In the articles that I have read which are, “A letter to America” by Margaret Atwood and “ And our Flag was still there” by Barbara Kingsolver happen to have some similarities in there writing but also some differences. Both authors know that their country has some issues but one questions the actions of her country and the other author reclaims patriotism for Americans who love their country. One similarity that both of the authors had been how they mention terrorist bombing in their articles. In “a letter to America” Atwood say “I learned this lesson again in the years that have elapsed since the September 11,2001, terrorist bombing”(pg. 510). What she was saying is that since she saw that was happening to the country she was grateful but also that she got to see what other people saw. It was way more sharper then what she had been seeing. In “and our was still there” Kingsolver states,” In the aftermath of September 11,2001, and the wars that followed, …that it is time to retire the rockets red glare …show more content…
In “and our flag was still there” Kingsolver states “any of us who steps up to the platform of American protest is standing on bloodstained and hallowed ground, and let no one ever dare call it un-American or uncourageous” (pg.552). Meaning that there are people out there that make a stand and have to face challenges at there own risk no matter the outcome and in the end some people will have respect and other wont. There are people out there making a change in the world, to better the civilization that others wont step up to do. In “a letter to America” Margaret states, “ we know perfectly well that if you go down the plug-hole, we’re going with you”(pg. 511). Meaning from this is since our country provides us what we need and is our biggest trading partner, that if it fail to do so then we all fail with our country. We can’t continue to do well if our country id falling
Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers to the United States, was not a patriot but a mere loyalist to England before the dissolution between England and the colonies occurred. Sheila L. Skemp's The Making of a Patriot explores how Benjamin Franklin tried to stay loyal to the crown while taking interest in the colonies perception and their own representation in Parliament. While Ms. Skemp alludes to Franklin's loyalty, her main illustration is how the attack by Alexander Wedderburn during the Privy Council led to Franklin's disillusionment with the British crown and the greater interest in making the Thirteen Colonies their own nation. Her analysis of Franklin's history in Parliament and what occurred on the night that the council convened proves the change behind Franklin's beliefs and what lead to his involvement in the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution.
During the process of reading this compilation of works, Portrait of America, many different point of views were aired. The opinion or attitude on the subject was too tainted. The authors were very biased to their perception of the "story". This book could have been much more beneficial if the facts would have stayed to the straight and narrow. Only the detrimental facts needed to be applied to these chapters. For a history class, as broad as this, this book opened too many doors that could not be explained in as much detail as would be liked. Many of the authors enjoyed mentioning the most scandalous moments of the people's lives then dropped the fact without much support or follow through as to what happened to cause or end these events. Brief summaries only tease the mind, and with the course load of most students, there is hardly extra time to investigate the matter further in detail. For a class such as History 152, biographies and/or documentary style books are more worth the while of the student. For instance make a list of a selection of novels that could be read for the class, so that every student can then explore in depth what that student thinks is interesting. Although the book was teasing in nature the chapters did flow well and were easy to read. The procession of the chapters had wonderful transition as to not loose the student. While proceeding through this book there were several different reoccurring topics that appeared. This paper will discuss these two reoccurring topics: the civil rights movement and former presidents.
Political battles of today fought with arguments based on the speeches of writings of men dead over a century ago.” Gathering this quote, I am guessing that Clark shares the same beliefs about the government as I do. Present day there are so many corrupt individuals running our government who listen to these teachings. All these people in power currently are white, upper class, privileged men who only want to better themselves. It seems as though nobody wants to do anything to give the lesser privileged people the same opportunities as the upper class. America was built off the idea that everyone is to be treated equal, but clearly that is not the case. Our nation is supposedly the land of the free, which is why all immigrants fled here for this free land of endless opportunities, now our government officials don’t even want immigrants entering. In the past powerful people forced less privileged individuals into slavery so that they could not advance. Nowadays, people of power force its people to live in bad neighborhoods and have a lower education with a lack of opportunities. While on the other hand, the upper class praise other upper-class citizens as well as providing them with all the opportunities and a surplus of advantages that are not needed. These men in power maintain these mindsets full of hate and evil which result in nothing changing or improving for their citizens. These outdated ideas proposed by dead white racist men are now enforced by alive white racist
Edited by Bernard Edelman, “Dear America” is a collection of letters written by soldiers during the Vietnam War. Their letters are written to love ones back home such as parents, siblings, and spouses but they are a great depiction of the Vietnam War. The soldiers would write these letters to help keep hope alive and to keep sane. Throughout the book the letters are categorize into those who are barely arriving into the war to those who have been there a long time. The stress and anxiety grows more and more as the letters continue and the soldiers begin to contemplate their situation. I’ve learned a lot of factual things about the Vietnam War throughout my life such as how it began and what the outcome was but reading this book was the first time I learned about what the soldiers were experiencing and the cruel reality of this war. A few letters in “Dear America” I found very interesting and are a good depiction of the Vietnam War.
Dystopian novels are a dime a dozen and the majority of them focus on the overuse of technology causing the demise of humanity. However, with The Handmaids Tale, written in 1986, Margaret Atwood uses her dystopian novel as a warning against patriarchal societies. Atwood’s novel portrays a world undone by pollution and infertility, reflecting 1980s fears about declining birthrates, environmental degradation and nuclear war during the Cold War. The novel was written shortly after the elections of Ronald Reagan in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in Great Britain, during a period of conservative revival that was partly fueled by a strong, well-organized movement of powerful religious conservatives who criticized what they perceived as the remnants of the “sexual revolution” of the 1960s and 1970s. The growing power of this “religious right” heightened feminist fears that the gains women had made in the previous few decades would be reversed ("Historical Context"). In The Handmaids Tale, Atwood portrays two distinct social classes through her choice of diction and uses her novel as an allegory for the treatment and perception of modern day women by conservative men.
