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"A World of Strangers", 2002.
A book review of "A World of Strangers: Order and Action in Urban Public Space," by Lyn H. Lofland.
1,370 words (approx. 5.5 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 45.95
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Abstract
This is a critical report of Lyn Lofland's "A World of Strangers: Order and Action in Urban Public Space,"an interesting study of urban neighborhoods, and what makes them the way they are today. The paper shows how Lofland contends that neighborhoods are far different today because of the growth of cities. We live in a neighborhood of strangers, and our interactions with them cause little or no discourse or meaning. It shows how the author of the book makes it clear from the beginning that her premise is about the people who inhabit the cities of her topic, and not so much the cities themselves.
From the Paper
"Lofland also discusses the threat we feel from strangers, and how we react to this implied threat. In today's society, strangers are often a threat, and so we tend to avoid them at all costs, especially in public situations. The person standing across from us on the subway platform could be the man of our dreams, or an axe murderer looking for his next victim. We are afraid of strangers because of the autoimmunity of our society, and our cities. There are many different types of avoidance behaviors people exhibit when strangers surround them, such as in terminal waiting for a bus or a plane, or at a social engagement where they know none of the others in attendance. People go to fairly elaborate measures to ignore strangers in these situations, such as reading books, sitting in one spot and ignoring everyone around them, and moving from place to place investigating everything in the room so they are never in one place long enough to make contact with anyone else. These avoidance mechanisms say a lot about our society, and how we are all strangers to one another."
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John Higham?s ?Strangers in the Land?.
This paper is a book review of John Higham?s classic, ?Strangers in the Land?, a discussion of the United States? so-called ?melting pot?.
1,200 words (approx. 4.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 41.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that John Higham, in his ?Strangers in the Land?, states that, although the United States prides itself on being a country open to newcomers and strangers, this diversity has created a great deal of conflict between the peoples who have made up and continue to make up the American nation. The author points out that the very fragility of American identity, given that America is a constructed nation upon soil that once belonged to an alien, native people, has made the characterization of what is American all the more important and the voices that give rise to nativism all the more strident. The paper relates that anti-immigrant sentiment was directly linked to unemployment, ultimately resulting in the passage of anti-immigration acts directed against ?others? such as, for example, Chinese immigrants in 1924.
From the Paper
"The book "Strangers in the Land" looks at the ways distinct groups have tried to claim and prove that they belong, by comparing themselves to other groups and deeming themselves to be favorable based on other group?s perceived differences and un-American status. Higham does not characterize such behavior as mere prejudice. Rather he calls it ?nativism,? a particular and particularly noxious and dangerous form of prejudice. Nativism, according to the author, is distinct in its economic and political effects from personal prejudice directed at ethnic and racial groups. Nativism is anti-stranger, it says, you are not like us, you are not like one of us, our nation."
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Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train", 2007.
This paper explores the use of double images as they relate to the details of the plot in Alfred Hitchcock's film "Strangers on a Train".
2,735 words (approx. 10.9 pages), 0 sources, $ 81.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses that, in "Strangers on a Train", Alfred Hitchcock does not state openly the theme but rather gives the viewer clues in his frequent use of double images. The author points out that a double image in the film signals that the viewer is about to see an enactment of opposites in the characters of the story, which are not necessarily visible physically but often indicate the character's internal qualities. The paper explains that double images in "Strangers on a Train" signal conflict about to occur in the story (especially relating the characters), represent the protagonist's inner thoughts, fears and desires, and represent Bruno as part of the dark side of Guy's psyche.
From the Paper
"When Bruno suggests that they each have someone to get rid of--he his father and Guy his wife--and that they should "exchange murders," Guy doesn't take him seriously. He thinks Bruno is eccentric. As Guy gets off the train, he laughingly says he agrees with everything Bruno suggests. Guy leaves his unique cigarette lighter behind on the train, possibly because he is so anxious to escape from the odd, obnoxious, and overbearing Bruno. The lighter has embossed "double" tennis rackets crossing each other and the inscription "A to G." The image suggests that doubles are a metaphor for double-crossing."
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"Strangers on a Train" and "Vertigo", 2007.
This paper argues that "Strangers on a Train" and "Vertigo" are the quintessential Hitchcock films.
