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The Cambridge History Of American Literature
The Cambridge History Of American Literature
The Cambridge History Of American Literature
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Because of the English Stories that Delaney reads in school, Delaney’s vision of perfection is very specific. He hates when kids tell lies and when they are not true to themselves, or others around them. He wants it to be just like the books he reads in school, where the young kids have a high moral standard and refuse to tell a lie unless it is for someone else’s sake: “...they always told the truth, unless someone else was with them, and then even if they were to be expelled for it they wouldn’t give his name…” (O’Connor 210). This shows the idea that the only right time to tell a lie is to keep a partner out of trouble. If these kids are caught telling a lie, nobody will want to be friends with them because, above all, they are a liar at heart: “They never told lies and never talked to anyone who did” (O’Connor 210). This is Delaney’s idea of perfection. A world where everyone tells the truth, and lying is almost never accepted. While Delaney may begin the story as an Idealist, dreaming about what perfection would look like, by When Delaney tries to act the way the “chaps” do in the stories, he is often beaten and ridiculed publicly. Just before the murderer accuses him of stealing Flannigan’s shillings, he tells the class: “‘Back to your desks, the rest of you!’ he ordered. ‘Delaney, you stay here’” (O’Connor 215). This quote shows how he was mocked by the murderers in front of the whole class for everyone to see. Even when he does a good thing by not lying, he gets in trouble for it. He is told by one of the murderers that he is a “defiant little puppy” (O’Connor 216). He is beaten by his teachers and classmates for merely not telling lies. That is what he is awarded with for doing the right thing. The way the teachers and students act in response to Delaney’s behavior shows that it is impractical to get them to follow him on the right path and be like the kids in the English
Dreams prove as a powerful, motivating force, propelling an individual forward into real achievements in life. Conversely, dreams can transpire as blatantly artificial. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams” depicts the story of Dexter Green, a young man who dreams of achievements and works hard in a real, non-illusionary world to win them. His work in this plain, unromantic world brings him ever closer to the dream world he so desperately wants, while at the same time the dreams show themselves as decaying or empty. Unfortunately, this does not cure him of dreaming and does not push him to abandon his dreams in favor of a healthier attitude. When Dexter embodies all of his dreams in the beautiful Judy Jones, her fickle attitude and the inevitability of her aging destroys Dexter’s dream world and dries up the source of his achievements. The author, using paradoxes, shows Judy Jones differently through Dexter’s eyes, and reinforces the theme of illusion versus reality.
...ts that, and for that Delaney should be remembered in equal esteem. For this nation has never been shaped through the actions of one man, and its story should never be told as if that were so.
Allison obviously lacked the respect of others, for she had no friends whatsoever prior to her time spent in this detention. She also has nervous ticks, such chewing her nails, and played with her hair. Brian was another case of insecurity. The influence of self-concept was strong with Brian Johnson for he had no sense of self. He could not meet the standards of his desired self and was therefore unhappy with himself as a person.
All humans have dreams and goals for their future that they wish to someday turn into reality. Dreams are different for every person, and some dreams are greater and grander than others, but they are all similar in that humans live for dreams because humans innately crave a better tomorrow. While many people do achieve their ultimate goals within their lifetimes, some people have unattainable dreams that are destined for failure. Two quintessential American novels, The Great Gatsby and the Catcher in the Rye, recount the stories of two hopeful young men with lofty plans, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield. Both of these utopian young men possess impossible, unreachable dreams; Gatsby desires to rewind his life so that he may enjoy it with his beloved Daisy instead of losing her while at war, and Holden wishes for time to halt altogether so that he must not face the challenge of growing up and becoming an adult in a cruel society. Through the example of both of their tragic stories, it is evident that humans often rely too heavily on dreams, and when these vital dreams fail because of corrupt societies, they lose touch with reality and fall into despair and defeat.
Fantasies, which are defined as fanciful or extravagant notions, ideas, or suppositions are things he often does while on his mission to victory. During the late afternoon hours, he would frequently climb into his foxhole and read his received letters from a girl named, Martha, that he absolutely adores. She sent him letters that he guarded with his dear life and kept secretly hidden from the other men. They weren’t by any means “love” letters, but he often imagined they were just for the spite of things. Jimmy read those letters every day and every night, paying no attention to what was going on around him, just focusing on Martha. Although, letters were the main source of his absence from the world around him, he would often imagine romantically, trips into the white mountains of New Hampshire while holding the letters in his hand. He would sometimes taste the flaps, knowing her tongue had been there (Obrein, “Carried” 272). Jimmy began to pass his days more quickly by trying to keep up his hope, while thinking about being with Martha, somewhere in a beautiful place, alone, with nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, Jimmy received a pebble in one of the letters from Martha, which she picked up off the Jersey Shoreline just for Jimmy as a good luck charm. He carried the pebble in his mouth most of the time. While on other occasions, he would often slip away into daydreams, just pretending, walking barefoot along, the shoreline, with Martha, carrying nothing (O’brien, “Carried” 275). He fantasized daily about Martha; He wondered who she was with, and what she was doing. Although, Jimmy carried Martha’s pebble with him continuously, he began to carry much more than just a pebble in his mouth.
