The book Bystander, by James Preller, is about a boy named Eric Hayes. Eric moves to Bellport, Long Island, and he starts 7th grade at Bellport Middle School. Eric meets a boy named Griffin, as he starts school. Griffin is cool and very popular, but always seems to be in trouble. As Eric begins to spend more time with Griffin, he realizes that Griffin bullies a kid named David Hallenback. When Eric stands up for David, he gets on Griffin’s bad side. Eventually, the two boys stop being friends, because of the way Griffin treats David. Throughout the book, Eric realizes who his real friends are, and that Griffin is not one of them.…
Who really created or discovered the Americas? Many believe Colombus, many believe Lewis and Clark, some believe the Indians or Natives. Whichever the reader does believe is besides the point when The Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World written by the the anthropologist, Jack Weatherford goes in depth about the huge effect Indians have put on our cultural, societal, political practices as well as many agricultural products may not have been produced without the knowledge that Indians put forth into the world. This book also touches on the Indian Givers, who they were and what they did. An Indian Giver is commonly used as an American expression to describe a person who gives a gift and later wants it back, or something equivalent in return. Weatherford's most obvious purpose is to demonstrate that the Native Americans have…
In this article, Rula Quawas examines how the North and South despite their differences agree on one issue; a woman’s place. Quawes sees this issue as a cult like belief. She compounded ideas of what a man would think true womanhood consisted of in the 19th century. A few ideas was that a woman should have an understanding that the home is where she belongs and the economic world is for the man, the home is the only proper sphere for the female, and have knowledge about the functions as a mother and a wife. It is then seen if a woman does not partake in that belief system, she can simply be treated.…
Namit Arora, “What Do We Deserve”. He portrays the discussion on societal success and achievements. Society’s perspective on success is not measured by hard work it is measured through wealth attained. People of our society do not deserve exactly what they obtain just because they are diligent and hardworking throughout their life. Arora supports his belief by interpreting Michael Sandel’s book “Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?” which discussed the three major approaches to distributive economic justice which include libertarian, meritocratic, and egalitarian. The three different models presented disagree with the belief that all people should be treated…
In Proverbs 18:15 “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.” In the book The Chosen by Chaim Potok, The similarities or the characters through the entirety of the book, in the book, David, Danny, and Reuven all share the love for knowledge and wanting to know more and more every day about everything and anything they can get their hands on. The love and pursuit of knowledge with these three men is a very interesting, in how much they love to learn and they want for more and more knowledge.…
My favorite book is aptly entitled Freaks and Revelations by Davida Hurwin. In the “faction” novel, two teenage boys live every opposite lives. One boy, Doug, a 17 year old punk rock skinhead, lives a life of hatred and anger, yet unfound innocence. On the opposite end Jason, a gay 13 year old, finds himself shedding every ounce of innocence to survive on the streets after his family kicks him out for being homosexual. Although they lead two different lives, the two boys find themselves on the same West Hollywood St in an encounter that would change both lives forever.…
The two short stories, “The Tenant” by Mukherjee and “The Red Sweater” by Ng bear many similarities as well as differences. The authors of these two stories go about conveying basically the same message, however, with a slight variety. In these short stories, Mukherjee and Ng go into detail of the lives of two young women struggling with their identities as immigrants in the American culture. This clashing of cultures, predominantly the Asian culture (in these cases), against the American culture, is the central idea that one may conclude after reading these two short stories. Mukherjee and Ng both share or differ in the three literary elements of plot, theme, and characters in portraying the consequences of this culture clash.…
Achieved status: This is a social position that a person acquires on the basis of merit; it is a position that is eared or chosen and reflects a person’s skills, abilities, and efforts.…
In the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, Junior is an Indian boy living on the Spokane Reservation. There he goes to the rez school Wellpinit with his best friend Rowdy. Junior has high expectations for what high school would be like, and when Wellpinit failed epically, he moved to Reardan, a mostly white school off of the reservation. Throughout the book, the characters say several maxims that reflect a major theme in the book. A maxim is a just like a quote; a short statement that expresses a general truth. In this essay, I will highlight three of the most powerful maxims that I thought reflected both Junior’s life and mine. Just like these maxims are true for Junior and his life, all of these maxims…
and Beer). An example of egocentrism is the article “Two Ways to Belong in America” by…
From all the health benefits that hiking can bring as well as the sense of serenity the one might feel, two photographers that both enjoy this activity took amazing photos of true beauty that only the great outdoor can offer. Both Arnab Banerjee and Galen Rowell are outdoors men that don’t take it for granted and can bring out the purity of nature. Galen Rowell seem like he was always meant to be a photographer. Rowell was born in Oakland 1940 and grew up in Berkeley, California. He was college professor and a later became a concert cellist. However, since he was young he was interested in the outdoors. He began hiking and climbing various mountains at the age of ten on Sierra Club outings, and by the age of sixteen he made his first…
In her essay “My Two Lives,” Jhumpa Lahiri writes about her struggle with being Indian-American in the American society focusing on how being part of two cultures was confusing, stressful, and full of pressure from living two lives. After 37 years living in the United States, Lahiri understands why she felt as if she were living two lives during her childhood. She describes herself as an Indian- American because she moved with her family from India to the United States when she was very young. Being part of two different cultures for Lahiri was confusing and stressful and made her feel “short in both ends”. She also strives to reconcile her two selves as “like many immigrant offspring, I felt intense pressure to the two things loyal to the old world and fluent in the new approved of on either side of the hyphen”. The author’s main point is that she felt that she was under pressure to have “two lives” because she could not focus on one side or another. And reality doesn’t allow her to do that. , Humpa Lahiri also writes, “While I am American by virtue of the fact that I was raised in this country, I am Indian thanks to the efforts of two individuals. I feel Indian not because of the time I’ve spent in India or because of my genetic composition but rather because of my parents’ steadfast presence in my life.” The author’s point is that her strong sense of being Indian is not from her Indian appearance but from the traditional Indian ways her parents incorporated into their deal daily lives. At the same time, her American behaviors are a product of her social environment she faced outside her home.…
The poem 'Memories' is by an Indian poet called Trilokesh Mukherjee. The poet grew up in India and this influences the poem, he brings his culture into the poem by using imagery and senses and other literary devices. Also, he refers to the Gods from the Hindu religion and mythology. Hindu religion, mythology and family are all very important to the Indian people and this is all shown in the poem when they are sitting around the fire at night. The theme of this poem is childhood memories and how they are still strong in the poets mind.…
Racism is the belief that one's race is superior compared to others. When people start to believe their race or religion is superior to others, they tend to have a harder time accepting others views. Therefore they are more judgemental about others opinions. Race and religion can be tied to a person's cultural beliefs as well. Culture greatly informs the way one views others because of culture, religion, etc., make up your individuality/ individual identity. People see others the way they were raised to see them, and the way our culture and environment expects us to see them.…
There are two important stories called, "Front Seat Brahman" and "Teachers of Import" that have a common conflict. That common conflict is education vs. non-education. The character in "Front Seat Brahman" is Sushil Rao. He is from Bombay, India. The characters in "The Teachers of Import" are Amarel Collymore and Elke Walcher. Amarel is from Bridgetown, Barbados and Elke is from Austria. They all moved to Queens, New York for a particular reason.…