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Writing On Perseverance
Writing On Perseverance
Literary device in obsession
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The first eight chapters of David Grann’s The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon investigates the legend of Percy Fawcett, an English explorer and archeologist who vanished searching for an Amazonian lost city of gold in 1925. Initially the author attempts to “simply record how generations of scientists and adventurers became fatally obsessed with solving the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century” (Grann 4). However, the non-fiction narrative quickly becomes an adventurous detective story, switching perspective between Grann’s modern investigation and details about Fawcett’s ill-fated expedition. The book describes how the Amazon, one of the last true unexplored wildernesses on earth, seems to attract …show more content…
Fawcett disappeared looking for the city of Z, an El Dorado “city of gold” of an ancient civilization that was rumored to exist in the Amazon. He was a respected archeologist and considered one of the few explorers of the time who could successfully navigate a journey through the deep Amazon. According to Grann, Fawcett was also an enigma. An ex-military colonel, he “traveled light, living off the land and also traveled fast. For years after he disappeared, rumors emerged from the jungle of blond-haired, blue-eyed children, supposedly his kids, being spotted in tribal enclaves” (Grann 24). He also had a commanding physical presence, with “steely blue eyes, manicured beard and trademark Stetson hat, he was quintessential swashbuckling adventure” (Andrews). Since his disappearance, Fawcett became an almost mythological figure, and many explorers have become obsessed about learning his fate, and the city of Z has become a symbol of obsession adventurism. Fawcett was following the footsteps of Spanish explorers who died in the thousands looking for El Dorado in the 1500’s. In the twentieth century, almost a hundred more have died tracing Fawcett’s steps looking for clues about his …show more content…
Fawcett believed that archeological evidence showed that an advanced and wealthy ancient kingdom had existed in the Amazon. As an archeologist he researched the Amazon for years leading up to his expedition, and his findings were spectacular and controversial. He was so obsessed with what he called the city of Z that he could describe it in detail, as “in a valley, about ten miles wide… with a barreled roadway of stone…the houses are low and windowless, and there is a pyramidal temple” (Grann 40). His obsession was single minded, and his pursuit of science revolved around finding a spectacular city that might never have existed. Many others have followed in his footsteps. Since his disappearance, up to one hundred explorers have died searching for the city of Z or information about Fawcett’s fate. In an interview with NPR, Grann admitted that he had also become “obsessed” while researching and writing City of Z. While trying to figure out what happened to Fawcett, he found himself dreaming of finding the city of Z himself. (“Explorer’s ‘Deadly Obsession’ With Lost
Curiosity is brought into the events taken place in Quicksand and The Autobiography of Ex-Colored Man. Larsen from Quicksand “This question Helga Crane recognized as not entirely new; its was but a revival of the puzzlement experienced when she has fled so abruptly from Naxos more than a year questioning
Captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark took the risk of life, limb, and liberty to bring back the precious and valuable information of the Pacific Northwest of the United States territory. Their accomplishments of surviving the trek and delivering the data to the U.S. government, have altered the course of history, but have some Historian’s and author’s stating, “It produced nothing useful.”, and having “added little to the stock of science and wealth. Lewis and Clark’s expedition is one of the most famous and most unknown adventures of America’s frontier.
In 1539 Hernando de Soto and five hundred adventurers began on a journey of exploration that would take 4 years and would travel through 10 states in the southeast United States. His goal was to discover a source of wealth, preferably gold, and around his mines establish a settlement. During his travels through La Florida he encountered numerous groups of native peoples, making friends of some and enemies of others. His expedition was not the first in La Florida; however, it was the most extensive. In its aftermath, thousands of Indians would die by disease that the Spaniards brought from the Old World. De Soto would initially be remembered as a great explorer but, would be later viewed as a destroyer of native culture. However, in truth de Soto was neither a hero or a villain but rather an adventurer.
The Kennewick man was a monumental find to further our understanding of the history of the migration patterns of the people that culture sees today. The Kennewick man being a 9200 to 9600 year old skeleton made him one of the oldest nearly whole skeletons found in North or South America. The Kennewick man was found on July 28th 1996 by two college students whose names were Will Thomas and Dave Deacy while they were walking along the Columbia River near Kennewick Washington trying to get a better view into the local hydroplane races (Chatters, 23). These college students stumbled upon something that has caused a series of serious debates that have lasted for over ten years. After the students fell upon “the rock with teeth” (Powell 2005:6) they took it to the local police forces that were in the area.
Debate started to arise when an archaeologist by the name of Thomas D. Dillehay found artifacts of people existing 14,600 years ago, before Clovis, in Monte Verde, a site in southern Chile. These people slept in hide tents, had access to seafood and potatoes, and shared similar characteristics to other artifacts found in North Ame...
