American Literature

The world of today has several issues, which may be controversial. Sometimes these issues may have major support leading to the other section getting marginalized. Homosexuality and gay marriage is one such issue that despite getting increasing support, still has a long way to go. The discrimination against homosexuality has to end. There are many gay activists around the world who stand up for the cause of the homosexuals. These people highlight the plight of the gays and spearhead their aspirations in a challenging world. Among the noted proponents of this marginalized group is Scott Bidstrup. Scott Bidstrup has authored several articles on the rights of gays and gay marriages. Unlike most other writers of the subject, Bidstrup elaborates not only on gay rights but also on the life difficulties, the gays face everyday. His splendid illustration wins considerable sympathy and support for this group. He looks into every aspect of life and life challenges for the gays.

In his essay Homophobia The fear behind the hatred, he analyses several issues of the gays in the society which are seldom recognized. Quoting the dictionary for homophobia as the fear of homosexuals, Bidstrup ironically says that homophobia, which is widely prevalent in America, inspires discrimination. He sums up this discrimination as touching the lives of not just gays Americans, but all Americans. He interestingly recollects that during the campaign for the U.S Senate in 1994, supporters of Oliver North carried placards reading Homophobia Doesnt Kill. Bidstrup sarcastically says that these supporters were ignorant, because homophobia does kill and several homosexuals are killed each year. He continues with his rhetoric saying that while dozens are murdered in the US each year, thousand across the world are killed in the same period. Bidstrup tries to project the value of a homosexuals life as perceived in many countries, by saying that the deaths of homosexuals are not considered worth recording as a separate category, in many countries.

Bidstrup looks into the various reasons provided by the opponents of homosexuality, in an effort to discriminate them. He mentions these arguments as homosexuality is not natural, it is perverted, against Gods will and being disgusting. By taking a point-to-point perspective, Bidstrup successfully counters the arguments. He justifies homosexuality as being normal by citing science that homosexual behavior has been observed in many animal species and bisexual behavior being universal. He sums up the perversion theory as not being a natural argument, except when taken with the religious fervor. Continuing with his argument to counter the claim that it is against Gods will, Bidstrup questions the role of religion in todays society, which has implemented the separation of the powers of the church and state. While justifying the stand and rights of homosexuals, the author ponders on the actual intentions of the opponents of homosexuality. According to the author, the real intention to oppose homosexuality is the fear that heterosexual marriages would be threatened, and the human ego which perceives individuals who are different, as being a threat. One of the fine arguments the author puts forth for many opposing homosexuality is that there is a fear that one may himself be a homosexual.

In another article, Gay Marriage The Arguments and the Motives Bidstrup looks into the issues revolving gay marriages. He highlights the increasing awareness and support to homosexuality, while exposing an interesting and lesser-understood fact. He says that almost seventy percent of the Americans oppose gay marriage, while almost the same percentage supported gay rights. The implications are now clear many people who support gay rights dont support gay marriages. The support, which homosexuals have for equality in jobs, benefits, protection, housing etc., is not extended to gay marriages.  He looks into the various reasons people put forth to thwart gay marriages. Like in the earlier case, he recounts one by one. Opponents of gay marriage do not hesitate to support their case with unimaginable and senseless arguments, in desperate attempt to prevent gay marriages.  Bidstrup feels the opposition to gay marriages stems up from facts, that dont intend to keep up with the changing times and trends. The opposition to it is so flimsy and irrelevant that their very mention highlights their inappropriateness. He adds that such statements against gay marriages include the perception that gay relationship is unnatural and immoral, same sex-marriage is untried, and that same sex marriages can lead towards legalization of other such illegal relationships like incest, bestial marriage.

According to Bidstrup, such propaganda is intentionally directed to prevent implementation of gay rights. This indifference to gay marriage arises from peoples perception of marriage and homosexuality. The general thinking even among supporters of homosexuality is that gays have multiple partners and that their relationships are not deep or emotional. Gays are considered as uncommitted and not being capable of forming lasting relationships. The author agrees to this, since gays do have such relationships too. However, he points out that such relationships also exist in heterosexual or straight society, although to a lesser extent. What people dont understand about gays is that, as gays grow and mature, they too like their straight counterparts begin to value and seek committed lasting relationships. Bidstrup emphasizes on the values exhibited by gay couples in their daily routine as being perfectly comparable to that of straight couples. They are loyal to their partners, involve themselves in family life, play an active role in the development of their communities and neighborhoods. Like heterosexual couples, many gay couples also serve on school boards, volunteer in charity activities and also donate generously to their communities.

One of the most convincing and thought evoking arguments by Bidstrup on this subject is the perceived stand of religion on homosexuality. He appreciates the stand of Buddhism, which according to him draws many homosexuals because there isnt any homophobia preaching in it. The Theravada Buddhist viewpoint is that all relationships i.e. gay, lesbian or straight are personal matters involving mutual consent. All relationships are considered constructive and acceptable as long as both partners are happy. With regard to Christianity and the bible, the author says that the bible was written at a period when there was no understanding of homosexuality or psychosexual orientation. The bible therefore does not recognize people as being lesbians or gays. The inference was only directed to homosexual acts committed by persons considered heterosexual. The author also notes the indifference with regard to bible interpretation. When it comes to homosexuality, many Christians literally take all references to homosexual acts while they interpret other texts with much flexibility. The bible actually pays very little attention to this subject and most importantly Jesus speaks nothing on this topic, in the New Testament. This apart, he says, most instructions and recommendations of the bible are of lesser relevance today, like avoiding pork.

The voice of Scott Bidstrup is truly encouraging and of immense support to the homosexual group. His views and analysis have depth exposing a reader to many unexpected scenarios and situations. The main point of his articles is that while arguing for the rights of the homosexuals and gay marriages, he also emphasizes with the same tone, the discrimination and pain this group undergo in their everyday life. Again these are situations which none would ever anticipate, or generally get to know about it. Most of these situations, which the author cites, seem to come directly from a discriminated person. Such is the reality and tone of Bidstrup.

Washington Irving tells a folkloric tale of fantasy in his short piece Rip Van Winkle.  In this story a narrator chronicles the experiences of a young family man, Rip, who, after being discontented with his life, goes up the Catskill Mountains with his trusty rifle and his dog to hunt squirrel.  Sitting under a tree, Rip is visited by a little man who fits the description of a dwarf.  The little man asks Rip for help and takes Rip into a world in the Catskills that was previously unknown to the young hunter.  In this fantasy world, Rip finds many other little men and he joins them in drinking and celebration until Rip falls into a deep sleep.  He awakens to find that he had slept and been gone for twenty years.  He then finds that everything around him has changed and because nobody recognized him anymore, he was taken in by his daughter who had already grown significantly in his absence.  This story of Irving is a clever allegory of fantasy of man more specifically Rip Van Winkle is a symbol of the American fantasy of escape from responsibility.  This symbolism is achieved in the story in three separate ways, first, by presenting a protagonist who is typical of the American quite likely to seek and escape from responsibility, second, by putting this protagonist in situations where he is most likely to respond with escapism, and third, by using the entire story to portray the fight or flight situation where the expected response would be flight.

    Rip Van Winkle himself is the epitome of the American fantasy of escape from responsibility.  Earlier in the story Rip is described to be the kind of individual who seems to have no backbone quite typical of the kind of person who would most likely shrug off responsibility.  For instance, in the lines, I have observed that he was a simple, good-natured man he was, moreover, a kind neighbor and an obedient, henpecked husband (Irving) the author pays particular attention to highlighting the word henpecked in this description of Rip.  This can be loosely interpreted as Rip being a mamas boy as is the implication of this particular word.  The other qualities of Rip as described in the story serve to validate this supposition.  He is as well described as descending from a prominent bloodline, hence, He was a descendant of the Van Winkles who figured so gallantly in the chivalrous days of Peter Stuyvesant, and accompanied him to the siege of Fort Christina. (Irving)  This gallant quality of Rip initially serves to swell up the expectations of the reader for the protagonist but also presents Rip as some kind of a spoiled brat or someone who has a name to live up to, hence, is able to act the way he would want to act.  Rip is also described to be hopelessly indolent by the line, The great error in Rips composition was an insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor.  (Irving)  This line suggests not only that Rip did not seek remuneration for whatever services he offered but beyond that, implies that Rip stayed away from labor itself, quite typical of someone who cannot and will not do something to change his fate.  This is validated by the line, Rip was ready to attend to anybodys business but his own but as to doing family duty, and keeping his farm in order, it was impossible. (Irving)  and If left to himself, he would have whistled life away, which both suggest that the protagonist was terribly passive and indifferent.  These qualities of Rip serve to paint a portrait of a person who will most likely react by escaping when subjected to situations normally encountered by any living person.

