John Downe Thesis

Steinbeck's novel 'Of Mice and Men' explores the everyday lives of migrant workers during the Great Depression. In this era, American men were forced to leave their families and become 'drifters'. These were people who didn't have a fixed job and continually moved from place to place.

E.L. Doctorow’s novel Ragtime is a story involving certain characters, each trying to find his or her place in America. Doctorow focus’s on many themes throughout the novel, however, one theme that he gives to the reader from the very beginning of the novel is the American dream. Many characters throughout the novel individually take diverse journeys in order to fulfill what they might describe as “The American Dream.” Throughout Ragtime several characters venture upon momentous journeys whether they be sensible or unwise, in order to try and achieve their personal pursuit of the American dream.

The goal of Downe’s first paragraph is to give a vivid description of America and provide a sense of blissfulness. He begins his letter with strong anecdotal evidence creates a picture of how wonderful life truly is in America. The Englishman recounts how a farmer told him he was “welcome to come to his house at any time”. He describes how the selection of food the farmer had was “everything a person could wish”. This story conveys the feeling of warmth and compassion, and creates hope for a better future filled with happiness. Downe also creates a sense of bountifulness through his description. When he describes the food

Throughout the letter, Downe develops his credibility through his use of ethos which includes the repetition of “I.” “I have got a situation,” “I dined with him,” “I went into the market yesterday,” all progress towards the establishment of his plausibility in his wife’s eyes. He provides his wife with examples of the many positive situations he, himself has endured while being in the country of America. Downe hopes that his persuading words will convince her to emigrate with their children to America. “I know you will like America” is Downe’s primary

John Downe, a weaver, letters’ was written to convince his wife to immigrant to the United States from England. Downe use of positive connotation towards America throughout the letter is to substantiate the encouraging side effect of hope. He emphasized all the benefits and opportunities in America by using a persuasive and common-man tone. Downe’s letter uses a variety of literary devices, especially positive imagery, syntax structures and effective diction to present the idea of generosity and abundance that is offered in America.

In the late 1930 unemployment rates were dropping at exponential rates, people were traveling west looking for jobs, hoping to gain even the smallest amounts of money. They were struggling to survive, fighting for jobs and living in horrible conditions. The Dust Bowl had wiped out most of their homes and many were desperate, people referred to them as migrant workers. The story Of Mice and Men revolves around the adventure of two migrant workers, George and Lennie. The book begins with a scene of nature, calm and beautiful yet cruel and complex. Much like nature, John Steinbeck's book tells the dark side of our nation and it’s people. Because of this, Steinbeck's book is still valuable to teach students. His simple yet complex story characterizes

Immigrants coming to America in the late 1800’s had an idea of what it might be like in the land of opportunity, but the harsh reality of the living conditions during this time only became apparent when they reached the shore. In Thomas Bell’s novel, Out of This Furnace, he describes the hardships Slovak immigrants faced throughout generations living in the industrial towns. Through Bell’s novel he clearly depicts the mindsets of each generation and how they changed their attitudes and thinking to better succeed and escape poverty.

Everyday life in colonial America was made up of large cities, rural settlements, and frontier regions. Life in colonial America was nothing short of difficult. The large cities were made up of many classes of people ranging from wealthy to slaves. There were some that had very specific skills as well as communication skills and others who had nothing. The wealthy people dreamed of what they were going to do in the future, however the middle class people dreamed but did not plan. They were better off than the average poor person, but still worked very hard sunrise to sunset. In this paper I will provide information on what life was like for various aspects and people groups in colonial America.

A lesson regarding the immigration experiences from various periods of U.S. History offers a great opportunity to discuss how many of the same forms of discrimination faced during the past are similar today. This lesson is designed to show students the sentiment various immigrant groups faced when they came to the United States during the Gilded Age. This lesson is designed to be implemented in an 8th grade U.S. History classroom. The lesson will be incorporated for the immigration portion of the Gilded Age Unit, in this case this lesson will be the fourth lesson of a ten day unit. Prior to this lesson students were introduced to lessons that addressed immigration experiences for various families who came to the United States from Europe.

In the late 19th, early 18th, century immigration became very prominent in America. Immigrants from around the world began to flood into America each one seeking something different, but it wasn’t always easy. Most immigrants faced many challenges, some negative and others positive. In fact, most immigrants fled to America for all the positive attributes it had to offer compared to the country they were previously living in.

When hearing the phrase, “The Gilded Age,” many would think of positive words to describe the time period. In some ways, that may be true. Diversity, jobs, and even the great invention of light bulbs, were all products of this era that helped make America the country that it is today. To a majority of the immigrants that had just come to the United States at the time, however, America appeared to be a country of chaos and desperation. The necessities that people could not imagine living without today, such as fresh air and sanitary houses, were often a luxury to these immigrants. Jacob Riis, the author of How the Other Half Lives, visited several areas in New York to observe the appalling living conditions that various immigrants were stuck in. After making these observations, Riis ultimately criticizes the greedy landlords but also places considerable amount of blame on the immigrants for their misfortune as well.

On the other hand, America, still under the influence of the Industrial Revolution, was inhabited by working men and women, who were more concerned about business and finances than neighborly affections. As a result, Jurgis and his family became, in the eye of society, yet another immigrant family struggling to make a modest living.

Fanny Trollope, an English novelist and writer, travelled to America in the early 19th century for a glimpse of life outside of England. In her work, “The Domestic Manners of the Americans”, Trollope captured her experience in countless opinionated, highly critical observations that judged Americans based on their behaviors and practices. Many aspects of American life captured Trollope’s attention, but these aspects were not seen in a positive light. It was obvious through her story that Trollope did not care for the American life; however, there seemed to be much more to Trollope’s opinions besides petty distastes. Trollope found the American lifestyle repulsive because it seemed to revolve around pride in their impolite and offensive behavior, creating an environment of arrogance and superiority over outsiders like herself.

In the late nineteenth century, America was a country in its prime of industrialization and immigration influx. Known as the Gilded Age, this period defined the United States as the bustling powerhouse it is today, but at the cost of many social and political injustices that lay underneath the guise of the “American dream”. Among the urbanization and booming industry, there was national and racial discrimination, gender inequality, child exploitation and labor,

Life in the 1800s has taken on an almost idealistic quality in the minds of many Americans. The images linked to this era of our history are, on the surface, pleasurable to recall: one room school houses; severe self-reliance; steam-powered railroads and individual freedom.