Whitmans Song of Myself and The Nature of Life Essay -- Song of Mysel

Whitman's Song of Myself and The Nature of Life Identifying the mystery of existence, Whitman writes "Song of Myself," section six to question the nature of the life of man. He alludes to and confronts past answers to this query by utilizing as his central image the leaves of grass. In the Christian tradition, the Bible utilizes this image of grass to describe the lives of men. Isaiah, a prophet of God cries out, "All men are like grass . . . and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, . . . but the word of the Lord stands forever" (Isaiah 40:6-8). The scriptural image of men as grass, "the handkerchief of the Lord," places man in relation to God and establishes the transient, finite nature of man. Whitman responds throughout this poem to the Biblical answer to the question of life. Emphasizing the cyclical process of nature, Whitman constructs his poem to insist that the life of man, as in nature, moves not with linear progression, but rather in a cyclical succession. Birth and death, Whitman asserts, serve not as bookends to a concise life span, but rather as connections in a larger continuum of existence. Whitman utilizes an imagist technique relating a series of associated images through a central connection. Whitman first presents the reader with the image of a small child offering up grass with the question, "What is the grass." In light of the scriptural connection Whitman provides, this query "What is the grass" from the lips of a child presents the larger question of what is man. Whitman chooses not to answer this question directly, but rather to present possibilities and proffer the question back to the reader, stating "How could I answer the chil... ...ot ceased to exist but rather now continue their existence "alive and well" in the ambiguous "somewhere." Whitman will not accept the Biblical understanding of death as a passage to either heaven or hell. He claims instead that "to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier." This fortuitous death he would apply to every man, not reserving destruction for any man. Death, if it truly exists, for Whitman, leads only "forward to life, and does not wait at the end to arrest it." Stating "All goes onward and outward . . and nothing collapses," Whitman affirms the view of man's earthly life as a succession rather than a progression and claims for man a part in a larger cyclical continuum of existence. Works Cited: Whitman, Walt. Song of Myself. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 3rd ed. Ed, Paul Lauter. Boston,NewYork: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.

Westernisation’s Benefits

Everything has its two sides and Westernisation is not an exception. Although westernisation caused a lot of changes to a country, we can’t deny the benefits that it brought back for the humans’ development. First of all westernisation highlighted the turning point in the evolvement of human society. As a result, many transcendent inventions, which didn’t only help people to solve global problems as well as personal problems in life but they also created bases for further inventions, had appeared during the westernisation. In addition, westernisation was also regarded to a part of globalisation in which countries had chances to approach cultural beauty of the others. Firstly, westernisation is an axiomatic evidence of the breakthrough in the history of human development during the industrial revolution period. The labour’s productivity improved considerably because of the appearance of new machines with new technology. Before the industrial revolution in Britain, most of works were done by hand and therefore they took a lot of time, exertion to complete with low quality of products. However, when the industrial revolution began to outbreak with mechanisation of the textile industries, the development of iron-making techniques and the increased use of refined coal, the face of world’s economy changed eternally. Specifically, machines have helped humans in working faster and producing better quality products. Industrial revolution marked milestone of the change in work mechanism: from manual labour towards machine-based manufacturing. We can say that westernisation created a base for the vigorous development in world’s economy currently. Moreover, westernisation in some developing countries has helped their residents approach to the new technology that they had never seen before. As an example, when televisions were imported in some developing countries such as: Vietnam, Laos, Cuba†¦, the people began to realize a new and smart tool that give them news about the world every day or just entertainment such as film or music. The consequential appearance of new technology during westernisation increased the humans’ perception about the world around them and knowledge also. Can people nowadays increase their understanding about everything in every aspect of life without the base of westernisation? Secondly, westernisation brought to humans many inventions that can help them to solve some key problems of the world as well as individual to boost the quality of life. The appearance of many high buildings shows the intelligence of people after westernisation because it is an evidence of how people use the space that Nature gave them. As the population of the world are increasing second by second, there will be one day when there is no land for people to live. The construction of building is not only a smart back up for the future but it is also a way in which people use their knowledge to utilize the natural resources. Not only that, with the development of technology, people also found vicarious energy for the fossil energy which will be depleted in near future such as wind, waves, sunlight†¦ Therefore, we can say that westernisation helped us in finding resolution for the global problems that threatened the world day by day. In addition, the westernisation also provides each individual solution for his/her daily problems that arise abruptly. For example, the invention Internet which seems to be an integral part of the information development solved problem about contacting between 2 individuals. Instead of sending a long letter which takes a lot of several days to another person, we can access to the internet and send an email with a short content wherever we are – that is really simple. People seemed to managed their times better than the past because they can do work faster and more effectively. That is just a discernible example in the innumerable benefits that westernisation brought to the humans. Finally, the westernisation was also a pre-globalisation which connects country to another to form a uniform world where the development increases unstoppably. Approaching to another country’s innovation is an inevitable result of this process. Most developed and holistic nations where every indicator of a developed country is over expected: European countries and the USA are sharing their innovation to developing countries in order to help those countries more developed and out of emergency group. They might send more of their professor to developing countries on the purpose of transferring technology and new invention in industry or agriculture. More students from the developing countries have more chances to catch up the modern education in US universities or European Universities. Those evidences show the basic definition of globalisation where many cultures are mixing in the same society, which creates the diversity in nationality and custom. Globalisation also makes the gap between poor countries and rich countries become smaller. Westernisation is a small part of that globalisation where all countries share their own culture to each other, learn from each other and develop together. It makes the world becomes united without the differences in skin colour, developed level†¦ Overall, the benefits that Westernisation brought back to the humans are uncountable. On the other hand, the disadvantages that it brought in the past couldn’t make the world developed in the worse direction and the best evidence for that is we are writing this essay in modern condition with air condition and bright light. Thanks for westernisation, we are living in the best condition and get benefited from the fantastic invention.