In The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, dreams, goals, and ambitions have a way of enticing and enchanting the characters. A goal becomes more than a goal; it becomes something into which the characters submerge themselves and by which they define themselves. These dreams then set up impossible expectations which are detached from what can realistically be achieved. Gatsby dreams of love with Daisy, a dream which eventually consumes his life. It seduces him into giving himself up entirely for its attainment. Similarly, Tom's ambitions to control every aspect of his life end up consuming him. It might be considered this fundamental tendency of human dreams to seduce the dreamers into dedicating themselves completely to those dreams which constitute their dangerous nature.
When initially asked about the morality of lying, it is easy for one to condemn it for being wrong or even corrupt. However, those asked are generally guilty of the crime on a daily basis. Lying is, unfortunately, a normal aspect of everyday life. In the essay “The Ways We Lie,” author Stephanie Ericsson makes note of the most common types of lies along with their consequences. By ordering the categories from least to most severe, she expresses the idea that lies enshroud our daily lives to the extent that we can no longer between fact and fiction. To fully bring this argument into perspective, Ericsson utilizes metaphor, rhetorical questions, and allusion.
Richard Gunderman asks the question, "Isn 't there something inherently wrong with lying, and “in his article” Is Lying Bad for Us?" Similarly, Stephanie Ericsson states, "Sure I lie, but it doesn 't hurt anything. Or does it?" in her essay, "The Ways We Lie.” Both Gunderman and Ericsson hold strong opinions in regards to lying and they appeal to their audience by incorporating personal experiences as well as references to answer the questions that so many long to confirm.
As an adolescent, Jack London led an impoverished life and struggled to earn more money to support himself and his mother. In an attempt to find a small fortune, London joined the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. Unfortunately, he returned home penniless. However, his adventures in the Yukon provided him the most epic experiences that guided him into writing some of his most famous, widely acclaimed literary works. His novels focus primarily on naturalism, a type of literature in which the characters are shaped by their environment through the practice of scientific principles. The author centralizes his themes around this literary technique. Jack London’s naturalistic portrayal of his characters explores the brutal truth of humans versus animals and the struggle for survival.
... Dream, by many is a dream of wealth and prosperity that is easily achievable in America; however, not everyone thinks of it this way. Janie Crawford and Jay Gatsby both display different views on the American Dream and how it affects them in their lives. Neither Janie or Gatsby dreams for wealth. Instead they dream for a place of equality and individualism. Both characters want to be able to express themselves in their own way without having to conform to society. This shows that societal norms of the era in which both novels were written take different effects for different people, thus suggesting that there is no single American Dream.
Stephanie Ericsson’s The Ways We Lie, analyzes and reflects on how lying has simply become the norm in our society. We all lie, there is not one person in the world that does not lie. Most people lie because they are afraid of telling the truth, however what they do not know is telling a lie can lead them in the wrong direction because many things can happen when lying to a person. The person can find out when everything unravels that person will not have trust in you and you would be known as a liar. To every action there is a consequence, so why not deal with just one consequence when telling the
Zora Neale Hurston opens Their Eyes Were Watching God with an eloquent metaphor regarding dreams: “Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others, they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time (Hurston 1).” Hurston describes here how some dreams are achieved with time while others lurk out of reach until the dreamer gives up. Janie Crawford, protagonist of Their Eyes Were Watching God, encounters numerous ambitions throughout her life, mainly concerning a desire to somehow achieve something in life, and to not just go through the motions. While Janie’s dreams and my own do not exactly correspond, we both aspire to discover a greater passion in life and find a voice that will enable us to make a difference.
The American Dream is a major in American Literature. According to James Truslow Adams, in his book Epic of America, this dream promises a brighter and more successful future, coupled with a vision based on everybody being equal irrespective of their gender, caste and race. It emphasizes that everyone is innately capable of achieving his or her dreams with hard work. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is portrayed by Jay Gatsby's vision of attaining the social status he desires. Gatsby can achieve his dream once he marries Daisy Buchannan, a young woman he met in Louisville, where he falls in love with the opulence that surrounds her. Throughout the book, the motifs of the green light and fake facade are used to signify Gatsby's hope and never ending lust for status respectively. Gatsby's obsession with restructuring his past leads to his failure. Fitzgerald uses these motifs of the green light, fake facade and past to showcase Gatsby's objectification of his American Dream.
Lying turns into a true issue at the end of the Death of a Salesman. At the end reality turns out about Biffs' falsehood. Biff at last tells Willy that he has been lying for some time. He has truly been in prison while he was away. Towards the end Biff opens up about lying and would like to lie any more. Biff even concedes "We never came clean for ten minutes in this house!"(miller 104). Moreover we get some answers concerning Harpy's falsehood. Cheerful has dependably said he was fruitful, yet we discover that he was never high up at the spot he worked at. He is truly just an aide to a collaborator. Joyful makes himself appear as though he is essential much the same as his father did. So you can see the falsehoods are rejoiced at the end of the play and they were truly the reason for all the assertions thoroughly considered the play.
...dreams – not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion.”