Robert Frost Essay -- Biography

Robert Frost once said, â€Å"Always fall in with what you’re ask to accept. Take what is given, and make it over your way. My aim in life has always been to hold my own with whatever’s going. Not against: with†(Quotes). Frost’s life and time period exemplified his quote as he experienced the technological changes of the twentieth century. Through these experiences, he entertained and taught his readers through his competitive poetry like his poem â€Å"The Road Not Taken†. Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, California. William, his father, was a Journalist and Isabelle, his mother, was a teacher. His parents’ occupations sparked his early interest as a writer. Isabelle shared her love of literature and poetry with her son. When Frost was eleven, his mother took him and his sister, Jeanie, to live with his father’s parents in Lawrence, Massachusetts. William’s death left Robert and his family poor and dependent upon their cynical family members who believed Isabelle to be at fault for William’s death (DeFusco 13-15). Robert attended Lawrence High School where his mother encouraged him to maintain high academics. His desire to write poetry did not begin until the first two years of high school. Frost’s home life and inability to adjust to life in the North created his artistic aspirations. His first poems were published in the school newspaper his sophomore year. After he graduated, Frost’s grandparents ordered him to attend Dartmouth College, but he dropped out after seven weeks (DeFusco 15-16). Then Frost decided to work at a wool mill to save enough money to marry Elinor White. In the winter of 1895, at the age of twenty-one, Elinor and Frost were married. His first son was born a year later, named Elliot. Ag... ...ntieth century. This theme was one of the many ideals that sparked the Progressive Movement allowing people to have the equal opportunity determine their own destiny. When people are suddenly exposed to freedom of choice, they are slow to react and do not have a grasp of what they want. This inexperience makes people not able to differentiate between two choices thus causing a person to hesitate and doubt oneself when finalizing their judgment. When writing this poem, Frost believed that the content of the poem was more important than the style. He however paid close attention to meter using iambic pentameter and a rhyme scheme of abaab. The only style he refused to write in was free verse because he believed â€Å"a good map carried its own scale of miles†(cite). He wrote his poetry instead in â€Å"natural speaking patterns† because it was more appealing to readers.

Shakespeares Hamlet - The Ambiguity Essay -- English Literature Cust

Hamlet – the Ambiguity      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The extent of the ambiguity within William Shakespeare’s drama Hamlet deserves consideration. Literary critics disagree in their assessments of how prevalent the ambiguity is in the work.    Lawrence Danson in the essay â€Å"Tragic Alphabet† discusses the equivocation and ambiguity within the play:    Equivocation – the conflict between the reality Hamlet perceives and the language used to describe that reality – has made all expression a matter of mere seeming, and Hamlet knows not seems. His rejection of the Claudian language extends to a rejection of all the symbolic systems that can denote a man. Thus, even his own punning (both verbal and silent) is inadequate: Hamlet chooses â€Å"nothing† since he cannot have â€Å"all†:    ‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of silent black, Nor windy suspiration of forc’d breath, No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, Nor the dejected haviour in the visage, Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, That can denote me truly. These, indeed, seem; For they are actions that a man might play; But I have that within which passes show – These but the trappings and the suits of woe. (I.ii.77)    In an ambiguous world, where all is but seeming, and hence misinterpretation, no symbol is successful. (70)    D.G. James says in â€Å"The New Doubt† that the Bard has the ambiguous habit of charging a word with several meanings at once:    â€Å"Conscience does make cowards of us.† There has been, I am aware, much dispute as to what the word means here. For my part, I find not the least difficulty in believing that the word carries both its usual meaning and that of â€Å"reflection an... ... Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: Univ. of Delaware P., 1992.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. â€Å"Hamlet: A Man Who Thinks Before He Acts.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar. N. p.: Pocket Books, 1958.    Shakespeare's Hamlet - The Ambiguity Essay -- English Literature Cust Hamlet – the Ambiguity      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The extent of the ambiguity within William Shakespeare’s drama Hamlet deserves consideration. Literary critics disagree in their assessments of how prevalent the ambiguity is in the work.    Lawrence Danson in the essay â€Å"Tragic Alphabet† discusses the equivocation and ambiguity within the play:    Equivocation – the conflict between the reality Hamlet perceives and the language used to describe that reality – has made all expression a matter of mere seeming, and Hamlet knows not seems. His rejection of the Claudian language extends to a rejection of all the symbolic systems that can denote a man. Thus, even his own punning (both verbal and silent) is inadequate: Hamlet chooses â€Å"nothing† since he cannot have â€Å"all†:    ‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of silent black, Nor windy suspiration of forc’d breath, No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, Nor the dejected haviour in the visage, Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, That can denote me truly. These, indeed, seem; For they are actions that a man might play; But I have that within which passes show – These but the trappings and the suits of woe. (I.ii.77)    In an ambiguous world, where all is but seeming, and hence misinterpretation, no symbol is successful. (70)    D.G. James says in â€Å"The New Doubt† that the Bard has the ambiguous habit of charging a word with several meanings at once:    â€Å"Conscience does make cowards of us.† There has been, I am aware, much dispute as to what the word means here. For my part, I find not the least difficulty in believing that the word carries both its usual meaning and that of â€Å"reflection an... ... Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: Univ. of Delaware P., 1992.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. â€Å"Hamlet: A Man Who Thinks Before He Acts.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar. N. p.: Pocket Books, 1958.   

