American Literature

History has been filled with creative artists in a variety of fields. Much of the contribution has come in the field of literary works. Writers have tackled taxation without representation, civil rights, womens rights, abortion, euthanasia, and numerous religious and political views. Writers have also influenced the creative minds of children through fairy tales, stories of adventure through countless time periods, imaginative accounts of history and culture. Words surround us and have influenced each of in many ways. My life has been no different. Writers of past and present have been responsible for building my life and shaping it into what it is today.
  
 Growing up, my first introduction to literary works was in the form of pre-school books introducing me to different ways to explore the world around me. Nursery rhymes in their song like fashion taught me to memorize rhymes and recite them to a fun melody. My parents read to me as often as time allowed and it helped grow my curiosity to explore books with them even more. When I entered kindergarten, I discovered an even wider range of stories and words through books. My teacher held circle time where she read to us and told us stories about giants, trolls, princesses, princes, witches, and dragons. The Busy World of Richard Scarry brought to life an entire town of animals of all kinds. These stories and illustrations placed an emphasis on action and minute detail in depicting everyday activities (Richard Scarry 2008). These friends as I called them as a child went to school, work, and lived in homes with families just like me and my friends.
  
 My teachers daily circle times encouraged a deeper yearning inside of me to discover more stories like those of Richard Scary and even the fairytales of the Grims brothers. I was so excited on the day the teacher informed the class that we were going to learn to read stories just like she read to us. I wanted that very much. Another scale of literary works was introduced in the form of See Jane run and Spot likes to jump in mud. The world of words came to life in a new way and by the middle of elementary I was checking out as many books in the library as possible. I could read on my own and that meant I could escape into any story whenever I wanted. It was an amazing experience that was paving the way for a greater influence of literary artists through the next several years to come.
   
All throughout my schooling, teachers enforced the importance of reading. My teachers read to the class for daily story time all the way into middle school. If students didnt want to read, the teacher didnt give up or walk away, but instead sat down and read to the students ensuring the words were poured into the minds of each of us. I remember by elementary teachers reading novels like Charlottes Web by E.B. White, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine LEngle, and Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks. All of these books taught me as a child to use my imagination, keep an eye out for adventure, and above all keep reading to find out what will happen next. The way the stories were read and the animation my teachers put into them made them come to life even more. This furthered my thirst to read, but also began to open up a new world of creative writing as well.

Moving farther into middle school and early high school introduced an entirely new world of literary figures including names like E.B. White, Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, Geoffrey Chaucer, Jane Austin, Jack London, Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Stephen Crane, and the list goes on. Literature and reading classes were required courses and ensured students learned at least the foundations of the literary world and how authors used the written word to express views and share stories of imagination with not just their own children, but hundreds and thousands of others around the world.

At the same time the literary classics were being introduced through school, the bookshelves of local bookstores and grocery stores were being lined with the amazing adventures of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, and the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. The book industry entered into a time of demand as Hollywood movie studios began producing real life motion pictures depicting our favorite characters. Avid readers were flocking to the theatre to see the movies, while avid movie goers began gathering at local bookstores to buy the books to learn even more about the on screen characters and story lines. The literary craze was picking up and I was right there with it standing in line to catch the latest movie and holding a spot in line for the next great book release.

Teachers played a great role in encouraging me to read on my own and explore history and culture through a variety of books. Teachers also were a great source of encouragement to take the love of reading step further by putting my own thoughts down on paper. All throughout elementary school, students participated in writing exercises that complimented reading assignments. Reading comprehension was a daily routine for as long as I can remember. Yearly testing always included sections of reading comprehension where stories were read, questions answered, and essays written. As far back as I can remember, writing was encouraged just as much as reading. I remember putting together my first book in sixth grade. All of the students in sixth grade had to take a class in which they were required to write their own short story, illustrate it, and then put it together in a handmade book form. I was so proud of the book I wrote. It was a crazy story about animals and their crazy adventures (most likely inspired by the early stories of Scarry and Grim). It was childish of course, but it was my work and it was my book. To this day I have no idea what happened to that book, but I remember the process of creating it, writing it, and reading it to friends and family. It was a wonderful sense of accomplishment and was just another stepping stone into the future.

Parents and teachers alike were the primary influences in my life when it came to learning to read and write as well as continue to develop my own skills in reading and writing. Yet, it was the books and stories themselves that really shaped my life and my thoughts and actions of the past and of the present. Reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn brought to life the real issues involved in the Deep South most specifically slavery and civil rights (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 2010). Red Badge of Courage depicted real life stories from the Civil War sharing the heartache and pain of the war as well as the mixed emotions of those torn apart from family and friends. The classics laid a foundation for future literary courses into high school and on into college. The higher the level of learning, the larger the literary world became ranging from American literature to Greek mythology and legend.

The importance of learning to read and to study literary authors is not something that can be taught by one teacher during one particular time in life. It takes the entire core of teachers during the education process to teach, instruct, and inspire students not only to learn to read to get by, but also to learn to read for the sake of learning. My parents started it all by simply taking the time to introduce me to books by reading them to me long before I understood what they were. From there, it became the role of each of my teachers throughout schooling to continue reading to me and teaching me to read for myself. Literature classes were needed to help me understand what it was I was reading as well as to learn about great authors that used their knowledge of words to make a difference in the world around them. Even the media played a hand in the literary process bringing books to life and encouraging the reading of additional stories. All of this together made my role as a reader and writer possible.

Emily Dickinson, one of the enigmatic poets of the nineteenth century in her poem The Brain  is wider than the sky attempts to compare and contrast human brain with three entities namely the sky, the sea and God. This poem provides a deep insight into the creation of God Almighty on one plane and on other hand provides a profound scientific enquiry in simple terms. This essay explores the significance of the creations of God and emphasizes the superiority of God over all His creations.

Dickinson, through her verses, does not attempt to provide a direct knowledge of the omnipotent God but is offering a conclusion that Brain is similar to God because of their vastness. Sielke states that, Interrogating how interactions between brain, mind, world, and media figure in Dickinsons poems, this essay explores cognition as both individually embodied and embedded in a history of metaphor and mediation. (The Emily Dickinson Journal) The two vast creations of God, namely the sky and the sea with immense width and depth are conceived as ideas by the human brain. Hence the human brain is dominant enough to hold them as ideas.

Dickinson juxtaposes the human brain with the sky in the first stanza and illustrates that the brain is wider than the vast stretches of the blue sky. The human brain is superior to the sky because brain is capable enough to think about the sky and take it further it is also competent enough to think about a person who is thinking about the sky and this insightful comparative operation is executed through effortless means.
In the second stanza, the poet contrasts the human brain with the deep blue sea and once again ascertains the superiority of the human brain by proclaiming that the brain is capable of absorbing the sea akin to a sponge absorbing a bucket of water. This comparison once again reiterates the depth of the human brain in contrast with the deep ocean. The unfathomable human brain once more positions its superiority against the bottomless sea.

Dickinson takes the comparison further and in a bold attempt, compares and contrasts human brain with God. This stanza is a little tricky and can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. When read superficially, it appears as though the poet is making a blasphemous statement by placing human brain parallel to God. Hence this part of the poem demands a deeper insight. Human brain is a creation of God similar to the vast sky and the deep ocean and the Creator is definitely superior to his creation, the human brain.  But when the poet states that The Brain is just the weight of God, it appears as though Dickinson is trying to claim that both God and Brain are sharing similar status.

A deeper analysis of the last three lines of the final stanza reflects the message of the poet. She states, For heftthem Pound for Pound   And they will differ  if they do   As Syllable from Sound. The poet though claims that the Lord almighty and the human brain are similar, still she brings out the fact there is a difference between these two entities similar to the difference that exists between a syllable and a sound. The central idea of the poem is definitely the celebration the greatness and the vastness of human brain which is superior enough to conceive the idea of God similar to the conception of the idea of the vast sky and the deep ocean. But still, by bringing the comparison of sound and syllable, Dickinson proclaims the greatness of God. A syllable is a representation of sound. Therefore by stating that God is sound, the poet claims that the human brain is a representation of God.

The poem is written in the usual Dickinson pattern with the three four-line iambic meter stanzas. Tetrameter is employed in the first and the third lines whereas trimester is used in the second and the fourth lines of each of the stanzas. The rhyme scheme used is ABCB and the rhythmic device followed to provide the short pauses and break up in the flow of the meter is the long dash. Dickinson by stating that the human brain is a representation of God, reminds the readers of Genesis 126 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Hence the conception of the idea that man was made in the image of God is already found in the Bible.  The poem thus reflects upon one of the most complex relationship between the outer world and the inner self.

The poet though outwardly appears to signify the prominence of brain over the colossal entities of the universe namely the sky and the sea, a deeper analysis of the poem reflects a different sense altogether. Brain is definitely superior to sky and sea, but God, the creator of universe and the brain does not share the platform with human brain. He is above all His creations, or in other words, it is from Him that all other creations emerge like the emergence of syllable from the sound. Thus with the excellent choice of metaphoes Dickinson has explored the vastness and greatness of both God and his creation, the human brain.

