...Jainish Babaria Professor Hamai Humanities 101 9 October 2013 A Fight for Life From the beginning of mankind, people in society have always had their differences. Living with these differences has always been a challenge our society has faced, part of which is to work together towards a common goal, to strive to improve the standards and well-being of others as a whole. When people forget about this common goal that we all share, and instead prioritize other things such as land, wealth, and power they forget about the people around them and treat them as if they are not of the same species. The same idea is shared by the author Sherman Alexie in his essay “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”. The essay reflects upon the life of an Indian boy living in a reservation in today’s America. His main argument highlights how determination is a useful weapon when it comes to facing segregation in a society, and offers insight of how he is trying to save the children currently living on these reservation by getting them to open up to literacy and adaptation. Alexie was made a victim of racism. He was in an environment where the society’s restrictions allowed no one to go further in life. Everyone was required to follow the same old tradition and be under certain standards. Most followed these beliefs, but Alexie, he was different. He always loved reading and hoped to become a pediatrician. He was considered an oddity by his own people for being smart. He never liked...
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...The most extraordinary people are those who have known anguish, suffering, and loss, yet find their way out of the depths of despair. Life changes at a great pace, and many times it is hard to appreciate the things that are available until they are gone. Mankind has been given a gift that cannot be bought: the gift of life. Though it is not a gift that has been particularly requested, it is one that requires fight and determination to keep. In the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi does not fully treasure this gift until he almost loses it. He realizes its value and for this reason wills himself physically, morally, and spiritually to stay alive and ultimately preserves the gift of life. Pi’s devotion and faith in God is an important theme in the book. Toiling in devotion, Pi is able to overcome many hardships, which, in turn, help him gain the will to live. “Faith in God is an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love — but sometimes it was so hard to love. Sometimes my heart was sinking so fast with anger, desolation, and weariness, I was afraid it would sink to the very bottom of the Pacific and I would not be able to lift it back up. At such moments I tried to elevate myself” (Martel 231). In these trial-some times, Pi expresses his strife and inner struggle; however, he is determined not to lose faith in God. Pi attempts to control his negative feelings to avoid a lack of morale, which would decrease his odds of surviving. Pi is a clear example of the...
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...presentation. While he does that, the narrator tells us about fight club and its eight rules. The first and second rule is that you don’t talk about fight club. The following rules are that when someone says stop, or goes limp, the fight is over, two men per fight, one fight at a time and no shoes or shirts are allowed during fights. The fights go on as long as they have to, and if it’s your first night at fight club, you have to fight. Fight club used to be just Tyler and himself, pounding each other, but it grows and is now held every Saturday. The story takes place at an office at the narrator’s work. It’s not directly written that it takes place there, but the reader can assume so by the fact that the narrator and his boss are doing a presentation for their client Microsoft. The narrator describes the location of fight club as well, which is set in the basement of a bar, after the bar closes on Saturday night. The basement is portrayed as dark with a single lamp. The lamp is placed in the middle of the room where the fights take place. That contributes towards creating an atmosphere where it’s the fight that’s in focus. The narrator of the story is also the protagonist. He lives two lives, “Who I am in fight club is not someone my boss knows” ; one as a recall campaign coordinator and one as a member of fight club. Before starting fight club, he was bored with his life and he felt that his “life just seemed too complete” . He starts wondering if self-improvement...
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..."To Fight For What We Are Or What We Need?" People have always had a deep violent nature in their roots as human beings. Although modern American culture tends to suppress this trait, under the right conditions this aggression can be harnessed with positive results. However, before this can happen, eyes must be opened to the realization that life, core values, and everything society has conditioned us to believe is not necessarily the best way to take on the world in which we live. Though its content is both graphic and highly controversial, the film Fight Club is a film that every American man and woman should see. The film tells the story of how “a ticking-time bomb insomniac... and a slippery soap salesman... channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy.” (FIGHT CLUB) The film is arguably one of the best examples of masterful film making coupled with deep philosophical content and key concepts which analyze modern American society giving new insight to ways of finding purpose and meaning in everyday life. Without a doubt, Fight Club’s name can easily be misinterpreted to many who hear or read it. While it is easy to assume that the film has nothing more to it than men simply fighting each other, in reality “Fight Club presents an overload of thought-provoking material that works on so many levels as to offer grist for the mills of thousands of reviews, feature articles, and post-screening conversations.” (Review: Fight Club) The film was directed...