Romulus and Remus Essay -- English Literature Essays

Romulus and Remus Numitor, king of the ancient Italian city of Alba Longa, was deposed by his brother Amulius. Numitor’s daughter, Rhea Silvia, was made a vestal virgin (priestess of the Goddess Vesta & forbidden to marry). Mars, the God of War, fell in love with her and she gave birth to twin sons.† [1] Fearing for his life and his newly captured throne, Amulius had the twins put in a basket and through into the Tiber river. Instead of sinking the basket floated steadily down stream. â€Å"The basket came aground at the Grotto Lupercal, under a fig tree called Ruminal, where the twins were found and suckled by a she wolf.†[2] Along with the wolf was Picus, who was turned into a woodpecker by Circe, both sacred to mars. They both feed the kids and kept them live until one day a herdsman stumbled upon the two boys. â€Å"The shepard Faustulus found the twins. He toofk them with him to his house and his wife called them Romulus and Renus.. they were not aware of the princely origin of the boys and raised them as their children.†[3] â€Å"Ounce Romulus and Remus had grown up, they learned their story and decided to go back to Albalonga.†[4] Not knowing exactly why they had been abandoned, the twins had no idea where to start looking. They decided to start by going to the local festival. â€Å"As young men, Romulus and Remus gathered around them a band of hardy, adventurous campanions.†[5] And because of their adventurous nature they tended to get a little roudy. â€Å"Remus is captured by a ban...

Belief in Miracles: Mysterious Works of God

In aiming to discuss the possibility of the existence of miracles, it is important to define to some extent the meaning of what a miracle is. Some people view miracles as being extraordinary acts of an omnipotent God, who â€Å"unilaterally determines some creaturely states of affairs†¦ providing sorts of goods† (Keller, 2007). However, it is often difficult to explain these astonishing acts without a real connection to the proof surrounding the events.Keller proposes a distinction between â€Å"epistemic† and â€Å"practical† miracles, in that the former serves as a kind of miracle which supports the existence of God and miracles without physical proof and the latter demonstrating the actual proven physical existence of God and miracles. In addressing miracles within this essay, it is essential to note the distinctions between epistemic and practical miracles, although the existence of both types of miracles, both unproven and proven, are supported as true. There are not enough intelligent scientists in the entire world to explain the grandeur and complexity of the universe, to capture the forms and functions of miracles in the constructs of human thought and language, and trying to do so will most likely fail. All miracles, both substantiated and understood and unsubstantiated and mysterious, are a testament to the divine nature of God, the explicable and inexplicable realms of His universal reign and intelligent design. In his 1997 article, Woodward discusses the possibility of God’s intercession, describing people’s experiences with the power of miracles.One man portrays miracles as being God’s answers to his prayers, appeals he requests without knowing the actions God will take. The actions of God following his prayers are the miracles performed, plain and simple. Not every wish is answered in the way he desires, but he has faith that the way in which God responds to him is always and truly miraculous. In a con fident statement assuring faith in God’s mysterious works, he states that he â€Å"trusts Him to have a good answer to his prayers.That’s not the same as knowing what the answer is† (Woodward, 1997). In another person’s story, she and her mother were both connected in spirit and vision, although living miles apart, at the same moment. In desperate appeals for God’s help, the two women were saved by the grace and peace of God, in their opinions, the mother who was praying on her knees at home comforted by a replacement of fear with security and the daughter who was almost raped saved from her terror by an impulse in the rapist to flee the scene.Personal accounts such as these are qualitative evidence for the presence of God working in the world through miraculous benevolent acts, which could also be described as epistemic miracles. In his 1997 article, Adler describes the lives and opinions of atheists who do not believe in God or the proposed mirac les which he performs. As a NASA scientist, Sagan was optimistic about the possibility of life on Mars and the idea of encountering life on Venus.With his disappointment in his own theoretical failures or simply stiff personal opposition to the idea of a God, Sagan has countered many claims about the belief in God and his miraculous works with demands for scientific proof. Sagan claims he was brought to skepticism by his claim that support for religious â€Å"evidence is anecdotal†, however, he asserts that if there is a God who performs miracles, then it is his â€Å"responsibility to try and know about it†.Sagan feels as if quantitative evidence for the idea of practical miracles is important, demonstrating the yearning for something predictable and calculated. In his 2000 article, Hefner also describes why he opposes the idea of unsubstantiated miracles. He suggests that God could not possible perform miracles to save some people, because other people suffer and are sacrificed all the time. He concludes that it is â€Å"blasphemy† to believe in a God who intercedes for chosen people, because that would mean that he allows the others to succumb to destruction.Hefner asserts that if miracles mean that