Hardships in Birches by Robert Frost Essay -- Birches Robert Frost Lit

Hardships in Birches by Robert Frost In any life, one must endure hardship to enjoy the good times. According to Robert Frost, the author of "Birches", enduring life's hardships can be made easier by finding a sane balance between one's imagination and reality. The poem is divided into four parts: an introduction, a scientific analysis of the bending of birch trees, an imaginatively false analysis of the phenomenon involving a New England farm boy, and a reflective wish Frost makes, wanting to return to his childhood. All of these sections have strong underlying philosophical meanings. Personification, alliteration, and other sound devices support these meanings and themes. Frost supports the theme by using language to seem literal, yet if one visualizes the setting and relates it to life, the literal and figurative viewpoints can be nearly identical. Take this example: "Life is too much like a pathless wood". This simile describes how one can be brought down by the repetitive routine of day-to-day life, but only if one processes the barren, repetitive forest scene that Frost paints in that sentence. Sound devices also add to the effect of the poem. Frost gives the image of the morning after an ice storm, as the ice cracks on the birch trees: "They click upon themselves / As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored / As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. / Soon the sun's warmth makes them shed crystal shells / Scattering and avalanching on the snow crust--" The repeating /s/, /z/, and /k/, sounds in this passage are strong examples of alliteration, and sound devices are crucial in the image presented; calm, reflecting, and romanticizing, like a quiet walk in the woods. The /k/ sound is the sound... ...cs implies that the upper thrust of birch swinging gives a taste of heaven, as was stated earlier involving ice storms: " Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away / You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen." The speaker finds that swinging on a birch tree gives one a piece of heaven. The ups and downs of the birch trees offer various contrasting experiences that the speaker uses to keep himself sane. These rises and falls represent heaven and earth, the difference of truth and realism, rigidity and reckless enjoyment, adulthood and childhood, and flight and return. These ups and downs are what Frost strives for. He lives as a poet to constantly ride these birch trees, so he can find the compromise between these figurative pleasures and pains, and according to him, there is no better occupation: "One could do worse than be a swinger of birches."

Oedipus - Why Didnt His Foster Parents Tell Him The Truth :: essays research papers

Oedipus the King Why Didn't His Foster Parents Tell Him The Truth? Oedipus the King is the story of a man who was betrayed. Betrayed by the very people who gave him life and the very people who raised him. Oedipus was born to Laius and Jocasta the king and queen of Thebes. When Oedipus was born, they consulted an oracle that told them that he would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Fearing for their safety and the safety of their kingdom they had a servant take the infant to the mountains and leave him on the mountain to die. The servant felt sorry for the infant and gave him to a shepherd who in turn gave him to Polybus and Merope the king and queen of Corinth, who raised him as their own. When Oedipus was older, some men at a banquet who were drunk told him that "I am not my fathers' son". (860) Oedipus confronted Polybus and Merope and they were enraged by these accusations. They convinced Oedipus that the accusations weren't true, "so as for my parents I was satisfied (865). However, something was still gnawing at him. He consulted an oracle for himself and the oracle told Oedipus what the oracle told Laius and Jocasta. After he heard that prediction, he left Corinth never to return. If Polybus and Merope had told him the truth when Oedipus came to them he wouldn't have left Corinth and have set into motion this tragic chain of events. What were Polybus and Merope afraid of? Where they afraid of how Oedipus would have reacted if he knew that they weren't his birth parents, did they think that he wouldn't have understood and wouldn't have appreciated what they did for him. I think that Polybus and Merope have to share some of the blame for this mess, because they were not truthful. Oedipus thought he had avoided the curse by going the Thebes. By defeating the sphinx, he was the hero of the town. He was doing a noble thing by wanting to help his country by trying to find out who or what was causing this plague. When Oedipus finds out the truth he resists it, but he was relentless in his pursuit of it, He wanted to discover the truth in order to help his people but he refuses to believe that he's the cause of it, "What are you saying - Polybus was not my father?

