...Dave Eggers wrote an essay entitled “Serve or Fail” which appeared in the New York Times in 2004. This essay was written with the purpose of persuading colleges to require volunteer hours for college students. He had a convincing case containing what one could view as an honorable purpose coupled with literary effects he used, this was backed by statistics, yet some questions are raised when reading it. The purpose his essay had was to have students’ free time spent on volunteer work, he helped gain ground for his cause with the reader by his literary effects. He gives us an anecdote of his college years when he elaborated on his free time spent on “the dart game called Cricket, and the billiards contest called Nine-Ball. I became an expert...
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...25 years since Tim Burners-Lee invented the world wide web and it’s no secret that it is one of the most progressive and influential invention of our time. Dave Eggers, in his current book The Circle, foretells his version of what can happen with the growth of technology and social media and pushes our current standard of being virtually connected from the main social networks Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Tumblr. In this book, focusing on the ninth threshold of social networks and the technological self, we notice the influence of technology on societal construction and deconstruction of privacy and the nature of democracy impacting humanity’s digital life. Set in an undefined future time, Eggers’s novel tells the story of Mae Holland, a young idealist who comes to work at the Circle, an immensely powerful technology company that has conquered all its competitors by creating a single log-in for people to search, shop and socialize online. The company demands transparency in all things; two if its many slogans are “secrets are lies and privacy is theft.” Anonymity is banished; everyone’s past is revealed; everyone’s present may be broadcast live in video and sound. Nothing recorded will ever be erased. The Circle’s goal is to have all aspects of human existence -from voting to love affairs -flow through its portal. Eggers explores the possibilities of fascinating possibilities of technological advances, but point out the many consequences it may encounter. The root of all...
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...evacuate and live happily for a couple of months. The men who remained in New Orleans are practically superheros, but what about the women who stayed and those who left to take care of their children? Feminist criticism in literature denounces male domination that implements expectations on women in addition to men perfectly demonstrated by the male author of Zeitoun, Dave Eggers. Taking into consideration the writer’s identity, feminist criticism inspects the representation of women in literature. There was a time when women had no opportunity to defend themselves without resulting in extreme punishment. Literature grants females the possibility to recognize discrimination and take action against it. The “first wave” of feminist criticism began in the late 1700s and lasted through the early 1900s (Brizee et al.). Throughout this time women wrote and spoke out about equality in all parts of society....
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...September 26, 2014 The Importance of Setting in “What is the What” The setting of What is the What, a story by Dave Eggers, takes place roughly between the 1980s and 2000s. The first sentence at the beginning of the book, Valentino Achak Deng, the central narrator, says “What is the What is the soulful account of my life…” (Eggers xiii). Describing this book perfectly in one sentence. Valentino was born in southern Sudan in the village of Marial Bai. He fled in the late 1980s during the second Sudanese civil war, when his village was destroyed by murahaleen. Valentino spent nine years in Ethiopian and Kenyan refugee camps where he worked as a social advocate. In 2001 he resettled in Atlanta. This book shows symbolism, mood and a theme of how humans struggle to survive throughout Valentino’s life altering journey from where he came from to where he is now. Valentino stayed in Pinyudo, a refugee camp in Ethiopia, where he learned to read and write for three years. During his time spent in the camp, Valentino also had to do manual labor, farm work and other chores. Valentino was told to go into the forest to gather some kindling one day. The forest is frequently a symbol for death, danger or the unknown. “No one wanted to enter the forest, for in the forest, boys disappeared. The first two who died were well known for having been devoured by lions, and thus hunting in the forest for building materials became a job everyone chose to avoid” (Eggers 328). When Valentino was told to go into...
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...Sharing BY BETSY MORAIS SHARETWEET War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. —George Orwell, “1984” Secrets are lies. Sharing is Caring. Privacy is theft. —Dave Eggers, “The Circle” The construction begs for comparison, and yet “The Circle” is no “1984.” In the future, according to Dave Eggers, one mega social-network corporation, the namesake of his new novel, has become the technological architect of daily life—arranging conversations, restocking pantries, making payments, and ranking human beings. The company’s leaders wear zip-up hoodies, of course, and enjoy surfing, yet they are known with reverent remove as the Three Wise Men. It’s serious business—so serious that even the parties are work, since attendance is monitored by your boss—and Eggers emulates this sobriety in his writing, which plods across the corporate campus resentfully. New hire Mae Holland, the novel’s protagonist, bounds forth into the communal ethos of her overlords, embracing her first assignment, answering e-mails that provide a “human experience” to small advertisers. Eggers seems bored by the task—Oh, must we spend another day at the Customer Experience desk, minutiae un-inspected, e-mails unread? He doesn’t want to be in the grind, or even playfully tease it. Disclosure is the story of “The Circle,” yet Eggers hardly tells enough. But even without the searing wit of “1984,” the book is capable of landing on point—when it’s at its most irksome. Where “1984” has the vigilant Police...
