English Literature

The Ode to the West Wind was written by Percy Blythe Shelley.  Percy wrote this poem while traveling to Italy in 1819 during the autumn at the time the west wind blew and this experience inspired him out of admiration of the power of the wind as it blew away the dead leaves. What makes this poem unique was the way Shelley wrote it because it was in a style that was different from the standard way of writing poems.

Besides being used as a medium for communication, Shelley had shown how English could also be used creatively in an artful manner.  This can be done by the skillful use of what is called figurative language or figures of speech.  One particular characteristic that indicates the use of English as an art is their background.  Words are used to represent objects and it is up to the reader or listener to try and create these pictures in their minds.  Imagination is very vital to appreciate the artful use of English for without it, the art in English would be missed or overlooked.  Poems provide the best proof on how English can be artfully employed such as Shelleys poem.

In terms of stylistics, Shelley made use of various figures of speech to make his poem anything but dull. One style Shelley used was foregrounding.  Foregrounding is a technique where the writer would deviate from the standard writing norms.  The result of this would be a less than aesthetic use of words.  One example is his oft-repeated use of the preposition of in some lines such as in the second stanza (Ogidefa, 2008)
Of some fierce Maenad, even from the dim verge
Of the horizon to the zeniths height,
The locks of the approaching storm. Thou dirge
Of the dying year, to which this closing night
Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre
Vaulted with all thy congregated might
Of vapours, from whose solid atmosphere
Black rain, and fire, and hail will burst O hear

Shelley made use of alliteration where the first letters of the consistently follow in succession.  One example is from the first line, Wild West Wind.  At the start, Shelley sets the tone by making the poem sound invigorating the moment it is uttered.   Because (based on Shelleys experience or anyone for that matter), the wind is a living force of nature and it can also be strong if it wants to, hence, he wanted to capture the powerful essence of the wind.  The alliteration then helps put the readerspeaker in the right perspective and mood especially when these words are spoken vigorously.

With rhyme, where the last words of the lines tend to sound identical, Shelly applied a number of it all throughout.  The first stanza serves as an example of Shelleys liberal use of rhymes which often occurs between the words of the first and third lines
O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumns being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitudes O thou,
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed
The wingd seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse within its grave,until
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow
Her clarion oer the dreaming earth, and fill
(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
With living hues and odours plain and hill
For similes, words that are used to describe something of a similar quality or characteristic, Shelley made use these as well such as the following
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,

In this case, Shelley describes the movement of the leaves swept away by the wind by comparing it to a ghost pursued by an enchanter that is trying to exorcise it.  Ghosts are often depicted as ethereal, swirling flowing beings and the wind-blown leaves tend to resemble that kind of dynamic movement.  Another use of simile can be found here
The wingd seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse within its grave, until
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow

    In this case, Shelley likened the seeds blown by the wind (hence winged as the wind carries them wherever it blows) and when it settles, the soil, also blown by the wind would cover it up and bury it and in time and with the help of the elements, it will grow like a corpse rising from its grave on the day of reckoning or when the spirit would rise out of it upon germination.  Another  use of simile can be found in these lines
Thou on whose stream, mid the steep skys commotion,
Loose clouds like Earths decaying leaves are shed,
Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean,
Angels of rain and lightning there are spread
On the blue surface of thine airy surge,
Like the bright hair uplifted from the head.

    Here, Shelley compares the clouds being detached or torn off a larger mass as if it is being shed off by the larger clouds.  He compares it to the leaves falling off the trees when they change color, a sign of autumn and the detachment of clouds indicate that the west wind is at work, the way Shelley must have observed it.  As for the rains, he must have observed them as they fell to the earth, straight and true in a fine straight as if it were hair rising from the head and made brighter through the illumination provided by lightning.

    Collocation entails the proper and appropriate use of a combination of words.  Such examples would be, Each like a corpse within its grave where corpse and grave go together and are often associated with each other.  Another would be Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere. A spirit is often associated as a dynamic entity, it is never static and always moving.

    In metaphor, certain words are used to symbolize or represent the subjects Shelley mentioned earlier.  These words are used because they possess similar characteristics and attributes to the one being referred to.  Such examples are the following (Zheng, 2009) the leaves dead Are driven, like ghosts from and enchanter fleeing

In this case, the enchanter represents the west wind as it blows away the leaves the same way the enchanter drives away ghosts.  In addition, the west wind is also referred to as a wild spirit.  Another metaphor can be found here Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven an Ocean In here, a large tree represents that heaven in an ocean.  The giveaway or hint that Shelley was referring to a tree is the word bough(s). Another one, The locks of an approaching storm represents the clouds in the sky when blown, tend to swirl like locks of hair.  Will be the dome of a vast sepulcher represents the night as it creeps in as the daytime gives way.  The night would blanket the sky like a dome and the word sepulcher or tomb adds emphasis that the night is often quiet like a tomb. A heavy weight of hours has chained and bowed. Here the hours symbolize the chains that hold or restrain something.  In this case, the heaviness of the hours tends to slow things down (Zheng, 2009)

    With regards to grammar, Shelley deliberately went against the rules of grammar in order to create an attention-grabbing effect.  Nothing gets the attention of the reader and listener like noticing something out of place or out of the ordinary.
On the blue surface of thine airy surge,

Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow
In these lines, Shelley deliberately used thine instead of thy. Thine is roughly the equivalent of mine and thy is equivalent to my or your.  The purpose for the intentional deviation from the grammatical norms was aimed at getting peoples attention and helps make the poem anything but dull.

All in all, Shelley made use of various stylistics not only to capture the attention of the readerlistener but also provoke them into using their imagination to better appreciate the beauty and the power of the west wind the same way he saw it.  Through stylistics, he made the wind a living being people could feel even though it is unseen.

