Issue 4

First Year Writing Special Issue

First-Year Composition at the University of Missouri———English 1000———is characterized above all by its diversity. While broad guidelines and goals underwrite what a phalanx of instructors implement in nearly 200 sections each year, the freedom instructors possess to teach to their strengths and interests is a hallmark that, if these essays are any indication, is a boon to MU students.

The Gate to Marriage: Benefits and Detriments of Arranged Marriage

The processes of choosing a lifetime partner dramatically differ between Western and Eastern cultures. In Western cultures, mates select one another directly based on interpersonal attraction. Since marriage is not the primary task of starting a relationship, family members are not likely to get involved when a person is starting a relationship. In the Eastern cultures, however, marriage is regarded as the primary pre-requisite for a relationship and it is often arranged by family members.

Not Yet Finished

In Jane Yolen’s Favorite Folktales From Around The World, a Sioux Indian tale entitled “The End of The World” attempts to catalogue Sioux culture before, during, and after European colonization. In addition, the tale chastises the Europeans’ oppressive colonization of Native America, which not only attempted to eradicate the Sioux tradition and religion, but also tried to foster a new, foreign culture upon these native people.

A New Path of Liberation: Choosing to be Disabled on Second Life

People often feel a need to escape from their real lives. They want to vacation away from the challenges reality forces them to deal with. Virtual worlds are often seen as places where people can escape to because they take away real-life challenges, allowing people to achieve solidarity.

The Art of Music, Apple Pie, and Coping

It was another rough week at school full of tests, quizzes, and homework. I sit in my room with my earphones in, completely engulfed in the melodies emitted from the device. As the each track ends and a new one begins, between that three-second pause, I am momentarily lost in anticipation for the next song to bring me a new sense of wonderful oblivion. My heart rate picks up and my eyes close, and suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder.

Feminism in Austen’s Northanger Abbey

In the excerpt from Mary Wollstonecraft’s “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” she responds to Dr. John Gregory’s “A Father’s Legacy to His Daughters,” where he discusses his view of proper womanly behavior. Wollstonecraft echoes Austen’s view that women are individuals with intellectual and creative capacities equal to that of men’s.

One Bite = Instant Pleasure

There is nothing like biting into a big juicy over processed cheeseburger that is smothered with processed condiments that make your taste buds scream with joy with every bit you take.

Facebook: Our Social Tool

Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life. It is the prominent slogan of Facebook.com, a social networking website which is now prevailing all around the world.

The Anti-ana

Throughout the years, many trends have come and gone. However in recent decades, one trend has stayed put: skinny. The cliché phrase “thin is in” is an understatement of our culture’s obsession with weight. A barrage of ads for diet systems, weight loss supplements, and exercise plans are constantly thrown at consumers.

Gastrointestinal Disease and Diet

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are just over 7 million visits to the emergency room each year with a digestive system diagnosis and nearly 40 million visits to office based physicians for digestive system symptoms.