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...human flaw. This made the audience empathetic towards the protagonist. “What is the What” written by Dave Egger, tried to play on the same emotion of Empathy. Achak at a young age is separated from his family during the Sudanese War when Arab soldiers also known as the murahaleen savagely riad his village, Marial Bai. Fleeing on foot to Ethiopia, with other boys like him, forming “The Lost Boys”. Finally they arrive to another refugee camp in Kakuma, becoming his home. Ultimately Valentino comes to America. The story is told parallel to succeeding hardship in the United States. “What is the What” provides imaginative empathy, playing on human trauma and the ability for altruistic motives, the moral obligation to empathize with remote and disparate people. Eggers’ novel represents African culture and memoirs as a way to converse with an audience. These memoirs and representative of culture to an American audience forces a limited, bias view. Egger channels Valentino rather than embellish him. He tends to use the protagonist as a mouthpiece to provide historical background forcing Valentino to relate his story in a series of direct addresses. Using these addresses he enables the audience to connect with Valentino, using a universally known concept: conversation. This leads Eggers to inaugurate any information he deems necessary to his audience. As the audience we sit and read the book and envisage Eggers information as candid. Contorting the...
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...The nonfiction novel, Zeitoun, written by Dave Eggers, involves a Syrian American, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, who was determined to stay and aid survivors in New Orleans after the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina. Zeitoun faced discrimination and was imprisoned after being accused of being a terrorist. Aside from the novel, the present day Zeitoun had been cleared of charges with the, “solicitation of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder of his ex-wife” (Martin). Even though the nonfiction novel was possibly not accurate, it should remain a summer reading book and be taught at Mills High School, due to the positive effects that the text have on students. This book could be used as an introduction of how to write rhetorical strategies....
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...Name Course Professor Date Critical Analysis: ‘What is the What’ by Dave Eggers. “What is what” is a tale of a young Sudanese boy and the tribulations and challenges that he experiences as he flees from his war torn country of southern Sudan. The book paints a vivid picture of the epic journey that the main character in the story, Valentino faces from the time that he flees the country to the time that he finally reaches what he thought would be the “Promised Land” in Atlanta, United States of America. He was soon to realize that even in America, life would not be a bed of roses but it would be marred by unexpected acts of violence and racial discrimination (Dave 28). One striking thing in the narrative is that the author brings out the culture of the Dinka people. For instance, polygamous nature of the Dinka people is clearly illustrated. The myth regarding the origin of the Dinka people is as well demonstrated (Bess). In regards to this origin, the Dinka people are given a choice by God to choose between the cattle and the “What is the What”. They choose the cattle which they understood better rather than “What is the What” which they did not as demonstrated in the line, "—you didn't tell us the answer: What is the What? My father shrugged. —We don't know. No one knows” (Dave 64). Through the narrative, a reader is informed on the historical background of the south Sudanese people. The relative geographical locations of the three African countries...
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...called Zeitoun, written by best-selling author, Dave Eggers. Eggers tells the true story of a Muslim American, Zeitoun, and how he and his family endure cruel treatment from racial prejudices post 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Eggers paints Zeitoun as a heroic and admirable man. However, after the book was released, it was revealed that Zeitoun was not really the man Eggers made him out to be. In an article written by Victoria Patterson, we learn that Zeitoun was arrested on charges of domestic violence, and even when he was in...
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...When Alan and Hanne attend the embassy party there are men and women together in the same place when in Saudi Arabia they're supposed to be segregation. "And so they were naked facing each other, neither of them with any idea of what to do next" (Eggers 186). No woman in Saudi Arabia would be on top of another man that is not her husband unless she wants to break the law. Finally, towards the end of the book Alan meets another woman named Dr. Zahra and goes to her home alone. "I have to warn you, though. I'm dressed like you. If someone sees us snorkeling, they'll think its two men" (Eggers 314). This quote is a good example of how a woman can disguise herself as a man in order not to get caught. Even though it seems as a smart idea, in Saudi Arabia a woman would never be able to attempt this. The women have personal chauffeurs and work in separate areas. If a woman today in Saudi Arabia is seen in a car with a man other than her chauffeur then she will be...
