Feminism in Poetry Essay

All women have a place. That is barefoot, pregnant, and chained to the stove. Ideas like this are what started the feminist movement. Women desired to be judged by their worth as a person rather than their physical appearance or biological factors. Women sought out social, economic, and political equality. Many women wanted to do their part to support the cause. Some of the most notable influences of the feminist movement were poets such as Sylvia Plath, Lucille Clifton and Anne Sexton. Through their poems, the truth was exposed. This encouraged women everywhere to demand justice and equality. Although there are many feminist themes poets can write about, Sylvia Plath writes of male domination. In her poetry, all men appear to be the opposing force that keeps women from living a happy life. For example, in her poem â€Å"Daddy†, Plath exploits her father as being a fascist Nazi. Much like the Nazi, a fascist is known for being controlling with the power to oppress societies. Plath felt like a â€Å"Jew† amongst her Nazi father (40). However, towards the end of the poem, the representation of Plath’s father and husband (or all men) go from Nazis to â€Å"Vampires† (72). It is clear that in this change of metaphor that Plath went from living the terrors of a male dominant society to living with the undead terrors of her memories. In the same way, Plath’s poem â€Å"Lady Lazarus† conveys the message of male dominance. For example, the speaker states that â€Å"I am your opus, I am your valuable† it seems the woman in the poem feels as if she is a possession to men. However, in the final stanza she informs â€Å"Herr God, Herr Lucifer† to â€Å"beware† because â€Å"Out of the ash I will rise and I eat men like air† (79-84). The woman rises from the ashes like a phoenix, stronger and with a new sense of empowerment. It is as if men mean nothing and hold no more significance in her life. Plath uses these powerful poems to make a clear position in the feminist movement against the social inequalities that women faced in their everyday lives. Next, the feminist movement was partially about being proud of being a woman. Lucille Clifton, a strong, blunt woman presents such feminist themes. Clifton asserts her feminist ideas in the form of a woman’s body. In her poem â€Å"Homage to My Hips†, a person’s first impression might be of a woman proud of her full figure. However, â€Å"hips† in this poem are a symbol of the strength and life that women possess. Therefore, when she says â€Å"hips†, she is speaking for all the women. For instance, Clifton points out that: â€Å"These hips are big hips; they need space to move around in. They don’t fit into petty places. These are free hips. † (1-6). Undoubtedly, Clifton believes that women should have the same opportunities as men. If they are limited by their actions, there is no room for them to thrive. In the same way, Clifton illustrates her feminist views through the woman’s body in her poem â€Å"Wishes for Sons†. The poem directed toward men, talks specifically about the biological factors of a woman. Clifton wishes men to experience menstruation, the cramps, hot flashes, and the blood clots. Clifton wishes â€Å"them one week early and wearing a white skirt† (5-6). Indeed, she wants men to experience the embarrassments and fears a woman faces. Equally important, she wishes for men to experience the arrogance of gynecologists, â€Å"not unlike themselves† (18). Truly, Clifton’s brusqueness brings a sense of truth. In this poem, Clifton asks the age old question, why are males considered the stronger ones? Women are strong and can endure great pain that a man would collapse under. Lucille Clifton is one of the most powerful feminist poets, because she is direct and not afraid to speak her mind. Through her poetry, she empowers women to stand up and be strong. Finally, Anne Sexton is known more for her confessional poetry. However, her support of the feminist movement is evident throughout her poems. In her poem â€Å"Little Girl, My String Bean, My Lovely Woman†, Sexton praises and gives her advice to her daughter. Before the feminist movement, having a daughter was not celebrated. This poem is evidence that Sexton stepped out of the social norm and took one step closer to liberation of all women. Sexton writes of â€Å"†¦old wives speaking of womanhood. I remember that I heard nothing myself. I was alone. I waited like a target. † (35-38) Again, this is referring to how no one ever talked about the challenges of womanhood. By making aware of these challenges, Sexton stood alone and took the criticisms of society. Furthermore, Sexton tells her daughter that her â€Å"bones are lovely† (52). Like many girls that are coming of age, they view themselves through the eyes of society or men. Sexton wanted to tell her â€Å"before they enter† (50). In the final stanza, Sexton tells her daughter that if she is â€Å"sure of yourself† she â€Å"will strike fire, that new thing† (95-98). To summarize, if her daughter stays true to herself as a woman, she will succeed in her new life. Because Sexton ties her intimate life in with her poetry, it makes the message of feminism even more meaningful. In conclusion, there are the many sides to feminism. Plath exposed a more daring approach. She wrote of the role of women in a male dominated society and the constant struggle of woman versus man. On the other hand, Clifton has a more passive but straightforward approach. She spoke of matters that women then were too embarrassed to speak of. This is why she might have felt she had to be the voice for all women. Her bold poetry made her one of the most popular poets of the feminist movement. Lastly, because she was a confessional poet, Sexton’s intertwined her feminist views with her personal life. This method made her feminist message more meaningful and passionate. Many women, along with these popular poets set out to change the course of history. They strived for equality and fought hard to obtain it. It would be in vain if women today did not take advantage of the rights that they struggled to achieve.

