"Ambulances" by Philip Larkin.

CRITIACAL EVALUATION "Ambulances" by Philip Larkin uses the every day incident of someone being taken away in an ambulance to convey the ideas of human life. The poem discusses the idea of the closeness of death; it's randomness and its inevitability. I am going to look at how effectively Philip Larkin uses this everyday occurrence to lead to the general or universal statement: death will come to us all at some point no matter who you are. I will show this by discussing the use of word choice, theme and setting. In stanza one, the impression that an accident can happen anywhere at any time is created by the feeling of menace. This is shown by the thought that ambulances can "come to rest at any kerb" suggesting that it doesn't matter where you are an accident can happen. The use of the word "any" helps to emphasise this point and convey the theme of the randomness of death. The idea that death comes to us all is suggested by "All streets in time are visited". The word "All" emphasises the fact that everyone dies, and the word "time" indicates that it is just a matter of time. I think that Larkin wanted to portray the idea that everyone will make their journey in an ambulance at some point. The ambulance is only symbolic for the doorway to death. At the beginning of the stanza the ambulances are described as "closed like confessionals," this sets the feeling inside the

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"Discuss how the passage of time is presented in the first chapters of The Mayor of Casterbridge. What effect does it have on the characters?"

THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE. "Discuss how the passage of time is presented in the first chapters of The Mayor of Casterbridge. What effect does it have on the characters?" This essay will answer the preceding question by discussing how the key characters and places develop and are affected by the passage of time in the first few chapters of the book. The author of the book is Thomas Hardy, a very descriptive writer, although this is one of his faster paced books. It was written in the 1880's and is set in the 1830's. The book begins with Michael Henchard walking along a dusty road with his wife Susan. She is carrying a baby called Elizabeth -Jane. After getting to the fair taking place in the village Henchard becomes drunk and sells his wife. The next day he regrets what he has done and consequently swears an oath that he will not touch a drop of liquor for 21 years. At this point in the book (chapters 2-3) there is an 18 year gap in the book. The book is set in the summer of around 1830 we know this because "before the 19th century had reached one-third of its span." As it was set in the 1830's the landscape would have been very different from today. This is demonstrated from the start of the book. Michael and Susan Henchard are "plainly but not ill clad" This tells us that they are not badly off. On the other hand they are covered in a "thick hoar of dust" telling us that

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Say "NO" to plastic bags

Say 'NO' to Plastic Bags! Gone are the days when our grandmothers used cloth bags and straw baskets to carry the grocery while going around in the market. For small items there were brown or newspaper bags, but now whether you buy clothes, groceries, meat, books or buttons, the shopkeepers only use plastic bags for the items. Have you ever wondered the beneficial and dangerous side of using plastics? I have and I have found that plastics are very harmful to the environment, even though they are very useful to carry things around. You must be wondering how just a plastic bag, can be so detrimental to the environment. Allow me to tell you how. Plastic bags are cheap and are light in weight. They are also water and chemical resistant and require less energy in manufacture.1 These are the advantages of using plastic bags, but above all these benefits they are still very harmful to the environment! Let's begin with a story to give you all an idea what actually happens when you just throw away a plastic bag, without considering what harm it can cause. A young boy asks a shopkeeper for a plastic bag for the items he had bought; not knowing that it would harm the earth for not carrying the items in his hands or pockets. As soon as he arrives at his doorstep, he throws away the "plastic bag" now regarding it as a useless piece of junk. The winds carry the bag into the river and

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Scene V, Blanche: "Come in"-"Ahhh Merciii" Discuss this extract in relation to the rest of the text paying attention to structure, form and use of language.

Scene V, Blanche: "Come in"-"Ahhh Merciii" Discuss this extract in relation to the rest of the text paying attention to structure, form and use of language. The ending section of scene five of Tennessee Williams's play 'A Streetcar Named Desire' has provoked much confusion and debate as to the writer's motives in regards to the portrayal of Blanche. One school of thought on the matter is that, in spite of the fact that Williams largely based the character of Blanche upon himself his primary aim in the play is to punish her for her failure to show empathy towards her homosexual husband Allan. Williams was of course a homosexual himself, living in a largely homophobic world where gayness was not a talked about subject. He often brought the issue up in his other works such as 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' where the characters Brick and Skipper and both portrayed as possible homosexuals. Blanches lack of empathy and compassion are highlighted once again in this extract when she totally fails to take into account the feelings of a second young man, and instead uses him to live out her fantasies of desire for her late husband. During the exchange between Blanche and the young man she is portrayed as seductive and dominant "I want to kiss you" making it clear that she is the one initiating the situation, this is a dramatic contrast to her normal persona around other men such as Mitch

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Personal Responce to Hamlet

Essay One - Question 1 Personal response to Hamlet and its enduring power of Shakespeare's Characterization Shakespeare's characterization of the characters allows the exploration of ideals that are relevant to all human beings regards of context. In "Hamlet" Shakespeare uses the characterization of Hamlet to examine the human quest for answers about death, duty and the opposing forces of moral integrity and the need to avenge his father. This essay will bring characterization to the forefront in response to how it has shaped the play of "Hamlet". A great deal of characterization of Hamlet is presented through the use of soliloquies. In his soliloquies, Hamlet shows his true feelings of dejection and disillusionment. The soliloquy starts with a supposition, "O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew". Hamlet is clearly seen as an escapist as he wants to run away from his duties and responsibilities. Here, he again gives the audience the impression that he is aware of his flaw. His wish to commit suicide is expressed clearly, but he knows he can't do so as it goes against the laws of God. "That the Everlasting had not fixed his cannon 'gainst self-slaughter." Life has become a very futile exercise for him, where nothing seems to be holding his interest anymore. It has becomes very colorless and meaningless. We notice all this when he