people are saved by faith in their darkest moments, then that is something he can believe, however, if miracles are defined as something which alters the laws of nature to redirect the ordinary course of events, then he contests the idea of miracles. Adler and Hefner both declare that miracles must be able to be proved physically through reliable calculations of natural law. Although some people do not believe in miracles or all types of miracles, there is no doubt that God and his extraordinary works certainly do exist.Although people such as Hefner attempt to reject some aspects of miracles, such as believing that people can be saved by faith yet are unable to be saved by an interventionist God, these dual perceptions of miracles are incom patible. There is no reason why people should be able to save themselves, yet God be unable to save them. If people and God are interrelated, in fact one Spirit, as described in Trinitarian philosophy, then the desires of individuals are most certainly in tune with the grand universal, and vice versa.As the actions of many people cannot be explained with certainty or clarity in many regards, neither can the actions of God through His miraculous interventions. Individuals are able to communicate and intervene in the lives of one another all the time, often without scientific evidence for their purpose, through the will of God, and God participates in this human to human experience. Direct divine intervention in the lives of people is adequately described by the ones who experience it, although often unable to be explained or calculated in highly scientific terms.It makes sense to believe in the joy and salvation which can be transferred from person to person and from people to the di vine and the divine to people. Not believing in it is only depressing, and also unverifiable by scientific methods. Works Cited Adler, J. â€Å"Unbeliever’s Quest. † Newsweek, 1997. Hefner, P. â€Å"Why I Don’t Believe in Miracles. † Newsweek, 2000. Keller, J. Problems of Evil and the Power of God. Ashgate, 2007. Woodward, K. â€Å"Is God Listening? † Newsweek, 1997.

Eng 221 Critique Essay

The Canon iR1210 is an All-in-One office printer designed to make an office more productive. It also has with it a six-page owners manual designed to inform the owner of many features of this printer and how it can make a person’s work around the office more productive by having this printer. This paper will provide critiques of the owner’s manual for the iR1210. The criteria for this critique will be in the following areas, Audience Recognition, Introduction, Glossary, Technical Description, and Graphics. The link to find the manual is by going to www.safemanuals.com and clicking on the Canon iR1210 link and that will enable anyone to download the manual. In writing a manual the goal is to offer customer support. Audience Recognition is a way to decide what to say and how to say. The writer needs to recognize who the readers are and give them what they want. The iR1210 manual does do very good job information in very simple terms what the iR1210 is capable of doing for the reader. The writing is very clear and to the point and avoids using any jargon that the reader may understand. The one downside for the audience recognition it does not have any instruction on how to use the product. It only really gives the readers highlights of the product so it does lack a bit of thoroughness. An Introduction to a manual is a way to promote good customer-company relationships. It is a way to personalize the manual and to achieve a positive customer contact. The iR1210 manual does an outstanding job of personalizing the manual. It does try to speak directly to the owner of the product by letting them know how much they will be benefiting from this product. One area that the manual can improve in is its use of positive  words. The manual does not really make the reader feel like the company is glad they bought their product. The Glossary is a way for the manual to let the reader know what they are referring to if they are using any abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols in the instruction of the products. The iR1210 manual does avoid needing any glossary because it does a very good job of avoiding using any abbreviations, acronyms, or symbols that the reader may not understand. It does lack any real technical instruction in the manual, and there is not any glossary in the manual. Manuals will contain a Technical Description of the product; it could be an explanation or a labeling of the product. May also include a list of the product’s specifications, such as size, shape, capacity, and capability of the product. The iR1210 has a large list of product specifications, which can be very helpful for the owner. It however does not include any kind of photo labeling each part of the system. Some owners may find that helpful to locate different parts of the product. Graphics are a way to make the instruction more visually appealing, and can help the reader understand instruction easier. The iR120 manual does have a number of photos of the product in different work type settings. But it does not include any kind of instruction on how to use the photo with the photos. Overall the manual for the iR120 is a very well done. It does highlight the features of the product and does a very good with audience recognition and personalizing the product. The area that the manual does need to improve on is the instruction of the product. It seems to be more focused on a person who already has a working knowledge of the product. An owner, who may not have the same knowledge, may find the manual lacking proper instruction on how to use the product.