Sylvia Plaths Mirror presents the truth of the personas functionits ability to reflect what it sees through its glass no more, no less. This is also an inherent function of art and literature. Like the mirrors function in the poem, it has the ability to reflect life as how it happen. Personification is one of the literary devices used in the poem. This is through giving an inanimate object the ability to speak, which is a human trait. In understanding the bigger role of the mirror as a reflection of life, it is important to see the function of the mirror its ability to present us reality with no hesitation.

The mirror describes itself as exact and with no preconceptions (1). This describes the mirror as being direct to the point, and it does not hesitate in presenting anything that faces it. Unmisted by love or dislike pertains to the objectiveness of the mirror (3). Emotions do not affect the way it presents things, nor does the mirror try to force anyone into believing what it shows. The mirror asserts its difference from humans in saying that it has The eye of a little god, four-cornered (5). Sometimes, humans can be selective in the things they wish to perceive. They choose what they want to accept and leave out the other details. The mirror is god-like in the sense that it presents things unedited and with accuracy, seemingly near to perfection.

I meditate on the opposite wall somehow includes a human quality to the mirror (6). Reflect is the usual word linked with mirrors since it can present something we perceive with our own sense of sight. The word meditate can be considered an intellectual or mental activity (6). Meditation is more of an introspection and it is the other meaning for reflect. In addition, meditation is linked with hermits. They are people who renounce worldly things and choose to seclude themselves. The line It is pink, with speckles presents again the objective view of a mirror (7). Pink represents youth, and life (7). It represents a person full of life since blood is surfacing to ones cheek and makes the skin pinkish. The other thing the mirror sees immediately balances the view of the mirror. It is unable to oversee the speckles found in the pink wall (7). These represent the deterioration of things. Something so alive and pink can chip off, have discoloration, and become old (7).

I have looked at it so long I think it is part of my heart pertains to understanding the mirror has for pink walls and speckles which is in truth youth and deterioration (7-8). Faces and darkness separate us over and over symbolizes the passage of time (9). Many people may have looked in the mirror to see their reflection, and they come and go separating the view of the wall and the mirror. This situation is constantly repeated as depicted by the words over and over (9). This repetitiveness of life and deterioration is the source of meditation for the mirror. It may be that he knew this fact too well, experiencing it over and over, and this may be the truth the mirror is trying to present (9).

The space in between the two stanzas presents the transition or shift to another aspect of the mirror. In stanza one, the mirrors tone is more impersonal and impassive. It objectively defines its function. Stanza two shows a more personal side of the mirror as it relates an experience. The mirror in the first stanza tries to present the functions the mirror thinks it perform, stanza two presents another reflector. It begins by creating a metaphor. The mirror says Now I am a lake (10). It equates itself to a lake. Similar to the mirror, the lake has the ability to reflect what is before them. However, unlike the mirror who shows clearly and precisely what it sees, the lake does not. A lake is not stable and it is fluid. A small movement can cause ripples in the water distorting what it reflects. But unlike the mirror that is an inanimate object, the lake is naturally full of life.

The line A woman bends to me. Searching my reaches for what she really is shows an encounter with a particular woman (10-11). It may be that it is this woman who views or equates the mirror to a lake. As previously mentioned, the lake can provide an unclear and distorted view of what it reflects. Incorporating the ideas in stanza one regarding the mirrors truthfulness, it may be that this woman is unable to accept the mirrors honesty as tries to know what she really is (11). This tells a lot about the character of the woman. She seems inclined to deceiving herself for instead of choosing to look at the mirror in stanza one, she wanted to view herself from a lake who can present only half truth since it is unstable and it cannot clearly show the things it reflects.

The woman and the lake being natural things symbolize the truth about humanity people cannot accept reality in its wholeness. They wish to only see part of it and select what appeals to them. This is linked to the line Searching for my reaches for what she really is (11). This line can also be pertaining to what the woman really wanted to affirm or see herself, her identity. This idea is further emphasized by Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon (12). Like the lake, the light coming from the moon and candles will not be able to present the womans reflection in exactness like the mirror of stanza one (12). The light they can provide is not clear enough for the woman to see herself fully, and this show that there is still distortion of the truth since these objects are labeled as liars which connote deceitfulness (12).

It can show the beauty of an object but it is not truthful in presentation. tears and an agitation of hands is the reaction acquired by the mirror upon reflecting the woman faithfully (13-14). These strengths the fact that the woman is unable to accept reality as a whole, and what she is doing is selecting the facts presented to her in order to suit what she wants. The faithfulness of the mirror is like a threat to the woman. This brings it back to the previous stanza on the meditation of the mirror on pink walls and speckles (7). The mirror know too well about youth and deterioration. The woman is concerned with the mirrors knowledge of this reality. She is concerned with the truth that she is getting older like every face that separated the wall and the mirror over and over she is deteriorating which is the main reason why she resorts to candles and the moon since their light is wavering enabling her to hide the signs of age. This is clearly seen in agitation over the mirrors truthfulness.

 I am important to her. She comes and goes is an understatement (15). Although the woman is afraid of seeing the truth and tries to even distort these truths that she sees, her reflection in the mirror is important to her. Evidence of this is the line Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness, just like the relationship of the wall and the mirror, the woman returns to the mirror to acquire from it the truth (16). This reflection is her only means of affirming to herself that she is existing and finding out her identity.

The use of the lake as a metaphor is used to its full capacity in the last two lines. In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish presents the woman in different stages, the young and old (17-18). The use of the word drowned has its implications (17). This may mean that the passage of her youth was sudden, it may mean that the woman was unable to appreciate her youth for she was concerned with the aging, and this fear prevented her from enjoying it. This sudden loss of youth gave rise to the terrible fish which may pertain to the age of deterioration or aging (18).

Based on the difference in ideas of the two stanzas and the real function of the mirrorto reflect life faithfullyit may also be said that the mirror is a metaphor for literature and art. Like the mirror literature and arts aim is to present life in its truthfulness. The truthfulness of art and literature present an understanding of life for people who read or look at it. Similar to the function created for the mirror. With this in mind, the poem talks about the functions of the mirror in ones life and the realization one can gain from it, and the use of art and literature which mirrors life. If one will observe, since there is no article in front of the title Mirror, there is a duality of meaning even for the title. It is both a noun and a verb. The poem may be talking about the mirror and to mirror. In relation to that, shape of the poem somehow attempts to be a mirror or to mirror. With that shape, it can be said that the second stanza is reflected by the first stanza. Similarly, the reader is the woman looking at his or her reflection, the woman who can easily be disappointed by the truth the mirror can reveal.

Absalom, Absalom is a world renowned novel of William Faulkner published in 1936. It is a tragic novel that revolves around a familys unfortunate demise because of their patriarchs ambitions and mainly racial discrimination and prejudice. Faulkner also presented in this novel the steady decline of the south which his plagued by corruption and discrimination. The novel also touched themes regarding incest, miscegenation and community values. This novel largely helped Faulkner win his Nobel Prize for Literature. Consequently, this is also one of the reasons why the author was called a pioneer of the modernist movement which was helpful in his publication of other novels. Absalom, Absalom also shows the family values that are important. However, it was also shown that these values are easily broken by the ambition and the want to uphold a good image instead of giving importance to family ties, ethics, and truth. The highlight of these themes in the novel is the main characters outlook on racial discrimination and racial prejudice which is most often the center of all the misfortunes of the family. Further analysis of this recurring theme in the novel will be done.
   
The novel Absalom, Absalom is set in the America South and is located in the Northeastern, Mississippi. The novel is headed by the main character in the name of Thomas Sutpen who comes from a poor family from Virginia and has the ambitions and dreams to be rich, to have a dynasty and to acquire Negro slaves. Thomas is center of the novel and all twists and turns and misfortunes come from him. Thomass son, Henry Sutpen is also an integral part of the novel it is from him that Thomas outlook to racial prejudice mostly flows into. Lastly, as part of the main characters, Judith Sutpen the daughter of Thomas doesnt have any strong significant part but towards the ending it is through her that the tragedy ends.
  
 In this tragic novel, the protagonist of the story is Thomas Sutpen. However, he is also the antagonist. Sutpen was a victim to his desires of having a legacy. The misfortune arises from the wants of Sutpen to have a suitable heir to his legacy. He wants a son to be his heir and the term son means - of pure white blood. Thomas Sutpen regards purity of race as a very important value  particularly of a white race. It is in this racial prejudice and discrimination that the conflicts start to arise. Sutpen married previously and had a son. On the other hand, he rejects and leaves his first family upon knowledge of the fact that his wife had Negro blood and that this means that his first son is not of pure white blood. This rejection flows through the whole story and haunts down Sutpen in the end. The recurring theme of racial prejudice exhibited in Thomas Sutpens character shows that interpretation of the author of the current social situation in the South. 

This strong sense of racial prejudice and discrimination aroused from the fact that the predisposition of the Southern societies are grounded in advocating to an explicit form of caste system or stratification in the society. Racial discrimination in the Southern society also originated to the lack of self motivation to uphold what is right and what is appropriate. This was shown in the novel by Thomas that despite the fact that he knows all the right family values, he chose the path to his dynasty which utilized denying his own sons rights and giving more importance to his image. Faulkner used such line of thought of the main character to highlight the reality in the Southern culture that social prejudice and discrimination rules the communal minds and morality.
   
