Apache And Cherokee Indians :: essays research papers

The Apache Indians of North America prospered for years throughout Kansas, New Mexico, and Arizona. They were a religious society who believed in a “giver of life';. As any complex society today, The Apache had many inter-tribal differences, although the tribe as a whole was able to see through these conflicts. Women and the extended family played an important role in the society and also in the lives of young children. Groups of different extended families, called bands, often lived together and functioned democratically. The Apache also evolved as the coming of the white man changed their lives. These Indians became adept at using horses and guns, both introduced to them by the coming settlers. As with most Indian tribes in North America the lives of the Apache were destroyed as their life-blood, the buffalo were slaughtered by the whites. The Apache were forced into surrender after years of struggle. One leader, Geronimo, was especially hard for the whites to capture. After years of evading white soldiers Geronimo was taken to Florida and treated as a prisoner of war. Government sponsored assimilation saw English forced upon the Apache robbing them of their culture. In 1934 The Indian Recognition Act helped establish the Indian culture as a recognized way of life. This act gave the Apache land, which the Apache in turn used for ranching. The destruction of the Apache culture was not recoverable and saw the Apache lose much of their language.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The documentary on the Apache was very well done. The Indians of North America series, produced by Chelsea House, seems to be a very well thought-out series and the film on the Apache was no exception. The film moved quickly throughout the life and times of the Apache. This film, as no surprise, is a great educational tool. I felt that the life of Geronimo, the best-known Apache throughout history, could have been examined a little more carefully. The Cherokee   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story of the Cherokee Indians was probably the most disturbing of any we have seen so far. The Cherokee were the most unfortunate of the North American Indian solely because the lived on the Eastern half of the United States. Their geographical location left them to be the first major tribe to come in contact with the white men. The Cherokees saw one man, Andrew Jackson, as a sole enemy. Jackson, ignoring, a treaty President Washington had signed, waged war on the Cherokee.

Dracula in Today’s Pop Culture

In his novel Dracula Bram Stoker addresses the fundamental clash between good and evil. In this view vampirism, in terms of the fascination that it holds to the modern citizen, is indeed a direct consequence of modernism. It is but a reaction to modern tendency to ignore the mystery of death. Stoker is squarely confronting the brazen attitude of modern science which believes that everything has an explanation, and which thereby proceeds to ignore the ineffable. Science cannot explain death, and simply chooses to ignore it, says Stoker.It has introduced the hustle and bustle of modern city life, where all is engaged in a mad rush towards material possession, and the frenzy is meant to erase the recollection of death. Stoker’s message is that the modern ploy of evasion will not succeed, and that death will eventually catch up with the modern citizen. This is not to say simply that someone will die, but that the process of death will be forced upon him. From the point of view of religion, especially Christianity, all life is but a preparation for death (Delany, n. p. n. ).It is not as simple as science believes, that the biological body simply stops working. And if one is not prepared at the moment of the biological cessation, then one remains â€Å"undead†. This is the vampire that Stoker, and Gothic writers in general, describe. The vampire will continue to function as long as the soul remains ignorant of death. It will prey on the living, in order to sustain a material body that is soulless. Though we cannot pronounce on the theological implications that Stoker evinces, yet it is sure that the modern fascination for vampires finds its source here.While hardcore science continues to ignore it, mass culture becomes the outlet for something that cannot be suppressed. And because Stoker’s novel is the exceptional instance in modern literature that squarely confronts the issue, the character of Dracula has become the definitive representation of the vampire in pop culture. Much of what Stoker has to say is voiced by the Dutch doctor Abraham Van Helsing, who is the real protagonist of the novel. John Seward is the representative of conventional science, a qualified medical doctor who approaches the mysterious condition of Lucy Westenra with the equipment of modern science.But it is clear that Dr Seward is completely out of his depth here, and the intervention of Van Helsing is vital. â€Å"It is the fault of our science,† he tells him, â€Å"that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain† (Stoker 228). Vampirism cannot he handled with the tools of experimental science, and therefore it reacts as if it doesn’t exist. Van Helsing is not an ignorant quack, but is a qualified scientist himself. The difference is that science is not a fanaticism to him; is useful to the extent that it is applicable.Science is properly restricted to material evaluation, and there fore it will fail if it tries to explain matters pertaining to the soul. Vampirism, as Van Helsing tries to make out, is something entirely concerned with the soul. Thus, to overcome it he must become the agent of God, and not simply a rational doctor. He knows that ancient wisdom contains truth that is inexplicable by the yardstick of science. Therefore his is an open mind, which takes in both the old and new, with intelligence and common sense as the guide. It is the middle way which Stoker presents as the ideal.The modern fascination with vampires must be put in its proper historical context. We must take note that it is a universal theme, and that people of all cultures and all epochs have tales to tell about the vampire. For example the ancient Hindu goddess Kali is depicted as bloodthirsty, and is decorated with a garland of skulls. In Indian lore it is believed that if death is not consummated then the soul is trapped in the material sphere, and it becomes a Pret, attacking t he living for its sustenance. Similar legends appear in other places, and Christian Europe is not exempt.In the eighteenth century Voltaire, in his Philosophical Dictionary, was able to give a succinct and graphic account: These vampires were corpses, who went out of their graves at night to suck the blood of the living, either at their throats or stomachs, after which they returned to their cemeteries. The persons so sucked waned, grew pale, and fell into consumption; while the sucking corpses grew fat, got rosy, and enjoyed an excellent appetite. It was in Poland, Hungary, Silesia, Moravia, Austria, and Lorraine, that the dead made this good cheer. (Ibid 371)The Enlightenment of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is the specific social phenomenon which we need to consider in this regard because it is the particular point where the old wisdom and new part ways. The Enlightenment was specifically directed against the Roman Catholic Church, but it was also against religion par se. Replacing religious doctrine, it took scientific measurement as the new criteria of judgment, declaring that science has the explanation for all things. That which did not find explanation with science was immediately judged to be superstition, meaning an irrational belief, and