Major Themes in Faulkners Light in August :: Light August Essays

Major Themes in Faulkner's Light in August  Ã‚      Faulkner's Light in August is a metaphor. In fact it is many metaphors, almost infinitely many. It is a jumble of allusions, themes, portraits, all of them uniquely important, many of them totally unrelated. In fact no 20th century writer has even approached the sheer quantity of symbolism Faulkner packed into every page, with, perhaps, the exception of James Joyce who went so far as to surpass Faulkner in this regard. So obviously it would be foolish to attempt to trace every line, follow every branch to its root, one could spend a lifetime dissecting the book in this manner. Fortunately, in the midst of this menagerie of wonders, there are dominate themes. There are veins of meaning that permeate throughout. Chief among them; Faulkner's study of 20th century man's search for identity, and his compassionate portrait of the origins of evil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I have come from Alabama a fur piece (Faulkner, p.3). The reader begins the book in this manner, following the simple-minded and determined Lena as she travels, neither coming nor going, simply moving. Immediately the book draws into her past, relating events leading up to this point, explaining her motives. One gets a definite feel for her character, and settles into her narrative, but as soon as this happens, the book switches gears, turning instead to a vague character, Joe Christmas. With little introduction, or warning, the book reels into Joe's past, catching the reader totally unaware and throwing off the entire continuity of the book. Faulkner's desire for unity and coherence in the pattern is not as strong as is his desire for truth to individual response (Reed, p.123). Thus Lena is a frame, she serves only to accentuate Christmas's story, by contrast. Faulkner demands the reader follow, and realize this.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   So we now see Christmas's childhood. From the beginning, Christmas is two things. One, he is a totally clean slate in that he has no idea whatsoever of his past, his origins. He is neither predestined to good nor evil, simply born. By this same token, Christmas is left confused. Because he has no idea of his origins, he has no idea of self, even to the extent of not being sure of his

