The Charater of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird :: Kill Mockingbird essays

The Charater of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird During the first half of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee constructs a sweet and affectionate portrait of rowing up in the world of small town Alabama. Harper Lee, however, continues on to dig underneath the portrayal of small town courtesy in the second half of the book. None of the characters in the book are perfect. This begins to show through in the second half of the book when the facade is removed to reveal the ugliness of Maycomb and the people living there. Through these tough times though, one character manages to keep his cool. Atticus Finch, through all the struggles and pressure, stands strong as a very positive father figure, making sure to instill in his children three very specific values: education, bravery, and acceptance. At the beginning of the book it becomes clear why Atticus thinks education is so important, as he and Scout read before bed each night. During his closing arguments in Tom Robinson's case Atticus clearly acknowledges the ignorance blinding people's minds and hearts: "the witnesses for the state...have presented themselves to you gentlemen...in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the...evil assumption...that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, and assumption one associates with minds of their caliber" (217). Education is the key to unlocking the ignorance that causes such prejudice. Because of Atticus' example Jem begins to this lesson toward the end of the book, when he wonders if family education could be based more on education than on bloodiness. Jem also learns important lessons from his father regarding bravery. Early in the book we learn that Atticus does not approve of guns. He believes that guns do not make men brave and that children's fascination with guns is questionable. To prove his point, he sends Jem to read for Mrs. Dubose who struggles to beat her morphine addiction before she dies. He wants to show is son that one shows true bravery "when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what" (121).

English poetry Essay

The second decade of the twentieth century, a change-over period in the history of English poetry, was not a very inspirational one for poets. The existing group of poets, the Neo-Romantics attempted in vain to keep the Romantic spirit alive by writing about nature and harmony but with the arrival of industrialization and the beginnings of the modern world, it became painfully clear that the lilting, peaceful Romantic style was in no way a reflection of the present state of affairs. The mechanized world of machines, factories and similarly regimented human societies, long ignored by the Neo-Romantics was finally examined and put into verse by T. S. Eliot. Of the numerous works that capture the nascent modern world, one that stands out in particular is ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’. Eliot dives into the heart of urban decay in the first stanza itself, when he compares the evening to an etherized patient lying comatose on the operating table. The metaphor that symbolizes the numb, unquestioning society that inhabits the deserted streets, cheap hotels and sawdust restaurants captures a theme that is constantly revisited in this poem. The women who talk about Michelangelo do so as a ritual of fashion, without understanding anything about the art itself. Eliot goes on to compare the fog that spreads across the city to a cat that skulks on the rooftops before going to sleep. The fog that slips insidiously into every home represents the clouded judgment of the people that inherit the modern world. The protagonist in the poem echoes Marvell and the preacher in Ecclesiastes with the phrase, ‘there will be time, turning Marvell’s call to seize the moment and the preacher’s teaching- to everything there is a season- upside down to suit his indecisiveness. 2 The comparisons to Hamlet in the poem once again parallel the lack of resolve that characterizes the protagonist. He longs to be the rogue element in a society that picks up on the trivial things like one’s thinning hair, or depleted weight but fails to pay heed to life’s more important aspects. The protagonists envisions himself breaking the cycle and speaking life’s messages to the gossiping crowd only to falter at the moment of action. He finds himself pinned like an insect and unable to begin speaking his mind. He wonders if it is worth the trouble and anticipates that even if he were to speak, his message would be dismissed by as not being pertinent to the gossip that the society indulges in. His inability to make a change breeds some amount of self-loathing that surfaces in parches across the poem. Death- the eternal Footman- snickers at him for being afraid. He admits that he is neither a prophet nor Prince Hamlet; that he is merely an attendant lord whose capacity to act stops at staring a scene or two. The poem ends with the ageing protagonist taking a walk on the beach and slipping into another world where the mermaids are riding the waves and singing to each other. But even here, he believes that they will not sing to him. He lingers there for as long as he can, before he is awoken by the lifeless hand of human interaction and condemned for his lack of action, to drown in its throes. The themes that Eliot discusses through this poem and others like ‘The Burial of the Dead’ and ‘A Game of Chess’ explore and hit out against the soulless modern existence which moves along in a regimented stupor and parallels the oncoming wave of industrialization.

