The Use of Dreams in Literature free essay sample

This paper compares the use of dreams in six works by six different authors. This paper presents a detailed discussion on several works of literature and the use of the theme of dreams in them. The six works compared, contrasted and analyzed in this paper are: John Keats, Ode to a Nightingale; Langston Hughes, A Dream Deferred; Samuel Taylor Coleridges, Kubla Khan; Thomas Findleys Pilgrims; Bierce Ambroses An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge; and Samuel Taylor Coleridges Kubla Khan or, a Vision In a Dream: A Fragment. The writer discusses how each author uses the theme of dreams in their particular piece and then draws comparisons between the other authors works. The paper examines the proper use of dreams in any literary work. Using passages from each of these works, the paper shows how dream themes are used most successfully when dealing with death as a tool to explain the situation leading up to and immediately following the occurrence. We will write a custom essay sample on The Use of Dreams in Literature or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The use of dreams often fills in many unanswered questions that may be plaguing the reader as they read a story or poem. Throughout literary history there have been themes used to underscore a point to the reader. Often times the same theme can mean different things to different authors, and it is played out in different scenarios in their works. The theme of dreams has been a popular theme for literature in the past, especially in short stories and poems. There are six separate works by six different authors, which have used the dream theme to carry out various tasks. Sometimes it is used to allow after death thoughts, other times it is about goals and future desires, but any time a dream theme is used in these six works the author drives home the point of heart filled emotion leading the story.

Colonialism in Two Narratives essays

Colonialism in Two Narratives essays Capture and life with the Indians changed Mary Rowlandson. She would never again take anything for granted, and she became much more spiritual after her ordeal with the Indians. Her capture was a frightening nightmare that ended with the reuniting of her family, but she nearly starved to death before she returned, and she was treated little better than an animal most of the time. Her story is a story of courage and devotion to God, and it illustrates the underlying strength that lives in all of us. Rowlandson discovered many things during her captivity - that she wanted to live, that she dearly loved her family, and that she was a survivor. She also saw the Indians as nothing but savages, even though they spared her life. She wrote, "I was with the enemy eleven weeks and five days, and not one week passed without the fury of the enemy, and some desolation by fire and sword upon one place or other" (Rowlandson). Her captivity resulted from the colonization of native lands, resulting in the revolution of the native tribes, who resented the white man and their blind disregard for what the Indians considered their own. It is difficult to blame the Indians for fighting back, and while Rowlandson's ordeal was certainly frightening and horrible, her capture is simply a result of the Indians fighting for their way of life and their culture, which would ultimately disappear as the Zitkala-Sa's narratives show the other side of the coin. She is a Sioux woman who writes of her childhood, and a life and culture lost to the colonialism of the white man in the Great Plains. Both ordeals are caused by colonialism, with quite different results. Zitkala-Sa's mother laments, "'We were once very happy. But the paleface has stolen our lands and driven us hither. Having defrauded us of our land, the paleface forced us away'" (Zitkala-Sa and Fisher 10). She writes of a happ ...

Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Review - Essay Example Causes of this rising and falling include the thermal expansion of water as it is heated by the atmosphere, increased runoff from terrestrial glaciers that are responding to increased atmospheric temperature and increased discharge of Antarctic ice for the same reason. The first two causes are presented as being of minimal importance while the focus for the balance of the article was on the Antarctic ice. The discussion of rapid sea level rise was first introduced in 1978. In 1990, the first group of researchers went to Antarctica to specifically study the amount of ice breaking off from the ice sheets. They were astonished to see the amount of ice breaking free and made some dire predictions concerning sea level rise. This was the source of much of the alarmist reports concerning sea level rise through the 1990’s. The reality is these first findings and observations had doubt cast upon them almost immediately. Other researchers in Antarctica noted that they had not been studying the migration of ice long enough to know if what was observed by the first set of scientists was indeed out of the ordinary. They also noted that despite increased atmospheric temperatures thought the 1990’s, more than average amounts of snow were accumulating at the south pole. Much of the controversy surrounding sea level rise stems from the fact that measuring the actual amount of increase is tricky. The meters that are used to measure the sea are attached to land that is also being lifted up or is subsiding. According to measurements taken in Scandinavia, sea level has dropped by 4 mm each year for decades. In Hawaii, it has increased by 0.5 mm. New remote sensing satellites have been deployed that should give us a better idea of how much the sea level is rising, or not rising. This information should be available now because the data has been collected for the past decade. Detecting sea level rise is

