An Annotation of Paul Laurence Dunbar's Ships That Pass In The Night Laurence Dunbar's "Ship That Pass In The Night" is a cry for opportunity for all men, regardless of race. Dunbar's poem directly parallels a passage from Frederick Douglass' autobiography that gives an account of his life as a slave. Both Douglass and Dunbar look out at the ships that sail by and see hopes for societal changes. Although they both sought change, their aspirations were quite different. Frederick Douglass watched the ships from ashore, wishing for freedom and for slavery to be abolished. Paul Laurence Dunbar on the other hand was already a free man. He was on a ship, still more of an opportunity than Douglass had, yet he was still in search for new opportunities for African Americans. The new opportunities that he seeks are upon a ship somewhere sailing in the dark night and keep passing him by. Links from the poem below are best read in order from the beginning of the poem to the end Ships That Pass In The Night by Paul Laurence Dunbar Out in the sky the great dark clouds are massing; I look far out into the pregnant night, Where I can hear a solemn booming gun And catch the gleaming of a random light, That tells me that the ship I seek is passing, passing. My tearful eyes my soul's deep hurt are glassing; For I would hail and check that ship of ships. I stretch my hands imploring, cry aloud, My voice falls dead a foot from mine own lips, And but its ghost doth reach that vessel, passing, passing. O Earth, O Sky, O Ocean, both surpassing, O heart of mine, O soul that dreads the dark! Is there no hope for me? Is there no way That I may sight and check that speeding bark Which out of sight and sound is passing, passing? The speaker begins by looking out into the night sky and sees a storm brewing. The storm represents the future, and like the nature of a storm, the future is unpredictable. A storm can either be threatening with thunder and lightning, or just a gentle rain that comes and goes. The speaker does not know what the future will bring for African Americans. He only knows that something is going to happen. The night is "pregnant" with opportunity and equality, waiting to deliver to people of all races. But the storm brewing on the night horizon is both threatening and promising for the speaker.
The theme of the past is a key aspect of 'Beloved' and the 'Selected Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar' as the narrators, in both texts, have a nostalgic perception of the many years that have passed, whether the memories are pleasant or grim they are reflected upon with – at the very least – a hint of admiration alongside a deep longing to return to the past. Similarly, in Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman', the tragic hero, Willy Loman, is also constantly drifting back into the past to when his sons were ambitious young men and he was a successful businessman. 'Beloved' was set after the American Civil War in 1873, where many black people were heavily mistreated and suffered long and gruelling years of slavery. The novel was written in 1987, but the author was able to capture the hopes and dreams of most Black Americans whilst simultaneously criticising the treatment they received at the hands of a racist society. Paul Laurence Dunbar also uses the same context in his work, again depicting the longing to be freed from a past life of slavery, which is particularly conveyed in his 'Invitation to Love'. Contrastingly, in 'Death of a Salesman' Willy also yearns for the people of his past, such as Ben Loman, his older brother, who was his role model of success for himself and his sons. In 1945, World War 2 had ended and left American citizens financially very well off and by 1949, agriculture became a difficult job as the Government was more interested in co-operate farms, thus providing a new American Dream; working in high-end businesses to gain a large salary and a respected status. This was Willy Loman's dream, however Arthur Miller used his protagonist to portray how competitive and cut-throat the business world was and how emplo...
Many writers begin writing and showing literary talent when they are young. Paul Laurence Dunbar, born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, was already editor of a newspaper and had had two of his poems published in the local newspaper before he’d graduated from high school. His classmate, Orville Wright, printed The Tattler which Dunbar edited and published for the local African American community. After graduating from high school, he was forced to get a job as an elevator operator which allowed him spare time for writing. He finally gained recognition outside of Dayton when, in 1892, he was invited to address the Western Association of Writers and met James Newton Matthews who praised his work in a letter to an Illinois newspaper. In 1892, he decided to publish his first book of poems entitled Oak and Ivy and four years later his second book of poems Majors and Minors was published. People began to see him as a symbol for his race, and he was thought of artistically as “a happy-go-lucky, singing, shuffling, banjo-picking being… in a log cabin amid fields of cotton” (Dunbar, AAW 2). Dunbar’s poems, written alternately in literary and dialect English, are about love, death, music, laughter, human frailty, and though Dunbar tried to mute themes of social protest, social commentary on racial themes is present in his poetry.
