7 Best Books for a Literature Response Paper

7 Best Books for a Literature Response Paper 7 Best Books for a Literature Response Paper A literary response paper is designed to give your opinion on how a literary piece makes you feel or think. It is your opinion; however, it needs to be based on the facts. You will need to make sure that you really have some considerations about what you are writing. In order to master this essay style, you will need to choose a really good literary piece to produce a decent paper. If you get to choose the topic, which most of the time you do, then you should check out one of these books: Jonathan Franzen’s â€Å"Freedom† This story is about a love triangle between college mates. It is a great choice for a literary response paper because you can make an argument about whether the love is more important than the friendship. Which one is more significant to you and which one is more important for the book characters? F. Scott Fitzgerald’s â€Å"This Side of Paradise† This one actually works perfect for a college literary response essay. It is about a Princeton student who is very privileged. Upon his graduation, he starts to get a look for what life is really about. He has lived a sheltered life and now he has to start taking care of himself. How is the real world going to be different from the sheltered life? What happens when he finally has to start taking responsibility for his journey and his decisions? Fydor Dostoyevsky’s â€Å"Crime and Punishment† Even if you don’t choose this piece to write on, don’t miss the chance to read it. It is a well-known novel about a man who kills a pawnbroker and then works really hard to justify what he did. It is a beautiful book with so much to write about in a literary response essay. It will challenge your views on your place in society and on the laws and morality. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s â€Å"The Great Gatsby† However, this may be a tad overused, we couldn’t choose the best seven books without including this one. You could write about a million of literary response essays on this novel without batting an eye. One of the strongest ideas is how Gatsby goes above and beyond building his entire life and persona for Daisy, who doesn’t seem to notice nor really care. He will never get back all of the time he wasted trying to become the person that he thought Daisy would want. We can never get back the past and life is destined to change over time. Embrace the change and learn to love it as much as you loved the things that have happened in the past. It is a brilliant read and a perfect piece for this type of paper. John Milton’s â€Å"Paradise Lost† When you are looking for a little entertainment when creating your paper, this is the ideal pick. There are many topics to discuss. Lucifer, an angel who is arrogant and fell from grace, tempted Adam and Eve into sin. Everyone knows this sequence of events. John Milton lets you take a look at Lucifer’s side of the story. There are so many issues that you can use for your argument. William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies† We couldn’t forget this novel. It is about a group of boys who are stuck on an uninhabited island. They have no supervision and create a small, yet divided community. The book captures the essence of being a good leader. This is one of the major themes and you can use this book to discuss whether or not leadership is important. Harper Lee’s â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† This book is about a girl who grows up learning much about life and the unkindness that comes to the weak, the young, and even to those with different color of skin. As she gets older she learns that these really don’t have anything to do with the type of person that you are. She learns that it is a man’s soul that really matters. Imagine all of the possible topics that you can discuss within this story. These seven books are perfect for this assignment. They are full of controversial thoughts that you can use to write a solid paper on. Plus, we are sure you will enjoy the reads as well.

