Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter - 1850 Words

And now the story of a woman; a woman whose story is repeated so often - it ingrained on our collective imagination. She s an archetype. She is Eve. She s Juno. She the good woman gone bad. She is Hester Prynne. As part of NPR s series, In Character, my colleague, Andrea Seabrook, shows how this Puritan woman is still very much alive today. ANDREA SEABROOK: Hester Prynne is the protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne s magnum opus The Scarlet Letter. Any serious literary scholar will tell you that she is one of the first strong women in American literature and is still among the most important. She s veiled(ph) and complex and deep. So much so, says Professor Jamie Barlowe of the University of Toledo, that her character is much bigger†¦show more content†¦She holds her infant daughter born in prison to her chest, and a bright, red letter A burns on Hester s breast. She has committed adultery -- a sin so terrible in Puritan, Boston of the 1600s that she could have been hanged. Having to wear the scarlet letter is considered by some an easy sentence. Now, here s the second thing you find out about Hester Prynne. She is silent. She refuses to speak the name of the man with whom she committed adultery. Listen to this scene, enacted in a 1979 Public Television version of The Scarlet Letter. (Soundbite of The Scarlet Letter) Unidentified Man: Woman, try to impress not beyond the limits heaven s mercy, speak out the name. That (Unintelligible) repentance may avail to take the scarlet letter off her breast(ph). Unidentified Woman #2 (Actress): (As Hester Prynne) (Unintelligible) it s too deeply burnt(ph), if you cannot take it off (unintelligible) his agony as well as mine. Unidentified Man: Speak, woman. Speak and give your child a father. Unidentified Woman #2: (As Hester Prynne) I will not speak. SEABROOK: This is our first glimpse at the inherent contradictions of Hester s character. God has made her beautiful, but she is a terrible sinner. She wears the shameful letter A on her breast, but she (unintelligible) embroidered it too. She accepts her punishment, but she refuses to name the father of her

Gilgamesh Reflection Essay - 726 Words

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a story that describes the life of a king named Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is considered perfect in his beauty, body, strength, and courage. While he might have all these great qualities on the outside, he has terrible qualities on the inside. He is selfish, arrogant, and would rape women whenever he pleased. In addition, he is two/thirds god, which is all the more reason one would think he would be a good, righteous, and helpful leader to his people. Instead, he takes his forceful power and uses it to fulfill his own desires, yet the people still respect his authority. A majority of the time I just assume leaders to be good, but Gilgamesh used his power for bad. In a way, this made the story more interesting and†¦show more content†¦The fight ended when â€Å"Gilgamesh bent his knee with his foot planted on the ground and with a turn Enkidu was thrown. Then immediately his fury died. When Enkidu was thrown he said to Gilgamesh, ‘There is n ot another like you in the world. Ninsun, who is as strong as a wild ox in the byre, she was the mother who bore you, and now you are raised above all men, and Enlil has given you the kingship, for your strength surpasses the strength of men.’ So Enkidu and Gilgamesh embraced and their friendship was sealed† (6). It confused me that Gilgamesh was so open and inviting to friendship with Enkidu after he had won. Most people, especially ones who are cocky to begin with, would have rubbed it in their competitors’ face. The aftermath of this fight was handled so well that it surprised me and threw me off guard. Despite my confusion, I appreciated the way the end of the fight was handled and it was a significant part to the story because it was the beginning of Gilgamesh’s change of heart. While this story was written over thousands of years ago, it can still relate to today’s society. The change that Gilgamesh went through can happen to any person . Friendship is a strong factor in human life and can give someone a new perspective or meaning to his or her life, thus changing the way he/she see things and acts towards others. Just like Gilgamesh, humans make mistakes and grow and learn from them to become better people orShow MoreRelatedMidterm Essay Questions757 Words   |  4 PagesLIT 201 Midterm Examination-Essay Questions . . You are required to answer at least three of the questions listed below. Indicate which questions you are answering. Review the guidelines below for full details. Each essay response should be approximately 500-750 words. Include your full name, course number, and date in the upper right of your document file before uploading it. Name your document with your first initial, last name, and