Women During The Civil War - 997 Words

Many people believe that women did not play any essential roles in our country’s history until the 1960s. However, this is not the case. Women have played many vital roles in suffrage movements as attempts to shed light upon or cure many of the ills of American society throughout American history. As an example, women fought to change the course and ideologies that were bestowed upon them by the traditional viewpoints of society of the time. The status of women was shifting rapidly in the Progressive Era. However, middle-class white married women still did not work outside the home. They were expected to stay home and tend to their families. Minority women, on the other hand, had to balance home life and their jobs outside of the home.†¦show more content†¦Likewise, several African American women went from working in agriculture to working in factories and as domestic servants and housekeepers. Concurrently, African American women had to endure the social and governmental racism, segregation, and overtly violent acts of racism, such as lynching and also sexism. This paper focuses on comparing and contrasting the education received by African American and Euro-American women used due to their differing and sometimes conflicted social standings during the Progressive Era. Attention is also given to specific strategies that were realized by organizations and groups, such as women’s conventions, schools, and settlement houses to help achieve their overall goal of equality. Attention is also given to specific strategies that were realized by organizations and groups, such as women’s conventions, schools, and settlement houses to help achieve their overall goal of equality. The paper also pinpoints key early reforms, and highlights the women who led them. In order to fully understand how and why these women did what they had to do, one must have knowledge of both the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era. The Gilded Age It is said that Mark Twain dubbed the later years of the 19th century as the Gilded Age. The period is very well described as a glittering invitation of the ‘American Dream’ to immigrants and laborers on the surface but corrupt and

The Importance of Color and Balance in the Work of Nolde Free Essays

Color was tremendously important to the artist Emil Nolde and Henri Matisse.   They used color to achieve balance, vividness, and brilliance.   Both men were born in the eighteen sixties and died in the nineteen fifties, therefore they were painting during the same time period. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Color and Balance in the Work of Nolde or any similar topic only for you Order Now    They were European with Nolde being from Germany and Matisse from France.   They shared an extraordinary use of color. Emil Nolde painted the famous still life Tulips using bright vivid color choices.   It is a watercolor on paper yet the colors almost have the same depth as oils.   The background in Tulips is a range of light and dark shades of violet.   The darkness is achieved by the amount of blue in the violet.   The actual flowers are deep shades of red, orange, yellow, and white. They are very detailed in shape and form.   Matisse painted the still life Tulips and Oysters on Black Background.  Ã‚   These two artists used similar colors in their work, but the works were different.   Matisse uses a deep brownish red instead of black as the title suggested for the background.   Like Nolde, he uses vibrant shades of red, orange, yellow and white which create the same warm tone as Nolde’s.   However, Tulips and Oysters on Black Background is not as defined and has more objects like a table and oysters along with the tulips. The focal point of each painting is the tulips.   In Tulips by Nolde, he uses colors that are analogues to achieve the warmth of the flowers that are a symbol of spring and warmer weather.   Matisse also uses red in the color of the tulips even though he uses more white than Nolde.   His use of analogues are placed on the table.   He uses the red table, yellow lemons, and the deeper shade of red in the tulips to create the same warmth that Nolde does. Both Nolde and Matisse use complimentary colors as well to achieve balance.   They both use green in the leaves and stems to compliment the red in the tulips. In Tulips by Nolde, orange is complimented by the shades of blue in the background.   Tulips and Oysters on Black Background by Matisse uses the blue in the vase to compliment the orange red of the table.   Nolde adds a random yellow tulip at the base of his arrangement so that the violet of the background will be complimented While the violet rims of the oysters compliment the vibrant yellow lemons on the table. References Delahunt, M. (1996-2008). Artlex. Retrieved April 9, 2008 from http://www.artlex.com Matisse, H. (1943-44). Tulips and Oysters on Black Background Nolde, E. (1930). Tulips How to cite The Importance of Color and Balance in the Work of Nolde, Essay examples

Why Taking Too Many AP Classes Can Hurt You

