Good People By David Foster Wallace

In Larry Lankton’s text, “Beyond the Boundaries” we gradually enter an unknown world that is frightening yet filled with immense beauty for miles. Due to the copper mining industry, a gradual increase of working class men and their families start to migrate to the unknown world with unsteady emotion, yet hope for a prosperous new life. In “Beyond the Boundaries”, Lankton takes us on a journey on how the “world below” transformed the upper peninsula into a functional and accepted new part of the world.

“We don’t really care about diversity all that much in America” (132). In “People Like us” David Brooks takes a logical approach through examining the demographics of our neighborhoods, our educational institutions, and he touches on an emotional approach by having his audience examine their values; he does this with hopes of having his audience question their word choice for the American value diversity, and question if the way they are living their lives invites diversity.

Human communication and connection is a vital part of society. People need to stay connected throughout life to maintain a happiness that is absent in others. In Raymond Carver’s short story, A Small Good Thing, key moments of disconnect are present that create difficulty for the main characters. The author utilizes major and minor characters in order to reveal the importance of human connection through highlighting problematic situations caused by disconnect.

A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash definitely fits the category of “grit lit.” It is a novel about the Hall’s, a family who is wracked with grief, anxiety, and guilt after the ‘mysterious’ death of one of their sons, Christopher or Stump. The story encompasses more than just the story of the family though as it is told from the perspective of Adelaide Lyle, an old wise woman from the town, Jess Hall the youngest son of the family, and Clem Barefield, the sheriff of Marshall who also had heartache of his own that is intertwined with this families story in more ways than one. The novel incorporates most if not all of the features that is “grit lit” including: an element of crime, a focus on the bleakness of life, lyrical language, and a central character who wishes to escape their environment or get peace inside it.

“This is water” by David Foster Wallace is a very well written truth, for the most part, the advice that Mr. foster had for the college seniors was necessary and needed, it seems that the advice will be needed more in the future. Mr. David Foster depict how most of the college senior’s life will be, he also gives various examples that the college seniors can relate to, including myself, the example of the grocery shop where the line is super long, or getting stuck in traffic, is something that happens every day. Back when I was in high school, I used to experience heavy traffic early in the morning as well as the afternoon, however, I’m not a college senior, I still experience traffic, my point is everyone is going to experience it at least

Scott Hamilton once said, “The only disability in life is having a bad attitude.” While some may find the good out of every situation, others engulf themselves in the negative and cause their self misery. In the short story “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor, one is introduced to the character by the name of Hulga, known as Joy by her mother. Hulga is 32 years old and lives in her mother’s home due to her artificial leg and weakened heart. In this short story, Hulga’s uncouth personality is revealed through her encounters with individuals she comes across, and her opinions on other characters in the story. Through analyzation, one can see that Hulga is intolerant, miserable, and insecure.

A wealthy man consistently donates money to multiple charities and therefore considers himself a giving person. After just auctioning off an $800 painting he takes to walking the busy streets of Gainesville. While reflecting on his generous behavior, he spots a homeless man some ways away from him. Hoping to avoid the man, he hastily crosses the street to avoid the dirty beggar. Looking over his shoulder he thinks I’m sick of these druggies, and continues on with his day. This is how Flannery O’Connor portrays the “holier than thou” concepts shown throughout her writing. Through the year’s individuals develop experiences that they carry on with them for the rest of their lives. Flannery O’Connor’s strongest experiences were rooted through her

Pablo Neruda is not unlike many others who survived the war. Those who witnessed the destruction and struggle and who had the ability to express their perspective of it used “the power of the pen” to lament their feelings. Flannery O’Connor was no exception. O’Connor was a social satirist as well as a leader of “Southern Gothic” writing. Flannery O’Connor’s stories often highlighted American cultural challenges. O’Connor wrote stories such as “Good Country People”, as a means to show her fellow citizens that the united feeling they all had during the war effort had quickly faded away and were replaced by division due to the economic opportunities for some but not all. “Good Country People” is a tale of moral blindness. It showed readers that

The fictitious Infinite Jest is considered to be one of the greatest novels ever created. It stemmed from the mind of the brilliant, yet complicated David Foster Wallace – who, for better or worse, would change the dynamic in which we (whether you know it or not) digest and interpret entertainment.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, written by Stephen Chbosky, is a short story about a young girl who has never been to school who has big dreams about how great school will be. The central theme of this short story is her hope, the girl imagines life will get better and hopes as she starts her first ever day of highschool she will finally make her “friend”. This is shown in how she talks about meeting a mysterious figure she has been obsessing about. “I just want you to know that I was in a bad place before I started high school, and you helped me. Even if you didn't know what I was talking about or know someone who's gone through it, you made me not feel alone.”

In this manner, the issue was decided.” These lines leave a lot up to be interpreted. Did they just rip the baby in half, or did one of the parents get the child? They both could’ve easily let the baby slip and fall by accident. Carver was very good with leaving the story in the unknown. The back and forth of the baby could be meaning the back and forth of their relationship. This is a scenario many people have endured. This isn’t a made up situation, this story relates to the average joe or the real world people.

In the story of “Good People” the internal conflict is that Lane must find the courage to tell Sheri that truth of how he really feels about her. Sheri does not say much because she is waiting for Lane to come clean and honest. Lane just sits there in silence waiting for Sheri to say that everything is going

Their are many experiences in life that can change your life for the better or worst, but their are also certain books that can do the same and help you change your perspective on your experiences. One of the books that has impacted my life in that way would be “ The Perks of Being A Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky. Not only was the movie well done but the book was just as great. The book is about a fifteen year old boy named Charlie who fears being alone, especially after the suicide of his one and only friend. He chooses to write to someone he didn’t know and it became a great way for him to express his feelings. This book really connected to me, all the emotions it brought made it so

This reflection paper is written after reading one of the number one best seller books, “Good to Great”, written by Jim Collins. This paper will attempt to give a high level overview of the book as well as personal reflection to the similarities to the course learning, key takeaways and any valuable information that will assist me in my career.

Good to great seems sometimes like the same thing, but in reality they are different with some differences being fine line to very broad line. While making my way through this book I learned key factors of which I never thought of or even some I have thought of, but haven’t had the chance to try and happy to learn they do work. I had a class once that was very similar to this book at my old college and it reminded me very much of it minus the numerous studies and facts, in fact I believe the teacher owned the book. I took from this book things that will keep me on my toes more often and looking at things in different light.