Nancy Goldin's I Ll Be Your Mirror

The Vietnam War was an event with lasting effects. The U.S. troops participated from 1961 until 1975 where over 58,000 Americans were killed according to the U.S Department of Veteran Affairs. This war created a divide amongst the American people with so many opposed to the war because they claim that the cost of war and casualties was too high. Many believed, in addition, that the U.S. should not have involved themselves because the war did not directly affect America. For these reasons and many more, it caused a lot of traumas; not only for veterans but even regular citizens. Due to this, when U.S. involvement with the Iraq War started in 2003 (Riedel), many began drawing parallels between it and the Vietnam War and Anna Quindlen was among them.Anna Quindlen, an opinion columnist with a Pulitzer prize for commentary, wrote an article titled “We’ve Been Here Before.” Her overall goal, in this article, is to convince the reader that the Vietnam and Iraq War are alike as well as catastrophic. Her argument that the two wars are alike is erroneous in nature since there are many significant differences to be listed. Quindlen lacks reputable evidence because she lets her emotions write the article so she spews out personal attacks; there is a clear tone of anger. She accuses the president of wanting the Iraq War to only be about policy without backing this stance and she uses her friend’s statements to support her argument though he isn’t an expert on the matter. Quindlen makes a few good points in the article

In the book Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, Susanna Kaysen was only 18 years old when she agreed to enter a medium security psychiatric facility in Boston, McLean hospital in April 1967, after a failed suicide attempt. She insisted that her over dose on aspirin was not a suicide attempt, but after a 20 minute interview the doctor decided she needed to be admitted to a hospital. During her prolonged two-year stay at the hospital Kaysen describes the issues that most of the patients in her ward have to deal with and how they all differently deal with the amount of time they must stay in the hospital for. While in the hospital Kaysen experienced a case of depersonalization where she tried to pull the skin of her hands to see if there were bones underneath, after a failed escape attempt. Soon, after going to therapy and analysis she was labeled as having recovered from borderline personality disorder. After her release she realizes that McLean Hospital provided patients with more freedom than the outside world, by being free responsibility of parental pressure, free from school and job responsibilities, and being free from the “social norms” that society comes up with. Ultimately, being in captivity gave the patients more freedom then in society and created a safe environment in which patients wanted to stay in.

would you do if you woke up and didn't remember a single thing? In the book Don't Look Back, by Jennifer Armentrout, a teenage girl named Samantha seems to find herself broken, brusied, and confused wandering the streets near a lake of a fairly upper class town. She goes through a very rough time when she discovers her best friend died the day Sam was found helpless and doesn't remember a single thing about it, although some don't believe her. She starts aquiring parts of her life piece by piece, finding out she was an awful person and the life she's lived was cruel and pointless, which was hated by most. Samantha meets all new characters that she already knew and grew up with in the past, including her brother, the soon-to-be love of her

Me talk pretty one day is an essay written by David Sedaris in 2005. It tells the story of the authors to return to school at the age of forty-one and about his experience with learning French in Paris with a very strict teacher. The theme of the essay is David Sedaris attitude towards learning a new language. Although he seems to have an attitude towards learning French he moves all the way to France with only one month of French lessons as his previous experience with the language which gives the essay some humor. The language in the essay is very informal which is supported by him talking about own experience. He uses a lot of imagery and tends to exaggerate his experiences. For example, it's everyone into the language pool, sink, or

Her study of photography began when Caitlyn signed up for a photo class elective during her second semester of ninth grade. Initially, this class was not what she had expected, “We [the students] didn’t even get to do any actual photography at first; for three weeks all we did was learn technical things about cameras.” Eventually though, when they did begin to start using

Universal healthcare is known to be a luxury in most counties. However, in North Korea where the economy is continually struggling, universal healthcare is a disaster. The communist country has major commitments to education and healthcare which both failed once the economy crumbled. The health of North Koreans suffered dramatically with a declining economy because it created famine, malnutrition, absence of medication, and ultimately extremely limited healthcare. A recent documentary, called Inside North Korea, allowed a foreign physician to come in the country and perform cataract surgery to countless individuals. This physician was needed to not only to bring modern surgery equipment, but also education North Korean medical professionals

In this article the author, Howard Rheingold, describes his experience when he decided to visit the amish communities. There he discussed why they put self-imposed rules upon themselves. He realized it was not because they resented technology, the Amish love fancy barbeques and electric saws, but they saw that in the “english” world, people are being separated from their community. The amish decided they would try their hardest to avoid this separation caused by technological advances, “Look Who's Talking” by Howard Rheingold, convinces the reader to analyze the pros and cons of technology; to decide whether or not certain devices are beneficial towards people and their community.

