A Comparison Between Two Complementary Poems Essay Example for Free

A Comparison Between Two Complementary Poems Essay The two complementary poems Old Father and Island Man are based on the subject of two diverse men who are coping with an experience of migrating to another country. In this coursework we will discuss these poems, then compare, and contrast their theme and language. Hugh Boatswains Old Father appeared in an anthology called Writing in 1978. Boatswains work speaks to the condition of the racial tensions in the 70s and engages, in sparse poetic form, in much of the cultural analysis. Boatswains poems demonstrate the importance of creativity, cultural transaction, and transition in the historicizing of West Indian migration and settlement in Britain. The poet has used a narrative description in the poem to portray his views and thoughts to the members of the audience. The poem relates to a series of events of old father in a chronological order of his life. The poem depicts the livelihood and culture of a person from a distant atmosphere and surrounding who goes through a lot of hardships in the beginning due to the unknown environment. The poet has then given a brief sketch of his adaptation to the society and how he changes to accept those adaptations. The poem creates a depressing feeling in our hearts as the poet describes how old father forgets his culture and roots by his behaviour. The poet has described his views in rather an ambiguous way; no information obtained by us can be strongly evident. It tells the story of an old or older figure in the black community, how old is not known but can be presumed to the mid thirties or more. The title Old Father depicts a personage of high value, a person who would hold up and support the beliefs and values of the society. The title describes a man of experience, ingenuity, and responsibility. In the beginning of his shift to England the Caribbean man craved to return to his homeland. The poet then discusses how old father bought a turning point in his life and started changing his lifestyle to get more accepted in the society. This is indicated by the words Old Father feet begin to shift. His roots have no meaning now (Line No. 10 and 11). This is also an example of one of many metaphors in the poems, i.e. his feet are not actually shifting but his attitude is changing and he is accepting his situation in the society and is trying to improve it. In this process he is leaving nothing out, to the extent that he is ready to change his values, beliefs and ethical values to receive acceptance. He then discusses about old fathers personal and love life, he also brings up the point of how he changes his attitude towards his own friends of his race. Boatswain has added a variety of characters to the poem. Even though the vagueness of details of the character we can say that Old Father was undignified to an extent. From the following line Bouncing down the road with a blonde (Line No. 17) we can presume his indecency, as walking with a blonde is considered inappropriate due to the negative image they have created in the society. The whole image is cojourned by the term blonde relieving his change in attitude and lifestyle to be considered indecorous. The poet has chosen his words very particularly and has also considered the arrangement of these words. He has used a varied range of figures of speech like metonymy and personifications but has highly considered the use of metaphors. These figures of speech and choice of worlds create a rhythmatic design; this maintains the reader with an interested attitude. A lot of attention is given to the use of punctuations. Boatswains way of describing and explaining imagery is noteworthy. For example Cold bite him hard (Line No.2), this shows how painful the weather is to this Caribbean man in the beginning of his arrival. We can see how Boatswains use of language is very descriptive but concise and effective. The other poem Island Man is a piece of poetry written by Grace Nichols. She was born in Guyana and came to Britain in 1977. She writes this poem in context to a Caribbean man who has settled in London but still wakes up to the sound of the sea and the tranquillity of his native island. Island Man consists of a wide range of sounds and images to express the Caribbean mans feelings and thinking. For example the sound of the blue surf and the steady breaking and wombing (Line No.3 and 5) are good examples of his use of language and images for the description of his feelings. This poem is also told in a narrative manner but unlike Old Father the poem is more spontaneous. The poem is bought out in the form of a dream. A number of images are described to show how he imagined himself in his native island where there was no hindrance or disturbance but peace and tranquillity, whereas the atmosphere in London was completely contradictory to his dream. Therefore when he wakes up and enters the world of reality where he is back in London and hears the roar of the cars and screeches of the wheels instead of the sound of the sea he just says Another London day (Line No. 19). He probably says this as he has been living in London since a long time and is now frustrated with his usual rut and wants to get out of it and return to his paradise like island. His attitude towards this new environment is not so enthusiastic. This is indicated by the words groggily groggily (Line No. 11). He has already seen the usual busy days of London and has accepted them in his life and has acknowledged this new surrounding. But a sense of frustration has aroused and his crave for his native island just became greater than before. Both the poems hold a lot of similarity of cultures and attitudes towards the new migration. Both of them share unhappiness in this new environment of theirs. Both of them also discuss the bitter weather. But old father moves on in his life whereas in Island Man we will notice that there is not much of progression in the story. It is just a dream whereas the whole life of old father is discussed in the other poem. Hence a lot of contradictions are in the poem. Also the language and use of punctuations is very different. In Old Father punctuations are given a lot of importance and are very proper whereas in Island Man the poem consists of no punctuations at all. It forms more of a spontaneous attitude and also considers the lazy morning attitude of a person. Therefore as this is a dream the poet has very well described this quality and has also set a sense of spontaneous feelings and emotions. He is an example to his people (Line 41, Old Father), these were the words used to describe old father and his behaviour. It is the opinion of a white English racist person. This opinion can be adapted in two contradictory perceptions. The white people may say it in the context that every person from another country, another culture should act like him. They should also adopt the behaviour and culture of the country they live in. The contradictory statement to this would be that the white people are saying that he was a person who was ready to change for his benefit of himself and in the end of the day for h is own betterment he would forget his friends. Hence they jump to the conclusion that he is just an example of those people who are of his culture and each would do anything for their own personal benefits forgetting their personal beliefs and culture. In the end I would conclude saying that both the poems state a moral towards us. In Old Father we can say that a man should adapt towards his surrounding but that does not mean we should forget who we are, what is our identity. Whereas in Island Man we can see that a man has come to another country but still has not let go of the memories of his own countries and hence is not able to move on and adapt the good qualities of the country he is living with. Hence we should learn from this poem that thinking about our past and not moving on would just lead to frustration and everything would go wrong. Hence we should keep up the pace in life and never look back and ponder.

