... he wrote. Things like the Great Depression, World War 2, and the Vietnam War are the major influences. World War 2 was when he was working for the federal government as a writer, so his works focused on greed and materialism in the beings of modern civilization, Cannery Row and The Wayward Bus are two good examples of this idea. (www2.sjsu.edu/steinbeck/) During the 1940 Steinbeck faltured both proffessionaly and ... personaly. He divorced his wife Carol in 1943. That same year he marred his second wife, Gwyndolyn Conger. With Gwyn, Steinbeck had two sons, Thom and John, but ... in 195...

• Word Count: 546
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... shacks built out of scraps of anything that could be found lying around. Banks were shut down all over the place, taking with them the bank accounts of the clients who watched helplessly as their life savings slipped right through their fingers. One of these people was a man ... (Text, page 490). Many families, who found the weather conditions to be too unbearable, packed up and headed out to California, where they were looked down upon. One such fictional family, the Joads, is told of in John Steinbeck's epic novel, The Grapes of Wrath. Mr. Donner, who had ... moved out to Dubuque, beg...

• Word Count: 971
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• Grade Level: High School

... stress on your life, or if your children are beginning to be to much for you, and mabye even school is putting your life into overload mode. The best medicine to treat these kind of problems in your life is to take a vacation to somewhere where you can get a little rest and relaxation. There ... vacation spots you can go to put a little ease into your life. For instance, take a Caribbean cruise where you can enjoy the heavenly waters and bathe in the warm sun. Another great place would be the mountains, if you like sitting in a comfy cabin in from of a nice fire and drink hot cocoa. New...

• Word Count: 260
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... gave us insight on how Muslim American's live today. I thought they would be completely different than I am but we are very much the same. Muslim's actually probably go through harder times because of their religion especially after September 11th. People who follow Islam and study Muhammad's ... and exceptional man. As a young boy Muhammad traveled out of town sometimes to make money, some older merchants remember him and the nickname they gave him: El-Amin, meaning the one you can trust. When Khadija entrusted him to sell her goods he brought back her profit, she was very impressed w...

• Word Count: 436
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• Grade Level: High School

... make industrial success not look as good as some may perceive it to be. Along with industrial increase in America was a need for transportation, a connection between the east and west. This was the main reason for the building of the trans-continental railroad which connected the east and west coasts. Because of industry booming this railroad was vital for trading and commute across ... the country. Although this age brought about much change and economic success, this "happy" time ended with Government regulation of business. The government had made the conscious choice of illegalizing...

• Word Count: 240
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• Grade Level: High School

... own money. His second oldest brother Allie died of leukemia at a very young age. His favorite sibling was his only sister Phoebe. He would talk about her the most around people and brag about her. She was only eight years old and was very intelligent for her age. Holden Caulfield started out in his life at a ... along with anyone. His parents thought he would do well there and it would set his priorities straight. Unfortunately, the outcome didn't come out the way they were hoping for. His life was pretty much a mess all of the time. He was a sixteen-year-old boy all on his own trying to...

• Word Count: 575
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... diagnosed with a disease chorea, in third grade. Warhol was sick in bed with nothing to do. Therefore, Warhol would read, draw, and listen to the radio in his spare time, because of his illness. Andy had a very creative imagination. He loved art growing up, he moved from Philadelphia to New ... pursue his dream and passion of becoming an artist. Warhol met tons of people with similar feelings and aspects on art. He found people with the same mindset as him, and he began to fit in with New Yorkers. Although he was still considered different, it was all portrayed in a ... would draw atte...

• Word Count: 548
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The Pine Barrens John Mcphee's "The Pine Barrens" is a unique descriptive novel, the novel deals with nature and all it's beauty. The story is easy to follow and easy to understand because it is being told through the eyes of a non-partial naturist. The novel was intriguing because it was so relatable to Philadelphia, the fact that the actually Pine Barrens are only about fifty miles away meant that whatever Mcphee experienced throughout the book was not far fetched form what I"d experience. The proximity on which Mcphee relates the Barrens to New York City meant that I've been past that value...

