Books Review

William Zinsser: “College Pressures”

According to Zinsser, there are four types of pressure facing students in the cotemporary world. These are the pressures caused by the economy, parents, peers, and even by oneself. He says that the pressures are quite influential and they dictate the student’s performance at school. In his work, Zinsser elaborates that quality grades enable one to acquire a better education, and that this can lead to better employment and quality pay. He also argues that there is an enormous pressure on one being ahead of the person sitting next to him or her. He points out that as one student realizes that the student next to him or her is working hard, he or she also decides to work even harder. The pressures from parents can cause students to settle on the courses that are not their preferences. This is because most parents like being authoritative to their children, and they do not give the students room for making their own choices. Finally, Zinsser explains the way the students compete, while taking extra-curricular activities. He says that those students, who perform well in the fields, also perform exemplarily in class. Basically the essence of this essay is to demonstrate how hard life can be in universities. His main aim is to enlighten people on the reality of life in colleges and universities.

James Thurber: “University Days”

In his essay, James Thurber talks about the university days. He says that he passed all the exams except botany. This is, perhaps, because he used to spend most of his time in the laboratory; thus, developed a negative attitude towards the subject. The essay clarifies the way the negative attitude towards the subject can lead to a student performing poorly in the course. It also demonstrates the hard work done by the teachers in offering academic assistance to the academically challenged students.

David Sedaris: “Me Talk Pretty One Day”

The essay has a heading “Me Talk Pretty One Day”. It clearly elaborates the way humans have the inability to communicate with one another in an effective manner. It has perfect sense of humor and use of irony. The essay also shows the way the effective communication requires a lot of concentration and time for one to be well-groomed in communicating. Practice makes one perfect; hence, it is advisable for people to keep up striving for the best without losing hope, even when the task is too demanding.

Louise Erdrich: “The Movie That Changed My Life”

The author narrates of a movie that she saw, and which has probably changed her life. As she watched the movie on and on, she realized that most of the people in her life possess the same characters she saw in the movie. The movie changed her perception of life and she finally started to practice what she had seen. In this essay, it’s really incredible how fiction can open someone’s mind. In this regard, we can say that human beings are influenced more by what they see. Indeed seeing make you believe.

E. B. White: “Once More to the Lake”

The play shows the way White engages in a conflict between acting a play and observing the lake. Although he points out that the lake is just the same like the one he used to see while being a boy. The presence of various technological tools prevents him from engaging himself into a literal work. This basically means that technology is in a way impure and might lead to damages of someone’s attention. We can draw a lesson that memory enables the theme of technology to be developed. This suggests that in the certain types of technology, a person may get spiritually close to it, and it might become a natural part of someone.

Brent Staples: “Black Men and Public Space”

The story illustrates a black man describing the way he is seen as a core perpetrator, even when a crime has not been committed. He clearly demonstrates the way he is being treated as rapist and a great robber. In that regard, he decides to work extra hard to overcome the stigma caused by his demographic nature. He does this by whistling tunes that make him being seen as an educated person, instead of engaging himself into violence. He clearly knew that violence is not the right mode to solve disputes right from his childhood. In his article, he flashbacks to the way he buried his close friends and family members, who were the victims of violence with murder. He concludes by giving his perception that white men perceive black men as robbers and law breakers, because of their complexion. In this story, there is an eloquent use of language.

Richard Rodriguez: “Blaxicans and Other Reinvented Americans”

The essay talks about the effect of race and immigration on America. He points out that there is a significant uprising happening in America. According to him, race is basically a subject of being either white or black. He adds by illustrating that people view themselves in virtue of their language and fashion, and not specifically in the aspect of being black or white. In the past years, blacks have always been intimidated and humiliated by whites, but in the current years, according to Rodriquez, all this has changed, and Americans are spontaneously moving away from that perception. The essay illustrates that race is not just the complexion in one’s skin, but rather it is the kind of meal one takes and perhaps the place where one lives. It is basically an Idea according to him.

Katha Pollitt: “Why Boys Don’t Play with Dolls”

The essay talks about the reason why boys often dislike playing with dolls, whereas girls do. It shows the comparison of the love of a mother to her babies. The mother wonders why boys love sports so much, and finds no reason to stop them from that attitude. Pollitt finally concludes that it’s not the fault of either children or parents that babies are raised stereotypically, but it is due to their daily interactions with life. In this essay, Ramamurthy’s idea of gender is clearly integrated.

Judy Brady: “I Want a Wife”

Judy Brady correctly communicates out her message. She does this by showing the impression of the way life would have been easier, if she had a wife. She explains all the roles that the wife would have done for her and her husband. In the essay, she creates an impression that makes husbands be viewed as pigs. It is evident that she uses a slight tone in the essay. A good example from the essay is her explanation of the way the wife would wash up the children and even the husband. From this statement, we can point out that she views the husband as a child, since them “both needed to be picked up after”. In her essay, she assumes that all husbands are unfaithful to their wives. She created an impression that wives usually do all the house chores.