One of the most important factors university admissions offices look at when evaluating a candidate is academic rigor. But how challenging is too challenging?When it comes to academic rigor, Advanced Placement (AP) courses are a measure of whether applicants have challenged themselves enough with their curriculum. So, naturally, the more AP courses you have in your schedule and the more difficult your courses, the better, right? Not necessarily. Here are the factors to consider whether you’re striking the right balance with the number of APs you’re taking.1) Impact on GPAYou are first and foremost assessed based on your GPA – your ability to perform well in the classes you’ve chosen. So if your AP course load is going to overwhelm your GPA where your grades suffer because the material is too difficult or you’re taking too many APs to be able to properly devote sufficient time to all of them, then it’s not worth it. Between stellar grades with a comparatively easier workload and mediocre grades with tough courses, the first is more compelling for admissions.However, the caveat here is that you should not be taking the easiest classes. Right after the GPA, colleges look at the difficulty of your classes so a sky high GPA without any Honors or AP courses are a red flag as well. The point is that you want to strike a healthy balance. Don’t take so many APs that you sabotage your GPA. But don’t strip your schedule of challenging courses either. *Tip re: GPA weighting. Some high schools weight your GPA (aka give you a GPA-boost) if you take Honors or AP classes. While this does provide a buffer so you don’t end up with a low GPA, consider the next few factors as well. 2) Reflection of Academic Interests Just because you can take all the AP classes your school offers doesn’t mean you should. Which courses you choose to focus your attention on will help college understand what your academic interests are and whether they’re a fit with their programs. The classes you choose to challenge yourself in should be aligned with your intended major or general course of study that you indicate you have an interest in. Of course, you may not have insight into this as an underclassman, so you can simply gauge whether you like humanities or math and science classes more. Pursue the advanced classes you’re more interested in. This will help you figure out your college major later on and potentially point you toward a career path! 3) Prioritizing Your Time With a finite number of hours in a day, you can’t devote each waking hour to schoolwork so you should be choosy about which courses you take to not detract from your extracurricular or other involvements. Take it from someone who took 15 APs. It’s not worth the loss of sleep. You can be allocating the time you’re spending on one class to developing other interests or exploring potential career paths. Having a moderate, balanced course load will help you demonstrate to colleges that you know how to prioritize and manage your time. If you know how to balance your schedule so you’re not overwhelmed with your course load in high school, you’ll have an easier time doing the same in college. Everything in moderation. 4) A Holistic Admissions Review Your application will be evaluated holistically. This means that your extracurriculars should support your coursework and vice versa. You’ll want your application to be cohesive, so your course picks junior and senior years should be more focused than your freshman and sophomore year courses because you ostensibly have narrowed down your academic interests a bit. Again, your AP coursework should reflect any extracurricular academic interests (e.g., you should be taking AP science courses if you’re also conducting science research or you should be taking AP English if you’re President of the Literature Club). Make sure there aren’t discrepancies in your application where it would be strange for you to not have an offered AP class on your schedule when it looks like you should. 5) College Credit If you’re taking a ton of AP classes with the intention to have the courses count in college, there are two very important distinctions to make: Are you trying to graduate early or are you trying to place out of introductory courses? The vast majority of highly selective universities will limit the number of AP credits you’re allowed to count toward graduation since they’re not incentivized to let you graduate early. Remember my 15 APs? Only 2 of them counted toward graduation credits. If you want the AP credits to place out of university introductory courses, the question is why? The same advice about balancing your courses so you’re not overly challenged goes for college as well. While selective universities are more open to letting you receive credit for an introductory class and place into a higher level, this won’t necessarily get you out of taking the same number of credits to graduate from a major. (You can search individual university policies about AP credits here.) In the end, there is no â€Å"right† number of APs to take. The onus is on you to really understand what you can handle to still achieve at a high standard in each course and to balance your coursework with other non-classroom interests you might have. Don’t forget to just be a kid! With that said, anywhere from 5 to 10 APs is a good range to be in if you’re targeting highly selective schools. Final note: Unless you’re already achieving at a level in a subject area that your high school course offering and high school teachers cannot handle (meaning you are performing college-level research that you need a specialized professor to mentor you), there’s no reason to take classes at your local college. Applying this year? For access to our college profiles, upgrade to ourpremium plansoffer different levels of profile access and data insights that can help you get into your dream school.

