Tom and Gatsby: Contrasting Differences As Seen Through Nick
Tom and Gatsby: Contrasting Differences As Seen Through Nick In his literary masterpiece The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald paints a picture of American high-society during the "Roaring Twenties". In order to appreciate The Great Gatsby, it is essential to understand the setting of the book. Hudson Gevaert describes the 1920's in America on his informative website. He states: They were known as the Roaring Twenty's because the economy at the time was through the roof and people were partying all over the place. At the time there was a legal ban on the manufacture and sale of intoxicating drink called prohibition. ...Organized criminals catered to the needs of the drinking public by illegally supplying them with liquor and made a fortune doing it. Even with all the crime in the Jazz Age though, it will still be remembered for its glittering lights and unbridled romance. Along with the elaborate parties, scandals, and romances prevalent in this book, The Great Gatsby is a notable example of the "American Dream" and the means to attain that dream. The "American Dream" is defined by living a life of happiness, prominence, and wealth. This was either attained by being born into money, or by creating your own prosperity. The latter relies on personal struggles and plays a key role in shaping a young man in the book by the name of James Gatz. James Gatz created an
Mark Twain.
Julie Jentzen April 17, 2001 Intermediate Composition Professor Cruz Mark Twain Literary intention, refers to the plan or design of an author in setting pen to paper. The evidence of such anticipation varies considerably from one writer to another. Mark Twain's work is notoriously provisional, fragmentary, and prone to drastic contradictions. His scattered observations on the writer's craft tend to strongly confirm our impression that he usually set to work with a few characters and episodes in mind, but with no clear, fully developed formal or thematic schemes. Therefore we are compelled to concede that much of the apparent design in his writing is probably unconscious in origin. American literature would not be the same if not for Twain's ideas for ways of writing in a manner that spectacularly conveys the feelings of touch, sound, and sight by the use of single-minded words. Another way that Mark Twain enriches the heritage of American literature is by his style of writing in the vernacular, which means to write the way that people think and speak. The vernacular portrays the word in the purest sense of its original meaning. The vernacular symbolizes American writing because nobody else on earth would talk in that way besides the early American settlers. Twain's use of single-minded words captures the reader's attention, making them feel almost as
The Woman In White and the birth of the detective novel.
WILKIE COLLINS. THE WOMAN IN WHITE AND THE BIRTH OF THE DETECTIVE NOVEL A/ The detective novel and the interactive nature of literature, culture and society Indeed, the Nineteenth Century saw the rise of the detective novel. W.P.Day1, quoting Albert D.Hunter2, points out that it "coincides with the appearance of real detectives and police forces" a point which reinforces "the interactive nature of literature, culture and society". The crime novel, or detective novel, is thus, said to be the product of modern life. a) The transport revolution and the creation of the Metropolitan Police The novel of the Eighteen-Forties corresponds to an evolution in people's taste. One of the most important reasons for this evolution is the extraordinary change brought about by the transport revolution, which was indeed the paramount economic event of the age. The building of the railway system drew thousands of men away from the country into the towns. The hundred of miles of line opened by the end of 1850 "produced a tremendous acceleration in the whole tempo of human affairs"3, and upon the travelling habits of Londoners. This increasingly urban and industrial society was posing new problems which were quite beyond the capacity of the old local institutions. Inefficiency and danger could no longer be endured. Thus, the government decided to intervene "anxious to secure a better
Discuss the ways in which any two writers deal with the historical realities of slavery. Melville and Mark Twain
Tamsin Christofides Tjc9 EN557 19th Century American Literature Dr Stafania Ciocia Discuss the ways in which any two writers deal with the historical realities of slavery Slavery was first brought to the Southern United States in 1619, with the invention of the Cotton Gin in 1793 there was a huge demand for slaves from many countries including the Caribbean and Africa to work on plantations. At its peak roughly forty percent of the Southern population were slaves and it was not unknown to have a fifty percent mortality rate during the journey to 'The New World'. According to American laws at the time slaves were treated as property by their owners and could be bought and sold as easily and carelessly as livestock. Slaves were sometimes allowed to marry and marriage was often imposed on them, this was not recognised by the state, however, and slave owners were free to split up couples and families as they pleased simply by selling them on to new owners. Children born into slavery were raised until they were Twelve at which time they were sent to the fields to work from sunup to sundown; this would continue until they died or were set free. Slaves were treated badly, beatings, rape and murder were not uncommon but unlike free Americans they had few rights and little to no access to education, healthcare or justice. During this period in history there was a great deal
How do people react when involved in unhappy marriages? In the stories "The Legacy" and "Story of an Hour", two women are involved in unhappy marriage's.
