... People who cannot suffer can never grow up, can never discover who they are." -James Baldwin- Baldwin makes the above statement in his essay, "The Fire Next Time." By saying this he implies that unless you allow yourself to be influenced by your surroundings, you will never improve who you are. If someone else always is ... given responsibility for your actions, then you do not fully understand the consequences and can never grow as a person. A person is guided through by life the experiences of his or her past and can only make judgments based upon those past actions if they know the ou...

• Word Count: 805
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Refugee Blues is a poem written by W.H. Auden. It takes place in Europe during World War II, and it is written in the voice of a German Jew and what he and his loved one had to go ... and were treated like animals that could only afford a hole in the ground. The words "mansion and holes" are used to compare the sizes and the connotations carried by the words. The mansion is associated with something big and bright while a hole is described as something small and dark. "Dead and Alive" are very strong words ... " continually repeats throughout the entirety of the poem, making the audience wond...

• Word Count: 1008
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... , but is that the truth. If there were another explanation it would be on this very piece of paper you are holding now. The date was February 3rd 1999; a man by the name of Frank Geraldine was comfortably taking a nap from work at home. Frank was a stockbroker and dealt with a lot of stress. His only get away sometimes was sleeping. During ... his nap a man interrupted his beautiful dream of having a great day of golf with buddies, this man was a tall red looking figure with a huge head. The red figure interrupted by saying, hello Franklin. I don't have much time, I needed to tell you so...

• Word Count: 335
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... as white trash, and another woman in the room was just common, not white trash. Through Mrs. Turpin's thoughts the author conveys that individuals judge others by what's on the outside. Mrs. Turpin believes she is living the way God would want her to, but it is hypocritical because God has the only authority ... to judge any human being, according to the bible. At night, she occupies herself by classifying groups of people into a survival pyramid. She uses cliches that clearly show how she views herself compared to others. "On the bottom of the ... status can determine how close to Go...

• Word Count: 742
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... and evaluate their own morals. It is written circuitously but when the text is dissected, the truth is clearly revealed. In his opinion, the morals that "Man" live by, and that is a blanket statement in his opinion, are flawed. It is almost as if Twain was challenging the reader to take the right step forward and make a change for ... ...

• Word Count: 709
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... paper houses burning furniture to stay warm all the things paper thin and paper frail. even the people" (Green 57). There are many themes in the book Paper Towns By: John Green. Such as realizing who you are, do not preserve who a person used to be, never giving up, strings, and that people are not paper. People change. Do not ... ...

• Word Count: 563
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

In the book called Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, Richie Perry is a person who's a emotional and changeable. Richie Perry is like this just like any person is. Based on the storytelling, he is kind, caring, good- ... ...

• Word Count: 658
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... happiness) takes time and effort. Paragraph three mentions a man that says people do as much as they can today so that they have for tomorrow. This statement is ironic because by doing this, you are still losing one day, which is Thoreau's view. However, is losing a "today" necessary when the tomorrow is more important? This scenario is displayed in ... ...

• Word Count: 595
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... candidate for Vice President of the United States. Above all, it was quite amusing to read how a person, and in this case a somewhat mentally challenged person, can be made up by the media, especially television. Just as in real life, people only saw what they wanted to see and they only heard what they wanted to hear. This book is a fine ... ...

• Word Count: 434
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... animals have different brain functions, they still feel depressed when left alone. Feeling depressed or feeling any emotion about a certain case is a major part of how the human brain works. By default, animals have a similar basic structure as humans, and are able to process thoughts and emotions. Animals should be treated with a greater amount of kindness than they are normally treated ... is going to be bacon in just a short few years. Rifkin is wrong in saying that animals should be treated with a higher respect than humans should. Rifkin supports his thesis by giving the example of...

• Word Count: 694
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

"The Road," by Cormac McCarthy is a novel that addresses the fundamental rights of man and what it means to be human. So what is McCarthy trying to relay to his readers about the ... everything he could to save himself rather than others. Maintaining a sense of good humanity truly is the key to having a peaceful society, in both a post-apocalyptic world like "The Road," by Cormac McCarthy, and our present day society....

• Word Count: 617
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

After reading "To Build a Fire," by Jack London, I sat still for a few minutes reminiscing about things that I was told in my youth. One of them was my parents telling me to simply slow down and listen. ... advice that would have saved his life. This advice was ignored and unfortunately The Man had to pay the ultimate price. I take away a lot from this amazing short story written by Jack London, but the message that stands out the most is slow down and listen, and it might pay off in the long run....

• Word Count: 751
• Approx Pages: 3
• 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
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

Barbed Wire by Mary Emeny Mary Emeny's poem, "Barbed Wire,"" depicts war as a negative force, destroying every decent aspect of human existence. Written during the Vietnam War, the work displays Emeny's negative views ... they experience as an aspect of their life. The girl "glid[ing] gracefully down the path- (1) and the boy "rid[ing] eagerly down the road- (9) have their enjoyable realities striped by the harshness of war. Likewise, war enters women's lives creating turmoil. The woman who works "deftly in the fields- ( ) no longer is able to experience the offerings of life. The ... ...

