There are many aspects of Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy that involve the moral decision versus the immoral decision and God. The main theme that Dreiser maintains throughout the novel is Immorality. Each character in the novel possesses one or more characteristics that show that he or she is partially immoral. When combined, all these elements have a strong message, that there is consequence to straying from God's path.Clyde Griffiths is the perfect example of how a person is led from God's light. At the beginning of the novel, his character is the son of poor missionary parents.
The family spends its' time on street corners, singing church hymns, and reading verses from the Bible. Soon, however, we begin to see the growth of Clyde's free will, and natural curiosity. He begins to explore the world, out of the view of his parents. Soon he realizes the corruption that exists, and falls victim to it, through he does not realize it.
Clyde and his acquaintances explore the possibilities of girls, and drinking alcohol. Eventually, these people steal a car, and Clyde runs away to keep himself from being apprehended by the police. His entire life has been changed because he has made a few bad decisions. Things turn worse and worse for Clyde as he progresses through the next few months, and he feels exactly the opposite.
Clyde receives a job with his uncle's company, and he sees himself as quickly climbing the social ladder as well as feeling he is on his way to succes...
Bonnie had a bitter taste in her mouth thinking that she wasn't part of the gang but still knowing it was for her own good.4 Clyde had picked her up in Dallas and they had started to make their way to New Mexico, while during the depression it was very hard for anyone to take a vacation during these times; a police officer had seen the car and had their plates ran. The police officer had realized that the car had been reported stolen so he approached the car and Bonnie and Clyde forced him into the car at gunpoint, but later releasing him so he could tell their story.
Andy goes back to school and talks to his basketball coach about how he feels about Rob's death and how his fiends and family feel about the accident. In addition, they discuss Andy's sentence because Andy keeps punishing himself for Rob's death. Everybody at school was crying during Rob's memorial service. Grief Counselors from downtown come to the school to try to get the kids to share their feelings.
Religion, by far, is one of the most dominant forces the human race has ever seen. It has influenced and continues to influence billions of people all over the world. It has driven some of the most beneficial cooperative humanitarian efforts and some of the most heinous acts of violence anybody can perpetuate on another human being. In his book, When Religion Becomes Evil, Dr. Charles Kimball explores the causes and slippery slopes that lead to these kinds of atrocious behaviors. Many of his points were incredibly well thought out and valid, but one repetitive phrase that Dr. Kimball used caught my attention: “authentic religion.” This one phrase contains so many troublesome presuppositions that it is impossible not to question.
No, the “English Tragedy” does not relate to the Queen, that is the first fact that should be established. Instead, it is about English, the language itself. George Orwell warned readers of the negative consequences stemming from the degrading quality of English in both 1984 and his essay “Politics and the English Language”. In both pieces of writing, Orwell is able to demonstrate the effects that language can have on the thoughts of those who speak it. In 1984, he is able to emphasize how the lack of language can limit thought, and ultimately society. In “Politics and the English Language”, Orwell demonstrates how bad English will, “construct your sentences for you” (Orwell, 6) and make the language into a meaningless jumble. Although Orwell wrote in the earlier part of the 1900s, the bad English that he wrote about is still relevant today. Dying metaphors, meaningless words, and pretentious diction are still used in writing by the mainstream media despite the warnings of Orwell.
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...
Will racism ever come to an end or will its path go on infinitely? For the most part, the majority of people respect those who are different either in color, race, and/or heritage; however, there are those few that hold bigoted views towards people who are different than they are. The movie American History X by Tony Kaye displays an example of people who hold bigoted views. Derek, a Neo-Nazi leader, must contend with his actions relating to his past racist views and actions. This powerful movie explores its characters thoroughly and gives reasons why people become so callous and turn towards a racist group. It also exposes insight to problems that plague America when it comes to racism in everyday life, from schoolyards to basketball courts. All together American History X presents its watchers with an impressive theme that makes everyone who watches it take a step back and just say, “WOW!”
Latino/a Americans are also one of the fastest growing ethnic minority groups according to the United States Census Bureau (date). When looking into the Latino/a American culture, the most important values leisure time, activities, the Catholic church, and family relationships (Saracho & Spodek, 2005). Andres-Hyman, Ortiz, Anez, Paris, and Davidson (2006) state Latino/a Americans, like Asian Americans and African Americans, value collectivism, interdependence, and cooperation. Religion is also extremely important to the family and plays a huge role in daily life. Some families believe being socially well-educated is more important than being academically well-educated, and if an individual knows how to behave properly in a social setting, they will honor their family in the eyes of the community (Saracho & Spodek, 2005, p. 212). Latino/as rely on their family, community, traditional healers, and/or church for help during a health crisis, and value marianismo, which refers to traits in women including moral nurturing and self-sacrifice (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2014); the male counterpart, machismo refers to the belief that men should be strong and provide for their families (Andres-Hymean et al., 2006). Andres-Hyman et al. talk about the three major cultural constructs worth noting in the Latino American culture. The first construct is dignidad y respeto, which means dignity and respect. Familismo means family values and emphasizes family relationships and family loyalty. Lastly, personalismo refers to relating to one another on a personal level instead of a formal or institutional level. Latino/a culture also values building interpersonal relationships, and if one is unable to interact with others due to a...
