Dreams in of mice and men Essay Example for Free

Dreams in of mice and men Essay Of Mice and Men Dreams Of Mice and Men is set in Salinas, California in the 1930s Great Depression. Life was hard and men could be cruel. Hope might be the only escape from hard reality. This links to the American Dream – represented in George and Lennie’s dream of working hard and getting their own land and farm, and control over their own lives. But it was harder than ever to achieve due to the tough economic conditions of the Depression. After Lennie’s death, it might be possible for George to realise his dream, but the emptiness at the end of the novel shows that financial success is nothing when you are lonely. So the dream is not just something to own, or possess, but also something to share. ‘Compassion and love’, to Steinbeck – as outlined in his Nobel Prize speech are the most important things, as is ‘hope’ – having a dream. Lennie and George have a fairly simple dream: to own a small farm, and be their own bosses, which contrasts with the large factory type farm they are on, where men are treated like machines, which are frequently broken (Crooks and Candy), and isolated from each other. George repeats his and Lennie’s dream like a mantra: ‘we got a future’, suggesting that they are different to the others. ‘Future’ here is a metaphor for something bright, and greater than what they have now – like the American Dream to ‘live off the fatta the land’. The phrase ‘fat of the land’ almost suggests a biblical promised land after the hard, ‘wilderness’ years. The function of the dream therefore is to help them to endure hardship and not give in to despair. They want control of their own lives: ‘we’ll just say the hell with goin to work’. This can make them seem naive however, as farmers have to work whether they want to or not – especially smallholders. When George sets out the dream, he then says that he and Lennie are ‘not like those other guys’. The dream sets George and Lennie apart from the others; they make themselves special: in the inclusive ‘we’ against the exclusive ‘those other guys’. The juxtaposition of ‘us’ and ‘them’ verbally bonds the protagonists together in contrast to the other men – even though they are all, George, Lennie, Crooks, Candy, in the same situation. Still, George and Lennie separate themselves from the others by using the third person to describe farm hands as, ‘the loneliest guys in the world.’ The superlative ‘loneliest’ and hyperbole ‘in the world’ exaggerates the harshness of the world of the Depression as shown in the novel. Sometimes it seems that George ‘owns’ the dream – as he is the one who tells it to Lennie, like a child’s bedtime story, prayer or mantra, in keeping with his role as ‘parent/protector’ to his child-like companion. This is emphasised by the simple, mantra-like structure, where Lennie keeps filling in the gaps if George hesitates, and repeating short phrases after him as if he knows it by heart, even though – as George says frustratedly, Lennie always ‘forgets’ everything else. It is not always certain if George believes the dream is possible or if he is saying it to keep Lennie quiet. Sometimes, George seems sceptical, saying they will have ‘every colour rabbits’ including ‘red and blue’. He is patronising to Lennie, saying ‘good boy’, keeping him safe from his own stupidity. In these scenes the dream seems more of a spell or placebo to keep the main characters safe than something that is really possible. Other characters are very cynical about the dream. The reader is made to question how realistic these dreams are. Curley’s wife dreams of when she threw away the chance to become famous, but we can see that her dream is a sham. Of George and Lennie’s dream, Crooks says: ‘every damn one of them’s got a little piece of land in his head’. Crooks’ final judgement is that ‘never a God damn one of ‘em ever gets it.’ The repetition of the absolute ‘never’ and ‘ever’, as well as the strong slang ‘God damn’ emphasises how desperate life is. However, it is not certain whether Steinbeck shares Crooks’ negative view. Crooks is an extreme character. His language is hyperbole – very extreme and relentlessly negative. Crooks’ phrase ‘God damn’ suggests that God has abandoned these men, in contrast to the biblical image of hope in George and Lennie’s dream of living ‘off the fatta the land’. The biblical imagery continues negatively when Crooks compares the dream of land to being ‘like Heaven’ – the Christian idea of perfect bliss, not considered a physical reality – and which Crooks says is just as impossible to get as a piece of land. It’s hard for George to keep Lennie out of trouble and keep them on track for their dream. But when they tell Candy, it starts to seem as if it might be possible. [needs evidence/ quotation/ language analysis] In an instant, Candy’s faith (and money) take them close to the ideal/dream becoming real. As the dream is shared, or heard by more people, the more it seems that together they might make it come true. Even the ultra negative Crooks starts to believe.