Till We Have Faces Essay -- Till we Have Faces Essays

Till We Have Faces In Till We Have Faces, C. S. Lewis retells the myth of Cupid and Psyche from the point of view of Psyche's sister, with powerful insight into the nature of human affection and the relationship between human and divine. In the original myth, Psyche is the youngest of three princesses, so beautiful that men begin to worship her instead of Venus. The goddess avenges herself by commanding that Psyche be exposed on a mountain to die, but her son Cupid secretly rescues her, having fallen in love with her. He hides her in a palace where he visits her nightly, but he forbids her to see his face for fear of his mother. After a time Psyche is granted a visit from her sisters; seeing the splendor of her palace, they are jealous. They tell her that her "husband" must be some horrible monster, and they persuade her to disobey the god's command and light a lamp while he sleeps, to see if it is not so. This she does, but he wakes and rebukes her, and she goes into exile to be tested until worthy of her husband. Lewis's retelling makes the god's palace invisible to mortal eyes; thus Psyche's sister Orual, the narrator of the tale, can insist it is not jealousy but concern for Psyche that motivates her to act as she does. Told from Orual's point of view, the story shows her journey to self-discovery and understanding--her quest to find her face, for as she learns, the gods cannot "meet us face to face till we have faces"--until we know our own selves. Faces are thus a strong source of imagery and symbolism in the book. One's face is a reflection of one's soul and true character. It is, symbolically, one's identity. The faces of Orual and Psyche, of Ungit and her son the God of the Grey Mountain, give us insight into their ... ..., both beautiful. The faces of the gods do not change; but those of Psyche and Orual do, and in their developing we see the developing of character--the search for identity. Psyche, who was born nearly divinely beautiful, becomes even more so when she is married to the god, and her "brightface" appearance reflects the new joy and maturity created in her character by that union. Orual's character development takes longer, for she fights it; she is unwilling to believe in the god, and even when she sees his face she becomes bitter against him for her loss of Psyche. Yet through great suffering and a long time of facelessness, she too finds her face--her identity--and becomes beautiful in the end. She is finally able to meet the gods face to face, when she has a face of her own. Work Consulted: Lewis, C.S. Till We Have Faces. Harcourt Brace: New York, 1980.

Lame Deers story “ Alone on the Hilltop” Essay

In Lame Deers story â€Å" Alone on the Hilltop† he recalls the moment in life when his first hanblechia occurred at the age of 16. The first scene begins on the hilltop where Lame Deer had been brought by Chest, the medicine man. Lame Deer has been left all alone on the hilltop for 4 days nights with no water or food. The only thing that he had with him where his star blanket which his grandmother had knitted for him, a pipe with kinnickinnick, and gourd which contained forty pieces of his grandmothers flesh and tiny stones picked up from an ant heap. Lame Deer knew though that after all of this was over he would no longer be a child, he would be a man and he would be given a man’s name. He started to smoke the pipe he began to feel comforted and his fear started to diminish. He describes that he felt like his forefathers, whom this pipe once belonged to, where with him on the hilltop and that he was no longer alone. The thought of not being able to have vision still worried Lame Deer though. He wanted to be able to become a yuwipi but he knew that he could only become that was what his vision was. If he dreamt of Thunder Beings then that would make him a heyoka , a clown. Night time had arrived and began to feel the overwhelming presence of a big bird. He became overwhelmed by the feeling of the bird touching him and grasped the rattle in order to calm his fears. Then he began to smoke from his pipe and began to sing and pray. He felt himself change, and began to hear human voices that were not ordinary. A voice began to speak to him and he felt comforted by them, he then saw his greatgrandfather Lame Deer and he understood that his grandfather wanted him to bear his name. After this Lame Deer described feeling his nagi inside of him and a power surging throughout his body. Lame deer knew his vision had been fulfilled and that he would become a wicasa wakan. Time was lost for Lame Deer and before he knew it Chest had come for him. His hanblechia was complete and it was time for them to interpret his visions. He had also been given his man’s name Lame Deer. Opinion This in my opinion was a very interesting account of American Indian rituals. Lame Deer did a great job on comparing and contrasting the â€Å"white folks† way of life with his own. He told us how Indian children are typically never left alone which gives us a better understanding on why he was so afraid of being alone on the hilltop. I feel like in this story I really got a better understanding of the Indian way of life. They seem to be very tight knit group who value tradition above everything. Family seems to be the most important theme as demonstrated by his grandmothers willingness to cut forty pieces of her own flesh in order to make the rattle. This whole aspect about them is admirable but at the same time I feel like they don’t really take any actual logic into account. The whole vision determines your life labor seem really fallible in my opinion. I can’t really relate to this story in the sense that I have never really experienced any of these things as im not a Sioux. I do think though that this story can be related into our modern world in the sense that many kids are pushed into choosing a life career at a relatively young age. Lame Deer was only 16 at the time but that is only a mere two years younger than kids today. To some extent I found admirable that he at such a young age had already known what his life’s calling was. Overall the story was very enjoyable to read and it gave me very good insight on the tribulations of being a Indian. Vocabulary gourd- the hard-shelled fruit of any of various plants,whose dried shell is used for bowls and other utensils

