Rain is
often regarded as symbolic of life, as rain is what gives life to...
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
SONG OF THE RAIN Can i know what is ment by the lines " I AM LIKE EARTHLY LIFE WHICH BEGINS AT THE FEET OF MAD ELEMENTS AND ENDS UNDER THE UPRAISED...
Monday, February 2, 2009
What year does the story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" take place?
Most agree
that the events of the short story "" take place in the year 1790, thirty years prior
to the publication of the story in 1820.
The earlier date explains the
pervasive belief in spirits and ghosts that are such an integral part of the story. Since
"The Enlightenment" (1685 to 1815) was still incomplete in 1790, the superstitions
that make the story work would have been commonplace - a situation more unlikely in 1820 when
the story was actually written.
In "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," what does Edwards consider essential for salvation?
' famous
sermon "" is an excellent example of the revivalist movement in churches during the
Great Awakening. Grounded in the dominant theology of the day, the Great Awakening introduced an
emotional component to the role of the church, using images and prayers to evoke affective
responses from the congregation.
Soteriology, or the question of what we must
be saved from and how we are saved, is at the heart of Edwards' sermon. He uses vividto describe
Hell, a literal place of eternal torment for those he terms the Wicked. He further describes
that the Wicked are literally held, dangling over the pit, by God. It is only the willpower of
God, he asserts, that keeps them from falling into Hell at any given moment. People can work to
stay healthy, avoid death, profess the best of intentions, even sit in church every
Sunday.
Ultimately, Edwards points toward a covenant of grace between man
and Godthe idea that God is the ultimate power, but that God created a covenant with mankind
through Jesus Christ. God alone has the power of life over death, redemption over sin.
For Edwards, it is merely at his own whim that God keeps man from the pit at any given
moment. In order for the pit to be avoided entirely, man must enter fully into the covenant
through the mediation of Christ. Intention, good works toward their fellow men, and sitting in
church are not enough. Edwards is calling for full-on conversion. It is not simply the mind
which must accept and contemplate a concept of covenant and grace. The heart must be fully
devoted to Christ. God's restraint from simply throwing them into Hell is a chance to
change.
Why is "The Minister's Black Veil" a parable?
Ais a kind of story,
typically a fictional one, that contains a moral or religious principle. This story seems to
qualify doubly because it has both. It demonstrates a theme common to Hawthorne's writings: we
are all sinners; this is certainly a Christian, religious principle. However, the story also
demonstrates a moral: we all attempt to hide our sinful natures from one anotherand we are
wrong, very wrong and misguided, to do so. In fact, we add hypocrisy to sin when we encourage
others to believe that we do not have sinful natures. Moreover, when we fail to publicly
acknowledge our sinful natures, we hang a figurative veil between ourselves and everyone else,
separating and alienating ourselves unnecessarily when we could be commiserating and supporting
one another instead. This is what Father Hooper's literal veil seems to represent. With this
figurative veil in place over each of our souls, we prevent ourselves from truly being known or
truly knowing anyone else.
Father Returning Home
The main
message of the poem is that of individual alienation in modern society, as illustrated in the
father of the title who appears as a tired, poor, shabby old man. In this way the poem taps into
a common theme of modern literature the world over. Much of the poem is taken up with a visual
description of this man, all of which emphasises his loneliness and world-weariness. We first
see him among other commuters on the train journey home where he sits with his wretched
belongings, alone in a crowd. In a particularly striking image, he is described as 'getting off
the train/Like a word dropped from a long sentence. This gives a sense of his irrelevance in
this society, which like the train goes on unheedingly without him. Yet, although so downtrodden
and so easily ignored, there is a hint of an indomitable spirit within him when it is said that
in spite of his muddied €˜chappals, or sandals, he still €˜hurries onward.
Significantly, it is not only the outside world but also his own home which appears as
a wholly unsympathetic environment; he is given €˜stale things to eat, and his €˜sullen children
seem to largely ignore him. Devoid even of family companionship, it is little surprise that he
retreats €˜to contemplate/Mans estrangement from a man-made world. This is the one time that the
poem directly states its central message. The depiction of this mans estrangement not only from
society at large but also from his own family lends the piece a double piquancy.
The poem, then, conveys an overwhelming sense of the sordidness and bleakness of one
mans life. There seems to be little route of escape for this unfortunate character €“ except, it
seems, in the inner recesses of his own mind where he can dream himself away from the present
time, into the refuge of the far past or the distant future, with his ancestors and his
grandchildren. The poem thus plays up the contrast between this mans frail and shabby exterior
and the rich, teeming inner life that still pulses within him. Despite all external setbacks, it
seems as though the mind can never be quite conquered. In fact, the final image of the poem is
that of conquerors; the man dreams of the hordes of the ancient invaders of India, coming down
through the Khyber Pass. This rich, romantic, inner life is what continues to sustain him
through his uninspiring day-to-day existence in the modern world.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
In Of Mice and Men, what is John Steinbeck's style?
was both a
storyteller and a social critic. In his novella , Steinbeck employs what
has been termed a "visionary style" withproviding the surface form for Steinbeck's
broader interest in the unconscious, recurring myths, and symbolic characters in a carefully
structured narrative.
Steinbeck's realism is often veneering for his keen
interest in the philosophy of fraternity, symbolic characters, and the psychology of the
unconscious and that of the mob. Often his narratives demonstrate how thesetting in which there
appears to be a certain contentment deteriorates because of the actions of men. The opening
scene of Section 1, the clearing into whichandenter is a scene of harmony for the various
animals that come to drink from the pool. But, while George and Lennie are there, they quarrel,
breaking the peace andfuture social dynamics in the narrative. Later, in the quiet of
nature--"A dove's wings whistled over the...
In Animal Farm, how do Napoleon and Snowball react before and during the Battle of the Cowshed?
The Battle of
the Cowshed offers a chance to showand 's true mettle as leaders of the glorious revolution.
However, during the battle itself, only Snowball participates; Napoleon's name is only mentioned
once during this chapter, and only in the context of sending out pigeons to foster dissent in
the other farms. Snowball alone is responsible for organizing and leading the counterattack that
drives Jones and the other men off the farm for good.
Snowball, who had studied an old book of Julius Caesar's campaigns which he had found
in the farmhouse, was in charge of the defensive operations.
[...]
The pellets
scored bloody streaks along Snowball's back, and a sheep dropped dead. Without halting for an
instant, Snowball flung his fifteen stone against Jones's legs.
(,
, msxnet.org)
For the purposes of
the chapter, Napoleon is nowhere to be seen, and it can be safely assumed that he is hiding in
the barn or the house, trying to avoid any danger. Like most dictators, Napoleon is a coward at
heart; he is willing to use military might (the dogs) to force his will on others, but as soon
as there is a credible threat against him, Napoleon hides. This shows that while Snowball was
committed to the cause, putting himself at risk to help keep the farm free, Napoleon only cares
about his own comfort and gratification, and is not willing to risk his own life for the sake of
others.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)