[needs evidence/ quotation/ language analysis] But all the time, Steinbeck has built up a foreboding feeling, that this world is hard and horrible and nothing good can live in it. We feel that the gentleness of Lennie and George’s friendship, and their shared dream, will be crushed by the cruel world – even by Lennie’s desire for gentle, soft things. ‘I like soft things’ Every time he kills an animal – mouse or puppy, Lennie’s biggest, darkest fear is that he won’t be allowed ‘to tend the rabbits’. The dream is so precious to him that he wants it at any cost. Curley’s wife is lonely and wants someone to listen to her dream. [needs evidence/ quotation/ language analysis] When she finds Lennie in the barn, she lets him stroke her hair. When she starts screaming, Lennie screams at her to stop or ‘George won’t let me tend the rabbits’. She’s so frightened that she can’t stop and Lennie accidentally kills her. In a way, Lennie’s desire to keep the dream (by keeping Curley’s wife quiet – and smothering her) is the thing that has destroyed it. The irony of this makes it even more poignant. When Candy discovers what has happened all he wants to know is that he and George can still get the farm. [needs evidence/ quotation/ language analysis] He loses sight of human decency – the woman is dead and Lennie will soon die too. Steinbeck makes us ask whether any dream of financial prosperity should be more important than human life? Should we try to get it at any cost? At the end, George tells Lennie the ‘fairy story’ of the dream again – to make him happy at the moment he has to kill the dream of togetherness by shooting him in the head. He almost can’t speak because he is so upset. [needs evidence/ quotation/ language analysis] Even though George could still have the farm with Candy, he is deeply sad that he couldn’t keep Lennie alive. Because the dream isn’t worth much when he doesn’t have his old friend to share it with. Lennie loved the dream more than anyone and he never gets it.

The Civil War Essay -- American History, War

The growing decline in morale and suffrage on the Confederate home front eventually led to its collapse between 1864 and 1865. Seeing as it was the main arena for combat during the Civil War, the south felt many effects from the war (N). The prolonged war ultimately led to an economic decline and lack of resources in the Confederacy along with a negative sentiment among southerners (N). Due to the internal demise, the Confederacy could not carry on a war without the support of its home front. Beginning with the onset of the war, differences between the northern and southern economies and resources proved to be detrimental to the Confederacy (N). The north contained the majority of the factories, iron works, and railroads in the United States (N). Agriculture in the north was based on cereal crops whereas the south depended on staple crops (N). In addition, the north contained the majority of the financial assets in the United States and allowed them the ability to fight a prolonged war (N). The south, lacking economic diversity and financial affluence, could only sustain itself for so long before its economy collapsed and the effects threatened the livelihood of its home front (N). As the war continued to escalate, the south began to feel the effects of its inadequacies (N). Due to the lack of transportation resources and the blockade established by the Union, the south was unable to import and export goods needed to maintain its economy (N). The diminishing availability of goods led the Confederate government to search for alternative measures to obtain the financial support required to continue the war (N). The Confederate government decided to pass a progressive income tax and excise tax on goods (N). In additio... ...federacy that it would be too difficult to continue a long drawn out war, especially with its home front in turmoil (T 288). The Civil War was a war in which both sides, the Union and Confederacy, expected a war which would subside quickly (N). With the north having a diverse and abundant number of resources, it was able to fight the war as long as was required (N). As for the Confederacy, from the beginning, it was destined to have its hardships (N). Since most of the war was fought along the home front of the south, the south faced more disparities than the north (N). The home front ultimately played a considerable role in the collapse of the Confederacy. Furthermore, Sherman’s march and the election of 1864 contributed to the inability of the Confederacy to continue the war. The south had a good run, but in the end, its own internal turmoil failed it.

