Abstract
In this paper, the premise of literary realism is present with these two works by Theodore Dreier and Hamlin Garland, as they describe the direst conditions of poverty in America. For Hurstwood, the paper notes, it is the hobo lines that beg for bread; for the working farmers in Garland's writings, it is the brutal and unforgiving nature of farm life. However, the paper asserts, reality has many facets, which are often left by these authors that wish to only show the life of those that have no other option to escape their poverty.

Tags:poverty, hobo, line, depression, America

Abstract
The pursuit of the American dream has motivated generations of Americans, as it motivated our ancestors. This paper discusses how "In Under the Lion's Paw" by Hamlin Garland and "A Deal in Wheat" by Frank Norris, the reader is offered a glimpse of the harsh life of those who fed the nation in an age when the most complicated piece of machinery available was a pair of willing hands.

From the Paper
" In an ideal world a farmer could, by dint of hard work, realize the American dream of security, prosperity, and independence, enjoying the fruits of his labors and reaping the rewards which accrue from toil and self-discipline, being limited only by his innate talents and capacity for hard work. Yet the sad reality is that the farmer is too often subject to forces beyond his control. Be they natural forces such as inclement weather and pestilence, or forces artificially constructed by the guile of men, such as manipulation of market prices and predatory lending practices, the resulting inability to provide for one's family the necessities of life produces a sense of hopelessness and desperation from which many are unable to recover. "

Tags:starvation, Mr., Haskins, physical, labor

Abstract
This paper examines Hamlin Garland's short story, "Under the Lion's Paw." It looks at his background, and gives an overview of his upbringing, that influenced his writings, and demonstrates how he used his writings as a platform for his beliefs. It also looks at the history of the period in which this story was written, and how the characters mirror actual events.

From the Paper
"Garland thought the American settlers, much like his character, Haskins, were forced to settle cheap or free land in undeveloped areas because speculators, like Butler, held such vast amounts of land at such high prices. Garland's sentiments were so strong because he had seen the poor farmer's plight first-hand on his family's farm in South Dakota. Broadening his views, he also argued that this monopolization of land was hard on city people, forcing "tenements, inflated rents, vice, crowding, and the dehumanization of laborers (who had to work like machines)" (qtd. "Single-Tax Land"). He reasoned that landlordship worked in the same manner in the city as it did in the country."

Tags:agriculture, big, business, characterization, economics, essay, farm, george, henry, land, landlord, literary, local, main, melodrama, modernism, naturlism, realism, reform, regional, roads, rural, social, speculation, symbolism, tax, traveled

Abstract
The paper examines Chapter XLV of Theodore Dreiser's "Sister Carrie" and describes the literary realism that depicts how the character of Hurstwood must survive the grim reality of poverty in the city. The paper also looks at Hamlin Garland's short story "Under The Lion's Paw" from his work "Main Travelled Roads", which uses literary realism to reveal the grim reality of farm life.

From the Paper
"The first reason why literary realism exists in the work of garland's "Under the Lion's Paw" is the way that he defines the life of farmer's, and the often brutal conditions that they must work within as poor workers of the land. The reality of the farmer's life is apparent in Mrs. Council's narrative:
""Yes, I do my own work," Mrs. Council was heard to say in the pause which followed. "I'm getting purty heavy t' be on m'laigs all day, but we can't afford t'hire (Garland, p.491)."

Tags:farm, city, Hurstwood

Abstract
This paper explores the complex themes of "The Beach". It defines the main themes as discovery, the darkness in man's heart, and the conflict of man versus man and analyses these themes with concrete examples from the book.

From the Paper
"The primary theme of this novel is discovery. This theme includes both self-discovery and the discovery of something new and unique; an unfound and undisturbed paradise. The beach is a legend amongst young travelers in Asia. It is rumoured to be a lagoon hidden from the sea, with white sane and coral gardens, freshwater falls surrounded by jungle and plants that have remained untouched by man for a thousand years. On this beach, there are said to be a few carefully selected internationals settle in a communal Eden. The narrator is Richard, a twenty-something man who has been subjected to far too many Vietnam War movies. He is adrift in Southeast Asia, Bangkok, and he desires something different, the ultimate travel spot unspoiled by man. Like most of the travelers he meets, Richard is bored with the usual dissonance of Thailand and craves something more exciting and risqu?. Richard is a regular, young, English man in his early twenties. Up until his recent journey to Bangkok, he has had no significant life-altering events in his life; he is a typical product of his technologically advanced environment and he wanted some action in his life."

Tags:book, english, paper, report

Abstract
Uses evidence from Rand's work and the novel to assert that the society in "The Beach" is collectivist and thereby reprehensible by objectivist standards. Emphasizes that all characters in the novel are what Rand would consider parasites, except for the Individualist, Jed, Who is the only redeeming element of the society. Implies that Garland, like Rand, admires Jed and recognizes the importance of the Individual as superior to the collective.

From the Paper
"Just as a man can evade reality and act on the blind whim of any given moment, but can achieve nothing save progressive self-destructionso a society can evade reality and establish a system ruled by the blind whims of its members or its leader. . . But such a society can achieve nothing save the rule of brute force and a state of progressive self-destruction. (Rand VOS 135)" Ayn Rand's comment on the unreasonable state of world politics in 1963, specifically communism, socialism, theocracy, and any other form of government that holds the collective above the individual, could have easily been written in a critical analysis of Alex Garland's The Beach, even though the novel was written thirty-four years later. According to Rand, and Randite Objectivists, the novel describes a society of parasites who have no concept of individualism - a central component of the Objectivist philosophy".

Tags:aynrand, collectivism, communism, individualism

From the Paper
" The Wizard of Oz, which made at MGM in 1939, is still on of the world's favorite films. It has remained special because it visualizes its own unique world. It inspired many films that followed, from Star Wars to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, because it constructed its own universe: one that could be enjoyed by adults and children alike.
Others films have borrowed more noticeably and directly from The Wizard of Oz. The opening sequence of Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore shows the young Alice in a setting very much like Dorothy in the Kansas opener of Oz. The sci-fi epic Zardoz, directed by John Boorman, also borrows from the classic, starting with its title and the play (...)"