...of the culture and history of America. It is true that in the period before Huckleberry Finn, British and European writers influenced the majority of the literature produced. But, as America found its identity while settling in the new found land, so where the early American writers. Moreover, some of the literature produced before Huckleberry Finn is American Literature because it does contain the essential elements...
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...Did you know that only two percent of the American population is Native American? So, where did the other ninety-eight percent come from? Of course; they migrated to America. In 2013, the immigrant population stood at more than 41.3 million. So why are immigrants so important to our country? Because without immigrants we wouldn’t have a population! People have been immigrating to the US as early as the 1600’s. And what are they doing? Seeking the freedom that our country has to offer, of course! Have a look at the illustration An Ocean Steamer Passing the Statue of Liberty: Scene on the Steerage Deck. It’s easy to draw the conclusion that the people aboard the ship are immigrants coming to the promised land of America. The Statue of Liberty...
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...taking the verbal and physical abuse as a result. King also participated in nonviolent protest during the March on Washington, using his words to effectively inspire and rally thousands. “Let Freedom Ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside.” Freedom is something that is taken for granted until it is taken away. The United States was founded on Democracy, and freedom is the basis for Democracy. King uses the word freedom as a noun twenty times in his speech. The March on Washington was arranged as a March for Jobs and Freedom. King repeats freedom over and over again in his speech not only as a literary strategy, but also to appeal to the audience's emotion. One hundred years earlier Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves. African Americans were given freedom from slavery that day, but not from the injustices of racism. One hundred years had passed, and still African-Americans were not treated equally. Freedom from slavery was given, but true freedom, the ability to go where they wanted, do what they wanted, and say what they wanted, was yet to be achieved. King proclaims the need to “Let Freedom Ring” to show that true freedom can and must be given to all men including African-Americans. Similarly to the word freedom, King repeats “I have a Dream”. The repetition of “I have a Dream” was so effective that the speech was named after those four words. The effectiveness coincides with the emotional desire for...
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...Rorabaugh, William J. The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition. New York: Oxford U, 1979. Print. Caitlyn Hickey University of Massachusetts Amherst In The Alcoholic Republic, W.J. Rorabaugh describes the excessive consumption of alcohol in America in the 18th and 19th century and its effects on American culture and everyday life. Rorabaugh is the first author to examine the drinking patterns in young America and relate them to the ways of changes of society. In this text Rorabaugh argues that “It was not so much the use of alcohol that worried them - they all drank to some extent - as its excessive use” (Rorabaugh 5). Alcoholism was so prevalent in America because of how readily available it was. Anyone from a wealthy slave owner to a poor slave could afford to get drunk....
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...“The American Dream is that any man or woman, despite his or her background, can change their circumstances and rise as high as they are willing to work” (Fabrizio Moreira). Ecuadorian politician, Fabrizio Moreira, recognizes this widespread idea and the primary criteria that embody the overall picture. It is believed that if one is given the freedom and opportunity, he or she has the ability to work to achieve their own goals. In the early 1900s, this idea of achieving the ‘American Dream’ was quite prevalent throughout the United States. Immigrants came from all around the globe to simply obtain the opportunity to change their quality of life and maintain a sense of freedom. However, due to varying social, political, and economic conditions...
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...In 1492 a new frontier was discover by a European explorer. This vacant and plentiful land contained endless amounts of hope for numerous Europeans who wished to flee their homes. Wanting to discover freedom for themselves and their families, immigrants came to North America to find individuality and embrace the many liberties they had hoped to secure. Unfortunately, not every person received what he or she had expected from the “land of the free”. These primary sources tell us that freedom in 18th century North America varied due to external and inherent factors such as vocational status, gender, and geographical location. Being a laborer during the 18th century rubs up with the modern conception of forced labor; incomparable to say the least. Today, a person can choose their optimal career and receive workforce training and payment for their contributions. We have come a long way since 1718 where young men, such as William Mathews, would agree to a seven-year long apprenticeship to eventually becoming a craftsman. The contract between Mathews and his master, Thomas Windover, outlines a number of guidelines that were set in place to ensure each party would maintain their responsabilities to each other. Some rules are understandable as they uphold respect for the master such as “During all of this term, the said apprentice shall faithfully serve his said master, shall faithfully keeps his secrets, gladly obey his lawful commands everywhere” (55). Even today children are expected...