submit it to the 3.1 Discussion Board forum by ThursdayRead MoreAncient Mesopotamia Essay1004 Words   |  5 Pagesuntamable nature of their deluge environment led these early people to believe their futures veered on a harsh predetermined course. This essay will demonstrate that many prominent sources in ancient literature, law codes, and archaic Sumerian religion reflect the rigorous geographic and natural conditions which caused this deterministic mindset. The Epic of Gilgamesh, perhaps the most important literary piece of Mesopotamia, displays a world in which even the mightiest of human beings possessed littleRead MoreLiterature, Law Codes, And Archaic Sumerian Religion1003 Words   |  5 Pagesuntamable nature of their deluge environment led these early people to believe their futures veered on a harsh predetermined course. This essay will demonstrate that many prominent sources in ancient literature, law codes, and archaic Sumerian religion reflect the rigorous geographic and natural conditions which caused this deterministic mindset. The Epic of Gilgamesh, perhaps the most important literary piece of Mesopotamia, displays a world in which even the mightiest of human beings possessed littleRead MoreWomen in Sappho and Gilgamesh1967 Words   |  8 PagesWomen in Sappho and Gilgamesh Works of literature are cultural reflections of the time and place in which they were created. At the times of the creation of the poems of Sappho and the Epic of Gilgamesh, women were primarily seen and little heard, unless they happened to be one of the ancient deities of that culture. Women were wives and mothers of children and their position in society was based on subservience to the patriarchy who were in charge in all things. Although women could achieve someRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, And Beowulf1962 Words   |  8 PagesIn this argument essay, it consists of three texts: The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, and Beowulf. During each of the characters journey, they face challenges such as fighting with monsters and with that they either develop a greater sense of mortality or a greater sense of identity. Mortality and identity are common themes in an epic that portrays the importance of character development from the effects of their heroic actions. Some epi cs result in mortality which means they know that they liveRead MoreMy Name is Nobody: Postmodernism in Derek Walcotts The Schooner Flight1389 Words   |  6 PagesTales of journeys appear repeatedly throughout the expanse of literature; these sagas include the stories of Gilgamesh, King Arthur, and, more recently, The Lord of the Rings. Derek Walcott’s poem â€Å"The Schooner Flight† initially seems out of place amongst these surging legends of heroics and danger, yet through closer examination the poem flourishes as a postmodern retelling then deconstruction of the age-old heroic journey. The poem is a celebration of Greek mythology, a disruptive force againstRead MoreSituational Analysis: 7th Grade Language Arts6569 Words   |  26 Pagesshort worksheet/writing examples. 3 Gilgamesh; Early Creation story. Students will review and build understanding of theme and plot. Geographic area; basic outline of creation theme/plot. In a question type lecture the teacher should pose these questions for class discussion. What is the theme of Gilgamesh? What is the basic plot outline? Does this plot outline seem similar to most other fairy tales? Students will be able to outline the basic format of Gilgamesh using a graphic organizer. SetsRead MoreClassification of Literature3483 Words   |  14 PagesCLASSIFICATIONs OF LITERATURE I. Divisions of Literature Literature Prose Poetry Fiction Nonfiction Dramatic Narrative Lyric Drama Short Story Novel Tale Fable Myth Legends Folktales Essay Biography Autobiography Diary History Chronicle News Anecdote Tragedy Comedy Opera Operetta Ballad Epic Metrical Tale Metrical Romance Ode Sonnet Song Elegy POINT OF COMPARISON | PROSE | POETRY | Form | Paragraph | Verse | Language | Words and rhythms of ordinary and everyday language | Metrical,Read MoreAn Analysis of Looking for Alaska by John Green2904 Words   |  12 Pageslife, is faced with the fact this this life hurts us. Some people realize it sooner than others, but everyone is forced to deal with the problem of pain. History tells this story, too: the ancient Mesopotamians gave us their answer in The Epic of Gilgamesh, the ancient philosophers spent their lives trying to deal with suffering (Augustine, Boethius), and even today books are written, songs are recorded, and scenes are filmed all in pursuit of some way to deal with pain. Pain and suffering is anRead MoreThe Origins of Dream Interpretation4085 Words   |  16 Pagesgoddesss help to understand its meaning. This is one of the earliest records showing the belief that there was an association between gods, peoples dreams, and hidden meanings in dreams (Oppenheim, 1956). In approximately 2000 B.C. the mythic hero Gilgamesh appeared for the first time (the epic was expanded in later Assyrian mythology). He is guided in his quest by his dreams and his epic also contains the first known recurring dream as well as the idea that dreams can predict future misfortune and