Harriet Jacobs’ feminist approach to her autobiographical narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl brought to life the bondage placed on women, in particular enslaved black women, during the nineteenth-century America. In an effort to raise awareness about the conditions of enslaved women and to promote the cause of abolition, Jacobs decided to have her personal story of sexual exploitation and escape published. The author’s slave narrative focuses on the experiences of women, the treatment of sexual exploitation, its importance on family life and maternal principles, and its appeal to white, female readers. Likewise, through the use of the Feminist/Gender Theory, issues relating to gender and sexuality can be applied to the author’s slave narrative. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and its lack of reception during its own time disclose the strict boundaries and unique challenges Harriet Jacobs encountered and overcame as a woman in antebellum America.
Thomas Paine anonymously wrote “Common Sense”, a pamphlet discussing the ideas of independence from Britain. This helped the colonists put their frustrations with their government into words. Paine wrote it so simply that anyone could understand his ideas, and it was quite persuasive. He says, “The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth.” (Baym 326) Essentially, Thomas Paine explains how independence from the monarchy would be a really wonderful thing, and he ultimately explains that this independence is inevitable. He talks about how Britain is the parent of America. He compares America to a child growing independent of its parents. Although at one point, America was “flourish[ing] under her former connection with Great Britain”, he says that now it is time for America to grow independent. He uses the example of a child who has been raised on milk never moving on to eating meat. Although the child grew a lot on milk, that doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t continue to grow by eating meat, by gaining more independence. (Baym 326) And he says that while Britain is their parent country, parents shouldn’t “devour their young,” or “make war upon their families.” (Baym 327) He’s using this extended parent example to show that America really doesn’t need a parent country anymore. This idea of total independence from Britain put a lot in perspective for Americans at the time. They became empowered and confident in this idea of
Both Thoreau and Emerson argue that asserting one’s opinions is crucial to attaining a better society. Emerson decries the danger of societal conformity and challenges the reader to “speak what you think now in hard words” in order to remedy it (Emerson 367). Likewise, Thoreau speculates that if “every man make known what kind of government would command his respect” it would be “one step toward obtaining it” (Thoreau 381). With these remarkably similar statements, both transcendentalists appeal to the reader’s patriotism by using language evocative of the agitated and outraged colonial Americans who demanded the people’s voice be heard in government. Although published roughly a half century later, “Self-Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience” mirror the sentiments of famous Revolution-era leaders such as Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry.
In Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, women are subjected to unthinkable oppression. Practically every aspect of their life is controlled, and they are taught to believe that their only purpose is to bear children for their commander. These “handmaids” are not allowed to read, write or speak freely. Any type of expression would be dangerous to the order of the Gilead’s strict society. They are conditioned to believe that they are safer in this new society. Women are supposedly no longer exploited or disrespected (pornography, rape, etc.) as they once were. Romantic relationships are strongly prohibited because involving emotion would defeat the handmaid’s sole purpose of reproducing. Of course not all women who were taken into Gilead believed right what was happening to their way of life. Through the process of storytelling, remembering, and rebellion, Offred and other handmaids cease to completely submit to Gilead’s repressive culture.
The American Dream, yes everybody has one, it can be from living in a large house and having a million dollars to just having the privilege to live in America and try to make something better for themselves in this new life or new start they are trying to grasp. There are many traditions and dreams of every American today while some dreams are practical and some are not and most of all their dreams are from the heart. The American dream is really simple--it consists of a house a job a car three kids and one dog but this is not always the case.
In both pieces, the writers had a clear point they wanted to get across and used their styles to help convey their thoughts. They used facts and stories to help the reader see things from a different perspective, which allowed the reader to open up their mind to these topics. Both writers were very good at getting the reader to examine the topic from a fresh perspective and ultimately inform the reader to a new way of thinking. Whether they used facts and statistics or symbolisms and metaphors, both writers were able to get the reader to understand where they were coming from and assist the reader in finding the message in the text. By examining the similarities in writing we see that there is a common goal between the authors and now have a better understanding on why they chose the style they did and how it was
Ethics, a word used to justify many illogical or irrational choices. Ethics can be considered as a guideline to living without regret or guilt. However there are no universal ethical standards, nor are there any good or bad ethical standards. In the article “A Framework for Thinking Ethically” five source ethical standards are depicted which can be used in a variety of situations, for example in Margaret atwood’s “Bread” the virtue approach can be applied to the situation with the two sisters starving. Though the virtue approach is a good method, it is not flawless and can cause you to face a dilemma over what choice to make which leads to anxiety for those making the choice.
Dystopian novels are often used to array compelling political arguments and messages during periods of reform and influential eras. One notable, prize-winning dystopian novel is Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale, which addresses the discrimination and feminist backlash faced by the women of the 1980’s. It is depicted through the story of Offred, a fertile sex slave, called a handmaid, whose sole purpose is to become pregnant and repopulate the disease and pollution stricken society of Gilead. Atwood’s persuasive novel has shown resolute influence throughout the years, displayed through Jennifer Hodson’s analytical thesis, “American Trends and American Fears: An Analysis of the Women's Movement and the Religious Right as Envisioned in Margaret
of rebels and rebellions. It is not fair to say that the form of rebel
story, a story she could not have told if she was dead. It is also