Chelsie Wilson's 'American Pickers'

Thesis: In the short stories The Charmer, Love Must Not Be Forgotten, and The Address, one’s past experiences have a profound effect on their development as an individual.

school in 1982. Soon she came to college, she decided to stay at her home state so

"The Charmer" by Budge Wilson is a short story about a Canadian family that finds misfortune and conflict within their lives. Conflict being the predominant theme which directly affects all the participants in the family. The story is written in third person and narrated from the young girl Winifred's point of view. Budge Wilson uses Zack's smothered childhood, charming personality and irresponsible behaviour to create emotional conflict between members of the family.

At some point of a kid’s life, they want to be picky about something. They want to have some control of their little world where adults are constantly telling them what to wear, what to do, and what to eat. Food, for instance, is an easy topic where kids will fight for some independence. Throwing, yelling, crying and even bribing were the essence of a battle at dinner tables. Because some parents would automatically give in to their children’s need, the kids often think they won the battle but technically they didn’t. In the story, “Picky Eater”, Julia Alvarez tells a story of her childhood experience of home meals where her and her sisters were also picky eaters, despite having healthy food served to them. Meals, she said, “at home were battlegrounds. Even if you won the dinner battle, refusing to clean your plate or drink your engrudo, you inevitably lost the war” (Alvarez 145). Battlegrounds at home can occur but it doesn’t have to end up being messy if the parents know how to handle the situation properly.

The book “The Other America”, written by Michael Harrington, describes poverty in America in the 1950s and 1960s, when America became one of the most affluent and advanced nations in the world. The book was written in 1962, and Harrington states that there were about 50,000,000 (about 25% of the total population) poor in America at that time. The author did extensive research with respect to the family income levels to derive the poverty numbers, and used his own observations and experiences to write this book. This book addresses the reasons for poverty, the nature of poverty, the culture of poverty, the blindness of Middle Class America with respect to poverty, and the responsibility of all Americans in addressing the issue of poverty in America.

America, United Stated of America (USA), is a land of immigrants. The country was built by immigrants but gradually immigration to this country became harder. Several contagious nations of American continents have lot of population living in poverty and were strongly convinced to immigrate to USA illegally, by travelling on foot for several days, crossing deserts, mountains and the southern border of USA, to get a decent and secured better life for them and for their kids. Eric Schlosser in his article " In the Strawberry Fields" honestly assessed the conditions of the migratory work force in California straw berry fields while providing facts and evidences to support

(Kathy 's formal education is in journalism, a field that produces policy analysts both inside and outside of government. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master of science degree in agricultural economics from Virginia Tech. In the 1980s, Kathy was a participant in and board member of Pennsylvania Rural Leadership (RULE), a Kellogg-funded leadership development program designed to foster civic understanding and involvement)

From “The Other America,” in Major Problems by Michael Harrington is a document that tells of the poverty present in America that is often skillfully and unintentionally concealed and also speaks of Lyndon Johnson’s war on poverty and briefly of how poverty rose during the Reagan administration. After Johnson’s declaration of war on poverty, there was significant change regarding the climate of the social, economic, and political in the America of those times. And while Johnson’s countless social programs helped decrease poverty immensely, it also left a huge number drowning in it still. Later Reagan’s administration would cite George Gilder on the fact that welfare did not reduce poverty but increase it to explain why the levels of poverty rose during the first few months of Reagan’s administration. Democrats and liberals would argue against this and say that poverty

She was raised in Checotah, by her mother Carole, and her father, Stephen (Knapp). Growing up in the country, she enjoyed things like playing on dirt roads, climbing trees, and of course singing (Fabian). Carrie was an excellent student, she attended Checotah Public Schools and graduated high school in 2001, as the Salutatorian. Carrie later attended Northeastern State University, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, to major in mass communication. In 2006, she graduated with a Bachelors degree (Knapp).

Boswell didn’t always love agriculture as much as she does today. She grew up on a farm in Onega, Kansas where her family harvested crops and also raised cattle and swine. While in high school she was involved with the yearbook and newspaper but didn’t focus in on the agriculture. When considering her college options, Boswell wanted to get as far away from the farm as possible and just “get through” college to start her career. She attended college at Fort Hays State University where she was also involved in collegiate yearbook and newspaper writing. She received her bachelor’s degree in Business Communications

She played softball and basketball in her teen years, and also got her first job as a freshman. Her first job was at a gas station. She also worked at a hotel, pizza place, and veterinary office in her teen years. When she graduated, she wanted to go to college to major in broadcasting journalism. This plan took a turn when she tried out for American Idol.

Born on March 26, 1930, in El Paso, Texas, to Harry and Ida Mae Day, O’Connor was raised on her family’s cattle ranch in Arizona, the Lazy B (biography.com). While she was young, her family did not have access to electricity, so O’Connor grew up branding cattle, and fixing anything broken by hand. By the age of four, O’Connor had already learned how to read, and her parents were desperate for her to one day move out of the remote location in which they lived, so that she could get the best education possible. Harry and Ida Mae sent her back to El Paso to live with her grandmother, where she would spend her school years, then summers back on the Lazy B. While in El Paso, she attended Radford School for Girls, and Austin High until she graduated

Businesswoman, Susan McGalla was born and raised in Ohio. Daughter of a local high school football coach, she was one of three children and the only girl. She graduated from Mount Union College with a bachelor's degree in marketing and business.

The theme of the story " The All- American Slurp" is people from different cultures may have different customs but they may also have many things in common.In the story "The All-American Slurp" by Lensey Namioka the Lin family moves to the United States. After being in the U.S they realize that they have some customs in common with americans.

    The American Dream, although different for each of us, is what we all aspire to achieve. In Lorraine Hansberry's, play, A Raisin in the Sun, each member of the Younger family desperately hopes for their own opportunity to achieve the American Dream. The American Dream to the Younger family is to own a home, but beyond that, to Walter Younger, it is to be accepted by white society.