Holden explores the concept of relationships through the similar attitudes displayed towards popular society and his repulsion of their values. Holden is seen throughout the novel to have difficulty accepting people due to their pretentious nature and expresses this through the constant use of the word “phony.” “…very phony, Ivy League voices, one of those very tried, snobby voices” this quote by Holden displays his criticism of middle to upper class America. Holden’s relationship with his own parents is one that he deems
Modern “America” The poem “America,” by Tony Hoagland, desc2ribes the narrator’s journey as he goes through a mental and implied makeover. One of the defining elements of Tony Hoagland’s “America” are the comparisons. Metaphor is perhaps the most important poetic device within Hoagland’s poem. The poem starts off with a student comparing America to a maximum-security prison, because the young student mourns the modern American consumer-based value system. In “America,” Hoagland uses metaphors to illustrate the growing influence of consumerism, capitalism, and most of all the greed that rules the modern American society.
These products are ones, which influence and colonise other ‘infant’ countries. Dawe expresses this allegorical poem in the same way as a process of life, except he symbolises how American culture is spreading, just like a mother’s figure being passed on to her child. He is criticizing consumerism by representing Australia or any nation as the infant and America as the
The two protagonists are anti –heroes and demonstrate non-conformity; they rebel against the apparent hypocrisy present in their respective societies. Salinger and Steers portray the ideals of non-conformity through symbols, appearance, actions and society’s conventional expectations in the respective texts to demonstrate rejection to society’s values and beliefs. Steers and Salinger use various symbols in their texts to the idea of explore non- conformity. In Igby goes down Steers uses the American flag as a symbol in which he displays the concept of non-conformity. There is a scene in which we see the protagonist (Igby) smoking behind the America flag to conceal the smell of smoke.
| Normally, this repetition would mean a reader could remember this point, but here, we sense the author’s embarrassment which he reveals by “tell[ing] them [his friends] that it’s a Guinness”. | anecdotes | Author personalises his account by including anecdotes about the BBQ skill of Australians. “I’ve seen newborn babies suckling…while reaching toward the Weber… holding a match”.Second story – “ ‘It’s gas, just turn the bloody knob.’ ” | Normally anecdotes position the reader to respond emotionally and accept the truth of the author’s point. Here, the author uses such a ridiculous story that it serves to highlight the underlying argument – that BBQ skills are another construction of ‘typical Aussies’. These are stereotypes.-the second anecdote adds dry humour to the situation | Inclusive language | “I can’t even light a BBQ.
Orwell’s perspective as a reluctant and disgusted colonizer shapes his essay’s development, detail and main thesis. The essay’s first-person narrative, causal analysis and the detail it employs obviously produce a powerful condemnation of British colonialism. However, while Orwell briefly lists the obvious abuses of colonialism---the torture of prisoners, the appalling conditions in imperial jails, the destruction of the colonized’s spirit---he focuses his essay’s detail and development on colonialism’s effects on himself as colonizer, how this system causes his degradation and corruption as a human being. He presents his younger self as tormented by his role in this system, but also as someone who has absorbed its racist attitudes. He emphasizes his “intolerable sense of guilt” (313), but also his contradictory hatred of the Burmese, those “evil-spirited little beasts” (314), as well as his callous disregard for the native man killed by the elephant (319).
Consumerism in Australian society is a large concern that is explored throughout Bruce Dawes poems. In Bruce Dawes Americanized it is written in an ironic and bitter tone. This symbolises the abruptness of the American culture. The poet is Australia yet he still writes using American grammar to highlight his theme of American culture and its grasp on the
Journal 03: America Tony Hoagland’s poem “America” uses specific nouns and metaphors to tell readers that America is too obsessed with material objects and self-satisfaction. Hoagland uses these nouns and metaphors to hide truth from the naked eye, specific diction is also used in combination with these metaphors to expose corruption in American society. In the opening lines, Hoagland writes, “Then one of the students with blue hair and a tongue stud / Says that America is for him a maximum-security prison / Whose walls are made of Radio Shacks, Burger Kings, and MTV episodes.” Hoagland almost lists the details of American trends by mentioning hair color and piercings, and by describing businesses like Radio Shack which sell 70-inch flat screen televisions, which are completely unnecessary, and fast food restaurants like McDonald’s that give super-sized food portions. These allow readers to immediately see the ridiculous
What is nativism? citizens who fear that large influxes of foreigners will corrupt American culture, undermine American democracy, and impoverish American workers. 3. How does Thomas Bailey Aldrich's poem "Unguarded Gates" represent a strain of American thought? Aldrich's poem may strike modern readers as embarrassingly xenophobic, if not downright racist.
Although the two novels share a common theme, the authorial purposes contrast in nature. Both Steinbeck and Fitzgerald depict the illusion of the American Dream; Steinbeck however conveys the belief that American society in the early 20th century severely retards individuals’ opportunity of attaining the American Dream. Fitzgerald focuses on expressing his disdain toward the wealthy, and uncovers the downside of the extravagant lifestyle the rich possess. Nonetheless, Of Mice and Men and The Great Gatsby encompass the fallacy of the American Dream and tell a story of desperate individuals struggling to capture a dream just out of reach. Throughout The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald consistently uses characterization to provide an in depth view of the characters in the story.