A Lesson Before Dying free essay sample

He tagged along with two men who were on their way to a liquor store. The storeowner began arguing with them, and a shootout occurred. The storeowner and the two men died, and Jefferson was left at the scene of the crime alone with the gun. He was arrested and tried for murder. Jefferson’s lawyer argues in court that Jefferson is nothing but a hog, and therefore incapable of committing such a crime. The jury still brings back a guilty verdict. Upon hearing the lawyer’s speech, Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, wishes for Jefferson to die like a man, not a hog. She asks Grant for help, as he is an educated man. He despises the wrongdoings done to his fellow black men, but he does not want to get involved in Jefferson’s case. However, after immense amounts of force from his aunt Lou, he agrees to try to help Jefferson. We will write a custom essay sample on A Lesson Before Dying or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Jefferson resists Grant’s attempts to reach him. Grant spends many uncomfortable visits in the cell with Jefferson. When Grant attempts to teach Jefferson about dignity, Jefferson insists that dignity is for humans, not hogs. He imitates a hog and tries to anger Grant with ignorance, but Grant keeps his cool. Each visit ends in failure, but Grant continues to try to reach Jefferson. On his fourth visit, Grant gets Jefferson’s attention with a conversation about his final meal. Jefferson admits that he wants a gallon of ice cream because he almost never had any. This conversation begins to break down the barrier between Grant and Jefferson. Grant buys Jefferson a small radio and brings him a notebook to write down whatever thoughts come to his mind. Jefferson promises that he will, and by Grant’s next visit, Jefferson has filled a page with thoughts on the difference between hogs and men. Amidst Grant’s visits with Jefferson, he regularly visits with his girlfriend Vivian for advice and comfort. Grant continually suggests that they run away from their hometown and their past in the South. The Reverend Ambrose is unable to reach Jefferson, and instead asks Grant to save Jefferson’s character and soul. Jefferson asks Grant if he believes in heaven and Grant replies that he does not, but his atheism does not make him a good man. In fact, Jefferson will save even Grant’s soul if he carries the cross like Jesus did. Grant explains that the blacks in the quarter have always been enslaved to white men, and that when Jefferson was called a hog, the entire black community was degraded even more. Now, Jefferson has the opportunity to stand up for his race. In March, the governor sets the execution date for two weeks after Easter. People young and old from the quarter come to Jefferson’s cell to speak to him. Jefferson realizes that he has become much more than an ordinary man, let alone a hog, and that his death will represent much more than he thought. Grant cannot find it in himself to attend the execution. At the time of the execution, he orders his students to kneel at their desks and pray for Jefferson. After the execution is over, Grant finds himself numb, heavyhearted, and crying. The protagonist and narrator of the novel is an African American school teacher in his twenties. Grant is intelligent and witty, but also a bit hypocritical and depressed. Spending his life in an extremely racist community has made him bitter. He has no faith in himself, society, or his religion-or lack thereof. He does not believe anything will ever change in the south, and that escape is the only option. He fears getting involved in possible lost causes. This attitude makes him demean responsibility, and he is testy against his aunt for forcing him to help Jefferson. Over the span of the novel, however, he learns to accept responsibility for himself, for his actions towards other people, and for his role as an educator and leader for change in his community. An honest, quiet, young black man of below-average intelligence, Jefferson is a normal citizen of Bayou. When his lawyer calls him a â€Å"hog,† Jefferson takes the name to heart and begins to consider himself a lowly barn animal far less than any human being. He becomes withdrawn and sulky, accepting his death sentence and therefore becoming a symbol of his oppressed people. Grant tries many times to fix Jefferson’s mental state. He believes that Jefferson can become the positive change the black community needs. One of the many themes in A Lesson Before Dying is redemption of one’s death. With its consistent references to Jesus Christ and his crucifixion, this novel implies that a man’s death can be a meaningful and even uplifting to a struggling community. Jefferson has had a quiet life, working as a plantation worker for years and never misbehaving. When convicted for a crime he did not commit, Jefferson is acting like the animal the whites think him. However, his death sentence liberates him, and he finds the strength of the Lord. By the end of the novel, Jefferson understands that by dying like a man, he is more of a man than any of the white men who wrongfully convicted him of murder. He knows that by refusing to surrender his morality in his final moments, he will uplift his community. For these reasons, he walks to his execution with his head up, and witnesses say he is the strongest man in the room. A Lesson Before Dying is a very inspiring novel for many young people on how their lives and the way they carry themselves affects their community. Gaines used commonly spoken southern dialogue in his novel to portray the characters in a very life-like and historical sense. Although the general aspect of the theme was well played throughout the whole story, Gaines’ pacing was entirely too slow for my taste. It seemed like the first fifteen chapters where very repetitive. Grant basically is arguing every chapter with Tante Lou about seeing Jefferson. The book could’ve been reduced in chapter size significantly. Once Grant started going to see Jefferson, however, the plot and action in the story started rolling.