Separation of Mixtures and Solids

After gathering all the material needed to conduct these experiments, the first experiment was initiated. The mixture of solids was weighed out as well as the 10cm square piece of paper and the weighing dish. The mixture was spread out in a very thin layer on a piece of paper, the magnet was wrapped with clear plastic and the magnet was passed over the mixture several times to remove the iron from the mixture.The iron was placed on the 10cm square paper and weighed. The next step was to separate out the sand. The sand was placed in the beaker with 50mL of water and heated to close to boiling. The hot liquid was poured into a Styrofoam cup and another 10mL of distilled water was added to the beaker and again it was heated to near boiling and poured into the same Styrofoam cup. The second heating was to ensure all the sodium chloride and benzoic acid was removed from the sand.The Styrofoam cup was placed into an ice bath, the benzoic acid began crystallizing in the ice bath as it start ed cooling. The sand in the beaker was heated very carefully to allow it to dry. After the sand was dried it was weighed. The benzoic acid and salt were separated. A filter paper was inserted in the funnel and the cup with the salt and benzoic acid was poured into the funnel. A graduated cylinder with 5mL of water was inserted into the ice bath; this was poured into the funnel to eliminate any of the sodium chloride that may have been missed.The filter paper was laid out on several paper towels to dry. After the filter paper has dried it will be weighed and the weight of the filter paper will be subtracted from the total to obtain the exact amount of the benzoic acid. The paper cup of sodium chloride was set aside to allow it to dry. Once it is dry it will be weighed and the weight of the paper cup will be subtracted to obtain the weight of the  sodium chloride.GramsPercent of MixtureTotalsSand5.4g54%54% Iron0.9g9%63% Dried Sand1.2g12%75% Salt1.8g18%93% Benzoic Acid0.7g7%100%Discu ssionI can see room for error when pouring the water out of the beaker some of the sand could be poured out with it, thereby creating an inaccurate result of dried sand. There is also the possibility of some of the benzoic acid and sodium chloride remaining in the beaker, getting stuck to the sides and again creating an inaccurate result for these two mixtures. When the water is poured through the paper in the funnel some of the benzoic acid could remain in the sodium chloride which would create another inaccurate amount for the benzoic acid.The iron could be slightly inaccurate due to the fact that it was not possible to get every single piece off the plastic wrap and into the dish, although the very small pieces may not have added up to much it might have contributed to an inaccurate amount. The initial sand weight is the most accurate; there was no room for error there.Questions1.How did your proposed procedures or flow charts at the beginning of this experiment compare to the ac tual procedures of this lab exercise? I knew the iron could be removed with a magnet. I wasn’t sure how to remove the sodium chloride and benzoic acid. 2.Discuss potential advantaged or disadvantaged of your proposed procedure compared to the one actually used. The only advantage to my procedure was using the magnet to remove the iron. I didn’t know how to remove the sodium chloride or benzoic acid. 3.How would you explain a sand recovery percentage that is higher than the original sand percentage?Perhaps you didn’t remove all the iron out or there was still some sodium chloride or benzoic acid still left in the sand. 4.What were potential sources of error in this experiment? When pouring water out of the beaker some of the sand could be poured out with it. There is also the  possibility of some of the benzoic acid and sodium chloride remaining in the beaker, getting stuck to the sides and again creating an inaccurate result for these two mixtures.When the wat er is poured through the paper in the funnel some of the benzoic acid could remain in the sodium chloride which would create another inaccurate amount for the benzoic acid. The iron could be slightly inaccurate due to the fact that it was not possible to get every single piece off the plastic wrap and into the dish, although the very small pieces may not have added up to much it might have contributed to an inaccurate amount.