3,304 words (approx. 13.2 pages), 4 sources, APA, $ 94.95
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Abstract
This paper examines the universal and enduring appeal of Alfred Hitchcock's films. The author defines two films in particular -- "Strangers on a Train" and "Vertigo" as the quintessential Hitchcock films. The author contends that although Hitchcock's films may no longer have the capability to shock their audience, they feature several recurring plot devices that capture the imagination. These plot features include an ingenious criminal scheme, the use of doubles, a guilty person who manages to cast suspicion upon a non-guilty person, and an amoral person being punished. The films "Strangers on a Train" and "Vertigo" demonstrate Hitchcock's best use of those devices.
Outline:
Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
From the Paper
"Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers, though filmed half a century ago, have maintained their ability to keep an audience enthralled. Part of the initial impact of Hitchcock's thrillers is that they were groundbreaking, and they offered a vision of the ugly side of humanity that had not been explored in cinematic media. However, a modern audience does not experience the same shock at those revelations that the original audience experienced. Therefore, the permanency of the movies' appeal must be attributed to something besides the shock factor. Many attribute the lasting greatness of Hitchcock's thrillers to Hitchcock's use of several important cinematic themes."
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Guests and Strangers in Homer's Works, 2008.
A discussion of the treatment of guests and strangers in Homer's works "Hymn to Demeter", "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey".
766 words (approx. 3.1 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 27.95
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Abstract
This paper analyzes how Homer's "Hymn to Demeter", "The Iliad", and "The Odyssey" all explore the traditional customs of providing shelter for strangers and the consequences for breaking such customs. The paper points out that, in these three tales, one can see the importance placed on good hospitality. They are a reflection of the ancient tradition of receiving guests with kindness and generosity. Breaking these traditions proved disruptive of the rest of the community, and efforts were then taken to restore order. The paper concludes that Homer's writings give us key insight into the everyday values of Greek life and culture.
From the Paper
"These traditions are also highlighted in the breaking of them by the characters in Homer's tales. He highlights the action which broke these taboos, but also a negative response to it by the other figures in the story. When Demeter refused to allow healthy harvests, Zeus had to step in to stop her from taking the lives of millions of people in order to save her single daughter, (Morford and Lanardon 313). This shows the general negative attitude towards disregarding the health and welfare of strangers. Another prime example of breaking this taboo is the account of Achilles and his actions towards Hector's body. Many cultures showed respect to guests, even forced guests as in the case of prisoners of war. It was custom out of respect for fallen soldiers to return the body in order to get the proper funereal rites. In The Iliad, Achilles refuses this custom when he drags Hectors body and refuses to surrender it to the Trojans, (Homer Book 22, line 494). This was a taboo, despite the fact that Hector was an enemy."
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"The Kindness of Strangers", 2002.
A book review of "The Kindness of Strangers" by John Boswell.
753 words (approx. 3.0 pages), 0 sources, $ 26.95
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Abstract
A review of Boswell's book in which he uses the history of Antiquity to make a persuasive case that the idea of parental love for children is a constructed, rather than a biological, norm.
From the Paper
"To make this powerful argument Boswell presents a historical narrative of the practice of child abandonment. He alleges it was a common practice during antiquity, up to the time of the Renaissance. Boswell?s book, despite its morbid subject matter, is very entertaining and readable because he uses such a wide variety of sources from this vast historical stretch of time. He uses drama and popular myths as well as demographics. After all, even the abandoned founders of Rome itself, Romulus and Remus, were, traditionally suckled by a she-wolf. However, Boswell is not simply a storyteller. The implications of child abandonment are not simply literary or historical. He suggests amounted, in essence, to a form of cultural ?pruning,? genealogically speaking in Rome, and a kind of moral policing in Christian Europe."
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"Cousins and Strangers", 2005.
A critical review of Jose Moya's "Cousins and Strangers: Spanish Immigrants in Buenos Aires, 1850-1930".
1,451 words (approx. 5.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 48.95
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Abstract
This paper reviews Moya's work on the Spanish immigrant community that came to Buenos Aires during the 19th century and explains his motive for writing the book. The paper also discusses the central thesis in the book, Moya's analyses of the history of the immigrant community, and the strengths and weaknesses in the book.
From the Paper
"According to Moya, statisically, Buenos Aires in South America had the third largest Spanish population in the world, after Madrid and Barcela in Spain. This surge in population occured after four million Spaniards immigrated to Buenos Aires in the 19th century. Moya suggests that methodologically, the large proportion of the Spanish population that immigrated to Barcelona was ignored by historians because these individuals were not seen as exotic in comparision to other immigrant communities in Argentina. While it is true that the nation as a whole experienced an increased rate of immigration during the 19th century, the Spanish immigrants were viewed in a uniquely complex way, in regards to their Hispanic heritage. They were poor and of working class, yet they spoke Spanish. They were of despised groups and professions, quite often, but they were seen as embodying the local heritage."