therefore false.We expect vampirism to have faded in such a climate, because many other â€Å"superstitions† were being discarded during this period of boundless faith in science. But instead we take note that there was a marked resurgence of vampire related activity. Reports start flooding in of vampire sightings, of graves being violated, and similar efforts to overcome the evil menace. The increased fascination with vampires is reflected in the advent of Gothic literature, which is a genre that the eighteenth century gave birth to. The fact that science and rationalism cannot overcome the reality of the vampire is the central theme of Stoker’s novel.This is reflected in Jonathan Harkerâ⠂¬â„¢s first impression on Count Dracula in his secluded castle, and he comments that â€Å"unless my senses deceive me, the old centuries had, and have, powers of their own which mere ‘modernity’ cannot kill† (Ibid 87). In fact modernity itself has become the target of the renovated vampire. The first thing we notice about Count Dracula is his suave and civilized appearance. This is in contrast to earlier depictions of the vampire as evil incarnate, and therefore gruesome in appearance at all times. The explanation for this is that subterfuge is not necessary when everyone knows that the vampire is real.But in the modern context such recognition is absent, and there is a concerted effort by society to dismiss it as superstition. In this situation Dracula has needs to practice deception, and therefore Stoker presents him to us as a refined gentleman with subterranean motives. It is not just the blood of the living which Dracula requires for his sustenance, but he is also motivated by revenge. When he has finally made it to the hub of London, to the Piccadilly quarters of Van Helsing, the Count declares, â€Å"My revenge is just begun! † (Ibid 347). The revenge is directed against modernity, that which denies his very reality.When he is hosting Jonathan Harker is Castle Dracula, he expresses a lurid curiosity about â€Å"the crowded streets of your mighty London† (Ibid 51). To him the city stands as a monumental statement of defiance against him. With a barely disguised gloating at the prospect of his revenge, he tells his guest, â€Å"I long †¦ to be in the midst of the whirl and rush of humanity, to share its life, its change, its death, and all that makes it what it is. But alas! † (Ibid). Apart from the ethereal aspect there is also a palpable human dimension to Count Dracula.To Harker he introduces himself as a descendant of the noble lineage of the Severinys. The description he provides about the exploits of h is ancestors leave no room for doubt that he is indeed descended from the real-life Dracula, and later on in the novel Mina Harker is able to confirm this, when she expresses in her journal: He must indeed have been that Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turks†¦ If it be so, then was he no common man: for in that time, and for centuries after, he was spoken of as the cleverest and the most cunning, as well as the bravest of the sons of the ‘land beyond the forest'.(Ibid 280) The real-life Dracula in question is Vlad III Dracula, who ruled over the Wallachians in the fifteenth century. He was inordinately cruel and bloodthirsty, and was even nicknamed â€Å"The Impaler†, because he used to impale his victims, watching them die slowly, after he had first lured them into his castle (Skow, n. p. n. ). A resemblance is found here with the ancient wisdom that a vampire may only be killed by impaling through the heart by a stake. But apart from such similaritie s, Vlad the Impaler has also a direct connection to vampirism.Like his father he was initiated into the Order of the Dragon, an occult organization with rites pertaining to the vampire. Stoker was very likely to be privy to these secrets of occultism being a Freemason himself, and a member of the Order of the Golden Dawn, a cult organization deeply involved in the arcane arts (O’Connor D27). He is known to have traveled much in Eastern Europe towards his research to discover the roots of vampirism. The character of Count Dracula must therefore be declared as both ethereal and historical at the same time. Another agenda for revenge is from the point of view of being a descendent of Vlad III Dracula.He laments that the â€Å"warlike days [of his ancestors] are over. † He lusts after blood and glory, and tells Harker that â€Å"blood is too precious a thing in these days of dishonorable peace; and the -glories of the great races are as a tale that is told† (Stoker 61). The fascination that the character of Dracula commands is finally of religious implication. In the end it is the stance of science against religion that lies at the root of the preponderance of evil. Modernism is at heart a step towards irreligion. Its goal is to shed the light of science in all areas so that the mystery of religion is finally eradicated.The rise of irreligion runs parallel to the rise of modernism. If the visitation of evil is a consequence of this, then it must be combated only through a return to religion. Van Helsing makes this clear when he declares, â€Å"Thus are we ministers of God’s own wish: that the world, and men for whom His Son die, will not be given over to monsters, whose very existence would defame Him† (Ibid 360). In the words and deeds of Dracula we notice a distinct resemblance to Satan – the devil is Christian lore. This comes across clearly when we notice his particular approach to his revenge.We take note that it is t hrough the woman that he wants to perpetrate his corruption. The Biblical parallel is where the devil, disguised as a serpent, intrudes into Eden and tempts Eve to eat of the fruit of knowledge. ‘Dracula’ signifies the dragon, which in turn denotes the Biblical serpent (Vere 76). We know about the act of temptation and the impending corruption when he boasts to the men, â€Å"Your girls that you all love are mine already; and through them you and others shall yet be mine† (Stoker 347). We also take note that Dracula’s target for temptation is Lucy Westenra and not Mina Harker.While both are taken in by modernism, and may be describes as â€Å"progressive women†, Mina accommodates her modernism to the limits imposed by Christianity. She tries to keep in touch with the latest mores and technologies; for example, she is intent on learning to use the typewriter, at that time at the cutting edge of technology. But if she does so it is only because she ca n become of use to her husband. The opportunities that modern life affords do not tempt her to stray beyond the bounds of a Christian wife, whose prime duty is towards her husband and children.Van Helsing summarizes her for us in this way: â€Å"[O]ne of God’s women, fashioned by His own hand to show us men and other women that there is a heaven where we can enter, and that its light can be here on earth. So true, so sweet, so noble†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Ibid 226). Lucy, on the other hand, turns liberty into license. She is so flattered when three men propose to her at once she laments â€Å"Why can’t they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all this trouble? † (Ibid 91). We are led to believe that she is aggressively sexual, and in some ways a siren.We understand why Dracula finds a ready target in her, whereas he cannot seduce Mina after repeated attempts, and despite his challenge thrown to the men that he will. Van Helsing’s mission is concerned with saving the soul, and it is not the physical life which worries him. In the second half of the novel the principal issue becomes whether Mina’s purity remains intact, and it is not at all about saving lives from a violent monster. The purity of Mina is vital