Management Essays - Cognition, Experimental Psychology, Free Essays

Management Essays - Cognition, Experimental Psychology, Free Essays Management The experience during the (name of course) at (name of College) has given me a broader view on managment. With the vast amount of material given to me in class with prior modules, I?ve increased my understanding of an effective management. One?s skill in management requires constant practice. Mangers who grow too complacement or too lazy to continue practicing will eventually find their carrer in decay. In this paper, I will present my concept of an ideal managment environment. Good management is practiced in many forms and in a great diversity of business situations. There are basic principles of how to manage, but they would be applied differently in different situations. In an effective organization led by good managers, there is a clear set of strategic objectives I consider skill essential in an effective management: ? Communication ? Motivation ? Listening ? Teamwork ? Interpersonal Skill ? Goals After I explain the six essential skills in an effective management, I will state my own style/preferences in management and explain how I?ll try to incorporate them into my effective management views. There are many more concepts I have learned about effective management but I will focus on what areas I believe can relate to my needs in my organization. It is worthy to note that a successful organization have managers who have a great deal of flexibility in establishing a workable leadership style. Successful managers, in addition, realize that times, tasks, and circumstances change on a daily basis. Communication Nothing could be easier than failing to communicate. For many years, managers think they can belittle their employees with the ?I?m the boss, get to work? attitude. It is different today in most places. More poeople are beginning to understand how important good comunication really is. Communicating well is something every one of us does everday in our lives. However, effective communication seems to be rare in adults. There are some basic concepts that can be implemented to have a successful communication. They are making communication a top priority, being open to other people, and creating a receptive enviornment for communication. First, I?ve learned that I must make time to communicate with my subordinates no matter how busy I find myself during the work day. All my brilliant ideas are worthless if I dont share them. Second, if I can show my colleagues I am receptive to their ideas, they are more likely to be receptive to me and to keep me honestly informed about the things I need to know. I?ve learned that a good organization has people caring about the future of the organization and that top managements care as much about their people. Finally, it?s a basic fact that people wont say what they think and won?t listen receptively to what you say unless a foundation of trust and shared interest has been laid. In an effective management environment, people shouldn?t be punished for their openness; especially in situation when they took the risk to tell you what they think. For example, if I am in a position when someone disagrees with my plan and tried to make a suggestion, I?d be very delicate about the way I tell them I dont agree with them. However, I?d encourage them to come back to me the next time and make another suggestion. Motivation I see an importance in having a skill to motivate people. In an effective managment environment, leaders should show the employees that he will take risks and encourages them to do the same. In the past modules, I?ve learned that using fear is a poor motivator. Companies that are run on that basis will end up with a work force of resentful employees. An ideal environment would be a place where someone feel a real sense of purpose, the feeling that they are valuable. This is where I believe a true motivation comes from, not just to work but to excel. To do this, I believe people need to be recognized, be included, be encouraged, and be involved. Glory should be shared with everyone in an organization and a clear understanding how value individuals are. I?d like to see employees be given the freedom to work as they see fit, and convey their belief in their abilities by getting out of

Best Character Analysis Jay Gatsby - The Great Gatsby

Best Character Analysis Jay Gatsby - The Great Gatsby SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The man, the myth, the legend, Jay Gatsby is the titular hero of The Great Gatsby. Nick first comes to know him as an incredibly wealthy, mysterious man who throws lavish parties, but we eventually learn his background: a boy from humble origins who is desperate to win back the love of a rich woman, Daisy, and loses everything in his last attempt to win her over. So where did Gatsby get his money? Does he actually love Daisy? And what’s so â€Å"great† about him anyway? This guide explains Gatsby’s rags-to-riches story, what he does in the novel, his most famous lines, and common essay topics. Read on for an in-depth guide to all things Jay Gatsby. Article Roadmap Gatsbyas a character Physical description Gatsby'sbackground Actions in the novel Character Analysis Quotes about and byGatsby Common discussion topics and essay ideas FAQ clarifyingconfusing points aboutGatsby Quick Note on Our Citations Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text. Jay Gatsby's Physical Description We were sitting at a table with a man of about my age (3.60) He smiled understandinglymuch more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It facedor seemed to facethe whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated onyouwith an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. Precisely at that point it vanishedand I was looking at an elegant young rough-neck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd. (3.76) His tanned skin was drawn attractively tight on his