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...Alexis De Tocqueville, a young French explorer sets sale to the New World to study the American prison system. However, this is only simply a story to mislead others from his real objective. Alexis De Tocqueville is traveling to the New World to secretly study the great American Democracy. The purpose of this you might ask? The French must better understand American behaviors in how they feel and act, upon the essential nature of their freedoms. The French must take these learning and place them into their own practices to ensure they have a long last Democracy. In the Introduction chapter of “Democracy in America” by Alexis De Tocqueville and Richard D. Heffner, Heffner goes into length to describe all of the extravagant and detailed descriptions Tocqueville gives about the way Americans feel and act, due to the essential nature of freedoms from their Democracy. I have organized this paper into six different paragraphs that will be described in the following: First, an opening paragraph will let you know what literature I am referencing to when discussing this topic....
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...The American Dream America has long been the place thought to be a land of opportunity, freedom, and a chance to become someone important and make a better life for oneself. All Americans aspire to do great achievements and have all of their dreams become a reality. That is why so many immigrants came to America for their chance at becoming great. Americans pride themselves in being the land of dreams and hopes whether good or bad. The s called “American Dream” is a combination of what each individual sees themselves wanting to achieve and how their country either does or doesn’t support those kinds of hopes and ideas. Through the four documents: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Will Herberg, The American Way of Life, Richard M....
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...12.5 million is the approximate number of enslaved Africans transported to America between 1500 and 1866" (Wolfe Slavery By The Numbers). In Copper Sun by Sharon m. Draper, the protagonist Amari wants to have freedom but Mr. Derby bought her at a slave auction as a birthday gift for his son Clay, so her friends Polly and Tidbit who work for Mr. Derby help her escape into the woods. Then, Clay finds them and tries to get them back. Finally, Amari and her friends move to Fort Mose, where they gained freedom and were no longer slaves. The author uses metaphors, symbols and personification to illustrate the struggle of gaining freedom during the difficult time of slavery. The author uses a metaphor to describe the Ashanti tribe when they invaded...
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...Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” was a passionate and motivational speech to end racial segregation in the United States during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Dr. King, Jr.’s speech was organized, heartfelt and credible, following the ancient appeals techniques: logos, pathos and ethos, to persuade the audience to take immediate action to end racial discrimination through passive resistance. The first section describes to organization of his speech and the use of historical references, analogies and repetition of keywords now, freedom and dream to relay the urgency to attain racial harmony. Then, the second section shows how using of the first person in his speech and describing his dream of racial equality for his children’s future life creates an emotional connection with the audience. Lastly, the third section describes how his persona as a father, pastor, victim and civil rights leader builds his integrity as a speaker. Dr. King, Jr. carefully organized his speech by first building his credibility by using historical references, then describing the trials and tribulations of the African-American community, and then ending with his dreams and hopes for freedom and racial equality. Dr. King, Jr. established the foundation of his speech with the reincarnation of the Emancipation Proclamation, issued by previous United States President Abraham Lincoln, and reiteration of words from the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. In addition...
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...was the first African poet. During the time of slavery when Africans were not provided basic needs and were considered unworthy of Christianity or to enjoy the citizenship rights of America, she raised her voice through the pen. She was a patriotic American and Christian during those times when her race was considered less human. During that cruel time, Wheatley did not let any obstacle hinder her passion for poetry. She overcame all the difficulties and was grateful that lord has opened her heart towards Christianity and for the opportunity to read and write. She is an example for all those who are oppressed in the world. Through this poem, she showed her gratitude to be enlightened...