Similarly, the Southern culture also became known as a place of discovery and fulfillment. However, it was evident that the dreams and ambitions of most of the people who succeeded were attained by going against the flow of family values and morality by upholding selfishness, committing misdemeanors against their own people and family. Faulkner used the theme of racial prejudice to highlight the fact that exploitation happens in many ways to a post-war period that happened during the authors time. He used this theme to depict the state of mind of most of the people in the Southern areas during the Civil war and after the war which is materialistic. This is evident in the desire of Thomas Sutpen to acquire black slaves. Slavery as a materialistic desire integrates racial prejudice to the story and this also hubs the strong concept of desire to possess a thing during the 19th Century.
   
The portrayal of such racial prejudice and discrimination also helped Faulkner to give his novel a more concrete historical perspective  the slavery, the black people and rights movement. The style of multiple narration from different characters helped gave the theme of discrimination a firmer grip on the novel by allowing different sources of opinions and view in the story to suggest to the reader their own beliefs and evaluations of what they have witnessed to have happened. The setting of the novel was also very important to the story as it gives a near real setup to the social and racial prejudice and discrimination that is happening. In the novel, Thomas Sutpens planned approach to reach his goals compels the reader to reexamine values and morals due to the debates that emanated from the slavery and discrimination of black people.

These violations of human rights urged Faulkner, who is also against this harsh treatment of black people to showcase the rejection of morals of Southern people to this harsh reality. This harsh treatment was embodied in the novel through Thomas Sutpen and Rosa recognized this and had her own distinct but similar narration Oh he was brave. I have never gainsaid that. But that our cause, our very life and future hopes and past pride, should have been thrown into the balance with men like that to buttress it - men with valor and strength but without pity or honor. Is it any wonder that Heaven saw fit to let us lose (Rosa, Absalom Absalom)
   
Rose contemplates the abilities of Thomas to accomplish his dreams but she also agrees that Sutpens valor and strength was wasted because of lack of honor and pity. Further analysis of the theme of racial prejudice will tell us that the Southern areas were interpreted by Faulkner to be of dishonest and inhumane status. Women were objects of sex and were mostly viewed as possessions just like the plan of Sutpen that he needs a wife to accomplish his design in mind.  In addition, this also enhances the level of exploitation and lack of any human moral that guides the main character. Sutpen views the family and people around him as objects that can be used to accomplish his goals and ambitions.

You see, I had a design in my mind. Whether it was a good or a bad design is beside point the question is, Where did I make the mistake in it, what did I do or wrongly do in it, whom or what injure by it to the extent which this would indicate. I had a design. To accomplish it I should require money, a house, a plantation, slaves, a family - incidentally of course, a wife. I set out to acquire these, asking no favor of any man. (Thomas Sutpen, Absalom Absalom)

Sutpen aims for a perfect image with a perfect family and in doing so he upheld racial discrimination of people around him and even of his own son. He viewed black people as inferior and treated them like animals. Sutpens design reflected the most of the dreams and ambitions during the civil war of the people.

Often, materialistic and twisted these people also turned to black slaves for their entertainment. Cruel treatment can be imagined easily upon reading the novel and the highlight of this cruelty is the straightforward denial and rejection of Thomas Sutpen of Charles Bon who is his son. This scenario is a direct metaphor to the denunciation of black people in the South. Furthermore, since Faulkner designed Sutpens character as that of a typical southern person, it was evident that Sutpens goals and ambitions were the very foundations that he will go against in fulfillment of his approach and due to this his conceived design of his ambitions were fated to fall short of his expectations.

In order to further analyze the theme of racial prejudice and discrimination, it is important that Sutpens origin be looked upon.

Thomas Sutpen came from a low class white family in Virginia. Growing up, he realizes that he is not of great significance to the environment around him and started creating his plan. He had tragic experiences of discrimination and social prejudice also and from that experience he learned a lot. Similar to any ambitious person in the South, Faulkner showcased through the ideas and plans of Sutpen the usual plans of the Southern people  which are to improve their current situation relative to the society and disregard any discrimination and inequality happening in the society. So basically, one of the origins of the harsh treatments of the black people was the initial attitudes of the Southern people to their own people. Social prejudice was already there before the Negroes came and when they came in it only got worse. Dividing the society between the upper class and lower class further gives enough backbone for any racial discrimination to keep on occurring.

Harsh treatment to a lower class person only adds up and highlights the differences that each class has. Analysis of these upper-lower class divisions in the novel will also lead us to the understanding that similar to the rejection done by Sutpen to his son with negro blood, the upper class in the South will by no means accept someone who is not a natural born to that high class. In the novel, this is exemplified when Sutpen, coming from a low class position follows his design and moves up the classes. Being on the upper class, he assumes he is completely assimilated and moves on to reject any low class person such as his son with Negro blood.

Finally, a good conversation between Compson and Sutpen will shed more light on the overall analogy of the recurring theme of racial prejudice and discrimination. Compson narrated that Sutpen has revised himself in a process of artificial learning. Sutpen copied the movement and behavior of upper class men and learned their accents.

Compson also pointed out that Sutpens design ignores the social elements and only focuses on the requirements that he setup and of course the materials things that he wants to achieve. In doing so, Compson concluded that Sutpen follows that idea of Machiavelli  which is the end, justifies the means. More importantly, the clear-cut disregard for the long term effects of his actions led to his doom. Sutpens ignorance of the consequences like his disregard of his son, disregard of his family led to his greatest problems and eventually his death  such an irony for a person who discriminates a black person when he himself came from a lower class family. The racial prejudice and discrimination showed by Sutpen eventually reveals his guilt about his origins, his shame of where he came from and ultimately his hunger for vengeance for all the suffering and shame he experienced.

Antigones character has a very complex personality as a character in the story. Antigones character is very unpredictable throughout the play. One cannot be sure of what she will do because she tends to change directions all the time. It is because of her being unpredictable that makes her character seem very much hypocritical. She will say something but end up saying the total opposite. Her intriguing character makes people to guess on what her next words or actions will be. Her physique is quite boyish and she never liked her girlhood. Her character is the antithesis of a melodramatic female protagonist,

Her heroic characteristic is noticed when she speaks to Creon, reasoning for trying to bury her brother. She sneaks out twice reflecting a character of a hero but more so when she defied Creon. However, the unpredictability of her character catches up because in a short span of time her being heroic made her look quite selfish. She wanted to bury her brother because of herself. Her actions were done in order to satisfy her personal needs. Her character being a tragic hero is manifested with her having a high social position and being persistent when it comes to her actions.

A seen characteristic of Antigone that is constant all throughout the story is her stubbornness. From start to finish, her stubbornness was seen as in beginning of the play, Antigone sneeks out to bury her brother, even after Creon had specifically reminded her not to. And at the end of the play, she chose death over the opportunity to marry Haemon and stay alive. Obviously, her stubbornness ultimately killed her. There was no easy way out for her especially when in compromises her beliefs, for she always fight everything as long as possible. The first time she was found out, Creon confronts her but she pushed on that she had to do it for Polynices. But when the time came that she changed her story that she had to bury him herself, and still she said she was bound to do it, representing Antigone who wanted to look innocent by saying she had to do it. Is she innocent or not  The question went on throughout the play. Even the description of her character being stubborn gives her prevalence of stubbornness in all. Her character is a complex mix of emotions, thus making her the most complex in all of the play.

In Antigones view the dead will give her honor in the afterlife once she goes through with it  hence she killed herself. Even if she didnt do it, shed die in time so why not do it with a bang. Her character decided to be in charge and take matters personally because of her anger. She decided that she would rather kill herself than let Creon be satisfied of the deed. Antigones character catches the attention and sympathy of the people with her actions, regarding her as tragic hero in the story.

Her variations as a character made her the most interesting of all the characters in the play. She is not the most beautiful of all the characters but she shines in a bright and beautiful way. Very unpredictable and complex, Antigo.

In the wake of current events, one cannot help but just assume that America is more violent than it has ever been. However, violence has been in the world as well as in the United States since time immemorial. The only thing that has happened is that it has changed and taken on a new form. Crimes do not choose the group of people they are going to affect they occur to everyone regardless of their religion, age group, ethnic group, and socioeconomic status (Trend, p 17). The current trend in crime has greatly desensitized the society. In movies as well as televisions, Americans can watch violence as well as sexual movies wherever they desire. This has led to crime becoming more commonplace in the society today. One just wonders whether the reason as to why violence and voyeurism are on the rise in America is because the society is watching more movies related to violence and sexual activities than ever before.
Voyeurism and violence in American society

Anderson, (para, 6) states that the exposure to violence in the society today is pervasive. Children for example watch violence scenes at school, in the neighborhood, and also in their homes. The greatest source of visual crimes for children is the television in the homes. Children as well as adults are exposed to televised murders and other forms of violence. Daily news also adds up to the sources in which children as well as the general society is exposed to crimes of all kind. News concerning wars in foreign lands as well as reports of daily murder, kidnaps, rape and robberies increase the notion about crime in the society.

