Tennessee Williams Essays (Examples)

Tennessee illiams' "Streetcar Named Desire" & social class theories of Karl Marx
This paper presents a detailed examination of Tennessee illiams' "Streetcar Named Desire. The writer of this paper holds the play up to be examined under the light of social and class theories as ascribed to by Karl Marx. There were two sources used to complete this paper.

Marxism in Art

Many times authors use their works o purposely display a social theory or message. In Tennessee illiams' A Streetcar Named Desire, the author appears to have stumbled across a perfect example of the class distinction that Karl Marx, the famous social theorist" wanted denounced with his Marxism theories.

This play is a perfect example of the theory Marx professed for several reasons. It is based in America, which is a capitalist country, it is about the working poor and it depicts a class difference within the same family.…

Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie," is a portrayal of the fragile psyches of its characters -- an arrangement of tiny, delicate glass figurines whose essence of life can be shattered very easily. This arrangement takes place in a cramped apartment in St. Louis, inhabited by Amanda Wingfield, her son Tom, and daughter Laura, the husband having deserted the family several years ago. Another character, perhaps the most stable, is Jim O'Connor, a former schoolmate of Tom and Laura.
The play is really a representation of Tom's memory as he admits at the beginning of the play; everything flows from his memories. Amanda vacillates between moments of manic activity and languid recollections of her past southern heritage. She boasts of all the gentlemen callers she has had, and the cotillions she graced. She continually questions her daughter about any dates she might have; and, "how many callers she will be seeing."…

Tennessee Williams
iography

Tennessee Williams was born as Thomas Lanier Williams on March 26, 1911, in Columbus, Mississippi. His parents were Cornelius Coffin, a shoe salesman, and Edwina Dakin Williams, the daughter of a minister. The playwright's home life was never peaceful. His parents' turbulent fights frightened him and his two siblings. After some years in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the young Tennessee's parents moved to St. Louis in 1918. It was here that he encountered his first publishing success in the form of a $5 prize for an essay entitled "Can a Good Wife e a Good Sport?" (Cash 2003). His "Vengeance of Nitocris" was published a year later in Weird Tales. Williams was profoundly influenced by an Ibsen play, "Ghosts," that he saw during 1929 after entering the University of Missouri. This was his influence to be a playwright. His father however forced him away from college to enter the…

Another theme that tends to occur in many of the main plays is that of the outsider or the marginalized, sensitive individual who feels an outcast in society. The central theme on which he based most of his plays is, "the negative impact that conventional society has upon the "sensitive nonconformist individual" (Haley, D.E). This theme can possibly be linked to Williams' homosexuality in a time when homosexuals were not accepted and discriminated against. This was also to lead to problems such as his alcoholism, which is often echoed in characters in his plays.

Williams had a relationship with Frank Merlo, his secretary until 1961, when Merlo died. After his death Williams entered a stage of deep depression. This was also exacerbated by critical reviews of his work and by the censure of his lifestyle by a conservative public.

A play that explores the theme of homosexuality in society and…

Tennessee Williams reflect his personal struggles and serve as vehicles for poignant social commentary. From "Glass Menagerie" to "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" to "A Streetcar Named Desire," Williams served up a set of masterpieces that delighted critics and audiences alike. His screenplays are among some of the most famous in American history, as big name film stars like Elisabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Kirk Douglas, and Paul Newman filled his leading roles. Plays like "A Streetcar Named Desire," for which Williams earned the Pulitzer Prize in 1948, unearthed unpleasant realities in American family and social life. Filled with irony, dark humor, and symbolism, "A Streetcar Named Desire" remains one of the most significant screenplays in American literary history.
Williams was born Thomas Lanier Williams in 1911, in Columbus Missouri. In 1939 began using the name Tennessee. His childhood was filled with turmoil and struggle, which prompted Williams to weave…

illiams and His ork
illiams used the theater as a way to vent his own heart -- as Lahr notes, the playwright produced works that allowed him "to be simple, direct and terrible" (Lahr xiv). Thus, illiams' plays were "an emotional autobiography" (Lahr xiv). Beginning with his first success, The Glass Menagerie, illiams showed that he would draw from his own life and experiences to put something dramatic on the stage to which people would respond. It was his way of talking to the world and opening up.

Some of the unique things we learn about illiams' life are the fact that the more he tried to open up and show his own heart on the stage, the more his real heart disappeared and became a "leftover" thing (Lahr 377). His writing became his real life in a sense, and his real life became a scrap -- a shell. illiams…

menagerie REVISED
Prince, don't ask me in a week / or in a year what place they are;

I can only give you this refrain: / here are the snows of yesteryear?