The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman - 1704 Words

Mental Illness and Confinement in the 19th Century: Escaping The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) whom is most acclaimed for her short story The Yellow Wallpaper (1891) was a women’s author that was relatively revolutionary. Gilman makes an appalling picture of captivity and confinement in the short story, outlining a semi-personal photo of a young lady experiencing the rest cure treatment by her spouse, whom in addition to being her husband was also her therapist. Gilman misused the rest cure in The Yellow Wallpaper to alarm other ladies of the harming impacts of the treatment. In 1887 after the conception of her little girl, Gilman turned out to be seriously depressed and looked for treatment for anxious weariness by therapist Silas Weir Mitchell. Mitchell s rest cure comprised bed rest, seclusion, overloading, and knead/power massage on her muscles. At the point when Gilman understood that Mitchell s treatment compounded her sorrow, she cleared out both her spouse and specialist. Quite a while later, Gilman composed The Yellow Wallpaper as a response to her doctor Mitchell s recommended rest cure. In her paper Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper? Gilman commented Being naturally moved by this narrow escape, I wrote The Yellow Wallpaper with its embellishments and additions to carry out the ideal (I never had hallucinations or objections to my mural decorations) and sent a duplicate to the doctor who so nearly drove me mad. He neverShow MoreRelatedThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman885 Words   |  4 Pagesbeen a stigma around mental illness and feminism. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the 1900’s. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† has many hidden truths within the story. The story was an embellished version her own struggle with what was most likely post-partum depression. As the story progresses, one can see that she is not receiving proper treatment for her depression and thus it is getting worse. Gilman uses the wallpaper and what she sees in it to symbolize her desire to escapeRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman846 Words   |  4 PagesHumans are flawed individuals. Although flaws can be bad, people learn and grow from the mistakes made. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, gives one a true look at using flaws to help one grow. Gilman gives her reader’s a glimpse into what her life would have consisted of for a period of time in her life. Women were of little importance other than to clean the house and to reproduce. This story intertwines the reality of what the lives of woman who were considered toRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1362 Words   |  6 Pagesas freaks. In the short story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, both of these elements are present. Gilman did a wonderful job portraying how women are not taken seriously and how lightly mental illnesses are taken. Gilman had, too, had firsthand experience with the physician in the story. Charlotte Perkins Gilman s believes that there really was no difference in means of way of thinking between men or women is strongly. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a short story about a woman whoRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1547 Words   |  7 PagesCharlotte Perkins Gilman s career as a leading feminists and social activist translated into her writing as did her personal life. Gilman s treatment for her severe depression and feelings of c onfinement in her marriage were paralleled by the narrator in her shorty story, The Yellow Wallpaper. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born in 1860 in Hartford, Connecticut. Her parents, Mary Fitch Perkins and Fredrick Beecher Perkins, divorced in 1869. Her dad, a distinguished librarian and magazine editorRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman2032 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a poem about women facing unequal marriages, and women not being able to express themselves the way they want too. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born in 1860, and died in 1935. This poem was written in 1892. When writing this poem, women really had no rights, they were like men’s property. So writing â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† during this time era, was quite shocking and altered society at the time. (Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the Feminization ofRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman904 Words   |  4 Pagescom/us/definiton/americaneglish/rest-cure?q=rest+cure). Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote The Yellow Wallpaper as a reflection of series of events that happened in her own life. Women who fought the urge to be the typical stereotype were seen as having mental instabilities and were considered disobedient. The societal need for women to conform to the standards in the 1800s were very high. They were to cook, clean and teach their daughters how to take care of the men. Gilman grew up without her father and she vowedRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman999 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a story of a woman s psychological breakdown, which is shown through an imaginative conversation with the wallpaper. The relationship between the female narrator and the wallpaper reveals the inner condition of the narrator and also symbolically shows how women are oppressed in society. The story, read through a feminist lens, reflects a woman s struggle against the patriarchal power structure. In the â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses the wallpaperRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman Essay1208 Words   |  5 Pagesthat wallpaper as I did?† the woman behind the pattern was an image of herself. She has been the one â€Å"stooping and creeping.† The Yellow Wallpaper was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In the story, three characters are introduced, Jane (the narrator), John, and Jennie. The Yellow Wallpaper is an ironic story that takes us inside the mind and emotions of a woma n suffering a slow mental breakdown. The narrator begins to think that another woman is creeping around the room behind the wallpaper, attemptingRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman846 Words   |  4 PagesThe dignified journey of the admirable story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† created by Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s, gave the thought whether or not the outcome was influenced by female oppression and feminism. Female oppression and feminist encouraged a series of women to have the freedom to oppose for their equal rights. Signified events in the story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† resulted of inequality justice for women. Charlotte Perkins Gilman gave the reader different literary analysis to join the unjustifiableRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman948 Words   |  4 Pagesthis and in ways that lead them to depression, anxiety, who knows what else. In the story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilma n the main character, Jane, faces those terrible things that eventually lead her to becoming insane. The traits that make up who Jane is, provides the readers with the importance of her identity throughout the story and they also make up the context of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†. Trying to free herself from her nervous depression, Jane is propelled into insanity. The