It is a culture for the movie making industries to use violence in their work. These violent movies in the past were only watched by a small group of people. According to Ferret (para, 2), very violent and bloody films are being watched by everybody today. Some of the violent movies that are shown in our TVs today could not have been displayed sometimes back even in theaters. Movie makers are now using sophisticated technologies that depict more of a real thing in movies leaving nothing to imagination. All these make TV shows and movies more appealing. The kind of violent episodes that are being displayed in our screens today could only be witnessed by police officers as well as military personnel. Coster, (para, 7), notes that episodes that appear more real than fake such as shooting, beating, and assaults are a common scene into our homes as well as theaters daily. This violence behavior and aggression displayed on our televisions finds its way into our children as well as teenagers. It finally spills over to the streets and the playground. The effect of violence displayed on TVs is cumulative the more violent programs a child watches, the more aggressive heshe becomes.

Children also watch sexual images that are way far beyond the advertising range. Television is believed by many as the major cause of voyeurism. The images that are displayed on televisions are very catching and are the ones that made the voyeur culture to take off. The internet revolution is another factor that has aggravated the voyeurism culture (Shaver para, 1).

Discussion
Extensive exposure to televised violence is one of the leading causes of increased felony, aggressive behavior and violence in society. Television and movies have either negative or positive effects to young people of both genders in the society depending on the type of images being displayed. The issue of violence in the media must be seriously addressed. It is very important for the movie making industry to learn about the impact of violent episodes in movies to the society. Parents should play a vital role of restricting the amount and types of movies a child is exposed to. Broadcaster guidelines should be established to limit the quality of images displayed for view to children.

Tone does to literature what cinematography does to a movie.  Regardless of the kind of literature, tone is important in setting the mood of a literary piece and creating a pseudo atmosphere conducive to the reader of a literary piece.  Why is this necessary  Literature is considered as an elite art form and literary appreciation requires a certain level of intelligence.  Other than this, the only visual input that one would get from literature are the words on the page, or in some cases, the voice of someone on a recorder or a speaker, reciting a poem or telling a tale because of this, the rest is to the audience unlike the visual arts where the visual stimulus is immediate or the performing arts which consist of a conglomeration of many art genres that complement each other resulting in a multi-layered perspective of art. 

This quality of literature requires that for the audience to appreciate it better, the right amount of stimulus is given through the words to create a mental atmosphere that will allow the story or the poem to unfold and the imagination to supply the missing details that are not visually available on a page of literature.  With words as the basic media in the achievement of tone, literature uses two basic devices to do this, style and language.  Style includes such other literary devices as point of view, figurative language, and line cutting to achieve tone, while language includes vocabulary as well as the sentence patterns used.  In Alice Walkers Everyday Use, Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour and Langston Hughes Dream Deferred style and language play a very important role in the achievement of tone.  To understand how style and language both work to achieve tone in a piece of literature, it is first necessary to go deeper into the conventions of style and language.
   
Style, as mentioned, includes elements like point of view, figurative language, line cutting, as well as the mode of deliver for some pieces of literature.  This serves to achieve tone by creating consistency in the piece.  For instance, if a story is awash with figurative language instead of direct statements a reader would perceive the story to be more meditative instead of aggressive.  IN the same manner, in poetry, line enjambment also achieves a contemplative tone in the poem instead of the formalistic and almost structured feel of a poem written in bound and uniform lines.  As for point of view, Edgar Allan Poe was the master of achieving tone using the point of view.  In most cases, the point of view is often overlooked, but what most people do not know is that the point of view actually does many things to a piece of literature.  In fiction, for example, a first person point of view situates the reader as a participant spectator to the events that unfold participant to the narrator of the story who is also a character in the story.  This gives the story a more distant tone, quite like knowing what happens in a movie when someone tells you all about it.  As a result, the audience does not have control over what happens in the story, and so the one builds an imaginary wall between the reader and the story, somewhat isolating the audience. 

This is effective in achieving a tone where the reader does not have to agree with the protagonist-narrator, and the reader only needs to appreciate the story as it is written, devoid of the intrusion of hisher personal opinion.  Such stories also aim to win the sympathy of the reader to the narrator or other characters in the story in relation to the events that unfold or the circumstances that surround the narrator or any other character which may be considered in literature as the significant human experience (SHE).  A third person point of view on the other hand allows the audience to access the internal workings of the characters and so gives the story an almost psychological feel to it.  The third person point of view is often termed as the god point of view because the teller of the tale has access even to the thoughts of the characters in the story.  This gives the story a broader tone and allows more participation from the reader not that the reader can influence how the story will unfold, but at least it gives the reader this kind of illusion of control.  In poetry, the point of view is often tied together with the I of the voice in the poem. 

The reader sees things from the point of view of the voice that should not be automatically equated with the poet as most poets create a separate persona in their pieces to give their poems more flesh and so achieve what poetry is often attributed with achieving, concreteness of abstract emotions or ideals.  Therefore, in poetry, the point of view is a main element that determines the tone of the poem the take of the voice of the issue at hand is very important in setting the tone and how the voice handles the subject becomes the basis for the tone of the poem.  Finally, the mode of delivery, if it is epistolary or confessional, or straight narrative, also affects the tone of the piece.  In many stories and poems the mode of delivery often allows the audience to easily associate the piece with something in real life and so contributes to the general experience of literature.
   
In terms of language and how this affects tone, each piece of literature uses a distinct kind of language to give it a unique feel.  For instance, in the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of Alice Walker, The Colour Purple, which is an epistolary novel, she uses Creole language to give the novel an authentic African-American tone.  In the same way, the kind of language used creates a cultural platform for the tone of literature.  If the writer uses language associated with young people, then the piece will achieve a more juvenile tone, while using formalistic language will give the piece a period or archaic tone.  These are the ways by which language and style affect the tone of a piece of literature.
   
In the three pieces concerned, the two stories both by Alice Walker and Kate Chopin, and the poem by Langman Hughes all illustrate how style and language are used to achieve certain tones in each of the pieces.  Initially, upon reading the three pieces, what is immediately noticeable is the fact that Walkers story is heavy with figurative language, while the story by Chopin is more direct in approach.  The interesting thing is when language is taken into light.  In Walkers story she combines heavy figurative language with the stark language of the blacks and achieve a contemplative but at the same time, aggressive and urgent tone.  This is not true with Chopins story which consistently uses direct language giving the piece a more indifferent tone.  Hughes poem, as the third piece, like Walkers piece, is suffused with figurative language but also presented in the stark language of the blacks, achieving a contemplative and somewhat playful tone, despite the seriousness of the subject being tackled.  Considering the themes of the pieces, the reason for the style and language employed becomes clearer. 

Walkers story is generally about the preservation of heritage but makes references to the difficulties of African-Americans during contemporary times and how this time is different from the past Chopins story is about liberation on a more personal level, as well as death and Hughes piece is about ambition and not being able to achieve ones goals  verily, one can conclude that the reason for the employed style of Walker is her piece is to direct the audience to the greater issue of heritage and history, hence, the use of symbolism and figurative language which gives the story a hidden tone which is the typical tone of most of the African slaves art genres during the transatlantic slave trade.  Chopins piece, on the other hand, because of the abstract matter tackled, has to be indifferent in ton to allow the audience of the reader to make hisher own conclusions.  Finally, Hughes poem is reminiscent of the work songs and shouts of the African slaves of the past, songs that were not actually for entertainment but for communication, hence, the hidden and figuratively presented messages.
   
Walkers story is about a mother who has two daughters, Maggie and Dee.  Dee ran off to marry a well-off lad while Maggie remained with her mother in a decrepit house in a farm because she was the less intelligent of the two, as is suggested in the story.  Soon, Dee returns to visit her mother and tries to impose black liberal contemporary beliefs on her mother and her sister but the mother reminds her that they should not forget what their ancestors had gone through.  Dee then attempts to take the quilts made by her ancestors from her mother saying that she would preserve these and hang them up, but the mother refuses because according to her these quilts were reserved for Maggie.  Dee insists on having the quilts saying that Maggie would just use these until they were old useless rags.  Then, the story takes an unexpected twist when Maggie, hearing the argument between her mother and her sister, agrees to give the quilts to Dee.  The mother still refuses and Dee leaves the house empty handed.  The story is told in the first person perspective or point of view, from the point of view of the mother and this creative decision by the author gives the narrator a more authoritative stance, giving the story a very ancestral and advocating tone. 

The suffusion of figurative language in the story serves to complement the general symbology of the quilt and what it represents.  This abundance of figurative language is textually evident, such as in the lines, She thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, (Walker) a hyperbole referring to the sisters dominant, outgoing, and controlling personality, My fat keeps me hot in zero weather, (Walker) another hyperbole referring to the heavy built of the protagonist, my skin like an uncooked barley pancake, (Walker) a simile describing the skin colour of the protagonist to be mottled, and She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didnt necessarily need to know, (Walker) which is a metaphor symbolizing the efforts of the protagonists mother to conceal the truth from her children and teach them things that an ordinary child is not supposed to learn at a juvenile age. These figures of speech in the story give it an almost guarded tone, perhaps in preparation and in anticipation of the larger symbolism represented by the quilt in the end.  In terms of language, as the story is told from the point of view of the mother, contemporary black language is used adding to the authenticity as well as to the aggressive and quite urgent tone of the story. 