As people grow older, they need to renegotiate their sense of identity and belonging Essay

Everyone has struggled with their identity and belonging during a chapter of their life. There comes a time when our opinions and beliefs begin to differentiate from those around us. During this time, some people may discover where they belong, whereas many others do not. It is not solely one stage of our lives when we are confronted with an identity crisis, but a continuous challenge throughout our lives as we encounter new experiences that will alter our thoughts, emotions and perspective on ourselves. Most of us are following the â€Å"norms†, society expectations but deep down inside, we desire for freedom. Society only gives us a narrow time, a â€Å"window†, between school and marriage to be whomever we want without the judgement of society. This window is the only time that we can have a †good time† like getting drunk, travel, stay out late, do silly things yet nobody would criticise. However, since the window is pretty narrow, many people tends to stretch it so they can fully enjoy themselves. For school-leavers like us, we would like to taste that sense of freedom as soon as possible and as long as possible. Not many of us would actually thinking about settling down at this moment since we are young. Out there in the world, many interesting new things are inviting us to try and take on the challenges. We are like Bubba, young and energetic, new to the world and society doesn’t expect much of us yet. However, human beings are not eternally immutable, we change ourselves, our identity and sense of belonging gradually. There’s certainly a time when we feel so lonely, distanced and disconnected even though there’s a crowd of people around, people that we know. That’s when we should think to ourselves, who am I really and where do I belong? After enjoying freedom for so long, we could be bored and lost because we are living without a purpose, a plan for the future. We would begin to yearn for a lifelong companionship, fulltime commitment from someone, we can’t stand being alone for the rest of our lives in some vague, unstable relationships that can break at any moment. We need something new and more exciting than what we already experienced. A solitary is an unfulfilling life to us, we want love, affections and devotion so that our lives can be fulfilled. As we grow older, we would stop being immature, selfish and solo as part of our â€Å"growing up†. Though we would like to stretch our â€Å"window†, society does expect us to grow after certain age. We are expected to reproduce ourselves by having a family, taking up the responsibilities, pass on our beliefs to the younger generation. Reproduction is that we can start all over again, that’s why life is a cycle, repetitively, and many would follow. In each and every one of us, the biological urge or clock would start to alarm as we grow older. Desire for a family with children would naturally come for most people, then they would seek to settle down. Nancy had enough of the lay-off, after sixteen years without any assurance, she had renegotiated with herself to discontinue. She wanted to have a family, a stable relationship, since Barney couldn’t give her that, she left and married to start a family life. She was not young any more but it was not too late, at least she realised that the lay-off wasn’t working for her and she found a solution that she was comfortable with. However, there’re a few people who think differently. They are afraid of losing their freedom as they are lost in their own fantasy that they are young and free forever. Marriage certainly limits one’s freedom that to some people, it’s a chain, an imprisonment for life that they don’t ever want to be bind in. They love their liberty even though they are aging, they don’t have a slight idea of changing their lifestyle. They don’t want to grow up even if they are growing old. In society’s eye, they are the odd ones, the ones that defy the â€Å"norms†, the bad omens. Olive is the representative of these people, she detest matrimony and any permanent attachment. However, she ignored reality of her aging and the repetitive of the lay-off was wearing everybody out. The freshness, excitements and funs were gone long ago but she turned a blind eye to it, believing it would last forever. Only if she renegotiate with herself earlier, reality wouldn’t struck her as hard and she would understand why Roo proposed to her. At some point in life, we must reconsider of our sense of identity and belonging so that its suit our situations. We are not ever-changing but we can’t be the same forever, we need to change gradually to adapt to the changing world just like how the Earth revolves around the sun. It spins but we don’t feel it. People change overtime but we don’t really see unless it’s a dramatic change. As we grow older, we encounter more crises which influence our sense of identity and belonging. We would be wiser than before as we learn from our mistakes.

