Essay on Equality and Inequality in Their Eyes Were Watching God

Equality and Inequality in Their Eyes Were Watching God In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author, Zora Neale Hurston, attempts to bring into light problems caused by prejudice. However, as she tries to show examples of inequality through various character relationships, examples of equality are revealed through other relationships. Janie, the novel's main character, encounters both inequality and equality through the treatment she receives during her three marriages.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Janie's first marriage is to Logan Killicks. Logan enters the marriage with a large portion of land. However, Janie enters the marriage with practically nothing. This ends up becoming a relationship based on inequality because Logan starts to use his ownership of the land to control Janie. He tries to make her feel that she owes him for part of the land, which he is sharing with her. What begins as a relationship in which Logan struggles to make Janie happy, turns into a relationship in which Janie is expected to make Logan happy. She is often reprimanded for not doing enough work or for not working in certain areas such as the fields.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is during that unhappy marriage that Janie meets Jody Stark, who comes along with dreams of power, wealth, and happiness. " De day you puts yo' hand in mine, Ah wouldn't let de sun go down on us single. Ah'm a man wid principles. You ain't never knowed what it was like to be treated lak a lady and Ah wants to be de one tuh show yuh." (Pg.28) Janie is promised that she will be treated quite well. So naturally, she leaves Logan and sets out for a new town with Jody. This relationship can be classified as equal in some aspects. However, for the most part, this too becomes a marriage based on inequali... ...g which is totally hers. Either her husband already owns it or he earns it. In the marriage to Tea Cake, Janie plays an active role in acquiring the money they use. It belongs as much to her as it does to him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Overall, these are the main forms of equality shared by Tea Cake and Janie. It is through these equalities, encouraged by Tea Cake, that they are enabled to live happy and fulfilling lives. Never once is Janie made to feel inadequate to Tea Cake, like she is to Logan and Joe. The happiness this has caused in their marriage is best summed up in a quote by Janie describing Tea Cake, " He kin take most any lil thing and make summertime out of it when times is dull. Then we lives offa dat happiness he made till some mo' happiness come along." (Pg.135) Works Cited: Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: HarperPerennial, 1998.

Arthur Birling and inspector goole Essay

      Priestley shows this in the section after the inspector has left â€Å"I remember what he said, how he looked, how he made me feel. Fire and blood and anguish. † This shows the affect that he had on certain characters was very big. In his closing speech the Inspector left with a warning; â€Å"And I tell that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish. † This could be referring to the first world war, where men from all different backgrounds, and classes, would have to stand together, as equals, and fight for their country. This contradicts Mr Birling’s prediction at the start of Act 1; â€Å"Just because the Kaiser makes a few speeches†¦ The Germans don’t want war. Nobody wants war,† This shows the difference between the philosophies of the Inspector and Birling, it also demonstrates Priestley’s idea that Mr Birling’s capitalist views are wrong, and how the Inspector, who is right about war, is probably right about everything else. Priestley uses this to show the benefits a socialist society would bring to the world. Priestley is suggesting that Birling’s â€Å"every man for himself† idea will end in tragedies like Eva. Whereas the Inspector’s Philosophy of shared responsibility would avoid such terrible events. The experience of the Inspector’s questions changes some characters, but has no effect on others. It starts off with all of the family sitting down feeling no guilt whatsoever, but after the Inspector comes Eric and Sheila realise the seriousness of what they have done, whilst the others, at this point believing it is a practical joke, feel no guilt. What Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald didn’t seem to understand is that even if it wasn’t the same girl (and no one was sure if it was or not) that they still did these cruel actions, and millions of other people do similar things without knowing the consequences, many young men and women will come to a similar end. Another point to the structure of the play is that the inspector only reveals small parts of Eva’s story to certain characters, never letting more than one person see the photograph at once. This gives the twist at the end more mystery. The Inspector affected different characters differently, depending on how much they understand what was going on in the world at that point in time. Mr Birling was affected slightly at the start, but being a weak character, and because of his wife’s superior class always follows her lead. Therefore after watching his wife’s interrogation, and seeing the way she refused to give in to the Inspector, and not feel guilty about what she has done, he follows suit. He and Mrs Birling were the least affected characters, in the end, possibly because they didn’t understand what life would have been like for Eva Smith without all the things they did to her. Gerald felt very guilty at first, because he had feelings