Selfish Ideas In Perfect Peace By Daniel Black

The Harlem Renaissance was a time for racial uprising and change. However, sexuality is rarely discussed when researching and reflecting on this time. Many of the leaders in the Harlem Renaissance identified somewhere along the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual) spectrum. “Claude McKay, Wallace Thurman, Alain Locke, Richard Bruce Nugent, Angelina Weld Grimké, Alice Dunbar-Nelson and Langston Hughes, all luminaries of the New Negro literary movement, have been identified as anywhere from openly gay (Nugent) to sexually ambiguous or mysterious (Hughes). In a 1993 essay, “The Black Man’s Burden,” Henry Louis Gates Jr., The Root‘s editor-in-chief, notes that the Renaissance ‘was surely as gay as it was black.’”

A Separate Peace is a short novel about a group of high school boys that live during world war two but this story has deeper more complex meaning then that can be seen from the surface. In disguise of a “coming of age” story this novel contains very familiar biblical connections. These connections include the trial of Jesus, the fall of man from perfection, and the story of Cain and Abel. Knowles novel A Separate Peace contains biblical allegories, that become evident under a close examination.

In the pugnacious article "Thrift: The Rebirth of a Forgotten Virtue," the writer Daniel Akst uncovers the characterization and slant of the utilization of thrift. Throughout the article, Akst gives a few perspectives and cases of certain powerful individuals and their perspectives. Alongside the different perspectives of the individuals, there are numerous quotes from well respected people. When Akst uncovers his actual position on thrift towards the closure of his factious article, he trusts that thrift makes solidness. The targeted group that Akst aims for is the general population of money spenders in America. His intention of composing this article is to advise individuals about thrift and that by thrifting you make budgetary opportunity. The rhetorical analysis strategies that will be exemplified are pathos, as well as logos. Daniel Akst is successful in his contention that thrift makes opportunity with illustrations of hurried speculations, quotes of persuasive individuals and measurable proof.

In Richard Rodriguez’s “The Achievement of Desire,” he compares himself to author Richard Hoggart’s “scholarship boy,” the type of student anyone can become. The “scholarship boy” is “anxious and eager to learn,” but is overbearing in his ways of learning and conveying knowledge (Rodriguez 534). Born as a son of two Mexican immigrants, Rodriguez quickly detached his life at school from his life at home. Hoggart helped Rodriguez to see near the end of his education exactly how harmful this type of lifestyle would become for Rodriguez’s learning. In my own experience, and specifically in my four years of high school, I tried my best to avoid being a “scholarship boy,” because that would prove detrimental to myself in relationships, my education, and my health and wholeness.

Social change comes from a societies understanding and acceptance of controversial topics, laws that enforce social norms and the politics that play a role in such change. The author Gerald Rosenberg of “The Hollow Hope” believes that the Supreme Court is able to bring about social change. Rosenburg main argument seemed to be questioning if a courts ruling that had once been accepted and had standing for several years were to be over turned, would the environment outside of the courtroom suddenly change and be accepting of their division.

When reading this autobiography it reminded me of my adolescent years; I remember feeling like I knew all there was to being a grown up, I also felt like my parents didn’t know much because they didn’t go to college. I strongly feel like they could have always done more than they were doing. Upon reading this, I felt as though I was reading Richard Rodriguez’s journal and he was a very unhappy kid living in the ghetto. He was also embarrassed of his own life and he seemed unhappy in his own skin... “(Ways of reading pg.339) A primary reason for my success in the classroom was that I couldn’t forget that success was changing me and separating me from the life I enjoyed before becoming a student”.