In William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet two young lovers lost their lives when hate and love collided. From the Montagues came Romeo and from the Capulets was Juliet. The two families were feuding and Romeo and Juliet could not stand being without each other. They both killed themselves because they thought life was not worth living without the other. Though there are many who can be blamed for this tragic ending, there are three that are the most responsible. Mercutio, The Nurse, and Friar Laurence are the three that deserve the most blame.
Recently we watched a movie called American History X. It touched on a lot of major subjects such as gang violence and racism, which has been passed on from generation to generation. It also asked questions like, what were their racist ideas really based on, how did racism effect the community, can racism be reshaped by actual experiences, and how or why racism to begin with? Racism has been the main topic in the judicial system, police affairs, and racially divided communities for years but it's neither disappearing nor growing to this today.
American History X (1998) illustrates how segregation is aggravated by missing father figures as well as the herd mentality of the characters in the film. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of the herd mentality states that people need a concept or a worldview to adopt in order to give meaning to their lives. This herding of people who choose to adopt this certain ideal or ideals in effect causes the stifling of individual thoughts or creativity because everyone chooses to think a certain way (Floyd). This mindset that people are attracted to is not always chosen or forced but is rather seen as an obligation because of loyalties certain people have to others.
Throughout the movie, Michael Moore wants the audience to feel the emotion that he, as the director, has put into the film. Michael Moore puts his life work into this movie because this, for him, was not just a new movie subject, this affected his family directly. His father lost his job at an assembly line after thirty-seven loyal years of service because the company thought they could make more money cutting the workers. He has spent countless hours and years on the film because he was able to see that the economy was self destructing with greed. Moore uses Aristotle’s persuasive appeals to show the corruption throughout America that has come from a capitalistic economy.
Throughout history, there have been several significant architectural movements. The last, and perhaps most enduring movement is that of Classic Greece. Although for centuries, the architecture of ancient Greece has been admired, mimicked, and replicated, its beginnings are somewhat surprising to one unfamiliar with the history of the region. It is important to understand the history and mechanics of Classic Greek architecture in order to fully appreciate its form, function, and beauty. “Ancient Greek architects strove for the precision and excellence of workmanship that are the hallmarks of Greek art in general. The formulas they invented as early as the sixth century B.C. have influenced the architecture of the past two millennia” (metmuseum.org).
As we have learned in the past, the style of literature evolves as time changes. Different events in the world had influenced these changed. The different movements that created its definitions of their work and how we use these definitions today to classify a piece of literature what period it belongs to. The American dramas, The Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller and Glengarry Glen Ross by David Alan Mamet are tragic plays. Analyzing the main character of each drama: Willy of The Death of the Salesman and Shelly of Glengarry Glen Ross will determine if both, neither or one of them possess the features of a tragic hero by the descriptions of Aristotle and Arthur Miller.
The novel, American Tragedy, was written by Theodore Dreiser in 1925. Dreiser presents the story in omniscient, third-person point of view. It is the story of a young man, Clyde Griffiths who is born into poverty, and soon after begins to seek success and wealth. The society that is illustrated in An American Tragedy appears extremely materialistic. It is clear that many of the aspects that are important in this society, are material wealth and social status. Since Clyde does not want to follow and no longer believes in his parents’ religious values, the main and only reason he stays in Kansas City is to try to earn a great amount of money. Which, according to Clyde, will make him successful in life. His materialistic values are apparent from
While he is in jail he makes a deal to get a T-bone Steak for the location of the Clarence’s attorney And he gets his steak but not in enough time and then the Attorney runs out of oxygen and suffocates to death. While they are gone investigating Clyde retrieves the bone out of the steak and stabs his cellmate in the neck with said bone and gets transferred to solitary confinement. He then kills the judge through her phone, and sets off car bombs killing several more people. He then kills another lawyer using a modified EOD bot. He then attempts to kill the mayor of the town and he was outsmarted by Nick Rice because they found the bomb and planted it into his cell and when Clyde called the phone bomb he called it under his bed and the bomb exploded killing him and ending his reign of terror. Now my essay is about how they could have stopped his entire plan if they had not have given Clyde his Steak he would not have even began his reign of