Sarah Crumpler Instructor Laird ENGL 1302-1000 30 September 2009 Getting Nitty-Gritty with Richard Cory In the poem “Richard Cory”, Edwin Arlington Robinson writes about a man that seemed to have all desirable possessions one would want. The man’s name was Richard Cory. One could put together that the townspeople saw Cory to be a handsome, wealthy, and very well read gentleman. Similarly, X. J. Kennedy describes Cory as a “rich and high-born loser” (2). Everyone seemed to look up at him in awe.
Money or Happiness Does money really buy happiness? The poem “Richard Cory”, by Edwin Arlington Robinson gives a “grass is greener” opinion with a shocking twist. The speaker in the poem, the lower class townspeople, tells about a wealthy gentleman by the name of Richard Cory; a man who has everything they wish they had. It’s written with four quatrain stanzas with a rhyme pattern of a, b, a, b in each stanza. The speaker uses a variety of poetic devices to convey his theme that even though one may seem to have everything in one sense, they have nothing in another.
The greatness of an individual can be defined in terms far beyond tangible accomplishments. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s greatness comes from his need to experience success and his will to achieve his dreams. Nick Carraway narrates the story, and his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, is Gatsby’s love. Daisy, however, is married to Tom Buchanan, a wealthy, arrogant womanizer who despises Gatsby. Gatsby feels the need to be successful and wealthy, and his participation in a bootlegging operation allows him to acquire the wealth and social status needed to attract Daisy.
One says to the other, “[Caesar] comes in triumph over Pompey’s blood” (1.1.52). This quote signifies that Caesar is a great military leader and shows that he just had a victory over another great leader, Pompey. When asked why one of the cobblers wasn’t working, he replied. “But indeed, sir, we make holiday to see Caesar and to rejoice in his triumph” (1.1.31-32). This shows that Caesar is of great power because people are taking the day of work just to rejoice in his triumph.
“The Man Who Dies...Rich Dies Disgraced.” A Captain of Industry is an innovator whose business practices and charitable contributions bridge both industry and society, which is unlike Robber Barons, who achieved fame and fortune through dishonest unscrupulous means. Generally speaking, a Captain of Industry is a man who generate money, while Robber Barons exploit money. Andrew Carnegie, millionaire and philanthropist, the man who revolutionized the steel process and created an empire, was a Captain of Industry, because he made sound investments throughout his life, funded public libraries and churches, and endowed many other organizations. As a youth, Carnegie’s schooling ended when he left Scotland, and he only had a few years of it. He later tried to make up for his lack of a formal education with self-study; he gained access to private libraries, read voraciously, and learned skills that got him numerous promotions before the age of 17.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is one of those underserving individuals that somehow has gained admiration and applause in the world’s society. No doubt, Odysseus has heroic traits, but instead he uses them for selfish gain; ultimately causing him to prevail as a negative role model. He possesses overwhelming charisma and wit, which woven with outstanding hubris, transforms his character from a possible great Ithacan king and veteran into nothing more than an unadmirable figure of a man. Some of the most memorable and questioned escapades in the Odyssey are Odysseus’ romantic endeavors. Indisputably, these rendezvous are a result of Odysseus’ unparalleled charisma.
“For all his failings, Gatsby is a far more admirable person than Tom or Daisy.” To what extent do you agree? Parading across the pages of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s definitive novel ‘The Great Gatsby” are an endless array of hedonistic, shallow and corrupt characters. In the character of Gatsby, the readers see a man who creates extravagant wealth on the back of illegal activities and who is complicit in lies and deception in order to reunite with his past love Daisy. However, despite failing to reach this grandiloquent dream, Gatsby is nonetheless “worth the whole damn bunch put together” and a mixture of sympathy and esteem are induced from the readers for his bravery, self control and determination. On the other hand, in the world Gatsby inhabits that is filled with the vacuous party goers, the cheating Jordan Baker, the shadowy villain Meyer Wolfsheim and the parasiite Kipspringer, the most detestable characters above all are the adulterant and violent Tom Buchannan and the shallow and indulged Daisy Buchanan.
Adams also believes that like his boss, everyone has a manager who is ill informed and doesn’t have a clue as to what is going on. He feels strongly that engineers know exactly what to do but they are always constrained by their managers. He also brings in many professions in his comic strip such as engineers, accountants, consultants so that all of them can relate to corporate America. Scott Adams also had good number of experience in the corporate world to see and understand perceived notions that best candidates don’t always land the dream job or even gets the job. He also acknowledges that some people may even take credit for the work done by you or others who don’t speak up or take part in being social.
John Grisham was inspired by his own life, as well as his grandfather’s, to write A Painted House (jgrisham.com). Luke Chandler, the main character and the narrator of the novel, is based on Grisham and his grandfather (Zaleski 108). John Grisham’s vivid use of characterization throughout A Painted House is used to develop his theme, the foundation of family. The novel A Painted House shows many examples of characterization. Grisham puts Eli Chandler (Pappy) in the category of farmers whom he describes as “hardworking men who embrace pessimism only when discussing the weather and crops” (Grisham 1).
As Booth laid there dying, Lucinda Holloway sat beside Booth and moist his tongue. He asked to see his hands and she placed them where he could see them. “Useless, Useless” (pg.287) he whispered. He was now helpless and those were the hands that had killed the president. I tried to write more about what John Wilkes Booth was thinking during his time before killing Abraham Lincoln only because it was well thought out, but when it came to his running he really did not know what to do.