The Bells by Edgar Allan Poe and London by William Blake are poems written half a century apart and the devices used in each of these poems contain so much sensory details albeit the different purposes of these details in each of the poems.  These two poems represent the timelessness of poetic conventions as well as the immortality of poetry in terms of their appeal and their ability to achieve certain poetic goals and aims.  The Bells uses bells as its central theme and goes through four stanzas to describe the passing of the seasons in relation to the bells.  In, London on the other hand, Blake uses images found along a street to make critical commentaries about the state that London was in at the time.  Both The Bells and London are similar in a particular aspect of poetic delivery  the inclusion of sensory details.  In both of these poems, the sensory details offered by each of give the reader an entirely different experience of each of the poems in The Bells the tone of the poem which is a critical poetic element is affected by the sensory details while in London the sensory details are employed to concretize the issues criticized and make these circumstances tangible and material to the reader.

    In The Bells an initial reading would reveal that Poe used alliteration to give the poem an auditory quality to it.  Hence, the repetition of the lines, From the bells, bells, bells, bells,  Bells, bells, bells  (12-13) and the inclusion of the double LL sound in many of the lines, for instance, in, To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells (11) from the first stanza and What a gush of euphony voluminously wells (26) from the second stanza.  However, other than just the use of this literary device, it is noticeable how certain sensory elements cause each of the stanzas to deteriorate in sync with the passing of the seasons, so in the first stanza, for example, bright visual images are presented such as, While the stars that oversprinkle  All the heavens seem to twinkle (6-7) and happy auditory images complement these images as in the lines, How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,  In the icy air of night (4-5) There is a subtle shift in these sensory images in the second stanza as the poem goes from bright, childish, and cheerful to solemn in the second stanza.  So, the poet describes the color of the bells in Hear the mellow wedding bells - Golden bells (15-16), the feel and sound of the bells in Through the balmy air of night  How they ring out their delight (18-19) Obviously, because of these sensory images, one would detect a sense of maturity in the shift.  The colors and sounds of the bells in the second stanza all describe the coming of age and the satisfaction that the voice experiences at this circumstance.  The word golden in this particular stanza represents and symbolizes maturity and joy.

   The last two stanzas grow darker and more foreboding in their sensory images as Poe describes brazen bells and iron bells respectively, the former representing a period of warning and the latter describing a period of mourning.  The dark sensory details come at the reader as visual appeals such as in the 3rd stanza lines And a resolute endeavor  Now -now to sit or never,  By the side of the pale-faced moon. (48-50) which present a dark gothic image and the 4th stanza lines, For every sound that floats  From the rust within their throats  Is a groan. (76-78) The same thing is evident in the auditory images from the 3rd stanza, in the lines, Too much horrified to speak,  They can only shriek, shriek,  Out of tune, (41-43) and from the 4th stanza in the lines, How we shiver with affright  At the melancholy menace of their tone (73-74) A combination of these sensory details give the last two stanzas of a poem a foreboding tone and a distinct shift from the bright images of the first two stanzas to the dark, grieving images of the last two stanzas, with the purpose of illustrating the passing of the seasons or, more accurate the ageing of man or the passing of human life.  The adjective pale-faced in these lines also denote sickness or illness, and with it being used to describe the moon, the term becomes very general implying that at this stage, many people succumb to illness and disease.  Another interesting phrase in these lines is out of tune because this refers to the auditory quality of the sound of the bells which also implies that the out of tune quality of these bells are due to their age or their decrepit quality.

    In London, the sensory images serve a different purpose, which is to enhance the critic and the materiality of the issues being tackled.  For instance, in the lines, In every voice, in every ban,  The mind-forgd manacles I hear. (7-8) the auditory image of manacles clanging as these are being forged in the mind present a commentary, quite likely, on the lack of freedom of expression in this period, in London.   The word manacles conjure and image of bondage and so the fact that their sounds are heard in the mind implies that the bondage or enslavement has something to do with intellectual or creative capacities  the enslavement of the mind.  The 3rd stanza of the poem also achieves the same effect with the lines, How the Chimney-sweepers cry  Every blackning Church appalls (9-10) where a contrast is presented between the auditory image of the cry and the visual image of the blackning church.  The combination of these two images implies how the church was deaf to the impoverished cries of the people at that time, and the state is in the same situation as presented in the lines, And the hapless Soldiers sigh  Runs in blood down Palace walls. (11-12) here, the combination of both visual and auditory imagery implies that both the church and the state ignore the clamors of the people they serve.  This symbolism present here is how the church seemingly ignores the labors of the chimney sweepers and how the state, symbolized by the palace, does not involve itself with the problems of its armed forces as represented here by the word soldiers.  Finally, in the last stanza of the poem, the same is true with the sensory details as shown in the lines, But most thro midnight streets I hear  How the youthful Harlots curse  Blasts the new born Infants tear,  And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse (13-16) where the auditory imagery serves to strengthen the image of prostitution destroying family or domestic life through the voice of the Harlot. (14)

    These two poems employ auditory and visual details to enhance the experience of reading the poem.  In The Bells Poe uses a combination of alliteration, auditory, and visual imagery to deliver the theme of the poem which is the passing of time, seasons, or the progress of human life from birth to death.  London, however, uses a combination of terminal rhymes as well as auditory and visual imagery not to facilitate the progress of the poem but to enhance and make the issue commentaries more tangible and more material.  Instead of making a snide or direct comment on the issues being tackled in the poem, the poet attempts to present images that represent these issues so that the reader would easily associate these sensory details with the actual message being conveyed by the poem.  The basic difference between these two poems in terms of the use of sensory details is the fact that the first poem draws from these details to establish poetic tone, while the second poem uses these sensory details to concretize the theme through individual social and critical instances.

