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The conflict of the great Gatsby
The conflict of the great Gatsby
Critical interpretations of gatsby
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For as long as I can remember, I’ve been an embarrassed closet bibliophobe. I fully realize the unflattering controversy of this admission, yet I cannot deny it has been an integral part of my present being and my most challenging source of my childhood existence. Without any rhyme or reason, the written word simply has never beckoned me or fought for my attention in terms of pleasure or relaxation. It has mysteriously always seemed a challenge, task or miserable chore to be completed in the most expedient way possible. As a child born into a family of fanatic readers, this has proven to be a most uncomfortable and unpopular attribute. It was apparent very early on in my life that I would need to address my Achilles Heel and transform it into my greatest strength. In early years, my mother exhaustingly tried to jumpstart my passion for reading with every Dr.Seuss and Disney book available once my attention span surpassed five minutes. In older years, literary attempts were made with Jeff Kinney, Roald Dahl and J.K. …show more content…
Sure, I’ll admit I’ve found some hidden gems about humanity when reading texts like Heart of Darkness in AP Literature, but I’d much rather spend my free time exploring complex formulas practicing for math team. I began my literary journey with these subjects, completely consumed in every word of the yearly Guinness Book of World Records. Each amazing feat and fact had me mesmerized on the first page. It was during my later years that I realized the beauty in reading books and what it meant for me. Embracing my need for learning while still challenging my scientific brain simply required a bit more consideration in my selections. While I still may not choose Tolstoy’s War and Peace for pleasure, a subscription to Scientific American would be most valued
Bradbury attacks loss of literature in the society of Fahrenheit 451 to warn our current society about how literature is disappearing and the effects on the people are negative. While Montag is at Faber’s house, Faber explains why books are so important by saying, “Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores” (79). Faber is trying to display the importance of books and how without them people lack quality information. In Electronics and the Decline of Books by Eli Noam it is predicted that “books will become secondary tools in academia, usurped by electronic media” and the only reason books will be purchased will be for leisure, but even that will diminish due to electronic readers. Books are significant because they are able to be passed down through generation. While online things are not concrete, you can not physically hold the words. Reading boost creativity and imagination and that could be lost by shifting to qui...
I almost forgot that I had a problem with reading. It’s so fascinating to know about people and their various opinions regarding their relationship with reading. For example in Richard Rodriquez’s essay he tries to explain himself when one day the nun concluded a session by asking him why he was so reluctant to read by himself. He then says, “I tried to explain; said something about the way written words made me feel alone---almost, I wanted to add but didn’t, as when I spoke to myself in a room just emptied of furniture.” (Rodriguez, page 294). Unlike the author, my case was completely opposite of him. I figured when I’m alone in an isolated place, I understand what I read way more in depth than I ever can while I’m surrounded by people. Though I truly like to read occasionally now, that still doesn’t mean I have become a
Although the greater picture is that reading is fundamental, the two authors have a few different messages that they seek to communicate to their audiences. “The Joy of Reading and Writing” depicts how reading serves as a mechanism to escape the preconceived notions that constrain several groups of people from establishing themselves and achieving success in their lifetimes. “Reading to Write,” on the other hand, offers a valuable advice to aspiring writers. The author suggests that one has to read, read, and read before he or she can become a writer. Moreover, he holds an interesting opinion concerning mediocre writing. He says, “Every book you pick has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones” (p.221). Although these two essays differ in their contents and messages, the authors use the same rhetorical mode to write their essays. Both are process analyses, meaning that they develop their main argument and provide justification for it step by step. By employing this technique, the two authors create essays that are thoughtful, well supported, and easy to understand. In addition, Alexie and King both add a little personal touch to their writings as they include personal anecdotes. This has the effect of providing support for their arguments. Although the two essays have fairly different messages, the authors make use of anecdotes and structure their writing in a somewhat similar
Alexie, Sherman. “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” Writer’s Presence: A Pool of Readings. 5th ed. Ed. Robert Atawan and Donald McQuade. Boston:Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. 73-76. Print
I began to read not out of entertainment but out of curiosity, for in each new book I discovered an element of real life. It is possible that I will learn more about society through literature than I ever will through personal experience. Having lived a safe, relatively sheltered life for only seventeen years, I don’t have much to offer in regards to worldly wisdom. Reading has opened doors to situations I will never encounter myself, giving me a better understanding of others and their situations. Through books, I’ve escaped from slavery, been tried for murder, and lived through the Cambodian genocide. I’ve been an immigrant, permanently disabled, and faced World War II death camps. Without books, I would be a significantly more close-minded person. My perception of the world has been more significantly impacted by the experiences I've gained through literature than those I've gained
Carr is worried. He confesses that he now has difficulty with the simple task of sitting down and reading a book. Absorbing the text is now belaboring, and he finds that his mind drifts off into other realms. Moreover, this phenomenon is not only limited to himself. Bruce Friedman, a pathologist at the University of Michigan Medical School, admits that he “can’t read War and Peace anymore…even a blog post of three or four paragraphs is too much,” (Carr). In addition, Scott Karp, a devoted blogger on online media and literature major, relates that he was an avid reader in college. Sadly, he observes the same trend in his focus as Carr and Friedman. Karp speculates that the loss of focus isn’t so much a change in the way he reads, but in the way he thinks (Carr).
