The Study of Literature
I finally understand the study of literature. As an English major, a reader/ writer/ poet who has spent a great deal of time reading the works of others and writing about them, I am reminded of something I have heard my father, a teacher, say repeatedly about the modern American attitude toward education. "Nobody learns just to learn," he observes sadly, pointing out the way in which students often view particularly higher education as some kind of training ground for a career. I know exactly what he means. Every time someone asks me what I plan to do with a degree in English, I am reminded of the inquisitive student who interrupts a classroom lecture to ask in earnest "Is this going to be on the test?" or the equally deplorable "Do we have to know this?" The clear message in these questions is that nobody wants to waste their precious time learning something that won't immediately benefit them in some way. The majority of students insist on expediency and efficiency in education. Our goal oriented society has resulted in a student that retains necessary information in short term memory long enough to regurgitate onto an exam, pass the course, grab a degree, get a job, make money, prosper. Next.
Occasionally, however, there comes the English major the enigmatic, bookworm type, who puzzles his classmates by carrying fiction while they tote science, mathematics, and Business. They examine this strange creature, fascinated by one who displays such a blatant disregard for wealth and success. They poke this animal, wondering why he would live this way,
and what possible good can come from poetry. And once in a while, the prodding and gawking gets to him. The English major is forced to ...
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...ve to know this?” my answer is a resounding “yes.” “Will this be on the test?” Daily. The test is daring to live in a world where sometimes it seems that all is lost. Love, friendship, sadness, grief, even contentment are better understood in the context of a heartfelt poem or story. Thoreau's Walden romanticized my isolation; however, it may have been Updike's Rabbit or Edith Wharton's sad portrayal of cold in Ethan Frome that brought me to that state.
Poetry and literature are so passionate as to inspire the reader in spite of himself. I can no more control the effects they may have on me, than I can the way in which I react. They are practical guidelines, manuals of living. They can hurt or heal, create or destroy. When one has a better understanding, though, the experience is wonderfully enlightening. And I need to know. I use them everyday.
In Alice Walker’s story “Everyday Use,” symbolism, allegory, and myth stand out when thinking about the characters, setting, and conflict in the story. The conflict is between the mother and her two daughters (Maggie and Dee). There is also the conflict between the family’s heritage (symbolized by the quilt, bench, and butter chum) and their different ways of life. Dee chose a new African name, moved to the city, and adopted a new way of life while Maggie and her mother have stay behind. The quilt (the most important symbol) represents the family’s heritage in that it is made of scraps of clothing worn by generations of family members. The quilt has been sewn by family hands and used on family beds. It has seen history and is history. Maggie and her mother see that that history is alive but Dee thinks it is as dead as her name. Dee does not see that name as part of her heritage. By analyzing these symbols, a number of possibilities for a theme can be seen. Walker could be suggesting that to understand the African-American heritage, readers have to include the present as well as the past. However, the theme could be that poverty and a lack of sophistication and education cannot be equated with ignorance. Lastly, she could be telling her readers that dignity or self-respect rise from and are virtually connected to one’s entire heritage- not just a selected part of it.
Of course, you can’t forget the abiotic factors! Basically, just telling a bit more about the landscape. First, we have the physical features. The landscape of the slope impacts plant growth, hurts natural ecosystems by erosion, and unfortunately destroys the homes of animals. Although, animals and structures adapt to the slopes. T...
The poems make for a simple addition to the narrative and allows for a much more meaningful experience for a reader and makes for a much more engrossing story, thus adding to the experience as a whole.
In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by the name of Langston Hughes. A well-known writer that still gets credit today for pomes like “ Theme for English B” and “Let American be American Again.”
Shiffman believes that the drop in interest in the humanities results in the inability of students to have clear bearings amid life’s uncertainties. He believes that only by studying the humanities will students be able to introspect and recognize that endless achievement may not add up to a meaningful life (Shiffman 5). However, Shiffman fails to realize that this form of reflection need not be done solely by those majoring in the humanities. It can be done by all who try, their fields of study are no limitation. In fact, it may be this same reflection that leads to an individual’s decision to prioritize practicality. Not all those who choose the practical path are doing it for themselves. Many may do it for their families, as a safe and stable means of supporting their loved ones. Others may take this opportunity to give back to their community through the ways they are most skilled. Instead of pursuing a single interest in a certain field, they choose to follow their various callings. Doing solely what an individual loves is a self-centered view of the world. While it is important to chase happiness, it is also important to reflect on what one is doing to spread happiness to the rest of the world. One must find something that they are good at, and put that into the world. They should contribute to others and help the world be better, in addition to following their passions. An individual’s acts of service may just become one of their many passions.
History of drying and wetting: soil suction is less during wetting time than it is during drying time.
terraces in the mountainous terrains so as to reduce the rate of surface runoffs. That could also imply that
Most changes in processes of soil formation and soil erosion are indirectly affected by the presence of livestock and more directly associated with the geomorphic changes these anima...
By relying too heavily on past thinkers, the scholar is discouraged from exploring new ideas or seeking individualized truths. Emerson calls such a slave to the past “the bookworm” (4), who focuses on the trivial and ignores universal ideas. The bookworm is passive, uncreative and unoriginal. He is the antithesis of Emerson’s American Scholar. He criticises that this is what America has been expecting of its scholars thus far. The nation has been looking backwards, relying on European knowledge, when it could gain a large amount of knowledge from America itself. It is essential that the scholar creates books for the present age by discovering truths for him or herself. Therefore, Emerson suggests to only resorting to books if one’s own creative genius is dried up or blocked, as not to fall into such traps. However, Emerson further states: “Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst,”(4) indicating that reading can be beneficial and essential if it is done correctly. The educated person must read history, science or similar subjects in order to learn. Books defeat time because authors throughout time felt as people do today. This is, according to Emerson, evidence of the transcendental oneness of human minds. “But genius looks forward: the eyes of man are set in his forehead,
Flanagan, J., Research in Speech Communication (Oct. 24, 1995), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 92, No. 22 pp. 9938-9945
In this research paper, we are going to compare the intonation pattern in Arabic English AE v/s British English BE. We are conducting quantitative analysis. We are examinimg the realization of intonation in AE compared to BE by analyzing Arabic students speaking English. In speech, the pattern of pitch is closely related to the pattern of timing and loudness. We will also note the similarities and differences between
One of my favorite stories about the days of literary High Theory is told by the feminist critic Sandra Gilbert. In the late '80s, Gilbert was interviewing a candidate for a job in Princeton University's English department. "What would your dream course be?" she asked. "My dream course," the candidate responded, "would be theory and nontheory." "What's nontheory?" asked a committee member. "You know," the candidate replied. "Poems, stories, plays."...Elaine Showwalter, Professor Emeritus, Princeton University
Some factors which affect erosion are the nature of the load (greater load weight results in increased erosion), amount of load, discharge and velocity (larger the load, high velocity and discharge all result in an increased
Based on the line that Mr. Keating said, I think the reason why poetry, beauty, romance, and love are the things that we stay alive for is because these things affect how we think and live our lives. Yes, we cannot deny that medicine, law, business, engineering are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life but it is with poetry that we stay alive for because it makes us realize that humanity is a shared experience. We all feel pain, happiness, sadness, fear and anger. And I think this is what makes poetry universal. Poetry has the ability to touch and express our deepest emotions by either writing or reading it and this makes poetry intensely personal. With the use of language, we are capable
Literature can be entertaining, funny, beautiful and tragic. It takes us beyond our limited experience of Live to show us the lives of the other people at other times. We are intellectually and emotionally stirred by studying Literature.