    Sensory details are very effective tools in poetry and these tools either enhance the experience of reading poems or are instrumental in the progress of the themes in the poems.  In these two poems the basic similarity of the use of sensory details serves a different purpose for each of the poems.  For Poe, it makes the progressive path of the poem more obvious and enhances the tone and for Blake, the sensory details are used to complement the delivery of more metaphorically accurate images of the issues being presented.

Institution Maya Angelou
An Annotated Bibliography
Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Johnson, is regarded as one of the celebrated American writers alive.  Besides writing a lot of memorable works, she is also the subject of other authors who have written a lot about her life and works. There is her biography written by two of her friends, Marcia Gillespie and Richard Long, along with her nephew Rosa Butler.  Mary Jane Lupton writes a biography-cum-writers guide on Maya Angelous works.  L. Patricia Kite also writes a similar book depicting her life story and so does Jill Egan who highlighted the trials Angelou went through but also the triumphs as well. In his work, Jeffrey Elliot compiled interviews made by several authors on Maya Angelou to create a verbal mosaic of the life and works of the writer. Lyman Hagen makes a critical analysis of her works and managed to find the secret behind the success of Angelou. Priscilla Ramsey makes a critical analysis of Angelous poems in a journal.  Another analysis is made by William Sylvester.  Carol Neubauer analyzes one  of her works, The Heart of a Woman to understand the woman behind the words.  Sidonie Ann Smith wrote an analysis of Angelous first work The Song of a Caged Bird which centers on self-acceptance.

This biography was written by her friends Gillespie and Long with her nephew Butler.  This was written and published in celebration of Angelous 80th birthday and as the title of the book suggests, it has been 80 glorious years of her life though it has had its ups and downs as the authors hold nothing back in relating the colorful life of one of Americas celebrated literary artists.  The book covers the traumatic experience she had at a young age to the beginning of her literary talents during her adolescence she ventured briefly into acting and took part in the civil rights movement, rubbing elbows with Martin Luther King and Malcolm X until the time she took part in the inauguration of President Bill Clinton.  Though Angelou had a troubled youth, she moved on and it was through literature that she was able to pull through and used it as her vehicle to express happiness and optimism.

Lupton provides a critical analysis of Angelous 5-volume autobiography.  For each one, she provides an general overview, a background of the story. This would be followed by an analysis of various points of view like a narrative in the case of Heart of a Woman then describe the structure of the story where patterns are found.  Then there is a plot development which focuses on revealing the character of the subject followed by a character development which reveals the characters personality as the story develops. Then there is the thematic issues which identifies the theme of the story.  This is followed by styles and literary devices which describes what devices were deployed by Angelou. This book would be a reliable guide to anyone who reads Angelou and needed a quick reference to its technical aspects besides the stories themselves.

This book is a biography of Angelou.  The author touches on the personal aspects of Angelous life.  She starts the story in 1993, the day Angelou recited a poem at President Bill Clintons inauguration and segues back to the day she was born and moving progressively to 1996.  Her poems are mentioned here but not fully presented.  This book caters mainly to elementary school students and serves as an ideal starter for anyone who appreciates poetry and will be surely inspired after reading Angelous story.

As the title suggests, this book mainly tackles the life and times of Maya Angelou.  In the nine chapters of this book, Egan takes the reader on a journey covering the life and times of Angelou which is fraught with trials and tribulations but also of the courage to go one despite its presence.  In the chapter Finding Her Voice was the start of Angelous literary career which was meant to be a form of therapy but later on became her calling.  In the latter chapter, A Glorious Legacy, she turned to writing greeting cards for Hallmark not because she needed a job but for the love of writing and the celebration of life.

Elliot has compiled several interviews made by selected authors with Maya Angelou.  Each interview or conversation tells the same story.  It is about the triumph over adversity and her works serve as her vehicle of conveying that message.  Angelou also clarified that her works are not exclusively dedicated to African-Americans though she lived through the turbulent times with them, but for all mankind.  This book is ideal for scholars and students who wish to gain more insight to the woman behind remarkable works.

Hagens work is a critical analysis of the works of Maya Angelou.  The first chapter is devoted to telling her life story.  Chapter 2 reveals Angelous secrets to her very successful works which is the use of humor to offset the trying times she had gone through in her life instead of dwelling on the hurts of her past.  The rest of the chapters makes an analysis of her works  her autobiographies and her poems as well as other aspects of Angelous multi-faceted life.  These are purely analysis and do not give the full text of her works save for excerpts used in making the analyses.

Priscilla Ramsey makes an in-depth analysis on the poems of Maya Angelou. Angelous poems are grounded on the reality of life as she has experienced them.  Angelou uses her poems as a means to express her thoughts and sentiments not only about her own life but also the events that were unfolding around her from segregation to the civil rights movement.  Angelou has practically employed every known literary device to be able to write elaborate poems that pretty much capture life the way she has seen it through her own eyes.

Sylvester gives an overall analysis of the poems of Maya Angelou. While doing so, he highlighted events in Angelous life which have had a profound influence on her, from William Shakespeare which she confessed was her first love to her involvement in the civil rights movement as an organizer working alongside Martin Luther King.  Sylvester reveals that her poems are uniquely hers and are not imitations of other works as revealed with unique words she used.

Neubauer makes an in-depth analysis of one of Angelous work Heart of a Woman which is more of an autobiography.  Her starting point is the time she already reached adulthood, highlighting her different careers especially in one of the turbulent times not only of her life but to all black Americans for this was the civil rights movement. She uses her own life experience to mirror how little people felt.  She provides a grassroots level view of the things happening in society here through her own eyes.  She also compared and contrasted the styles of two of its prominent movers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, finding the latter more congenial.

