Sylvia Plaths The Elm Speaks Essays

Sylvia Plaths The Elm Speaks Dutch elm disease is one of the most devastating shade tree diseases the earth has ever seen. It is a wilt disease with an extremely high fatality rate. The disease is characterized by gradual yellowing of the leaves and defoliation. This is caused be a fungus which is transmitted from diseased trees to healthy trees by insects known as bark beetles. In the 1962 villanelle The Elm Speaks confessionalist Sylvia Plath compares her depressed emotional state with Dutch elm disease, which killed millions of Elm trees around the world. In the fourteen stanza poem written only one year before her suicide, a bitter Plath cries out with pain. The theme of depression originates from the loss of love in her marriage to Ted Hughes. The poem is extremely rich in metaphorical language from beginning to end. In many ways the poem is designed to fit the definition of a villanelle. The Elm Speaks is a free verse poem with chaotic meter. While living in London, Sylvia Plath had a massive elm tree in front of he house that became the subject of this poem. In the first stanza, she mentions her great tap root, which is the very bottom of the elms roots. This line symbolizes that she has reached the very bottom of her depression. She describes her depression further in stanza two as a sea of dissatisfactions, or the voice of nothing meaning it is raging inside of her. At the same time she has an empty feeling which is driving her mad. Afterwards, in stanza three, she compares love to a shadow, a dark reflection of someone which is not real and can not be touched. Till your head is a stone, you pillow a little turf creates the image of a grave stone in stanza four. The sounds of poisons in stanza five refers to what Hughes, her husband, has done to her and how it burns inside of her killing her like arsenic. In stanza six she expresses that she has been through a lot, but she has always gotten through it. In stanza seven, however, she admits that she has broken down and can not and will not take her pain anymore. Next, in stanza eight she describes the moon, which is normally calming, as merciless, meaning that even the few things in life she used enjoy are now driving her insane. Similarly, in stanza nine, she talks about dreams and how they possess and endow her. In other words she feels as if she is trapped inside an ongoing nightmare. In the tenth stanza she confesses that she is holding everything in and that nightly it flaps out which means she cries herself to sleep. She is terrified of her depression and its effects on her, which she admits in stanza eleven. Next, in stanza twelve she portrays the faces of love as pale irretrievable saying that one can never find love, it is out of reach. For the second time in the poem, in stanza thirteen, she admits that she can not take the pain she is suffering anymore. Finally in the last stanza, she uses sexual imagery that for the most part states, the fact that they got together has killed her. The later years of Plaths life, when she wrote The Elm Speaks, were very tragic. She suffered from a vast number of mental illnesses, including being bipolar or manic depressive. Her moods were constantly up and down, one minute happy the next sad. Just one year before she wrote this poem she suffered through her second miscarriage, which was shortly followed by an appendectomy. Through all of this her husband Ted Hughes abused her both mentally and physically, driving her deeper into her depression. During these difficult years she wrote Ariel, a volume of poetry mainly concerning subjects such as injury, victimization, parasitism, alienation, brutality, war, cannibalism, death in all forms, torture, murder, suicide, mental illness, and anger. Only one week after Ariel was completed she viciously committed suicide by putting her head in the oven after making her children breakfast on the morning of February eleventh, 1963. In her poetry it is obvious that suicide was something she had been considering for a long time, becoming an obsession or even an addiction. Throughout The Elm Speaks Plath generates a basic them of depression. She presents herself as being the victim of a horrible love relationship that has ruined her. She uses many different techniques to help create her theme. The first, and most obvious, is her word choice. She uses words such as fear, madness, poisons, arsenic,