Lastly, Alexie sets forth a particular structure and form in this poem. The stanzas are
This poem shines importance on going through thing s and how you have to start some place. I found this book very inspirational and it has refreshed my perspective on life. My people that came before me went through so much just so that I could even have to opportunity or ability to read this book and wright a review on my own.
Though this poem is only a small snapshot of what I personally thought Douglass was going through, I could never adequately understand the frustration he must have had. My hope in writing this poem was not to provide a psychoanalysis or theoretical idea structure to any audience, but rather to show that even today, a modern audience member like me, can appreciate the struggle of a fellow human and speak against injustices, specifically in Douglass’s time.
Identity theft is something that has been around for some time and it will not be gone anytime in the future. With many of the technology that comes out every year may pose a threat to our privacy and personal information. The harm that an identity theft can cause can be from minor to severe. As a result no one would want to become a victim of an identity theft crime because we would never know if we can even restore everything to its original state. For those that have a dependency on technology, be careful about what you do, what you put on the Internet, what information you give out, this is because it could come biting you back into the future.
Muslim dress for females, as Emma Tarlo explains, is a matter of individual choice. Tied up in issues relating to belief, freedom, modesty, traditional diversity and beauty, British Muslim females are articulating themselves yet not without some setbacks along the way. View from within and outside the Muslim religion is mixed and sometimes, passionate, though Emma Tarlo is determined to expose long held beliefs that Muslim women are not free to make their own decisions. She shows that Muslim women are no different from women of any other religion, and orthodoxy is not exclusive to the Muslim religion yet it is stigmatised much more than any other.
Howells, W.D. The complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1968
- - -. "Slave Ships." 1996. Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems, 1998-2000. Comp. Clifton. Rochester: BOA Editions, 2000. 121. Print.
This poem helps us to recognize and appreciate beauty through its dream sequence and symbolism. The poem opens with the Dreamer describing this
Identity theft has been around for decades, so it’s nothing new. The only difference now is that the general public and the government are aware of the problem and actively pursuing strategies to combat it. However, identity theft wasn’t always about stealing someone’s credit card information or trying to extort large amounts of cash. It began mostly as a political tool to stuff ballot boxes or used by teenagers to obtain fake ID’s in order to get around laws that prohibited underage people from participating in certain activities such as drinking alcohol. In more recent years however, identity theft has become much more sophisticated and advanced. With the help of computers and advanced technology, identity theft, especially through the electronic world, has become easier and easier for criminals to acquire. (FBI) Most people who engage in the illegal act typically use it for economic gain, essentially to get rich. As any crimes go, identity theft is a nonviolent crime that is relatively easy to conceal which attracts more people to at...
Happiness can be easily defined as the state of well-being and contentment gained by personal life experiences through either direct or indirect connections with the world around us. The people we meet and the trails we go through in life add together to create a hopefully happy life. To be happy in life is indeed the only way to enjoy it. Therefore it’s no wonder that we all strive to achieve this idea of happiness. This interest in the search for true happiness has become a major factor in our modern age. Looking back at our history, the moods of many Americans have seemed to become stagnate even when we experience a rise in salaries and overall life expectance. This begs the question as to what then
Vendler, Helen. "The Poem as Life, The Poems as Arranged Life." Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology. Third Edition ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 18,68. Print.
Identity theft is whereby an individual obtains some piece of an unsuspecting victim’s sensitive information and uses it without their knowledge to commit fraud or theft. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), “people whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years and their hard earned money trying to clean up the mess the thieves have made of their good name and credit record. Some victims have lost job opportunities, been refused loans for education, housing, cars or even arrested for crimes they didn’t commit.”
The “Perfect Student” does not necessarily have to be smart. The “Perfect Student” is a hardworking soul who can be counted on to do the right thing. They abide by the rules and meet the teacher’s expectations. You can always tell a perfect student apart from the others. They are always handing in their homework, doing extra credit, and answering every ques...