This paper reviews historian, Robert Middlekauff's narrative historical study of the American Revolution title, "The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution."
Abstract This paper examines "The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution," which reveals the complexities of the years between the signing of the treaty of Paris in 1763 and the election of George Washington in 1789. The author points out that the goal of Middlekauff's book was to analyze both the achievements and failures of the American Revolution. Some of the topics that are covered include detailed analysis of British debate about the colonies, the causes of the war as well as the evolution of the American Constitution. According to this author, Middlekauff does an excellent job of researching the different people who were intimately involved in this period in history, showing how both their strengths and their weaknesses affected this period in American history.
From the Paper "This work, a narrative historical study of the American Revolution, and the first volume to appear in the Oxford History of the United States, reveals the complexities of the years between the signing of the treaty of Paris in 1763 and the election of George Washington in 1789. Although he does not intend his title to be ironic, the author recognizes that the cause of the American revolution "had its inglorious side, and the Americans" manner of advancing it was sometimes false to the great principles they espouse.? (vii) Middlekauff 's purpose is to present both the achievements and failures of the American revolution. His thesis is that our patriots and revolutionaries were not perfect, yet in learning ?to see things as they are and to imagine how they might be,? (665) they created a vision , fought for noble causes, endured their own imperfections and created the foundations for our country."
Abstract Fanon's book is an analysis of identity and racism issues about blacks in a culturally white world. This paper discusses this book in terms of its title and how it relates to the author. The paper begins with background information about the author himself and explains how this book is based on first hand personal experiences of racial issues.
From the Paper "In order to understand Frantz Fanon's book, Black Skin, White Masks, it's important to understand a little bit about the author himself. Fanon was born in French Martinique in 1925 and moved to France in 1943. He had always thought of himself as French and it was here in France that he had his first taste of racism. He began to write political essays and plays and it was here that he wrote Black Skin, White Masks."
Tags: france, racism, french, politics, colonial, africa, revolutionary
Abstract This paper examines the difficult transition of adolescents, as seen in the novel "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" by Richard Wright. It summarizes the story and the main character's gun use. The paper investigates what is masculinity and what makes a man a man.
From the Paper "The theme of "The Man Who Was Almost A Man" is masculinity and what makes a man a man. In an essay about gender in literary works, Jehlen recognizes that masculinity is not something men have but something they "construct" (Jehlen 270). Dave's construction of this masculinity is the theme of ?The Man Who Was Almost A Man.? The first point that suggests that Dave is not really a man, is his means of attaining the gun."
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to introduce and discuss the play "Oleanna," by David Mamet. Specifically, it looks at the most important idea the play, namely that of sexual harassment. The body of this paper explores the plot in the light of this idea. It looks at the plays comments on human nature and investigates the power struggles within the play.
From the Paper "Many reviewers and critics would say that the most important idea dramatized by the plot of "Oleanna" is sexual harassment. "Ultimately, perhaps the question in Oleanna is not whether sexual harassment has been committed, but exactly who is persecuting whom" (Berardinelli). Even deeper, this play delves into the process of higher education, and whether it provides a real education to today's youth, and Mamet uses the force and power of the English language to get this point across to the audience. So, the most important idea is a blend of all these themes that carry throughout the play, each one builds on the next to create an impossible situation of misunderstanding and power."
Abstract This paper explores the symbolic representation that has been lost or forgotten through translations of the story from Japanese to English. The paper shows how symbolic imagery adds to the plot of the story. A discussion of the book illustrates the use of descriptive language and poignant symbolism employed by the author as tools to emphasize the main theme of unfulfilled love.
From the Paper "Yasunari Kawabata novels were set in environments depicting loneliness, emptiness, symbolizing unsatisfied yearning, and transient or unattainable love, with a backdrop of wild and beautiful nature. His novels were written in a free associative and unconventional style, usually over long periods of time. The bulk of "Snow Country" was published between 1935 and 1937, the period in which it was set, but it was not formally completed until 1947."
Tags: literature, oriental, komako, yoko, shimamuru, geisha, yukio, tokyo
A review of the literary work of Jimmy Breslin, ""The Short Sweet Dream of Eduardo Gutierrez", focusing on the the life and death of an aspiring immigrant worker.
Abstract This paper analyzes the book ""The Short Sweet Dream of Eduardo Gutierrez" by Jimmy Breslin, and discusses the main character, Eduardo, and his trials and tribulations and ultimate demise, as an illegal immigrant in America. The paper portrays, through the discussion of the book, the hopes and prayers of the average immigrant whose aim is to make money to support his family back home. The writer describes the harsh reality of employers who take advantage of these naive newcomers.
From the Paper "The book 'The Short Sweet Dream of Eduardo Gutierrez is the story of an illegal Mexican immigrant who crosses over to the American side of the Mexican-American frontier, one of the divisions of which is the large desert of Arizona. This illegal immigrant, the protagonist of the book, Eduardo Gutierrez, comes to Brooklyn neighborhood of New York in search of good prospects for himself and his poor family back in Mexico and finds work at a construction site, under an unscrupulous builder. The book details the life of this illegal immigrant right from his birth in a small town in Mexico; up to the moment, he finds a job at a construction site."
Elaine Tyler May's "Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold covers historical development of family unit, social, economic, political forces and the breakdown of traditional family.
1,125 words (approx. 4.5 pages), 1 source, 2001, $ 39.95
From the Paper "Elaine Tyler May's Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era captures the underlying tensions that belies the portrait of the traditional American family from the ?40s to the late ?60s. In May's depiction, the family was upheld as a bastion of security and domestic bliss. Men were willing to sacrifice the autonomy and freedom of bachelorhood to assume the responsibility of being the primary breadwinner of a family. Concomitantly, women gave up their pursuits in education and careers to take on the domestic responsibilities of wife and mother (May 23). However, in her book, May highlights the individual tragedies of these nuclear families that appeared to have everything any family could have wanted. The seething discontent of the individuals in these families would ultimately lead to the disintegration of traditional family units (May 201-2)."