Story Of Joe Odd Interpretation Essays - Criminology, Free Essays

Story Of Joe Odd Interpretation Essays - Criminology, Free Essays Story Of Joe Odd Interpretation THE STORY OF JOE odd. (Simon, M) This is the story of Joe Odd, written by a mentally ill patient in a secure mental asylum. It is possible to pick out several psychological themes, these of which I intend to assess. The story of Joe Odd is clearly a case of social In and Out groups, where in society groups emerge where people have more influence than others. Clear evidence from the text proves my statement: People who lived in the boxes thought Joe was very strange because they all watched television. At first they said, why dont you live in a house like us? but Joe didnt want to. So they broke his windows and made up bad stories about him We can learn from this extract above that there is an element of labeling, and the fact that poor Joe Odd once labeled, is prone to increased labeling. Labeling is a very powerful which tends to stick to that person it has been attached (unless he/she adapts to the social norms which society labeled that person with.) Then another social worker wrote a report about how Joe had lived in a hut with the door and windows barred up. So the doctor hung another label round his neck saying Persecution Complexand gave him some pills because they made him feel better, Joe didnt like the pills because they made him feel strange, and he wouldnt take them, so the doctor hunt an Unco-operative label round his neck. From this extract we can assume that Joe Odd thought negative of himself due to the excess labeling, and ended up believe himself as a stereotypical being. One night he thought he heard a voice in his head saying, come with me. I know a beautiful place, come with me I cant. Im very ill; cant you see all these labels round my neck? (Joe Odd) Joe Odd believed himself to be out of the social norm, and mentally ill because of his labels, which tell him it is not right to live on a hill and be himself. The labels tell him to watch television in a box house. Psychological evidence can be given for all of the above extracts and evaluations to back up my points. The experiment which was conducted by H.Tajfel was based around the In and Out groups. He proved that easy to trigger offoutgroup discrimination could be. The experiment showed how a group of boys would rather end up with less money, rather than allowing another group to have more money than them. We can relate this to the text, as shown that people in a town, would rather have Joe Odd locking and barring himself up at home, rather than let him voice his opinion about how beautiful the sunset was and how it was different from their monotonous TV. The idea of stereotyped expectations (Banuazizi and Mohavedi, 1975), the idea of which people are given a situation, and because of conditioning that they have had with that particular experience, which could have been influenced by many different means (media or learnt through people) the person will act and take on the deemed suitable role according to the situation. This shows in the text with evidence that Joe Odd, finally believing himself to being ill after having too many attached labels by the society for him to handle. He later threw away these labels and returned to a land where he became his old normal self again. Szasz (1972) claimed the medical model was wrong and made criticisms, and said people cannot be mentality ill at all. He suggested that the human brain had more of a decease than disease of the mind. When related back to Joe Odd, we see might assume that the normal people misdiagnosed Joe Odd, penalty of which lead to him being wrongly labeled. The normal people however could not acknowledge their mistake, instead increasing the number of labels on Joe Odd to try and equate for his character. Assessing the idea of in and out groups, my evaluation is that Joe Odd fell victim to real life prejudice. Joe Odd lived a normal life in his eyes, doing normal activities, just living out his life in a

