Sunday, January 26, 2020

“She Walks in Beauty” Explication

â€Å"She Walks in Beauty† Explication â€Å"She Walks in Beauty† Explication By embracing the concept of self-expression, the poet, Lord Byron, has brought together the use of imagination and deep emotion in order to show his admiration towards a woman of beauty. She walks in Beauty is a love poem in which the poet illustrates the physical beauties of such a woman and compares her qualities to the forces of light and darkness. Throughout the poem, the poet accentuates all aspects of her beauty in order to make it seem as if she were the perfect woman. In the first two lines of the first stanza, â€Å"She walks in beauty, like the night / Of cloudless climes and starry skies,† (line 2) the poet brings together the contrasting qualities of darkness and light. The poet presents an extended metaphor by constantly comparing the lady to the beauty of night and day. There are many examples of assonance shown in the first few lines such as the words like, night, climes, skies, bright, eyes, and light. The next two lines address the ladys actual face and eyes as well as her interior beauty which has the same qualities as the light. These descriptions enable the readers to paint a vivid picture of this ladys beauty and her ability to make everything bright even during the night. The next stanza emphasizes the ladys inner and outer beauty as well as the purity of her face. One shade the more, one ray the less, / Had half impaird the nameless grace / which waves in every raven tress, / Or softly lightens oer her face; (lines 7-10). The poet uses opposite words, shade and ray, as another way of relating to the ideas of dark and light. He also employs metaphors such as waves of raven tress to depict her hair. This is also an example of a consonance as the consonant â€Å"v† is repeated, which makes the poem sound smoother. With his words, the poet makes it easier for the reader to picture what such a woman would look like, and how her face would be as light as day while her hair is a as dark as night. The poet also utilizes alliteration by paying more attention to her mind, and repeating the ‘s sound because it gives a calming effect in the way he expresses the womans thoughts. Where thoughts serenely sweet express / How pure, how dear their dwellin g place(lines 11-12). This portrayal accentuates not the womans body, but rather, her mind. The third stanza carries on by describing more of the ladys physical beauty and character. â€Å"So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,† (line 13) symbolizes the womans goodness and the peace within her. A mind at peace will all below,(line 17) reveals the womans innocence and optimism towards everything. All of these character traits come together to describe an ideal woman-one who is gentle, loving, and beautiful. Although the reader might see some conflicting characteristics in the description, this woman is portrayed as a flawless person. Through the comparisons of darkness and light, it is implied that these features create an ideal balance. The rhyme scheme is A B A B A; C D C D C D; E F E F E F. This poem starts with an enjambment, so the first line continues on to the next. Also, the meter changes in the next line. This element and enjambment used together accentuate specific words. An example of this is shown in the fourth line where the word meet is pointed out, because it is the foundation of the poem. It supports the idea that darkness and light are both present in her qualities and the way that the poet describes her. All and all, She walks in Beauty by Lord Byron is a romantic poem that gives the insight of a mans feelings and the depictions of a womans inner and outer beauty.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

