The American Dream in The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

The American Dream is an idea and a myth that people struggle for but can never be achieved. It cannot be attained because it is an endless race for perfection and better than oneself. For some the dream might be to become impossibly wealthy, or become stronger and smarter than one can be. People pursue the American dream because they believe it has been accomplished before. We live in a society where perfection is ideal and flaws are covered up or hidden. Americans believe that everyone else is perfect because that is what they are shown, and they strive to copy that flawless image too. They are thought of in the same way however, and the All-American power struggle ensues, with each group being more jealous than the next.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  America is founded on the principle of liberty, the notion that everyone is free to say and write what they want, and that everyone is equal. Some people assume that since so much freedom is allowed, at least one person is exercising that freedom to its fullest. They work their whole lives to try to be like that person, but that person does not exist. They want to be as rich as him, as sophisticated as him, and as powerful as him. These people are called the wealthy. Karl Marx would describe them as â€Å"The Haves†. They differ morally with the majority of the population, but then again they vastly different from the people they perceive as having all the freedom to do what they want. The Great Gatsby illustrates the story these people, and how they are corrupted by the potential of seemingly limitless freedom. Jay Gatsby and Tom and Daisy Buchanan are the elite. They have it all, from huge sprawling mansions to private golf courses. They want it all, and more often than not, they get it all. Tom and Daisy are out for pleasure, but loner Jay Gatsby is looking for love after wasting his life for so many years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tom and Daisy Buchanan are not modest people. They know they are rich and they flaunt it. They openly show off their wealth openly to Nick when he comes to visit. Money has taken over their lives and they know it. They are living the American Dream of money, power, and sophistication. Tom is described as a â€Å"hulking wad of muscle†, which could mean that the Buchanans is a deciption of the corrupted rich families with money and power.

President :: essays research papers

second Vice President of the United States. Garner was born near Detroit, Red River County, Texas. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1890, and began practice in Uvalde, Uvalde County, Texas. He was a judge of Uvalde County from 1893 to 1896 and a member of the state House of Representatives from 1898 to 1902. Garner was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives in 1902 from a newly created congressional district covering tens of thousands of square miles of rural South Texas. He was elected from the district fourteen subsequent times, serving until 1933. Garner's hard work and integrity made him a respected leader in the House, and he was chosen to serve as minority floor leader for the Democrats in 1929, and then as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives in 1931. In 1932, Garner ran for the Democratic Presidential nomination, becoming one of New York Governor Franklin Roosevelt's most serious opponents for the nomination. When it became evident that Roosevelt would win the nomination, Garner cut a deal with the front-runner, becoming Roosevelt's Vice Presidential candidate. He was re-elected to the Seventy-third Congress on November 8, 1932, and on the same day was elected Vice President of the United States. He was reelected Vice President in 1936 and served in that office from March 4, 1933 to January 20, 1941. Garner, always the character, once described the office of the vice presidency as being "not worth a bucket of warm piss" (at the time reported with the bowdlerization "spit") and that his decision to take it in the first place was "the worst damn fool mistake I ever made." During Roosevelt's second term, the previously warm relationship between Garner and Roosevelt quickly soured, as Garner disagreed sharply with Roosevelt on a wide range of important issues. Garner supported federal intervention to break up the first sit-down strike, supported a balanced federal budget, opposed packing the Supreme Court with additional judges, and opposed executive interference with the internal business of the Congress. After Roosevelt sought to defeat in the 1938 primaries Democrats who opposed him, Garner began to see himself as the champion of the regular Democratic Party, as opposed to the New Deal party which supported Roosevelt. During 1938 and 1939, numerous Democratic party leaders urged Garner to run for President in 1940. Gallup polls showed that Garner was the favorite among Democratic voters, presuming that Roosevelt would not run for a third term.