face and his short hair looked as though it were trimmed every day. (3.93) Gatsby’s very first appearance is a bit surprising and anti-climatic – he is presented as just another party-goer of Nick’s age before it’s revealed that he’s actually the famous Gatsby. That said, Nick’s description of Gatsby’s smile – â€Å"rare† and â€Å"full of eternal reassurances† that â€Å"understood you the way you wanted to be understood† – sets Gatsby apart as someone special and alluring. Gatsby has tan skin and short hair, but otherwise most of Gatsby’s characterization comes through his dialogue and actions – Nick doesn’t linger on his physical appearance the way he does with other characters (especially Tom and Myrtle). Perhaps Gatsby having more of a â€Å"blank slate† appearance allows the reader to more easily project his shifting characterization onto him (from mysterious party host to the military man madly in love with Daisy to the ambitious farmboy James Gatz), whereas characters like Tom Buchanan and Myrtle are more stiffly characterized. Jay Gatsby's Background Gatsby was born â€Å"James Gatz,† the son of poor farmers, in North Dakota. However, he was deeply ambitious and determined to be successful. He changed his name to â€Å"Jay Gatsby† and learned the manners of the rich on the yacht of Dan Cody, a wealthy man who he saved from a destructive storm and ended up being employed by. However, although Cody intended to leave his fortune to Gatsby, it ended up being taken by Cody’s ex-wife Ella Kaye, leaving Jaywith the knowledge and manners of the upper class, but no money to back them up. Gatsby ended up enlisting in the military during World War I. He met Daisy in Louisville before he was shipped out to Europe. In his uniform, there was no way for anyone to know he wasn’t wealthy, and Daisy assumed he was due to his manners. He kept up this lie to keep up their romance, and when he left she promised to wait for him. Gatsby fought in the War, gained a medal from Montenegro for valor, and was made an officer. After the war ended, he briefly attended Oxford University through a program for officers, but left after five months. By the time Gatsby returned to America, he learned that Daisy had married and became determined to win her back. Through Meyer Wolfshiem, Gatsby got into shady business (read: bootlegging, gambling) to get rich. It worked, and Gatsby accrued a huge sum of money in just 3 years. He moved to West Egg, bought an extravagant mansion and a Rolls Royce, and started throwing lavish parties and building up a reputation, all in the hopes of meeting Daisy again. Luckily, an aspiring bond salesman named Nick Carraway moves in next door just as the novel begins. Nick is Daisy’s second cousin, and through that connection he is able to reunite with Daisy during the novel. To see how Gatsby's life fits into the biographies of the novel's other characters, check out our timeline. What Jay Gatsby Does in the Novel Although Nick briefly glimpses Gatsby reaching out to Daisy’s green light at the end of Chapter 1, we don’t properly meet Gatsby until Chapter 3. Gatsby has been throwing lavish parties, and he invites Nick Carraway to one. They meet, and Gatsby takes a liking to Nick, inviting him out on his hydroplane the next day. He also speaks to Jordan Baker in private, and reveals his past history with Daisy Buchanan. In Chapter 4, he spends more time with Nick, telling him about his service in WWI as well as a made-up story about his past as the only surviving member of a wealthy family. Later, he has Jordan explain Gatsby and Daisy’s background in a bid to get Nick to help the pair reunite. Through Jordan and Nick, Gatsby is thus able to meet with Daisy again and begins an affair with her in Chapter 5. Throughout all of this Gatsby continues to do business with Meyer Wolfsheim and run his own bootlegging â€Å"business," mainly based on the mysterious phone calls he's always taking. Rumors begin to swirl about where he got his money. Tom Buchanan, in particular, is instantly suspicious of Gatsby when they meet in Chapter 6 and even more so after he and Daisy attend one of Gatsby’s parties. Daisy seems particularly unhappy and Gatsby frets. At the beginning of Chapter 7, he stops throwing the parties, fires his current staff, and hires Wolfshiem’s people instead, telling Nick he needs discreet people – this makes the affair easier, but also hints at Gatsby’s criminal doings.In the climactic Manhattan confrontation with Tom and Daisy later in Chapter 7, Gatsby tries to get Daisy to admit she never loved Tom, and to leave him, but she doesn’t. Later in the same chapter, he and Daisy leave together to drive back to West Egg in Gatsby’s distinctive yellow car. However, Daisy is driving and hits and kills Myrtle Wilson, who ran out into the road since she thought the car was Tom’s. Gatsby resolves to take the blame for the incident and still believes that Daisy will leave Tom for him. During Chapter 8, Gatsby confides in Nick about his past, the true story this time.At the end of Chapter 8, Gatsby is shot and killed by George Wilson, who believes Gatsby killed Myrtle and was the one sleeping with her. Meanwhile, Daisy and Tom have left town to avoid the repercussions of Myrtle’s death. In Chapter 9, Gatsby’s funeral is sparsely attended, despite Nick’s efforts to invite people. Gatsby’s father does make an appearance, sharing some details about young Jay’s early ambition and focus. Nick leaves New York shortly after, disenchanted with life on the east coast. Thus Gatsby's actual death has caused Nick's metaphorical death of leaving New York forever. Though real death is obviously much worse. Jay Gatsby Quotes Catchphrase: â€Å"old sport† Gatsby adopts this catchphrase, which was used among wealthy people in England and America at the time, to help build up his image as a man from old money, which is related to his frequent insistence he is â€Å"an Oxford man.