In Walter Mosley’s story “Smoke” the police are depicted as being completely uncaring about issues in African American neighborhoods. This reflects the real life relationship between African American communities and police at that time period. In the time period the book was set in it was very common for police to ignore calls coming in from predominantly African American or other minority neighborhoods and this discrimination is still present even today. The discrimination created a need for the people in these neighborhoods to enforce the law how they saw fit and take care of most issues “in-house,” so to speak. This created a need for vigilante type characters such as the protagonist from “Smoke” Easy Rawlins. These characters were good, up-standing people that wanted to see justice served.…
Fire is one of the many symbols represented in Fahrenheit 451. Fire can be observed as both renewal and destruction. The biggest reference to fire is at the end of the novel when Granger explains to Montag the meaning and existence of the Phoenix. Granger explains that every few hundred years, a Phoenix will appear and burn himself to ashes. The Phoenix would then spring out from the ashes to be born again. Granger compares this reference to mankind and how it destroys himself, only to be rebuilt. The Phoenix is a symbol of renewal.…
In the film Smoke Signals directed by Chris Eyre we understand how a motif of The Power of Long Hair comes into play when we see the theme of pride in Native American culture. Throughout Smoke Signals the bus scene catches our attention when talking about the importance of long hair. Victor is explaining to Thomas that he shouldn’t braid his hair and that he should be proud of letting his hair free. He refers to the pride of being an Indian with hair as free as them. Smoke Signals illustrates a solid image on their perspective of long hair.…
“To Build a Fire” is a naturalist’s view of the harsh peril that the Yukon can hold. The characters were all in the Yukon and each had different fates due to the willingness to accept the rules of such a harsh climate. The tone and mood help set up such a naturalistic story where one should not trifle with nature. Throughout the story the main character fights himself and the elements to try to survive. “To Build a Fire” by Jack London shows how the dismissal of knowledge and experience due to self-confidence creates arrogance.…
The main idea of Brian Doyle, “Joyas Voladoras” is how life can be beautiful and tragic simultaneously. “ Consider for a moment those hummingbirds who did not open their eyes again today. . . each the most amazing thing you have never seen, each thunderous wild heart the size of an infant's fingernail, each mad heart silent, a brilliant music stilled.” In this line, Brian Doyle uses metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and parallelism to contrast the beauty and fragility of life. The mention of hummingbirds, with their tiny yet powerful hearts, evokes a sense of wonder and admiration.…
In the Fire from Within written by Carlos Castaneda he shares with us his experience of twenty years following a medicine man named don Juan. Consequently, Carlos shares with us his philosophy, or in other words his reality. Through the teachings of don Juan Carlos is able to get to the third attention, the fire from within and gain true knowledge as he becomes a Nagual. This is the reality of Carlos Castaneda and how he reached it.…
Life is an ongoing cycle, forever trapped within the consumerism, legalism, and ruthlessness of modern society. Only through our fleeting innocence, purity and the appreciation of our natural world are we able to go beyond society’s harsh expectations and regulations that only end in the destruction of a person’s spirit.…
“Joyas Voladoras”, meaning “flying jewels”, is the name given to the humming bird by the first explorers in the Americas. The description of the hummingbird, and the hummingbird’s heart,is how Doyle begins this essay. Don’t be mislead by the word “essay” because it is far too poetic to be a plain essay. With each piece of information…
This work of art was done by Georges De La Tour and is titled The Magdalene with the Smoking Flame. It was done in the year 1640, using oil paint on canvas. La Tour did this painting in France. It is currently located at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, but is not currently being displayed to the public.…
The theme for this semester is “The Good Life,” but as the class read different poems, novels, and dramas, one will realize that “The Good Life,” can have multiple meanings. The dystopian novel, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel and the poem, “Waiting for Icarus,” by Muriel Rukeyser has given me a good understanding of what the good life is about especially when one takes little aspirations and objects for granted. As the novel and the poem are being analyzed, the thoughts begin to evoke when thinking about what makes life sufficient enough to live. One may think of what is worth living for or what are things a person would die for. In both works, the main characters are attached to one of the other characters and even though both characters in the works could easily survive without any of these important people, both women risk their lives and have to…
Throughout life the decisions we make, the chances we take result in consequence, whether that be positive or negative, shaping the way a person lives life. Tom Tykwer’s film ‘Run Lola Run’ and Dorthea Mackellar’s poem ‘My Country’. Both convey the impact and effect of situations and encounters have on a person.…
Life is united not by a single trait, but by a common set of characteristics. Appreciating what it means to be living is as complex as life itself.…
“Life is not permanent”; this sentence came to my mind after I finished read one topic of Dr. Clayton M. Christensen article, “Choose the Right Yardstick”. He confronted with serious disease and he does not have much time left to do thing that he want. However, he proceed his normal life and feel happy with his every day because he already know that what is the most important in his life. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to illustrate the most three important ideas of the author that inspire me to be a better person.…
Maria Housden shares: “The truest measure of a life is not in length, but the fullness in which it is lived” (6). This quote goes along perfectly with the heartwarming and heartbreaking story of young Hannah Martell as she handles her illness with positivity while teaching those around her valuable life lessons along her journey. While reading Maria’s recount of her difficult journey, my emotions were greatly affected, my perspective on life transformed, and I was awed by the acts of by others after Hannah had passed.…
Jorge Borges and Samuel Johnson were over a century apart and still managed to share similar ideas and views about the world, besides from being two of my favorite writers from the Art of the Personal Essay. I noticed a similarity in both writers. Samuel and Jorge both shared a unique sense of writing style; both having been infatuated with poetry and literature is what I believe to be the connection between the fictional essays they both so humbly wrote. Reading about life and death; made me ask myself, Am I living life; or just living? The points they make in their stories are to me very clear and very interesting. These two writers not only wrote about life but captured the audience’s attention doing so.…