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...To what extent do you agree that Fight Club is an updated version of The Great Gatsby that captures the zeitgeist of modernism? The extent to which Palahniuk’s Fight Club bears resemblance to Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is debatable despite the fact that there are numerous similarities between the two texts in terms of its narrative structure dominant themes and the presentation of characters thus their respective zeitgeist of modernism, both texts have clearly their own mark that make them truly unique. Clearly the extent of the similarities between the two texts cannot be overlooked when Palahniuk stated himself in the Afterword that ‘’Gatsby’s updated a little’’, as both novels have apostolic narratives it can be seen that both reveal the hollow superficial nature that existed within society in both the 1920’s and 1990’s. Fight Club and The Great Gatsby can be contrasted as, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby’s lavish parties, flamboyant suits and mansion to be a template for the narrator’s own existence in ‘Fight Club’. His life is dominated by his IKEA ‘’condo’’ and his own job, which he then finds that he has nothing to live for and is empty inside. He is someone who has ‘’ lost everything’’ and is ‘’ Lost in oblivion. Dark and silent and complete.’’, which also illustrates the impossibility of the American Dream of both novels. ‘’Fight Club’’ thrusts the idea of conspicuous consumption even further as the narrator describes the destruction of material possessions no longer...
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... all success wants from you is for you to fight for it. The only things that success denies you of are the things you aren’t willing to fight for. Attending The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fate Event, made me realize something that is bigger than I. Mr. Wes said, “in order to be successful in life you have to fight for something that is worth the fight”. Fighting is not something a wise person would recommend doing, but in life, there are some things that are worth the fight no matter what the cost of the battle is. One is going to have to remember, fights don’t really have to be physical. In my life there are a few things-that are worth fighting for, my God, my life, my family, and my education. The most important thing to fight for is my God. My Father usually tells me,...
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...are not doomed. It is possible that it works out. If as a couple you are happy when you are physically together, then you should also be happy when you are some miles apart. However, before one attempts to be in a long distance relationship, they have to be very sure that this is what they want to do. They could potentially lose their other half even as a friend as fights when in a long distance relationship can get pretty heated, unless of course they have a very solid base. Nonetheless, it is tough when you are trying to build a new life elsewhere. It somehow feels like there is no space to fit a piece of your old life in. Your other half needs to know that there is space for them in your new life. That being said, communication is one of the main keys to making a long distance relationship in college work. You need to make your other half feel special and important. Also, you need to be able to remind yourself that he/she is still in your life. Although they are not physically there, they are there for you if you need them. Set a weekly Skype date in order for both of you to feel that there is time. College life is very hectic especially in the first semester so making time for each other is essential. Frequency of communication is not the only thing that is important. What is being said is also very important. It is essential that you do not lie about your feelings or withhold information from your other half. This...
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...Fight Club "There is enough on earth for everybody's need, but not for everyone's greed.” Mahatma Gandhi This quote fits perfectly on me. Even though I have enough clothes to last an entire lifetime, yet I keep finding myself at the mall, buying things I simple do not need at all. And I am not the only one, millions of people is doing the same thing. It is because we need certain things: we desire different certain things. Now what is that problem called? Consumerism. Modern society is based on different things. But one of those things, consumerism, has been growing majorly over the past couple of decades, mainly in America. Americans consume exponentially more than any other country in the world and are the leaders in waste production and It’s not only depression - that is harming the over consumers, it’s also creates lifestyles disease. In many people lives it’s controlling their lives. For a lot of people their main concern is how other people seen. “The things you, end up owning you” – that is a quote from fight club. Fight club is a book/film who shows consumerism at its worst form. The main character is first in the film, completely controlled of consumerism, which is described later in the essay. The book Fight Club is written by Chuck Palahniuk, it was later turned into a film. The Film/book is about a nameless narrator who works for a major car manufacture how can’t sleep. He has insomnia. He stumbles across different types of support groups. They make the...
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...Valley Forge to fight in the American Revolution. You are a soldier at Valley Forge will you quit? Do you want go home and not re-enlist? Do you want to re-enlist and stay to fight? Don’t desert the general if you don’t re-enlist he’ll understand. He is a good man. Listen to what I have to say or listen to Paine to decide. I have decided to not re-enlist for three reasons which are death and sickness,...
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...to singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow, “People go through challenging moments of losing people and of having their life threatened from illness and real grief. But they get through it. And that’s the testament to the human spirit and it’s – we are fragile, but we also are divine.” The love and support from the people around them can build the women up and give them the strength that they need. When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer she may start to lose her life and strength, so she tend to look at life as if it is useless. A woman with breast cancer will cause her to feel awful, but through having the support of family and friends, chemo therapy and inspiring thoughts, they can emotionally heal and get through the important exams. It may be hard for her to go through life with this sickness and to think positive about herself, but if she gets the moral and support she needs from family and friends then she wouldn’t look at life as a total lost. According to writer Lance Armstrong, “We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up or fight like hell.” No matter what their situation is, they shouldn’t give up on life without a fight. They have to learn to put up their best fight even if they don’t win at the end. With breast cancer there is no for sure winning in that fight. Having people around that is full of positive inspiration can make their fight a little better even if they do not make it through. Daughters, nieces, cousins, should all get tested on the regular...