Francois Villon, c. 1461

"here are the snows of yesteryear?" asks Tennessee illiams in the opening screen of The Glass Menagerie (401), quoting a poem by Francis Villon. illiams explains in the production notes to this famous play that he has left in the manuscript a device omitted from the "acting version" of the play (illiams 395), a series of messages projected on screens, some verbal, some pictorial, that prompt and reflect the action on stage. illiams sums up the action in two lines before those notes as, preparation for a gentleman caller, and "the gentleman calls" (394). This summary is so understated as to suggest a possible joke, because The Glass Menagerie is such a rich a…

illiams works often focuses on destruction and violence but one play that seems to garner the most attention is the Glass Menagerie.
One character worth mentioning is Jim, whose simple and kind nature make him unique in the play. He is optimistic and full of hope and this has the greatest affect on Laura. ith her, illiams elevates him to become a positive influence to help her move beyond her extraordinary shyness. She needs this because the only other people she interacts with are her brother and mother, two people we would never consider to be positive influences. The short time he is with her, Jim helps Laura move away from her shyness. He encourages her to be more social and he tells her, "People are not so dreadful when you know them" (1013). He also says, "everybody has problems, not just you, but practically everybody has got some problems…

Glass Menagerie
Tennessee illiams's play The Glass Menagerie is about the three members of the ingfield family, Tom, Laura, and their mother Amanda. They live together and have done so since the loss of the ingfield patriarch. This family dynamic is very dysfunctional and the three serve to harm one another more than provide support as a family unit with the exception of Laura who tries to provide positivity in her home but is unable to do so because of the toxicity occurring between her family members. Tom and Laura are both unhappy young people who are unsatisfied in their lives largely because of the way in which they have been raised. Their mother Amanda is similarly dissatisfied but unlike the others she believes there is still a chance for the three of them to achieve social mobility and achieve the financial and sociological elevation that she believes they are…

She does not need to be smart, only pretty and popular, and she does not play a part in decision making or political thought. In effect, she is empty-headed and boy crazy, and that seems to epitomize how these authors see the women in their stories. They are not too bright, and must leave all the "important" decisions to men who can understand them. It is not a very flattering way to be portrayed.
In conclusion, these two women exemplify the attitudes about women in the South. They are "fragile" and emotional creatures who are to be pampered and humored. They must be kept unaware of "real" life because they are too delicate to deal with it effectively. Both of these women's personality problems come as a result of these archaic southern beliefs about women and their place in society. Amanda lives in the past unable to cope with family…

tragic characters in Tennessee Williams' Glass Menageries perhaps the most tragic is Amanda, for she has both expectations and little if any chance of seeing them fulfilled. She is afflicted with all the elements that Arthur Miller attributes to the hero of modern dramas, especially with regard to being at odds with her social environment. Her son Tom, though miserable, has expectations -- a future in the merchant marines and an opportunity to see the world, and he has the chance to fulfill those expectations. Laura her daughter on the other hand is absolutely lacking in expectations. Taking few chances besides the ones her mother puts upon her, she aspires for little, so whatever fall she may take won't be so bad. The world has dealt her a tough hand, but she has accepted this. For Laura the imaginary world of her glass menagerie is just fine.
Amanda is in…

Glass Menagerie by Tennessee illiams, Laura ingfield, a grown woman, kneels on the floor playing with glass figurines like a child. She envisions a dismal future for herself that includes total withdrawal from the outside world where bad things constantly happen and positive experiences are rare. The rest of Laura's family, who are kindred-spirits in hopelessness, share Laura's fatalistic view of life. "Unlike most of illiams's other works, which are charged with sensationalism and sex, this story holds the audience by the revelation of quiet and ordinary truths. This play, unique among illiams's dramas, combines poetic and unrealistic techniques with grim naturalism to achieve a gossamer effect of compassion, fragility, and frustration, typical of Tennessee illiams at his most sensitive and natural best." (Bloom, Tennessee illiams's the Glass Menagerie 41)
The Glass Menagerie is the story of the ingfield's a dysfunctional family that has surrendered to depression and given up…

Laura Wingfield, Tennessee Williams' Subsumed and Symbolic Self in the Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie, the famous play written by Tennessee Williams in 1944, is a story that centers on the life of 20th century Americans evolving in a dynamic environment where social changes have been taking place (Cash, 2004). These social changes involve the individual's assertion of himself/herself against the norms or mores imposed by the society. Issues like independence, the phenomenon of broken families, and individualism are likewise discussed through the character and point-of-view of Tom Wingfield, often identified as Williams' representation (or real character) in the said play.

Although Glass Menagerie centers its attention on Tom, another character, Laura Wingfield, Tom's sister, emerges as another powerful individual in the story. Far from being assertive and mobile like Tom in the play, Laura is identified as the anti-thesis of Tom, seeking comfort in isolation caused by a sense…

Sophocles, Shakespeare, And alt illiams
Many great writers -- including these three, Sophocles, Shakespeare, and Tennessee illiams -- use illusion in their narratives. This paper will present some instances and passages in which these writers employ illusion in their work.

Sophocles' and Illusion

Interestingly, author Joe Park Poe notes in his book (Heroism and Divine Justice in Sophocles' Philoctetes) that in the plays Antigone and Philoctetes, "The common quality…might be inadequately described as a lack of illusion" (Poe, 1974, p. 6). Instead of illusion as a device, Poe sees "pessimism" and "suffering" in those plays rather than attempts at illusion. The way Sophocles treats his heroes in these two plays is "…variously pathetic, ironic, brutally realistic and perhaps a dozen other adjectives" (Poe, p. 6).

