Review and analyze John Updike's portrayal of the American middle Essay

Review and analyze John Updike's portrayal of the American middle class in his fiction - Essay Example So successful was his original representation of Rabbit Angstrom in his 1960 that he published two subsequent novels that followed the development of his character in both the 1970’s and the 1980’s. These novels describe many themes and motifs that were, and to a large extent still are, experienced by middle-class America. Accordingly, this brief essay will analyze some of these themes by considering key progressions that manifested themselves within two of John Updike’s novels. The first of these novels, Rabbit, Run, deals with the dissatisfaction that hid very casually beneath the surface of late 1950’s America. The topic is hardly ever discussed due to the fact that the post war years have been so highly stylized and idealized that the reader would think that not a care in the world existed (besides perhaps the Soviets and the bomb). Yet, within this seeming idyllic world, Updike portrays the life of the middle class, via the character of Rabbit Angstro m, as one which is fundamentally dissatisfied by the superficial consumerism and fraudulence that the late 1950’s had on the society of that time (Edwards 13). ... o the reader is one that engages the audience on a host of rather un-kosher topics (at least for the 1950s) with relation to abortion, prostitution, homosexuality, and even the topic of blow jobs. In this way, Updike is able to present to the reader, via the vehicle of Rabbit Angstrom, the frustration, confusion, despair, and ultimate desire for experience and sexual revolution that typified the generation of the late 1950s and early 1960s. As such, this representation was indicative of what would come to fruition during the 1960s and the cultural and sexual revolutions that re-defined the American landscape (Clasen 134). In this way, more than a running commentary on the factors that led to the growth and development of the American society during the period, Updike’s novel engages the reader with the understanding that fundamental dissatisfaction and unhappiness were the underlying reasons why the developments of the proceeding decades developed in the way they did. Similarl y, the second book in the series, published in 1971 and named Rabbit Redux, follows the same character, Rabbit Angstrom, and develops upon he and his deteriorating personal life and relationships that it has spawned. Rather than relating that the liberation of the 1960s has brought Rabbit the comfort, meaning and solace that he so desired in the first novel, the author relates that Rabbits life is very much incomplete in much the same way it was in the first novel (Crowe 83). Rabbit is still working a dead-end job, still quite unfulfilled, and has recently had his wife leave him. However, such a situation is not indicative of the middle-class struggle that Americans of this particular era were going through. As a means to engage the reader on the struggles that the middle class experienced in

Ethan from - Realism Essay Example for Free

Ethan from Realism Essay The rise of Realism in 1855 was the time when farming began to industrialize, communication expanded through railroads, and Nationalism was yet again revived. On top of all these important transformations that have marked this period of time was the significance for literature with a new audience, new settings, and new characters. The novel, Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, is a magnificent example of literature from the Realistic period. First, Realism is a definite movement away from the Romantic period. Romantics wrote regarding the unique and the unusual, whereas in Realism, literature was written about the average and ordinary. The town where the novel takes place is Starkfield, an average farming community. There is not much in the town that is of interest or anything extravagant to be known for. In addition, literature from Romanticism focused on hopes, while Realistic literature illustrated skepticism and doubt. The narrator describes the scene where Zeena declares to Ethan that her sickness is getting serious, saying, She continued to gaze at him through the twilight with a mien of wan authority, as of one consciously singled out for a great fate. Ive got complications, she said (108 Wharton). Hope for Zeenas health is nonexistent, and she, being a hypochondriac, confirms the fact that she feels doubtful about life. The Romantics wrote about the unusual and hopeful, which are characteristics that are not strongly represented in Realistic literature. The second aspect of Realism is the idea of Regionalism. One indication of Regionalism in literature is the characters dialect. An excellent depiction of dialect is where Harmon Gow says, Wust kind, . . . Moren enough to kill most men (6). His regional accent is shown by the spelling and punctuation, allowing the reader to have an idea of how Harmon would have said it. Another aspect of Regionalism is the customs and the way of life of the characters. One way of life that the characters are accustomed to is the normality of marriage between cousins. As this practice is not enthusiastically accepted everywhere, it brings the Regionalistic aspect to the novel. Regionalism, which includes the characteristics of dialect and customs, is a critical component of Realism. Third, Realistic literature uses the concept of Naturalism. In Ethan Frome, the bleak winter setting is a primary clue that nature plays a key role in the story. Nature is displayed as a powerful and malevolent force that is indifferent to humankind. In the novel, the narrator once stated, But when winter shut down on Starkfield, and the village lay under a sheet of snow perpetually renewed from the pale skies, I began to see what life thereor rather its negationmust have been . . . (7). This statement depicts the winter seasons in Starkfield as gloomy and undesirable weather. Aside from the setting, the basic animal nature of humans also draws out the Naturalistic traits in Realism. The narrator tells what was going through Ethans mind following the smash-up, . . . and far off, up the hill, he heard the sorrel whinny, and thought: `I ought to be getting him his feed. . . (172). At such an intense moment, Ethans animal nature brings him to think about tending to his hungry horse instead of caring about his and Matties teetering lives. These examples signify the sense of nature and its forces used in the literature of Realists. Edith Whartons novel, Ethan Frome, is a wonderful example of Realistic literature. Its style shows signs of a distinct shift away from Romanticism and illustrates the aspects of Regionalism and Naturalism, two major components of Realism. Authors of the Realistic period depicted life as typical, everyday people lived and knew it to be, using these important points. The ordinary characters that dealt with common problems and situations in the literature brought a new group of readers, establishing a unique new era that has changed the way people perceive life forever.

