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Argument: John Steinbeck shows not just the Great Depression in his stories but he tells about depression. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck explains his characters as depressed and lonely; even though they have each other they show signs of loneliness. In the book Lennie and George, just like everyone in American wants to achieve the American Dream. "…the gulf between the gritty struggle for survival and the ideal dream life can never be bridged, except in death." (Reith). I agree with the author that Steinbeck illustrates that the American Dream is hard to achieve without any happiness. Evidence: "The magnitude of this failure is recorded by the extent to which Lennie, a cipher for America, is denied life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." (Reith). "But for Steinbeck the American Dream of self-sufficiency and living off the fat of the land, premised as it is on a gun culture which involves brutality and the exploitation of the weak, is doomed to failure." (Reith). "While Steinbeck exposes the inequalities in society and encourages the reader to sympathies with the plight of poor migrant workers, his depiction of the inherent will to power in human nature shows us that attempts to change the social system will be futile." (Reith). Thoughts: Based on the article Steinbeck is described of having a gloomy story but having a great way of showing the life of people living in the Great Depression. It was hard enough for a man to live in this time let alone a men trying to proved for his family. Steinbeck described the friendship of two men who realized it's better to stick together then to separate in a time like this. With Lennies strength and George's smarts it seems so cliché but a well rounded story. The article provides the insight on the story and the opinions on Steinbeck's thoughts that the American Dream is almost impossible to achieve. I believe that if you live up to your standard then that's all the dreams you

Argument Steinbecks main influence from the Pearl was drawn from the oppression and pain he saw during and after world war 2. The Pearl takes on many darker tones than his previous works, showing steinbeck had lost a lot of faith in humanity, and the corruption of man due to greed. Evidence -novella is "permeated with the special sort of impotent and sullen bitterness which only an oppressed and subject people know." - "organismal view of life, his belief that men can work together to fashion a better, more productive, and more meaningful life, seemed less and less applicable to the world he saw around him." -denied basic human rights; they have been marginalized and disenfranchised. The money they earn from diving for pearls is not enough to adequately feed, shelter, and educate themselves and their families -This doctor was not of his people. This doctor was of a race which for nearly four hundred years had beaten and starved and robbed and despised Kino's race Analysis Steinbecks pessimism is clearly seen throughout both of his novels, however thier is a more melancholic tone within The Pearl. Although Grapes of Wrath displays many sad mooments, the death of Kino's son and the opression his people face is unparralled to what the Joads suffer through

Tokugawa Ieyasu purpose of the article was to explain the historical aspects of the actual "Taiko" himself and not the character of the Taiko in Eiji Yoshikawa's novel. The article is effective since it only relies on facts and history rather than a personal opinion or argument. The main focus for the audience who have already read Taiko is the realism and accuracy Yoshikawa portrayed in his novel. Such instances as, "the emperor being unable to grant such a title to someone of Hideyoshi's lowly lineage" and "being unable to become an adopted son for not being a shogun" are familiar events that were included in Taiko. There is no evidence that particularly helps or hinders Ieyasu's case since there is no argument, it is purely informational. That being said, there are some key points about the Taiko that are interesting to readers that were not included in the novel, such as, "Hideyoshi unwisely attempted to invade Korea again in the Battle of Keicho. This time the Japanese encountered a well-prepared joint defence of Korea and China. The result was a stalemate". Similarly to Yoshikawa's Musashi, Yoshikawa conveniently leaves out points which has certain effects that he feels unnecessary for the sake o storytelling. The article also goes on to explain certain details of the aftermath of the war and how Hideyoshi died and his son, Hideyori, became his successor. Ieyasu goes on to say the overall effect Hideyoshi had on Japan after his death , "during the Sengoku period, it became common for peasants to become warriors, or even for samurai to farm due to the constant uncertainty of no centralized government".

