Riders to the Sea: The Sea as a Living Character :: essays research papers

Riders to the sea: The sea as a living character In the tragic contest that is the inspiring soul of the play â€Å" Riders to the sea†, the sea is a party ranged against the weak, inoffensive inmates of the peasant family of Maurya. The sea is indeed the most impressive character in the play, it is so intimately associated with human characters whose fate concerns us that it may be called, Fate personified. The peasant family, as of course all other people of the island, live all their lives in open view of the sea. Even little Nora is familiar with its ways, its ebb and flow, its behaviour in storm and calm and all that. They are familiar not only with its physical features and its various moods, but also with the image of the sea as a mighty demon which looms large and dark and mysterious before their minds. At the very opening of the play, the sea enters as a terrorizing living personality. The sea as a ‘character’ is never off the stage, nor is it for a moment off the mind of inmates of the cottages. How can they close their eyes or minds to it seeing that it has already swallowed four strong young sons of the family, and it is almost sure it has made an end of the fifth, Michael? The monster is never for a moment absent from the thoughts of the three women. Bartley too knows the risk and the chances. But he is manly enough to put forth courage to perform his duty by the family. He silently agrees with Cathleen when she rebukes the whimpering mother: â€Å"It’s the life of a young man to be going on the sea†, thereby bringing out the association of the sea with the life of the islanders. It is a demon whom the poor islanders have no means of shunning if they would. And that is the demon’s opportunity of exercising its free will. It is all along an unequal fight- the fight between the Evil in nature which is, as Hardy expounds in his tragic novels, the handmaiden of Fate or blind Chance, or inscrutable Destiny.

