William Blake English Coursework Essay Example for Free

William Blake English Coursework Essay From the poems that you have studied, what have you learnt about Blakes attitude to the treatment of children in his time? How does he try to persuade his reader to empathise with his characters? Which poem (or poems) do you think best achieve this aim, and why? One of Blakes main influences was the society in which he lived in. William Blake was born on November 28, 1757 in London. Blake was influenced by events in both the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, by the attitude of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. They inspired a new way of looking at the world. Blake thought that imagination was the force of art, and people thought his art was too adventurous and unconventional for that time. William Blake witnessed the effect Britains war with republican France had on society, and he talks about this in London (Songs of Experience) and The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) He had radical religious and political ideas, which led him to write Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. In a lot of Blakes poems, he tackles the issue of child labour. After the industrial revolution, with a rise in population came a rise in the number of children being made to work. An employer could pay a child less than an adult, and children were useful for more jobs, for example when Blake wrote The Chimney Sweeper. In both of The Chimney Sweeper poems, Blake attacks the treatment of children at the time. The first one, in Songs of Innocence, shows a naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve view of how a child at the time felt. The first three stanzas are negative, starting with When my mother died when I was very young, and describing, thousands of sweepers were lockd up in coffins of black. But this poem shows children have a positive outlook on life, with the final three stanzas being positive. It talks about an Angel who set them all free. I think Blake is writing about God, and the children will be set free after being in their coffins and after death, and that all the children are happy in heaven. Blake is trying to convey the fact that the children do not fear death, perhaps because it is better than their lives. In the last stanza, Blake writes, Tom was happy warm, and he says the children are not worried as if all do their duty, they need not fear harm. This is slightly didactic, which is what a lot writing f or children was in the eighteenth century, but this last line also comes across as sarcastic and angry, as if Blake disagrees with what the children have to do in order to feel safe. The Chimney Sweeper in Songs of Experience is a contrast to The Chimney Sweeper in Songs of Innocence. In this version, Blake has taken on the persona of the chimney sweeper, and the chimney sweeper has been influenced by society. He has realised the faults of society that he had never noticed before. It still shows the children making the best out of life, but this time the chimney sweeper is questioning this, saying Because I was happy upon the heath, that They clothed me in the clothes of death. Blake is implying that because the children are happy doing these jobs, that the adults think this is doing them no harm. Religion plays a part in this poem, as it is mentioned a lot in the poem itself, saying his mother and father have gone up to the church to pray and are gone to praise the God his Priest King. Blake is conveying a message that it is hypocrisy; the mother and father in the poem are good religious people, but even so they are still exploiting the children. Another poem where Blake writes about children is The School Boy (Songs of Innocence and Experience). In this poem, Blake has written it to persuade the reader that children should not go to school, and uses phrases like O it drives all joy away! and The little ones spend their day/In sighing and dismay. Blake is trying to make the reader agree that there is something wrong with society, and that they are doing wrong by making innocent children go to school, when they should be free. At the start of the poem, Blake represents the schoolboy as a skylark (And the skylark sings with me). A skylark is associated with the morning and therefore connected to the children, and then connected to the boy himself. The skylark only sings in the sky, and the skylark is often used as a nickname for someone who is doing well, and this is why Blake used this particular bird to represent the schoolboy. Later in the poem, Blake refers to the schoolboy as a flower bud, using a metaphor to say the schoo lboy is beautiful and should be free. In The School Boy, Blake uses a contrast of positive and negative words next to each other to create an oxymoron. He uses phrases like blossoms blow away and the tender plants are stripped to highlight the fact that the schoolboy cannot experience the freedom as it has been taken away from him. The positive words are blossoms, tender and plants, but the contrast is used by adding words like blow away and stripped. The School Boy is similar to both The Chimney Sweeper poems, as Blake is attacking the way people were treating children. Blake believed that children should be free, otherwise The little ones spend their day/In sighing and dismay, and that they should not have to work or go to school (But to go to school in a summer morn,-/Oh it drives all joy away!) but to enjoy freedom and innocence. Blake refers to children in London (Songs of Experience). In the first two stanzas, Blake uses repetition and alliteration to create a mournful atmosphere. In the first stanza he uses words like wander, weakness and woe. This creates the scene of London; making it seem depressing and slow. In the second stanza, Blake repeats the phrase In every to draw attention to the points he is making, that nobody is happy and everyone is fearful. In the third stanza, Blake brings in religion, which is also clear in The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience). Again, he is attacking religion, describing the church as blackning. He also refers to the chimney sweeper, saying How the Chimney-sweepers cry, which is very similar to The Chimney Sweeper and also shows he does not agree with it, by saying the children are crying. Blake says even infants are upset, with the new-born Infants tear. Blake makes the reader feel sorry for the children, by describing them crying, and using words like youthful and new-born, which makes them sound naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve and innocent, and this makes the reader agree that they shouldnt be made to feel fear or be upset. Blake also makes the reader empathise with the children and infants in Infant Joy (Songs of Innocence). Infant Joy represents an innocent baby, who has come into a world where everything is expected to be joyful and well. It is as if Blake has adopted the persona of a mother or father, writing about how the child has come into the world. Blake is saying that all babies are happy, by using phrases like I happy am and Joy is my name. He is implying the baby is joy and expects joy. The reader immediately warms to the infant, because at the time people believed babies to be sinful, but Blake wrote about them as innocent. Blake believed children only did wrong because of the effects on society, and the baby in Infant Joy is represented as not yet part of society as it has no name (Joy is my name). Blake also describes how the baby is not only happy himself, but also brings joy to others around him, by saying Thou dost smile. This is one poem where Blake writes about a child or an infant being happy, innocent and free, as most of the others describe children as being trapped or upset. Infant Sorrow (Songs of Experience) is another example of a poem like this. It is a complete contrast to Infant Joy and it is not seen from a real babys point of view, so it is not a joyful or naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve outlook on life, but it shows a more real view from the baby that is wise. The baby has been brought into a world of suffering, not joy. This world does not welcome the baby, but Blake describes how My mother groand! my father wept./Into the dangerous world I leapt. Both stanzas in the poem use a lot of plosives, like piping and bound, which makes the poem sound abrupt, and makes the reader more shocked. The phrase Like a fiend hid in a cloud, makes the baby sound like a devil in the thundercloud, and that the baby is seen as threatening and unwanted by the family. The reader automatically sympathises with the baby and the way the baby has been welcomed into the world. Many of Blakes poems highlight the treatment of the children, and I think the poems that best achieve this are the ones Blake wrote for Songs of Experience, as these are usually cynical views that draw the readers attention and makes the agree with Blake.