† Note that both Jordan Baker and Tom Buchanan are immediately skeptical of both Gatsby’s â€Å"old sport† phrase and his claim to being an Oxford man, indicating that despite Gatsby’s efforts, it is incredibly difficult to pass yourself off as â€Å"old money† when you aren’t. He reached in his pocket and a piece of metal, slung on a ribbon, fell into my palm. "That's the one from Montenegro." To my astonishment, the thing had an authentic look. Orderi di Danilo, ran the circular legend, Montenegro, Nicolas Rex. "Turn it." Major Jay Gatsby, I read, For Valour Extraordinary. (4.34-39) In this moment, Nick begins to believe and appreciate Gatsby, and not just see him as a puffed-up fraud. The medal, to Nick, is hard proof that Gatsby did, in fact, have a successful career as an officer during the war and therefore that some of Gatsby’s other claims might be true. For the reader, the medal serves as questionable evidence that Gatsby really is an â€Å"extraordinary† man – isn’t it a strange that Gatsby has to produce physical evidence to get Nick to buy his story? (Imagine how strange it would be to carry around a physical token to show to strangers to prove your biggest achievement.) He had passed visibly through two states and was entering upon a third. After his embarrassment and his unreasoning joy he was consumed with wonder at her presence. He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at an inconceivable pitch of intensity. Now, in the reaction, he was running down like an overwound clock. (5.4) In Chapter 5, the dream Gatsby has been working towards for years – to meet and impress Daisy with his fabulous wealth – finally begins to come to fruition. And so, for the first time, we see Gatsby’s genuine emotions, rather than his carefully-constructed persona. Nick finds these emotions almost as beautiful and transformative as Gatsby’s smile, though there’s also the sense that this love could quickly veer off the rails: Gatsby is running down â€Å"like an overwound clock.† In that sense, this moment gently foreshadows the escalating tensions that lead to the novel's tragic climax. "I wouldn't ask too much of her," I ventured. "You can't repeat the past." "Can't repeat the past?" he cried incredulously. "Why of course you can!" He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand. "I'm going to fix everything just the way it was before," he said, nodding determinedly. "She'll see." (6.128-131) This is probably Gatsby’s single most famous line. His insistence that he can repeat the past and recreate everything as it was in Louisville sums up his intense determination to win Daisy back at any cost. It also shows his naivetà © and optimism, even delusion, about what is possible in his life – an attitude which are increasingly at odds with the cynical portrait of the world painted by Nick Carraway. "Your wife doesn't love you," said Gatsby. "She's never loved you. She loves me." (7.238) This is the moment Gatsby lays his cards out on the table, so to speak – he risks everything to try and win over Daisy. His insistence that Daisy never loved Tom also reveals how Gatsby refuses to acknowledge Daisy could have changed or loved anyone else since they were together in Louisville. This declaration, along with his earlier insistence that he can â€Å"repeat the past,† creates an image of an overly optimistic, naà ¯ve person, despite his experiences in the war and as a bootlegger. Especially since Daisy can’t support this statement, saying that she loved both Tom and Gatsby, and Tom quickly seizes power over the situation by practically ordering Gatsby and Daisy to drive home together, Gatsby’s confident insistence that Daisy has only ever loved him feels desperate, even delusional. Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no mattertomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. (9.153-154) One of the most famous ending lines in modern literature, this quote is Nick’s final analysis of Gatsby – someone who believed in â€Å"the green light, the orgastic future† that he could never really attain. Our last image of Gatsby is of a man who believed in a world (and a future) that was better than the one he found himself in – but you can read more about interpretations of the ending, both optimistic and pessimistic, in our guide to the end of the book. Jay Gatsby Character Analysis If you read The Great Gatsby, odds are you will have to write at least one paper that analyzes Gatsby as a character or connects him to a larger theme, like money, love, or the American Dream. To do this well, you should closely read Gatsby’s key scenes (meeting Daisy again in Chapter 5, the confrontation in the hotel in Chapter 7, his decision to take the blame in Chapter 8) along with his background, revealed over Chapters 6, 8, and 9. By understanding both Gatsby's past and his present in the novel, you can write about him confidently despite his many-layered personality. It can be helpful to compare Gatsby to other characters, because it can make it easier to understand his attitude and motivations. Nick’s cynical nature makes Gatsby’s naivetà © and optimism readily apparent, for example. You should also consider how Gatsby’s interaction with the book’s famous symbols (especially the green light) reveal aspects of his character. Remember that there are many valid ways to interpret Gatsby, as he is a very complex, mysterious character. As long as you back up your arguments with evidence from the book you can connect Gatsby to various big-picture themes and ideas. We will explore that in action below with some common essay topics about Gatsby. Gatsby is especially linked to the American Dream! What makes Gatsby so great? I think the best way to tackle this question is to ask â€Å"why is Gatsby called great† or â€Å"who thinks Gatsby is great?† That way you won’t get bogged down in an unoriginal argument like â€Å"well, he has a lot of money and throws amazing parties, and that’s pretty awesome, so†¦he’s pretty great I guess?