Astronomy Story Essay

The day my life would change for ever was April 16th, 2013. This was the day that I left planet earth and embarked on one of the most important missions in NASA’s history. I should probably back up though, and explain to you how this came about. April 16th was sunny with only a few clouds in the sky, the smell of spring was in the air and with the end of second semester right around the corner, the quad was packed with people eager to catch some much desired sun rays. Unfortunately for me though I was stuck in astronomy. That day’s topic was our very own planet earth. Dr. Bozyan was lecturing about how planet Earth was actually very wet, that nearly 71% of earths surfaced is covered with water. I learned that while other worlds of the solar system have atmospheres, only Earths contains the oxygen that we humans and animals need to survive. I had really hoped that wasn’t true because I had big aspirations of one day living on mars. We learned about about the green house effect and how clouds, snow, ice and sand reflect about 31% of the incoming sunlight back into space. The earth though also emits radiation into space because of its temperature. Fighting off the urge to day dream about the nice weather, I managed to also learn how Earths magnetic field produces a magnetosphere that traps particles from the solar wind. Like the motions of Earths tectonic plates, Earths magnetic field results from our planets internal heat. The last thing I wrote down in that class was a few interesting notes about how human activity such as Deforestation, burning of fossil fuels and industrial chemicals are damaging the ozone layer in the stratosphere. As I was seconds away from reaching freedom to the the spring air, Dr. Bozyan approached me and told me that she had a question for me. She was talking though in a soft almost secretive tone. She went on for about 10 minutes how she worked for a top secret NASA program that was interested in sending me on a mission. I laughed at that, it sounded like a calvin and Hobbs comic strip that I see in the Sunday paper. She went on and told me that the the great space race between Russia and the U.S.A. had never ended and that there was a race to gather observations from all nine planets in the solar system. They had top secret technology that would allow for this mission to be completed in only one week. The only catch was that it was so secret that I would be launching out of the URI planetarium that night, and that I couldn’t tell anybody where I was going. Me being the adventurous type decided this would be a great opportunity to become famous and in the process get to see some landmarks like the milky way and the man on the moon. Within hours I was in my very first space shuttle and on my way to the moon. The fastest time to the moon was 8 hours and 35 minutes by NASA’s New Horizons pluto mission. It was only going to take me 2 hours and 31 minutes and I was only supposed to stop at the moon for fuel because it was determined information about the outer planets was more important and we were trying to complete the mission in the quickest possible time. As the man on the moon figure approached within eye shot, I began to observe and take note of anything I could. Even though NASA had already explored the moon, that was no excuse for me not to absorb any observations of the moon for myself. I quickly began to observe that the moon was very dry and its surface was covered with plains and craters that is caused by the moon being bombarded by meteoric material also known as impact craters. As we touched down I quickly decided to throw on my space suit and check out the moon and its surroundings. I immediately found out that there was no atmosphere and no global magnetic field as it felt as if I were floating and that there was no gravity holding me down. There also appeared to be no liquid water of any kind. I realized that the 3476 km diameter of the moon was really just a spec in the cloudless pitch black sky of space. My last observation of the moon as my shuttle was just about done filling up was that it was pretty cold out. It was about -180 degrees Celsius that night, much colder then I was used too. Luckily though, I also packed my arctic ready winter hat and jacket. Next stop would be Venus. As the count down began to lift off I wondered if Venus had a â€Å"man on the moon†. On my way to Venus I decided that I should probably make myself a well deserved meal. I was gawking into the bag labeled food, in red sharpie that was handed to me right before take off, there was no pop tarts or my favorite barbecue chips . After much debate and thought, I narrowed my choice to a cup of NASA’S finest freeze dried ice cream. As we started to approach what I assumed was Venus but couldn’t tell until we landed because of the clouds that were hiding its surface from view. The first thing that I noticed was the size. It seemed to be about the same size of earth, I had always thought of Venus being smaller then earth. What I also observed, was that practically the whole surface was covered in lava! I felt like I was in some sort of sci-fi movie. Luckily for me I had a space suit because without it, I would have exploded. My Pressure meter on the left arm of my suit was telling me that the pressure was 90 atmospheres, which would be 90 times greater then the average air pressure at sea level on Earth. The temperature of Venus was very hot and I know that that was in my favor because if the temperature wasn’t so hot, the clouds would open up with a rain of sulfuric acid, and believe me I did not want that. I stored these mental snap shots in my head and finished the last of my notes and prepared for take off to Mercury. Mercury was definitely going to be one of the planets that I had to pay very close attention to when taking notes because only half of its surface had been viewed recently. Mercury was also going to be interesting to see because it has a very unique axis rotation, spinning three times on its axis for every two orbits around the sun. The first thing that I noticed on Mercury was that there was almost no atmosphere on the planet. That was pretty obvious because the planet looked life less and fried. I wrote in my observation notes that Mercury fried, literally because there was no atmosphere to protect against the harsh radiation of the sun. Mercury from my first view out the window reminded me a lot of the moon, there were craters every where. Mercury also from observation was definitely on the smaller side. As my time on Mercury was coming to a end, I realized that Mercury was a very boring planet to look at, only craters and low lying plains and cliffs. After the short trip from Mercury past Venus, Earth and the moon I approached Mars. I figured I could get a jump start on finding a future plot of land, for when humans were on Mars. As I approached Mars, I could see that the planet was full of craters. I was to stay on Mars for a full 12 hours while my rocket fueled up to make the trip to the outer planets. What I observed in those 12 hours was very interesting to me. I witnessed some incredible sights like vast canyons some 20,000 ft high, giant mountains and sand dunes. The air was very dusty and left a orange tint in the air. I quickly learned also that there was little atmosphere because as night started to fall tempters fell very rapidly and quickly well below 0. My rocket was fueled up again and it was time for take off. As I sat down in my space craft, I noticed that Mars definitely lived up to its nick name of the red planet because my white space suit was now covered in red dust. Just like that though, it was time to leave Mars and head straight to the big guys, Jupiter and Saturn. I quickly learned that Jupiter was just as advertised; very big! I could see Jupiter from my rocket almost the whole trip there. Jupiter was very bright definitely brighter then any star I had ever seen. I noticed the dark and light bands as they appeared from the space craft window, I learned later on that these are called belts( darker bands) and zones( lighter bands). Jupiter was very hard to land because there was no solid surfaces. Using a scientific tool on the space craft I was able to determined that Jupiter made up almost entirely of hydrogen and helium, with some other trace gases. For this case it was very hard for me to take observations since I could not actually get out and explore Jupiter. For the lack of mobility and time I was quickly just like that on my way to to explore the great ring planet of Saturn. While approaching Saturn the ring that it is most famous for was very visible, I actually managed to ta ke a photo with my space issued camera that was provided to me by NASA. Saturn was also huge although not as big as Jupiter it was definitely the second biggest thing I had ever seen, the first thing obviously being Jupiter. Like Jupiter I was unable to land on Saturn because of the chemical make up being mostly hydrogen and helium but the observations I was able to take away were that Saturn’s rings were made of thousands of narrow, closely spaced ringlets. Uranus and Neptune were next and if I wanted to make this trip in one week, I had to say good bye to the two gas giants and say hello to the trans-Saturnian planets. The two sister planets Uranus and Pluto were very much alike. My time on both planets were relatively the same experience. I was able to observe that both planets had many moons. Also the atmosphere on both planets was generally the same made up of mostly hydrogen and helium indicated by special tools on board the space craft. The one difference I did notice between these two sisters, is that Uranus actually rotates clock wise instead of counter clock wise. My visit with Uranus and Neptune was short and sweet. I packed my space craft and prepared it for lift off. 3..2..1 blast off were the words that I heard through the microphone that was hooked up with NASA. I awoke laying in the quad. The sun was high in the sky and there was a slight breeze. I realized that I had accidentally snoozed off in the quad, and what started off with me closing my eyes for 5 minutes to catch some rays ended with a nap that lasted 3 hours. I unfortunately soon realized quickly after that my amazing top secret to space was actually nothing more then a dream. There was no fame to come of it, and my professor never actually gave me the trust to go on this top secret mission. Although my trip to the solar system may not have been real, it will be something though that I will never forget.

