Challenges in The Promised Land - Essay Example

Part I: Short Answers: Write on 10 questions, from the 16 listed Mary Antins Promised Land is one of Parinis 13 books that changed America. How do you see it changing America? What was the nature of the migration it speaks about? The Promised Land was about the challenges Mary Antins family faced as an immigrant family of Russian Jews moving to America. It is largely optimistic, and Antin felt liberated by the differences in America, where she could get education, and Russia, where she was discriminated against. She hoped all immigrants to America would have the same chance at making their lives better. It speaks about migration into America from around the world. 2. Why do you think Dale Carnegies How to Win Friends and Influence People had such a great impact on America? It gives the impression that anybody can be successful and influential, and continues the classic American ideas that social standing and how much money you have dont matter, as long as youre willing to work hard. It is very democratic because having a book about how to become important levels the playing field. 3. How do you see Alfred E. Smiths article, “Can a Catholic be President?” as having an influence on American values? This article was important because at the time, everybody thought a Catholic president would basically just do whatever the Pope said without thinking of America first. However, Smiths article argues that this belief was completely against Americas constitution, which allowed for both freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. It influenced American values by drawing peoples attention again to the basic rights set out by the constitution with regards to religious rights. 5. Jack Kerouacs On the Road is one of the most influential books in American history. What affect did it have on American values? On the Road, like other books and poems published during the Beat Generation, was a book that really called into question the traditional values of America. It represented a big shift in the way people thought about things, and was very liberal or even radical. Once people accepted it America began to accept more liberal ideas. 7. Betty Friedans The Feminine Mystique is discussed as part of Learning Unit 6. Why do you think Parini chose this book? That is, what values were changed when it was published? The Feminine Mystique is an important book because it drew attention to the way American women were still mostly a subservient gender. They were unhappy, but because for them to be happy might call into question traditional values about what women were supposed to do in the home, not many people wanted to know about their unhappiness at first. Friedans book brought this problem to the national attention. 9. "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was written by Martin Luther King, Jr. in response to what? Why is it significant to Success and Values? Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the letter in response to criticism of his protests in Birmingham Alabama. He claimed that unjust laws should be disobeyed because of morals. It is a significant document because it suggests that America was not as good at giving everybody an equal, democratic chance as it wished to believe. It also sets forth an alternative way for the oppressed people like African-Americans to change their country for the better. 11. Why was Saul Bellow, author of "Mr. Sammlers Planet" controversial? Bellow was controversial because of his conservative social and political views. He made statements and wrote about characters who some believed to be racist, such as “Mr. Sammlers Planet,” which many thought portrayed African-Americans in a racist way. 12. "Must we Hate" by Archibald MacLeish was written after what important event in Mississippi? It was written in response to riots at the University of Mississippi after James Meredith, a black man, was allowed to enroll in the college. Many in the state, including the governor, were against integration of blacks and whites, and so violent riots broke out on the campus. Meredith had to be escorted around campus by armed guards because of the danger to his life. 13. What does George McGovern mean by "Americas Crisis Addiction"? McGovern wrote the essay in response to paranoid worries about communism. He thought America was addicted to being in a perceived state of crisis, something that is arguably true even today with terrorism. McGovern was mostly worried about what this paranoia in the government was doing to Americas foreign affairs, and the way that it led to unnecessary and unhelpful wars like the one in Vietnam. 16. What are the two great shifts in racial demography that Nicolas Lemann writes about in "Origins of the Underclass"? The first shift is the migration of African-Americans from the South to the North of the country in the period between 1940-1970. The second shift was a movement by middle class and working African-Americans out of ghettos and into more reputable areas. These two shifts together left the poorest African-Americans in a far worse state than they had ever been before, which is ironic since the second shift was caused by the success of the civil rights movement. Part II: Essay Question: Which of the separate readings (Benjamin Franklins Autobiography, Theodore Dreisers Sister Carrie, F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby, or Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman), gave you the clearest idea of Success and Values in America? Explain your answer. F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby, even though it talks about its subject in largely cynical terms, nevertheless gave me the clearest idea about American values and American ideas of success. The novel focuses on several people who live in New York and are of various classes. This spread across different classes allows readers to see clearly what values were held by different sorts of people at the time. The novel also shows a very powerful criticism of the values held by upper class Americans, often at the expense of those who were not as rich and powerful. The problems that the novel points out are things like the decadence Gatsby and his social circle display. They do not really care about other people, only about their own selfish interests. As the character of Nick argues, the American Dream of success on your own terms has been replaced by just wanting to be rich and popular. All of the people who hang around Gatsby hoping to get some of his money or success are evidence of this. Nicks cousin Tom is even more problematic. He is having an affair with Myrtle, a woman from a lower social class. He is, however, racist and not interested in helping out other people. Even Toms wife, Daisy, is implicated in this sort of depraved upper class society of people who have recently become rich. She is the one driving Gatsbys car when it kills Myrtle, so she might have murdered the other woman on purpose because of her affair with Daisys husband. After Gatsbys death, when Nick moves back to Minnesota, he basically is disgusted with the way the rich upper class of America is acting, and his belief in America as a place where everybody can succeed and be equal has been destroyed. Read More