for her, but then he went for a walk and didn’t feel as guilty anymore. This is probably because Gerald has grown up used to money, and inherited his parent’s capitalist views. Eric and Sheila were most affected by the Inspector, especially his final words, this is shown when Sheila repeats them â€Å"Fire and blood and aguish. † Sheila and Eric understand most about what goes on in the world, this is demonstrated early on † but what about war? † and when Sheila knows about Eric’s drinking problem. They understand more that this sort of thing can happen to people, and these small actions can lead people to commit suicide, this is probably why the inspector affected them more. After watching the play, the audience can interpret the character of Inspector Goole in many different ways. You could think of him just as a normal man, who, having heard of the Birling family’s selfish acts, wishes to help them change for the better. Or he could be a conscience to make them feel guilty about what they’ve done, and stop distancing themselves from the working class. He could also be the ghost of Eva Smith in another form to make them pay for what they’ve done. His surname also indicates this as it is a homonym of ghoul, another word for ghost. I conclude that Birling represents the views of capitalists and the inspector represents the views of socialists. Priestley makes Birling a weak, unintelligent, ignorant and Selfish character who rambles on a bit and desperate to fit in with the higher class that he follows his wife’s lead. Sybil seems to guide her husband, Telling him what he should or shouldn’t say, this is made evident when she disapproves with him saying: â€Å"Good dinner too – Sybil tell cook for me. † Mrs Birling would disapprove because saying what good food it was, wasn’t considered a polite thing because it is like fishing for compliments from Gerald. She doesn’t like him saying tell cook for me because it implies they talk to their servants, which wouldn’t have been done in those days. Birling also copies Gerald’s father’s (his social superior) choice of wine, to make Gerald think that he is marrying into a family with as much money as his. In contrast, Priestley makes the inspector appear as a person who speaks carefully, is intelligent, knows what is going on in the world, is very strong and comes across as a kinder, selfless person; Priestley uses this to make the audience think that a socialist society will provide a fairer, more just solution to the world’s problems.

Dont Text and Drive Essay

â€Å"Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55mph, that’s enough time to cover the length of a football field.† (2009, VTTI). While texting and driving has always been an issue since people were able to text on phones, it has not gained much media attention until recently. People may have sent an occasional text while driving ten years ago, but because the keyboard was harder to use, people were not doing it as often. Today’s phones allow you to text with one hand, making it easier to text while driving. With that being said there have been more accidents related to texting and driving. Those that have been injured or almost injured in an accident may no longer text and drive, but the vast majority of people that have yet to injure themselves or others while doing this will continue to text and drive because they feel safe. There are many ads, commercials and even organizations that are against texting and driving but the number of people that have actually stopped texting while driving is at a bare minimum. â€Å"60% of drivers use cell phones while driving.† (2011, Harris Poll). It seems as if all the advertisements have not paid off like planned. The reason behind so many ads is to cut back on texting and driving and I believe the media helps get the idea of texting and driving into people’s heads. People will participate in this dangerous action to prove that they will not get hurt. Others will see this and think it is okay for them to text and drive as well. It is like a deadly chain reaction. The ads need to capture the attention of the audience and show how serious texting and driving really is. I believe this ad has a very powerful meaning. Obviously the main message is do not text and drive but it does have a deeper meaning. The car is driving through a neighborhood and a ball is rolling across the street. It is a typical day in just about everyone’s neighborhood. The phone takes the place of a child running to get the ball. I believe the photographer uses a child rather than an adult because it shows how serious texting and driving is: how one message can take an innocent life. The text under the picture says â€Å"You can’t count on text message to reveal what’s happening on the road in front of you.† I see it as the phone, something so worthless is taking the place of a child, who means the world to someone. This ad is from BMW and the only reason I am pointing this out is because there is a reason BMW is advertising the â€Å"Don’t text and drive† slogan. The iDrive system that was in the cars was very intricate and forced drivers to scroll through menus just to do basic tasks. This gave BMW a bad reputation so to make up for the lost cause they made ads against texting and driving and also updated the iDrive system to make it straightforward. Texting and driving is a serious and fatal problem that many drivers take part in. I think it should be illegal because of how many accidents and deaths are related to texting and driving. Next time you read or reply to a message while driving, think about the danger you put yourself and everyone around you in. Works Cited â€Å"Facts.† Stop the texts. Stop the Wrecks.. NHTSA. Web. 23 Jan 2013.

