Human Nature in Bartholomae and Petroskys Our Time, Theft, and Music of the Swamp :: Petrosky Our Time Essays Theft Essays

Human Nature in Bartholomae and Petrosky's Our Time, Theft, and Music of the Swamp Why should college students read the stories that are assigned in English courses? Other than to satisfy the professor, what is the purpose of reading these difficult writings of people we don't know or care about? Many of these students find themselves asking, "What is this writer talking about?" Confused, some quickly give up trying to understand the story and make reading something just to get through, diminishing both their understanding and their grade. Knowing what these writers are trying to explain makes their stories much easier to read. Throughout history, we humans have tried to understand why we do the things we do. To aid in our understanding, many storytellers throughout literary history have written fictional and non-fictional stories about human nature to help others, as well as themselves understand. Human nature is what the writers of Our Time, Theft, and Music of the Swamp, three excerpts from the anthology Ways of Reading edited by David Bartholomae and Ant hony Petrosky, often read in English courses, are trying to explore. My personal story, Chinese Food Can Save Your Life, written for my English composition course is also an example of this exploration. The human nature in these stories is to blame other people, places, or situations for failures and general unhappiness. Most readers can probably relate to this since at one point or another, they have thought that, if they just had some extra money, a better job, a different lover, a new home, or a better childhood, they could be happier. To assign the blame to other people and things is easier than to point the finger at ourselves. Although a few things individuals are not responsible for do exist, such as ethnicity and hereditary characteristics, most of the things good or bad that happen to us are a result of choices we have made. In these stories, this human compulsion to obsess for what we (supposedly) don't have destroys any possibility of obtaining the particular possession. In Theft a chapter from Joyce Carol Oates' novel Marya: A Life, the main character Marya blames dependency for her unhappiness. Early in Marya's life she decided that dependence on other people and involvement in relationships resulted in her limited freedom.

Hca/210 Final Project Wk 9

My Proposal for a New Health Care System Alyssa Zacharias HCA/210 March 28, 2010 Joan Lewis {pcut:paragraph_to_cut} A vision for a new health care system would be guaranteed affordable health care to all Americans. Our medical care is good, but the system which the care is financed is extremely inefficient, unfair, and extremely bad. Americans remain uninsured, due to the high cost of health care coverage, not just to the family finances, but to corporate American’s bottom line as well. The United States spends much more share of its economy on health care than any other nation, and yet has failed Americans with the one thing that health insurance is suppose to provide: health security. To avoid recurring dismissal of previous campaigns, this new health care system will provide a successful agenda taken seriously the political constraints, and organizational realities that have hamstrung reform efforts in the past. This system will build on the most popular elements of the present structure; (Medicare and employment-based health insurance) making changes that are self-reinforced, straightforward, and guaranteed health security. ( Hacker, S. Jacob, January 11, 2007) My new health care system will expand coverage, create better incentives for quality and efficiency, and link health insurance to individuals, rather than to their place of employment. It will be guided with personal responsibility for one’s own health as well as being ensured the health and welfare of all our citizens. It would make health insurance mandatory for all U. S. citizens, offering subsidies to help defray the cost of premiums. Our American citizens would benefit the most from this new health care system. A failure to act rising health care costs will jeopardize our public’s health and undercut out international competitiveness. A failure to make affordable health changes available to our Americans who are currently uninsured is morally indefensible. If we use this new health care system, we will be lowering the health care costs and the premium costs of medication. This will suit the needs of all American citizens, with low income or no income that have little or no health coverage at all. (Nichols, Len, July 2007) My new health care system would not have any existing populations with disadvantages, there would be an affordable plan for all American citizens, and this new system would leave no individual uninsured. Each American citizen will have coverage for their medical and medication needs, with affordable premium plans to suit their budgets. This new proposal would solve current challenges such as; 1) access to health care- the first major challenge, people being uninsured are less likely to receive appropriate care, for such things as chronic illnesses, and are more likely to die from diseases. 2) cost- the evidence suggests that the cost of health care in the United States is greater than necessary to allow us to achieve the levels of health and longevity we now enjoy. Insurance companies and the government play such prominent roles in financial health care, patients and doctors have less incentive to consider the extra costs of optional tests or treatments. Taking on this fist challenge we will take in consideration that the uninsured are not all alike; they include people, who have low income, people who are not poor but have costly health conditions, those employed but don’t get offered an group health insurance. Taking on the second challenge, could be the challenge hard to overcome. Increasing access or improving quality, may increase rather than reduce total cost. Patients, doctors, and hospitals must be given incentives for choosing cost-effective approaches. The best way to reduce the financial burdens in our health care system is to deliver cost-effective health care throughout the entire system. Today with the diversity of people, companies can’t create just one benefits program that meets everyone’s needs. The employer decides how much money it will allot per employee for the year for benefits; once that figure is assigned the employees can research and compare the costs of various health insurance options. (Bernanke, S. Ben, June 16, 2008) In conclusion this new health care system would provide affordable and reliable health care for every American. This would also provide the much needed coverage for those who need it the most. Having health coverage for every American would also cut down on the amount of people who wait to see a doctor until they are too ill, who then have to go into the emergency room, which then costs the health care system and government more money. (Bernanke, S. Ben, June 16, 2008) http://www. federalreserve. gov/newsevents/speech/bernanke20080616a. htm (Hacker, S. Jacob, January 11, 2007) http://sharedprosperity. org/bp180. html (Nichols, Len, July 2007) http://www. newamericannet/publications/policy/sustainable_health_system_all_americans

