The surroundings of someone has impact and influence on an individual's behavior, this is also referred to as “nurture.” These influences later eventually determine mental health and the roles in society one fulfills. Two short stories, James Baldwin’s, “Sonny’s Blues' ' and Daniel Alarcón, “The Ballad of Rocky Rontal” are great examples of two different men who are from two different cultures, yet still have similarities. Both storylines give an exceptional amount of details elaborating on suffering, stereotyping, anger, and...
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Musical and artistic yet segregative describes the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance lasted from 1918-1930s in New York and the era was especially remembered for African Americans expressing themselves in new ways. The Great Migration was a significant event that set the tone for the future progressivism of the Harlem Renaissance. It was when African Americans moved from the south to the north. Limited economic opportunities and segregation laws against them was the main reason they wanted to move north....
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The first thing that needs to be emphasized here is that the Mariner is commonly not considered as a vampire. For centuries he has been considered more a figure of prophetic warning or the Wondering Jew. (USTE VAKVI LIKOVI One of the reasons could be his parallel with the Wandering Jew figure (explain the characteristics of the WJ from Bryan Fulmer and compare them to (some) the vampiric pointed out by Twitchell) The reason why the Mariner has escaped the...
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Screeching, chanting, stomping, murderous, barbaric, savages. Portrayed in The Last of the Mohicans, A Man Called Horse, Windwalker, Cheyenne Autumn, and countless others, these are the American Indians that Hollywood has created for viewers across the country since the 1960s. In movies and novels, the same brutish men wearing colossal feathered headdresses protecting the one beautiful Native girl from their tribe, the American explorer triumphantly rescuing her and giving her what her people never could--this is how Sherman Alexie depicts...
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Before reading the first 60 pages of If Beale Street Could Talk by James Balwin I knew very little of him, other than reading a short story by him in high school by the name of Sonny’s Blues. What struck me most in the reading of If Beale Street Could Talk was the way he wrote about love. I personally wanted to know whether James Baldwin ever fell in love or ever had kids of his own. After reading a...
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The love for poetry and writing can begin with the simple routine of listening to the soothing voices of parents reading a bedtime story. Unfortunately for some, such as Sherman Alexie, the sweetest routines are not a part of their everyday life while growing up. Defying the odds at a young age, Alexie survived life-threatening health conditions, bullied because of his appearance and an absent father. As a boy, he was much influenced by his maternal grandmother, a spiritual leader...
2 Pages
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In the short story “Sonny’s Blues” written by James Baldwin, character Sonny possesses the gift of music specifically jazz. His music offers him a chance at redemption but at the same time it threatens to destroy him by leading back to his destructive addiction. This suggests that one’s creative ability can be a saving grace, but can lead to a life of despair. The music that Sonny performs is based off an expression of freedom and passion more than a...
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Emily Dickinson and Death Throughout Emily Dickinson’s 1,800 poems, about one quarter feature the subject of death. Although Dickinson penned a great many poems featuring death, there are no two which have precisely the same perception of it, and these perceptions can appear contradictory at times - Dickinson portrays death as alternatively tender, ominous, or simply inevitable. There is an ambiguity to the ways in which she gives shape to death and what follows it. Her poems focusing on death...
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Literature is the art or work of expressing thoughts or feelings in language. Examples of literature include poetry, drama, non-fiction, fiction, etc. Do you ever notice that a myriad of literary works conveys ideas that are universal, though the works set in particular place and time? Two literary works to compare are ‘Vagabonds’ by Langston Hughes and ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. On account of both works describe the problem of society, the main ideas are...
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In their poetry, Wilfred Owen, Rupert Brooke and Siegfried Sassoon all express very different perspectives towards war. Wilfred Owen in his poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” expresses the brutality of war and a sense of deception at being lied to by the propaganda and the government. However, in Rupert Brooke's poetry, he conveys a sense of patriotism towards the war. Siegfried Sassoon, on the other hand, portrays how war changes soldiers, turning them into human savages and highly affecting them...