Biography of Francisco Madero, Led Mexican Revolution

Biography of Francisco Madero, Led Mexican Revolution Francisco I. Madero (October 30, 1873–February 22, 1913) was a reformist politician and writer and president of Mexico from 1911 to 1913. This unlikely revolutionary helped engineer the overthrow of dictator Porfirio Dà ­az by kick-starting the Mexican Revolution. Unfortunately for Madero, he was caught between remnants of Dà ­azs regime and the revolutionaries he unleashed and was deposed and executed in 1913. Fast Facts: Francisco Madero Known For: Father of the Mexican RevolutionBorn: Oct. 30, 1873 in Parras, MexicoParents: Francisco Ignacio Madero Hernndez, Mercedes Gonzlez Trevià ±oDied: Died Feb. 22, 1913 in Mexico City, MexicoSpouse: Sara Pà ©rez Early Life Francisco I. Madero was born on Oct. 30, 1873, in Parras, Coahuila, Mexico, to wealthy parents- by some accounts, the fifth-richest family in Mexico. His father was Francisco Ignacio Madero Hernndez; his mother was Mercedes Gonzlez Trevià ±o. His grandfather, Evaristo Madero, made lucrative investments and was involved in ranching, wine-making, silver, textiles, and cotton. Francisco was well educated, studying in the United States, Austria, and France. When he returned from the U.S., he was placed in charge of some family interests, including the San Pedro de las Colonias hacienda and farm, which he operated at a profit, introducing modern farming methods and improving worker conditions. In January 1903, he married Sara Pà ©rez; they had no children. Early Political Career When Bernardo Reyes, governor of Nuevo Leà ³n, brutally broke up a political demonstration in 1903, Madero became politically involved. Although his early campaigns for office failed, he funded a newspaper that he used to promote his ideas. Madero had to overcome his image to succeed as a politician in macho Mexico. He was small with a high-pitched voice, making it difficult to command respect from soldiers and revolutionaries who saw him as effeminate. He was a vegetarian and teetotaler, considered peculiar in Mexico, and an avowed spiritualist. He claimed to have contact with his dead brother Raà ºl and liberal reformer Benito Juarez, who told him to maintain pressure on Dà ­az. Dà ­az Porfirio Dà ­az was an iron-fisted dictator in power since 1876. Dà ­az had modernized the country, laying miles of train tracks and encouraging industry and foreign investment, but at a cost. The poor lived in abject misery. Miners worked without safety measures or insurance, peasants were kicked off their land, and debt peonage meant that thousands were essentially slaves. He was the darling of international investors, who commended him for â€Å"civilizing† an unruly nation. Dà ­az kept tabs on those who opposed him. The regime controlled the press, and rogue journalists could be jailed without trial for libel or sedition. Dà ­az played politicians and military men against one another, leaving few threats to his rule. He appointed all state governors, who shared the spoils of his crooked but lucrative system. Elections were rigged and only the foolish tried to buck the system. Dà ­az had fought off many challenges, but by 1910 cracks were showing. He was in his late 70s, and the wealthy class he represented worried about his successor. Years of repression meant the rural poor and urban working class loathed Dà ­az and were primed for revolution. A revolt by Cananea copper miners in 1906 in Sonora had to be brutally suppressed, showing Mexico and the world that Diaz was vulnerable. 1910 Elections Dà ­az had promised free elections in 1910. Taking him at his word, Madero organized the Anti-Re-Electionist Party to challenge Diaz and published a bestselling book titled  The Presidential Succession of 1910. Part of Maderos platform was that when Dà ­az came to power in 1876, he claimed he wouldnt seek re-election. Madero insisted that no good came from one man holding absolute power and listed Dà ­azs shortcomings, including the massacre of Maya Indians in the Yucatan, the crooked system of governors, and the Cananea mine incident. Mexicans flocked to see Madero and hear his speeches. He began publishing a newspaper,  El Anti-Re-Electionista, and secured his partys nomination. When it became clear that Madero would win, Dà ­az had most of the Anti-Re-Electionist leaders jailed, including Madero, arrested on a false charge of plotting armed insurrection. Because Madero came from a wealthy, well-connected family, Dà ­az could not simply kill him, as he had two generals who had threatened to run against him in 1910. The election was a sham and Dà ­az â€Å"won.