The lamb to the slaughter and The speckled band :: English Literature

Wide Reading: The lamb to the slaughter and The speckled band For me, a good murder mystery needs to contain a mixture of aspects. Like in mid-summer murders and Morse it needs to include the following things, a good setting, there needs to be a good setting so that it sets up the whole of the story, it needs to be somewhere quiet and peaceful. The characters need to be strong characters that all relate to each other, there also needs to be a twist in the characters to add depth an mystery, perhaps the last clue to the murderer. The murderer has to be someone unexpected, someone who perhaps wasn't the strongest character. The victim has to be someone who has mystery but perhaps gave the killer reason to, so you might feel that they deserved it but you might have sympathy for, it also needs to be someone you least expect to be killed, perhaps the stronger character. And the detective has to be someone who everyone can sort of relate to, who has a slight mystery behind him or her so that even when you think you know them there is a skeleton in their closet. The murder weapon has to be something of power and something that represents some element in the play. It also has to be something unexpected like an exotic animal or as in lamb to the slaughter, a leg of lamb! Also the plot has to be thick and unexpected, with plenty of twists and red herrings. It also needs to make the reader feel included in the story so you feel as if you were there. Finally the ending of the story has to be meaningful and it needs to draw a conclusion. The killer has to be found, the reasons to be explained and the murder it self be told and what happened prior to the event. This finishes off what happened and lets us draw our own conclusions, although for a good murder mystery something's need to be left a mystery. I am going to compare the different areas in each story. I shall be comparing the following  · Settings  · Characters The settings for Lamb To The Slaughter and The Speckled Band a very different. The setting for the speckled band is in Victorian England, in the earlier 1900's. it is set in a country town, in a big mansion. A wealthy family lives in it. It is torn apart by deceit, greed and the death of the lady of the household. The back ground to the story goes a little something like this. The lady of the Stoke morans first

The Negative Impact of Exposing Children to Media Violence Essay

The Negative Impact of Exposing Children to Media Violence On April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School, 13 people were killed and another 23 were wounded in one of the worst school killing incidents ever (Skeesis). Since the 1980's, overall homicide rates in the U.S. have declined. However, homicide rates for ages 14-17 have increased quite dramatically during this time period (Fox). Among other numerous potential causes, violence in the media may play a role in this increase in youth violence. Today, there is much controversy over the potential harmful effects of media violence on childrenà ­s lives. I believe that exposure of children to media violence is harmful. For the purposes of this paper, I will limit the definition of (mass) media to television, and, subsequently, violent (mass) media to television programs that contain violent acts. By children, I will be referring to people of age 18 and below who live in the U.S., since this group is the focus of the majority of the research data that I have used. I will begin my argument by acknowledging a counter argument to my position. I will then go on to discuss the negative effects of television on children. These effects include an increase in aggressive tendencies and an instilling of the idea that violence will go unpunished. Also included are the concepts of desensitization and stimulus addiction. Finally, I will discuss some potential solutions to the problem of television violence affecting our children. Granted, people are correct in saying that television violence has been around for decades. In fact, public violence has been around for centuries. In ancient times, many cultures made gruesome public executions or sacrifices. During the Middle Ages, entire villag... ...per impact than you realize. And what respectable parents would want their child to end up reenacting a scene from HBOà ­s Oz on his or her classmates? Works Cited American Psychiatric Association. "Psychiatric Effects of Media Violence." http://www.psych.org/psych/htdocs/public_info/media_violence.html (17 Oct. 2000). Berkebile, Nicole, Julie Newman, and Susan Parker. "The Effects of Television on a Childà ­s Development." 1995. http://www.richmond.edu/~psych/tvmain.html (17 Oct. 2000). Fox, James A. "Trends in Juvenile Violence: 1997 Update." 1997. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/tjv97up.pdf (17 Oct. 2000). Skeesis. "The Tragedy at Columbine High." 17 May 1999. http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/coroner/columbin.html (17 Oct. 2000). "Video Game Violence." Feb. 2000. http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/champaign/connections/0002-family4.html (17 Oct. 2000).