Freshman English Paper Oliver Sacks

English Wednesday April 4, 2012 â€Å"Perspective Matters† As children, we learn that there are five human senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch. Upon reflection and memory, I realize that sight is always listed first in the list of senses. It may just be a reflex or a habit to do so, or maybe it’s just human nature to place high emphasis on sight. Sight is taken for granted by most of us, and when we encounter non-sighted individuals, we have an emotional and physical reaction that we’re relieved the non-sighted cannot see.Reading Oliver Sacks’ case â€Å"To See and Not See†, about a man named Virgil, gives me a new and interesting perspective on blindness. I have a friend who is partially deaf. She and I communicate with visual cues and our communication is helped by the fact that she can hear some sound and can read lips. In contrast, I cannot say I have had an occasion to spend time with a non-sighted person. While reading about Virgil, however, I felt that I was given an opportunity to learn about the life of someone who lives in a world of only four senses.Virgil was born with sight, he briefly lost it at the age of 3 while ill, and at age 6 developed cataracts which blocked his vision and made him functionally blind. The life he lived was a modest one. He â€Å"had a steady job and an identity, was self-supporting, had friends, read Braille papers and books†¦ Life was limited but stable in its way. † (112) He accepted his blindness as simply part of his existence; Virgil’s life was imbued with passivity. At the age of 47, Virgil became re-acquainted with an old girlfriend named Amy. Their relationship evolved into a committed one within 3 years.With Amy’s insistent encouragement, Virgil assented to have surgery to remove one of the cataracts, despite his family’s misgivings over the disruption to his already stable life and identity as someone who is blind. There is a distillatio n of Virgil’s state of being; as I see it, his life is not his own, other people are making choices for him, and he is not asserting himself. Amy and his mother have strong opinions about if he should live with sight or without sight. Virgil himself sits, waiting for them to make a decision about his destiny.And so began Virgil’s passive journey into seeing – again. Virgil’s situation is not unlike Greg’s from Sacks’ case â€Å"The Last Hippie. † While Virgil was about to regain his vision, Greg, by contrast, was losing his; the result of a stealthy tumor slowly stealing his sight. But Greg, like Virgil, initially had concerns when confronted by his differently sighted future. For Greg, he accepted the explanation of his swami about the loss of his vision being due to â€Å"a deeper spirituality, an inner light. † He was â€Å"an illuminate,† a great honor. 43) This explanation pacified him about his vision, as it also b rought him to a deeper spirituality. Despite their concerns, both Greg and Virgil came to accept their destiny being written by other people in their lives. Amy brought Virgil to her ophthalmologist who reviewed his case and ascertained that the old diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa may not have been accurate and he agreed to operate. Before the surgery, Virgil â€Å"could still see light and dark, the direction from which light came, and the shadow of a hand in front of his eyes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (108) Dr.Hamlin did the cataract removal on his right eye, inserted a new lens implant and after the bandage came off, Virgil could see but only after hearing the surgeon speak to him to attract his attention. The first thing that Virgil saw was not concrete or a firm image, but light, motions and colors. This was only a brief indication of the tangled web of sight that was ahead. Sacks states: â€Å"Everyone, Virgil included, expected something much simpler. A man opens his eyes, light ente rs and falls on the retina: he sees. though there had been a careful surgical discussion of the operation and possible postsurgical complications, there was little discussion or preparation for the neurological and psychological difficulties that Virgil might encounter. † (115) While reading about Virgil, I have to come reflect more upon myself and the sense of sight. Very recently, I was diagnosed with early-onset glaucoma. I received this news from my doctor with heightened emotion and anxiety about what I would do if I lost my vision. I am lucky that my doctor immediately did a procedure to stop the progression of the glaucoma and keep my vision at its current state.I try to put myself in Virgil’s place and have become more empathetic to him and his particular circumstance. I think of my friend who is partially deaf; she says she wouldn’t change it for anything; it is who she is. Is Virgil conflicted about his identity now that he can see? When Dr. Sacks meets Virgil, Sacks is struck by the way he acted; that Virgil was exhibiting behavior of someone who looks but does not grasp the full picture. He is â€Å"mentally blind† or the definition of agnosic – the partial or total inability to recognize objects or persons by use of the appropriate sense – in Virgil’s case, the sense of sight.For example, he sees in pieces: notices facial features, not a composed face. Virgil still continues to use the actions of a blind person for everyday living, having Amy, now his wife, to establish lines for him to walk from room to room in their house. He even says he finds walking â€Å"scary† and â€Å"confusing† without touch, without his cane. (120) Virgil is dealing with being disrupted by massive changes: having surgery and getting married. The confusion he feels about walking without his cane is understandable.The cane was his support for a basic of life; another aspect that is taken for granted, putting on e foot in front of another. Virgil’s independence