Essays - A Debt that Must be Paid
Adolescence, under the best of all circumstance, is a time of great stress and confusion for young people. Bodies, relationships to friends and family, and moods change rapidly as social, psychological, and physiological puberty is navigated.
In this society, to be an adolescent who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered (hereafter referred to as 'gay') means to be at significant risk for suicide, depression, dropping out of school, violence, homelessness, rejection from family, prostitution and substance abuse.
Estimates suggest that at least three million children and adolescents in the United States are homosexual.
For this group, the societal stressor of homophobia (both external and internal) adds a significant and often lethal component. Researchers estimate that up to one-third of all adolescents who commit suicide are lesbian or gay. In addition, gay teens are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual counterparts.
Data collected in 1985 suggest that 85% of gay youth who attempt suicide also use illicit drugs. Nearly a quarter of that group had already undergone chemical dependency treatment. The mean age for suicide attempts is 15 years and most report multiple tries. Overdose and self-laceration account for 80% of these attempts.
National dropout statistics reveal that 28% of gay and lesbian high school students leave school because of physical and mental harassment resulting from their perceived sexual orientation. While in school, the data indicates that more than 37% of adult gays experienced threats, harassment, or violence in either junior high school or high school.
Feelings of social and emotional isolation are also are rampant. Four-fifths (80%) of gay adolescents report severe problems in this area. According to a 1986 survey, 40% of homeless youth identifies as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. In addition, half of all lesbian and gay youth studied, report that their parents reject them because of their sexual orientation. It is estimated that 26% are forced to leave their own homes.
Gay youth are more likely to experience violence perpetrated upon them by family, school peers, and total strangers. Nationally collected data is not available, since the Bureau of Justice statistics do not indicate crimes against youth who are gay. Non-national studies show that of youth who report assault crimes, 46% say that their sexual orientation was an issue. More sadly, 61% of the violence perpetrated on this group occurred within their own family.
Born on October 14, 1894, E. E. Cummings an American poet was born at home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His mother had a great influence on his early interest in art and poetry. His father was a Unitarian clergyman and sociology professor at Harvard. He began his interest in writing poetry during his high school career as early as 1904 and he also began learning language such as Latin and Greek in the Cambridge Latin High School. During this time he also shortened his name from Edward Estlin to E. E (Constantakis).
Olds is a contemporary writer who expertly maneuvers her work through modern life. In this particular collection, written in 1983, she takes us on an explorative journey through both the past and present of family life. I will explore the role of the family in both these poems and how, through the collection, a realization and acceptance is reached.
From the information delivered by Shakespeare on King Henry, it symbolizes the significance of Henry’s multifaceted personality in becoming a successful ruler, and the fact that relationships will be torn apart, in order to achieve success on the battlefield.
Breaking the fourth wall, or, penetrating the audience’s suspension of disbelief, demonstrates the way that actors and playwrights throughout the ages have honed the power of literature. Speaking directly to the audience as a way to encourage a realistic interpretation, despite physical accuracy or on stage representation, creates a mindset that transforms the play into an objective work of art, and a lens through which the audience can view themselves and the world around them. The specific rhetorical strategies that Shakespeare uses in both Puck’s epilogue in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the Chorus’ speeches in Henry V, act to place the imaginative labor of realistic interpretation onto the audience, while encouraging appreciation for both
Hillary R. Clinton once said that “There cannot be true democracy unless Women’s voices are heard” (conference in Vienna, Austria 1997). That very brilliant quote relates to a very strong woman by the name of Maya Angelou. Angelou is “America’s most visible black female autobiographer and speakers” (scholar Joanne M. Braxton). She is known for her speeches, poems, and books, but what stood out to me the most was her 1993 inauguration speech when Bill Clinton was sworn into the White House. Ironically, in her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” Maya Angelou uses clear rhetoric, prehistoric metaphoric images, and inspirational concepts to alert her audience to treat the world differently.
