American Literature

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.