Paul D is left in shock and denial claiming, “That ain’t her mouth,” attempting to obscure the reality where Sethe did indeed kill her baby (154). The once idealistic woman who Paul D had known and loved for years has turned to do something so evil, leaving him in dismay. He did not understand Sethe’s motives; no one truly did. No one could draw the line of connection between the idea of saving one’s children by killing them. As Stamp Paid continues to read the news clipping, Paul D goes into a frenzy, shaking his head in disbelief. The look on Paul D’s face was so full of terror that even Stamp Paid thought that “the stranger the lips in the drawing became” as Paul D continued to shake in apprehension, questioning if the event really did occur

Buddha once stated, “it is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.” In “The Possibility of Evil,” Miss Strangeworth, a seemingly innocent elderly woman, sends cruel letters in order to rid her town of evil. When other townspeople discover her as the author of the letters, they destroy her prized roses. Shirley Jackson’s “The Possibility of Evil” not only reveals the deceitfulness of people, but also emphasizes the underlying evil of all humans and shows that evil remains insurmountable until fully accepted.

Throughout the short story “Civil Peace” Jonathan maintains a positive outlook. He does not let the tragedies of war weigh him down, nor does he let his small income get the best of him. He takes what he has and makes the best of it. Jonathan keeps this positive outlook to keep those around him feeling safe.

For this essay, I will be examining the article “Absurd Self-Fulfillment,” written by Joel Feinberg. I will be pinpointing the central conclusion of this article, as well as the argument’s premises and the article’s central argument. I will also explain how the article relates to the film Being John Malkovich, and finally the school of philosophy, which we call “existentialism” and three of its central tenets.

The phrase, “We the people”, holds a lot of meaning to American citizens. As the first three words of the United States Constitution, it signifies a core value intended to act as a unifying factor in America’s democratic society: popular sovereignty. This is the idea of a majority rules, or to put more simply, the one with the most votes wins. The U.S. system of government relies upon the fact that the American people are capable of coming together to make informed decisions about matters that will ultimately better the lives of everyone. Despite this, however, there are certain instances in which a minority group will impose on or have more influence than the majority group. This phenomenon occurs all the time in politics, as politicians tend to regard the predilections of small groups of citizens as opposed to the general populace.

Is silence really an important factor in ife? Silence is described as complete absence of sound, however is there more to it? In The Chosen the theme is taken on with great significance. In the book “The Chosen” by Chaim Potok, silence isn’t ordinary, for it can teach various lessons, and can be looked at in a good way.

In the novel, The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault the protagonist, becomes drawn into a “senseless” murder that has to face the absurdity of life and because of his actions, Meursault is presented as a danger due to his lack of “morality” to society. Meursault who is not able to take control of his life but respond to what life offers him believes in the simplicity of life. He tries to understand the living through logic and objectivity, which ultimately turns futile, as he himself cannot maintain proper control over his thoughts and emotions. From the interactions between Marie, to the murder of the Arab, and the meeting with the Chaplain, Meursault overcomes his indifferent views to form an opinion about what life really means. The central theme presented by Camus is how the threat of mortality becomes a catalyst for understanding the significance of life.

Crying and laughing, people experience many different emotions during different stages of their life. Sometimes they would find themselves dissatisfied almost every single moment when they assume that the world is not fulfilling their desire, in other words, their expectations on how the world supposes to be. Dan, an ordinary college student from the story Way of the Peaceful Warrior written by Dan Millman, faces the same obstacle as many others do. Although he has lived a pleased and content life, passion suddenly disappears from him. Such depression stops when he meets Socrates, an old man at the gas station, and learns inspirational lessons which connect to the Four Noble Truths from Socrates. The lessons promote great changes in Dan’s

Perfect Peace was the only “girl” born into the Peace family. After six boys Emma Jean could not take another risk of not having her own little girl that she was willing to make her. Emma Jean waited for this moment her whole life to finally have a daughter and raise her to be the prettiest little girl she wished she could have been. Later on in the book Emma Jean’s secret was exposed about Perfect being born a boy. This caused a huge uproar in the Peace household and also in the community of Swamp Creek. Perfect’s transition into Paul and now having to uphold his own masculinity was a big change to this young boy. His older brothers felt obligated to have a vital role in his transformation into masculinity and the erasing of his feminine ways he once was used to. Paul’s brothers each helped her transform into masculinity in different ways by teaching her things, protecting her, being understanding but also hindered her by being too rough and not having patience.