Our America Summary

In the book, Hidden America by Jeanne Marie Laskas, I noticed many themes throughout. Perhaps the most important theme that occurred to me was the fact that many of these stories were happening right here in my home state. Throughout three different chapters I truly came to the realization that many situations to do with my life, are possible purely because of the workers in the stories; not only around the world but in places I frequent. The three chapters I chose were: “Underworld”, “G-L-O-R-Y”, and “Sputter”. All of these stories were based in Ohio and I think that has a lot to say about how oblivious we are as a community to the people that work to make our lives how they are today.

Over the past few weeks of class, we have covered the first five chapters of our textbook, written by George Brown Tindell and David Emory Shi called, “America, A Narrative History.” Each chapter told the reader a narration of the history of America, as opposed to an expository version of America’s history. Each chapter had its own main idea over a portion of history, along with many details that cover the importance of the main idea. As a reader, one may obtain a deeper appreciation for the country 's history, prior to entering the class on the first day. The most important aspect of history, besides the battles that are fought, is the different cultures that make up today’s modern America.

Dinesh D’Souza wrote What’s So Great About America after the attack of September 11, 2001. After the attacks, most people grieved, even if they knew on one that died; however, people also banded together and fought against a group they thought were attacking them. He wrote this book so that pride for America would radiate from the people long after the attacks; that they also would not so easily forget what they did for the country.

The Divided States of America is a documentary by PBS Frontline, in which they analyze the stalemated America that Obama took over in 2009 and issues he faced, and later divided America that Trump took over in January. The documentary purpose was to show the effect of the division within the United States and encourage listeners to consider the future effects of Trump’s presidency, It elaborates on what actions Obama took which led to such a polarized nation, where some strongly supported him, while others strongly disagreed.

I would not let this happen to me.” (Dillard, P.26) She had realized how people’s youthful appearance deteriorate as they aged. It kind of scared her, because she didn’t want it happening to her. Another difference Dillard observed was religion. She disliked the Catholic schoolchildren, because she was afraid of their beliefs. She expressed thoughts on how uptight the religion was compared to her own when she said “Whatever the pope said, I thought it was no prize, it didn’t work, our Protestant lives were much sunnier, without our half trying.” (Dillard, P. 33). She also talked about changes in Pittsburgh’s appearance. “City workers continually paved the streets, They poured asphalt over the streetcar tracks, streetcar tracks their fathers had wormed between the old riverworn cobblestones, cobblestones laid smack into the notorious nineteenth-century mud.” This message is important because after childhood, you start to grow more aware of the world around you, which is a big change. Children are often oblivious to changes, but as you get older, you notice how things change more up-close and personal.

In the poem “America,” by Tony Hoagland, the idea of Americans being consumed with their money is shown using symbolism and metaphors. The speaker in this poem is a teacher whose name is never mentioned. One thing revealed in the poem is that the speaker has a father who is presumably very wealthy and successful. One of the teacher’s students compares America to a maximum security prison. A recurring theme throughout “America” is Hoagland showing examples of America’s greedy society using a teacher, student, and a father’s experiences. Using metaphors of money and symbols of rivers filled with merchandise, Tony Hoagland captures how the teacher begins to think after he hears his student compare America to a maximum security prison.

“…Superintendent James Agostine called to offer an empty school that was a godsend” (Six Months). My thesis relates to this because since they had a plan after this they could get back and rolling with the no academic interruption. The school had many volunteers who helped out to rebuild the community with help from the Red Cross. Without these people helping out and giving food to the victims’ families, the city would have been in chaos with the families being very upset (‘Six Months”). Although people may be mad at the superintendent, it’s not his fault and he wants to help the families and help everyone rebound from this tragic event (Gay). Many parents were furious at the superintendent for not saving their children but he’s in as much pain as they are. Although Sandy Hook shooting was a tragic day in history, society benefitted by better

James Baldwin and Langston Hughes wrote two pieces of literature, Baldwin's letter to his nephew at the beginning of The Fire Next Time and Hughes’ “Let America be America Again”, to show how minorities, specifically African-American, struggled in America. Both authors write how about minorities are oppressed and how they have to fight oppression in order to realize “The American Dream” and overcome obstacles the white American man did not have. The two pieces give an insight on how, not only the African-Americans but also “the red man” and “the refugee”, are oppressed in America. Leonard Pitts work is about how Americans tip-toe around the problems is their country. Pitts statement in his article is that Americans need to realize what is wrong with America and how they need to work together to fix it.

