Topic 4: Shaker Heights: Ideal Community or Illusion? The town of Shaker Heights, Ohio, was founded with a desire to be a model community and an ideal place to live. Does Shaker Heights, as portrayed in Little Fires Everywhere, live up to its ideals? If so, how does it meet your needs? If not, how does it fail? Shaker Heights, Ohio, was founded with the ambition of being a model community—a place where values such as harmony, equality, and opportunity could flourish. The town was meticulously planned, with strict guidelines to maintain its vision of order. In Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng challenges this vision, examining the tensions that arise when prioritizing control over individuality. The novel delves into themes of race, class, …show more content…
It is essential to the events that occur throughout. Mia Warren, an artist and single mother, moves to Shaker Heights with her daughter, Pearl, but their experience as outsiders challenges the town’s sense of inclusivity. Although the community prides itself on being diverse, Mia’s experience reveals that this diversity is more about appearances than genuine integration. The Richardsons, who rent an apartment to Mia and Pearl, see themselves as progressive, yet their actions reflect the privileges they enjoy due to their race and class. Moreover, Bebe Chow, a Chinese immigrant woman, is unable to gain custody of her biological child, May Ling, from the McCulloughs, a white American family. Ng portrays racial discrimination through the legal battle over May Ling’s custody, where Bebe Chow’s emotional and cultural connection to her child is dismissed by the court, prioritizing the McCulloughs, a white, well-off family. The court’s decision in favor of the McCulloughs reinforces how the town’s institutions favor the privileged. Race and class disparities are linked in this instant. While the town may appear racially integrated, the novel suggests that true social equality remains elusive, with deep disparities existing between those like the Warrens and Chow, and families like the
In the contemporary world , culture refers to something as vast as the distinctive way of life of an entire community. Culture is everywhere and everyone has it; it is the mass of ideas, traditions, habits, stories, beliefs, and perspectives on life passed on to us from generation to generation through literature, language, art, myth, religion, family, and various other social institutions. Plato had many different ideas when it comes to human behavior and philosophy. Some of those things can be
following essay intends to compare the different literary techniques that Pepys and Swift use in ‘Samuel Pepys: Diary – The Fire of London, 1666’ and ‘Jonathan Swift: A Modest Proposal, 1729’ respectively to convey different ideas on, and different perspectives of, London and the streets of Ireland. Firstly, one could argue that the two texts have a diametrically similar tone regarding their discussion of the helplessness of people; Pepys presents London as undergoing destruction during this fire (and
from a different person's perspective. The examples highlighted in this essay are character and conflict. The time frame in which these elements shine the most is the night after Jem and Scout had built a snowman likeness to someone in the community, and were sharply awakened by their father, Atticus, telling them something was awry. Soon the wake enough to realize that their dear neighbor, Miss Maudie’s house had caught fire. Leading into the bigger picture, one literary element that lays the foundation
War: Simply Put, Terrorism In “Hiroshima,” Berger expounds upon the events of the bombing of Hiroshima through an inspection of the book, Unforgettable Fire. He describes how America has erased the emotions and meaning behind the bombing though a “...systematic, slow and thorough process of suppression and elimination” (17). The greatest evil (be specific) lies not in the US bombing Hiroshima but in our ability to indifferently look beyond the suffering and destruction that these bombs caused
fantasy and dream to make the flow of time fluid. The sixty year old salesman becomes insignificant and unwanted in the world of materialism and technology. On road he has served the company for thirty six years but the new young manager, Howard Wagner fires him as he finds the old man and his ways of selling things are outdated. “You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away- a man is not a piece of fruit” (Miller 64). He is rejected, disdained by his two sons Biff a...
Plagiarism Essay Has a situation arise causing procrastination to occur and an important paper or project was due the next day? As a result starting the paper by using sources sounds very nice, but one of the sources fits in the paper perfectly, so as a shortcut using control C and control V quickly puts the passage into the project, however denying to put the sentences and or paragraph into the paper but forget to give credit to the source? Well, if so, that is plagiarism. Plagiarism is taking someones
Second Essay,” “the use of the word "symbol," which in this essay means any unit of any literary structure that can be isolated for critical attention. A word, a phrase, or an image used with some kind of special reference (which is what a symbol is usually taken
earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man is a visitor who does not remain.” Because of my recent class periods and readings, I believe that the concept of wilderness does not exist, and that it is not useful. Throughout this essay I will explain why
had gotten to her about teaching Negroes how to read. So she stopped teaching him immediately. But that did not stop young Frederick, oh no, she had given him an inch now he wanted the whole yard. In his essay, “Learning to Read and Write” he states, “…was that of making friends of all the little white boys whom I met ... ... middle of paper ... ... on his pilgrimage to Mecca. There he saw that the teachings of Elijah Muhhammad were not fully true. As the Wikipedia source states, “Malcolm X said
their own. As a result, each author has their own view on what successful writings should do. Willa Cather explains in her essay, “The Novel Demeuble” her thoughts of what a successful novel consists of, and includes a few authors who represent both successful and non successful novels and in her novel, The Professors House helps meet the criteria she delineates. In the essay “The Novel Demeuble” Willa Cather introduces the artistry of a novel. Cather begins to explain authors who she agrees with
Dante's Inferno - A Religious and Morally Challenging Experience Dante Alighieri, one of the greatest poets of the Middle Ages, was born in Florence, Italy on June 5, 1265. He was born to a middle-class Florentine family. At an early age he began to write poetry and became fascinated with lyrics. During his adolescence, Dante fell inlove with a beautiful girl named Beatrice Portinari. He saw her only twice but she provided much inspiration for his literary masterpieces
matter of holes and ditches” (the great war, modern memory). Trench warfare was primarily utilized due for protection from opponent small arms fire and shelter from artillery, they kept soldiers on both sides safer and reduced casualties. Despite these benefits and many more, various primary and secondary sources can be used to question their efficacy. This essay will delve into the advantages and disadvantages of trench warfare, how these shaped the experience of a soldier fighting in the trenches,
with only six years of public school education created such a vast empire. In 1871 the Queeny family was devastated by the Great Chicago Fire, the buildings that his father owned and rented out were, of course, totally destroyed, thus ending the rather comfortable life of the Queeny family. John was forced to drop out of school and find a job. After little avail he finally found employ at the drug Firm of Tolman and King for 2.50 a week. (Forrestal 12). After several years of fighting his way
including in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic, “Pulp Fiction”. This movie is a complicated tale that follows numerous characters involved in intertwining stories. Tarantino utilizes many devices to make “Pulp Fiction” into an excellent film. In this essay, I will demonstrate how several literary devices described in Foster's book are put to use in Tarantino’s film, “Pulp Fiction”, including quests, archetypes, food, and violence. In Foster's book, quests are described as being a very popular device
Of Mice and Men Essay American Dream: “The ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative” (dictionary.com). In Steinbeck's book “Of Mice and Men” Steinbeck uses the literary devices such as allusion, archetype, and foreshadowing to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of his argument; how the Great Depression affected individuals and their own American Dreams. Through the use of allusion, Steinbeck