because on it depends the spiritual condition of the men folk of England. She is depicted as the paragon of womanhood, and therefore suggestive of Eve in the Garden of Eden.For her to fall to the temptation of â€Å"the Dragon† is of the highest consequence, we believe. After Lucy is killed, it is the fact that she is ‘undead’ that spreads unease, so that her three suitors are determined to kill her again (or, kill the vampire that she is become), in order that the soul of Lucy attains peace and passes into the otherworld. When she is finally killed properly, by impaling her heart with a stake, her suitors, including her fiance Arthur Holmwood, look on as a hideous visage is transform ed into one of â€Å"unequalled sweetness and purity,† which is reflecting the condition of the soul within (Ibid 225).Stoker’s masterpiece crystallized the various trends in Gothic literature, and became the benchmark for all successive efforts in the genre, especially in film and television. Next to Sherlock Holmes, there is no other fictional character with more depictions in film and television than the character of Count Dracula (Dyson, n. p. n. ). The gothic genre is not especially known for quality literature. Outlandish landscapes, ancient castles, the evocation of dread, gruesome details, violence met upon ravishing young ladies, such were features that made the gothic novel, and Stoker does not depart much from the convention.But his effort is special in that he grapples with the fundamental issues, for example the visitation of evil in the wake of modernism. Stoker was not merely concerned with horror, but with evil itself. Paul Santilli points out a distinc tion between the two in terms of existentialism: â€Å"Evil is defined within a cultural matrix; horror is the undefined other of a culture. Evil represents the negation of being; horror shows the sickening presence of being as being† (173). Because the typical writer of Gothic literature is bound by the dictates of the horror genre, he tends to lose sight of the underlying theme of evil.Thus we notice in nineteenth century vampire literature a trend towards sympathizing with the representation of evil, a fundamental error. The vampires that we find in James Malcolm Rymer’s Varney the Vampire and Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla are sympathetic characters to some extent (Silver et al, 40-41). Stoker’s novel stands firm against such deterioration and presents to us evil in its most pristine form. This is why Stoker’s characterization of Dracula has become iconic, and also the standard bearer for all subsequent depictions of the vampire in popular culture .However, popular culture being what it is, the trend towards sympathizing with the vampire was resumed once mass media took hold of the character of Dracula and made it part of its own province. The picture of Dracula in the popular mind is now wholly derived from Hollywood films, and is very different from how Stoker describes him in the novel. For example in the novel he is described as having white hair and a drooping moustache; but the popular imagination sees him as dark haired, clean shaven and immaculately groomed.Bela Lugosi’s portrayal of the Count in the 1931 Hollywood production is most responsible for this picture. By most accounts this film, directed by Tod Browning, is the best adaptation to date, though it is not the first. This distinction must go to the 1922 German production Nosferatu, directed by F W Murnau, which makes the vampire particularly gruesome, and therefore is a return somewhat to the traditional depiction. But with films there is always the dan ger that villains become heroes, which happens when the film becomes very popular and even negative characters assume the charm of being famous.Once Browning’s depiction of Dracula entered the public imagination it set of a trend towards sympathizing with the embodiment of evil. In this trend must be included the series of films is that which issued from the Hammer House of Horror Studio in England. The first film appeared in 1958, with Christopher Lee in the role of the Transylvanian Count, and was largely faithful to the original novel, both in the plotline and in the depiction of the vampire. But as the series dragged along the tendency was to indulge in the evil exploits of the Count.This is in line with the general trend in Hollywood to lean more and more towards the â€Å"antihero†, and to glorify socially subversive activity. Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 production Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a consummation of this process, so that the vampire here is almost a Christ-like figure. Regarding Coppola’s cinematic technique Humphries-Brooks points out that the subjective camera is used from the Count’s point of view, â€Å"which frequently lets us see the world through Dracula's eyes and allows a visceral empathy with the character.† The major sacrilege is of introducing a love affair between Dracula and Mina Harker, thereby reversing the entire tenor of the original novel. Despite such misguided efforts, the sheer preponderance of adaptations of Stoker’s novel in film, as well as the insatiable appetite of the public for vampire films in general, is a measure of the iconic status that Stoker’s Dracula has acquired. In conclusion, the modern fascination with vampirism must be viewed as a symptom of modernity. We must trace its origin to the Age of Enlightenment, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, in which we identify the roots of modernism.It was a concerted effort to overcome the religious worldview, and to replace it with a scientific representation. The resurgence of the public fascination with vampires must also be dated to this period. The explanation of this lies in the tendency to ignore the reality of death, or the consequences for the soul after death. Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, at the turn of the twentieth century, crystallized this fascination with a masterful study of vampirism with a thoroughly entertaining plotline. Like all Gothic literature, it aimed primarily to please.But at the same time it tackled the issue of evil in the most fundamental way, and in this way recovered focus to Gothic literature. It identified modernism as the root cause behind the re-emergence of the vampire, and outlined the battle lines in which modernism and traditional belief clashed. For all these reasons the character of Count Dracula has come to acquire an iconic status in popular culture, and it continues to spurn adaptations and imitations in film and television. Works Cited Delany, Joseph F. â€Å"Preparation for Death. † New Advent.Internet. Retrieved: 23 March 2008. < http://www. newadvent. org/cathen/04660c. htm> De Vere, Nicholas. The Dragon Legacy. Contributor Tracy R. Twyman. New York: Book Tree, 2004. Dyson, Jeremy. â€Å"Battle of the bloodsuckers. † The Guardian. Wednesday October 31, 2007. Internet. Retrieved: 23 March, 2008. Humphries-Brooks, Stephenson. â€Å"The Body and the Blood of Eternal UnDeath. † The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture. Volume VI: Spring 2004. O’Connor, John.The Enduring Fascination Of ‘Dracula’. The New York Times. March 5, 1978, Sunday. Santilli, Paul. â€Å"Culture, Evil, and Horror. † The American Journal of Economics and Sociology. Volume 66, Number 1, January 2007, pp. 173-193. Skow, John. â€Å"Vlad the Impaler. † Time Magazine. Monday, Jan. 15, 1973. Silver, Alain & Ursini, James. The Vampire Film: From Nosferatu to Interview With the Va mpire. New York: Limelight Editions, 1997. Stoker, Bram. Dracula. New York: Broadview Press, 1998. Voltaire. Philosophical Dictionary Part 2. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, 2003.

