Analysis of the poem Essay

The poem Originally by Carol Ann Duffy talks about the issue of culture identity. The poem talks about change, memories, and anxiety which occurs when moving. This is conveyed through the experiences of a young girl in the poem who is reluctant to leave what she knows behind. This is made apparent through the theme of memory and the continual change of setting. The title Originally sets the tone for the poem as there change needs to occur for there to be an ‘original’. This choice of diction allows for an expectation for what the journey will be about, while the ambiguity of the poem is written in such a way that personal experiences can be projected upon the protagonist. The aspect of the poem through tone however creates a bias towards negative emotions and experiences due to the despondent tone throughout the first two stanzas. This atmosphere of loss is aided through the use of negative emotive diction such as ‘bawling’ and ‘resigned’. By showing that the protagonist’s brothers are crying, Duffy illustrates how hard this is for them as crying is usually only brought on by major or sad events and loss, ‘resigned’ is used to show how she has accepted her fate, but it doesn’t mean she likes it. This association of emotions with the diction allows for empathy to occur towards the protagonist and her unsure feelings about her emigration. The theme of cultural identity is used in the poem in order to instil a sense of not belonging. This feeling of unease and unhappiness is introduced through the use of ‘bawling’ as this change from the place where they are comfortable and belong to the new one is both painful and confusing for them. The use of italics however, in the repetition of ‘Home’ as well as the capitalisation of it, emphasises it’s importance to them and their desire to return to it. The use of a blind toy by Duffy can be used as a metaphor towards the protagonists new life, where, although the toy is blind, it still has eyes. The foreshadowing could be that when the protagonist moves she will be blinded by everything which is new so that she doesn’t become overwhelmed by it. She will continue to be blind to the beauty of her new home so long as she is yearning for her old one. However, once she is ready her ‘sight’ will return and she will start to forget her cultural identity. At the time, the girl doesn’t want this however, so she is clinging onto a toy to maintain her memories of home. Additionally, a toy is associated with childhood, so the clinging onto it may represent how she doesn’t want to grow up and leave her comforts behind. By saying in the second stanza that ‘all childhood is emigration’, Duffy allows for immediate relation to the protagonists situation. This is due to the journey of growing up to adulthood which is a worldwide experience, as well as referring to physical emigration of moving from one place to another. Improtantly however, the emigration of childhood is all made without the acceptance of the person moving, they cannot stop growing older, and parents make the ultimate decisions. This unease and the inability to understand the need to move is reinforced by the location of her new home where ‘no one you know stays. ‘ This introduces the tone of isolation which is reinforced by having the wrong accent, and ‘shouting words you don’t understand’ which immediately marks a person as being from a different area, even though the move could have been within the same country of city, the accent and slang changes. The introduction of ‘big boys’ shows that she is intimidated by people from the area who are older and bigger as she doesn’t know how they will react, this is reinforced by the alliteration present through the repetition of the hard ‘d’, continuing the feeling of intimidation which the protagonist encounters. A continuation of the alliteration in sibilance, ‘seeing your brother swallow a slug, feel only a skelf of shame,’ provides an insight that the protagonist is slightly proud of her brothers for adapting so well to the environment, which is then applied to herself in a continuation of sibilance in combination with a simile in that she ‘remembers (her) tongue shedding it’s skin like a snake, my voice in the classroom sounding just like the rest. ‘ This shows that she is also now adapting to her environment, reinforced by the fact that a shed skin is natural for a snake, and this adaptation is normal, although slightly unwanted. The last stanza’s change in tone shows how the protagonist has changed with age. This allows for a time skip to take place into a time when she is more mature and able to reflect upon the journey easily, although with some regret. This is expressed through rhetorical questions beginning with the use of ‘Do I only think,’ in line 20, which builds up an atmosphere of longing and wistfulness. There is also a tone of uncertainty in there, as she doesn’t know if she had remained in the place if the feelings of belonging would have remained, which is why she only questions and doesn’t outright believe that staying would have been the best option for her. The rhyming of the words ‘first space’ and ‘right place’ reinforces the doubt she feels about her cultural identity. The continued doubt of the protagonist’s cultural identity which occurs in lines 23 and 24, illustrates how she will continue to try and find the answers throughout her life as she will never be truly certain of who she is, creating a sense of not belonging. Although emigration is a hard thing to experience, Duffy illustrates that trying to maintain a cultural identity through such a process may cause problems later. The continued rejection of the new culture illustrates how much of an outsider it makes the protagonist feel later in life, which could have been avoided if it had been readily embraced. The place which she originates from will always have a draw, however, the acceptance of a new culture viewed as a new part of a personal culture, would be much easier to accept than a replacement to the old one.

