“America” by Claude McKay is a poem dealing with McKay’s thoughts as he processes through his inner turmoil as he faces the reality of being rejected from a country that he loves. As Claude unveils his feelings to the reader, a creative description of America is presented. The poem deals with love and loyalty and the vicious rejection when you aren’t accepted in a society’s culture. In the short poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus showcases and contrasts the ancient Greek statue Helios and the Statue of liberty. Lazarus lets the reader compare the ancient Colossus of Rhodes, representing traditional masculinity in contrast with the New Colossus a feminine symbol of unity and refuge for those in need. Both poems are social commentaries …show more content…
Using the title is the beginning of the comparison Lazarus makes between the Old Colossus and the New Colossus. The old colossus is referring to the ancient statue of the Greek god Helios; the New Colossus was a woman the Statue of liberty. The narrator of the poem presumably, Lazarus is comparing the two statues to each other stating “Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame…A mighty woman with a torch… her name Mother of Exiles.” Lazarus continues the comparison on the next lines describing the female statue as “welcome” which is in direct contrast to the Old Colossus is meant to show power and authority. In the next lines five and six, Lazarus renames the statue of liberty into “Mother of Liberty” which personifies the statue and gives personality to this static object. A Mother is nurturing and caring, Lazarus uses these ideals to represent the statue of liberty. The personified statue then shouts, talking about the over glorified history of Greek mythology and cities “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” Lazarus may be implying that the old traditions and ancient rituals in the past. Welcoming refuges this popular quote is inscribed on the actual statue as follows “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” The quote “Your huddled masses yearning to breathe” highlights a unique comparison to the poem “America” previously discussed in this paper. This final passage is embodies the sentiment of the entire poem and communicates, hospitality, empathy and helping your fellow man which are morals America claims to
The aim of this book by Bui Diem with David Chanoff is to present the Vietnam War told from a South Vietnamese perspective. The large-scale scope of the work concerns the fighting between North and South Vietnam over which party would run the country and wanting to become an independent state free from the Western powers. Diem's memoir contains in-depth details about his life and politics in Vietnam in 1940-1975. The book serves as a primary source in documenting the events in Vietnam during the war and as an autobiography of Diem's life. The purpose of this book is to give insight of the war through Diem's eyes and how it affected his life.
Throughout history, Americans have sought to spread the spirit of equality, which is believed to be the realization of true freedom. Before establishing this freedom, every American had only one question stuck in their head: What is freedom? Our country received it in the year of 1776 from the British through a series of difficulties and wars. African Americans defined it as an escape from slavery, while immigrants defined it as their acceptance into a new society. More yet, women of the women’s suffrage defined their freedom as their recognition into society and for their rights to be equal to that of every other man. These different perceptions of cultures/groups in America tied together to form an American view of freedom. Freedom is something that every American should be willing to do anything in order to maintain. We may have weapons of mass destruction, but when it comes to living in a peaceful, American lifestyle, our freedom is our greatest weapon.
executing the messages that Hoagland wanted to deliver to the readers. The technique of symbolism was perfectly used in adding depth and meaning to the overall poem. Narrative method was also incorporated brilliantly in making readers feel like they were having a one-on-one conversation with the author. After reading ‘America’, one cannot deny that Tony Hoagland’s
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
The poem “America” by Tony Hoagland reflects on how peoples’ minds are clouded by small-scale items, money, and the unimportance of those items. Metaphors and imagery are utilized to emphasize the unimportance of materialistic items in America. How America is being flooded with unnecessary goods. The poem uses examples of people to create an example and connection to the overall meaning.
The two most important events during American expansion were manifest destiny and the availability of land. Lewis and Clark had opened the nation’s eye to a vast continent that begged to be explored. Stories of beautiful land and riches were being spread much like during the of early days of European exploration and Americans felt it was their destiny to take possession of these territories. People were pouring in from around the world to become Americans and the population was ready to spread over the Great Plains to the the Pacific coast like to a wave of humanity seeking the American promise for the pursuit of happiness.
Poems are expression of the human soul, and even though, is not everyone’s cup of tea when the individual finds that special poem it moves their soul one with the poet. There are many poets in the world, but the one that grab my attention the most was no other than Langston Hughes. It would be impossible for me to cover all the poems he wrote, but the one that grab my attention the most is called “Let America Be America Again.” It first appeared in “1938 pamphlet by Hughes entitled A New Song. Which was published by a socialist organization named the International Worker Order” (MLM) and later change back to its original name. I have never felt such an energy coming out of a poem like this one which is the reason that I instantly felt in love with it.
