Mind of a Master Audacious and masterful are both qualities possessed by Edward Pierce- the mastermind behind the greatest robbery of a moving train. In The Great Train Robbery, Pierce is seen as a masterful character. His planning of the robbery is meticulous as every detail is well thought out. He seeks out the best criminals in their “fields” in order to assist him in carrying out his plan. As well, Pierce’s arrogant and fearless nature provides the necessary qualities to attempt and ultimately achieve his goal. A well-calculated plan coupled with Pierce’s daring and arrogant nature allowed him to execute the perfect crime. In executing his carefully thought out plan, Pierce demonstrates a daring feat as he must climb on top of a moving train in order to reach the gold. “In that manner he hung suspended for several minutes while he twirled the padlock with a ring of picks, trying one betty after another” (Crichton 218). Not even suspending from a train with death looming was enough to make Pierce believe his goal was unattainable. …show more content…
This is noted when “Pierce had a moment of profound rage that this final step in the plan should be, in the end, the only thing to go irretrievably wrong. The fact that the error was entirely his own doing merely increased his fury” (222). Pierce’s arrogance is noted by his increased fury with himself in that the possibility of an error was his doing and not that of one of his cronies. By the end of the novel, Agar confessed to the robbery and incriminated Pierce. As Pierce was being apprehended, he greeted Agar amiably and stated, “Turned nose, did you?” with which Pierce replied, “Doesn’t matter, I’ve thought of this as well, you know.” (250). Once again, Pierce was able to demonstrate both his masterful ways and daring nature in his escape from
The Train to Crystal City, written by Jan Jarboe Russell, is a book about internment camps that were constructed in the United States during WWII to house people the U.S. government classified as “enemy aliens”. For years, these camps were home to people of various nationalities, most notably those of Japanese, German, and Italian descent. A majority of the book follows the experiences and lives of several families that were interned at these internment camps during the war.
What’s the best way to face a difficult situation? Day in and day out, life circumstances force people to live their lives differently than planned. Some struggle with this concept, never seeing the silver lining in the unexpected turn of events. Others however, live their lives as normally as they can, regardless of whatever they’re faced with. During the second world war, America was faced with the question of how to keep their country safe from enemies that might live within its borders. Although every American citizen is legally innocent until proven guilty, all’s fair in love and war. America saw no choice but to lock away immigrants and their American born children. This is detailed in The Train to Crystal City by Jan Jarboe Russell as
Nyerere’s “One Party Government” and Lao-Tzu’s “Thoughts of the Tao-te Ching” are both relevant/ applicable to aspects of Steinbeck’s Cannery Row. Nyerere’s essay, “One-Party Government” highlights the idea of community, which is prevalent throughout Steinbeck’s Cannery Row. The idea of community is a major theme in Cannery Row, it is shown in many different ways. The idea of community is most prominent when there was an influenza outbreak and the community had to come together to get through it. In Nyerere’s essay, the idea of community is greatly emphasized; he emphasizes that the idea of community is an essential part for the success of any society.
What are their outstanding qualities? Does the author give any indication as to how or why the character developed these qualities?
Tennessee Williams uses the constant battle between illusion and reality as a theme throughout his play A Streetcar Named Desire. Many use illusion to escape the reality they are living in. This theme is present in all of his characters in different ways.
A Streetcar Named Desire is a socially challenging play in light of the way in which Tennessee Williams depicts the capacity of human nature for brutality and deceit. He takes the viewpoint that, no matter how structured or 'civilized' society is, all people will rely on their natural animal instincts, such as dominance and deception, to get themselves out of trouble at some stage in life. William's has created three main characters, Blanche Dubois, Stella Kowalski and Stanley Kowalski. Each of these characters is equally as civilized as the next, yet all are guilty of acts of savagery on different levels. Throughout the play Williams symbolically relates these three characters to animals, 'savages,' through the disclosure of
In the classic fairytale of Cinderella, the main character is trapped in an abusive household. However, Cinderella’s self-perception of optimism and hope, enables her to believe that ultimately, her life will naturally improve with these attributes. True to her convictions, Cinderella gets her happily ever after by going to the ball where the prince falls in love with her. Cinderella is saved from her evil. On the other hand, Cinderella can be viewed as a victim who does nothing to enable herself to escape her abusive reality, insteads helplessly waits for fate to intervene. She does not confront the situation nor independently strive to improve her circumstances. Correspondingly, how individuals act when faced with conflict is strongly influenced by their self-perception. It is possible to become confused between reality and illusion, which is determined by their level of self-awareness. In Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar Named Desire, the character of Stella struggles between the control of her husband and sister. Throughout the play, this conflict is demonstrated as she struggles with becoming aware of her abusive household and the contrast to the fairytale illusion she desperately clings to. Ultimately, Stella’s choice to maintain her illusion, rather than confronting her reality, is due to the self-perception of her need to depend on others and desire for idealism, which overall controls her fate.
“Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces” (Sigmund Freud). Illusion can be a part of our lives; however, if taken to the extreme, it can lead one to forget reality. Every individual has problems in life that must be faced with reality and not with illusion, even though it might throw one into flames of fires. Tennessee Williams' play of a family reveals the strength of resistance between reality and desire, judgment and imagination, and between male and female. The idea of reality versus illusion is demonstrated throughout the play. Blanche's
I agree that characters in the book A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, use lying and deception to fuel their social status. These lies develop trust and relationship issues and threaten the wellbeing of everyone involved. Blanche, was a high school english teacher in mississippi who was forced to leave her life behind there. With nowhere to go Blanche moves in with her sister Stella and husband Stanley, who has a suspicion about Blanche's past life which lead to some unwanted events.
Many citizens living in America may have heard about the poem ‘Paul Revere’s ride’ on April 18, 1775. It was written by a famous American poet called Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, after 85 years of actual ‘Paul Revere’s ride’. ‘Paul Revere’s Ride’ is one of the famous topics we can easily found while studying 1700’s time of American History. Among, the recorded documents about ‘Paul Revere’s ride’ there are two, the most famous documents, the one I just mentioned and ‘Paul Revere’s letter to Jeremy Belknap’. The poem ‘Paul Revere’s ride’ is also well- known documents about Paul Revere’s ride, but “Paul Revere’s letter to Jeremy Belknap” written by Paul Revere, himself 23 years after the actual ride is also significant source of ‘Paul Revere’s ride to be reckoned with. In contrast, the poem is also an reliable source , however it includes non precise sentence structure and contain so
• What are their outstanding qualities? Does the author give any indication as to how or why the character developed these qualities?
In this essay I will be discussing five key points throughout Post Production history between the 1900s-1960s. Post Production is seen as a vital component in the cinematic industry as it essentially finalises the final products. Techniques that have been developed over the years are incredibly important, but they all have an origin. Although these techniques started out without overwhelming effect, they are now unbelievably crucial to how films are constructed. The five points I wish to discuss go as follows: The Great Train Robbery and Edwin Porter himself, D.W. Griffith and his overwhelming influence on editing, The Jazz Singer, the Kuleshov Effect and finally, 2001: A Space Odyssey. As well as discussing these key factors, this essay will take into consideration secondary material.
“In 1903, Porter made The Great Train Robbery, in some ways a prototype for the
The next and main thing that he noticed was the town and country government changed during the time period that he was asleep. Nicholas Vedder’s inn was now gone since there was no one to take care of since Vedder had died. When Rip Van Winkle came into town for the first time, he saw that his old favorite place to gossip with friends was now gone and had been replaced with a modern inn. He was simply confused when he originally saw this change; not realizing yet those twenty years had gone by. The primary difference that he observed was that King George’s picture was not located on a sign that used to represent the country of England. But now the sign has a picture of someone that Rip Van Winkle did not recognize named George Washington. Rip Van Winkle did not know about the Revolutionary War or about the new government of the brand new country who won its freedom from England. His world that he thought he
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde is able to show how possessions can change a man so drastically. Over the course of the book the readers examine how many items such as the painting, the yellow book and much more, shape and alter Dorian from being outgoing, likable, and overall good to secluded, manipulative and most of all deceitful. Dorian gray has many motives for being deceitful that help develop the characters, and change the way they interact with each other.