Bhagavad Gita Analysis - 943 Words

Bhagavad Gita The author Stephen Mitchell reflects on a scripture titled â€Å"Bhagavad Gita†. This scripture is a new translation based on ancient Hinduism. Throughout the scripture, it explains the teachings that can be used in an everyday life situation. Its diverse audience can learn how to face different dilemmas, and how to live in this world with happiness and peacefulness by doings ones’ duties. It also helps the audience understand the true purpose of life. For those who go through the battles of life learning discipline, knowledge, and intelligence, they are considered God dearest devotees. Overall, the scripture assures that God will respond to his devotees with love. Its teachings focus on those who are suffering and want to find a†¦show more content†¦Their names are Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Sattva is known as pure happiness and knowledge. It helps us free from all sinful reactions that can later lead to happiness and knowledge. Rajas are known to be full of p assion with intense desires. It helps us control our selfish desires. Tamas are known to be the darkness and crudeness. They are the ones who are born with ignorance and madness. Higher worlds are Sattva, middle worlds are rajas, and lower worlds are tamas. Each of the three Gunas try to have higher power, and overpower one another. They are responsible of the behavior of all living things. The goal of the three Gunas is to create a bondage through desires. Understanding the three Gunas helps a devotee overcome their battles, and can accomplish perfection. Our souls are known to be influenced by the three Gunas. The three Gunas also helps us with complying with our duties. The three Gunas are responsible to get rid of desire actions in all beings. Instead of just putting these practices into use we should go beyond our own expectations. The one who is successful with all three Gunas is a qualified devotee. Therefore, we must begin our journeys into this world. Another teaching the Bhagavad Gita offers is stability of mind. Knowing our own mind can help us know the world we are living in, react to problems, and make sure we can change them to ensure survival. This can help us with challenging decisions, and unexpected situations. Although itShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Bhagavad Gita 1389 Words   |  6 PagesTHE BHAGAVAD GITA -AN ANALYSIS OF APPROACHING THE ULTIMATE TRUTH AND JHANA YOGA- Abstract In the Bhagavad Gita, the fourth discourse which is composed of forty-two verses, Lord Krishna, the narrator guides Arjuna- a warrior who is finding himself pondering about the simple principles of life while he is fighting the war. 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Customer Relationship Management ( Crm ) Essay - 1275 Words

Identifying and Differentiate Individual Customers Most companies still cling to a product-centric view even today, basing their business strategies on revenue and their products or services instead of their existing or potential customers. In other words, companies focused on selling as many products as they could, with no regard for who was buying them and why. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) today has changed the way companies view from looking to not only improve their revenue and compensation but to make their customers happier, with the focus on loyalty and retention. CRM technology is used to efficiently and effectively gather vast amounts of data as well as analyze, interpret, and utilize that data to find solutions to customer satisfaction strategies, directly targeted on streamlining, improving, and personalizing all the customer interactions with the company. (Gordon, 2002) The shift to a more customer focus is because the world of business has changed and customers are not all equal. In the past, companies focused managing the products and selling the same products or services to as many customers as possible, regardless of how different those customers were. Today, customers’ wants and needs are the central focus for most companies to give them longevity and to give them the competitive edge. Companies use CRM strategies to alter the customer experience to move beyond the sales focus to a relationship with the customers that meet the needs ofShow MoreRelatedCustomer Relationship Management (CRM)845 Words   |  3 PagesRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is an approach used to learn more about customers needs and manners in order to develop stronger relationships with them. Good customer relationships are at the core of business achievement. 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Evolution And Evolution Of Evolution - 2356 Words

For centuries humans have been left wondering how they were made and where they came from. Many found hope in the name of god. They had no choice to believe that they were created by god, different cultures having their own beliefs and ideas. However, in the modern era there is a different ideology, people have started to think logically and science has come a long way. It is now believed that evolution has resulted in the changes on planet Earth and human kind was not just simply created by a ‘God’. What is evolution? What was Charles Darwin’s contribution to ideas about evolution? Biological evolution is the descent of organisms with modifications. Simply, the central idea of evolution is that all life forms which exist as of now or had†¦show more content†¦Gradualism o New species are not created suddenly, but gradually 5. Natural Selection o Change happens mainly through variation between individuals, therefore some modifications give the specific specie extra survival probability Darwin considered all these theories as part of one grand idea at the time, as he thought that they all occur together at the same time. How was it possible to prove all these theories? Well there have been a lot of evidence left over for scientists to observe. What are fossils? One of the most helpful forms of evidence are fossils. Fossils are the remains of past life which have been preserved in rocks, soil or amber over a long period of time. They are the remains of hard parts of organisms, mainly bones and shells. There are four types of fossils: FIgure 1: A tablet displaying Trace Fossils 1. Trace Fossils These fossils are the preserved evidence of an animals activity or certain behavior, rather than any actual remains of the organism. 2. Fossils with organic material preserved As animals are deceased and degraded over time, some remains can undergo a variety of changes during fossilization; therefore some organic matter can be preserved in the fossil. 3. Mineralized fossils Such fossils are formed when organic matter in remains is gradually replaced with different types of minerals, eventually converting them into remains such as ‘rocks’. 4. Impression

Wider Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequalities

Question: Describe about the wider social determinants of health and health inequalities? Answer: Knowledge about health from a social detriment of health prospective Social detriments of health are the economic and social conditions that influence the health conditions of the individual. The social detriment of health prospective focuses on the basic two social issues that affect the health conditions of the individual namely the shelter conditions and the workplace conditions. It is seen that inadequate housing is the major resultant for numerous diseases including respiratory disease, asthma, impacts on mental health and poor ventilation. With the increment in the population, level in the developed countries the scarcity for housing facilities are also increasing. Thus, majority of the population are not getting adequate and appropriate housing and are thus suffering from chronic stress, which produces negative health outcomes. Apart from rising population other factors like low income rate, lack of adequate space for house constructions are also the cause behind house deprivation for the majority of the population. The population below the pov erty line is deduced with health issues at an early stage since majority of this population lives in inadequate places or on the roads (Mikkonen and Raphael, 2010). Apart from the residual issues, the social detriment of health also focuses on the environmental factor that affects the health conditions of the individuals. Mental health is highly influenced by the appropriate environmental surroundings and infrastructures. It may be suggested that rapid urbanization has helped the cities develop in terms of infrastructures however; it has also led to situations of overcrowding, rise of pollution levels, lack of shelters, high risk of violence and reduction of environmental resources (Braveman et al. 2011). Causes of diseases Prior to the study, I thought that injuries, infections, germs and unhealthy lifestyle caused diseases. As per the scientific views, apart from the injuries and germs the deficiencies in the nutritious value of an individual also causes various chronic diseases. The other commonly accepted prospective is emotional injury (Solar and Irwin, 2007). An individual suffering from long emotional stress is likely to develop a negative mental situation and is prone to attract chronic diseases like heart disease, blood pressure and gastric problems. Hence keeping in mind the above as the sole causes of diseases earlier I focused on maintaining a nutritious diet, reduce my level of stress and keep myself in a cheerful mood, take precautions in form of medicines for germs, infections and injuries. However, the study on the social Detriments of health changed my focus and I understood that apart from these the major social causes determining the quality of health are namely Shelter, income levels, government policies and environmental infrastructures. Thus apart from taking medicines it is required to also focus on having standard living and working conditions in order to successfully increase the quality of health (Dunn and Dyck, 2000). Evaluation of health from different prospective In my early childhood days, I have heard from my parents that quality of health can be improved by making oneself resistant to health problems. Health is always related with the medicines and the preventive clauses that an individual should undertake. However, there is no mention of social problems like inadequacy of shelter, food insecurity, unemployment and high rates of poverty. These factors primarily affect the health and gives rise to the infections and diseases that require medicinal treatments. Media on the contrary has highlighted the scientific progress of medicines as a part of health and life quality. Although the media represents the progress graph of the medicines and science, however the reality and the social factors affecting the health quality are ignored in the media highlights (Toivanen, 2012). Discussion on four health frameworks The four major frameworks of health are namely Biomedical, health behaviors, socio- environmental and political economy framework. The biomedical framework of health focuses solely on the biological factors and avoids any influence of psychological, environmental and social factors. Majority of the health care professionals abide by the norms of the biomedical framework. Thus in adoption of this framework the biasness remains towards the biological background of the individual without any focus on the social factor that may also influence the quality of health of the individual (Raphael, 2010). The health behavior framework operates based on the health belief model. As per this model an individuals health, related behavior depends on four major factors namely the brutality of the probable illness, the individuals vulnerability to that illness, the benefits of taking a preventive action and the barriers in taking the action. However, this model is criticized for being highly rational since an individual affected with illness is not able think rationally (Dulin et al. 2006). Socio-environmental framework are based on the assessment of the quality of health of an individual based on the social determinants like income, shelter, workplace conditions, environmental infrastructure, governmental policies and food insecurities. This framework states that the mental condition and physical well being is the major reason for the development of chronic diseases. Political economy Framework stresses on the allocation of resources and income in order to maintain high quality of health within the country. The factors like class and living standards, ethnicity, nutrition and levels of education influence the quality of health of an individual. For instance, in the rural areas the lack of education leads to early marriage resulting in poor health conditions of women during pregnancy. Moreover, these factors are also the causes of high population and overcrowding in the semi urban and rural areas leading to the rise of social factors that hinders the quality of health (Bambra et al. 2009). Personal view on health My previous prospective on health depended on the biomedical framework of health and illness. Since my prospective concerned that the major causes of diseases are the biomedical history of the patient hence I was not focused on the social and political issues concerning the quality of health. However, the study has changed my view and currently my prospective of health quality are based on the social-environmental framework and the political Economy framework of health quality. Thus, I may conclude that all aspects equally effects the quality of health and well being of an individual. Reference list Bambra, C., Gibson, M., Amanda, S., Wright, K., Whitehead, M., and Petticrew, M. (2009). Tackling the wider social determinants of health and health inequalities: evidence from systematic reviews.Journal of Epidemiology and Community health, jech-2008. Braveman, P., Egerter, S., and Williams, D. R. (2011). The social determinants of health: coming of age.Annual review of public health,32, 381-398. Dulin, M. K., K. E. Olive, et al. (2006). "The financial value of services provided by a rural community health fair." J Health Care Poor Underserved 17(4): 821-829. Dunn, J. R., and Dyck, I. (2000). Social determinants of health in Canadas immigrant population: results from the National Population Health Survey.Social science medicine,51(11), 1573-1593. Mikkonen, J., and Raphael, D. (2010).Social determinants of health: The Canadian facts. York University, School of Health Policy and Management. Raphael, D. (2010). Health and illness. Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing. To be referred herein to as HI.) Solar, O., and Irwin, A. (2007). A conceptual framework for action on the social determinants of health. Toivanen, S. (2012). Social determinants of stroke as related to stress at work among working women: a literature review.Stroke research and treatment,2012.

The Elusive American Dream in Cather and Fitzgerald Essay Example