Biography of Bobby Seale, Black Panther Party Co-founder

Biography of Bobby Seale, Black Panther Party Co-founder Bobby Seale (born October 22, 1936) co-founded the Black Panther Party with Huey P. Newton. The organization, which was the most well-known group launched during the black power movement, stood out for its free breakfast program and emphasis on self-defense- a departure from the nonviolent philosophy advocated by civil rights activists. Fast Facts: Bobby Seale Known For: Co-founder, along with Huey P. Newton, of the Black Panther PartyBorn: October 22, 1936 in Dallas, TexasParents: George and Thelma SealeEducation: Merritt Community CollegeSpouse(s): Artie Seale, Leslie M. Johnson-SealeChildren: Malik Seale, Jaime SealeNotable Quote: â€Å"You dont fight racism with racism, the best way to fight racism is with solidarity. Early Life and Education Bobby Seale, the first child of George and Thelma Seale, was born on October 22, 1936. He grew up with a brother (Jon), a sister (Betty), and a first cousin (Alvin Turner- the son of his mother’s identical twin). In addition to Dallas, the family lived in other Texas cities, including San Antonio. Seales parents had a rocky relationship, separating and reconciling repeatedly. The family struggled financially and sometimes rented out parts of their home to other families to earn additional income. Seales father, George, was a carpenter who once built a home from the ground up. He was also physically abusive; Bobby Seale later described being whipped with a belt by his father at age 6. When the family moved to California, George Seale struggled to get carpentry work or join a union, as unions often excluded African Americans during the Jim Crow era. When George Seale did manage to enter a union, he was one of just of three black men in the state with union membership, according to Seale. As a teenager, Seale hauled groceries and mowed lawns to earn extra cash. He attended Berkeley High School but dropped out to sign up for the US Air Force in 1955. After a conflict with a commanding officer, Seale was dishonorably discharged. However, this setback did not deter him. He earned his high school diploma and made a living as a sheet metal mechanic for aerospace companies. He also worked as a comedian. In 1960, Seale enrolled in Merritt College, where he joined a black student group and his political consciousness took hold. Two years later, he met Huey P. Newton, the man with whom he would start the Black Panthers. Founding the Black Panther Party At a 1962 demonstration against the Kennedy Administrations naval blockade of Cuba, Seale befriended Huey Newton. Both men found inspiration in black radical Malcolm X and were devastated when he was assassinated in 1965. The next year, they decided to form a group to reflect their political beliefs, and the Black Panthers were born. The organization reflected Malcolm X’s philosophy of self-defense by any means necessary. The idea of armed African Americans proved controversial in the broader United States, but as the civil rights movement waned following the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., many young black Americans leaned towards radicalism and militancy. The Black Panthers were particularly concerned about racism in the Oakland Police Department, but before long, Panthers chapters sprang up nationwide. The Black Panther Party became most well known for their 10-point plan and free breakfast program. The 10-point plan included culturally-relevant teaching, employment, shelter, and exemption from military service for African Americans. Legal Battles In 1968, Bobby Seale and seven other protesters were charged with conspiring to incite a riot at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. When the trial date arrived, Seales lawyer was ill and unable to appear; the judge denied the request to delay the trial. Seale claimed the right to defend himself in order to advocate for his own constitutional rights, but the judge did not allow him to give an opening statement, cross-examine witnesses, or speak to the jury. Seale contended that the judge had denied him his right to counsel, and he began to speak out in protest during the proceedings. In response, the judge ordered him bound and gagged. Seale was chained (later strapped) to a chair, with his mouth and jaw strapped shut, for several days of the trial. Ultimately, the judge sentenced Seale to four years in prison for contempt of court. That sentence was later overturned, but it did not mark the end of Seale’s legal troubles. In 1970, Seale and another defendant were tried for killing a Black Panther believed to be a police informant. The hung jury resulted in a mistrial, so Seale was not convicted of the 1969 murder. As his court battles unfolded, Seale wrote a book tracing the history of the Black Panthers. The book, published in 1970, was titled Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton. But the time Seale spent behind bars awaiting the outcomes of various court cases had taken a toll on the group, which began to fall apart in his absence. The settling of the court cases saw Seale take charge of the Panthers again. In 1973, he changed focus by putting his bid in to become the mayor of Oakland. He placed second in the race. He left the Panthers the following year. In 1978, he wrote his autobiography, A Lonely Rage. Later Years In the 1970s, the black power movement subsided, and groups like the Black Panthers ceased to exist. Deaths, prison sentences, and internal conflicts spurred by initiatives like the FBI’s Counterintelligence Program played a role in the unraveling process. Bobby Seale remains politically active, giving talks on his life and activism at college campuses and other venues. More than 50 years after the Black Panthers formed, the group continues to influence politics, pop culture, and activism. Sources â€Å"Bobby Seale.† PBS.org.Bennett, Kitty. Bobby Seale: Black Panther leader was one of the Chicago Eight. AARP Bulletin, 27 August, 2010.Glass, Andrew. Kennedy imposes naval blockade of Cuba, Oct. 22, 1962. Politico, 22 October, 2009.Seale, Bobby. â€Å"Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party.† 1970.

My Experience in Moving to Los Angeles from Palestine Essay

My Experience in Moving to Los Angeles from Palestine - Essay Example It was in this context of understanding that I experienced my most embarrassing moment. During the first few weeks living in Los Angeles, I explored many parts of the city. Walking through Los Feliz in Hollywood one afternoon I was approached by a man, later revealed to be a photographer, who asked for a moment of my time.â€Å"You have a very beautiful personality and image,† he said. Taken aback I have walked away, but he quickly interjected, â€Å"I would love to have you model!† I was perplexed, as I had never envisioned myself as the model type, and after-all he had just met me, how would he even have an inkling of my personality. Still, I secretly found his invitation flattering and was intrigued at where the opportunity could lead. The following weekend I arrived at his studio. Still new to the city, entering into this unfamiliar situation compounded my generalized anxiety. I knew nothing about modelling and this soon became abundantly clear. As I walked into the studio the photographer was there. â€Å"Hi† I sheepishly said. He seemed preoccupied and instructed me to go with his assistants to an adjacent room. Everyone at the studio moved confident and efficiently as if this was industry standard. As I walked into the adjacent room I was surrounded by a group of people who measured my size and then hold up a dress. I could feel the eyes of the other people in the room staring intently at me waiting. Slowly I felt a thrust of blood shoot throughout my face, as I nervously tightened my hands into fists as if it might stabilize my embarrassment. They were going to undress me.