Happiness and the Good Life Essay

What is the relation between living a good life and being happy? To many, the good life is a financially prosperous life, and happiness lies in the possession of wealth. Worldly success is what counts, and anyone who is not ‘successful’ in the usual sense is counted a ‘failure.’ Others strive for a life based on honor and public recognition. A good life is made up of hobnobbing with the right people in the right settings, and happiness is a matter of gaining respect. Along with these, there are lives that show by their living a desire for glory or power that inspires great efforts. Others, who are not drawn to wealth, power or glory because of the difficulties involved in attaining them, may choose the pursuit of pleasure. A good and happy life is one in which pleasures outweigh the pains overall. Many questions have been asked about the good life and happiness. People constantly answer those questions with their lives, and we see many different ideas of the good life and happiness playing out in the strivings of human beings to live well and be happy. The ancient Greeks wished their friends to ‘do well’ and ‘fare well’ in this life. These two, they thought, held the keys to human felicity. Doing well concerns ourselves, our own actions and feelings. We have some control over these aspects of our lives. So when we wish someone to ‘do well’ in life, we express the hope that the person will be moral and fair in his or her dealings with others. Beyond securing basic physical survival, someone who does well in life can sleep with a clear conscience, whether blessed with material success or not. From many a philosophical point of view, the good life has an intrinsically moral core that involves compassion for the suffering of others and acting justly in the world. ‘Faring well’ concerns events and occurrences over which we do not have so much control. â€Å"Faring well† means succeeding in life, coming into a prosperous condition, with all the benefits that come with money and social acceptance. Someone who is faring well in life has had a bit of good luck. It is possible to do everything right in order to succeed, but still fail to do so. For example, you can study hard for your degree, get your professional qualifications, work diligently, become competent, but still not succeed. The cards may not fall your way. As Sartre says, â€Å"You are free to try, but not to succeed.† This seems right to me, and so I will come down with Aristotle against Plato on this point, that doing well is not all that is involved in attaining happiness in life. Plato’s Socrates famously says that the good person cannot be harmed, that virtue is knowledge, and that happiness consists entirely of doing well and being just. Aristotle argues that a degree of luck plays into our happiness. He insists that most of our happiness is in our own hands, but that it can be affected by outside circumstances. So while being happy is mostly a matter of ‘doing well’ (and ‘thinking well’), great misfortunes can damage our happiness. It may be that such a person, by ‘doing well,’ will attain a degree of dignity in suffering, but he will not be happy; or, as Aristotle has it, ‘blessed.’ In light of this result, I hazard an intuitive philosophical account of the relation between the good life and happiness. Living a good life is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for happiness. In other words, it is possible to live a good life without being happy, but not happy without living a good life. This a ‘philosophical’ account of the relation because many philosophers have a particular idea of happiness and the good life that is not shared by everyone, with their emphasis on clarity of thought and sound reasoning. In addition, though philosophers recommend the philosophical life as both the happiest and the best, they are not in a position to legislate for everyone what happiness must be. Nevertheless, the traditional philosophical view is not without support. All we have to do is look at the results of many lives that strive for wealth, power, fame, glory or pleasure. So many disasters befall those who pursue a good life with no moral core, or reflective turn of mind, that it makes some sense, as philosophers argue, to pursue the wisdom to recognize the good life, and, within that life, such happiness human beings can attain.

