Normality in America
When comparing myself to the standards of the rest of America I consider myself normal. As an American teen in today's society I believe normal is undefined because there are too many different cultures and beliefs. Since people have become more segregated by race, religion and beliefs, normality can only be based on their own cultures standards depending on what the individual has been accustomed to. In the new millennium, it would not be unheard of for a family to be raised by a grandparent, or even two homosexual parents. I would not call that "normal" or "regular" behavior, but because it is accepted more now than before you know that the definition of weird or exotic has changed. I define normal as what the majority of the American population does. Maybe this is a poor choice of definition, seeing as how we try to stray away from doing what others do or say. I feel that independence is one thing, but if you are not doing what the "in-crowd" is doing then face it, you are an outcast. No one should feel this way, but it is a fact that some do. Since when did not being normal become terrible? In Borders as Barriers: Otherness and Difference by Randall Bass, they present "national geographic nudity". When I read this article, I thought that they were trying to say that it is okay for the natives to be nude because that is what they were accustomed to. On the other hand, people in America just think it is weird because we wear clothes. I somewhat agree with that idea. My only objection is why would it be a shock to see an American in that setting nude also? Bass also talked about exotic by our meaning could be related to "foreign" or "unusual". Even though those words may seem harsh to describe someone, it ...
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...les pay checks. This is an example of what takes away from the "traditional family" and it's customs. For instance, my mother taught me how to cook, clean, and sew, just as her mother taught her. The same thing that my mother taught me, I will teach to my own children in order to keep my family's tradition going.
To conclude, I have only lived for eighteen years, so I don't feel that I can be the judge of what is normal or not. I can only go by my own environment until I explore the "normality" of other societies or cultures. Everyone has their own opinion as to what is normal and what isn't, when really they are just stereotyping what they are not familiar with. No matter what is said people will still draw their own conclusions and continue to judge others that are foreign to them. That is the main reason I support a diverse classroom like this course offers.
Wharton’s parents raised her in aristocratic society. Her father, George supported the family working in real estate, while her mother Lucerita was a stay at home mom. Her mother was devoted to high society, and was unsupportive of her interests in writing. (Todd and Wetzel) Unlike her mother, Morton Fullerton supported Wharton. While in England, Wharton met Fullerton. As their relationship progressed, she became close friends with Katharine Fullerton. Katharine was Morton’s orphaned sister, that his family took in. (Witkosky) While Wharton was in England her husband was seeking “cures” for his depression. As portrayed in the novel, Ethan Frome’s wife Zeena was constantly seeking cures for her illness. Like Teddy, Zeena was isolated from society and kept to herself. Ethan’s wife was devoted to high society because she came from an aristocratic home. Therefore, Zeena never supported Ethan’s interest in becoming an engineer. Wharton’s mother was alike to Zeena when it came to how her life was lived. Ethan’s lover, Mattie Silver, was taken in by the Frome’s in the novel. She had no family who wanted her just like Katharine Fullerton. Mattie was raised by the Frome’s in a society she did not know how to adapt to because she was never taught how. “Mattie is attempting unsuccessfully to fit in a society she does not understand.”
Most people want to be normal. The definition of normal however, depends on the culture of the person making the judgment. Far too often, normal is defined in America by looking at the actions and beliefs of the average white middle class family. This definition of normal fails to let other cultures to be accepted, creating distance and misunderstanding.
Donne's reversal of that introversion came in the form of an intellectual exploration of the nature of his relationships themselves. His verses often point out the selfishness inherent to new love, as in "The Good-Morrow." In this poem, Donne's focus is on the exploration of the new world, which he then twists around to imply that his entire world is formed between his mistress and himself. "[Love] makes one room an everywhere." (l. 10) His poetic conceit (conception) is an explication of the emotional conceit (vanity) underlying love. A clearer example of the universalization of love is seen in "The Sun Rising" with the lines "She is all states, and all princes I,/Nothing else is." (ll. 21-22) With the equal weight of both his mistress and Donne's part, we see a much more balan...
The "Roaring Twenties" were a turbulent time in American history. The United States had just returned from the carnage of World War I and was ready to revolutionize their ideas, morals, and most importantly, their presidents. The presidential election of 1920 was a particularly integral election due to the introduction of the right of women to vote and America's social & political unrest. Warren G. Harding, a Republican, defeated Democrat James M. Cox, on a platform that urged Americans to "return to normalcy". Normalcy was a play on words of normality by Harding, which meant to conform to the norm. But the question that stood on many historians was: Why did Americans actually vote to "return to normalcy"? The simple answer was that the nation was ready to recover from their wartime anxiety and wanted a country without financial or political stress and Harding was the president that promised that to them.
Coontz divides how extended families follow traditions in which they teach their children the way they were raised, "The way it's always been" claims Coontz. However Nuclear families belittle the "old fashion" ways of the extended family. In both although, each family style stems from older styles of family; it is said, older methods of family makes the traditional family.
Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing written by; Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, Eighth Edition, published April, 2007 by Bedford/St. Martin’s, is a textbook about writing and critical thinking. In the first chapter of Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing, “Thinking Critically, Challenging Cultural Myths”, the Authors begin by setting a relatable scene of what it’s like for a college student. How a new found independence can be overwhelming, especially with regards to critical thinking, showing that what we have learned, needs to be re-evaluated and that an open mind in essential. "What Is Critical Thinking" In this section of the chapter the editors explain what it means to be a critical thinker. They explain that critical thinking is not just studying dates and facts, but rather taking those facts and examining them. The editors then proceed by explaining how having an open mind, and taking others' perspectives into account when formulating our own opinions on what the author is trying to say to us is important. A critical thinker takes all aspects into account and reflects on personal experience as well. The editors also point out that different cultural experiences bring different opinions. They suggest that we need to become active learners, continuously questioning the meaning behind everything, testing not only the theories of others but also our own experiences and analyzing the text rather than going for the obvious. They show that thinking outside the box is the epitome of critical thinking. Basically, we need to step outside our comfort zones and what we have always been taught. The editors also suggest that we need to re-evaluate our per...
In Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth, protagonist Lily Bart is a beautiful woman who has been brought up to achieve one goal: marry a wealthy, well-placed man. Although Lily, twenty-nine when the novel opens, has had opportunities to do so, her true self has always recoiled from taking the step of marrying for money. The reader is able to witness the internal struggle occurring within Lily Bart throughout the course of this novel. Wharton’s use of
In Charlotte Bronte’s, Jane Eyre, Jane goes through numerous self-discoveries, herself-realization and discipline leads her to a life she chooses to make her happy. Jane Eyre has a rough life from the start. Forced to stay with people who despise her, Jane can only help herself. Jane must overcome the odds against her, which add to many. Jane is a woman with no voice, until she changes her destiny. The novel Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte consists of continuous journeys through Jane’s life towards her final happiness and freedom.
Wharton uses the novel The Age of Innocence as a source of ironic twists that tie into her autobiographical effects. Edward R. (Teddy) Wharton, Edith Wharton’s past husband, is diagnosed with manic depression. Mr. Wharton also has many affairs during his marriage with Edith Wharton. “By the time Wharton wrote this book, she had survived an unhappy 25 year marriage” (Cliffnotes).2 She ignored her husband’s affair and business just like May Welland in The Age of Innocence. “What is most striking in the two volumes, other than the similarity of tone discernible in all the tales, is Edith Wharton’s preoccupation with the irony of things, especially in the connection with man’s failures” (Plante 421).3 “Wharton shares significantly with Archer is neither character nor biography but rather a particular situation: that of outliving that had formed her” (Evron 1).4
In his poem “The Sun Rising,” John Donne uses personification of the sun, anti-courtier rhetoric, and metaphysical conceit to express love’s ability to transcend earthly conditions and position lovers at the center of the universe.
Then sudden silence, as though a heavy blanket had fallen over their heads. They all stood looking up at him with their white faces. He stared back. And suddenly he thought, I'm the abnormal one now. Normalcy was a majority concept, the standard of many and not the standard of just one man (pg. 93).
Edith Wharton was a writer in the 1900’s a time in which the social status of one was extremely importanant. Edith Wharton herself was a member of the upper class but she criticizes the importance that people place on it. Through The House of Mirth and her characters the reader can determine the people Lily sees and interacts with are the same clas and type of people that Wharton would see on a daily basis. In Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth Wharton criticizes the values people place upon joining and remaining in the upper class. Lily, like many others, wants to be a part of this luxurious lifestyle; however her desire for wealth and social standing becomes her downfall. Wharton uses Lily as an example to illustrate how ones yearning for fortune and power will conceal from themselves what is truly important.
Events carried out through the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller had a major effect on the society within that time period. Salem is a strict, hierarchical, and patriarchal society. The men of the town have all the political power due to difference between men and women during that time. Their rule is buttressed not only by law but also by the supposed sanction of God. In this society, the lower rungs of the social ladder are occupied by young, unmarried girls like Abigail, Mary Warren, and Mercy. Powerless in daily life, these girls find a sudden source of power in their alleged possession by the devil and hysterical denunciations of their fellow townsfolk. The Salem Witch Trials played a major role in giving the people a sense of power. It gave them a voice which they previously didn’t have. The Witch Trials were a sign of rebellion from the people; it was something to believe in.
Throughout Jane Eyre, as Jane herself moves from one physical location to another, the settings in which she finds herself vary considerably. Bronte makes the most of this necessity by carefully arranging those settings to match the differing circumstances Jane finds herself in at each. As Jane grows older and her hopes and dreams change, the settings she finds herself in are perfectly attuned to her state of mind, but her circumstances are always defined by the walls, real and figurative, around her.
The “Sunne Rising” implies that when a couple unearths perfect love together they become one, shaping a world of their own, which has no need for the outside world. He suggests that even the physical laws of the universe must defer to those persons caught up in the larger universe of infatuation. We also see Donne is going through a struggle of the old and new during the poem. In the “Sunne Rising” Donne uses a number of dramatic contrasts; a contrast of old and new things, beautiful and stunning imagery reflected on his lover, and the movement of the poem to help shape his meaning. In the very first line of the poem, using direct address, Donne states “Busie old foole, unruly Sunne,” this first line begins one of the meanings presented in the poem; the struggle between old and new things. This struggle is heavily displayed in t...