Argument: John Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat is a nihilistic novel filled with loneliness and death. The paisanos have destruction following them one step at a time and believe in a God that only brings more destruction to their lives. Fire from a holy candle burned down one home, and the irresponsible personalities of each paisano ultimately ruined the second house along with the relationships that were contained inside it. Evidence: "The people of Tortilla Flat melted into the darkness. Danny's friends still stood looking at the smoking ruin. They looked at one another strangely, and then back to the burned house. And after a while they turned and walked slowly away, and no two walked together" "The paisanos start to put out the accidental fire but then, "struck with a celestial thought," let the house burn, looking at each other and smiling "the wise smiles of the deathless and hopeless ones." "Ah the prayers of the millions, how they must fight and destroy each other on their way to the throne of God." "In the sky, saints and martyrs looked on with set and unforgiving faces. The candle was blessed. It belonged to Saint Francis. Saint Francis will have a big candle in its place tonight." Thoughts: The author, Bethea made several solid points during her analysis. She had a high amount of direct quotes from the novel along with quotes from past criticisms. She organized her thoughts very efficiently and in an easy to understand format. I do not agree with her belief on all the men burning the second house down after their friend died as a way of ending the group friendship. I think the companionship between the men was very close knit however after Danny died they payed their respects to him by letting his home pass away with him. Danny allowed each paisano stay at his home for free, therefore once he died the house had the right to die as well, as respect to Danny from his fellow room mates.

Argument: Ernest Hemingway has a unique writing style, and if he did not properly execute them, they would not have been as successful. He gives very little characterization; he instead uses dialogue to give life and personality to his characters. Because of this the reader was able to make their own assumptions about people and major events, which allowed the story to be more relatable and for the reader to find connections to their own life. Another way he portrays his characters is through imagery. He uses a lot of pathetic fallacy to connect the environment to moods of characters and to events taking place. Evidence: "despite the thorough description of the action, the reader is left to grapple with the complex issues of suicide, contract murder, and desperation, because the emotive details are not explained in any way."(O'Donnell). "Hemingway's male characters are often convincing and full of life"(O'Donnell). "In A Farewell to Arms the rain emerges as a glaring symbol of death early on and is often repeated, even told to us by Catherine Barkley who said to Frederic Henry that she saw them together "dead in the rain."(O'Donnell). "Many of his most memorable scenes are descriptions of nature, passion, cafés, eating, drinking, fishing…"(O'Donnell). Thoughts: This article was very helpful, because it touched on many points that I am writing my paper on. It analyzed Hemingway's style, and how his unique/different way of writing worked and what the purpose was behind it. It's interesting to see how Hemingway was able to create such strong characters and emotions without being up front and obvious about them.

Argument: The argument is that TIm O'Brien, the author of "The Things They Carried", Creates a both fictional and non-fictional story which creates confusion in interpreting the books stories. Stories are jumbled up and not told in sequence or by the same people, or even interupted because of the stroytellers death. Because of this the reader may struggle with having a clear understanidng of the novel. Evidence:"'Patrol went up the mountain. One man came back. He died before he could tell us what happened,'"(6) -- many are in their own way as enigmatic. The tales included in O'Brien's twenty-two chapters range from several lines to many pages and demonstrate well the impossibility of knowing the reality of the war in absolute terms." "Tim Obrien terms TheThings They Carried "'fiction. . . a novel. . . (Mehren El), but in an interview with Martin Naparsteck, he refers to the work as a "sort of half novel, half group of stories. It's part nonfiction, too," he insists" Thoughts: I agree with the argument of this essay. I often become confused or lost within the stories of Tim O;Briens "The Things They Carried" because the stories are so damn unorganized! One story may begin than abruptly end, only to be finished by another soldier farther along in the novel. I will admit it is a challenge to understand, but I do enjoy this novel, and must admit the stories are interesting......well, when understood at least.

Argument: The writer argues that Sinclair is fighting for social justice and what is right for the masses. His whole cause for humanity was social justice and his type of writing gave off that feeling. The genre that best describe his writing is social protest. Evidence: "Upton Sinclair dedicated himself to a cause-he once wrote that if his heart were cut in half after his death, the words inscribed there would be "Social Justice." falls generally into two genres: the novel of social protest and the "historical" novel. Sinclair muckracked and used a lot of satire and "Fame came early for Sinclair because of one of his social protest novels whose "cause" has largely vanished today but which is still assigned reading in many classrooms because of its realistic portrayal of the life and mistreatment of poor immigrants." Thoughts: I think this is a very accurate portrayal of Sinclair. He wanted social justice and he worked towards getting it all of his life. Through the novel, The Jungle, justice was achieved by exposing the meat industries.