The Short Story Of Mother To Son English Literature Essay

The Short Story Of Mother To Son English Literature Essay There are so many great stories, short plays and poems to critique within this text book. The poem I chose to critique was Mother to Son by Langston Hughes. He was born James Langston Hughes on February 1st 1902, in Joplin Missouri. James was a member of an abolitionist family. Hughes attended central high school in Cleveland Ohio, but he started writing poetry when he was just in the eighth grade. During this time, he was even selected as class poet by his fellow classmates. Langstons father did not think that his son could make a living on writing poems alone, so he enrolled him in an engineering program at Columbia University. Soon after, Langston withdrew from the program in order to pursue his writing career. Shortly after, Langston published his first poem which was his most famous, The Negro Speaks of Rivers. Langstons work got so much recognition it appeared in the NAACP and other publications. He was a prolific writer and throughout his life, he wrote sixteen books of poems, two novels, three collections of short stories, four volumes of editorial and documentary fiction and the list goes on. With all these prior knowledge of Hughes, I was able to understand his writing style a bit more clearly and grasp his theme within the poem. The theme for Hughes poem is, Even though life has been hard for the mother and she could not see what was ahead, she still encourages her son to continue on in life because she made it through. I love the way that Langston, so clearly depicted this theme within the poem and while you read it you can get a clear sense of exactly what is going on and you may even seem as if it were your mother speaking to you. The poem is self narrated and one can feel the love and emotion from the character. It has a strong meaning behind it because the mom cares for her child and wants him to continue on in life and to never give up. In life, mothers always wish the best for their children and never want them to fall by the way side or be led astray. Every mother wants for the child to be successful in everything that they do. It makes a mom heart broken or feels as if they failed, when their child fails. A critic by the name of R. Baxter Miller says In this poem the woman also represents the continuation of the race. Having given life to the next generation, the mother represents a figure of female strength, affirmation and generational continuity. Another critic by the name of James Baldwin says, Hughes is at his best in lyrics like Mother to Son. The poems lyrics elements include a first person speaker, an expression of intense personal emotion and a belief in spiritual transcendence of time and early circumstance. Both critics are correct and within the poem you can see exactly what they are referring to. The tone of the poem is full of love but also has intense warning. The mother wants the best for her son and Hughes clearly depicts that within his poem. The poem starts off by the mother informing the son that life for her has been hard. She states Well son, Ill tell you; Life for me aint been no crystal stair. Its had its tacks in it and splinters and boards torn upà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Meyer 1168) The mother, just like every mom who has had a hard time in life, tells her child what she has gone through; her trials and tribulations. She goes on to describe her life by saying the boards were torn up there was no carpet in places, which symbolizes her emptiness, how tough it was and chaotic. Think of a house if you were looking to buy one and you came across a house with the boards up in the air, mold on the walls, roof is leaking, insects infested the place and there was no carpet where carpet should be. Chances are you would turn your head the other way and look for something better, for you would know this is not the way a house should be. You could never make your family stay in this house for you know that they deserve better. Just li ke the mom she talks about the hard parts of her life, but she is trying to do better even in spite of whatever it is that she is going through. She goes on to say that shes been climbing and reaching landings to make it. Meaning shes been going ahead trying to do better and make something out of her situation and she is not giving up. Sometimes in life we have to realize that our situation is not the worst thing on earth. Even if we were going through the loss of a job, the death of a child, the loss of the house, being homeless, starvation or battling a deadly disease. We should realize that we can make it through in spite of. The mom warns her son to stay focused and persevere. She states, dont you turn back. Dont you set down on the steps because you find its kinder hard. (Meyer 1168) You can hear in her tone that she does not want him to ever give up or turn back while hes experiencing his tough times. Every mom encourages their child to go through whatever the situation may be and to never look back and say we cant do it. Sometimes as a child, we may think the problem is just too big for us to deal with or that we cant get through it. Sometimes we get weak and weary when our situation looks like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Even though it looks as if we cant go on, we have to remember the warnings that our mothers have said to us. We have to remember when they tell us to be better than them in everything that we do. Mothers try hard to get as far as they can in life, educationally and physically. Every mom tells their child to go higher and do more. So if your mom got a bachelors degree and made only 30,000 a year, she would want you to get a masters or a PH. D and make 60,000 a year. We have to remember when our mothers tell us to be better than they were. An example would be if your mom use to mistreat you as a child excessively beat you or put you down every time you needed her, she would want for you to treat your children with love and compassion. Your mother would also want you to be there for your child and uplift them in times of need. Anything that your mom did that you did not agree with, you should do better when you have your children. After all the warnings and encouragement, the mother ends of the poem by saying Ise still climbin, and life for me ain;t been no crystal stair.(Meyer 1168) A critic by the name of Alishia talks on her belief of what the crystal stair symbolizes. She states, I believe the crystal stair reference means that crystal is transparent, you can see the other side clearly through crystal. If her life was no crystal stair, she didnt know what the outcome was going to be, she just knew that she had to keep moving and keep working f or the best life she could make for herself. I agree with Alishia because if something is crystal you can see right through it and since the mom says life hasnt been a crystal stair she cant see through her life or see what is to come. When you cant see whats ahead of you, it makes it hard to plan out what you will do and prepare yourself accordingly. If life was a crystal stair for the mom, then should would be better prepared for everything and have time to plan out a solution to all her problems but life is never like that we never know whats to come. All we know is that when it does come our way we must not fall back, or get scared and give up. We must keep on going and persevere to the end so we can feel good that we accomplished something and made it out on top. Not only will we get personal satisfaction, but our mothers will be satisfied. This is what the main theme is for the poem Mother to son. Its all about us making it until the end and never giving up because we cant see whats ahead. The poem was very meaningful and motivational and Hughes did a wonderful job displaying this within his poem. This poem encourages and uplifts the reader to keep on moving forward in life and this is a life lesson that we all should take heed to. Work Cited Page Meyer, Michael. Mother to Son. Eighth. Boston: 1168. Print. Miller, R. Baxter. Mother To son critical overview. answers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr 2010. . Baldwin, James. Mother To son critical overview. answers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr 2010. . Alisha, . American poems. American poems.com. N.p., 21 04 2009. Web. 26 Apr 2010. . (February 1, 1902 May 22, 1967) Born in Joplin, Missouri, James Langston Hughes was a member of an abolitionist family. He was the great-great-grandson of Charles Henry Langston, brother of John Mercer Langston, who was the first Black American to be elected to public office, in 1855. Hughes attended Central High School in Cleveland,