Formative Assessment Essay

The Rape of the Lock, written by Pope in response to a feud between two friends about the theft of a lock of hair, is revolutionary in its evolution of the comic satire genre into the field of epic poetry. Pope, an avid student of the Greek epics (he produced his own translations of some that provided much of his income during his life), takes the basic skeleton of an epic: its structure, critical content and even linguistic points; and crafts around the skeleton a poem of wit and comedy that is at its core epic, but also uses this very epic backbone to undermine its tales own importance and to satirise the content that has been moulded around the form. This creation from Pope marks the offshoot of the epic genre, transforming it into mock epic, an independent genre that bears many of the traits of its forebearer in a new light. The transformations to the epic that Pope undertakes in the Rape of the Lock to satiric effect can be broadly split into transformations of heroic content and transformations of heroic language. The former can be clearly observed here: Pope takes a staple of epic writing, heroic weaponry, and twists its use to his satirical needs. The weapon itself is given, through the use of a similar description, equal place with great weapons like Agamemnon’s sceptre, whose lineage was used to reinforce Agamemnon’s dominance and power in the Iliad, being forged by Hephaestus and owned by the Gods from Zeus to Kronos. Belinda’s weapons lineage is far less great. Instead of a scepter, the weapon of kings and priests in Homer’s writing, Belinda wields a bodkin, a hair needle. Even that difference itself is satirical: Agamemnon’s kingship is of great import to the Iliad so the parallel with a bodkin, which links to the hair in question much like the scepter links with kingship, makes a clear statement on the relative importance of the quarrel in the Rape of the Lock. The lineage too satirises the pointlessness of dispute: no claim of divinity (and thus righteousness) is made on the part of Belinda’s weapon; in fact its lineage mainly consists of feminine objects with the only male mentioned in its lineage also being the only one to explicitly be mentioned dying. Perhaps Pope, often accused of being somewhat sexist, is using this contrast and development to imply that the whole issue is a woman’s trifle and nothing next to the male quarrels of Achilles and Agamemnon. On top of this, the weapon is not the fixed centre of the lineage as in the Iliad, in which the weapon started as a divine weapon and stayed that way. Instead the object is mutable: it starts as signet rings, develops into a buckle and then becomes a bodkin. Pope changes up the epic formula of the mighty weapon into something changeable and thus insignificant, paralleling with the argument he is satirising, the implication being that it is insignificant and will easily be forgotten. The weapon also shows another perversion of the epic poem that Pope uses. Protection, be it through armour or weaponry, tends to have a high place in the Greek epics. Heroes often wear famed suits of armour or use shields/weapons to survive insurmountable odds (for example the reflective shield in Perseus’ tale in Ovid’s Metamorphoses that slays Medusa). This element of protection, divine or otherwise, is a theme that Pope subverts consistently. From the slyph Ariel who is â€Å"half dissolv’d† even by light to the â€Å"Cosmetic powers† of her dress and make-up, nothing effectively protects Belinda. The bodkin is no different, it fails to protect her locks from being cut in the initial case, and here, although she uses it to attack the Baron, it fails to return its charge, her hair, to her. Pope is modernising traditional epics, using these typical ‘protections’ to mock high societies fixation on appearance. All of her outward facing beauty and quaint bodkin’s cannot protect her from the advances of a single man, so what, Pope asks, is the use of all this artifice? Pope also mutates generic language elements from epic literature for his satirical intentions. In this passage, the clearest example is in his use of the ten syllable rhyming heroic couplet. Pope takes the rhyme of the couplet and uses it to link together two separate words or ideas, often to a comical effect. Here, in the lines, â€Å"Nor feared the chief the unequal fight to try, Who sought no more than on his foe to die. â€Å" Pope has the first line of the couplet set up the Baron’s bravery by expounding his fearlessness in fighting against Belinda in â€Å"unequal† combat (ironic in itself due to Belinda’s natural weakness compared to his â€Å"manly strength† referred to in the next couplet) before defeating the heroic xpectancy with a sexual pun; the phrase â€Å"to die† holding at the time a dual meaning referring to sexual climax, and often premature climax at that. His heroism is built up and destroyed within a couplet with the contrast of noble bravery and base desire providing a humorous and satirical twist on the typical heroism of the heroic couplet by suggesting that the drive behind the Baron’s actions is, at its deepest level, sexual, rather than noble or courtly.

Jackie Robinson Assessment

1. Many people agree that Robinson was not the best player in the Negro League in the mid 1940s. If so why did Rickey choose him? Because he wasn’t looking for the best baseball player, he was looking for a player who was talented, with a background beyond criticism, with an unshakable self-control and with a good winner attitude. He thought that Robinson would be ideal to break the color line of the Major League Baseball teams, plus he was a very good player.2. Do you think professional sports would be the same today if it had not been for Robinson? I think Robinson played a very big role in the history of sports in America because today some of the most watched sports in the country like baseball (MLB) or basketball (NBA) are mostly formed by African-American players. If it had not been for Robinson I think sports in America wouldn’t be the same as they are now.3. Do you think Robinson’s success with the Dodgers had any impact beyond sports? I think Robinsonâ⠂¬â„¢s success with the Brooklyn Dodgers had a very big impact beyond sports because since he made it to an all white league and be actually successful in it, it motivated to other players of all negro leagues to became better and try to make it to this new opportunity that they had. I think Robinson played a big role in the history of sports of America and that’s why now he’s one of the biggest names in history of baseball. ï » ¿Jackie Robinson Assessment 1. Many people agree that Robinson was not the best player in the Negro League in the mid 1940s. If so why did Rickey choose him? Because he wasn’t looking for the best baseball player, he was looking for a player who was talented, with a background beyond criticism, with an unshakable self-control and with a good winner attitude. He thought that Robinson would be ideal to break the color line of the Major League Baseball teams, plus he was a very good player.2. Do you think professional sports would be the same today if it had not been for Robinson? I think Robinson played a very big role in the history of sports in America because today some of the most watched sports in the country like baseball (MLB) or basketball (NBA) are mostly formed by African-American players. If it had not been for Robinson I think sports in America wouldn’t be the same as they are now.3. Do you think Robinson’s success with the Dodgers had any impact beyond sports? I think Robinsonâ⠂¬â„¢s success with the Brooklyn Dodgers had a very big impact beyond sports because since he made it to an all white league and be actually successful in it, it motivated to other players of all negro leagues to became better and try to make it to this new opportunity that they had. I think Robinson played a big role in the history of sports of America and that’s why now he’s one of the biggest names in history of baseball.