A Thousand Splendid Suns Essay

â€Å"Come. There is a way to be good again,† said Rahim Khan to Amir. In the novel the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir, the main character, expresses his thoughts and actions due to his baneful choices. The tribulations he faced were all repercussions of the sin committed by his disdainful youth. His sins ravaged the early stages of his life and gave him a troublesome memory full of guilt. As the novel progressed, Amir attempted to disengage the memory of his sin and forget about it. Amir soon faced the long over due road to redemption. Khaled Hosseini’s novel the Kite Runner is about redemption, and that the lifelong pursuit of happiness will never be fulfilled without it. At a young age Amir and Hassan were best friends, even though Amir was roughly expressing it. Amir and Hassan enjoyed many activities together as Khaled expressed in his novel: â€Å"I spent most of the first twelve years of my life playing with Hassan. Sometimes, my entire childhood seems like one long lazy summer day with Hassan, chasing each other between tangles of trees in my father’s yard, playing hide-and-seek, cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, insect torture†¦ We saw our first Western together, Rio Bravo with John Wayne, at the Cinema Park†¦,† stated Amir. Amir stated all these â€Å"friend-like† activities, yet witnessed the sexual abuse administered by Assef and his goons on Hassan without a peep from his mouth. At this point Amir’s lust for obtaining the kite, so he could finally enjoy love from his father had over come his friendship. That temporary love given to Amir by his father was enough for Amir to attempt to get rid of Hassan permanently, which worked. Amir’s sin committed in his early years set the stage for the rest of his life, for he would seek redemption for his acts. Many years passed, Amir was on his own now in America, with his wife Soraya that could not bare children. Amir received a call from Rahim Kahn who was dying and wanted a last visit from Amir. Amir had jumped at the chance to visit an old friend/father figure and flew to see Rahim. Little did Amir know he was about to face all of the tribulations he had seemed to forget of his past ten fold. Rahim Khan reveals â€Å"Hassan, Amir’s childhood friend, the presumed son of the family servant was in reality, Amir’s half-brother, his father’s illegitimate son with Ali’s wife. † He also reveals that the prolonged redemption is just around the Taliban by saving Amir’s half-nephew Sohrab (Hassan’s son) from Kabul. Amir was in a state of confusion, he expressed his plead to Rahim: â€Å"I can’t go to Kabul,† I had said to Rahim Khan. â€Å"I have a wife in America, a home, a career, and a family. † But how could I pack up and go and go back home when my actions may have caused Hassan a chance at those very same things (talking to himself)? I wished Rahim Khan hadn’t called me. I wished he had let me live on in my oblivion. But he had called me. And what Rahim Khan revealed to me changed things. Made me see how my entire life†¦had been a cycle of lies, betrayal, and deceit. ‘There is a way to be good again’ he’d said. Thus started Amir’s road to redemption. Amir searched through Kabul for Sohrab and an orphanage leader had stated that Sohrab had been sold to a Taliban leader. The Taliban Leader who showboated John Lennon glasses and conducted the stoning ceremony at halftime of the soccer game was the man that Amir had to speak with. As Amir conversed with the Taliban lead he learned of his cruel ways of massacring the Hazaras. Then the Taliban leader revealed, â€Å"What did you think? That you’d put on a fake beard and I wouldn’t recognize you? †¦ I never forget a face. Not ever. † The Taliban revealed himself as Assef, Amir’s childhood enemy. Assef created an ordeal stating that if Amir were to overcome him in a blood brawl, then Sohrab would be Amir’s boy to take. Assef completely demolished Amir by breaking several ribs with his brass knuckles. Amir was barely able to stand, but he withheld the beating for he knew that destiny had brought him to this moment. The moment came when Sohrab had pierced Assef’s eye and he and Amir escaped. Amir had finally accomplished his self-turmoil and had almost completed his redemption by saving his half-brother’s son, and almost dying for him. Amir knew that he had to adopt Sohrab when they got back to a safe haven. This caused some trouble with the embassy for they required legal documents of the orphaned child. Sohrab believed that there was no possible way for him to come to America and he did not want to return to an orphanage, so he attempted suicide. Amir had gone through a father’s worst nightmare when he thought his soon to be adopted son would die. Sohrab survived though, leaving a reckless, unrighteous Muslim, self- centered Amir behind. Amir’s pursuit of happiness was fulfilled as he and his son were flying kites in America. He had redeemed himself as he said to Sohrab, â€Å"Do you want me to run that kite for you? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦A nod from Sohrab†¦ â€Å"For you, a thousand times over,† and a smile cracked open on Sohrab’s face.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Patriotism and Loyalty

After reading various examples of the word patriotism and its use in that context it seems that patriotism mostly refers to the love or emotional attachment that a person can have to their country or to where they are from or simply to the place that they were born in. While researching online for various examples of patriotism I came to find out that there are different levels of patriotism. One such example of patriotism is that practiced by those that have unconditional love for their country and will blindly follow the countries policies without opposition and will see others that opposed a certain idea as a traitor or being unpatriotic.Other groups of people demonstrate their patriotism by demonstrating it in form of certain symbols like wearing and displaying the flag, singing patriotic songs or the national anthem. There are others that show their patriotism by protesting and criticizing the unjust policies of a nation in order to help keep the nation in check and not blindly follow unjust policies. Accord to the dictionary defines loyalty as â€Å"the quality of being loyal to someone or something. † and loyal as â€Å"giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution. However many times a person’s loyalty can be in a conflict. For example if a person is loyal to the United States but the new government starts making decisions that the individual does not agree with now he can keep on following without speaking up because of his loyalty to the government as well or he can protest against poor policies because those decisions made by those in power are hurting the United States. In his mind he is still being loyal to the United States by protesting and help shape better policies but by others he may be seen as a traitor.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Essay Class Consciousness in Jane Austen’s Pride and...

Class Consciousness in Pride and Prejudice Originally written in the late 1700s, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice satirically depicts the universal ideals in Regency England, primarily regarding social class. Austen follows the development of an outspoken, middle-class British woman, Elizabeth Bennet, as she encounters and overcomes the many social barriers that separate her from her aristocratic neighbors. Throughout the novel, Lizzie must confront society’s class-consciousness, particularly with her family’s growing relationship with the wellborn Bingleys and their friend, Mr. Darcy. It is clear that author, Jane Austen, intended Pride and Prejudice to be a parody of English society’s emphasis on the social class structure, which†¦show more content†¦Indirect connections with distinction are just as praiseworthy as direct ties, at least in the mind of the nonsensical Mr. Collins, who works for the esteemed Lady Catherine de Bourgh. It is evident throughout Pride and Prejudice that Mr. Collins deems himself imperial compared to the rest of Derbyshire. The author characterizes him as being a â€Å"mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self-importance and humi lity† (Chapter 15). He believes that his connection to Lady Catherine places him in the upper crust of society; however, this speculation is humorous, as Mr. Collins is simply an ostentatious churchman who will inherit the estate of a middle class family. He is convinced that he is doing Elizabeth a favor by proposing to her. Mr. Collins cites three specific reasons for his proposal, one reason being â€Å" ‘that it is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom [he has] the honour of calling patroness’ † (Chapter 19). Because of this connection to Lady Catherine, he expects Lizzie’s acceptance of his proposal and therefore, is dumbfounded when she refuses him; he insists that she is playing with his mind, as most women do with men. 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