The Functions and Purpose of Art

Purposes and Functions of Art Art has many purposes and functions to some art’s purpose maybe to make a grand statement. And for other’s art is a part of history. For example, â€Å"Like foot prints left in the sand. † Each foot print has small details that decipher it from all the other foot prints that are left there. Faith Ringgold born October 8, 1930, is an African American artist. Best known for her painted story quilts an art form that combines story telling and quilt making with genre painting. Her art work is her voice, her opinion on racism and gender inequality. The piece of art work titled â€Å"TAR BEACH â€Å"which was created in 1988. That later became a world renowned children’s book. This book won the Caldecott Honor award and the Coretta Scott King award for illustration among numerous other honors. Tar Beach tells the story of Cassie and her little brother Bebe, and how they would go up to the asphalt roof of their apartment building with their family on hot nights. Because there was no air conditioning in their home, Cassie described Tar beach as a magical place with a view of all the buildings and the George Washington Bridge. The quilt depicts the two children on a roof top on a mattress, and their parent’s playing cards with the neighbor’s next to a table set with snacks and drinks. The combination of fantasy and hard reality in this work of art, with imagination as the key to overcoming obstacles. Tar beach is about attainment, love of family, art, helping others, courage, values, and dreams coming true. The purpose of this quilt story is to reveal the message embedded to show we as a people, Greeks, Jews, Whites, Asians, Blacks, we are all chosen if we chose.

Poem Analysis of John Clare’s First Love Essay

The poem First Love by John Clare is written about the poet’s feelings of unrequited love for a wealthy farmer’s daughter, Mary Joyce. The poet uses various unusual effects in the poem to convey this sense of loss, providing deep insights into his mind in a seemingly simple and brief piece. Combined with words which reflect the mood in each verse, these make it a very powerful poem. An unusual form of contrast is used in First Love to create a powerful effect. The use of limited vocabulary is part of this, evident throughout the poem. The repetition of â€Å"sweet† suggests that the poet has not, or cannot, think of another adjective. This is further shown in the way that he starts the second stanza with â€Å"and then†, a very informal and unusual opening in a poem. Combined with this, an informal tone is developed with the use of phrases such as â€Å"blood rushed to my face† and â€Å"I never saw so sweet a face†. Despite this informal tone, the message of the poem is very insightful, as it shows a view into the poet’s mind. Rhythm in the poem is key to this, creating six sections in the poem, with the rhyme scheme for each being A, B, A, B, or for example â€Å"hour†, â€Å"sweet†, â€Å"flower†, â€Å"complete†. These sections of four lines each can be seen as individual thoughts of Clare, as they each deal with a slightly separate topic. Rhetorical questions such as â€Å"Is love’s bed always snow† also contribute to this effect, as they are almost addressed back to the poet, providing an insight into his mind. Creating a thoughtful, musing atmosphere, these make First Love a powerful poem by contrasting the deep insights into the poet’s mind and the effects this love has had on him with the simple tone and vocabulary. Divided into three stanzas, the poems examines the consequences of John Clare’s unrequited love for Mary Joyce. Stanza one deals with his initial effects she has on him, such as the total awe and shock at her beauty. In the first line, â€Å"struck† and â€Å"hour† create a metaphor of a clock, implying that this is the start of a new hour, or era in his life. The way that she has completely taken over Clare’s life is evident in the use of â€Å"stole my heart away†, and his helplessness in her hands is exemplified by his legs refus[ing] to walk away† and the question, â€Å"what could I ail? â€Å". These words combine to show that the sight of Mary Joyce for the first time has left the poet helpless and overcome by her, creating a powerful effect. Clare’s affected perception of reality is shown in the second stanza. The metaphor of his love taking his â€Å"eyesight quite away† so that the â€Å"trees and bushes† â€Å"seemed midnight at noonday† shows the reversal of Clare’s worldviews as a result of this love. The way that â€Å"words from [his] eyes did start†, which â€Å"spoke as chords do from the string† conveys the scope of this, that he begins to talk in a different way, one that is universally recognised like music – the language of love. These two metaphors make the poem powerful by conveying the effect love has had on the poet. The final stanza changes the tone of the poem, lamenting the fact that Clare’s love is unrequited. Introduced by two questions which compare Mary Joyce to â€Å"winter† and â€Å"snow†, it shows that she is cold and hard. It then concludes by linking Joyce’s â€Å"sweet†¦ ace† back to the â€Å"sweet flower† mentioned in the first stanza, but shows that she has trapped him, so that his â€Å"heart† â€Å"can return no more† to where it once was. The choice of cold, unforgiving words such as â€Å"winter†, â€Å"snow† and â€Å"silent† creates an atmosphere of lament and sorrow, and the final line links back to the first, which implies the start of a new age for Clare, as he â€Å"can return no more†. This stanza makes the poem powerful by effectively concluding the poem, and by introducing the sorrow which is the final effect love has had on the poet. The power and effectiveness of First Love is not in the cliched message of unrequited love itself, but the way that it portrayed. Clothed in a simple vocabulary and soft meter, a deep message is hidden which evokes great sympathy in the reader. By opening a window into the poet’s mind, the reader is able to see the complete hold the love has on Clare’s life and thoughts. Accomplished through contrast and effective word choice, this is the reason John Clare’s First Love is such a powerful poem.