Reading is a crucial part of my academic life, it is a subject that is used multiple times throughout my life. Among the many genres that I have explored, suspense, adventures, and mysteries are my favored because they catch my attention and make me wonder what happens next. Two books that fit these qualities are Alan Gratz’s young adult novel “Code of Honor” and Mildred Taylor’s historical novel “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry”. In the novel Code of Honor, Kamran Smith has it all; a beautiful girlfriend, he is his school’s football star and his best friend got them free tickets to the Super Bowl but his life takes a sharp turn for the worse. Kamran’s older brother, Darius, who fought in the US Army in Afghanistan, is accused a terrorist. He is seen on video bombing the US Embassy in Turkey. Important themes the novel conveys are brotherhood and loyalty. Kamran displays these themes by believing that Darius is innocent. This book has personally affected my life by strengthening my brotherhood and loyalty. I now have a stronger relationship with my brother and we are more loyal to one another. In the novel, Roll of Thunder, one African American family, the Logans, fight to stay strong in the face of brutal racist attacks, illness, poverty, and betrayal in the deep South of the 1930s. The main character and narrator, Cassie Logan, speculates many events during her childhood which takes place in the time of the Jim Crow era. This book has affected me on a personal level because I

To many people, the United States is more than just a country; it’s a place of ideals. To some, those ideals are liberty and freedom. To others, the American Dream is democracy and unity between all people. Many people, especially immigrants, see the many opportunities that America offers as its greatest ideal. House of Sand and Fog, by Andre Dubus III, focuses extensively on economic opportunity, telling the tale of former Iranian Colonel, Massoud Behrani. Behrani hopes to strike it rich in the real estate market with a home he bought, so he can work towards restoring his family’s honor. Sadly, his dreams fall flat and his entire family ends up dead. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford, is about social opportunity America can offer. A young Chinese boy named Henry Lee becomes good friends with a Japanese girl named Keiko during World War II, despite that their people have long been enemies. When the government sends Keiko and her family away to an internment camp, Henry is separated from perhaps his only friend. Both House of Sand and Fog and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet discuss the opportunities that America offers, and how sometimes these opportunities fail people.

Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle in their book “Rereading America” feel that commencing college is a very disturbing experience. So many things we have to deal while starting college, but the major challenges are expanded difficulty levels and higher expectation which we are not familiar over the years of high school. In order to solve this issue, we have to remodel ourselves by taking up the challenge and rethink about our strength and flaws. To succeed in college we need to be mentally strong and dedicated towards our goal.

By 1600, England’s feudal system was nearing extinction, as a new family (Tudor’s) came to power and wanted support from the middleclass and the establishment of new liberties for Englishman (i.e. trial by jury and no arrest without a warrant), which resulted in a large amount of local and self initiative to prosper in the community: yet many beggars now existed, culminating in an increased need for colonial expansion both for personal prosperity and more space for the existing population.

The article published by “USA Today” talks about a african american woman named Sandra Bland who was pulled over for a traffic violation, put in jail, and two days later “supposedly” committed suicide while in jail. Sandra was on her way to a church gathering, when she was pulled over by a white police officer. She was pulled over and the police officer kept asking her to put her cigarette out. When she refused to put the cigarette out the police officer kept asking her to step out of the car. She was asking the question, “ what does this have to do to anything, if you're going to give me a ticket just give it to me and we can both get going.” The police officer then said he would drag her out the car if she didn't throw her cigarette out and

In the video titled Was America Ever Great? by Charity Croff, Croff goes to look into the past of America and shows that America really never was as great as Donald Trump thinks it was. Unless Trump’s idea of greatness is the genocide of millions of native American’s, the stealing of land from the natives and Mexico, and African Americans being forced against their will to work until they die from horrific working conditions then as Croff says “America was never great”. He also goes to say that it is hypocritical of us to be so against illegal immigrants when the first Europeans landed and colonized America were illegal immigrants themselves. Our entire country was built on immigration by immigrants. Croff explains how the Indian Removal Act

Newman begins her book by telling the stories of two different rampage shootings, at Heath High School and Westside Middle School. Once she establishes the shooters and the subjects of her study, Newman lays out her thesis and explains that her research shows that many factors contribute