The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1119 Words

Money and Reputation During the 1920’s, most Americans cared about their wealth and social standing. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the characters striving for happiness, love, and wealth, in which none of the characters can have all of the options in the life they have. He does this to explain his own struggle with his American dream by never having a lot of money, never being a very successful writer, and losing his golden girl. Fitzgerald portrays his pessimistic view on the struggle of fulfilling the American dream by portraying different types of people trying to achieve their own dreams with the obstacles of social status, and the influence of reputation getting in the way of their individual dreams. To begin,†¦show more content†¦Myrtle understands that if she stays with George she won t ever get away from the working class. She’s escaping her poor reality, and she desperately needs Tom for his money and power but not for his company or happiness. Myrtle doesn’t have money or come from money, but by surrounding herself with Tom, a man who comes from old money, this allows her to have a more privileged life that her husband can’t provide for her. In addition, Nick observes how Gatsby made up an imaginary life which he lived through, â€Å"So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end†(98). Nick sees how Gatsby built up his whole life over a decision he made as a young man. Being the determined man Gatsby is, he stuck with his ideal life. Gatsby made this perfect life to escape his reality and impress Daisy as well as other people around him. Since Gatsby went from rags to riches, and had an amazing social life, he isn’t respected like the Buchanans. He isn’t from old money or a family of money. Without the title of old money, Gatsby is unable to live this dream of his. He may have money, he just doesn’t have the titlement to impress and get his golden girl for himself. While both characters originate from lower classes, both Gatsby and Myrtle try to move up their social statuses doing anything it take to impress people with money,