Daffodils and Clarkes Miracle on St. Davids Day Essay Example

Daffodils and Clarkes Miracle on St. Davids Day Essay Example Daffodils and Clarkes Miracle on St. Davids Day Essay Daffodils and Clarkes Miracle on St. Davids Day Essay Essay Topic: Poetry The first of the two poems, Wordsworths Daffodils is about a man remembering that some daffodils cheered him up one day. The poem starts off with the person being described as a cloud and how he slowly joins a host of golden daffodils. But the reader does not know at first that this poem is actually a memory until further down in the poem. Throughout the poem Wordsworth refers back to the daffodils and makes a connection with other things like them such as stars. Wordsworth also depicts how the daffodils dance. In the last verse the reader finally finds out that the poem is a recollection. Whilst the second of the two poems, Miracle on St. Davids Day written by Gillian Clarke is about a mentally ill patient reciting Wordsworths Daffodils in front of a crowd of other patients and daffodils. From the title Miracle on St. Davids Day it is revealed to the reader what this poem is about. It is obvious that a miracle is the main point of the poem, meaning something holy yet unexpected. The poem starts off in a very positive setting among the cedars and enormous oaks but by the second verse the reader finds out that Clarke is, in reality, describing an Insane Asylum. The poet describes herself reading poetry to the insane as she does a huge and mild man recites Wordsworths Daffodils with no emotion the memory of the poem is perfect but the sound isnt because he hadnt spoken in a long time. He recites the poem in front of the other patients and ten thousand daffodils outside. Both these poems have the theme of memory and daffodils but each are represented in a different way. In the first line of Daffodils Wordsworth describes himself as a cloud, wandering lonely. The verb and adverb tell us that the cloud isnt moving very fast and that the cloud is a distance from everything else. This is also personification because the cloud could also be a person outcast by society, for example Wordsworth could be trying to describe his own experience. In the second line of the verse the poet uses another slow verb floats. Half way through the verse there is a change of pace all at once and the reader then sees the crowd of daffodils. Additionally the poet using two adjectives to describe the numbers of daffodils host and crowd showing that there must have been at least one hundred. This could also mean that the person being described as a cloud being accepted back into society. Wordsworth describes the daffodils as golden with illustrates the radiant colour and wealth of the memory. In the last line of the first verse Wordsworth uses personification to give the daffodils human characteristics when he uses the verbs Fluttering and dancing which are also metaphors. The verb dancing also gives the sense that the daffodils were dancing all together in rhythm. In the first verse and throughout the poem the poet uses rhyming couplets at the end of each line. Wordsworth also uses the rhyme scheme of ABABCC in each verse. Wordsworth in the second verse talks about stars and how many there were and makes a connection between them and the daffodils. The poet describes the stars, as continuous showing the reader that there are countless numbers of them. In the second line the writer uses the adjective and verb twinkle to describe the stars; there is also a connection between twinkle and golden because stars are also golden. The poet carries on to say, they stretched in a never-ending line which supports the other quotes. Most of the second verse goes on about how many stars there actually are. In the fourth line the poet says Ten thousand saw I at a glance which shows he wasnt paying attention to how many there were it also gives us the impression that the stars saw him. Wordsworth makes another connection between the daffodils and the stars because they both dance. He uses the verb tossing and the adverb sprightly to describe the way they danced. Wordsworth connects the daffodils and the stars by telling us that they both danced. Wordsworth, throughout the poem, has repeated the dancing, the daffodils and the fact that in every verse there is a mentioning of water, in the first verse it was lake in the second bay and finally in the third waves. And again in the first line of the third verse the poet repeats the fact that he saw something dance. He says the waves beside them danced, but . The mood then changes with the use of the word but, because it makes the reader expect something. After all the describing of the magical and romantic atmosphere, the reader feels pessimistic that something is going to change the whole mood of the poem. The reader then discovers that nothing terrible happens but the but was only to shame the waves, as the daffodils were more effective out-did the sparkling waves in glee. This means