† Remember that the book is narrated by Nick Carraway, and all of our impressions of the characters come from his point of view. So the real question is â€Å"why does Nick Carraway think Gatsby is great?† Or in other words, what is it about Gatsby that captures cynical Nick Carraway’s imagination? And the answer to that comes from Gatsby’s outlook and hope, not his money or extravagance, which are in fact everything that Nick claims to despise. Nick admires Gatsby due to his optimism, how he shapes his own life, and how doggedly he believes in his dream, despite the cruel realities of 1920s America. So Gatsby’s greatness comes from his outlook – even if, to many readers, Gatsby’s steadfast belief in Daisy’s love and his own almost god-like abilities come off as delusional. Why is Gatsby obsessed with repeating the past? Gatsby is not so much obsessed with repeating the past as reclaiming it. He wants to both return to that beautiful, perfect moment when he wedded all of his hopes and dreams to Daisy in Louisville, and also to make that past moment his present (and future!). It also means getting right what he couldn’t get right the first time by winning Daisy over. So Gatsby’s obsession with the past is about control – over his own life, over Daisy – as much as it is about love. This search for control could be a larger symptom of being born into a poor/working class family in America, without much control over the direction of his own life. Even after he’s managed to amass great wealth, Gatsby still searches for control over his life in other ways. Perhaps he fixates on the reclamation of that moment in his past because by winning over Daisy, he can finally achieve each of the dreams he imagined as a young man. How would the book be different if Gatsby â€Å"got the girl?† The Great Gatsby would probably be much less memorable, first of all! Sad endings tend to stick in your mind more stubbornly than happy ones. Furthermore, the novel would lose its power as a reflection on the American Dream if Gatsby ended up with Daisy, the book would be a straightforward rags-to-riches American Dream success story. In order to be critical of the American Dream, Gatsby has to lose everything he’s gained. The novel would also lose its power as an indictment of class in America, since if Daisy and Gatsby ended up together it would suggest walls coming down between old and new money, something that never happens in the book. Instead, the novel depicts class as a rigid and insurmountable barrier in 1920s America. A happy ending would also seem to reward both Gatsby’s bad behavior (including crime, dishonesty, and cheating) as well as Daisy’s (cheating, killing Myrtle). This would change the tone of the ending, since Gatsby's tragic death seems to outweigh any of his crimes in Nick's eyes. Also, Gatsby likely wouldn't have caught on as an American classic during the ultra-conservative 1950s had its ending appeared to endorse behavior like cheating, crime, and murder. In short, although on your first read of the novel you more than likely are hoping for Gatsby to succeed in winning over Daisy, the novel would be much less powerful with a stereotypically happy ending. How does Jay Gatsby represent the American Dream? Should we be hopeful or cynical about the status of the American Dream by the end of the novel? There is a bit of a progression in how the reader regards the American Dream in the course of the novel, which moves in roughly three stages and corresponds to what we know about Jay Gatsby. First, the novel expresses a cautious belief in the American Dream. Gatsby’s parties are lavish, Nick rides over the Queensboro bridge with optimism and the belief that anything can happen in New York (4.55-7), and we see some small but significant breaking of class conventions: Myrtle holding court at an apartment with Tom Buchanan (Chapter 2), the â€Å"modish† African Americans riding over the bridge with a white driver (4.56), old money and new money mingling at Gatsby’s party (Chapter 3). However, this optimism quickly gives way to skepticism. As you learn more about Gatsby’s background and likely criminal ties in the middle-to-late chapters (4-8), combined with how broken George seems in Chapter 7 upon learning of his wife’s affair, it seems like the lavish promises of the American Dream we saw in the earlier half of the book are turning out to be hollow, at best. This skepticism gives way to pessimism by the end of the novel. With Gatsby dead, along with George and Myrtle, and only the rich alive, the novel has progressed to a charged, emotional critique of the American Dream. After all, how can you believe in the American Dream in a world where the strivers end up dead and those born into money (literally) get away with murder? So by the end of the novel, the reader should be pretty pessimistic about the state of the American Dream, though there is a bit of hope to be found in the way Nick reflects on Gatsby’s outlook and extends Gatsby's hope to everyone in America. Is Gatsby a tragic hero? How you answer this prompt will depend on the definition you use of tragic hero. The most straightforward definition is pretty obvious: a tragic hero is the hero of a tragedy. (And to be precise, a tragedy is a dramatic play, or more recently any work of literature, that treats sorrowful events caused or witnessed by a great hero with dignity and seriousness.) If we consider The Great Gatsby a tragedy, that would certainly make Gatsby a tragic hero, since he’s the hero of the book! But in Aristotle’s (influential) and more specific definition, a tragic hero is a flawed individual who commits, without evil intentions, some wrong that leads to their misfortunate, usually followed by a realization of the true nature of events that led to his destiny. The tragic hero also has a reversal of fortune, often going from a high place (in terms of society, money, and status) to a ruined one. He also has a â€Å"tragic flaw,† a character weakness that leads to his demise. Using Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, Gatsby might