James Berger's After The End

​In a world where everything surrounding one is so different and so similar in the exact same time… Imagine a society where everything an individual can mentally and physically do is under the power of the government. Self-difference does not exist. In a futuristic setting of the novel ‘Fahrenheit 451’ written by Ray Bradbury, and the short story ‘Harrison Bergeron’ written by Kurt Vonnegut are both two very eventful and interesting readings that will keep one’s mind running on about the outlook on futuristic life and the governments strict needs and wants throughout a society. These two stories can be compared and contrasted by the strict outlook on the governments control, demand and want over a society, the close relation the two main characters from both stories portray and the similar theme demonstrating loss of individuality.

The novel, “Afterlife” by Gary Soto was mostly about how this guy named Chuy who was killed in a Club, Club Estrella to be specific. He was killed in the men’s bathroom for complimenting someone else’s shoes, which were yellow. He got stabbed 3 times, and was left there till dying. He then became a ghost, a ghost who couldn’t be heard, seen or touched. He could see everything that was going on, but couldn’t do anything about it. After the ambulance had taken him away, he was already dead, or i mean the body was already dead. When his parents got the news Chuy went to visit them to say one last goodbye, he also visited his school, and the girl he used to like for a long time. He then found this girl named Crystal, who had killed herself taking

Do you like horror books? Well if you do you’ll like this one. The book “After Dark” by James Leck, is about a boy named Charlie Harker, who has just finished school. He soon finds out that he’ll have to help renovate a old family inn his family owns. There are 252 pages in this book. ``The point of view in this book is third person objective. The genre of this book is horror.

What makes Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel The Road stick out from most dystopian works is that The Road takes place not before or during but after the end. The novel follows a man and his son as they survive the dangers of what once was the United States after an unspecified calamitous event. There is not much left of the world: no food, no animals, and no hope. Many readers will ponder how someone could still be motivated to keep moving forward under such circumstances. If we were living in the same conditions as the man and the boy, this question might seem more imperative. But arguably it is a question that can be applied to today: what, if anything, makes human life valuable or worthwhile? Through the dialogue between the characters, the novel provides two conflicting arguments that serve as potential answers for this question. The first argument is hope, which is associated with the Christian religion, while the other argument is futility, which has a nihilistic outlook of the ravaged world. This paper will examine the Christian imagery and nihilistic arguments contained in the novel and how the moral systems of the two conflict. While at first The Road might present itself as a powerful challenge to both Christian and nihilistic views of the world, in the end, the novel never explicitly reject either worldview.

The Colorado National Monument Association was founded in 1964 and is a non-profit organization who operates the recreation and tourism mecca of the Western slope. The whole park consisting of the two fee collecting booths and the visitor center/ book store is ran by a whopping thirteen people including three employees and ten volunteers. These thirteen people receive roughly seven hundred and twenty thousand people each year. All these people visit the park for numerous reasons. Locals visit the park to often recreate by means of hiking and biking or to show their family our beautiful national monument. Schools in the valley from elementary to college visit the monument to have fun while learning about the geology and wild life of our local

Former President John F. Kennedy said, “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” Leadership is a quality found in many characters of writer. In Neal Shusterman’s Unwind, Connor is a main character that found direction and became a great leader. Unwind is a story that takes place in future America. The unwinding process takes place from the ages of thirteen to eighteen. During this time, kids are able to be unwound and harvested for their body parts. Kids will not die but they will live in a divided state. Connor is one of the main characters in Unwind. From the moment Connor was introduced, he was a ticking time bomb that could explode at anytime. As the story progressed, however, he learned to control these emotions,

Family reunions are meant to bring people closer, but at times can do the exact opposite and drive each other further away. Some us enjoy the company of others, the food, and the laughter shared with one another. As where others decide to stick to themselves and just wait till it’s all over. In the Short stories, “Powder” written by Tobias Wolff and “Reunion” by John Cheever Our main characters both learn something about their fathers and themselves.

How would you react to being trapped, fighting for survival, in a post apocalyptic society? Coupland takes an interesting look at this and presents many other underlying ideas that build up the basics of human nature, such as, competition, control and survival of the fittest. The relatable main character showcases the darker, bitter, side that is contained in the fabric in all of us, but in a satirical comedic tone. He does so in a way where the even the structure of the writing is how you might expect an average persons’ thought process of events.

From 1933 to 1945, millions of lives were thrown into chaos because of the Holocaust. Families were ripped apart and values were washed away as citizens were forcefully placed in concentration camps to either be immediately killed or to work until they died. Every person within the camps faced unthinkable trauma. Once everyone was released, the prisoners began to search for lost loved ones and a sense of normality. However, the anguish did not end with the end of the Holocaust. Following the Holocaust, first generation survivors developed abnormal values, societal dependence, and a need to avoid the topic of the Holocaust as an effect of their trauma; these side effects were then passed down to future generations

Bernie Sanders once said “Finally, let [us] understand that when we stand together, we will always win. When men and women stand together for justice, we win. When black, white and Hispanic people stand together for justice, we win.” Bernie Sanders started as a young activist fighting to desegregate and end the Vietnam war, As he got older he dwelled into politics and became a self identified socialist; he competed against corporate backing and a corrupt political system yet remained true to his beliefs of Universal Health Care System, affordable education, better social security and welfare, the right for a woman to choose what she wants for her body, cares for the environment, but most importantly, Bernie Sanders believes in America.

Los Angeles possesses the characteristics of great fame and fortune as well as immense homelessness and poverty. Often times, young people are misled by the financial success of some and assume that is typical of city people. Writers Joan Didion and Carol Muske-Dukes characterize the realization that an adolescent’s lifestyle is not suitable for the demands of a city as signaling the dawn of the apocalypse. In the essay, “Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” Didion highlights how the failure of society is brought about by a family’s inability to fulfill traditional roles and a lack of education as exemplified during the Hippie movement. While poet Muske-Dukes utilizes gothic language and allusion to illustrate the notion of an apocalypse in the poem “Like This”.

Even after days, months, and years our six survivors struggle to get back to the life they once had before the terrible disaster. Through all the forty years after the explosion, they had to deal and cope with the terrible flashbacks of the bloodied bodies and corpses. They will had to deal with the empty space that was left in their hearts made by deaths and of many close family members; and although many family members didn't die immediately, many died in the months and years following. Also, the bombs did not spare much or any money, shelter, and provisions; meaning our survivors had to endure poverty and homelessness. The novel comes to a

"WHAT IS THE BOOK THAT HAS HAD THE MOST INFLUENCE ON YOU AND HOW HAS IT INFLUENCED YOU?"

Books, films, documentaries, and even memories: each serves to recount past events, each in a different way. While these accounts of the past are shared, they serve to provide the audience with an understanding; oftentimes this understanding does not and cannot portray the effect of certain, unimaginable events in history, such as the Holocaust, on individuals. In his essay, “The Presence of the Past,” Bernhard Schlink brings to the surface some of the inherited struggles that generations of German people have faced as a result of the Third Reich. Alongside his essay, Schlink also presents the effect of the past on people in his novel, The Reader, when he presents the audience with a character placed in a situation that is highly uncommon.

Apocalypse Now is the story of a Green Beret named Willard who journeys through Vietnam by river to confront an officer who left the army in the pursuit of his own private war. Willard's journey is not just a trip down a river, it is a metaphorical journey, and creates the effect of multiple levels of meaning. In addition to a superbly constructed story, Apocalypse Now can be viewed as a social commentary, an exploration of human conscience, or a moral metaphor. I truly enjoy dissecting and analyzing movies, as well as literate, at this level. I try to understand what the author, or film maker is really trying to say.