Ironically the burial ground’s discovery came from a land of no significance to prime, for an intended thirty-four-story federal office building. An environmental impact statement set off archeological test excavations, by producing an 18th century map delivering necessity to substantiate or disprove survival of a “Negro’s Burial Ground” (Kutz 1994).
Joseph Porter’s, “A River of Promise” provides a detailed report of the first explorers of the North American West. The piece engages in a well written secondary source to argue that the expedition of Lewis and Clark, the two famously known for exploring the American Western frontier, were credited for significant findings that were not completely their own. Joseph C. Porter utilizes text from diaries and journals to highlight the help and guidance from the natives and prior European explorers which ultimately allowed the Lewis and Clark expedition to occur. The document by Porter also reveals that Lewis and Clark at the time were establishing crucial government documents which were the structure for scientific, technological and social understanding
Vilbert, Elizabeth. Traders' Tales: Narratives of Cultural Encounters in the Columbia Plateau, 1807-1846. University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.
Catholicism glorifies and represents mothers as the main foundation of the family through the example of the passive and unconditional loving Mary, the mother of Jesus Crist. This idea of the mother as unconditional lover beings has been passed on and reproduced in the Chicana/o community. Gil Cuadros and Reyna Grande through their autobiographical work testify against this predominate idea of the mothers being caring and loving persons. Even though most mothers fall into the norm of a normal mother, normality is subjective, therefore Cuadros and Grande’s work represent the complexities of reality. Grande’s The Distance Between Us and Cuadro’s City of God are autobiographical narratives that incorporate reality as a form of testimonial of existence, an act of healing and resilience. Given that these author’s life experiences can be
The Truth Behind: Atlantis Documentary focuses on both supporting and debunking the existence of Atlantis at either the Bahamas, Crete, Knossos, or Thera/Santorini. Throughout this paper I will be deliberating how archeology works at these stated sites, how archeology impacts society as a whole in the context of Atlantis in regards to the modern day fascination and obsession with this seeming mystery, and how archaeological knowledge is acquired and conveyed at the site in order to substantiate certain theories about the past location or Atlantis. Analyzing all of these facets will allow me to think critically about archeology and evidently the archaeological concepts we’ve discussed throughout the course. Atlantis, within this movie, demonstrates
Kathryn book Life in the Pueblo is based on excavations that she did at Lizard Man Village (Kamp, 1997). This was a small pueblo located in Arizona which is believed to be inhabited between 11th and 13th century. These ancient excavations were first carried out by United States Forest Service and were parts of Grinnell College field school (Kamp, 1997). The aim of the book was to describe Lizard Man Village and present excavation processes and analysis. Kamp 1997 offers archaeological interpretation of the site in relation to the past understandings. She bring out successfully three narratives. These narratives include ethnographic data in relationship to traditional accounts from Hopi (a place which is believed to be the first resident of Lizard Man) (Kamp, 1997). He also bring out clearly the issue of archaeology as well as fictional account basing it on both ethnography and archaeology.
“Paradise Found and Lost” from Daniel J. Boorstin’s The Discoverers, embodies Columbus’ emotions, ideas, and hopes. Boorstin, a former Librarian of Congress, leads the reader through one man’s struggles as he tries to find a Western Passage to the wealth of the East. After reading “Paradise Found and Lost,” I was enlightened about Columbus’ tenacious spirit as he repeatedly fails to find the passage to Asia. Boorstin title of this essay is quite apropos because Columbus discovers a paradise but is unable to see what is before him for his vision is too jaded by his ambition.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is the subjective “history” of the founding family of the town of Macondo. During its early years, the town is isolated the outside world, except for a few traveling gypsies who frequent the town, selling supposedly extraordinary new technologies like ice, telescopes, and “scientific advancements” and implanting ideas of alchemy into the head of the patriarch of the Buendía family, José Arcadio Buendía. A rather impulsive and inquisitive man, he is also deeply solitary, alienating himself from other men in his obsessive investigations into the science of alchemy, taking the last of his wife, Úrsula’s, inheritance in an attempt to create gold out of other more common methods. After José Arcadio Buendía’s attempts at alchemy prove to be less than fruitful, he shifts his aspirations to finding a path back to civilization. He leads the founding men of the town on a quest to retrace their previous path to Macondo, but ultimately declares that it is surrounded by water on every side and it is impossible to regain contact with the rest of the world.
The Anasazi culture came to a climax around 1350 A.D, and the four corners region was abandoned never to be reoccupied again. The Anasazi seem to have vanished without a trace, however like any great mystery there are clues that may help us understand what happened to this highly advanced society. The scope of this paper will be to discuss the arguments of Jared Diamond author of the New York Times best seller Collapse, and Michael Wilcox author of Chapter 5 in Questioning Collapse titled An indigenous Response to Jared Diamonds Archaeology of the American southw...
...t, Stephen, gen. ed. “Paradise Lost.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 2012. Print. 36-39.