Nolan
Nolan, a character in Edward Everett Hale’s, The Man Without a Country, is an interesting character in American literature. Nolan, was a member of the military. When his commander, Aaron Burr, was sentenced with treason, several of his officers were also accused of treason. At his trial, Nolan, in a rage, said this “…I wish I may never hereof the United States again.”(Hale 181). His wish was answered when a judge sent him to sea never to return to America. Even though Nolan was sentenced with treason his character throughout the story develops into a patriotic, curious, and spiritual person. Nolan is an interesting character with many characteristics and traits that represent all of us as human beings and what is important to
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Sometimes his curiosity would get him in trouble like when he asked Mrs. Graff “And what do you hear from home, Mrs. Graff.”(Hale 184), she just walked off to her husband. When Nolan was dying, he asked the narrator to draw a map of the United States so he could see how much it has changed, geographically. As the Narrator worked on the map, every time the narrator drew a state or territory, it seemed liked Nolan really felt like he was there. He would seek knowledge about America to the end. He realized he was happier when he was a citizen of the United States, so he tried to gain as much knowledge about the country as he could. He is curious and driven to learn because knowledge made him happier. When Nolan learned more about the United States it made him feel closer to his home. He felt like he was a citizen again and felt proud of how his country. The author was showing how as humans, we are curious and want to learn. That as we learn more about our surroundings we feel more accomplished and proud of who we are. This is a common human trait that we all …show more content…
“They desire a country, even a heavenly: where God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”(Hale 188). At first he disowned his country, just like people sometimes disown God. For a long time he rebelled from having to do anything with the country, like when people reject God for a long time and sin. Then, hopefully, people will start back on the road to being more Christian, like when Nolan started to be more patriotic about his country. Nolan was curious and wanted to know more about his country. Through this knowledge and learning he began to feel closer to the country he had left behind. This is similar to how a new Christian seeks out knowledge about Jesus. By reading the Bible and learning more about God, the born again Christian feels a closer connection to God. Nolan knew he never deserved to go back to America, just like Christians don’t deserve to go to Heaven because they have sinned, but Jesus died on the cross for us so that we all can go to
"America's present need is not heroics but healing, not nostrums but normalcy, not revolution but restoration .not submergence in internationality but sustainment in triumphant nationality."
Despite bouncing around the era a bit, the book flows well and the author's story telling easily keeps the reader turning pages. Though there is a strong bias to the patriotic elite, Ellis manages to keep in most respects a reasonably objective vantage point in the narrative and acknowledges that these Founding Brothers were indeed mere mortals, which fate or providence placed perfectly it seems.
Throughout history, Americans have sought to spread the spirit of equality, which is believed to be the realization of true freedom. Before establishing this freedom, every American had only one question stuck in their head: What is freedom? Our country received it in the year of 1776 from the British through a series of difficulties and wars. African Americans defined it as an escape from slavery, while immigrants defined it as their acceptance into a new society. More yet, women of the women’s suffrage defined their freedom as their recognition into society and for their rights to be equal to that of every other man. These different perceptions of cultures/groups in America tied together to form an American view of freedom. Freedom is something that every American should be willing to do anything in order to maintain. We may have weapons of mass destruction, but when it comes to living in a peaceful, American lifestyle, our freedom is our greatest weapon.
Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.
America was born and survived, its rough road into a nation, through a series of events, or moments in history. The founding brother’s book is about a few important figures during and after the American Revolution. These important figures consisted of Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, John Adams, George Washington, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. Each of these men, contributed to the building of America in one way or another. The book breaks these contributions into a few short stories, to help understand what these important figures did.
In America today, when the name of honor is often adulterated by glaring headlines proclaiming the guilt of an immoral politician or the fall of a disgraced executive, it is easy to forget that the country was founded for the pursuit of truth, for only in truth can people find real happiness. Thomas Jefferson famously included the pursuit happiness as an unalienable right in the Declaration of Independence, but in an intimate letter to William Roscoe, a British historian, Jefferson wrote, “This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead.” In his flagship novel, All the King’s Men, Robert Penn Warren embraces the Founding Father’s principles with his characterization of both Willie Stark and Jack Burden. Warren’s novel is an American classic because it traces the lives of two lost men as each man follows his personalized compass pointing towards complete understanding. After elevating him to unprecedented heights, Willie’s interpretation of truth returns to drag him down to the Underworld. Only when Jack learns that not even Willie can be omnipotent does he stop trying to understand everything. Willie Stark and Jack Burden embody the essence of Thomas Jefferson’s words because, in a sense, they both attain freedom through their pursuit of truth.