not fit. There isn’t a sense that he commits some great wrong (unlike, say, the classic example of Oedipus Rex, who kills his own father and marries his mother) – rather, his downfall is perhaps the result of a few smaller wrongs: he commits crimes and puts too much faith in Daisy, who ends up being a killer. In that sense, Gatsby is more of a playful riff on the idea of a tragic hero, someone who is doomed from aiming too high and from trusting too much. Especially since a huge part of The Great Gatsby is a critique of the American Dream, and specifically the unjust American society that all of the characters have to live within, the idea of a tragic hero – a single person bringing about his own fate – doesn’t quite fit within the frame of the novel. Instead, Nick seems to indict the society around Gatsby for the tragedy, not Gatsby himself. Final Questions Does Gatsby really love Daisy? Does Daisy really love Gatsby? On the surface in Gatsby, we see a man doing whatever it takes to win over the woman he loves (Daisy). He even seems willing to sacrifice everything to protect her by taking the blame for Myrtle's death. However, he ends up killed for his involvement in the affair while Daisy skips town to avoid the aftermath. This can make it look like Gatsby loves Daisy truly while Daisy doesn't love him at all. However, the truth is much more complicated. Gatsby claims to love Daisy, but he rarely takes into account her own feelings or even the fact that five years have passed since their first romance and that she's changed. In fact, he's so determined to repeat the past that he is unable to see that Daisy is not devoted to him in the way he thinks she is. Furthermore, Gatsby seems to love Daisy more for what she represents money, status, beauty than as an actual, flawed human being. As for Daisy, it’s pretty clear she loved Gatsby up until she married Tom (see the bathtub scene as recounted by Jordan in Chapter 4), but whether she still loves him or is just eager to escape her marriage is harder to determine (you can read more in depth about Daisy right here). Either way, there are certainly strong feelings on both sides. I don't think you could argue Daisy never loved Gatsby or Gatsby never loved Daisy, but their relationship is complex and uneven enough that it can raise doubts. Read more about love and relationships in Gatsby for more analysis! What’s up with Nick and Gatsby’s friendship? Does Nick believe Gatsby? Why does Gatsby come to admire Nick? Nick, for his part, starts out suspicious of Gatsby but ends up truly admiring him, to the point that he tells Gatsby that he’s worth more than Daisy, Tom, and their ilk put together. But why does Gatsby come to rely on Nick so much? Part of the answer comes in Nick’s introduction, when he establishes himself as both part of a privileged group (his family is pretty wealthy and he’s a Yale graduate), but also someone who’s not as incredibly wealthy as the Buchanans – in short, Nick is the sort of person Gatsby wishes he was but not to the degree Gatsby would be jealous of him. Perhaps more importantly, Nick establishes himself as relatively grounded and a good listener, which is the type of person lacking in Gatsby’s high-flying circles (hundreds of people come to his parties but Nick seems to be the first real friend he makes). Both Nick and Gatsby seem to recognize each other as kindred spirits – people both â€Å"within and without† of New York society, rich but not old money aristocracy. The cherry on top of this is the fact Nick is related to Daisy, and is thus a link to her Gatsby can use. So Gatsby starts confiding in Nick to get closer to Daisy, but continues because he finds Nick to be a genuine friend – again, something he severely lacks, as his poor funeral attendance suggests. What’s up with the â€Å"Jay Gatsby is black† theory? Is there any chance it’s true? Recently, some scholars have argued that another possible layer of The Great Gatsby is that Gatsby is actually part black, but passing as white. This would make Tom’s racist statements much more charged and ironic, if it’s true his wife is cheating on him with a black man. It would also explain Gatsby’s desire to completely sever ties to his past and reinvent himself with an old money background. However, many Fitzgerald scholars point out that Fitzgerald’s conversations with his editor about the book are well documented, and they never had any discussions about Gatsby’s race. So basically, this theory is intriguing and can be argued for based on the text, but if you take a more historical/biographical approach it’s less likely to be true. You can read more about it here and decide for yourself if you believe it! There are also similar theories that argue that Gatsby is Jewish. You can read one such theory in depth here. Is Gatsby based on a real person? Is this a true story? Is there a Great Gatsby house I can go visit? The Great Gatsby is not based on a true story, and there wasn’t a specific person in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life who inspired the character of Jay Gatsby. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald did live briefly on Long Island (which is the inspiration for East Egg and West Egg) and spent time with New York celebrities. This was all during the 1920s, when bootlegging and organized crime were in their heyday. So he certainly could have been inspired by real life, newly-rich celebrities. (If you’re curious, the house Fitzgerald lived in is still standing on Long Island, but it’s not a tourist site like, say, Mark Twain’s house is.) Finally, and perhaps most potently, Fitzgerald himself went through a Gatsby-like heartbreak. Before he married Zelda Sayre, he was in love with a wealthy woman named Ginevra King. A dark-haired beauty, Ginevra went on to marry a wealthy man, leaving F. Scott Fitzgerald behind and heartbroken. Those experiences may have all combined to create the character of Jay Gatsby (as well as Daisy Buchanan), but Jay isn’t based on any one person. You can also read more about F. Scott Fitzgerald's life and the history of the novel's composition. What’s Next? Still confused about how the last few chapters play out? Catch up with our summaries of chapters 7, 8, and 9. Read more about Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship and how it stacks up to others in the novel over at our analysis of love, desire, and relationships in Gatsby. Still wondering about Gatsby’s legacy? Is he a man to be admired or a cautionary tale of someone who put too much stock in an old love? Read about different ways to interpret the novel’s ending. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Analyze one of the book themes at play in John Demos's The Unredeemed Essay