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Corruption-A fact of life in the indian society

Corruption: A fact of life in the Indian Society The consequences of corruption are well known. But, in India, these consequences are not well-realised. The public has not had an adequate realisation of the dangers of corruption. Corruption is Anti- national and Anti- economic development. We, as the inhabitants of this nation, have either given up hope of making our country less corrupt or, we have accepted corruption as a fact of life. It is not easy to define corruption. But in a narrow sense, corruption is mostly concerned with bribery and it takes several forms. Corruption has progressively increased and is now rampant in our society. Now, corruption is not only confined to politicians or the government alone. The fact is that most of the Indians are involved in corrupt practices in one way or the other, either due to greed or due to so called compulsion. There are not many causes of corruption. But amidst these few causes, there is one main cause. That one main cause is us, the people of India. Just so that our work becomes easy and fast going, we pay bribes and make sure our wanted work is done. The main cause is growing competition in this growing country. As the country grows, so does the corruption and blocks the growth. This is one of the reasons for India still being a less economically developed country. From small time clerks to the high profile politicians,

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An inspector calls - How does Priestly present the character of the Inspector?

How does Priestly present the character of the Inspector? Inspector calls was written by J.B.Priestly in 1945.The play was set in 1912 which is also linked with 1945 as it is about 1912.the play is about a family who are in a cosy room celebrating their daughter's engagement, when a harsh figure of an inspector cross-examine the family cording to a suicide of a young working class women when to that each member has a shameful secret which is linked to her death. The arrival of the inspector is show as he enters the room as priestly had stage description that there is to be felt an immediate presences as he enters. "The INSPECTOR need not be a big man but be creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness." And has also wrote the Inspector is meant to be like "He is a man in his fifties, dressed in a plain darkish suit of the period. He speaks carefully, weightily and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking." The inspector has a way of getting information out of each member of the family even by using quite harsh words on them. I believe that the inspector meant to be seen as someone who has no time for the people he talks to and is shown when gets impatient with Mr Birling as he says "Don't stammer and yammer at me again man. I'm losing all patience with you people." Sometimes the

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How is Curley's Wife presented in 'Of Mice and Men'? Do you find her portrayal a sympathetic one?

How is Curley's Wife presented in 'Of Mice and Men'? Do you find her portrayal a sympathetic one? In of mice and men, Curley's Wife is presented in many various ways. At first impression, she comes across as the seductive, troublemaker the ranchers see her as. However, as the story progresses, we learn that this is only one of many sides to a very lonely woman. The readers sympathy for this character also changes throughout the novel, as her secrets are revealed and the real Curley's Wife is found. Curley's Wife is a very complex character. The reader's first impression of her is created before she actually appears in the book. We find out what the workers think of Curley's Wife through Candy when George and Lennie first arrive at the ranch. Candy, who considers Curley's Wife to be the reason for everything wrong in the whole of Soledad, creates an image of Curley's Wife in the reader's mind as a flirtatious tramp who's "got the eye." Candy calls her a "tart" and warns George against her, causing George, Lennie and the reader to see Curley's wife through Candy's eyes on their first encounter. When she finally appears for the first time, she certainly seems to live up to the image the reader expects from Candy's gossip. "She had full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red.... She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of

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Analysis of "The Sick Rose"Written by William Blake.

Analysis of "The Sick Rose" Written by William Blake. O rose, thou art sick! The invisible worm That flies in the night, In the howling storm, Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy, And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy. In this essay, I chose to write a bout "The Sick Rose", which is a short poem written by William Blake, focusing on the metaphorical language and the symbolism used in it. Though this poem is difficult, I like its deeper meaning and the symbolism. I think that Blake succeeds in giving us a very brilliant work in a few lines. This short poem is a narrative poem made up of two stanzas; each stanza has four lines, rhyming a b c b. The language of it is pretty easy though it is written in 18th century English. The poet uses the present tense to indicate that what he is talking about might happen anytime and anywhere. The tone in the poem is sad. It is set at night, in the "howling storm." It has a double meaning. It is full of figurative language. The whole poem is a metaphor. It seems to be about a rose that has been destroyed at night by a worm, and this is the surface meaning of the poem, but it also can be seen as a tale of a rape. In the first line, the poet addresses the rose; I think that he anthropomorphizes the rose as a beautiful girl by doing this. This rose is already in a state of decay and the sickness of the rose, which is a

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Compare how the poems What Were They Like and Vultures present the cruelty of war.

Compare how the poems "What Were They Like" and "Vultures" present the cruelty of war. Both poems, "What Were They Like" (WWTL) and "Vultures" has conflict as a common theme. "WWTL" is about the Vietnam war and the lasting effect of war on the culture, whereas "Vultures" is loosely about WWII and the conflict between good and evil. One of the ways that Levertov presents the cruelty of war in "WWTL" is through the ignorance of those in conflict. The structure of the poem takes the form of question and answer, which could perhaps be seen as a soldier asking a person of a higher status, because of the use of 'sir'. By asking about the past, the soldier is ignorant of the effect that he has on the 'people of Viet Nam'. In the same way the 'Daddy' in "Vultures" ignores the 'fumes of human roast'; but action cannot be without consequence, which causes the experience 'clinging rebelliously'. Here both poets imply that not knowing the consequences of war is the cruellest act of all, otherwise lives and culture would not be lost. In "Vultures", the cruelty of war is also shown through the conflict of good and evil. Achebe contrasts the beauty of 'love' to the ugliness of vultures; this shows that those at conflict can unite even with their differences. He admires the 'pebble on a stem' as well designed, similar to that of a tank, but at the same time well designed machines could

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