Hypocrisy in The Enormous Radio
In the short story, "The Enormous Radio," by John Cheever, the radio acts as a wake up call for Jim and Irene Westcott. Even though they believe that their life is better than their neighbors’ lives, the radio proves them wrong. The Westcott’s life can be compared to a freshly painted ten-year-old car: nice and shiny on the outside but falling apart on the inside.
In the beginning, Jim and Irene seem to have a good life with no problems; they seem to be average, ordinary people. The story states, "The Westcotts differed from their friends, their classmates, and their neighbors only in an interest they shared in serious music" (Cheever 812). This already hints that they might have their share of problems, especially since they are almost exactly like everyone they know. One reason why they might think they have a better life is because of their music, but in actuality, this is where their conflicts arise.
Once they get the new radio, everything seems fine, even though they can hear all of the neighbors’ conversations. The Westcotts ...
Farmers’ incomes were low, and in order to make a profit on what they produced, they begun to expand the regions in which they sold their products in. This was facilitated through the railroads, by which through a series of grants from the government as...
Farmers united to protect their interests, even creating a major political party. The party was called the peoples party which became known as the populist party. Populists drew its strength from rural areas. Populists tended to be poor and uneducated. They had ideas such as government ownership of major industries. The Populists supported labors demand for an eight hour work day. The most controversial Populist demand concerned the money supply. Farmers being both sellers and debtors, saw inflation as a way to improve their standard of living, but they wanted to expand the money supply. Farmers convinced the government to use silver as well as gold to back the money supply. The congress passed the Bland-Allison Act and the Sherman Silver Purchase. Populist platform urged congress to authorize free and unlimited minting of silver. The Populists were united in favoring the minting of silver to expand the money supply. Democrats agreed with the Populist, but most Republicans favored the gold standard and a smaller money supply. Democrats agreed on a presidential candidate that was with the mint silver, wh...
On the brink of the war, Germany needed hit the ground running or risk being defeated by the opponent. After Hitler became Head Chancellor of Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels was promoted to Reich Minister of Propaganda. Goebbels was greatly respected by his Germans and government officials after his service in the German military. It was observed as, “He (Goebbels) came as a fighter who had proved himself against the French, separatists and Communists in three years in the Rhine and Ruhr areas. He came without support; he had to build his own support.” Goebbels was viewed as a brilliant war hero who had all the answers to make Germany the most powerful country in the world. His popularity and image made him a suitable candidate to run the Ministry of Propaganda. In addition, Goebbels’ actions perfectly reflected the attitudes preached by Nazi Germany. The Third Reich was gaining momentum and it was all due to the active spread of Nazi propaganda. Nazi Germany was willing to go to any length to not only unite the German people to support the war, but also to use propaganda against the enemy directly. Newspapers, posters, rallies, and education of youth were a few ways Goebbels and the German Ministry of Propaganda spread their thoughts; however, nothing was as effective and important to the propagandist movement as radio. Radio was a revolutionary propaganda tool, to say the least, because it turned out to be the fastest, easiest, and most manipulative form of communication to shape the attitudes of the German people. The Third Reich did not intend to simply spread their propagandist thoughts to manipulate the German people. The bigger goal was to use radio as a psychological and strategic weapon of war, exponentially increasing the...
Overall, individually, the characters Aunt Trudy and Josh have their share of suffering; it is inevitable to attend residential school without experiencing trauma or abuse, all of which leads to needing a source of escape, whether that be through the indulgence of alcohol or continuing the cycle of injustice that they are victims
Don Delillo’s White Noise explores one mans emotional struggles, and his love/hate relationship with technology in twentieth-century America. The novel takes place in Blacksmith, a small college town with a college known as the College-on-the-hill. Jack Gladney, the narrator and main character, is known to be “a big, aging, harmless, indistinct sort of guy”(83) He is an accomplished family man, a professor at the College-on-the-hill, a husband wanting to please his wife, someone who struggles with the fear of dying. From technology to modern society, Delillo created the character Jack to show the impact of the media on our families and our society.
The seashell radio a piece of technology in the novel. Guy Montag's wife, Mildred, constantly uses this and becomes a very antisocial person as a result. This is very similar today to teenagers among others using headphones to listen to their music and block out the rest of the world. I know because I have also used this tactic. This seashell radio represents the widespread development of technology in the novel. Headphones are just one result of technology widespread in our world today.
Even though in the beginning of the story the Westcotts’ old radio is outdated and constantly malfunctioning, it has the same innocence and simplicity as the couple. The radio, being "an old instrument" (817), and the couple, resembling "statistical reports in college alumni bulletins" (817), are both average and uncomplicated. Neither Jim nor Irene "understood the mechanics of the radio" (817), just as the radio, a machine, did not understand the human music and language it transmitted. Eventually the couple’s life begins to fall apart. This happens as the old radio get worse and finally "the music [from the radio] faded away all together" (817).