1 Corinthians Essay -- Bible, Apostle Paul

Paul the Apostle is the central figure in many New Testament writings. Many historians have attributed fourteen New Testament letters to Paul’s writing; seven of these letters are uncontested meaning historians are sure that Paul wrote them, the remaining seven are contested. Paul was not always a Christian; in fact, he persecuted Christians before Christ came and temporarily blinded him. Upon seeing Christ, Paul devoted his life to Christianity and set out to spread the teachings of Christ. Scholars often credit Paul’s leadership to the ability of the Church to become Hellenistic in one generation. Paul also answered specific worries and questions that his converters may have had in many of his writings; one of these writings is 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians, Paul set out to deal with the many believers in Corinth who are divided into the followings of Paul or Apollos rather than Christianity as a whole. The converts of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12-14 were divided during times of worship because of jealousy invoked by the spiritual gifts received from the â€Å"Spirit†; the worships and the church became a place to boast who is closest to God, instead of a place of worship, interpretation, and love. In 1 Corinthians 14:26-33, Paul set guidelines in times of worship to heal the divide among his converts present in 1 Corinthians 12-14. 1 Corinthians was one of the seven uncontested writings of Paul; Corinth was the capital of Achaia in the times of Paul’s writing. According to Acts 18:11, Paul spent a year and a half in the city of Corinth. He established the main church in Corinth by converting many Corinthians to Christians. Paul eventually travelled from Corinth to Ephesus, a city on the coast of modern-day Turkey. When Paul arrived a... ...zing or speaking in tongues. Paul’s setup of worship is very orderly and gives directions to who can speak, when, and where. Doing so, Paul reiterates the fact that God is in favor of peace and his place of worship should also be of peace and equality. In 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul set out to address the issues of exclusivity and the divide among the converts of Corinth that has been caused because of spiritual gifts. Paul set a guideline to his converts in Corinth to create order and conduct during times of worship in 1 Corinthians 14:26-33. Doing so, Paul hoped that the divide that has been caused from those with special or â€Å"exclusive† spiritual gifts do not cause other believers to become jealous or envious. Paul’s guideline to the Corinthians showed the leadership that Paul had that allowed him to guide the Church to become Hellenistic in just one generation.

