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Archetypal themes in literature
Common themes in literature
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Given Circumstances Setting True West is set in North America, in the United States, 40 miles outside of Los Angeles, California, in the desert. The play takes place in a spacious, apartment kitchen, with an adjoining alcove and dining room, that belongs to an older woman in her early sixties. The play has a hostile environment, in which it’s violent and serious, with some comic moments. The kitchen and alcove are dimly lit with LED light, which gives the area a blue-grey tint. Time True West takes place in present day, 2018, over the course of a week in the summer, and during all times of the day. The play has a climatic structure, with no flashbacks or flash-forwards. Class Structure …show more content…
The economic health in the play is stable for the most part. Austin is a member of the middle class. This is demonstrated through the fact that he has a family, house, car, and producer. Lee is in the lower class, which is suggested by his need to steal from other people. The job Saul has and the fact he plays golf indicates that he is a member of the upper class. Finally, Mom is a part of the lower upper class or upper middle class. This is shown through the nice place that she is living in and the nice gated community that surrounds
The play takes place in Hillsboro. It is a small fictional town that is meant to resemble Dayton, Tennessee, where the Scopes trial was held in 1925.
In his essay “Land of Opportunity” James W. Loewen details the ignorance that most American students have towards class structure. He bemoans the fact that most textbooks completely ignore the issue of class, and when it does it is usually only mentions middle class in order to make the point that America is a “middle class country. This is particularly grievous to Loewen because he believes, “Social class is probably the single most important variable in society. From womb to tomb, it correlates with almost all other social characteristics of people that we can measure.” Loewen simply believes that social class usually determine the paths that a person will take in life. (Loewen 203)
For the families in Nectar in a Sieve, “there is no margin for misfortune” (Makandaya 136) because they live subsistent lifestyles. The low class families rely on their crops and if the crop fails they could starve. The landowner lives a lavish lifestyle and the majority of the population lives day to day. Families will pay a dowry in order for their daughters to be married and if they are a poor family their daughter will marry poor. The rich stay rich and the poor stay poor in most cases. In In the Time of the Butterflies the rich would go to school and the poor would work on the farms. Most of the citizens in their town were poor farmers who didn’t know how to read so unless you were a lucky farmer who made a lot of money it was likely that you and your family would remain poor and uneducated. "In the last few years, Papá had made a lot of money from his farm. Now we had class. And, Mamá argued, we needed the education to go along with our cash.” (Alvarez 12) is an example of the classes set by society. In both books the lower class stayed poor and the upper class stayed
Steinbeck's novel takes place on the coast of California, centered around one town: Monterey. When Doc returns home from war, Mack, one of his closest friends, tells him the stories of all the people who used to and still live in their town. Lee Chong, another one of Doc's closest friends, has moved away, and Joseph and Mary Rivas have taken over the grocery story. Fauna, whose original name is Flora, has taken over the Bear Flag, which still remains to be a prostitute house. Doc then comes to understand that through time, many people have changed.
Those who are rich are happier and feel superior. Those who have less money get discouraged and unhappy. In ways as the game continues, players emotions mirror real life. Those in the upper class have a lot of money and an easier time full of joy. Those in the middle class will own a little property but they won't ever earn enough to move up in social status. Those in poverty sink lower and lower into debt and struggle to stay afloat.
In Hook’s essay she focuses on economic misrepresentation and conformity. She uses several examples to show the audience that her own family would be one that is considered poor or working class. When Hook was accepted to Stanford University with scholarships her parents wanted to know how Hook would pay for other expenses such as travel and books. Hook also mentions her father worked as a janitor, trying to spread that money out to cover for a family with seven children forced them into a poor working class economic situation. Despite these experiences Hook recalls how she was always taught that being poor wasn’t a disgrace and personal worth wasn’t tied to m...
Where would you consider yourself with your ranking in America 's social classes, are you upper class, middle class or even lower class? This is actually very important when it come to you receiving opportunities and in a sense special treatment. I’m referring to of course social inequality which is still very much alive in America and still affects a lot of families mostly in a negative way. This problem in America has grabbed the attention of two authors, Paul Krugman who wrote “Confronting Inequality” and Gary S. Becker and Kevin M. Murphy who wrote “The Upside of Income Inequality”. However, they both have different views on inequality Krugman believes that social inequality is only negative while on the other hand, Becker and Murphy believe Krugman believes that the only way to get into a good school is to be living in a higher economic area.
