Bachelder's Bear V. Shark

In the article “America and Americas: Is the American Dream Even Possible?”, written by John Steinbeck, he uses a series of paradoxes and generalities to show how Americans themselves are paradoxical and how they are never happy with what they have. For example, the author states “We fancy ourselves as hard-headed realists, but we will buy anything we see advertised, particularly on television, and we buy it not with reference to the quality or value of the product, but directly as a result of the number of times we have heard it mentioned” (Steinbeck). With the use of this paradox, Steinbeck is demonstrating how Americans claim to be realistic people, yet they will buy something that is unrealistic without even questioning it. “One of the

The American is a new man who is neither a European, nor his direct descendant. He is a strange mix of blood which cannot be found in any other country. The American is described as a person whose grandfather was an Englishman, his mother was Dutch and who has married a Frenchwoman. The American is a person who has left behind all his ancient manners and prejudices, and has received new ones from the mode of life he has embraced, the rank he holds and the government he obeys. A person becomes an American after being received in the broad lap of the great Alma Mater, and he becomes melted down into the new race of men whose posterity and efforts could transform the world in the days to come.

The American Dream, in essence, is but a faulty perception of the world. It attempts to find felicity in all that is gilt. And guilty is a society that bases happiness on something as worthless as gold; for what does the warm kiss of light on the skin and the taste of water cost man? It is this theme of misconceptions and blindness that recurs through Fitzgerald's work. It stares at us, scrutinizes us, like the gigantic, blue, spectacled and myopic eyes of Dr. Eckleburg. Fitzgerald gives us Dr. Eckleburg to accentuate America's blindness. America is not only blind, but also near-sighted; America lives for today, for pleasure and prodigality. She cannot

In today’s society, the variation of social, cultural, political, and economic life mirrors our Founding Fathers dreams. Since then, America has learned to adjust and accept every citizen's differences with the help of The Bill of Rights, US Constitution, Northwest Ordinance, and the Declaration of Independence. As these documents represent the development of America then, books like the Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore reflect the variations of social, cultural, political, and economic life today. Over time, the definition of being an American has evolved and molded with society to make what the United States citizens know now.

In the book excerpt by Firoozeh Dumas, “The F-Word”, Dumas uses several techniques to hook her readers and keep their interest in her piece. It was her style, however, that did most of the work. Dumas' article has a very strong single argument that she works toward throughout her entire piece. She claims that the English language could do with a bit more “spice”, as she calls it (Dumas). Though this argument is only listed only twice in the excerpt, it is the underlying foundation of every humorous story as well as every painful moment. Throughout the excerpt, Dumas has paired together the use of her style with how she builds ethos in the reader's eyes. This creates a very good way to convey the argument, however it still lacks certain strengths. Had she written in a slightly more formal tone and included more evidence, she could have kept her humor and continued to build on her ethos by appealing to a more professional group. The use of an easy going conversational style in Dumas' excerpt helps to portray her claim in a way that most readers will be able to identify with, however, the style does not work well in appealing to a professional setting due to the lack of empirical evidence.

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Modern America has a problem, which unfortunately consists of American’s placing more value on unimportant issues. This problematic lifestyle is the focus of the essay. In this essay she addresses her audience of Americans and reminds them that we should do activities that we have a passion for and never let it go. With an array of rhetorical devices such as repetition and similes, she effectively persuades the audience.

Bear v. Shark, by Chris Bachelder states that entertainment dominates the life of America 's society. More specifically, Bachelder portrays these on the computer-generated animals, the bear and the shark, who have brainwashed the culture of the Normans and the people in the United States. This paper will show the similarities and differences of the novel 's portrayal of postmodern society to the world we live in today, and the fact where entertainment influences people to be obsessed with the technology and the products.

Consumerism has structured our economy for generations: living on a day-to-day basis has been fired in a web of buying and spending money on things that we do not need to survive. Kurtis, Kaplan and Bradbury all present liable information on consumerism, what it is and how it has conformed our society over the years. Bradbury uses his story, “The Veldt,” to show the fear of many on how our materialistic life style could eventually destroy us. Consumerism has been labeled for the success and virtue of America, along with the title of the “American Dream.” In the documentary, “The Century of the Self,” Edward Bernays was able to successfully drive out what the “American Dream” truly meant to everyone in America.

In “Swollen Expectations”, the authors describe their theory that the population of the United States has become more and more greedy since the simpler times of the late 1950’s. They claim that houses, vehicles, and even food have been victims of our “virus”. While agreeing that our expectations have been swollen, especially when compared to life in the late 1950’s, we think we “need” more things, but we really only want the convenience.

467). I connected this back to my economics class because I’ve learned that economics has to do with issues in our economy and using tools and data to make predictions and conclusions. That’s what Steven and Stephen explain, but using these strategies to relate to other human issues we’ve faced and are still facing today. For example, they both explain an issue topic about shark attacks. They both go on to talk about some statistics on shark attacks, and the three different types of shark attacks, “There are three ways they strike: hit-and- run, the bump-and-bite, and the sneak attack.”, “During all of 2001, there were 68 shark attacks worldwide, of which just four were fatal.” (Levitt and Dubner pg. 467). But what grabbed my attention is after they compare shark attacks with elephant attacks, saying there are more elephant attacks than shark attacks and that sharks are portrayed more of a treat than elephants. Steven and Stephen go on to write, “Elephants, meanwhile, kill at least 200 people a year. Why aren’t we petrified of them?”, “It may also have to do with our perceptions gleaned from the movies. Friendly elephants are a staple of children’s films like Babar

The American identity once stood as the pinnacle of liberty and justice. At the dawn of the eighteenth century, America opened its doors to the weak and the poor in spirit. These doors were swung ajar with a promise of a better life, and inclusion for all. As the history of our nation has developed over the last two centuries though, a much darker picture of American culture has begun to develop. Tony Kushner, in his critically acclaimed epic, Angels in America, beautifully captures these twisted aspects of modern American society.

Each character in the novel has their own interpretation of the ‘American Dream – the pursuit of happiness’ as they all lack happiness due to the

As Austrian writer Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach wrote,“To be content with little is difficult; to be content with much, impossible.” History and literature have established that the ideal goal every American has wanted is for his thirst for material possessions to be reached, but even then, the individual isn’t truly happy. Money, and the things it can get you, have long been a part of American culture and the materialist culture of society have been examined in numerous ways from novels to the art of those like Andy Warhol. A life free from the economic woes that plague almost everyone seems like the quintessential existence, but material wealth is not a way to mend issues.

Miller purposely constructed settings that expressed both the public issue and the private tension that induced a revelation concerning the American Dream (Martin 98). These issues and tensions manifested without the characters realizing their relationships suffered for an unattainable dream. Society’s expectations, which created the American Dream, elicit the characters’ suffering until they realize the American Dream can never be achieved, because society’s expectations will never be met. Society’s expectations address the American Dream as the rite of passage for Americans’ successful societal position. Miller reveals the American Dream’s erosion as he addresses the hopes of many Americans but also their situation’s cruel reality (Raine 31).