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Confusing Spanish Words and How To Use Them Correctly

Partly because Spanish and English have so many similarities, its tempting to think youll seldom find Spanish vocabulary confusing. But in fact, there are plenty of words that trip up Spanish students repeatedly. And they arent all false friends, words similar to their English counterparts that dont mean the same thing. Some are homophones (two or more different words that sound alike), some are words that are closely similar, and some can be blamed on the rules of grammar. If you want to avoid embarrassment or unnecessary confusion, here are some top candidates for words to learn: Ano vs. Aà ±o Ano and aà ±o dont sound alike. But those who dont know how to type an à ± (or are lazy) are often tempted to use an n instead in aà ±o, the word for year. Dont succumb to the temptation: Ano comes from the same Latin root as the English word anus and has the same meaning. Cabello vs. Caballo English speakers tend to be imprecise in their pronunciations, partly because some sounds, such as the ai in fountain, can be represented in writing by any vowel. But Spanish speakers, although they tend to pronounce consonants softly, are usually distinct with their vowels. So words such as cabello (hair, but collectively rather than as a single hair) and caballo (horse) arent thought of as sounding much alike. Caro vs. Carro Its easy for foreigners to mix up the r and rr — the former is usually a  flap of the tongue against the roof of the mouth, while the latter is a trill. Usually, reversing the sounds wont cause misunderstanding. But the difference between caro and carro is the difference between something expensive and a car, respectively. And, yes, you can have a carro caro. Cazar vs. Casar While there may be some who have gone hunting for a spouse, cazar (to hunt) and casar (to marry) arent related to each other even though they sound alike in Latin America. Cocer vs. Coser Another pair of verbs that sound alike in Latin America are cocer (to cook) and coser (to sew). Although they can both be homemaking tasks, they arent related. Dà ­a Although there are dozens of words ending in -a that break the main gender rule and so are masculine, dà ­a (day) is the most common. Embarazada If youre embarrassed and female, avoid the temptation to say youre embarazada, as the meaning of that adjective is pregnant. The most common adjective of embarrassment is avergonzado. Interestingly, embarazada (or the masculine form, embarazado) has been so often used as a mistranslation of embarrassed that that definition has been added to some dictionaries. Éxito Éxito is a word youll come across frequently—but it nothing to do with an exit. Its the best translation for success and can be used in many contexts. For example, a hit song or movie can be called an à ©xito. An exit is a salida. Gringo If someone calls you a gringo (feminine gringa), you might take it as an insult—or you might take it as a term of affection or as a neutral description. It all depends on where you are and the context. As a noun, gringo most often refers to a foreigner, especially someone who speaks English. But at times it can refer to any non-Spanish speaker, a British person, a resident of the United States, a Russian, someone with blond hair, and/or someone with white skin. Inhabitable In a sense, the Spanish inhabitable and the English inhabitable are the same word—both are spelled alike, and they come from a Latin word habitabilus, which meant suitable for habitation. But they have opposite meanings. In other words, the Spanish inhabitable means uninhabitable or not inhabitable. Yes, thats confusing. But its confusing only because English is confusing—habitable and inhabitable mean the same thing, and for the same reason flammable and imflammable have the same meaning. The situation came about because Latin had two prefixes spelled in-, one meaning inside and the other meaning not. You can see these meanings in words such as incarcerate (incarcerar) and incredible (increà ­ble), respectively. So with inhabitable the prefix in English has the inside meaning, and the identically spelled prefix in Spanish has the not meaning. Interestingly, once upon a time the English inhabitable meant not habitable. Its meaning shifted a few hundred years ago. Ir and Ser