How The Ending Of The Novel Manages To End Or Resolve The Novels Key :: essays research papers

â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird† by Harper Lee is a classic novel that deals with two â€Å"mockingbirds† in Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. â€Å"They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,† says Atticus. Despite the stigma involved with such an action, Maycomb physically and socially kill two Mockingbirds. This theme and many more are resolved in the book’s ending. One of the first key themes dealt with in the ending of novel is that of the first mockingbird, Boo Radley. Throughout the novel Scout, Jem and Dill are preoccupied with one of Maycomb’s â€Å"monsters†, Boo Radley. Finally, Scout has the chance to meet him, after â€Å"He gave†¦. [Scout and Jem] [Their] lives. Scout, through standing on the Radley porch and â€Å"Standing in [Boo’s] shoes and walking around in them†, finally understands Boo Radley. Furthermore, when Scout says, â€Å"he was real nice†, Atticus replies back â€Å"most people are, Scout, when you finally see them†, thus resolving the readers and Scout’s doubts about Boo Radley. With the description of his hair as "feathery," Boo is immediately identified with the "mockingbird" idea, especially with his slight appearance and fluttery hand movements. He has finally become a real person, completing the progression from monster to human; meanwhile, Mr. Ewell's evilness has turned him into a human monster, whose bristling facial stubble felt by Scout suggests an animal-like appearance. Another key theme that is dealt with in depth, is that of the second mockingbird, Tom Robinson, the Negro who is killed trying to escape from jail after he is wrongfully accused and convicted for rape while helping a young woman. At the end of the book, the two mockingbirds collide, as Boo kills Bob Ewell, the young girl’s â€Å"white trash† father, in a scuffle between Bob and the Finch children. As Heck Tate says â€Å" There’s a black boy dead for no reason, and the man responsible for it’s dead. Let the dead bury the dead this time†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . During the course of this book, Harper Lee tries to show us people’s reactions when they have to choose between their prejudices and what is right. Tom Robinson is the recipient of unfair racial prejudice, as he finds out how a man’s false beliefs can override his better judgement. Boo Radley is also the victim of social prejudice. Just because he stays inside, people automatically hide their better judgement in the belief that Boo is actually a monster.

Stomp the Yard Review

Last night I watched one of the most unforgetable drama and dance movie; Stomp the Yard. The movie was about a young man called DJ Williams who is in a dance crew called the â€Å"Goon Squad† with his brother Duron and other friends. They were battling for a big deal of money and beat the home crew. The home crew responds by attacking the Goon Squad after the battle. Duron saves his older brother from getting beat up but ends up getting killed by a gun shot.DJ Williams gets arrested and ends up living with his aunt Jackie and Uncle Nate in Atlanta, Georgia. He is sent to attend Truth University where he meets April Palmer, a student, who eventually becomes his lover. Several fights occur throught out the movie between April's boyfriend and DJ. Eventually April goes with DJ and leaves Grant, her boyfriend which angers her father, the head of the university. During his stay at Truth University DJ gets introduced to a new dance called Steppin'.DJ then teaches his new crew some of his old krumping moves back from Los Angeles. They combined the two dance coreographies which made them win their final round in the National Steppin' Competition. I really enjoyed this movie and the dance moves were extremely extraordinary and exotic. The cast was also something I enjoyed about the movie. There were famous stars acting in the movie such as Ne-Yo, Columbus Short, Megan Good, Brian White and Chris Brown. I strongly recommend anyone to watch this movie. You will not regret watching it!

Looking for Alibrandi Essay

A world-wide hit in the late 1990s, Author Melina Marchetta wrote a manuscript about a teenage girl searching for herself and the way she is to live. Her name is Josephine Alibrandi who is a 17 year old Italian Australian or ‘wog’ as some know it, in the novel and film of ‘Looking for Alibrandi’. Much of the discussion of Alibrandi has centred around this portrayal of the multi-cultural society of Australia, although remarkably, the novel has managed to largely avoid the negative and superficial â€Å"issues† pigeon-holing so much realist fiction for young adults is victim to. There is no question that Marchetta’s own experiences as an Italian-Australian have informed her story. Nor is there any doubt that in Josephine Alibrandi she has created a fresh non-Anglo-Australian voice of great power and integrity. Nevertheless, Marchetta does find that the focus on the Italian heritage of her protagonist (and herself) can be both distracting and limiting; it was not, she says, her first impulse in telling Josephine Alibrandi’s story; Another legacy of the shared Italian-Australian heritage of both author and protagonist is the common assumption that the book must be autobiographical. The reading of her novel is in some ways complimentary, being as it is an indication of the kind of response readers have to Josephine, and to the lively and truthful tone of the novel; Marchetta has captured her characters, their situation and the inner city suburbs of Sydney acutely and precisely. The ambivalence Marchetta feels towards Josephine is revealed through the characters of Sister Louise, her headmistress, and her boyfriend Jacob, neither of whom hesitate to point out to Josephine when she is being selfish, over-dramatic, or plain stupid. A quite shocking example of this is in the scene where Jacob rescues Josephine from a violent mob of teenage boys in a McDonalds car park, and then abuses her for her stupidity in spitting on and further antagonising the ring-leader. It is an indication of the exasperation that Josephine provokes in those who care about her, and Marchetta agrees with Jacob that Josephine’s dramatic and impulsive behaviour too frequently land her in avoidable unpleasantness. To be fair, Josephine can be fairly hard on herself, and her ability at and willingness for self-scrutiny develops as she matures. It is testament to Marchetta’s care in balancing the complexities of Josephine’s character that the reader can witness her tantrums and drama-queen turns, her often thoughtless and selfish actions, and yet know that this is an essential part of her emancipation, and that it does not detract from her vitality, compassion and intelligence. Young Australian readers will find the setting of the novel very realistic and familiar. They will identify with the portrayal of Australian high school life, attending a debating meeting, the description of suburban Sydney and catching the ferry to Circular Quay, the fact of being part of a dysfunctional family ? all these details of the setting are realistic and will be instantly recognisable. Many teenagers of foreign parentage will relate to Josie’s rebellion against her Italian side and to all the references to the Italian culture.