The First Day In Australia

Would like to talk about my first day in Australia in this essay. I arrived in Sydney on the 3rd of April 201 3 and it was raining heavily. However, everything looked interesting to me. Was planning to visit Commonwealth Bank at Martin Place as soon as I stepped out of the airplane. When got there, was surprised because the architectural style of the building was luxurious and antique, and it felt very Western. Then I met a teller who greeted me kindly. He made jokes to me. They were funny jokes, but at that time, I did not answer.I was regretful I could not say anything to him in English. After that, I left for a backpacker hostel that is known as a popular place for foreigners. Unfortunately, there were a lot Of people waiting to Stay in there. Thus, I had to move another one. Finally I found a different backpacker hostel. As I opened the door of my room, its melancholic atmosphere overwhelmed me. Eventually, I decided to stay only 3 days because of the uncomfortable, unfamiliar ai r and because the accommodation fee was unfair.In the first night, I was not able to sleep deeply. Lying in the bed, really worried about my life in Australia. Being unsure about my future made me afraid. Time has slipped along. Compared with the past, many things have changed recently. Nowadays I am trying to improve my life in Australia constantly in order to step forward by studying English and making friends. If I have an opportunity, I would like to settle in Australia.

The Biography and Inventions of Inventor Thomas Edison

The Biography and Inventions of Inventor Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio; the seventh and last child of Samuel and Nancy Edison. When Edison was seven his family moved to Port Huron, Michigan. Edison lived here until he struck out on his own at the age of sixteen. Edison had very little formal education as a child, attending school only for a few months. He was taught reading, writing, and arithmetic by his mother, but was always a very curious child and taught himself much by reading on his own. This belief in self-improvement remained throughout his life. Work as a Telegrapher Edison began working at an early age, as most boys did at the time. At thirteen he took a job as a newsboy, selling newspapers and candy on the local railroad that ran through Port Huron to Detroit. He seems to have spent much of his free time reading scientific, and technical books, and also had the opportunity at this time to learn how to operate a telegraph. By the time he was sixteen, Edison was proficient enough to work as a telegrapher full time. First Patent The development of the telegraph was the first step in the communication revolution, and the telegraph industry expanded rapidly in the second half of the 19th century. This rapid growth gave Edison and others like him a chance to travel, see the country, and gain experience. Edison worked in a number of cities throughout the United States before arriving in Boston in 1868. Here Edison began to change his profession from telegrapher to inventor. He received his first patent on an electric vote recorder, a device intended for use by elected bodies such as Congress to speed the voting process. This invention was a commercial failure. Edison resolved that in the future he would only invent things that he was certain the public would want. Marriage to Mary Stilwell Edison moved to New York City in 1869. He continued to work on inventions related to the telegraph, and developed his first successful invention, an improved stock ticker called the Universal Stock Printer. For this and some related inventions, Edison was paid $40,000. This gave Edison the money he needed to set up his first small laboratory and manufacturing facility in Newark, New Jersey in 1871. During the next five years, Edison worked in Newark inventing and manufacturing devices that greatly improved the speed and efficiency of the telegraph. He also found time to get married to Mary Stilwell and start a family. Move to Menlo Park In 1876 Edison sold all his Newark manufacturing concerns and moved his family and staff of assistants to the small village of Menlo Park, twenty-five miles southwest of New York City. Edison established a new facility containing all the equipment necessary to work on any invention. This research and development laboratory was the first of its kind anywhere; the model for later, modern facilities such as Bell Laboratories, this is sometimes considered to be Edisons greatest invention. Here Edison began to change the world. The first great invention developed by Edison in Menlo Park was the tin foil phonograph. The first machine that could record and reproduce sound created a sensation and brought Edison international fame. Edison toured the country with the tin foil phonograph  and was invited to the White House to demonstrate it to President Rutherford B. Hayes in April 1878. Edison next undertook his greatest challenge, the development of a practical incandescent, electric light. The idea of electric lighting was not new, and a number of people had worked on, and even developed forms of electric lighting. But up to that time, nothing had been developed that was remotely practical for home use. Edisons eventual achievement was inventing not just an incandescent electric light, but also an electric lighting system that contained all the elements necessary to make the incandescent light practical, safe, and economical.    Thomas Edison Founds an Industry Based on Electricity After one and a half years of work, success was achieved when an incandescent lamp with a filament of carbonized sewing thread burned for thirteen and a half hours. The first public demonstration of the Edisons incandescent lighting system was in December 1879, when the Menlo Park laboratory complex was electrically lighted. Edison spent the next several years creating the electric industry. In September 1882, the first commercial power station, located on Pearl Street in lower Manhattan, went into operation providing light and power to customers in a one square mile area; the electric age had begun.    Fame Wealth The success of his electric light brought Edison to new heights of fame and wealth, as electricity spread around the world. Edisons various electric companies continued to grow until in 1889 they were brought together to form Edison General Electric. Despite the use of Edison in the company title however, Edison never controlled this company. The tremendous amount of capital needed to develop the incandescent lighting industry had necessitated the involvement of investment bankers such as J.P. Morgan. When Edison General Electric merged with its leading competitor Thompson-Houston in 1892, Edison was dropped from the name, and the company became simply General Electric. Marriage to Mina Miller This period of success was marred by the death of Edisons wife Mary in 1884. Edisons involvement in the business end of the electric industry had caused Edison to spend less time in Menlo Park. After Marys death, Edison was there even less, living instead in New York City with his three children. A year later, while vacationing at a friends house in New England, Edison met Mina Miller and fell in love. The couple was married in February 1886 and moved to West Orange, New Jersey where Edison had purchased an estate, Glenmont, for his bride. Thomas Edison lived here with Mina until his death.    