The American Dream in John Steinbecks East of Eden :: East of Eden Essays

The American Dream in East of Eden It is what every American strives for in life, but no one ever seems to achieve fully; it is the hopes and aspirations of every American, yet rarely are these goals ever met. It is the American Dream. In East of Eden, John Steinbeck displays different aspects of the American Dream through the desires and wishes of each character. Though each character in East of Eden may have a slightly different idea of what the American Dream is, becoming rich and wanting a better life for one's children seem to be a common thread in the lives of Faye and Cathy, Adam, and Cyrus. Becoming rich and financially stable is arguably the most important part of the American Dream. Every character seems to think it important, even those who do not have a lot of money. Faye obtains her wealth by running a successful whore house. When adopting Cathy as her daughter, Faye tells her, "I--no, we--have cash and securities in excess of sixty thousand dollars. In my desk are notations of accounts and safe-deposit boxes. I sold the place in Sacramento for a very good price" (233). Upon hearing this news, Cathy knows that her act of being daughterly has worked and she will inherit a lot of money. Being financially secure is important to both of them and they think it is the only way for them to enjoy the pleasures of life. Adam Trask is also a strong believer that money is the only way for one to live a life of luxury. When inheriting the money form his father, Cyrus, Adam is anxious to spend the money to build a better life for his brother and himself. While his brother is skeptical, Adam decides that he should move west in order to buy a nice farm to raise a family on. Upon his arrival at Salinas, Adam is willing to pay whatever it takes to buy the best plot of land. Only with money would this have been possible and would he be happy. Cyrus Trask believes that money makes a better life, too. If he did not think this, he would not have thought it important to leave his

Imagine you are Macbeth Essay

Q- Imagine you are Macbeth. Write a diary entry in which you express your thoughts and feelings at Act 1 Scene 7 and a later entry at some time later one, possible after meeting the doctor. Today Lady Macbeth has convinced me. We are going to ahead with the plot to kill the king. When she first told me about the plan I was very doubtful. I don’t think I will be able to live with myself with the guilt of killing the king. I know this is wrong. What about if we get caught? I am just weighing up the situation. Perhaps I don’t need to do anything to become king, â€Å"If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without stir†. I possess uncertainty of whether it is righteous to take the life of such a great king in order to feed my hunger for power. As I was thinking about this gesture, I left the chamber and decided not to do the deed. The idea of killing the king came from me first, this was when I heard the witches prophecies. When I first met the witches, they told me 3 predictions. They said, â€Å"All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!† â€Å"All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!† â€Å"All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter!† When I heard this I was shocked and couldn’t believe it. Banquo was with me and he asked them, â€Å"Which outward ye show? My noble partner you great with present grace, and great prediction of noble having and of royal hope that he slems rapt withal†. They then told us the final prediction, â€Å"Thou shalt get kings, though be none†. To us this meant that he will not be king but his children will. This was all so confusing. I know I am Thane of Glamis but how can I be the Thane of Cawdor? He still lives as a prosperous gentleman. Then there is me to become king. This is not within the prospect of my belief. Before we could say anything else they vanished. As Banquo and I were talking about the predictions, Ross came with some exciting news. He told me that as I fought well in the battle, I get the reward as the Thane of Cawdor. Mine and Banquo faces dropped with astonishment. â€Å"The Thane of Cawdor lives. Why do you dress me in borrowed robed?† I asked Ross. He then told us that he had died. At this point I had no idea of killing the king. I thought I would never be king and if I was to how would I? The witches offered me great enticement, but it is up to me to fail in the temptation or to be strong enough to resist their captivation. As I was thinking about this, Lady Macbeth came in. I knew this was the best time to tell her. I said, â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business†. She looked at me with great hate but I knew I said the right thing. â€Å"Was the hope drunk?† said Lady Macbeth, â€Å"Such I account thy love, art thou afeard to be the same in thin own act and valour, as thou art in desire?†. She was saying to me that I was drunk and I didn’t know what I was saying. She said that my love is worth nothing if I refuse to go through with the plan, and my love is as accountable as my in decisiveness. She also questions my masculinity and criticises my desire to be king. She used emotional blackmail to seduce me to proceed with this ambitious enterprise, â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man†. She makes an analogy to emphasise the importance of keeping my promise. After listening to her I felt very offended. I knew I had to do this or I will regret it all my life. I wanted to prove 3 things that I am a man, my love for my wife, and my desire to be king. To prove these I need to murder king Duncan, so I am. Today the doctor has come and said my wife is ill but he has no cure. This is very disturbing because I noticed she was acting a bit strange after we did that deed. After we murdered king Duncan she was very confident, unlike me. She even toke the daggers back into Duncan’s chamber for me and also she helps me wash the blood off my hands. She helped me pull me together psychologically. When I saw the ghost of Banquo, it caused me stress and concern. This put huge pressure on Lady Macbeth. Even though she cannot see the apparition herself she had to cover up for me. This put a lot of emotional pressure on her. She then tried to get me out of this strange state of mind by once again questioning my manhood, while at the same time giving the guests the excuse that I am not well. She takes control and tells all the guests to leave. I think she has kept her anger and fear in and since I have done more murders she feels more guilty and I have noticed she talks to herself. Since then her behaviour has changed and it shows carefully that her contrived mask slipped. In her sleepwalking she reveals the guilt and anxieties by which she is tortured. But her loyalty to me remains intact. She came to me once and said, â€Å"No more O’that, you mar all with this starting†, this was confusing. She has given all and now her present is overwhelming by the past, like what she said, â€Å"What’s done cannot be undone†. She is saying that we can’t change the past. But it was her who thought of the idea and it was her who convinced me. She is totally regretting it now. The doctor even couldn’t believe it, â€Å"I have two nights watched with you, but can perceive no truth in your report†. I don’t know what to do. I will just give some time to her and will see what will happen.

The City of Ribbleton, England Essay - 876 Words

The city of Ribbleton lies on a relatively flat piece of land located along River Ribble in England. The city climate remains stable at a low 10 degrees Celsius, which is typical for a city with this location. Many of the days in Ribbleton are cloudy and rainy, which adds to the low temperature. 50,000 reside in this city, so transportation is a key factor. Almost half of the world’s population inhabit cities so it is important for those people to be able to move easily throughout them; whether it is because of cars, bikes, or trains. Most of the problems cities have with transportation are traffic, the environment, and the capacity the transport can hold. These problems occur in all cities, and this includes Ribbleton, but engineers†¦show more content†¦One of its sources of power is from the sun. On the top of the Straddle Bus are multiple solar panels that help fuel the bus. Solar power has always been a very efficient source of renewable energy, but has always be en quite costly. This futuristic form of transportation saves 2,640 tons of carbon emissions per year. This helps the environment tremendously, which is important because Ribbleton is very eco-friendly. Although there are a lot of upsides to the Straddle Bus, there are some side effects of these overhead transporters that need to be addressed. The buses travel at faster speeds than the cyclists. The resulting wind resistance from the buses reaching 40 mph can have positive and negative impacts on the cyclists. Cyclists need to be concerned with drafting behind the buses, which can cause an unexpected increase in the speed at which they are pedaling. The overhead buses also may cause the cyclists some concern, particularly when the buses approach the cyclists from behind. The city of Ribbleton has instituted a system for the cyclists and buses to co-exist under the safest conditions. The buses issue warning signals along the tracks a significant distance ahead of the cyclists. The track issues a yellow glow to indicate that a bus is approaching, a  ½ a mile warning. When the bus is a  ¼ mile away, the track glows red. The color system has proved to be a much better war ning system than an audible horn. The