Author John Steinbeck writes “In no country are more seeds and plants and equipment purchased and less vegetables and flowers raised.” This quote stood out to me. I see many instances in which our neighbors or friends return from a store with ideas and garden tools. They retrieve their spades, hoes, and other gardening tools, and set out to create a masterpiece, bringing color and life into their yards. But over the weeks the lack of effort and hard work needed to grow a plentiful garden are lacking. The pedals drop off the stems and shrivel up, and instead of a beautiful and bountiful garden there is a sloppy brown instead. I guess you could say that I agree with the passage mentioned in Steinbeck’s paper, “America and Americans”. Some individuals do know how to keep a garden or grow a field of crops but I think that more Americans are unable because of laziness or busy lives to follow through. I believe the essay illustrated many true qualities of Americans, but also spoke to stereotypes. Not every country is perfect. John Steinbeck has said that Americans are “sluggish”. I disagree. True, there are some lazy people in the United States, but there are many hardworking Americans that strive to succeed. People should not be judged.
             The Crucible contains many examples of paradox. The characters described in the book believed in the church and its teachings. People were taught to tell the truth and lies were not tolerated. The children however told lies and implicated innocent women by stating they were witches. The accusers knew that God damned all liars, yet they continued to lie even when the innocent were condemned to death. The adults in Salem contributed to this “crime” by allowing children to speak first and thus exaggerate the accusations. This contradicted everything that the church taught. Adults did not question the accusations of the children and
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