Dana Gioia builds up a very strong argument by having an abundance of factual evidence. That help her back up her every claim. Therefore, she is able to persuade the reader on the topic of how there is a decline in the intellectual endurance of Americas new millennials. there is a decadence in intellectual development The New American young adults have shown a decline based off the fact that people are no longer introducing literature into their lives in her article she says “A strange thing has happened in the American arts in the past quarter century.”” The interest young Americans showed in the arts and especially in literature has diminished.” (Paragraph. 1) which is showing Americans are no longer interested in literary reading.…
The colonial period was an important time period in our history because it shows the origins of our unique culture. Since each of the colonies were founded for different reasons and had various climates, it had a great impact on the way of life in each of the regions. The colonies of Massachusetts and Virginia are prime examples of this because they were completely different in terms of society and economy. Their contrasting climates and geographical regions forced them to develop in different ways.…
Nathaniel Philbrick. "In the heart of the sea:The tradgedy of the Whaleship Essex" New York: Penguin Books, 2000.…
Stories of survival at sea have captured people’s curiosity and imagination throughout history. The struggles that some seafarers have faced while drifting on the open sea are remarkable. “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane is the story of four crew members trying to survive on the open sea while in a dinghy after their ship sank. Throughout the story, Crane describes how man and nature react with one another. By his description of their reactions, Crane makes it clear that nature does not care about man’s well being.…
In recent discussions of “The College Dropout Boom,” David Leonhardt made some interesting points on the works of society and it’s modern day views on education. Many of the ideas he presented were controversial to me, considering my previous perspective of social status’ having nothing to do with someone’s chances at graduating college. However, there are many ideas in which he presented that I agree with, such as the belief that obtaining a college degree doesn’t necessarily promise a well-paying job. Growing up in a household where nobody has ever earned a college degree, I can say personally that it is extremely important to have one, regardless of the immediate outcome. It’s better to be safe than sorry.…
In Alfred Lubrano’s The Shock of Education: How College Corrupts, the conception that college alters the bond between past and present is heavily implied. Lubrano discusses how change occurs within thoughts, familial ties, peer interactions, and socioeconomic status. The author takes advantage of numerous techniques including anecdotes, contrasts, and inductive reasoning in order to explain the change occurring due to the pursuit of knowledge.…
In his novel, The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap, Matt Taibbi juxtaposes the wealthy and the poor in order to illustrate the disparity between the treatment of high-class criminals and lower-class citizens. The novel also notes the growth of the inequality and the schism between the classes. He uses illuminating narratives from both of the classes to demonstrate the huge difference between the rich and the poor in terms of how they are treated by the American justice system. Taibbi’s book opened my eyes to the extent of this injustice and from that I have learned a great deal, most which I can apply to my position as a Resident Advisor.…
This year we have touched on the self and then focused on how technology could jeopardise our existence. Times are changing and so are we; Technology will keep changing us like it has always done throughout history, change does not necessarily mean take over, technology will advance as an extension of us to help us improve not to allow us to reach perfection.…
The dystopian novel “Anthem” by Ayn Rand has many Objectivist political agendas hidden within it. At the beginning of the book, the protagonist, Equality 7-2521, says that all of his crimes are sins. Some examples of these crimes were his acts of individuality, writing, and interacting with those of the other sex outside of the Time of Mating. To the average American, these do not seem like crimes at all, but they are in the extremely communistic society in which Equality 7-2521 lives in. By making this society appear as evil, Ayn Rand was pushing her Objectivist political view. Equality later had a different moral assessment of these “sins” thinking that they were what made life full. Equality’s eventual assessment of his sin was incorrect, because his sins were hurtful to the community of his town, the World Council, and his own standard of living.…
Both characters are heroes in different ways, and they have many differences. Nick was seen as a hero because he could comprehend that all things come to an end. This makes him more humble, selflessHe was more laid back and tried to help his friends and had a good time before reality hit him. Santiago on the other hand, overcame his struggle even though he lost his fish, and had someone look up to him. He was a good role model which gave him his hero status.…
Through his manipulation of relationships and religious tensions throughout his novels, James Baldwin effectively highlights his belief that true relations and trust can only be realized through acceptance of difficulties and differences. Baldwin promises redemption and relief through acceptance of divine justice and admission of sins. At the same time, the suffering was caused by the sin and oppression of thought are the sources of the suffering (Welsh). In "Everybody’s Protest Novel,” Baldwin writes:…
Near the end of the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand the main character, Equality, reaches one of the most important realizations of the entire book about the concept of individualism. In the quote form the text “To be free, a man must be free of his brothers” Equality comes to the conclusion that to be independent he must first become his own person and let go what keeps him from doing what he wishes to. There are numerous cases of being free in Anthem, including Equality’s struggle in school, his running away from society, and Equality learning the usage of the word ‘I’.…
Extract from North to the Night: a Spiritual Odyssey in the Arctic by Alvah Simon…
The central feature of world history between late 15th Century and 1700 was the expansion of Europe and the spread of European culture and civilisation throughout the globe. Until 1500 the world had, on whole, pressed in on Europe. Beginning in the 1500s, Europe began to press out on the world. This period in history is known as the Age of Discovery or Exploration. During this time, driven by a variety of motives, European explorers mapped almost all of the world’s seas and outlines of the continents and completed incredible feats such as the rediscovery of America and the circumnavigation of the globe. Through exploration Europe began to change the balance of power, tipping it in favour of European civilization. By the end a new global balance was in existence. The Age of Exploration was instigated by two European countries situated on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain and Portugal. In the 15th Century, the sea was seen as mysterious and feared. Most of it was unknown territory, blank on the maps, and what cartographers did not fill in, a vivid imagination did. Aside from fear of the unknown, the probability of becoming hopelessly lost, or encountering frequent storms, and disease, kept most people on land. Any sailing in those days was done within sight of the coastline. But despite this, Spain and Portugal found men willing to brave the known and unknown dangers of the sea, and spent great sums of money to sponsor their voyages. Why did they do this?…
In order to truly understand what the Atlantic World is, one must first be informed of its history. Throughout the course of the time period between the 1500’s and the 1800’s, the Atlantic Ocean was used in ways that completely shaped its past. It was no longer to be simply seen as a large body of water, but instead as a passageway that connected various groups of people. From European Vikings to fishermen, the Ocean was covered with countless clusters of nations whom were trying to survive the Ice Age. The need to explore and investigate what else was out there for them lead to a series of events that no one could have imagined were to come. For example, trades, taxes on trades, the formation of empires and religious tensions. “…This undersea territory, which overlaps parts of New England and Atlantic Canada, was crucial to the evolution of the Atlantic World.” In other words, the real history of the Atlantic revolves around what was happening on its waters, way back then.…