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It is often easy to suggest that ‘poetry makes a familiar world unfamiliar’ however, the world that the poet writes about is familiar to them. For example, Sylvia Plath’s poetry was highly influenced by her deteriorating mental health and her difficulty with relationships. The world that Plath’s poetry portrayed is a world that was familiar to her. Plath’s short book of poems ‘Ariel’ was a huge insight into how she viewed the world before her death, specifically her poem ‘Stings’....
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Homer was a Greek epic poet and supposedly the author of The Iliad and The Odyssey which are thought to be composed sometime between 750 and 650 BC. In Homer’s Iliad, the characters Sarpedon (mortal son of Zeus) and Patroklos (companion of Achilles) who both die noble and heroic deaths are commemorated with the grandest burials, whilst in Homer’s Odyssey, the character Elpenor (youngest companion of Odysseus) was given a much smaller burial. Sarpedon, who was killed in battle by...
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Introduction Sara Holbrook's poem "Democracy" is a thought-provoking piece that challenges conventional notions of democracy and raises questions about its true meaning and practice. In this critical essay, we will explore the various themes and techniques employed by Holbrook in her poem, analyzing the underlying messages and implications of her words. Analysis Holbrook's poem "Democracy" is a critique of the gap between the idealized concept of democracy and its reality. Through her use of vivid imagery and powerful language, she...
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Langston Hughes’s poem Merry-Go-Round was published in 1942. During that time in the United States, many things were going on, to name a few, there was the race riot, the first published issue of the Negro Digest, the first African American to go to space, the United State Marine Corps allowing African American men for the first time (but in a segregated facility), the Congress of Racial Equality in Chicago was organized and started a sit-in at a restaurant in...
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Poetry has no true meaning. This means it is one of a kind to anyone. However, we can distinguish the difference between poetry and different literature. To me, poetry lets a person categorize their emotions and use literary devices to further explain their point of view to the reader. Poetry uses many different forms of multidimensional languages to connect to us significantly more easily. “Suicide’s Note” by Langston Hughes and “Richard Cory” by Edward Arlington Robinson utilizes symbolism, irony, and...
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Poetry conveys various universal human issues such as the journey of life, struggles, and making choices. Two poems that convey universal human issues include the poem mother to Son by Langston Hughes and The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. The poem mother to Son by Langston Hughes is an uplifting, poem on never giving up. It is about a mother advising her son on the challenges, and struggles of life, and encourages him to follow her and push through...
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'The conventions of modern poetry can also lend themselves to the voice of protest for the subversive minorities '. This statement is pointful because the Harlem Renaissance and Langston Hughes's poem, ' I, Too ' portrays a perfect example of how the conventions of modern poetry can also lend themselves to the voice of protest for subversive minorities like African Americans. The poem ' I, Too ' and Harlem Renaissance are interconnected. Because this poem was written by Langston Hughes...
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One may reject their culture or societal beliefs to form their identity and develop a unique character. In the short story “Names Nombres” by Julia Alvarez, she describes the struggles of being an immigrant in New York City. People mispronounced her name, the Alvarez family held different social etiquette than accepted in the United States, and she was treated like a strange, new creature rather than an individual. Over time, she comes to accept the mispronunciations and nicknames others bestow...
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A River is a popular and major poem, written by A.K. Ramanujan who was an Indian poet, translator, scholar, and imagist poet. This poem is published in 1966 in the Striders. The poet Ramanujan has compared and contrasted the attitudes of the old poets and those of the new poets to human suffering throughout this poem by using simple language, themes, techniques, and poetic strategies. In his perspective, he emphasizes that both old poets and new poets did not sing...
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“In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life; it goes on” Robert Lee Frost was born on March 26,1874, in San Francisco, California and died on January 29,1963,Boston, Massachusetts. He was an American poet and was commended for the illustration of the rural life in New England. His work was mainly focused on realistic verse which portrayed ordinary people in day-to- day situation. William Prescott Frost was the father of Robert. He was a journalist...
