... based on Jefferson's faith in self-government. He trusted the majority of people to govern themselves and wanted to keep the government simple and free of waste. Jefferson loved liberty in every form, and he worked for freedom of speech, press, religion, and other civil liberties. Jefferson ... Canada (1866). The books are organized in a loose chronological form that takes the reader through the author's experiences. Thoreau believed that people must be free to act according to their own idea of right and wrong, without government interference. In "Civil Disobedience" (1849), he said that...

• Word Count: 3135
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... to buy a one-way ticket to Paris. Baldwin published three collections of essays, which sold over a million copies each. It was the nonfiction books - Notes of a Nation Son (1955), Nobody Knows My Name (1961), and The Fire Next Time (1963) - "that secured his reputation as an important American ... ability to make his readers feel intensely his! view of the damage that racial prejudice inflicts on both whites and blacks" (World Book Encyclopedia, pg. 31). Notes of a Native Son marked the formal entry of Baldwin into the literary tradition of the personal essay. The essay was mainly autob...

• Word Count: 2618
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... wealthy and socially connected crowd during that time. In contrast to the modern day woman, the traits shared by the women in Fitzgerald's book are somewhat disturbing, sometimes laughable, but more importantly, are indicative of Fitzgerald's view of what the consequences of achieving the American Dream ... 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 w...

• Word Count: 2520
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School