This type of language is seen in the dialogue between the mother and the daughters, such as in the line, Why shouldnt I I asked. If thats what you want us to call you, well call you., (Walker) indicating how the protagonist seems to have a problem with grammar, typical of black speakers, and the line, I said.Ream it out again. (Walker) illustrating the use of unconventional and relatively endemic idiomatic expressions.  This use of black language is even portrayed in the narration, which incidentally is also narrated by a black protagonist, such as in the lines, I wanted to ask him was he a barber, but I didnt really think he was, so I didnt ask., (Walker) and chitlins and com bread, the greens and everything else. She talked a blue streak over the sweet potatoes. (Walker) both portraying a speaking pattern that intentionally omits certain sentence essentials and bases sentence and word construction on sound instead of grammar. 

The most important symbology in this piece is when the mother describes the quilt to be a patchwork of fabric from past ancestors, and when Maggie says to her mother in the end, I can member Grandma Dee without the quilts. (Walker)  This line from Maggie forms a critical point in the story as it validates that the quilt is not really the item being quarrelled over but the memory of black slavery.  All these stylistic and language elements all contribute to the establishment of the tone in this particular story.  The same is true for the second story written by Kate Chopin.

Chopins story is about Mrs. Mallard, a lady whose husband was supposedly killed in a vehicular accident.  Mrs. Mallard is portrayed as someone with a heart condition, so when news of the death of her husband came in, her sister Josephine took extra care in revealing this to Mrs. Mallard.  Surprisingly, the protagonist does not show the usual reaction to the news of the death of a loved one instead she quietly retires to her room and spends time contemplating about herself and her life with her husband.  Later, while contemplating, she concludes that the death of her husband was necessary for her to enjoy self-liberation and freedom and to begin living for herself as she felt constrained in the presence of her husband.  She then takes on upon herself a somewhat sick sense of joy at the loss of her husband.  In an exciting ending to the story, it turns out that the husband was alive and his death was reported mistakenly.  The husband returns to their home and upon seeing him alive, instead of rejoicing, Mrs. Mallard drops dead.  This story is told in the third person point of view and the reason for this is that it is necessary in the unfolding of the story that the audience be given access to the thoughts of the protagonist. 

This gives the story a meditative tone.  There are barely any metaphors in the story indicating the absence of much figurative language, giving it a more direct tone of storytelling as well as a more sterile feel to it. We see this directness and formalism in narration in lines like, She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength., (Chopin) and Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhold, imploring for admission. (Chopin) and even in dialogue lines like, Go away. I am not making myself ill. (Chopin)  These lines show how clean and stiff the narrative style is, making the reader conclude that the story is told in an almost academic, matter-of-factly tone.  

The direct language gives the story an indifferent tone in such that reading the story one would feel a bit detached from the characters and the protagonist.  This is a requirement in the story because as mentioned, it is about a lady with a heart condition and giving the audience unabashed access to the unfolding of the story would overdo the plot and would make it sound begging and contrived.  Hence, the language and style serves to achieve an indifferent tone to keep the audience at bay and allow the events to unfold without compromising the plot.
   
 Hughes poem, A Dream Deferred is written in the tradition of the work song of the slaves during the transatlantic slave trade.  As history would tell us, the work song was a song that the white masters of slaves had them sing during work for entertainment, but since the slaves were not allowed to talk during their work, they used these songs to convey messages to the other slaves who were working in the plantation.  In terms of style, the poem achieves a melodic or playful tone with the proper placement of sounds in the poem.  First, we see this clever placement of sound in the terminal rhyme, such as in the lines, Does it dry up  like a raisin in the sun  Or fester like a sore--  And then run. (2-5) Other than just the internal rhyme, the short brief lines also contribute to this jazzy rhythmic tone, such as, And then run... Maybe it just sags Or does it explode (5,9,11)  Then, in terms of organization the poem also builds up the imagery with vivid verbs, as in, dry-upfesterrunstinkcrustsagsexplode.  (2-11)  The explosion in the end is suggestive of the long-drawn emotions that eventually go over the top, and explode. The conveyance of the message is mostly seen in the symbology of this very short poem as it is as well heavy with figurative language. 

Most of this figurative language are similes such as in the second to fifth lines which describe a raisin drying up referring to or symbolizing the hard labour that the blacks had to go through in the presence of white masters, or in the same lines where an deferred dream (1) is described as a festering sore, indicative of the physical pain the slaves had to go through.  Of course the most important metaphor is when the dream is portrayed as something that will explode in the end, which is symbolic of the liberation movement of the slaves that resulted in the abolition of slavery and freedom for the blacks.  At first reading one might dismiss the poem as an immature musing because it is presented in al almost nursery-rhymey tone, but on close perusal, it becomes evident that this tone is used to conceal the mores serious message of individuality in the pursuit of ambition.  The language used in the poem contributes even more to the playful tone.  The use of black language and vocabulary serves to make it more authentic and reminiscent of the poems early ancestors, the work song and the shout. 
   
Literature is indeed very interesting and as shown in these three pieces of literature, a very important element of literature, tone, can be achieved in more ways than one, in particular by using style and language to endow the piece of literature with qualities that are instrumental in building tone.

Robert Blys poem can be interpreted as an allegory between a student and his teachers. The title boldly illustrates its symbolical narrative by saying directly what his poem is about.  We know from just reading the title what the poem is referring to and where the poem is going to go. The speaker is indicated as, we, which may indicate himself and his fellow classmates, in a general sense throughout his educational experiences. The age of the speaker seems elementary in style but mature enough to discern the difference between long and short term results. We cant tell the specific gender of the speaker of either poem, unless the speaker of the poem is the author.

Both of the poems values are consistent as they praises their teachers, where people who are most likely not going to praise their instructors are generally the rebels against the norms of having an authoritative figure give instructions and trust those instructions to explore new terrain. Personally, I didnt always agree with my teachers and struggled with managers in certain jobs about how my performance was evaluated. However, I see this poem in a positive light, for I never give the teachers or managers that do give me the confidence to perform a better enough appreciation for their praises.

There is no specific situation that stems from Blys poem, the poetry leads us to our own imagination to fill in the structure. However, as the reader, I can think of certain instances where this poem can fit the scenario. For example, Chemistry class in high school.  It was a hard subject and I went to the extra help groups after school and struggled to get past the exams. The stillness for me was the class finally being over and moving on my passing grade. Another example was a positive one where I was doing well in an Economics class, where the class bonded together to inspire each others ideas. The stillness was also the class also being over, but missing the excitement and intensity from the study groups.

The theme of the poem is to create an image of ourselves as the student, reminiscing about our experiences of how our teachers helped us get to where we are today. We start off as, we walk upon the unwalked. But we are uneasy, suggests that when we learn something new, we are not experts or masters of the subject until we take initiative and move with our teachers instructions. The phrase, and goes on ahead of us for a mile, is what we see ahead of us. We ultimately create our own destiny and point ourselves in the direction where we want to go. Our teachers are the ones that help point, or try to mold us in the right direction.
Upon first response from Andersons poem, the speaker wants us to retain the image of the instructors hands over hers, the texture, feel and guidance that she felt from her experience. When she says, how clumsy a single vision can grow, she is looking back from successes and failures from instruction and wants to remember the security from her instruction that took her there.

Her images create discipline by going into detail the work she is performing. Words such as, stiffened, cracked and white shards describe the sharp and hard the materials are that she is working with. It amazes her that with a little guidance, her work can produce a beautiful result, as in a precious dog.

From my perspective from the gray clay looked dangerous gave me the impression that the clay looked hard to work with and was fragile for the project that she was working on. For example, if I was going to take my first driving test in a semi-truck, the truck would look dangerous because I wouldnt be able to pass my test driving such a thing. It wasnt clear to me in the poem if this reminded her of an unpleasant memory, unless she had lost something in her life that made her feel sad.

The title of Andersons poem suggests that there is one thing we must remember. This ties into the previous poem, showing appreciation for our teachers and remembering what guided us there and what we needed to succeed. If I was to look back at my driving test, I would remember the practice that I put into it to make sure that I passed. The countless hours in the parking lot and reading over the manual for each detail that may be asked on the exam. I remember learning how to drive a 4-speed manual transmission vehicle soon after my drivers test and remembered that I had to struggle all over again to learn how to drive. I remember my brothers patience and persistence to get me to stay behind the wheel and keep practicing.

Andersons setting was more specific than in Blys poem, where there was an actual place that created the experience. Working in an art studio can create vivid and precise imaging. Striding across a frozen lake is something we shouldnt try very often. If there are weak ice patches, there are dangers of falling in, where us as the reader assumes that the author is signaling it more as an illustration.

Both of these poems were very enjoyable for me and made me think about how a teacher trying to guide me while I was learning and how they deserve the appreciation for their efforts. The stillness in Blys poem and the pressing what you couldnt say in Andersons poem both reflect the concentration we have as students as we study, perform, contemplate and grow. It takes a lot to learn new things and to express appreciation to someone who is trying to show us the way.

