'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac.

English Summer Assignment Ana Sekulic 12 EH When first set this assignment I was mildly exited. Although I usually choose quiet good books to read, I thought it might give me a different literacy experience. Having had faith that all the books on the list are reasonably good I didn't spend much time choosing. I picked one my cousin had and launched into it with enthusiasm. It was called 'On the Road' and was written by Jack Kerouac. Basically the book is about a young fairly innocent young aspiring writer who gets captured I the ideology of the American dream. Like many people after the great depression Sal Paradise gets caught in to urge to break out and experience adventure. He felt that his life was not sufficient to the visions and expectations he had. So he left his home where he lived with his auntie and with fifty bucks decided to go to the west coast, hitchhiking most of the way. His first stop was his mates house Remi Boncour, who similarly to him also waiting foe his big break. During his hitchhike he meets 'a middle aged woman' and a 'tough truck driver with popping eyes', 'two boys from the university of Iowa'. The fundamental thing bout these characters is that they all seem to know where they are going not jut literarily to their destination but also metaphorically in their lives, all these people have cars and are picking Sal Paradise up, pulling him to

  • Word count: 798
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
Access this essay

Archetypes in the Books of Genesis and Exodus.

Courtney Smalczewski Mr. Reist ENG 4U1 September 15, 2003 Archetypes in the Books of Genesis and Exodus The Bible is by far the book with the largest amount of archetypes. Three of the major archetypes are: the concept of paradise, the serpent, and trees. The concept of paradise represents many things. The paradise of the Christian and Jewish religion is an enclosed garden. However, in other religions paradise may be a city, underwater, or even in a cluster of pearls. No matter what or where it is paradise always encompasses the same meaning: perfect harmony. In paradise God and humans are in perfect unity. So are humans in perfect oneness with animals and their surroundings. In all paradises there are two trees. These two trees are the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. The tree of knowledge is not to be touched, touching it will give you the knowledge of good and evil. "God commanded the Man, "You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don't eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you're dead." (Peterson 2). Adam and Eve ate from the tree and paradise was lost to them. The concept of losing paradise is present in all people. It represents our need for knowledge; some would sacrifice everything, even paradise, for the knowledge of God. Losing paradise can also present a fear to us. We all fear losing

  • Word count: 760
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
Access this essay

Discuss the presentation of Hell in Book One of ParadiseLost.

Discuss the presentation of Hell in Book One of Paradise Lost. Hell is presented in several ways within Paradise Lost but there are three main techniques used by Milton. These include through his own commentary, through Satan and his speeches and also through Beelzebub. Additionally Hell is also presented through the techniques used by Milton, his structure, style and use of language. Throughout Paradise Lost Hell is presented as a place, but also as a state of mind, which Satan refers to in his speech. Milton uses many opposites in Paradise Lost, contrasting Heaven with Hell, God with Satan, and good with evil. The contrast between light and dark exists in all of these opposites. The narrator characterizes the angels' physical appearance as full of light, and the devils' as shadowy and dark. Milton also uses light to symbolize God and God's grace. The absence of light in Hell and in Satan himself represents the absence of God and his grace. The opening scenes reveal Hell as a fiery, glittering place that reflects the corrupt souls of the devils. Milton establishes two opposing poles of evil and good, dark and light, and the action shifts to Earth, a region blessed by Heaven but vulnerable to the forces of Hell. Milton's first description of Hell is full of negative emotive words, 'obdurate pride' and 'steadfast hate' are adjectives used by Milton to describe Hell and

  • Word count: 712
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
Access this essay

How well does Milton create the image of Hell for the reader between the lines 61 and 77?