Meanwhile author Mark Ringer disputes Poe's assertions in Ringer's book, Electra and the Empty Urn: Metatheater and Role Playing in Sophocles. According to Ringer, Sophocles'…

Laura is also extremely fearful and anxious about disappointing her mother. She says, "When you're disappointed, you get that awful suffering look on your face, like the picture of Jesus' mother in the museum! I couldn't face it" (Williams PAGE #). She wants to please her mother, but she cannot, and that helps reinforce her insecurities as well. Laura has nothing she is good at, and her mother does not help her discover her strengths, she capitalizes her weaknesses and victimizes her daughter.
Tom is the only family member to get away from the toxic environment of the small apartment, but he cannot fully forget Laura and her tragic life. He says at the end of the play, "Oh Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!" (Williams). He loves her, but not enough to help her get away…

Glass Menagerie
Methods of Escape in the Glass Menagerie

The three members of the ingfield family are trapped within the claustrophobic confines of their poverty, sadness, and regret. However, each one of them escapes from the realities of their daily existence by engaging in acts of fantasy. For Tom, the narrator of the play, this escape is found through books, movies, and alcohol. His mother, Amanda, distances herself from her current condition by escaping into memories of a more genteel past. And, even more so than her mother or brother, Laura is incapable of living in the real world and instead chooses to escape from her fears and anxiety by creating a fantasy world that is symbolized by her love of the glass animals. The difficulties each character has in dealing with reality serves to drive them further apart from each other, heightening their isolation and causing them to retreat…

This change is subtle but it is important because, with this change, Laura has the most hope from her brother or her mother. Tom speaks at the end of the play as he does in the beginning of the play. He has not evolved not has he experienced anything that deepens his character. He is still as lost as he was before. Amanda, too, remains unchanged at the end of the play. It is Laura who emerges from some insular place to find her strength. However, she does not win a prize for doing so. She represents an aspect of the world that includes arbitrary catastrophes at every corner. She also represents one of illiams' finest characters because she does what many of us in the world want to do: "withdraw from the blinding light of reality into the softer world of illusion" (Stein). The darkness at the end of…

Energy
"27 Wagons Full Cotton" is a play written by Tennessee Williams. There are no known plays available for this play. The only thing watchable was a YouTube video detailing the entirety of the play, which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31_eH7gWbNk. The setting was Blue Mountain, Mississippi and the first character one sees on stage is Flora because she leaves her house after a fire broke out near her on the Syndicate Plantation. The first few minutes, one can hear a feminine voice and one can clearly see that the first impression would be of a southerner who was perhaps uneducated and living as a blue-collar worker. The setting was average looking and the actor portraying Flora seemed somewhat dim-witted and naive. She moves about and is dressed like a little girl. She wore a lavender colored dress and a lavender ribbon on her head. The part where the explosion…

The biosphere consists of all living organisms on the planet. The atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere function collectively to provide he environment which sustains the biosphere. These four spheres interact to create ecological systems. These ecosystems, as they are called, are groups of organisms and the nonliving environment which they exist in.
In the process of living and working in an area, people modify the landscape to suit their purposes or tastes. These are called cultural landscapes. Many geographers maintain that the entire surface of the earth constitutes a cultural landscape, as humans have changed the face of the planet to such a great degree. Some geographers also put forth environmentalist theories, which emphasize the role of the environment in human life. The interaction between humans and the environment is a circular effect- environment affects human life and culture, while humans alter and transform the environment. Geographers have studied the ways…

However, despite the personal successes, he felt personally responsible for the loss and would use the events from ull Run to questions his effectiveness as a military officer.
Next, Sherman would serve under Robert Anderson. Where, he would eventually succeed him and take command of all Union forces in Kentucky. This was important, because Kentucky was considered to be a neutral state in the war, where the Union army was based and there were pockets of Confederate units as well. This would create an atmosphere, where Sherman would be unable to conduct a total war, to defeat the various Confederate elements. At which point, he would complain to Washington about the constant shortages that he would face in achieving this objective, with his army lacking the men necessary to fight a successful campaign to low food provisions / ammunition. This would cause Sherman to be relieved of command and placed…

Otter -- Crockett -- cook
s William Otter's a History of My Own Time a rags-to-riches success story? To what extent does it conform to the themes associated with the Cult of the Self-Made Man and to what extent does it deviate?

William Otter's autobiographical work A History of My Own Time (1835) is truly what one would call a "rags-to-riches" tale, yet it can also be viewed as being quite the opposite. Otter started out in several professions -- a shoemaker with John Paxton in New York City, the venetian blind-making business with William Howard, a carpenter with Gausman, and finally, the bricklaying and plastering business with Kenweth King. Following these flings as an apprentice, Otter then decided to attend school with a "liberal attention to classic lore," but Otter's involvement with heavy drinking at the taverns and his association with many of New York's toughest street gangs severely…

Amanda is a former southern belle, who enjoyed a very comfortable and somewhat decadent upbringing. After her husband leaves, and she struggles to raise and financially support her children alone, her social life suffers, making her frustrated and lonely just like her highly introverted daughter. This is perhaps why she is so focused upon finding a suitor (and eventually husband) for Laura. She does not want her daughter to suffer the same kind of social marginalization she has suffered as a single woman, in addition to the social marginalization Laura already suffers as a result of her personality and social disorders.
It seems fairly obvious that Amanda does not have many if any friends of her own and of her age group, particularly when Tom introduces her to Jim, and she immediately begins to, in almost hysterical fashion, give him her life story. In the 21st century American slang, young…