Lithgow- A typical Australian town

Lithgow- A typical Australian town LITHGOWSettled in the Farmers Creek Valley on the Eastern side of the Great Dividing Range in Eastern Australia Farmers Creek drains into the Coxes river which in turn drains into Warragamba dam and the Nepean and the Hawkesbury system. Surrounding Lithgow is a sandstone plateau with other eroded valleys and sheer cliffs. Beneath the layers of sandstone are coal seams which have provided energy for the industrial base of Lithgow.Lithgow has a cool mountain temperature climate with temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius in Summer and 12 degrees Celsius in Winter. The annual rainfall is 863 millimetres falling on 123 days of the year. Occasionally in Lithgow it snows.Being surrounded by natural bushland and National parks Lithgow is plentiful in flora and fauna. Such fauna as wallabies, Kangaroos, wombats, a variety of native birds including the Gang Gang Cockatoos (a very rare species) and talk at the Bloodbath (the local pub) was of a bush yeti.English: Lithgow photo by Sardaka (talk) 08 :49, 26...Land use around Lithgow is mainly used for national parks and forest plantations. To the west of Lithgow on the western side of the great dividing range are rich in grazing lands for sheep and cattle. Lithgow is also predominantly a industrial town.Industries supported by Lithgow include railways, coal mining, electricity generation, light manufacturing, Tourism (zigzag railway and Jenolan caves) and correctional services. Also timber harvesting is a major industry in Lithgow.Lithgow's council population of 21,000 has been stable for a number of years but Lithgow's town is at a population of approximately 14 500 and is expected to grow as Sydney expands westward.Problems/ current issues"Y Bush fires"Y Employment in traditional industries (such as mining)"Y Keeping up tourism."Y Maintaining services such as health and education

Best Analysis Money and Materialism in The Great Gatsby

Best Analysis Money and Materialism in The Great Gatsby SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In The Great Gatsby, money is a huge motivator in the characters' relationships, motivations, and outcomes. Most of the characters reveal themselves to be highly materialistic, their motivations driven by their desire for money and things: Daisy marries and stays with Tom because of the lifestyle he can provide her, Myrtle has her affair with Tom due to the privileged world it grants her access to, and Gatsby even lusts after Daisy as if she is a prize to be won. After all, her voice is "full of money- that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. . . . High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl. . . ." (7.106). So how exactly does materialism reveal itself as a theme, how can it help us analyze the characters, and what are some common assignments surrounding this theme? We will dig into all things money here in this guide. Roadmap Money and materialism in the plotKey quotes about money/materialismAnalyzing characters via money/materialismCommon assignments and analysis of money/materialism in Gatsby Quick Note on Our Citations Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text. Money and Materialism in The Great Gatsby In the opening pages, Nick establishes himself as someone who has had many advantages in life- a wealthy family and an Ivy League education to name just two. Despite not being as wealthy as Tom and Daisy, his second cousin, they see him as enough of a peer to invite him to their home in Chapter 1. Nick's connection to Daisy in turn makes him attractive to Gatsby. If Nick were just a middle-class everyman, the story could not play out in the same way. Tom and Daisy's movements are also supported by their money. At the beginning of the novel they move to fashionable East Egg, after moving around between "wherever people played polo and were rich together," and are able to very quickly pick up and leave at the end of the book after the murders, thanks to the protection their money provides (1.17). Daisy, for her part, only begins her affair with Gatsby after a very detailed display of his wealth (via the mansion tour). She even breaks down in tears after Gatsby shows off his ridiculously expensive set of colored shirts, crying that she's "never seen such beautiful shirts" before (5.8). Gatsby's notoriety comes from, first and foremost, his enormous wealth, wealth he has gathered to win over Daisy. Gatsby was born to poor farmer parents in North Dakota, but at 17, determined to become rich, struck out with the wealthy Dan Cody and never looked back (6.5-15). Even though he wasn't able to inherit any part of Cody's fortune, he used what he learned of wealthy society to first charm Daisy before shipping out to WWI. (In a uniform she had no idea he was poor, especially given his sophisticated manners). Then, after returning home and realizing Daisy was married and gone, he set out to earn enough money to win Daisy over, turning to crime via a partnership with Meyer Wolfshiem to quickly amass wealth (9.83-7). Meanwhile, Tom's mistress Myrtle, a car mechanic's wife, puts on airs and tries to pass as rich through her affair with Tom, but her involvement with the Buchanans gets her killed. George Wilson, in contrast, is constrained by his lack of wealth. He tells Tom Buchanan after finding out about Myrtle's affair that he plans