... town's musician, taught him to play the violin. At the age of six, he played publicly for the first time. When he was ten, the Thomas family moved to New York, New York, to seek a better life. Thomas helped to support the family by playing at dances, weddings, and at saloons where he would pass his hat around to get money. In 1853 ... , Thomas joined Jullien's Orchestra on its visit to New York. In the next year, he became a member of the New York Philharmonic Society. At 22, he already ... mid sixties, he learned the skills as a conductor and a builder of orchestras. At age 28, Thomas ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... Moreover, he was neither "filthy" nor "little." Roosevelt's statement, however, is just one example of how deeply offended many were by Paine's dogmatic writings. Thomas Paine was a self-pronounced deist, not an atheist. Merriam-Webster defines atheist as "one who denies the existence of God." In ... Paine speaks of the wonder of the Creation and how it professes the existence of God. (He refers to the Creation as the only "scripture.") Thomas Paine, therefore, is a deist, not an atheist. Deists not only believe in a Supreme Power, but also believe in an afterlife. Paine writes ... tim...

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In Thetford, Nolfolk, England, Thomas Paine was born. His mother was Anglican and his father was a Quaker. He was poor his whole life. When he was thirteen years old, he started working with ... , during a political fight, he stayed unemployed until November. He then became a clerk of the Pennsylvania legislature. He was very concerned about soldiers. Paine wanted to help support them by establishing a fund, even though he was needy himself. He had to apply to Congress for financial help, but his plea was buried. Finally, Pennsylvania and New York helped him. ... to Great Britain. In 1791 and...

• Word Count: 611
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... of Ralph Ellison almost a half century after Fourtune's death that "whatever else the true American is, he is also somehow black." Timmothy Thomas Fourtune was born a slave in Marianna, Florida, in 1856. In the years after Emancipation, Fortune was exposed to the violence of racial animus ... as the "sound" and "safe" voice of Negroes, and Fortune as the "agitator." As one Syracuse newspaper suggested: "Accordingly as the T.Thomas Fortune type, with its loud insistence upon rights, is forced to subside, and the Booker T. Washington type, with its earnest effort in the direction ... Was...

• Word Count: 1870
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... Zelda agreed to marry Fitzgerald. Both had temporarily achieved their "America! n dreams": success, money, notoriety, status, etc. Autobiographical accounts of Fitzgerald relay that he lived a virtual playboy existence marked by excesses in spending and liquor, wild parties and associations, etc. This playboy lifestyle ends up being personified in the life Gatsby leads - the wild parties, free associations, mansion home, etc ... . There is no real equation between the characters in The Great Gatsby and Zelda Fitzgerald, who was eventually overtaken by the lifestyle she and F. Scott Fitzg...

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... gang members who aren't really main characters, but they just live on the streets and are present during the scenes. The author of "West Side Story" is Arthur Laurents. He was born on the 14th of July 1918, in New York City, NY. He was educated at Cornell University. He started ... was up to writing and being involved in many different theatrical productions. He also wrote a few more plays in which he reunited with "West Side Story's" composer and lyricist, Bernstein and Sondheim. The stage was fairly large, and the scenery was efficient, but still quite simple. There were only about th...

• Word Count: 829
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... the streets looking for her murderer. To his surprise he finds Maria and they go to embrace one another when he is shot by the rival. The Westside Story begins with a ballet that tells a story of how small gang fights between the Jets (Americans) and the Sharks (Puerto Ricans) over a piece of territory on the ... to runaway together. Tony goes to collect some money so they can leave the city. While they are separated Tony hears news of Maria being shot by Chino. Tony storms the streets looking for Chino so he could be shot as well for he feels he can't live without Maria. In disbelief, ...

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... he would play his violin, which he played exceptionally well, his light stubble would rub against the chin rest and he would smile and I would sway. Our love was not a story of prolonged anguish and betrayal. It was not a harlequin romance, nor any shade of Grey. Our love affair was quick, beautiful, finite and everlasting. It had started when I was fifteen ... the cold, for some reason I walked up to that boy and foolishly blundered: "Le Cygne?" I asked. Le Cygne. The Swan. A piece from the composed set of Carnival of the Animals by Camille Satin-Saens. Why I knew that I haven't the fa...