    So, as expected, Rip is indeed subjected to these kinds of situations  first, by subjecting his surroundings to circumstances resulting from his own indolence, then by having a family that will not tolerate his indolence, and third, by giving him internal hopelessness.  The first situation is seen in how everything around Rip had fallen apart in the story, hence, His fences were continually falling to pieces his cow would either go astray or get among the cabbages weeds were sure to grow quicker in his fields than anywhere else his patrimonial estate had dwindled away under his management, acre by acre, until there was little more left than a mere patch of Indian corn and potatoes, (Irving) describing how his assets have began to deteriorate because of his indolence.  Then Rip is subjected to the people surrounding him, especially his wife, who will not just sit and watch his decay.  This situation is described by the narrator in the way Rips wife was, A termagant wife may, therefore, in some respects, be considered a tolerable blessing and if so, Rip Van Winkle was thrice blessed. (Irving)  This means that Rips wife scolded him constantly about their situation, and nagged him out of his mind.  This is clear in the lines, his wife kept continually dinning in his ears about his idleness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing on his family. (Irving)   Other than this, Rip seemed to be experiencing domestic problems with his children as well as described in the line, His children, too, were as ragged and wild as if they belonged to nobody. His son Rip, an urchin begotten in his own likeness, promised to inherit the habits, with the old clothes of his father. (Irving)  Then, as a fitting cap to all these difficult situations,   Poor Rip was at last reduced almost to despair and his only alternative, to escape from the labor of the farm and clamor of his wife, was to take gun in hand and stroll away into the woods. (Irving)  So, we see here that Rip, in response to his difficult situation responds with more indolence and turns his back from his problems and walks away.  Judging by these the incident where he sleeps for twenty years is not actually necessary anymore to accurately signify Rips escape because in reality he already escapes from his responsibilities.  However, the entire story is used to describe this fight or flight attitude of Rip as it also reveals what he is preoccupied with while in a world of his fantasy.

    The narrator makes reference to a celebratory situation where Rip chooses to intoxicate himself instead of face his own problems in the lines, He even ventured, when no eye was fixed upon him, to taste the beverage, One taste provoked another at length his senses were overpowered, his eyes swam in his head, his head gradually declined, and he fell into a deep sleep. (Irving)  This particular situation suggests that Rip had chosen to flee from the world he was in and continue existence in his own comfort zone, typical of the classic individual who has problems with responsibility.  Here we notice that rip chooses to escape from reality.  Reality is equated with responsibility and his escape from reality as well represents his escape from responsibility.  As a result of this flight response, the world leaves Rip behind and everything around him changes when he finally decides to take up the cudgels of his role as father and member of society.  This is what normally happens to people who would rather take a different path away from responsibility when such is encountered.

    So, based on the textual evidence it is clear that the story Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving portrays a typical American, in attitude and personality, who is expected to turn his back on responsibility.  The matter is aggravated when the protagonist in the story is dumped into a seemingly hopeless situation where a great effort was required to effect repair.  In the end, the protagonist does not lift a finger and instead escapes from reality typifying the flight response which is common among people who are not able to take responsibility of their actions.  All these confirm the assumption that the tale is in fact a very clever symbol of the American fantasy of escape from responsibility.

The Beloved by Toni Morison is a detailed account of events that embody thoughts and memories of the past days. It holistically serves as a meditation on the lasting effects of slavery as personified by the Beloved and the resulting mother-daughter bond. In addition, the novel  invests greatly in the heterosexual relationship of a couple in the historical shape and meaning. It extensively mirrors the notion of memory and consciousness as underscored by Patricia Hampl and Marcel Proust in Memory and Imagination as well as Remembering of Things Past respectively. Wrought succinctly in flashbacks, Toni Morrison captures his concerns modeled on memories as she allows the readers to travel with her in the paths that brought together the creation of the literary piece the Beloved. Arguably, memory in the Beloved seizes a center stage as Toni Morrison takes a direct path to bring to the reader the little known past of the characters, to purposefully depict the present and the future. Drawing from Patricia Hampls Memory and Imagination and Marcel Prousts Remembering of Things Past, this paper seeks to discuss aspects of memory in the Toni Morisons novel the beloved.

Memories are representations of imagined or actual experiences that took place in the past. Psychologists have maintained that in most cases, memories are retrieved on a selective basis depending on the encounter being remembered and the cues involved. With regard to this, memories serve as frameworks upon which meaning in the life of people as well as those around them is created. In Beloved, memory comes out clearly as both incapacitating and treacherous sense of the human consciousness. For example, Sethe endures a host of oppression in the self imposed valleys of memory. This becomes evident in how she is insatiably obsessed with her past experiences which she remembers every now and then. In addition, Sethe is forced not only to explore but also give account of the overpowering sense of desire, craving and longing for something that is beyond her beloved, her daughter and herself (Morrison, 67-75). Although Beloved comes out as an ideal and physical manifestation of these memories, what is enshrined in her will, her memories are indeed tied the emotions, thoughts and experiences of Sethe.

The struggle of Sethe is a more representation of memories which definitely is depicted as a personal process towards self negation. In light of this, the identity of Sethe, following her past experiences and what she can remember, is complicated, elaborate and almost consumed by her memory. According to Hampl (208), memory is the struggle of a human being against their self power and relative to Sethes insatiable efforts to forget, it is plausible to argue that memory is the struggle against forgetting.  Hampl (208-209) further puts that the personalized efforts to remember our past accounts is evidenced as a means of exchange where people renew their ancient concerns and personalize them. This follows the asserted aspect of a process such that we effort to access the stores of our private images an association to basically associate ourselves with the past.  Essentially, in the novel Beloved, Toni Morrison implicitly suggests that the crisis of Sethe is by no means unique and thus memory is self destructive struggle power.

In respect to Proust (190), memory connects both our involuntary and voluntary selves which further represent the power and ability of memory to help individuals reach beyond time and possibly find the important reality of affairs. In this premise, the reality of affairs has an arguable perception that yields happiness to both life and art as in the case of Toni Morisons Beloved. To succinctly survive in the world, it is imperative that one must depend on the integration as well as acceptance of the past as well as the present irrespective of the bitterness of the past. This becomes the basis on which Toni Morrison constructs events that are analogous to   pattern onto which the human mind functions. The activity of memory enables Sethe to restructure her past realities because the radiance that she brings to every episode through these theatrical recurring images, postulates the understanding of herself. Memory in this novel helps the reader to concisely follow Sethe on her journey that moves from her being a woman who just identifies herself as a mother to a level where she identifies herself as a human being (Morrison, 81-89). Accordingly, Toni Morrison suggests that memory is a powerful language that helps to recognize the present state of affairs and connect it to the past something that Proust echoes vividly. As such, the joy certitude that returns in the life of Sethe originates from this connection of memory.

The importance of the past in Beloved clearly constructs the concept of memory. For instance, the importance and most captivating theme in this novel reside in the question of the past being inevitable to ones subconscious mind. The past is something that is hard to forget and regardless of how horrific it may be, it is indisputable that it can not be changed. As Proust argues, the conscious resolution is undertaken by the distinctiveness of every event through memory (Proust, 196). Significantly, what is chosen to be done by the memory of the past definitely shapes the future. Construed as history, the theme of memory and the past in Beloved is reinforced by the fact that the novel is historical in itself. Morison uses characters and the language that embody the historical event which must be remembered. For instance, Beloved is overcome by the memory of the past at the time she spots Mr. Bodwin whom she believes to be the Whiteman who is coming fro her. Seeing Sethe runs fro him, she believes that the past is appearing into her present and thus she runs away in escape (Morrison, 848-56).

The relationship between the Beloved by Toni Morrison, Prousts Remembering Things Past and Hampls Memory and Imagination, has a powerful insight into happens in the inner mind and there is a concise element of consciousness. Proust and Hampl help us to see The Beloved in the eyes of modern art. Morrison suggests that the past is horrible due to questions of slavery and the recovery of memories and she further claims that the past is possible of destroying an individual. However, our ability to move on in life and develop into normal beings depends on the healthy relationship which we have with our past (Hampl, 209). Psychotherapists, according to Hampl, hold that mental health relies heavily on memory and the ability not only to retrieve past images and events but also organizing them. It is evident that we carry wounds from our pasts but our strength lies in the ability to tell stories and also listen to what our stories tell us (Hampl, 209). In addition, the benefits of memory is the personal confirmation of the self and if such is represented in art as in the case of Beloved by Morrison, it facilitates the second living which serves as both the historical and spiritual appraisal of ourselves because, life is a journey as enshrined in our most ancient metaphor (Hampl, 211).