New Laboratory Factories When Edison moved to West Orange, he was doing experimental work in makeshift facilities in his electric lamp factory in nearby Harrison, New Jersey. A few months after his marriage, however, Edison decided to build a new laboratory in West Orange itself, less than a mile from his home. Edison possessed the both the resources and experience by this time to build, the best equipped and largest laboratory extant and the facilities superior to any other for rapid and cheap development of an invention. The new laboratory complex consisting of five buildings opened in November 1887. A three story main laboratory building contained a power plant, machine shops, stock rooms, experimental rooms and a large library. Four smaller one story buildings built perpendicular to the main building contained a physics lab, chemistry lab, metallurgy lab, pattern shop, and chemical storage. The large size of the laboratory not only allowed Edison to work on any sort of project, but also allowed him to work on as many as ten or twenty projects at once. Facilities were added to the laboratory or modified to meet Edisons changing needs as he continued to work in this complex until his death in 1931. Over the years, factories to manufacture Edison inventions were built around the laboratory. The entire laboratory and factory complex eventually covered more than twenty acres and employed 10,000 people at its peak during World War One (1914-1918). After opening the new laboratory, Edison began to work on the phonograph again, having set the project aside to develop the electric light in the late 1870s. By the 1890s, Edison began to manufacture phonographs for both home, and business use. Like the electric light, Edison developed everything needed to have a phonograph work, including records to play, equipment to record the records, and equipment to manufacture the records and the machines. In the process of making the phonograph practical, Edison created the recording industry. The development and improvement of the phonograph was an ongoing project, continuing almost until Edisons death.    The Movies While working on the phonograph, Edison began working on a device that, does for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear, this was to become motion pictures. Edison first demonstrated motion pictures in 1891, and began commercial production of movies two years later in a peculiar looking structure, built on the laboratory grounds, known as the Black Maria. Like the electric light and phonograph before it, Edison developed a complete system, developing everything needed to both film and show motion pictures. Edisons initial work in motion pictures was pioneering and original. However, many people became interested in this third new industry Edison created, and worked to further improve on Edisons early motion picture work. There were therefore many contributors to the swift development of motion pictures beyond the early work of Edison. By the late 1890s, a thriving new industry was firmly established, and by 1918 the industry had become so competitive that Edison got out of the movie business all together.    Even a Genius Can have a Bad Day 1890s greatest failure    A Profitable Product alkaline battery . By 1911, Thomas Edison had built a vast industrial operation in West Orange. Numerous factories had been built through the years around the original laboratory, and the staff of the entire complex had grown into the thousands. To better manage operations, Edison brought all the companies he had started to make his inventions together into one corporation, Thomas A. Edison Incorporated, with Edison as president and chairman. Aging Gracefully In the 1915, Edison was asked to head the Naval Consulting Board. With the United States inching closer towards the involvement in World War One, the Naval Consulting Board was an attempt to organize the talents of the leading scientists and inventors in the United States for the benefit of the American armed forces. Edison favored preparedness, and accepted the appointment. The Board did not make a notable contribution to the final allied victory, but did serve as a precedent for future successful cooperation between scientists, inventors and the United States military. During the war, at age seventy, Edison spent several months on Long Island Sound in a borrowed navy vessel experimenting on techniques for detecting submarines. Honoring a Lifetime of Achievement Edisons role in life began to change from inventor and industrialist to cultural icon, a symbol of American ingenuity, and a real life Horatio Alger story. In 1928, in recognition of a lifetime of achievement, the United States Congress voted Edison a special Medal of Honor. In 1929 the nation celebrated the golden jubilee of the incandescent light. The celebration culminated at a banquet honoring Edison given by Henry Ford at Greenfield Village, Fords new American history museum, which included a complete restoration of the Menlo Park Laboratory. Attendees included President Herbert Hoover and many of the leading American scientists and inventors. The last experimental work of Edisons life was done at the request of Edisons good friends Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone in the late 1920s. They asked Edison to find an alternative source of rubber for use in automobile tires. The natural rubber used for tires up to that time came from the rubber tree, which does not grow in the United States. Crude rubber had to be imported and was becoming increasingly expensive. With his customary energy and thoroughness, Edison tested thousands of different plants to find a suitable substitute, eventually finding a type of Goldenrod weed that could produce enough rubber to be feasible. Edison was still working on this at the time of his death. A Great Man Dies During the last two years of his life Edison was in increasingly poor health. Edison spent more time away from the laboratory, working instead at Glenmont. Trips to the family vacation home in Fort Myers, Florida became longer. Edison was past eighty and suffering from a number of ailments. In August 1931 Edison collapsed at Glenmont. Essentially house bound from that point, Edison steadily declined until at 3:21 am on October 18, 1931 the great man died.