Swot Analysis of Skoda

Executive Summary The aim of this report is to illustrate the present situation of Skoda company in China car market and the world car market. By using SWOT analysis, describing Skoda had done a successful work in China. Evaluate the suitability of China as a foreign market for Skoda and it's product cars and Skoda may stay in China for more development. This will be assessed in the PESTEL analysis. Introduction Two young men, Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement, started to designed and produced bicycle in Czechoslovakia in 1895. 30 years later, the small factory became Skoda which went on to produced farm ploughs, cars, airplanes and bicycles in Eastern Europe. Between 1925 and 1990, Skoda overcame hard times which included war, political change and economic depression. The management of Skoda chose Volkswagen AG (VAG) as their strong foreign partner at 1990 and the reason was VAG has strong reputation, reliability and high quality. In addition, VAG is the largest car manufacturer in Europe, which taking 12% share at the world market by providing more than five million cars a year. Volkswagen AG comprises seven different car brands and each brand has its own specific character and is independent in the market. (SWOT ANALYSIS : SKODA, 2009) Latest Performance ? Skoda–Historical sales of world market model |2002 | |Weaknesses |Threats | |Outdated infrastructure |Competitors release same level products | |Not enough series of products |Expensive non-renewable energy | |Less famous |Increasing wages of killed workers | |Poor image | | PESTLE Analysis PESTLE stands for: political, economic, social, technological, legal, environmental. ‘PESTLE analysis is a tool that can aid organization making strategies by helping them understand the external environment is which they operate now and will operate in the future,'(PESTLE Analysis,2003) China ? Political – Low price of the raw materials – Low restrictions of car industry – Various of policies support the car industry(Guo peng, 2010) ? Economic – Economics of China is growing fast while other counties is in economic recession, which helps people can offer cars in their daily lives. ? Social – China has a very stable society, which is helpful to the sales and the innovation of Skoda. ? Technological – China government has released some encouragement policies on car manufacture and car market development. This made the technology of making cars have a large of improvement and it is suitable for Skoda to do the research and innovation. ? Legal – China has a complete legal system which can protect the company well. Environmental – China government has done many things to ensure the supply of petrol. This would also help the car sales. Conclusion In Conclusion, Skoda's overall performance in China is excellent. In these four years, it has a great improvement of sales from zero to 123 thousands a year and the number is still growing. Skoda shows a high level of quality, innovation, reli ability and service. However, it still has to work on the weak areas. In China, Skoda's market share is still not large enough and the government gives a great environment for the car industry. Therefore, it would be a better choice for Skoda to stay in China. References Guo peng. (2010). PESTLE Analysis of China car industry : http://wenku. baidu. com/view/b771d4335a8102d276a22f12. html. Viewed 6/8/2010 PESTLE Analysis. Renewal Associates. 2003: http://www. renewal. eu. com/resources/Renewal_Pestle_Analysis. pdf. Viewed 5/8/2010 Skoda in China sales over 83 thousands in the first half of 2010. (2010). Homepage Skoda Auto: http://www. skoda. com. cn/skoda/pages/data/new/news_20100721145609_000000000707. jsp. Viewed 5/8/2010 SWOT ANALYSIS : SKODA. Yogin Vora on August 6, 2009: http://managementfunda. com/swot-analysis-skoda/. Viewed 6/8/2010