To recap, the Beloved puts in a nutshell irreconcilable models of memory. For instance, the memory by Sethe demonstrates how history is conveyed in dynamics of the nature of life that ranges from coming together, to instituting a relationship. Morrison has dwelt on memory to address history through Sethe which represents the possibility of human consciousness. The reader is able to see the Beloved as a literary piece that reaches into various accounts of the history of the American society. As it assumes that slavery in America ended in 1863, it 3equally haunts the reader to frown at the past. Morrison uses the Beloved to picture the recovery of human dignity in the history of America and at the same time challenges the faith of the American society in resolving the historical trauma.

The main reason for carrying out this research is to look into the compounding issue of illegal immigration in the U.S and how they have contributed to the labor market. With thousands of illegal immigrants making inroad to the United States every year, there have been concerns regarding the social, economical, and political impact of this influx (Hedges 24).  In order to understand the issue well, I choose to look at the case of Brand Tyson Company because the company has been involved with undocumented workers, having also faced many legal suits regarding this involvement.

Even though there have been  a number of legal cases which have associated Tyson Foods with illegal immigrants workers, the issue is not clearly understood as the company has in several cases denied any involvement with undocumented workers.  However, research evidence shows that the company hires thousands of undocumented workers majority of whom are Hispanics.  Therefore, it is important to look at the history of the company involvement with illegal workers in order to understand the present situation of undocumented workers in the company. The main research question for the study will be What is the history of the company and use of labor

Tyson Foods has been the leading meat-processing company in the United States for a number of years now. It is a multinational company that is based in Arkansas, and a giant in the food industry.  It is considered the second largest company in processing of chicken, beef, and pork, coming second after JBS S.A of Brazil in the world. In 2005, it was ranked the second largest food production company in Fortune 500, with total revenue of US 26 billion (Tanger 2009, p.6). However, the company has attracted a number of controversies, especially as far as human resource management is concerned.  The most controversial issue in the human resource management in Tyson Foods is concern about its involvement with undocumented workers. The company employs thousands of illegal immigrant workers who work in its Arkansas factory and evidence shows that it has been hiring undocumented workers since 1994.

There is enough evidence that proves how Tyson Foods has been involved in hiring and smuggling illegal immigrants. This has been evidenced in a number of suits that have been brought against the company in reference to hiring of undocumented workers. In 2001, the company was sued for conspiracy to smuggle illegal immigrant workers for its production lines.  The company has used immigration officials to arrange for smuggling of undocumented workers and this became evident as two of the six managers who had been charged accepted plea bargain deals, although the company was later acquitted of the charge (Poovey 2001, p. 7). In 2006, the company was forced to close nine plants, citing lack of workers at the height of immigration demonstrations.

The company has been accused of underpaying its workers. In 2006, federal court granted class-action status in reference to a suit which had been brought by Tyson employees who argued that the company practices of hiring illegal immigrants depress their wages by 10-30 (Tanger 2009, p.5).  The company has been accused of paying its workers less than US7.00 per hour, although the company claims it pays US8.63 in additional to full benefits (Tanger 2009, p. 7).

The company has also been accused of not maintaining standard working environment for the employees.  It has been revealed that in its Holcomb plant, the company butchers more than 5,700 head of cattle and in the process, at least one meatpacker usually gets hurt doing the job (Hegeman 2010).  More than 3,100 workers in this plant concede to have accepted to work in nations most hazardous work environment. In 1998, the company was accused of amassing 46 serious safety violations, while in 1999, seven employees died in the workplace.

Tyson Foods has also not been keen on getting its workers unionized. Unionization is a major challenge for the company since it will give a platform to articulate for their issues. Although the company employs about 114,000 workers in all of its 300 plants worldwide, only 30,000 workers working in 33 plants have been unionized (Hegeman 2010). One reason why the company employs undocumented workers is perhaps to hinder their unionization process since most of them would not want to be exposed to the authority. 

Tyson Foods is the largest meat processing company in the United States. It is considered the second largest meat process company in the world. Since it was established, the company has faced different controversies ranging from animal ethics to human resource management issues. The most serious issues denting to the image of the company are its involvement with undocumented workers. It is estimated that the company has been employing thousands of undocumented workers in its factory since 1994. The company has also been accused of violating a number of human resource issues. It has been accused of conspiring with immigration officials to smuggle undocumented workers to work in its factories. In the factory, workers are exposed to all kinds of risk and its meat processing factories are considered some of the most hazardous work environment to work in. The company has also been accused of underpaying its workers as the practice of hiring undocumented workers depresses the basic salary. Tyson Foods has also prohibited a large part of its workforce from being unionized.

The practice of Tyson Foods hiring undocumented workers is a matter for all of us as consumers. While the country is struggling with the issue of illegal immigration, we could be playing an important role by encouraging Tyson Foods to bring in more illegal immigrants as we continue buying the companys products. It is our duty to fight for the rights of the workers in Tyson Foods factories. The major question therefore is what can we as consumers do to ensure Tyson Foods stops hiring undocumented workers

Patriotism written by Yukio Mishima (year) is a powerful short story that revolves around patriotism and honor, the bizarre expressions of love and suicide.  It talks about a lieutenant in the Japanese army, Shinji, who comes home and informs his wife, Reiko, about his closest friend becoming a mutineer.  They make a decision to end their lives together and for the last time, makes love before the seppuku, which is a Japanese ritual suicide that is done through disembowelment of the samurai class.  On the other hand, Three Million Yen also written by Mishima (year) talks about a prudent couple who spends the day at an amusement park where they sexually perform in front of paying old women. 

    Both short stories seem to identify tales of honor, love and devotion.  Both take into account the bizarre exploits of love and intercourse, with the use of contrast and comparison to identify the implication of Japanese culture with respect to love, devotion, and honor.
     Mishimas short stories, specifically Patriotism and Three Million Yen, describe the implication of honor, love, devotion, and sexual intercourse.

Patriotism by Yukio Mishima
    Patriotism written by Mishima talks of honor, as indicated in the following text
On looking into each others eyes and discovering there an honorable death, they had felt themselves safe once more behind steel walls which none could destroy, encased in an impenetrable armor of Beauty and Truth. (Mishima, year, p.102)

It appears that patriotism has been directly linked to honor and devotion to ones country, with death as a special, irrevocable offer that is justly claimed through the offering of life.

    Patriotism also talks of love and devotion, as indicated in the following text
 In the lieutenants face, as he hurried silently out into the snowy morning, Reiko had read the determination to die.  If her husband did not return, her own decision was made she too would die. (Mishima, year, p.96)

It appears that patriotism is also directly linked to love and devotion, about offering ones life, about dying for the sake of honor and justice.  

Three Million Yen by Yukio Mishima
Three Million Yen written by Mishima also talks of honor, as indicated in the text
First there had to be a secure livelihood and enough money, more than enough money, to see that the child had surroundings of which a parent need not be ashamed, if not, perhaps, enough to see it all the way to adulthood. (Mishima, year, p.32)

Here, honor and devotion appeared, not through patriotism, but in the way people care for their loved ones in a fiscal, monetary way as well as through love and concern. 

    Three Million Yen also talks of love and devotion, as implied in the text
    Fortunately, he was in love with Kiyoko.  To face the future hopefully, therefore, he had only to follow the conditions laid down by nature.  Now and then some other woman made motion to his direction, but he sensed something unnatural in pleasure for the sake of pleasure. (Mishima, year, p.33)

Here, it appears that love is defined as pleasure being driven through sexual intercourse, with devotion being present in connubial affection and enjoyment.  Love is being defined here as the conditions of naturethe basic, intrinsic method of expressing love through pleasure.

    In both short stories, Mishima expressed love and honor in bizarre expressions.  Love and devotion are being interpreted in terms of offering ones life and the pleasure of love through intercourse.  The common element revolves around the need to be together, in life and in death, of being in one with nature, and of offering oneself for the sake of a loved one.

Wealth can be  too irresistible that only a few are able to resist. It is irresistible in the sense that for some people, it becomes the instrument to happiness. Most people generally think that acquiring wealth can make ones life more comfortable, exciting, and fulfilling. With those attributes comes contentment. And to some people being contented means happiness. Too many fiction and real-life stories rings true to that statement. And one of the best examples are renowned author F. Scott Fitzgeralds masterpieces that also seems to reflect his life and his yearnings.

