1,044 words

Ignorance and self-deception in Chesnutt's "The Passing of Grandison"

Charles W. Chesnutt was an American author and essayist who explored themes of race and society in his many works.

~6 min read

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924 words

The Crucible's exploration of social conformity, sexual repression, and religious rigidity

Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller with layers of meaning and subtext. Miller's mission was to draw a direct analogy between the social and political themes of the 20th century with those of pre-Revolutionary America.

~5 min read

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868 words

Racial beauty standards and self-hatred in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye

Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye is deals with the historical and psychological effects of defining beauty according to race. The Bluest Eye is essentially about how concepts of beauty are instilled from a very young age. It is about the life of the Breedlove family who resides in Lorain, Ohio.

~5 min read

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2,008 words

Dada: origins and anti-art principles of early twentieth-century nihilism

There is a long list of movements that were begun for the sake of art, for instance cubism and surrealism. These two movements experienced grave criticism as they touched nihillism. On the other hand, movements like Dada have been admired and honored by the majorities (MobileReference).

~11 min read

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1,709 words

Urban runoff and ocean pollution control strategies

Surface runoff is the water that makes its way to water collection sites, streams, rivers, lakes and ultimately to the oceans when the ground itself is beyond the capacity to hold it.

~9 min read

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625 words

Financial oligarchy and institutional decay in the United States

In "The Quiet Coup," Simon Johnson draws remarkable and shocking parallels between the United States and emerging market economies.

~4 min read

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3,428 words

Critical examination of ethical criticism in marketing and branding practices

There has been significant criticism leveled against the branding practices of companies, and most particularly those of multinationals, which have been raised.

~18 min read

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979 words

Religious hypocrisy and mob mentality in Hawthorne and Jackson

Literature is frequently employed as a device for social and political commentary. This is certainly true in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," and Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery." Both these stories darkly satirize the rigid social conventions that define small town American life.

~5 min read

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702 words

Unintended consequences of legislating morality in America

The desire to legislate morality is well established in American history. Our forefather's passed legislation to prohibit acts that they felt might induce people to behave in a socially unacceptable manner.

~4 min read

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758 words

Ted Gup's "The Secret Gift": Depression-era philanthropy and human dignity

In 1933, the town of Canton, Ohio had plunged into abject poverty. Its residents were suffering a kind of privation that makes the recent recession look mild. Children did not know the meaning of breakfast. People patched their shoes with old tires.

~4 min read

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