How important is realism in constructing the narrative of Steven Spielberg's Band of Brothers? ... Ambrose named Band of Brothers, its narrative describes the experiences of members of an elite company from their start as raw recruits to battle hardened soldiers, and tells it from a very personal point of view. ... One could go further and argue that the conventions of narrative are to an extent exactly the same as the conventions of realism. The point here is that mainstream narrative in any form strives to divert attention from itself. ... However, this idea of concealment of the s...

• Word Count: 1821
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The Guns of August In her novel, The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman reviews the strategic planning, misfortune, and pure luck that shaped the opening days of World War I. Most historians trace the origins of World War I to January 18, 1871. On that date, at the palace of Versailles#, diplomats were signing a treaty that would end the Franco-Prussian War#. During the conference, delegates from Prussia and other German states announced the formation of a united German nation. This announcement drastically changed European and World Politics. ...

• Word Count: 2111
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

While Cummings fought in World War I, he experienced first-hand the chaotic destruction during battle, and later carried his personal beliefs of freedom to protest against the glorified view of war that Americans embrace. ... Also, the "old sith avenue el" refers to an old elevated subway train that ran through New York City, and was torn up to trade to Japan. 3 Now, to put the ideas together, the "nipponized bit of the old sixth avenue," is the metal Japan acquired from the U.S. to make into bullets for Japanese soldiers during World War II. ... Although these protests against war seem typi...

• Word Count: 4790
• Approx Pages: 19
• Grade Level: High School

The combination of a forty-hour workweek, vacations, early retirement and paid holidays provided Americans with leisure time for their families and for personal endeavors. ... Disney's passion for trains gave him the idea to create an amusement park where a train could take families to different lands. ... Historian Warren Susman stressed the importance of Disneyland as an American cultural achievement, an "extraordinary effort to create a collective representation of a utopian and idea! ...

• Word Count: 2184
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Before 1914, English literature and ideas were in many ways still harking back to the nineteenth century: after 1918, Modern begins to define the twentieth century. ... What went out was narrative, description, rational exposition; what emerged focused on stream of consciousness, images in poetry (rather than description or narration), a new use of universal myth, and a sense of fragmentation both of individuality and of such concepts as space and time. ... Narratives gave way to lyrics, above all to 'impressions', capturing the sensation of an immediate scene or moment; a developme...

• Word Count: 10566
• Approx Pages: 42