    American author F. Scott Fitzgerald is an important author in the American literature. He wrote four novels throughout his career and several short stories. His four novels are This Side of Paradise (1920) , The Beautiful and the Damned (1922), The Great Gatsby (1925), and Tender is the Night (1934) gained public patronage but it was This Side of Paradise (1920) that jump-started his career as a successful writer. (Mizener 1) The said novel became a best-seller alongside The Beautiful and the Damned  but Tender is the Night and The Great Gatsby are considered Fitzgeralds most successful works. Most of his writings are set in the Jazz Age, the period in American history after World War I where people lived their life in hedonism and extravagance which is very noticeable in the This Side of Paradise and The Great Gatsby novels.(MSN Encarta 2009)

    F. Scott Fitzgeralds first published novel, This Side of Paradise became an instant success upon its release on March 26, 1920. The instant success he received because of the novel elevated his name in the industry. The novel received both bad and good reviews. A critic called his first novel as a desecration of a masterpiece called Sinister Street. Fitzgerald responded saying that, But I was also hindered by a series of resemblances between my life and that of Michael Fane which, had I been more conscientious man, might have precluded my ever attempting an autobiographical novel....  (117) With that response he expressed his attempts of an autobiographical novel and this explains the similarity of the main characters attitude and experiences to the authors. This Side of Paradise chronicles the life of the main character Amory Blaine. Amory has a rich mother who often brings him along to traveling. He enrolled in a preparatory institution in England called St. Regis and upon his admission, he desires to be a successful student. (Fitzgerald 35) But soon enough he neglected that goal and surrendered to idleness after he gets a failing grade . In the first few parts in the book, Amory has been very observant of the changes in the norms of culture and society - Amory saw girls doing things that even in his memory would have been impossible eating three oclock, after dance suppers in impossible cafes, talking of every side of life with an air half of earnestness, half-mockery......  (Mizener 77) And that observation describes the lifestyle of the wealthy people in his time. Amory enlisted in the army when World War I culminated. And when he returns to America he meets Rosalind Connage and they soon fell in love with each other. Rosalind refuses to marry him because he is not wealthy enough and gets engaged with a richer man instead. Her betrayal and rejection leaves Amory devastated and traumatized and somewhat incapable of loving other women again. (122) Their familys worsening financial plight and his mothers death left Amory without a penny to his name. All of these had caused Amory to abhor poverty and work hard to get to the top so as not to be in a state of destitution again. This novel emphasizes the value of wealth in ones life. It seems to show that the lack or loss of money were the causes of most of his biggest burdens such as the heartbreak caused by Rosalind. Yet still, Amory Blaine has strong ambitions and almost relentless in fulfilling his destiny.  For Amory Blaine failure is a form of death-in-life, a mark of spiritual bankruptcy.  (Bruccoli 122)

    In The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway was born in a well-to-do and prominent family. Although rich he doesnt like showing off his possessions and brag about his social standing. However, he meets a man named Jay Gatsby who is somewhat totally different from him. (Fitzgerald 4) Gatsby lives in a huge mansion near his house. He is rich but described as  rootless as air, mysterious as his rare smile,  with a quality of reassurance in it .   (Mizener 104)

Also in the neighborhood is Nicks cousin, Daisy Buchanan, who is married to an adulterous husband named Tom. As the story goes on, Nick knows more about Gatsby and eventually he learns that Daisy had been the object of affection of Gatsby since 1917, before she became Buchanans wife.  Gatsby becomes rich from racketeering. His obsession of becoming wealthy is so strong that he takes even a dirty mean just to be rich fast He thought that somehow he will have a chance to win Daisy if he is wealthy. He takes pride in his possessions and feels fulfillment by having more.

   To young Gatz, resting on his oars, looking up at the railed deck, that yacht represented all the beauty and glamour in the world.   (Fitzgerald 106) The superficial Gatsby also throw parties very so often, his guests are also wealthy people, he serves champagne and all expensive wines and food. In short, his social life is nothing but fabulous. In Nick Caraways early days in Long Island Sound, he retaliates his observation of his neighbors activities, saying that

There was music from my neighbor s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and women came and went like moths among the whisperings of champagne and the stars On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city, between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all the trains.  (43)

    All those social preoccupations of Gatsby are just his way to cope up with his frustration for Daisys love. Nick consented several times to Gatsbys request to arrange a meeting for the two of them. But it is a sad end for Gatsby when Tom Buchanan finds them out and shoot him with a gun. The Great Gatsby elicited many praises from critics. (Mizener 112) It is a  wonderful read that again emphasizes wealth as a strong influence in the courses of a persons love affairs and life.

    The author of the latter novels, Francis Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 at 481 Laurel Avenue. He was the only son of Edward and Mollie Fitzgerald. (Bruccoli 12)  His parents lost their two daughters who were born before Scott. Being the only son, he was spoiled by his mother. Mollie Fitzgerald supplemented her husbands salary and because of this Scott was able to enjoy upper middle class privileges. (14) It was his mother who fueled Scotts drive to be recognized. She has high ambitions for her handsome and intelligent son. But she did not encourage him to pursue his literary inclinations but instead encourages him to become a businessman. There was instances that his mother disposed his written drafts because of her strong opposition to his hobby. (21) It was his father who commended his literary inclinations. Although his father recognizes his talent, it seems like he doesnt want his son to pursue a literary career.

The comfortable lifestyle of the Fitzgerald changed when Scott was eleven years old. His father lost his salesman job at Procter  Gamble in March 1908 and it was considered as the most dramatic event in the authors early years. (20) In Scotts childhood, they rented apartments in the Summit Avenue, downtown of St. Paul. In their neighborhood he played with well-to-do children but felt like an outsider. His fathers failure and his mothers social indifference was the reason to make him feel such. His years of stay in St. Paul made him feel indifferent but he didnt lose his yearning for recognition.  He knew that he was different from his friends, that he had larger-if not inchoate- ambitions, and that some rare fate was reserved for him.  (29) When he enrolled in the St. Paul Academy, he joined both the football and the baseball team. (22) Aside from that, he tried to discover his dancing skills by enrolling in Professor Bakers dancing class. With all of these affiliations, he was quickly labeled as a show-off. Scotts seemingly unhappy stay in the St. Paul Academy made him perform poorly in the academics. And at 1911, the family thought that Scott needed discipline and decided to send him to a boarding school in Newman. In Newman, he again felt the strong dislike of the people around him.  He was bossy and boastful he irritated the teachers and students, he was regarded as a coward and a bully........ ...Matthew Bruccoli stated in his autobiography of Fitzgerald. Aside from that, he also performed poorly in class and received numerous conduct demerits. All of these accumulated, he became the  most infamous student at school. (30)  He  released his angst and aspirations in the form of writing. He contributed many entries in the Newman News. (32) At  Scotts second year in Newman, he met one of the people who had a great influence in him. According to Bruccoli,  Father Cyril Sigourney Webster Fay was Fitzgeralds ideal priest-romantic, intellectual figure who made the church seem glamorous.  (33) The priest and the student became close mainly because their character have a little resemblance for they both enjoyed self analytical conversations and responded to  egotistical qualities. (34) Their correspondence is noted to have lasted a long time until the priest died on January 1919. (92)

    F. Scott Fitzgeralds very high ambition and egotistical tendencies made his standards very high. In relationships he wanted a woman of high disposition. He fell in love with a woman named Zelda Sayre who was one of the top Montgomery girls. (83) Bruccoli describes Zelda as,  .... like nobody else and practiced a dont-give-a-damn code..... She was beautiful, intelligent, socially secure (although not wealthy) and responsive to his ambitions.  (87) With all those attributes, Scott Fitzgerald found all the things he was looking for a lover, a partner. Zelda and Scotts romantic views were in agreement. But many people were against the beautiful Zelda Sayre. Scott wooed Zelda and persuades her to marry him many times. But the marriage received many objections before it finally materialized. Fitzgeralds booming success and his marriage to Zelda, however, marks the down hill spiral of the celebrated authors career. Fitzgeralds luxuries parties, expensive foreign trips, and extravagant gifts to Zelda were touchstones of F. Fitzgeralds obsession with wealth. His masterpieces and his works enfolds and reflects his intense eagerness to attain and possess prestige, money, and luxury.