Cheap Amusement Book Review Free Essays

Dereck Rickman Scott Keys History 9September2012 In the book, Cheap Amusements: Working Women and Leisure in Turn-of-the-Century New York, Piess takes the reader on the journey of trials and tribulations in working-class women’s lives in the turn of the century. Going in depth of the unfair familial roles and societal female disparities, all the way to what women liked to wear and do for leisure, Piess allows the reader to step into a time machine and gives them a first-class look into what a woman’s daily life was like in late 1800’s and early 1900’s. By using ‘expert’ sources and ‘investigators’, Piess succeeds in her goal by honing in on a specific time and topic which allowed the reader to feel as if they were reading an in-depth history textbook on the matter, but failed at providing deeper substance and backbone through concrete details. We will write a custom essay sample on Cheap Amusement Book Review or any similar topic only for you Order Now Starting off by explaining the typical family roles in the turn of the century, Piess expresses how while the men may spend his evenings at a local saloon, at a baseball game or reading his daily paper, the women would often be expected to work her â€Å"double day†. Piess explains this concept of the double day to be that the woman is expected to go about her daily work day of typically â€Å"domestic servants, needlewomen, laundresses†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Peiss 1986), and come home to start her other job, being the housewife. The housewife duties usually entailed cooking, cleaning, washing, scrubbing, and most importantly†¦ making her husband and kids happy. All the while, when the woman got her hard earned paycheck, it was expected to go towards family needs. Even as young women in the family home, young working girls were expected to hand over their paychecks in their entirety while their male counterparts were only asked for a small portion of their earnings. Even though women were getting paid at lower wages and it being justified because women were seen as â€Å"temporary wage-earners who worked only until marriage† (Peiss 1986), Piess automatically shows the struggles and disparities women faced in the work field and even at the home front. Even if the young girl or woman say the disparities for what they were, she were to keep her opinions of the unjust actions to herself or she would find herself alienated and estranged from her own family. Even though the disparities and unequal behavior was seen and picked up throughout the book, Piess moves on to lighter topics such as leisure and fashion. â€Å"Not content with the quiet recreation in the home, they [women] sought adventure in dance halls, cheap theaters, amusement parks, excursion boats, and picnic grounds† (Peiss 1986). Women would often time seek refuge through the cheap amusements they would find in their spare time. If not the small concept of gossiping on the walk home from work, going to parks, or catching a small gossip break at work, women would often frequent the local dance halls where most of the time their admission was waived or lowered. These dance halls were a way for women to dress in their flashiest attire, talk in their unladylike manner, be pursued by the opposite sex, consume alcoholic beverages, and let loose on the dance floor. When it came to fashion and and the pursuance of men in the dance halls, the two went hand and hand. Piess found that a pair of sisters frequently opted out of such social gatherings simply because they could not afford the fashion to attract the likes of the opposite sex; â€Å"’We have not the money for pretty clothes to attract the boys who would really care for us and of course we have no money to pay for our own amusement, and as a result we stay at home’† (Peiss 1986). Even if it was a new hat to wear to work, women would find the means to get their feminine itch for retail†¦ even if it meant going without a meal or walking the great lengths to work. Even when women were at the leisure, they were still being treated as unequal partners to the superior man. When out at a dance hall, men would choose who they wish to dance with and it was customary for women, like it or not, dance with the man who chose them for at least the remainder of one song. Peiss explains a process that was customary at dance halls and is even seen at modern day clubs, â€Å"At the beginning of a dance, women would dance together, with the men watching them from the sidelines; then ‘the boys step out, two at a time, separate the girls, and dance off in couples’† (Peiss 1986). The aforementioned process was known as â€Å"breaking† in which the women involved had no say in who she wished to dance with. If a man were to â€Å"treat† a woman, it was only polite that the woman dish out something in return. Be it flirtatious notions or sexual gestures, women were expected and most of the time willful partner in the prostitution-like proposition of the male and female interaction. â€Å"’Many women do their washing in this yard,’ noted a middle-class tenement inspector† (Peiss 1986). Piess uses inspectors and random sources throughout her book as guides to prove or solidify her point. What I was very curious about was who these people were in which she was quoting. I do appreciate the fact that she uses outside sources, but who are these outside sources and how reliable can they be? When it comes to her more specific sites, such as, â€Å"’Some never boarded a street car for an evening’s ride without planning days ahead how they could spare the nickel from their lunch or clothes money’ noted reformer Esther Packard, describing women who lived on six dollars a week† (Peiss 1986), Peiss never goes into depth who the source is or a deeper back-story to the individual that the reader would really be inclined to know. When Piess was able to give names to the quotes she used, it showed credibility and left the reader wanting more of an understanding of the person’s story. Though Peiss did a phenomenal job at proving her thesis in the sense of giving a book on a specific time and topic, she failed to give the reader some real life backbone through a more personal aspect. The reader is left feeling the need of wanting more from the sources rather than from Peiss as a historian. Just as a simple observation was made throughout the length of the book, it seems that Peiss may have been suggesting a certain parallel that is seen in the 1890’s-1920’s in comparison to today’s world. When referring to the saloons and how women who came unescorted by a male counterpart was seen as â€Å"fair game†. In today’s world, if a woman attends a bar without a man, she is also seen as such game. Though the dangers as being seen as a prostitute are not paralleled between the two different eras, the concept of men pursuing an unescorted female in such a setting remains consistent. In another similar tone, the notion Peiss points out of dance halls either lowering their fares for women or waving the fare altogether is consistent with the parallel thought of clubs often times lowering or waving cover charges for women for the simple fact of luring women into their establishments. Peiss explains that owners of dance halls would alter their fees for women because women were usually unable to afford the fee and the owners really wanted more women, like today, to be at their establishment so the men would also come and lavish the women with drinks. Other similarities are seen throughout Peiss’ work such as women going on outings in pairs or groups of women, and also how when on the outings their â€Å"popularity† with the men is dependent on their willingness and capability to drink alcohol. An Appalachian State University student, John C. McKnight at www. scribd. com boldly and confidently states, â€Å"Her study should be considered a valuable source by all historians and should become a reoccurring theme of the Gilded and Progressive Era as far as the history of American woman is concerned† (McKnight 2011). Though I could understand where Mr. McKnight is coming from as far as the history aspect is concerned, to go as far as to openly say that this piece of work should be considered a valuable source and should become a reoccurring them is a tad outlandish. As far as a concentrated topic of a forty year time span is concerned, Peiss did a phenomenal job at capturing the essence of a fairly large group of women. But the fact of the matter is that Peiss only concerned herself with a forty year window of a specific gender, of a specific class. Moreover, it took her nearly two hundred pages to repeat her central idea several times over. Peiss, though could manage to make her book a less repetitive insight into working women’s leisure, did a great job at showing the reader what life looked like at the turn of the century for working class women. Peiss created a very narrow window for the reader to look into and gave them a concentrated view of what a certain time frame looked like for a specific group of people in a certain social class. The book was very well organized and was interesting in its topic of choice. I believe that this is an â€Å"O. K. † book for historians to engage in. Besides the book’s incredible organization and interesting topic, the book itself is very repetitive and I believe too concentrated to take much more than needed on the concept of working-class women and their leisure time in the turn of the century. Bib Mcknight, John C. â€Å"Cheap Amusements Review. † Scribd. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. http://www. scribd. com/doc/16674845/Cheap-Amusements-Review. 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The Murder of Biggie Smalls free essay sample