The Elusive American Dream in Cather and Fitzgerald Essay The influence of Willa Cather’s work, A Lost Lady, on Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, has been both declared by the author himself and recognized by the critics. The two novels are, first of all, bound by one common theme: the dissolution of the American Dream. The history of America itself is the main inspiration for both authors. Since the discovery of the continent, America struggled between two polar tendencies: unalloyed idealism and absolute pragmatism. These opposites are not merely ideologies reflected in the American culture, but actual realities blended in the destiny of the nation. Thus, on the one hand, the roots of the American culture are well fixed in Puritanism, the doctrine according to which the American virgin land offered the possibility for a new Garden of Eden, â€Å"the city upon the hill†, in John Winthrop’s phrase, that would set an example of virtue and beauty for the entire world. The first settlers abided by this ide alism, and ventured upon realizing the utopian American Dream. Soon though, the beginning of the industrialization era and then the advent of capitalism brought the contrary tendency towards materialism and consumerism.The Roaring Twenties, as the historical period to which the two writers belong is usually referred to, was a time of excess and extravagance, when the chase for money and material value flourished more than ever. The historical configuration of these two opposite tendencies is obvious in the two novels, which investigate precisely the moment when the world seems to have broken in two, or cracked-up as Fitzgerald put it. The depletion of the West is suggested by the titles of the two novels: Gatsby’s greatness alludes to the incommensurable American dream that slowly falls to pieces, whereas the â€Å"lost lady† in Willa Cather’s novel represents the corruption and loss of the dream through moral decadence. The novels do not hint simply at the poli tical and social transformations during the Roaring Twenties, but emphasize also the loss of aesthetic and moral values which are a symbol of humanity. Even if the texts are different in many respects, the influence of Cather upon Fitzgerald’s fictional world is tangible at a few points: the main theme, the construction of the characters, and the style of writing are similar. The novels share primarily in their nostalgic tone, which describes the fall of the Western world and which underlines the major theme. Thus, first of all, as it has been noted, the two authors describe the decline of the West, and the shift form idealism to a marked materialism. The same design is traceable in both texts: as it shall be seen, both novels are centered on the symbols of the American Dream. The ironical, dejected tone is identifiable in both texts. In Willa Cather’s A Lost Lady, this symbol is repeated in two characters: on the one hand, Marian Forrester is taken by Niel Herbert as the representation of the American dream. When he discovers her extramarital love affairs, his myth is destroyed and he realizes that in fact, it was Captain Daniel Forrester who actually incorporated his ideal. Thus, in Cather’s novel, the American dream undergoes corruption through Mrs. Forrester and dies through the Captain. We will write a custom essay sample on The Elusive American Dream in Cather and Fitzgerald specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Elusive American Dream in Cather and Fitzgerald specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Elusive American Dream in Cather and Fitzgerald specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In Fitzgerald’s novel, the dream is almost entirely embodied in the mysterious and fascinating personality of Jay Gatsby. Thus, Fitzgerald points out that his intention in The Great Gatsby is not merely to convey the story of the elusive American dream, but also to draw a history of â€Å"all aspiration†, of the human dream in general: â€Å"The American story, Fitzgerald wrote late in life, ‘is the history of all aspiration—not just the American dream but the human dream. †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢The story that Fitzgerald told was his version of a dream hauntingly personal and national.†(Callahan, 378) As such, Gatsby represents not only the grandiose American dream, but also the human dream in general. The lavish parties he throws are perfect instances of the excesses typical of the twenties. Consumerism is reflected in Gatsby extravagant opulence: the expensive limousine that brings the guests, the jazz bands that play the music, the machine that is able to squeeze two hundred oranges in half an hour, Gatsby’s generosity when one of the guests tears her dress on a chair. At Gatsby’s parties, anyone can come without having been actually invited and sometimes without even getting to know the host: â€Å"There was music from my neighbors house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.†(Fitzgerald, 25) This opulence paired by generosity is the perfect representation of the American dream, and stands in sharp contrast with the materialism symbolized by Tom Buchanan. John Henry Raleigh observed that the author dramatizes the opposition between materialism and idealism which is specific of the American culture: â€Å"America had produced an idealism so impalpable that it had lost touch with reality (Gatsby) and a materialism so heavy that it was inhuman (Tom Buchanan).†(Mizener, 101) Thus, the novel seems to be about the â€Å"game of belief and illusion†(Bloom, 138), in which Gatsby with his own invented reality persists in his perfect dream in spite of everything. For Gatsby, Daisy is the personification of the Holy Grail. The quest of the Grail, a remainder of the Arthurian narratives, emphasizes the mythical reality of the American dream. Hugh Kenner points out that the greatness of Gatsby alludes not only to the American dream, but also to the central theme of the b ook- the appearance made real: it is important, in short, that Gatsby shall be Great. It is important because the central myth of the Book has to do with Appearance made Real by sheer will: the oldest American theme of all(Bloom, 137) Although Gatsby’s past and the mysterious aura that envelops him are entirely his invention, he is still â€Å"great† simply because he appears to be so. Thus, the critics emphasized that Fitzgerald’s novel has much more to do with dreaming and illusion than with reality. For the author the supreme power is that of the language and of imagination, which are infinitely more important than factual evidence:   â€Å"the sovereign power of language and imagination is set over against the paltriness of evidence†(Bloom, 138). In this view, Gatsby is a true â€Å"hero of belief†, who seeks for the supreme truth of God: â€Å"Gatsby is the consummate hero of belief: his belief in Daisy, in the green light, is of such a mag nitude as to move worlds.†(Bloom, 139)   His pining for the green light far-off which comes from the place where his Daisy lives, is symbolic of the incorrigible idealism that believes in appearance rather than in fact: â€Å"[†¦] he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.†(Fitzgerald, 8) The â€Å"material without being real† world is in fact what Fitzgerald attempts to deconstruct in his novel. Gatsby is the believer in the world of truth, which for him, as for the author himself is the real one: â€Å"He must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid too high a price for living too long with a single dream. He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass. A new world, material without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about.† (Fitzgerald, 169) Gatsby even believes in the past he had forged for himself, or at least, acts as if it had really happened. As Nick ‘s voice announces, Gatsby seems to has sprung from his own Platonic conception of himself. He is â€Å"a son of God†, therefore someone engaged in a sacred and true mission, like the quest for the Grail: â€Å"His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm peoplehis imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all. The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of Goda phrase which, if it means anything, means just thatand he must be about His Fathers Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end. (Fitzgerald, 99) As the comic episode in Gatsby’s library suggests, the host is actually inclined to â€Å"realism†, that is to a search of the truth that is more real than the artificiality in Tom and Daisy’s life. The gentleman in the library hilariously notes that the books that Gatsby hold are indeed real and not painted: â€Å"‘See!’ he cried triumphantly. ‘Its a bona fide piece of printed matter. It fooled me. This fellas a regular Belasco. Its a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism! Knew when to stop toodidnt cut the pages. But what do you want? What do you expect?’