Romanticism sprung from its times.  After the time of classism and Calvinism with its rigidity and tradition, America was ready for Romanticism.  The stern religious beliefs that were dry and cold lead way to the spiritual quality of romanticism.  People were ready to drop the guilt and be ready to believe in themselves. The rise of professional science contributed to that. The stage was also set for the Romantics reaction against slavery and injustice.  The country was experiencing an influx of immigrants causing the Anglo Saxon face of America to change.  There was a general optimism in the times springing from the expansion of America and its wealth.  To understand romanticism, we have to understand its times and how its time lead to the times of the harsh realism of the Civil War. 

Romanticism is difficult to define without contrasting it to the ideas of realism.  Two key writers of this time period were Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman who both emphases in their own ways the philosophy of Romanticism.  Experts have commented that Emily Dickinson, whose poetry was first published in 1890, after her death, rejected the formal structures of most previous verse, and probed depths of anxiety and emotion(SFSU).

She, along with Walt Whitman, put aside the Classical notions of writing having to stick to precise forms and mechanics and strove to explore idealism, depression, death and the rights of the individual.  Walt Whitman loved to use nature and imagination to show his creativity. Nature became part of worship for both Whitman and Dickinson as in her poem A Narrow Fellow in the Grass. Even the riddle like quality of the poem is meant to cause the reader to use his imagination and intuition for understanding.  Walt Whitman elevated nature to show how close and touchable God was.  Both emphasized the spirituality of the individual instead of the faith of the established church. Self reliance and intuition replace church dogma in their writings. Man is good primarily to the Romantic and not the evil sinner of the Puritan time period. It has been said that The Romantics tended to define and to present the imagination as our ultimate shaping or creative power, the approximate human equivalent of the creative powers of nature or even deity (Academic).

Politically, the common man was more important than the laws of the established government.  Whitman in many of his poems celebrated the variety of people in America like in his poem Song of Myself.

Human suffering can be observed to be among the prevailing themes in fiction the highlight of an individuals person becomes a subject of exploration and curiousity, and in fiction, the process of resolving a characters surface requires breaking into his or her issues.  The common thread between these two stories can then be seen in how the characters can be strongly explored with regards to their conflicts, realizations and motivation.  It can be gathered from these two short fictional works that human nature is very complex even for those who seem to have it together.  In Hemingways work, there is the old man with plenty of money who dared kill himself, whereas in Baldwins, the narrators life strongly contrasts with the demons of his past and his relationship with his brother.  Even when subject to an environment of normalcy, human suffering surfaces because of the realities of separation, the constant need to explore and understand ones identity, and finally, to come to terms that theres no other way not to suffer.
   
The realities of separation can be seen in some peoples need for isolation the need to break away from their environment and to just highlight themselves as a person becomes an opportunity of assessment, or at least, to position ones self in a vacuum of nothingness.  The old man in A Well-Lighted Place chooses to stay alone in one table, drinking brandy.  The story that surrounds him in which he tried to kill himself already shows his tendencies to keep people away from him.  His pretensions of deafness also separates him from the people around him, especially the waiters that surround him in the cafe.  This separation therefore highlights how the old man contrasts with his immediate reality of youth and vibrance, something he had lost long ago.  This contrasts with the youth and the possibilities that the two brothers in Baldwins story still had.  In Sonnys Blues, Sonnys choice to separate from his brother is a means for him to really establish that they have been distant in the first place.  The lack of a strong brotherhood connection is a pretension that Sonny does not want to get into, and for his brother, delaying his correspondence while Sonnys in jail is a way for him to maintain the distance from his troubled past. 

This combination of separation and isolation shows how these characters experience the conflicts of their environment, in which case it is through these actions that they are able to find the resolution.  Nonetheless, this does not discount the fact that they still suffer in one way or another.  In comparison, how these characters respond to separation demonstrate their conflicts.  The old man has been clearly in the dark place, but he chooses to go out in a well-lit cafe and sit under the shadows of the leaves that are cast on his table.  For Sonny and his brother, their separate lives does not prevent them from coming into contact.  It can be seen that both characters from the two stories have isolated themselves from a particular environment, but contact remains to be an important part of their lives.
   
In relation to separation and isolation, human suffering surfaces because an exploration of ones identity may have to mean excluding the influence and wishes of others.  When Sonny reaches the realization that he wanted to become a musician, his brother seems to merely tag along with this dream.  And then when Sonny expresses he is going to join the Army, this is met with opposition by his brother.  Because of the difference in character between the two the brother, who is seven years older than Sonny, cannot seem to express enough confidence that his brother can do anything right.  This is because it seems that Sonnys choice may lead to one form of suffering to another.  For the old man, separation and isolation seems to be the only way for him to come to terms with his personal suffering.  With his attempted suicide, his identity and person has boiled down to nothing his view in life, as probably spoken through the older waiter (was nada y pues nada y pues nada...), is an embrace of nothingness.  This embrace is further emphasized with his will to live in nothing, and that is in death.  Both characters share their sentiments for finding themselves in the midst of their respective realities.  However, the difference is that Sonny finds passion, his brother finds the comfort in being realistic, and the old man found nothing.
   
Finally, human suffering can be seen in the concession to suffering.  Sonnys brother has conceded to suffering, and his life has been about try(ing) all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it, to keep on top of it..., whereas Sonny asks, Why do people suffer  Maybe its better to do something to give it a reason, any reason.  Sonnys brother concedes to suffering by acknowledging it and fighting it, whereas Sonny concedes to it by trying to figure it out.  Both brothers suffer in their own ways, but suffering is already a given.  For the old man, suffering is a given too, but his means to end it was to end himself. 
   
These characters show character conflicts in terms of how they address human suffering.  Sonnys brother takes the classic route by making things seem alright in his life he takes a wife, has children, maintains a house and a job as a school teacher.  On the surface it seems that suffering must be minimal for him because he has everything.  However, it can be gathered from the story that his suffering runs deep in his veins.  His relationship with his brother, albeit their differences, is his only root to the past, and will most likely determine his connection to the future.  Similar to the brother, the old man may also not have any reason to suffer.  With his wealth, the reason for his suffering maybe nothing, but in the end, his inner conflicts resolve to identifying that the reason he is suffering is that even in the midst of everything he has nothing.  For Sonny, he is the one who seems to suffer most with his conflict with the law and his addiction however, he may seem more fulfilled with his passion to become a musician and to live a conflicted life which he seems to want in the first place.
   
Based on these, these characters live by their respective conflicts but the differences are evident.  Sonny acknowledges his own conflicts and resolves it by living a dangerous life.  His brother, on one hand, tries to avoid conflict by facing up to it and by living a life where conflict is minimized.  The old man, however, lives in what seems like a conflict-free life, but his search for his own conflict is a means for him to feel human or himself.  Such actions and motivations are rooted in their respective realizations when it comes to their relationship to others and relationship with themselves.  Apparently, it is through human suffering that they all feel human but how they deal with this reality makes all the difference.

The article focuses on the different phases of life of Nelson Mandela from his childhood as he ascended as one of the most influential persons shaping not only the anti-apartheid movement but also the ability to shape South African politics like never before. It can be seen that his life transcends from the shifts of his beliefs from a radical perspective to that of an advocate of peace and international cooperation.
   
During his early years, he grew up in a traditional African family with the tribal system (Thembu) in effect during that time in Transkei South Africa. In here, it exhibited different customary practices that he wasnt able to succeed in the lineage of leadership but still maintained the surname of Mandela in place of his father (Nobelprize.org, 1993). It is through such interplay of relationship that the young Nelson Mandela shall be educated and honed in institutions such as Fort Hare University, University of South Africa and University of Witwatersrand (law).
   
The next phase of his life was during his involvement in the political activity. This was evident during the declaration of the apartheid policy of racial segregation. Since Mandela was an advocate against this principle, he together with the Afrikaner National Party (ANC) held different programs to oppose such ideas. With the influence and motivation of Mahatma Gandhi, he led programs such as the Defiance Campaign, Congress of the People, and the Freedom Charter (Nobelprize.org, 1993).
   
During his anti-apartheid campaign, he sought to reinstitute the ANC with the Spear of the Nation (Umkhonto we Sizwe). It can be seen here that he instigated radical campaigns that often involved sabotage campaigns and to the extent of starting a guerilla war (Nobelprize.org, 1993). Due to this, the actions of the party were considered to be terrorists by the United States and the outcome results to Mandelas arrest and conviction.
   
The next phase of Mandelas life revolves around handling the trial at Rivonia and his term in jail. During this case, he sought to justify the radical and approach towards the apartheid movement and how he believes this destroys the value and pride of the African people. It is through such process that he was sentenced to serve life imprisonment due to the gravity of the acts he committed (Nobelprize.org, 1993).
   
During his imprisonment in Robben Island, Mandela continued to influence the development of African politics. In this process, he sought to further his studies by studying law and expanding his skills in harnessing new involvement with people particularly in prison. After serving some years in this facility, he was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison and then to Victor Vester Prison to serve the remainder of his term until he was offered release in 1985 by President Botha (Nobelprize.org, 1993).
   