Poverty on social conditions affects everyone in every part of the world, no matter if they are rich or poor. First of all, everyone is divided into some sort of social class. The most known classes are the economic classes- the lower class, the middle class, and the higher class. The lower class goes through arduous labor all day and night to earn decent amounts of money to provide for themselves and their families. Most likely, they are the only source of income for the entire family. The higher class works hard to keep up or raise their high social status. They also work hard so they don’t loss their social rank, which permits them to hold a higher power over the middle and lower classes. Similarities of decisions made by characters in these two literary works will analyzed to understand the meaning behind the actions and influences of the social classes on each other.
In the play “True West” by Sam Shepard, there are two main characters Austin and Lee that are so different and similar due to their family culture of dysfunction. A dysfunctional family is one in which that shows conflict, hostile environments, inappropriate behaviors to not only upon them, but to those around them. In most dysfunctional families you will find children that have been neglected or abused by parents, to which most of these children tend to think that these such behaviors are normal. Shepard shows this relationship of dysfunction of a family between two brothers that shows one brother who thinks he has escaped the dysfunction, and one that has carried out the dysfunctional family culture.
A typical Western would usually be set in the late 19th century in the mid-west of America in a remote town. The town is usually small, lonely and unwelcoming. Typically a western set looks like it is in the middle of a desert with sand, cacti and tumbleweed which gives a desert look, there are usually never any lakes or rivers around these features make the place look really hot and deserted. The buildings are generally timber board houses with swinging doors and outside the buildings are places to keep their horses, there is also always a General Store and a Saloon. Horses and carriages and cattle are used to give a western feel. The cowboys are typically dressed in western style clothing for example they wear simple shirts and jeans they may also wear ponchos, waist coats, hats, boots with spurs, guns and a belt to hold the gun and bullets, Hero's tend to wear lighter clothing and the villain’s tend to wear darker clothing.
The story of the American West is still being told today even though most of historic events of the Wild West happened over more than a century ago. In movies, novels, television, and more ways stories of the old west are still being retold, reenacted, and replayed to relive the events of the once so wild and untamed land of the west that so many now fantasize about. After reading about the old west and watching early westerns it is amazing how much Hollywood still glorifies the history and myth of the old west. It may not be directly obvious to every one, but if you look closely there is always a hint of the Western mentality such as honor, justice, romance, drama, and violence. The most interesting thing about the Old West is the fact that history and myth have a very close relationship together in telling the story of the West.
The play True West, written by Sam Shepard in the 1980’s, is a play about sibling rivalry between two alienated brothers who are believed to be complete opposites. The play takes on a rather comical sense as the viewer sits through the antics of the two brothers, much like a sitcom. Nonetheless, the characters seem to have more depth, and this can be picked up when the viewer is able to read the play for themselves. Austin, the younger brother, is a screenwriter trying to make his name in Hollywood. He wants the American Dream; a house in the suburbs, a small family, and a simple life. However, his older brother Lee has a different idea of what it means to “make it.” Lee is a quick representation of the Old West, meaning; he’s a thief, drunk,
The writer's argument, in my opinion, is that modern TV shows are neglecting and almost putting down the middle class. The writer talks about how a couple decades back TV shows focused on how many viewers lived, middle class and sometimes struggling to get by. They also compare that to how recent television shows ignore that fact and make fantasy like programs with little to no relevance to the life of their viewers. This is an argument that I agree with fully.
In the article "When Richer Weds Poorer", although they spoke a lot about class, their real problems weren 't about class it was about compromising and adjusting to one another which can be very difficult for many married couples. Some issues that are significant in a marriages are financial issues, and family issue. All married couples have disputes about money no matter what class they are, the only way to overcome that is by compromising. For example, Mr.Croteau and Ms.Woolner came from two different classes, she came from a very wealthy family, and he came from a regular middle class family and one of the couples concerns was money. Ms.Woolner was taught that the women had the power in the relationship because of how much money she had money, but Mr.Croteau didn 't agree with that so much, but they needed to come to a compromization. Every married couple has problems that does not have to do with what class they are in, class is not a serious factor in a
The place where I learned about the most about morals and family values came from the supper table. The term ‘Supper’ is the Mainer equivalent for word dinner. Supper has always held a special place in my heart, especially as I grow older. I recognize many families don’t have the opportunity to sit down at the dinner table and spend quality times with their loved ones because of their social class. Sometimes a parent from the lower-class might work late to try to make ends meet, or they just can’t afford to have a big supper every night like mine could. We were by no means in the upper-class echelon of society but, somewhere in the middle-class. I was very fortunate compared to my counterparts that came from low-income families. My social class helped shaped me into who I am. Living in the middle-class has allowed me to place more value on relationships with my family and friends, and place less value on money. I realize that I will only feel rich if I love what I do and surround myself with the ones that mean the most to me rather than materialistic possessions. Money has little influence on my future aspirations and goals. I only aspire to feel happy.