This is another analysis of a work by Maya Angelou. From the year, one can tell this is one of the earliest analysis made and this is fresh from the recent events of the previous decade where Angelou had been very active in the civil rights movement. But this story highlights the childhood of Angelou which was anything but happy.  Her youth is a journey to freedom from imprisonment caused by misery and highlighted moments of struggle as she moved on until she finally attained the freedom she sought and it all boil down to self-acceptance. Angelous story is not a mere autobiography but also serves as a lesson in life where self-acceptance is the main theme and one of the keys to coping with lifes problems.

There is no doubt that the onset of technology has taken the media into another level. This is especially so with the onset of the internet, which has enabled the Americans and the world at large to access all what they desire just by a click of the mouse. As a result, very many effects have been imposed on the Americans. Eating disorders among a large section of the Americans are as a result of the people adjusting to the conditions that the media dictates. The increase in school gangs are also largely attributed to the exposure of the children and youth to violent and aggressive television programs, video games and cartoons. It is also important to note that sexual activity has increased among the children and the youth because of the television programs and movies, which have a high level of sexual content. Additionally, provocative lyrics have corrupted the minds of the school going children, such that all they can think about is how to access the internet. Indeed, the media has had negative effects on the Americans, which are not easy to solve without the support of several stakeholders, including the US government.

The Effects of Media on the Americans
The current society has been flooded with messages and several images from the media (Tonic, 2007). These include books, movies, newspapers, advertisements, television and the internet. With all these, there lies one major concern on whether the media forms are supposed to shape man in the society, or it is the society which is supposed to shape the media. Unfortunately, the current American society has been inclined on the former, where it has completely agreed to be shaped by the media. Therefore, it has become almost impossible to make ones own decisions without fully relying on what the media has to say. Indeed, all forms of media have had a profound negative effect on the beliefs, norms, values and mannerisms of the Americans, which has watered down the self esteem of most Americans.

The American Media at a Glance
Television is one medium which influences the society, as it encompasses commercials, news and programs (Tonic, 2007). Television is an easy, quick and accessible form of media in which the people get entertainment and information. As such, it becomes easier for people to choose television, other than reading a book or a magazine. There are concerns from the American scholars, that what is usually considered as newsworthy is usually altered. Additionally, reality TV has affected a large section of the Americans, where they have been subjected to being so much interested in the lives of others other than their own. Additionally, the television has deceived a large section of the Americans, that whatever they view on the screen is the concept of reality, and therefore they must work very hard to ensure that they keep their sense of self. 

In one of the recent American media interviews, a media critic referred to as Danny Schechter gave his views on the American media (You Tube, 2009). According to him, the US media is a tool which has contributed to subjecting the US society into a cocoon (You Tube, 2009). The media has been termed as a plug- in drug, where television plays the medial role in influencing the Americans on the decisions they make in their day to day lives. It has rendered the Americans a people with so many choices, but no voices of their own. The American media has also been criticized as it has no diversity as far as voices and views are concerned. Additionally, when there are controversial issues, the media disassociates itself from such discussions. It also does not give equal treatment to news and commercials. In the long run, the Americans end up being deceived by the media on very many issues, which end up affecting their lives.

Violence and the Media
The National Television Violence Study has come up with serious revelations as far as violent television programs are concerned that about sixty percent of American TV programs have some violent content (Helium, 2010). To make matters worse, only fifteen percent of these kinds of programs reveal the effects associated with watching them. This is a clear revelation as to why the American society has been obsessed with crime and action. This trend has a clear effect on people, especially on the children, who are exposed to violent cartoons and video games. This is because, as the mind of the child develops, he or she absorbs what is revealed in their world. Therefore, if a young child is exposed to television, where he or she views programs with violence, the child will tend to assume that violence is part and parcel of everyday life. Therefore, the trend will also be practiced when the child is in school where a child who has been exposed to violent programs will tend to be so violent, such as beating up his or her peers.

Even though experts have agreed that the media is a source of violence, very few Americans have embraced this fact (Anderson  Bushman, 2002).  In fact, a large section of the Americans have ignored the researchers, therefore passing across a message, that there are no violent effects associated with the media. Therefore, the fight against the negative violent effects of the media becomes a very difficult one to embark on.

Longitudinal studies by researchers relating to the media have revealed that violence does not only affect the children but also the American youth as well television exposure to the children and the youth largely relates to several aggressive behaviors such as robbery and assault and that when all other factors known to cause youth aggression are held constant, television exposure is a major cause of violence (Anderson  Bushman, 2002). As such, there is a clear relationship between aggression and exposure of the media in the children and youth. Therefore, even if the Americans tend to overlook this, the television programs and the media are detrimental to the behavior of the Americans. 

Media Increases Sexual Activity among the Adolescents
Recent Pediatrics in the US studies revealed that teenagers or children who are exposed to the TV programs containing sexual content have increased sexual activity (Helium, 2010). This is clearly described by the common phrase garbage in, garbage out. What the children watch will most likely affect their day to day behavior. Therefore, if children or teenagers watch programs with dialogue that predicts sex, or programs with sexual content, there are high chances of them participating in various sexual activities. Several of the TV programs or movies tend to pass across a message, that sex is vital to the lives of the people. This is what influences the teenagers to participate in pre- marital sex. As a result, the girls end up having unwanted pregnancies, which may force them to drop out of school for some time. Additionally, the affected girls may try to procure abortions without the consent of their parents. As a result, this may lead to complications, or even death of the teenage girl. Worse still, the teenagers who are influenced by television may participate in illicit sex, which may lead to sexually transmitted diseases and HIVAIDS. This is because most of them may not even be aware of how to practice safe sex.