to move her West, but he "[needs] money pretty bad" in order to make the move (7.146). Tragically, Myrtle is hit and killed that evening by Daisy. If George Wilson had had the means, he likely would have already left New York with Myrtle in tow, saving both of their lives. Hardly anyone shows up to Gatsby's funeral since they were only attracted by his wealth and the parties, not the man himself. This is encapsulated in a phone call Nick describes, to a man who used to come to Gatsby's parties: "one gentleman to whom I telephoned implied that he had got what he deserved. However, that was my fault, for he was one of those who used to sneer most bitterly at Gatsby on the courage of Gatsby's liquor and I should have known better than to call him" (9.69). In short, money both drives the plot and explains many of the characters' motivations and limitations. Want to get better grades and test scores? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. Key Quotes About Money Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,I must have you!" - THOMAS PARKE D'INVILLIERS The epigraph of the novel immediately marks money and materialism as a key theme of the book- the listener is implored to "wear the gold hat" as a way to impress his lover. In other words, wealth is presented as the key to love- such an important key that the word "gold" is repeated twice. It's not enough to "bounce high" for someone, to win them over with your charm. You need wealth, the more the better, to win over the object of your desire. "They had spent a year in France, for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together." (1.17) Our introduction to Tom and Daisy immediately describes them as rich, bored, and privileged. Tom's restlessness is likely one motivator for his affairs, while Daisy is weighed down by the knowledge of those affairs. This combination of restlessness and resentment puts them on the path to the tragedy at the end of the book. "There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his two motor-boats slit the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam. On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city, between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And on Mondays eight servants including an extra gardener toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before†¦." (3.1-3.6) The description of Gatsby's parties at the beginning of Chapter 3 is long and incredibly detailed, and thus it highlights the extraordinary extent of Gatsby's wealth and materialism. In contrast to Tom and Daisy's expensive but not overly gaudy mansion, and the small dinner party Nick attends there in Chapter 1, everything about Gatsby's new wealth is over-the-top and showy, from the crates of oranges brought in and juiced one-by-one by a butler to the full orchestra. Everyone who comes to the parties is attracted by Gatsby's money and wealth, making the culture of money-worship a society-wide trend in the novel, not just something our main characters fall victim to. After all, "People were not invited- they went there" (3.7). No one comes due to close personal friendship with Jay. Everyone is there for the spectacle alone. He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel which lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in many-colored disarray. While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher- shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green and lavender and faint orange with monograms of Indian blue. Suddenly with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily. "They're such beautiful shirts," she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. "It makes me sad because I've never seen such- such beautiful shirts before." (5.7-8) Gatsby, like a peacock showing off its many-colored tail, flaunts his wealth to Daisy by showing off his many-colored shirts. And, fascinatingly, this is the first moment of the day Daisy fully breaks down emotionally- not when she first sees Gatsby, not after their first long conversation, not even at the initial sight of the mansion- but at this extremely conspicuous display of wealth. This speaks to her materialism and how, in her world, a certain amount of wealth is a barrier to entry for a relationship (friendship or more). "She's got an indiscreet voice," I remarked. "It's full of- - " I hesitated. "Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly. That was it. I'd never understood before. It was full of money- that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. . . . High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl. . . . (7.103-106) Daisy herself is explicitly connected with money here, which allows the reader to see Gatsby's desire for her as desire for wealth, money, and status more generally. So while Daisy is materialistic and is drawn to Gatsby again due to his newly-acquired wealth, we see Gatsby is drawn to her as well due to the money and status she represents. I couldn't forgive him or like him but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made. . . . (9.146) Here, in the aftermath of the novel's carnage, Nick observes that while Myrtle, George, and Gatsby have all died, Tom and Daisy are not punished at all for their recklessness, they can simply retreat "back into their money or their vast carelessness†¦ and let other people clean up the mess." So money here is more than just