• Word Count: 496
• Approx Pages: 2

... protagonist and narrator in this book. The reader begins to see his strange indifference to "emotional"" issues, such as his mother's death, wedding proposal, and criminal acts. After being sucked by fate into murdering an Arab man, Meursault is sentenced to death. Near the end of the novel, Meursault finally attains true happiness when he sees that human life is meaningless ... others as well as his own physical state. He also expresses an infatuation with weather and nature. At his mother's burial, for instance, the throbbing heat afflicts Meursault more than by his mother's death. Th...

• Word Count: 554
• Approx Pages: 2

... thoughts ravelled out of reach that makes you think of string or spool of thread that is unravelled and loose. This again refers to a woman doing housework buy sewing clothes by hand with thread and it dropped and rolled on the floor. Overall the poem had an unusual effect. I felt she wrote this to let people know that she is aware ... of her disabilities but can do nothing about it. At the same time she shows a bit sarcasm by throwing in housewife duties. Emily Dickinson poem shows that because of her illness she can't control herself but still she gives hope of trying. ...

• Word Count: 554
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... 50). Carson claims that contamination of the total environment with substances that accumulate in the tissues of plants and animals and even the potential to alter the human germ plasma by design. Carson writes about pesticides that are sprayed onto crops, forests and gardens stating that the poisons travel through underground streams, from one living organism to another, killing vegetation and ... that Carson reached her intended audience because shortly after her book was published she was labeled an alarmist from government officials and chemical companies, her work did not go unnoti...

• Word Count: 678
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... hide your identity from everyone because being different can put you in danger, and there is a person who would do anything to purify it's community. In the book "The Chrysalids," by John Wyndham, many characters have to hide their true identity from the community of Waknuk because they are different and many of them try to banish mutants. These mutants are ... any deviants and did not show sympathy at all towards Harriet. In another case, when Allan told Joseph about Sophie being a deviant, David came home that day and was asked by his father if what Allan has told him was true. When t...

• Word Count: 1175
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... transfer to harming other people, not just bugs or animals. Why is it that some human beings react with violence before thinking rationally? The narrator in the short story written by Howard Fast titled "The Large Ant " kills a creature which resembles an ant, and kills the creature without clear intentions, out of pure instinct. " ˜This is to no purpose,' Fitzgerald ... his decision to kill the creature. Basic human instincts invoked the murder of the creature. As the story carries on, Hopper, one of the characters in the story questions Morgan by asking, "'You were afraid?' ˜I was s...

• Word Count: 927
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The Large Ant, by Howard Fast, uses the act of murder and human nature to explore the ratio of good and evil. He uses the act of killing the ant to explore several substantial ... an effective symbol of the unknown. Human beings have impulses that can lead to harmful actions, without always knowing why they are done. The fear of the unknown, as represented by the ant, can make humans do things based purely on instinct, and not based on rational thoughts. "Would you mind telling us why you killed it?" (Fast 154 ... actions may not always be the best ones. The narrative, The Large Ant, raises...

• Word Count: 822
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Written in 1897 by Edwin Arlington Robinson,"Richard Cory" is a detail-oriented poem designed to make the reader think very thoroughly about the words and phrases that are used throughout the piece. Using a variety ... . The second stanza describes the entrancing effect that Cory had on the townspeople. Even though Cory was wealthy and educated, unlike the narrator, he was apparently well-liked and respected by the common folk. The speaker goes on to say that, "he fluttered pulses when he said,/'Good-morning" (7-8), indicating that they were mesmerized at his very presence. This is also ... ...

• Word Count: 809
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

"The Wager" by Blaise Pascal Pascal brings the readers to his level, or tries to explain his thought process. First he establishes two human constants, time and age. However when God and infinity ... . You have a fifty fifty chance that a life of compromises will pay off after death. If faith and the lifestyle it creates is all it takes to reap the benefits promised by God, then why not go ahead and give him your faith? Wager your life for God because in the end nothing else matters. If God does not exist, you will ... to not be distracted. Living a Christian life, one of love and passion, w...

• Word Count: 396
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... his points. Instead, simple characters are used to make Wilder's points clear and concrete. There is no defined plot, which also means the action has no expectation, suspense, or anticipation. By using this structural technique, Wilder relies on and refers to the reader's past experiences and ability to relate to the situations mentioned in the play. He creates scenes that are ... universally understood by any person in any town. This approach gives the play an overall positive tone because a person enjoys reading a piece of literature that can be related to his or her own ... , grievin...

• Word Count: 527
• Approx Pages: 2

... is an issue which is more important in society today than ever before as medical advances cause implications for many people. Just how far embryo research could ever be supported by religious or moral teachings is a matter of significant importance in the debate. A question often raised to examine the morality of embryo research is the issue of when a human becomes a human ... used as a means to preserve the sanctity of life and religious teachings enforce the value of life. As human beings we are morally obliged to help those who suffer and by testing on embryos, which perhaps wouldn't...

• Word Count: 870
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Grendel by John Gardner is a book that explores the essence of being a human. He finds the raw emotion that is hidden within every individual and explores the feelings that exist because of ... is a result of his environment, which unfortunately was a strongly negative influence. The humans on the other hand, have a great grasp of what society expects of them and does not abide by the set standards. Within this book the real monsters are humans and not Grendel. From the beginning of the book, Gardner causes the reader to identify with the human qualities ... for people in order to prevent ...

• Word Count: 807
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School