American Dream By John Steinbeck Essays - John Steinbeck

American Dream By John Steinbeck The Dream of the American Dream John Steinbeck, in his essay America and Americans, uses many contradictions to explain his views on the American Dream. I have witnessed and experienced many of these contradictions in my life. Through my experiences, I have learned to believe that the American dream is no more than just a dream. One of the first contradictions Steinbeck uses that I have personally experienced is, We are alert, curious, hopeful, and we take more drugs designed to make us unaware than any other people. This quote almost perfectly describes one of my cousins. She at one time was very bright and intelligent. In fact, she had over a 4.0 grade point average through her fist two years of high school. However, she began taking drugs and progressively followed a downhill track until she was barely even able to think at all. I do not think that a girl almost killing herself and ending up as a vegetable is part of the American Dream. Another example of a contradiction Steinbeck uses in his essay that I have personally witnessed is, We spend our lives in motor cars, yet most of us - a great many of us at least - do not know enough about a car to look in the gas tank when the motor fails. I observed this when my grandma's car broke down once. She had her car towed to the mechanic, and after about a week of it being examined, the mechanic called my grandma and told her that the only problem with the car was that it was out of gas. If we were living the American dream, would my grandma be so lazy as to have her car stop running and never look at the gas gauge? Would she have spent hundreds of dollars getting her car fixed when five dollars would have been suitable for gas? The answer to both questions is no. One final contradiction that Steinbeck uses in his essay that I have personally witnessed is, In no country are more seeds and plants and equipment purchased, and less vegetables and flowers raised. It seems like every other week my neighbor two houses down brings home bags of seeds for plants, trees, fruits, and vegetables, yet their back yard still looks like all they plant are weeds. They even hire landscapers to come and work on their yard. However, two weeks later the yard looks like as though it has never been touched. My neighbors have great ideas, but they never finish them. Spending a mere fortune and getting nothing but what you started with is not a part of the American dream. To most, the American dream is seen as no more than a dream. That is my belief on the prestigious dream that attracts many to this country also. I do not believe that the dream is really possible with people as lazy as they are, and that is why it is called a dream. However, if we as a society washed away our laziness, maybe our dreams could come true. Philosophy Essays

Kusku cagi essays

Kusku cagi essays KLASà K KAPà TALà ZMà N UMUDU VE PEYGAMBERLERà  Bugnk ekonomik dzenin alt yapà ½sà ½nà ½n ve dà ¾nce à ¾eklinin oluà ¾masà ½ uzun bir zaman dilimini kapsamà ½Ãƒ ¾tà ½r. Bu oluà ¾umun on sekizinci yzyà ½là ½n ikinci yarà ½sà ½nda baà ¾ladà ½Ãƒ °Ãƒ ½ kabul edilir. Ekonomik yaà ¾am, Batà ½ Avrupada(yoà °un olarak à ngilterede) ve daha sonrada New Englandda buhar makinesinin icadà ½ ve Dokuma Devrimi ile deà °ià ¾meye baà ¾lamà ½Ãƒ ¾tà ½r. Sanayi Devrimi ile ekonomik dà ¾nceler de deà °ià ¾meye baà ¾lamà ½Ãƒ ¾tà ½r. Sanayi Devriminden nce ekonomik dzene kà ½rsal blgelerde yaà ¾ayanlar yn veriyordu. Gà §, insanlarà ½n sahip olduklarà ½ topraà °Ãƒ ½n ve yaà ¾adà ½klarà ½ yerlerin byklà ° ile là §lmekteydi Tm à ½rklar ià §inde à skoà §lar nemli iktisatà §Ãƒ ½lar yetià ¾tirmià ¾lerdir. à skoà §yanà ½n yetià ¾tirdià °i en nl kià ¾i ve ilk iktisatà §Ãƒ ½ Adam Smithtir. Smith Wealth of Nations adlà ½ yapà ½tà ½nda kendi kià ¾ià ¾el à §Ãƒ ½karlarà ½yla à §elià ¾kili olduà °u halde yksek prensip sahibi olma iddiasà ½nda bulunan insanlardan kuà ¾ku duyduà °unu belirtmià ¾tir. Smithin ziyaret ettià °i kià ¾ilerden biri Voltairedir.Voltaire yeni bilgiler toplayarak dà ¾ncelerini gelià ¾tiriyordu. Voltairenin bu zellià °i Smithin ufkunu genià ¾letmià ¾ ve onu alanà ½nda bir nc yapmà ½Ãƒ ¾tà ½r. Smith Fransada bulunduà °u sà ½rada Fransanà ½n en nemli gelir kaynaà °Ãƒ ½ tarà ½mdà ½. Fizyokratlar diye bilinen bir grup ekonomik dà ¾nr tm zenà °inlià °in topraktan, dolayà ½sà ½yla tarà ½mdan kaynaklandà ½Ãƒ °Ãƒ ½na inanà ½yorlardà ½. Smithi bu gruptan en à §ok etkileyen Franà §ois Quesnaydi. Quesnayà ½n Ekonomik Tablosu ekonomik sistemin karà ¾Ãƒ ½là ½klà ½ blmlerini gsteriyordu. Smith Uluslarà ½n Zenginlià °inin Yapà ½sà ½ ve Nedenleri ÃÅ"zerine Bir Ara...

Assigment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assigment - Research Paper Example e description of afterlife in his book â€Å"The Divine Comedy† wherein he elaborated the context of hell (inferno), purgatory (purgatorio) and heaven (paradise). Anyone of the right mind, when made to choose amongst the three, will certainly desire to end up in heaven or for some with conscious guilt of sins committed, it will be the purgatory but never the detrimental underworld. Alighieri illustrated nine circles of hell where the first five imprison those who committed egocentric sins, the sixth and seventh for those with violent sins, and the last two which are considered as the worst are for those with malicious sins. Evolution of culture through centuries made people contest the timelessness of Alighieri’s hierarchy of misdemeanor. Such as how murder became less evil against pertinacious actions of the hypocrites or how blasphemy is on a lower circle than heresy when both profess destructive testimony against God. In this paper, an attempt to realign the hierarchy according to personal visualization of hell had been made while taking into account the annotations made by Alighieri. Reorganizing a systematize diagram is a challenging task as one could believe that it is indeed a seamless creation. I considered the seven deadly sins as published in the Bible and deemed the inclusion of Pride and Envy as sins worthy of being punished in hell. Electing a sin to be eliminated from this hierarchy is not an option yet collation of sins that I contemplated as parallel has been my alternative. The first circle would captivate the people who lived with pride and disregarded humility. They are those who took greater regard of themselves rather that humble recognizing these gifts and sharing it to those in need. As the beatitude says â€Å"Beati pauperes spiritu (Canto XII)†, we are called to act in humbleness not in smugness for whatever we have is the work of a Greater Power and not merely of ourselves. I include the hypocrites in this circle for I see them as too