The color purple; shades of gender discrimination Annotated Bibliography

The color purple; shades of gender discrimination - Annotated Bibliography Example t of Alice’s work appears to be due to the fact that she herself was brought up in an area where there was forceful gender and color discrimination. Alice’s work stresses indirectly or directly upon the significance of women being independent within the male oriented society. The whole idea of the work according to Bates was depending upon vulnerability, behaviors and decisions which women envisage when held or caught up during challenging situations and there is clear appreciation for the kind of women who stand up for themselves and their own betterment. Harold bloom inspects the practical tone of Alice Walkers writing and points out the negligence of romanticism from her work unlike any other female author which makes her writing style rather straight forward and to the point. Harold considers her work portraying the strength of family and blood, self esteem, and spiritual bonding. Her work shows the difference between the circumstances faced by women in that time and women of this global era. Alice’s work shows her feminist nature by sketching a woman producing divergence in her duties of being an obedient and sacrificing wife, this attitude displayed in some of her characters created a hunger among African American women to become equal to men in society. Merriam Webster provides a good definition of deviant behavior as the one which is accepted as a norm. The use of it eludes the difference between the attitudes shown towards male and female. As females being considered, something disgustingly different from the norms of the society .Even though women at that time had started to recognize the powers and potentials gifted by God to herself having no proper rights of their own they were always in an arguable position. This study focuses on the importance of arts and its impacts on the relationships among men and women. This study scrutinizes the significance of arts even affecting the literary champs to produce some resistance against the silence

Film Festival Essay Example for Free

Film Festival Essay Houston, TX (Mar. 18, 2009) —The 2009 WorldFest-Houston proudly presents Food Fight as part of its award-winning documentary side bar. Food Fight is a fascinating look at how American agricultural policy and food production developed in the 20th century, igniting a California food movement that sparked a tasty, counter-revolution. The documentary dishes up topics including sustainable produce, farmers markets, school lunch programs and inner-city gardens. It’s a savvy, fast-paced investigation that chronicles the life and times of ‘slow foods movement’ pioneer Alice Waters and her landmark restaurant, Chez Panisse, which transformed an industry based on profits into a market based on wholesome flavor. Food Fight is a riveting, smart romp through the historic rise of the Organic foods trend. This culinary adventure cooks up a clever insider’s view of how the nation’s plates are forsaking processed filler foods for homegrown, healthy produce. Chefs Alice Waters, Wolfgang Puck and Suzanne Goin are featured. If you’re interested in the origins of America’s flavorful farmer’s market revolution, you can check out Food Fight which will screen during the WorldFest-Houston Film Festival’s run, April 17-26, at the AMC 30 Dunvale (2949 Dunvale, Houston, TX 77063). Enjoy the newest feature film from food activist and screen director, Chris Taylor, who will be available after the viewing to discuss the film’s highlights! WorldFest Houston, founded in 1961, is the third oldest Independent film festival in the United States. This annual event has evolved into a competitive Independent International film festival showcasing the rising stars of tomorrow. This year’s 42nd Annual WorldFest (April 17-26, 2009) will feature: 50 award-winning Indie films, 100 superb short films, 450 Indie filmmakers from around the globe, 6 Master Classes/Film industry seminars, 1 Grand Awards Gala Cocktail Reception with the filmmakers and a Closing Day Regatta/Barbecue VIP NASA/Space Center Houston Tour. Tickets are $6 for a single matinee (films before 6 pm) or $10.00 per single  evening admission and range upward based on packages that customers purchase. Film Buff $100, Silver Screen $150 and ultimate VIP Platinum Pass $500. Check www.worldfest.org for details. Tickets will be available mid-March online and up to theatre- capacity at show time at the Cinema Box Office. All films, seminars and events are open to the public. Opening Night Prices ~ $20 per person for Film Program book. $30 per person for Film, Program book and Champagne Reception at Renaissance Hotel after the film