Murders in the Rue Morgue Free Essays

Edgar Allen Poe is considered the father of the modern mystery novel as well as a premier short story writer and poet. While it may not be â€Å"CSI†, his novella â€Å"Murders in the Rue Morgue† also discussed rudimentary forensics with detectives discovering that hair left on the murder victims is not human. Not bad for a guy born almost 200 years ago. We will write a custom essay sample on Murders in the Rue Morgue or any similar topic only for you Order Now Poe was the son of an actress, born in Boston in 1809. He attended the University of Virginia after being raised by the Allen family after his mother dies. In his short life, Poe developed a drinking and drug habit (Wilson) and his love to disease. Poe lived only 40 years, but was prolific, writing some of the best-known horror short stories of all time. Most children grow up shivering to the tales of â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† and â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum† and as adults, the equally chilling tales of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† and â€Å"Hop-Frog† inspire horror. His gothic writing style created horror and love with a deep atmosphere, with poems like â€Å"Annabelle Lee†. And, stories like â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death† are both social and historical commentary on the plight of the plague victims. His poem â€Å"The Conqueror Worm† also talks about the struggle of good versus evil. Part of the appeal of the works of Poe is that he is so diverse. Though best known for the poem â€Å"The Raven†, stories like â€Å"The Murders in the Rue Morgue† show the diversity of his abilities. The ability to write mystery stories and horror is not a given and his works gave rise to ideas that would later become the industry standard. For example, the idea of hiding in plain sight developed out of the short story â€Å"The Purloined Letter†. The very concept of forensics was introduced in the â€Å"Rue Morgue† and Poe was also a major force in the development of the detective novel. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Poe’s life and works was that his life was marred by tragedy. His lover, a cousin, died within two years of their marriage and his mother died while he was young. His dark and tragic life is blamed and credited for his genius. Whether his poetry can be put down to the fleeting fantasy of laudanum induced hallucinations or the words of a tortured soul, no one can say. What we can say is that Poe is one of the first truly great American writers. WORKS CITED Girando, Robert. â€Å"Welcome to PoeStories. Com† http://www. poemuseum. org/, October 29, 2007. â€Å"Poe Museum† http://www. poemuseum. org/, October 29, 2007. Wilson, James Southall. â€Å"Poe’s Life† http://www. poemuseum. org/poes_life/index. html, October 29, 2007. How to cite Murders in the Rue Morgue, Papers

Black Americans Essay Example For Students

Black Americans Essay Black Americans are those persons in the United States who trace theirancestry to members of the Negroid race in Africa. They have at various times inUnited States history been referred to as African, coloured, Negro,Afro-American, and African-American, as well as black. The black population ofthe United States has grown from three-quarters of a million in 1790 to nearly30 million in 1990. As a percentage of the total population, blacks declinedfrom 19.3 in 1790 to 9.7 in 1930. A modest percentage increase has occurredsince that time. Over the past 300 and more years in the United States,considerable racial mixture has taken place between persons of African descentand those with other racial backgrounds, mainly of white European or AmericanIndian ancestry. Shades of skin colour range from dark brown to ivory. In bodytype black Americans range from short and stocky to tall and lean. Nose shapesvary from aquiline to extremely broad and flat; hair colour from medium brown tobrown black; and hair texture from tightly curled to limp and straight. Historically, the predominant attitude toward racial group membership in theUnited States has been that persons having any black African ancestry areconsidered to be black. In some parts of the United States, especially in theantebellum South, laws were written to define racial group membership in thisway, generally to the detriment of those who were not Caucasian. It is importantto note, however, that ancestry and physical characteristics are only part ofwhat has set black Americans apart as a distinct group. The concept of race, asit applies to the black minority in the United States, is as much a social andpolitical concept as a biological one. Blacks Under Slavery: 1600-1865 The firstAfricans in the New World arrived with Spanish and