In the book She’s Come Undone by author Wally Lamb, we travel on a journey with a young girl Dolores Prices, as she matures from early childhood to adulthood and all the terrible things that accompany her along her voyage. It was rather intriguing the Wally Lamb did such an excellent job of writing in a first person perceptive as a woman. He accredits his ability to his older sisters. Wally Lamb wrote this book to help emphasize one’s journey to self-discovery. This book’s theme heavily shows the loss of innocence and a coming of age story. Lamb was able to write in a way that many of us could relate to or may have found ourselves in similar situations. Regardless of Lamb’s purpose for writing this book, he was able to create a relatable

At first glance and after reading through Amazing Grace, it seems that Jonathan Kozol is going to take us on a journey through the lives of the underprivileged, but similar to the ones you read about, or hear in the news. However, this is not the case; the real underlying theme seems to be how the life and society they live in is very alike to a life in a prison, not because it talks explicitly about prison conditions in this area, but also because their lives are portrayed as being a prison. Kozol uses the views of children and adults throughout this book to emphasize this theme through their living conditions and personal lives, background and struggles.

Weems was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1953, the second of seven children of the Weems family. The Weems was a middle class family, working for their everyday living, had no privileges. At the age of 16 she gave birth to her first and only child, a daughter. It is never easy to become a single mother, but it was the sixties, and a hard time for black women. She doesn’t speak about any negative experiences, because once she mentioned she wants to see women succeed and not pity

Ghost Singer by Anna Lee Walters is a tale of the historical injustices suffered by Indigenous peoples and the modern consequences of those injustices. Although it is clear that the spirit people in the novel serve as the most outwardly fearsome people in the novel, it is important to take into account the overall systemic injustices that the characters of Native American heritage suffer under throughout the histories presented in the novel. Walters addresses fearsomeness and sympathetic characters through the use of dangerous characters and situations presented directly and indirectly to the characters. The fearsomeness of the characters and the sympathy felt for the characters is dependent upon the perspectives of the readers since these fearsome figures are “a cultural construct and a projection” of that cultures fears (Cohen 1). The fearsome figures in the novels are presented to initially be the spirits haunting the artifacts, but upon closer examination the larger more entrenched issue of outdated models of thought in relation to Indigenous peoples appear to be the most important fearsome figure. The protagonist of the novel is dependent upon the views taken, and the fearsome figures that the historians, such as David Evans, and characters are attempting aid the spirits, such as George Daylight. Walters addresses the fearsome nature of a system dependent on examining and judging indigenous societies based on white values, which is problematic since both cultures do not

The film, If These Walls Could Talk directed by Nancy Savocaset and Cher, is a trilogy of stories played out of the same house with different occupants, spanning over 40 years. Each segment contains stories about various women dealing with unexpected pregnancies and their thoughts of abortion. These turn of events happened during a time where women’s rights activism in the US is at the head of political and ethical issues. During this time it was frowned upon for women to have freedom of their reproductive lives. In this film, director Nancy Savocaset and Cher prove that access to birth control and safe and legal abortion is a form of power and that allowing women to make decisions about how they would handle an unexpected pregnancy with or without the consent of the other party, or

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick provides insight into the lives of North Korean defectors while in North Korea. Their accounts give inside information about the North Korean regime which makes it possible to analyze to what extent society was an egalitarian utopia. The interview reveals that people were discriminated by social class as evident by those who were richer, and thus in a higher social strata, having more opportunities for success. There was also economic inequity which was apparent by people having different degrees of struggle. However, the problems North Koreans faced was similar, which showed there was some equality from their struggles. Overall, the interviewees give accounts which contradict the idea that the North Korean regime was promoting egalitarianism through their accounts which give counterexamples regarding social class and economic status, so their claim of egalitarianism is mostly false.

Nancy Goldin – whom goes by the name Nan Goldin – is an American photographer who was born in Washington D.C in 1953. She is renowned for her LGBT-inclusive images and for her use of colour film.

With the end of the days upon them, two teenagers leave their remote religious community and travel into town in search for “the shelter”. “Red Rover” directed by Brooke Goldfinch, is about a religious community who during their last dinner will meet one’s death and go to heaven because it’s the end of the world. Although there are often problems and worries, life should be lived as pleased because love, enjoyment, and life can disappear an in instant. Undeniably love is a big aspect of life. In “Red Rover” love is desired till the end because the world is going to end.