With specific focus on Anthem for Doomed Youth evaluate the methods the poet uses to bring across his convictions, feelings and ideas

â€Å"Who longs to charge and shoot, Do you my laddie.† This jingoistic wartime poem by Jessie Pope ignites Owen's anger at these false impressions of war. This is evident in such poems as Dulce et Decorum est, originally penned towards Pope, hence the initial title, To a Certain Poetess. Owen's â€Å"senses were charred† at the sight of the â€Å"suffering of the troops†, such accusations about the nature of warfare fuelling the malice of his work. Owen never openly retaliates, instead opting to include his resentment towards writers like Pope in his poems. Owen frequently conveys his convictions of lost youth in Anthem For Doomed Youth by referring to â€Å"the hands of boys†, evidently refusing to acknowledge the maturity of the men. Owen's numerous references to religious symbols heightens the effects of his poems. In Anthem, we hear the â€Å"demented choirs of wailing shells.† Angelic choirs are ironically reversed as Owen negates Christian ritual as being unfitting for those who die amid screaming shells. In Mental Cases, we also bear witness to Biblical images, asking if we are: â€Å"Sleeping, and walk hell But who these hellish?† Owen often compares war to Hell, comparing soldiers to creatures undergoing eternal torment, â€Å"Wherefore rock they, purgatorial shadows†. This adds to the created impression of those driven mad by war, as he asks if the â€Å"multitudinous murders† these men have committed has doomed them to Hell. Owen insists these soldiers are not to blame, for ‘we' dealt them this â€Å"tormented† fate. Anthem is a similar reversal, where Owen utilizes heavenly elements, â€Å"orisons†. Yet, these spiritual references are used negatively: the only true regret is the â€Å"holy glimmers of goodbyes† in the dying soldiers' eyes. The gloriousness of Heaven and God is ignored, extending the distressing impact of the poem on the reader, as similar devilish imagery is used in other poems, such as the gas victim's â€Å"devil sick of sun† face in Dulce. This imagery is so contorted it is unearthly, and seemingly impossible – just as the devil bec oming tired of sinning is impossible. Owen's verbal images are parallel to artwork of the time, in particular Otto Dix's Assault Under Gas, shown below. In this art piece, Dix mirrors the tortured, hellish scenes of Dulce, with the cries of â€Å"Gas!† almost audible. The visual imagery suggests the mental effects of the attacks on the soldiers, highlighted by the colour grey – as if life had been drained from them. Owen would have been aware of this, as he was treated at Craiglockhart Hospital for shellshock, amongst men whose â€Å"slumbers were morbid and terrifying.† In Futility, the image of the Sun is frequently used. It is often associated with life and its joys, however, Owen is very sarcastic in his reversal of the sun, first writing: â€Å"If anything might rouse him now The kind old sun will know.† Owen then goes on to criticise the Sun, labelling it as useless. He asks why we are created and given warm life, when war destroys everything of value: â€Å"O what made fatuous sunbeams toil To break earth's sleep at all?† Owen also adopts animal imagery to his poems to further the displayed messages. In Anthem, Owen's opening line contains the powerful simile comparing soldiers as those, â€Å"who die as cattle?† referring to the high numbers of dead soldiers, especially young soldiers, being cut down in their prime, just as cattle would. Owen suggests they were grown for a specific reason (to fight), and killed once they had met their purpose (being slaughtered on the battlefield). In Owen's first draft of Anthem, written, with guidance from Siegfried Sassoon, in Craiglockhart, he stressed the â€Å"cattle† reference as an emotional jeer at the overly ambitious generals who used the men as cannon fodder. The parallel to animals is used to great effect. In Dulce et Decorum est, Owen details the men who â€Å"had lost their boots, limped on, blood-shod.