Essay, Valentine Carol Ann Duffy Essay

The poem Valentine is written by Carol Ann Duffy. Throughout the Poem she shows the positive and negative sides about love by comparing love to an onion. She does this by using different techniques such as language features such as metaphors, simlies, Imagery and word structure. All these techniques make it interesting because she uses an onion as a girft to represent love and relationships. In the begining of the poem Duffy starts off with a negative in opening line. â€Å"Not a red rose or a satin heart’. She tries to tell her Valentine to not expect anything romantic. This is telling the reader that it is not somthing sweet, romantic or taditional gift but something unique and original. Then in the following lines she sets out why and onion is a good gift. Duffy then uses a metaphor â€Å"It is a moon wrapped in brown paper. It promises light like the careful undressing of love’. The ‘brown paper’ is the outside of the onion that hides the white vegetable inside. This brown skin is the wrapping paper of the gift, the onion. Duffy compares her gift, the onion, to the moon being wrapped in brown paper. This picture of the moon represents the whole onion, just afger it has been peeled. The words â€Å"it promises light’ give a positive conntation meaning the moons ‘light’ represents love like a new start and begining of a relationship. Moonlight often provides a romantic setting. The peeling of the onion is also like two people taking off each other clothes before they make love â€Å"like the careful undressing of love’. THe different layers of the onion are like the layers of someones discovering the layers in a relationship. Therefore Duffy begins the poeam with a negative conatation and a positive connatation about the onion befoere giving it to her Valentine. In the second stanza of the second line a similie is used â€Å"It will blind you with tears like a lover’. To show that onions will make you cry and make you blind of the pain and that love can do the same thing to a person. This shows that she is giving her partner an onion because love can be beautiful but can also cause pain and upset. She then relates it too â€Å"your reflection is a wobbing grief†. Duffy relates this quote to one quote from the other stanza before â€Å"undressing love’. Here a metaphor has been used. A † wobbling photo of grief is compared to a mirror. â€Å"wobbling’ refers to photo which has become blurred from the tears created by the onion.When you look at a photo with tears it doesnt give a real image to that photo but a blurred or wobbling image. Also when you begin to â€Å"undress’ (discover) when you make love it can also cause you grief. This stanza shows that onions can make you cry and feel pain like love does and a good language feature has been use to help describe the aspects of the onion. Duffy then laters combines these quotes and makes a last stanza that gives more negative connatations towards the end. Duffy demands that her lover takes her gift † Take it’. She then talks about marriage † Its platnium loops shrink to a wedding ring, if you like† She suggests that the bright white layers of the onion are relationships and rings. Duffy imagines that the ring is made out of white valuable metal, platnium. She tries to tell us that the smaller the rings get the more chance of marriage increases but however if somthings † shrinks’ it becomes less valuable and more restrictive and perhaps somthing at the end of the relationship. Duffy thinks marriage is like a knife † Its scent will cling to you fingers, cling to your knife.’ The word â€Å"knife’ links marriage to a wound, and that Duffy may have been hurt in previous relationships. This shows a negative view of love and that someone had a knife and may have ended the relationship.† Cling’ has been repeated twice, Even if one brakes up with partner the scent or the thought will be clinged to your mind , like the smell of the onion on knife after its been washed. Therefore Duffy finishs the poeam with a negative connatation and tells us that onions do have simliarities as a ring or relationships. In conclusion Duffy shows her feelings about love in positive and negative connatations throughtout the poem by using different techinques to show how intresting this poem is when comparing love to an onion. And how the reader of this poem should understand why she thought an onion was a good choice as a gift by being original and unique.