His release in 1990 came into place when he sought to reverse the ban with ANC and in here, we can see the transformation of Nelson Mandela towards an advocate of peace. It was in here that he spearheaded the new direction towards finding solutions to the problems of South Africa (Nobelprize.org 1993). This then led to his victory in the presidential elections in 1994 and became the first black president to hold position. In here, he sought to stabilize the value and significance of African democracy and clamoring for peace and stability within the region.
   
n the end of the 90s, Mandela did not seek anymore for reelection because of his age. He instead focused on creating a more vibrant approach towards the campaign on AIDS and spends more time with his family during the remainder of his life. It can be seen here that throughout his career, he had spent his time examining new directions for revitalizing and addressing the present societal struggles in South Africa. It is his undying effort that he was able to establish the Elders and create a better way to induce change in a global context (Nobelprize.org, 1993).

The main characters of Abraham Cahans story entitled A Ghetto Wedding are Nathan and Goldy, a couple who had been engaged for almost two years already but had been postponing their marriage because of the brides wish to be granted a respectable wedding and not be wed in an ordinary way (Cahan, 1898). Though they were not rich, Goldy felt that on this special day, she deserved more special things because it is not every day that a woman is given the chance to get married. She does not want to be wed to her predestined one looking like a beggar maid so her dream wedding should not just be simple and ordinary (Cahan, 1898).

Some of Goldys demands include two carriages, a wedding bard, spacious ballroom for the venue, and even other luxurious items such as expensive carpets and pier-glass. Her unrealistic demands are formed because of the way of living that she lived and how much life had deprived from her. But because their savings could not cover for everything she wanted, theyve decided to move the marriage and work more to increase their budget for the wedding. For two years, Nathan worked hard to have sufficient money but in the end their savings only grew smaller and even when Goldy decided to reduce her expectations, the budget they have will just never be enough.

When you analyze the story as a whole, you will realize that Goldys expectations come from her previous experiences. Nathan and his bride are already orphans and they have lived an average life. But Goldy had seen their relatives and friends afford more than them so she had a brilliant plan of letting her guests shoulder most of what she wanted to see in her wedding. Goldy believed that other people would show them concern because of their situation in life and they dont need to work anymore because the carpets, pier-glass, and her other demands could be given gifts to them for their wedding. But as the story unfolded, no wedding gifts arrived. And on the night of their wedding day, Goldy realized what true marriage really means.

My father was a second generation Italian. He was fond of telling me real life stories and he always used Italian language to convey his narrations. I remembered that I used to translate his stories to English. Eventually, I always found the translated phrases funny. I knew they were both different languages hence they should not be transcribed literally.

I used to write down some of his stories in a notebook. This way, I knew I can always read them every time I wanted to. I became fond of writing down my fathers thoughts into my own words and rewrite them using the English language. Since then, I slowly learned to love writing. As time passed by, the stories were eventually added with my own unforgettable experiences at school. I was already a teenager at that time and sometimes I preferred to write down my thoughts instead of vocalizing them for the fear of being embarrassed in front of my classmates.

Although I was typically a shy student, I also did well in my writing classes. My favorite subject during high school was Journalism because it served as an avenue for me to do my favorite hobby in school. After a year, I joined the Writing Club. Since then, I was given the chance to attend certain writing seminars and trainings. I had the chance to make friends with other students who had the same passion like mine. We shared our experiences and we make constructive criticisms out of each others works. I read journals and books of successful and inspiring writers like Harper Lee, Maya Angelou and even William Shakespeare. I even read biographies and technical writing books. Most of the time, I also write essays and stories in my blogs. Months passed and I noticed that my writing skills were improved and were polished. I felt happy and became proud of myself.

As I looked back to the memories, I still feel jubilant of my success story. I can always remember my father every time I write stories because he was the one who strictly taught me that stories should suppose to have a beginning, middle and an end. I can still also recall the things that I learned from my writing classes and from the experiences I gained upon joining the Writing Club. I learned that to become a writer, all you have to do is to persevere and pursue your passion whatever it takes. I read a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson and I was greatly inspired. The quote goes like this Character is higher that intellectA great soul will be strong to live, as well as to think (www.quotationspage.com, 2007).

Indeed, in order for us to become successful in our chosen career, we need to sacrifice and do our best to learn. Despite the hardships, we should continue to dream and learn from our mistakes. We may feel disheartened and disappointed from time to time but we should never give up.
Right now I am proud to say that my experiences indeed taught me valuable lessons in life. I am happy right now that I have achieved what I really wanted  that is, to become a good writer. Experience is definitely the best teacher.

Christopher Columbus and John Smith will always be remembered for their ego in their leadership. For many residence of Virginia, John Smith is considered as a hero. However, recorded documents provide varying evidence on his leadership and life in general. On the other hand, Christopher Columbus is seen as an explorer who encountered the Americans and was able to achieve immorality to satisfy his egos. He took advantage of every opportunity and is considered to be a leader who did not accept no as an answer which enable him to succeed and even come back to influence after a great misfortune. It is however clear that the success of Smith and Columbus as leaders of exploration can be attributed to their egos. Their writings were full of imaginations and fiction and are considered by some historians to be liars about the newly discovered world.   
   
John Smith was an English explorer and a soldier who has remained in the books of history for his role in the establishment of a British colony in America. He reigned Virginia British colony which was based at Jamestown for one year between late 1608 and late 1609. During his reign, he used his experience as a soldier and an explorer to lead exploration of major rivers around the colony. Smith was first involved in plans to establish a British colony in North America in 1606 for personal gains with a London company which had been granted a charter by the King of England. Towards the end of that year, Smith led an expedition team with three small ships towards Virginia. While on voyage, Smith became a troublemaker and the captain made plans of executing him once the ship docked. However, he was spared since the king had designated him as one of the council members of the colony. He was later captured in his exploration expedition and he was taken to the Chief of the Powhatans who planned to execute him. However, he was saved by the daughter of the chief on the day of his execution and he was released. His expeditions were in search of food since the colony was faced with collapse due to adverse weather, lack of food and water (Horn, p 47).
   
During his leadership, more and more settlers from Britain settled in his colony. To satisfy his ego, he conquered and proudly held hostage and killed leaders of neighboring communities. He used his powers to force the communities to surrender their food reserves. However, his administration met resistant from the natives who fought against the colonialists. During the fight, he was seriously injured. When he went back to England for treatment towards the end of 1609, he never went back to Virginia. Although smiths credibility as an author has been criticized by many people, his work on his experiences in the New World was inspired by the need to promote the European colonies in North America. He is criticized for description of the way he was saved by Pocahontas, the chiefs daughter. However, he did not exaggerate the facts about Americans and warned his readers of the possible dangers that would be experienced as a result of establishing colonies in America. Despite him being considered as a liar, and a coward by some historians, some consider him as a hero not only in exploration and leadership but also in literature. His Pocahontas story has stood the test of time and he is considered to be the father of the canon of American history. The time gap between when the letter was written and when it was receives raises some speculation about whether what is recorded really happened. It is claimed that smith created the story himself. By the time the letter was analyzed, all the witnesses of the incidence had possibly died and therefore the details could not be verified. Some historians argue that Smith invented the incidence to add quality to his fiction work and is therefore considered to be the father of archetypal patterns in literature (Price, p 207).  
   
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and a colonialist who navigated through the Atlantic Ocean in the 15th century creating awareness of the existence of American continent to the Europeans. He is considered to be the man who inspired the Spanish settlement and colonization in America. His work has been famous among the historians due to his contribution in devising ways of crossing the ocean to the west to establish new trade ties. Before the successful expeditions done by Columbus, the Europeans believed that it was not possible for a ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean to the west supporting his crews with water and food and therefore Columbus voyages were considered a great success (Sale, p 152).
   
During his first voyage, he had gained the trust of the Spanish empire from the king to the public. Although he had not achieved what he was looking for in the expedition, the Spanish turned in large numbers to welcome him back home after the expedition. His main aim was to find a trade route that could be used to access the much needed spices from Asia. However, due to his ego in the subsequent expeditions, he promoted genocide and slavery which was not the initial intentions of his expeditions. Later, he embarked on putting to death some of his crew which led to the deterioration of his relationship with the Spanish empire. Due to his successes in the first expedition, he was made a viceroy and a governor. He governed all the islands he had discovered and a good number of Spanish settled in the islands in search of gold. During his reign as the governor, he was accused of being a tyrant. The increased competition from the Portuguese for the newly discovered islands in the west increased the confidence the king of Spain had on Columbus and believed that he had abilities to find more islands in South America (Davidson, p 23).
  
 From Columbus letters which he wrote to Spain after his voyage, it is believed that Columbus wrote about his imagination about the newly discovered islands. His description on the nature of the new islands, the plants, landscape and the inhabitant seems more of an imagination rather than the reality. His description of the speculate language of the inhabitants, the fertility, productivity and diversity of the island in his first letter was very sanguine and inspired the Spanish kingdom to fund his other voyages in search of even better lands. In one of his letters, he describes how he had captured islands on behalf of their highnesses of Spain to secure their support for further expedition voyages. The letters were therefore intended to demonstrate his loyalty to the queen and king of Spain and the Spanish empire. For example, when he discovered the Indian, he did not hesitate to name it in honor of the Spanish king and for religious reasons although he states that the native people had a name for the island.

