Gringo by Sophie Treadwell As a journalist in 1920 for the New York Herald Tribune, Sophie Treadwell was assigned to go to Mexico to follow the situation after the Mexican Revolution. (Mexican Revolution 1910-1917) She covered many important aspects of the Mexican Revolution during this time, including relations between the U.S. and Mexico. She was even permitted an interview with Pancho Villa in August 1921 at his headquarters. This interview and other events that she experienced in Mexico are presumably what led her to write the play Gringo. In Gringo Treadwell tries to depict the stereotypical and prejudicial attitudes that Mexicans and Americans have about each other. There is a demonstration of how Mexican women are looked at in the Mexican culture and how they see themselves. The play also corresponds to similar events that occurred during the Mexican Revolution. Sophie Treadwell was born on October 3, 1885 in Stockton, California. She is known mostly as a playwright, but wrote in various other genres also. Her written works not only include plays, but also books and novels, fiction and non-fiction. Her journalism career was quite successful. Her commentaries and articles were always captivating to the public eye. Sophie frequently followed sensational stories in the news, some of which gained much acclaim, one being her interview with Pancho Villa. Gringo was written in 1922 and premiered on December 12, 1922. Gringo became a sensation on Broadway soon after it was written. This play has three acts that all take place in Mexico between the lives of Mexicans and Americans. The first act of Gringo takes place at a mine that is owned by an American named Don Juan Chivers. The mine is located in Mexico where Mr. Chivers discovers what he assumes is a new ore deposit. Mr. Chivers has a daughter named Besita (meaning "The Little Kiss") who is half-Mexican by a Mexican mother. Besita's mother is not around. There are several ironies found in the character of Mr. Chivers throughout this play. Mr. Chivers constantly talks down to the Mexican workers at the mine, on the other hand, he also show kindness to them by taking care of a wounded mine worker. He demonstrates a sort of superiority about himself and the fact that he is an American.
This novel is a story of a Chicano family. Sofi, her husband Domingo together with their four daughters – Esperanza, Fe, Caridad, and Loca live in the little town of Tome, New Mexico. The story focuses on the struggles of Sofi, the death of her daughters and the problems of their town. Sofi endures all the hardships and problems that come her way. Her marriage is deteriorating; her daughters are dying one by one. But, she endures it all and comes out stronger and more enlightened than ever. Sofi is a woman that never gives up no matter how poorly life treats her. The author- Ana Castillo mixes religion, super natural occurrences, sex, laughter and heartbreak in this novel. The novel is tragic, with no happy ending but at the same time funny and inspiring. It is full of the victory of the human spirit. The names of Sofi’s first three daughters denote the three major Christian ideals (Hope, Faith and Charity).
In Black and Blue, Fran Benedetto tells a spellbinding story: how at nineteen she fell in love with Bobby Benedetto, how their passionate marriage became a nightmare, why she stayed, and what happened on the night she finally decided to run away with her ten-year-old son and start a new life under a new name. Living in fear in Florida--yet with increasing confidence, freedom, and hope--Fran unravels the complex threads of family, identity, and desire that shape a woman's life, even as she begins to create a new one. As Fran starts to heal from the pain of the past, she almost believes she has escaped it--that Bobby Benedetto will not find her and again provoke the complex combustion between them of attraction and destruction, lust and love. Black and Blue is a beautifully written, heart-stopping story in which Anna Quindlen writes with power, wisdom, and humor about the real lives of men and women, the varieties of people and love, the bonds between mother and child, the solace of family and friendship, the inexplicable feelings between people who are passionately connected in ways they don't understand. It is a remarkable work of fiction by the writer whom Alice Hoffman has called "a national treasure." With this stunning novel about a woman and a marriage that begins in passion and becomes violent, Anna Quindlen moves to a new dimension as a writer of superb fiction. Black and Blue is a beautifully written, heart-stopping story in which Anna Quindlen writes with power, wisdom, and humor about the real lives of men and women, the varieties of people and love, the bonds between mother and child, the solace of family and friendship, the inexplicable feelings between people who are passionately connected in ways they don't understa...
Julia Child created the most influential cookbook in the history of America. In her book, My Life in France, one message she sends about the nature of goodness is that hard work, persistence, and integrity pays off. Julia displays this before, during, and after the process of creating her cookbook. Before, in her cooking classes, Julia did not back down from any challenge, even when no one believed in her. During, Julia worked harder than she had ever worked. And after, Julia and her co- authors Simone and Louisette, never gave up, even when their cookbook was rejected by their publisher. She was the definition of an underdog, but she prevailed, and came out on top. Without her persistence, she never would have had one of the best selling cookbooks of all time.
Lisa Genova, the author of Still Alice, a heartbreaking book about a 50-year-old woman's sudden diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. She is a member of the Dementia Advocacy, Support Network International and Dementia USA and is an online columnist for the National Alzheimer's Association. Genova's work with Alzheimer's patients has given her an understanding of the disorder and its affect not only on the patient, but on their friends and family as well (Simon and Schuster, n.d.).
In the book Borders and Dreams, Chris Carger shows the readers the hardships of Alejandro, a Spanish-American boy with very little educational background. In her case study of both Alejandro and his family she shows how the limitations of Alejandro, his parents, and an overpopulated school system can make succeeding in an American school nearly impossible. In this paper I will look at all the obstacles that Alejandro faced both before and during his education. Also, I will identify both the things that I felt were done right in his schooling and the things I felt were done wrong. To finish I will give some of the idea's I have that could possibly have helped Alejandro.