Setting Christopher Wallace was raised in the Bedford-Study. Jeans section of Brooklyn, Wallace grew up in neighboring Clinton Hill. Biggie also went to the private Roman Catholic Bishop Laughlin Memorial High School in the same area of his home. In 1991 Biggie was arrested in North Carolina for dealing drugs. He spent nine months in the jail, until he was bailed out. In February 1997, Wallace traveled to California to promote his upcoming album and to record a music video for the single Hypnotize.On March 9, 1997, Baggies rap career came to an end, Wallace was killed by an unknown male In a drive-by shooting n Los Angles. Short Summary In 1994, Biggie was accused of the shooting on former friend Outpace Shaker. His hip- hop career was focused by the struggle between Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records, which occupied most of his life. Outpace was shot multiple times In a drive-by shooting in Lass Vegas on September 7, 1996. We will write a custom essay sample on The Murder of Biggie Smalls or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Rumors of Baggies involvement in Tubas murder were showing up almost immediately. Biggie Smalls, age 24, was pronounced dead at 1 5 A. M. On Sunday, March 1997.He was cut down in a fashion eerily similar to that of Outpace Shaker: on a crowded street ring a drive-by shooting In a bold attack In front of hundreds of potential witnesses, attending an out-of-town party. Baggies death shook the Hip-Hop world, and because of it, hip-hop has never been the same. Unfortunately, Baggies murder was not the last in the rap scene. From Outpace Shaker to Big L, murderous violence has taken the lives of rappers before they were able to show their true potential. Description of the main character Christopher Wallace was a rapper under the names The Notorious B. I. G. ND Biggie Smalls. As he got older, his mother called him Chris, or Christopher, but to the spinsterhood kids he was Big, the name would help carry him into one of the shortest but most successful rap careers in the history of hip-hop. Dropped out of high school. He was claimed to be a very good student, winning several awards as an English student. Upon dropping out he became further involved in crime. At the time of his death on March 9, 1997, Biggie carried nearly 400 pounds, nearly 180 kilos. Themes The books intention is to get better view of what really happened to the rapper Christopher Wallace a.Its hard to believe that no one knows who killed Outpace or Biggie. The Murder of Biggie Smalls is a griping story, but much of the story was focused on other subjects. There was a whole chapter which was dedicated to the murder of Outpace Shaker, and a whole chapter which was dedicated to Puff Daddy. There was a lot of unnecessary, boring information about police structures and such that in my opinion arent interesting. Good or not, this is the only book touching on the subject of Christopher Wallachs life. Fans dont want to miss it, but casuals may want to skip it.