Of Mice And Men The Era Of The Great Depression

Through the movement of history gender roles of Men and Women have been extremely varied. From the standards, expectations, to the work or home place there was a difference. Women were looked at as less than a men , the intellectual individual. Being a male was the greatest things they could be and their masculinity was their greatest pride. In the 1930Â’s the era of the Great Depression took presence. The manÂ’s role in the depression was much more refined in this era. Most views of a man in the 1930 s were of a strong, hard working man who supplied the needs of his family. While the men were at work, women mostly stayed home to take care of the children according to To Kill a Mockingbird research hub. In the novel Of Mice and Men we can see how an unlikely pair of two men make their journey during the era of the Great Depression trying to make a stake to own their own land, but unfortunate events take place. As the novel takes action we can see how men exhibiting their mas culinity, how they demonstrate their masculinity, and how women are irrelevant, and only used for pleasure. Masculinity is used as a roles you have to play right. From Curley’’s history to being a boxer he still was not respected but that what drove him to try to make himself more respectable. His action didn t quite often work and did the opposite, he was the laughing stock to the man in the ranch. As the novel develops it is present how many of the men try to display their masculinity throughoutShow MoreRelated Truths Exposed in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men Essay1045 Words   |  5 Pagesin Of Mice and Men  Ã‚        Ã‚   John Steinbecks timeless novel Of Mice and Men is a somewhat controversial story of the hardships of life. To illustrate these hardships, Steinbeck takes the reader back to an era of bankruptcies, migrant workers, and drifters. Today, this time, the 1930s, is branded the Great Depression. The quest of George and Lennie, two migrant workers, is an example of the dilemma of thousands of homeless and unemployed men in America during the Great Depression era (Ito 39)Read MoreKill A Mockingbird And Of Mice And Men978 Words   |  4 Pagessomething that is hurt by some unpleasant occurrence.The books To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men both depict several instances where people are victims. Both of these books tell a story in which the characters live through these tough conditions every day, from having no money to being victims of racial discrimination. To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men convey considerable understanding of an unstable era in American history thro ugh common events and lifestyles of people that lived throughRead MoreThe Adventures Of Kill A Mockingbird And Of Mice And Men1004 Words   |  5 PagesAmerican History Represented in Stories The books To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men were written during the Great Depression. Both of these books tell a story in which the characters are living through these tough conditions every day, from having no money to being racially discriminated. To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men convey considerable understanding of a turbulent era in American history. There was an event in To Kill a Mockingbird that showed discrimination for a breed ofRead MoreOf Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck842 Words   |  4 Pages During the Great Depression, it was not uncommon to become morosely secluded while working. Men would go far away from their families in search of any jobs they could get, with only themselves to confide in; colleagues only filling in the void of friends and family partially. Naturally, John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, written during this period, would reflect this fact as a major aspect of the story. Loneliness would become the sinew of Of Mice and Men, manifested in some of the story’sRead MoreAnalysis Of The Great Gatsby And Of Mice And Men850 Words   |  4 Pagessimple: they all have someone looking out for them. The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men are two stories set in the early 1900’s. However, they portray 2 diverse perspectives of the lives of those in that era. Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby, tells about the lavish, extravagant lives of the upper class and how their possessions overtook them. Steinbeck, the author of Of Mice and Men, chronicles the story of 2 impoverished young men and their longing for true friendship. Fitzgerald and SteinbeckRead MoreInfluence Of Writer s Life And Times1416 Words   |  6 Pagesrose to an all-time high, and inflation made it nearly impossible for the common man to afford basic luxuries. It was in this era that John Steinbeck wrote a short story based off of migrant laborers set in his hometown of Salinas. The Great Depression of the 1930s, a decade of hardship and destitution, greatly influenced John Steinbeck and his dismal novella, Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck, though raised in a fairly successful family in Salinas, California, knew what it felt like to scrounge for moneyRead MoreJohn Steinbeck s Of Mice And Men864 Words   |  4 PagesLivan Diaz Ms.Snyder Ms. Kovacs English 11 17 April 2015 Predatory Nature â€Å" Our generation has no Great war, no Great Depression. Our war is spiritual. our depression is our lives.† (Chuck Palahniuk). In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck suggest that the pursuit of happiness demon straight the inevitable failure of the American Dream. The migrant workers get oppress through physiological means. The migratory workers and lot of lowers class people have predatory nature against each other. TheyRead MoreOf Mice and Men and the Great Depression1661 Words   |  7 PagesThe 1930s in American history was an interesting period that merges strife with everlasting hope. John Steinbecks literature takes a snapshot of this time with realistic circumstances appropriate for the time. Of Mice and Men reflects the Great Depression Era by presenting the storyline in the agricultural setting of 1930s California, describing the hardships of migrant field workers, and mentioning the dreams and goals of various characters. The United States felt the reverberating effects ofRead MoreThe Ruined Dreams Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck1196 Words   |  5 PagesThe Ruined Dreams in Of Mice and Men Many people in today’s society believe that the perfect American dream is comprised of a house on a tree lined street and 2.5 children. People during the Great Depression era had similar dreams, however most of them never came true. The novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is about two vagrants named George and Lennie, based in the 1930’s. The boys travel from town to town in search for work and ultimately, circumstances lead to Lennie’s death. The charactersRead MoreOf Mice and Men by John Steinbeck1358 Words   |  6 Pagesto stress the fact that there are and will be difficulties in life. John Steinbeck, in his novella Of Mice and Men, does not fall short of the same views. It takes place in the year 1937, a period associated with the Great Depression, and illustrates the hardships of the time, and more so those that laborers such as George and Lennie experience. Life proves to be full of disappointments for both men who are victims of harsh circumstan ces in more ways than one. The two have a dream to own a farm of