Portuguese explorers andsettlers. By 1600 an estimated 275,000 Africans, both free and slave, were inCentral and South America and the Caribbean area. Africans first arrived in thearea that became the United States in 1619, when a handful of captives were soldby the captain of a Dutch man-of-war to settlers at JAMESTOWN. Others werebrought in increasing numbers to fill the desire for labour in a country whereland was plentiful and labour scarce. By the end of the 17th century,approximately 1,300,000 Africans had landed in the New World. From 1701 to 1810the number reached 6,000,000, with another 1,800,000 arriving after 1810. SomeAfricans were brought directly to the English colonies in North America. Otherslanded as slaves in the West Indies and were later resold and shipped to themainland. Slavery in America The earliest African arrivals were viewed in thesame way as indentured servants from Europe. This similarity did not longcontinue. By the latter half of the 17th century, clear differences existed inthe treatment of black and white servants. A 1662 Virginia law assumed Africanswould remain servants for life, and a 1667 act declared that Baptism donot alter the condition of the person as to his bondage or freedom. By1740 t he SLAVERY system in colonial America was fully developed. A Virginia lawin that year declared slaves to be chattel personal in the hands of theirowners and possessors . . . for all intents, construction, and purposewhatsoever. In spite of numerous ideological conflicts, however, theslavery system was maintained in the United States until 1865, and widespreadantiblack attitudes nurtured by slavery continued thereafter. Prior to theAmerican Revolution, slavery existed in all the colonies. The ideals of theRevolution and the limited profitability of slavery in the North resulted in itsabandonment in northern states during the last quarter of the 18th century. Atthe same time the strength of slavery increased in the South, with thecontinuing demand for cheap labour by the tobacco growers and cotton farmers ofthe Southern states. By 1850, 92 percent of all American blacks wereconcentrated in the South, and of this group approximately 95 percent wereslaves. Under the plantation system ga ng labour was the typical form ofemployment. Overseers were harsh as a matter of general practice, and brutalitywas common. Slaves could own no property unless sanctioned by a slave master,and rape of a female slave was not considered a crime except as it representedtrespassing on anothers property. Slaves could not present evidence in courtagainst whites. In most of the South it was illegal to teach a black to read orwrite. Opposition by Blacks Blacks were forbidden to carry arms or to gather innumbers except in the presence of a white person. Free blacks, whether living inthe North or South, were confronted with attitudes and actions that differedlittle from those facing Southern black slaves. Discrimination existed in mostsocial and economic activities as well as in voting and education. In 1857 theDRED SCOTT V. SANDFORD case of the U.S. Supreme Court placed the authority ofthe Constitution behind decisions made by states in the treatment of blacks. TheDred Scott decision was tha t black Americans, even if they were free, were notintended to be included under the word citizen as defined in the Declaration ofIndependence and could claim none of the rights and privileges provided for inthat document. Blacks responded to their treatment under slavery in a variety ofways. In addition to such persons as Prosser, Vesey, and Turner, who openlyopposed the slave system, thousands of blacks escaped from slavery and moved tothe northern United States or to Canada. Still others accepted the images ofthemselves that white America sought to project onto them. The result in somecases was the Uncle Tom or Sambo personality, the blackwho accepted his or her lowly position as evidence that whites were superior toblacks. Much religious activity among slaves reflected the influences of Africanreligious practices and served as a means by which slaves could develop andpromote views of themselves different from those held by the slave owner. TheCivil Rights Movement Many things in fluenced the changes in U.S. race relationsafter World War II. The anti-Nazi propaganda generated during the war increasedthe realisation by many Americans of the conflict between ideals and the realityof racism in their own country. The concentration of large numbers of blacks incities of the North and West increased their potential for political influence. In the Short Stories by Ernest Hemingway a young b EssayJAZZ, a direct descendant of blues, developed among blacks in New Orleans andspread with their migration. By 1920 it was popular throughout the country. Theenduring popularity of Louis ARMSTRONG and Duke ELLINGTON over several decadesattests to its continuing attraction. The influence of jazz on other forms ofpopular music in America is clearly recognized. After World War