Passive Smoking Essays - Smoking, Passive Smoking, Tar, Cigarette

Passive Smoking What is secondhand smoke? ? Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers. ? This mixture contains more than 4,000 substances, more than 40 of which are known to cause cancer in humans or animals and many of which are strong irritants. ? Secondhand smoke is also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS); exposure to secondhand smoke is called involuntary smoking, or passive smoking. Passive smoking artery damage partially heals Damage to the lining of arteries of young adults caused by passive smoking partially heals 2 years after the exposure to smoke, but the artery lining is still not as healthy as the arteries of people who had never beenexposed to smoke. 60 young adults, all nonsmokers, between the ages of 15 and 39 were used as essential data for further analysis. Twenty had never been exposed to tobacco smoke at home or in the workplace for any amount of time. Another group of 20 had been passively exposed for at least 1 hour per day for 2 or more years. A third group of 20 had been exposed to smoke at home, work, or both for at least 1 hour per day for 2 years. The researchers found that dilation of the blood vessels was much better in former passive smokers than in current passive smokers, although both groups were impaired compared with nonsmoking controls. Not surprisingly, former passive smokers who had been away from smoky environments longer had better arterial function than those who had been exposed to passive smoking as recently as 2 years prior to the study. Passive smoking has been consistently linked to an increased risk for coronary heart disease and may be responsible for more than 30 cardiovascular deaths annually in the US alone, the researchers note. Secosndhand smoke is a serious health risk to children. The developing lungs of young children are also affected by exposure to secondhand smoke. Infants and young children whose parents smoke are among the most seriously affected by exposure to secondhand smoke, being at increased risk of lower respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis. EPA estimates that passive smoking is responsible for between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children under 18 months of age annually, resulting in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations each year. Children exposed to secondhand smoke are also more likely to have reduced lung function and symptoms of respiratory irritation like cough, excess phlegm, and wheeze. Passive smoking can lead to buildup of fluid in the middle ear, the most common cause of hospitalization of children for an operation. Asthmatic children are especially at risk. EPA estimates that exposure to secondhand smoke increases the number of episodes and severity of symptoms in hundreds of thousands of asthmatic children. EPA estimates that between 200,000 and 1,000,000 asthmatic children have their condition made worse by exposure to secondhand smoke. Passive smoking may also cause thousands of non-asthmatic children to develop the condition each year. Pregnant women should be strongly encouraged to avoid spending time in places where people smoke, as u denoted from all the reasearch I've gone through. There was a survey made to see weather women have been exposed to passive smoking at home or at work. Women completed a questionnaire about exposure to passive smoking, then researches analyzed the data, they saw hat out of one thousand women which have given birth before and at the same time were exposed to second hand smoking, 70 women had babies with physical and/or mental disabilities. Cigarette smoke can damage your heart even if youu aren't a smoker. Research shows that the second-hand smoke that many people are exposed to is enough to produce damage to their cardiovasscular system. Researchers identsified carbon monoxide and nicotine in environmental tobacco smoke that increases the risk of heart disease. Here are a couple of examples. First, the carbon monoxide competes with oxygen in the red blood cells. It not only reduces the amount of oxygen in the heart, it also makes the heart use oxygen less efficiently. Researchers say exposure to second-hand smoke causes between 30,000 and 60,000 fatal heart attacks each year and between 90,000 and 180,000 non-fatal heart attacks. Researchers claim exposure to second-hand

Acid Reflux essays

Acid Reflux essays Millions of people suffer from Acid Reflux Disease each year. It affects the esophogus and can be fairly serious in some cases. In 1988 more than 61 million American adults said they suffer from it at least once a month. (Diagnosis Health) Acid Reflux disease, also known as Gasrtoesophagael reflux disease is a condition in which the liquid content of the stomach backs up, or refluxes, into the esophagus. This liquid usually contains pepsin, which is an enzyme that begins the digestion of protien in the stomach, and acid which is also produced in the stomach. The liquid may also contain bile from the stomach. The regurgitated liquid can eventually inflame and damage the lining of the esophagus in serious cases. The acid in the liquid is the most serious of the components. The bile and pepsin also play a role is the damage of the esophagus, but not as big a role. (Medicine net) Acid reflux is a chronic condition, once some one has it, they usually have it for life. The damage to the esophagus is also lifelong, and if a patient is treated, after the treatment ends, the damage will most likely return, so treatment will have to be used indefinetly. The disease is a complex one, with many causes, and causes may be different for every indivual. One of the most important fatcors that lead to acid reflux is the Lower esphogeal sphincter muscle. It surrounds the lower-most end of the esophagus where it joins the stomach. Two abnormalties of the mucle causes acid reflux. If the muscle is weak, it reduces the ability to prevent reflux. Another is abnormal relaxations. The relaxations allow reflux to occur more easily. The relaxations occur in patients with Acid reflux commonly after eating. Relaxations happen to people who do not have the disease, but it is much less frequent. (Medicine Net) Another contributor is Hiatal hernias. The way they contribute is unclear, but the majority of patients that h ...

