Chernus: The Meaning Of Myth In American Culture

In the culture we live in today, we are bombarded with ideas and images of “what we should be”. We are expected and obligated to modify ourselves in order to live up to social expectations and to feel accepted by others. It is the fear of being an outcast that pressures us to mask our true identity. Therefore, in an American culture, one can form an identity and still remain true and authentic to oneself through nonconformity and self-reliance. Jon Krakauer’s novel Into the Wild portrays Chris McCandless’s journey of discovering his true identity through the idea of nonconformity.

This book helps the readers learn from the character’s reactions to their problems. Also, the idea that authors build well developed characters to bring about a deeper understanding is shown through the poem Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar. In this poem, the speaker explains of being trapped in the things that society says about him. Through these texts, it is evident that authors can best create empathy in their readers by developing great characters because when characters go through daily events that are challenging and troublesome, the readers are able to relate and understand what they are going through or we are able to learn from their experiences and influence us to adjust our lifestyles. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by

Discoveries and discovering can offer new understandings and renewed perceptions of ourselves, others and our world. Ladies and gentlemen of the HSC panel, thank you for providing this opportunity for me to speak to you on the concept of discovery, and share my thoughts on how this area of study can be explored through texts. The discovery process is a crucial way we can help people arrive at the truth and overcome confusions and uncertainties that have a negative impact on the quality of life. Michael Gow’s play Away and Les Murray’s poem “The Widower in the Country” are two texts that present personal experiences of conflict because of the difficulty of accepting reality, and discover the real problems and issues that they are either unaware of or simply choose to ignore. Both texts demonstrate the challenge of overcoming emotional obstacles, whether it is the death of a loved one or a dysfunctional relationship.

This particular quote shows that people of the town are really not willing to speak up for the discrimination until they have been in that exact same situation. This is also an example of empathy applied in a way to convince the world with the hiding lies for good. We all have done this in some way in our lives for good. This helps in the broadening of the description, which allows the reader to emotionally and mentally connect with character by reading about the expressed

Thesis: Both authors in the essay “In Defense of Prejudice” and “Mommy What does ‘Nigger’ Mean?” address controversial topics in the world. While Rauch tackles the idea to protect minorities, Naylor discusses the power of language; however, they both hit on the different stereotypes presented to them throughout their own lives. By successfully using their own personal stories, both authors are able to justify their arguments and create credible personas for the audience. Paragraph I Topic Sentence: Rauch and Naylor were born in two different social spectrum of the world. Through their essays, they break down the social stereotypes through informing the audience of the unknown.

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be,” Kurt Vonnegut Jr. once said. Considering his work, Harrison Bergeron, that seems to be true, a world that worries about equality, generally a good thing, but leads to totalitarianism. Vonnegut criticizes a political issue, the involvement of the state in the lives of individuals and the challenges of changing modern society we face. The author uses his short story to teach a lesson, but a lesson the reader has to conclude for himself. Vonnegut clearly shows the intention of educating his reader, giving him a chance to draw his own conclusion instead of presenting him with a preconceived solution.

The Grandmother has a sense that reality should revolve around her and that she should manipulate tools such as religion to benefit her outcome. The Misfit is seen as being a part of reality and only believing what he sees with physical evidence. He also stays true to his morals of what he believes is right and wrong, especially when it comes to showing the equality of no mercy among the family members. Both characters reveal their use of Jesus, the spiritual battle that inhibits them and their concepts of reality. All of this gives insight to how there are no good or bad characters at the finale of this story.

“The Columbian Orator” has profound effects on Douglass’s life, as he recalls, “The readings of these documents enabled me to utter my thoughts, and to meet the arguments brought forward to sustain slavery.” (Douglass, 2014, p. 132) Douglass’s ability to read empowered him to read documents which strengthened his stance against slavery, giving his arguments validity and basis, rather than only his biased opinion. As a result, he has the opportunity for a credible argument. He continues to further his pursuit of education by learning how to write. He conveys the importance of knowing to write by saying, “. .

In Rudolfo Anaya's post WWII Chicano novel Bless Me, Ultima Anaya uses the symbol of the Golden Carp to present an alternative from Christianity that Antonio feels he needs. At the beginning of the novel Antonio is stressed and concerned by his religion Christianity. This was probably why the Golden Carp is such an escape for all his questions and problems. For

Many people turn to religion for an explanation of the unknown or the unexplained; others turn to their own intellect. Thousands of philosophers have dedicated their lives to try and find truth. Some believe they have succeeded while others died still searching. The concept of morality has also been debated for centuries. Agreed upon ideas of what is right and what is wrong are crucial components of any functional society.