...08 March 2010 The American Dream, like any idea that has stood the test of time, appeals to so many people because it is largely left open to personal interpretation. One person’s idea of the American Dream can be vastly different from another’s, and for some it may even change temporally. In, “Looking Backward: 2000-1887,” the protagonist, Julian West, finds himself torn between two different American Dreams: the American Dream of the capitalists of the nineteenth century, and the American Dream of an enlightened twenty first century metropolis. The only surviving heir to a great family inheritance, West is comfortably adjusted to life in America in the 1880s despite the unsavory politics, rabid economics, growing gap between rich an poor, and frequent labor strikes, all of which threaten to arrest industry and devastate the young nation. After a bizarre experience with “animal hypnotism,” West sleeps for over 113 years and awakes in the year 2000 in the home of Dr. Leete. West finds that the new society has no greed, no corruption, no poverty, no crime, and no war. A society in which everyone’s laundry is professionally laundered, meals are professionally prepared in public kitchens, everyone gets a quality education, working hours are short, and retirement comes at the age of forty-five. Everything is as in a utopia. This utopia, no doubt, represented the aspirations of the book’s nineteenth century author, Edward Bellamy. Channeled through...
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... and behaviors that are appropriate and expected by their culture and community. We start shaping this from the first day we are born. Those who ‘welcome’ us into the world, cuddle us, and feed us, in those first few minutes of life, will help develop the individual we become. We continue to grow through life and life’s experiences daily. Every day we interact with people in our lives. It could be babysitters, doctors, neighbors, teachers, professors, coaches, and our own family, to name a few. As we move through life we thus develop our own personal image of ourselves. This is not only created from our own thoughts, about ourselves, but also the influence and the perceptions that others have of us. This concept is called the ‘looking-glass self’. According to Dictionary.reference.com, the definition of this is, ‘the self-image an individual forms by imagining what others think of his or her behavior and appearance.’ The key word here is, ‘imagine.’ We are not influenced by the actual voiced opinion of others but we are influenced by what we believe or think we imagine other people’s opinions to be. Our perceptions of how others see us can be correct, or incorrect, thus feeding our imagination possible inaccurate thoughts and beliefs. Charles Horton Cooley (August 17, 1864 – May 7, 1929), an American sociologist and the eighth president of the American Sociological Association, shares this concept in three steps. 1. We imagine how we appear to another person...
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...In The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor, The childhood Fairytale that you know as Alice in Wonderland is wrenched sideways, backward, and inside-out. , and selects Alyss the heir to the throne of Wonderland to tell the story. Alyss is thrown out of her world into the strange city of England, where she is to return to Wonderland and claim her position as Queen. With Alyss missing so long in Wonderland many altercations were made as time dragged on. For Example, Change over time in different characters such as Alyss, Hatter, and Dodge. Alyss thrown into an alien world for over a decade was destined for change. One of the first instances of change in Alyss was when she finally abandoned the idea of her being a Princess and devoted herself...
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...The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor, is a good spin off from Alice in Wonderland. In this story Alyss gets separated from wonderland by her Aunt Redd and is forced to leave Wonderland and go to London, England. Eventually she returns to face Redd and reclaims her rightful throne. This book is unlike the original because it gives meaningful themes. I will focus on not lose hope and that was displayed by the Alyssian’s, Hatter Madigan, and Alyss. The Alyssian’s did not lose hope even though they basically lost the war. They were few on supplies, numbers and meaningful victories. “‘For the sake of White Imagination, let’s hope that Dodge has met with success’” (page 210).They sent Dodge to find Alyss, their only hope. If they gave up hope they...
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...Alice’s Wild Imagination In Lewis Carrols Through the Looking-Glass the main character Alice has a very vivid imagination. The theme of imagination is a major part of Through the Looking-Glass and is presented throughout the novel with games, the creation of an imaginary world, and characters. Within the novel imagination is shown through the use of games. “It’s a great huge game of chess that’s being played-all over the world- if this is the world at all, you know. Oh, what fun it is! I might join-through of course I should like to be Queen, best” (30) This was said in the novel by Alice. Alice says this once she has arrived into the Looking-Glass world and has just met the Red Queen in the flower garden. “Chess piece who introduces Alice...
