Once You Open Your Eyes Essay Example for Free

Once You Open Your Eyes Essay When a human being is a victim, they need to have courage and follow their ways, no matter what others say. Jem and Scout see people become victims of prejudice, rumors, poverty, and other atrocities in their own little town, as they grew older. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the children learn life lessons from witnessing people striving to survive different situations within Maycomb. When a challenge causes one to struggle, the children see that person, or themselves, have to have courage to do as they have before. Jem and Scout see their small town judge the Radleys, but the Radleys still do what they have done for as long as any single person can remember. They never talk to their neighbors or open their doors and windows on Sunday. Since they have odd habits, from other’s perspectives, and keep to themselves, citizens of Maycomb start rumors about them, saying â€Å"Radley pecans [will] kill you† (Lee 9). These rumors criticized the Radleys and made people afraid of them. Calpunia had something to say about them, stating one day that Mr. Radley was â€Å"the meanest man God ever blew breath into† (Lee 12). Since he was â€Å"mean,† that held more rumors to be made about them. The stories make children believe Boo was locked up in a damp basement in the courthouse for years and is now chained up in his house. The Radleys stay the way they are; despite the rumors, remaining removed from human contact. The Radleys are victims of misunderstanding and people’s cruel stories â€Å"unwilling to discard their initial suspicions† (Lee 9). Jem and Scout witness the Radleys to stick to their ways since they go against the crowd, despite society’s wants. The Finch children begin to notice many children’s families are victims of poverty, especially the Cunninghams, but the Cunninghams are different; they never take charity or have to depend on others. The Cunninghams are one of the poorest families in Maycomb, but they have the strongest determination to survive; and are the hardest workers. They have a great deal of pride and are respectable people. â€Å"‘The Cunninghams never [take] anything from anybody, they get along with what they have,’ † states Scout (Lee 20). Walter Cunningham would not even take a quarter of a dollar to buy a lunch because of how he was raised. The Finch children realize the Cunninghams are a brave family to live under their circumstances and not accept anyone else’s charity. If one does not accept others’ charity, they suffer more and do not always know when they are receiving their next paycheck. It is scary to not know these things, but the Cunninghams are proud and brave when to not accept the offerings of other people. The Finch children understand this from listening to Atticus talk about the Cunningham family. Tom Robinson suffered because of people and their prejudice beliefs. He also suffers from others misdeeds and died as innocent as a mockingbird. Jem becomes a victim when Tom Robinson was found guilty. He realizes the court does not always work. Jem became a victim of the system’s flaws and shortcomings. He used to believe that the court always worked, but learned it did not, when a jury found a clearly innocent man guilty. This crushed him, but it made him grow up and learn to accept things like this, because when maturing, one has to realize the world isn’t perfect. He had to have courage to accept this factor in life. It is a atrocious crime to take a persons life to merely keep the truth in the shadows; but with the pain of Tom’s death blooms a new hope of equality for the town of Maycomb, with just a baby step. Like all other children, Scout and Jem have to face all the challenges of growing up, but they have to keep going on with their lives, no matter what problems arise for them. Scout experiences the challenges of growing up when her aunt moved in. She criticized Scout for wearing pants and not acting in a lady-like manner, but that was only a small problem, and Scout stayed herself. She kept wearing pants and speaking her mind because she wanted to be an individual. Scout is surprised by prejudice, while going up. She was not aware that prejudice existed. She witnesses others victimize each other because they are different, either because of their color, friends, how they act, or many other reasons. She learns and sees this happen when listening to neighbors gossip about the Radleys, her teacher bad-mouth African Americans, or even her own self be criticized by the way she speaks her mind. Scout does not understand why people are like this, putting labels on certain types of people, like African Americans, saying â€Å"all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women† (Lee 204). Scout knows that not all people are perfect. She has to accept that some humans do not always treat others with kindness. Both Jem and Scout have to be brave and deal with the changes in the world. Scout and Jem learn from people, or themselves, when they are victims of different situations, but they are still brave. Atticus points out that real courage is when someone goes through life, still fighting, even if they are victims of prejudice, rumors, lies, hate, misunderstanding, or life’s shortcomings; to not give up even if you’ve already lost . Jem and Scout learn to keep their ways, adjust, and not judge people without knowing the full truth about them. They hope for the world to be a more understanding place.

