Use of Language in Out of Africa by Grace Nichols :: essays research papers

This poem takes us on a journey of Grace Nichols life, from her ancestry in Africa to her migration from the Caribbean to England. Language features such as extended metaphor’s and repetition of phrases help to keep this journey flowing. The first language feature we come across is the repetition of the words ‘out of’ and ‘into’. The phrases being repeated help to link past and present. The first stanza repeats ‘Out of†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This talks about Grace’s ancestry, i.e. coming out of before her time. The second and third stanza ‘Into†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ is about her life and her past. Grace lived in the Caribbean and moved to England so the ‘into’ refers to her life experiences. Personification is used widely throughout the poem, an example of this is the personification of the word mother. ‘ Out of Africa of the suckling.’ The word mother is not specifically mentioned in the line but sucking refers to the relationship between mother and child. The second reference to mother is a personification of the earth, ‘Out of Africa of the first rains, the first mother. This personification is symbolic and has references to the past, the first rains being those rains of a long time ago. The personification of the ‘trampled autumn tongues,’ can be taken on two levels. (It is also an extended metaphor!) Trampled autumn tongues could be taken literally i.e. leaves being trampled on or metaphorically. The leaves could be reference to the tongues of the slaves (slaves tongues would be cut off if they were caught speaking between each other in their native tongue.) The structure of the poem is also interesting, there are three stanzas’, the first and second stanza are equal in length but the third is slightly longer. The third stanza is the longest because that is where she is living now and has been the longest. The narrative voice in the poem is the voice of the African people. The tone is sarcastic and hast a hint of mocking to it, with parts such as ‘ baleful tourist glair’ and ‘ happy Creole so-called mentality.’ These lines show the ignorance of the white tourists that come to the Caribbean expecting everyone else (Caribbean people) to be happy just because they are on holiday. This is a white persons stereotype of the Caribbean and so the tourists are labeled as having a baleful glair.

Despotism: Political Philosophy and 14th Century Essay

The Renaissance developed a new and unique form of politics referred to as Despotism. Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. The single ruling entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy. The great Renaissance historian John Addington Symonds refers to the 14th and 15th Centuries in Italy as the â€Å"Age of the Despots. † It was under the tyrannies, in the midst of all the wars and revolutions, that the Italians were given the chance to develop their peculiar individuality. This individuality determined the qualities of the Renaissance and affected Europe as a whole. Italy, due to their unique form of politics, was able to lead the way in the education of Western races, and was the first to distinguish Classical and Medieval life. The conditions that led to this new form of Political government were distinctive to Italian urban life. By the 14th Century, Italy was divided into many principalities surrounding city-States. The cities were an integral part of life in Italy due to commerce, and Italians were the first to reap the benefits of new and increasing trade due to their favorable geographic position in the Mediterranean Sea. Because there was a constant political and class struggle in the cities, Italy lacked a central authority of power. In cities such as Florence, Pisa, and Milan, the age-old rival between Pope and Emperor played itself out. The Guelph party supported the Pope, while the Ghibbiline party supported the Emperor. Civil wars were fought in the cities and ended with a despotism system of ruling, either with an oligarchy or an autocracy. The forming of these authorities was crucial, because peace is essential for trade, and the surplus wealth from commerce is what led to the growth or art and literature, which began the Renaissance. The despots, who were the powerful rulers during despotism, were not from traditional dynasties, and therefore they reached their positions of power in various other ways. Some were appointed by the Holy Roman Emperor to assert his rule, as was the case for the Visconti of Milan in the 14th Century. Other despots were hired soldiers, who later became rulers of the cities they were hired to protect, as was the case for the Sforzas in Milan in the 15th Century. Some despots were elected Mayor of their towns, some controlled their town’s elections- as the Medici family in Florence did, and some despots ruled solely because they were the sons and nephews of Popes. Due to their various ways of gaining power, the despot was usually not from a traditional dynasty, and therefore they did not have the traditional loyalty of the people. Each despot had to gain the loyalty of the people either through a winning personality, or by being clever in the political game. The Despotic court had to set its own rules, which were eventually written down in the Book of the Courtier, which became the guide book for the courts of Early Modern Europe. The most important and the most influential work dealing on Despotism is Machiavelli’s The Prince, and Machiavelli is considered by some to be the father of modern Power Politics. The Italian Renaissance was essentially a mind-set, a collection of powerful attitudes and beliefs. The development of despotism pacified the country from the chaos of their constant civil wars, and allowed them peace, which was essential for trade. As commerce reopened, people began traveling freely, and the level of education began to rise as well as the amount of books that were read. This soon led to an overwhelming growth of literature and art, of which the Renaissance is famous for.

Critical Analysis OfThe Handmaids Tale - 1059 Words

â€Å"In a gentle way, you can shake the world.† -Mahatma Gandhi. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Offred is offered many chances to do good in her world. She was given the chance to makes friends. She was given the option to release important information to help better the society. And she was given the option to become a symbol of rebellion and hope in her world. With all of said options in mind Offred did nothing. Offred could have done more to help better the situation of many people. From the moment Offred arrived at her new placement she had the chance to have made bonds with people. All woman feel cut off in this society, handmaid’s especially. Not only would this action of been good for her mental health, but this would lead†¦show more content†¦Although this bond was small it could of been used to get simple information out and into the world. Even though Offred thinks of both of these option she decides to not follow through with either and gives up on bonding with anyone. The second way Offred could have made a difference is that she could have exposed her commanders secrets. After a couple of weeks of Offred going into the commander’s office he began to become relaxed with her and giving her things she wants such as lotion and the right to read in his office. Offred begins to become more confident and comfortable with the commander and as did the commander as offred notices one night that, â€Å"As for the commander, he’s casual to a fault tonight†(183). As they became more comfortable with each other the commander offers her many opportunities to learn important thing in the society and even shows her one of the biggest kept secrets in the society when he brings her to jezebels. Bringing these secrets to Ofglen would expose a big hidden part of this new society that went against most of the laws of their world. Offred instead decided to keep these things to herself to help better preserve her own safe being. Shortly after learn ing information about the world around her, her shopping partner Ofglen who was a known part of the underground revolution stopped her to tell her to, â€Å"‘Find out and tell us.’ ‘Find out what?’