The Pianist

The Pianist 1. ‘The Pianist’ is about a Jewish pianist named Szpilman living in Poland and his time during World War II. He and his family are aware of the Nazis and Hitler’s designs on Poland but were convinced that the Nazis are a threat that will pass when England and France will come to aid Poland. In November 1940, all Jews were forced in the Warsaw Ghetto where living conditions were horrible. Soon after, the family was forced to go to concentration camps but Szpilman was saved by a friend. He becomes a slave but escapes and hides with the help of a non-Jewish friend.He was then discovered by another person who realizes that he is a Jew. His next hiding place was a room with a piano but was forced to be quiet. In 1944 he was forced to escape as a tank shells his hiding place. After, he became alone and desperately searches for food and water but was discovered by a German officer named Hosenfeld. After Szpilman tells him that he is a pianist, he was asked to play on the piano close by. His performance moves Hosenfeld and he hides Szpilman in an empty house and brings him food.In 1945, Hosenfeld meets Szpilman for the last time and he promises to listen to him on the radio also giving him his coat. Soon after, Polish soldiers tried to shoot him but stops when they realise that he is Polish. The next scene shows captured German soldiers, Hosenfeld being one of them. Later on, Szpilman is seen performing in an orchestra. 2. ‘The Pianist’ depicts the horrors of war through various film techniques. The lighting of the movie always seemed to be dark and gloomy showing how the war was a dark time for everyone.The realistic sounds of the gunshots create tension and anxiety to the audience. The scene where he was alone after his whole family was taken, is one that demonstrates the loneliness of war. The Jews, especially the main character are shown to have a miserable expression on their face throughout the movie. The music in the background seemed beautiful yet depressing showing how the beauty of life was destroyed by the vicious and destructiveness of war. As Szpilman hides in the destroyed hospital, he looked more gaunt and gloomy, his expression representing the horror and dreadfulness of war.Many of the camera shots portray Szpilman as a weak and small character while the Nazis are shown to be big and strong showing the difference between the Jews and the Nazis during World War II. 3. ‘The Pianist’ have taught me the horrors and dreadfulness of World War II through the perspective of a lone survivor. The film showed specific dates for certain events that were accurate – for example at the beginning it showed the date September 1939. It also showed the restrictions that the Jews had – when all of them had to wear the Yellow Star of David.It illustrates the horrible living conditions of the Warsaw Ghetto and how the Jews were treated there. The scene where an old man was thrown to death on a wheelchair and where a young child was beaten from the other side of the wall was some of them that showed how cruelly the Jews were treated. However, when Szpilman meets the German officer, it demonstrated that not all of the Nazis were bad. Most of the time, Szpilman is shown to be alone showing the loneliness that some people felt during the war. 4. ‘The Pianist’ was very historically accurate.The movie is based on a Holocaust survivor named Wladyslaw Szpilman and his time in Warsaw, Poland during World War II. Throughout the movie, there are specific dates for certain events, for example it showed on the 16th of August, 1942 the Jews were sent to concentration camps. The names were also accurate in this movie. The director of this film was also a survivor from the Holocaust which helps it become more accurate. 5. I would recommend this film to others as it is historically accurate and shows the horrors of war realistically.The film is through a perspec tive of an actual survivor from the Holocaust. It also received significant critical praise and won multiple awards and nominations. The sounds of war – gunshots were extremely realistic. The lighting and music suited with the mood of the film. The scenes were very detailed showing the horrors of war to a great extent. Therefore, ‘The Pianist’ is one of the most detailed and accurate films, with the atmosphere in Poland well captured and is one of the most realistic and touching Holocaust films. The Pianist Johnson 1 Kayla Johnson Prof. Hirchfelder, K-213 ENG2102, Sec. 06 26 March 2013 Scene Analysis Paper Musical Dependency The 2002 film, The Pianist directed by Roman Polanski focuses on the hardships of a well-known, local concert pianist, Wladyslaw Szpilman. Wladyslaw Szpilman is played by actor Adrien Brody, who does an excellent job portraying both the warmhearted side of Szpliman and the desperate struggling side we see later on in the film. The film is based on Szpilman’s book, The Pianist where he discusses true events he underwent during the German takeover of Warsaw.He was one of twenty survivors out of the 360,000 Jewish people killed from Warsaw, Poland. â€Å"Passion for Survival in Polanski’s The Pianist† by Diana Diamond reflects the direct and indirect