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...Robert Murray Ms. Arthurs English 100 22 October 2014 Marriage Equality in America Marriage is an important part of our society. A civil and emotional bond between two lovers, the strongest and most sacred there is. Imagine how indignant we would be if we as Americans were denied this essential right. Fortunately, this is the land of the free, and most of us have the legal and social privilege to get married and raise a family. Unfortunately, there are about 11.7 million people who get left out of this deal because their partner is the same gender as they are. These marriages are no different from other legal marriages, yet we still refuse to recognize them in the United States. A miniscule six states have made these marriages legal. The main reason is that there are opponents of marriage equality with concerns as to the consequences of allowing marriage equality. Present here are the largest concerns of the opposition, accompanied by compromises and solutions which are backed by research and dispelling of common myths and misconceptions. Many people rationalize their bias against marriage equality with the claim that non-heteroexuality is unnatural. We are a nation of progress. We are always innovating and inventing and bringing new things into our culture. Are SmartPhones and iPods “natural”? Are polyester and air conditioning “natural”? Are the medications keeping our our loved ones in the hospital alive “natural”? No. The American lifestyle has adopted these “unnatural”...
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...How would you describe your American experience? There are so many ways to describe A good experience. Some this are is we work hard,and we have freedom. Now let me tell you a little about what i know with my experience with America. Everyone has a unique view of our life. Some think that we are great people, some think that we are horrible people, and some are undecided. Some people think that americans are all about the guns and such. Others think that we are great people. No one is 100% if we are good or bad people. People judge people by where they live if the are living in poverty or living in the big huge houses. Us as Americans have so many different opportunities to live life. We get these things by working hard every day. If you...
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...I Have a Dream: Critique ‘I Have a Dream’ is a 17 minute speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. on 28 August, 1963 in Washington D.C. during the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom’. Addressing more than 200,000 both, Black and White American civil rights supporters, from the steps of Lincoln Memorial along with the thousands of Americans viewing the live national broadcast, King effectively got his stance as a leading civil rights activist in the American Civil Rights Movement across: an end to the prevalent racial discrimination in the country; an end to the inequality, inferiority, oppression and injustice; a ray of hope for a free, prosperous and bright future for the Black Americans. Even though King relies too heavily on emotional reasoning rather than logic and does not provide the audience with any practical ways of achieving his goal of eliminating racial discrimination, he still succeeds in persuading them through a well structured and researched speech, the use of the Aristotelian appeals of ethos and pathos, visual metaphors, repetition of phrases and words and identification with the audience using a ‘we’ oriented approach. His entire speech is so well structured that it could be broken down into two visible chunks; presenting a wonderful transition from ‘what is’ to ‘what ought to be’. Initially he brings to light the harsh reality being lived by Black Americans from the past to present; their poor, deplorable plight, the grave oppression and...
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...might ring a bell, but for others it’s a whole different story. “Freedom is Intended as a Challenge” by Naomi Wolf mentions in her reading about Thomas Jefferson who was one of the writers of “The Declaration of Independence” had two main ideas which were individually and happiness, the pursuit of happiness. As Wolf researches she comes up with the idea that Jefferson had the idea that we would live a life that was guaranteed, Wolf explains “liberation is not about a historical moment that had happened in the past it is more of a destination of the mind” (636). Life is not all about being born in America and being free, people around us must continue their happiness, and find their own meaning of liberty. Wolf is a piece that takes a deeper look into the current perception of how the Declaration of Independence. Wolf believes us present day Americans have a right sense of what really happened in the late 1700’s. Wolf explains how many American’s now just look at the Declaration of Independence as just a piece of paper, and not taken as serious as it should be. The Declaration of Independence is supposed to be looked at on how free America is, as the Declaration of Independence states, “We hold truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” (625). As Wolf argues that America is not the same as it was before she explains “This sense of...
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