In Nikky Finney's poem "Red Velvet", Rosa parks, a 42 year old seamstress recalls the time 12 years ago when she was put off of a bus for refusing to give up her seat to a white man. On December 1st, 1955, 12 years after the incident, she boards the same bus that was driven by the driver who put her off before, but this time when asked to move, Rosa parks decides to stay put. She reminisces on her experiences of segregation, discrimination and her daily struggles on and off the bus. Finney uses an extended metaphor as she compares the strength of fabric to the persistence of Rosa Parks. The part that I thought was most important/moved me the most was when Finney claims that the job of a seamstress is tough and that one should never underestimate
In the beginning of chapter 8, Krakauer blatantly states all these strangers’ opinions about McCandless’s death to the reader. These honest and blunt opinions that were stated against McCandless causes one to realize that McCandless’s peril was one hundred percent absurd and puerile. After reading others opinions on his death, it made me resent McCandless even more than I did. “Personally I see nothing positive at all about Chris McCandless’s lifestyle or wilderness doctrine.” (page 71) another opinion states, “McCandless had already gone over the edge and just happened to hit bottom in Alaska.”
India, one of the many colonies England controlled in the past was the “Jewel in the Crown” of the British Empire. Although in the beginning, it was controlled by the British East India Company as a source of cotton, tea, and indigo. The British had indirect control of India until the Sepoy Rebellion in 1857. Although Britain created India’s government and military, improved trade, protected land, claimed to improve education, and increased minority safety, however the government and military controlled and excluded Indians, trade only benefitted the British, statistics show education was better after Indian Independence, valuable land was degraded and minorities still felt fear and insecurity.
Disagreements brought among two can greatly cause an uncertain effect on those surrounded by them, as well as each other. Innocent minded children are targeted to be easily influenced. That is until that child starts becoming experienced and learns to lead his own path perpetually discovering his autonomy. Gabriel and Maria, a dissimilar couple introduced from Rudolfo Anaya’s “Bless Me, Ultima”, presents a conflicting environment on those having to deal with their differing ideal beliefs. Maria, a Luna, daughter of a farmer, peaceful and quiet like the moon.
Growing Up Young Loss of innocence is when one is unaware of evil surrounding them especially in children of a young age. Saul remembers his traumatic past experiences and feels better when he talks it through with someone. In the novel, Indian Horse, by Richard Wagamese, Saul is stripped of his innocence, which in turn makes him more violent and causes him to turn to alcohol to cope with and escape from his troubles. Loss of innocence at a young age can forcibly take away one’s dreams, ultimately leading to a life of negativity. Hockey was the only source Saul was able to rely on, but with all the racism and his traumatic past, he is unable to pursue his passion for hockey.
How does one man go from a bright and dashing young man, to a drab lifeless one? Frank Shabata in O’ Pioneers! had this transformation, all because of two young people’s choices. Frank caught his wife, Marie, committing adultery in his orchard late at night with a young man Emil. He shot and killed them on the spot, then was sentenced and sent to the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln. Willa Cather did not send Frank to the State Penitentiary merely because it was the closest prison, but for a reason with more significance.
H.H Holmes confessed, “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing”. During this time Holmes was growing to be America’s first recorded serial killer and taking place in the tail end of the Industrial Revolution, technology and architecture improved to new levels. Much like Holmes, life in the city was chaotic. Chicago at the time was moving to a more industrialized society.
Throughout her book, Games was very eager in presenting the various pull facts that attracted the English in wanting to come to the new world. Whether it was for personal gains, religious freedom, or social mobility, she was thorough in all aspects; yet, Games did not fully elaborate on the push factors back in London, that undeniably played just as significant of a role in promoting migration. Indeed, Games briefly identified that an uncontrollable growth in English population, along with food shortages and the, “collapse of England textile industry” (16), promoted migration , but this explanation is not sufficient to answer why around tens of thousands of English people, each year, are willing to face a sixty percent mortality rate (190) in going to the new world to seek opportunities; it simply does not provide the whole picture. Literatures that clearly record the economic limitations of England, social structure, religious freedom, or even the daily life of the common English man could have allowed the audience to more closely apprehend why some of the English were willing to risk their lives for a chance in having a better future. Yet, Games forfeited her chance to use these promising sources and reserved herself to words such as crowded and unemployed (23) to briefly present the unfavorable situations back in
The poem “Facing It,” by Yusef Komunyakaa is a heart wrenching story of a man who was in the Vietnam War. He is recounting the lost and maimed of the war. The author himself served in the Vietnam War. This poem has many accurate depictions of the struggles felt by the veterans coming home from this highly controversial war. The personification seen in the story catches the attention of the reader in a way that almost makes the reader feel as though they themselves are in D.C. staring into the wall.
John Smith and William Bradford journeyed to uncharted lands with different intentions. Both men shared similar occurrences, but handled each situation with a different mean. Whether the intent was guided by hope of riches or religious freedom, the authors faced many hardships. The speech, objective, and mood deviate from and correspond to William and John’s accounts. William Bradford’s diction differed from Smith due to the theological beliefs that guided his writing.
What gives someone hope in a world of death and despair? Is it a mother, or a child? Can the generations of your family give hope in a world of darkness? Edwidge Danticat, author of, Krik? Krak!, answers this.
“For My Daughter” by Weldon Kees (1940) Some people come into our life as blessings. Some come in your life as lessons. These words from Mother Theresa describe Weldon Kees poem For My Daughter written in the 1940’s which is the time of World War II. Throughout this war people have lived in a time when medicine was not very developed, and frequently children fell upon bad circumstances because of their situation.
Although Doyle's The Sign of Four admires the peculiar aspects of Indian cultures, it upholds England's authority without questioning its legitimacy as reflected in Small's description of the Mutiny which unjustifiably associates India with barbarism. Stevenson's The Beach of Falesa, on the other hand, adamantly emphasizes the moral depravity of the white perpetrators. Both of these tales have undoubtedly broadened the imaginative horizons of British readers and their analyses have broadened mine so I am extremely thankful for the knowledge I acquired through this
In Jamaica Kincaid’s essay “On Seeing England for the First Time”, she clearly voices her animosity towards the one place her whole life surrounded as a child in hopes of persuading her audience into understanding that there is a fine line between dreams and realities. As an adult, Kincaid finally is able to travel to England to witness firsthand what all the hype was about and why her childhood and education happened to be based around the fantasy customs of this country. Noticing that every detail of her life revolved around England, from the way she ate her food to the naming of her family members, Kincaid found her hatred growing more and more. Coming from a British colony, the obsession with England drove Kincaid crazy to the point that she finally traveled there one day. She says, “The space between the idea of something and its reality is always wide and deep and dark” (37).
We are going to see to what extent we can say that Macaulay’s “Minute on Indian Education” reflects British society and the western point of view at the time. In a first part, we will focus on the opposition between Orientalists and Anglicists and in a second part, we will see about the western society seen as culturally superior compared to other nations and societies. On one hand, there was an opposition