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...O’Connell English 215 09, December 2013 Fight Club Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk uses violence for most of recorded history, violence has played a major role in our lives; for example, through country conflicts to world wars, violence seems to be the tool to our defense. Even in our daily lives, when encountered a conflict, we humans want to make it disappear as quick as possible. We do this by using violence unconsciously, whether it is verbally or physically. To the same effect, in his novel Fight Club, Palahniuk reveals violence to be an inescapable cycle. He does this effectively by using violence in the lives of the characters; acting as a form of escape, a gateway to self- realization, a tool for control and a boost of self- esteem. In this novel, Palahniuk uses violence as a form of escape. Fight Club is a support group that is aiming to escape frustrations and to help release built- up emotions; “They never say stop. It’s like they’re all energy, shaking so fast they blur around the edges, these guys are in recovery from something. As if the choice they have left is how they’re going to die and they want to die in a fight” (Palahniuk 139). In other words, Tyler mainly formed Fight Club to allow men to relieve their tension and stress. It is a form of escape for not only the Narrator and Tyler but for the countless other men who flock to Fight Club as well. Moreover, violence seems...
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...David Flincher's motion picture, Fight Club, easily portrays how consumerism has brought on the emasculatization of the present day male. Tyler acts as a motivation for Jack’s anti-consumerist philosophy. He drives him along as he rejects material possessions – his Ikea furniture and his apartment suite, which Tyler explodes (Even though, it truly is Jack that explodes it). By moving in with Tyler, who lives in a broken down house in a “…toxic waste part of town…” (Fight Club, 1999) Jack begins his course away from his consumer life. The house had broken electrics and no TV and is loaded with social debris in the form of magazines, which Jack reads to pass the time. He becomes a stranger looking in on the life he once led. Together they make...
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...Fight Club is a story of the narrator’s struggle to gain control over his life. He is in search for an identity in the form of manhood. His masculinity is so repressed because of the absence of a father figure in his life. Because of this he creates Tyler, his alternate personality. Tyler is nothing like anyone the narrator has met, he is self assured and completely free. The narrators alternate personality Tyler Durden is the ultimate alpha-male. Tyler becomes the narrator’s hero and he envied him. After creating Tyler the narrator’s view on the world is adjusted. Tyler ends up changing the narrators life and has him doing things he never thought he would do. Both the narrator and Tyler bond over the fact that both their fathers were not major factors in their lives. The narrator says “ Me, I knew my dad for about six years, but I don’t remember anything”(50). Tyler goes to say that his father was distant and he would only speak to him once a year. Being raised mainly by woman, they both feel they never had a man around to teach them what being a man is. Tyler and the narrator and the generation of men they represent have been trying for years to regain their masculinity and at the same time find a sense of direction. At the support group for men with testicular cancer the narrator meets Bob. Bob later enters fight club and shows he is one of the better fighters that is there. He is seen as a “true man” for his physical abilities. Later on in the book Bob also joins Tyler’s...
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...his life cut short when he fought for keeping his welterweight title against Emile Griffith. Mailer supports this by explaining how vicious Griffith was throughout the entire fight, ending with Paret’s tragic death. He goes into extreme detail using similes and a large amount of commas to show imagery. Mailer connects with his readers by showing the tragic sorrow of a death happening right in front of their eyes, but also showing that Paret did not die in vain, but in glory. The fight was cast as brutal and vicious, and with every crowd, there comes a story. The certain sportscaster who wrote this attempts to place readers into his seat as if they were there, viewing the fight in all its glory their selves. In doing so, the writer makes sure that his words keep up with the rhythm of the battle, his words having as much impact as the punches thrown. Descriptive words that the writer uses include “clubbing” and “whimpering” accompanied by similes which simply explain the impact that each one of Griffith’s punches had on Paret. Guardado 2 “Griffith was in like a cat ready to rip the life out of a huge boxed rat…right hand whipping like a piston rod which has broken through the crankcase, or like a baseball bat demolishing a pumpkin.” These phrases use extensive use of both diction and imagery to bring the battle to life all on its own. Commas are also in extensive use throughout the article. Run on sentences continue on with the assistance of commas to symbolize the fight and...
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...have always been told I size does not matter and I could do anything that I set my mind to do. When I read General Dwight D. Eisenhower saying, “What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the size of the fight in the dog”, I could not agree more. The reasons I believe this to be true would be becoming a teen mother, completing three degrees with a grade point average of 3.75 and joining the military at the age of twenty-six. Over the course of my life, I have encountered several challenges that have proved this theory true. My fight inside me has shown that I could overcome any obstacle placed in my path. Being raised in a Catholic home, my first life challenge came sooner than I was prepared for. I found...
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