is being encroached upon and there is an erosion of confidence in his abilities that were part of his identity as a sightless person. Additional aspects of his new life were just as jumbled, as disconnected. Virgil couldn’t identify his cat and dog without touching them while visually investigating them. He’s confused by distances, light, sizes, angles and perspectives. Sacks says that â€Å"Virgil was blinded for a minute, until he put on a pair of dark-green sunglasses.Even ordinary daylight, he said, was too bright for him, too glary, he felt that he saw best in quite subdued light. † (131) During the initial testing Sacks’ conducted with Virgil, they went to a zoo for an outing. Virgil was only able to make out an animal by either the way it moved or by specific visual features, such as height. His heightened sense of hearing was noticed when he heard the lions roaring in the distance. He had a request to touch an animal, and was able to examine a statue of an ape. When he touched the statue, â€Å"he had an air of assurance that he had never shown when examining anything by sight†¦. emanding that he renounce all that came easily to him, that he sense the world in a way incredibly difficult for him and alien. † (132-33) Virgil’s non-sighted and sighted worlds joined briefly in the moment when it became apparent he could visually identify more features of the ape only after touching the statue. In Virgil’s journey to see again, he appears to be finding his way by adapting his skills from his past life to his current existence. There must have been a necessity to do so, so as to bridge the gap and to glue together who he was with who he is, and who he is going to be.Otherwise, I could see the confusion, disruption and erosion of independence would become overwhelming to Virgil and could therefore stymie any potential for improvement after the upcomi ng second surgery. Virgil was experiencing periods of severe visual fatigue and spontaneous distorted vision. The fatigue was understandable; his visual system was weak and unstable, not yet practiced and strong. The periods of distorted vision that lasted for hours or days were not as easy to understand, and therefore more of a worry.The continuation of the distorted vision became apparent with displays of what Sacks calls psychic blindness: â€Å"speaking of seeing while in fact appearing blind and showing no visual behavior whatever. † (136) He exhibited another type of withdrawal of sight, emotional, as well. When his family came to town for his wedding, Virgil began to need Amy to lead him around due to blurred vision. His family did oppose the surgery and despite the verity even then they did not believe he could see. Virgil’s emotional withdrawal of sight only ended after his family left post-wedding.Virgil was treated by his family as his former self instead of as his current self; his past passivity returned and he gave them what they wanted: Virgil as a blind man. His current visual identity must have felt threatened. Due to Virgil’s unpracticed and weak visual state, â€Å"that either neural overload or identity conflict might just push him over it. † (138) After the surgery on Virgil’s left eye revealed that his acuity was the same as the right eye, there was some improvement but not as much as had been hoped for. He was able to focus somewhat better and was able to go back to work after the 2 months since the first surgery.Massage therapy was different for him now that he could see his clients. In order to do his job comfortably, he had to close his eyes and function as a non-sighted person. This experience for Virgil made him revert to functioning as blind rather than sighted, continuing his identity confusion. His continuing experiences for the next few months were memorable: experiencing the holidays with sigh t, seeing his family and home in Kentucky, seeing the ballet with Amy. He interacted with his family while exhibiting visual behaviors, a big step towards change for Virgil. The change was arrested by his becoming critically ill with pneumonia.The result of the illness was lack of oxygen to brain, and Virgil’s vision was receding. He acted as though he could see even when he couldn’t; by reaching for things but saying he could not see. Sacks indicates â€Å"This condition – called implicit sight – occurs if the visual parts of the cerebral cortex are knocked out, but the visual centers in the subcortex remain intact. † (146) At this point for Virgil, he is now experiencing even more change; after his health improves and he leaves the hospital, he is attached to an oxygen tank which leaves him unable to work, and therefore having to move from his home.Of course, these changes have an effect on Virgil’s visual and emotional states, as they wou ld on anyone. Virgil is now blind – again. Even though Virgil has rare moments of minimal sight, he has returned to functioning as a non-sighted person. After the all too-human reaction of rage, Virgil himself has expressed an acceptance of his visual situation. Sacks notes, â€Å"Virgil for his part, maintains philosophically, ‘These things happen. ’† (151) As Virgil says, things do happen. My friend lost her hearing as a toddler; I will be losing my vision and prepare myself for this inevitable future.All of us deal with these stages of life and envelop them into ourselves, our identities. There are different definitions of perspective: point of view; representation of objects as they might appear to the eye; a mental view or prospect. To apply them all to Virgil is to see him as he should be seen, without a need to change him and to accept him with and without sight. Works Cited Sacks, Oliver. An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales. New York : Vintage, 1996. Print. —. â€Å"The Last Hippie. † An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales. New York: Vintage, 1996. 42 – 76. Print.