Summary of Great Expectations :: Great Expectations Essays

Great Expectations Great Expectations is one of many great books written by Charles Dickens, and in my opinion it will always be one of the great classics in English literature. Charles Dickens introduces Miss Haversham to the novel in the following way. The story is told by Pip, a grown man describing his experiences as a young common labouring boy in the early Victorian period. He sometimes tends to narrate the story as if through the eyes of an innocent child. The effect that has on the reader is that it brings out both a mature and young adventurous side in us, it also makes us feel sorry for Pip in a way, because of the way he was treated by his merciless sister. For example when Pip?s uncle Mr Pumblechuck tells Pip he has to go and entertain a woman he doesn?t know called Miss Haversham, his sister forces him to go even though he doesn?t want to with a threat. ?If Miss Haversham wants a boy to go and play there and of course he?s going, or I?ll work him?. The explanation for this is she never wanted Pip in the first place as he was dumped on her, so she was happy to get rid of him. When Pip is delivered by his uncle (although Pip is not allowed to call him uncle) at Miss Haversham?s mansion, he is informally greeted by a pretty young girl called Estella, who he takes a liking to at first sight, even after she refers him as ?boy? in a rude manner repeatedly. Once he enters through the creaky wooden gates notices a few details that may reflect on Miss Haversham, for example the clock has stopped on quarter to nine, the hedges haven?t been cut in a long time and there are bars on every window to keep someone in or out. When Estella guides him through a ridiculously dark tunnel with a candle instead of opening a pair of curtains, this suggest Miss Haversham wants to keep the outside world and light away from her, it could even reflect on the mood she?s in. the effect this would have on Pip is that, to him it?s a big mystery in a dark not knowing were his going to he end up, also hiding his fear and nervousness to impress Estella. Estella points to the door he must enter and leaves with the candle intentionally being cruel.