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...Looking In I agree that I can read other people emotions. As a leader in the military this skill is a must. You have to have the pulse of your unit, you have to be able to see that your soldier(s) are having a problem. I agree that I can easily perceive and expression my emotions, however there is always room for improvement. I will continue to “read” people and try to assist them in any way I can. We all need help at one time or another even if it’s just talking to someone to get something off ones chest. I will start working on my lack of patience sometimes. I will stop, assess the situation and make a rational decision. I do from time to time have a lack of patience and this is an area that I will continue to seek self-improvement on. This self assessment will assist me in the work place because it shows me I have the ability to perceiving and identifying other emotions. By having this ability it will allow me to be a better member of the team. If I have a co-worker that is easily annoyed by something, I will pick up on that and I can adjust my approach on working with him/her to avoid conflicts. By implementing this assessment into my work place it will also let me know who I can express emotion too and know how certain people will respond to a show of emotions. I can also use this tool to understand how I will react in certain situations and how I can respond to conflict or adversity. Interpersonal communication is the process of sending and receiving information between...
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...Looking in the Mirror Roger Ballard PSY/250 June 13, 2010 Looking in the Mirror Measuring success is a difficult task, especially when it involves looking in the mirror. Personal reflection involves looking into the depths of one and giving an honest assessment of what is seen. Understanding what one can do and knowing limitations can lead to maximization of abilities in other aspects of life. This paper will analyze and explain my personality. Topics will include a definition of personality, concepts that explain my personality and features, and personality tests. Several measurements, such as money or religion, divide humans and place them into different categories. The uniqueness of personality is that it separates people by whom they are and their actions. Personality is the ever evolving totality of characteristics, behaviors, and traits that distinctively define a particular person. Some personality traits are hereditary and others evolve as a person develops depending on their exposure to different aspects of life. The subconscious, biology, level of interaction, and environment of an individual all help shape a personality. Many of the key personality features that define me come from my biology and my interaction with my environments. Athletics are a feature that comes from my parents. My mother played basketball and my father ran track, wrestled, played basketball, and football throughout high school and college. Playing or discussing...
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...sender? My supervisor Who was the receiver? I was the receiver What was the message? The message was to make sure we set up our indoor football field for a game at 5:30 What channel was used to send the message? Email What was the misunderstanding that occurred? The misunderstanding came when he use a military time code 1730, and I just glanced at the screen and thought it said 730 not 530 How could the misunderstandings have been avoided? I should have read the full message and confirmed with him the time and items to set up 1. What did you learn about the communication process from this activity? I learned that taking your time to read the entire message is the most important part of receiving an email and not just looking it over and thinking I understand what is being said. 2. What seemed to be the main causes of the misunderstandings? Not taking the time to read the message and confirming the time and other options before finishing carrying out what I thought was to be correct. _____________________________________________________________________________________ I’m going to a business example Who was the sender? I was the sender Who was the receiver? A buyer from my web site What was the message? I offer free shipping to everyone in the United States, and military members over seas What channel was used to send the message? This is a statement located on the web site during the checkout/shipping stage What was the misunderstanding...