The Media and the American Womans Body Size
The female beauty standards in the colonial times were completely different with the one in the current days (Derenne  Beresin, 2006). During the colonial times in America there was a harsh environment and very uncomfortable surroundings. Therefore, it was important for the families to ensure that there were many children so that they could be a source of labor. Therefore, fertile, able bodied and strong women were valued in the communities during this period. This was also the case during the Second World War, as the women who were left by their husbands when they went to fight were encouraged to form sports associations. As a result, it was a requirement for the women to be physically strong so as to be able to survive in the sports arena. There was also a lot of emphasis on gender and traditional roles for the women. Therefore, women were not actually interested in attaining trim figures, as it is today. Additionally, there was little media influence as most of the people relied on the cultural values of the society. At this point, the valued women were the ones who had a matronly figure, as they could manage all the household and gender roles effectively.

However, there was a complete shift of ideas in the nineteenth century, where the women valued tiny wastes and trim figures (Derenne  Beresin, 2006).This was as a result of the onset of the television programs and movies which emphasized that a woman was termed as beautiful if at all she had a trim figure. As a result, the women were all obsessed with becoming slim, so much so that some of them ended up having some of their ribs removed so as to attain the figure This trend has continued up to date, heightened by the onset of the internet, which has added more emphasis on the required figure so that a woman can be termed as beautiful. The demands of a beautiful womans size have increased as the years progress.

The average fashion model as rated twenty five years ago was just eight percent thinner than the average women, which contrasts today, where the number has increased to twenty three percent (Derenne  Beresin, 2006). Therefore, most of the American women have tried all they can so as to be in the category of the womens size. As a result, most women end up suffering from anorexia as they try to achieve their required sizes.

The Media and Male Stereotypes
The television has been a source of male stereotypes, a situation which has led to the discrimination of some men in the American society (Femiano  Nickerson, 2007). For instance, the television and the internet has made the people believe that the best men in the world are those who are tall, handsome and with broad shoulders. Additionally, the real men are not supposed to be emotional, or have the traits that are considered as unmanly. These include portraying despair, being hurt, confused or even purging out their emotions. The American media has labeled these types of men as being weak. The media has also corrupted the way men solve their issues, as most of the television programs have led to the belief that violence is the best way men can solve issues. This is not true, as there are men who are not in any way inclined to violence. Additionally, the issue of being emotional is not about being manly, but is ones nature. Therefore, if a man chooses to portray his emotions in public, it does not mean that he is a weakling. Also, the fact that there are some men who are short does not mean that they are not handsome. Therefore, the media ends up being a symbol of discrimination to a section of some American men.

There is a very little relationship between the men that are portrayed in the US televisions and the ones that are present in real life (Femiano  Nickerson, 2007). They are usually stereotyped, as they are less real and over perfect. The reason why the stereotypes are used in the media is because it is easier to create them. As a result, they become powerful because they affect the perceptions of the Americans in regard to how the man should be, and what they should not be like. As such, these stereotypes are very damaging because they completely destroy the notions of the abilities of all men on the American society. In turn, the women are also affected by the media because their expectations from the men change as far as friendships and relationships are concerned.

The Media and Childrens Health
To get more information regarding media and the health of children, I decided to interview one of the parents from Ohio named Anne Gary. She stated that television was detrimental to the health of the children as she had observed which was a proof of what she had been advised by her childrens psychiatrist (Gary, Personal interview, 2010).  Indeed, the media is a major cause of obesity to the children, men and women. This is because the media has replaced the traditional ways of passing leisure time, such as physical education in schools. The children are so engaged in school work, such that the time allocated to sports and other co curricular activities which help them release their stored energy is so minimal. As a result, the Americans end up relying on several forms of the media so as to relax. Some of theses include reading novels, newspapers magazines, and worse still, watching television, especially reality shows and soap operas, movies and playing video games.

Childhood depression has also been closely associated with the media, as it is an accelerating factor (Derenne  Beresin, 2006). This is especially so to children who are in families where they are exposed to high levels of violence. Additionally, children who are often bullied in school due to their weaknesses, such as inability to perform well in their academics, end up projecting their feelings by watching television, which in turn lead to obesity. This is because they do not have avenues where they can release their stress, or people to share with.

Television and the internet has also caused several people to suffer from other eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, especially in ladies and the young children (Derenne  Beresin, 2006).This is because of the concern about their weight, where the media has realigned itself to adopting certain standards in the society, as well as disregarding all the heavy weighted people. The media pressure has resulted to a large section of the society desiring to be thin, as well as the several industries meant to teach people how to diet. This is a clear revelation that the current media is indeed powerful and ubiquitous, though negatively.

Anorexia is a serious situation where a person who suffers from it sees him or herself as fat, when he or she is indeed underweight and skinny (Cemanovic, 2010). Ordinarily, the people with anorexia experience bad memory, are depressed, fear gaining weight, are light headed and they often faint. The condition is more serious in women because it becomes difficult for a woman with anorexia to conceive. Additionally, they have disrupted menstrual cycles, where their cycles come late or earlier that expected. The women who conceive in this situation are at a higher risk of getting a miscarriage, or give birth through a C-Section. This is all because of the media, where the women have been obsessed with the demands of being thin so as to be at per with the way beauty is being portrayed.
The effects of bulimia are almost the same with those of anorexia, as they both lead to rapid loss of weight which leads to very unhealthy conditions in the body (Cemanovic, 2010).   Bulimia is also a condition which has been caused by the influence of media. Bulimia sufferers are known to eat in a very short span of time and later force the food out of their system through throwing up. Additionally, they are known of going on very strict diets, rigorous exercises and fasting, as well as misusing laxatives.