Criminology Essay

This essay is going to explain a crime definition, criminology development and two different crime theories: biological and psychological. Crimes have been an inseparable companion of humanity. It occures everywhere, from upper to lower class, but as long as there are people, there will always be crime. And due to this fact, along with the flow of time, the need of studying crime emerged. So what is crime? According to Oxford Dictionaries: an action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law. However the law is not the same in every country, thus a second definition, in my words, would be more accurate: socially constructed concept that changes over time and place and relates to many behaviours that go against the morals of society and actions that cause harm. Sources to look at that promote me theory would be the Sage Dictionary of Criminology and Introductory Criminology textbooks. Around the1870s the classical theory, was replaced with new one – the biological approach. This approach stated that an individual might be driven to commite a crime by abnormalities he/she had been born with. Abnormalities such as involving body function/health and facial details could determine that an individual is a criminal or not. The idea itself was meant to isolate those qualified as â€Å"bad people† from the society beforehand. This particular approach excluded those whom were born different and made rational reasoning and free will unavailable to them- one was simply born a criminal or not. (Akers 2000: p. 42) Cesare Lombroso is most known for one of the biggest contributions to a biological approach. In 1876 he published The Criminal Man where he described his conclusions after comparing body features of Italian prisoners and Italian soldiers. Lombroso called those matching the description of a criminal â€Å"atavisms† as they degenerated to a lower level. He has the physical makeup, mental capabilities, and instincts of primitive man. New born child can be indentified with stigmata (details stated by Lombroso) which are for example: an unsymmetry of the face or head, large monkey-like ears, large lips, receding chin, twisted nose, excessive cheek bones, long arms, excessive skin wrinkles and extra fingers or toes. Female criminals are also born criminals however in their case, they have only three abnormalities available for determining them to be criminal. (Akers 2000: p. 42-43; Maguire, Morgan & Reiner 2002: p. 25) This approach did not last long. It’s met harsh criticism in 1913 when Charles Goring, an English medical officer published The English Convict. He hired well educated people in order to form a team and run certain observations based on Lombroso statements. They compared people from various layers of society with various backgrounds – from prisoners, through army and hospitals, all the way up to university students and professors. The result of his research was that ultimatley, Lombroso was wrong. Goring arrived at the assumption that criminals were characterized by the defects in intelligence. His work met some criticism as well but from that point on people started slowly moving away from born-criminal theory. (Akers 2000: 43-44: Maguire, Morgan & Reiner 2002: p. 147) A second approach would be a psychological one. Let’s split it on two theories, psychoanalytic theory and personality theory. Starting off with psychoanalytic it can be said that it does not have much in common with the biological approach. Both seek for the causes of crime within the makeup of an individual. However in this case we focus rather on mind and processes going inside a subject’s head. Classical Freudians explain that someone might’ve suffered emotional disturbances or experienced abnormalities in early childhood. Those events, if not overcomed properly, could lead to insufficient development of an individual’s id, ego and superego causing imbalance. Id is an unconscious element, it’s irrational and antisocial therefore must be controlled. This can be done by properly maintaining properly ego and superego which develop around the age of three. Freudians state that a child wants to be in possession of the parent of the opposite sex and sees the other as a rival. Feelings can lead to the development of either an Oedipus or an Electra complex. The basic idea of this theory is that delinquent or criminal behaviour is caused by psychic conflict between id, ego and superego due to poor early relationship with either mother or father. It relies heavily on irrational and unconscious motivations as basic forces behind crime. Everything has it’s pluses and minuses, this theory is no different. Actions of an individual, let’s say a murder, can be influenced by something hidden deep in his unconscious mind making it practically impossible to test and check it’s reliability. (Akers 2000: p. 59-61) Personality studies have long tradition in psychology. Hans Eysenck (1916-1990) came up with his own theory regarding personality. It bases on interaction of biological, social and individual factors. He asks: Why don’t more people go out and engage in criminal behaviour? Rewards are instant, punishment if happens is temporally distant from the deed and chances of being punished in reality are quite slim. However our conscious plays a big role here, society in general pairs up an act with consequences – we have a fear of being punished. Eysenck defined three dimensions of personality during his research: extraversion (E), neuroticism (N), psychoticism (P). High ‘E’ level is meant for people who are under-aroused and thus will look for stimulation while high ‘N’ individuals are considered irritable and anxious. The best set up would be with low ‘E’ and low ‘N’ while high ‘E’ and high ‘N’ would be the worst. The ‘P’ dimension was not well described, it could refer more to psycopathy rather than psychotism. This scale is concerned with aspects of behaviour such as preference for solitude or lack of a feeling for others. (http://www. docstoc. com/docs/2216719/Eysenck? s-Theory-of-Personality–Crime ; Maguire, Morgan & Reiner 2002: p. 152-154) In personality theory the problem lies not in unconscious motivation, but the content of the person’s personality. It states that some people have specifically criminal focused personalities: impulsiveness, aggressiveness, rebelliousness, hostility and so on. These apply to self-centered individuals who have not been properly socialized into prosocial attitudes and values, they have no sense of right and wrong, lack of empathy. (Akers 2000: p. 62) Those two approaches are out of many. Cannot really say that one’s right and second’s wrong. Each has scientific points that either support or are against it. The newer biological explanations of crime have found greater acceptance in criminology, but they happened to be criticized for their dependence on research and serious methodology problems – resulted in generally weak support. Psychoanalytic and personality theories also concentrate on the causes of crime arising from within the individual, but the causes are not seen as inherited or biologically predetermined. Personality theories are more testable than psychoanalytic theories, but research has produced mixed results.

