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Short essay on literary translation
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The interpretation of the new is a major factor which influences one’s travel through a journey and ultimately effects the outcome of it. Skrzyneki effectively demonstrates the interpretation of journey through the use of symbol title, and repetition in Ancestors, and Feliks Skrzynecki. Journey has also effectively been depicted in Kelley’s Language Barrier. The major theme of migration has successfully described journey, and the interpretation of it.
The poet Skrzynecki has used language techniques such as symbolic title and first person to show the different interpretations of the new and the journeys which result. The relationship between Feliks and his son is shown to change drastically due to new language barriers, and cultural differences, in a negative way. The title Feliks Skrzynecki refers to the formality of the way Peter’s fathers friends greet him “Feliks Skrzynecki, / That formal
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address I never got used to.” and is used to show distance between the two, rather than calling him his father or dad, it is his formal name. This barrier which has been built between the two describes the way in which they have each interpreted their journey to their new country. Felix is cemented in his Polish life, whereas his son accepts and welcomes the new culture which they have been placed into. This unfortunately led to the detachment of the father and son. First person with descriptive language has been used by Skrzynecki to further depict the relationship between the father and son. The use of first person from his son, onlooking into his father subjectively removes the reader from the situation and becomes and viewer, much like Peter. “On the back steps of his house… / My father sits out the evening… / Happy as I have never been”, shows that Peter admires his father greatly, but can never connect with him due to the barriers of different cultures and languages. Ancestors uses language techniques of imagery and repetition to depict the importance of the past, while accepting the new. The imagery is dark, filled with “shadows”, “faceless men”, and the “wind tastes of blood”. This darkness and unease suggests an isolation resulting from a journey where the past is a source of terror, the poet is trying to discover his ancestry, but is unsure of what he might discover. He cannot move forward without learning of his past. Skrzynecki uses repetitive rhetorical questions which creates ambiguity in the poem, depicting the narrators past. “Why do their eyes / Never close?” builds a sense of the unknown and an unknowable, he is asking his ancestors these question but they can never be answered. This demonstrates Skrzynecki’s inability to move forward, and obstinate nature towards his future journey, focusing on his past ones. James Kelley’s Language Barrier strongly describes the language barriers which are hard to control, and the journey these barriers can take one on.
Juxtaposed to Feliks Skrzynecki, this poem depicts the way that language and cultural barriers do not only separate people, but can be overcame due to human compassion. “the emotion pouring past her lips,… enunciated more clearly, / than any piece of English Poetry I had ever read” contrasted to “Did your father ever attempt to learn English?” clearly shows the prejudicial nature of some, and how their interpretation of events can affect another’s journey so greatly.
The poems Ancestors, and Language Barrier show similarities in ambiguity. The context behind them are unknown, which creates a mysterious tone. “Two strangers, cried in the rain / knowing nothing of each other’s suffering” and “To what star / Do their footprints lead?” suggest the unknowable nature of journey, and the outlook which must come with it. Kelley and Skrzynecki both effectively depict the effects which interpretation of the new can have on one’s
journey. Skrzynecki and Kelley have both depicted the interpretation of the new, through the theme of migrants. Language techniques such as symbolic titles, first person, imagery, and repetition to effectively show journeys from different perspectives and understanding.
The two poems best illustrate, through a reading put in a wider context of black suffering, Finney’s success in making the beautifully said thing intersect with the difficult-to-say-thing through her sharpened pencil (“Nikky Finney”), thus reshaping the present. The historical approach is necessary in order for given allusions to be situated in their social, political and cultural background. In order to escape intentional fallacy, a poet should relate his work to universal concerns. The application of the (auto)biographical-historical approach necessitates the investigation of some points: the relevance of the poet’s personal life and his/her poems; the expression of certain beliefs of the poet and his personal experience in relation to public concerns and beliefs of the time; the representation of historical figures in the poems; adequate depiction of the time/context of the poems (“Literary Criticism”); the poems as a reflection, a product of the time; the reformulation of actual events for special purposes; the difference between fictional representation and reality; the difference the time; understanding past events mirrored in the poems; and the impact of historical events/movements and literary works in formulating the poems.
As this poem characterizes the view of a native woman expressing feelings of passion relating to her culture, it also criticizes society, in particular Christianity, as the speaker is experiencing feelings of discontent with the outcome of residential schools. It does not directly criticize the faith, but through the use of a heavy native dialect and implications to the Christian faith it becomes simple to read the speakers emotions.
The concept of journey is represented in both “The Conciliation” by Benjamin Duterrau and “The National Picture” by Geoff Parr. Both texts represent journey in a different way but still use a variety of techniques such as symbolisation, setting, mood and costume in order to convey this to the viewer. “The National Picture” also uses elements of “The Conciliation” in a way that conveys the concept of journey in the piece. The Conciliation uses a variety of techniques and in its literal context of the setting displays the concept of journeys.
The writings of Amy Tan and Richard Rodriguez’s depicts a bilingual story based on two differing culture. On Mother Tongue, “Tan explores the effect of her mother’s “broken” English on her life and writing” (506). On the other hand, Richard Rodriguez “recounts the origin of his complex views of bilingual education through Public and Private Language” (512). From a child’s eyes, Tan and Rodriguez describe each joys and pain growing up in a non-English speaking family. Hence, may be viewed that cultural differences plays a major role on how one handles adversities.