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...Alaska analysed There are some books which ruffle your feathers..in a good way!I stand here,my feathers uprooted. I did not buy this book,I read it online after coming across it in the most funny way.I was sitting jobless in office having shut out myself to the Gulti banter of my colleagues. And was surfing the net,reading stuff on Google Reader.In a funny picture,there was a note scribbled inside some wretched instalment of the Twilight series,urging the readers to please not read it and go look for other books in the huge sea of literature.One name mentioned there was Alaska by John Green.The title is Looking for Alaska btw.So I decided to give it a look,and directly got the pdf on the net. So here it goes The book got me reeling,and made me type this. This is rarer than the appearance of the Haley’s Comet .But something about this book,touched my heart deep down.It is not a literary masterpiece,deemed even offensive by some(read it on wiki),it isn’t like I have the ultimate authority on literary masterpieces.But the writing is fluid,very conversant,almost mundane yet very engaging. The zen of life as it is called is conveyed in the most subtle form,but does not answer any definitive questions and lives it open to the readers interpretation,just like a good book should.Let the reader develop her own idea and opinion instead of inculcating one.The backdrop is the Culver State School and the lives of 16 something high school students.The narrator is a social Nobody who...
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...Looking for Patterns Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician who lived during the 17th century. He is credited with creating a mechanical calculator, and he influenced the development of probability theory, economics, programming, and geometry. A pattern of numbers in the form of a triangle was named after him, although the pattern was known by other, ancient civilizations. The triangle demonstrates the inherent order of numbers and math. The exercises below challenge you to find and define patterns. Often being a good problem solver relies on one’s ability to recognize patterns and changes in patterns. • How many triangles can you find in this picture? 27 • Develop a rule to describe the number of circles in the figures below. Find the number of circles in the 20th figure, and indicate the reasoning. Figure 1 Figure Number Number of Circles 1 1 Figure 2 2 6 3 11 Figure 3 Figure 4 4 16 5 21 6 26 7 31 ...Figure 20 8 36 20 96 What is the general rule to describe how many circles are in each figure? • Find the relationship between the pyramid steps needed to build rows 6 through 10. Ro w# 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 1 1 0 9 4 5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 3 6 12 0 7 28 8 4 21 0 6 2 1 56 12 6 25 2 5 15 35 70 12 6 21 0 4 10 20 35 56 8 4 12 0 3 6 10 15 2 1 28 3 6 4 5 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3a. Find as many relationships between the numbers in the pyramid as you can, and describe them. • • • Both sides are symmetrical You can get each number by...
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...Can the attempt to create a utopia bring more conflict or bring eternal peace? The concept of a perfect utopia is vividly expressed in the book, “Looking Backwards” by Edward bellani. This book takes place around the time 2000 where a perfect utopia was created, the type that believes in a society that has no class struggle. Interestingly, this utopia was created while Jilian West was alseep, so the start of the utopia is unclear. Throughout the story Jilian West discovers how the utopia became this unbelievable place where people only dream about. However, there are a lot of aspect about this utopia that Jilian does not agree with. Despite having an improved society with less crime and some equality I think this utopia has many greatness and weaknesses but in the end I would not want to live in a utopian society. The society where there is only a common warehouse to buy everything from is one that I can appreciate and admire. This method of one warehouse allows people to save time and expenses. On the other hand, it still has its flaws where the cities that are far from the main warehouse receive things much later than the closer cities. As West asks, “about the variety in the size and cost of house, how is it … with the fact that all citizens have the same income?” I fear that every family would try to have more members in their family to receive more, resulting in overpopulated cities. This in return can lead to chaos as civilians might fight for land. One of the many great...
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...The movie “Finding Forrester” does a good job of defining what it means to be an outsider. There are many instances in the film where Jamal is shown to be an outsider by both his friends and his classmates and teachers. Jamal Wallace is a bright young black student from the inner city who is afraid to let his friends know that he is smart. He gets by with average grades but excels in basketball at his inner city school. Jamal and his friends pass the time shooting hoops and making fun of the reclusive man watching them through the window of the apartment above the court. One day, Jamal’s friends dare him to break into the man’s apartment. Afraid of not being liked by his friends, Jamal accepts the dare. After being caught by the man, Jamal leaves the apartment, forgetting to take his backpack with him. When he goes back to retrieve the backpack, an unlikely friendship begins to form. The man, William Forrester, soon starts helping Jamal with his writing. Jamal hides this from his friends. The film demonstrates that we often change our behavior in order to try to fit in, even though the behavior might not be a bad thing. Shortly after befriending Forrester, Jamal’s principal invites Jamal’s mother for a meeting at the school, she has no idea what to expect, fearing Jamal may be in some sort of trouble. She is surprised to learn that Jamal’s above average standardized test scores do not reflect his grades in school. When Jamal is offered a full scholarship to a prestigious...
