Weather Symbolism in a Farewell to Arms Essay Example for Free

Weather Symbolism in a Farewell to Arms Essay Snow In A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway attempts to tell the unvarnished truth about war — to present an honest, rather than a heroic, account of combat, retreat, and the ways in which soldiers fill their time when they are not fighting. Yet Hemingways realistic approach to his subject does not rule out the use of many time-honored literary devices. For instance, weather is to this day a fundamental component of the war experience. Hemingway depicts weather realistically in A Farewell to Arms, but he uses it for symbolic purposes as well. Rain, often equated with life and growth, stands for death in this novel, and snow symbolizes hope: an entirely original schema. In stories such as To Build a Fire, by Jack London, snow and ice quite logically represent danger and death. After all, one can freeze to death, fall through thin ice and drown, or perish beneath an avalanche. In Chapter II of A Farewell Arms, on the other hand, it is snow that ends the fighting described in the books first chapter. Thus snow stands for safety rather than its opposite. (Note, though, that although snow covers the bare ground and even the Italian armys artillery in Chapter II, stumps of oak trees torn up by the summers fighting continue to protrude — a reminder that winter is of course not permanent but merely a reprieve from combat, a cease-fire.) Shortly thereafter, Frederic Henry describes the priests home region of Abruzzi as a place where the roads were frozen and hard as iron, where it was clear and cold and dry and the snow was dry and powdery . . . , and the context leaves no doubt that this characterization is a positive one. Late in the novel, the argument between the Swiss policemen over winter sports not only provides much-needed comic relief; it also marks the beginning of Henry and Catherine Barkleys second idyll. (The first takes place in summertime, in Milan.) Immediately afterwards, Henry and Catherine find themselves in the Swiss Alps, with snow all around. Thus they have temporarily achieved a life of both purity (the mountains symbolize purity  in this novel, versus the corruption of the lowlands) and safety. These chapters positively radiate contentment. Rain Starting in the very first chapter of A Farewell to Arms, rain clearly symbolizes death: In the fall when the rains came the leaves all fell from the chestnut trees and the branches were bare and the trunks black with rain, Henry tells us. The vineyards were thin and bare-branched too and all the country wet and brown and dead with autumn. The rain symbolism is not entirely a literary conceit, either, as rain actually precedes an outbreak of fatal illness, the cholera that kills seven thousand that fall. Later, during their Milan idyll, Catherine makes the symbolism of the rain explicit for Henry — and for the reader: Im afraid of the rain because sometimes I see myself dead in it, she says to him. And sometimes I see you dead in it. Lo and behold, during Henry and Catherines trip from the armorers to the hotel near the train station on his last night with her, the fog that has covered the city from the start of the chapter turns to rain. It continues to rain as they bid one another farewell; in fact, Catherines last act in this part of the novel is to signal to Henry that he should step in out of the rain. Back at the front, the trees were all bare and the roads were muddy. It rains almost continuously during the chapter when the tide of battle turns and the Italians begin their retreat from Caporetto — and from the Germans who have joined the fighting. The rain turns to snow one evening, holding out hope that the offensive will cease, but the snow quickly melts and the rain resumes. During a discussion among the drivers about the wine they are drinking with dinner, the driver named Aymo says, To-morrow maybe we drink rainwater. Hemingway by this time has developed the rain symbolism to such a degree that the reader experiences a genuine sense of foreboding — and indeed, the following day will bring death to Henrys disintegrating unit. It is raining while the fugitive Henry rides the train to Stresa, raining  when he arrives, and raining while Henry and Catherine spend the night together in his hotel room. The open-boat trip across Lake Maggiore takes place in the rain, with an umbrella used as a sail. (Ominously, the umbrella breaks.) And in Chapter XL, as Henry and Catherine are bidding farewell to their wintertime mountain retreat for the city in which Catherines baby is to be born, Henry tells us that In the night it started raining. Finally, when Henry leaves the hospital for lunch during Catherines protracted, agonizing delivery, The day was cloudy but the sun was trying to come through — a literal ray of hope. During the operation, however, he looks out the window and sees that it is raining. Just after the nurse has told him that the baby is dead, Henry looks outside again and could see nothing but the dark and the rain falling across the light from the window. At the novels end, Henry leaves the hospital and walks back to his hotel in the rain. In fact, the final word in A Farewell to Arms is rain, evidence of weathers important place in the story overall. Hemingway doesnt quite trust us to detect the rain/snow pattern of symbolism and understand its meaning; therefore he underlines the significance of precipitation in his book by having Catherine tell Henry that she sees them dead in the rain. And so the weather symbolism in A Farewell to Arms is perhaps unnecessarily obvious. Yet Hemingways use of this literary device is hardly rote symbolism for its own sake. Rain and snow both drive his plot and maintain our interest, as we hold our breaths every time it rains in the novel, praying that Catherine will not perish during that scene. (We know that Henry will survive the rain, because he is the storys narrator.) Thus, while writing a brutally realistic saga of life during wartime, Ernest Hemingway also crafted a novel as literary as the great-war stories that preceded A Farewell to Arms. Arguably it is as powerful as any story ever told.