Gender Roles in Things Fall Apart Essay

In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, the Ibo society has a strict system of behavioral customs that are assigned by gender. These customs restrict the freedom of Ibo woman and help to reinforce generation after generation the notion that Ibo men are superior to women. In Achebe’s essay An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, he claims that Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, despite it’s insights, ought to be eradicated from literature as an appropriate piece of work on the argument that it is racist. Achebe focuses on gender roles and avoiding stereotypes to dismiss the racist attitude towards Africans in his novel by bringing the reader down to the level of his unbiased narration of a historical fiction novel. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe is cautious to avoid typical stereotypes describing white men. When the first white man is introduced, he is described as â€Å"†¦ not an Albino. He was quite different† his presence is foreign and not understood, but not dangerous. Achebe creates no account of the man being atrocious. In fact, throughout the entire story Achebe consistently attributes those same qualities to the white men later on in the novel; with the exception of The District Commissioner, who is described as â€Å"strict and unreasonable†. Achebe even puts white men in a good light; Mr. Brown constantly reminds the people of Umuofia that they should send their children to his church to learn to read and write so that other white men will not come to institute a new government and destroy their culture. By not negatively chronicling that white men are evil through narration and characterization, Achebe successfully lets loose the bounded stereotype of evil white men that are against African culture. Achebe affirms that in Ibo society, the condition of weakness is strongly associated with women. Therefore, a man being declared â€Å"woman-like† is an extreme insult. Unoka, Okonwko’s father, embodies the counter-values that stand in opposition to the rigid social ideal of the tribe. Okonkwo is ashamed when he learns that â€Å"agbala† was not only another name for woman, it could also mean a man who had taken no title when this insult is applied to his father. By stereotyping based on titles that are indigenous to Ibo culture rather than stereotypes that are demeaning to a race, Achebe is able to maintain an unbiased narrative in Things Fall Apart. Achebe does not completely demean woman in his story; it only seems as though that this is the case because he creates distractions to shy away from racism. In Ibo society, women marry to add to their father’s wealth, become subservient to their husbands, continue on their husband’s legacy through child birth and emanate the essence that women know the secret of life, since they are the source of it. This is evident when Uchendu ask â€Å"Can you tell me, Okonkwo, why it is that one of the commonest names we give to our children is Nneka, or ‘Mother is Supreme’? We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding. A child belongs to its father and his family and not to its mother and her family. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland. And yet we say Nneka–‘Mother is Supreme. ‘ Why is that? ‘ ‘A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say that mother is supreme. ‘† Although the characters in the story never recognize the full capacities of women, they are described as emotionally strong. Achebe has an amazing gift for spotting bias that hides in plain sight; adapting against those anecdotes and historical asides, he creates something resembling a coherent story that necessitates dropping much that is important. Things Fall Apart possesses very deep meanings beyond that of avoiding stereotypes. Achebe purposely degrades women to not come across to the reader as racist, however his main priority is conveying lessons that are forgotten through literature. People who pick up a copy of Things Fall Apart will embark on journey that will let them see the subjugation of the African natives from their own perspective.

An Empty Hook

As the years go by and new technologies come and go, the world seems to be moving at a constant frantic pace. In our modern, consumer driven society its sometimes hard to find the time to stop and appreciate what we have. The American working world is thriving and competitive, every obstacle we face consumes us, making it easy to get trapped in the seemingly non-stop race of life, forgetting what really matters. For our own sake, it is time to take a step back from our frantic life style and learn to appreciate the little things in life. Its a commonplace story to hear of the work alcoholic man or woman who worked and worked until they were old and rich, and then realized they had nothing in the end. If more people took the time to appreciate the little things, more often then not they’ll find life is a lot more rewarding. Of course that reward can comes in many different forms: Love†¦memories†¦fish. Fishing is a fine art. It takes the refining of cast off methods, and the honing of the proper technique to fully master the art of the reel in, not to forget lots of patience. Nothing is slower than waiting for that subtle tug at the end of your line. My dad taught me how to fish. My twin brother and I used to practice in the front yard with a rod and a weight in the place of a hook, fishing for twigs. Ive caught lots of things before, grass, rocks, other fishing rods, but never a fish. After spending some time with a fisherman you learn that they mean serious business and youre mad to think that theyd share tips or bait. Over the past summer, my dad and grandma and I went fishing together. We needed a break from the constant rhythm of our everyday life. I was having my usual luck, which is no luck at all, and my dad had already caught three fish, my grandma, one. Wed been fishing for hours and still no luck I was sun burnt and riddled with mosquito bites. Id cast off my line and reeled it in hundreds of times and my patience was wearing thin. My dad suddenly felt a jerk in his line, another fish. He was starting to reel it in when he called me over. He handed me the rod. I was excited and scared at the same time. After several c lose calls I finally managed to reel in the fish. My dad came over and untangled the hook from the fishs mouth. My grandma replied, thats true love, meaning my dad must really love me to have let me reel in his fish. Even though this took place in the span of a few minutes, now when I look back I can remember in great detail the feel of the fishs scales and the resistance as I pulled it in. I can recall these moments with more ease and meaning than what happened last week or who did what to who. With applications and auditions upon me I dont look back on my frantic, routine school days but moments like this that are singular and unique. Catching a fish may seem like a small thing but Ive often found that it is the little things in life that make hardship worth while and when you take the time life is given purpose, however whimsical a purpose that may be, but if I constantly cast off and reel in all Ill pull out is grass and an empty hook.

