Nancy's Responses in WyzAnt Answers

A measure of FDR's significance as an American president is that so many of the laws enacted during his terms are still "on the books" and are actively enforced today. These laws often revolved around increasing empoyment opportunities for millions of citizens who had been out of work for years, during which time their families relied not on federal laws for survival but the charity of their communities. People literally waited on bread lines for food to avoid starvation. Under his presidency, FDR supported child labor and minimum wage laws, banking laws, SEC laws and a host of public works/social legislation. He touched ordinary people in a kind of personal yet patriarchal manner via the famous "fireside chats" which offered solace, support and hope for a better future, even as Churchill did for the British during WWII. It amazes me that 2 such men lived in the same era of desperation and destruction, and how their leadership saved so many lives. Would that we had such humanitarians in public service today.

I found that the themes of loyalty, obligation and love were paramount. George would not allow the mob to slaughter Lennie, even as Candy's "right" to put down his own dog was usurped. George's love for Lennie obliged him to ensure that Lennie died humanely, in the place where his memory of the dream farm was considered. Steinbeck often intertwines social hierarchy with the sense of irrevocable "fate;" man's choices within a setting of limited free will/destiny. Archetypal stereotypes of goodness and evil are prevalent themes in his and other writers of the time period, and are always relevant, because such traits are present in all of us regardless of time period.

"Wuthering" is of old Norse derivation ( check "online etymology dictionary"),meaning as described by Jonathan. Bronte likely spent a goodly while in consideration of a title that would have poetic cadence as well as being evocative as an image-maker. It certainly suggests a parallel between the natural forces of that landscape and the relationship that is pivotal to the novel. Would that she had lived long enough to see the critical acclaim and dramatic interpretations that followed a hundred years later.

Literally, the conch is a "natural" tool for communication, without which, order/speech/civilized behavior cannot be established. Unfortunately, in the hands of the power-mongers, it becomes a destructive entity, corallary to contemporary "filibustering" and the like. Ultimately, this symbolic extension of the human voice, and all that is implied therein, is destroyed by a stonger natural force. The symbolism draws from the natural setting, and speaks to the nature of mankind.

The socio-economic, labor, manufacturing, stock market and political environment was such in the late 1920's as to create "the perfect storm" for economic disaster in the US. Major causitive factors of the GD included over-production of goods, buying stocks "on margin," the new method of purchasing items on credit and lack of legislation in the banking industry. Much of the country's finances were based on credit investments in public companies whosel actual value was far below "listed" value, not unlike having to make inflated mortgage payments on a home that no longer could be sold for a price that offset its cost. As the stock market crashed in 1929, banks suddenly called in loans, foreclosed on properties, and people were laid off from companies that couldn't sell their products. Even people who had not made poor investments or bought on credit lost the savings they had kept in banks. The federal government did not have banking laws that insured a person's savings accounts (FDIC). There had also been a shift from farming to manufacturing, which altered the nature of the US economy as well as the buying practices of the everyday consumer. People were no longer as self-supporting as before WWI.  The ensuing "Dust Bowl" in the bread basket states which began circa 1933 exacerbated the devastated economy.  After President Roosevelt was elected, many  laws were enacted to provide federally subsidized jobs, welfare, social security, banking and stock market/securities reforms, and in 1938, the first national minimum wage requirement law.

If I had your assignment, I would include the foregoing, and then concentrate in one or two specific areas--perhaps, the advent of credit/installment plan buying in the '20s, or the effect of manufacturing/mass production on the middle class, stock market practices, the banking industry, etc. Also, you might ask relatives or older folks to share any recollections or stories they may have experienced or heard about to include in your paper. There are parallels to the current fiscal issues that the US is facing today, which makes the subject especially relevant...good luck, I hope that this will help you find your topic!