When thinking about the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, one may think of the opulent Garden District homes or the historic cemeteries where the dead are buried in above-ground mausoleums to avoid the below-sea-level ground conditions. But for most people, the thought of the Crescent City evokes images of the debauchery of Bourbon Street or the jazz musicians in Jackson Square: collectively, the French Quarter. In his book Madame Vieux Carré: The French Quarter in the Twentieth Century, Scott Ellis takes the reader on a journey through the French Quarter from its beginnings as the first settlement of what we now know as New Orleans to the beginnings of the 21st century.…
All my life I have lived Pearl, MS. I never went out of state for vacation, even though I have always wanted to travel and explore the world. Ever since I was little, I have always wanted to go to my parent’s hometown: Santa Catharina, OA. My parents would always show me pictures and videos of their hometown that infatuated me. I would constantly ask my parents to take me, until they finally took me on thanksgiving break. When I arrived to Santa Catharina, I did not expect to see the immense amount of difference that I perceived. The city of Pearl has different geography, cars, and opportunities from Santa…
Being an outsider is challenging anywhere in the world. Getting used to the food, the culture, or even the language is something that requires time and effort. New Orleans is a place that regardless where you are from, its people make you feel welcome. In some places, they would try to teach you their traditions, but in most of the cases you will learn by just looking around because almost everyone would be engage in them. I would say the connection between the people and the culture is what makes New Orleans a great city. Sara Roahen is an example of an outsider that fell in love with the city and tried to fit the culture in all the possible ways she could, as it is illustrated in her story: "Crawfish: A Crawfish Is a Darned Beast!"…
2. There are multiple symbols used by the author throughout the play Our Town. For example, the time capsule mentioned by the Stage Manager in Act One symbolizes the belief that specific things from the past should be remembered. The Stage Manager says, "So I'm going to have a copy of this play put in the cornerstone and the people a thousand years from now'll know a few simple facts about us..." This symbolizes not only the want for people to appreciate the lives of the townspeople, but also the fact that the play is mentioned dissolves the barrier between the fictional world of the story and the real world outside of the play, from the audience's perspective. The author and the Stage Manager are well aware that the play and the lives…
I recently visited New Orleans and was mesmerized by the atmosphere of the French Quarter. It is unlike any other city I have been in and indeed the French Quarter is a city unto itself seemly separate from its entirety. Of course, I went on the ghost tours’ etcetera. But, even from the moment I saw the old buildings, the lay out of the streets, and the manner of the locals, I wondered about all those that had gone before, the history of the people that make up this place. I stood looking at the oldest building, touched its’ wall, and wondered what life and stories had past before it.…
Through December 5th through the 7th, I performed in Thornton Wilder's play of Our Town. The only sets or props that the actors or actresses used where folding chairs for us to sit in, umbrellas to hide Emily (Julie Dumbler), and flats on both sides of the stage to hide the people behind them. The reason for the lack of set is so the audience can use there imagination of what the town of Grover's Corner, New Hampshire looks like. All the rest of the props that the actors had to use were pan mimed and acted out to the fullest to make it look real. The only other experience with no set was with Miss Henery in Neodesha and it was a disaster so I didn't know how well this was going to work out. But with the help of our director Peter Ellenstein and the rest of the cast, the pan miming was very successful. Our performance space was a modified thrust stage. The shape of the stage served us well for this play, but the back stage was horrible. All of the chairs that we had to use were folding chairs that made a lot of noise even if you hardly touched one. One neat thing about the play is that all of the sound affects were made by our backstage manager (Lisa Mitchell) or other members of the cast. In exception for the clock chiming at the end of the play. People who have seen the play tell me that it is a very heart moving play. I did not get that feeling because I was always backstage or onstage. Ether way I didn't get to watch the play so I couldn't see what was so moving about it. The only humor I got was from lines and the funniest person I heard was Professor Willard (Gary Mitchell). The audience is led through the entire play by the Stage Manager (Cory Venable). He literally talks to the audience between every scene explaining what is going on in the story. I thought Mr. Wilder did a good job in having a Stage Manager do this. The Stage Manager tells and shows us a story a young girl growing up and facing death, even after death. He show us how Emily…
As a teenager my cultural identity has been impacted through the years with my family, cultural traditions, and even the music I listen too. Living in Louisiana has formed a part of my identity that couldn’t have been developed in any other state or country. From the crawfish boils every easter to the festivals every season playing the sound of zydeco, I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.…
The Louisiana Territory is the land stretching west of the Mississippi river to present day Colorado. This land was originally the property of France, until they gave it to Spain who realized they couldn’t handle that amount of land, and gave it right back to France. Once America heard of this, they sent two men to buy the city of New Orleans and however much land they could get for ten million dollars. However, France said that they would give them the entire territory for only five million more. The deal was too good to pass up, so America decided to buy it. They sent out a group of men to explore this new land called the Corps of Discovery, who were very successful. The Louisiana Purchase impacted our country by the discovery of new flora…
understanding the city. Even a prolonged stay brings no easy recognition or familiarity. New Orleans…
Being an American born and lived all my life in New Bedford, Massachusetts, culture has really affected me as a person. My mother and grandparents were born in Portugal and this gave me a variety of culture since we all know that New Bedford is a melting pot of cultures. Portugal possesses rich cultural inheritance from European,…
The heritage I was born into is what enables me to have pride in what I am and in the history of my family. Every day I spend together with my family is yet another day we live by our "vertical heritage," our culture. We communicate in our native language of Spanish as we…
Industrialization had a great impact on the United States. The Industrialization in the United States helped to attract many more immigrants to the country. The west made it possible to have more farming land. Urbanization created new technology.…
The year 1959 was a year that New Orleans, Louisiana advanced in growth and population. At this time, New Orleans started becoming more Americanized with the impression of growing, suburban areas. After the Caucasians and the African Americans integrated, the culture of New Orleans expanded even more. Also, the crime rate in the city was so minor; it was nothing like the way it is today. Families all over thought that New Orleans would be a considerable place to live safely, earn an education, be successful, and happily live their lives. Most households from around the world chose to live in New Orleans to get away from where they were raised. They wanted to live in a peaceful, friendly, and an inspiring place. Since the city was rapidly expanding, road…
I am from a small Bible belt town called Reform. Reform was named after a preacher refused to return until the townspeople reformed their ways (Ashcraft, 2011). I lived in this town from the time my mom brought me home from the hospital until I graduated high school and went to college. Reform is a town that history forgot about. Reform is still segregated meaning the white people live on one side of the street and black people live on the other side. Everyone looks different, because all people look different. I will say one thing that when grouped together the white people look the same and the black people look the same. The best way to describe Reform is picture the town from the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes” where the whistle-stop café was located.…
The city of Chicago is an amazing place for many tourists to come to any time of the year. “Nearly forty million people visit Chicago annually. Along with forty million tourists, Chicago has nearly three million residents who inhabit the streets and sidewalks every morning” (cityofchicago.org, p. 1). Street performers, salespeople, and pedestrians add many distractions to the already unknown area. Also, the streets and mirroring shops on every block cause much confusion to a first time tourist of the city. “Chicago has more than 7,300 restaurants, 552 parks, and 26 miles of lakefront” (cityofchicago.org, p.1). The city of Chicago is an amazing place to visit until one gets lost in the much larger city than Greensburg.…