Pynchon’s Vision of America in The Crying of Lot 49 Essay

Within March and many different primary sources, an array of themes are revealed and reflected upon, often discussing life during the 19th century in America. Through such themes, the constant joys and struggles of life are divulged. For instance, the theme of hypocrisy is introduced in a multitude of 19th century sources, including speeches and poems. Additionally, the theme of hypocrisy is expanded upon in March by the characters of Mr. March and Marmee, as their ideals often juxtapose their actions. Hence, both March and the different primary sources combine to demonstrate the timeless theme of hypocrisy, addressing the notion of what is promised and what is truly given.

The poem America by Claude McKay is on its surface a poem combining what America should be and what this country stands for, with what it actually is, and the attitude it projects amongst the people. Mckay uses the form of poetry to express how he, as a Jamaican immigrant, feels about America. He characterizes the bittersweet relationship between striving for the American dream, and being denied that dream due to racism. While the America we are meant to see is a beautiful land of opportunity, McKay see’s as an ugly, flawed, system that crushes the hopes and dreams of the African-American people.

Theodor Roosevelt, our 26th president, was a gruff politician who had a huge impact on America. He is known for his accomplishments in the political, social, and business world during the Progressive Era. His accomplishments helped shape America, and because of this influence, he is one of the faces found on Mount Rushmore.

     For as long as I could read comprehensively, I have always believed that great writing centered around well written stories that would both provide a certain measure of unaffected pleasure, as well as challenge the readers perception of the world at large; both within and outside of the sphere of its prose. Thomas Pynchons' The Crying of Lot 49 encompasses both of those requirements; by enfolding his readers, through a variety of means, within the intricate workings of his narrative. It centers around would be heroine Oedipa Maas, a practical but somewhat restless woman, who's life is turned upside down when she discovers that she has been made executor of the estate of old

The book The Ugly American clearly demonstrates several of the established Special Operations Force (SOF) imperatives outlined in ADRP 6-22. As a Special Forces soldier I can relate these imperatives to stories illustrated in the book and apply them to real life situations that I have experienced in the field. The Ugly American is a goldmine of wisdom and a handbook for special warfare. All Special Operations soldiers should read it.

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.

     In the poem "Let America Be America Again," Langston Hughes paints a vivid word picture of a depressed America in the 1930's. To many living in America, the idealism presented as the American Dream had escaped their grasp. In this poetic expression, a speaker is allowed to voice the unsung Americans' concern of how America was intended to be, had become to them, and could aspire to be again.

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.

Reading G. William Domhoff’s Who Rules America?: The Triumph of the Corporate Rich was an intriguing and challenging experience for me. My limited knowledge base of the American political class system mostly stems from high school US History classes and listening to my mom’s stories of her experiences in the corporate world. Therefore, I am aware that due to my prior lack of knowledge on the topics presented in Domhoff’s book, I may have misjudged some of his finer points. Part of my struggles may be largely due to the fact that Domhoff’s intended audience for Who Rules America? is other experts in the field of understanding the sociology of the corporate elite and their resources of power. However, I believe that the book has given me a better, if not complete, understanding of the corporate elite and how they stay in power.

Edited by Bernard Edelman, “Dear America” is a collection of letters written by soldiers during the Vietnam War. Their letters are written to love ones back home such as parents, siblings, and spouses but they are a great depiction of the Vietnam War. The soldiers would write these letters to help keep hope alive and to keep sane. Throughout the book the letters are categorize into those who are barely arriving into the war to those who have been there a long time. The stress and anxiety grows more and more as the letters continue and the soldiers begin to contemplate their situation. I’ve learned a lot of factual things about the Vietnam War throughout my life such as how it began and what the outcome was but reading this book was the

According to the excerpt "Entropy" which was taken from K.C Coles essay, the main point is that everything in the universe eventually moves from order to disorder. In lines 5-6, it is stated that: "Unlike almost every other physical property (motion, gravity, energy), entropy does not work both ways. It can only increase. Once it's created it can never be destroyed. The road to disorder is a one way street." This is basically referring to the idea that entropy isn't necessarily a positive thing, yet its inevitable. This means that certain things most people wouldn't want in life, such as aging for example, is prone to have a negative affect on you, but it's something you have no control over.

Entropy is a term used to describe a force that is present in all family systems. If the system is lacking a sufficient amount of social exchange, the family relationship tends to weaken and breakdown. Melanie and Jake are a perfect example of entropy. They

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, entropy can be defined as “the degree of disorder or uncertainty in a system.” In his novel, The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon manipulates the definition of the scientific term “entropy” to manifest the innate chaos and disorder in both a closed thermodynamic system and in the life of the protagonist: Oedipa Maas. In the novel, Oedipa Maas explores entropy with respect to the thermodynamic sorting of molecules in Maxwell’s Demon, and the communication information regarding the “Tristero”. According to Warren Weaver’s, Recent Contributions to The Mathematical Theory of Communication, there are technical, semantic, and effectiveness problems that may distort the accuracy of communication,

In Allen Ginsberg’s “America,” the speaker angrily blasts America in a one-sided argument. In this poem America is personified and is addressed by the speaker as if it were human. After calling himself America the speaker asks several rhetorical questions that make the reader think about America’s ethical and moral values while questioning its goals and ambitions. In essence, the speaker presents to the reader those unanswerable questions that neither himself nor him as America are able to answer.

“Not forever… It will all stop someday, but not for billions of years. Many billions. Even the stars run down, you know. Entropy must increase.” “The Last Question,” a short story written by Isaac Asimov, is comprised of a series of small “chapters” which chronologically catalog the gradual collapse of the human race over several trillion years. Each of these “chapters” has a similar feel to them; each is written in a very succinct manner. In his short story, Isaac Asimov divides his composition into small “chapters” and uses succinct grammatical structure as well as character dialogue to represent the incredibly simple and finite thing that is human life.