Larkin is often portrayed as being obsessed by death, but High Windows is as much about life as it is about death. How true do you find this statement?
Larkin is often portrayed as being obsessed by death, but High Windows is as much about life as it is about death. How true do you find this statement? Larkin was 52 when High Windows was published and the collection is dominated by poems about the loss of youth, time passing and the imminence of death. Even in poems not explicitly based on these themes, they are still hinted at. Although some of the poems are about youth, some about aging and some on death, in a way all these are referring to mortality. I agree that there are poems, such as Show Saturday and To the Sea, which celebrate aspects of life but there are far fewer poems about life than about death. The Building is one of the bleakest poems, where Larkin describes a hospital and the stark inevitability of death. The poem builds up an atmosphere by the enigmatic treatment of the building; Larkin avoids spelling out that the building is a hospital but treats it as an atheistic cathedral, left in the atheistic society. Larkin begins the account outside the building. It can be seen from far away and resembles a 'lucent comb', emphasising the busyness of the workers and the way in which individuals are depersonalised, like bees in a hive. Its height is repeated in the 4th stanza as evidence of its importance within today's society. The comparison with the 'handsomest hotel' suggests that is far more important to
The Novel Frankenstein is as relevant and as terrifying today as it was when it was first published in 1818. Discuss.
"The Novel Frankenstein is as relevant and as terrifying today as it was when it was first published in 1818." The gothic novel Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley and published in 1818. At that time, it was terrifying and relevant, and in 2011 it provokes the same kind of feelings. Firstly, because of Shelley's use of Gothic's technique and imagery that still works effectively to today reader's imagination. Secondly, because it is easier now for society to conceive the monster as being possibly real, thanks to progress that has been achieved in medicine and science such as cloning, organ transplant and genetic engineering. Mary Shelly was nineteen when Frankenstein was published and it was both extraordinary and shocking for society that she was both a woman and young. Lord Byron even commented: 'Methinks it is a wonderful work for a girl of nineteen- not nineteen, indeed, at that time'. Her mother was Mary Wollstonecraft - a feminist philosopher and writer who believed women should have the same education as men. Mary Shelly's father was William Godwin, a famous philosopher, novelist and journalist. Her father provided her with a comprehensive education, uncommon for a girl in that time period. Their house received frequent visits of the most famous writers and poets of that time. She had many opportunities to listen to their discussions and opinions, in an
Descriptive Writing: The Sunrise. The sky bleeds red as the sun creeps over the horizon, like a silent murderer.
The sky bleeds red as the sun creeps over the horizon, like a silent murderer. The red flickers and spreads as it is reflected in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Seattle is relatively quiet this time of day: Most people are still sleeping. The cool night breeze is getting its final breath of life just before the burning heat of day takes over at around seven o'clock. Although most of the people are still asleep, you are awake. And you're taking an early morning stroll along the walkway on the harbor. You take in a fresh breath of the cool summer breeze, and a faint salty taste tickles your tongue. As you walk, the delicate sound of waves lapping at the rocks below fill your ears. The fresh and crisp smell of seawater on wet wood lingers in the air. You sniff it in and smile with delight, as the dreadful memories of the previous night drift away in a warped path as if they were on a crooked boat. You continue your pleasant saunter and take in the harmonic atmosphere of the beach and the harbor. All is well-Until a man and woman walk past. The man is wearing a black skin-tight shirt and dark pants. His clothing compliments his strong, muscular physique well. He strokes his pointy beard, and then rubs his gleaming, smooth head as he walks by. He inspects you quickly and you see a peculiar glint in his eyes, but cannot make out the emotion associated with it. The woman is
Diary of a geek. Dear Diary, Today was my first day in my new school and I would like to share my experiences with you.