Free Essays on Annotated Bibliography

I believe that juveniles are responsible for most of the crimes committed. Every day, crime shatters the peace in our Nation's neighborhoods. Violent crime and the fear it engenders cripple our society, threaten personal freedom, and fray the ties that are essential for healthy communities. No corner of America is safe from increasing levels of criminal violence, including violence committed by and against juveniles. Parents are afraid to let their children walk to school alone. Children hesitate to play in neighborhood playgrounds. The elderly lock themselves in their homes, and innocent Americans of all ages find their lives changed by the fear of crime. Allen-Hagen, B., M. Sickmund, and H. Snyder. 1994 (November). Juveniles and Violence: Juvenile Offending and Victimization. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. This fact sheet presents statistical data and trends about juvenile offenders and juvenile victims of violence. Between 1988 and 1992, juvenile arrests for violent crime, juvenile gun use, weapons arrests, weapons carrying, and gang membership increased dramatically. Data are provided on juvenile victims of violent crime, particularly homicide. The fact sheet also discusses Federal approaches to child maltreatment. Cities In Schools, Inc., Seeds of Hope: A Guide for Program Resources. 1995. Alexandria, Va. This guide of resources that help those involved in child rearing is organized into four focus areas. The four focuses are Preschool/family, School, Community, and Early Intervention, which support the basic principles of Cities In Schools, Inc. The four principles are as follows: Every child needs and deserves a personal, one-on-one relationship with a caring adult; every child needs and deserves a safe place to learn and grow; every child needs and deserves a marketable skill to use upon graduation; and every child needs and deserves a chance to giv... Free Essays on Annotated Bibliography Free Essays on Annotated Bibliography I believe that juveniles are responsible for most of the crimes committed. Every day, crime shatters the peace in our Nation's neighborhoods. Violent crime and the fear it engenders cripple our society, threaten personal freedom, and fray the ties that are essential for healthy communities. No corner of America is safe from increasing levels of criminal violence, including violence committed by and against juveniles. Parents are afraid to let their children walk to school alone. Children hesitate to play in neighborhood playgrounds. The elderly lock themselves in their homes, and innocent Americans of all ages find their lives changed by the fear of crime. Allen-Hagen, B., M. Sickmund, and H. Snyder. 1994 (November). Juveniles and Violence: Juvenile Offending and Victimization. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. This fact sheet presents statistical data and trends about juvenile offenders and juvenile victims of violence. Between 1988 and 1992, juvenile arrests for violent crime, juvenile gun use, weapons arrests, weapons carrying, and gang membership increased dramatically. Data are provided on juvenile victims of violent crime, particularly homicide. The fact sheet also discusses Federal approaches to child maltreatment. Cities In Schools, Inc., Seeds of Hope: A Guide for Program Resources. 1995. Alexandria, Va. This guide of resources that help those involved in child rearing is organized into four focus areas. The four focuses are Preschool/family, School, Community, and Early Intervention, which support the basic principles of Cities In Schools, Inc. The four principles are as follows: Every child needs and deserves a personal, one-on-one relationship with a caring adult; every child needs and deserves a safe place to learn and grow; every child needs and deserves a marketable skill to use upon graduation; and every child needs and deserves a chance to giv...

