Abstract
This paper examines the character Slothrop in Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow", who has dropped his social placement in Europe because he is an American. The paper points out that when Slothrop's parents lost their money during the depression, he was forced to affiliate himself with the poor and he now speaks in the American vernacular which automatically orients him to the lower class. The author observed that Pynchon's use of vernacular language extends beyond dialogue and carries over into the narrative voice.

From the Paper
"Two Americans who do seem to possess a degree of respect in the novel that others do not are Bodine and Waxwing. They command respect because of their various connections throughout Europe. They have the demeanor of businessmen who offer a degree of utility to the other characters, which posits them in a category of power. However, both men's activities are criminal and underworldly, suggesting that people give them respect out of fear instead of in response to their character. Their actual power through criminal intimidation overrides the familiarity of their vernacular."

Tags:money, european, class, poor, dialogue

Abstract
In his novel, "Vineland", Thomas Pynchon provides a notion of utopia that is embedded with ambiguity and contradiction. On the one hand, the plot appears to be very straightforward: radicals and potheads from the 1960s take up their cause in the 1980s to fight against authority. The 1970s and 1980s, in many respects, are seen as a fulfilment of their secret wishes. In other words, there is a certain duality in that the radicals of the 60s said that they wanted peace and equality, but what they really wanted was success and individualism -- which the 1970s and 1980s provided.

Abstract
This book report examines at great length the various methods used by global banking institutions to promote growth in poor and developing countries. The paper points out that Easterly describes several panaceas, or approaches, which have been used over the years by these financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the IMF. In most of the cases, there is a spotlight shone upon the shortcomings of each of the approaches.

From the Paper
"Economics provides the vision of what works and doesn't. The point of Easterly's book is to show that economics itself proves that many of the current techniques applied to the problem of poor and developing countries are ineffective. Each of the panaceas presented is a surprisingly in depth exploration of the failings of the methods endorsed by the World Bank in particular. Economics as an objective science shows that many methods just don't measure up, yet they continue to see practice."

Tags:global, banking

Abstract
Postmodern literature is one of the most confounding genres in existence today, a reflection of the confusion of the world in which it exists. Thomas Pynchon's novel "The Crying of Lot 49" deals with this difficult issue, using entropy as its organizational structure. The author discusses the novel and its themes.

From the Paper
?Man now lives in a circle without a center, or in a maze without a way out.? (Edward Said, "Abecedarium Culturae: Structuralism, Absence, Writing") Edward Said's words incorporate a very recognizable trait in contemporary society: our journey away from the simpler, concrete, more understandable world of the past into the more complex, abstract, and confusing world of tomorrow. As man grows "smarter" or becomes more aware of his surroundings, we gather more and more information about our universe in an attempt to find ?truth.?

Tags:chaos, collapse, entropy, law, mode, modern, organization, postmodern, symbolism, theory, thermodynamics

Abstract
In "L?Immoraliste" by Andre Gide and "The Captive" by Marcel Proust, neither main character attains his desire. This paper shows that the reason for each gentleman?s failure can be found in the theories of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan. It explains that, according to the work begun by Freud and continued by Lacan, desire is forever elusive because the object of desire is continually non-existent. This lack of an object for desire is explored by applying the theories of Freud and Lacan to the works in question.

From the Paper
"The main desire of Michel, the narrator in L?Immoraliste is self-actualization and self-discovery. His own inner soul becomes his elusive Other. The problem however arises when circumstances devastate Michel's original self, and another takes its place. It is interesting that Michel and Marceline's positions as they relate to each other change progressively throughout the novel, as do Michel's own disposition and desire. In the beginning of the narrative Michel is ill, and Marceline is healthy. These positions reverse as the novel continues. The hope of a new baby is lost with Marceline's miscarriage and things basically deteriorate in Michel's inner world as they do for Marceline's physique."

