The State Fair Horse Show
As a small child, my parents and I made an annual pilgrimage to the State Fair. For my parents, the primary objective of the trip was to attend the World Championship Horse Show in Freedom Hall. My major enjoyment as a young child was the midway and the fair rides; however, this changed as I grew older.
My perception of the State Fair was one filled with amazement and adventure. The loud music of the rides and the familiar, huge crowds overwhelmed me with excitement. Unfortunately, I was forcibly taken, by my parents, to watch the World Championship Horse Show in Freedom Hall. At such a young age, I was not interested in seeing the next world champion horse make the show of his or her life. In my mind, the horse show was a waste of good ferris-wheel time. My parents usually set aside an afternoon in which they, with long-suffering faces, would indulge me in my fair frenzy. For these few hours, we waded into the jostling crowds, surrounded by the screams of thrill-seekers, the cacophony of bells and whistles, and the powerful smells of fair cuisine. To me, these were the best sights and sounds on earth.
If anyone had told me that I would one day regard this sensory experience with the same disdain as my parents, I would not have believed it. However, as I grew older, my priorities at the State Fair changed. The very things that sent me into a transport of delight began to irritate and annoy me. As I grew older, I developed a desire to show horses at the top level of competition. Showing at the State Fair World Championship Horse Show became my ultimate goal.
With the change in my focus came a change in my attitude toward the State Fair. The once-exciting fair crowds became an obstacle for me to overcome as I made my way to Freedom Hall with my horse. The hustle and bustle of these crowds as they passed through the barn area frightened the horses. Many of these people would also make ignorant and obnoxious comments about some of America's most elegant horses. The greasy fair food that I had loved as a child now brought on waves of nausea and a harsh case of heartburn.
In the annals of World's Fairs, the 1901 Buffalo fair is listed, as a matter of record. However, it is one of the lesser-remembered fairs. This is not due to a lack of planning or physical appeal, but rather to the fact that on September 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot and killed at the Temple of Music. This was the kind of event that is so infamous and carries such bad press that it condemns everything it touches, from the setting, the surrounding events, and the people involved, to the same black blanket of notoriety. Due to the President's assassination, the popularity of the Fair spiraled downward. Despite the deploring of the Fair, however, it was home to some remarkable buildings.
The World’s Fair of 1893 was set to commemorate the 400th year anniversary of Columbus’ voyage to America. When the top leaders in the US heard about the opportunity of hosting the fair, they quickly showed their interest. The main cities that showed interest were New York,...
Traveling to an amusement park is a family’s finest way to bond, but is it worth the time and drive to attend just any amusement park? This essay will compare and contrast Six Flags San Antonio, SeaWorld San Antonio, and Disney World Florida from price range, food, and the variety of rides.
The Chicago World’s Fair was at one of the most progressive time periods in American history. Free from the bonds of the Civil War, American inventors were able to invent for the sake of invention, women were once again able to fight for their rights as citizens, and African Americans were, for the first time ever, viewed as people
The Chicago world’s fair in 1893 was bustling with people from all walks of life. There were farmers from Nebraska, belly dancers from Algeria, and there were people from New York who came to see if the fair was what they thought it would have been if it had been held in their state. Through the eye of the spectators the fair was a big success and there had been few problems that occurred prior to the fair opening. However, Erik Larson’s book, Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, brings attention to the problems that occurred prior to the opening as well as ones that happened while the fair was open. With all the problems that the contractors faced while building the fair, it was a miracle that the fair opened and was successful.
However, this new classical character impressed upon the fair's major buildings produced a conflict with a group of people that had already laid claim to the fair: the members of the entertainment industry. Even before the formal announcement of the Fair in 1890, requests for space from all sorts of vendors, musical and circus troupes, and restaurateurs. Amusement vendors had been set up at previous expositions, usually right outside the fairgrounds. There, they not only attracted more fairgoers than the regular exhibits...
image on Exposition souvenirs was ideal in light of the fair's theme - our nation's 150th
With the Southern Ohio Fair Association taking over the fairgrounds in 1874, the grounds were divided up into nine departments: Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Agricultural, Mechanics, Textile, Farm, Speed, and Grounds. When hearing this information, one would look at the fairgrounds present day and be a little confused. Back in the 1800’s the way to have fun was to race, sell, and buy horses. “The Southern Ohio Fair Association built the Exhibition Hall and a Machinery Hall. The track was enlarged and other improvements were made” (Drury 808). The Exhibition Hall became the focal point of the fairgrounds, and still is today.
The fair took place in Forest Park and covered 1275 acres of land. The craziest section was the Pike. It was where all the noise and chaos occurred. There was even a tortoise you could ride on! The pike was a mile-long arcade considered to be the carnival section where people could see popular culture and entertainment. It held 50 different sites such as contortionists, babies in incubators, reenactments of the Boer War (also known as the Anglo-Boer Wars which
...the people of the US a glimpse of alien cultures that many of them had never heard of, much less seen and learned about. In a way, the fair was a cultural awakening for most of the people of the United States. Suddenly, people from Missouri could tell their friends and families that they had seen Camels, or men from Japan. 27 million people went to see the fair, the vast majority of them Americans. That was a little less than half of the population of the country at this time. That many people seeing cultures and people that many had never heard of would have caused a dramatic effect, transforming the people of this country into a more cultured, worldly people.
It challenged his identity by losing his high title in the clan due to the change in the village as well as new customs. He responded to the clash of cultures by attempting to encourage others to fight in his mission to get rid of the Western influences in the Ibo community. Because he failed to do so, he lost hope and refused to accept the new culture which caused him to hang himself. The conflict between Okonkwo and his clan’s decision to change their way of living was portrayed through characterization and plot development. Achebe gives the people of Africa a voice with Okonkwo’s character who stayed true to his roots. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe reveals to us Okonkwo’s response as the cultural collision of the English and Ibo challenged his sense of
Nnoromele, Patrick C.. “The Plight of a Hero in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.” Chinua Achebe's
Iyasẹre, Solomon Ogbede. “Okonkwo's Participation in the Killing of His ‘Son’ in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: A Study of Ignoble Decisiveness.” Understanding Things Fall Apart: Selected Essays and Criticism. Troy, NY: Whitson, 1998. 129-40. Print.
Throughout history, there have been many instances of people struggling to identify and cope with change and tradition, and this is no different in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.
Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, uses the changes in African tribal culture brought about by European colonization to illustrate the evolution of the character Okonkwo. As Okonkwo leads his life, his experiences, personality and thought are revealed to the reader. The obstacles he faces in life are made numerous as time progresses. Okonkwo's most significant challenge originates within himself. He also encounters problems not only when in opposition to the white culture, but in his own culture, as he becomes frustrated with tribal ideals that conflict with his own. The last adversary he encounters is of the physical world, brought upon himself by his emotional and cultural problems. The manner through which Okonkwo addresses his adversaries in Things Fall Apart creates the mechanism that leads to his eventual destruction.