Thursday, March 19, 2020

How Steinbeck is Reflected in The Pearl essays

How Steinbeck is Reflected in The Pearl essays John Steinbeck shows parts of his life and background in all of his novels. In The Pearl, he shows himself in a lot of different ways. Three of them are determination, hardship, and success. Steinbeck, as a writer, was a very determined person. Even though it took him a long time to finally get one of his novels published, he never quit along the way. Kino, from The Pearl, is also like that. He will not give up on the pearl that he finds. His wife, Juana, is also determined. Throughout the novel, she always insists that the pearl is evil and will destroy then all. Steinbeck also faced also of trouble as a writer. He started to pursue his writing career in 1919, by attending Stanford University. It wasnt until 10 years later, in 1929, that his first novel, Cup of Gold, was published. Kino also faced much hardship throughout the book. First, his only son gets bitten by a scorpion and the doctor would not treat him because Kino had no money. Also, little by little, all the people surrounding Kino slowly become his enemy. The biggest hardship for Kino was when his son was shot in the head and died. The last thing is success. Steinbeck became a very successful author Kino was successful when he found the pearl. Through, things turned out much better for Steinbeck than it did for Kino. Those are only three of the many ways Steinbeck reflected himself in The Pearl. He was reflected by his determination, hardship, and by his success. ...

Monday, March 2, 2020

Food Idioms

Food Idioms Food Idioms Food Idioms By Maeve Maddox A universal preoccupation with food is apparent in the many idioms based on it. Here are just ten: 1. apples and oranges: two things that are inherently different or incompatible. For example, â€Å"To compare The Chronicles of Narnia to the Twilight series is to compare apples to oranges.† 2. bad apple: a negative or corrupting influence on others; a troublesome or despicable person. For example, â€Å"One official of a national motorcycle organization argued that a few bad apples shouldnt be allowed to ruin all motorcyclists reputations† 3. bring home the bacon: to bring home the prize, to achieve success. In American usage â€Å"to bring home the bacon† means â€Å"to earn the living for a household.† The expression probably originated from the custom/legend of the Dunmow Flitch. A â€Å"flitch of bacon† is a side of bacon, salted and cured. Married visitors to the town of Dunmow in Essex who knelt on two sharp stones and could swear that during the past twelvemonth they’d never quarreled with their spouse or wished themselves unmarried could claim a free flitch of bacon. Another possibility is that the expression derives from greased pig contests at county fairs. The contestant who succeeded in catching the pig â€Å"brought home the bacon.† 4. chew the fat: originally the expression meant to argue over a point, perhaps because people arguing make energetic mouth movements similar to what is required to masticate gristle. In British usage, both â€Å"chew the fat† and â€Å"chew the rag† mean to argue or grumble. In American usage, the expressions mean â€Å"to engage in friendly conversation.† 5. cream puff: literally, a cream puff is a shell of puff pastry with a cream filling. In British usage, a â€Å"cream puff† is an effeminate person. In American usage, a â€Å"cream puff â€Å"is a used car in especially good condition. 6. cup of tea: something that suits a person’s disposition The expression is used in both positive and negative contexts: â€Å"A Mozart concert? Just my cup of tea!† â€Å"A ball game? Sorry, football is not my cup of tea.† 7. a pretty/fine kettle of fish: an awkward state of affairs; a mess or a muddle. For example, â€Å"As the crisis dragged on to the eleventh month, Bishop Segun introduced a pretty kettle of fish to the whole matter when he instituted an ecclesiastical court† In researching this post, I discovered that the expression â€Å"a pretty kettle of fish† (with the meaning â€Å"a fine mess†) seems to be morphing into â€Å"a different kettle of fish† or â€Å"another kettle of fish† with the meaning â€Å"something else entirely.† For example, â€Å"Your website needs to be a whole different kettle of fish.† 8. a lemon: something that is bad or undesirable. Anything that fails to meet expectations can be called a lemon. For example, â€Å"Her first husband was a lemon.† Most often, the term is used to describe a car that has problems from its time of purchase. Individual states have â€Å"lemon laws† intended to protect consumers from substandard vehicles. The federal lemon law (the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act) was enacted in 1975 and protects citizens of all states. 9. full of beans: full of energy and high spirits. For example, this headline: â€Å"Hollins still full of beans as he settles in at Crawley Town† In current usage the expression â€Å"full of beans† is so frequently associated with children that it has been adopted as a brand name by child care centers and a children’s clothing store. I’ve always assumed that the expression derived from the idea of a frisky bean-fed horse, but recently I read that at one time beans were considered an aphrodisiac. 10. hot potato: a delicate situation that must be handled with great care. For example, this headline: â€Å"Herberts Healthy Utah Plan Could be a Political Hot Potato† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Meaning of "To a T"10 Colloquial Terms and Their MeaningsGrammatical Case in English