use of music throughout the film. Diamond uses multiple scenes and circumstances to support her thoughts on Szpilman’s characterization as a pianist. Throughout The Pianist, Szpilman goes throug h a significant amount of trauma, whether it be done to him personally, his family or to strangers in his surroundings. Polanski uses many horrific scenes to prove just how brutal the German police are.Diamond identifies one in particular in her article, which stands out to me as well. â€Å"The Nazi’s disrupt a family at dinner, tossing an old man in a wheelchair out of the window for failing to rise when they enter and Johnson 2 shooting the rest of the family as they run down the street† (427). The German police clearly have no mercy on any of the Jewish citizens of Warsaw. This is only the beginning of the twisted and remorseless actions the German’s render upon the Jews. After about two hours into the film, Szpilman has reached his lowest point.He has been bombed out of just about every hiding place he can find, escaped control under Jewish police and is now struggling to survive in an abandoned house. The director, Polanski, throws certain elements into th e scene to depict him this way. He is unshaven, unbathed, and noticeably weak. His cloths are too big for him, signifying he has lost weight from eating so scantily. He is even limping because he was hurt just by jumping over a five foot fence. Szpilman has gone through every obstacle to be thrown at him until he breaks.Stumbling through this huge house he finds a single can of food and eagerly begins to search for something to open it. He finally comes across a fireplace poker. As he tries to stab his way into the can it falls to the ground and the camera enters an extreme close-up on it. By using a close-up we have nothing else to look at and nothing else to think about aside from this fallen can. Suddenly we see feet and the camera slowly tilts upward creating suspense until it reaches an extremely calm yet serious German officer.The officer speaks, â€Å"What are you doing here? † At first, Szpilman at a loss for words, in fear does not answer. â€Å"Who are you? â€℠¢ the officer asks, ‘Understand? † When Szpilman assures him he does the officer repeats, â€Å"What are you doing? † â€Å"I was†¦ trying to open this can. † Szpilman mumbles out. Johnson 3 Soon after the officer asks, â€Å"What do you do? † â€Å"I am†¦ I was, a pianist† Szpilman responds with every bit of dignity he has left. (2:01-2:03) The man standing in this scene looks entirely different from the spirited concert pianist we knew.It is almost hard for the audience to view Szpilman as the same man from the beginning of the film. However, with the proper use of dialogue Polanski reminds us he is still that man, he is a pianist. The scene directly following is used in Diana Diamond’s, â€Å"Passion for Survival in Polanski’s The Pianist† for music as a symbol throughout the film. Music is often used in films as a background component. It can create a sense of joy, distress, horror, even confidence can be cap tured with the use of a simple melody. Diamond finds music to be a source of uplift for Szpilman during the overall film.She exclaims, â€Å"We see him rescued from the edge of extinction, not only by the altruism of the German officer, but also by his own reconnection with his artistic power† (429). By playing the piano at this time Szpilman is proving to the officer he is who he says he is and therefore, unknowingly saving him in more ways than one. As Szpilman plays the piano after all this time he remembers who is he and that saves him more than anything. Diamond uses multiple examples to show how important music is to Szpilman. The importance of it is, in fact, shown as the first scene of the movie and sets the standard throughout the entire film. When the Nazi’s invade Warsaw and German bombs explode in the radio studio where Szpilman is performing, he persists in playing Chopin’s nocturne in C sharp minor, refusing to flee until shrapnel lacerates his fac e† (429). Even through a bomb attack Szpilman will not stop playing until he is given the signal from his partner that he has no other choice. Johnson 4 Many parts of the film also use music at times when words aren’t enough. The film is constantly relating music back to Szpilman’s father. Towards the beginning the family decides to hide their money in the father’s violin.Thus symbolizing the sense of security a father carries in the family. Later we see his violin being violently taken from him by a Nazi guard right before deportation, where he loses all control over his families’ security just like losing his violin. Diamond reflects the impact of this scene on Szpilman, â€Å"the instrapsychic trauma of the son witnessing the father’s impending destruction, the state of utter desolation and remorse over this, and the restoration of the father and paternal authority internally in the son’s will to live and survive† (430).Music acts as the symbol of Wladyslaw’s relationship with his father, it brings them together. After Szpilman must watch his father so helpless and defeated it fuels him to survive in honor of him. Roman Polanski’s film, The Pianist and Diana Diamond’s article, â€Å"Passion for Survival in Polanski’s The Pianist† bring together the symbolism of music during the film. We enjoy the beautiful sounds of Wladyslaw Szpilman playing the piano while also understanding how music exemplifies his strength in survival throughout the Nazi’s takeover of Warsaw.Szpilman used music to remember who he was when he was lost the most and also to remember who his father was. He survives and lives on as a musician in his memory. Works Cited Boggs, Joseph. Petrie, Dennis. The Art of Watching Films. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print. Diamond, Diana. â€Å"Passion for Survival in Polanski's The Pianist. † Psychoanalytic Inquiry 27. 4 (2007): 425-39. Prin t. The Pianist. Dir. Roman Polanski. Perf. Adrien Brody. 2002. DVD. The Pianist The Pianist 1. ‘The Pianist’ is about a Jewish pianist named Szpilman living in Poland and his time during World War II. He and his family are aware of the Nazis and Hitler’s designs on Poland but were convinced that the Nazis are a threat that will pass when England and France will come to aid Poland. In November 1940, all Jews were forced in the Warsaw Ghetto where living conditions were horrible. Soon after, the family was forced to go to concentration camps but Szpilman was saved by a friend. He becomes a slave but escapes and hides with the help of a non-Jewish friend.He was then discovered by another person who realizes that he is a Jew. His next hiding place was a room with a piano but was forced to be quiet. In 1944 he was forced to escape as a tank shells his hiding place. After, he became alone and desperately searches for food and water but was discovered by a German officer named Hosenfeld. After Szpilman tells him that he is a pianist, he was asked to play on the piano close by. His performance moves Hosenfeld and he hides Szpilman in an empty house and brings him food.In 1945, Hosenfeld meets Szpilman for the last time and he promises to listen to him on the radio also giving him his coat. Soon after, Polish soldiers tried to shoot him but stops when they realise that he is Polish. The next scene shows captured German soldiers, Hosenfeld being one of them. Later on, Szpilman is seen performing in an orchestra. 2. ‘The Pianist’ depicts the horrors of war through various film techniques. The lighting of the movie always seemed to be dark and gloomy showing how the war was a dark time for everyone.The realistic sounds of the gunshots create tension and anxiety to the audience. The scene where he was alone after his whole family was taken, is one that demonstrates the loneliness of war. The Jews, especially the main character are shown to have a miserable expression on their face throughout the movie. The music in the background seemed beautiful yet depressing showing how the beauty of life was destroyed by the vicious and destructiveness of war. As Szpilman hides in the destroyed hospital, he looked more gaunt and gloomy, his expression representing the horror and dreadfulness of war.Many of the camera shots portray Szpilman as a weak and small character while the Nazis are shown to be big and strong showing the difference between the Jews and the Nazis during World War II. 3. ‘The Pianist’ have taught me the horrors and dreadfulness of World War II through the perspective of a lone survivor. The film showed specific dates for certain events that were accurate – for example at the beginning it showed the date September 1939. It also showed the restrictions that the Jews had – when all of them had to wear the Yellow Star of David.It illustrates the horrible living conditions of the Warsaw Ghetto and how the Jews were treated there. The scene where an old man was thrown to death on a wheelchair and where a young child was beaten from the other side of the wall was some of them that showed how cruelly the Jews were treated. However, when Szpilman meets the German officer, it demonstrated that not all of the Nazis were bad. Most of the time, Szpilman is shown to be alone showing the loneliness that some people felt during the war. 4. ‘The Pianist’ was very historically accurate.The movie is based on a Holocaust survivor named Wladyslaw Szpilman and his time in Warsaw, Poland during World War II. Throughout the movie, there are specific dates for certain events, for example it showed on the 16th of August, 1942 the Jews were sent to concentration camps. The names were also accurate in this movie. The director of this film was also a survivor from the Holocaust which helps it become more accurate. 5. I would recommend this film to others as it is historically accurate and shows the horrors of war realistically.The film is through a perspec tive of an actual survivor from the Holocaust. It also received significant critical praise and won multiple awards and nominations. The sounds of war – gunshots were extremely realistic. The lighting and music suited with the mood of the film. The scenes were very detailed showing the horrors of war to a great extent. Therefore, ‘The Pianist’ is one of the most detailed and accurate films, with the atmosphere in Poland well captured and is one of the most realistic and touching Holocaust films.