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"Sisters and Strangers: Women in the Shanghai Cotton Mills", 2002.
An examination of the book "Sisters and Strangers: Women in the Shanghai Cotton Mills" by Emily Honig.
1,957 words (approx. 7.8 pages), 0 sources, $ 62.95
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This paper contains a critical book review of the title, along with a discussion of the personal value of the book. Emily Honig's book is the story of women who worked in the Shanghai cotton mills from 1919 through 1949, but the paper shows how the story is really about the women themselves, and how they survived the harsh working conditions by creating a sisterhood ? working together to help each other while surviving harsh and intolerable conditions.
From the Paper
"The author's thesis is stated clearly in the Introduction. She hopes to prove that the women of the Shanghai mills were extremely class conscious, and this class consciousness had to be transformed and eliminated before the women could rise up together and demand reform. She notes, "I began my study by focusing on issues that precede the role of women in the labor movement and in the Chinese revolution: the nature of work, social relations within the workplace, the formation of the working class, and the transformations women underwent as they became members of an urban industrial proletariat" (Honig 2). The author also states her beliefs early in the book, when she notes, "Modern industrial capitalism in twentieth-century China, as in England and the United States a century earlier, was built on the intersection of textile manufacture and female and child labor" (Honig 1). She goes on to elaborate on this assertion throughout the book, exploring the exploitation of women in the mills, and its connection to the Shanghai labor movement. "
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"Sisters and Strangers", 2002.
This paper introduces, discusses and analyzes the book "Sisters and Strangers: Women in the Shanghai Cotton Mills, 1919-1949" by Emily Honig.
1,682 words (approx. 6.7 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 54.95
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Abstract
This paper reviews this interesting historical period through the eyes of the author and contains a critical book review of the title, along with a discussion of the personal value of the book. It shows how the story is really about the women themselves, and how they survived the harsh working conditions by creating a sisterhood ? working together to help each other while surviving harsh and intolerable conditions.
From the Paper
"The author states her thesis early in the book, when she notes, "Modern industrial capitalism in twentieth-century China, as in England and the United States a century earlier, was built on the intersection of textile manufacture and female and child labor" (Honig 1). She goes on to elaborate on this thesis throughout the book, exploring the exploitation of women in the mills, and its connection to the Shanghai labor movement (Honig 3). Women's jobs were clearly compartmentalized in the mills, and many of the women were little more than girls, who the mangers found easier to control, and earned less money than men. The author interviewed many people who worked in the mills, and one manager remembered, "'Originally most of the assistants in the mills were child workers'" (Honig 51). Women from certain regions also tended to work in certain sections of the mill. For example, Women from Subei often performed tasks that had originally been performed by men, since they were stronger than some of the other workers. The Subei women usually did not work at weaving, which was considered more skilled and detailed than many of the other jobs. Each chapter is constructed to not only allow the reader to understand what the women went through each day in the mills, but also introduce the surroundings, the history, and the sociology of Shanghai that all played into the women's work in the mills. Each observation by the author either makes a point, or moves the book forward, making the reader eager to find out what will happen next, while clearly focusing on the thesis that women and children were the backbone of the industry, and the backbone of change in the end."
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"Strangers on a Train", 2001.
This essay looks at Highsmith's and Hitchcock's Amoral Characterizations in "Strangers on a Train".
1,540 words (approx. 6.2 pages), 4 sources, APA, $ 50.95
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Abstract
This paper examines how Patricia Hightsmith's characters, as interpreted by Alfred Hitchcock on the screen, are interpreted from a moral point of view. The author analyzes how Hitchcock incorporated Highsmith's literary technique to develop these characterizations in the film.
From the Paper
"Riding on a train is, in life as well as in film, a curious situation. It draws together strangers of apparently different backgrounds. It is a situation of forward motion, a fact conveyed by the film's use of train sounds, from the beginning shriek of a train whistle (paralleling the shriek of a murdered victim) and also through such sounds as the churning engine. The sight of the wheels pulsating forward on the tracks also suggests such propelled, forward motion. Yet a train is not only a representation of forward motion, for tracks cross, the train must stop at certain points, and in a similar way individual's lives cross and intersect."
