Critical Essay on The Glass Menagerie
Tennessee Williams’ play The Glass Menagerie is about undergoing the transition from childhood to adulthood and the decision to leave home and become independent. The decision is made with the understanding of the difference between reality as well as illusion. Tom makes the decision to leave home, aware that there are things in life he can control and others which are beyond his control. This story revolves around persons who are not aware of themselves or their true identity. Paul tries to encourage his family members to be more aware of their true selves. People tend to run away from reality and create illusions that they believe in. These illusions blind them, encouraging them to live in a dream world. So many people live this kind of life, and by the time they become aware of reality, they are too late or unable to revert to their true selves.
A major them in Williams’ The Glass Menagerie is that people live a dream life by making any effort to understand their potentials and capabilities.
Throughout the play, the characters try to create illusions because they find reality very painful. This makes the characters believe too much in their illusions, which results in them being accepted by their society in a way that they should not be accepted. Believing in illusions is a psychological problem because these people are no longer in control of their senses. Illusions cause, people to become more of dreamers and this can affect their relationship with the family members who perceived life from a different perspective. A dreamer is unlikely to agree on many issues with a person who bases his life on reality. A dreamer will always remain a dreamer, and his or her ideas are unlikely to produce anything important.
Critical Essay on “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
A first glance of Carver’s “Cathedral” gives one the impression that a religious theme is involved in the story. However, this perception is far from the actual content of the story. For instance, no cathedrals are mentioned until in the story’s third section. Even when a cathedral is introduced into the story, it is clear that no single character is actively religious. From this, one can argue that the title does not fit this particular story.
Furthermore, the narrator in Carver’s story uses a conspiratorial tone to present his thoughts and experiences. To the reader, the story appears as if the narrator merely talks to the reader, not to pass any vital message, but rather to keep the reader amused. Additionally, from the narrator’s tone, one gets the feeling that the narrator is attempting to relate certain happenings in terms that are clear as well as precise. In recounting his feelings, the narrator does not get emotional or attempt to persuade the reader to develop a liking for him. A further implication from the narrator’s tone is that the story is about relating the incidents from a particular time, without influencing the reader’s feelings concerning the incidents. However, the reader can detect some sincerity in the narrator’s tone. The narrator does not attempt to hide the desperate situation he is in, nor does he attempt to deceive the reader into thinking that he is highly optimistic about recovering from what befalls him.
Definition Essay on Success
The definition of success differs from one person to another. Most people work hard throughout their lives to achieve success. That might mean acquiring an education, being able to take care of one’s family, achieving all life’s ambitions, or making money that would be enough to live happily.
One interesting view about success is that it means something different to each person. At the same time, perceptions of success can be faulty. Someone may seem to be successful, but scandals and ruins can easily follow if a person has made poor choices to achieve his ideal of success. A lot of people tend to confess that the people they once considered very successful in life turned out to be rather miserable. Some of the individuals who are successful, especially when measured in terms of material wealth, are often afraid of other people trying to take advantage of them. Basically, one common observation in life is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to be successful in every aspect of life. In most cases, one can be successful in one part of life and be a total failure in another.
Cause and Effect Essay on Technology
Technology has been part of mans development since the first man took up a dried husk to scoop up water. Over the millenniums technology developed from using stones as rudimentary tools to such developments as sending men to the moon, or probes into our galaxy and beyond. The debate has long raged as to whether technology is the cause or the effect of situations. Water technology, which is vital to mans existence, is an example that mans need drives technology.
Early man simply lived beside Lakes Rivers or streams. Their numbers were small and the supply immense renewed every rainy season. In Egypt, the Nile flooded every year depositing silt. However, to grow crops it was necessary to develop technology. This was the cause or reason for their effort.
They had this fertile soil, a mighty river of fresh water, but to farm they needed to bring water from the river to the fields. They soon developed a system of canals, and buckets mounted on frames to lift water from the river into the canals. The effects were staggering. Not only did they feed themselves, soon they became the breadbasket of the known world. This had further effect in that it caused businesses to develop, trade in many imports and wealth to pay for it. Finally, it paid for further technological development in areas such as military power.
Reaction Essay on Global Warming
The major purpose of a reaction essay is to allow the writer to carefully assess his or her feelings or thoughts concerning a given topic. With this purpose in mind, the tips on writing a good reaction paper are very simple. The obvious need is to obtain a clear understanding of the phenomenon to which one is required to react. In the process, one must evaluate his or her feelings concerning that phenomenon. This involves identifying the arguments with which one concurs, and those that he/she opposes. It is also helpful for the writer to consider whether he or she agrees with related allegations.
It is a fact that the world is experiencing a significant climate change, as is evident in unpredictable weather patterns. This has led to an international discussion of global warming and its threat to future existence of life on earth. For example, it is difficult to predict each year what geographic locations will experience rainfall and to what extent. Additionally, ice caps are melting, resulting in the rise of the sea level in some low-laying land areas, many of these highly populated with people. Furthermore, for the past couple of years, world media has aired news of huge wildfires in a number of locations world-wide. Moreover, deadly heat waves are occurring more frequently. Severe storms have also been witnessed in various parts of the world, causing loss of human lives and destruction of property. In addition, severe droughts that had hitherto never been experienced are becoming commonplace in many countries. These are concrete examples that global warming is a real threat.
