Facing the Village by Lenore Look and A Fist in the Eye of God by Barbara Kingsolver
Common human attributes are normal to acquire, yet Americans seem to pick and choose how they want to acquire these traits, whether it’s excessively or minimally. In both readings, “Facing the Village” by Lenore Look and “A Fist in the Eye of God” by Barbara Kingsolver, the authors present many human attributes and the pros and cons of how Americans act. In “Facing the Village,” Lenore Look starts out being the typical, ignorant, greedy, arrogant, and unstable judge of how to trust someone American. After visiting China, where her parents’ home village is, she realizes how Americans, like herself, really are and how unsatisfied they really are in life. In “A Fist in the Eye of God,” Kingsolver also discusses how Americans want to change things and don’t appreciate the natural world the way it is. Human beings’ attitudes towards life and the people around them is the reason people are left feeling unsatisfied about their lives in contemporary America.
American’s ignorance gives them a feeling of alienation from nature and culture which leaves them feeling unsatisfied about their life in modern America. Kingsolver discusses that because of the lack of knowledge in science, people try things that they don’t have experience in and don’t know the result in the long run. She describes how people neglect learning about science and don’t realize how much there is to it. She writes, “Scientific illiteracy in our population is leaving too many of unprepared to discuss or understand much of the damage we are wreaking on our atmosphere, our habitat, and even the food that enters our mouths” (Kingsolver, 205). Kingsolver is referring to the damages to the environment as a result of ignorance. If people knew more about the effects of our actions on the environment, they wouldn’t feel so divorced from nature and they wouldn’t have so many life threatening and environmental problems which become sources of unhappiness. In another way, being ignorant, Lenore Look realized that her life in America is just easy to take advantage of and the results of our actions don’t let us appreciate life and just leaves us feeling unsatisfied. She begins by talking about here refusal to “act” Chinese; when her parents spoke to her in Chinese she would respond in English.
The relationship between Janie and her grandmother is full of love and compassion. Nanny was born directly into slavery, and lived a very depressing life. The daughter of nanny, Leafy, also lived a gruesome life, at the age of seventeen she was raped by her schoolteacher, then after giving birth to Janie, she became an alcoholic and quickly abandoned her family. Janie and Nanny then proceed to live with the Washburn family, along with four other white kids, and did not realize she was black until she sports a photograph of herself, and out of shock she says " Aw,aw! Ah'm colored"(9). Because of the families past, all Nanny wants is for Janie to feel treasured and secure. Nanny wants Janie to immediately get married, and she tells her that by saying " Yeah, Janie, youse got yo' womanhood on yuh. So ah mout ez well tell yuh whut Ah been savin' up for uh spell. Ah wants to see you married right away" (12). Janie immediately responds by saying " Me, married? Naw, Nanny, no ma'am "(12).
The chaos and destruction that the Nazi’s are causing are not changing the lives of only Jews, but also the lives of citizens in other countries. Between Night by Elie Wiesel and The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, comradeship, faith, strength, and people of visions are crucial to the survival of principle characters. Ironically, in both stories there is a foreseen future, that both seemed to be ignored.
The Hero Sojourner in A Worn Path by Eudora Welty In A Worn Path by: Eudora Welty, the main character emulates the necessary nuts and bolts of the archetypal journey as it's hero; answers a call to an adventure, has to go through trials of fear, and ending with the retrieval of two prizes. Eudora Welty's short story "A Worn Path" takes place on a "bright, frozen day" in December. Representing a struggle, but most of all represents determination. Her name is Phoenix Jackson.