†Ã‚  Madero, bailed out of jail by his wealthy father, crossed the border and set up shop in San Antonio, Texas. He declared the election null and void in his â€Å"Plan of San Luà ­s Potosà ­Ã¢â‚¬  and called for armed revolution. November 20 was set for the revolution to begin. Revolution With Madero in revolt, Dà ­az rounded up and killed many of his supporters. The call to revolution was heeded by many Mexicans. In the state of Morelos,  Emiliano Zapata  raised an army of peasants and harassed wealthy landowners. In the state of Chihuahua,  Pascual Orozco  and  Casulo  Herrera raised sizable armies. One of Herreras captains was ruthless revolutionary  Pancho Villa, who replaced the cautious Herrera and, with Orozco, captured cities in Chihuahua in the name of the revolution. In  February 1911, Madero returned from the U.S. Northern leaders including Villa and Orozco didnt trust him, so in March, his force swollen to 600, Madero led an attack on the federal garrison at Casas Grandes, which was a fiasco. Outgunned, Madero and his men retreated, and Madero was injured. Although it ended badly, Maderos bravery gained him respect among the northern rebels. Orozco, at that time leader of the most powerful rebel army, acknowledged Madero as leader of the revolution. Not long after the battle, Madero met  Villa  and they hit it off despite their differences. Villa knew he was a good bandit and rebel chief, but he was no visionary or politician. Madero  was a man of words, not action, and he considered Villa a Robin Hood,  just the man to oust Dà ­az. Madero allowed his men to join Villas force: His days of soldiering were done. Villa and Orozco pushed toward  Mexico City, scoring victories over federal forces along the way. In the south, Zapatas peasant army was capturing towns in his native state of Morelos, beating superior federal forces with a combination of determination and numbers. In May 1911, Zapata scored a huge, bloody victory over federal forces in the town of Cuautla. Dà ­az could see that his rule was crumbling. Dà ­az Quits Dà ­az negotiated a surrender with Madero, who generously allowed the former dictator to leave the country that month. Madero was greeted as a hero when he rode into Mexico City on June 7, 1911. Once he arrived, however, he made a series of mistakes. As interim president, he accepted Francisco Leà ³n de la Barra, a former Dà ­az crony who coalesced the anti-Madero movement. He also demobilized Orozcos and Villas armies. Maderos Presidency Madero became president in November 1911. Never a true revolutionary, Madero simply felt that Mexico was ready for democracy and Dà ­az should step down. He never intended to carry out radical changes, such as land reform. He spent much of his time as president trying to reassure the privileged class that he wouldnt dismantle the power structure left by Dà ­az. Meanwhile, Zapata, realizing that Madero would never approve real land reform, took up arms again. Leà ³n de la Barra, still interim president and working against Madero, sent  Gen. Victoriano Huerta, a brutal remnant of Dà ­azs regime, to Morelos to contain Zapata. Called back to Mexico City, Huerta began conspiring against Madero. When he became president, Maderos only remaining friend was Villa, whose army was demobilized. Orozco, who hadnt gotten the huge rewards he had expected from Madero, took to the field, and many of his former soldiers joined him. Downfall and Execution The politically naive Madero didnt realize he was surrounded by danger. Huerta was conspiring with American ambassador Henry Lane Wilson to remove Madero, as Fà ©lix Dà ­az, Porfirios nephew, took up arms along with Bernardo Reyes. Although Villa rejoined the fight in favor of Madero, he ended up in a stalemate with Orozco. Madero refused to believe his generals would turn on him. The forces of Fà ©lix Dà ­az entered Mexico City, and a 10-day standoff known as la  decena  trgica (â€Å"the tragic fortnight†) ensued. Accepting Huertas â€Å"protection,† Madero fell into his trap: He was arrested by Huerta on Feb. 18,  1913,  and executed four days later, though Huerta said he was killed when his supporters tried to free him. With Madero gone, Huerta turned on his fellow conspirators and made himself president. Legacy Although he wasnt a radical,  Francisco Madero  was the spark that set off the  Mexican Revolution. He was clever, rich, well-connected, and charismatic enough to get the ball rolling against a weakened Porfirio Dà ­az, but couldnt hold onto power once he attained it. The Mexican Revolution was fought by brutal, ruthless men, and the idealistic  Madero  was out of his depth. Still, his name became a rallying cry, especially for Villa and his men. Villa was disappointed that Madero had failed and spent the rest of the revolution looking for another politician to entrust with the future of his country. Maderos brothers were among Villas staunchest supporters. Later politicians tried and failed to unite the nation until 1920, when Alvaro Obregà ³n seized power, the first to succeed at imposing his will on the unruly factions. Decades later, Madero is seen as a hero by Mexicans, the father of the revolution that did much to level the playing field between rich and poor. He is seen as weak but idealistic, an honest, decent man destroyed by the demons he helped to unleash. He was executed before the bloodiest years of the revolution, so his image is unsullied by later events. Sources McLynn, Frank.  Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution.  Basic Books, 2000.Francisco Madero: President of Mexico. Encyclopedia Brittanica.Francisco Madero. Biography.com.