† â€Å"Boots† and â€Å"shod† remind us of the horses used in the war, who had iron-shod shoes – portraying men as if they were beasts of burden, slumbering forward with heavy loads on their back – the worry and terror of what would face them weighing the men down. We see the effects of such an affliction in Mental Cases, where the â€Å"jaws that slob their relish† disparage â€Å"us who dealt them war and madness† by â€Å"pawing†. Such quotes accentuate the dehumanisation of these men that once â€Å"sang their way†, signalling the end of their transition into â€Å"rocking† wrecks. Owen recreates the horrors of war through his gruesome graphic imagery, particularly in Dulce's â€Å"green sea†, where the â€Å"flound'ring† of the victim â€Å"smothers† his dreams. The realisation of such a sight is alarming to the reader. Even in Owen's time, such a description would shock the reader into picturing the â€Å"sick of sin hanging face†. Owen's passion displays the real effects of such a grim and â€Å"monstrous† war, trying desperately to erase the false screen created by such jingoistic writers as Pope. One of Owen's tendencies is to incorporate intense sounds to support the potent imagery: â€Å"We were caught in a tornado of shells† This extract, from one of Owen's letters, provides insight into his writing of Anthem: â€Å"The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells† Owen uses his â€Å"submerged memories of warfare† to great effect, frequently applying onomatopoeia to his poems – the â€Å"stuttering rifle's rapid rattle† in Anthem, and the â€Å"batter of guns† in Mental Cases. The powerful resonance of the weapons intensifies the empathy the reader has for the â€Å"sacrificed men†, as the hellish scene recreates the â€Å"rattling† in our own ears, as if we, the reader, were there. In Futility, a direct contrast is apparent, as the â€Å"whispering of fields at home† signifies the sharp difference between the frontline action, and the calmness of Blighty. This is a stark reminder from Owen that, whilst everything's fine and calm in Britain, there are â€Å"full-nerved† men dying in France. The continuation of Anthem's onomatopoeic clatters is mirrored most notably by Mental Cases' â€Å"batter of guns and shatter of flying muscles†. The rhyming extends Owen's vivid ideas by suggesting that, as well as fighting and seeing the misery of comrades falling, the sounds of the â€Å"multitudinous murders they once witnessed† replay constantly in their minds, reminding them of the torment they met. In Dulce, we can ‘hear' the â€Å"guttering choking† and â€Å"gargling† of the â€Å"hanging face†, as well as visualize the grotesque scene, subjecting the reader to view the true nature of war further. As well as applying haunting adjectives to his work, Owen utilizes pace to maintain his high level of passion. This is most evident in Dulce, where each verse is different in speed. The opening verse is drawn out -very slow – with long, elongated vowels and verbs completing the stanza, â€Å"lame†, â€Å"lost† and â€Å"coughing†. This mirrors the fatigue of the soldiers, who would be deprived of sleep and be very slow in their speech. As the poem progresses into the gas attack, a pacy, urgent tone is adopted, with the cries of â€Å"Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!† As Owen describes the gas victim's painful end, the solemnly spoken words are slower, reverting back to the lingering sounds of the first verse, â€Å"writhing† . In Anthem, the â€Å"passing bells† of the funeral suggests a slow, sombre tone, as is the case with funerals. However, with the â€Å"bugles calling† and the â€Å"wailing†, the mournful mood is lost, just like the youth of Britain. Owen often ends his poems with an accusatory conviction, a controversial one that projects his innermost feelings, chosen to express the untold truths about war, and how the patriotic campaigns to conscript men are