II such popularperformers as Nat King COLE and Lena HORNE gained international acclaim. Laterinternational audiences were won by Johnny MATHIS, Diana ROSS, and MichaelJACKSON. BLACK AMERICAN LITERATURE and art were slower to develop than was blackmusic. Early artists and writers who were black dealt with themes that, inselection and approach, were indistinguishable from the works of whites. By the1920s centers of artistic activity had developed, the best known being in NewYork. The HARLEM RENAISSANCE, as this artistic outpouring was known, producedoutstanding figures. Among them were poets Langston HUGHES, Countee CULLEN, andJames Weldon JOHNSON; writers Claude MCKAY and Jean TOOMER. The work of theHarlem Renaissance and writers such as Richard WRIGHT reflected the growing raceconsciousness among blacks and their opposition to the segregation encounteredin all forms of life. These themes continue to be important in the work of suchwriters as James BALDWIN, Amiri BARAKA, Gwendolyn BROOKS, Ralph ELLISON, DouglasTurner WARD, and John A. WILLIAMS. Religion Religion has traditionally beenimportant to black American life. The first major denomination among blacks, theAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church, grew from the church established by RichardAllen in Philadelphia in 1787. With Emancipation, most former slaves joinedBaptist or Methodist churches. These remain today as the church groups with thelargest black memberships. Smaller numbers belong to other denominations and toindependent churches of varying sizes. Among non-Christian religious g roups thathave attracted sizeable followings are the Peace Mission of Father DIVINE andthe Nation of Islam, often referred to as the Black MuslimsThe Peace Mission isstrongly integrationist in teachings, a concept opposed by the Nation of Islamduring most of its history. In recent years the racial character of leadershipand members of the Peace Mission have become increasingly white. In 1985 themain Black Muslim group was unified with the Muslim community world-wide. Blackministers who have figured prominently in politics during the post-World War IIperiod include Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.,Leon Sullivan, and Andrew YOUNG. The Family The black family through much ofU.S. history has borne the strain of slavery and Jim Crow. These institutionslimited the opportunity for the black male to fulfill his traditional role ofhead of household and protector of and provider for his family. Because womenwere often able to find domestic employment when no jo bs were available to blackmen, women often provided more dependable and regular incomes. Statistically,black women are more frequently the head of families than is the case innonblack families. In addition to problems of unemployment, urbanisationproduced strains of overcrowding, weakening of the extended family concept, andalienation. Nevertheless, relations among family members have traditionally beenclose. Many first-and second-generation city-dwelling blacks continue to thinkof home as the Southern place from which the family came. Education Until thepost-World War II period, most blacks seeking higher education attended privateBLACK COLLEGES located mainly in the South. Most of these had been started inthe years immediately following the Civil War as a joint effort of blacks,Northern church groups, and the Freedmens Bureau. Among these were FiskUniversity, Atlanta University, Talladega College, Morehouse College, andSpelman College. Late in the 19th century Tuskegee Institute w as founded byBooker T. Washington, and a number of colleges were established by black churchgroups. Almost all blacks who received a college education before 1940 attendedthese institutions. In the 1940s some improvement was made in publicly supportedinstitutions of higher education for blacks, and for the first time blackstudents began to appear in colleges that had previously been all white. In the1970s the percentage of blacks attending college increased markedly, but in the1980s blacks lost ground. Although desegregation of the public schools in theSouth proceeded slowly for the first decade after the Brown v. Board ofEducation decision, by 1969 school districts in every state were at least intoken compliance with the 1954 ruling. By that time all forms of de juresegregation had been struck down by the courts. De facto school segregationcontinued, however, in large part because the communities the schools servedwere segregated in their residential patterns. This was particularly true inlarge urban areas and more prevalent in the North than in the South. One methodadopted to overcome such segregation was to bus children across school districtlines in order to achieve racial balance in the schools. This caused majorcontroversy and led to instances of violent opposition . The overwhelmingmajority of black children now attend formally integrated schools, although theymay have little contact with white pupils even within the schools.