Something for Everybody: Brooks’ Reasoning for Monsterism in Frankenste

Like all works that have been taught in English classes, Frankenstein has been explicated and analyzed by students and teachers alike for much of the twentieth and all of the twenty-first century. Academia is correct for doing so because Frankenstein can appeal to the interests of students. Students, teachers and experts in the areas of medicine, psychology, and sociology can relevantly analyze Frankenstein in their respective fields. However, Peter Brooks explains in â€Å"Godlike Science/Unhallowed Arts: Language and Monstrosity in Frankenstein† that Shelly had presented the problem of â€Å"Monsterism† through her language. According to Brooks, Monsterism is explicitly and implicitly addressed in Shelly’s language. While this may be correct, Brooks does it in such a way that requires vast knowledge of subjects that many readers may not be knowledgeable in. After summarizing and analyzing the positive and negative qualities of Brooks’ work, I will explai n how the connection of many different fields of study in literature creates a better work. Brooks attempts to prove his thesis by first explaining how the language in parts of the book relates to how the Creature is monstrous. He alludes to how the descriptions of nature in Frankenstein are more fearful when the Creature is around. For instance, a terrible storm occurs during the Creature’s creation and the â€Å"cold gales† in the icy glaciers of Mont Blanc surround Frankenstein when he meets the Creature for the first time after its creation (Shelly 80). Also commenting on the Creature’s story, Brooks finds that his lack of spoken language and attempt to understand these languages allude to the Enlightenment’s noble savage (594). Brooks then associates the Creature with Satan and many top... ...ttempts to relate many fields to his paper so that even if the reader didn’t know some of the scholars that were cited, the reader could glean the basic idea and then truly understand a section that interested you if you knew about the sources he was using. Works Cited Brooks, Peter. "Godlike Science/Unhallowed Arts: Language and Monstrosity in Frankenstein." New Literary History 9.3 (1978): 591-605. JSTOR. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. . Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Walter James Miller, and Harold Bloom. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus. New York: New American Library, 2000. Print. Yale Office of Public Affairs. Humanities and Social Sciences. Yale Professor Peter Brooks Wins Prestigious Mellon Award. Yale University News. Yale University, 16 Jan. 2008. Web. 21 Oct. 2010. .