status- it's a shield against responsibility, which allows Tom and Daisy to behave recklessly while other characters suffer and die in pursuit of their dreams. Money: the ultimate shrug-off. Analyzing Characters Through Materialism We touched on this a bit with the quotes, but all of the characters can be analyzed from the point of view of their wealth and/or how materialistic they are. This analysis can enrich an essay about old money versus new money, the American dream, or even a more straightforward character analysis, or a comparison of two different characters. Mining the text for a character's attitude toward money can be a very helpful way to understand their motivations in the world of 1920s New York. If you analyze a character through this theme, make sure to explain: #1: Their attitude towards money. #2: How money/materialism drives their choices in the novel. #3: How their final outcome is shaped by their wealth status and what that says about their place in the world. Character Analysis Example As an example, let's look briefly at Myrtle. We get our best look at Myrtle in Chapter 2, when Tom takes Nick to see her in Queens and they end up going to the New York City apartment Tom keeps for Myrtle and hosting a small gathering (after Tom and Myrtle hook up, with Nick in the next room!). Myrtle is obsessed with shows of wealth, from her outfits, to insisting on a specific cab, to her apartment's decoration, complete with scenes of Versailles on the overly-large furniture: "The living room was crowded to the doors with a set of tapestried furniture entirely too large for it so that to move about was to stumble continually over scenes of ladies swinging in the gardens of Versailles" (2.51). She even adopts a different persona among her guests: "The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur. Her laughter, her gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment by moment and as she expanded the room grew smaller around her until she seemed to be revolving on a noisy, creaking pivot through the smoky air" (2.56). In Myrtle's eyes, money is an escape from life with her husband in the valley of ashes, something that brings status, and something that buys class. After all, Tom's money secures her fancy apartment and allows her to lord it over her guests and play at sophistication, even while Nick looks down his nose at her. Obviously there is physical chemistry driving her affair with Tom, but she seems to get as much (if not more) pleasure from the materials that come with the affair- the apartment, the clothes, the dog, the parties. So she keeps up this affair, despite how morally questionable it is and the risk it opens up for her- her materialism, in other words, is her primary motivator. However, despite her airs, she matters very little to the "old money" crowd, as cruelly evidenced first when Tom breaks her nose with a "short deft movement" (2.126), and later, when Daisy chooses to run her over rather than get into a car accident. Myrtle's character reveals how precarious social climbing is, how materialism is not actually a path to happiness/virtue. In this novel, actual mountain climbing is safer than social climbing. Common Assignments and Discussion Topics About Money and Materialism in The Great Gatsby Here are ways to think about frequently assigned topics on this the theme of money and materialism. Discuss Tom Daisy as people who "smash things and retreat into their money" As discussed above, money- and specifically having inherited money- not only guarantees a certain social class, it guarantees safety and privilege: Tom and Daisy can literally live by different rules than other, less-wealthy people. While Gatsby, Myrtle, and George all end up dead, Tom and Daisy get to skip town and avoid any consequences, despite their direct involvement. For this prompt, you can explore earlier examples of Tom's carelessness (breaking Myrtle's nose, his behavior in the hotel scene, letting Daisy and Gatsby drive back to Long Island after the fight in the hotel) as well as Daisy's (throwing a fit just before her wedding but going through with it, kissing Gatsby with her husband in the next room). Show how each instance reveals Tom or Daisy's carelessness, and how those instances thus foreshadow the bigger tragedy- Myrtle's death at Daisy's hands, followed by Tom's manipulation of George to kill Gatsby. You can also compare Tom and Daisy's actions and outcomes to other characters to help make your point- Myrtle and Gatsby both contribute to the conflict by participating in affairs with Tom and Daisy, but obviously, Myrtle and Gatsby don't get to "retreat into their money," they both end up dead. Clearly, having old money sets you far apart from everyone else in the world of the novel. Want to get better grades and test scores? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. What do Nick's comments about money reveal about his attitude towards wealth? This is an interesting prompt, since you have to comb through passages of Nick's narration to find his comments about money, and then consider what they could mean, given that he comes from money himself. To get you started, here is a sample of some of Nick's comments on money and the wealthy, though there are certainly more to be found: "Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction- Gatsby who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn." (1.4) "My own house was an eye-sore, but it was a small eye-sore, and it had been overlooked, so I had a view of the water, a partial view of my neighbor's lawn, and the consoling proximity of millionaires- all for eighty dollars a month. (1.14) "They had spent a year in France, for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together." (1.17) Nick's comments about money, especially in the first chapter, are mostly critical and cynical. First of all, he makes it clear that he has "an unaffected scorn" for the ultra-rich, and eyes both new money and old money critically. He sarcastically describes the "consoling proximity of millionaires" on West Egg and wryly observes Tom and Daisy's restless entitlement on East Egg. These comments might seem a bit odd, given that Nick admits to coming from money himself: "My family have been prominent, well-to-do people in this middle-western city for three generations" (1.5). However, while Nick is wealthy, he is nowhere near as wealthy as the Buchanans or Gatsby- he expresses surprise both that Tom is able to afford bringing ponies from Lake Forest ("It was hard to realize that a man in my own generation was wealthy enough to do that" (1.16), and that Gatsby was able to buy his own mansion ("But young men didn't- at least in my provincial inexperience I believed they didn't- drift coolly out of nowhere and buy a palace on Long Island Sound" (3.88)), despite the fact they are all about 30 years old. In other words, while he opens the book with his father's advice to remember "all the advantages [he's] had," Nick seems to have a chip on his shoulder about still not being in the highest tier of the wealthy class. While he can observe the social movements of the wealthy with razor precision, he always comes off as wry, detached, and perhaps even bitter. Perhaps this attitude was tempered at Yale, where he would have been surrounded by other ultra-wealthy peers, but in any case, Nick's cynical, sarcastic attitude seems to be a cover for jealousy and resentment for those even more wealthy than him. Why does Gatsby say Daisy's voice is "full of money"? What does it reveal about the characters' values? Gatsby's comment about Daisy's voice explicitly connects Daisy the character to the promise of wealth, old money, and even the American Dream. Furthermore, the rest of that quote explicitly describes Daisy as "High in a white palace, the King's daughter, the golden girl†¦" (7.106). This makes Daisy sound like the princess that the hero gets to marry at the end of a fairy tale- in other words, she's a high-value prize. Daisy representing money also suggests money is as alluring and desirable- or even more so- than Daisy herself. In fact, during Chapter 8 when we finally get a fuller recap of Daisy and Gatsby's early relationship, Nick notes that "It excited [Gatsby] too that many men had already loved Daisy- it increased her value in his eyes" (8.10). In other words, Gatsby loves Daisy's "value" as an in-demand product. But since Daisy is flighty and inconsistent, Gatsby's comment also suggests that wealth is similarly unstable. But that knowledge doesn't dampen his pursuit of wealth- if anything, it makes it even more desirable. And since Gatsby doesn't give up his dream, even into death, we can see how fervently he desires money and status. Connecting new/old money and materialism to the American dream In the world of The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is synonymous with money and status- not so much success, career (does anyone but Nick and George even have a real job?), happiness, or family. But even Gatsby, who makes an incredible amount of money in a short time, is not allowed access into the upper echelon of society, and loses everything in trying to climb that final, precarious rung of the ladder, as represented by Daisy. So the American Dream, which in the first half of the book seems attainable based on Gatsby's wealth and success, reveals itself to be a hollow goal. After all, if even wealth on the scale of Gatsby's can't buy you entry into America's highest social class, what can? What's the point of striving so hard if only heartbreak and death are waiting at the end of the road? This pessimism is also reflected in the fates of Myrtle and George, who are both trying to increase their wealth and status in America, but end up dead by the end of the novel. You can read more about the American Dream for details on The Great Gatsby's ultimately skeptical, cynical attitude towards this classic American ideal. Connecting money to the status of women Daisy and Jordan are both old money socialites, while Myrtle is a working class woman married to a mechanic. You can thus compare three very different women's experiences to explore how money- or a lack thereof- seems to change the possibilities in a woman's life in early 1920s America. Daisy maintains her "old money" status by marrying a very rich man, Tom Buchanan, and ultimately sticks with him despite her feelings for Gatsby. Daisy's decision illustrates how few choices many women had during that time- specifically, that marrying and having children was seen as the main role any woman, but especially a wealthy woman, should fulfill. And furthermore, Daisy's willingness to stay with Tom despite his affairs underscores another aspect of women's roles during the 1920s: that divorce was still very uncommon and controversial. Jordan temporarily flouts expectations by ""[running] around the country," (1.134) playing golf, and not being in a hurry to marry- a freedom that she is allowed because of her money, not in spite of it. Furthermore, she banks on her place as a wealthy woman to avoid any major scrutiny, despite her "incurable dishonesty": "Jordan Baker instinctively avoided clever shrewd men and now I saw that this was because she felt safer on a plane where any divergence from a code would be thought impossible. She was incurably dishonest. She wasn't able to endure being at a disadvantage, and given this unwillingness I suppose she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was very young" (3.160). Furthermore, by the end of the novel she claims to be engaged, meaning that like Daisy, she's ultimately chosen to live within the lines society has given her. (Even if she's not actually engaged, the fact she chooses to tell Nick that suggests she does see engagement as her end goal in life.) Myrtle feels trapped in her marriage, which pushes her into her affair with Tom Buchanan, an affair which grants her access to a world- New York City, wealth, parties- she might not otherwise have access to. However, jumping up beyond her roots, using Tom's money, is ultimately unsustainable- her husband finds out and threatens to move out west, and then of course she is killed by Daisy before they can make that move. Myrtle- both working class and a woman- is thus trapped between a rock (her gender) and a hard place (her lack of money), and perhaps for this reason receives the cruelest treatment of all. So all three women push the boundaries of their expected societal roles- Daisy's affair with Gatsby, Jordan's independent lifestyle, and Myrtle's affair with Tom- but ultimately either fall in line (Daisy, Jordan) or are killed for reaching too far (Myrtle). So Gatsby ultimately provides a pretty harsh, pessimistic view of women's roles in 1920s America. What's Next? In The Great Gatsby, money is central to the idea of the American Dream. Read more about how the American Dream is treated in The Great Gatsby and whether the novel is ultimately optimistic or pessimistic about the dream. Money (or the lack of it!) is also why the novel's symbols of the green light and the valley of ashes are so memorable and charged. Read more about those symbols for a fuller understanding of how money affects The Great Gatsby. Want the complete lowdown on Jay Gatsby's rags-to-riches story? Check out our guide to Jay Gatsby for the complete story. Thinking about indulging in a little materialism yourself al Gatsby? We've compiled a list of 15 must-have items for fans of The Great Gatbsy book and movie adaptations. Looking for other literary guides? Learn more about The Crucible, The Cask of Amontillado, and "Do not go gentle into that good night" with our expert analyses. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Why you sould keep a small book launch street team

Why you sould keep a small book launch street team "Keep a Small but Dedicated Street Team" - Interviewing Eliot Peper Eliot Peper is an author we've been following quite closely at Reedsy. Maybe it's because he started publishing around the same time we got started. Or maybe it's because we think alike in terms of publishing, marketing, building connections, etc.Last month, he released the last book in his "Uncommon Stock" trilogy: Exit Strategy. So we decided to interview him again to see what he had learned between his first book launch and his third one. Turns out, he's learned a lot, and is sharing a particular piece of knowledge with us: "small is beautiful"!Play the video  below to learn how Eliot was able to build a small but ultra-dedicated "street team" to launch his books (with a 70%+ conversion rate). As usual, for the lovers of the written word, we also provide a transcript of the key learnings from this interview! Today, Eliot’s third book is launching and I was one of the lucky people who got an advance copy - and it's awesome!  Eliot, why don’t you introduce yourself and talk about your trilogy?Sure - this book is called â€Å"Uncommon Stock: Exit  Strategy† from the the Uncommon series which is a tech start-up thriller which follows a college student who drops out to start a startup software company and ends up becoming embroiled in an international financial conspiracy along the way. So, people have compared it to John Grisham for tech in the sense that it's a thriller that takes place in the startup world.Yeah, I really empathize with the character and it’s an awesome book for all startup founders out there. I’d say it’s better to read that than a non-fiction book on e.g. fundraising or growing your startup. As to your book marketing, you have said that you really appreciate that your readership is small: it’s a niche. Why is that?This is the third book I’ve written and secretly, when you write a book, in the back of your head, you would love it if there was mainstream appeal. Once the creative side is done, you have to then put on a different hat: now this piece of art is becoming a product, how does it reach the marketplace and how do readers find it? When I started I tried pitching major news magazines to get coverage and doing things that took so much energy by didn’t really have much Return on Investment. But when you read blogs on how books become bestsellers, that seems like what we should be doing.For the second book, I approached it much differently. I went to Amazon reviews and left comments â€Å"Hey, I really like your review. As an Indie author this means a lot to me. If you’d like an advance copy of the next one, send me an email.