My Last Duchess Essay Example for Free

My Last Duchess Essay In the Poem My Last Duchess by Robert Browning the heartless and haughty speaker explains a painting of his last wife while inadvertently revealing a darker side to his last marriage than one might view from they outside. The poem depicts a dense stream of conscious feel to it by using language and sentence structure common to conversation earlier to the time period it was written. The use of twas not , and the English spelling of favour suggests the poem occurred in a time period in which husbands held power over their wives with such things as nine-hundred-years-old names and money. Brownings great usage of dated speaking style creates a historical medium from which the event which slowly unfold. The poem is masked in a conversation with one person speaking in a dramatic monologue about his beloved portrait of the last duchess he married. The rhetorical questions Whod this sort of trifling and end rhymes in the couplets throughout the poem wall call and had glad drive the poem from one line to the next . These techniques create motion in the poem much like the anger and arrogance that the Duke exerted towards his deceased wife to control her. The diction of this poem mirrors the force with which the Duke ruled his house as well as the social male norms at the time. The poem My Last Duchess is told from first point of view by a selfish man admiring his late wifes smiling portrait. As the Duke entertains his guest, you, he tells of My favour after contemplating how shall I say? that his wife flirted with all she encountered. The biased first person account of the death of the duchess leads the reader into the center of the mans thoughts and allows for a more in depth understanding of his desire for control toward his wife even in death. His dramatic monologue gives perhaps more information concerning the specifics of his involvement in wifes death than he realizes. The quotations incorporated within the poem such as Just this or that in you disgusts me and Her mantle laps over my Ladys wrist too much as well as the direct address Sir, twas all one to the guest shows the Dukes self-important attitude and his high regards for the thoughts which he believes others are thinking. The Duke boasts that he now holds the power to let others see the smile of the portrait that was meant only for him. He gets so enthralled with his own story of his wife he reveals that his commands ended the duchesss smiles and possibly her life. The first person point of view for this poem explains further the thirst for power and self-love which the Duke honors himself with by controlling the women and people in his life of which he feels superior. Browning illustrates the complexity of the controlling Duke by showing his carelessness and arrogance by the words he uses to impress his guest. The Duchess painted on the wall has a countenance that only can be seen by the command of the Duke. When the Duke believes the Duchess finds interest in other people beside her husband, The Duke, gave a command which stopped all her smiles to everyone. When the Duke could not obtain complete power over and tame his young wife, she died in a manner which is not fully explained. The Duke with the nine-hundred-year old name is meeting with a man that is offering the Duke his daughter another young maiden for marriage. This offer of marriage is gladly accepted by the Duke no doubt is eager to attempt to tame yet another sea-horse of a wife. For the Duke this marriage is a trial of the subservience of women to their wealthy and powerful husbands. The details given in this poem bring forth the conclusion that the Duke got rid of his last Duchess and is now ready for a new one. The title of the poem My Last Duchess suggests that the Duke had had more than one Duchess. Had the poem illustrated the Dukes first wife it could have been titled My First Duchess. The startling command line toward the end of the poem lets the reader realize that this man has the power to make a woman be remembered by nothing more than a portrait controlled by the master of the house. This poem has themes commonly found in the local color movement and associated with feminism. Browning gives the audience a picture of the dark and distorted beginning of a new couple and marriage.

The Meaning of Life Essay example -- essays research papers

The Meaning of Life The most difficult thing in life is finding something worth living for. The second most difficult thing is knowing when you've found it...... by Jamie Andreas Okay, let's be light hearted for once. Let's not talk about some heavy subject. Let's pick something more down to earth and fun. How about the meaning of life? Yes, the meaning of life, and the purpose of our lives. Teen-agers (that group of people who are most likely to begin to play the guitar) love to think about this. Since they are about to embark on that part of life called "being an adult", they like to question whether there is anything about it that makes it worth the bother. A 17 year old student once put it to me very poignantly. He said, â€Å"When I look at the world, and I see what most of the adults I know are doing with their lives, and how they feel about their jobs, it is not very inspiring. I listen to people tell me I should play the game, and work hard to get good grades, so I can get a good job and all that. It all seems to have about as much meaning as going in to the library and memorizing the entire card catalog! What for? What's the point?" And I said to him â€Å"You are exactly right. There is no point. There is no meaning to life." And I firmly believe that. I am going to make two points now. One, there is no meaning to life; you must create the meaning of life, and most especially, your life. And two, there most definitely is a purpose to life, and especially to your life, but you must discover it. These two ideas work together. Once you find your purpose, you will be able to see the "meaning" of your life. What does the word "meaning" mean? People are always asking what is the meaning of life, what is the meaning of death, what is the meaning of me losing my job, losing my hair, etc, etc. Well, you see the point is, there is no answer to the question because it is the wrong question. Only a person who doesn't know what the word meaning means will ask that question. Meaning means "to recognize a significance beyond the thing itself, or in other words, "to point to something beyond itself" And the recognition of that significance, seeing how anything you look at points to something beyond itself, is a creative act on the part of every individual, and it is also the responsibility of every individual. When ... ...ur purpose. Move toward what feels good. B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, all have used nothing but the five notes of a minor pentatonic scale their whole lives! It is all they need for what they want to say. Maybe you need to learn to read music, maybe you don't. Maybe you need to know many chord inversions and scales, maybe you don't. It depends on what you want to say with your music. And what you want to say depends on how you feel. How do you feel? Maybe you are frustrated and confused when you think about this. That is good. Frustration is a push on the back, to get you moving, so you will look around and make discoveries. Make sure you use it that way. Don't stay in one place, or the push on the back will knock you over! The rule for the artist, for the musician, must be "if it feels good, do it". Following your feeling is how that feeling becomes "solidified" into a piece of music, so that it can be communicated and felt by someone else. Bad music is made by people who don't actually feel their feelings. They may not know it, but their music has no meaning, and no purpose. Have you found something worth living for? Is it waiting to be recognized?

