The Journey of Michael Palin
In my essay I will be writing about when Michael Palin reaches Africa
on day 53. I will some of his many journeys , and how he uses historic
information to make it more interesting. I will be telling you about
his train journey and the townships of south Africa. Also moments when
palin’s writing brings alive for me the strangeness of Africa.
On day 53 Michael was in Port Said going to Cairo, Michael does not
seem to happy when they are stopped by officers who unload all of
their equipment for examination, he seems a bit fed up because he says
’.. we have been through all this for seven hours yesterday and he has
the paperwork to prove it’. Palin uses very descriptive language to
describe the canal which they drive along side to avoid the busy
Ismailia highway. He says its quiet and restful, which you can tell
because the way he describes everything. ’ kingfishers swoop,
butterflies flicker in the reeds and there is not much noise until the
wind sets the bulrushes hissing and whispering’. He uses adverbs like
’soundlessly’ to put his point across. Day 55 he is in Cairo, he
gives me the impression he has been to Cairo before because he says ’
Cairo seems more enormous and manic than I ever remember it.’
When he is talking about Cairo he makes he seem a really nice place as
he says’ there are all sorts of hidden delights’ but when he gets to
the train station there is a bit of confusion about what platform the
train to Luxor is on, whilst he is waiting Michael meets a English
couple who are on their honey moon who just cannot take anymore of
Cairo.
The train journey is very ferocious and bumpy as he says’ Im awake and
hanging on for dear life’. The train pulls up to the station at
5.35am. He gives the tone of excitement because it’s the first time in
his life that he has been to Luxor before.
“…and [I] shall first give an account of his deeds at home and abroad, then of his character and pursuits, and lastly of his administration and death, omitting nothing worth knowing or necessary to know.”
observance and brave act of participation should not go unnoticed along with his research, which
There is a place where not far from my hometown, which, since my childhood, still holds the secrets to life. It was a place where we were free. Free to do whatever we wanted to do, say whatever we wanted to say, it was our place, our river. It was a simple place, no paved or asphalt roads for the commotion of busy traffic, no tall buildings to block out the sunlight, no sense of time to feel rushed or anxious, no effects from the outside world. It was a beach on the coast of Lake Sakakawea called “Little Egypt.”
As the sun rises high into the midday summer sky, Bruce Carroll begins to pack his bag for the 6 months out in the wilderness. He has decided to make the 6-month trek along the Appalachian Trail. This choice has been hard on Bruce because he cannot bear staying away from his family. His daughter Lillian, is a blonde four year old who always has her pink blanket. The mother of Lillian is a dark-haired beauty. Everyday Bruce wakes up, he compares her to a super model.
Barack Obama came on to the political stage in 2004 when he gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. Before this momentous occasion very few people had heard of the Junior Senator from Illinois – he had only been in the Senate for eight months. He titled the speech “The Audacity of Hope” to highlight the strength and resilience of the country and to encourage people struggling to rise out of poverty and despair and help them believe in a better future for themselves, their children, their families and their country.
The study of past events have been a common practice of mankind since the verbal telling of stories by our ancestors. William Cronon, in his article “Why the Past Matters,” asserts that the remembrance of the past “keeps us in place.” Our individual memories and experiences shape how we act in our daily lives. In addition to influencing us at an individual level, our collective history binds us together as a society. Without knowing where we have been or what we have experienced, it is nearly impossible to judge progress or know which courses of action to pursue. The goal of the historian is to analyze and explain past events, of which they rarely have firsthand memory of, and apply the gained knowledge to make connections with current and future events.
Barack Obama is the most current Machiavellian today, as most men and women in politics are. Obama is a democratic president born in Hawaii and is also the first non-white president that the U.S. has ever had (biography.com 2014). Much like other presidents, however, he puts on the presidential act that Machiavelli himself had written in his book, The Prince. Ironically, his letter did impress the prince, but it certainly outlined the roles of the most powerful leaders throughout history to this very day.
One of the best sources of information about the Holocaust is from someone who survived it, and we were lucky enough to hear 103 year-old Marko Feingold speak in Salzburg, Austria. The theme of his story was faith, and that eventually good people will be rewarded for their actions. I found an interview with him from 2012 where he describes his story in more detail. Marko was born in Vienna and moved with his brother to Italy in 1932, but was arrested by the Nazis in 1938 while he was visiting his family (Treves-Tchelet). He was weakened by the hard labor and was deemed unfit for work (Treves-Tchelet). He would have been killed by the gas chambers, but the chambers were not built yet and he had to get sent to Dachau and eventually to Buchenwald
The book Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, was a very interesting story about a young man going to live out in the wild of Alaska. This young mans name is Chris McCandless also known as Alex Supertramp. He had a lot of courage to go out this trip facing the wild. He has set high hopes for how young he is. Graduating college than leaving directly after graduating and burned all of his money and left his car and most possessions behind. His bravery definitely had a big impact on the story. With his bravery, it seemed like he has done this before and has no weariness. Chris was very independent on his trip. He received little help from people. He got work a few times to buy gear for his trip to Alaska, other than that he was either hitch hiking or walking.
...his supposed expeditions to the fabled cities of Guiana and Eldorado. Once again, historians believe this story uncovers some of the adventures that took place on his expeditions.
Ibn Battutah's journey began after he left his hometown of Tangier on July 14, 1325. He traveled to the city of Cairo and was amazed by the city. He referred to it as the “mother of cities, mistress of broad regions and fruitful lands, boundless in multitude of buildings, peerless in beauty and splendour, the meeting-place of comer and goer, the halting-place of feeble and mighty, whose throngs surge as the waves of the sea, and can scarce be contained in her for all her size and capacity”. After leaving Cairo, he traversed through Upper Egypt and was astounded by the Nile River. Ibn Battutah described the Nile Riv...
...ere he will see the impact that his words will have on society. His hopes that his plead to the wind will spread his work to the world and inspire consciousness and imagination.
American journalist and writer, David Remnick, expressed the country’s deepest concerns on the Presidential Election in his New York Times article, “An American Tragedy.” Published precisely after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, the compelling article voiced how utterly distraught Remnick felt about the pressing events and mediated what he felt Hillary supporters, immigrants, and all threatened people felt towards Trump. He began his article on a doomful and defeated note addressing his title and main argument: Donald Trump’s election and presidency are an American tragedy. He presented his “revulsion and anxiety” toward the presidency, the “miseries” we could potentially look forward to, and how the course of events
Egypt is a country known all over the world. The country’s Great Pyramids are still considered one of the seven wonders of the world and attract many tourists, even today. Egypt is also one the oldest thriving civilizations still in existence from ancient times. The was no small feat and is largely due to its Nile River. The Nile River, all the way back to ancient times, has helped the country economically, socially, and spiritually. Therefore, molding Egypt to be the country that it is today.