in the Preterite Tense Two of the most highly irregular verbs in Spanish are ir (to go) and ser (to be). Although the two verbs have different origins, they share the same preterite conjugation: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron. If you see one of those forms, the only way to know whether it comes from ir or ser is by context. Lima and Limà ³n You may have been taught that limà ³n is the word for lime and lima is the word for lemon—the opposite of what you might expect. While that is true for some Spanish speakers, the truth is that, depending on where you are, either Spanish term at times is used for  either fruit. And in some areas, limas and limones are seen as two similar fruits, both of which may be called lemons in English. In some places, limes arent commonly eaten (theyre native to Asia), so theres no universally understood word for them. In any case, this is one word that you are likely to have to ask the locals about. Mano Mano (hand) is the most common feminine noun that ends in -o. In fact, it is only such word in everyday use if you exclude occupational names (such as el piloto or la piloto for pilot), proper nouns, and a few shortened words such as la disco (short for la discoteca) and la foto (short for la fotografà ­a). Two other feminine nouns ending in -o are seo (cathedral) and nao (ship), but they get almost no use. Marida Most nouns ending in -o that refer to people refer to men, and the ending can be changed to -a to refer to women. So, of course, it makes sense that esposo, a common word for husband, has the feminine form esposa, meaning wife. It would be just as logical to assume that another word for husband, marido, would have corresponding term, marida, for wife. But, at least in standard Spanish, there is no noun marida. In fact, the usual phrase for husband and wife is marido y mujer, with mujer also being the word for woman. Although there may be some limited colloquial use for marida in some areas, its most common use is by foreigners who dont know better. Molestar and Violar To molest someone is a serious offense, but to molestar someone is merely to bother that person (although the phrase molestar sexualmente can have a meaning similar to the English word). An similar situation occurs with violar and violate, but in the other direction. Violar and violacià ³n typically refer to rape, although they can have a less severe meaning. In English violate and violation usually have a mild meaning, although they can refer to rape. In both languages, context makes all the difference. Papas and a Papà ¡ Spanish has four types of papa, although only the first two below are widely used. The first papa comes from Latin, while the others come from indigenous languages: A pope (the head of the Roman Catholic Church). The word normally shouldnt be capitalized except at the beginning of a sentence.In most of Latin America, a potato, which can also be a patata.In Mexico, a type of baby food or bland soup.In Honduras, a foolish woman. Also, papà ¡ is an informal word for father, sometimes the equivalent of daddy. Unlike the other papas, its stress or accent is on the second syllable. Por vs. Para There are perhaps no prepositions more confounding for Spanish students than por and para, both of which are frequently translated to English as for. See the lesson on por vs. para for full explanation, but the way-too-short version is that por is typically used to indicate the cause of something while para is used to indicate a purpose. Preguntar vs. Pedir Both preguntar and pedir are usually translated as to ask, but they dont mean the same thing. Preguntar refers to asking a question, while pedir is used in making a request. But dont feel bad if you get them mixed up: Spanish speakers learning English often get mixed up with question and doubt as nouns, saying I have a doubt rather than I have a question. Thats because the noun duda has both meanings. Sentar vs. Sentir In the infinitive form, sentar (to sit) and sentir (to feel) are easy to tell apart. The confusion comes when theyre conjugated. Most notably, siento can mean either I sit or I feel. Also, the subjunctive forms of one verb are often the indicative forms of the other. So when you come across verb forms such as sienta and sentamos, youll have to pay attention to the context to know which verb is being conjugated.