disgraceful. In Anthem, Owen ends with: â€Å"Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, And each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds† This is a direct contrast to the whole poem, where Owen suggests the â€Å"monstrous anger of the guns† accompanies them in death. Instead of his habitual ending of a â€Å"Lie†, Owen's ending is surprisingly peaceful, displaying a compassion for the dead previously unseen in his other poems. Mental Cases, Futility and Dulce, however, all oppose the somewhat ‘upbeat' ending. Dulce ends with â€Å"The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.† Owen flat out accuses the old saying, and the certain poetess, that to die for your country is not sweet and meet. Owen even goes as far as ironically rhyming â€Å"glory† and â€Å"mori†, as to satirically jeer at Jesse Pope, completely contradicting her. Owen asks if â€Å"my friend, you would not tell†¦the old Lie†, passionately addressing the reader, but also the frank direction at Pope not to print her jingoes, ironically donning her â€Å"friend†. This mirrors the ending to Mental Cases, where a sharp change of address sees the blame of the â€Å"extrication† shift to â€Å"us who dealt them war and madness†. Owen deliberately develops the poem to the startling climax, enveloping the blame around society as a whole, and not just certain poetesses. Dulce and Mental Cases match in descriptions, where the futile attempts to â€Å"pick† and â€Å"snatch† combine to provide the reader with an overwhelming sense of grief, at having sent these men off to war. Owen's ideas mean that we, the modern reader, feel this guilt at having sent innocent youths to their untimely deaths, when we had done nothing. However, contextually, the reader would have read this, and known that they had done wrong, becoming guilt-ridden at their mistake. This is similar to Futility, where Owen accuses the â€Å"fatuous sunbeams† of wasting human life, agreeing with the Doomed Youth title, but opposing its final lines. Futility describes how men are killing others, ending life, when we should not be ordering the termination of it – undoing God's work, when it is not our right to. Owen's feelings towards death, and the ending of life, are the fundamental issues in his poems. In Dulce, Owen is constantly comparing young with old, â€Å"bent double, like old beggars† and â€Å"knock-kneed, coughing like hags†. Dulce also details how the men â€Å"marched†¦drunk with fatigue†, explaining the exhausted state of the men. These three quotes are shocking, as these men are young, energetic men, but they're being reduced to quivering wrecks – suggesting men age quicker in the trenches, due to the horrors they see, and what they have to experience. This is a direct juxtaposition, where the young are dying before the old (A role reversal), but are seen as being ‘old' themselves. Owen's visual ideas on death are nothing short of morbid, describing: â€Å"at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs† In Dulce and Mental Cases, Owen adopts a macabre approach to extend the demons of these men. In Dulce, the â€Å"white eyes† of the â€Å"hanging face† suggest death is upon the man, and that he is looking at the men to choose his next victim. This idea is carried into Mental Cases, where there are men â€Å"whose minds the Dead have ravished†. Owen suggests, through a conviction of anxiety, that death is omnipresent, and that the worst fear is to become a â€Å"purgatorial shadow†. Owen writes to display one main conviction: that the false pretences of war are just that – false. By writing about such shocking and disturbing issues, Owen breaks the fabricated lies and makes his feelings known by adding ambiguous sentences to his poems, â€Å"marching asleep† – fatigue of war, or asleep to the glorious propaganda that recruited them? Owen's poems are full of truths, however controversial they seem, and he projects his convictions and feelings any way he can, regardless of consequences.