American Dream Essay Essay

Does American still provide access to the American Dream? Yes, America still provides access to the American Dream because it is â€Å"the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American.† It provides America access because it doesn’t matter what goes on or what happens in your life. It doesn’t matter your cultural background, life experiences, or the language you speak. All people are given the equal right and opportunities to become self-sufficient, independent, successful and prosperous. Education plays a great part in one achieving his/her goals with adequate preparation and application of knowledge. America still provides access because it gives you the opportunity to vote, speak, and have freedom. For example, to vote means that you can go and vote as you please, to speak means to say what you want to say when you want to say it, and freedom means you have the opportunity to go to school, graduate, get a college degree, and land a job in your career. I feel that America still provides access because you have the right to vote. However, you can determine which candidate campaigning for office you want to vote for. When choosing the person you think is best for the office it’s a hard choice because one person will have different views from the other. When it comes down to choosing you have to weigh your pros and cons. Voting is only a right and you should exercise the right to go and vote in order to have a voice or opinion about candidates. Although not everyone votes, every vote counts. Your verbal vote is not what counts. The American Dream does give you the opportunity to speak because you have the right to say what you want to say if you see something that you disagree with. When disagreeing with something that someone is doing, it has to be something that you don’t like or something that isn’t going the way you think it should be going. The pros and cons of speaking are saying the wrong thing at the wrong time or place and saying the right thing at the appropriate time. For example, when having a discussion about the American Dream and you have a negative statement about it keep it to yourself because you may offend someone just by what you stated. When discussing cigarettes or drugs, and you have a positive statement about it let it be heard because  you may change someone’s life about smoking again. America gives you the freedom to get an education. By getting an education it means you have the opportunity to become a successful and productive citizen as well as becoming a positive asset to society. It takes dedication, perseverance, and determination to be what you want to be in life. You must be honest, beginning with self and then with others. You must also be respectful to oneself and others. By the same token you must demand respect from others. The American Dream is bringing to reality the ideals of ambitious individuals who respect and expect to be respected while in pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness.

Analysis: “Hills Like White Elephants”