Murder of Emmett Till Essay

Emmett Till was a fourteen year old boy who lived in Chicago. He was very outgoing and friendly with everyone he met. After his uncle, Moses (Moh-ss) Wright, came up to visit, he took Emmett and his cousin down to Money, Mississippi. Before he left, his mother informed him that life is very, very different for blacks in the South and the way he acted at home could not be the same as how he acted down there. He didn’t believe her warnings. As Emmett and his mother got to the train station Emmett ran for the train in haste as to not miss his ride. Mamie Till, his mother, yelled to him â€Å"Emmett, aren’t you gonna say good bye? What if I never see you again?† Emmett said, â€Å"Awhh mama.† Then he gave her a kiss on the cheek and handed her his watch so that she had part of him while he was away. She asked about his father’s ring and he said he was, â€Å"going to show it off to the boys† and was on his way without regard to his mother’s warnings. Money, Mississippi was just a stretch of road with a post office on one end and Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market at the other. Bryant’s sold cool drinks to passing field workers and candy to the neighborhood children. So African Americans were often regulars. As Mamie had said, the south was like a whole other world compared to Chicago. In the south, when a white woman would walk down the sidewalk and a black man was walking towards her, he would have to get off the sidewalk and look at the ground because a black male can never look a white woman in the eyes. Blacks weren’t even allowed to enter through the front doors of white businesses. Moses Wright worked on a field picking cotton. He lived in a small shack on the plantation that he worked for. There were only three small rooms in the shack so everyone squeezed in to the available beds. Emmett had to sleep with his cousin in one room; Moses was in another and in the other room, Wheeler Parker, Emmett’s close cousin and the others. While there Emmet and his cousins would help Moses in the field. On August 24, the boys drove into town from the field and went in to Bryant’s Grocery to get candy and drinks. Emmett went in and purchased two cents worth of bubble gum and on the way out turned back to Carolyn Bryant, the wife of the owner of Bryant’s Grocery, and whistled to her. She was furious and ran out to chase the boys, so they got in the car and drove off to their uncle’s house. While driving home Emmett begged his cousins not to tell Moses of the events that occurred. After three days, the boys forgot about the whole scenario. On the fourth night, at about 2:30 am while everyone lay asleep in bed, Roy Bryant, Carolyn’s husband, and his brother J.W. Milam broke into the house. They went into the first room to find Moses sleeping and woke him, shinning a flashlight in his eye and holding a rifle to his head and asked where Emmett was. Moses pleads for them to leave the boy alone but they did not listen and went into Emmett’s room and kidnapped him. Days went by with no word, so as does most blacks when someone goes missing, they started to check around the Tallahassee River, to try to find his body. Days later, a young man fishing in the Tallahatchie reported Emmett’s body floating in the nearby weeds. When Moses went to identify the body, the only way he could verify that it was Emmett, was by his father’s ring that was on his finger. Both men were arrested and set to be tried in the Tallahatchie County Court in September of 1955 for the murder of Emmett Till. The friends of Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam as well as other white families collected money to buy every lawyer they could for the two. When it came to the trial the defenses main strategy was that the body could not be identified as Emmett Till. They claimed that Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam let him go alive. Any Black people that came forward with information for the prosecution mysteriously disappeared so most remained neutral to avoid having the same fate. The two men were acquitted and set free, Mamie Till sent to higher courts and even President Eisenhower, who all refused to investigate further. After the trail Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam sold their story about what they did to Look Magazine. They made Emmett carry a 75-pound cotton-gin fan to the bank of the Tallahatchie River and ordered him to take off his clothes. They beat him nearly to death, gouged out his eye, shot him in the head, and then threw his body in; with the cotton-gin fan tie around his neck with barbed wire, his body sank into the river. After the story was published and the government did nothing about it, Mamie Till and All African Americans in America, realized the magnitude of their predicament. They knew that their rights as humans were at risk. Thus, the murder of Emmett Till became renowned as the spark that began the Civil Rights Movement.

Human Development Essay

â€Å"Ten year old Greg, listens to his younger sibling’s plea for signing a ‘Parent Confirmation Report’ for school affirming that the parent was aware about the child in question not completing his home test paper. Father is out of town, and mother is sick in bed. Greg has to think quickly as to how to react to this plea keeping in mind the dilemma of doing a wrong deed of signing a parent report without the parent’s knowledge and protecting the young one from the teacher’s wrath the next day. He knows well, he cannot share it with the parents. Greg finally gives in to his brother’s plea just this once, but strictly warns him not to repeat this again. The next day Greg bakes a cake for his sick mother, as repentance for his wrong deed. † According to Piaget’s theory, Greg can be said to be evolving from the second stage of Moral Realism to the third stage of Moral Relativity. Greg is at an age appropriate stage as per this theory as he displays behavior from moral relativity stage by accepting to do a wrong deed for the sake of protecting his brother and not troubling the sick mother thereby displaying stage-appropriate behavior that rules are not fixed, and can be changed by mutual consent. However, Greg also displays behavior from the earlier stage of moral realism by warning his brother not to repeat the act as rules are made by an authority and should be observed. He vents out his feelings of guilt by doing a special deed for his mother by baking a cake for her. According to Kohlberg’s theory, Greg displays classic behavior from the Conventional level, stage 3, the Good Boy-Girl stage. He yearns to be the good brother and good son by doing what is required of him in the dilemma. However, he also displays some behavior of the stage 4, Law and order, that the act is wrong, and should not be repeated hereafter, thereby suggesting his transitional phase between the two stages. Greg is not displaying age appropriate behavior considering Kohlberg’s second level of reasoning develops in early adolescence. Greg seems to be at an advanced level as per this theory. References Berk, L. E. (1996). Moral development. Child Development (pp. 481-489). New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India Private Limited.

