The House On Mango Street Essays (799 words) -

The House on Mango Street We are all affected by cultural standards that our own society imposes to us as what is perceive to be normal and acceptable. In United States, the American Dream- the dream of success, wealth and power all rolled up into one influences many people especially in the minds of the immigrants who perpetually believe that they can get a piece of the so-called American dream. In the short story, the House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros reveals the theme of illusion vs. reality conflicting with one another through images and the setting of the story. We continuously wage war when it comes to dealing with the complexities of life. It is easy to succumb to the illusion or to dream of becoming rich, having a beautiful home and experiencing all of the good things in life. The author brings to light images in the story that exemplifies the recurring need for the main character to escape the hardship of her reality. The images of poverty could be seen as a part of the character's everyday life. "The water pipes broke and the landlord wouldn't fix them because the house was too old...We were using the washroom next door and carrying water over in empty milk cartons (Cisneros p. 122)." Within the confines of destitution, the character lives on the illusion of someday she will have the beautiful home of her own. "They always told us that one day we would move into a house, a real house that would be ours for always so we wouldn't have to move each year. And our house would have running water, and pipes that worked. The character constantl y reflects on the illusion, the image of that one lottery ticket could be her chance that someday she will be rescued from the restrictions of deprivation. "This was the house Papa talked about when he held a lottery ticket. Our house would be white with big trees around it. This was the house Mama dreamed up on the stories she told us before going to bed." Regardless of how much we love to be suspended in a dreamlike state, reality always comes crawling back. The author describes the setting in the story as small, crowded, unappealing to the one's eyes. The character and her family moved out of Loomis street to Mango Street, had to face harsh reality of her young impressionable life. " The house on Mango Street is ours and we don't have to pay rent to anybody. But even so, it's not the house we'd thought we'd get...The house on Mango street is not the way they told it at all. It's small and red with tight little steps in front and the windows so small you'd think they were holding their breath." The setting describing her new home in Mango Street inflicts a feeling of being cramped and uncomfortable. The setting promotes the reality of the character's real everyday life. The small windows, the tight steps express the character's feeling of entrapment. The house personifies her prison-like setting of being trapped in the realms of pover ty. The setting of being cramped in a crowded prison is the same as when she describes her family of six. "Each time it seemed there'd be one more of us. Everybody had to share a bedroom-Mama and Papa, Carlos and Kiki, me and Nenny." The setting that depicts the lack of space is the invisible barrier- the same obstacle that keeps the character's family trapped in the incarceration of a poor life. As we face the hardships of life, it is human nature to let our imagination to run its course. Sometimes it is better let our dreams linger enough for us live our illusions longer and longer. Although, the adversity that we face everyday keeps us grounded and enable us to accept our current situations. Just like the character of Cisneros, there is a relentless battle between the character's dream of one day owning her dream house with enough washrooms, running water, real stairs, and a big yard with trees compared to the bricks crumbling, swollen door, tiny window and one washroom of her current home. We cannot blame her wishful thinking. Being

Baby Boomer Health, Money and Retirement Concerns

Baby Boomer Health, Money and Retirement Concerns Free Online Research Papers As the Baby Boomer generation continues to grow older, their concerns have shifted to their health, money and retirement. The days of wondering where their next vacation should be and whether their bonus check will be as much as they deserve are passing. Today, Baby Boomer issues are mostly about concerns with maintaining their health and having enough money to live comfortably through their years. As people grow older, they often experience problems with their health. Their bodies grow more fragile and susceptible to diseases. Many people 50 years of age and older are reporting health problems that were not experienced by people in their same age group long ago. This problem is created by rising health care costs. As the Boomer generation begins to require more medical care, the cost of that medical care continues to increase. Health issues and their ability to cope with them and find the proper medical support is a major concern for Baby Boomers. Along with rising health care costs, Baby Boomers also worry about money and retirement. During the last couple years of their careers before retiring, people usually enjoy salaries and bonuses that are larger than at any other point in their career. As a result, money is rarely a major concern. However, many people fail to save that money. Instead, they spend it on vacations, their families and in the pursuit of living fun lives. This can lead to a rude awakening when they retire. Because they have not saved much money during their career, a lot of people discover that they do not have enough money to live comfortably during their retirement years. When they retire, they no longer earn a salary. They no longer receive bonus checks. Instead, they are forced to live off the income that can be generated by the investments they have made throughout their lives. Unfortunately, many have not invested any money that can generate this income. Other Baby Boomer issues complicate this money problem. People live longer lives today. When a Baby Boomer retires, he can expect to live many years in retirement. In the past, a 65-year old man could expect to live 10 years in retirement before passing away. The financial requirements of living comfortably for these 10 years were manageable. Today, people use a life expectancy of 90 to 95 years. That is, when a person retires at 65 years of age, he can expect to live up to 30 years in retirement. With dwindling health, rising health care costs and a lack of savings to generate income, the financial requirements of living 30 years in retirement are out of reach for many people. These health, money and retirement concerns will grow as more of the Baby Boomer generation moves into retirement. Some will choose to work part-time jobs to keep active, stay healthy and generate supplemental income. Others will require the aid of family and friends. Still others may require more help than is available to them. As the Baby Boomer issues are beginning to emerge the Boomers will experience the issues that have been quietly gaining momentum for years, their health, money and retirement concerns will continue to grow. Research Papers on Baby Boomer Health, Money and Retirement ConcernsTwilight of the UAWThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationPersonal Experience with Teen Pregnancy19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesGenetic EngineeringQuebec and CanadaThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsPETSTEL analysis of India

We do not need guest workers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

We do not need guest workers - Assignment Example Samuelson argues that legalizing the inflow of illegal immigrants such as the guest-workers in United States will be the same as importing poverty (221). He supports his argument by pointing out that an increase in population growth and depletion of national resources is likely to result into an irreversible economic problem. 222, Samuelson says that since the year 1980, the number of low-income Hispanics in United States has risen to 162% (222). However, it is my view that the author criticizes the issue with a lot of harshness. He uses sarcastic phrases and statements such as â€Å"Its a myth that the U.S. economy needs more poor immigrants† and â€Å"we’d be importing poverty† (Samuelson 222). However, the author still manages to present his opinions with substantive evidence and reasons showing why more guest-workers in the country will lead to future problems. The author’s article is interesting and informative at the same time. For example, I was not aware that 400,000 guest workers get admitted annually in United States (Samuelson 222). In conclusion, Samuelson’s article, like all the other collections in Penfield’s book has many elements that make it essential for development of a student’s argument skills and critical thinking. For such reasons, I would recommend my friends to read chapter 8 and other chapters of the book, in Robert Samuelson’s part of the