After reviewing my life, I have decided my life defining moment was when my family and I moved to Texas from Oklahoma. I consider this move my life changing moment because it changed so many things in my life. This move set the stage for an entirely new life for me. Moving six hours away from the only home I knew certainly called for many changes.
Instead of mom reading children’s books to me, I read them to her. And if I stumbled upon something I didn’t know or understand, mom helped me out! Soon enough I started reading to her without stuttering of not knowing how to say a word. I started being able to sound out words easier and my fluency became much better than before. First grade came around and I started reading bigger books such as Junie B. Jones and also the Magic Treehouse books. Books became easier to read as I aged and the books I read were getting bigger and bigger. In 5th and 6th grade I read The Red Pyramid, The Throne of Fire, and The Serpents Shadow, a trilogy called The Kane Chronicles written by Rick Riordan. I thought these three books were the greatest three books ever written! I even thought they were better than the hunger games! Especially with the series being based around Egyptian gods and theology, and also managed to tie in kids around my age that I could relate to. Those books made me love reading more than I ever have and I would read them again if I had the time to. Once 8th grade came out along I decided to read a “big boy” book: DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. I thought I was so cool because I was reading a book that my parents have read. It has been the best book I have yet to read so far because it sparked my interest from the first sentence, to the last, there was intense suspense throughout the whole book and I could nonstop
My dad taught me that books could be my teachers, my mom taught me that our backyard could be my classroom, and my sister showed me that you could bring books into the swimming pool. I did not know it when I would spend hours in the pool reading a book that my parents weren’t encouraging it in vain, but my family life, for good reason, was centered on books. We were the planets orbiting around one sun that was the bookshelf. Little did I know that books would be the catalyst to academic success in my early life, and I owe it all to my family. Although a life with a book in your nose might seem boring, I was never bored. Living through the characters vicariously, I explored Narnia with Lucy, attended Hogwarts with Harry, and rode dragons with Eragon. Of course
From a baby to a grade schooler, I had an extremely short attention span; therefore, the only time I enjoyed having books read to me was before bedtime. Because I was energetic, my mother was forced to lock the door while she was reading so I would not scurry out of the room. Despite my concentration issues, I enjoyed reading books with my mother. One of my favorite books was The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh because I was intrigued by the characters, especially Eeyore. When I moved on from my obsession with Winnie the Pooh, I transitioned into an obsession with frogs. My mother started reading Froggy books to me, such as Froggy Learns to Swim and Froggy Goes to School. Along with Froggy books, I took pleasure in reading Curious George and The Rainbow Fish because I was an inquisitive child who was entertained by the iridescent colors of the rainbow fish.
It seems unbelievable my oldest is a few days off being a decade old. I know every parent wonders “where has the time gone?” a multitude of times during their children’s childhoods, but as I realize my son is over halfway to 'adulthood' it seems like the time has flown by.
Ever since I was a child, I've never liked reading. Every time I was told to read, I would just sleep or do something else instead. In "A Love Affair with Books" by Bernadete Piassa tells a story about her passion for reading books. Piassa demonstrates how reading books has influenced her life. Reading her story has given me a different perspective on books. It has showed me that not only are they words written on paper, they are also feelings and expressions.
There is a point in everyone’s life when they step back and realize “I can’t do this anymore, it’s ruining my life”. Many of my friends have started smoking cigarettes while drinking at a very young age, and continue to use this drug currently and don’t realize the affect it has on their future. While I have been smart enough to avoid smoking, I haven’t been as wise at making decisions when it comes to drinking. The amount of partying I’ve done in college has taken over my life, and has had a huge impact on my grades. Changing my drinking habits and continuing to avoid cigarettes will enable me to be the best I can be for the rest of my college experience.
My parents instilled a passion for reading in me even as a toddler; years later, an excellent,
There have been tons of things that I have learned and been taught in my life, by a number of people such as family, teachers, or even friends on occasion. The things they taught me vary from math and other related subjects to just some truly simple yet meaningful life lessons. However, there is nothing quite as unique, quite as special as a person teaching themselves a life lesson. It really is an amazing accomplishment for a person to teach themselves something. It is not quite as simple as another person teaching them something because it is not just the transferring of information from one person to another. The person instead has to start from scratch and process the information they have in their mind in order to come up with a new thought