Ernest Hemingway revolves around a conversation between a girl and an American man. The story Is written In simple sentences and when one reads the story one does not really notice the subtleties present. Hemingway iceberg theory is relevant to this story because though the story seems to be simply about a man and a woman having a causal conversation there are undertones of more serious and pressing issues. It is set at a train station in between Barcelona and Madrid.Hemingway does this on purpose in order to highlight the fact that the relationship between the American and the girl is at crossroads. Throughout the passage there is no explicit sign of conflict however there Is a slight undercurrent of uncertainty and tension. The entire passage Is written in third person, it is objective and just states the facts of the conversation without really giving the reader any background information about the situation or the characters. This is probably been done to maintain a sense of myst ery.The title of the passage is also significant s White elephants' are symbolic of something that is unwanted and as the whole conversation between the American and woman revolves around whether to do an ‘operation' or not to get rid of something that Is supposedly an unborn baby, making the operation an abortion, this symbol is extremely important. The first paragraph of the passage is dedicated to describing the setting. It starts with a description of the hills as ‘long and white' and how there was ‘no shade on this side'.It then goes on to describe the other side across the rail tracks as a Warm shadow of the building and beaded curtain to keep the files out'. By describing the two sides the author creates two contrasting Images, one where there Is shade and another where there Is Just the hot sun. It also mentioned that the American and the girl sit In the shade. This can be said to be symbolic of conflict in the story. The shady area is the easier option, wh ich is going ahead with the abortion while the other side, which is hot, and without shade is the harder choice to keep the unborn baby.The setting is also symbolic as they are physically at a Junction point between Barcelona and Madrid however they re also mentally at a Junction as they are not sure what to do with the baby. The first line that the girl utters; What shall we drink' speaks volumes about her character and relationship with the American she Is with. It Is the start of her uncertainty, helplessness and dependence on the American. This is also conveyed when she says ‘lets drink beer' and then the American goes on to translate it into Spanish.It shows how dependent she is on the man to survive, not only linguistically in this particular setting but also otherwise. Her Indecision of whether to have a new drink with water r not, also conveys the Indecision she faces deeper Issue of whether or not to have an abortion. Also though she Is pregnant she Is consuming alcoh ol, which Is bad for her unborn child indicating that finally she might just agree with the American and go for the abortion. Her preoccupied nature ‘looking off at the line of hills' indicates that something is bothering her though what is not explicitly stated.It should be noted that though she was very eager to drink something when she arrived she is so preoccupied that she does not notice that the drinks have arrived. Also the contrast between the White hills' and the ‘brown, dry countryside portrays the purity of the girl who are at fault. Also the fact that the girl refers to the White hills' as White elephants' shows how unwanted the unborn born child is though the he or she has done nothing wrong. The man who is also the antagonist in the passage is portrayed as the more dominant character and behaves according to Hemingway rigid conception of reality.Hemingway chooses to name the two characters using different categories of pronouns; while he refers to the femal e protagonist simply as the girl†, the man is referred to as â€Å"the American† – hinting at the modernist trends in society prevalent at the time. He represents the freedom and liberation of relationships that were no longer based on romance but on convenience and a mutually acknowledged need for companionship. Throughout the passage the man seems more self-assured and confident than the girl, who looks to him for guidance in terms of mundane tasks as well as defers to his Judgment upon whether she should undergo the abortion.He also remains disconnected, though the girl and the American seem to be in a relationship there is no tangible evidence of love or real feelings, their relationship comes across as superficial and fake having a disagreement over the slightest thing such as whether he has seen White elephants' or not. Through out the passage he acts like he understands her situation and tries to persuade her by using phrases such as ‘perfectly natur al' and ‘perfectly simple' and uses insensitive epiphysis such as letting the air in† that clearly show his insensitivity, lack of understanding and comprehension of the emotional aspects of her situation.Throughout the conversation he tries to coax and convince her to undergo the operation Justifying his stance by reasoning that it would mean a resumption of their carefree travels, never realizing that that is precisely what she is weary of. He is blind to her increasingly apparent desire to settle down; while she considers the birth of her child and the commitment it would entail as a path to be considered (â€Å"Doesn't it mean anything to you? We could get along. â€Å"), the idea never crosses his mind since he cannot envisage forsaking his unattached lifestyle for any degree of responsibility, least of all to raise a child.Hemingway also uses diction and dialogue in order to enhance the readers understanding of the two main characters in the passage and the story . Throughout the girl uses words such as ‘could' and ‘l don't know whereas the man is more confident and sure of himself. He is the girl's pillar of support as she depends on him completely. However later on in the story she does change as she gains the confidence to question the American and reconsider whether or not she wants to have an abortion Thus to conclude Hemingway has used various literary devices and narrative techniques in order to rotary subtle conflicts in the passage.He has successfully used the setting and the actions of the characters to portray the conflict instead of blatantly stating them, thus making it more effective. He also uses two drastically different characters that have a loveless relationship as opposed to the usual romantic one. Also structure of the passage contributes to the effect that it has on the reader as Hemingway first starts with describing the setting and then going on to the characters themselves thus emphasizing the importance of the setting. E passage there is no explicit sign of conflict however there is a slight undercurrent of uncertainty and tension. The entire passage is written in third person, it is objective and Just states the facts of the conversation without really giving the reader ‘operation' or not to get rid of something that is supposedly an unborn baby, making a beaded curtain to keep the flies out'. By describing the two sides the author creates two contrasting images, one where there is shade and another where there is Just the hot sun, it also mentioned that the American and the girl sit in the shade.This first line that the girl utters; What shall we drink speaks volumes about her character and relationship with the American she is with. It is the start of her uncertainty, setting but also otherwise. Her indecision of whether to have a new drink with water or not, also conveys the indecision she faces deeper issue of whether or not to have an abortion. Also though she is pregna nt she is consuming alcohol, which is bad for her unborn child indicating that finally she might Just agree with the American and unborn child while the brown dry countryside is symbolic of the American and the