    Learning the authors background helps in understanding the basis of his obsession with wealth. The success of his novels and  Fitzgeralds  financial and psychological dependence on it had an important effect on the character of his work and a striking effect on his reputation. (Mizener 1) Indeed, Fitzgerald depended on his success too much and was also half-aware of its future implications. His drive to perfect his goals of becoming wealthy and renowned was the dominating force in the authors life. He started living his dreams as early as twenty when his first novel was published. However, the instant success seemed to overwhelm Fitzgerald. Matthew Bruccoli, in his Some Sort of Epic Grandeur book about F. Scott Fitzgerald states that,  It was always the becoming he dreamed of, never the being.   (Bruccoli 29) It could be the reason of the authors  mismanagement of his finances that led him to destitutions by the end of his life. From what happened to Fitzgeralds life, he became almost one with the characters he made whose life was a cycle from riches to rags, from rags to riches, and from riches to rags again. But above all, people cannot deny the brilliance of his works. Fitzgerald died of coronary occlusion in 1940. (Bruccoli 4)  F. Scott Fitzgerald was an exemplary and monitory figure   that he epitomized his generation, that he had not fulfilled his promise, that his history provided a warning.  (Bruccoli 7)

Frederick Douglass narrates the story of his live as a slave in the slave-holding states of the south. Throughout the narrative, slavery is portrayed as a monster that dehumanizes both the slave and the master. It robs the slave the dignity of being human, and corrupts the character of the slaveholder by making him insensitive to human suffering. By referring to the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the paper examines how slavery was destructive to slave masters and their subjects in the southern states of America before the abolition, and how it affected the south in general.

The first dehumanizing experience of the slaves started right after birth. Birth details were kept in the farm records, together with those of farm animals. As a result, most slaves like Douglass were not sure of their parentages. They believed that blacks were inherently incapable of participating in civil society and thus should be kept as workers for whites..they kept slaves ignorant of basic facts about themselves, such as their birth date or their paternity, enforcing ignorance that robs children of their natural sense of individual identity (Spark Notes 2010). Similarly, slaves were bred like animals so as to support manpower in the farm plantations. The slave masters like Captain Anthony used to tie slaves together like animals so as to mate they even monitored the womens ovulation cycles so as to increase chances of conception. This was a gross undermining of human dignity by degrading fellow men into the level of animals, such that they could be bred and domesticated. In addition, slaves were owned like property that could be auctioned and sold to the highest bidder.

The slaves were also denied enough food and good shelter despite the fact that they were overworked in the farm. Their masters gave them spoiled corn to brew alcohol during holidays so as to remain drunk and unconscious of their state, and consider themselves useless without the benevolence of their owners. At the firm, they were severely whipped (Douglass 18) and even shot by the cruel overseers like Mr. Severe and Austin Gore when they paused to take a rest. This demonstrates the inhuman nature of those who managed slaves.

Slaves were also rent out like property. Douglass himself was traded between his masters sons in law, Hugh Auld and Thomas Auld, who in turn leased him out to Mr. Covey, so as to soften his stubbornness as he (Covey) was famed as a slave breaker (Douglass 68). He overworked slaves under his care and beat them mercilessly. This experience had the effect of changing Douglass into a brutish and dangerous man, when he eventually rebelled and fought with Mr. Covey. At the death their master, all the slaves were assembled together with the farm animals, men and women, old and young, married and single, ranked with horses, sheep and swine so that they could be distributed out (Douglass 54). This outrageous disregard of family ties and kinship shows how slaves were degraded and treated like animals with no familial relationships or emotional feelings. Consequently, children of the same mother were separated without any considerations, leaving their aging grandmother desolate in a small hut in the forest, where she gropes her way, in the darkness of age, for a drink of water) (Douglass 58).

The impact of slave holding upon their masters is best demonstrated by the transformation of Mrs. Sophia, Hughs wife. While living with Hugh in Baltimore, he recounts that his mistress, Mrs. Hugh was gentle, kind, generous and friendly since she had not owned slaves previously. At first, she is portrayed as an angel who was blind to the differences of color. She treated Douglass kindly and even offered to teach. However, her character soon changed to rival that of Mr. Severe, Covey and Gore. After her husband pointed out that an educated slave is useless since he became unmanageable, she changed drastically and became an oppressor (Douglass 47).

The southern states suffered and still suffer from the evils of slavery, specifically in terms of economic development. By holding on slave holding, they concentrated in agricultural production when the north was undergoing an industrial revolution. Until today, the north is the economic hub and most developed part in America, with a concentration of industries, banks and universities.

In the essay, Richardson explores the beliefs Emerson wrote about his conviction for what nature was to him. He records that Emerson believed nature is our ultimate judge and dictates to us the final laws. He observes that many still refute this claim by Emerson and believes that our lives are governed by forces outside our nature like the police, the community, economy or the genetics. He emphasizes this view Emerson had by explaining the concept of universe as being made up of the soul and nature. He seems to endorse the idea Emerson had that nature could not be restricted to only the green world but should also include art, those who are around us, and our own bodies a broad term that may seem to generalize the concept of nature too much (Richardson, 1999).

Richardsons traces the development of the interest Emerson had in nature from his childhood and he notes that at one time in his childhood, he had wrestled with the thought of turning into a naturalist. He observes how he was always enthusiastic about nature like visiting the woods and taking nature walks with his children. He writes that Emersons interest in nature was based on his amusement in examining nature. It is apparent from this chronological account of Emersons enthusiasm with nature that one can conclude that Richardsons has the view that Emersons beliefs that nature was fundamental in all sphere of our lives and was very shaped by the long encounter he had in investigating it.

Emersons turning points is recorded by Richardson to be in 1829 when he denounced his Christian beliefs after he found them to be unbelievable. His enthusiasm for nature was stirred by tours he made across Europe which made him to conclude that every part of nature was connected to him and that every organized form in the world had life even the lifeless forms like rocks, a view that can generate heated debate among todays scientists. Richardson continues to explore the enthusiasm Emerson had after he took the job of a lecturer in science. He describes how Emerson was always engaged in nature as a gardener, orchard keeper and always took nature walks. He explores how he remained interested in science like surrounding himself with the leading scientists at the time like Dirk stuik and Louis, a ghazis which made him to conclude that science and humanities were all linked through nature (Richardson, 1999). Richardsons at this point captures our imagination and is slowly leading us into accepting the views of Emerson.

In the essay, Richardsons notes that the most notable result of Emersons enthusiasm for nature was the publication of the book nature.  The book outlined his opposition to the way people perceived nature at face value and reveled God. The book rejects the notion among people that nature is shaped by our traditions and that is revealed to others in history but rather recommends we should interpret nature as we perceive it. This is a view endorsed by Richardson which can however generate heated debate among todays theologians and scientists alike.

The book also highlights Emerson views that nature gives us the standard of beauty and is evident in the language we speak. He rejects the blanket acceptance of speech as it is all a metaphor of the human mind. Richardson also endorses Emerson idea that we should interpret outward nature in order to explore the inner workings of the outside occurrences, a view that can find acceptance in todays world especially among the scientists (Richardson, 1999).

Richardson outlines how these radical views of Emerson led him to disapprove Christian theology as he believed religion to be more of personal feelings rather than a moral emotion. He observes that the belief Emerson had on the link between the human mind and nature to be very fundamental and it points as to why he could take any topic and use nature as a launching pad to air his views.
Richardsons also explores Emerson views in the book about self reliance. He explains that Emerson had the view that it is better to rely on individuals knowledge rather than to rely on books or other sources for our knowledge. Although Richardson endorses the importance of relying on ones own thinking and individuality in  arriving at conclusions about something, this view is somehow misleading because it trashes all the wealth of knowledge that is in books. On the contrary, we should rather accept what is in books after subjecting it to our own judgments. Richardson also has the same idea as Emerson that heterenomony leads to cramping of choice and acceptance of the same ideas thus preventing creativity and innovation in constructing ideas but this is not always the case as there is more creativity in a group setting than in making decisions individually (Richardson, 1999). 

Richardsons ends the essay by endorsing the invitation Emerson makes to us to rely on our own thinking and shunning heteronomy and massmanship. Although it is essential to practice autonomy in our thought and beliefs, this invitation should not blind us to be always opposing or being biased against others point of view and instead it is essential to evaluate the others point of view using our own judgment and then accept it if our intuition finds it ideal or modify it to suit our beliefs.

Throughout the course of the play Othello changes from a confident and wise man to a guilty and fallen man.  The transformation is founded in his love for Desdemona and the seed of jealousy that Iago plants in his heart.  The character portrayed to the audience in the beginning of the drama, is a far cry from the beaten and broken character that is found at the end of the drama.  The audience watching the changes and knowing that they are unfounded makes one pity Othello for his trust in those that are dishonest and only for his destruction.