• Word Count: 191
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... can certainly relate to many young adults. There is no reason why this novel should be banned in any high school in any part of the world. Many books written by famous authors have profanity in them and sexual content. But those books aren't recognized as a rude and cruel book like this ... book more than adults do, why should it be banned in different high schools? The book certainly does show a bad example for the youngsters who read it. Not one person who reads it will change their life because of this book. The book is only read to entertain and no for other purpose. There is no ......

• Word Count: 350
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... lost my Mother, these memories come back to me. I have begun to examine why I decided to move to Pennsylvania over a decade ago. It was because I enjoyed the playing in the snow as a child. During 1959 we moved from Queens to Suffolk County. We lived in a nice neighborhood in West Islip, New York. I recall waking up one morning ... to see the aftermath of an extreme storm. We had received more than twenty inches of snow. As fast as we could, my brother and I dressed in our snowsuits and ... boots. We ran out back to build a snow fort - I was only four or five years old. I was not allowe...

• Word Count: 429
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• Grade Level: High School

... be rebuilt and be occupied by families who need homes and may even reduce crime in chicago. In Englewood there are 3,500 empty properties, the highest number of vacant homes of Chicago neighborhoods. Many residents left due to lack of maintance of buildings, which makes that neighborhood look poor or ... circumstances. If those banks were to tear down those houses and create section 8 homes, More people will be willing to live there and maybe the neighborhood would start being maintained properly and attract more people to live there. Banks that own those vacant properties won't willing ...

• Word Count: 615
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• Grade Level: High School

... classified together on a basis of common history, nationality, or geographic distribution. As you continue on reading I"m going to tell you a little about people of the Chinese race and their struggle to become American. Many of these people not better or worse then you or I have had a rough time making some of ... New York City. Growing up outside of NYC wasn't easy for her and her family. They were the only Chinese family in the area, and it was a tough neighborhood. People threw rocks at them all the time. Her brother would get beat up so often that their mother sent him to judo scho...

• Word Count: 665
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... to America 2 years after birth. As an adult she moved to New York City, leaving her family and Jewish faith behind in Virginia to escape the life she was living. I think this was a good idea considering she was abused by her father and treated very poorly her entire childhood. One of Ruth ... 's sons, James, tells the story, went through many of the similar hardships that his mother did, as a result of never being sure of his cultural and family background. I think this was a poor judgment ... family live like she used to. James and Ruth were both exposed to various degrees of prejudice ...

• Word Count: 704
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• Grade Level: High School

... help you. I knew people could not be as bad as I had always heard. On September 11, 2001, I changed the way I thought about the people of this country. Walking through the halls of my High School after I had heard the news that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center, I had mixed emotions and feelings. Being only seventeen years old, I did not comprehend or understand ... that these happenings were much more significant than I had first imagined. After watching countless hours of news coverage, and hearing about the innumerable lives that were lost, I felt a great sense of hu...

• Word Count: 539
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• Grade Level: High School

... own racial identity. James's childhood was spent in a chaotic home with 12 children while his mother, Ruth was working hard just to put enough food on the table. Ruth came to America when she was a young girl from a family of Polish Jewish immigrants. While growing up, Ruth lived in Suffolk, Virginia, ... Shilsky was racist towards blacks while Ruth wanted to befriend them. Ruth eventually married two black men, converted to Christianity, and had 12 kids between the both of them. While growing up, James often questioned his mother about her background and her past. She always told him to ...

• Word Count: 512
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• Grade Level: High School

... a day that will forever be embedded in every American's mind. An attack that wasn't foreseen by anybody fell upon one of the busiest. I was at school when I heard about the event. The day was as normal as can be, not a cloud in the sky, a clear September morning. I was in my United States History class. Everybody was laughing and having fun when an announcement came ... class, we went to lunch where I met up with some of my friends. A few of them knew a little more about what was going on. I guess their teacher let them watch the news. I think they were still a little confused as to wha...

• Word Count: 488
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• Grade Level: High School

... brought many positive social and cultural changes to U.S. society. Many things, such as the widespread use of the automobile, transformed family social life, while the new, wide following of Jazz and the Harlem Renaissance created revolutionary cultural changes. As the automobile industry prospered due to new production techniques the automobile gained widespread use. Automobiles enabled rural residents to have greater contact with their ... a blend of West African and Latin rhythms, African American spirituals and blues, and European harmonies. Joseph "King" Oliver helped to spread jaz...