Aristotle and Meaning of Happiness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aristotle and Meaning of Happiness - Essay Example If a person wants to gain real happiness then he should desire and aim for virtues in himself which eventually become real happiness of a person and will last within person's soul till eternity. Values like sincerity, honesty, honor, morality, justice wisdom and courage are the qualities which enlighten the human and bring inner happiness with can never be taken away. (YUKSEL.ORG) HAPPINESS WITH VIRTUE AND VALUES VS WORLDLY AND SELF CREATED VALUES: For Aristotle happiness is what enlightens and satisfy the soul. And happiness cannot be measured with worldly things like wealth, fame and social setup. From the virtues are the moral values of a person and they are real happy for a person as they define and satisfy the inner being of that person. And according to Aristotle real happiness can only be gained through virtue. He defined two types of virtues: moral and intellectual. Moral virtues are those which are explained and generated by feelings, choice, and action. The feeling of care, honesty, and justice etc. are the moral virtues which show the feeling and values of a person towards life and others. Whereas intellectual virtues are those which are related to person's cognition like wisdom (W. Russ Payne) IN THE LIGHT OF BOOK â€Å"TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE† The book â€Å"Tuesday with Morrie† writer by Mitch Albom is a memoir of the time the writer and his professor had together. It tells a heart touching story of a unique relationship which a student redevelops with his teacher Morrie Schwartz who is fighting against a fatal disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). After 16 years of graduation, when Albom accidentally see his professor in TV program Nightline while tripping channel he becomes totally shocked and stunned to know that his most favorite teacher is suffering from a terminal disease. This accident brings all the flashbacks to Albom’s mind and he recalls his pledge he did to his teacher on the last day to his graduation; which w as to stay in touch with him but he wasn’t able to fulfill it. And how on the last day of graduation Albom gifted Morrie a briefcase, with which he expressed his deep feelings of departure and gifting him a gift because he doesn’t want his professor to forget him. And how his sir Morrie was equally emotional and he sees him crying when he turned away after meeting him. This was very painful for Albom to recall and felt guilty that in his busy life he overlooked and forgot his promise. And after coming to know that he is suffering from ALS and is on wheelchair he felt great remorse and regret not staying in touch. Soon after this Albom’s starts visiting his teacher and realized that he has lots more to learn from his teacher. And just after coming to know about his teacher’s fatal condition, Albom who’s heart was full of agony immediately goes to meet his sir who even after a gap of 16 years recognize his students. This was not only painful for the student to see his teacher in such condition but a very emotional and nostalgic point in Morris life to see his student coming at his door after 16 years which brought all flashbacks of past. Albom starts visiting his teacher every Tuesdays and talked about life and knowledge. Albom and Morrie already had a very cordial father and son like relationship back in college but it took a new turn when after the lapse of sixteen years, Albom again started to visit him.  