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...A Glance into Japan Japan thrives on purpose – the way they act, think, and do is not merely a satisfaction of their desires but is ultimately a reflection of the entirety of their culture and the environment around them. It is essential for them to think in social groups rather than individualism – preferring to act in such a way that would please others despite their discomfort. This notion was strengthened by the recollection of the students who immersed themselves in a week’s worth of Japanese culture. The workshops they underwent varied from job satisfaction to a history of Japan’s military orientation. From these, they were able to impart key elements and facets regarding Japan that proved what we have learned about the country during the last two months in JS 100. The Japanese embrace popular culture such as otaku and maid cafés. They are deeply enamored with popular culture they have an entire district dedicated to it – Shibuya District. However, as much as they love their gigantic robots and fashion brands, they are beyond doubt deeply rooted and continues to practice and celebrate traditional ones such as the Noh. The Noh uncovers attributes of the Japanese such as hard work and discipline. They do not stop at good, they do not even pause during their best – they are extremely passionate which gives them the drive to pursue life-long education constantly. Throughout the whole process, they are required to maintain mental and physical preparedness, arm themselves with...
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...The exploration of the connectedness between texts enhances an understanding of text’s textual integrity. This is evident within William Shakespeare’s ‘King Richard Third’ and Al Pacino’s docudrama ‘Looking For Richard’, where composers portray, through literary and film techniques, texts which reveal to their respective audiences valuable insights into their differing contexts. ‘Looking For Richard’ is based on ‘King Richard Third’ and adapts Shakespeare’s values to a modern context. Exploration of connections between the texts enhances the understanding of the values and contexts of each text. Connections enhances context, character and perspective as these values intensify connections. Through exploring context and character connections between texts, new perspectives of each text are possible, creating textual integrity. Richard Third - Context Richard Third was written to a superstitious Elizabethan audience. It was written as pro-Tudor propaganda, whereby the representation of Richard as a sly and deformed character perpetuates the Tudor Myth, within the context of the War of the Roses. Richard exudes traits of a Machiavellian villain, with imagery exaggerating Richard as a “Deformed, unfinished” man who was “Sent before his time” in order to maintain his discontent. Furthermore, Richards evil characterization and relentless pursuit of power is highlighted to his audience through his opening soliloquy “since I can not prove to be a lover….. I am determined to prove...
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...HSC Advanced English, Module A: Richard III and Looking For Richard, Essay Connections of commonality and dissimilarity may be drawn between a multiplicity of texts through an appreciation of the values and attitudes with which they were composed. Accordingly, the values and attitudes of the individual being may be defined as an acute blend of externally induced, or contextual and internally triggered, or inherent factors. Cultural, historical, political, religious and social influences, dictated by the nature of one’s surroundings, imprint a variable pattern of values and attitudes upon the individual. Thus any deviation in any such factor may instigate an alteration of the contextual component of one’s perspective. By contrast, the psychological fundamentals of humanity are sturdy and whilst they partake in the definition of the values and attitudes of the individual, they are unwavering. Shakespeare’s historical play ‘Richard III’ and Pacino’s docudrama ‘Looking for Richard’ confirm such theory through an exploration of the contextual and inherent. A scrutiny of the contradictory forces of humanism and determinism and the function of women as demonstrated by both texts imparts an incongruity of context. Difference is thus conveyed. Conversely, an acknowledgement of the strength of conscience common to both texts suggests an inherent influence. Thus it is through inspection of the prescribed texts that one may distinguish the degree to which the texts converge on inherent...
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