In Open City, Cole includes historical events that illustrate extreme hatred towards races. Many of those mentioned are genocides. This includes the Holocaust, the genocide in Rwanda, and the genocide in the Republic of Congo. In these cases, the survivors seek refuge in countries of Europe and the Americas. On numerous occasions, they find themselves still the target of racist acts. America, has promised opportunity for immigrants and refugees seeking freedom. The Statue of Liberty includes Emma Lazarus’s quote from her Sonnet “New Colossus,” “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” (1883). It is ironic however, that people are still mistreated because of their race in America. In Open City, the birds that Julius sees represent freedom. They come and go as they please, migrating throughout the city during the seasons change. Towards the end of the story, Julius describes the birds hitting the Statue of Liberty, and their bodies being sold afterword. The Statue of Liberty was seen by millions of immigrants who travelled through Ellis Island in hopes of finding a better life. Cole uses the conclusion of the story, when Julius travels on the boat around the Statue, to explain how the Statue of Liberty is a monument of oppression. Those who entered America seeing it, were simply greeting a new
The female, adolescent speaker helps the audience realize the prejudice that is present in a “melting-pot” neighborhood in Queens during the year 1983. With the setting placed in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, the poem allows the audience to examine the experience of a young immigrant girl, and the inequality that is present during this time. Julia Alvarez in “Queens, 1963” employs poetic tools such as diction, figurative language, and irony to teach the reader that even though America is a place founded upon people who were strangers to the land, it is now home to immigrants to claim intolerance for other foreigners, despite the roots of America’s founding.
David McCullough author of 1776 puts faces and feelings to the events of the Revolutionary war making this an exciting novel even when the ending is known. Acting as a companion to an earlier work of McCullough’s, John Adams, 1776 is a strictly military view of the era versus political. Although the reader may have to get accustomed to the vast amount of characters introduced McCullough makes sure that those you are supposed to remember you will. Every character introduced is described incredibly well and throughout the novel you begin to feel as if you know the character and are going through the battle with them, specifically General George Washington with whom the reader emphasizes constantly with throughout the war. With the great description of the characters and events we feel as if we are there and in doing this the author creates understanding, the reader by knowing all sides and characters’ personalities the feels they know why the Revolution happened the way it did.
In “The Closing of the American Book,” published in the New York Times Magazine, Andrew Solomon argues about how the decline of literary reading is a crisis in national health, politics, and education. Solomon relates the decline of reading with the rise of electronic media. He believes that watching television and sitting in front of a computer or a video screen instead of reading can cause the human brain to turn off, and lead to loneliness and depression. He also argues that with the decrease of reading rates, there will no longer be weapons against “absolutism” and “terrorism,” leading to the United States political failure in these battles. The last point Solomon makes is that there is no purpose behind America being one of the most literate societies in history if people eradicate this literacy, and so he encourages everyone to help the society by increasing reading rates and making it a “mainstay of community.” Solomon tries to show the importance of reading in brain development and he encourages people to read more by emphasizing the crisis and dangers behind the declination of reading.
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” (Lazarus). Lady liberty stands towering and majestic with an inscription of Emma Lazarus’ poem, The New Colossus. The “huddled masses yearning to breathe” refers to the dark slums and ghettos that were once found in Europe, and beckons those people to America where they may breathe and be free. Lady Liberty cries out to the homeless and those who couldn’t afford first class and endured a rough journey to America (tempest-tost). The light is always on to welcome refugees day or night as Lady Liberty lifts her lamp beside the golden door. America has been built upon immigration and open arms since July 4, 1776. English should not be declared the official language of the United States in order to let diversity and the Right of Individualism flourish along with the continuation of America’s core ideas of encompassing multilingualism.
freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building” (Edward Snowden). Before WW2, communism became a colossal concern due to the idea that various people were aiming more on what countries they wanted to colonize. Later after the war, from 1945-1964, the Vietnamese expanded Southward expecting to reach the Mekong River Delta. As a result of their movement, the Vietnamese absorbed French influence established upon choice and freedom to individuals. France was preferential where as the U.S. Was pushed further away because the French recognized the democratic republic of Vietnam (DMV) as a free state. In the novel The Quiet American, by Graham Greene, Thomas Fowler, a British journalist, meets an American CIA agent named Alden Pyle who is always reading books by York Harding. Pyle's opinions are based on Harding’s beliefs that a Third Force, a country that interferes with two fighting nations to help reach a settlement, is the best way to help Vietnam out of Communism. Both Fowler and Pyle battle over a women named Phuong, wanting what is best for her and the rest of Vietnam. While Fowler wants nonintervention, Pyle wants to do the complete opposite. In the novel The Quiet American, Pyle believes he has to bring in a Third Force to stop communism which became a threat to the Vietnamese when in contrast, Fowler is more justified because he interpreted the main conflict of the Third Force and the view of the Vietnamese people.
The American Economy was Linked by Railroads, Fueled by Oil and Built by Steel. Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, Henry Ford – their names are synonymous with innovation, big business and the American Dream. These leaders sparked incredible advances in technology while struggling to consolidate their industries and rise to the top of the business world. The Men Who Built America is a History six-hour, four-part miniseries documentary drama, broadcasted in Fall (Autumn) 2012, and on the History Channel UK in Spring 2013. The series focuses on Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan and Henry Ford
In the poem “A song of Despair” Pablo Neruda chronicles the reminiscence of a love between two characters, with the perspective of the speaker being shown in which the changes in their relationship from once fruitful to a now broken and finished past was shown. From this Neruda attempts to showcase the significance of contrasting imagery to demonstrate the Speaker’s various emotions felt throughout experience. This contrasting imagery specifically develops the reader’s understanding of abandonment, sadness, change, and memory. The significant features Neruda uses to accomplish this include: similes, nautical imagery, floral imagery, and apostrophe.