At the very beginning, Othello is a proud and noble man.  He holds his own against Desdemonas father who accuses him of witchcraft.  The end of his response is that his only witchcraft was that she lovd me for the dangers I had passd, And I lovd her that she did pity them (1.3.167-168). This man is not one that would seem to be taken in by suspicions and rumors.  In fact, he seems a reasonable and logical man and very much in love with Desdemona.

However, the plot has already been planned, and the character of Iago begins to focus on the destruction of Othello through the jealousy of his wife with his best friend Cassio.  Even in the beginning when the idea is first put to Othello he did not all at once believe.  He stated to be once in doubt Is once to be resolved (3.3.179-180) meaning that he wanted proof of the incident or the feelings between Cassio and Desdemona before he would allow jealousy to take hold of him. 

Through the lies and deceptions of Iago, Othello falls into physical seizures and is eaten alive by the jealousy that grows in regards to Desdemona and Cassio (4.1.50).  After he kills Desdemona and the truth comes to light, it is only then that he realizes that he believed one man, over his best friend, and his wife.  That he was a fool.  It is in this knowledge that he asks those around him to remember him in better times in those times that he had given service to the state, and to forget the action of him in the last parts of his life. 

It is only at the end of the drama, and the end of his life that he repents and realizes that he is undone, and the proud, noble Othello is no more.  His downfall was due to a liar in the character of Iago and his misguided belief of the liar.  He blamed no one but himself and in the end took his own life for those that he took wrongly.

The short story Everyday Use by Alice Walker plays a significant role in understanding the way different African American reinvented their lives.  Even thought slavery had been over for over 100 years, the African Americans often still allowed the White Americans to keep them in the lower rungs of the societal and economic ladder.  This is where Walker comes in explaining the lives of both the African Americans that want nothing more than to live and those that dream of something more.  The differences between DeeWangero, and Maggie and the mother shows just where in the societal norms each believes they exist and what they are willing to do to remember and forget.

The first introduction to this is the introduction of the Mother.  She has no name which others call her except Mother.  She is shown to be one of the nameless hordes that came after slavery, but was taught many of the courtesies that should be shown to the white man and the need to only fulfill the needs, but not to strive any further.  She dreams of being the mother that would make her Dee proud, but knows in the end that she is an embarrassment to her daughter even though she gave Dee everything she wanted in life.  The reader knows that Dee is coming because mother has even swept the front yard of their house in a cow pasture.   Deep down one can see that she wants to be accepted by Dee (Walker 417).

The next introduction is Maggie as compared to Dee.  This is a comparison through the mothers eyes.  She talks of how their first house had burned down and Maggie was caught and scarred for life.  There is inference that Mother may have thought that Dee set the fire, but she really did not want to believe her special daughter would have done anything so low (Walker 418-9). The fact is that Dee was her special and smart child Maggie was her shy and dumb child who would go no where but to be a wife and mother herself, losing her own identity in her children.

The last introduction is to Dee, the main character of this story.  It is not so much a story about her, but about her actions in relation to those of her family.  Her story has already been told by Mother, but the new Dee, the Wangero has a new name, but her set of values and plans on doing like she always did of running over her mother and sister to her own interests and means has not changed in the slightest.

Walker uses DeeWangero as the archetype of the modern African American woman of the 1970s that was looking back at their roots, but only to the areas they wanted to look at.  The reader discovers that Dee has changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. When asked about Dee, she explains that Dee is dead.  She refused to retain a name that was given to her by those that oppressed her (Walker 421).  Mother does not really understand this, because Wangero has never been oppressed and the name came from an aunt and grandmother.  However, knowing her daughter she tries to remember to call her Wangero the person that has no roots to America. 

The mood changes only slightly when the group comes into the little house to eat.  The new Wangero finally sees the beauty in the benches that her daddy had made when they were little.  She fawned over the rump prints (Walker 422) when she saw the butter churner and wanted it.  It is at this moment that Wangero allows herself to start remembering her Dee past. Wangero reminisces over the fact that Uncle Buddy whittled the churn top out of a tree they use to have (Walker 422).  The other part, the dasher, was whittled by Aunt Dees first husband (Walker 422).  In this light it becomes noticeable that Dee is emerging from the modern and overly critical Wangero. However, even this move by Wangero is not the climax to the concept of everyday use.  In Wangeros world the church top will be a centerpiece on a table and will figure something out to do with the dasher, but she must have them for her own style of everyday use (Walker 422-423).

Wangero is not done yet.  She goes into the bed room and returns with two quilts.  The thing that makes them special to Wangero is the fact they were made by her mother and Aunt Dee from clothing that Grandmother Dee wore.  Again, this is contradictory to the original Wangero whom the reader met at the beginning.  Yet now, it is the heritage that she wants to remember her family.  When asked what she is going to do with them, she tells them she will hang them on the wall as decorations.  When Mother refuses to give the quilts to Wangero, because they are promised to Maggie, Wangero states that Maggie will probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use (Walker 424).  The mother does not deny that the quilts will be used and believes that it is time they were used and loved in the way in which they were intended, as quilts for beds. 

It is mentioned in the sideline here that mother offered Dee a quilt when she left for college, but was embarrassed of it and refused.  This and the fact that the quilts were already promised to Maggie made Mother stand up to Wangero, something she could never have done to Dee, and set her in her place.  Once Mother has refused the quilts, the new Wangero returns and chides her mother for being backward, and leaves.  However, even in this ending, Maggie feels a new beginning of her own, one that is not afraid of or needing to give into Dee.  Her mother showed her it was possible, and she knew that DeeWangero would not bother her again. 

In this story, the character of Wangero is divided by her past and her new found belief in freedom for women.  However, when she returns home so does the person she worked so long to kill, Dee.   Dee resurfaced and when denied something for memory, she instantly reverted back to Wangero to keep from being hurt or for remembering too much.  She was a new person now and those of her past would now cease to be of a concern.  Mother and Maggie were gone to her and the new world waited.

According to philosophers Idealism refers to any philosophical thinking that proposes that realism is largely influence by our school of thought rather than other independent events occurring around us. Therefore, the way we perceive the world and things around us reveals the inner thought process occurring in our mind. They records that the appearance of the things around us have little significance in the way they we perceive them in the mind. They shares the view that it is all in the way we set our minds and they also proposes that extreme forms of idealism can even lead one to doubt even whether the world does exist outside our realms of thinking. This notion is exemplified in the Patriotism The story about Lieutenant Shiji Takeyama and his wifes consented double suicide.

The story tells of how the couples consented on taking their own lives the wife after the husband only six months into their marriage. This might seem to be an act of madness but as the story unfolds, they all seem to be at peace with their decision and were looking forward to it illustrating that they had set their mind on homicide and notwithstanding the peaceful and enjoyable marriage they were having could prevent them from their decision extreme idealism where even what is around us does not influence thought process. The fact that the wife Reiko did not mind the sight of the husband committing suicide and then follow suite might seem like an act of madness (Yuko, n.d). However, the tranquility within which the entire episode happens reveals that they had all set in their mind that what they were doing was the right thing and they had come to accept it.

It is evident in lieutenants takemoyos mind that his profession as a soldier risked death anytime, a point he raised with his wife on their wedding night that any soldiers wife should accept that the husbands death might come any time. A point Reiko accepted. It is recorded in the passage that Reiko and shiji never contradicted each other on any issue since they were living under the injunction of education rescript that stated that couples should always live in harmony. It is no wonder that when Shiiji resolved to commit suicide, Reiko did not object and resolved also to do the same.

Shiijis resolve to commit suicide was driven by a loyalty he had for his friends whom he was under orders to attack because they were labeled as rebels. This was so rigidly set in his mind that it is recorded in the passage saying he couldnt handle attacking them and death was his resolve. A decision that was so strong that it is recorded in the passage that in his mind there was no hesitation. Such unwavering loyalty was also evident in his wife because of the decision to join him in the decision and support her (Yuko, n.d). The passage records that Reiko was so eager to feel the bitter side and the sweet side of the high ethical principle his husband believed in of dying for his friends, the imperial forces and the national army

From the passage it is evident just how our beliefs and actions are influenced largely by our mind and thought process and how this form of idealism can lead us to doing some extraordinary decisions and actions.

Herman Melvilles novella, Bartleby the Scrivener illustrates the theme of how isolation can lead to insanity.  The narrator chronicles the details of the demise of Bartleby with both humor and an almost hurtful, emotional tone.  This lawyernarrator unveils a great deal of detail regarding the stages of isolation that Bartleby embarks upon and through using textual analysis the reader can begin to understand the ultimate effects of Bartlebys isolation.  The effects of the scriveners increasing isolation throughout the novella is his depression that crosses over the line from sane to insane behavior and thinking.  The narrator describes all the scriveners that he has had work for him to be strange, but Bartleby to be by far the strangest.  However, the narrator seems to be fascinated with the changes in Bartlebys behavior and allows Bartleby to remain in the office long after Bartleby has stopped working.  It seems that Bartleby is used by the narrator as a source of entertainment and since the narrator was Bartlebys only source of social support is the narrator, the reactions that are made by this narrator are of the utmost importance.