Night of the Iguana, by Tennessee Williams. Specifically, it will include the underlying themes that are brought out by Tennessee Williams. What are the playwright's beliefs about humanity, morality, cruelty, and evil in the world? What does the drama say about redemption and healing? "The Night of the Iguana" is more than a play about sex and healing, it is a play about a man who cannot find himself, and so allows others to run rampant over his life.
NIGHT OF THE IGUANA

Night of the Iguana" is a tale about characters, real characters with quirks and mental problems, such as Maxine, the brash hotel owner, and Shannon, the partly deranged tour director. The "iguana" of the title is really Shannon, who is a defrocked Reverend trying to come to terms with his penchant for underage girls, and his need to survive his latest debacle. The characters really make the…

As mothers, wives and housekeepers women can hardly enact their sensibility: "Not having children makes less work -- but it makes a quiet house, and right out to work all day, and no company when he did come in."(Glaspell)
Men do nothing but laugh at the trivialities that women are preoccupied with, preserving their belief that the sensibility is something exaggerated and that women always make a fuss over the most banal things:

My, it's a good thing the men couldn't hear us. ouldn't they just laugh! Getting all stirred up over a little thing like a -- dead canary. As if that could have anything to do with--with -- wouldn't they laugh!"(Glaspell)

Glaspell's play therefore is truly enlightening in many respects, and is worthy of being represented on stage as it manages to pinpoint the way in which the interior world and the sensibility of the women is for…

rebellious element in the characters of First Confession by Frank O' Connor, the Glass Menagerie by Tennessee illiams and Homage to my Hips by Lucille Clifton.
Themes of Literature

Frank O'Connor has an artist's touch, primarily because he choose between becoming a writer or an artist. In his writing his talent as an artist is evidenced. This is specially true for his short stories. The First Confession is contained within a compilation of short stories. Most of the short stories contained in the book and set in Ireland. The timing is of the years after the Southern Republic of Ireland became an independent nation.

No play in the modern theatre has so captured the imagination and heart of the American public as Tennessee illiams's The Glass Menagerie. The play marked the first success of the author and launched a rather brilliant career of lyric playwright. Part success of the play…

Shakespeare's play, Romeo Juliet, film version: note defend effective ineffective. Do unknown young actors, Leonard hiting Olivia Hussey, opposed recognizable stars, made film appealing? Please explain
Although some might be inclined to believe that it is impossible to compare two works of art because they should each be analyzed from different points-of-view, it is only safe to consider that illiam Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet needs to be compared with the film that was inspired from it. One of the first things that the director needed to take into account was that the play that he wanted to screen contained a particularly powerful storyline and the actors thus needed to be prepared to express its full intensity. Franco Zeffirelli decided to cut some of the play's major parts and in spite of the fact that he created a less dramatic piece he managed to create a motion picture that was successful…

Blurring the Gap Between Fiction and eal Life
This is a paper that outlines how modern literature integrates personal experiences of the writers into works of fiction. It has 5 sources.

It is quite interesting to note the means by which eminent writers attract attention to their ideas and literary content. On closer examination, we may come to the conclusion that the means by which public attention may be grabbed has followed a definite pattern through the years. While writers like Shakespeare and his contemporaries used fiction to project their literary geniuses, modern day writers strive to catch the attention of the masses by presenting their own personal conflicts and tragedies to the public. The modern writer has lessened the gap between a literary piece of work and real life. However, literature in the classical period is known for its often unnatural and over-dramatized perspectives on life. Today, the stories…

Helpless omen in the Glass Menagerie
omen are often depicted as helpless creatures and when we look at women during the Depression era, we should not be surprised to see some women not only depicted as helpless but also see them left helpless and hopeless as the men in their lives cope with the struggling economy. The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee illiams, reveals two female characters as helpless women, victims of the economy and the men in their lives. Amanda and Laura depend on Tom for not only their physical survival but they also depend on him for emotional support. As expected, Tom cannot support his mother and sister in either of these capacities and he ends up deserting them much like his father did. The Glass Menagerie provides a look at hopeless women and what allows them to stay that way in their world. The female characters in this…

Glass Menagerie
Although its narrator and author are men, The Glass Menagerie is arguably a play about women in the 1930s. As such, author Tennessee Williams gives women a voice they might not otherwise have had, and at first glance the play could be considered a positive feminist statement just by nature of having major women characters. However, while giving the women voice, Williams denigrates them at the same by presenting Amanda and Laura as representative women characters. As the failed Southern belle, Amanda is manipulative, self-centered, delusional and cruel. Laura, an emotional and literal "cripple," cannot face the real world and is as weak and delicate as her glass collection. Not only do these characters present a problematic view of women, but the choice of a man, Tom, as the narrator is an additional weakness in the play. The reader sees the women only through Tom's eyes, and as…

classic pieces of literature. The writer explores the primary texts, and secondary sources to develop a critical analysis of the characters and their dysfunction and how escapism is used in both situations. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and The Sound and the Fury are compared and contrasted while at the same time being individually analyzed for the purpose of exploring dysfunction, escapism and how it affects the family dynamic. The writer details several examples of each from each story and discusses why they are important to the story development and plot analysis. In the end the paper concludes that escapism for the purpose of these two stories is a product of the family dysfunction.
There were 15 sources used to complete this paper.