The eNotes Blog Light in February Plantation Diary Find Sheds New Light on FaulknerNovels

Light in February Plantation Diary Find Sheds New Light on FaulknerNovels For scholars, there is no bigger coup than finding new information that offers insight to a writers processes, character construction, or plot development.  Ã‚  Even if one is working with a lesser known writer, there is joy in discovery.   To  find previously  unknown information for an author as popular and extensively researched as William Faulkner is akin to  finding a  gem in a junkyard. Sally Wolff-King is  a professor and Southern literature scholar at Emory University. She appears to have found the ledger  that Faulkner used as a model for the famous scene in Go Down, Moses in which  the character Isaac McClassin opens his grandfathers farm ledgers and discovers his familys slave-owning past.   Many of the character names, used in this and other works, seem to have come from this ledger as well. The diary/ledger belonged to Frances Terry Leak, a plantation owner. Leaks great-grandson, Edgar Wiggin Francisco Jr. was a childhood friend of Faulkners, and the two men remained friendly throughout their lives.   Mr. Franciscos son, now 79,  recalls that Faulkner was a frequent guest in their home and had a keen interest in the ledgers. Character names that appear in both the ledgers and Faulkners novels include Moses, Isaac, and Toney in Go Down, Moses, Caddy/Candace (Candis) and Ben in The Sound and the Fury and Old Rose, Henry,   Milly, and Ellen in Absalom, Absalom!. Of particular interest to scholars is that Faulkner has given many of his white characters the names of slaves listed in the ledgers. Why did Faulkner do this?   Professor Wolff-King believes Faulkner is trying to give the slaves a voice.

Land Breeze Definition

Land Breeze Definition A land breeze is a local nighttime and early morning wind that occurs along coasts and blows offshore (from the land out to sea). It arises at sunset when the sea surface is warmer than the adjacent land due to the land cooling off faster and having a lower heat capacity, and continues into the early morning hours until the heating of the day begins. Although commonly associated with ocean shorelines, land breezes can also be experienced near lakes and other large bodies of water. An Overnight and Early Morning Wind Like all winds, land breezes form because of a difference in air pressure and temperature. During the day, the sun will heat land surfaces, but only to a depth of a few inches. At night, water will retain more of its heat than land surfaces. (This is because it has a higher heat capacity than land.) Land breezes usually occur at night. At night, the temperature of the land cools quickly without the insolation from the sun. Heat is rapidly re-radiated back to the surrounding air. The water along the shore will then be warmer than the coastal land, creating a net movement of air from the land surfaces towards the ocean. Why? Well, the movement of the wind is a result of differences in air pressure over the land and the ocean. Warm air is less dense and rises. Cool air is more dense and sinks. As the temperature of the land surfaces cool, the warm air rises and creates a small area of high pressure near the land surface. Since winds blow from areas of high to low pressure, the net movement of air (wind) is from the shore to the sea. Steps to Land Breeze Formation Heres a step-by-step explanation of how land breezes are created. Air temperatures decrease at night.Rising air creates a thermal low at the ocean surface.Cool air collects forming a high-pressure zone above the surface of the ocean.A low-pressure zone forms above the land surface from the rapid loss of heat.A high-pressure zone forms as the cooler land cools the air immediately above the surface.Winds aloft flow from the ocean to the land.Winds at the surface flow from high to low pressure creating a land breeze. Longer Near Summer's End As the summer wears on, the temperature of the sea will slowly rise in comparison to the daily temperature fluctuations of the land, meaning that the land breeze will last longer and longer. Nighttime Thunderstorms If there are sufficient moisture and instability in the atmosphere, land breezes can lead to overnight showers and thunderstorms just offshore. While you might be tempted to take a nighttime beach walk, be sure to follow these lightning safety guidelines to reduce your risk of a lightning strike. Watch your step as well, since storms can stir up and encourage jellyfish to wash ashore! Land breezes are the opposite of sea breezes gentle winds that develop over the ocean and blow onshore, keeping you cool during a scorching hot day on the beach.