Outlaws and Violence of American West Essay

Many Americans consider the era of the Old West as one of the most fascinating chapters in our history. It’s an era that is uniquely American, and people around the world identify America with the era of the Old West. There is much legend surrounding American History of the Wild West when it comes to American outlaws lawmen and violence. But what is the real history about violence in the west? In this paper I will talk about outlaws and lawmen as well as the portrayal of violence of the west and try to identify the myths and legends versus fact from which the American mind as drawn up. So what is an outlaw? Well an outlaw is pretty much just what it sounds like. Somebody who has broken the law and is on the run from the law. The west was not a lawful place and most of the people in the west where on the fringes with the law to begin with. One of the most famous outlaws in American history is Billy the Kid. Billy the Kid has come down as a towering mythological figure, yet the history of the real Billy the Kid is something we don’t really know that much about. Other famous outlaws like ‘Jesse James and his gang, and the Wild Bunch with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid had their exploits widely covered by the popular press of the time, and the American public seemed to take great interest in the tales of their exploits.† So could the media of the time period make a lot of stuff up about the law in the American West because that’s what sold? Or is it just the love for crime and fantasy telling stories is what drives the American mindset. In spite specific incidents of violence, the lawlessness of the Wild West has been blown out of proportion. Ironically, the myth of the lawless West began before the period was over. News articles and books written in the East exaggerated the west’s tales, or simply made up, stories about the crimes and criminals of the West. â€Å"Hollywood later fueled the myth, feeding the public’s desire for excitement and adventure with stories of gunfights in the street and stagecoach robberies.† The true story of the Old West is rather boring to most people. Because of the need to hunt for food or protect themselves from wild animals, many people did have guns. However, fans of Hollywood westerns may be surprised to learn that many western towns had strict gun ordinances, making it illegal to carry guns in town. People entering the town were required to surrender their firearms to the sheriff. In fact, a story that has come to epitomize the violence of the Wild West involved a conflict over such a law. When Virgil Earp, along with his brothers Morgan and Wyatt and their friend Doc Holliday, confronted five cowboys in the city of Tombstone over carrying firearms in town, violence erupted. This incident became known as the gunfight at the OK corral and only lasted about 30 seconds yet it’s forever immortalized in our history. We know this because of the countless movies and books written about the event. It’s interesting to note that even in this most famous gunfight of the violent West, only three people were killed. In any modern city today, such a minor incident would probably not even be front-page news. So, was there violence in the mountains, plains, and frontier towns of the old west? Yes. Most of the settlers moving west, whether they were farmers, cowboys, miners, or some other profession, were honest and hardworking. Just as today, outlaws existed, yet in most places and for most people, violent crime was not the daily norm that popular entertainment would have us believe. As un American as it may be, relatively few people in the Wild West were involved in the gunfights and stagecoach robberies that were immortalized by the movies. As I mentioned before there is no outlaw more legendary than Billy the Kid. Countless books, movies, and songs have been written about his life, but the reality was not quite as sensational. Often portrayed as a cold-blooded killer, â€Å"he entered a life of crime out of necessity, not malice.† People who knew him personally called him brave, resourceful honest, and full of laughter. Under different circumstances, he probably have been a successful person if it weren’t for his upbringing. The most famous myth about Billy the kid was that he killed 21 people, one for each year of his life. In reality this is just not the truth. He was probably only responsible for four killings in his lifetime. In reality a lot of Billy the Kid’s story has also been kind of blown out of proportion, although most of the events are true. Enraged from the murder of John Tunstall, Billy and his fellow companions were deputized and given the warrants to bring in the Murphy men who had killed him. They called themselves the Regulators. Due to the corruption of the day, the governor sided with Murphy, and the Regulators became the enemy. He was known to have killed four men as mentioned previously but because the media and the American love for action, it was out of proportion. After a daring escape from jail, and a few years on the run, he was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett while hiding out in a friend’s home. Over the years, several people have claimed to be Billy the Kid, but the chance that he survived and/or his body was misidentified are highly unlikely. Sticking to the topic of violence in the American West as being somewhat a myth we can look at the California gold rush. In three years, more than 200,000 people had migrated to California, most of them trying to get rich quick. If there were ever a recipe for chaos, this would seem to be one. One would think that these gold camps where home to tons of violence and outlaws. People of varied backgrounds and ethnicities, all armed and all seeking a valuable resource. But the mining camps quickly evolved rules for establishing mining claims and for judging disputes. The fact that each person carried a six-shooter meant that each had a relatively equal amount of power. That minimized violence. Dozens of movies have portrayed the nineteenth-century mining camps in the West as places of anarchy and violence, but according to Roaring Camp â€Å"beginning in 1848, the miners began forming contracts with one another to restrain their own behavior. There was no government authority in California at the time, apart from a few military posts. The miners’ contracts established property rights in land that the miners themselves enforced.