Battles of the Civil War essays

Battles of the Civil War essays John Brown once said, Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose tights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, - I submit; so let it be done! He believed that the only way to rid slavery from the United States was through bloodshed. He was right in saying this because on April 12, 1861, the American Civil War began. It was the most destructive war ever fought in the Western Hemisphere. In terms of human life it was also one of the most costly wars. There were many different reasons for the Civil War, slavery being the predominant reason. The immediate reason for the Civil War was the fight between the north and south over Fort Sumter. Lincoln had given South Carolina the choice of either permitting the fort to hold out or open fire with its shore batteries. In reply, the southerners commenced fire. The attack on Fort Sumter and its capture angered many northerners and began a patriotic fight to save the union. One of the first major battles of the Civil War was the Battle of Bull Run. Federal troops, amounting to 30,000 marched from Washington, D.C., to attack the Confederate forces positioned near Bull Run Creek at Manassas Junction, Virginia. The Union forces were close to victory until Confederate reinforcements sent Union troops into a retreat back to Washington. This battle boosted moral of the South and lowered the Norths. The Norths hope for a short war was shattered. The Battle of Antietam illustrates how bloody the Civil War actually was. Lee led his army across the Potomac into enemy territory. He hoped that a major Confederate victory in the North would convince Britain to support the Confederacy. McClellan, commander of the Union army had intercepted Lees plan and the in...

Likable and Dependable

Likable and Dependable Are these two tools part of your branding? Arent sure? Then theyre probably not. But why are these two traits so important when youre selling your words and not a public performance? Jane Friedman and Porter Anderson recently established a newsletter on the publishing industry titled THE HOT SHEET (http://hotsheetpub.com/). I was a Beta reader as they worked out the kinks. Its intensely smart, as would be expected from these two industry brains, but in a recent issue they addressed this issue of what readers expect in an author: The scientific finding from Nielsen: Authors, in general, are among the publics fave people in the entertainment world. Only TV and film actors score more highly with fans, which means that authors are rolling in ahead of sports figures and musical artists. Whats more, fans of authors like their authors more than fans of other types of people like their icons - even athletes are not as highly thought of Most of the authors I know fall into one of two categories: 1) They write a lot and promote when they have a new release or an upcoming event; or 2) They promote one book a lot and are slow in putting out new releases. That makes both inconsistent and less reliable, and according to that Nielsen report cited in THE HOT SHEET, makes those writers give the appearance of being less successful, influential, and dependable. So what does that mean for you . . . the burgeoning, struggling writer? It means you write and market each and every day. You appear to always be on the move, always producing, always available to the reader. Its hard, but doing otherwise these days when the competition is steep and the books cheap, will leave you in a lot of writers dust where readers wont be able to find you.

Alzheimer\s Disease Essays - Cognitive Disorders, Free Essays

Alzheimer?s Disease Alzheimer?s disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer who discovered the disease in 1906 after studying the brain tissue of an elderly woman who died of an unusual mental illness. It is a serious disease which causes mental deterioration and eventually death. Alzheimer?s disease is ?a progressive degenerating process of neural tissue? (Black). The symptoms of this disease can be slowed with certain treatments, but cannot yet be prevented or cured. Although not an infectious disease, Alzheimer?s is still very prominent in the world. Forty-five percent of people who are eighty-five and older have Alzheimer?s disease (Alzheimer?s). Also, the number of cases of Alzheimer?s is rapidly increasing. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) states that, ?experts suggest that as many as 5.1 million Americans may have Alzheimer?s disease? and that there are ?200,000 individuals under age 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer?s? (NIH). Alzheimer?s is also the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. While other diseases? mortality rates are declining, Alzheimer?s mortality rate has gone up by sixty-six percent in the past eight years alone (Alzheimer?s). According to the NIH, scientists do not yet understand what causes Alzheimer?s. However, they do believe that Alzheimer?s develops due to a complicated series of events in the brain. The cause of Alzheimer?s is thought to be a mix of factors having to do with genetics, environment, and lifestyle. It is interesting to note that recent studies have shown that African Americans are actually at a higher risk of getting Alzheimer?s than other races. This may be due to the fact that African Americans have a higher rate of vascular disease, which is one of the risk factors of Alzheimer?s (African). Women also are more susceptible to this disease. As the NIH states, ?Because people differ in their genetic make-up and lifestyle, the importance of any one of these factors in increasing or decreasing the risk of developing Alzheimer?s may differ from person to person? (NIH). This makes finding a cure for Alzheimer?s all the more difficult because so many factors can affect it. Alzheimer?s is categorized in four different levels of severity: Early, Mild, Moderate, and Severe. During the Early Alzheimer?s stage, the patient has a decline in certain aspects of cognition such as word-finding, vision/spatial issues, and impaired reasoning or judgment. Some other symptoms may include: depression, social withdrawal, mood swings, distrust in others, irritability, aggressiveness, changes in sleeping habits, wandering, loss of inhibitions, and delusions, such as believing something has been stolen (NIH). Later, in the Mild Alzheimer?s stage, memory loss and other cognitive abilities worsen. A person with Alzheimer?s may have problems such as getting lost, trouble handling money and paying bills, repeating questions, taking longer to complete normal daily tasks, poor judgment, and mood and personality changes. As it progresses even further into Moderate Alzheimer?s, damage occurs to parts of the brain that control language, reasoning, sensory processing, and consciou s thought. Memory loss and confusion will worsen even more, and the patient will have trouble recognizing familiar people (NIH). The NIH says that, ?[The patient] may be unable to learn new things, carry out tasks that involve multiple steps (such as getting dressed), or cope with new situations. They may have hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia, and may behave impulsively? (NIH). By the time the patient reaches the final stage, Severe Alzheimer?s, the brain tissue will have shrunk significantly. According to the NIH, ?People with severe Alzheimer?s cannot communicate and are completely dependent upon others for their care. Near the end, the person may be in bed most or all of the time as the body shuts down? (NIH). Alzheimer?s vastly affects the daily life of a patient and his or her family. A person with Alzheimer?s will be very limited in the things that most people consider normal, daily tasks. As stated above, they will have trouble communicating with other people, and memory loss will take away most of or all reliability from them. They will also lose the ability to drive safely, as they will be more likely to get lost, will have a harder time turning, or may drift out of their lane more often (Driving). Their family and friends will also be greatly affected