Ernest Hemingway: “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”

Ernest Hemingway explains that there exists a gap between the children of the past and those of today. He says that there is a wall between the elders and the youth, and narrates that there is an actual dissent disparity between the two groups. In his work, he talks about an elderly man, who often gets drunk due to the lots of money he has. The young waiter serving the man wonders on the way the elderly man spends his money; the separation of thoughts begin between the two people.

In the contemporary world, it can be seen that life is more about wealth and power. Possession of the two attributes leads to happiness; though greed and wealth run hand in hand. The article gives out a message that every member of the society should know and keenly follow.

Ernest Hemingway: “Hills like White Elephants”

The story narrates of the way the girl’s personality is gradually changing. At first, she seems to obey her man, just because the boy could speak the Spanish language. The lady saw that the man had superior power than her. This finally led to the gentleman taking advantage. Eventually the lady asserts herself. This story illustrates the real life of the young couples, and it shows the way the young couples dislike having a baby. On having a baby, they start to look for the various options of handling the kid. From this article, we learn that babies are normally abandoned in the cases, where their parents are not ready to uphold the responsibility. These kids eventually turn out to be beggars and even robbers. In the story, we also learn the suspense between having an abortion and giving birth. Here, abortion is viewed as the act of killing a living. It’s, therefore, hard to judge on the correct method to use in solving such problems.

Raymond Carver: “Neighbors”

This is a moral story showing the life of the two couples: Bill and Arlene, and Harriett and Jim. The former are seen to be very much contended to each other. After some time they start to live in envy with their neighbors: Harriet and Jim. According to Miller, Stones lead a very nice life. The most crucial lesson in this story is the aspects that people are mostly bored by what they have, in comparison to what they do not have. This is evidently simulated in the characters of the two families in the story. The story outlines unusual actions between the two couples.

Raymond Carver: “Why Don’t You Dance?”

The essay has been written by Raymond Carver and illustrates what a young girl discovered concerning life. She discovers this during an interaction with a drunk man. The encounter makes the lady conclude that life is very empty. In the story, the garage represents that both the couple and the man are unwanted, and that they are lifeless. According to him, age does not matter; thus, bitterness is often universal. It is important to note that young couples associate well with the old ones.

Raymond Carver: “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”

It is one of the stories written by Carver and it talks about love. It is all about couples sitting in the kitchen as they converse about love. These couples differ, since one of them has been married for a while; thus, having a different point of view on love, as compared to the new weds. The four actors in the story have at one point in time been married and again divorced. They all agree on the aspect that even if love is sweet and feels good, it hurts the most. The story highlights the different types of love, namely; spiritual – the love between someone and God and it is eternal, puppy love – it has been illustrated by the couples in the story. They are very much intimate together and they possess an outstanding sense of belonging towards one another. Other types of love illustrated in the essay are: friendship love, parental love, and true love. True love is depicted in the story by what Mel narrates to other couples. It is upon each and every individual to identify himself or herself with one of the loves discussed in the story, so as to lead an enjoyable social life.

Alfred Hitchcock: “Rope”

The film was acted by Hitchcock. The film through Jimmy Stewart enhances the aspect of mentorship for young children. He comes out as a perfect mentor for the young boys; this is because in the film he is not made to take a role of a bi-sexual. On the contrary, Stewart is casted as Rupert; thus, enhancing a clear positive moral to the young ones. The movie has thrill killers arranging for a party in one of the afternoons. They do not impress well in the film, meaning that it would have been superb, if this killings were conducted in solo. For example, Branded found himself working with a partner, who likes talking too much. This is not good, because it reduces concentration. At the final stages of the film, Rupert illustrates the way he defends the ambiguous norms of the society.

Alfred Hitchcock: “Rear Window”

The movie was produced by Alfred Hitchcock. The film outlines the similarity between the two words: form and content. According to the play, form is the design of an item, whereas content comes out as the constituents of a piece. Attributes of form might include editing and framing. These aspects of form are focused in the film broadly. In the film, sound is not given much attention; instead, framing and lightning are widely discussed. For example, when Torwald meets Jeffries, the writer puts emphasis on lightning, and not sounds. This technique is a very efficient tool for illustrating suspense in the movie. This film is basically a murder film that generates a result of an attempted investigation concerning a man in a wheelchair.

Tim Burton: “Big Fish”

This is a story showing the way a son wants to reconcile with his father, who is about to die. In the film, there is a very unique vision, which, perhaps, enhances its suitability to adapt to the novel.

The film acknowledges the last moments of Edward and his wife, Sandra. Basically, the play is full of metaphor and correct use of humor. It is important to acknowledge that the sayings are more the same like the tales of fishermen. It’s the best film for someone with the interest of learning more in language.