The Problem We All Live With By Norman Rockwell

“And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head" (254). Now what was going to happen next? That's the question we ask ourselves everyday. In the world we live in today our lives and our actions go by so quick, that sometimes we haven't even realized the full extent. John Steinbeck through his book Of Mice and Men that all humans are destine for a future, whether that's a positive or negative one all depends on the environment we live in today. The time period this book was written in was a time in which society didn't fully understand the power of friendship and family. Isolation is a huge theme throughout the book. Steinbeck wanted to show that human beings need the friendship and love of other people in order to prosper.

One of the points that is consistently brought up in Toni Morrison’s Paradise is that of the all black town “Ruby”. Paradise uses the setting of Oklahoma to discuss how many black towns are shaped by past history and religion. While the town in this novel is fictional, there have been real all black towns in the United States, and it seems that these towns influenced many aspects of the town Ruby, which is why it is so easy to imagine that the story could actually be real. Many authors have written in general about the novel, and specifically about the town within it.

If a person had the option to change the world for the better, would they? If they would, then why is it when a person gets minor inconvenienced by a small problem like not having enough chips for the bean dip, they just accept the problem and they do not do anything about it. William F. Buckley Jr. Wrote an essay called, "Why Don't We Complain". Buckley is giving the readers his experience on both the lack of care within the political system and also the apathy people give when it comes to life's minor roadblocks. Society needs to learn that fixing minor problems when given the chance is better than letting a problem grow so much that it starts affecting other people. The audience that this essay is directed to will learn the message of why people should complain, and the purpose the author has to complain.

Anthem, the futuristic novel pinned by Ayn Rand in 1937 gives light to a very scary place and time. This writing expressed her views and beliefs that the United States would be repeating a dark place of its history. Setting the preface where slavery and dictatorship was once more the social norm. As with most forward thinkers their thoughts and ideas are concerned extreme and not given the validity they deserve until future generation look back into the past. History and human behavior always repeats itself.

A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash definitely fits the category of “grit lit.” It is a novel about the Hall’s, a family who is wracked with grief, anxiety, and guilt after the ‘mysterious’ death of one of their sons, Christopher or Stump. The story encompasses more than just the story of the family though as it is told from the perspective of Adelaide Lyle, an old wise woman from the town, Jess Hall the youngest son of the family, and Clem Barefield, the sheriff of Marshall who also had heartache of his own that is intertwined with this families story in more ways than one. The novel incorporates most if not all of the features that is “grit lit” including: an element of crime, a focus on the bleakness of life, lyrical language, and a central character who wishes to escape their environment or get peace inside it.

America is the land of opportunity and equality. Many people grow up believing this to be absolutely true, but Stephen Marche feels otherwise. He wrote “We Are Not All Created Equal,” arguing his point that opportunities in this country are strictly determined by the fate of ones class in society. Marche starts off making a strong case by mentioning the United States’ third place ranking for the least amount of social mobility. In further attempts to prove his point he outlines how class determines the fate of Americans place in society by comparing it’s rigid divisions to those of the aristocracy in Britain. There is a repeating idea throughout the paper that many people in the upper classes love to assume that the poor should fault themselves for their predicament due to their lack of hard work. Marche knocks that assumption out the park with statistical evidence to back up his claims. Although he made a very convincing argument with facts, he had a host of overgeneralized statements throughout the paper, which ultimately weakened his argument of class being the only determining factor of success in America.

Embedded in the human spirit is the notion that people possess an innate sense of being an individual, free to think, act, and understand the world surrounding them. In George Orwell’s 1984, individuality is removed to support the Party’s abilities in controlling and exploiting the masses. Yet, despite their success in suppressing the citizens of Oceania there is something rooted in humanity that although can be repressed, still remains implanted within the deepest parts of a person’s mind. In the novel, while the Party attempts to annihilate all human instincts in order to acquire pure and absolute power, it is unknown to them that despite their best efforts there lies something much more dominant in the human mind which although can be inhibited may never be entirely eliminated. As Winston ponders revolutionary ideas, his physical body unknowing to his conscious mind, is complacent with his innermost thoughts to rebel in any way possible. Winston’s thoughts of unorthodoxy become enhanced through Julia because he discovers someone who desires and understands him, conjuring up something instinctual in him which has been waiting to be released. To care and protect someone else becomes instinctive when he/she experiences suffering or pain and this kind of understanding is acknowledged through the only people Winston believes express any sanity in a corrupt world: the proletarians. A person’s impulse to resist an oppressive nature is instinctual and this is validated through