capital punishment as americans minds change essays

capital punishment as americans minds change essays Capitol Punishment is the harshest punishment there is for a crime in the United States. Just like most ideas and policies in our nation people agree with Capitol Punishment and people dont agree with it. As time goes on more and more Americans support the death penalty. Despite the increase in support there are still questionable factors about Capitol Punishment. It is said that the death penalty is overcrowding our prisons, that there are racial bias, and poor representation for poor defendants when it comes the cases where lawyers are seeking the death penalty. Polls from the 1960s prove that most Americans opposed the death penalty. Most western nations had eliminated the death penalty completely or had modified its use. Polls from the 1990s show that 75-80 percent of Americans support the death penalty ( Monk, 252). Then there are Americans such as Justice Brennan that says the death penalty is uncivilized, inhuman, inconsistent with human dignity and with the sanctity of life. He also says that the death penalty treats the human race as nonhumans, as objects to be toyed with and discarded, that it is uniquely degrading to human dignity and by its very nature, [involves] a denial of the executed persons humanity ( Monk, 270). There is a lot of people these days dont like the fact that we have government programs that cost a great deal of money and produce less results. These are the programs that people want to due away with. The death penalty is one of the least efficient government programs in America is also among the most popular. Capitol Punishment is favored by more than three- quarters of the American voters. Case studies have also proven that the cost to carry out a death sentence is far more expensive than it is it hold a prisoner for life. In the year 1994 death row exceeded 3000 prisoners natio...