The Renaissance Art Period - About.com Art History

The Renaissance Art Period - About.com Art History We all know what the Renaissance was, correct? Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, and company created some fabulous paintings and sculptures that we continue to marvel over many centuries later and so on and so forth. (Hope you are nodding your head right now and thinking Yes, yes - please get on with it!) While these were vitally important artists, and their collective work is what usually comes to mind when one hears the word Renaissance, as so often happens in life things arent quite that simple. The Renaissance (a word which literally means born anew) is a name weve given to a period in Western history during which the arts - so important in Classic cultures - were revived. The arts had quite a difficult time remaining important during the Middle Ages, given all of the territorial struggles that were occurring throughout Europe. People living then had enough to do merely figuring out how to stay in the good graces of whoever was ruling them, while the rulers were preoccupied with maintaining or expanding control. With the large exception of the Roman Catholic Church, no one had much time or thought left over to devote toward the luxury of art. It will come as no surprise, then, to hear that the Renaissance had no clear-cut beginning date, started first in those areas which had the highest relative levels of political stability and spread, not like wildfire, but in a series of different phases which occurred between the years c. 1150 and c. 1600. What were the different phases of the Renaissance? In the interest of time, lets break this topic down into four broad categories. The Pre- (or Proto-) Renaissance began in a northern enclave of present-day Italy sometime around 1150 or so. It didnt, at least initially, represent a wild divergence from any other Medieval art. What made the Proto-Renaissance important was that the area in which it began was stable enough to allow explorations in art to develop. Fifteenth-century Italian Art, often (and not incorrectly) referred to as the Early Renaissance, generally means artistic goings-on in the Republic of Florence between the years 1417 and 1494. (This doesnt mean nothing happened prior to 1417, by the way. The Proto-Renaissance explorations had spread to include artists throughout northern Italy.) Florence was the spot, for a number of factors, that the Renaissance period really caught hold and stuck. Sixteenth-century Italian Art is a category which contains three separate topics. What we now call the High Renaissance was a relatively brief period which lasted from roughly 1495 to 1527. (This is the little window of time referred to when one speaks of Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael.) The Late Renaissance took place between 1527 and 1600 (again, this is a rough time table) and included the artistic school known as Mannerism. Additionally, The Renaissance thrived in Venice, an area so unique (and supremely disinterested with Mannerism) that an artistic school has been named in its honor. Northern European Renaissance The Renaissance in Northern Europe struggled to come into being, mostly due to the stranglehold Gothic art maintained for centuries and the fact that this geographical region was slower to gain political stability than was northern Italy. Nonetheless, the Renaissance did occur here, beginning around the middle of the fourteenth century and lasting until the Baroque movement (c. 1600). Now lets explore these Renaissances to get an idea of which artists did what (and why we still care), as well as learning the new techniques, mediums and terms that came from each. You can follow any of the hyperlinked words (theyre blue and are  underlined) in this article to go to the part of the Renaissance that interests you most.