Psychologists take the effort to contrast the influences of people in regard to thinking, awareness, feelings, actions, attitudes, and behavior. Society tends to form responses from how one person’s actions ultimately causes various stereotypes and prejudices to be generated. Obedience to Authority by Stanley Milgram, discusses various subjects such as impression, stereotypes and prejudices, attribution, attitudes, social influence, attraction, obedience and authority, groups, and helping behavior. Milgram explains, “A person does not get to see the whole situation but only a small part of it, and is thus unable to act without some kind of over-all direction. He yields to authority but in doing so are alienated from his own actions.” (Milgram 11). In this passage, the author shows how in a workplace, people are given small and narrow jobs which is arguably taking away human qualities. Due to the fact that, workers cannot see the full overview of the job that is being done and can only see the specific job that was designated, forces the workers to comply with authority, with the concept in mind that the workers are inferior. This works in many cases, if someone is told a small portion of a project is designated to them, instead of the full project; the worker will feel more inferior to the superior workers, which is an astute way to run an operation. Milgram also discusses, “Within the experimental setting, we find the three elements: position, status and action. Position

In 1891, Irish author Oscar Wilde observed,” Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience and through rebellion. Sometimes negatives bring positives.

Ruby Bridges was the first African American child ever to cross an invisible line and enter an all white school in New Orleans. On her first day, large crowds of angry white men and women protested as she walked inside of Franz Elementary School. The racist protesters carried signs saying black people don’t belong in white schools. Ruby demonstrated bravery even though she was ostracized, threatened, and surrounded by racist.

There are several occasions in one’s life that he should have spoken up or had not said a lie to where it hurt another, yet the fact is, he is only human and everyone is guilty of making these choices. Why does this become habitual? Is it because integrity is holding him back? These questions are always hard to answer, because no one really thinks about integrity, honesty, or the need to speak up. William Buckley and Stephanie Ericsson, however, do address these topics with a huge amount of thought and purpose. Buckley and Ericsson, under the thematic concept of ethics, have valid points concerning ethics within their rhetoric and style.

The notion of Love and hate is a complicated idea. They can be experienced and explained differently depending on who is answering. In the short story, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” by Raymond Carver, love is portrayed through three different lenses: Terri’s, Mel’s, and Nick’s perspective. Correspondingly, in William Shakespeare’s poem, “Sonnet 130,” the speaker has a unique way of describing his mistress, for most people would believe this to be hate, not love. The theme of love and hate are uniquely represented in “Sonnet 130” and “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” in which love and hate are shown in its reality.

    What do people give up on during the pursuit of equality? Throughout American history, people have gave up numerous things to strive for just a little bit more equality. Some things they were striving to become more equal were; gender, race, sexual orientation, jobs, opportunity, and education equality. Will there ever be true equality in the United States, or anywhere in the world? If so, what would they have to give up to ensure that there is true equality everywhere they go. Kurt Vonnegut Jr., the author of “Harrison Bergeron,” called to attention what it would be like in a world that had true equality and questioned if we should really strive for this in our society.  “Harrison Bergeron,” written during the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s explores a society that is truly equal, made possible through a number of handicaps and limitations. Vonnegut grabs your imagination and insights a society in your mind, like no other in this world. He shows that this society is a dystopia, and the level of true equality we would ultimately need, is unreal. Vonnegut judges the principle of total equality on a level that shows us we would have to sacrifice, all the qualities that make youself. To live in a dystopian world, and how it a poses a danger to society and our perception of it.

In the short story, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, the main character Gregor Samsa wakes up to see that he has become a giant bug, and he and his family have to adjust to the changes that this has brought about. Kafka weaves several images and symbols through out the story, so many that writing a paper on all of them would be incredibly long. However, the thing I will concentrate on is the use and symbols of food that Kafka has placed in the tale. Just what do these symbols mean? Why are they there and what do they show about Gregor and his family and their relationship? I will prove in my paper that a piece of bread and bowl of milk can be much more than just a meal. The food in this story shows how life has changed for Gregor, and also that in some of the scenes, that it even has references to passages from the Bible itself.