that the daffodils were better than waves. The atmosphere is now light and fantastic again, glee meaning merriment and cheerfulness. There is a colon in the middle of verse three indicating a pause, which continues with Wordsworth commenting on his feelings and actions. I gazed- and gazed- but little thought. The dashes slow the line down by breaking it up gradually. By doing this Wordsworth indicates the end of the description of the daffodils. There is also a metaphor in this verse, what wealth to me the show had brought. The wealth in this verse is a metaphor describing the memory, experience and emotion of seeing the daffodils. The last verse indicates that the poem was a memory or flashback. The reader knows this from the first line of the verse, For oft, when on my couch I lie. The reader knows that the memory is frequently visited because oft means often. The next line creates an empty mood, far away, drifting and dreaming. The mood and atmosphere is quite strongly put forward to the reader with vacant or in pensive mood. This means absent and dreaming, inattentive and expressionless but with a thoughtful frame of mind. Verse four has a special meaning. It is a time in Wordsworths life when he is having a look back at his experiences, which is so emotionally overwhelming to him that it has created an extremely long lasting impression in his mind. Wordsworth sums up his feelings from the experience in the last verse they flash upon that inward eye; here he is saying that the vision of the crowd of daffodils is stuck in his imagination for the rest of his life. This brings great happiness to him, which is the bliss of solitude. By using the word bliss, Wordsworth expresses his emotion of complete happiness. Solitude, meaning being alone completely with no-one near you at all, tells the reader that this experience was very personal to him and special, and only he will ever know the wonder of it even if he describes is as best as he can to others and then my heart with pleasure fills. This is a personification as there is an image of a jug being filled to the brim with pure joy. Also there is another personification in the last verse, and dances with the daffodils. It is a further personification of a lively person who dances. In this last line Wordsworth is saying that his heart is dancing with the daffodils. Daffodils do not dance, but to Wordsworth they give off life, joy and radiant beauty. The last three lines of verse four create a pure and lovely mood. In The Daffodils Wordsworth is trying to teach the reader to appreciate the beauty of nature and to understand the importance of memory. I also think that he is trying to teach the reader about how the effect of just one experience in your life can be so strong and powerful that it can be remembered as vividly as it was the day of the experience many years later. Miracle on St Davids day starts off very positively in the first verse. With the use of slow verbs the atmosphere becomes very relaxed An afternoon yellow and open-mouthed. Clarke uses the sun to describe the rest of the setting The sun treads the path. Clarke uses very descriptive adjectives to describe the setting and the trees such as the enormous oaks. But in the fourth line there is a cast of doubt to this happy place when it says, It might be as well as a warning it also adds mystery to the poem. In the last but one line of the first verse we finally find out that it is a country house with guests strolling, this sounds like the perfect fantasy for most people. But in the second verse the perfect image is shattered I am reading poetry to the insane this is a shock for the reader because it was totally unexpected. It is a very bold statement to put in to a poem. The reader finds out that the perfect country house is actually an insane asylum or a hospital. From being very positive, Miracle on St Davids day has turned into a very negative poem. The verse carries on to describe the audience sitting down listening to the poem, A beautiful chestnut -haired boy although these people are mentally ill Clarke still tries to describe them as if they were normal people. Another shock is that the child she described so perfectly was actually, a schizophrenic on a good day. Gillian Clarke describes the hospital further by saying In a cage of first March sun this statement gives you the image of a prison not a hospital. But the bars of the cage are actually only the blinds on the window but it still gives you the idea that the patients are trapped inside the hospital. The poet then describes a woman not listening, not seeing, not feeling Clarke uses the techniques of tripling and repetition of the word not to describe the womans mental state. Gillian Clarke further explains that the woman was absent meaning that she wasnt really listening just sitting there. Gillian Clarke at the end of the third verse mentions, A big mild man is tenderly led to his chair. We have know idea what is wrong with him; all we know is that he is a