Black People and Family Support Essay

The text â€Å"Dougy† by James Moloney captures interest of the young reader because of some of the main themes such as Family Support, Racial Conflict, Racial Discrimination and Determination, which is happening all around us today. One of the important themes in the book is Family support. Dougy and Gracey are from a very close family and are always there for each other. An example of this is when Gracey goes to Brisbane and her families supporting her run. Mum stretched out her arm around Graceys shoulder and hugged her close for a second. â€Å"You wont come last, Gracey, â€Å" she said. Another example is when Dougy is supporting Gacey on the hall roof waiting to be picked up by the helicopter. The quote for that example is â€Å"The Moodaguddas got Gracey. He’s taken her back into the water. The have to help her. † Looking after happens a lot throughout this novel and this is called family support. Another important theme in â€Å"Dougy† is Racial Conflict. Racial conflict arises in the book when the white people think they’re superior to the aborigines. An example of this is when Craig is upset with Raymond’s dad because he doesn’t pull his weight at work and Craig never gets to see his dad. â€Å"Your fathers never here and when he is he’s always drunk, he never does anything. † One more example of Racial conflict is when is when Cooper is in the hall having an argument with Dougy, Brett, Gracey and Tiny. The quote for this is â€Å"Johnny Warren hasn’t done a thing. None of the blokes have. Hell they haven’t† shouted Cooper. There’s already one man been shot one on our side. † Racial Conflict happens everyday in Dougys town and gets so serious it ends up a war. Another theme in †Dougy† is Racial Discrimination. Racial Discrimination is the way of life in Dougys town with the whites and the blacks. An example of this is when Dougys mum wanted to get into a taxi but the taxi driver didn’t trust her because of her skin colour. â€Å"I want to be sure you have cash on you. Sometimes I’ve driven YOU people around and gotten no money at the end. Another example of in the book â€Å"Dougy† is in Dougys town where the white people own everything and own the higher positions. â€Å"No blacks in our town were the boss of anything always the whites. † Racial Discrimination happens a lot in Dougys town and Dougy has to put up with it and cope. Determination is a theme not only found in the book but in everyday life. An example of this is when Gracey wants to run at state despite what the white kids say. â€Å"Gracey, you cant afford to run â€Å" Gracey just ignored those white kids say. Another example is when Dougy is trying to find Gracey when she’s in the water. â€Å"The Moodagudda has sucked her in. We have to find her† Determination is a big part of Dougys personality. The novel Dougy deals with many issues that relate to aboriginal people living in contemporary society through the experiences of Dougy and his family. We become more aware of the Aboriginal perspective as the novel explores the theme of Racial discrimination, Racial Conflict, Family Support and Determination. By Steve Jedrzejczak

Gender Stereotypes as a Reflection of Women - 2453 Words

Introduction The media holds up a mirror to our society. As condemned as the media may be, it does reflect much truth and reality. This is especially so for comics and advertising media because they are very much inspired by our daily lives and struggles (Klein, 1993). Commercials and comics should never be solely regarded as the promotion of tangible objects as they carry subtle messages and reinforces certain ideas subconsciously. Gender roles are underlying and recurring themes in these commercials and it is crucial to understand the development of the images media portray because they have a strong correlation with the society. As these forms of media dominate the industry, we have to be wary of how it validates and ascertains our†¦show more content†¦Comics have also explored the social expectations placed upon women to be glamorous and society’s tendency to judge respectability by costume (Klein, 1993). In fact, it has come to a point where physically appealing women are generally more advantaged, creating the need for them to maintain youthful looks and attain physical beauty. It has been noted that â€Å"discrimination against fat women is common, in employment in particular† (Delamont, 2001, p. 64). There is a need t o keep up with society’s demands and expectations so that women are able to fit in and gain acceptance in society. â€Å"For many women in Britain, body size is the biggest stigma: fear of being seen, or seeing oneself, as fat is an ever present terror.† (Delamont, 2001, p. 64) Since few women turn to sports to achieve an ideal figure in fear of an ‘unfeminine’ muscled physique (Delamont, 2001), they resort to health and beauty products and companies. With such particular concern over one’s physical features, it is no wonder women are constantly represented as touching themselves, a sign that one’s body is delicate and precious (Cortese, 2008). As part of achieving a social identity, middle-class white women believe they are not seen as fully adult until they are mothers (Delamont, 2001). According to Bailey’s study, women reported that their social statusShow MoreRelatedGender Stereotypes as a Reflection of Women2463 Words   |  10 Pagesof tangible objects as they carry subtle messages and reinforces certain ideas subconsciously. Gender roles are underlying and recurring themes in these commercials and it is crucial to understand the development of the images media portray because they have a strong correlation with the society. As these forms of media dominate the industry, we have to be wary of how it validates and ascertains our gender perceptions, which governs the way we behave and expect others to behave. 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