†(Fitzgerald, 28) Tom Buchanan, is constructed as a foil for Gatsby, the representative of the emerging capitalism and corruption. He is violent and materialist, and seems to be the conventional symbol of self-sufficiency and safety. The opposition between Gatsby’s and Tom’s world is marked symbolic by the setting of the novel: the two egg-shaped parts of the Island are called the West and the East Egg. Gatsby lives, of course on the West Egg, since he represents the decline of the Western ideal. Daisy is caught between these two opposite worlds, and her choice of Tom is symbolic for the choice that the generation made between idealism and materialism. The arrangement of characters in Fitzgerald’s novel and their construction seem to imitate that in Willa Cather’s A Lost Lady. Also, the writing style of Fitzgerald seems quite close to that of Cather. In The Great Gatsby as well as in A Lost Lady, we have the same bitter and sometimes ironic tone when looking at the world’s decline. Gatsby is in many ways based upon Captain Forrester, who has a significant reputation (although in his case it is also real, as opposed to that of Gatsby) among his fellow citizens. As it has been observed earlier, Mrs. Forrester also plays the role of the American dream, although she cannot sustain it eventually. She thus makes Daisy’s choice of materialism when she becomes Ellinger’s mistress, and renounces the Captain.   The Forresters live in a small town in Nebraska, called Sweet Water. First of all, Daniel Forrester’s style of life which resembles that of Gatsby points to the influence of Cather’s novel over Fitzgerald’s. Thus, the Captain is a â€Å"great man† (Cather, 12), just like Gatsby. Although, Gatsby’s past is his own invention, the same idea of historical importance is attached to both characters. Forrester is actually one of the settlers, the railroad constructor who helped building civilization in the wildness: a railroad man, a contractor, who had built hundreds of miles of road for the Burlington, over the sage brush and cattle country, and on up into the Black Hills (Cather, 10). The aristocratic harmonious parties given by Gatsby also seem to have been influenced by the ones that take place at the Forresters house. Gatsby’s generosity is paralleled by Forrester’s magnanimity. The Captain is actually ruined when he restores the depositor’s funds of a failing bank. As Bloom emphasizes, he appears as the believer in generosity and nobility, two essential qualities of the American Dream: â€Å"In at least one instance, as the only director of the failing bank to restore the depositors funds, Captain Forrester stubbornly clings to the ideals of generosity and nobility that were the real glory of the Western dream. His only guilt is his failure to follow his vision, and his self-recognition invites our compassion. Thus, as a frustrated pioneer living to see the result of his own weakness, he takes on an intensified pathos.†(Bloom, 71) As Webb emphasizes, Forrester’s philosophy takes dream away from the realm of imagination and introduces it into the world of action: â€Å"Forresters philosophy thus eliminates what seems essential about dreamingthat it happens in the mind, that it happens prior to the state of affairs that it envisions, and that it has some causal role in accomplishing that state of affairs. Dreaming in the way Forrester means is not a mental phenomenon at all.†(Webb, 543) Gatsby’s belief in the human dream and in the possibility of transforming every appearance into reality and real action is recognizable in Forrester’s almost identical creed: a thing that is dreamed of in the way I mean, is already an accomplished fact (Cather, 64). There is no substantial difference between fact and dream, and this is the exact expression of the American idealism of transforming dream into action. Just like Gatsby however, Forrester soon becomes the victim of his own dream. His decline begins when, after becoming broke, he has a stroke and then gradually sinks more and more: ’Once last winter he had been drinking with some old friends at the Antlers, nothing unusual, just as he always did, as a man must be able to do, but it was too much for him. When he came out to join me in the carriage,’ Marian Forrester said, ‘coming down that long walk, you know, he fell. There was no ice, he didnt slip. It was simply because he was unsteady. He had trouble getting up. I still shiver to think of it. To me, it was as if one of the mountains had fallen down.’† (Cather, 179) The greatness of Gatsby is mirrored by Mrs. Forrester’s expression about her husband: she compares him with a mountain falling crumbling down. Gatsby is also taken down while pursuing his dream Daisy. He is murdered by Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, who is convinced that it was him who killed his wife in the car accident. The actual culprit was actually Daisy herself, who had borrowed Gatsby’s car. As the author hints, Tom and Daisy were careful t o keep this secret through a conspiracy. Thus, Tom triumphs over Gatsby, just as Ivy Peters triumphs over Forrester: â€Å"[Ivy Peters] would drink up the mirage†. (Cather, 90) Peters’ name nickname as a child, â€Å"Poison Ivy† is symbolic, as it stresses the deadly effect of materialism and capitalism on society. Also, the grotesque act of violence performed by the little Ivy who maims a woodpecker and pulls out its eyes is restated in The Great Gatsby. Tom is also very brutal violently hits Myrtle at a party when she repeats Daisy’s name over and over. Thus, Gatsby is replaced by Tom, just like the Captain is by Ivy Peters. The Captain replaced the Indians when he settled in Sweet Water, but, he will be, as Cather herself hints, replaced in his turn by the capitalists: Something forbidden had come into his voice, the lonely, defiant note that is so often heard in the voices of old Indians (Cather, 45). Thus, it is plain that the opposition between Forrester and Ivy Peters is played again in Fitzgerald’s novel, through the antagonistic Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. Even from the beginning of the novel, Cather divides society into two classes: the homesteaders and the capitalists coming from the East: â€Å"There were then two distinct social strata in the prairie States; the homesteaders and hand-workers who were there to make a living, and the bankers and gentlemen ranchers who came from the Atlantic seaboard to invest money and to ‘develop our great West’ as they used to tell us.† (Cather, 3). This division is also present in The Great Gatsby, through the symbolic opposition between the East Egg an the West Egg. The Old West belongs, as Cather points out, to the unpractical dreamers, who will be removed by the capitalist and investors: â€Å"The Old West had been settled by dreamers, greathearted adventurers who were unpractical to the point of magnificence; a courteous brotherhood, strong in attack but weak in defense, who could conquer but could not bold. Now all the vast territory they had won was to be at the mercy of men like Ivy Peters, who had never dared anything, never risked anything.†(Cather, 89) The new generation, that of Tom Buchanan and Ivy Peters is the representative of the pettiness, opposed to the old greatness: â€Å"A generation of shrewd young men, trained to petty economies by hard times†(Cather, 8) Besides the parallels between the two pairs of characters, Gatsby and Forrester and Tom Buchanan and Ivy Peters, the novels also share in the construction of the female characters, Daisy and Mrs. Forrester. Both are beautiful, sophisticated aristocratic women, almost exotic and exercising a great attraction over the others. Although Daisy is not criticized very much by Nick in The Great Gatsby, her model, Mrs. Forrester, is the symbol of corruption in Cather’s novel. The disappointment that she causes to Niel is symbolic. She is the one who betrays first the American dream and takes company with the ones that represent immorality and corruption, like Ivy Peters. Her adultery is note merely an instance of immorality, but a betrayal of the aesthetic ideal: â€Å"It was not a moral scruple she had outraged, but an aesthetic ideal† (Cather 72) As Bloom shows, Mrs. Forrester is the one that actually drifts away from the ideal and adopts the opposite attitude: â€Å"Mrs. Forrester is genuinely tragic because she drifts away from the felicitous spirit of the pioneer and is absorbed into the new evil order promulgated by men like Ivy Peters. That she had violated ‘a moral scruple’ was a sin, to be sure. But in the opinion of her disillusioned champion Niel, she had added to this sin one of a much deeper gravity. She had outraged an esthetic idea in which resided the absolute values of beauty and moral good.