... uncertain world where they felt at ease and protected. The house symbolizes the family unit’s connection during this ‘adaption’ process, which presents a positive view of the family belonging to each other and as part of the Australian society. Finally, in “Feliks Skrzynecki” we see the relationship between the poet and his father, and their contrasting experiences of belonging in a new land. The poet successfully conveys Feliks as a man who is comfortable, content and secure in his own identity. In this poem, concepts of belonging and not belonging occur within place, family, community and culture. Belonging is an active process building a sense of connection through repeated action. People develop unique connection and affinities with place. Therefore, belonging is an individualized process-people may not be able to feel the same sense of connection as you or I.
This poem captures the immigrant experience between the two worlds, leaving the homeland and towards the new world. The poet has deliberately structured the poem in five sections each with a number of stanzas to divide the different stages of the physical voyage. Section one describes the refugees, two briefly deals with their reason for the exodus, three emphasises their former oppression, fourth section is about the healing effect of the voyage and the concluding section deals with the awakening of hope. This restructuring allows the poet to focus on the emotional and physical impact of the journey.
... of language and education is the most important in this story and society. The make use of two different languages in a narrative, provides a reader a perplexing yet fascinating image of characterization and customs. Multilingual story telling pushes the reader to decelerate and acquire supplemental focus on the expressions which are in the small fragments, however as soon as the reader has figured out the foreign words, he or she acquires a priceless picture of the theme of this story. The panorama of native words and phrases, cultural perceptions, and class dispute taken from the incorporation of two different languages are helpful for the reader to obtain significance that he or she couldn't gain if exclusively one language was employed in the story. Just as the power of language is applied to unveil a society, a better comprehension is provided to the reader.
Using form, Wislawa Syzmborska conveys the message through a serious of parallelism, stanzas, and lines in her unconventional poem. Examples of parallelism are found in the 2nd and 3rd stanza where the poet is emphasizing “because” and “luckily” to show the reader that because of these situations the victim survived and that the victim was extremely lucky to have all these materials provided to hide and protect the victim which adds to the message. The poem begins with a breathless response to some disaster, as if the speaker is processing as we listen. Therefore, the mood is rushed and fast paced. The parallelism keeps the poem moving and at a quicker pace while sustaining the mood. The poem itself is in an unconventional form. With the different lined stanzas and different line lengths, she uses them to represent different situations and with the different situations and circumstances, it comes out to be successful, into a meaningful poem, which correlates to the whole message. With the different turns the victim took by chance, that person survived. Form is used, in this poem, to gather together ideas and unify the poem.
Throughout all texts discussed, there is a pervasive and unmistakable sense of journey in its unmeasurable and intangible form. The journeys undertaken, are not physically transformative ones but are journeys which usher in an emotional and spiritual alteration. They are all life changing anomaly’s that alter the course and outlook each individual has on their life. Indeed, through the exploitation of knowledge in both a positive and negative context, the canvassed texts accommodate the notion that journeys bear the greatest magnitude when they change your life in some fashion.
The audience Tan is reaching are people who are very ignorant to the fact that others who speak broken English, regardless of race, know that they are taken advantage of and are not given the respect that a fluent English speaking person would get. The essay is also aimed toward people who can relate to the ?language of intimacy? (36), which is a different sort of English ...
English is an invisible gate. Immigrants are the outsiders. And native speakers are the gatekeepers. Whether the gate is wide open to welcome the broken English speakers depends on their perceptions. Sadly, most of the times, the gate is shut tight, like the case of Tan’s mother as she discusses in her essay, "the mother tongue." People treat her mother with attitudes because of her improper English before they get to know her. Tan sympathizes for her mother as well as other immigrants. Tan, once embarrassed by her mother, now begins her writing journal through a brand-new kaleidoscope. She sees the beauty behind the "broken" English, even though it is different. Tan combines repetition, cause and effect, and exemplification to emphasize her belief that there are more than one proper way (proper English) to communicate with each other. Tan hopes her audience to understand that the power of language- “the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth”- purposes to connect societies, cultures, and individuals, rather than to rank our intelligence.
Tan’s essay does more than just illuminate the trouble with language variations; her essay features a story of perseverance, a story of making a “problem” harmonize into a “normal” life. Almost like a how-to, Tan’s essay describes an obstacle and what it takes to go above and beyond. Mirroring Tan, I have been able to assimilate “the [world] that helped shape the way I saw things” and the world that I had to conform to (Tan 129). Life is a struggle, but what makes it worth it is the climb, not what is on the other side.
The purpose of Amy Tan’s essay, “Mother Tongue,” is to show how challenging it can be if an individual is raised by a parent who speaks “limited English” (36) as Tan’s mother does, partially because it can result in people being judged poorly by others. As Tan’s primary care giver, her mother was a significant part of her childhood, and she has a strong influence over Tan’s writing style. Being raised by her mother taught her that one’s perception of the world is heavily based upon the language spoken at home. Alternately, people’s perceptions of one another are based largely on the language used.
• AW’s work is deeply rooted in oral tradition; in the passing on of stories from generation to generation in the language of the people. To AW the language had a great importance. She uses the “Slave language”, which by others is seen as “not correct language”, but this is because of the effect she wants the reader to understand.
When a character in a piece of literature chooses to travel, the character usually has a purpose confined to the motivations of the individual. Distinct from this, in The Invention of Morel and The Last Voyage of Columbus the journey is a device employed by an author to imbue the travel of a character with purpose. The journey is an experience which comprises much more than travel from one location to another. Journeys can represent a literal or symbolic deviation from the expected path, and ultimately transform a character in the process. In The Last Voyage of Columbus by Martin Dugard, Christopher Columbus rejects preconceived notions of what lies to the West and begins a journey which transforms