In, The Population Bomb by, Paul R Ehrlich, he explains the problem of population increase, and how there are people everywhere! The feeling of feeling over populated. He talks about how if there are more people then there is more food that needs to be produced then ate. He explains on the rich people becoming wealthier and the poor are going to be even poorer and there is going to be a starvation. Population is doubling every year and how our energy is turning into
During the late 19th and early 20th century both the Populist Party and Progressive movement wanted to preserve some things, while also addressing the need for reform. Although many of the ideas and goals of these “Third parties” were initially not legislated and considered far-fetched, many of these ideas later became fundamental laws throughout American history. The Populists and Progressives were both grass roots movements, and addressed the needs of the poor and powerless, for the Populists it was farmers and for the Progressives it was urban lower and middle class workers. These two movements attempted to bring the powerless peoples issues to national politics. The Populists and Progressives wanted to preserve some American ideals of the past, such as a sense of community and the ability for farmers and workers to live happily without economic strains. Populists were more oriented to the plight of the farmer while the Progressives included women's rights, and protection of the consumer and labor.
In Don DeLillo's satirical novel White Noise, we become acquainted with what we might call a "postmodern family" - a group of people loosely bound together by birth, marriage, and common residence. But as we observe this family, we notice that the bonds between them are strained at best, and that their lives have been taken over by some insidious new force. This force is popular culture. For better or worse, pop culture has infiltrated the lives of our fictional family just as it has the lives of real human beings. DeLillo's purpose in the book is best illuminated by Heinrich's comment after the airborne toxic event: "The real issue is the kind of radiation that surrounds us every day." In other words, DeLillo states that popular culture is ruining - or, perhaps, has ruined - us all.
Agriculture was the most important economic activity in America from the founding of Virginia in 1607 to about 1890. Although farming declined rapidly in relative economic importance in the twentieth century, U.S. agriculture continued to be the most efficient and productive in the world. Its success rested on abundant fertile soil, a moderate climate, the ease of private land ownership, growing markets for farm produce at home and abroad, and the application of science and technology to farm operations.
By having even the slightest bit of ‘magic’ in a fabulist work of literature, the author is able to tell the story within a very real setting and yet be able to place a spin on events, subjects, or objects with the ‘magic’ in order to express their message. Thus, an author like Ray Bradbury is capable of using the technology within the house setting as his sole protagonist (though through various pieces of the technology). With Cheever’s The Enormous Radio, the radio affords him the ability to express the secrets and stories of the other characters of the story without having to explicitly describe them or introduce them as characters in the way he does the Westcott’s. Furthermore, the radio is a more upfront way in which to present the minor characters that also prevents Cheever from having to build a full story behind each character and permits him to give the reader the smallest glimpse of the character that contains all that the reader will ever (and ever need to)
Leading up to the end of the 1800’s, agricultural was losing its place as the largest economy in the United States. Farmers felt that they were under-appreciated and taken advantage of, even though they produced food to be distributed nationwide. Although agriculture was imperative to the survival of the nation, farmers faced devastating natural causes, outrageously high rates on land and transportation, and unsuccessful tries in politics.
The world’s population has been growing faster and faster, which projects potential problems with maintaining world food and water supply, and altering biodiversity worldwide. Fortunately, there are practical and manageable ways to keep the world’s human population in check to make sure that overpopulation is avoided. According to the population reference bureau the world population is reaching close to 7,200,000,000 people and increasing fast. The University of Washington estimated the world population to reach a massive 11 billion people by 2100; this was even increased from the U.N.’s prediction in 2011 of 10.1 billion. The current rate of population growth could have a crippling impact on the future welfare of the human and the natural world in this century. There are about 78 million more births than deaths each year; this is alarmingly fast, even with most women having 2 or fewer children. That’s equivalent to the entire population of Germany every year.
Impact of the Radio The invention of the radio had an immense impact, revolutionizing the unity of society. “I live in a strictly rural community, and people here speak of ‘The Radio’ in the large sense, with an over-meaning,” said E.B. White in 1933. “When they say ‘The Radio’ they don’t mean a cabinet, an electrical phenomenon, or a man in a studio, they refer to a pervading and somewhat godlike presence which has come into their lives and homes” (Lewis). The radio became a mighty weapon whose power involved spreading ideas to millions of listeners, who may otherwise never have heard those inspirational messages. Religious fanatics used to stand at the back of churches shouting radical nonsense, while others would ignore it.