Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Of Mice And Men Essays (514 words) - Cinema Of The United States

Of Mice And Men Essays (514 words) - Cinema Of The United States Of Mice And Men Justin Clay Period 1 Am. Lit. Of Mice and Men The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is about two ranch hands, George and Lennie. George is a small, smart-witted man, while Lennie is a large, mentally- handicapped man. They are trying to raise enough money to buy their own ranch, by working as ranch hands. During the setting of the story, they are at a ranch whose owners name is Curley. It is in this setting that the novel reveals that the main theme is death and loss. Lennie accidentally killing all of his pets establishes that the theme of this novel is death and loss. These pets consist of mice, dogs, kittens, etc. Lennie loves to feel and pet animals, but he does not know his own strength. He kills them without really noticing what he has done, until George tells him that he did something wrong. After being scolded, Lennie is very remorseful about what he did. Once, after being yelled at Lennie says, I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead- because they were so little (13). Lennies remorse is probably more for upsetting George than it is for actually killing the animal. Another way that death and loss is evidenced by this novel is when Lennie killed Curleys wife. When Lennie is in the barn (after killing his new puppy) Curleys wife came into the barn and came on to Lennie. Lennie not knowing what was happening let her lull him into touching her hair. To Lennie it was like petting any other animal. Curleys wife became flustered when Lennie became scared and would not let go of her hair. She started to scream and Lennie tried to cup her mouth, which concluded in him killing her. Lennie was truly remorseful after this action. Soon after killing her Lennie can be heard saying to himself, I done a bad thing. I done another bad thing (121). The final confirmation of the death and loss theme occurred to George, not Lennie. After going to the place where George had told him to go if anything went wrong, Lennie lays and waits in the brush for George to come get him. What Lennie wasnt expecting was George to come with a posse of ranch hands with him. The ranch hands were not quite there, when George shot Lennie in the back of the head to save him the pain the posse would do to him. After he shot him the brush seemed filled with cries (140), which symbolizes the loss of George after shooting Lennie. This was a truly great loss for him since Lennie was his best friend. Of Mice and Men is a very sad and depressing story that contains many deaths of many living creatures. Many people had a loss from these deaths, especially George. He had to shoot his best friend. This can possibly be the greatest loss of all, because without friends, where would we be?

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Newsletters versus Blogging

Newsletters versus Blogging While I hate giving away my age, years ago newsletters were fresh and new. The goal was to direct people to your website, and from there you sell your wares. Were talking 15-20 years. Few people could do newsletters, and there were few email delivery services that could handle a newsletter. Most people didnt want to pay for what an email could do anyway. That was the time period that FundsforWriters was born. It was cool to be in magazines. After a few years, when I had graduated to four newsletters, and the Internet was becoming popular and THE place to be. . . when Amazon was fledgling but strong. . . folks came up with a blog. Blogger.com exploded in popularity, and everybody decided they needed a blog. The argument arose whether you needed a blog or a website. The clock ticked on. . . blogs got creative with WordPress, websites incorporated blogs, and social media stepped up its game. Newsletters became passe. Everyone was everywhere, so what was the need? Podcasts, YouTube, SoundCloud, etc. came alive, and audiobooks took off. It was more attractive to see and hear someone. The trend was to become more interactive. Then suddenly blogs were history. . . and newsletters came back to life. I laughed the entire time, because I knew they would. Newsletters could be personal without intrusion. Some people dont have time to listen to talking heads. /Â  . The goal now is to attract people to your newsletter via blog. Listen. . . if you had jumped on every bandwagon spouted over the last 20 years, youve have bounced all over the place trying to be seen, heard, read, and followed. Youd be frustrated. You may or may not have a substantial readership because you were inconsistent. The lesson is. . . decide what works for you and work it to its fullest. Remember your focus. And understand that trends come and go, but your dear name is precious. Protect it