Thoreau and Transcendentalism Essay -- Civil Disobedience, Transcenden

Followers of the Transcendentalist movement stressed the religious, philosophical and ideological importance of life. Henry David Thoreau was a staunch supporter of the movement. Thoreau felt that a person lived a good life by following his conscience and instincts. He also felt that materialism was a sure way to distract a person from leading a good and moral life. Thoreau proposed for the government to be involved in as little of a citizen's life as possible; he felt too much government control just complicated a person's life. Like most Transcendentalists, Thoreau believed there was a direct connection to God through nature. If a person appreciated nature he would gain a higher understanding of God. Finally, Thoreau encouraged individuality versus conformity to the status quo. Thoreau challenged his readers to experience nature first hand; he felt to truly experience nature was a way of experiencing God and marveled at the happiness it can bring. In his novel Walden he writes of the happiness and contentment he feels while listening to the birds in the chapter titled "Sounds." His happiness is short-lived when it is interrupted by the sound of a train driving through the countryside. The reader gathers that, like many Transcendentalists, Thoreau is against the Industrial Revolution taking place in America. He felt this industrialization would poison nature and complicate life even more than it already was. The poisoning of nature would effect the connection a person could have with God as well. Thoreau wrote about living a simple and uncomplicated life in Walden. He argues against the things that mark status in American society, owning land, dressing in fashion, and earning a high pay. Thoreau reasoned th... ...be content with just being average. He states that each person who explores themselves will be individual from one another. Each person should be concerned with only his business and motivations. Individuality was important to Thoreau. He had no concerns of what other people thought about his actions or ways of living and felt this made his life less complicated and simpler to concentrate on more important things. Thoreau was truly a Transcendentalist. He focused on the individual and the relationship he has with himself, nature, and God. He felt living simply and plainly would free him to gain a greater understanding of the world around him. Understanding of the world around you could only come after gaining a greater understanding of yourself. Once a person let get of the constraints of society were they free to begin to explore themselves and the world.

