Great Depression vs. Great Recession

There are many similarities and differences between the Great Depression and the Great Recession, yet both of these horrific economic downfalls greatly affected all Americans in both time periods. During the Great Depression unemployment rose up to 25 percent at times. Many people believe that the Federal Reserve caused the Great Depression. Through early years of the Great Depression, the GDP went from $103.6 billion dollars in 1929, down to $56.4 in 1933. During the Great Depression the federal government created “Social Security” for the elderly, and an “Unemployment” compensation for those unemployed. The Great Depression that occurred  in the late 1920’s did not only affect the US, but other global economies of developed nations such as German, Brazil and Southern Asian countries. During the Great Depression deflation was high, while during the Great Recession inflation was low.  People all around the world and especially the United States are still feeling the aftermath of the 2009 Great Recession. Unemployment is not lowering, but on the rise. Today, unemployment rest at 9.5% in the United States. The chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke states that it will be years before the normal levels of unemployment will return. The Great Recession is affecting other global economies such as China, Japan, Iceland, and Canada. This Great Recession has forced people who could have retired within the next for years, to continue to work to be able to provide for themselves and their family. 48% of Americans have seen the value of their house decline due to the Great Recession. As of October 2010, the number of people on emergency benefits has risen to 4.0.4 million. The Great Depression and The Great Recession have had an effect on all people in the United States and even across into the Global economy markets, but yet- The Great Recession has not effected as many people as The Great Depression did.

Role of Gossip in "To Kill A Mockingbird"

In “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, gossip has a way of affecting every character so far-some on higher degree levels than others. Within the first chapter the reader is painted a picture of how Boo Radley is being portrayed throughout the town as a bad, and disgusting monster of a human being. Most people have their own interpretations of who Boo Radley is, but we do not get to really know who Boo Radley is because he is “stuck” in his house and never comes out. Scout is involved in gossip when she is approached by schoolmates about who her dad is representing, an African American man. Scout is also spreading gossip by asking about Boo Radley to Miss Maudie and other neighbors about what he was really like and if he did those terrible things people say he did. Jem is included in the drama but not as much as his classmates are coming up to him asking him about his father’s work life. But Jem allows himself to gossip about the Radley household, especially when Dill, Scout and Jem decide to impersonate them on what they have heard about that family because none of them have experienced it firsthand. They base this game off of the gossip that has surrounded them explaining why Boo Radley is in “hiding” and why he is never seen by anyone in the county. Even though Atticus is not the one who is spreading or believing the gossip he has, his actions are spreading gossip about him. Atticus is going against the prejudice mindset of most people in all of Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus conducts his life with an open mind free of prejudice, rumors, and other people’s opinions. He is doing the right thing by teaching Jem and Scout to do the same as they learn and grow up.

Doubt is based off of the fact vs. theory. The nuns do not know what specifically happened “behind closed doors” between the priest and the young boy. Just like in “To Kill A Mockingbird” no one really knows what happens behind the closed doors of the Radley household. The nun in doubt is trying so hard to prove that the priest was doing something wrong and inappropriate when the young boy’s mother insists that he was just being nice and being the only friend the young boy had at this school.  Everyone in Maycomb County is trying to prove and portray not only Boo Radley but the rest of the Radley household as “animals” and wrongdoers because of many things they have heard about what goes on in their house, and just because they are different from the rest of Maycomb County. In Doubt when the feathers spread like the gossip is very good symbolism because you never know how far they are going to reach but you know how fast they can spread.

“To Kill A Mockingbird” would not have the same effect it does on people today if there was no gossip. Just like in Maycomb County in the 20^th century, today in the 21^st century, there is gossiping surrounding us and making us judge things we don’t know but only on what we have heard about or have based our opinions on. The gossip that is in “To Kill A Mockingbird” effects the plot, characters, and outcome of the story so far. 

Who is Harper Lee?!

Born Nelle Harper Lee on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama. Harper Lee was the youngest of 4 children growing up in a small town as a tom boy.  Harper’s mother was thought to have bipolar disorder most of her life, while her father was a lawyer and part of the Alabama State legislature, also being part owner of a local newspaper. In school she focused on writing and her studies, also being part of the glee club and the literary honor society. Harper attended the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa; while there she joined a sorority and eventually became the editor of the “Rammer Jammer” the schools newspaper. Lee was accepted to the schools undergraduate law problem, but after spending a summer at Oxford in England, she dropped out and moved to New York to follow what she truly loves-writing. During the first few years of her time in New York, she struggled but also befriended old friends such as a Broadway composer Michael Martin Brown, and his wife Joy. In 1956, the Browns Christmas present to Harper was that they would support her financially as she devoted all of her time to writing. The Browns also helped Harper find an agent, Maurice Crain. Harper Lee finished her award winning Pulitzer Prize manuscript by 1959, her one and only novel.

http://www.biography.com/articles/Harper-Lee-9377021

Chapter 1&2 Summary

In chapter one of “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee we find out that Jem (10) and Scout (6) (Jean Louise) are raised by their father Atticus because their mother died due to a sudden heart attack when Scout was 2. Dill, there neighbors nephew comes to visit for the summer and quickly befriends Jem and Scout. Dill wonders about the Radley’s, neighbors that live down the street. The Radley’s are a mysterious family who no one is really pleased they are living in the same town. Once at school, Scout runs into trouble with hitting it off with her teacher after she is not saying such nice things.