Communication Concepts Reflected in Pacific Rim Movie Review

Communication Concepts Reflected in Pacific Rim - Movie Review Example In the movie review "Communication Concepts Reflected in Pacific Rim" communication concepts such as stages, strategies, relational dialectics, and self-disclosure will be examined more closely as they are applied and reflected in the aforementioned movie. The concept of stages is obviously illustrated in the characters of Becket and Mori. From the time they were introduced, the woman was already attracted to the man. Becket, on the other hand, is fascinated with the woman’s record being the best fighter so that when he saw how she combatted, she became his partner but not after a lot of consideration on the part of her foster father. Eventually, when Becket learns about Mori’s history, he sympathizes and feels for her. Soon, they formed a bond where they did not only share respect but love. As a result, they were able to combine their skills and abilities to win against the monsters, destroying the bridge which secured the kaijus. The stages in the relationship of Beck et and Mori are effective because they developed a bond that made the jaegers work together as a team. From attraction, they developed respect for each other. In the relationship of Becket and Mori, different strategies were observed. The two have been observing each other after their first encounter as they were introduced by Pentecost. Mori has been looking at Becket, perhaps wanting him to show some interest in her. On the other hand, Becket observed Mori as well especially when he was fighting to choose his partner while the woman scored his fights.

Critique of a qualitative study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critique of a qualitative study - Essay Example They will be better handle to handle the situations and help them and give them support in areas that will be most beneficial to their recovery. Moreover, the method used to collect data is compatible with the purpose of the research. The method is also adequate to address the phenomenon of interest, to document and follow whether African-American men and women utilize their support network and resources when coping with their illnesses. The type of sampling used is that 28 African-American men and women were selected from 291 men and women who had completed Health-funded studies for three National Institutes: Managing Uncertainty: Self-Help in Breast Cancer Study funded to Principal Investigator (PI) Merle Mishel, Phd, RN, FAAN; Promoting Self-Help: Underserved Women with Breast Cancer Study to PI Carrie Braden, Phd, RN, FAAN, and Managing Uncertainty in Stage B or Early Stage C Prostate Cancer Study to Mischel. The informants who were chosen were appropriate to inform the research because the 28 African men and women that were selected did not receive any type of intervention for their conditions. Some of the men were in control groups, resulting in them having to deal with their condition full-force. They would be better able to study whether they might be affected by support in coping with their illnesses because they didn't have any interventions to stop or alter the full affects of the illnesses. Additionally, the data collection is focused on human experience, and the researcher does describe the data collections used such as interviews, observation and discussion. The protection of human participants is addressed, and the saturation of the data is described in that the support findings and interviews with the participants are described in detail. The procedure for collecting data was open-interviewed with the participants, mostly in their home, in a place where they would feel comfortable. It was also stated that the interviews were began very casually, "Tell me more about your experience." This helped the interviewee relax more knowing that their experience was important enough to be heard. Another procedure used was data analysis of the participants. This helped to know what backgrounds, social status, or other areas the participants were contained within. Additionally, the researcher does address the credibility, auditability, and fittingness of the data in this research. The researcher does address that these findings are important to the welfare of the participant, thereby making it fitting for the welfare of others that are African-American men and women as well. The participants did recognize the experience as their own, and they were given ample time to fully understand the phenomenon of their cancer. Furthermore, the reader can document the researcher's experience as they read through the experiment. The researcher does document the research process very well by separating the experiences of the individuals into labeled categories, there again better enabling the