Religions. Dubious? Very much so. One must question what precisely is religion when the topic is brought about. Is it a safe haven for the mind- a safety net, one must lean on when needed? Is it an explanation for the unexplainable? Is there a correct answer? There happens to be various religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all worship one god. Is it possible that they could all actually be following the same god? The followers of the
share their culture and values, but are mocked and in turn, encounter institutionalized racism. So despite the opportunities that this state promises, California is still paradoxical. To truly comprehend this notion, we can look at texts such as In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck and True West by Sam Shepard as examples, and artwork such as
John Steinbeck's "In Dubious Battle" Summary 	This story opens with the main character named Jim Nolan leaving behind his former life and going to meet Harry Nilson, a leader of the "Party." Jim had a father killed in a riot, a mother who died, and a sister that was missing. He wants to join the "Party" because he wants to do something that will give his life meaning. He is accepted, and is introduced to other members of the party. The next day, Jim accompanies Mac
have commanding resources at their disposal. Despite this fact he is willing to risk lives in pursuit of what he deems a greater cause. This inherent selfishness breeds the greed and inhumanity that Steinbeck is so keen to expose in his novel, In Dubious Battle. Mac shows his true, selfish and greedy self when he takes advantage of situations as a chance for his own gain: to further his cause, manipulate the strikers’ emotions, steam up the crowd, and gain the public’s sympathy. Mac depicts his honest
today’s world, it seems everyone is fueled to work only towards the dream of wealth. Without the promise of payment, people will turn their back on their neighbor without a second thought and continue on the search for prosperity. In the novel In Dubious Battle, we meet Mac, a hard working party member doing everything in his power to help struggling laborers make the wage they were promised before setting out for the California apple orchards. Almost immediately after the strike begins, Mac comes
Ambiguity is defined as “the quality of being open to more than one interpretation.” In fiction, it leads readers to consider various conclusions and provokes them to go beyond the text itself. In Dubious Battle exemplifies this. John Steinbeck ensures that every character, every conflict, and every theme incorporates some form of ambiguity. Not only does this provoke the reader to think beyond the socio-economic problems directly expressed within the text, but it also sparks questions regarding
Diligence and dedication, two qualities that most people would consider quite admirable. In In Dubious Battle, Mac McLeod radiates both of these traits and although these traits are admirable as aforementioned, Mac’s motives and actions cause some of his better qualities to be overlooked. For Mac, most of what he does is to benefit his cause and what he is working towards, which is ultimately a massive strike by thousands of workers on an apple farm. However, there are points throughout the novel
Death and religion in Emily Dickinson’s poems The subject of death occurs prominently throughout Dickinson’s poems. This morbid preoccupation might have been caused by her poor health and also the romanticization of death during her time. Traditionally, religion views death as a release from life, thus contemplating the reward of eternal immortality. Religion is another vastly explored topic in Dickinson’s works. Her spirituality is not clear (although she did attend church) but she expresses puritan
Magic, it is a very familiar word, familiar, but also extremely vague. So far, the only clear definition of magic we have, is that magic is some kind of power that influenced courses of events through the usage of mysterious and supernatural forces. It is a curious thing how we give such a definition to something that is often accepted to be unreal. For all we know, magic is mostly noted to be unrealistic. It is mostly accepted to be a fabric of our imagination in this world, where the logic of
aproximate to these ideals through enacting social practices attached to them. As regards religion and religious pretenses in particular, a distinct role is played by a religious tradition's rituals. This point is made very clearly by Rappaport; however, for the reasons mentioned above, his ideas concerning the irrelevance of the internal acceptance of a ritual's implications by its practitioners are at best dubious.