Great Gatsby Essays (653 words) - The Great Gatsby,

Great Gatsby The more things change, the more they stay the same "The Times They are a-Changin, or so 60's singer/songwriter Bob Dylan thought. But have we really matured enough as people to say that racism and prejudice are no longer words in the English vocabulary? Most people like to think so, but the facts paint a different picture. The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald can be used to illustrate these points. In the mid-20's, when American author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, it was common to use words to describe African American people that today would be seen as offensive and degrading. Mainly the sole purpose of using such words were to depict African Americans as objects, not human beings. When Nick describes the "two Bucks" and a Negro girl passing them in a horse-drawn carriage with a white chauffeur he thinks to himself "Anything can happen now that we've slid over this bridge anything at all" This shows how people in Fitzgerald's time reacted to free black families. Nick describes the black males as "Bucks" because that's the name people used when they auctioned them off as slaves. He couldn't just refer to them as "men" or "gentlemen" because it was inappropriate to give blacks a high status. Throughout the novel discussing the downfall of the white race is a common topic. Tom and Daisy share thoughts about the downfall over dinner and Tom states that "If we don't look out the white race will be-will be utterly submerged," and Daisy follows that comment up with "We've got to beat them (minorities) down." Because nobody looks the same and because people fear anything different, they had no choice but to fear minorities. If you were not wealthy and white, you were feared. But racism wasn't the only degrading thing in the book; characters spoke condescendingly about people's financial status as well. If you lived in East Egg, you were wealthy and glamorous. If you lived in West Egg, you were well off but not nearly as wealthy as the people in East Egg. And because Nick lived in West Egg, Tom thought of himself as the better man. "Just because I'm stronger and more of a man than you are," declares Tom to Nick about his overrated ego. It wasn't only Nick who was the "outsider", Gatsby was as well. If Gatsby would've been rich in the beginning of his life, Daisy would have married him instead of Tom, and Daisy proudly admitted that to Gatsby, but sobbed when she had to tell Tom. And now here we are in the late 90's and times are still pretty much the same. People still think they are better than you are if they are richer or are a different race. A recent article in the Sacramento Bee on Ex-Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke states facts that show we really haven't changed. Duke, who is running for U.S. Congress states proudly he will be "the first to stand up openly and proudly" to defend the rights of Christian whites. He and Edward Fields read a 30-minute speech blaming Jews and Israel for the ills of the world. They also stated that American culture is overly influenced by African Americans and other minorities and that that should come to an end. Duke ended his speech by saying, "If we lose European Americans, we lose America." How can this be any different than Tom's? "If we don't look out the white race will be-will be utterly submerged." It was scary for me to see how similar Duke's quote and the comment made by Tom in Fitzgerald's story are so similar after 70 something years. I guess that really does show that even after all of these years, we still have not changed. I think rapper Tupac Shakur said it best when he said, "It's time for us as the people to start making some changes. Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live, and let's change the way we treat each other. Because it's up to us as the people to survive."

Word Order in Spanish

Word Order in Spanish The subject of word order in Spanish can be quite complex, so this lesson should be considered merely an introduction. As you study Spanish, you will encounter a wide variety of ways of ordering words in a sentence, many of them ways that are impossible or awkward in English. In general, Spanish is more flexible with its word order than English is. In both languages, a typical statement consists of a noun followed by a verb followed by an object (if the verb has an object). In English, variations from that norm are used mostly for literary effect. But in Spanish, changes in the word order can be heard in everyday conversation or seen frequently in everyday writing such as that found in newspapers and magazines. Typical Word Orders The chart below shows examples of some common ways of ordering words. Note that in many sentences the subject can be omitted if it can be understood from the context. As a beginning student, you dont need to memorize these word-order possibilities, but you should be familiar with these common schemes so you dont trip over them when you come across them. Type Order Example Comment Statement Subject, verb Roberto estudia. (Roberto is studying.) This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm. Statement Subject, verb, object Roberto compr el libro. (Roberto bought the book.) This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm. Statement Subject, object pronoun, verb Roberto lo compr. (Roberto bought it.) This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm. Object pronouns precede conjugated verbs; they can be attached at the end of infinitives and present participles. Question Question word, verb, subject Dnde est el libro? (Where is the book?) This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm. Exclamation Exclamatory word, adjective, verb, subject Qu linda es Roberta! (How beautiful Roberta is!) This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm. Many exclamations omit one or more of these sentence parts. Statement Verb, noun Sufren los nios. (The children are suffering.) Placing the verb ahead of the noun can have the effect of placing more emphasis on the verb. In the sample sentence, the emphasis is more on the suffering than who is suffering. Statement Object, verb, noun El libro lo escribi Juan. (John wrote the book.) Placing the object at the beginning of the sentence can have the effect of placing more emphasis on the object. In the sample sentence, the emphasis is on what was written, not who wrote it. The pronoun lo, although redundant, is customary in this sentence construction. Statement Adverb, verb, noun Siempre hablan los nios. (The children are always talking.) In general, Spanish adverbs are kept close to the verbs they modify. If an adverb starts a sentence, the verb frequently follows. Phrase Noun, adjective la casa azul y cara (the expensive blue house) Descriptive adjectives, especially ones that describe something objectively, usually are placed after the nouns they modify. Phrase Adjective, noun Otras casas (other houses); mi querida amiga (my dear friend) Adjectives of number and other nondescriptive adjectives usually precede the noun. Often, so do adjectives being used to describe something subjectively, such as to impart an emotional quality to it. Phrase Preposition, noun en la caja (in the box) Note that Spanish sentences can never end in a preposition, as is commonly done in English. Command Verb, subject pronoun Estudia t. (Study.) Pronouns are often unnecessary in commands; when used, they nearly always immediately follow the verb. Sample Sentences Demonstrating Spanish Word Order The sentences below  are examples of Spanish as it is most commonly ordered: La atencià ³n a los recià ©n llegados es un reto para las Fuerzas de Seguridad. (Attention to the recently arrived is a challenge for the Security Forces. Here the word order is almost to what you would find in English.) Diagnostican por error una gripe a una joven y terminan amputndole la pierna. (They diagnosed the flu by mistake in a boy and ended up amputating his leg. Here the phrase por error, meaning by mistake, is kept closer to the verb, diagnostican, than it would be in English.) Un coche blanco ser ms fresco en verano. (A white car will be cooler in summer. The adjective blanco, meaning white, comes after the word for car, coche, not before.)  ¿Dà ³nde estn las oportunidades? (Where are the opportunities? In simple questions, English and Spanish word order can be identical.) Es importante que me diga con quià ©n saliste. (It is important that you tell me who you left with. The pronoun object me, me in English, comes before diga, you left,  the reverse of English. And while the English sentence ends with the preposition with, in Spanish con must come before the word here for who, quià ©n.) Key Takeaways Although word order in Spanish is often similar to that of English, Spanish can be more flexible.Among the key differences are  that descriptive adjectives usually follow nouns, and Spanish sentences cannot end in a preposition.Spanish adverbs usually are placed next to or very close to the words they modify.