Language Difficulties Of Foreign Students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Language Difficulties Of Foreign Students - Essay Example While other students would consider the learning difficulties presented by being a non-native English speaker quite insurmountable. I faced the obstacle more as a challenge that I was meant to overcome. By facing my demons and challenging myself to achieve more than others believed I could, I would be able to find a place during the semester where I would begin to enjoy the English classes. Over time, I was able to find my place, my voice, and a comfortable way to tackle my English assignments, coursework, and exams that allowed me to begin to feel comfortable with the use of the English language. As such I am now more comfortable with the English language classes I am taking this semester than the last term. I would have to say that peer reviews from my classmates served a definite purpose in helping me to improve my English writing technique. That is because I am given an opportunity to see the way other people view my writing. Which also helps me get a clearer idea as to the weak points that I have with my writing skills and how I can improve upon those errors. It is because of the peer reviews that I was also able to develop an idea as to what good writing is all about and how to recognize a well-written essay. For me, a well-written essay does not have much to do with the grammar or structure of the paper. Neither does it have to do with the way the writer approaches the subject. Although these things are of some importance to the written word, it is not the be all and end of a perfect essay.

Rural Tourism in UK Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Rural Tourism in UK - Dissertation Example 1 Introduction 1.1 Background study Large-scale globalisation has led to widespread economic reframing, which has created an environment where local economies must necessarily adjust, for augmenting or maintaining the viability of their socio-economic conditions under the altered climate. Social and economic forces that are functioning at global levels ascertain both the type and and nature of rural regions and how they are used and valued (Butler, Hall, and Jenkins, 1998). These socioeconomic modifications along with new approaches and thoughts on recreation and leisure time activities are increasingly promoting rural tourism worldwide (Williams 1995). Developing areas not perceived favourably as tourist destinations, for rural tourism depends on two main factors. First, in some cases, tourist attraction may be slowly built-up by entrepreneurs through innovative businesses, like entertainment parks. Secondly, on some cases visitors may suddenly discover an area, generating a sudden increase in demand for recreation and leisure time activities, which gives the local entrepreneurs an opportunity to respond and develop their local area. However, development of rural tourism is not merely based on the concept of balancing local supply with tourist demand, but includes issues of sustainability, and evaluating the suitability and acceptability, as regards the local community, in view of developing the area as a tourist spot. There are various debates over defining the term rural tourism, and a review of the literature reveals that no consensus over the issue has been arrived yet (Pearce and Moscardo, 1985; Bramwell 1994). As Oppermann claimed, â€Å"there is not even a commonly accepted definition of what rural tourism is† (1996, pp. 86-87). This lack of consensus, as regards defining rural tourism, arises from the absence of a common standard used for measuring nature and type of rural tourism by different countries, worldwide. Therefore, rural tourism seen in various countries of the world, do not share any common characteristics. Observations also reveal that rural tourism does not necessarily pertain to only the typical rural form of activities, it can also be urban type situated in a rural area. Rural areas all over the world are experiencing intricate socioeconomic changes due to effect of globalisation, technology and communications that have altered the conditions for market operations and distributions for local and traditional items (Frochot, 2005). Besides this, owing to globalisation many of the rural areas have witnessed large-scale depopulation while others have experienced large-scale influx of immigrants or inflow of elderly people looking for retirement, or others looking for establishing innovative business types that may not be local or traditional in nature. Generally, rural tourism is associated with the form of tourism where rural culture is the chief element or the main component of