Culture and Cognition Essay

Culture may be defined as a combination of different traits of a social group. These traits or ways of life can be language, arts, sciences, thoughts, spirituality, social activities, interactions, and many more (â€Å"Definition†, n. d. ). The world has many peoples and thus many cultures, thus each has their own beliefs, traditions, and customs. Another characteristic of a certain culture may be cognition. Because of human diversity in traditions and customs, there is also diversity in intelligence. According to Cole, Gay, Glick, and Sharp (as cited in Sternberg, 2004), certain behaviors may be smart in one culture but plainly stupid in another (1971). Culture and Intelligence According to Robert Sternberg in his article entitled â€Å"Culture and Intelligence†, intelligence cannot be fully measured, developed, and conceptualized when it is outside the cultural context. This creates an impression that intelligence is a norm and being a deviant from that norm would mean less intelligence (2004, p. 1). An example given by Sternberg about intelligence tests shows an evidence of his argument. Any intelligence test created in one culture may not be valid in another culture. Sternberg also constructed models in order to determine if the culture has a significant effect on intelligence. On the third model, the dimensions of intelligence are the same as with the other models. However, the instruments used are different from the other models. The measurement process was therefore derived from the culture being studied and not from outside it. As this is done, the psychological meanings of the scores of the assessments change from one culture to another. Culture and Cognition Intelligence is just one of the cognitive characteristics of man. Culture, as well as social systems has a role in developing the people’s system of thought. This is according to Richard Nisbett, Incheol Choi, Laiping Peng, and Ara Norenzayan, when they studied the difference between easterners and westerners in terms of cognitive processes (2001). They stated that east Asians are holistic in their cognitive processes, focusing on an entire field and its causality. On the other hand, westerners such as Americans are analytic because they pay more attention on the object and the categories, making use of rules such as formal logic. The authors of this article suggest that the origin of these differences is traceable to different social systems (p. 291). They were able to conclude that there is still a very great difference between cultures. It is because of the circumstances brought about by these cultures that one process will always be different from another. Furthermore, the norms or the normative standards for though will differ across cultures (p. 306). The influence of culture has many implications in cognition. This insight may change the very definition of intelligence as related to different social systems. This also has a great effect in cognitive assessment since one measuring tool may not be appropriate for all cultures. Although international communication is already established, this information would give more understanding to people as to how others with different cultures are different to them in terms of learning styles, perception, and other aspects of cognition. It would also change the perception on people who are considered as intellectually inferior since intelligence no longer focuses on a dominant or normative standard set by those perceived as superior. References â€Å"Definition of Culture†, (n. d. ). Roshan Culture Heritage Institute. Retrieved 24 May 2010 from http://www. roshan-institute. org/templates/System/details. asp? id=39783&PID =474552. Nisbett, R. E. , Peng, K. , Choi, I. , & Norenzayan, A. (2001). â€Å"Culture and Systems of Thought: Holistic versus Analytic Cognition†. Psychological Review. 108(2), pp. 291-310. Sternberg, R. (2004). â€Å"Culture and Intelligence†. American Psychologist. 59(5), pp. 325- 338.