Compares & contrasts D. H. Lawrence's "The Rocking Horse Winner" & "Graham Greene's "The Destructors" in terms of theme, plot, characters, setting, author's purpose. Outline.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 2 sources, 2001, $ 31.95
From the Paper Outline
I. Introduction
A. Compare and contrast "The Rocking Horse Winner" and "The Destructors"
B. Greene's purpose
C. Lawrence's purpose
II. Characters, Plot, Themes
A. Rocking Horse Winner
1. Central character of Paul
2. Paul destroys himself for money and love
3. Theme of materialism vs human values
B. The Destructors
1. Central character of Trevor
2. Trevor methodically destroys
3. Theme..."
From the Paper "This research will examine David Tyack's The One Best System, which is a history of the development of universal public education in the United States over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The research will discuss the manner in which he develops the pattern of his ideas about American public education, as well as the quality of the assumptions he brings to his study, the logic of his argument, and his use of evidence to substantiate his ideas, with a view toward identifying implications of conclusions that he draws.
The principal thesis of The One Best System is that the persistent, programmatic centralization and consolidation of schools and school districts in the US in conformity with the emergence of a corporatist political economy have been beneficial in some important ways but far from universally helpful to the.."
Abstract This paper analyzes Hamlet's incestuous attraction to his mother, Gertrude, in relation to the Oedipus Complex. The paper provides textual evidence as well as interpretation. Through a review of the play, the writer illustrates the background to Hamlet's behavior and explains his insanity which is incited by his subconscious sexual desires.
From the Paper "Hamlet's Oedipal feelings toward his mother caused him to have an incestuous attraction to her and an intense feeling of rivalry towards Claudius. The Oedipus Complex is a Freudian term designating attraction on the part of the child toward the parent of the opposite sex and rivalry and hostility toward the parent of its own (The Columbia Encyclopedia). Typical characteristics of this complex include jealousy and anger towards the parent of the same sex, and a subconscious desire towards the parent of the opposite sex. While most of the urges are repressed by early childhood, extreme circumstances can bring them to the surface in the later stages of life. In Hamlet's case, it took the murder of his father to draw out his incestuous instincts."
From the Paper "In Epistemology: Becoming Intellectually Virtuous W. Jay Wood defines epistemology as "that branch of philosophy dedicated to reflecting on our lives as intellectual beings" (p. 10). In his first chapter he shows how the questions raised by epistemology are of vital importance in everyday life. Epistemological questions cover a great deal of ground including such areas as how beliefs are acquired, whether beliefs are true, whether a belief is rational, or if a belief should be reconsidered in the light of criticism. In fact nearly every question related to acquiring and maintaining beliefs comes under the purview of epistemology--including the sources of knowledge itself ranging from the evidence of the senses to "whatever faculties of understanding we may have that allow us to grasp truths independently of sense experiences" (p. 15)."
From the Paper "The novel The Goal, by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox, is undoubtedly one of the most unusual business books of recent years. The intention of co-author Goldratt in conceiving the book is to introduce and develop a theory of production management based on the principles of physics. The authors, however, chose to develop this view by presenting what amounts to a hypothetical case study. To that point, the exercise is not uncommon in the literature of business.
However, in developing a hypothetical case study in the length and detail required for the argument presented--the book runs to 337 pages--the authors chose to present their work in the form of a novel. The book centers on Alex Rogo, the plant manager of the Bearington manufacturing plant of UniCo; town and corporation are both fictitious, as are the machines in the plant..."
From the Paper "Richard Rodriguez, in Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, writes about his education and socioeconomic success, as well as the high price he has paid for it in terms of his alienation from life. Like many self-centered individuals, Rodriguez is a young man who believes that his own experience should be the basis for social and educational policy. Also, like many self-centered individuals, he fails to see the contradictions in his philosophy. He bemoans his alienation from his Mexican heritage, but he is against bilingualism and seems even to speak at times with contempt for Spanish. He wants to both enjoy the material fruits of his success as a writer, and at the same time feel guilty about that success in order to elevate himself above others who are not ethical or intelligent enough to feel such guilt for their material wealth. The theme of the book.."
From the Paper "Ivo Andric's novel The Bridge on the Drina is unusual in its plot development, in its focus (or lack of focus) on characters, and in its basic meaning. Although the book covers four centuries--from the mid-sixteenth to the early twentieth--the plot does not have the sweeping feeling of an epic because the author focuses on the town of Visegrad in Bosnia and the bridge rather than on the people or even the events which take place. The work is less a novel, in fact, than an extended fictionalized declaration of the author's philosophy, which can be essentially boiled down to the view that despite many surface changes in history and in human relationships, nothing really changes at its core. The individual human being may meet death, and may be suffering at any moment, but elsewhere another human life is just beginning and joy is in another's heart. Another essential..."
Abstract This paper explores the works of philosophers Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud (""Twilight of the Idols" and "Civilization and Its Discontents" respectively). It outlines and compares their views on science, religion, nature, the individual and society. The paper also focuses on the subject of instincts/passions vs. reason.
From the Paper "In the midst of so much confusion, so many contrasting affirmations, opinions and perspectives, what conclusions can be drawn? What lasting truths can one hold on to? Sigmund Freud, in his Civilization and Its Discontents, and Friedrich Nietzsche, in Twilight of the Idols, offer a good summary of many of their views. Freud and Nietzsche, both complex men of enormous egos, share many of the same ideas on the topics of science, religion, the individual and society, with the exception of a few minor differences."