The Effects of Rap Music on Children

Xavier Miranda Professor John Mammen English 1301 23 June 2012 The Effects of Rap Music on Children â€Å"There is no danger of developing eyestrain from looking on the bright side of things. † This quote fits perfectly with this topic. Too many people look at the negativities in music, Rap music to be specific. Rap music can have negative effects on those who listen to it, but just as easily and equally have a positive and beneficial outcome.Yes, many rappers use vulgar derogative terms to describe women and may influence its listeners to break the law or things of the like; but it can also open our eyes, we can learn new things from it and it can influence us to be better people and do things, good things, with our lives. Now Rap isn’t anything new it’s been around since about the 1970’s and been influencing those who listen to it for about 40 years now (â€Å"Rap†). When people hear the term â€Å"rap music† their initial thought will be à ¢â‚¬Å"that’s bad† or â€Å"that’s demeaning to women† which in a sense is true. For example the song â€Å"Walk this way† performed by Aerosmith and Run D.M. C. is about how a young high school student is lead through his first sexual experience by a debauched cheerleader. In a better known song â€Å"Make it Rain† by Fat Joe he says â€Å"Owwwww mami's body is banging, man/ she got it, man/ she does it all She gets it popping with no hands† And then there’s the song almost everybody knows by Jay-Z. â€Å"99 problems†, where he refers to women as â€Å"bitches†. Songs like these make women seem like tools and expendable creatures, and may influence children that listen to this type of rap to treat women as such, â€Å"but many of them were influenced as teenagers by gangster rap.Perhaps I should start using words like, niggers, hoes and slut-bitches since I would only be reflecting my society's music† (Leary ). But the best example, to make this point clear, is the music video â€Å"Every girl† by â€Å"Young Money†. In the video there are females dressed promiscuously throughout and the lyricist admits to wishing he could have sexual intercourse with every girl in the world. There many other songs that contain this type of disrespect towards the female sex, which gives a more credible argument to those who don’t like rap.Another point people may make against Rap music is the fact that many Rappers Rap and live very violently. Eminem is at the top of my list when it comes to being violent. There’s the song â€Å"Who knew? † in which he defends himself by saying: â€Å"I never knew I, knew I'd effect this kid/ I never knew I'd, get him to slit his wrist/ I never knew I'd, get him to hit this bitch† Although the song in and of itself is a bit ironic, Eminem acknowledges the fact that now he knows he can influence his listeners with his music.And i n â€Å"Love the Way you Lie† in which he says the following verse â€Å"If she ever tries to fucking leave again/ Im'a tie her to the bed and set this house on fire. † we see again the violence, and the music video for said song is of a couple who constantly fight and by the end of the song the couples house is up in flames. â€Å"One study found that young subjects who watched violent rap videos were more accepting of violent actions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Copley) and these lyrics that we very well hear over the radio and in our everyday lives promote breaking or disregarding the law, and many people still stop and wonder why the world is so violent.But like stated at the beginning of this paper there is a bright side to this moon. Before writing this paper laziness overcame me and I began to procrastinate and started listening to music and then the song â€Å"Airplanes Part 2† by B. o. b. feat. Eminem came on. Towards the end of the song Eminem says the words  "Pretend he procrastinated had no motivation/ Pretend he just made excuses that were so paper thin they could blow away with the wind† which is what I was doing and it â€Å"turned me on† and opened my eyes.As the song finishes Eminem continues to rap in third person about himself and how if it wasn’t for this one moment in his life that he had not chased his dream he wouldn’t be who he wanted to be. I then proceeded to get up and write this paper. So this song had an effect, a positive one on me. And it can have similar effects on others who listen to it. The language most rappers use is profanity, but a handful of rappers use uncommon words to express themselves, which can lead to one finding out the definition of the word and later possibly using them in school work.For example Eminem uses the word â€Å"antidisestablishmentarianism† which is a political position in the Anglican Church that chooses to withdraw support from certain churches. And n eedless to say I used it in a world history paper. There’s also some songs by the rapper Immortal Technique who uses biblical metaphors in his music like in the song â€Å"Point of no Return† he asks us to open our eyes and actually see what’s going on around us because the end of the world is near. Music like everything else has a good side and a bad side.Most people ignore the good and disregard Rap music as a whole. As expressed in this paper, yes it can have negative effects and influence children to do bad things but it can also influence them in a good way and even give them certain tools to use in the future. Works Cited Copley, J.. â€Å"Rap Music's Psychological Effects. † Psychology at suite 101. Glam Entertainment, 2008. Web. 8 May 2012. . Leary, sam . â€Å"Gangster rap has negative impact on society. † The Daily Campus.N. p. , 2002. Web. 8 May 2012. â€Å"Rap† Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Ed. Colin Larkin.  © Muze Inc and Ox ford University Press, Inc. 2009. Encyclopedia of Popular Music: (e-reference edition). Oxford University Press. Tarrant County College. 8 May 2012 http://www. encpopmusic4. com/entry? Entry=t270. e52529 Lyrics â€Å"Make it rain† Artist â€Å"Fat Joe† Website â€Å"lyrics. com† â€Å"Who Knew† Artist â€Å"Eminem† Website â€Å"lyrics. com† â€Å"Love the way you lie† Artist â€Å"Eminem† Website â€Å"lyrics. com† â€Å"Airplanes Part 2† Artist â€Å"B. O. B. feat Eminem Website â€Å"lyrics. com†

Antigua Colonization Sugar Is Sweeter With Slavery Essay

Antigua Colonization: Sugar is Sweeter with Slavery Antigua is an island in the region of the Caribbean in the West Indies. It is also known as Waladii by the natives. Antigua is part of the country of Antigua Barbuda. Barbuda, about sixty eight square miles, is a flat coral island about thirty miles north of Antigua. Antigua is in the midst of the Leeward Islands in the Eastern region of the Caribbean. Antigua is the largest of the English speaking Leeward Islands. Antigua is one hundred and eight miles long. The average temperature is about seventy five degrees year round which makes for low humidity. Between Antigua and Barbuda the larger of the two islands is Antigua. The island country has vast natural resources and a tropical climate. For example sugar cane was a cash crop for the country. Therefore the island easily became a hub for new countries to invade who wanted said resources. Correspondingly many countries attempted to stake their claim however, only one was successful. Although Britain brought about changes in cult ure and creed in Antigua they also brought about enslavement and disease so therefore British control has hurt Antigua rather than helped. Before Britain arrived the island of Antigua was filled with natives. For example,â€Å"Later, A.D. 1200-1300, two Amerindian societies with opposing lifestyles coexisted; the peaceful and pottery-making Arawaks, and the fierce and warlike Caribs. Arawaks came here for clay, a resource in short supply elsewhere