Elin Ford-Davies How well does Milton create the image of Hell for the reader between the lines 61 and 77? During the lines 61-77 of Paradise Lost, Milton deals with and portrays many important events from the bible. He manages to use complex language and effective descriptions, to convey the evilness of Hell and all of the fallen angels, effectively to the reader. Milton begins by describing what happened in the Garden of Eden to the reader. He gives the story of Adam and Eve's journey and shows us what will happen if we give into such temptations. This is also significant in showing us the path to hell and the sins to avoid. This leads on to the introduction of the fallen angels and Satan himself. Milton succeeds in portraying these fallen angels as terribly evil, deceitful and rebellious, the exact opposite to God's highly respected greatness and power over these fallen angels. Milton emphasises the clear difference between heaven and hell. Between the lines 61-77 Milton's portrayal of Hell emphasises how much the fallen angels have been punished for their behaviour and how that kind of evil behaviour will not be tolerated by God in heaven. He uses lines like: "Oh how unlike the place from whence they fell" To covey the difference between the two places. He uses lines like this to emphasise how different hell is compared to the paradise, which is heaven. The fallen

  • Word count: 638
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
Access this essay

Milton's Paradise Lost - Political Satire? How does this help to understand the poem?

Milton's Paradise Lost - Political Satire? How does this help to understand the poem? Milton takes the traditional epic and transforms it with the clarity of his moral vision and with the power of his language, turning it into piece of rich and powerful verse. In the early parts of "Paradise Lost", Milton manages to convey sympathy with Satan's heroic energy, with Satan's rebellion against Milton's god seen as an epic battle where the devil and his followers are banished to the external and horrid place of hell. Satan describes the "hell within him" wherever he goes and, yet as the epic narrative progresses, the allegiance subtly shifts to Christ's message of love and a vision of Paradise free of Satan's destructive force. Milton believe that the proper end to all activities should be in God or goodness, based on this central belief of good and evil and its association with the Augustine concept of the 'chain of being'. Milton beliefs in a heaven, chaos and hell, as clearly defined entities, are more consistent with poetic myth rather a rational, scientific belief although Milton had visited Galileo, and the concept of physical space and the Universe clearly influenced his thoughts. Milton's blindness prevents him from seeing any light, except in strong symbolic terms, as the light of God illuminates and inspires the mind. Milton makes references to the greatest classical

  • Word count: 625
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
Access this essay

Critical Commentary on Kubla Khan

Critical Commentary on Kubla Khan Kubla Khan is a fascinating and exasperating poem. Almost everyone has read it, almost everyone has been charmed by its magic, almost everyone thinks he knows what it is about -- and almost everyone, it seems, has felt impelled to write about it. It must surely be true that no poem of comparable length in English or any other language has been the subject of so much critical commentary. Its fifty-four lines have spawned thousands of pages of discussion and analysis. Kubla Khan is the sole or a major subject in five book-length studies;1 close to 150 articles and book-chapters (doubtless I have missed some others) have been devoted exclusively to it; and brief notes and incidental comments on it are without number. Despite this deluge, however, there is no critical unanimity and very little agreement on a number of important issues connected with the poem: its date of composition, its "meaning", its sources in Coleridge's reading and observation of nature, its structural integrity (i.e. fragment versus complete poem), and its relationship to the Preface by which Coleridge introduced it on its first publication in 1816. In a moment of rash optimism a notable scholar once began an essay by declaring that "We now know almost everything about Coleridge's Kubla Khan except what the poem is about". The truth of the matter, however, is

  • Word count: 497
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
Access this essay

Milton’s Use of The Classics

Milton's Use of The Classics Milton imitates some scenes from classical authors in his Paradise Lost. Three examples of Milton's use from the classics are, Adam and Eve, how he describes Satan, and Eve looking at her reflection in a pond. For these examples he imitates scenes from Homer's Iliad, Vergil's Aeneid, and Ovid's Metamorphoses. One scene that Milton uses from a classical author is the scene with Adam trying to seduce Eve. Once he has seduced her he takes her into the bushes to make love. This scene is similar to Homer's Iliad when Zeus wants to make love to Hera. Zeus says to Hera, "For never before has love for any goddess or woman so melted about the heart inside me" (Homer, 14.312-16). This scene is similar to Milton's because it is the man trying to seduce the woman so they can make love. This shows that Milton imitated the concept of seduction from Homer. Another scene that Milton gets from a great writer is what Satan looks like. In Milton's book he describes Satan as a serpent with rising folds and a neck of verdant gold with circling spires. In Vergil's Aeneid there is a description of a serpent, which is described as having trailing seven huge loops, encircling the tomb, and with scales that gleam of gold (Vergil, 5.84-90). By comparing the two descriptions we see the similarities of rising folds and huge loops, neck of verdant gold and scales

  • Word count: 430
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
Access this essay