Consumer law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Consumer law - Essay Example The importer of a product into any member state of the European Union may also be considered as a producer under the said directive.2 However, where the producer cannot be known or identified, the supplier of such a product is treated under the directive as the producer unless the identity of the producer or the one supplying the product can be identified by him.3 In the case at bar, if the buyer would identify specifically the manufacturer of Aquawash-09 in Korea, such manufacturer may be made liable under the directive. If not, the importer of such washing machine, specifically, Heinz which is a German Company, can be made liable under the EC directive. The buyer can therefore claim against the manufacturer, the supplier or both under the EC directive. Furthermore, under the EC directive, a defect in a product exists if the so-called objective test is established which includes â€Å"either or both the cost-risk analysis and the consumer’s expectation of safety.†4 A product is considered as defective under the EC directive if such product does not make available the safety which any person could â€Å"reasonably entitled to expect,† taking into account the following: â€Å"the presentation of the product, the use to which the product could reasonably be expected to be put, and the time when the product was put into circulation.†5 Defect may also be present in the design or the manufacturing of the product, in the failure to warn, in the instructions, and in the â€Å"developmental defects.†6 If then the product does not provide the level of safety which is expected by the consumer, it would then be considered as defective under the directive even though it functions under the designed specificati on.7 In the case at bar, the washing machine then may certainly be considered as defective not only because it did not function properly but because it does not provide for the level of safety reasonably expected from the product, as

Reasons Affecting Nurses Working In Washington DC Research Paper

Reasons Affecting Nurses Working In Washington DC - Research Paper Example As per requirements, there may be call-backs. The condition is such that the nurses have to deal with more than one patient at a time. Due to an increase in work pressure, they may not get lunch breaks and may even have to work overtime. These reasons are hampering the quality of service that the nurses provide. These may result in fatigue, stress, loss of sleep and several other adverse consequences. Nurses of Washington DC, working in such an environment, have a greater chance of making mistakes during work. This work environment can discourage the nurses and that may lead to some of the nurses quitting nursing or limiting their working hours. Â  As per requirements, there may be call-backs. The condition is such that the nurses have to deal with more than one patient at a time. Due to an increase in work pressure, they may not get lunch breaks and may even have to work overtime. These reasons are hampering the quality of service that the nurses provide. These may result in fatigu e, stress, loss of sleep and several other adverse consequences. Nurses of Washington DC, working in such an environment, have a greater chance of making mistakes during work. This work environment can discourage the nurses and that may lead to some of the nurses quitting nursing or limiting their working hours. Effects of fatigue on performance Fatigue can adversely affect any type of performance. It can deteriorate alertness, concentration, judgment, etc. Human beings have developed a habit of working during the day and sleeping at night.

World Economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

World Economy - Research Paper Example The industrial revolution had produced marked differences between developing and developed countries based on the extent of their overall production and growth. Broadly speaking, the entire global economic literature has been studied under two broad headings namely macro or meso level. The former emphasizes on the role of transnational organizations. The later treats countries and firms as the building blocks of the global economy and engages in their analysis (Baylis, Smith & Owens, 2013). The main aim of this paper is to uncover two things. The first one is to discuss the general characteristics of the world economy and the second one is to find the main factors which are responsible for the smooth function of the global economy. Most of the researchers who had considered world economy as their subject of research had pointed out this topic is rather interdisciplinary and cannot be treated in isolation (Gereffi, 2005). Increasing trade between nations can be considered to be the first step of integration between nations. The origins of trading can be dated back to as early as the period of 15th century. It is this historical period of beginning of trade which had automatically rendered some nations stronger than the others. The capitalist system of production had become quite dominant in the 18th century and this has become the basic state of the world economy (Gereffi, 2005). Economists like Adam Smith had focused on the idea of division of labour and the way it fits into the capitalist regime of production. Different countries had begun to specialize in different forms of economic activity and some of them were considered as industrial countries while others came to be known as agricultural countries. The period of 1940’s was particularly very important in the history of the world economic development because this era had witnessed some of the most important changes that had occurred in

Literary analysis for Grief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Literary analysis for Grief - Essay Example The cruel hand of death was seen with just a mere act of coming together to have dinner. The event was simply beyond her understanding. According to her, life can change instantly. Her words can be taken to be mute. She could not describe what happened at that time until nine months afterwards. Her account can be best described as a great work of testimony, reach in power, grace and generosity as Joan emerges from grief. The unbelievable contrast between the ordinary circumstances and the extraordinary event that comes afterwards goes round and round Joan’s minds. She tries to reconnect events like death with grief. She meditates on family life and children. How people become sick and how they heal afterwards. She gets into deep thought on how human beings takes life normal, may be thinking that death is far away. She generally gets to view life from another perspective. Joan loved her husband so much that when death snatched him from her, she becomes deeply affected and canno t imagine how cruel life is sometimes destined to be. They had had a happy life for over forty years. Their idea of marriage was working together and cooperation. They worked for thirty five years together at home. The couples shared a lot, depended on each other so much and paid attention to one another’s ideas and thoughts. ... People have the notion that a close relative or friend can die but the thoughts given to the events that are likely to follow are very small or not matching the magnitude of responsiveness a person can show. We only expect that one may just have a mere shock on receiving news of death but there is more to it than that, there is a heavy effect it leaves on both the mind and the body. As she describes the difference between real grief and the mere thoughts of grief, great powers of her reflections are shown. According to her, as days pass by, the effects of grief reduce unlike the earlier days. According to her, the common belief that a funeral is the heightened moment of grief, is unreality. This is because a funeral is just a celebration that must occur to give a chance for others to pay their last respect to the deceased, but those affected will still be undergoing the reality of living without the deceased; a time of meaninglessness in life . In giving her account on grief, Joan co mpares and contrasts two angels of looking at grief: individual and universal perspective. Since she was a child, Joan understood that change cannot be avoided and that nature shall always be the same. In her opinion this is even captured in the payer that God’s glory will always be. The challenge that comes is balancing the fact that everyone will face death and the meaning of existence. Self pity is another component of grief that is contemplated in her testimony of grief. After careful analysis of events that come with grief, Joan is of the opinion that having self pity is normal. Self-pity is a natural phenomenon. She accepts that one can only learn and understand life’s ways given time and experiences. It leaves one a completely changed perception. (De Beauvoir