1,478 words

Holden Caulfield's evolution from cynicism to compromise in adulthood

Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. Specifically it will portray main character Holden Caulfield in 2009. "Catcher in the Rye" is a coming of age story about a young man on a quest to find himself.

~8 min read

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1,654 words

Conformity and resistance in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

"In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne portrays the seventeenth-century Puritan settlers of New England as seeking liberation from religious persecution in Europe only in order to establish their own rigorous moral and religious strictures in the New World.

~9 min read

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1,003 words

The rise of secular music in the Renaissance era

Humanism and 16th century music 'Humanism' is the term used to describe the philosophy that came to dominate Western culture in the 16th century. Humanism was a reaction to the single-minded focus on faith that characterized most of the intellectual life of the medieval era.

~6 min read

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2,117 words

Switzerland's economy, history, and international role

In order to portray a more complex image of Switzerland's economic situation, it is important to take into consideration the following data: GDP - $318.1 billion; GDP real growth rate -- 1.8% in 2008 compared to 3.6% in 2007 and 2006; GDP per capita - $42,000; GDP composition by sector --…

~11 min read

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1,049 words

Materialism and marital deterioration in Danny DeVito's War of the Roses

In the 1989 film by director Danny DeVito (1989), War of the Roses, we see the deterioration of affection between a man and woman who become lost to one another through alienation of affection in lieu of love for "things." In other words, the couple, Oliver (Michael Douglas) and Barbara Rose…

~6 min read

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2,289 words

Globalization's impact on social responsibility and economic development

Globalization expands and accelerates the exchange of ideas and commodities over vast distances…[and] often appears to be a force of nature, a phenomenon without bounds or alternatives. But peoples' movements have shown that it is neither unalterable or inevitable."

~12 min read

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1,603 words

Love, reason, and folly in A Midsummer Night's Dream

Typical of Shakpespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream is a complex work exploiting the human folly of love and lovers, emotion and responsibility.

~9 min read

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2,400 words

What we know and don't know about Shakespeare's life

While playwrights have come and gone over the centuries, perhaps the most famous has been William Shakespeare.

~12 min read

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2,064 words

Biology, culture, and the social construction of gender identity

When most of us think about differences between men and women (or boys and girls) we tend to think first about the biology involved.

~11 min read

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1,261 words

Personal reflection and the Philadelphia Eagles' signing of Michael Vick

I do not detect any resistance of issues in my free association. I directly approached several issues that affect me right now, including winter in Philadelphia, my college work as an education major, my interest in sports teams and my satisfaction that Michael Vick, backup quarterback to Donovan…

~7 min read

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