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Philosophy - Essay Example He prioritizes the realistic form of visual arts rather than the abstract form (Wolff 323). There are different points in the view presented by Tolstoy. The view regarding the importance of the representation and expression of culture and morality in the artworks is a very important aspect of viewing the significance of art. This can be attributed to the fact that the artworks being a product of human being’s creativity and experiences can ultimately represent his true nature. Culture and norms encapsulate the experiences of human beings. Thus, what Tolstoy expressed in his view is correct. On the other hand, the definition of art cannot be limited by the number of people who can relate and appreciate the price of artwork. When he Tolstoy said that the best art is the most widely accessible art because it can better communicate with audience, he limits the capability of the people who observes the artwork to realism. He is right about the subjectivity of beauty but he can be wrong because his view stressed the failed to recognize that viewing art is subjective. Even the culture and morality that he is using as a guideline for his judgment can be subjective. In conclusion then, if Tolstoy is right about judging that the best art is the most widely accessible ones, why do surrealists and other unconventional artists still being appreciated? It is because their works also mirror the realities of life. Every product of human creativity on a personal point of view represents culture, thus, even in the absence of beauty or reality in the picture that is painted, it is still considered as art. Being the best or the worst art is judged only by subjectivity of the Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 19 Philosophy - Essay Example Humans therefore must carry out all actions and functions that make them into human beings and distinguish them from animals. Aristotle concludes that what distinguishes human beings from animals is their capacity of rational thinking. We are therefore happy as human beings when we do well what makes us human and distinguishes us from other species. But to seek happiness and fulfillment is not all that makes us human – human beings are also inherently very social beings and are political animals (Politics I.2) who seek to live in communities. Aristotle thinks that the state is the highest form of community, but at this point we should bear in mind that at his time the form of state and government Aristotle was most familiar with was the Greek polis, or city state, a relatively small entity both in geographic terms and in terms of population size. To Aristotle the polis encompasses all other human associations, from the family nucleus to clans to trade associations. A polis must have a constitution by which the lives of all citizens are organized and it must have a ruler, or law giver. It is important that the polis aims to achieve the highest good for all its citizens. In turn, as human beings are political animals, they can only achieve the good life by organizing themselves as citizens in a state. Citizenship may include holding a public office or serving as an administrator, but always includes some form of direct involvement and service rendered to the polis. Aristotle has three steps in mind, according to the age of a citizen: at a young age a citizen should serve as a soldier to defend his state, in middle age he should hold a public or administrative office and as an older citizen he should carry out religious duties. Citizens should be awarded for their efforts depending how much they have contributed to the running of the state. Aristotle warns against excess in any form and advocates moderation and inclusiveness. The rich and the poor should

Weka programme Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Weka programme - Essay Example It is a free software issues under GNU General Public License. Weka stands for Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis. It is the software which allows businesses to extract useful information out of large databases. This is the process of data mining which is a field that analyzes large sets of data and discovers patterns and methods for the management, processing, and inference considerations of the data. Weka software offers businesses a collection of learning tools and schemes that may be used for data mining (Witten, 2011, p. 132). There are four applications in the program which are accessible; these are Explorer, Experimenter, KnowledgeFlow, and Simple CLI. The first section of the software is to open the database or the dataset and make the edits as the user wishes. These edits include the filtering of data contents, changing of attributes, and visualizing the result in a bar chart. The available data can also be classified according to the set of rules which are predefined and can perform a complete analysis of cost-benefit that would display automatically the threshold curve and the cost matrix (Witten, 2011, p. 132). Moreover, the program also has many tools for the data clustering, attributes evaluator, and association rules. In addition, businesses also use it for the data plotting allowing the user to view and analyze the point graphs individually for each possible attribute combination. Businesses also use the weka programme as it is suitable for the development of new machine learning schemes. The user simply has to configure the experiment by choosing the type: classification or regression. Then the desired data set and algorithm has to be chosen and then it is ready to be run. The results of this procedure can be saved in CSV format or ARFF or as JDBC database. A data file can also be analyzed or tested through the program as it allows the user to choose the comparison field and the sorting criteria on