Analyze one of the book themes at play in John Demos's The Unredeemed Captive - Essay Example The story starts with a reason that further leads to the cultural integration suitable to the situation. It’s a story of abduction and adoption by Indians of the American settlers (Sweeney 32). The Mohawk Indians are assisted by the French in Canada. They together attempt to attack a small village with name of Deerfield located in Massachusetts. They had targeted revered John Williams, the than Minister from Deerfield because they intended they get their man, with the name of Jean Baptist Gayen rescued in return, who had been held from Boston. Two of John William’s kids were murdered the night of the kidnap and the rest of the family was moved to Canada along with a number of other captives who were also taken up from Deerfield for the same cause of personal gain. John Williams’s family saw this event highly distressful and damaging. They kept very little hope of getting to see each other ever again. John William manages to break through the hostage couple of yea rs later. He remarries another lady after back home and recollects his shattered life to give it a new start. His rest of the children were also set free, leaving behind his daughter, Eunice Williams in their custody. The story majorly revolves around her and the way she chooses to built her life with the Native Americans willingly, once she experiences growing up amongst them. John Williams, the famous Revered of Deerfield is illustrated by John Demos to get stunned and spell bound by the choices his daughter, Eunice is shown to make for herself. After being left alone to live amongst them she has no other option rather than to settle herself with their norms and culture. She was at the age seven when she got taken up the Native Americans. In the early years of her captivity, as a young kid she feared the Native Americans when left to live alone with them. She begged her father to manage for her rescue from their custody (The Archive Organization 33). John Williams did nothing prac tically to get her rescued. He met her on regular basis and tried to get the process carried out on the official basis. Her desire to get out of the culture subsided along with the time and alongside developed into a revenge against her father and other protestants who had not dared to get her rescued from the alien culture where as a child she had frequently felt she did not belong to (Sweeney 12). She, along with the time instilled the culture to her roots and felt as a member of the Native Indian culture. She carried her physical appearances in the same way as they did and adopted their norms in her daily life. She also made religious shifts and got converted to Catholicism (The Archive Organization 57). In wider scenario, it’s the description of a girl, who uses a culture she had been abandoned into, to revenge against her own people, who had left her years earlier as young girl- it’s the Indian Culture’s insight through a young girl’s life (Meorial H all Mueseum 11). Cronon’s Changes in the Land William Cronon, the author of another famous book â€Å"Changes in the land† has also investigated the ecological changes from Indian to European dominance during the time period of 1620 to 1800 (William Coron Net 16). Demo’s book in my opinion is not reflective of the true way Cronon has

American Health System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

American Health System - Research Paper Example The United States of America spends almost two trillion dollars on health care making it the country spending the most money per capita and with the most technologically advanced medical practice. Despite this, it only ranks 37th in the World Health Organization’s ranking of the World Health Systems. (WHO, 2000) Such state of affairs exists primarily because the American system of health is extremely fragmented. Along with past of half-hearted efforts to form a universal system of health while at the same time bending to the interest of large private sector insurance companies has reduced the American health system to a patchy arrangement with complicated rules ( which differ in different areas) and huge wastage of resources. This fragmentation of the system has developed due to the multiple stakeholders in the system coupled with the rising costs for healthcare provision. (Arthur Garson, 2010)   One fact that cannot be ignored is that a lot of money is being invested each year on healthcare in America. More percentage of GDP is spent on health care than on food. The governmental expenditure on healthcare sums up to 18.9 percent of the total federal and state budget (WHO). Then there are the private and employment-based insurances which are continuously rising. Despite the increased spending on health care, we find that it has not translated into a universal or better health system. This is partly due to the gross inefficiency in the system. As the health sector becomes a larger fraction of the economy the inefficient functioning of the sector become even more costly. Despite this, some health policy analyst argues that increased expenditure on health is necessary to cover the population and continue the cutting edge advancement in technology.