"Self-preservation is a full-time occupation I’m determined to survive on these shores I don’t avert my eyes anymore in a man’s world I am a woman by birth." This quote, from Ani DiFranco’s song, "Talk to Me Now," expresses a feminist’s view on a woman’s determination to live her life in a world often dominated by males. The theme of the life cycle and its numerous manifestations is frequently found in feminist poetry. It seems that women writers are particularly intrigued by the subject of life and death perhaps because they are the sex which have the unique role of giving birth to the next generation. In the works of Sylvia Plath, Stevie Smith, and Ani DiFranco, the symbols of blood and water are used to represent the various aspects of the life cycle. Plath’s poem "Cut", Smith’s poem "The Boat", and DiFranco’s song "Blood in the Boardroom" all make references to blood. Although, the meaning of blood in these poems varies from suicide, in Plath’s poem, to menstruation, in DiFranco’s song, to death, in Smith’s poem, the subject of blood remains as the central symbol in all of these works. Water, as well, is a symbol illustrated by each of these artists. In Plath’s "Full Fathom Five", Smith’s "Not Waving but Drowning", and DiFranco’s "Circle of Light", water symbolizes such divergent topics as death in Plath’s poem, life in DiFranco’s song, and fear in Smith’s poem. These three twentieth century feminist artists express their opinions through their works, as the topics of their poetry overflow with similar, yet symbolically different, references to blood and water.
Blood can symbolize death, but also life. One can die from the lose of too much blood, conversely, our life is created on the basis of blood as our main bodily component. The poem "Cut" by Sylvia Plath employs blood as the symbol of a woman’s power over her life to create death in suicide through the lose of too much blood. Just days before writing this poem, Plath had accidentally cut herself while cooking, all but slicing off the whole fatty tip of her thumb (Alexander 301). This kitchen accident acts as a Freudian slip of the knife that opens up a whole world of unconscious motives in a woman’s imagination, and leads to an outpouring of Plath’s feelings of castration as a women (Bundtzen 141). Plath employs images and metaphors in a speedy format, which tumble forward as her imagination struggles to name the shifts in feeling that she endures (248).
Ford offered an incredible perk for people working in his company. He offered the workers $5 a day minimum wage even though in other auto industries the wages were $2.34. So Ford was paying more than double the average wage to his workers, this shows his dedication to his work. Henry Ford despised Labor Unions for the sole reason that they were pointless and that because he thought he knew how to take care of his workers better than anybody else did. However, in 1941 he faced a general strike from his workers that made him change his mind, reluctantly. Ford had worked a lot to create a car that would be affordable to any common person. He stated, “ I will build a car for the great multitude…so low in price that no one will be unable to own one.
The readers are apt to feel confused in the contrasting ways the woman in this poem has been depicted. The lady described in the poem leads to contrasting lives during the day and night. She is a normal girl in her Cadillac in the day while in her pink Mustang she is a prostitute driving on highways in the night. In the poem the imagery of body recurs frequently as “moving in the dust” and “every time she is touched”. The reference to woman’s body could possibly be the metaphor for the derogatory ways women’s labor, especially the physical labor is represented. The contrast between day and night possibly highlights the two contrasting ways the women are represented in society.
The mass murder of European Jews was intentionally planned by Hitler before the wars started; Due to the fact of the capturing of all innocent men and women of the Jewish religion before the failure against Russia. The count of the number of people who are within the Jewish religion dropped dramatically within this period of time.
The Ku Klux Klan, was an extremist group that formed during the 1800’s. They used torture to gain power, especially in the South. They were a group of white men that shared the same political views and goals. They formed between December of 1865, and the Summer of 1866 in Pulaski Tennessee. Their original idea was to be a brotherhood, but that quickly changed. The Klan did not realize their potential at first, but they realized they could have as much power as they wanted if they worked for it, and thats what they did. They met in secret to plot their heart breaking attacks on African Americans, Republicans and many others. Finally, in the 1870’s laws were passed to limit their deadly actions. In 1869 they had earned notoriety and nationwide
The KKK was once an African American hate group in the late 1800’s, created by Confederate generals who wanted to continue suppressing their former slaves with terror. It was shut down after their leaders were plagued with scandals, and their business dealings put out into the open, for all to see and read. People finally understood what the Klan was about and obviously did not want it. Although in 1915, William J. Simmons watched D.W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation” which depicted the story of what happened after the Civil War, through the eyes of a glorified Klansman. He was stargazed at how Griffith depicted the Klan, and as him being a long time joiner of clubs, he decided to bring back the Ku Klux Klan. A surprising fact is how a man like this could lead a group of hate, as he used to be a minister. (“Ku Klux Klan -- Extremism in America”) This second generation of the Klan created almost an “Invisible Empire” by their high point. Their members were scattered across state and federal government, and one could say that they “co...
