Throughout the novel, “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell, Gladwell discusses the theory of thin slicing. Thin Slicing “refers to the ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations and behavior based on very narrow slices of experience” (23) Gladwell convinced me of this theory because he provided many resources and many studies.…
Technology is today’s tool just like textbooks and dictionaries were the past’s tools. The way we use, it is an easy access. it is just faster than a textbook. Also using Technology, a new world opens up for us to use.…
In "Harrison Bergeron" Kurt Vonnegut depicts a society in which everyone is mentally, physically, and socially equal. Throughout the history of our country, Americans have sought racial, gender, and socio-economic equality. On paper such a society seems ideal. Through the story one might infer that Vonnegut views the concept of total equality as ludicrous. Equality can be interpreted many ways. One point of view is the American belief that everybody should be treated equally and another view is the one represented in the story that everybody is equal. I completely agree with Mr. Vonnegut's view of the perfect society as being absurd.…
Loewen, takes a look at twelve popular American history textbooks and concludes that the information is false, viewed primarily from an European perspective, and made up to credit national myths. In addition, James Loewen presents many key historical events that he feels are missing from many of these textbooks and should be included. Published in 1995 by The New Press, Lies My Teacher Told Me rapidly became a multi-award winning novel. In roughly 400 pages, Loewen unfolds an engrossing critique that is bound to hook any reader interested in history or education.…
The book Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is based in the future where books are illegal and not allowed by anyone. The firemen set fire to the houses instead of putting out fires because people were hiding books. Fahrenheit 451 should be banned because of the government power, the actions of certain characters, and violence.…
Novels are written to give a message to the world; this message can be good or bad, important or superficial, critical or supportive, but every story needs an initial purpose. Slaughterhouse-Five, written by Kurt Vonnegut, was published post World War II and follows the life of Billy Pilgrim who witnesses the fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany during that time. On the surface, the story seems to be just a jumble of confusion and chaos without any significant insight into life, war, or human nature. However, it is by means of the perspectives and details of the novel that Vonnegut brings about his point. Through Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut portrays both mankind's constant struggle to try to control life and also its inability to actually…
In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw. ~J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 9…
Over many years technology has become a big part of our society. Technology can be good for researching and providing us with information, but it can also have a negative effect. In Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury indicates that the different technology used in his book have a harmful effect on their civilization. Three different technologies that lead to the downfall of society are the mechanical hound, the television, and the blood transfusion machine. The mechanical hound leads to nervousness, the television leads to dispiritedness and the blood transfusion machine leads to addiction.…
The book Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, takes place in an unnamed futuristic city sometime in the twenty-fourth century. The environment is unimaginably modern, for technological evolution has changed society into a fantasy land. Doors are programmed to announce visitors before they even arrive. Books are illegal, as is any true thought. Mankind has become lazy and ignorant because of the extreme advances in technology. In actuality, the people no longer know how to perform simple, every-day chores that we do, because a machine has been invented to do anything and everything mankind needs.…
* United Nations. 2013. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml. [Accessed 20 February 13]…
Do you think you can be brainwashed? Most people will tell you that they could not be brainwashed or manipulated into doing something against their will, but in reality most of us can be convinced into doing something we would not normally do. George Orwell, in his novel “1984”, shows how mind power can influence people and society. The group that controls the mind power is known as the Party, and the state where this society lives is called Oceania. The only way the Party can maintain total power over a large population within Oceania is by insuring that past is controlled, by keeping people under constant fear through the use of telescreens and violence, and by an ongoing brainwashing to love the Big Brother.…
In the short story “The Liar” by Tobias Wolff, an adolescent boy named James constantly…
In the story, “The Lie,” Eli matures into adulthood. Due to his parents’ lack of understanding of his individuality in the beginning of the story, Eli has to deny his own feelings. When Eli receives the letter that he was rejected from the esteemed high school, Whitehill, he secretly tears it up since he is nervous of his parents’ disappointment. Eli’s mother, Sylvia, helps him transition into maturity as she begins to recognize her son’s individuality.…
The book Into Thin Air is a documented disaster by climber Jon Krakauer. Published in 1997, Jon wrote about the devastating summit attempt by several different groups. This climb was stopped by a disastrous storm above the death zone killing eight people, including Rob Hall. Rob Hall was Jons respectable leader and a guide who was a very experienced climber bringing 39 climbers to the summit between 1990 to 1995. He was once again trying to keep his business booming by bringing more and more climbers to the summit. This year he was more so under pressure because he had failed to bring one client to the summit last year and he was trying his hardest for that to not happen this year but in that triumphant push he himself, was killed. On that…
Leni Riefenstahl, was a famous film director of the time and a devoted propagandist supporting the Nazis. She was amazing in working the angles. Hitler was shown to the public first as one of them, an ordinary person, and then as a god. In this specific scene, the German population is introduced as a whole united community to put in contrast the failures of World War I and this was thanks to their obedience and loyalty to Hitler. The purpose of all the media creating a media cult on Hitler was to represent “Hitler as Germany and Germany as Hitler” (as Hess is quoted to say in the film), meaning a united population loyal to Hitler.…