Though the narrator does not have any information about Bartlebys personal life, he seems to be connected to him in a way that cannot be fully explained in the text.  Since he could not give details about the life of Bartleby, he can only cite the progression of his life of depression and then ultimate death.  The depiction of Bartlebys surroundings makes the life of this man seem to be dull and boring, but not unlike the bureaucracy and redundancy of many jobs that people have, so this in itself does not explain why Bartleby decides to isolate himself further unless it can be assumed it was because he felt ashamed that his job was unimportant.  The narrator says, there was something about Bartleby that not only strangely disarmed me, but, in a wonderful manner, touched and disconcerted me.  So even as Bartleby decides to stop doing his work, the lawyer that employs him simply cannot bring himself to fire him because of the strange set of emotions that he feels for Bartleby.  However, the lawyer does become more and more agitated with Bartleby and goes to great length to begin isolating him. 

Though the onset of Bartlebys depression is unclear, the advanced isolation can be attributed to the narrator.  It seems that through the process of Bartlebys refusal to do some tasks and then finally not to do any of his tasks, his only source of social support or satisfaction comes from the narrators reactions.  Though it seems as if the narrator cannot help but exploit Bartlebys emotions, I could not, for the very soul of me, avoid falling into sudden spasmodic passions with him.  Since the narrator could not bring himself to fire Bartleby and chooses instead to leave the building, knowing that Bartleby is too insane to leave the place, that the narrators fascination with Bartleby and with the outcome of his life is selfish and curious and not completely altruistic.  Though the narrator tries to illustrate his compassion to Bartleby, the way that he speaks of him sounds almost as if he were describing Bartleby as a pet and not a person.  Most definitely, the allowance on the part of the narrator for Bartleby to continue to slide into his depression and isolation for the sake of the narrators curiosity is unhealthy.

Bartleby would not speak to anyone but the narrator and this was only because the narrator asked him direct questions.  Bartlebys depression can be gauged by his answers to the questions and his progressive refusal to do the tasks that he is asked to do.  However at no point does Bartleby become agitated with the narrator and, although depressed seems to feel comfort in the dull but familiar surroundings that he has become accustomed to.  After the narrator leaves the office and abandons Bartleby as one might do an animal that is no longer wanted, the narrator admits that he fears that his name might be put in the paper if a mob were to come to attack Bartleby.  But upon questioning him, Bartleby simply says, I would prefer not to make any change.  The small part of sanity that Bartleby holds onto is his familiar surroundings and the brief conversations he has with the narrator.  When he loses his place by being forcibly removed and incarcerated, it is too much for Bartleby to bear.  As well, he seems to become more upset with the narrator and refuses to speak with the only person that has ever spoken with him at length.  Like a poor animal sent to the pound, Bartleby withers away without eating and dies.  Though the narrator does try to retrieve him once from the prison, it is too late for Bartleby, as his humanness has been stripped and his isolation that was previously unhealthy turns into a more unhealthy outcome at a place where he is never at peace and loses all hope of ever finding it.

In closing, the narrator has much to do with Bartlebys isolation and subsequent death.  It is unclear why Bartleby discontinues his duties, but he does exhibit signs of depression and then insanity, although he is somewhat comforted by the surroundings that once made him a happy and hard-working person.  When he stops working, he becomes less like a person and more like a pet to the narrator, who seems to like the entertainment of having Bartleby around, though the narrator acts as if he is only being charitable.  It is when Bartleby is finally abandoned and imprisoned in even more inhumane conditions that he cannot bear to live at all.

    A mothers choices are never easy. In Shiloh, Mabel Beasley tries to help so much that she drives a wedge between Norma Jean and the past, the real world, and her husband, Leroy. In The Leap, Anna Avalon chooses the life of her child and herself over her husband. Ironically, both Norma Jean and Anna Avalon end up losing their husbands with their children.

    Mabel is the antagonist. She is a living, breathing, relentless reminder of all of the events that led to Norma Jeans marriage to Leroy. Even though the marriage in itself may not have been the mistake that Mabel believed it to be, Norma still seems- with her mother playing puppetteer- to bear her husband as an albatross until she finally waves her arms in Shiloh as if she herself will fly away.

    Flying may have been scary to Mabel, but it was second nature to Anna Avalon. As she soared over the past, the real world, and her husband, Anna seems to be the protagonist, the phoenix to Mabel, the crotchety crow rummaging mournfully through the ashes to devour any remnants of life. Anna holds three audiences captive a circus tent of patients, her adoring second husband and daughter, and the reader. She is the protagonist standing brave and solitary at center stage. She is happiest there. We are made aware of this when she saves the narrators life during a house fire and paradoxically smiles as she propels herself over the flames with her child. The narrator sees heroism in two matters which seem- at first glance- to be simple survival of the body and survival of the soul.

    The mothers are as different as night and day. Mabel never lived her own life- but has some desire to live through her daughter, to fix the grave injustice which resulted in her daughters embarrassing pregnancy. This injustice could have had its roots in any number of causes, but Mabel believes in only one Leroy, Norma Jeans husband. As unforgivable as a premarital pregnancy was, losing the child- the very reason for her marriage to the man that her mother disapproved of so heartily- was the card Normas mother, Mabel, would play whenever she did not get her way.

    Mabel sat relaxed as she related the account of the dachshund that gnawed away a childs legs and killed it. She expounds, presumably warning Norma about her husband rather than trying to reveal her nature Datsuns are like that. Theyre jealous dogs. Theyll tear a place to pieces if you dont keep your eyes on them (Mason 7). It seems an innocent enough comment, but Mabel is pointing at her daughter as the cause of the babys death. Although her daughter could not have prevented the childs death, seeing her son lifeless and limp and heavy like a sack of flour is no easier for Norma Jean to shake off than her mothers obvious accusatory reference. (Mason 3). 

    Mabel named Norma Jean after the real name of Marilyn Monroe. Glamor and a flawless appearance are what she idolizes. A man named Leroy does not fit the bill. Now that he is jobless, hes a real winner. When he returns and realizes the predicament of living with his wife again and trying to live with his mother-in-laws visits, Leroy begins to talk about a new life, about building a log cabin- a permanent place for him and Norma Jean to start over. Mabel eventually stops belittling the idea and merely sets her coffee cup down on the blueprints in passive disapproval. The rugged terrain of Shiloh is her idea of better days- long before she had Norma Jean, her perpetual disappointment.

    On the other hand, Anna Avalon is selfless, admirable, and spirited. The heroes of young children  are often costumed, good-looking, men and women with amazing abilities- people that they have watched every Saturday morning as they save the world. It must have been surreal for the narrator to fly with Superwoman. It must have been more surprising yet to look up and see that the Superwoman whisking you away from danger is none other than your own half-naked mother wearing pearls.

    Anna never complained and never challenged lifes ability to provide her with more and better opportunities. Her daughter writes that the inability to read remains the greatest difficulty of her blindness there is no one to read to her (Erdrich 109).  Annas sadness if focused more on her personal lack of companionship than the loss of her husband. Whether it is a defense technique of avoidance or Annas acceptance of more death, the narrators cursory, quirky, perhaps even unconscious, condemnation of her mother, make the great Anna Avalon the bad guy, the begrudging antagonist. The narrator of The Leap returns to play the hero to her mother for once Annas daughter says this in a way- that her purpose was to return from her failed life to read long into the dark if I must (109). It would seem that the narrator has been living in the dark of her mothers shadow but cannot bear to cast the Wonder Woman dreams away. The harsh truth is that we can only be human and look even more fallible next to the saints.

    If you were not properly introduced to Annas character, then you might assume that the irony of progressing from playing blind to actually becoming blind was fates commentary on her Oedipal choices. The ability to let your husband go in a split-second decision and not look back is depicted as heroic, as is the mothers never-look-back approach to courting another man while recovering from the unfortunate accident that killed her husband.

