Kadyn Chamorro
Professor Rzepka
EN 373: Detective Fiction
4/28/16
The California “Mirage”
Just out of reach, a man sees an oasis and runs to it. But no matter how far he runs, the oasis is just out of reach. Because, unknown to the man, the oasis isn’t there. It’s a mirage shown only to the man dying of dehydration. Like the dying man, the desperate project their hopes and dreams onto California. California becomes a “mirage” for people who need to keep their dreams alive. To the dreamer, California is a land veiled with hope but drowning in disappointment. For a non-native of California, The Golden State shines with potential. “I’m interested in acting. I know that sounds ridiculous. Half the people who come to California probably want
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“This is a way-stop to Hollywood for you, then?” Lew Archer asks John Brown Jr. who responds with “I guess you could say that” (80). On the surface level, California holds opportunities for those with grand career ambitions. These want-to-be stars dream of basking in the limelight of Hollywood. But their expectations don't stop with job titles. "Your daddy’s name was John Brown,too, and you were born in California," John Brown Jr.'s mother told him (126). "I didn’t know what or where California was, but I held on to the word. You can see why I had to come, finally,” said John Brown Jr.(126). People like John Brown Jr. are looking for something more than the hope of a glamorous career. Even if they don't know what that something is, they're still seeking it. They use California to store their dream of find whatever it is they’re seeking. In The Postman Always Rings Twice, James M. Cain writes "Kisses with dreams in them. Kisses that come from life, not death” (108). These dreamers need something to give them hope, even if it feels as fleeting as a kiss. Because California represents hope for something or hope for something better. “Tell him you’ve had enough of this shit, you want to leave. Go where you want,
The idea of that California is the state to come to where your dreams come true is a very real thing. Also writers, from newspapers, magazines, and even books have a tendency to write the upside of the good things and then tend to leave some of the bad things to chance. Some writers have called California the vanishing dream. The myth of California being a good and bad goes back to the time of the Gold Rush and Dust Bowl. The Gold Rush is a example of the California myth because people were finding gold. There was a problem with people finding gold. People were coming to California for gold, but they found out that once they got here, there wasn’t as much gold as they had hoped to find. When the people were finding gold it was not enough to support any kind of life that was promised. The people wanted to have the luxurious life that went along with finding this mineral. Gold was not at the high price that everyone thought it would be at. Don’t get me wrong some people did do well from finding this mineral, but not a lot. Another incident that California is a myth is the Dust Bowl.
California represents is not as easy to attain as they once thought. The characters in The Day of the
They arrived in beat-up, run down vehicles; after traveling thousands of miles into California, often losing children and older family members along the way (pg 22), they arrived with dreams of a brighter future, one with the hope of land for their own and jobs to support their loved ones. The scene they came up...
In Embattled Dreams, author Kevin Starr explains the decade that begins with World War II and ends with the growth of states that were part of the war, concentrating on the United States specifically California. The book speaks about the changes that the war brought into California and how it was a catalyst for major changes in the state’s economy and society. It focuses on the development of California. Many books show the major events that changed a country, but there were smaller stories within the country that demonstrated to the development as well. The author wants to show readers that California contributed much to the war cause, building machinery and such, but this book emphasizes the effects these jobs had on society. Kevin Starr
4. The California Act for the Government and Protection of Indians – Describe in detail this former California law, its provisions and impacts on California Indians
“Freedom was in the very air Californians breathed, for the country offered a unique and seductive drought of liberty. People were free from censure, from Eastern restrictions, from societal expectations.”1
The chasing of a mirage is a futile quest where an individual chases an imaginary image that he or she wants to capture. The goal of this impossible quest is in sight, but it is unattainable. Even with the knowledge that failure is inevitable, people still dream of catching a mirage. There is a fine line that separates those who are oblivious to this fact, and to those who are aware and accept this knowledge. The people who are oblivious represent those who are ignorant of the fact that their dream will be deferred. This denial is the core of the concept used in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. The perception of the American Dream is one that is highly subjective, but every individual dream ends in its own deferment.
During the late 1840's California did not show much promise or security. It had an insecure political future, its economic capabilities were severely limited and it had a population, other than Indians, of less than three thousand people. People at this time had no idea of what was to come of the sleepy state in the coming years. California would help boost the nation's economy and entice immigrants to journey to this mystical and promising land in hopes of striking it rich.
...he rest of the world views California as the “ideal place to live.” However, if California continues to infringe the negative, discriminatory political view its immigrants, the “California Dream” will no longer subsist.
Unobstructed views of the Pacific’s vibrant blue water, unfilled wetlands, open-access to beaches, and agricultural lands that remain untouched are all attributes that make up the iconic, beautiful, and diverse California Coast. The protection and land-use decisions throughout the entirety of the California Coastal Zone is entrusted to the California Coastal Commission (CCC), which is widely considered one of the most powerful land-use authorities in the country.
Some aspects of them went extinct, some changed and some stayed just as they were thousands of years ago. The cultures of native California tribes have experienced dramatic change under the direction of Spanish, Mexican and American rule. In each instance of rule there was an effort to assimilate the native Californians until the “old ways” were forgotten. As a result, languages – Sapir-Warf theory’s “distinct worlds” – were lost forever. What we newly see is native culture as a work in progress. How well native people of California could adapt to the conditions set by those in charge determined what from their cultures remained, changed and ultimately perished. I argue that nothing could have helped the native Californians preserve their cultures
The American Dream seems almost non-existent to those who haven’t already achieved it. Every character in the novel has moments of feeling happy and endures a moment where they believe that they are about to achieve their dreams. Naturally everyone dreams of being a better person, having better things and in 1920’s America, the scheme of getting rich is quick. However, each character had their dreams crushed in the novel mainly because of social and economic situations and their dream of happiness becomes a ‘dead dream’ leading them back to their ‘shallow lives’ or no life at all.
In the 1960’s California experienced reverence through the reputation of being a promising great state. The increasing population as well as the massive publicity, contributed in highlighting this notion. However, in 2011, California no longer holds the same reputation in the eyes of its residents. With a current state deficit of $25.4 Billion, many Californians believe that the state is hopeless and can no longer regain to its past stardom. Famed Historian, Kevin Starr argues that California has lost its promise entirely; however, California has not lost its promise entirely for the fact that California is still the eighth largest economy in the world. California is able to function even with a dysfunctional government and institutional structure. California still has the potential to recover its reputation as a great promising state. By tackling the state’s dilemma, we are able to understand why and how California lost its greatness. Once we analyze the core problems of the state, such as the initiative process, the state legislature, and misrepresentation of the public, we will have a better understanding of how to tackle the issue.
Since 1848 to the present, California has had strong periods of representing the American Dream with its egalitarian advances and times of overwhelmingly democratic positions. Also, California was once a place for economic opportunity, attracting people from all over the nation. Since 1990, however, California has witnessed a reverse migration. Once a land of hope and opportunity, California has slowly been turning into a land of despair.
The Last Days of California is a coming of age novel about a family on a road trip to California so they can be the last ones to be raptured before the apocalypse. It’s a cool idea for a story, and Mary Miller makes it seem like a plausible thing the characters to do. However, the novel falls short trying to juggle the characters and their intentions, as well as oddly pacing the novel over four days.