Egyptian Mythology: Enviromental Influences :: Ancient Egypt Egyptian History

Egyptian Mythology: Enviromental Influences Religion can be thought of as the recognition by human beings of a superhuman power that controls the universe and everything that is, was, or shall be in it. Each individual human being can consider that the superhuman control power is a deity worthy of being loved; or capable of inspiring awe, obedience, and even fear. The effect of these feelings on individuals can lead to the setting up of a system of worship of the deity; and to the drawing up of a code of beliefs and conduct inspired by their religious faith. As all religions follow this, the Egyptians seem to be unique in their beliefs. The Egyptians did not have a true religion; they had more of a collection of myths and doctrines, which evolved to suit the worshipper's needs. Although many changes were evident in their religion, conflict between new and old concepts did not occur. However, their belief system was much more complex and elaborate than that of any other culture. A clear reason is not given, but we theorize that environmental conditions play a significant role in their authenticity. It is a truism that the activities of people everywhere are influenced by the conditions under which they live, and religious thought is no exception to this. Before the days of mass communication, an Eskimo, living in cold climate, had no experience of any great heat generated by the sun. His idea of hell, therefore, would be a place of extreme cold. On the other hand, a man living in a hot climate can only visualize hell as an even hotter place than any with which he has ever had acquaintance with. The Nile River plays an important part in Egyptian mythology. As the Nile flows northward through Egypt, it creates a narrow ribbon of fertile land in the midst of a great desert. The sharp contrast between the fertility along the Nile and the wasteland of the desert became a basic theme in Egyptian mythology. The Egyptians lived in a river valley, 1200 km long from the Egypt south border at Aswan to the northern boundary on the Mediterranean, bordered in by ancient river terraces. The only fertile land was that watered by the Nile, which flowed through the valley: the rest was desert. Thus, the land in which the Egyptians lived was considered to be "the gift of the river". Every

Influence of Music to Culture Essay

When I think of pop culture I think of music. There is so much music out in the world today. Many people are influenced by music they listen to. Mostly because they want to copy their favorite artist or because they feel that’s a way of expressing themselves and fitting in with the people that are into the same music. It’s also a way to find similar things to other people who listen to different music. Teens my age are mostly into hip-hop and R&B. Hip-hop I believe is the most popular type of music that is listened to by the public. Nelly for example is an R&B artist and he wears Air Force Nike’s, big jerseys, and Sean John fashion. When you look around in my school you tend to see many boys wearing the same thing. Another artist is also Fabulous who likes to wear fitted caps, and many boys are wearing the same kind of caps. Now people who tend to listen to pop music like N’Sync and Britney Spears tend to wear shell toe sneakers and dress sort of preppy with light colors. People who listen to alternative music like Papa Roach and Slipknot tend to wear big baggy pants and baby pins on their bags with very colorful hair. Another way people let music influence them is the language or slang they use. For example Nelly is an artist from St. Louis, and because of his accent, he says here it sounds like he is saying â€Å"herre†. The way guys call their friends â€Å"dog† and â€Å"nigga† are also uses of slang that hip-hop artists use. With pop music there’s more of an accent when they speak like a preppy, peachy, happy sound. Alternative music is usually harsh and people who listen to alternative music tend to have a hard tough accent with much more cursing than usual. Another way that people become influenced by their music is what seems to interest them. People who listen to hip-hop are mostly interested in the â€Å"ice† (jewelry) â€Å"gear† (clothing) and â€Å"ride† (car). People who tend to listen to pop music, who are mostly girls I would say, are interested in the mall, and bleaching their hair. It’s not usually very accurate, but I’m just talking out of my experience. So many people do know what I mean when I say that music influences the way people act and the way people carry themselves. I know that not all is true but most of the time people copy artists just to feel good and be able to fit in with other people, because the truth is nobody likes to be alone.