Introduction

America seems enamored with the word "dysfunctional." Comedians make fun of the commonality that dysfunctional people and families have. People spend countless dollars each year…

Here we see that Laura is coming around and realizing that she, broken or not, is just like everyone else. Furthermore, the odd horn that made the unicorn seem "freakish" (1018) is no longer an issue. hen Laura realizes this, she also realizes that the things that make her seem like a freak to others may not be so significant, either. The time she spent with Jim allowed her to see that what makes her different might not be such a bad thing after all. She even tells Jim that with a broken horn, the unicorn "will feel more at home with the other horses" (1018). This statement reinforces Laura's change.
The broken unicorn also symbolizes how Laura must deal with the possibility of remaining single. The broken unicorn could very well be her broken heart. These things break, and when they do, they are rarely the same again. However,…

Regional Differences in American Literature
In American literature, the region of the country that the author was from had an impact on their writing and the kind of story they were telling to the audience. This is because each area had its own unique culture and tastes. The combination of these factors, were integrated together to create works that are a reflection of these attitudes.

Evidence of this can be seen by looking no further than observations from atts (2007). She found that regional factors had an impact on the author and their writings. This is because these ideas would have an effect on their beliefs. Over the course of time, these views were integrated into various forms of literature with different styles (depending upon the area of the country). (atts 382 -- 285) This is illustrating how these ideas have been used throughout American literature to influence the audience.…

Their interaction is quite different in that it is more positive than Laura's interaction with Amanda. Jim is a male and while that may factor into Laura's mirror image, it is not significant. In fact, it is safe to say that Laura would have interacted with anyone that opened up to her on this level. It is easy to factor gender into the equation especially because Jim is a prospective husband. However, the connection between Laura and Jim goes deeper than that. Suppose Jim had been a female neighbor living next to the ingfields. Under basically the same circumstances - the two attending the same high school and the two being able to speak to one another openly - Laura would have grown just as fond of a female. The important aspect of this is that Laura needed someone with whom she could truly communicate. hile she may have been…

secular society, Christian values, beliefs, and worldviews are systematically excluded from the educational system. Parents who can afford costly private schools can help inculcate their children into a Biblical worldview, but the majority of Christians who cannot do this and whose children attend public schools need to find ways to resolve the ideological conflicts presented to their children. Children regularly receive disparate information about crucial issues such as those related to gender roles and norms, human sexuality, and the origin of life on earth. While all of these core topics challenge Christian educators to adapt their curricula to conform to legal and societal expectations, the most contentious of these might be the evolution and intelligent design debate. Christian educators continue to struggle with presenting a more balanced worldview to their students, but legal and societal expectations persist in silencing minority voices. One of the most important contemporary issues in education,…

Eugene O'Neill (1888-1953) is one of the most prolific, most highly recognized American playwrights of the 20th century who sadly had not real American contemporaries or precursors. O has been the only American dramatist to win the coveted Nobel Prize and while his work is for American audience and is certainly American in most respects, we notice that he has been greatly influenced by European writers and thinkers who shaped his literary interests and had a serious impact on his early plays.
When we discuss Eugene O'Neill, we must understand that his work can be divided into two broad phases. One phase of early fame was 1920s when the playwright, under the influence of writers like Strindberg and Ibsen, wrote some important expressionist plays including Dynamo and The Emperor ones. Expressionism can be defined as "The attempt to create the essence rather than the appearance of reality through the use…

Origins and Characteristics of the Law and Legal Systems in the U.S.
The Origins and Characteristics of the Law

and Legal Systems in the United States

The origins and characteristics of the law and legal systems of the United States

It is a commonplace observation to state that the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the U.S. are the origin of and provide the characteristics of the legal systems of the U.S. But in order to truly understand the ideas behind these landmark legal documents one must delve deeper into history. What of the texts that influenced America's Founding Fathers? Most may know that the Magna Charta, the English charter from the year 1215, was an influence. But the English weren't the only influential opinion-makers for revolutionary Americans. The Scottish and the French were too. The Scottish Declaration of Arbroath, for example, has been linked by scholars as an…

The fulfillment of desire, that is, means the eradication of desire -- by its very definition, desire is gone once its object has been attained. This plays out differently for the two characters described above; Gatsby does briefly attain his desire -- i.e. Daisy -- but also learns that, through her own decision, he will never really possess her. This dual event of fulfillment and permanent rejection is symbolically paired with his death, and the complete randomness yet strange inevitability of the death as far as the storyline of the novel goes makes it all the more tragic. Blanche never really attains her desire, and in fact can be seen as destroying it utterly when Mitch leaves her, and this final rejection is enough to break her. Unable to attain her desires, Blanche suffers a complete break from reality that effectively destroys her, as well, yet she continues living in…

As Conroy entwines the past and present, the reader is carried away by this very engaging story.
Although Conroy paints Tom as very human, complete with flaws and strengths, his character is not as memorable as, say perhaps, a Charles Dickens character. However, Conroy's psychological profile of this Southern family is every bit as captivating as that of illiam Faulkner or Tennessee illiams. The story depicts how easy a family can hide behind a veil of secrets, never daring to allow the light of truth, lest the emotions of guilt and shame overpower one's grip on reality. Yet that is exactly what happens when certain events stay buried, as evident in Savannah's character, and to a lesser degree in Tom's.

