Literary Analysis
"The Process of Enlightenment"
This essay illustrates the importance of a journey as a process by comparing Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness to Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Both novels feature characters that embark on their own journeys to achieve self satisfaction and material success. However, their unique experiences reveal certain elements of their environments that were once disguised by popular opinion and an abundance of lies. This literary analysis ultimately argues that the importance of a journey is not the final destination but the process itself.
Response to the 2009 Presidential Inauguration
"In the Legitimacy of "Change" We Trust"
This essay was written in response to Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration ceremony on January 20, 2009. It offers audiences a perspective on the importance of the peaceful transfer of power in the United States as a testament to the United States’ legitimacy through examples of undemocratic transfers of power. In addition it also recognizes what Barack Obama symbolizes as the first African American President of the United States.
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Research Proposal
"The University of Adderall: Investigating an Emergent Norm"
This piece of public discourse provides background information on so-called “smart drugs” that are commonly used on college campuses through a comprehensive literature review of major theoretical themes and previous studies. It ultimately outlines a research design for investigating the popularity of “smart drug” use on the Pennsylvania State University at University Park campus. I hypothesize that information from such a study would help determine the status of illegal stimulant use at Penn State and highlight what factors may have contributed to the crisis that initiated this emergent norm.
Rhetorical Analysis
"Comfort in Our Darkest Hour"
This piece is a rhetorical analysis of President Bush’s speech following the September 11th attacks. It identifies President Bush’s ability to deliver a pathos-driven speech featuring emotional diction and use of allusions that rallied national identity by bolstering faith in the United States’ ability to overcome this period of anguish. The analysis also addresses the ethos-building nature of the speech which alludes to the reasons the Bush administration would later use to preemptively invade Afghanistan and Iraq.
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