However, the work of Bartholome de las Casas accompanied Columbus in some of explorations has been essential in understanding the leadership of Columbus. Although some of Columbus diaries disappeared, Las Casas documents have survived which in some ways have been able to reveal some of Columbus evil deeds as a colonialist. He criticized Columbus for genocide and capturing natives of the discovered islands and sending them to Spain as slaves. According to his view, Columbus did this to pay back the expenses of his expeditions. He incorporated Columbus in his writing where he makes it clear that the major source of funds for Columbus was the sale of captured slaves. He witnessed the cruelty of Columbus in torturing, enslaving and slaughtering of the native people (Bartolome de Las Casas, p 60).              
  
 In conclusion, the leadership of the two great explorers, John Smith and Christopher Columbus has some similarities in their description of the newly discovered world. Their letters were full of fiction and personal imaginations. They both believed in their abilities and were able to convince their sponsors that they can deliver. However, their success as exploration leaders can be attributed to their ego.    

Richard Feynman is a genuine man, enthusiastic with teaching and self-discovery. He is an example of a person who creates great things. Philosophical questions never had the slightest appeal to him (as well as religion). Thus, he was considered as purely scientist, dismissing anything about life that was not reachable by scientific method. He did an admirable work of fighting pseudo-science and paranormal fraud by putting an ordinary religious belief into metaphysical question. Aside from that, he was also known for in his community as a curious character, in the sense, of being a man of curiosity. In this regard, he was considered as one of the important physicist during his time (1918-1988) and of the 20th century.
   
In some cases, the Feynman theory became the center of scientific debate - the idea modern knowledge as a collective enterprise. He tried to keep up with his field and suppressed his own sources of inspiration with his solitary questions and examinations. This is said to be the fortune of the most restraint to make the least intimidating and smallest possible information to the current knowledge. Thus, he proved that anything less would be impudent, anything that is more would be fatal in some (scientist), and anything that might tempt to discharge some of the assumption (in recent scientific research) is considered not serious work. Thus, Feynman said in one of his paper, stopped trying to keep up with the scientific literature or compete with other theorists at their own game, and went back to his roots, comparing experiment with theory, making guesses that were all his own... (Feynman, p. 186). By doing scientific researches, he became productive by working things out for himself of becoming one of the famous physicists in his generations.
   
The scientific discoveries of Feynman are an evident concern of the conceptual side of physics. The theory that he mentioned was a conceptual side of quantum mechanics with lot of confusion, calling it as incomprehensible idea. His lack of interest in philosophical question like the idea of ignorance comes from not having the freedom to doubt was not a valid idea. He meant that there was literally nothing to be done about this condition, except to expect what would come next in the field of science. It is a given fact that philosophical idea or theory is not common for him, like the existence of philosophical constants which is for him an irritation and an arbitrary concept. He is like ordinary physicists who are not happy if every constant of nature cannot be derived from some conceptually elegant circumstances.
   
In this sense, scientist may need to remember that the public interpretation of values and ethics needs justification and evidence, including any scientific discussions. Although ethical conclusions are based on general principles, not based on their own personal feelings, one must understand that this is still necessary. The willingness to experience the consequences of person actions and the ability to generalize the decision in very common ways is a test to whether principles are ethical or not. Thus, one philosopher said, a good touchstone of ethics is to aims at objectivity.

On the other hand, Feynman principles do not agree on this idealism. For him new ideas do not come from committees, researchers in many areas of science are blinded with their own herd of mentality. He reiterated that collectivist ideology and rent-seeking behavior are both judgment to others and in denial of it. Thus, of all the work and lesson of Richard Feynman biography, this ideology is considered to be the best.

Characters in a piece of fiction are vital to the plot of the story.  The characters are instrumental in making the story unfold.  Other than just this necessary function of characters in a story, characters also serve to convey various things about their real life counterparts. 

IN the story The Passing of Grandison by Charles Chestnutt the author presents a typical slave-feudal lord tale set during the early years of America.  In the story, a young heir to a vast plantation, Dick Owen, sets out to prove his worth to a lady love by vowing to deliver one of his fathers, Colonel Owens plantation slaves to Canada where the slave can be free.  This plan becomes a bit more difficult than expected when the Colonel decides to send with his son on his trip, an overly loyal, abolitionist-proof slave, Grandison.  While Dick Owen succeeded in leaving the slave behind, Grandison returns to the plantation.  Then the story is contrasted by the reason for the slaves return, who, incidentally is also a lady love who is left in the plantation.  Later, when Grandison is able to build his own family at the plantation, he escapes.  The story may be very simple as it is initially perused, but Chestnutt, using the story as a cultural platform reveals various ideals and stereotypes in his characters making them reflections of Americans during this time.
  
The most interesting character in this story is of course the Colonels son, Dick Owen.  He is presented as a somewhat keen observer of human nature, in his own indolent way, and based his expectations upon the force of the example and argument(please insert the page number)  From this, we can conclude that Owen, despite his laziness, was actually a thinking man, otherwise, he would not have hatched such an elaborate plan to win the heart of his lady love.  Other than this, Owen is also described as someone who is a keen observer of human nature.  This is seen in the initial incident where he plans to take a younger slave along with him on his trip to New York, because he know for a fact that the young slave, who was not as attached to the plantation as the old ones were, was most likely to escape.  (page number)  Owen, initially, is also described to be lazy because of privilege, and someone who had initiative but did not bother to use this because everything was served to him on a silver platter.  However, because of his lady love, Charity Lomax, he decides to make a move and prove himself to the lady, as he asks the lady, Could you love me, Charity, if I did something heroic (page number)  In effect, the plan of Owen to deliver a slave to Canada was not because of his sincere intention to give the slave freedom but because of his personal interests and intentions. 

Owen, in the story, being the son of a rich feudal lord, may be a stereotype of young Americans during this period because as is already common knowledge, this was a period when discrimination was widespread and only the privileged were allowed to enjoy lifes luxuries.  Owens character is typical of a rich spoiled brat who is sent to a good school for a good education, does not strive for this education, and instead returns to the estate with the internal knowledge that even if he did not work, he would still be rich because of his heritage.  Owens character in the story is so overplayed that one would not perceive it as glorification of the stereotype instead, Owens character is somewhat presented to satirize the stereotype instead of present it as the ideal personality of an ideal American.  On the other hand, there is a possibility that such a notion only exists now because of the turn-around of white sentiment regarding blacks.  In the story, through Colonel Owen, blacks and slaves in particular are not given much intellectual consideration as they are today.
  
This perception of the Colonel is evident even in the text.  For instance, when the Colonel comments on the conviction of a particular black criminal he says, Theyre becoming altogether too active for our comfort, and entirely too many ungrateful niggers are running away. I hope the conviction of that fellow yesterday may discourage the rest of the breed.  (page number)  Through his words, the Colonel reveals that her perceives Negroes not as people but as animals with his use of the word, breed.  Here he also puts blacks in a bad light by concluding that the black race are the ones who are indebted to the whites.  The use of the word nigger in this statement is also a racist remark, proving that the Colonel believed that the blacks should not be looked upon with the same dignity as is being afforded to the whites.  One interesting about this statement though is when the Colonel admits that the blacks are becoming too active for comfort suggesting that despite the authority that the Colonel exercises over his slaves, he also fears them in a way, especially when they have become strong enough to liberate themselves. 

This is an admission of guilt because the Colonel would not fear the black if he believed that he was righteous with them.  Other than this, the Colonel also felt that blacks were only good for slaves and they were not meant to become more than slaves.  This is evident in his statement, referring to the young black slave I strongly suspect him of having learned to read, though I cant imagine how. I saw him with a newspaper the other day, and while he pretended to be looking at a woodcut, I m almost sure he was reading the paper. (page number)  Here, the Colonel indirectly admits that Negroes should not be educated, because if he considers learning to read as something to be concerned of, then how else would the Colonel consider the blacks getting a formal education 

The colonel also considers slaves status symbols as evident in the narrative line, The colonel would have obliged his son in any other matter, but his negroes were the outward and visible sign of his wealth and station, and therefore sacred to him.  (page number)  The word sacred here however, should not be misconstrued in the positive context, because this simply shows that the Colonel considered slaves as objects or property instead of people.  Fortunately, these perceptions of the Colonel served to earn Grandison his freedom because he used these perceptions against his masters.
  
Grandison, with his patience in staying at the plantation a living on whatever is laid before him by his white masters gave his lords the idea that he was hopelessly loyal, and that he would never escape.  Unknown to the Colonel, Grandison was only doing this in preparation of a future escape with his lady love.  Grandison fooled them into believing that he would never escape.  For instance, when he was traveling with his young master, he always returned even when , Dick made it a point to send (him) Grandison away from the hotel on various errands. (page number) and even when Dick Owen indirectly tried to brainwash him and awaken the sense of liberation in him, such as when he said Grandison, this is the chance of your life to go around among your own people and see how they live. Have you met any of them (page number)  Grandison never escaped, and even returned to the plantation when his young master left him asleep on the Canadian side of the border where he could have easily walked away with his freedom.
  
Chestnutts story is a diverse interplay of characters as well as it is an expertly brewed commentary on slavery during his time.  While many surmise that literature serves no other purpose but to entertain, this story is a classic example of how literature may actually be used to immortalize stereotypes so that others may learn from the distinct and almost satirical characterization employed by the writer