The eating disorders are common especially in the American celebrities simply because their profession demands that they should be skinny so as to have a greater public appeal (Cemanovic, 2010).  As a result they end up spending so much money so as to meet their needs. Since the American celebrities are role models to the youth, they affect them, in that they are always in pressure of becoming like them. Therefore, the children and the youth end up becoming like them.  
The youth have been adversely affected by the media especially because of the provocative state of the internet and the television today (Ma, 2009).When the youth are exposed to such lyrics they end up engaging in sexual promiscuity, violent activities and even engaging themselves in drugs. With the onset of technology, there have been several online MP3 downloads, iPods prevalence as well as cell phones with music. They have been detrimental to the children as they have alienated them from the outside world by always having their head phones on. It is therefore the role of the parents to ensure that their children are always protected from the risky lyrics. This is by ensuring that the parents always analyze the media that the children are exposed to and also teach the kids what is appropriate and what is not. Additionally, the maturity and the age of the child is the only determining factor as far as listening to music is concerned. It is also necessary for the parents to look for the music industrys advisory warning of all explicit content, so that the children and the youth can be prevented from watching risky music.

Steps towards Positive Change
The impact of the media on the Americans is far fetched, and therefore, it is not easy to solve the problem (Derenne  Beresin, 2006). However, the most basic way of dealing with the problems of the children is through ensuring that the health care providers and the parents of the American children talk openly with the children in matters regarding the media. For instance, it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure that the children have been given all the advice required on the type of music to listen to, the types of programs to watch as well as the time that should be allocated on media. This will be important as the children would be able to handle school work.

It is also vital to ensure that families eat dinner in together on a daily basis. This way, the parents will ensure that their children are well fed, therefore reducing the chances of them suffering from eating disorders such as anorexia, obesity or bulimia (Derenne  Beresin, 2006).  When a family eats dinner together, the children will not have a tendency of watching television as a way of escapism. In this way, the parent will be ensuring that the media will not in any way affect his or her children negatively as far as eating habits are concerned.

It is the role of the healthcare providers to ensure that they address obesity concerns. In this way, the children will always be restricted on what to eat, as well as encouraging the parents to adopt physical activities (Derenne  Beresin, 2006).  The health experts and the parents should collaborate so as to ensure that the children are encouraged, whether they are heavy -weighted or not. This will be a bold step to ensure that the children have their self esteem preserved from the media destruction.

The television commercials and the media have also got a very large role to play so as to decrease the negative media effects in America (Derenne  Beresin, 2006). For instance, the commercials are always advertising on the recent potato crips, and rarely will they advertise on something like healthy apples. Since the media is a formidable pressure to the Americans, they end up purchasing what is advertised the most. If the media would embark on promoting the eating of fruits and vegetables in America, eating disorders caused by the media will be unheard of. Additionally, the media should at times use big- bodied people in the adverts so as to send a positive message to all that being heavy weighted is not an inability.

From this discussion, it is evident that the American media is more than meets the eye. Instead of it being a mouthpiece of all members of the society, it has led to profound effects in the negative sense, ranging from violence, sexual exposure to minors, provocative music as well as eating disorders. Clearly, if the negative effects are going to lessen, it would only take the effort of the US government and the media to ensure that the role of the media is to build a totally healthy society, and not the ill society that it is creating at the moment.

The history of slavery cannot and should not be forgotten, because it represents one of the chapters of human history, when humanity was not humane at all. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass depicts an autobiography of an American slave, Frederick Douglass, who has risen from the pits of slavery to the echelon of free men. The first few chapters narrate the harrowing experiences of slaves, under the hands of their white masters and mistresses. This paper focuses on chapter 1 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. The main argument of chapter 1 is that slavery dehumanizes slaves, by not allowing them to nurture human bonds or have memories of important aspects of their lives that remind them of their humanness, and slavery also dehumanizes slaveholders, because it allows masters to perform the most inhumane acts to their slaves.

Slavery dehumanizes slaves, by not allowing them to nurture human bonds. Douglass recounts the practice of slaveholders of separating infant slaves from their mothers. He reckons that this may be due to the belief of slave masters in the importance of erasing maternal relations, which can impact the work and loyalty of the slaves to their masters. Douglass says that the primary goal of the separation between mothers and their young children is to prevent the development of the childs affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child (Douglass, ch.1). This practice seems to have been successful, because when Fredericks mother died, he did not feel anything for her I received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger. Having lack of emotion at this critical point in his life portrays how slavery dehumanizes slaves by eradicating human emotions that would have otherwise been developed in normal life circumstances. Furthermore, slaves are not supposed to develop positive social relationships, and so families and lovers are commonly torn apart. Douglass remembers Aunt Hester, whom her master has been discovered with another black slave, and so his aunt was incessantly whipped, and he also knows slave families that are also broken, by separating parents from their children and siblings from their siblings.

Slavery also dehumanizes slaves by not allowing them to have memories of important aspects of their lives that remind them of their humanness. Douglass does not remember his birthday, which the text indicates as a way of stressing how slaves are less human, because they cannot remember the date that they have been born humans. Douglass also asserts the inhumanity of not knowing his birthday, by saying  the larger part of the slaves knows as little of their ages as horses know of theirs. By saying this, Douglass creates the relationship between slaves and animal treatment, an indication of how slaves were treated as animals. In addition, Douglass also does not even know who his father is. Not knowing ones real parents also affects ones idea of humanity, because it is equal to not being aware of ones origins, which can negatively influence the formation of human identity.

Slavery also dehumanizes masters by making them emotionally distant enough to do the most inhumane acts to their slaves. Douglass remembers the atrocious whippings of her aunt The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. Masters have become hungry for blood. Because of this lust for blood, even the masters have disengaged from being humans, because they have lost their compassion for their fellow human beings. Their violent natures turned them into animals too.