Only time will tell whether future generations will regard this book as a literary classic, however, Pat Conroy's novel possesses all the markings of true masterwork fiction. The book is…

Though Antigone is certainly the protagonist of the play, she makes her decision very early in the action -- she chooses to bury her brother despite the civil disobedience and disrespect of the State that it shows. Ismene, on the other hand, wavers between the two duties. hen Antigone is caught, her sister tries to take the blame with her: "But now you're in trouble, I'm not ashamed / of suffering, too, as your companion" (Sophocles, 540-1). Though Ismene's motives might be somewhat questionable, she is at least claiming a sense of duty and companionship with her sister -- and a desire to honor her brother -- by joining in the guilt of the act against the State. Antigone will not let her, again for reasons that could be put under debate. One possible explanation for Antigone's refusal to let Ismene share the punishment for the act would be her…

All the places we hung out at had jukeboxes.
I don't remember ever going to concerts when I was a kid, but on television they would have like big western hayrides that were really popular. The concerts they had back then did not include such things as mosh pits. Like I said before, the biggest sin you could commit back then was smoking, and drinking was unheard of.

The values have changed so much that sometimes I just get sick thinking about it. I guess I shouldn't generalize, but it sure seems that way to me. Along with the technological progression, has come such things as pornography and those kinds of things, everything nowadays is so accessible.

When did the music start to change? I really did not notice any changes until the late 60's, Woodstock era was a dramatic change, especially with the hippies and all that backwards nonsense.…

suck-egg mule!": An Examination of Southern Euphemisms
Euphemisms lend languages a colorful and meaningful quality that is not easily achievable otherwise, and all languages share this common linguistic feature to some extent. Although euphemisms provide a useful linguistic shortcut and add flavor to conservations and writing, they are one of the more challenging aspects of learning another language because of their esoteric qualities and subtleties of meaning that defy ready analysis by outsiders. In the case of the American South, the euphemisms that have emerged over the years may likewise appear to be almost from another country to Americans living in California, say, or New York because of these same esoteric qualities. In order to avoid being labeled a "dirty ol' suck-egg mule" in this regard and as discussed further below, this paper provides a review of the relevant literature to identify traditional and modern euphemisms used in the American…

Since the 30s people have been politically inclined towards left in Hollywood. Kazan was also known for his left-wing views that eventually led him to the appearance before HUAC. However, with the inquiries of the House Un-American Affairs Committee problems for the supporters of left came up. Demand for anticommunist films required more writers with right-wing inclinations. The demand for anti-fascist films in late 30s through mid-40s could not match the demand for anticommunist films. Even though many blacklisted liberals fled to other countries to support their careers. Many people expressed different views regarding people who supported HUAC. For example Lillian Hellman's view of Elia Kazan's friendly testimony is that he simply couldn't do otherwise because he valued his own
American success story too much. Arthur Miller also mentioned in his autobiography that if he did not come out clean he would not be able to make another movie in…

Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche Dubois goes to seek refuge at her sister's house. At first it seems decent enough- even though she has to bear with Stella's less than gentleman husband, Stanley Kowalski, she starts to disintegrate into madness when her once value beauty cannot get her the freedom and independence she craves. As some would say, beauty gets you far, for Blanche, nearing the age of 30, without hardly any money and losing her home and position as a high school teacher, her aging face is a far cry from her once flawless form. She was considered the "bell of the ball." She had money, she had worth suitors, and she had a good family name. Of course none of that mattered as her attempts to gain independence from her newly found poverty through being with men ended in a psychotic break that ruined any future chances of Blanche…

Good Man is Hard to Find
For the purposes of this essay, I chose Flannery O'Connor's short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find." "A Good Man is Had to Find" is an apt topic for research such as this, because the ambiguity of the story's position regarding a grandmother ultimately responsible for the death of her entire family leads to a wide variety of possible readings, each with its own adherents and defenders. Upon reading this story, I immediately questioned the grandmother's role in the story, and especially whether or not the story portrayed her in a positive or negative light, because although at points in the story she appears positive in contrast to the other characters, she is ultimately shown to be reactive, shortsighted, and altogether incapable of protecting either her family or herself. Using Google Scholar, I searched for academic essays and books discussing "A Good…

Sherman's March To The Sea
Services and trainings at military

Marriage and Career

Services in Civil Wars

Brilliant strategic

Sherman's March

Year 1864 (Atlanta Event): Preparation of War 4

March to the Sea Event

Move to South Carolina Event

Move to North Carolina Event

Consequences of the Sherman's March

esearch Paper Sherman's March to the Sea

William Tecumseh Sherman who was also known as General Sherman (born on 8 February, 1820 in Lancaster-Ohio) that is nearby Hocking iver shore. By profession, his father was a lawyer and worked at Ohio Supreme Court. At the age of nine, his father died. A family friend raised him.