Business Stabilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Stabilization - Essay Example This postulation highlights the disjoint and independence in supply and demand based on time and persons. This is a sharp contrast to the view of the classical monetarist who did not take into consideration the possibility of a time lag in-between earning and expenditure and the savings culture. This was the starting point for Keynesian Economics. As stated earlier, fiscal policy is of more importance than monetary policy in the view of Keynesian Economist. Keynesians believe that money is an asset which can be held for its own sake and not just as a temporal abode of purchasing power. Keynesians do no believe that changes in money supply have significant effects on economic activities. Keynesianism also does not reckon with the classical belief that money can be routed to affect economic activities. Although it will be an overstatement to say that Keynesianism does not recognize money as being important, it should however be put in proper perspective. Money does not have a direct im pact on the economy. Before money can be said to have an impact on the economy, Keynesians believe that a change in money supply should influence interest rate which should in turn translate into a change in investment levels and ultimately have an effect on national income, only then can money be said to matter. Rate of Ms1 Rate of Net Ms= Money Supply Interest Ms2 interest Md = Money demand r1 r1 r2 r2 M1 M2 Ms Md r3 b Investment Going by the graphical illustration above, It is readily observable that, lowering the interest rate will have no impact on an inelastic investment curve. Keynesians also believe that the primary link between money supply and the economy is interest rate with two other secondary link of the ability of the interest rate to affect investments and for changes in investments to affect national income these links according to Keynesianism are very weak. Politicians in the UK in the course of electioneering and campaign exhibit vast knowledge of Keynesianism with the way Economic policies are drawn up. The two main parties in the UK today are the Conservative and Labour parties, each having their traditional viewpoint on economic policies and how the Government is expected to intervene in the economy. However, in the post war period, there has been cross-party consensus as regards economic policy with very great inclination of both the left and the right towards Keynesianism. There has equally been much talk from both sides on how best to manipulate the financial operations of the Government with a view to furthering certain economic policy objectives. These objectives include price stability, external equilibrium, economic development and growth, income distribution etc. instruments of fiscal policy such as tax, Government expenditure and interest rates are ideas that have been propagated in the quest to achieve the afore-mentioned objectives. The belief is that by fine-tuning the fiscal policy, depression within an economy can be overcome. Both the labour and conservative party agreed that some key industries should be owned by the state in a process of nationalization. However