Slavery represents the process of turning people into animals. Slaves and masters are both converted into animals, because slavery removed critical aspects of their humanness. Slavery took away social relations and human memories from slaves and ignited bloodlust among slave masters. The outcomes of slavery, as well as its processes, are all inhumane, and so inhumanity was developed. Thus, slavery reverses the gift of humanity to humans and it has provided a way of enslaving the essence of humanity.

Through the successful symbolism of the Green Knight, the green girdle and the green Chapel in this medieval poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight perfectly portrays color green as an element that does not only illuminate aesthetic value but also as a subject that characterizes various metaphorical meanings.

On the contrary to the typical notion of color green as commonly associated to life, cleanliness and vegetation, the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight represents green as the perfect imagery to describe good and evil.

    It is through the characterization of the Green Knight that color green becomes a symbol of evil such as trickery and delusion. In the poem, the Green Knight who challenged King Arthurs warriors while on the verge of Christmas celebration to play beheading game is described to have a green complexion (Weston 8). This color symbolism of the Green Knight is believed to have a parallelism to the hunters in the woods who usually wear green clothes in order to deceive and attract animals during their hunting. Sir Gawain, King Arthurs youngest knight, seems like an animal which is attracted to the green color of a hunter when he accepted the challenge of the Green Knight. The complexion of the Green Knight serves as the symbol of deceit of the Green Knight to Sir Gawain as the devils hypocritical device mislead King Arthurs people about the Green Knights wicked intention of the challenge or game (Brew 184). The Green Knight tricked the people of King Arthur as he revealed to Sir Gawain that the entire adventure is only a game arranged by the magical powers and manipulations of King Arthurs sister Morgan le Fay.

Meanwhile, the representation of trickery and delusion is again highlighted when Sir Gawain thought that he won the battle as he beheaded the Green Knight in a single blow. But the Green Knight picked up his head and commanded Sir Gawain to fulfill the challenge after a year and a day. At first, it seems that Sir Gawain had already the sweet taste of victory since the Green Knight is almost dead with his first blow. Nevertheless, it was only a deceit since whatever effort Sir Gawain will do, the Green Knight will never be killed because it possesses magical power.

Through the symbolism on the green girdle, likewise, the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has intensified the depiction of color green as a symbol of trickery and delusion. It is through the green girdle that Sir Gawain was trapped in the trickery of the Lady Bertilak which in the end caused Sir Gawains failure in the challenge. Sir Gawain believed to the trickery of Lady Bertilak that the green girdle possesses magical power that can save him from harm. As a result, he refused to exchange it to the fox of Bertilak as what they had agreed. Sir Gawain, in this way, made a deceit and broke his promise to the king of the castle because of the green girdle. Likewise, this green girdle also serves as the delusion of King Arthur and his people to the false victory of Sir Gawain. King Arthurs people had somehow fooled themselves when they believed that Sir Gawain won the challenge between the Green Knight. Sir Gawain also fooled himself and made the people believe that he really won the challenge since he was afraid of failure and shame. Hence, this deceitful object is the reason why Sir Gawain breached his moral code of faith, honesty and courage which in the end out him into a great personal dilemma.

In addition to the evil depiction of color in the poem, green is also described as a subject of testing, temptation and seduction through the symbolism of Lady Bertilak and the green girdle. When Lady Bertilak failed to seduce Sir Gawain, she uses the green girdle in order to have three kisses from the knight. Sir Gawain fell in the plan of Lady Bertilak as the former accepts the green silk girdle from the wife of the Bertilak. Likewise, Sir Gawain failed in the test when he hides and keeps the girdle from Bertilak because of the belief that it could save him from the future death in the challenge at the green Chapel.

Nevertheless, aside from the evil representation in the poem, color green also signifies good imagery such as faith, abundance and victory. The green Chapel in the poem represents abundance and vegetation as projected in the poem. Some also consider this symbol to have parallelism on Heaven since it connotes abundance and power.

The Green Knight, who was described to be evil in the first part of the poem, on the other hand, becomes a perfect representation of faith and power in the end. The character of the Green Knight is considered to be magical since he possesses power. Because of this, green can be viewed as a nonhuman color (Sadowski 81). Just like the parallelism of the green Chapel to Heaven, the Green Knight is also believed to be a representation of Christ since its characterization is supernatural and mysterious. In the poem, the Green Knight put back his head after being beheaded by a blow given by Sir Gawain. He also transforms himself into Bertilak, king of the castle, who manages to put Sir Gawain into a test before their fight in the green Chapel. Through these characterizations, color green was perfectly associated to faith and magical powers. 

The green girdle, moreover, is described as a symbol of victory when King Arthur and his people believed that Sir Gawain had won the game over the Green Knight as he was not get killed in the challenge. This green girdle, although was portrayed as an element of deceit and delusion, is also associated to the element of faith just like the Green Knight. In the Christian context, the green girdle serves as the faith of Sir Gawain when he believed to Lady Bertilak that it would protect him from harm and death. The girdle represents the faith of every human being to the divine power of Christ as the Ultimate creator. In the same way, that green girdle is also compared to the faith of Biblical character Noah when he obeyed Gods will to make an arc and leave the sinful people. Sir Gawain is like Noah when he leaves his people and begins his journey to the green Chapel for the challenge.

     In total, the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is to be considered successful in making deviant symbolism to the standard definition of the society to the color green. Because of the poem, color green can be now defined and associated to trickery, delusion, faith, abundance and victory.