The colonists immigrated to the New World in search of religious freedom. Their entire early experience was a constant struggle for survival. To the colonists the New World was their way out of poverty and into the
Allen Moore’s sordid depiction of twentieth century life presents a complex world, where the distinction between a virtuous hero and a villainous wrongdoer is often blurred. In stark contrast to the traditionally popularized portrayal of superheroes, whose unquestionably altruistic motives ultimately produce unrealistically idealized results; the realistically flawed characters of Watchmen exist in a multi-faceted world characterized by moral ambiguity. America’s imperialistic ambitions have long been justified as an expression of American idealism. Much like the portrayal of superheroes in popular culture, America’s intervention in foreign affairs was portrayed as the result of a clearly defined problem, where American intervention was necessary and consensual. The Watchmen exist in an American reality that does not depend on them as the archetypal hero as demonstrated by the fact that their presence is not necessary to the survival of the world.
Siegel, Jason. "The Plot Against America: Philip Roth’s Counter-Plot to American History." Oxford University Press (2012): 130-51. Project MUSE. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
One of the strongest parts is the questions-passage: the sender asks Americans what made them change, why the national-exaltation… He doesn’t look for the answers.
He moved here to the "land of opportunity", when in fact that so called "opportunity" actually brings sadness, misery, and even death. For many of the immigrants of the time the American dream became
In the world we live in today, many people call themselves men; but are they really? Jefferson learned a lot in his life, but he also taught a lot too. He walked up to the electric chair a man, and he died a man. He taught us that no matter what happens in life, stand tall and be proud of who you are. The actions that we choose to make are what determines what kind of a person we become. In life, we all make mistakes, and at times, the consequences may be harsher than we would expect. However, it is what you do when you get to that point where you are stripped of everything you have, and know you cannot fight the system you're living in, that truly matters. When you have nothing left, and still keep your dignity and sacrifice yourself to shape a better community; that is when the hero inside you truly shines.
Chris McCandless was a bit of a drifter, but when he died, he had achieved his dream and passed away happily. “If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed” (Krakauer). This represents his American Dream because Chris believed in doing what you wanted when you want to, part of his American Dream, contributing to his overall happiness in life. “I now walk into the wild” (Krakauer). Chris walked alone into the brush of Alaska, just to get away from his demons and be truly happy. This was his American Dream because it was what made him the happiest before he died. “Chris McCandless was at peace, serene as a monk gone to God” (Krakauer). Chris had achieved his dream once he reached Alaska. We know this because if the American Dream is doing what will make you happy, and he died happy in Alaska, Chris had achieved his Dream. I believe that is what made it okay for him to pass happily, the fact that he had escaped his demons and achieved his dream. Just as ...
In Rip Van Winkle, Irving shows his doubts in the American Identity and the American dream. After the Revolutionary war, America was trying to develop its own course. They were free to govern their own course of development; however, some of them had an air of uncertainties on their own identity in this new country. Irving was born among this generation in the newly created United States of America, and also felt uncertainty about the American identity. Irving might be the writer that is the least positive about being an American. The main reason for this uncertainty is the new born American has no history and tradition while the Europe has a great one accumulated for thousands of years. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, Irving borrows an old European tale to make it take place in America. This tale related to the Dutch colonists haunts the kaatskill mountains. In order to highlight the American identity, Irving praises the “majestic” mountains which Europe lacks. He describes the mountains that “their summits…will glow and light up like a crown of glory” Nevertheless, the use of these ancient explorers into Rip Van Winkle only to show that although American has formed its own identity, no one can cut its connection with Europe. No wonder when America was still under tyranny of the British rule, some people still cannot cut the blood relationship with Europe. Therefore, the American identity is blurred by their relationship with Europe since then.
As often associated with a tragedy, a conflict usually ensues between a protagonist and another force in the play. A tragedy is ‘a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or terror’ (Webster's dictionary). Given its structure and depth in characterization, this play will or can be analyzed and interpreted from various perspectives and beliefs. However, my analysis of the play is conducted on the basis of various components which are: Hamlet as a tragic hero, the ironic message conveyed in the play, the roles of its characters, the role and personification of madness, the role of paranormality, the role of friends and family, the role of inaction, the role of sex and violence, and the role of death as portrayed in the play. Based on literary definitions and portrayal of his character, there is popular belief that Hamlet as the protagonist acted to satisfy his own conscience but could his actions be attributed purely to his desire or was he being influenced by other factors?