Grande introduces to the audience various characters that cross Juana 's path to either alter or assist her on her journey to find her father. Through those individuals, Grande offers a strong comparison of female characters who follow the norms, versus those that challenge gender roles that
The graphic novel, Pedro and Me by Judd Winick, is a tribute to his friend Pedro Zamora, as well as his own story of personal growth. It is an inspiring story that shows the true meaning of friendship and love. It also displays information about HIV/AIDS and how to truly protect oneself against it. Pedro was a young, gay, HIV-positive Cuban American who spent his time educating people about the disease. They both appeared on MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco and chance put Judd and Pedro in the same bedroom, where they became good friends. The book chronicles their friendship. Pedro Zamora changed lives as he taught millions of viewers about being gay, living with AIDS, and how to overcome it. “The format is enticing, with images that are effusive and alive on the page…[while] teaching some urgent lessons.” (Kirkus Reviews). Judd Winick’s Pedro and Me, conveys information about being gay, living with HIV/AIDS, and how to prevent it, more effectively than other narrative forms through strong visuals, compelling language, and historical accuracy.
Intelligence tests have been developed by scientists as a tool to categorize army recruits or analyze school children. But still discussing what intelligence is, academics have a difficult time defining what intelligence tests should measure. According to the American researcher Thorndike, intelligence is only that what intelligence tests claim it is (Comer, Gould, & Furnham, 2013). Thus, depending on what is being researched in the test and depending on the scientist’s definition of intelligence the meaning of the word intelligence may vary a lot. This essay will discuss what intelligence is in order to be able to understand the intelligence theories and aims of intelligence tests.
The first reason why great societies fall is because of the wars that they fought. In When the U.S. went to Iraq, they had weapons of mass destruction that we had to get, or else the whole world could have been gone, or be in a WWIII. They fought back each killing thousands of soldiers. When we found the weapons of mass destruction, we then killed their leader Saddam Hussein. In the article, it states that “ The U.N. special representative in Iraq [Sergio Vieira de Mello] and at least 16 others died Tuesday in a bomb explosion that ripped through the organization’s headquarters in Baghdad.” ( http://thinkprogress.org/report/iraq-timeline/# by: ThinkProgress) This was one big reason why we went back to Iraq. We had to stop a problem. A problem that can be very dangerous and tough to get out of. ancient Greece, Sparta was very good and well trained at war, Which helped them conquer some areas. After long journeys took toll on their soldiers, which took caution to the city of Sparta. One army surrounded the whole valley, trapping Sparta and tearing it to the ground. Germany during WWII was fighting many wars to conq...
Television has long been a part of American culture. From its conception until today there have been people who believe that television is a waste of time and energy and there have been those in the opposite camp who believe that television should be a part of every American life. There is also a middle ground of people who watch television to keep informed on what’s happening in the world as well as entertained by the latest sitcom, or more popularly today, reality show.
The novel Upside Down, by Eduardo Galeano depicts the injustices and unfairness of several branches of the global society. The differences between the colonized and the colonizer as Galeano writes is always growing and so is the gap between rich and poor. The author challenges western and eurocentric minds as to why on average, countries in the northern hemisphere have a higher standard of living than countries in the southern hemisphere. At first as a reader I thought the writer was whining about the unfairness of the world, but it is the social opiates such as the false idea of capitalism and choice that keeps us in check in this so called democracy. The author forces the reader to open their hearts to a concept that today's capitalist, power hungry society has almost forgotten
Sandra Cisneros’s “Never Marry a Mexican” introduces readers to Clemencia. Cisneros eludes Clemencia as a woman who appears proud of her Mexican heritage, yet knows not how the slanderous phrase “Never marry a Mexican” uttered from her well-meaning mother’s trusty lips about Clemencia’s own Mexican father negatively foreshadows her seedy life and gloomy world perspective later down her destructive journey of adulthood.
The novel The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes is set in the northern desert of Mexico. “It is a complex novel that intertwines psychology, mythology, and political events to examine the culture of modern Mexico.” (Introduction & Overview) It is inspired by the folklore of the disappearance of an American Writer named Ambrose Bierce, “the old gringo.” When Bierce was seventy-one years old, he retired to Mexico to join the rebel army of Pancho Villa. Afterward, he was never heard from again. From here, Fuentes picks up the story, and tells it through flashback memories of Harriet Winslow. Fuentes’ reason for the setting is to show a relation between individual destinies, and actual historical events. Bierce’s disappearance enables Fuentes to show the history of the development of these two nations.
In the beginning of the course of unraveling 17th and 18th century profound philosophers we became acquainted with Descartes dualism, by analyzing that extension according to Descartes are two of God’s distinct features in which we ought to perceive. Not only did Spinoza toss the conception that God actively alters the earth through Descartes proclaimed “natural laws”, but unlike Descartes he believed God to be the only definite substance. For Spinoza God and God’s creation weren’t two diverse, distinctive substances instead only god or as he phrased nature is the sole true substance. This paper will entail why he takes a monist stance and rejects traditional religious views through the building blocks of
Intelligence can be defined in many different ways. This concept has been the focus of numerous studies and investigations by psychologists and other scientific experts. Intelligence can be the mental ability to reason, plan ahead, understand a wide range of complex issues and learn from past experiences (Gottfredson, 1997). Intelligence is the “resultant of the process of acquiring, storing in memory, retrieving, combining, comparing, and using in new contexts information and conceptual skills” (Humphreys, 1979)