big, mild man this shrouds the patient in mystery because we dont know what he is going to do or say. But immediately after the man has been led to his chair Clarke reveals to us he has never spoken whilst being a patient at the hospital. Although the man seems a tough guy the reader finds out that he actually isnt he rocks gently to the rhythms of the poems. Gillian Clarke depicts herself reading to their absences, presences she uses rhyme contrast to describe the patients she is reading to. In the last line she once more describes the silence man as she did in the previous verse big, dumb labouring man as he rocks. The verb and adjective labouring portrays an image of a strong but unintelligent man. To start off the fifth verse Clarke uses the technique of sibilance, tripling and alliteration to describe the mans movements suddenly standing, silently. These three words put together are called sibilants. The man had never really been noticed before until now. Although the man hasnt done anything Gillian Clarke is still afraid of him, she says huge and mild, but I feel afraid. The poet uses similes to describe the man breaking through his silence, like slow movement of spring water. In the last line of verse five the man starts to recite The Daffodils. Clarke describes the nurses are frozen silenced and shocked by the miracle before them that the man can actually speak. Clarke describes him as hoarse but word perfect this reinforces the fact that he hadnt spoken in a long time. As he recites the poem outside we find out that there are daffodils as still as wax which is another simile. The daffodils are also shocked by the man speaking because they are frozen as well. They are also his audience. Clarke describes the numbers of daffodils and how their syllables are unspoken. In the last but one verse we find out how the man knew the poem. 40 years ago in a valleys school although it is a short poem he still remembered it after 40 years. After starting to speak again h had remembered there was a music of speech but he did use to speak and that he once had something to say. At the end of the mans poem before the applause, we observe the flowers silence. A thrush sings and the daffodils are flame. Gillian Clarke portrays a vivid and colourful image of the daffodils. She describes them as flame but the reader knows that they are actually clapping. These two poems the Daffodils by William Wordsworth and Miracle on St. Davids Day by Gillian Clarke are both very similar in style, content and ideas both have some mentioning of daffodils. And both have the theme of memory except theyre represented in a different way. These two poems talk about the importance of memory to a person; in Wordsworth case a man remembering a great day he had with some daffodils and in Clarke case a mental patient remembering the poem The Daffodils after 40 years without speaking. Both these poems have a lot in common with each other. But they are also connected by their style of writing.

It depends on the question that the writer choose Essay - 1

It depends on the question that the writer choose - Essay Example While the previous era of globalization came up around falling transport costs, the current globalization is linked to the decrease in the costs of telecommunications, which make it easier to propel the world higher and make it a global village 1. These technologies have made developing nations to become big producers other than just relying on the trading of their raw materials to the west and get finished products in return. All these developments showcase a world full of selective understanding in which the main market players will be more coalitions of conjuncture and the traditional alliances built around a strategic interest point. In essence, globalization has led to the creation of more opportunities than harm. The benefits do outweigh the harms largely. The essay seeks to expound on how globalization has affected the word at positive level 2. The concept of globalization has remained a topic of interest, with great debaters focusing much on it. Its proponents have marked it as an exquisite phenomenon to happen in the world while its opponents criticize it strongly as a component linked to create harm rather than improving the existing conditions. One thing is well notable: that despite the challenges globalization faces, there is a great impact it has played on the lives of millions of people in the world3. Those against globalization may present diverse negative effects of its existence, such as environmental degradation, inequality in economic patterns, loss of jobs and other catastrophic events. However, a good number of developing countries are benefitting immensely from the vice more than before, in terms of economic growth, sustenance of culture and other angles. First, globalization has created many employment opportunities especially in developing nations. Many companies are reviving their operations especially with reference to ICT sector. There