    Pride and Prejudice is the second novel written by acclaimed author Jane Austen. It was initially written for publication with a different title, First Impressions in 1796. However it was only published in 1813 after Austen revised the manuscript and changed the title to what it is known today, Pride and Prejudice. The story is in fact a commentary of Austen on womens lives in the 19th century. The central character is Elizabeth Bennet. Through her experiences and relationships, Austen explored the different issues that influence womens role in society during her time. The story touches on subjects like morality, ethics, education, family structure, and social status among other things. In doing so, Austen exposed and in a sense challenged the many traditions and practices of the 19th century that painted a stereotypical view of women. Austens powerful storytelling was made even more successful by her choice of technique in this novel. She followed the epistolary tradition of writing wherein third person narration is supported by letters exchanged between characters. This paper will discuss the importance of the letters in Pride and Prejudice and how they contributed to the totality of the story. At the same time, by understanding the importance of letters in the novel, it will ultimately determine why Pride and Prejudice remains one of the most popular and most studied classic stories of all time.

    Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice towards the end of the 18th century, entering the 19th century. During that time, means of communication was limited. Apart from face to face dialogue, the only other way to communicate is through letters. It is no surprise why letters played a major role in Austens novel. Exchange of letters between characters was in fact a realistic illustration of Austens time. It was a common practice in her real environment so it was natural for her to also include this in her story. The use of letters connected the readers of her time to her story as they found a common ground with the characters. On the other hand, the use of letters in the novel gives modern Austen readers a deeper appreciation of the authors time.

    As mentioned earlier Austen followed a style of writing that is somewhat epistolary in tradition. This is also an expression of her times. Epistolary writings reached its height of popularity during the 1700s. Authors thought it best to use this technique to make their creative writings seem more connected with reality. At the same time the exchange of letters between characters provided readers different points of view that a singular third person narration failed to do. By employing this technique in her novel, Austen managed to bring about a closer connection between her characters and the readers (Asanuma, 2008). By the time Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813, epistolary writings have lost its popularity. Even though this was the case, many scholars still believed that Austens novel can still be considered one of the last stories published in this tradition.
While for the reasons mentioned above alone the significance of letters in Pride and Prejudice may already be recognized as a strong interest point, these reasons are not the only things that give value to the story as a whole. There are at least three more reasons why letters play an important role in the novel.

    In chapter 48 of the book, Austen wrote about the role of letters in day-to-day life of people in the 19th century. The arrival of letters was the first grand object of every mornings impatience. Through letters, whatever good or bad was to be told and be communicated (Austen, 2003 ed), this summed up the first reason why letters are significant in the story. In the novel the letters serve as tools to convey information that set-up the events following its revelation. There are many letters in the novel that function this way. One such letter is that written by Jane for her sister, Elizabeth in chapter 7. At this point in the story Jane is physically ill. Through her letter, she let Elizabeth know about her situation, My dearest

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Lizzy, I find myself very unwell this morning, which, I suppose, is to be imputed to my getting wet through yesterday (Austen, 2003 ed). Janes letter does not only let readers know the current state of the character, it also provides a preposition as to why the character is in the state she is in. In this sense, the letter hints on certain happenings that went on in the characters life that are not completely explored in narration. This letter imparted information concerning a characters physical condition but letters are also used to share other forms of information. The letter found in chapter 49 in part reads, all that is required of you is to assure to your daughter, by settlement, her equal share of the five thousand pounds received among your children after the decease of yourself and my sister, and, moreover, to enter into engagement of allowing her, during your life, one hundred pounds per annum (Austen, 2003 ed) Mr. Gardiner sent this letter to Mr. Bennet to inform the latter that settlement is arrived at regarding Wickman. This time the letter is used to impart important information about a change in events in a characters life.

    The second reason why letters are important to this novel is that letters shed light into a characters inner thoughts. Probably the most famous letter in Pride and Prejudice fits into this function. Mr. Darcys letter to Elizabeth that appears in chapter 35 vividly illustrates the kind of person Mr. Darcy is. The letter begins with I write without intention of paining you, or humbling myself, by dwelling on wishes, for the happiness of both, cannot be soon forgotten (Austen, 2003 ed). These words exposed the characters nobility, dignity, and the purity of his intentions and love. The letter allowed Mr. Darcy to be vulnerable in the eyes of the readers that would have been lost behind the external projection of his character. Letters also express a characters emotions. When Lydia writes about her elopement to Harriet, joy was felt through her letter You will laugh when you know where I am gone, and I cannot help laughing myself at your surprise to-morrow morning, as soon as I am missed. I am going to Gretna Green, and if you cannot guess with who, I shall think you simpleton, for there is but one man in the world I love, and his is an angel (Austen, 2003 ed).

    Some of the letters in Pride and Prejudice are dated, with an indication of the place they were written. This is the third function of letters in the story. They provide a depiction of time and place. It is valuable to the story because they allow readers to appreciate the passage of time and therefore have a better understanding of characters growth. The letter of Mr. Gardiner to Mr. Bennet about the settlement with Wickman is a perfect example of this function. At the heading of the letter are the place, Gracechurch-street, the day Monday, and the date, August 2. This shows that the events that preceded and followed the letter were separated by a long period of time.

    The value of letters in Pride and Prejudice lies in their functions as integral part of the story. They serve to inform, show a characters emotions and inner thoughts, and express the passage of time. The letters also depict the reality of Jane Austens time. During her time, letters were the only means of communication between distant relations. Finally, including letters in a story is a clear example of epistolary writing that was famous in the 1700s. The letters in Austens novel are arguably the most famous literary letters ever studied across time. They are what makes Pride and Prejudice one of the most read classics, with over twenty million copies sold. It is the letters that create the greatest impact on readers of all ages and generations. Austen was successful in using them to allow a personal connection to develop between her characters and the readers. In a sense it is the letters that make the Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice distinct and unique as a literary masterpiece.