• Word Count: 335
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... makes another wish to be a professional basketball player, the devil gives him the skills and height, and shortens his "manliness". Elliot felt that he was down on his luck and the only chance that he could win the girl would be to make this deal. In the 1997 movie The Devil's Advocate the main character, Kevin Lomax is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. He is offered a job ... working for the best law firm in New York City. Kevin graciously accepts and him and ... lights of New York. As time goes on Kevin drifts away from his wife and gets more involved with his career and ...

• Word Count: 331
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... is being expelled from, Pencey Prep. His roommate there, Stradlater, and another boy they live next to, Ackley, stress Holden out a lot. Holden doesn't enjoy the company of many people, only his younger sister, Phoebe. He once had another very strong connection with his brother, Allie, but he had died a few years prior ... drinks and smokes profusely, and hardly sleeps. At one point, he calls a prostitute up to his hotel room, but only wants to talk to her. The lost teenage boy wanders around by himself for a few days and then decides to see his younger sister, Phoebe. Holden devises a p...

• Word Count: 840
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... 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, " ... to depart on a six-week vacation to visit her only child in Paris. She fears she's going to miss her flight and continually asks her butler 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 ... , ...

• Word Count: 518
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... Puritans should she tell them. Puritan society was a repressed (and repressive) society. According to men, in those days, a woman was not fit to write. She mentions this in her poem The Prologue. She says: "I am obnoxious to each carping tongue/Who says my hand a needle better fits/A poet's pen all scorn I should thus wrong/For such despite they cast on female ... wits"" (Bradstreet). She wishes to break free from these societal norms that hold her back and compares her to the ancient Greek orator Demosthenes, who overcame a speech impediment. Like Demosthenes, she longs to overcome her...

• Word Count: 610
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• Grade Level: High School

... , New Jersey and realizes how much he misses Dean. Dean and Sal had not seen each other for about a year. Sal had stayed home for the entire time, going to school and finishing his book. Over Christmas in 1948, Sal is visiting his brother in Virginia when Dean, Marylou, and their friend ... man needs someone to drive his Cadillac back to his home in Chicago. Dean and Sal decide to take it. When they get to Chicago, they return the car to the owners garage and then take a bus to Detroit. After that, they hitchhike to Sal's aunt's new home in Long Island. Dean meets a girl named ... Cami...

• Word Count: 757
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• Grade Level: High School

... , he lived in a religious family that had a good deal of influence on him as he grew up. Even as a boy Samuel had a real gift for art. Morse greatly helped form the National Academy of Design and was their first president. He went to Yale and studied chemistry with Benjamin Silliman and natural philosophy with Benjamin Day. Both professors lectured on ... the science of electricity. Although Morse worked on chemistry and built a few batteries in his spare time, his real passion was art. He graduated from Yale in 1810. He wanted to ... and pleading, his father reluctantly agreed to let ...

• Word Count: 642
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• Grade Level: High School

... . Having money or possessions like cars and houses might be all some people need to live a good life. Socrates said centuries ago that, "many people will not be satisfied with the simpler way of life. They will be for adding sofas, and tables and other furniture; also dainties, and perfumes, and incense, and courtesan cakes." Caverly Stringer, a freelance writer was working ... phone or his doorbell, and he couldn't bring himself to go to work. He just wanted to be left alone for a while. Its times like these that I feel it is the most important to have a spiritual life. It's so much eas...

• Word Count: 579
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• Grade Level: High School

... Myth of Asian Superiority" is a fantastic piece of writing. He is an Asian American himself so he has much insight on this topic of superiority. He wishes to illustrate that the perceptions of Asian Americans as a "model minority" (103) are not entirely accurate. A "model minority" is a stereotype that is defined as an oversimplified conception, opinion, or image. Although Takaki doesn't state ... article, Takaki argues a strong case through his method of statistics. Takaki states a theory that Asian Americans have been characterized in the media as "successful in gaining admission to u...

• Word Count: 558
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate