American Dream comparison

After reading A Raisin in the Sun and The Great Gatsby, The two books are from complete opposite perspectives, and I came to the conclusion that we read them in the wrong order. This sounds kind of silly, but the way that the American Dream is presented in both caused me to to come this conclusion. A Raisin in the Sun should’ve been read first to get an idea of how it is difficult to achieve the American Dream when one is poor. Once we had that in our heads, we should’ve read Gatsby to show that being rich and also having achieved the American Dream can be just as bad, if not worse, than being in poverty.

A Raisin in the Sun follows working-class family who has just come into an extra sum of money left over in the father’s will. The American Dream is a major theme of the book, but the family hasn’t achieved it. The lack of the dream is more evident. Walter tries to reach his dream by using the money to invest in a liquor store, but they get duped and the money is stolen. The whole play focuses on the hardships of being poor, and how difficult it is to obtain the American Dream from nothing. They still end up with a new house, but they altogether don’t increase in happiness very much. We should have read this one first; we would’ve gone into The Great Gatsby already seeing what it is to be poor, and starting a new book to see what is to be wealth.

The Great Gatsby focuses on the upper class lifestyle, and the ritzy luxury that it entails. On the outside, being rich seems awesome, but Nick describes a lot of it as phony. While people are having a good time in Gatsby, a lot of it is portrayed as false happiness, and an obligation to be elegant just because of one’s social class (Daisy’s fake laughter comes to mind). In addition to that, a lot of pretty bad stuff happens- Tom and Daisy cheat on each other, there’s some sketchy insider trading business, and three people get killed. That’s even worse than the events in Raisin in the Sun.

I think it would’ve been really interesting to read Raisin in the Sun first, to get an idea of the hardships of being poor. We probably would’ve all had the opinion that living in conditions such as those and also achieving the American Dream would be very difficult, and rich people have it easy. Then, when we read The Great Gatsby, we would be expecting something a little less dark and more to do with those who have achieved the American Dream already. It couldn’t be as bad as poverty, right? WRONG. We would’ve seen that those particular wealthy people’s lives all kind of suck. They’re also pretty bad people.

A Raisin in the Sun and The Great Gatsby both portray the American Dream from different perspectives; from those who are poor and can’t achieve it, and from those who are rich and have already achieved it. The way that the books are written make it seem as if neither option is a very good thing. That isn’t to say that one can’t be poor and be happy or be rich and be happy, but from these viewpoints, that’s pretty much what it’s saying.

Word Count: 566

American dream analysis

Community Inquiry Analysis

    While doing this project, I saw that signs of the American Dream is ubiquitous in my neighborhood. To me, the American Dream is about the freedom to pursue what an individual wants to do in his or her life. For this reason, I focused on small businesses. After interviewing my subjects, I decided that with such a small selection of viewpoints, it is very difficult to determine whether or not the American Dream is present.
All of my subjects had different stories of how they came into their occupations, and all had varying views of their jobs. For example, Joey, the barber, wanted to become a hair stylist and now owns his own barbershop. On the other side of the spectrum, Augustine, the owner of the jewelry and electronics exchange, is young and is pursuing a career as a freelance graphic designer while running the store to keep afloat. With this perspective, I broadened my search into simply whether or not small businesses exist within my neighborhood. The answer is YES; there’s practically only small businesses, aside from the usual walgreens or gas station. In conclusion, the American Dream is definitely present within my community, although some people haven’t achieved it yet.

Community Investigation Proposal

For my community investigation, I will be focusing on West Walker. West Walker is the triangle made by Irving Park, Pulaski, and Elston. I will talk to two local business employees, and someone from my family (probably a parent). The businesses I am thinking about visiting are Two-Way Grill, Chicago Grill, Joey'z Hair Cutz, and the Jewelery and Electronics Exchange

American Dream article

Steve Hogan, the mayor of Aurora (the city in which the Dark Knight Rises shooting took place), recently tried to ban violent video games. If that doesn’t work, he at least wants to implement a tax on the sales of violent video games. The American Dream is largely tied to the Constitution; free speech is the First Amendment, and everyone can agree that it is one of the most important ones. Video game violence is fully protected under the First Amendment, so banning them would be considered unconstitutional. Some may also argue that the right to own a gun is the American Dream. I don’t really agree, but it’s in the constitution, so banning guns would also be unconstitutional. However, when the Constitution was written, there weren’t mass shootings with AK-47s in movie theaters. It seems kind of ridiculous to me that violent video games are considered more of a factor in shootings such as Sandy Hook and the one in Aurora than the ability to own an actual assault weapon. Hogan supports the right to own a gun (in moderation), which isn’t that bad; it’s a problem if he thinks that violent video games are worse. I love video games, and if they were banned I would be pretty peeved.

Word Count: 211

Donnie Darko Review

Donnie Darko is one of the strangest, most confusing movies of all time. The movie is about a teenager named Donnie Darko (hence the name), a seemingly-paranoid-schizophrenic living in a small town. At the beginning of the movie, Donnie is lured out of his room and out to the yard by a demonic voice. It turns out to be a six-foot-tall bunny rabbit, who we later find out is named Frank. Frank tells Donnie that the world will end in 30 days. At that moment, a jet engine falls on Donnie’s room. Throughout the movie Frank is portrayed as a mysterious ghostly being, and only Donnie can see him. He shows up at random intervals throughout the movie with cryptic messages; at one point, Donnie asks him, “Why do you wear that stupid bunny costume?” to which frank responds, “Why do you wear that stupid human costume?” He then takes off his mask, and it is a normal man with a bloody hole where his right eye should be. The rest of the movie involves a crazy health teacher, a self-help guru for teens (who turns out to have a “kiddie porn dungeon” in his house and is arrested for it, and Grandma Death, an elderly former author who does nothing but walk back and forth from her house to check the mailbox, which is always empty.(SPOILER ALERT) I won’t spoil too much, but at the end of the movie, Donnie’s girlfriend gets run over by a car. The driver turns out to be Frank, but he has no wound and his costume is for halloween; Donnie then shoots him in the eye. When Donnie goes to bed that night, a jet engine falls on his room, killing him. Grandma Death wrote about time travel, and the themes of the movie revolve heavily around alternate universes and time travel. However, it never actually says anything about them at all. I give it 5/5 stars, for totally blowing my mind.
Word Count: 331

story questions

New York

White begins by defining New York by what it isn't to distinguish it from other big, fancy cities that many view as romantic or amazing.  Teh skyline rises above everything and contributes to the city's beauty, but trash lines the streets and a complex sewer system runs below.  There is a lot of overcrowding, but there are many different stores and other destination options to get away from the density. These places are all situated in different neghborhoods, which each contain their own small economies.  This is similar to my neighborhood; there's a grocery store, restaurants, an electronics store, a barber, and many others within walking distance from my house.

Thurber

Thurber finds that many of his classes, such as swimming and botany, are not necessary for his goals and education needs.  His incompetence in these courses result in general bitterness from his instructors. In botany, for example, his poor eyesight prevents him from seeing through a microscope, which infuriates the professor.  In Thruber's opinion, the negative attitudes of his professors shed a bad light on his view of college.

Play Response

The Crucible reminds me of Inherit the Wind. A majority of each play takes place in court, and they revolve around religious issues. Inherit the Wind is about a teacher who teaches the theory of evolution to his class in a town where it’s illegal to teach anything other than creationism; the court case in the crucible is even more ridiculous, but it makes sense in the time period. The Crucible has a much darker ending than Inherit the Wind, although both conclude with death. Inherit the wind involves Matthew Brady, the opposing lawyer, dying from a heart attack (most likely caused by shame for losing); it’s a slightly comedic conclusion, as opposed to The Crucible which is dramatic and solemn.

I enjoyed the play, but none of the characters themselves are very likeable; they all say something in the play that shows them in a bad light at least once. Abigail is the main culprit, and she is exceptionally hateable. Everything she says or does is a direct contradiction to her previous stance on the subject, mainly her statement about not having her name slandered in the town. She then proceeds to do just that to everyone that she can. All the trouble she goes to just to put blame on others also makes her even more annoying. I suppose many people in that situation would do the same, but someone who would shove a needle into their own stomach to say that someone else is a witch is crazy in my eyes.

word count: 254