Sir Isaac Newtons Role in the Enlightenment Essay -- Contributions of

Isaac Newton had a huge impact on the Enlightenment, he influenced it scientifically in many ways and he influenced faith and reason in a tremendous way. He was known more for his scientific achievements then his religious works.His background and education affected when he made these great achievements. Isaac Newton born on December 25,1642 in Woolsthorpe, England grew up, he was the most important physicist and mathematician of all time.1 Newton attended Cambridge where he studied mathematics. Although he was considered a genious he was also considered an eccentric who was unsociable, vindictive, absent-minded and paranoid, he was considered to have a mid-life mental illness caused by the death of his mother.2Newton was very modest to the extent he had his friends publish his papers.3Newton fled Cambridge to escape the plague, during this period he made many of his accomplishments.4 Also he was persecuted for his faith in God. Thousand of men and women who were good Christian s were thoroughly loyal to politics and the belief that science and religion aren’t compatible.Many men and women had nothing but dislike and even contempt.5 Just a few of his accomplishments so crucial to the Enlightenment and currently still important are; essentials of mathematics called Calculus, Optical law-white light is a mixture of colors, and the principle of the law of gravitation.Also he wrote Naturalis Principia Mathematica, better known as Principia Mathematica, which is the single most influential scientific treatise ever written.6 In fact if a single point was given to the beginning of the Enlightenment, it would be the year of Newton’s publication of this book.7It provided the underlying principle for the Enlightenment.8Not only d... ...l. 2. (Upper Saddle River: Simon and Schuster, 1998), 480 12. Donald, Ozmont and Turner. Western Heritage, 480. 13. Donald, Ozmont and Turner. Western Heritage, 480. 14. History of Science Society, Sir Isaac Newton 1727-1927, 17. 15. Donald, Ozmont and Turner. Western Heritage, 481. 16. History of Science Society, Sir Isaac Newton 1727-1927, 19. 17. Gay, Age of Enlightenment, 20. 18. Bell, Arthur E. Newtonian Science. (London: Edward Arnold Ltd., 1961), 19. 19. Christianson, Gale E. In the Presence of the Creator: Isaac Newton and His Times. (New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1984), ix. 20. Donald, Ozmont and Turner. Western Heritage, 413. 21. Donald, Ozmont and Turner. Western Heritage, 488. 22. History of Science Society, Sir Isaac Newton 1727-1927, 25. 23. Donald, Ozmont and Turner. Western Heritage, 489. Sir Isaac Newton's Role in the Enlightenment Essay -- Contributions of Isaac Newton had a huge impact on the Enlightenment, he influenced it scientifically in many ways and he influenced faith and reason in a tremendous way. He was known more for his scientific achievements then his religious works.His background and education affected when he made these great achievements. Isaac Newton born on December 25,1642 in Woolsthorpe, England grew up, he was the most important physicist and mathematician of all time.1 Newton attended Cambridge where he studied mathematics. Although he was considered a genious he was also considered an eccentric who was unsociable, vindictive, absent-minded and paranoid, he was considered to have a mid-life mental illness caused by the death of his mother.2Newton was very modest to the extent he had his friends publish his papers.3Newton fled Cambridge to escape the plague, during this period he made many of his accomplishments.4 Also he was persecuted for his faith in God. Thousand of men and women who were good Christian s were thoroughly loyal to politics and the belief that science and religion aren’t compatible.Many men and women had nothing but dislike and even contempt.5 Just a few of his accomplishments so crucial to the Enlightenment and currently still important are; essentials of mathematics called Calculus, Optical law-white light is a mixture of colors, and the principle of the law of gravitation.Also he wrote Naturalis Principia Mathematica, better known as Principia Mathematica, which is the single most influential scientific treatise ever written.6 In fact if a single point was given to the beginning of the Enlightenment, it would be the year of Newton’s publication of this book.7It provided the underlying principle for the Enlightenment.8Not only d... ...l. 2. (Upper Saddle River: Simon and Schuster, 1998), 480 12. Donald, Ozmont and Turner. Western Heritage, 480. 13. Donald, Ozmont and Turner. Western Heritage, 480. 14. History of Science Society, Sir Isaac Newton 1727-1927, 17. 15. Donald, Ozmont and Turner. Western Heritage, 481. 16. History of Science Society, Sir Isaac Newton 1727-1927, 19. 17. Gay, Age of Enlightenment, 20. 18. Bell, Arthur E. Newtonian Science. (London: Edward Arnold Ltd., 1961), 19. 19. Christianson, Gale E. In the Presence of the Creator: Isaac Newton and His Times. (New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1984), ix. 20. Donald, Ozmont and Turner. Western Heritage, 413. 21. Donald, Ozmont and Turner. Western Heritage, 488. 22. History of Science Society, Sir Isaac Newton 1727-1927, 25. 23. Donald, Ozmont and Turner. Western Heritage, 489.