The Gilded Six Bits Analysis

The author Gary Shteyngart of “Sixty-Nine Cent” describes himself in a tug of war between the Russian culture of his parents and the American culture in which he wants to be a part of. At the age of seven, Gary Shteyngart and his family immigrated to the United States from Russia. When he was fourteen, his family and other Russian immigrant made a trip to Florida to see Disneyland. He describes “the ride over the MacArthur Causeway to Miami Beach was my real naturalization ceremony”( Shteyngart 103). At that age, he wanted to be like every American born boy, He wanted to eat at McDonald’s, walk the beaches, and speak to the girls, and to enjoy what every boy his age takes for granted. One of his desires was to eat a McDonald’s

Virgil had gone to the bank to ask what kind of cash was used and to his surprise, it was all coins. Quarters, halves, and even nickels and dimes. There were some bills as well, but the largest was $5. He could’ve deposited it and gained interest from it, getting about $18 a year. Also, it would’ve also been safer for him and his money. Sam had been hoarding it slowly, but surely, to save up for his mortgage and after this concern had been resolved, Sam was released and was a free man

In Voltaire’s novella Candide, the main character’s newly found wealth from an idealized Eldorado is exploited by the world’s fixation of greed that ultimately effects himself and others as he learns that money cannot buy happiness.

Hurston uses diction, imagery, and tone to sum up the changed nature of the marriage between Joe and Janie and makes the reader feel angry concerning Joe, and pity concerning Janie.

Andrew Carnegie was believed by many to have stolen his immense fortune by underpaying workers while others believed he worked his way to get where he was, and deserved every last penny he received. Controversial figures like the one described caused a copious amount of issues while many tried to decide whether they believed these industrialists were robber barons or captains of industry during the Gilded Age of the late 19th century. The Gilded Age was an important time is United States history that witnessed many concerning issues such as corruption, unemployment, and poverty. Because of the expansion westward and rapid pace of industrialization, many believed the United States had reached a “new golden age.” Relating to the term Gilded, the United States was looked upon as an unbelievably successful area, but had underlying elitists manipulating how the United States was viewed. The wealthy industrialists of the late 19th century were social darwinists involved in many unnecessary actions such as putting their employees in poor working conditions, underpaying their workers, and supporting children and women in the labor force.

In The Gilded Six-Bits, Zora Neale Hurston utilizes a few of distinctive procedures to characterize Joe and Missy May, the primary couple all through

"The fifth day after my arrival, I put on the clothes of a common laborer, and went upon the wharves in search of work. On my way down Union Street I saw a large pile of coal in front of the house of Rev. Ephraim Peabody, the Unitarian minister. I went to the kitchen door and asked the privilege of bringing in and putting away this coal. 'What will you charge?' said the lady. 'I will leave that to you, madam.' 'You may put it away,' she said. I was not long in accomplishing the job, when the dear lady put into my hand two silver half-dollars. To understand the emotion which swelled my heart as I clasped this money, realizing that I had no master who

In “Twenty Grand” the author also use repetition to send author’s point to the audience by emphasis the “ Coin” in the story , how at first it was talking about who gives the mother this coin to show the importance of this coin to the mother because it was passed down from her mother’ mother, and how later in the toll station it also shows how she gives the coin which is very important to the toll women, and in the end it uses the word coin again when It said “I miss my mother’s coin,”(Curtis,57) this also help emphasise the important of the coin and give the reader a strong ending to remember the key item the “Coin”.

Throughout the book I learned that trying to live off minimum wage with average life is nearly impossible. It is impossible because the people work all day, they have no health care and they typing scavenge the food that is cheap. Listening sad I feel like life and the economy is unbalanced. ? I've learned that the author is very biased and to me it seems odd that she would change places with someone that makes a low minimum wage when she makes all the money that she needs to survive. So what would happen if you put a child in the mix with trying to live off minimum wage? Some things that I'm going to include in my research paper is the statistics that she states at the bottom of the pages. An example would be the quote “So begins my career at the Hearthside, where for two weeks I work from 2:00 till 10:00 p.m. for $2.43 an hour plus tips” The quote shows that Barbra cannot live off $2.43.Another is “…forced to live off the contents of his car and whatever food items he can scrummage

They were both taken in by his slick ways. "The lesson has been costly but because the foundation upon which the marriage was built has been strong, the marriage has survived.  Missie and Joe genuinely love each other and both have enough courage, determination, and trust in each other to weather the storm" (Howard 152). The marriage was built on a strong reality.  They were both taken in by Slemmons (slimy), but they had to remember that all they really needed was each other.  Joe remarks, "That was the best part of life - going home to Missie May.  Their white-washed house, the mock battles on Saturday, the dinner and ice cream parlor afterwards, church on Sunday nights when Missie outdressed any woman in town - all, everything was right" (2091). Robert Bone, in his book Down Home: Origins of the Afro-American Short Story says, "Hurston's sole attempt to deal with the urban scene, depicts the self in jeopardy from false, urban values.  The 'Gilded Six-Bits' brings the theme full circle" (138).  Missie and Joe have to, and do, get back to their original simple ways of showing affection for each other.  Performing the little rituals they did before being dazzled by Slemmons, and his false outward appearance.

In the book Nickel and Dimed written by Barbara Ehrenreich, is about a journalist who was assigned to write an article about the minimum wage life. She believed that in order to do this task she needs to actually experience it in her own point of view. She decided to do an experiment as to live a life with a minimum wage. I believe that the message that she was sending is that it is very difficult to survive in such a minimum wage. No one should be in that state where you have to worry about eating the next day or being able to pay the upcoming bills, not having a permanent shelter. Throughout the book she noted down the peoples situation about how they have to share the place in order for them to be able to pay the rent. To always having

Everybody in their life has made mistakes, but there is a difference between the small mistakes that people make on a daily basis, and those that can cause life-altering events. In the three Zora Neal Hurston stories, “Sweat,” “Spunk,” and “The Gilded Six Bit,” characters all make terrible mistakes that affect the people that they love most. The outcomes of each story though are very different as the characters face tough choices and deal with them in very different ways. Though these situations deal with many of the same issues, the ability or inability for those in the stories to forgive individuals shows their true character and values.

In the essay “Nickel and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich she discusses the issues of low wages. Barbara worked a low paying wage job as a nurse in order to fully understand the hardship. While working this job she meets new people and writes about their struggles with low paying jobs. She believes it is important for everyone to know how the other half lives, and to shed light on the low wage market and many more problems that come with it. This essay will focus on the message Barbara wanted to get across, but also her flawed, hypocritical methods of acquiring this information.

In the book, Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich, doesn’t talk much about the issue of mental health, but what she does say is “forced into a subordinate status within their social systems. They become depressed. And their behavior is anxious and withdrawn.” According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMH), 1 in 4 American adults, have some form of mental illness. Low-income workers will most likely not get any benefits or medical insurance; since most health insurance companies will not adequately cover the cost of services required to fully overcome mental health issues. Working long hours, not only drains the worker physically but mentally as well, due to the inadequate funds to support

A common moral says that money is the root of all evil. Although Ray Bradbury wouldn’t fully agree that money is the root of all evil, he does think materialistic possessions can be harmful when used in excess. He writes in “The Veldt” about two spoiled who see only value than the harm that is being caused through their materialistic lives. Ray Bradbury uses allusion, foreshadowing, and setting to show the harms of relying on materialistic possessions.