†(Bloom, 99) Daisy too makes the same choice between the ideal, represented by Gatsby and the conventional stability offered by Tom, symbolizing materialism in general: â€Å"She wanted her life shaped now, immediatelyand the decision must be made by some forceof love, of money, of unquestionable practicalitythat was close at hand.†(Fitzgerald, 89) Mrs. Forrester also serves as a model for Daisy the character, not only for her as a symbol. Thus, Marian is extremely charming not through what she does or says, but through her entire attitude and the feeling she transmits:   The charm of her conversation was not so much in what she said, though she was often witty, but in the quick recognition of her eyes, in the living quality of her voice itself.† (Cather, 70) The musicality of her laughter and the whole resonant presence of Mrs. Forrester are very similar to those of Daisy: And never elsewhere had he heard anything like her inviting, musical laugh, that was like the distant measures of dance music, heard through opening and shutting doors (Cather, 41-42). Nick himself is fascinated by Daisy’s manner of speaking and murmuring: â€Å"This was untrue. I am not even faintly like a rose. She was only extemporizing but a stirring warmth flowed from her as if her heart was trying to come out to you concealed in one of those breathless, thrilling words.†(Fitzgerald, 10) Both Daisy and Mrs. Forrester benefit from the class privilege that allows them a certain freedom of action and a possibility to be immoral without suffering the consequences: â€Å"[†¦]with Adolph Blum her secrets were safe. His mind was feudal; the rich and fortunate were also the privileged. These warm-blooded, quick-breathing people took chances,followed impulses only dimly understandable to a boy who was wet and weather-chapped all the year. (Cather, 68) The two women are indeed charming, but at the same time, both seem artificial at some point, suggesting the shift from true idealism to mere superficiality and ornament: â€Å"For Daisy was young and her artificial world was redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery and orchestras which set the rhythm of the year, summing up the sadness and suggestiveness of life in new tunes.†(Fitzgerald, 78) It is also interesting to notice that while Daisy is Gatsby’s supreme ideal, Mrs. Forrester is Niel’s ideal. Both are eventually tainted by the materialism of the rising capitalist generation. The two narrators of the stories, Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby and Niel Herbert in A Lost Lady are both extremely subjective and personal in their accounts. Although Cather’s narrative is given in the third person singular, the subjectivity of the point of view is obvious. Niel’s disenchantment with the new world and his nostalgia for the past, represented in his mind by the old condition of Forresters summarizes the message of the novel. Likewise Nick, although even more subjective and impressionistic in his accounts, obviously endorses Gatsby’s ideal. Nick seems rather a spectator in many parts of the novel and renders his version of the events in a pictorial, photographic manner, always studying the effect that each objective event has on his inner world. However, it is plain that he is Gatsby’s most ardent admirer, although he does not expresses so. In the end of The Great Gatsby for instance, he identifies himself with his middle west, therefore with the ideal that Gatsby represents: â€Å"Thats my middle west[†¦] I am part of that, a little solemn with the feel of those long winters, a little complacent from growing up in the Carraway house in a city where dwellings are still called through decades by a familys name. I see now that this has been a story of the West, after allTom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life.†(Fitzgerald, 177) Thus, as Seguin points out, Nick is certainly based on Cather’s Niel: â€Å"The Nick Carraway we know today only fully emerges after Fitzgerald reads A Lost Lady, where there is, if not a first-person narrator, at least a limited third-person narrator who closely follows the perspective of Niel Herbert and his ambivalent fascination with the charming Marian Forrester (a relationship echoed in The Great Gatsby).†(Seguin, 922) The main difference is that Niel chooses the wrong ideal to admire, that is, Marian Forrester who in the end terribly disappoints him and changes his vision of the world. As Seguin shows, Cather and Fitzgerald do not share only the common concerns about social structure, but also connect this theme with affect and love: â€Å"[†¦]both Cather and Fitzgerald are equally concerned with questions of class and social structure. In particular, it is Catherss use of affect as a means of charting social space and cultural change that Fitzgerald learned from but also altered for his own purposes: what is an aesthetic pedagogy is also, and at a certain level indistinguishably, an emotional pedagogy.†(Seguin, 922) The cultural change that takes place is thus connected for both authors with the interpersonal relations and the change in priorities for the individual. Both Nick and Niel perceive the sharp difference between the old and the new, between East and West. For Niel, in the beginning, Mrs. Forrester represents the absolute ideal, a different world from everything he knew: â€Å"He was proud now that at the first moment he had recognized her as belonging to a different world from any he had ever known†.(Cather, 33) When this ideal is shattered, he retains the doleful image of the bouquet of roses that he had smashed when he saw the corruption of Marian: He went down the hill touched and happy. As he passed over the bridge his spirits suddenly fell. Would that chilling doubt always lie in wait for him, down there in the mud, where he had thrown his roses one morning? (Cather, 100)Thus, the symbol of the ideal trampled in the mud is symbolic. Niel observes thus the general decay and the tendency towards disorganization and laxity of the moral and aesthetic values. As it can be noticed, Fitzgerald was indeed influenced to a great extent by Cather’s fiction in the construction of his characters, as well as in the articulation of the major themes. The style and the language of the novels also share common traits. For instance, the opposition between idealism and corruption is done through similar symbols, and the tone is equally nostalgic. Also, the authors emphasize the differences between the old and the new through the antagonism of the two social classes, representing the West and the East. One important contribution of The Great Gatsby is connected with the emphasis on the jazz music that was indeed specific of the age. The musical piece played at Gatsby’s party and entitled â€Å"The Jazz History of the World† is very significant as it points to the essence of modernist fiction in general, which is structured, like the piece around more themes or impressions, and does not have a single core. Thus, Fitzgerald’s novel is based on Cather’s A Lost Lady, and it develops the theme that his inspirational source had sketched: the American dream collapsed for ever during the Roaring Twenties. The civilization and the industrialization leave behind only a heap of ashes, as Fitzgerald suggests, menacing the human environment: â€Å"This is a valley of ashesa fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.†(Fitzgerald, 23)   The smile of Gatsby that provided absolute understanding, confidence and belief is the perfect representation of the American Dream:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced—or seemed to facethe whole external wor ld for an instant, and then concentrated on YOU with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself[†¦]†(Fitzgerald)