Should sex and violence in television or in the movies be banned Research Proposal

Should sex and violence in television or in the movies be banned - Research Proposal Example nifests in not only in opposite sex unisons only and there are cases of same sex unisons as well, the prime motive in sex remains unison for the sake of enjoy, fulfillment and attaining completeness. Sex is also beautiful as it is instrumental in maintaining continuity of life on this planet. In many unpleasant situations sex and violence come together and this results in sexual abuse or even its extreme form rape. Unfortunately despite being unpleasant, these incidents continue to occur and we all have to live with it. Television Programs and movies are like mirrors of our society. These programs displays what is going on in our society and tries to bring out the truth so that we can learn to perpetuate the good things and to eliminate the bad things from our life and the society. Therefore, these programs show even sex and violence. However, there are many dimensions of exhibiting sex and violence in TV programs and movies including the fundamental right of freedom of expression, financial and business angle, impact of such programs on the society in general and on kids in particular. There is no denying the display of sex and movies have a definite negative impact on kids and even on elders and therefore, there is a case for banning display of sex and violence in television programs and movies. However, there are other considerations including the fundamental right of freedom of expression, profession and also the right to know the truth, which goes against banning the display of sex and violenc e in movies. This paper reviews different aspects of the issue in the subsequent sections and argue why display of sex and violence in movies should not be banned, in stead it should be effectively regulated. Sex is as old as life is on this planet and therefore it is not surprising that sex is ingrained so deep in our existence, our identity, our personality, our society and it has a special status in our life and our society. Different societies and cultures look at