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Familiar Strangers: Characterisation in H. Raddall's "The Wedding Gift"., 2002.
This paper discusses how In "The Wedding Gift", Thomas H. Raddall demonstrates wonderful skills of characterisation
1,400 words (approx. 5.6 pages), 1 source, $ 53.95
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Abstract
He brings to full literary life not only such characters as Miss Kezia Barnes, Mr. Hathaway, Mr. Mears, and the Barclays, but also the harsh Nova Scotia landscape itself, which effectively functions as a character in the story. One of the key requirements of good characterisation is, of course, the quality of being memorable, and Raddall certainly achieves this quality in his story. His characters possess a vivid quality which seems to derive in part from their very humanity - they are recognisably like people we know - and in part from their very super-humanity - they are a little more extraordinary, a little more real than anybody we have met in our daily lives.
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Ian Dallas and "The Book of Strangers", 1996.
Critical review of novel depicting spiritual journey & enlightenment of rationalistic duty-bound college librarian.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 1 source, $ 47.95
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From the Paper
"Ian Dallas, in the novel The Book of Strangers, explores three events which focus on the development and enlightenment of the main librarian at State University Library. The three events are the librarian's evolution from a focus on words and the mind to a realm where words and rationality are transcended; his mysterious "decision" to give up the "white hash" which he had previously believed to be the means to enlightenment; and his discovery of a God and spirituality rooted not in duty but in delight. Together, these three events are crucial in the narrator's spiritual awakening, and lead him to discover that what he has been seeking all along is the knowledge and experience of his own self.
The future world in which the protagonist lives at the beginning of the novel is rooted in technology, rationality..."
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Diversity or Institutional Strangers, 2008.
A review of two articles that approach the concept of diversity from two unique perspectives.
1,154 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 2 sources, APA, $ 39.95
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Abstract
This paper examines two articles on diversity. It look at how M. Alexander argues that diversity, as epitomized in migrant labour populations, is nothing but a type of institutionalized social segregation. It also discusses how K. Mitchell, on the other hand, argues that diversity is an institutional policy that has marginalized any traditional concept of national identity. In either event,it attempts to show that both viewpoints tend to overlook the many real issues and concerns that often accompany efforts to establish diversity in a given population.
From the Paper
"The increase of transmigration of peoples and cultures across national borders in the age of globalization has led to an idealization or celebration of diversity almost for diversity's sake without consideration for any of the profound issues that real diversity requires of a host society. That is, when certain host societies in the global environment encourage diversity as a means to become more attractive for further foreign investment or to increase the labour pool, for example, these markets often overlook or disregard some of the follow-on issues that typically accompany diversity. "
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The Stranger in The Poems of Robert Frost, 2002.
Analysis of the use and meaning of strangers in the poems of Robert Frost.
1,650 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 10 sources, $ 62.95
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Abstract
There is something in the poetry of Robert Frost that does not love a stranger. And yet, strangers regularly appear, as in the poems: "Love and A Question", "The Fear", "The Smile" and "The Witch of Coos". Although the strangers, associated as they are with night and violence, are made to appear somewhat sinister, it is unclear as to whether Frost sees them as a threat in and of themselves; or rather, whether they simply embody a dissatisfaction which already exists in the lives of the couples.
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Robert A. Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land", 2006.
This paper evaluates the character of Mike as a Christ-like figure in
Robert A. Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land".
815 words (approx. 3.3 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 29.95
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This paper explains that, in Robert A. Heinlein's classic science fiction novel "Stranger in a Strange Land" (1961), the character Mike, the son of lost astronauts from Earth, is raised on Mars by Martians, and returns to Earth only as an adult, making him the "stranger in a strange land". The author points out that the title may refer to the 'Book of Exodus' from the "Old Testament" where Moses names his firstborn son "Gershom" meaning "a stranger there"; however, the usual interpretation is that Mike, the "stranger in the strange land", is a Christ-like figure. The paper concludes that, like Jesus, Mike seeks to make the earth a better place; however, a better analogy is to parallel Mike to the Old Testament's Moses rather than the New Testament's Jesus.
From the Paper
"In other ways, though, Mike is nothing like Jesus. First, Mike is indisputably the orphaned son of two Earthlings; while Jesus either was or was not (depending on one's religious convictions and viewpoint) the son of God. Jesus, however, knew Mary and Joseph as his parents on earth, even if Joseph was perhaps not Jesus' real father; while Mike, on the other hand, never knew his parents."
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