• Word Count: 1483
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

The Line of the Sun by Judith Ortiz Cofer, is a novel based in the 1950's through the 1960's about story-telling. All the characters introduced in the novel, have some sort of tie or connection to the main narrator, Marisol. The book begins before Marisol ... is born, and is comprised of stories that have been told to Marisol throughout her life. As one reads through the story, you can begin to see how Marisol is a reflection of, or ties to each character introduced. Marisol relies on the stories which have been passed down through ... to be office work, but in reality the services he require...

• Word Count: 1045
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... that human nature is the same. They are greedy, deceitful, or dishonest. The twists that Dahl creates in the ending of almost every short story, usually surprises the reader, because it was most unexpected. His endings are very unpredictable and can leave the reader in suspense. Dahl has many ways ... enter their houses to take a look at their furniture. He also tricks the owner of the house into selling him valuable furniture at a cheap price by manipulating them into thinking that the piece of furniture is worthless. He then sells the furniture for a hundred times the price. In "Mrs. B...

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A Story of Cultural Origins In today's world, it is easy to lose track of our cultural heritage within the giant melting pot of modern society. In order to understand ourselves, and ... , the male was the head figure, and her father was the only person who had any say in family matters. She told me that while growing up she was taught by her mother to be obedient to her parents and her elders, and not only to respect herself, but treat others with the same respect that she expected to be treated ... not many people from Guyana would agree with me. The final question I asked her was if livin...

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"The Way Up To Heaven," by Roald Dahl, is a short story about an elderly couple living in New York City. Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Foster live in a six-story house in the "Big Apple." Mrs. Foster is a like a volcano waiting to erupt. She lives in a constant state of worrying. Mrs. Foster fears for her life about missing, ... the time. To make matters worse, her husband likes to irritate her and make it seem like she won't make it on time. Almost half an hour passes by when finally Mr. Foster is ready to take his wife to the airport for her flight to Paris. On the way a heavy fog appears and Mr. Fos...

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... Paul struggles with throughout "Paul's Case". His parents and teachers strike him as abnormal, but Paul however feels misunderstood. His appearance in the story reflects the strange vibe his family members and his teachers feel for him. The teachers classify Paul as "different" due to some of the ... commit suicide. "The only thing that at all surprised him was his own courage, for he realized well enough that he had always been tormented by fear, a sort of apprehensive dread that, of late years, as the meshes of the lies he had closed about him, had been pulling the ... internal though...

• Word Count: 886
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... Jimmie were able to survive the horrible life that was dealt to them. In the course of Maggie's life, she turned into a beautiful girl, untouched by the squalor around her. Jimmie felt that his sister needed to find herself a job or she would go to the devil with her good looks. For ... indecency. The social life that Maggie never new drew her away from her mundane life, and away from her mother and Jimmie. Jimmie felt betrayed by his friend, and by his sister who he always thought was special. Maggie longed for a life of wealth, and to be accepted in a good social life. Up ... until no...

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... the team of the accident. He took the guilt for his siblings death, and as a result he suffered from nightmares and flashbacks. Taken over by the guilt and self-hatred, he beings to perfect his playing of the French horn; he use the instrument as a blockade from the outside world ... withdraw from his family and other forms of company(Winter 13).This feeling of guilt will be transfer into his writing, such as in the short story "Redemption", which recounts the accident (Winter 13). Gardner graduated from Batavia High school, and enrolled into DePauw University. He married Joan Louise Pat...

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• Grade Level: High School

On The Road by Jack Kerouac 1957 Sal Paradise, the narrator of the story, is miserable and fed up with his mundane life when he meets a young man named Dean Moriarty during the winter of 1947. Dean is wild, irresponsible, and newly married to a ... travels to Louisiana and stay with a friend, Bull Lee, and his wife Jane. Bull and Jane are eccentric drug addicts. The other characters accept this and are even somewhat amused by the Lees. They spend some time with the Lees, then Sal, Dean, and Marylou decide to go to California. When Sal, Dean, and Marylou reach San Francisco, Dean immediately ...