Catholic - I Believe In God Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

Catholic - I Believe In God Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers Catholic - I Believe In God Christy Sanchez STILL CATHOLIC AFTER ALL THESE YEARS I believe in God, Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ, His only begotten son, Our Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and of Mary, the Virgin, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate and buried; on the third day He rose from the dead ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead; and in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Church; the remission of sins; and the resurrection of the dead. (Apostles Creed) I am Catholic, and this prayer that is said at church every Sunday encompasses my beliefs as a Catholic. Before I get into what I believe in as a Catholic, I would like to give some background on the religion itself, because this has also shaped my beliefs. Catholicism comes from Christianity. Of all the religions, Christianity is the most widespread and has the largest number of members. (Smith, p.317) Christianity is based on actual history, and they have historical facts to back up a lot of the ideas. The word Catholic is generally taken to mean universal, although the Greek roots of the word mean according to (kata) the whole (holos). In the ancient Church, it was used to refer to a single, visible communion, separate from others, bonded together through faith in Jesus Christ (web). As far back as the ninth century, St. Cyril of Jerusalem stated: The Church is called Catholic, because it teaches universally and infallibly each and every doctrined which must come to the knowledge of men, concerning things visible and invisible, heavenly and earthly, because it brings every race of men into subjection to holiness, because it universally treats and heals every class of sins, and because it possesses within itself every conceivable form of virtue, in deeds and in words and in the spiritual gifts of every description. Catholics are followers of Jesus. Our journey begins at baptism, and we continue on that journey towards eternal happiness. There are two main ideas that separate Catholicism from Christianity. The first is that Catholics believe in the Church as its teacher. This means that just as you might need a math teacher to explain your textbook in a way that you understand, we need the leaders of the Church (Pope, bishops, and priests) to interpret the Bible. We shouldn't take everything the Bible says literally, and these leaders help us to apply its teachings to our lives. The second main idea is that there are seven Sacraments (baptism, confession, communion, confirmation, marriage, annointing of the sick, Holy Orders) that we need to incorporate into our lives so that we may live the teachings of the Church. It is one thing to hear how we should live our lives, but it is another to do. That is where the Sacraments help. The Church has laws governing the reception of all the sacraments. Members are expected to try and understand the meaning of the Church's rituals and to develop a full sacramental lifestyle. ( web) Catholicism has other teachings that are integral to the religion. Followers are expected to live according to the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament, the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, and the laws and moral teachings of the Church. The Church is officially against any racial or national criteria for membership. It is a universal church, and everyone is welcome. (web) There is also no age requirement to become Catholic, although there are age restrictions on some of the Sacraments. Members of the Catholic Church are expected to offer Christian services within the Church and the community, and to be especially generous with both time and money to the poor. Church members are expected to support their church. However, no one is excluded based on his or her lack of financial contributions. Baptism is required for membership. The Catholic Church requires its members to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days, and to participate in prayer services and celebration of the sacraments . Those are the core beliefs that date back to it's earliest teachings. Some of the beliefs that are heard about in more recent times, are

Application Essay Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Application Essay - Personal Statement Example They were my source of encouragement and inspiration. I heeded to their advice and took my education seriously. I did excel in everything and this could at times caused envy among my peers. Some would even call me the teacher’s pet. Afterwards, I joined High School which was also a Diocese boarding school. This time I was really missing my parents at home but my father kept on promising me for good performance. Those promises motivated me so much that I had to forget missing home. My favorite discipline was business studies. I even dreamt of becoming a business consultant. My hard work paid off and I excelled well in my High school studies. Since my father owned a successful business, he supported me in applying for admission at various local and international universities. Fortunately, I got a letter of admission and enrolled for a BS in Management. I could now achieve my long-term goal of becoming a professional business administrator. I was very excited at this. Things were tough but through my zeal, determination together with a can do attitude made me work harder aiming at getting all the concepts. After four years of hard work, I managed to graduate with a BS in Management second class honors Upper Division in the year 2011.I was delighted and Dad and Mum being quite overwhelmed by my performance, they sent me to USA where I secured a job with a US based Aviation Company as an Account Leader in sales and I am currently working there. I will be enrolling for my MBA studies here at the United States of America to crown my Bachelors with advanced skills and knowledge from the studies. After I am through with my post-baccalaureate study, I will return to Indonesia and help my Father to expand his business activities, instill to its management high business administration skills and techniques. i will also register and open a business consultation company, that will provide the