The emotion of hope is important because life is uncertain. Factors such as wealth, education and opportunity may play a role in dividing people into different social categories, but no amount of privilege or advantage can shield a person from disappointment, pain, loss or death. These are universal adversities for all humankind. The word hope can be defined in different ways. Many religious people think of hope as a virtue, along with faith and love. Survivors of trauma often credit hope as the inspiration that kept them going. A realists may say that hope is nothing more than wishful thinking. No matter how it is defined, whether it is a belief or a feeling, hope is the idea of something bigger than oneself. The application of hope can provide comfort, strength and encouragement. Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” is a story of one woman’s hopeful, determined journey. Overcoming every obstacle and distraction in her path, she perseveres in order to complete her objective. Similarly, Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” tells the story of strength and resilience during adversity. The poem is a celebration of the endurance and hope of the African-American race. While both of these narratives highlight the unfortunate American history of racism, the stories also relate the importance of hope and the impact it can have on one’s life. During times of adversity, the human spirit is strengthened and inspired by the emotion of hope.
When considering the importance of hope and its value to society, it is important to mention that without hope humankind would be lost. Optimism and determination have made a lasting impact on history. Hope has affected the past by fostering the resilience and fortitude required to fight injustices such as racism. The ...
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...e that hopefulness does not equal the ability to change reality. Instead, it is a desire for a favorable outcome. Hope can help create understanding for the past, provide a balm for the present and create an enthusiasm for the future. Strength can be found in times of weakness through hope. Without it, life is meaningless.
Works Cited
Angelou, Maya. “Still I Rise.” Roberts and Zweig 1136.
Orr, Elaine. “Unsettling Every Definition of Otherness: Another Reading of Eudora Welty’s ‘A
Worn Path’.” South Atlantic Review 57.2 (May 1992): 57-72. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Anna J. Sheets. Vol. 27. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
Roberts, Edgar V. and Robert Zweig, eds. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing.
10th ed. Boston: Longman-Pearson. 2012. Print.
Sykes, Dennis J. “Welty’s A Worn Path.”
Hope has the incredible ability to make or break someone. People are always told to make large goals in school and employment, and try to reach those ambitions no matter how far they are. Hope is the motivation behind accomplishing dreams, but it also has the ability to break people who have hoped for something so desperately, yet never came to fruition. Only determination and personal situations can persuade hope to fly or fall. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly highlights this ambiguous hope we depend on through the use of symbolism, characterization, and inner conflict.
"Hope - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster. Web. 24 July 2011. .
“Hope is defined as the action of wishing or desiring that something will occur.” Hope helps people move forward in life to see what’s coming next for them. For example, “I had no right to let myself die. What would he do without me? I was his sole support” (Wiesel, “Night”.) This quote explains the effects of hope in a pitiful situation. Eliezer Wiesel and his father were torn apart, mentally and physically from everything they
Keys, Marilynn. "'A Worn Path': The Way of Dispossession." Studies in Short Fiction 16 (Fall 1979): 354-56.
...ll 2004): 47-62. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Vol. 111. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 May 2014. .
University of South Carolina Press, 1988. 152-154. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Thomas Votteler. Vol. 8. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991. Literature Resource Center. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
While buried, so deep beneath the cavity of adversity, finding hope is nearly impossible. But, it is the ability of decisions that aids as the last gleam of hope retrievable. After facing many struggles, it becomes almost involuntary for someone to put up a guard. With using that strategy, and the transgression of time without progress, there’s a certain ignition of comprehension. Change needs to occur, and a complete remedy of that
Discrimination and prejudice throughout American history has left behind a legacy of oppression towards minorities and women. In spite adversity and harsh circumstances Maya Angelou’s poems “And Still I Rise” and “ Phenomenal Woman” leave the reader with the impression that “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise” (Victor Hugo). These optimistic, prideful poems are anthems of strength and overcoming power for minority groups, especially the African American community. Angelou depicts that hardships and struggles are able to strengthen and aid one to conquer any obstacles they may face in life.
Welty, Eudora. “A Worn Path.” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 4th Compact Ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008, pp. 95-100.
In the sources used, the situations that are experienced seems like there is no hope to be found, only fear. Fear will protect us, we hope. Nevertheless, hope is everywhere no matter what. For World War II in The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne Frank is the secret annex’s hope. Anne Frank is a 13-year old girl that has the most hope of surviving the Nazi Invasion. All you can think is, “Ah, the Nazi’s are coming! Run for your lives!” That is what went through many minds during this time period, fear. Fear is a strong ally to have. You can worry all the time and no one will stop you. But, hope can be an even stronger ally, if you believe.
Sheets, Anna . Ed. “A Worn Path.” Short Story Criticism. Vol. 27. Detroit: Gale Research
And though he experiences both sides of the paradox, it is ultimately the uplifting and inspiring effect of hope that pushes him to fight back against his oppression rather than continue to accept his enslavement. Grappling with hope and using it to move himself forward against overwhelming odds shows that even though it can be used to pacify people and keep them in their place, wishing for a rosy future that can never exist, it can also be the fire that motivates them to finally change their
Samuel Smiles, a Scottish author and government reformer, once stated, “Hope… is the companion of power, and the mother of success; for who so hopes has within him the gift of miracles.” Gerda Weissmann Klein, a Holocaust survivor, saw hope in people and her future of surviving. The theme in Gerda Weissmann Klein’s All But My Life illustrates how one can stay hopeful in a world full of mistreatment through the use of figurative language, internal monologue, and dialogue.
Maya Angelou is a internationally respected, brilliant poet, and author. Maya Angelou says "In all my work I try to tell the human truth, what it is like to be human, what makes us stumble and somehow miraculously rise and go on from the darkness and into the light”. This theme is consistently exemplified throughout Angelou's greatly acclaimed poem ‘Still I rise’. The poem shows us the true life story of Maya Angelou's tragedies, and their dreadful conditions she had encountered in her youth. But in Angelou's poem, she escapes the night to go into the light, leaving all the hurt and shame to prosper in a new life she has created.
No matter how bad things may seem, there is always hope for things to ameliorate. When people believe that the future will be promising, they can have something to look forward to as opposed to dwelling on the past or the problems of the present. This hope can give a person a positive outlook on life and motivate him or her to look past what is happening in the present. In the poems “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” by Emily Dickinson and “The Darkling Thrush” by Thomas Hardy, they both convey similar messages about hope. Both works display the theme of hope being present at all times no matter how bad things may seem and is a consistent option for anyone in need of help.