• Word Count: 757
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The play "Rent" produced by Jonathan Larson, was first written in 1996. This modern day story is loosely based off of Puccini's opera, La Boheme. This play created a twist on the original characters, for example, Rodolfo is changed ... The scenic designer helps serve both the directors interpretation of the work and the playwright. The designer, Yoshi Tanokura, truly created a replica of the dingy streets by placing scaffoldings and a graffiti background. Upon entering the theater, the first thing that was noted was the thick fog in the room, showing the audience that ... showed that they c...

• Word Count: 969
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• Grade Level: High School

... through the dirt smothered streets of New York on a quiet Sunday afternoon. After arriving home to their apartment so small it could barely fit light, Daisy's father, Christopher, was dialed by his police station to come in for a night shift. Daisy's mother, Andrea, prepared dinner, leaving an extra serving for Christopher. While setting the table, Andrea received a call that Christopher had ... you feel tears building up and words getting harder to say, hold this doll and I promise you will be okay," and planted a kiss on Daisy's forehead. As time went by, Daisy matured and Andrea bega...

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... optimism, at the turn of the twentieth century, which lead to nationalism. Without any of these items, we wouldn't be the same today. Nationalism in the twentieth century was strengthened by those three major events....

• Word Count: 397
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... In the subway, he is pressed up against large people who do not notice his presence. Exiting the subway, he alludes to the story of Jonah in the Old Testament by comparing the experience to being thrown up from the belly of a whale. Jonah is one of the few stories in the Bible where a ... wings for an instant, but then are again confined. The narrator stands frozen across the room, admiring them as through a window. But he is kept by fear of the same white man, fear that prevents him from moving any closer, thus making him caged in himself. Any diversion or flash of life ... of his iden...

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... army to march on the upstart. The young king is unprepared and helpless. In desperation, he offers his young sister Wealtheow to Hrothgar. Enchanted by her beauty, Hrothgar accepts and marries her. A few years after Wealtheow's arrival at Herot, Hrothgar takes in his recently orphaned nephew Hrothulf ... the throne and slowly begins to cultivate discontent among Hrothgar's people. The king, spiritually and physically dying, can do nothing to stop him. By the twelfth year, Grendel has grown weary of his monotonous yearly routine and gruesome life. He is desperate for a challenge. He sees...

• Word Count: 990
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... that he "read a Chicago paper for years just on the chance of catching a glimpse of Daisy's name." The poem, Aboriginal Charter of Rights, by Oodgeroo Noonuccal, is about the aborigines" assertion of their rights in defiance of white control. It gives an insight into the Australian society, through the eyes ... from New York", but shortly after, they carry on as if no conflict had arisen between them. The song lyrics, Weeping in the Forest, by Archie Roach, are about the stolen generation. These lyrics reveal what life was like for the Aborigines before and after the aboriginal children...

• Word Count: 1498
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• Grade Level: High School

... Havana." He also imposed Cuban culture on his children from the beginning in hopes that they would secure his own tenuous ties to his homeland. By speaking only Spanish in their presence and talking about the homeland constantly he hoped to transmit Cuban attitudes and traditions. Firmat concludes that he was ... him to gather the incentive to reach a place he calls "after-exile." He says that he gave Cuba to his kids, and they reciprocated by giving him America. With the help of his American wife and his two CBA (Cuban-bred American) children, he finally comes to acknowledge his need .....

• Word Count: 1497
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

The book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was published by Grossett and Dunlap in New York, 1906. The purpose of this book is to understand the importance of adult care and teaching. If you are not taught as a young child ... ...

• Word Count: 324
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... greater worth...Everything that is right or reasonable pleads for separation." " - David McCullough, 1776 Some things I learned about US History that I had no knowledge about before reading the book "1776,"by David McCullough were: 1. King George III was a cruel man. 2. George Washington was a reserved man. Before reading 1776, my knowledge of King George III was pretty slim, so anything read about ... 3 McCullough's Title: Dorchester Heights My title: Battling for Boston Throughout chapter 3, it effectively displays the American Colonists success in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. T...

• Word Count: 714
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School