individual and Collectivist Societies Essay

How do people in â€Å"individualist† cultures behave differently to people in â€Å"collectivist† cultures? People in collectivist cultures: Each person is encouraged to be an active player or role in society, to function as a whole. The rights, as a whole, trump those of the individual. Rules promote unity, and selflessness. Working with others is considered the norm. Community strength is their main focus. People in individualistic cultures: They promote the â€Å"I† for identity. Strive for goals, initiative, esteem and achievement. Independence is valued, less motive to help others. Not relying on others is viewed as a norm. Doing things on your own, depending only on one’s self. As you were growing up, in what ways were you reared to be individualistic or collectivistic? Which orientation was the predominant cultural value of your family?  For what I can remember, as a child, I was raised to be more collectivistic but with a little bit of individualistic as well. Growing up with a large, caring and close family, it only came natural to me to fit into the collectivistic category. When you are young you are still learning therefor depend on others to gain knowledge and understanding to learn. One can only view themselves as collectivistic when it comes to being technical when viewing how you were raised. Also, I was involved in many friendship groups and multiple sports growing up. I had to learn from others how to play the sport, but once I grew in my skill of that sport, I then depended on myself to get better. So, both collectivistic and individualistic were used in upbringing. But as far as a predominant role, I would have to lean to collectivistic. Explain the connections between these two cultures with the dialectic approach. Which of the six dialectics is the most predominant in assisting  people in communicating more effectively in intercultural interactions? Provide examples to support your response. In this article, the two approaches that stood out to me were the cultural-individual and personal-contextual approaches. Seeing how there were several people in an argument from different cultures doesn’t surprise me there was conflict amongst them. Plus the context-personal played into each person differently and how they responded. And because of that, each person’s cultural background came into play.

Korean Conflict Essay

Abstract In this essay you will learn about the Korean War conflict and how it ended and what went wrong. Also how the United States deals with the conflict of the Korean War. How did this war affect American sensibilities, including the way Americans viewed the war and themselves? There were many different consequences occurred as a result of the Korean Conflict, which ended in 1953, with thousands of fatalities but no clear victor and no peace treaty signed. The north continued to be occupied by communist forces, and the South becomes an American ally. Also, Korea illustrated how a relatively contained conflict could turn into a much broader regional conflagration. As the conflict escalated, there were points in time in which China and the Soviet Union could have conceivably been drawn into the conflict, potentially resulting in another regional, or even general war. Perhaps most importantly, Korea illustrated how tension between the U.S.S.R. and the United States could become full-scale conflicts. Other long-term consequences include the establishment of permanent nuclear installations in South Korea and the commitment of conventional U.S. military equipment and troops to South Korea for decades afterwards. Did the war change America’s world and why? Other important legislative changes include the passage of the War Power Act (1973), requiring U.S. presidents to receive explicit approval from Congress before forces could be deployed overseas for combat purposes. Politically, the conflict resulted in an aversion to further American casualties, which fundamentally changed U.S. intervention in later international conflicts. The Democratic party also experienced serious consequences in 1968. Democratic voters, split over U.S. involvement in Vietnam, divided their votes between Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace, resulting in a Republican presidential victory a Democratic party whose politics were changed fundamentally. Economically, the Vietnam Conflict resulted in inflation as spending for Vietnam continued, but the United States remunerated largely through monetizing of the money supply. Because the Americans did not know if the Korean War was over or not so the Americans try to go on with their lives but it was hard to do so. Was the outcome of the war beneficial or detrimental to the United States (or a combination of both)? I do believe that the Korean War was beneficial to the United States than it was detrimental. The United States gained knowledge from the Korean War; it was beneficial to them in the long run. The United States also gained awareness from the War. The United States of America became aware and more understanding of the â€Å"falling domino† effect of communism. After the Korean War the United States rearmed and become a world power and the United States realized that they needed to double the size of their army. For the next war that may to become of may be coming to the United States. References My campus.aiu-online.com/library/CourseGuide/5/Tutorials/AIUAPA/ebook.htpl Editorial Board. (2012). History. Schaumburg, IL: words of wisdom. Retrieve from http://mycampus.aiu-online.com/pages/bookshelf.aspx Course Materials: HIST105-1205B:U.S.History U.S. Relations: The Korean War http://www.pbs.org/newshour.uh.edu/database/Subtitles.cfm?titleID=75