Art of the Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Era of the 1950s and 1960s was a time in Americas history of ferment, change, and sacrifice as many people fought, and died, for racial equality. As the nation celebrates and honors the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Jan. 15, 1929) on the third Monday of January each year, it is a good time to recognize the artists of different races and ethnicities who responded to what was happening during the years of the 50s and 60s with work that still powerfully expresses the turmoil and injustice of that period. These artists created works of beauty and meaning in their chosen medium and genre that continue to speak compellingly to us today as  the struggle for racial equality continues. Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the  Sixties at the Brooklyn Museum of Art In 2014, 50 years after the establishment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, the Brooklyn Museum of Art hosted an exhibit  called Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the Sixties.  The political  artworks in the exhibit helped promote the Civil Rights Movement. The exhibit included work by 66 artists, some well-known, such as Faith Ringgold, Norman Rockwell, Sam Gilliam, Philip Guston, and others, and included painting, graphics, drawing, assemblage, photography, and sculpture, along with written reflections by the artists. The work can be seen  here  and here. According to Dawn Levesque in the article, Artists of the Civil Rights Movement: A Retrospective, The Brooklyn Museum curator, Dr. Teresa Carbone, was surprised at how much of the exhibits work has been overlooked from well-known studies about the 1960s. When writers chronicle the Civil Rights Movement, they often neglect the political artwork of that period. She says, its the intersection of art and activism.   As stated on the Brooklyn Museum website  about the exhibit: â€Å"The 1960s was a period of dramatic social and cultural upheaval, when artists aligned themselves with the massive campaign to end discrimination and bridged racial borders through creative work and acts of protest. Bringing activism to bear in gestural and geometric abstraction, assemblage, Minimalism, Pop imagery, and photography, these artists produced powerful works informed by the experience of inequality, conflict, and empowerment. In the process, they tested the political viability of their art, and originated subjects that spoke to resistance, self-definition, and blackness.† Faith Ringgold and the American People, Black Light Series Faith Ringgold  (b. 1930), included in the exhibit,  is a particularly inspirational American artist, author, and teacher who was pivotal to the Civil Rights Movement and is known primarily for her narrative quilts of the late 1970s. However, before that, in the 1960s, she did a series of important but less well-known paintings exploring race, gender, and class in her American People series (1962-1967) and Black Light series (1967-1969). The  National Museum of Women in the Arts  exhibited 49 of Ringgolds Civil Rights paintings in 2013 in a show called  America People, Black Light: Faith Ringgolds Paintings of the 1960s. These works can be seen  here. Throughout her career Faith Ringgold has used her art to express her opinions on racism and gender inequality, creating powerful works that have helped bring awareness of racial and gender inequality to many, both young and old. She has written a number of childrens books, including the award-winning beautifully illustrated  Tar Beach. You can see more of Ringgolds childrens books  here. See videos of Faith Ringgold on MAKERS, the largest video collection of womens stories, speaking about her art and activism. Norman Rockwell and Civil Rights Even Norman Rockwell,  the well-known painter of idyllic American scenes, painted a series of Civil Rights Paintings and was included in the Brooklyn exhibit. As Angelo Lopez writes in her article,  Norman Rockwell and  the Civil Rights Paintings, Rockwell was influenced by close friends and family to paint some of the problems of American society rather than merely the wholesome sweet scenes he had been doing for the Saturday Evening Post.  When Rockwell began working for Look Magazine he was able to do scenes expressing his views on social justice. One of the most famous was The Problem We All Live With, which shows the drama of school integration.   Arts of the Civil Rights Movement at the Smithsonian Institution Other artists and visual voices for the Civil Rights Movement can be seen through a collection of art from the Smithsonian Institution. The program, Oh Freedom!  Teaching African American Civil Rights Through American Art at the Smithsonian, teaches the history of the Civil Rights movement and  the struggles for racial equality beyond the 1960s through the powerful images that artists created. The website is an excellent resource for teachers, with descriptions of the artwork along with its meaning and historical context, and a variety of lesson  plans to use in the classroom.  Ã‚   Teaching students about the Civil Rights Movement is as important today as ever, and expressing political views through art remains a powerful tool in the struggle for equality and social justice.