When he was 16 years old, Ewing appointed him as a cadet in U.S. military academy at the West Point. After his graduation, he entered into the army as second lieutenant in 1840. Sherman was promoted to Captain due to his services. He was not…

regional planning, some examples, which will be used, are the Tennessee Valley Authority, Regional Planning in New York City and its surrounding counties and the Appalachian Regional Commission. Regional planning is an important factor, which have to be considered by the government and its authorities. Regional planning departments should be formed in the countries all over the world so that these departments can work in the best interests of the people and can provide them with the better standard of living with in the country. Planning is an initial process in order to gain success and prosperity in any area; regional planning departments are formed for the purpose of serving the people for providing them with better housing and living facilities.
The start of any planning process is to develop a Planning Committee. The committee should consist of no more than seven people that come from a variety of backgrounds.…

African-Americans and Western Expansion
Prior to the 1960s and 1970s, very little was written about black participation in Western expansion from the colonial period to the 19th Century, much less about black and Native American cooperation against slavery. This history was not so much forbidden or censored as never written at all, or simply ignored when it was written. In reality, blacks participated in all facets of Western expansion, from the fur trade and cattle ranching to mining and agriculture. There were black cowboys and black participants in the Indian Wars -- on both sides, in fact. Indeed, the argument over slavery in the Western territories was one of the key factors in breaking up the Union in the 1850s and leading to the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. In the past thirty years, much of the previously unwritten and unrecorded history of the Americas since 1492 has been…

Romantic Era
The years in which the Romantic Era had its great impact -- roughly 1789 through 1832 -- were years in which there were "intense political, social, and cultural upheavals," according to Professor Shannon Heath at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (Heath, 2009). The beginning of the Romantic Era actually is traced to the French Revolution, and though that tumultuous event was not in England, illiam ordsworth and others sympathized with the French Revolution -- at least at the beginning of the Revolution.

The demands for democracy in the Era were manifested through poems that reflected solidarity with principles of "equality and individuality," Heath explains. The principles of fairness and equality were needed in England as well as in France, and Heath suggests that poets were not just responding to revolutions but rather were critiquing English government. According to Giovanni Pellegrino the struggles for democracy and the "political…

The plaintiffs were disabled Tennesseans who could not access the upper floors in state courthouses. They sued in Federal Court, arguing that since Tennessee was disallowing them public services for the reason that their disabilities, it was infringing Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Tennessee argued that the Eleventh Amendment banned the suit, and filed a motion to dismiss the case. It relied chiefly on Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama v. Garrett (2001), in which the Supreme Court held that Congress had, in endorsing certain provisions of the ADA, unconstitutionally repealed the supreme immunity of the States by letting people sue the States for discrimination on the foundation of disability. Garrett had held that Congress had not met the congruent-and-proportional test, in that it had not collected enough proof of discrimination on the basis of disability to give good reason for the repeal of…

The company's board believed they could not find a replacement for Chaney by the date of his intended departure, and so the directors put the company up for sale. In March 1996, the New York-based investment banking firm Merrill Lynch was hired to generate interest in the company, and a suitable buyer was found, a New York-based private investment firm named Forstmann Little & Co. This company was headed by Theodore Forstmann, a leveraged buyout specialist. Forstmann's firm had more than $20 billion invested in 20 companies and made its living by acquiring companies and selling them for a profit. Forstmann Little acquired Community Health in 1996, and this was the firm's first purchase of a healthcare company. The firm paid $1 billion for Community Health, which at the time operated 38 hospitals in 18 states, and this change in ownership made Community Health a privately held company. In January…

There are limitations on the destruction of wiretap records. The numbers of crimes for which wiretaps can be used, the types of judges who can authorize taps have both however, been expanded.
What Does the Constitution Say?

The United States Constitution states many principles of constitutional law that must be present in for Democracy to truly exist. Democracy is characterized by freedom and liberty to think and believe individually and the freedom to express those beliefs through speech that does not trod upon or offend others. The travesties against justice n committed in the name of Democracy is an affront to all that was intended, fought, and died in attaining in America.

Freedom, liberty and justice not only in America indeed, for the entire world. ut there are limitations within the realm of freedom and justice, for it is not freedom or justice in the forcing of what is termed…

conservative intellectual movement, but also the role of William uckley and William Rusher in the blossoming of the youth conservative movement
Talk about structure of paper, who not strictly chronologically placed (ie hayek before the rest) - in this order for thematic purposes, to enhance the genuiness of the paper (branches of the movement brought up in order of importance to youth conservative revolt) For instance, Hayek had perhaps the greatest impact on the effects of the movement - uckley and Rusher. These individuals, their beliefs, their principles were extremely influential in better understanding the origins, history, and leaders of American conservatism.

Momentous events shape the psyche of an individual as the person matures. A child grows up in poverty vows to never be like his parents, and keeps this inner vow to become a millionaire. A young woman experiences sexual trauma as a teen, and chooses a career that…

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Founded by entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is celebrating its fiftieth year of operation; in that time the hospital has conducted important research and cured / saved the lives of numerous children with cancer and other diseases. This paper reviews the organization from a number of important perspectives.

