Death Essays (1395 words) - English-language Films, Films, Neo-noir

Death Death: Good for the Dead, Bad for the Dying, and Worse for Those It Leaves Behind My whole life, death has been a distant thing to me. It is not even really a thing, but more of an idea. I have heard about death millions of times with the media. Everyday in the news, people are dying left and right with disease in the foreign countries, famine in distant lands, and even murder in the suburbs. I even heard about it a few times from my friends when they told me about their recent loses. With all of these stories of tragedy and awful accidents, I never felt any emotion. The news reporter's sympathy for these victims was not convincing enough to make me think that something tragic had happened, or my elementary school friend did not understand the situation himself in order to feel pain. If something was truly awful about the story, it was too far away for me to consider it a reality. When I was about eight years old, I experienced the first death in my family. My father's sister had died and my he got a call soon after. I was in the room when the phone rang and my dad answered the phone. He first sounded excited to hear the voice on the other end, but that happiness soon turned to devastation. His only sister had passed away and he began to cry. My father is not a crying man, and he soon regained his composure and finished the conversation. He was able to put his sadness aside and tend to business. This was a very small event, but it had a large impact on me and helped shape my ideas about the idea of death. The way that I saw my father handle this so-called tragedy gave me the impression that life was almost like a movie. What goes on in the movie might be sad or scary or whatever, but it is not a big deal. We just need to get over the emotion because the movie is still playing and something different is happening now. The reason that this event was not a traged y to me is that it was extremely distant from me and in reality, it had very little to do with me. My aunt lived very far away from my home, so we rarely visited and I have no memories of her except for a very fuzzy mental picture. We did not attend the funeral because of the distance, but my father flew to pay his last respects to his sister. He was gone for a couple of days and was a little shaky when he returned, but all-in-all things were just like normal. Moral of the story: Death is a small speed bump, which should not be adjusted for, but should not be a big deal. When death occurs in a person's life, they put down what they are doing and tend to the matter, they come back to continue their business, and make like normal. They, with good reason, take off of school or work. They make up for the things that they missed and everything is fine again. They do not want to bring their emotions because they do not want to show their pain to others. They repress their feelings for the benefit of others. When I see this, I see a person who has experienced this thing called death, but they are not sad. This just reinforces the ideas that I have made for myself about death and its place in life. About four years ago, I had my first realization of the power of death. This was a slight taste of what death really meant, but it came at a huge cost for others. It all started one day in the middle of summer. I was downstairs watching the television while my older sister and her friend were hanging out upstairs. We all heard a few pops that sounded a lot like small firecrackers that came from outside. I disregarded this noise as neighborhood children messing around, but my sister and her friend went outside to investigate. The sight that they found would change their lives. On

Free Essays on What My Grandmother Means To Me

What My Grandmother Means to Me Nana, it is amazing how one word can mean so much. It has always been true that the most down to earth and informed person in my family is my Nana. I have always looked up to my Nana and she is definitely a person that deserves to be looked up to. She is always there for you when you need someone. She is the best listener and never criticizes anyone even if you make a very opinionated remark. She has raised a family and has lived through many of the good and bad changing times of our world, therefore has unconditional love for almost everyone she comes in contact with. Although it is true that she calls often, it is gratifying to hear her voice and to know that she is doing well. I love my Nana very much. She has always taught me to be a good person and to respect others and myself. I understand that she will not be with me forever in person and it is because of this that I enjoy spending as much time as possible with her. Then I can be sure that I will always be with her in my heart and soul. In conclusion I have always and will always look up to my Nana. Grandmothers are always one of the people you know you can turn to when it seems like you cannot turn to your mother. That will always be true. If there is ever a time that I am confused about anything, I know that my Nana will always be one of my primary sources.... Free Essays on What My Grandmother Means To Me Free Essays on What My Grandmother Means To Me What My Grandmother Means to Me Nana, it is amazing how one word can mean so much. It has always been true that the most down to earth and informed person in my family is my Nana. I have always looked up to my Nana and she is definitely a person that deserves to be looked up to. She is always there for you when you need someone. She is the best listener and never criticizes anyone even if you make a very opinionated remark. She has raised a family and has lived through many of the good and bad changing times of our world, therefore has unconditional love for almost everyone she comes in contact with. Although it is true that she calls often, it is gratifying to hear her voice and to know that she is doing well. I love my Nana very much. She has always taught me to be a good person and to respect others and myself. I understand that she will not be with me forever in person and it is because of this that I enjoy spending as much time as possible with her. Then I can be sure that I will always be with her in my heart and soul. In conclusion I have always and will always look up to my Nana. Grandmothers are always one of the people you know you can turn to when it seems like you cannot turn to your mother. That will always be true. If there is ever a time that I am confused about anything, I know that my Nana will always be one of my primary sources....

Changes in the American Society and Culture in 1945-1968 Essay

Changes in the American Society and Culture in 1945-1968 - Essay Example Some of the stand out developments that characterized this period includes a consumer-driven economic boom, the civil rights movement and the heightened drive for liberation on a personal level especially among the young Americans. This study explores these three aspects guided by the thesis that they were the greatest forces for change in the American society between 1945 and 1968. Consumerism as a Driver of the Economic Boom - 1945-1968: The twenty years after the World War II were characterized by an unmatched economic expansion in the western world. The GDPs of many countries rose gradually to double the prewar figures, while the living standards grew proportionately. It was an era characterized by the dawn of mass consumerism. However, it is starkly discernible that the US led the way by a huge gap, achieving in the early 1950s the average per capita GDP that western European nations would only reach by the late 1960s. A brief overview of the economic boom indicates that the per capita GDP grew by an average of 2.7% annually and continuously from 1949-1968 in comparison to under 1.5% per capita GDP growth per year from 1913-1949 (Junker and Wagner 256). The consumer culture was also driven by media, as the telling impact of the Seventeen Magazine on teenage consumption and the accompanied attention by the corporate world (Griffith and Baker 122-3). ... Mass consumption included purchase of mass-produced homes in sprawling suburbs as the domestic market drove economic growth forward. This perhaps explains the reason behind the USA experiencing the economic boom much earlier than the rest of the western world. The birth rate was at an all time high bringing forth the baby-boom generation whose parents intended to provide with good life they never had as they grew up during the global recession (Elcott 7). One aspect of this mass consumerism is in the growth of television and its impact. By 1950, less than 3 million Americans had television sets, spectacularly increasing to over 50 million a decade later. This was accompanied by creation of a more uniform culture in the US. It is clear that the surge of capitalism was driven by the heightened consumerism and people’s growing incomes. Pervasive television imagery, booming suburbs and unrestricted spending power changed the culture of Americans and how they viewed themselves (Cob bs-Hoffman and Gjerde and Blum 331-2). A strong home economy was also important in the establishment of US global economic power and influence as efforts could be diverted to global economic issues. Hence, consumer-driven economic expansion is one of the main stand-out aspects and defining phenomena that characterized the period between 1945 and 1968. The Civil Rights Movement: The USA is a nation built upon a melt-point of different cultures, races and ethnicities and thus from inception was plagued by the problem of racism, providing the divisions that shook the very foundations of democracy that the nation prides itself in. Dubois cofounded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored people (NAACP) with the aim of protesting the accommodation being pursued by the likes of