Aspects to the Priestly Cosmology of the Letter to the Hebrews Essay

Aspects to the Priestly Cosmology of the Letter to the Hebrews - Essay Example There are several chapters in the book of Hebrews that are primarily devoted to the early Christians’ view of cosmos. One of the aspects of priestly cosmology in the book of Hebrews is found in the author’s description of Melchizedek priesthood which the author largely considered to be raised by eternal life and is superior to Aaron’s priesthood (Heb.7.11-19). As the Melchizedek, Jesus was believed to have the power to rescue his people from the power of evil. The role of Jesus Christ is, therefore, to restore the true temple (Barker, 2004, p. 11). Another possible aspect of priestly cosmology in the epistle is the imagery of the temple. Throughout the book, there are a number of instances where various practices in the temple such as the offering of sacrifice are described. Incarnation and resurrection are also presented as some of the ways through which human beings can become divine and move to the eternal world which is believed to be the true temple. Scholar s agree that the aspects of cosmology depicted in the book of Hebrews fit well in the world of the first century. For example some of the elements of cosmology contained in the Epistle include the description of the metaphysical dualism between the natural world and the highest heaven. Scholer (1991, p.17) also concurs that the Epistle was generally meant to exalt Jesus Christ as the high priest and son of God. The contemporary view of cosmos is, however, based on the today’s astronomical understanding of the universe, rather than the on the aspects of priestly cosmology found in the Letter to the Hebrews. This paper discusses the various aspects of priestly cosmology in the Epistle of Hebrews, its comparison to the contemporary world view of cosmos and the potential insights which can be used in teaching Christianity faith. Comparison between priestly cosmology and the contemporary view of cosmos Cosmology is generally concerned with the origin, organization, structure, as w ell as the beauty of natural laws that ensure order in the universe. The contemporary view of cosmos is based on the today’s astronomical understanding of the universe, rather than the on the aspects of priestly cosmology found in the Letter to the Hebrews. As opposed to the first biblical view that the earth and heaven are the center of the universe, several discoveries have proven that the sun is the center of the solar system and the vast cosmos. On the other hand, the theological view of cosmos depicted in the Epistle of Hebrews is based on the belief that God is the maker of the universe and Jesus is seen and his true manifestation (Hughes, 1997, p.45). Jesus Christ is seen as the perfect son of God and is the source of salvation to humanity. The book also highlights the first century’s understanding of cosmos with regard to God controls the universe. Throughout the letter to Hebrews, Jesus is depicted as high priest, son of God; everything brings out the aspects of the beginning of the universe that is from creation to the eternal end (Bruce, 1990, p.79). Irrespective of the views attributed by individuals in the modern world, it remains clear that there is a spiritual being that ensures order in the universe and to whom we all attribute our origin from. Science alone has failed to explain this and in the context of spiritual wellbeing, this is God whom Christians put their faith

Macro-prudential Policies Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Macro-prudential Policies - Coursework Example A long-term environmental and social impact forms a group of another driver. A series of related events straight from resource limitations and climatic variations in unmanageable debt levels has significant implications for a long-term economic pattern. Consequently, the factors are so crucial in the long-term savings, particularly, in available pension schemes as well in the insurance industry. The third driver is Technological innovation. The use of information technology in communication as well in the commerce sector. This has contributed to the revolution in a manner that the financial transactions are processed and leads to the provision of totally new services as well as business models. To this effect, there are two different connected and overlapping technological systems.This has led to the increase in volume and variety of big data as well regular network connection (Acharya, and Yorulmaze,2008, p.2017). Hence, these probably need some components of financial systems. The aspects are significant since they help in adjusting the latter in order to sustain the relevance and profitability in the future financial system. Besides, Innovations in economics and monetary policy is one o the key drivers that affect the financial system. The financial calamity has led to an analysis of earlier theories and policy instruments that are found in the sectors of macroeconomics and finance. Consequently, the theories help manage monetary policies and regulations of the financial system.

Global Warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global Warming - Essay Example conservatives whether the issue of global warming have been verified and concluded or were just all deception to route the issue to a rather more complicated picture of politics and economics. However, the issue that the Earth is heating up and that greenhouse gases should be immediately reduced have been the primary concerns for most environment advocates around the world, pointing out our responsibilities to eliminate those elements and be able to save our planet before anything else worse could happen. With the release of the documentary entitled An Inconvenient Truth in 2006, former Vice President Al Gore brilliantly showcased what he assumed to be the possible consequences of global warming if we, humans will not restrict ourselves in producing greenhouse gases. He furthered in his book An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It, that â€Å"the world’s oceans are becoming more acidic due to enormous quantities of CO2† (p. 40) and that the most dramatic impact of global warming is the melting of ice sheets in the Arctic which will result to rising of sea level to up to 6 feet. However, Gregg Easterbrook, an environmental commentator rebutted that these were â€Å"realistic short-term prospect† and that even mild restriction in the use of greenhouse gases will immobilize the economy. He rather emphasized the use of technology and effective regulations of environmental laws to somehow lessen the use or productio n of greenhouse gases and eventually alter the immediate progress of climate change. He stayed optimistic that previous air-pollution problems have been reduced faster in a cheaper way added that added that â€Å"the basic pattern observed in all other forms of air-pollution control – rapid progress at low cost – should repeat for greenhouse-gas controls† (Some Convenient Truths, para.