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In this essay, I will analyze two poems. I will aim to discuss the main themes that are evident throughout the poems, as well as how the writers show these themes through the structures of the poems. The two poems which I will analyze are The Soldier and In Flanders Fields. The first poem which I will look at is The Soldier, written by Rupert Brooke in 1914. The poem is still used today in remembrance ceremonies when remembering the...
3 Pages
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Beowulf is a fiction story by an anonymous poet whom scholars refer to as “Beowulf poet.” The fiction is set in Scandinavia and details a hero of the Geats (Beowulf) who comes to the help of the king of the Danes, Hrothgar. Notably, Beowulf uses his bravery and strength to slay Grendel and later becomes the king, and rules for fifty peaceful years. During his tenure, Beowulf shows the qualities of a good leader by bringing the rich into the...
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Beowulf, the classic medieval tale of monsters and dragons. The 3182 lines of Beowulf indulge in a grand story that tells the tale of a great Pagan warrior. However, the author includes many Christian elements. Notably, in lines, 181–183, the author says, 'deep in their hearts they remembered hell. The Almighty Judge of good deeds and bad, the Lord God, Head of the Heavens and High King of the World, was unknown to them.' Written by a Christian author, but...
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Epic poems, long and narrative, include adventures and brave heroes. Epic poems can trace their roots back to almost 2500 BCE. Beowulf defines a strong and well-developed epic. Beowulf includes plot characteristics, values, and archetypes throughout the poem. In epics, they show what really mattered at the time and what people cared about in a fictional way. The plot in Beowulf demonstrates a strong epic because a brave hero goes on a journey to save people. Most importantly, he willingly...
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Beowulf is an epic poem, which is a literary piece where there is a hero achieving an incredible feat, that was made in the Anglo-Saxon era. There is no certainty in the time of the development of the poem but it is agreed that it was made roughly in the 6th to 11th century. The anonymity of the creator of the poem still remains today. The researcher has conducted research to analyze the lexis and vocabulary of the said poem....
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In his sonnet, William Shakespeare discusses a man, possessing characteristics associated with nature, and how said nature and its seasons of summer/spring are perennial, as well as elaborating on the splendor of art and flora. The theme is the timelessness of love and admiration. How change is an inevitable prospect, yet, it does not hinder the poet’s veneration for their subject of love. He explicitly expresses this notion through the manipulation and application of figurative language, poetic devices, and imagery....
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Life is filled with adversity, lost dreams, and suffering. Thus, making life challenging and onerous. Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” and Langston Hughes’s poems both use the themes of broken dreams, poverty, and determination to show the struggle that African Americans faced during the 1950s. The authors may have similar themes but their works explain them differently. A dream is valuable, but also fragile. The authors Langston Hughes and Lorraine Hansberry use the American Dream as a theme...
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“My Father is a Simple Man” by Luis Omar Salinas is a poem about a father and son’s gratefulness. This poem takes place in an old town through crowded streets of children. Author Luis Omar Salinas has written about his father Rosendo Salinas and explains to the reader his love for him. Luis was born June 24th, 1937 in a small town in Texas called Robstown. This poem shows how only one man can make a world of difference in...
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Robert Frost’s “Design” is a beautiful short poem that vividly brings the reader into a simple concrete situation that contains a much deeper meaning of life and death. Indeed, Frost tells the story of witnessing a spider with its dead moth prey in a web made upon a white flower. The balance of the delicate, light, and beautiful flower and moth with the bewildering deadliness of the spider moves Frost to explore how such a contradiction could occur as part...
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In George Herbert's “The Windows” the speaker presents the idea of how the power of God impacts the flock of churchgoers through sound. The speaker notes that God has given preachers a set ability to portray his word, however, if you only preach the word of god without actually living the complete life, you are a phony. In order to be an adequate preacher and if by the grace of God they can live the word they preach they will...
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