DIARY ENTRY OF A NERD ENTERING A NEW SCHOOL . HIS EXPEIRENCE ON THE FIRST DAY Dear Diary, Today was my first day in my new school and I would like to share my experiences with you. I had hardly slept during the night before, my mind full of excitement and pleasant thoughts about the new school, my heart swollen with pride, and my head floating in clouds. I had long envied boys in the new school - the way they dressed, the way they excelled in examinations, and the facilities they enjoyed for sports and other activities. And now I was about to join them. Looked like my ultimate wish come true! I thought I should be well dressed on my first day in school. So I wore my favourite polka dots shirt and red pants. To groom myself properly, I used lots of hair oil and wore my new big round spectacles, leaving for school with my pink bag in hand and high ambitions in heart. I was late for school - when I entered the class I saw about 25 students already seated. Taking my first steps into the class I heard a huge outburst of derisive laughter, accompanied by taunts directed by me. I seemed to have appealed to the mean streak in those students, and was the object of their ridicule, with words like "nerd"," geek" and "loser" being thrown at me. I was astonished at this seemingly strange reaction, which deflated my high spirits. Nevertheless I tried to ignore it and went and sat
Discuss the Freewill Versus Determinism Debate As It Applies To Psychology.
DISCUSS THE FREEWILL VERSUS DETERMINISM DEBATE AS IT APPLIES TO PSYCHOLOGY Do we choose to act as we do or are our actions a result of influences beyond our control? This question has preoccupied philosophers for centuries, thus giving rise to the 'Freewill versus Determinism' debate. By definition, freewill is the notion that we are free to make decisions and thus control all of our actions however determinism takes the opposing view suggesting that all of our actions are totally determined by the external and internal forces operating on them. It is now widely recognised by most psychologists that it is a combination of both freewill and determinism that determine our behaviour however this leads to another question, 'to what extent is our behaviour determined and to what extent are we free to choose?' The idea that our behaviour is controlled by external factors paints a rather depressing picture of life in which we have no control over any of our actions. As a result, the humanistic approach in psychology completely rejected this idea and instead opted for the idea of freewill. Humanists such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow strongly believe that people exercise choice in their behaviour and that the idea that we are not in control of our behaviour is 'de-humanising.' Freewill essentially means that we have a choice over what we do and that our behaviour is voluntary
To what extent do you think William wants his Audience to perceive Blanche as a victim ?
Streetcar named Desire To what extent do you think William wants his Audience to perceive Blanch as a victim ? Within the play 'A Streetcar named Desire' one Williams main characters is BlancheDuBois, this character can be seen as a complex individual that provokes strong reactions from the other characters. We know that she has been a schoolteacher in Mississippi but was asked to leave her job because of an involvement with a student, that she was once a 'Southern belle' from a wealthy family, and that she had a failed marriage and that Blanche has fled from her past. Her complexity comes not from her history or background, but from the varied and often inconsistent facades she presents. Throughout the play we get to know more about Blanche and the type of character Williams has really created in contrast to the type of person that she would like everybody else to think she is. Blanche's action when by herself, Blanche's past and her dialogue with others such as Mitch, Stanley and the paperboy allow us to draw a number of conclusions. Because of William's use of foreshadowing events throughout the play we are able to understand that Blanche is deceptive, egotistical and seductive. Blanche gives further weight to the idea because she deceives and tricks people. She lies consistently and pretends to be a very 'classy' and cultured when in reality she is neither. Williams
Write about an occasion when you made a difficult decision and then regretted it afterwards.
Write about an occasion when you made a difficult decision and then regretted it afterwards. "Go on," he taunted, voice laced with utter mockery and malice. I gulped. I had to do this, to prove my worth to the gang and yet... Standing a few meters away was an old lady, whom I gauged to be about 80 years of age. Her back was hunched in an undesirable manner and her frail, wrinkled arms were slowly rummaging the filthy dustbin for empty canned drinks. Just the thought of what I was about to do to her made me nauseous. I wanted to turn away, wanted to tell Jeremy that I could not harm the poor helpless woman, however, I knew the consequences if I did so. It would be a never ending torture of nasty ridicule and dreadful insults and I was not about to let that happen all over again. "What are you waiting for?" There was a hard iciness in his tone now. It became a tough battle between my moral conscience and selfish desires. Images of the torture emerged in my mind, one after another, again and again, faster and faster. I shook my head wildly in frustration. I had to do this. Renewed with determination, I took a deep breath and strode towards the old lady, trying to appear as brave as I could manage. Clenching my right hand into a tight fist, I raised it up slowly, while calming my nerves down. The old woman had noticed me then. A look of sheer horror spread across her face, her
Development Case Study - Dharavi, Mumbai, India.People want to redevelop in Dharavi as it is situated in the heart of Mumbai, very close to the CBD on extremely valuable ground. Which in their eyes is being "wasted" by using it as a slum.