† Even though there was some violence in these camps the miners more or less kept civilized. Gunfights never really broke out and violence was kept at bay because of the law. Though we don’t learn about this too much because of the movies and media once again. So what about gunfights with outlaws and lawmen? It is in everybody mind that two men meet a high noon in the middle of a busy street for everybody to watch and then when the clock strikes you draw your pistol and shoot. Though movies and television would like us to believe otherwise, it was very rare when gunfights occurred with the two gunfighters squarely facing each other from a distance in a dusty street. â€Å"This romanticized image of the Old West gunfight was born in the dime novels of the late 19th century and perpetuated in the film era, to such a point that this fictional version is what our mind’s eye quickly conjures up when we hear the word gunfight.† In actuality, the real gunfights of the Old West were rarely that â€Å"civilized.† In fact, there are several misconceptions about these gunfights. The first of which is that very rarely, did the gunfighters actually plan a gunfight to occur, calling out their enemy for dueling action in the street. Instead, most of these â€Å"fights took place in the heat of the moment when tempers flared, and more often than not, with the aide of a little bottled courage.† They also didn’t occur at a distance of 75 feet, with each gunfighter taking one shot, one falling dead to the ground, and the other standing as a â€Å"hero† before a dozen gathered onlookers. Instead, these fights were usually close-up and personal, with a number of shots blasted from pistols, often resulting in innocent bystanders hit by a bullet gone wild. Much of the time, it would be difficult to tell who had even won the gunfight for several minutes, as the black powder smoke from the pistols cleared the air. This is not to say that it never happened similar to the movies. One of the rare instances is the Wild Bill Hickok-David Tutt Shootout in Springfield, Missouri. Even then, it wasn’t a â€Å"planned† event, but rather, â€Å"it occurred when Wild Bill ran into Tutt in the street and was insulted.† Always shown bravely facing each other in the popular westerns movies with the like of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne, in reality, the opponents were more often running around shooting wildly and ducking for cover. The gunfights were not usually clean either, as the â€Å"fighters were drinking and missing normally easy shots, continued to shoot until they had emptied their pistol.† This popular idea to the public mind that the frontier of the American West was an extremely violent place with little value placed on a human life is far from truth it seems. Small Western cow towns are thought to have witnessed hundreds of murders and killings. As well as, many outlaws and their gangs riding through the towns robbing banks, trains and stagecoaches. In fact, â€Å"there were only five killings in Dodge City during its most homicidal year of 1878. Deadwood, S.D., had five deaths in its worst year with Tombstone, Ariz., experiencing five killings in its most violent year.† So why do these towns claim these accounts? Well that’s easy to answer. The west was opening up and settlement was becoming vast in nature. A lot of people moving westward were already on the fringe with the law. So these cities saw this as a selling point for people to come to their towns. That the law didn’t exist in the towns. Once again we see the media using the myths and legends to there leverage. Some of the real violence and outlaws that happened during the expansion of the west we don’t often hear about. The homestead act of 1862 contributed to rapid settlement of western lands, and thus to conflict and violence, specifically with the cattle barons that were already there. Cattlemen often â€Å"claimed large areas of open range, using it for grazing and for driving their cattle to market.† Although in most cases they had no legal claim to the land, they had used it in this way for years, often fighting off Indians and other cattlemen in order to do so. Along with their wealth and the power provided by the men working for them, they â€Å"felt that having come first gave them the right to do whatever it took to drive the homesteaders out. This was especially true when homesteaders fenced off their land, limiting access to already scarce sources of water.† The most famous of the conflicts that resulted is the Johnson County War, which ended only after the cavalry was sent in by order of the President. The large cattle barons also fought among themselves for control of the open range and lucrative government supply contracts. The most infamous of these fights is the Lincoln County War of 1878, in which the outlaw Billy the Kid as who I mentioned earlier rose to fame. Of course, miners, homesteaders, and cattlemen alike also had to worry about the native tribes that they were displacing. These conflicts also led to violence. Many Americans consider the era of the Old West as one of the most fascinating chapters in our history. It’s an era that is uniquely American. There is much legend and myths about history of the Wild West when it comes to American outlaws lawmen and violence. As we have seen in this paper, a lot of the violence and outlaws were blown out of proportion for the most part due to the over romantic love of violence the American mind has come to love. This is due to the western movies and novels because that’s what sold the American heart. Although we do see that violence did exist in the west with the Johnson and Lincoln county wars and outlaws like Billy the Kid and Jesse James, most of the history of violence is was too dramatized. Why? Well I don’t know about you but John Wayne and Clint Eastwood seemed to be pretty big heroes in my mind, and well the movies are great way to feed our ego boosting American mindset of how the west was really won.