    The difference in the reader perception of the two mothers lies in the depiction and the ability to read between the printed lines. Mabel is a nagging high-and-mighty dowager, and Anna is the Virgin Mary figure. Why Because the daughters told the reader what to think, we see them through that narrow window. Norma Jean and Anna are both survivors of loss. Norma Jean literally pretends it never happened, and Anna moves on without a second thought. The reader can sit idly by and criticize both courses of action, but both short stories clearly illustrate one point in death there are no survivors. Sitting beside the cemetery in Shiloh, frantically trying to reach Norma Jean through the haze of people obscuring her from his reach, Mabel finally succeeds to help Norma Jean bury all of her humanity in Shiloh. Be careful what you wish for.

    Authors have historically used various literary works to reflect the societies in which their live. To this end,  the actions of characters in literary works reflect existing social concepts whereas the surrounding societys behavior  mirrors on specific characters behaviors. In essence, societies and communities are normally depicted as mutually affecting each other.  Notable cases of literary works in which such reciprocal interaction is demonstrated are the three short stories namely William Faulkners A Rose for Emily Flannery OConnors Good Country People and Toni Cade Bambaras The Lesson. To illustrate, through his A Rose for Emily story, Faulkner describes Emily Grierson as being negatively affected by her surrounding society. In turn, Emilys actions negatively impact of her compatriots.  Likewise, through the Good Country People story, OConnor  describes the character named Joy Hopewell  as negatively impacting on the people around her. Consecutively, the society in which Hopewell lives demonstrates an attitude that negatively affects her. In a similar version, Toni Cade Bambaras The Lesson story illustrates the character called Miss Moore being negatively affected by her surrounding society.  In response, Miss Moore demonstrates behaviors and attitudes that negatively impact on her compatriots. All in all, OConnor  - through  Good Country People - Faulkner  - through  A Rose for Emily  as well as Bambara  through The Lesson short stories - describe their protagonists as reciprocally affecting and being affected by their societies in a negative way. 

    For example, in Bambaras The Lesson story, Miss Moores condescending opinion towards her compatriots - especially the children with which she spends most of her time -  attracts disproval from the surrounding community. Consequently, both the children as well as the adults disrespect Miss Moore. For instance, Bambara notes that the grown-ups (talk) .. when . behind her back like a dog, thus showing utter disrespect for Miss Moore (). Moores irritatingly patronizing nature is evident when she looks at her students  like she readin tea leaves (). The author thus presents a picture of an individual and the surrounding society mutually affecting each other in a negative manner.

     Likewise, through the A Rose for Emily story, Faulkner shows that Emilys unbecoming behavior invites rude responses from her compatriots. For instance, Emily demonstrates impoliteness when she demonstrates stubbornness towards her societys pleas that she pays taxes. She even firmly removes the societys representatives from her house. Abruptly summoning Tobe - her manservant - Emily  instructs him to Show these gentlemen out (). In reaction, the society demonstrates  indifference towards her  as is evident from the narrators assertions that the society does not know of Emilys sickness. To this end, the narrator remarks We did not even know she was sick (). 

    Similarly, through his Good Country People story, OConnor depicts Joy Hopewell  as a character who demonstrates haughtiness towards her compatriots - notably  Mrs. Freeman and Hopewell s mother - the result being that she becomes painfully  alienated from her society. For example, because she is educated , Hopewell mocks all people around her as is evident from her remark that her mother is bloated, rude, and squint-eyed (). In reaction, society alienates  Hopewell , thus making her to beg her mother to wholesomely accept  her. A deeply remorseful Hopewell cries out  to the mother saying like I am take me ().

    In conclusion, the issue of individuals negatively reacting with their surrounding communities is clearly evident through the 3 stories, Good Country People,  The Lesson, as well as  A Rose for Emily. Good Country Peoples Hopewell suffers segregation due to her arrogant attitude towards her compatriots.  Likewise, A Rose for Emilys Emily suffers segregation due to her condescending view of her society. Lastly, The Lessons Miss Moores is disrespected by society owing to her attitude of viewing her compatriots as being unknowledgeable.

The African-American experience speaks explores the way of life of African-Americans during time when they were not treated as equals in American society. Even during that time of oppression, African-American authors rose up and were able to express their struggle and hardship through their literary works. For most acclaimed African-American authors of that time, this was done through the explicit expression of the struggle in the plot, characterization and progression of their literary works. However, the documentation of the struggle may very well have been completed through more subtle means.

By deconstructing the thought patterns of an African-American author and by analyzing his writing technique, despite the absence of text explicitly depicting the African-American experience, the documentation of the experience is broadened. In fact, by looking into thought patterns and opinions of African-Americans, the documentation of the African-American experience is enriched. Anatole Broyard was one such author. His writing was the expression of his personal struggle of being African-American. This research will show that the manner by which Broyard appreciated literary works of his time reveals African-Americans impression and experience of the African-American struggle.

Anatole Broyard was born in 1920 to African-American and Caucasian parents. Broyard was fair-skinned and this helped him to disguise his African-American heritage. When Broyard finished his university studies, he decided to live out his life as a Caucasian. He left behind any trace to his African-American ancestry and began to deport and introduce himself as a Caucasian. It was only to select friends that he disclosed his true racial background. His wife was privy to his secret but his children found out about their African-American inheritance only when Broyard was on his death bed.

Broyard was also professionally accepted as Caucasian. He held a stable post as a New York Times book reviewer. As such, Broyard was able to assess the works of African-Americans who were writing about the African-American experience. His impressions on these writings provide crucial insight into Broyards mindset regarding his racial heritage. Moreover, a comparison of how Broyard treated Caucasian literary works in contrast to African-American works would lend a hand in unraveling the African-American perspective on the role of the Caucasian in society.

This research does not intend to touch on Broyards motives for passing himself as Caucasian. It is not the intent of this researcher to pass judgment on such an act. Instead, the premise of the research will take full cognizance of Broyards African-American heritage. Despite Broyards presentation of himself as Caucasian, the research will also recognize the fact that Broyard was aware of his own racial background. The fact that he spoke of this to his close friends and to his wife shows that this was a fact that he did not detach himself from. As such, this formed part of his consciousness and played a role in his assessment of literary works as well as in his manner of writing.

In order to establish these facts, the research will utilize several sources of information. To be able to understand the mindset of a person, his environment and the prevailing sentiment of his time must be taken into consideration. This will require the use of texts which discuss the social climate during Broyards time. The general experience of African-Americans during the 1920s needs to be revisited in order to understand the factors which contributed to Broyards thinking.

Aside from these, the writings of Broyard must also be revisited. These writings are the expression of the man himself. It is through these works that the thought patterns of Broyard may be dissected. Apart from his published works, his book reviews should also be studied. In order to access these writings, archives of the New York Times must be searched. Of particular importance are Broyards reviews of African-American books which expressed the struggle of African-Americans during that time. Thus, knowledge of African-American authors who were published during that time and gained acclaim is required. However, the review of works of non-African-Americans should also be undertaken. This will afford insight into Broyards perception of the Caucasian race.

The research should also look into works written about Broyard. Biographies would present useful insight into how Broyard lived his life. As was previously discussed, the surrounding circumstances of a man influence his thought patterns and perspectives. It is in this light that Broyards biographies will be studied. By looking at what he valued in life and what he deemed to be important, Broyards positions as to African-American struggles may be understood more clearly.

The opinions of other researchers and authors regarding Broyard will also be studied. This will give the researcher a better understanding of factors that may have influenced Broyards writing. The insight of other researchers who have studied Broyards life will also give fresh perspectives on how to dissect Broyards writing.

The research will therefore be a close reading of the works and life of Broyard. First, the social climate and personal experience of Broyard will be established. This will require a discussion on the historical documentation of the 1920s relating particularly to the racial divide during such time. An introduction into the life of Broyard will also be undertaken to better understand the man that he was. This will require the use of biographies and memoirs written by those who knew him in life. By understanding the life that he lived, it will be easier to appreciate how he thought and what may have influenced his manner of thinking.

Having gained an understanding of the man and the factors which affected his thinking, an entry into his writing will then be undertaken. His writing was an expression of his thoughts and so an intimate assessment of his books and reviews will reflect how he perceived African-Americans. His book reviews of African-American authors will be assessed singularly and also in comparison to his reviews of Caucasian authors. Common themes in treatment of one race and differences in the treatment of the two races will reveal Broyards sentiment as to his own races struggle.

The analysis of Broyards writing will show his personal struggle and his African-American experience. More so, it will reflect a deep-rooted mindset held by African-Americas during a time of great racial discrimination. The number of African-Americans who subscribed to this mindset is irrelevant. The fact that even a few people did subscribe to such a mindset shows that the African-American experience is more complex than initially believed. Broyards life and works enhance understanding of the African-American experience by showing one mans method of struggle against the racial divide and his inner struggle between racial heritage and social climate.