Journal 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal 5 - Essay Example I have seen this kind of seating patterns in conferences and interview panels and I thought that individuals are seated in such a manner so that they can be able to share opinions more effectively. Communication within a group is influenced by the distance between the group members. In the class tonight, we learnt about different distances that could be used by individuals in a group. We found out that the distance could be categorized into four groups that include intimate distance, personal distance, social distance, and public distance. In our group discussion, I was comfortable when seating at a personal or social distance with my group members. On the other hand, I was very uncomfortable when seating at an intimacy distance with my group members. Moreover, I was not comfortable when seating at a public distance with my fellow group members. I realized that by group members were also uncomfortable with very little distance and very large distance. Therefore, I learnt from them that the most appropriate distance for a group work discussion is actually the personal distance that ranges from 18 inches to 4 feet. From the life highlights, I learned that I have a personality that is different to that of other members of my group. This personality makes me to have an ability to play some group work roles better than others. I also learned that in a group, every member has a personality that is different from that of the others. This makes every member to have unique abilities as well as weakness. According to Orey and Prisk (138), the main objective of a Johari Window is identification of personal blind spot. From the Johari Window activity, I learned that I have a personality of trying to assist individuals even when they do not need assistance. Moreover, I learned that almost everybody in our group had a personal trait that he was not aware. This could have affected the effectiveness of the

Wax Descartes And The Wax Example Philosophy Essay

Wax Descartes And The Wax Example Philosophy Essay Philosophers such as Rene Descartes have imagined ideas and scenarios in their heads regarding philosophy that have required something additional in order to be explainable. Often, philosophers will use an example to guide others through the idea. The example is usually a hypothetical, but sometimes an example will be demonstrated to ensure maximum impact. Descartes uses the Wax Example in the second meditation of Meditations on First Philosophy to explain why we as thinking things are able to know a thing even if it has been altered or changed in some way. To begin, it is essential that Descartes wax example be explained. Descartes examines a piece of wax, noting its properties. It looks, feels, and smells like wax. Descartes then holds the piece of hardened wax next to a flame and the wax melts. He observes the wax again after it has melted and notes that it smells, looks, and feels different than it just did, but it is still obviously wax. Even though the properties of the piece of wax had changed, we are able to conclude that an object is still an object even if it has gone through change. We rely on our senses to provide us with the information that allows us to determine what a thing is, and although our senses tell us different things, our minds are able to take that information and determine what a thing is. Therefore, there must be something inherently characteristic of that thing; otherwise we wouldnt be able to conclude what exactly it was because our senses can deceive us. Our senses are limited in that they strictly give us information about things; they do not interpret that information for us. We have to appeal to the mind every time we experience sensible objects. We constantly go to the mind to determine what the inherent quality of the thing is that makes it that thing. It is something that we cannot sense. There are two types of substances in our world; thinking substances and extended substances. Thinking substances are things in the mind and they do not physically exist. Extended substances are also known as material substances, and they are physical in their existence. The reasons that extended substances are called such is because the essential thing about those material objects is that they take up room and have mass, therefore extending in space. The qualities of substances are also important when it comes to determining what exactly a thing is. There are two types of qualities; primary and secondary. Primary qualities do not depend on the way one experiences an object. An object that has mass is always going to have mass, and your senses are not involved. A secondary quality does depend on the way one experiences an object. The information that your five senses detect will affect the way you see the qualities. A secondary quality could be how an object looks/smells/tastes/sounds/feels to you. Our conception of secondary qualities can sometimes be misled if we have misinterpreted a things primary qualities. If, for example, one was to take a hallucinogen and then observe a tree, one would still clearly see that the tree is made of matter and takes up space, but one might not see the tree as brown with green leaves, but rather as some sort of swirl of colors that is not a real representation of the object. The former is a prim ary quality and does not change even if we are experiencing it in an altered way, but the latter is a secondary and can change. The wax in question undergoes a change in all of its sensible properties, and even though all of its secondary qualities are telling our senses that it is no longer that piece of wax, our minds are able to determine through the primary qualities that it is still indeed a piece of wax. In this meditation, Descartes says, I do not grasp what this wax is through the imagination; rather, I perceive it through the mind alone. In saying this, Descartes is showing that it is our minds that are truly recognizing things such as the piece of wax. There are certain qualities and traits of objects that we link to them in order to classify them. What those traits are, are separate from the object itself; they are abstract and intangible. The platonic essence of an object is what our minds use to identify an object, not our imaginations use of our senses perceptions. Descartes is not actively feeling, smelling, and seeing the wax to determine that it is wax, but rather his mind is recognizing the platonic essence of the wax, identifying it even if it changes physically. Descartes second meditation is about more than just the wax example, but it is an important thing to be aware of, as it provides further evidence for his thoughts. Descartes says that he is a thinking thing. He determined that is something thinks, it exists- I think which means that I must exist. This holds true, because even if you were to say I talk, therefore I exist that could be your senses deceiving you; with I think, therefore I exist, thinking this is itself a thought, so there can never be any doubt as to whether or not I am a thinking thing. Descartes is showing us that there is a difference between minds and bodies, and that we know our own minds much better than we know any body, even our own. Through the use of the wax example, Descartes is able to explain the differences between thinking and extended substances, primary and secondary qualities, and that we have greater knowledge of minds than we do of bodies. Descartes second meditation relies on the discussion of the wax example to explain the significance of changes and how our senses and our minds can tell us two different things. In the end, it is our mind that is able to truly see the platonic essence of a thing and be able to identify it. Our senses have the ability to deceive us, making our minds the most reliable. Descartes has provided an explanation and example of his ideas, allowing us to see for ourselves what the mind and senses are capable of.