How do people react when involved in unhappy marriages? In the stories "The Legacy" and "Story of an Hour", two women are involved in an unhappy marriage. Their husband's needs and wants have so much importance that they don't have a life of their own. They wish to have their own lives and do what they want to. Both woman show in their own way how they react towards the situation, and how they chose to be free and happy by choosing death as an option. Angela Clandon was married to Gilbert Clandon, a successful politician, who is at the end of his career. Angela had always been there for her husband and supported him in what he did. All the attention in their relationship was on him and his work, and she felt it seemed selfish to interrupte him with her own affairs and desires to have a child. She quotes in her diary "How i wish, Gilbert had a son."(126), but Gilbert had never regretted that. After a while, Angela wanted to have a work of her own because her husband's busy schedule often left her home alone. Angela went to a committee where she met new people. In her diary, she often mentions the initials B.M which is a man she had met in the committee. She described many adventures they had together and she looked like she was enjoying herself. She even invited B.M. secretly to her house for a supper when her husband was out of town. B.M. died to weeks before her wife and
Analysis of Philomel Cottage
PHILOMEL COTTAGE There are 2 characters who seems to be partners. One is Alix Martin and the other one must be his husband. We can assume they have a good relationship, because she goes out to the door to say goodbye. She's dreamy and probably in love. But she's not living in reality. She has recently changed, sth positive has happened to make her happy. She wasn't a happy person before (she didn't have an easy life) and she hadn't had any man in her life, she was taking care of her an her mother. The implication is her mother is probably dead. We don't have any information about the husband. Dick's brother is important because we can notice Alix is waiting for Dick to have enough money to be able to marry her. So, obviously, she is interested in him. Also, it's a common element between the two characters, sacrificing their live, hard working to take care of their families. But when Alix gets money from a cousin and they can get married he feels so uncomfortable about the fact of being the woman who pays for everything. He's too shy and conservative, so he had the hope of being able to marry Alix someday, but now she has money he feels sad because he won't be richer than her. Then she meet Gerald Martin, and we know he's going to marry her because of the family name. All we know about him is he's passionate, and he falls in love with violence (maybe a foreshadowing), and
The Call of Freedom.
Essay 5-101 Moushomi Sinha The Call of Freedom Throughout her life, Kate Chopin, author of "The Awakening" and other short stories such as "The Story of an Hour," actively searched for female spiritual emancipation, which she found and expressed in her writing. Her poems, short stories, and novels allowed her not only to assert her beliefs for herself, but also to question the ideas of individuality and autonomy during the turn of the century. Unlike many of the feminist writers of her time who were mainly interested in improving the social conditions of women, she looked for an understanding of personal freedom that questioned conventional demands of both men and women. In the short story, 'The Story of an Hour', the main idea explored by the author is that of repression and a chance of freedom from the bondage and shackles of an unhappy marriage. Chopin writes about a repressed woman, named Mrs. Mallard. She is afflicted with a heart problem, that may be real or a metaphor for her unhappy condition. Her sister and her husband's friend break the news of her husband's death to her as gently as possible. She cries a little at the death of her spouse but after sometime, she locks herself in her room and quickly finds joy and a sense of liberation in his death. When she emerges from her room, she goes downstairs to find her husband returning home and she ironically dies from
Fast Food Nation
Fast Food Nation America prides itself in being the most diverse country in the world, but one of the things Americans have in common is the way they think about capitalism. Capitalism is about increasing money. Americans don't believe in labor as much as they do in capital. A free market requires just as many buyers as sellers. Although they get the same terms of trade and the same access to information, none have a big enough share in the market to influence prices. The triumph of the free market is basically taking money from the poor and giving it to the wealthy. Fast food has permeated every aspect of American society. Although fast food may seem like the foundation of American culture, it has some serious consequences on society. Rising in the fast food industry caused a noticeable increase in food poisoning, inhumane working conditions in meat packing plants and manipulation of children through television. Food poisoning has become a large concern in American Society. "In the United States roughly 200,000 people are sickened by a food borne disease, 900 are hospitalized and 14 die", (195). There is evidence that the risk of food related illnesses have risen and that the consequences are becoming way more severe. There are many factors that contribute to the rise of food borne illnesses but the main one is the change in how food is produced. E coli 0517: H7 is a new
Analysis of themes, structure, and social change in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
Analysis of themes, structure, and social change in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" By Jimmy Jackson The Late 19th century was an era in which writers began to challenge the traditions, ideas and stereotypes of society. It was a time when people began to take the time to question the age- old traditions and work towards change. Written in pre -Civil War America, Mark Twain was a champion of this individual thought in his novel The Adventures of huckleberry Finn. He Remarkably creates a character Huck who transcends the expectations of society on his escape to the river. Twain begins by presenting Huck as an individual who stands up against his social conscience. The reader is left to praise him for this, and is extremely disappointed in the end when Huck falls back into the role of an obedient, 'small' person, overshadowed by the nonsense of Tom Sawyer. Twain has this fascinating and yet maddening way of exposing the truth only to conceal it once again. The role of the novel seems to fall back into the stereotypes in which the ignorant society sees things. Huck looses his idiosyncrasy; Jim loses his humanity and 'strong head.' He becomes the "nigger" again. This is all obvious yet what is not too clear to see is that the relationship between Jim and Huck is the same as Huck and Toms. The reader sees that Jim is a humane, intelligent capable human being,
Green is most prominent in the scenery behind Gatsby's mansion, namely
Importance of Color Colors in novels and movies can be used to symbolize larger and grander themes which are central to the subject. In the case of the Great Gatsby there are a distinct number of colors which play a central symbolic role: green, white and grey. Green is most prominent in the scenery behind Gatsby's mansion, namely the green light which blinks from the Buchanan's dock. The green light represents all of Gatsby's combined aspirations, hopes and dreams for the future, past and present. In terms of the past it represents what he lost; since it is Mrs. Daisy Buchanan's dock he is longing over. Gatsby associates it with Daisy, and in the darkness he even reaches towards it with hope and yet despair. Though in addition Gatsby's search for Daisy is generally related to his search for the American dream. So the color of green is also a representation for more than just the green light. More specifically it is also the color of envy and money. These are two very prominent themes in the book. In relation to Gatsby, he is envious of Tom since he has something which he can never buy, Daisy. She has a lot of personal significance to Jay and for him to know that she sleeps beside a "no good man" each night infuriates him with envy and motivates him to strive even harder for his goal. Money, mostly wealth in a general sense, is an important theme too in this book since