Board of Directors and Governors

The chairman / president of St. Jude's Board of Directors is Camille Sarrouf, who is an attorney in Boston with the law practice, Sarrouf Law. The First Vice Chair is Richard "Rich" M. Unes, from Memphis, Tennessee. Second Vice Chair is Paul Ayoub and the Secretary of St. Jude's Fred R. Harris. As to the Board of Governors for St. Jude's, Robert Breit is the chairman and president and Terry Burman is the First Vice Chair. Martha Perine Beard is the Second Vice Chair for the Board of Governors…

Clandestine Drug Labs and the Fire Service
hat are the risks and inherent dangers when firefighters are facing a blaze that resulted from a meth lab? hat should firefighters do when they suspect a fire has been caused by the existence of a meth lab? Are clandestine meth labs more prevalent then they were a few years ago? These questions and others will be addressed in this paper.

hat States' Firefighters have the biggest Threats from Meth Labs?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (and the Drug Enforcement Agency) the states with the most meth labs (as of 2011) are Missouri (2,684 busts in 2011), Indiana (1,364 busts in 2011), Kentucky (with 1,084 busts) and Tennessee (1,130 busted meth labs). Other states that have a great deal of meth lab activity include Oklahoma (916), Michigan (365 labs busted), Mississippi (269 labs shut down) and Iowa (380 labs busted) (DOJ,…

Robert Hayden, one of the most important black poets of the 20th Century, was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1913 and grew up in extreme poverty in a racially mixed neighborhood. His parents divorced when he was a child and he was raised by their neighbors, illiam and Sue Ellen Hayden, and not until he was in his forties did he learn that Asa Sheffey and Gladys Finn were his biological parents. During the Great Depression he was employed for two years by the Federal riter's Project, and published his first volume of poetry Heart-Shape in the Dust in 1940. He taught English at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee for twenty-three years, and then at the University of Michigan from 1969 until his death in 1980. Among his other works were The Lion and the Archer (1948), Figure of Time (1955), A Ballad of Remembrance (1962), orks in Mourning Time…

killer and his victim has been one of the most enduring topics throughout horror and suspense fiction, and it is this relationship which ties together three ostensibly distinct stories: Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find," Joyce Carol Oates' "here Are You Going, here Have You Been," and Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado." In each case, the majority of the story consists of the killer talking to his victim(s), some of whom are unaware of their fate at the beginning of the conversation, but who gradually come to realize the killer's true intention. The relationship which develops between killer and victim (however brief) in each story reveals something about how killers are treated by society, as people, and within society, as characters and archetypes. Considering how each of these stories intersect and diverge in their treatment of the relationship between killer and victim will serve to…

Ethics and Morality -- Ethics and Development
The problem of "development" (or, perhaps "progress" and "advancement" also fits in this context) is that while many millions of citizens of the world have been blessed by dramatic progress (technological, industrial, and communications) over the past few decades, many millions are being left behind. Indeed, while millions are living better, living more comfortable lives, countless millions are not benefiting in the least from this social and economic development. In fact, the gap between the "haves" and "have-nots" is said to be widening, and this is a cause for great concern.

Millions of African children are AIDS and HIV victims, simply because they were born to mothers who suffered from AIDS and HIV; millions of other African people are suffering malnutrition, starvation, and live in hopelessness and dread. Millions of people in Third World countries do not have clean reliable drinking water or…

Otter and Crocket
Crockett considered life as an absolute saga, coupled with the added charisma of undeniable reality and his virtue was that he was willing to devote his life for his loved ones and fellow countrymen. However in spite of his virtues there were also dubious elements involved in Crockett's activities, hence he cannot be considered as a completely virtuous person. Again with regard to William Otter, virtue was in relation to setting things right. However he attempted to dubious means to achieve his ends which raises doubts about his idea of virtue. Finally we shall attempt to have an understanding of the antebellum period and discuss Crockett and Otter in relation to it.

We shall first have a discussion about David Crockett and his understanding of virtue and whether he was virtuous. Crockett considered life as an absolute saga, coupled with the added charisma of undeniable reality and…

Iago notices this flaw at once and plots to exploit it almost immediately. This is evident when he tells Roderigo:
The Moor is of a free and open nature,

That thinks men honest that but seem to be so,

And will as tenderly be led by th' nose

As asses are. (Shakespeare I.iii.393-6)

Here we see that Iago intends on using Othello's open nature against him by allowing him to believe that Desdemona is cheating. Othello has a tendency to be slightly gullible - especially when he believes he is interacting with a confidant. R. B Heilman notes that it is the villain in Othello that defines the tragic hero. hen Iago describes Othello as one "loving his own pride and purposes" (I.i.12), he is describing Othello's "tragic role" (Heilman 21) a.C. Bradley observes, "Othello's mind, for all its poetry, is very simple. He is not observant. His nature tends…

Unsuccessful Presidents Identified- 1865-1940
Andrew Johnson

Grover Cleveland

William McKinley

Herbert Hoover

Political Characteristics

Political Party

Congressional Issues

Johnson's Problems with Congress

Cleveland's Problems with Congress

McKinley's Problems with Congress

Hoover's Problems with Congress

Keynesian Economics

Using it to achieve goals

Americans unconcerned with problems outside of borders.

ural country first

Disdain for strong leaders

Personal Patterns

Economic Issues

Concern for the economy

Democratic Ideals

Changing Policy

Failing to change

What political characteristics, personal patterns do unsuccessful presidents share in common between 1865 and 1940?

From the period 1865 to 1940, a total of fifteen men served as President of the United States. These fifteen - Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, Harrison, McKinley, oosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, and oosevelt - served during what should have been mostly prosperous times. Yet several of these men and their presidencies must be labeled as failures.

Of these men, four have…