Learning English Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Learning English - Case Study Example Being only a beginner, Jo's listening skill still needs improvement. During conversations, he shows interest yet he often cannot comprehend some of the questions being asked. Some words still required to be repeated over and over again. Often times, choosing simpler and more familiar words aid him to understand and respond more quickly during interviews. Jo's English speaking skills is limited by his narrow vocabulary. His sentences are often comprised of simple words put together as he would speak them in Korean. It should be noted that sentence formation in Korean is very much different than it is n English. During the interview, it is also observed that he is still having troubles in long and short vowel distinctions. As Koreans use rising and falling intonation for emphasis in their conversation, Jo also has the tendency to do this in highlighting his points. Also, he has the habit of pronouncing words which ends in consonant with i so that fish becomes pi-shi (f is not used in Korea) and bus becomes bu-si In general, the interviewee seems to be quite conscious about his skill which limits his answers to short phrases. He should be commended for his aim to perfect his speaking skills yet his biggest problem is on verb and subject agreement as well as correct tense. In terms of reading, Jo's accuracy is still ... His reading comprehension is better than I expected as he can easily answer questions from the article studied. However, it is also noted that he can read some words but still cannot understand them. Using dictionary aids him in understanding deeper and more complicated words. Jo's writing skills considerably improve when he consults his dictionary in order to express his ideas. However, without this aid he tends to use only familiar words which are often inaccurate for the purpose. He can write short simple sentences and interestingly tries to vary sentence structures. Jo's writing style is to build the paragraph by making sure that contents are cohesive and that they contribute to the whole piece. It is notable that he writes his experiences using time as the most important element in structuring his ideas. Jo has a huge problem in using correct tense. In his past tenses, he also needs to learn how to derive the past tense from the present. For example, instead just adding ed to stay to form the past tense, he change y to i and added ed. His grasp of verb and subject agreement is also lacking. Phrases and sentences should also be distinguished as he keeps on writing sentences without complete thought. Enriching his vocabulary with new words will also en able him to write better paragraph with more depth. The things which should be taught to Jo are verb and subject agreement, verb tenses, correct pronunciation of words, and a wider vocabulary. This can be done by reading activities which will enable him to learn new words, correct his pronunciation and intonation, and check his comprehension. I believe that Jo's English skills can be further improved by exposing him to

There has been much written about september 11 and many visual Essay

There has been much written about september 11 and many visual accounts of the events of that day. these articles present a diff - Essay Example As such, it is the hope of this author that the reader can come to a more informed and broad understanding with regards to the way in which individual integration of understanding concerning the events of September 11th is channeled into society via the viewpoints within these specific articles. The first article, â€Å"September 11th, 2001: Picturing Time† focuses upon the way in which photographers of the events were impacted by what they saw, the ways in which others were impacted by these images, and the response mechanisms that these custodians of history applied to the most horrific spectacle they had likely ever seen. The author focuses upon the way in which the photographers were floored by the gravity of it all; so much so that they went into something of an autopilot mode – snapping pictures without coming to a complete understanding or cognition of what was going on around them. An example of this is the fact that many of these photographers had no recollecti on of the film they had snapped until such a time as it was returned to them from the developers. In short, this particular article represents the objectivist standpoint; in that the individuals responsible for chronicling these events were merely aware of the component parts of September 11th without being aware of the overall emotional gravity they portended. Conversely, the second article, entitled, â€Å"The Call to Life†, views the events from a moral standpoint; choosing instead to focus upon the horror of the way in which the events of that day ushered in an increased need for â€Å"the great public good of civil peace†. The author goes so far as to provide the quote from an unnamed friend who states, â€Å"Now we know what government is for†. Additional inflammatory/emotional language such as â€Å"protecting the flock† and denoted the terrorists as â€Å"evildoers† helps to further the emotionally charged rhetoric that was so common as ang er reached a boiling point soon after the attacks that brought down the twin towers. Another element that is represented alongside this seeming â€Å"righteous indignation† is the element of fear that was so pervasive. This element of fear is aptly noted in the following quote: â€Å"My daughter and I found ourselves discussing the need for a family plan shouldthere be a biological or chemical attack†. Although seemingly incongruous with the time in which we live, the reality of the time in which the article was written was quite different. The final article, entitled â€Å"After the Fall†, is unique in that it does not focus upon emotion and/or objectivity alone; rather it combines these and discusses the way in which iconoclasm has come to define the twin towers and 9/11 itself. The twin towers, as the author discusses, were never much beloved in the NYC skyline; however, even if these buildings were not the most attractive in terms of their architecture, they dominated the NYC skyline and commanded attention. Yet, it took their collapse to make them truly universally appreciated. The author goes on to argue that individuals throughout the country have turned these buildings into something of a shrine and anthropomorphized them to hold almost human qualities. This is of course expected after an attack and does not surprise. In short,