Legalization Of Drugs Essay -- essays research papers

Legalization of Drugs The drug connection is one that continues to resist analysis, both because cause and effect are so difficult to distinguish and because the role of the drug- prohibition laws in causing and labeling "drug-related crime" is so often ignored. There are four possible connections between drugs and crime, at least three of which would be much diminished if the drug-prohibition laws were repealed. "First, producing, selling, buying, and consuming strictly controlled and banned substances is itself a crime that occurs billions of times each year in the United States alone" (Lindsmith Center). In the absence of drug- prohibition laws, these activities would obviously stop being crimes. "Selling drugs to children would continue to be criminal, and other evasions of government regulation of a legal market would continue to be prosecuted; but by and large the drug connection that now accounts for all of the criminal-justice costs noted above would be severed" (Lindsmith Center). Second, many illicit-drug users commit crimes such as robbery and burglary, as well as drug dealing, prostitution, and many others, to earn enough money to purchase the relatively high-priced illicit drugs. "Unlike the millions of alcoholics who can support their habits for relatively modest amounts, many cocaine and heroin addicts spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars a week" (Lindsmith Center). If the drugs to which they are addicted were much cheaper- which would be the case if they were legalized-the number of crimes committed by drug addicts to pay for their habits would, in all likelihood, decline. Even if a legal-drug policy included the a demand of relatively high taxes in order to discourage consumption, drug prices would probably still be lower than they are today. The third drug connection is the commission of crimes- violent crimes in particular-by people under the influence of illicit drugs. "This connection seems to have the greatest impact upon the popular imagination" (Lindsmith Center). Clearly, some drugs do "cause" some people to commit crimes by reducing normal control, unleashing aggressive and other antisocial tendencies, and lessening the sense of responsibility. "Cocaine, particularly in the form of crack, has gained such a reputation in recent years, just as heroin did in t... ... of the drug dealing business because they can't control things on the street anymore with the drugs. He would have to go the legal way and try to make himself a respectable business person or lose all of his business. The bottom line is, if drugs are legalized it would stop a lot of crime and stimulate the economy. Drugs are bad, but wouldn't it be better to stop the criminal activity than let all of the crime go unchecked. The drug trafficking these days is getting to be ridiculous and something must be done to stop the rage of drug use and crime in our societies today. Children can get their hands on these illegal and dangerous drugs so easy now it is crazy. If drug use was legalized it would become almost impossible for a child under age to get these drugs. It would stop many young people from becoming junkies, while making them into better people that would contribute to their community. If a person wants to mess their bodies up I believe that they should do what they want with themselves, but when things start to affect other people then the authorities should step in. WORK CITED The Lindsmith Center, www.soros.org "Drugs and Crime."