Name Sean Tuffy Case Study - Dharavi, Mumbai, India. Two news articles and links to various websites related to Dharavi can be found on: http://www.geographyalltheway.com/igcse_geography/population_settlement/settlement/squatter_settlements.htm Where in the world is Dharavi? It is in Mumbai, India, located extremely close to the CBD on a very valuable 175 hectares of land. Describe the location of Dharavi? Dharavi is one of the largest slums in the world, with a populaton of about 800,000 spread over 0.67 square miles. It is sandwiched between two of Mumbai's suburban railway lines, the Western and Central Railways, it is also extremely close to Mumbai's CBD making it very valuable. Briefly describe the history of Dharavi? Dharavi was once an island in the 18th century, which was made up of mangrove swamp where fishermen lived, but in the 19th century the swamps began to vanish and consequently so did the fishing industry. Soon after several other separate islands in the region began joining together to form one big island, this was helped by a big dam at Sion which significantly slowed water flow down. These now dry marshes were perfectly suited for residential use and migrants soon established a colony, first the Gujarat, followed by many others. In the 1920s the area had a large influx in migrants. Dharavi's first ever school was built in 1924 and was the only
Cloning Informative Speech. As the technology used to clone mammals improves, it becomes more and more likely that humans could one day be clones as well.
Cloning Speech Have you ever wished you could have a clone of yourself? Someone to do your homework, tidy your room or go to school for you when you just can't be bothered. Imagine if you had a clone. What would you do? As the technology used to clone mammals improves, it becomes more and more likely that humans could one day be clones as well. Clones are genetically identical organisms. This, in simpler terms, means that every single piece of DNA is exactly the same between the 'clones' which causes them to have exactly the same features. Clones are completely possible and the study of animal clones can lead to greater understanding of age and age-related disorders. Also, cloning could be used in future to preserve endangered species, which is an ever increasing threat to some populations in our world. The first cloned mammal was Dolly the sheep, cloned in 1996. This experiment is probably one of the most controversial in the science of cloning. The procedure involved implanting a nucleus from one sheep into the egg cell of another, and therefore cloning the sheep from which the nucleus was from. This was a major development in this particular field of science, however with it, it carried many ethical issues. During the experiment there were 277 attempts, with only 1 being successful - that success was Dolly. There was a high rate of still born and abnormal sheep, this
A Comparison of two poetries - Like a Flame and The Thickness of Ice
A Comparison of two poetries - Like a Flame and The Thickness of Ice In this essay I am going to analyse two different poems. I am going to analyse the subject matter, language, rhyme / rhythm, form, ideas and attitudes and the overall tone of each. The two poems that I will be analysing in this essay are "Like a Flame" by Grace Nichols and "The Thickness of Ice" by Liz Loxley. "Like a Flame" is a modern poem written in the 20th Century. The title "Like a Flame" is implying that the atmosphere is very hot and is full of youthful spirit around it. The poem is about one girl falling in love with a man. It is written in their first meeting, giving her first feelings between being a girl and becoming a woman. The whole poem has no rhyming pattern, but some structure is evident. The first four verses, which have three lines in each, they set the scene as well as the mood. It uses the suggestion in the words "ripening cane" to describe herself grow up quickly, already of riper years. His eyes attracted her when she first met that man. As the second verse "my eyes make four with this man." But the third and fourth verses are written she only laughs and feels so confused. She doesn't know she is falling in love because she does not understand the feeling of love. The last four verses of the poem reveal the girl has some sweet feelings when she starts to talk with that man. And it