Operations Management 3-6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Operations Management 3-6 - Essay Example Accessibility to customers is the key factor in improving gasoline sales. A tertiary hospital is also a preferred business for this location. The residential areas are near to it, there is no replacement market for this specialized service and healthcare services is a specific need of residents. The following factors of location B: close to major highways, on the major truck route of large transportation companies, not close to any residential neighborhoods and large open area where new development can occur is best suited for a garment processing company and a coffee processing plant. The location of the operations of a garment vital to the efficiency and profitability of company operations. Choice of location determines the productivity of capital investments. Manufacturing facilities have unique locations and there are transport costs to distribution and consumption, hence, production location affects the costs of distribution and consumption. Accessibility of manufacturing facilities of garment processing and coffee processing plant is important as transport costs represent a significant proportion of the costs of production and distribution. Without cost minimization, there will be no profit maximization. Location has a serious impact on a company’s revenues. 2. â€Å"Aggregate planning in manufacturing is easier to accomplish than aggregate planning in services.† For example, aggregate planning for a textile processing plant is easier to implement than for a business process outsourcing company. A textile company is basically a labor intensive business. This means that the company uses large amounts of labor per unit output, and that wages form the largest single cost (50-70 percent of total costs) faced by employers. The cost of labor is therefore the most important locational determinant in the textile industry. The textile industry has been

Cost Accounting and the objectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cost Accounting and the objectives - Essay Example Relevant revenues/costs show future costs/revenues that will change by the decision taken while irrelevant costs/revenues are not affected by the decision. Inclusion of both quantitative and qualitative data ensures that an informed decision is made. This is because it ensures that all factors are taken into consideration. Short run pricing decisions has a less than one year time horizon while long-run pricing decisions have a year or longer time horizon. Example of short-run pricing decision is pricing a one-time only special order or adjusting output volume and product mix. A long run pricing decision includes pricing of a product in a major market where there is some leeway in price setting. Target pricing refers to an estimated price for a good or a service that prospective buyers will be willing to pay. The balanced scorecard is a strategic planning as well as management technique used by organizations in aligning the performance of an organization to its objectives and vision. It has four perspectives namely, financial perspective, customer perspective, learning and growth perspective and business process perspective. Financial perspective learning and growth perspective measures employee retention, knowledge management and employee satisfaction. Business process perspective measures costs and quality of business processes. Customer perspective requires that customers be satisfied, retained to increase the company market share. Financial perspective advocates timely and accurate financial data. A cost pool refers to a grouping of individual expenses or costs, regularly by division or a service center. It is from such cost pool that allocation of costs is made. For instance, the maintenance department cost is accumulated in a cost pool before allocated to the departments that use its services. Cost pools are normally utilized for the production