For those who are interested in learning about history, the Roman Empire and its civilization were one of the most interesting spotlights in the human history. The Roman Empire existed throughout a hundreds-years timeline, officially since 27 BC under the reign of Emperor Augustus. However, to learn how this great empire rose up, they have to back to the “the early Rome and the Republic” period. In this period, these events happened orderly, from the rise of Rome in the Italian peninsula that led to creating the Roman republic, the conflicts with the Carthage Empire, the conquest of the Mediterranean and it ended with the fall of the Roman Republic.
I will discuss the similarities by which these poems explore themes of death and violence through the language, structure and imagery used. In some of the poems I will explore the characters’ motivation for targeting their anger and need to kill towards individuals they know personally whereas others take out their frustration on innocent strangers. On the other hand, the remaining poems I will consider view death in a completely different way by exploring the raw emotions that come with losing a loved one.
During the process of growing up, we are taught to believe that life is relatively colorful and rich; however, if this view is right, how can we explain why literature illustrates the negative and painful feeling of life? Thus, sorrow is inescapable; as it increase one cannot hide it. From the moment we are born into the world, people suffer from different kinds of sorrow. Even though we believe there are so many happy things around us, these things are heartbreaking. The poems “Tips from My Father” by Carol Ann Davis, “Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith, and “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop convey the sorrow about growing up, about sorrowful pretending, and even about life itself.
The inequality seen in American history has impacted all American citizens in different ways. Through the years, the people living in America have seen the different measures variety of racist groups do to make certain people stay at the bottom of the hierarchy in American society. One group that targets African Americans is the Ku Klux Klan. They are better known as the KKK, who wear hooded white outfit covering their faces shielding their identities. They committed hate crimes that led to the injuries and deaths of countless people. Due to the actions the Ku Klux Klan have committed, they are judged by American people with numerous perspectives explaining how these groups have impacted their life in America.
In this paper, I plan to explore and gain some insight on Audre Lorde’s personal background and what motivated her to compose a number of empowering and highly respected literary works such as “Poetry is Not a Luxury”. In “Poetry is Not a Luxury”, Lorde not only gives voice to people especially women who are underrepresented, but also strongly encourages one to step out of their comfort zone and utilize writing or poetry to express and free oneself of repressed emotions. I am greatly interested in broadening my knowledge and understanding of the themes that are most prominent in Lorde’s works such as feminism, sexism and racism. It is my hope that after knowing more about her that I would also be inspired to translate my thoughts and feelings
The first half of the poems’ images are of life, coming of age, and death.
In both Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” and Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”, we see that there are two types of women who arise from the demands of these expectations. The first is the obedient woman, the one who has buckled and succumbed to become an empty, emotionless shell. In men’s eyes, this type of woman was a sort of “angel” perfect in that she did and acted exactly as what was expected of her. The second type of woman is the “rebel”, the woman who is willing to fight in order to keep her creativity and passion. Patriarchal silencing inspires a bond between those women who are forced into submission and/or those who are too submissive to maintain their individuality, and those women who are able and willing to fight for the ability to be unique.
Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar (1971) is a thinly veiled autobiography. Having been riddled by depression herself, Plath has us follow her protagonist Esther’s journey of self-discovery in order to assert her views on the intersection of mental illness and traditional femininity. In the novel, blood serves to mark transitions in Esther’s life. Time after time, blood intersects with largely feminine milestones and the shifts in her mental health as she witnesses births, is sexually exploited, and must confront her own sexuality. Esther struggles to fit in to the narrow feminine role and views the world through a predisposition for depressive thoughts. The “traditional” era in which she exists enforces very binary gender roles and places her purity
At a glance, the poem seems simplistic – a detailed observance of nature followed by an invitation to wash a “dear friend’s” hair. Yet this short poem highlights Bishop’s best poetic qualities, including her deliberate choice in diction, and her emotional restraint. Bishop progresses along with the reader to unfold the feelings of both sadness and joy involved in loving a person that will eventually age and pass away. The poem focuses on the intersection of love and death, an intersection that goes beyond gender and sexuality to make a far-reaching statement about the nature of being
Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short-story writer who suffered from depression. The death of her father, when she was only eight years old, was what triggered her depression. And because of that, most of her work revolve around the death of her father and her attempts of suicide. In her poem Lady Lazarus is about her attempts of suicide and how she feels about death. This theme of death and suicide can also be seen in the poems Daddy, which is about her deceased father, and Edge which is about a person who is about to commit suicide. Sylvia plath´s poetry centrally tends to discuss suicide and death as the main subject, which can be exemplified by the poem Lady Lazarus.