10 Interesting Facts About New Orleans

10 Interesting Facts About New Orleans New Orleans is the largest city in the United States state of Louisiana with a 2008 population of 336,644 people. The New Orleans Metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Kenner and Metairie, had a 2009 population of 1,189,981 which made it the 46th largest metropolitan area in the United States. Its population dropped dramatically after Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent severe flooding hit the city in 2005.The City of New Orleans is located on the Mississippi River in southeastern Louisiana. The large Lake Pontchartrain also lies within the city limits. New Orleans is most well known for its distinctive French architecture and French culture. It is famous for its food, music, multicultural events and the Mardi Gras festival held in the city. New Orleans is also known as the birthplace of jazz.The following is a list of 10  important geographic facts about New Orleans. The City of New Orleans was founded under the name La Nouvelle-Orlà ©ans on May 7, 1718, by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville and the French Mississippi Company. The city was named after Phillipe dOrlà ©ans, who was Frances head of state at the time. In 1763, France lost control of the new colony to Spain with the Treaty of Paris. Spain then controlled the region until 1801, at which time, it was passed back to France.  In 1803 the region encompassing New Orleans and surrounding areas was sold by Napoleon to the United States with the Louisiana Purchase. The city then began to grow considerably with a variety of different ethnicities.After became a part of the United States, New Orleans also began to play a large role in international relations as it developed into a large port. The port then played a role in the Atlantic slave trade but also the exportation of different commodities and the importing of international goods for the rest of the nation up the Mississippi River.Thr oughout the rest of the 1800s and into the 20th century, New Orleans continued to grow rapidly as its port and fishing industry remained important for the rest of the country. In the end of the 20th century, growth in New Orleans continued but planners became aware of the citys vulnerability to flooding after erosion of wetlands and marshes. In August 2005, New Orleans was hit by the category five Hurricane Katrina and 80 percent  of the city was flooded after a failure of the citys levees. 1,500 people died in Hurricane Katrina and much of the citys population permanently relocated.New Orleans is located on the banks of the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain about 105 miles (169 km) north of the Gulf of Mexico. The total area of the city is 350.2 square miles (901 sq km).The climate of New Orleans considered humid subtropical with mild winters and hot, humid summers. The average July high temperature for New Orleans is 91.1 °F (32.8 °C) while the average January low is 43.4 °F (6.3 °C).New Orleans is known for its world-famous architecture and areas like the French Quarter and Bourbon Street are popular areas for tourists. The city is one of the top ten most visited cities in the U.S.The economy of New Orleans is based largely on its port but also on oil refining, petrochemical production, fishing and th e service sector related to tourism. New Orleans is home to two of the largest private universities in the United States- Tulane University and Loyola University New Orleans. Public universities like the University of New Orleans are also within the city.

Retailing story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Retailing story - Essay Example Man’s breaking his bond with nature came about when Victor decided to play god and deprived nature of its natural prerogative to create life. Victor wanted to separate himself from the rest of nature by validating to himself that he can be god through the creation of another life which is a validation of his superiority compared to other men. In today’s context, this could be taken as Victor’s pride that he is better than everyone else of which almost all societies and culture suffer. When Victor came to life, he became the personification of man’s desire to be god which the product of such attempt attests how vile the idea is. The monster, being an assortment of parts of men, is an unhappy product of man’s inexorable nature and its heart is â€Å"a collection of the emotions that he has to be bear throughout his strange life† (Kessler 87). It has no â€Å"center† or a soul because it failed to grasp the breadth of human experience tha t includes joy, happiness, ecstasy, that makes one a truly human being. The monster had only a glimpse of hope of what it is like to be compassionate when the family cottagers took him in. â€Å"Nothing could exceed the love and respect which the younger cottagers exhibited towards their venerable companion. They performed towards him every little office of affection and duty with gentleness, and he rewarded them by his benevolent smiles† (Shelley 82). But even that hazy idea of hope and compassion was immediately extinguished when the same family who took him in drove him away. One can only imagine what the monster felt when the only positive experience he had was taken away from him leaving him hanging and in pain. In sum, the tale was an articulation of man’s arrogance and the consequential pain and suffering because of it which is a theme that is universal to all culture which explains why Frankenstein is still told today not only in our books, but also in our movi es, plays and even comics. II. Retelling the story Shelley’s novel Frankenstein reveals the flaws of human character with the character of Victor Frankenstein. It revealed man’s tendency to become arrogant and to act like God when he already knows so much. When Victor assented to the monster that he will create him a partner, he already assumed to have God like capabilities with what he knows about science. As it was wrong in the beginning, a series of tragedy followed beginning with the murder of Victor’s bride Elizabeth during their wedding night. Victor was inconsolable and filled with revenge as what the monster did to his bride that he became preoccupied about chasing the monster to avenge Elizabeth’s death and became a figurative monster himself. But since he does not have the physical prowess to overcome Frankenstein, Victor created another formula to make him a greater monster to defeat Victor and avenge his wife. He also had the impression that F rankenstein must have a good time destroying everything he touches because he is invincible and therefore cannot be punished with its consequences. So he made a formula to the effect of Mr. Hyde only ten times stronger to make him stronger than Frankenstein. The formula was so potent that when it was injected to Victor, he became uglier than Frankenstein and his physical state became permanent. In the process of