Research Paper on Hurricanes - 1581 Words

I have always found the ocean to be a very intriguing part of the Earth. There are infinitely many discoveries that have yet to be made about it. My fascination with the ocean sparked the idea to do my class paper on hurricanes and what they are along with their effects. I remember hearing about all the damages from Hurricane Katrina after it hit the coast near New Orleans. The only information I really know about them is what is briefly covered on the news. I thought it would be interesting to discover the true effects they can have on not only people that endure them, but also the environment as it gets ripped to shreds by the plethora of winds and water. What I Know Most of my knowledge of hurricanes has come from†¦show more content†¦My knowledge includes a very generalized and vague amount of information and I want to know those parts that not everybody sees on the news. I would also like to know what precautions can be made for the best safety and know more about the organizations available for when the disasters do strike. Basically, I want to widen my knowledge of what hurricanes do to people and the environment after they strike. What I Found Out There are many people who, after they have endured the trauma of a hurricane, refuse to return to their old houses, or even the area in general. People have different experiences with these traumatic disasters and all deal with them differently. If there is one thing for certain, it’s that they all deal with some sort of loss. Hurricanes are a gigantic setback financially. According to AcuWeather, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the average cost of damages jumped from $1.8 billion to $9 billion. Hurricane Katrina’s damages cost $145 billion and therefore increased the average cost of damages of a hurricane (www.acuweather.com). Who pays for all these damages? People who live in hurricane prone areas obviously have insurance to fall back on when these disasters strike. It turns out that insurance companies also have insurance for instances like this. When insurance companies get stuck paying out large sums of money to a lot of people, they occasionally need a little help andShow MoreRelatedHurricane Katrina Research Paper2471 Words   |  10 PagesHurricane Katrina Hurricanes are powerful and dangerous storms that involve great rain and win. When a tropical storm has a wind speed greater than 75 miles per hour, it is considered a hurricane. The United States of America has dealt with many hurricanes that have cost a substantial amount of damage. However there is one hurricane that occurred in 2005 that stands out among the others, Hurricane Katrina. 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The Day I Realized My Passion free essay sample

Every day before I left my boss always said the world is your playground and don’t you ever forget it. The best part of my daily routine is work and yes, many high school students don’t look forward to work, but I do and it’s because I have the best job anyone could ask for. I work at an after school program with kids and being able to be around them is the highlight of my day. It is the part of the day that I get to be as creative, care-free, and silly as the child I was. This after school program is the reason I’m the person I am today. I attended the same after school program when I was a child and it has become a part of me; it has become my second home. My boss and mentor, Ron Heath, was always the person who was there for me and my family. We will write a custom essay sample on The Day I Realized My Passion or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He provided me with extra support as I grew up. When I was old enough to work I was ecstatic, but I had no idea what I was in for. The first day on the job, I was under the assumption that I would just play all day long as I had done in my childhood. That day wasn’t what I expected, but learned that I am responsible for the well-being my kids, I have to be the example that the kids follow, and the key to a successful day is balance. I feel like if I didn’t go through this my life very different right now as I apply for college. On the first day I learned the most important thing. At first I was scared to be alone with kids because I finally understood that I am responsible for their well-being. Even though I had other staff with me, I still knew in the back of my mind that I would be alone with these kids later on. That day, a girl named Lily fell on the concrete and scraped her entire knee. I felt horrible because she was in pain, but my co-worker and I took her inside, cleaned her up, and fixed her leg. I realized that in time I can be the person to make the kids feel better on my own. With my first mistake of day, I realized that I had some learning to do for this job, and the only way to do that was to go through it. A significant thing I learned was that I am the example for the kids and that they do what I do. My first day we went to the playground and played a game called sand is poison. In this game you cannot tough the ground. I made the mistake of climbing on the outside of the railing that was high off the ground and one of the other kids did it with me. When the game was over I had a talk with my boss; he explained that the kids look up to me more than ever now, and that I need to be the good example for them to follow. I then understood that he was right; in order to succeed in my job I needed to be the role model that the kids could confide in and admire. Another essential thing I learned was that key to doing this job is balance. I thought that this job would be a piece of cake and I was wrong. I learned that I had to be the person that the kids looked up to and that I also had to be the creative thinker to keep them entertained and busy. When I first started I had to run games in the gym. I mostly stuck to the simple games that I knew, but after a while they became very bored. I recognized at this point I had to be creative so I came up with a game on the spot called musical hoops. All the kids loved it and still beg me to play it today. The best way I learned is by going through it and it’s made into a better more responsible adult. This job taught me how to balance being responsible and being silly. Even though my first day was a struggle, by the end of the day I knew this what my passion is and to this day it has not changed. It was not easy learning the ropes and I been through many mistakes, but I have learned from those mistakes and I’m a better person because of it. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to be the reason a child is smiling, to be the person to provide a child with a great day every day, and to be the person to make the kids feel better. My dad told me that if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. I hope that one day I can say that he was right.