† I was amazed! Over 70% of people responded and I was shocked!Now that I’m with book three, I’m thinking again. Fundamentally, Ià ¢â‚¬â„¢ve become much, much more interested in serving a few of my core readers and putting all my energy into that. That’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem. I realized this is the bit that mattered, in the 99% of hot air that I blew. With me, I sent out a mailing list to a small list of people I knew who could be interested in the book. As they hadn’t opted in for a mailing list, a lot of people unsubscribed, but I was left with a core group that I could focus on.Let’s get granular†¦ how are you doing it?Firstly I wrote the book! Then I asked 16 beta readers to give me feedback and 9 people who actually gave feedback. This was whilst I was doing editing with my actual editor. Once we had a copy with multiple revisions, design, formatting into all the format, I then built a list of advance review copy readers. These readers are different: I’m not expecting advanced editorial feedback, but the goal for them is that they are fans who are excited enou gh to read the book before it launches, leave an Amazon review, catch any minor errors and be the champions of the book.I reached out to 126 people, but, critically, I sent them a very short email. I didn’t just send them an advance copy right away, I asked if they would like to be included. My hope was, if people said yes, they would  have a much higher chance of actually leaving a review. It acted as a useful filter. This was about a month before launch. I also had a separate list of friends and influencers who had some history with the books before, and who might have a larger audience to share their enthusiasm with.Even on my Facebook post, I’ve learnt something: what I found was that for the first book, my post was an announcement, with links to Amazon. This time, because it’s my dog’s birthday, I took a picture of my dog, put the three books in front of her and took a few more funny pictures, making the post more personal. The reason why my approa ch has changed is because I realized that, for the first book, I was approaching the book from my perspective. â€Å"It would be great for me if people shared my book.† Or â€Å"It would be great for me if a journalist picked it up†. So essentially it was really selfish and comes across as self-promotional.Now I think: as a user of Facebook, what posts do I like best? Really putting your audience first, before thinking about yourself, is the best way to get perspective, even in the hailstorm of personal self-doubt that is a book launch.Yes, and if you’ve got a real connection with you readers, you feel more comfortable in sharing more personal things. Thanks for your time, and congrats on getting the Uncommon Stock trilogy out there! "Really putting your audience first is the best way to get perspective" @EliotPeper #bookmarketing @ReedsyHQ The entire "Uncommon Stock" trilogy is available on Amazon! Check it out here!  How big is your "street team"? Do you agree that keeping a small audience makes it easier for the author to promote his books? Leave us your thoughts, or any questions for Elliot, in the comments below!

Socrates Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Socrates - Assignment Example Upon making his defense against those accusing him, Socrates went forward to respond to the charges that were being leveled against him. To begin with, Meletus had indicated that Socrates was an evil doer in that he was found corrupting young people, did not believe in the state gods, and had introduced personal divinities. To defend himself, Socrates asked Meletus to offer himself in order to respond to some questions he wanted to ask to him. Socrates was particularly skillful in his questions, which resulted in Meletus not only contradicting himself but also making accusations that were totally meaningless. His statements meant that Socrates was the only person in Athens who was affecting the young people. At the same time, Socrates admitted that no one would deliberately make people worse and at the same time, live with them. From this point of view, it is difficult to say that Socrates was making or turning the people worse, or Socrates was doing so involuntarily. In either case, Socrates was not responsible for any crime; therefore, ought not to be punished. The Meletus opposition to Socrates was based somehow on grounds of religion because he simply did not confide his faith in the gods associated with the state. In fact, when interrogated about it, Meletus insisted that Socrates was an atheist. Of course, the charge was ridiculous, and Socrates made that clear by indicating that Meletus had disagreed with his earlier statement that Socrates had introduced new divinities and yet did not confide his faith in any supreme being (Plato 3-7). In reality, Socrates, whilst not accepting the widely accepted conceptions of religion, was a religious person. Socrates had a deep belief in the religious meaning of the world and life, along with a strong belief in God as a source of moral obligations. Socrates, for many generations, has been considered as a hero and