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...CONFLICT OF THE KNOWN Vs THE UNKNOWN The novel What is the What by Dave Eggers depicts the struggle of the Lost Boys during the second civil war in Sudan. Egger writes the book for Valentino Achak Deng, a Lost Boy, who gives us a first hand account of the brutal experiences that the boys encountered. On reading the book, it was very touching, because every incident was carefully described with emotion, and gave us an insight into various conflicts that Achak himself faced. Recently we (The University of Tampa students) were visited by one of the Lost Boys, Atem, and he shared with all of us his first hand experiences when he fled Sudan. Atem was faced with many conflicts. When he was only six years old he fled Sudan. He is currently in Jacksonville, Florida with his family except his dad who was shot. When he fled Sudan he had no idea where his family was, and had lost complete touch with them. In United States, he was later reunited with his family, and his mother was unable to recognize him. Although she eventually realized he was a grown man and she finally acknowledged it was Atem. The Lost Boys faced many conflicting moments and decisions on their way to Ethiopia. One conflicting theme throughout the novel is the idea of the known versus the unknown. For example, on the way to Ethiopia, Achak and all the other boys envisioned Ethiopia to have tall buildings and many healthy people. Achak imagined, “We would have chairs in Ethiopia. I would sit on a chair, and I would listen...
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...myself attempting to answer this simultaneously impossible and obvious question by rattling on about “Huckleberry Finn.” One distinction is that a masterpiece like Twain’s can make us feel exactly what it was like to live at another time, in another culture; it’s easier for the novel than for even the most incisive biography or historical study to make the reader experience the subject from the inside. The liberties and devices of fiction (dialogue, voice, characterization and so forth) enable the writer to take us into the mind and heart of a person not unlike ourselves who talks to us from a distant period and place, and so becomes our guide to its sights and sounds, its sorrows and satisfactions. One reason “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” remains so affecting and so profoundly threatening is that Huck shows us what it meant to grow up in a slave-holding society and learn to navigate its pathologies. Huck compels us to believe him, which means that we are obliged once again to acknowledge that we live in a country in which ordinary citizens actually bought and sold human beings like Jim. WHAT IS THE WHAT The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng: A Novel. By Dave Eggers. 475 pp. McSweeney’s. $26. Readers’ Opinions Forum: Book News and Reviews Dave Eggers’s “What Is the What” is, like “Huckleberry Finn,” a picaresque novel of adolescence. But the injustices, horrors and follies that Huck encounters on his raft trip down the Mississippi would have seemed like glimpses...
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...all over the world move to the United States inspired by the American Dream. They are looking for the American Dream of freedom, and opportunity. Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers, is a book that illustrates one man’s faith when faced with a disaster. This book tells the story about Syrian- American, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, who lived with his family in New Orleans when the city was hit by hurricane Katrina that literally destroyed the city and changed it forever. Zeitoun is a religious Muslim who strongly believes in a God. He came from Syria, a country with a reputation of stubborn people. He believes that everything happens for a reason, and feels a duty to serve his God and live out of his purpose. All his actions in the book are a result of his religion because for him Muslim is more than just rituals; it is a way to live life. There are many aspects of humanity that come out in this novel. For me, I see the beauty and the pain of life painfully apparent here. I cannot determine what I think of Zeitoun because of the multiple personalities I see here. I believe deep down, he is a good but also a very broken man. He obviously means very much to his family, both his wife and children and also his family back in Syria. He stayed back in chaos and tried to save a lost town. If that does not speak for his character, I do not know what does. Then again, after the pages closed, he did the unimaginable and tried to murder his wife and then tried to get someone else to do it when he could not...
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...our brains function in ways that we can’t control. Predicting how you will feel about something takes away the excitement of having an emotion on something new. Who even knows what makes us really happy? Most of us also don’t even know what we really want. Gertner talks about how Gilbert, a professor in Harvard’s department of psychology, claims that he calls “the gap between what we predict and what we ultimately experience the “impact bias.”” (118). The purpose of that word to me is that it explains how predicting your emotion can impact the outcome of the actual result and being incorrect. An example is buying a new TV all happy and later seeing a newer version and wanting it, forgetting about the one you just bought and feeling “disappointed”. We always think that we will know our emotions because they’re ours but that’s not the case. Our brain really contributes a lot to this. “Happiness is a signal that our brains use to motivate us to do certain things.” and “Our brains are not trying to be happy. Our brains are trying to regulate us.” (121) We’re always looking for ways to be happy so we look for actions that we think will bring us that outcome. Another example is when you’re in a heated situation. You really can’t predict ahead of time how you will feel because at that moment you’re doing what makes you happy but it might not be later on. This sums up how Gertner’s point of not being able to accurately predict our emotions on things is correct and how we should let...
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...It is often in times of disaster that we find out peoples true nature. After Hurricane Katrina many people in New Orleans got scared and worried about what would happen to them, their families and their friends. When scared, people do things they would never dream of during normal times. In the novel Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers, this is shown to be true over and over again. If a natural disaster anywhere close to the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina hit my own small hometown of Yellville, Arkansas, there would be some similarities but many more differences. In the beginning of the novel, Abdulrahman Zeitoun is a hard working entrepreneur. He is very kind, always hiring people in need, taking on the most stressful of jobs and getting them done, in my opinion, he is very much like the southern gentlemen where I am from....
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