School uniform essays

School uniform essays School uniforms are nowadays a very controversial and well-debated issue although it is still widespread, mostly in English speaking countries. England has a long tradition of school uniforms and is the country where mandatory uniforms are most frequently worn, mostly in elementary and secondary schools. Unexpectedly, school uniforms were traditionally worn by non privileged students in charity schools, and were only later introduced in public schools. A typical uniform consist of dark pants or shorts for boys, skirt for girls, and a shirt or a blouse. A blazer and a school tie might also belong to the Swedish schools does not have an uniform requirement and school uniforms are unknown to most Swedish children. Although students can buy and wear a jumper or T-shirt with the school logo, it is not very common. However, in many Swedish schools the "unofficial" dress code amongst students is very hard. If you don't follow the latest trends you might be treated as hopelessly out of fashion. This demand for expensive brand clothes puts, naturally, a large economical pressure on the parents. This frequent problem leads us into the arguments used by proponents and opponents of the school uniform. I will identify and discuss the most common arguments both in favour for, and against, school uniforms. I will thereafter continue by sharing my own opinion regarding whether or not Sweden should introduce mandatory school uniforms. The most common argument in favour of school uniforms seem to be regarding discipline; that school uniforms encourage the students to focus on schoolwork rather than on socialising or fashion related competition, and might therefore be helpful in improving the discipline and the behaviour, as well as the academic results. School uniforms will also prevent students from wearing inappropriate clothing items ...

ww2 essays

ww2 essays What is war? Websters Encyclopedic Dictionary describes it as: an armed clash between nations or factions in the same nation. Thats how a dictionary describes it, but in fact, it is something much worse. War is the epitome of what is wrong with human nature. War is devastating. Perhaps no other war was as devastating as World War II. (1)World War II killed more people, destroyed more property, disrupted more lives, and had more far-reaching consequences than any other war in history. It brought about the downfall of Western Europe as the center of world power and led to the rise of the Soviet Union. The development of the atomic bomb in 1945 would begin nuclear war. There is no one simple cause to World War II. There were many causes, most of which grew out of World War I. World War II was known as the war to end all wars. Instead of fixing old problems, it actually crated new ones. Germany was mad at the Allies for making it loose its territory. It lost one eighth of its land, and its army and navy were virtually wiped away. If Germany ever got strong again, it would definitely seek revenge. On September 1, 1939, the German army stormed across the borders of Poland. First came the stuka, dive-bombers that blasted the Polish planes on the ground. Then the German pilots bombed major railroads and highways. After that came the motorcycle infantry the fast soldiers that moved in to finish the job. This was a new kind of war employed by the Germans known as Blitzkrieg, which is a German word meaning lightning war. The German soldiers were trained for this and the Polish soil was flat and just right for it. Poland had no chance against the German army. Its army had no chance to fight back or even retreat. Poland was overwhelmed. Within two weeks, Germans surrounded Warsaw, the biggest city in Poland. In a li...