Nikki Giovanni and Linda Hogan both wrote poems in the 1970s about their grandmothers that seem totally different to the unaware reader. In actuality, they are very similar. These two poems, Legacies and Heritage, express the poet’s value of knowledge passed down from grandmother to granddaughter, from generation to generation. Even though the poems are composed and read very differently, the underlying message conveyed is the same, and each are valid first-hand accounts of legacies and heritages.
Edward Estlin Cummings was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on October 14, 1894. He earned a BA from Harvard and volunteered to go to France during World War I with the Ambulance Corps. After the war, he stayed in Paris, writing and painting, and later returned to the US. He died in Conway, New Hampshire, in 1962. Cummings is one of the most innovative contemporary poets, he used unconventional punctuation and capitalization, and unusual line, word, and even letter placements - namely, ideograms. Cummings' most difficult form of poetry is probably the ideogram; it is extremely terse and it combines both visual and auditory elements. There may be sounds or characters on the page that cannot be verbalized or cannot convey the same message if pronounced and not read. Four of Cummings' poems "la," "mortals," "!blac," and "swi" illustrate the ideogram form quite well. Cummings utilizes unique syntax in these poems in order to convey messages visually as well as verbally.
The number of gays and lesbians in the U.S. is estimated to be approximately 8.8 million (randomhistory.com) About thirty-three percent of Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender commit suicide each year. At least fifty-two percent self-harm (dosomethinng.com). Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender are mistreated and misunderstood. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender are treated inhumanely which causes them to go into a deep depression, self-harm, or even commit suicide. LGBT are humans, not just some creature from another world (personal).
In her essay, “Momma, the Dentist, and me” Maya Angelou describe her insight in remembering an incident of racism. The incident refer to a time when a white dentist named Lincoln did not treat her tooth ace just for being colored “Niggah.” In America no one should be allowed to be a form of prisoner, because of their native skin color. Americans should be held accountable for their actions whenever a color person are in need of help their social life. There should be laws ordinances to prohibit persons from confronting -either verbally or physically -color people for not being a Caucasian person. This conflict in rights between those held by color people and the American people those held by, because American refused freedom rights, endanger lives, and economic issues.
The Chorus has multiple functions in the play. In act I, it set the scene and prepared the audience of what to expect. In act II, the Chorus sets the plot for the conspiracy planned against the King. It also brings out one of the major themes that occurs throughout the play, honor. In act III, help out with the plot using imagery to help the audience to picture events taking place. The prologue to act IV sets the scene up for the battle. The Chorus also gives the audience some insight into the character of Henry V as well. The prologue to the last act fills in the lapse in time that occurred since the battle was won up to the point where Henry returns to France. The Epilogue closes the play with the Chorus reminding the audience that the event depicted is hard to present on stage due to lofty subject matter dealing with such a great man as King Henry V.
As stated on www.religioustolerance.org, a study of gay, lesbian and bisexual adults showed that 41% reported being a victim of a hate crime after the age of 16. Assuming that 5% of all adults are homosexual or bisexual, this would mean that about six million of them had been victimized during their lifetime out of a total group population on the order of 15 million Americans. However, only about 1,200 hate crimes were actually recorded by police per year. One is forced to conclude that almost no hate crimes are reported to the police by gays and lesbians. These statistics are horrifying and show that this problem is immensely wide spread.
fit into the action of the play. For example in the Act II Chorus, we
The theme of unity transcends any ambiguity found in Henry's character or motives. This theme is evident in many areas of Henry V, but for the sake of this article, the importance of this theme is discussed between play and audience, and within Henry himself. This production of Henry V proposes that these two aspects be emphasized to show how Shakespeare's play has a message for modern theatergoers. The setting and age are left the same, as this adds to the validity of the play.
D’Augelli, A.R. (1998). Developmental implications of victimization of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths. In G.M. Herek (Ed.), Stigma and sexual orientation: Understanding prejudice against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals (pp.187-210). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
...ompared to their heterosexual peers (Garofalo, Wolf, Kessel, Palfrey, & Durant as cited in Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 2011). LGBT youth has two to four times higher rate of suicide than to the others heterosexual youth (Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 2008).