A Critical Analysis Of Ernest Hemingway s - 900 Words

A Critical Analysis of Ernest Hemingway’s â€Å"In Another Country† In the short story, â€Å"In Another Country† Ernest Hemingway writes about wounded soldiers who are trying to recuperate and come to terms with their losses as they face everyday struggles within themselves. During World War I, an American who is sought to be a man named Nick Adams, according to critique Mazzeno, is joined together with other soldiers much alike him and meets with them every afternoon in the hospital of Milan, Italy to be healed by machines they used to regain their physical ability. In fact, the reader may assume that they are troubled by what the war has caused them this story has a deeper meaning in a way Hemingway describes each man with different losses they tend to face. However, a closer analysis of the story describes not only the American but also that the Italian major undergo the struggle of their losses not only to be physically but mentally and emotionally. Accordin g to Mazzeno after the United States entered World War I Nick quit his job with the Kansas City Star and went to Italy as a red cross volunteer. While on duty he then became wounded on volunteer work by assisting Italian soldiers he then spent a couple of weeks in the hospital of Milan. With further research, it is stated that Hemingway tells the story of his personal experience by portraying himself to be Nick Adams by showing the value of the different losses they undergo and overcame. Hemingway describes their similarityShow MoreRelatedBrothers Grimm and Beautiful Mind1109 Words   |  5 PagesA Beautiful Mind Film Analysis A Beautiful Mind Film Analysis This movie is based on the true story of the brilliant mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. He made remarkable advancements in the field of mathematics at a young age and had a very promising future. Unfortunately, John Nash had problems deciphering the difference betwe Premium 855 Words 4 Pages * Film Analysis: a Beautiful Mind WEEK 3 A Beautiful Mind Film Analysis xxxxxx x. xxxxxx xx UniversityRead MoreHills Like White Elephants : A Critical Analysis1708 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Hills Like White Elephants†: A Critical Analysis Introduction: One of the many themes in his stories for which Ernest Heming way is known, includes feminism. At Hemingway’s time feminism was known as a famous movement and it affected many important writers like Octavia Butler and Virginia Woolf. Hemingway was a literary icon of his time and he was influenced by the political, social and human rights movements of his time. He was also touched by the hopelessness of women and how their thinkingRead MoreThe Dependence On Futility : An Analysis Of Brett Ashley1004 Words   |  5 PagesShivani Kapur Mrs. Moore AP English V 18 December 2014 The Dependence on Futility: An Analysis of Brett Ashley In The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway employs metafiction to reveal the nature of World War One and its effect on individual ideals. Narrating the novel from the first person perspective of the protagonist, Jake Barnes, Hemingway clearly contrasts between fiction and reality. Although the reader has a limited perspective on the events in the novel, the lack of emotional connection betweenRead MoreA Case Analysis Of Ernest Hemingway s Bipolar Disorder2321 Words   |  10 PagesThe following paper is a case analysis of Ernest Hemingway’s bipolar disorder. The goal of the paper is to conceptualize bipolar disorder using a psychodynamic model. The case study uses the concepts of abnormal psychology to trace the etiology of a mood disorder beyond just the vestiges of uncommon behavior. The paper argues that he suffered from a mood disorder. The etiology of his mood disorder is the unresolved issues he had with his father’s suicide. Excessive use of alcohol exacerbated his Read More Snow of Kilimanjaro Essay3386 Words   |  14 Pages In this story â€Å"The Snows of Kilimanjaro†, the author Ernest Hemingway has basically two main characters, Harry and his wife, Helen. Throughout the story Harry has an infected leg, which seems to be seriously bothering him, it is actually rotting away. The author writes about Harry’s time on the mountain with his wife just waiting for his death. In his story, Ernest Hemingway shows a great deal reality and emotion through his main character Harry, in the books themes, and its symbols. The author’sRead MoreAnalytical Essay : Dead Man s Path By Chinua Achebe And A Clean, Well Lighted Place1337 Words   |  6 Pagesis. When you take the word analytical it is asking you to analyze the literature. I will be taking a deeper look into three different short stories. Two of my favorite short stories this semester were Dead Man s Path† by Chinua Achebe and â€Å"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place† By Ernest Hemingway. My third choice was a short story by Viginia Woolf called â€Å"A Haunted House.† â€Å"Dead Man’s Path† was written by a man named Chinua Achebe who was a devout christian. He was very talented and began learning EnglishRead MoreWriting Styles Of Ernest Faulkner And The Sun Also Rises By Earnest Hemingway And As I Lay Dying1528 Words   |  7 PagesPassudetti English 11 AP Period 5 21 November 2014 Writing Styles of Hemingway and Faulkner The style of an authors writing can often be the key to understanding the emotions and thoughts that they want to convey onto the reader. Sometimes the comparison of various authors can show how different styles of writing bring different events and characters into play. This is particularly true with the authors William Faulkner and Earnest Hemingway. Their writing styles are exponentially different, but both authorsRead MoreFather and Son1952 Words   |  8 Pageswrong. The author of In Our Time, Ernest Hemingway, cleverly uses short stories to create Nick Adams, a fictional character whose life is analogous to Hemingway himself. Salman Rushdie also writes in parallel to his situations. However, he uses a different approach in his writing style to show the adventure of the protagonist in Haroun and the Sea Of Stories. The authors share common themes, which is failed marriages and the absence of a mother. Through analysis of the novels, one may be able toRead MoreThe Old Man And T he Sea By Ernest Hemingway1744 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"The Old Man and The Sea† by Ernest Hemingway is a story about an old man named Santiago who has to overcome many obstacles in his time at sea and in life (Hemingway). Despite being a fisherman, Santiago has not caught fish in 84 days and is faced by numerous dilemmas and shortcomings as things seem to always go wrong for him (Hemingway). This paper provides an analysis of the novel by interpreting it as a secular humanist epic. This paper hypothesizes that the character of Santiago is guided byRead MoreThe Sun Also Rises By Gertrude Stein Act2846 Words   |  12 Pagesincredible depth, and striking emotion. Among this community were some of the most influential literary and cultural icons of the â€Å"Lost Generation†, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, T.S. Eliot, and decidedly the most famous, Ernest Hemingway, who published The Sun Also Rises in 1926. Hemingway himself is a representation for those of the Lost Generation, as he served in WWI on the Italian Front when he was only eighteen years old, and severely wounded both of his legs after witnessing horrific acts of violence