Many immigrating to the United States develop ideas of themselves and their own identity in order to fit the form of America they have been coaxed into believing. In “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers”, Mr.Shi displays these expectations and false prophecies of character when he naively concludes, “America is worth taking a look at; more than that, America makes him a new person, a rocket scientist, a good conversationalist, a loving father, a happy man”(189). Mr.Shi not only perceives America as a place of pure prosperity and freedom, but also anticipates a society where he can recreate himself. Arguably, these limited ideas of America can foster one 's desire to improve as an individual, however this often results in a further loss of identity because they are unwilling to accept their true self. He longs to exist within the form of American society he fantasizes because he envisions himself as a more developed and well rounded person that he feels communist China has kept him from
written by this women named Jean Fritz. The book is written about the life of
Defining the American character is quite difficult because American identity is vaguely founded on shared values and ideologies, more so than a particular creed, race, or culture. In order to describe the American character, we will consider the dominate and distinctive qualities of Americans as interpreted by J. Hector St. Jon De Crèvecoeur and Thomas Paine. First, we will examine how Crèvecoeur illustrates Americans as industrious, prideful, and political in “Letters from an American Farmer.” Then, we will analyze from Thomas Paine's “Common Sense” how he depicts the prevalent qualities of Americans to be driven by justice, liberty, emotions, and individualism. Also, because both authors consider the American character and culture different
In the short stories "The Story of an Hour," by Chopin and "A Rose for
Stephanie Coontz’s, David Brook’s, and Margaret Atwood all discuss American cultural myths in their respective essays “The Way We Wish We Were,” “One Nation, Slightly Divisible,” and “A Letter to America.” All three authors elaborate on specific cultural myths, whether it is about an ideal family, an ideal lifestyle, or an ideal country as a whole. As a result of analyzing the three texts, it is clear that the authors critique Americas image in their own was. As well as elaborate on why the realistic view of the United States is being squelched by major cultural myths.
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie Crawford, the protagonist, constantly faces the inner conflicts she has against herself. Throughout a lot of her life, Janie is controlled, whether it be by her Nanny or by her husbands, Logan Killicks and Joe Starks. Her outspoken attitude is quickly silenced and soon she becomes nothing more than a trophy, only meant to help her second husband, Joe Starks, achieve power. With time, she no longer attempts to stand up to Joe and make her own decisions. Janie changes a lot from the young girl laying underneath a cotton tree at the beginning of her story. Not only is she not herself, she finds herself aging and unhappy with her life. Joe’s death become the turning point it takes to lead to the resolution of her story which illustrates that others cannot determine who you are, it takes finding your own voice and gaining independence to become yourself and find those who accept you.
Zora Hurston was an African American proto-feminist author who lived during a time when both African Americans and women were not treated equally. Hurston channeled her thirst for women’s dependence from men into her book Their Eyes Were Watching God. One of the many underlying themes in her book is feminism. Zora Hurston, the author of the book, uses Janie to represent aspects of feminism in her book as well as each relationship Janie had to represent her moving closer towards her independence.
First, John Steinbeck shows how Americans are dissatisfied and angry with many things in their life. There is a paradox that states “We find our time searching for security, and hate it when we get it.” This shows that no matter what Americans want, once they get it they are always searching for more. When Americans achieve what they have been striving for, they always go above and beyond to be number one. Also, Steinbeck explains how Americans convince themselves that their country has the greatest government in the world, but we find every little problem with it and do nothing to change it. Americans say how much they love the government, but when people disagree with something, they complain, get frustrated, and become so opinionated that they do not even bother trying to understand other peoples’ views. The American dream is wanted by so many people. They want the perfect house, the perfect family, and the perfect neighborhood. We all want the American dream but most of us do not even stay in the same house for more than fiv...
Janie and the Pear Tree in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
So similar and yet so different, is the perfect way to describe the two literacy pieces, “Devotions” by John Donne and “They Are My Friends” by Margaret Atwood. “They Are My Friends” is a story that revolves around the protagonist and her friends, and the author uses this friendship to convey a message to the reader, that centers on being alone. “Devotions” is a quote that discusses about mankind as a whole, and the values of being surrounded by people who care, by using countries as metaphors. These two literacy pieces discuss about similar topics, which contradict and support each other in certain aspects. Although “Devotions” and “They Are My Friends” present similar messages, such as how being alone and losing people are difficult. “They Are My Friends” is more realistic because it describes that even though it is hard to be alone, it is more beneficial than having false friendships in comparison to “Devotions” which states that everyone should be accepted into one’s life despite of any conflicting differences.
There are clearly opposing views of how individuals should spend the short time they have on earth. In George Herbert's poem, "Virtue", and in Edmund Waller's poem, "Go, Lovely Rose", the poets have contradicting values of what should be done with our time on earth. Herbert is a puritan who believes that earthly pleasures should be ignored, as life should be spent preparing for another world after death. In contrast, Waller suggests individuals take advantage of earth's beauty and surrender to life pleasures. Though both poems recognize the ideal world that surrounds us, "Virtue" indicates earthly pleasures should be ignored, while "Go, Lovely Rose" suggests we succumb to the bliss of life.
Topic: Analysis of war as a business in the play mother courage and her children