Tags:freud, lacan

From the Paper
"Introduction


This essay examines the character, Oedipa Maas, who is the protagonist in Thomas Pynchon's second novel The Crying of Lot 49 (1965). Essentially, this novel is concerned with a quest for meaning--a situation also true of Pynchon's first novel V. As Robert A. Hipkiss suggests: "Oedipa Maas inherits Stencil's role as the seeker after a moral order underlying an apparently amoral, perhaps inherently immoral, world. Like Stencil, she sees man's destiny in either/or terms . . ." (11).


For the purpose of communicating his concepts concerning Oedipa and the world in which she lives, Pynchon uses such literary techniques.as Menippean satire. Northrop Frye describes this approach: "The Menippean satire deals less with people as such than with mental attitudes. Pedants, bigots, cranks..."

Abstract
This paper examines Thomas Pychon's novel "The Crying Lot of 49" as an example of postmodern literature. The novel is viewed as reflecting postmodernism not only in its content and style, but in the storyline itself. A brief history of postmodernism is given, followed by a plot summary. The paper further describes the main characters, especially Oedipa. Her struggles are intertwined with descriptions of the postmodern philosophical outlook. In particular, the author cites a high degree of skepticism as typical in postmodern works.

From the Paper
"Postmodernism is frequently marked by a high degree of skepticism. Accordingly, The Crying of Lot 49 fully embraces distrust of authority, suspicion, and frequent paranoia. Oedipa's conversation with her psychiatrist, concerning his attempts to put her on LSD (Pynchon 7), hint at her general lack of trust, as rational as it may be in this context. Certainly one is supposed to trust their psychiatrist--otherwise, what good are they? Later, after her trip has begun, her interactions with Miles illustrate further paranoia when Miles attempts to flirt with her and Oedipa "picked up the nearest weapon, which happened to be the rabbit-ear antenna off the TV in the corner" (Pynchon 17). They talk past each other, failing to really communicate, while the television set is ever-present."

Tags:American literature, literary criticism, 20th century literature

Abstract
This paper examines how of all the Shakespearean villains, Othello's Iago is the most charismatic and at the same time the most puzzling. It looks at how his motives are presented to us in his soliloquies and how we are easily able to determine that he is the villain. It attempts to show that Iago never completely takes off his mask, but instead tries to convince us that he in fact has reason for what he does.

From the Paper
"Iago might appear as a manifestation of pure evil that we should be warned against. But Shakespeare goes much deeper and says that evil is a manifestation of humanity, which is a much more complicated idea and much more difficult to live with. That it is a natural ingredient of who we are. Shakespeare is writing about human pride and what it can lead a person to do. We think that our needs are more important than anything else and we drive at our needs, and then once we get what we need, we either find a new need, or are destroyed by our own desire."

Tags:villain, motive, desdemona

Tags:emotion, emotional, einstein, dalai, lama, judaism, love, power, morality, motivation, content, desire

Abstract
This paper examines autism, describing it as a multi-faceted, complex and enigmatic disorder. The paper discusses the details of the disorder and the methods available for diagnosis. The many different signs and symptoms of autism are outlined. The paper illustrates how the broad range of symptoms and lack of clear-cut inclusion and exclusion criteria allow for misdiagnoses and confusion with other disorders. The paper presents the theories of the etiology of autism. The paper concludes with a claim that while there is some evidence of a biological correlation or genetic and familial link, this evidence is far from conclusive and at present has not yielded any practical treatment options.

From the Paper
"Autism (also known as pervasive developmental disorder) is defined by the Columbia encyclopedia as "A rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the inability to relate to and perceive the environment in a realistic manner". Its onset is defined to occur in infancy or early childhood, generally before age thirty months, and males are affected four times more often then females. Symptoms include impairment in social interaction, fixation on inanimate objects, an inability to communicate normally, and resistance to changes in the daily routine (Columbia University Press 1993)."

Tags:behavior, children, developmental, disorder, idiot, mental, psychology, psychopathology, retarded, savant