Illusions Within the Great Gatsby

American Illusions in The Great Gatsby The American dream. Every American has his or her own ideals and preferences, but all share more or less the same dream. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores what happens when this dream is taken too far. What is one to do when the dream begins to overshadow reality? What are the consequences when a successful man allows the dream to matter more than life itself? Fitzgerald tells all through the hopeless Gatsby, idealistic Nick, and ignorant Myrtle. Mansions, cars, jewels, and extravagant parties- what more could a person want?Gatsby had it all, yet he was still empty inside, craving more. All the riches Gatsby has mean nothing without his great love, Daisy. Gatsby strived to become successful for the sole purpose of capturing Daisy's heart. However, Gatsby's dream is an unattainable and hopeless dream for he can never win her love. Daisy and Gatsby live only miles apart, but their relationship is eons apart, as Daisy is already attached. Ga tsby is pursuing â€Å"a transcendent significance outside of society and beyond the notability of history† (Lynn 180).Gatsby is dreaming â€Å"the American dream† that anything is possible, but the tragic flaw within him is that he is living in the past and cannot see the destructive future that lies ahead. Gatsby says, â€Å"I'm going to fix everything just the way it was before,†¦ She'll see,† and he does not realize that he cannot make it the way it was before (Fitzgerald 114). When Gatsby does get the chance to prove himself to Daisy, it is already too late. According to Fitzgerald, â€Å"the whole caravansay had fallen in like a card house at the disapproval in her eyes,† (Fitzgerald 114).Gatsby's downfall is in the fact that he is unable to determine the fine line that divides reality and illusion in his life. The green light at the end of Daisy's dock burns bright for Gatsby, but Gatsby does not realize that he cannot ever capture the light. He continues to dream blindly. This is evident when Nick tells Gatsby that he cannot relive the past and Gatsby replies, â€Å"Why of course you can, old sport! † (Fitzgerald 116). Gatsby's dream of capturing Daisy's love is based on a fantasy of romance, but the truth is that Daisy is already taken and no amount of money or popularity can change hat. His obsession leads him to come out and profess his love for Daisy, but Daisy does not follow in suit and his dream is over. Nick sums up Gatsby by saying â€Å"He did not know that [his dream] was already behind him†¦ † Gatsby's â€Å"American dream† was a one-way street and, with unrequited love, Gatsby's dream can never come true. Gatsby's â€Å"American dream† leads him to protect Daisy and causes his subsequent downfall, death. Nick has a haughty and idealistic dream of America, which clouds his own judgment.Nick is more aware than Gatsby. He makes a clear distinction between fantasy and reality. N ick is able to separate romance from real life. He has a perfectionist vision of America, and he judges people against his ideal American society. Nick is the right person in the wrong city associating with the wrong crowd. Nick is raised in an idealist middle-west society â€Å"where dwellings are still called through decades by a family's name,† and where tradition is part of everyday life (Fitzgerald 184).Nick dreams the â€Å"American dream† that he can travel to the East and become wealthy and still have all the old-fashioned ways of his town. After spending a few months in the East, Nick comes to the realization that the East is corrupt, materialistic, and self-centered. Nick's view on life is based on Western morals and a â€Å"western† American dream; one to which the East cannot measure up. Nick follows his dream according to his western morals of hard work and righteousness, yet in the East he possesses â€Å"some deficiency† which made him â₠¬Å"subtly unadaptable to Eastern life† (Fitzgerald 184).Nick is portrayed as a young man who comes to the East to make his fortune, but finally goes back to the mid-west, horribly disillusioned. Nick is let down by his â€Å"American dream† and loses a part of his faith in society. Myrtle Wilson, like many other commoners among American society, has the â€Å"American dream† to move ahead and become successful. Myrtle is tired of her life as a â€Å"nobody from nowhere. † She wanted power, wealth, and fame. Myrtle's way out of the ruins of society and the valley of the ashes is Tom. Myrtle feels a sense of power and with Tom she is closer to her â€Å"American Dream. Myrtle, as many Americans do, dreams of moving up in the social ladder, up towards the extravagant parties of the rich- the ultimate â€Å"American dream. † Myrtle had no chance of moving up with George Wilson, and she ended up having an affair with Tom to get ahead. Myrtle does not re alize she is just a toy on the side for Tom, and her dream will not likely come true. Myrtle is too foolishly stuck in her optimistic and ideal world to realize that Tom will never take a chance at moving a step down the social ladder.The naive Myrtle dreams of moving ahead with Tom and towards the rich society, yet in the end it is carelessness of that same society which causes her death. Myrtle Wilson turns out to be the brutal victim of Gatsby's and Daisy's love affair, as she left in the street for death while Gatsby and Daisy drive off without any thought of what they had done. â€Å"They saw that her left breast was swinging loose like a flap and there was no need to listen for the heart beneath† (Fitzgerald 145).Myrtle just wanted to attain her â€Å"American dream† like many others, but her ambition and lust for power caused her to pay the ultimate price, death. The hopelessness of Gatsby, Nick's idealism, and Myrtle's dream all contribute to the illusion of th e American Dream. It is not simply American to dream, it is the duty of every person to dream. However, to dream too far and become too entranced and engrossed in one's dream leads to either destructive behavior, ruin, or to disappointment. The Great Gatsby is based on this idea of an â€Å"American dream. † However, dreams that are taken too far become harmful illusions.

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