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman - 1099 Words

The Yellow Wallpaper, has an autobiographical element to it. It was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The piece of work concentrates on many different aspects of literature. The Yellow Wallpaper, has an autobiographical element to it. It was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The piece of work concentrates on many different aspects of literature. It can be evaluated with ten different types of literary criticism: formalist, biographical, historical, psychological, mythological, sociological, gender, reader-response, deconstructionist, and cultural studies. Formalist criticism regards human knowledge that needs to be examined on its own terms. It concentrates around the style, structure, imagery, tone, and genre. In†¦show more content†¦Gilman is most renounced for her short story, The Yellow Wallpaper. Her life story became the basis of this story. After her first child, Gilman experienced severe depression and her doctor prescribed her with a rest cure. The doctor in the story is much like the doctor that Gilman was treated by in her life. She was also prevented from picking up a pen or brush, which symbolizes, using her intellect. She pulled back from the brink of insanity by ignoring the doctors orders, leaving her husband, and becoming a successful writer. The main character in this story is living almost a mirror image of the authors life. The main character is trapped in a room with yellow wallpaper and is made to rest there to cure her depression. Gilman most likely uses this piece of work to show what she went through in her life. The parts that she did not include in the story are probably parts of her life that she is ashamed of or wishes she could change. Historical criticism seeks to understand a literary work by investigating the social, cultural, and intellectual context that produced it. The story is a reaction to the ethos of the time which dictated the very narrow confines of a womans life in the nineteenth century. It is a piece of feminist literature. It also has responds to the beliefsShow MoreRelatedThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman885 Words   |  4 Pagesbeen a stigma around mental illness and feminism. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the 1900’s. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† has many hidden truths within the story. The story was an embellished version her own struggle with what was most likely post-partum depression. As the story progresses, one can see that she is not receiving proper treatment for her depression and thus it is getting worse. Gilman uses the wallpaper and what she sees in it to symbolize her desire to escapeRead MoreThe Yellow Wall paper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman846 Words   |  4 PagesHumans are flawed individuals. Although flaws can be bad, people learn and grow from the mistakes made. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, gives one a true look at using flaws to help one grow. Gilman gives her reader’s a glimpse into what her life would have consisted of for a period of time in her life. Women were of little importance other than to clean the house and to reproduce. This story intertwines the reality of what the lives of woman who were considered toRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1362 Words   |  6 Pagesas freaks. In the short story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, both of these elements are present. Gilman did a wonderful job portraying how women are not taken seriously and how lightly mental illnesses are taken. Gilman had, too, had firsthand experience with the physician in the story. Charlot te Perkins Gilman s believes that there really was no difference in means of way of thinking between men or women is strongly. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a short story about a woman whoRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1547 Words   |  7 PagesCharlotte Perkins Gilman s career as a leading feminists and social activist translated into her writing as did her personal life. Gilman s treatment for her severe depression and feelings of confinement in her marriage were paralleled by the narrator in her shorty story, The Yellow Wallpaper. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born in 1860 in Hartford, Connecticut. Her parents, Mary Fitch Perkins and Fredrick Beecher Perkins, divorced in 1869. Her dad, a distinguished librarian and magazine editorRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman2032 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a poem about women facing unequal marriages, and women not being able to express themselves the way they want too. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born in 1860, and died in 1935. This poem was written in 1892. When writing this poem, women really had no rights, they were like men’s property. So writing â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† during this time era, was quite shocking and altered society at the time. (Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the Feminization ofRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman904 Words   |  4 Pagescom/us/definiton/americaneglish/rest-cure?q=rest+cure). Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote The Yellow Wallpaper as a reflection of series of events that happened in her own life. Women who fought the urge to be the typical stereotype were seen as having mental instabilities and were considered disobedient. The societal need for women to conform to the standards in the 1800s were very high. They were to cook, clean and teach their daughters how to take care of the men. Gilman grew up without her father and she vowedRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman999 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a story of a woman s psychological breakdown, which is shown through an imaginative conversation with the wallpaper. The relationship between the female narrator and the wallpaper reveals the inner condition of the narrator and also symbolically shows how women are oppressed in society. The story, read through a feminist lens, reflects a woman s struggle against the patriarchal power structure. In the â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses the wallpaperRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman Essay1208 Words   |  5 Pagesthat wallpaper as I did?† the woman behind the pattern was an image of herself. She has been the one â€Å"stooping and creeping.† The Yellow Wallpaper was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In the story, three characters are introduced, Jane (the narrator), John, and Jennie. The Yellow Wallpaper is an ironic story that takes us inside the mind and emotions of a woma n suffering a slow mental breakdown. The narrator begins to think that another woman is creeping around the room behind the wallpaper, attemptingRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman846 Words   |  4 PagesThe dignified journey of the admirable story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† created by Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s, gave the thought whether or not the outcome was influenced by female oppression and feminism. Female oppression and feminist encouraged a series of women to have the freedom to oppose for their equal rights. Signified events in the story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† resulted of inequality justice for women. Charlotte Perkins Gilman gave the reader different literary analysis to join the unjustifiableRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1704 Words   |  7 PagesEscaping The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) whom is most acclaimed for her short story The Yellow Wallpaper (1891) was a women’s author that was relatively revolutionary. Gilman makes an appalling picture of captivity and confinement in the short story, outlining a semi-personal photo of a young lady experiencing the rest cure treatment by her spouse, whom in addition to being her husband was also her therapist. Gilman misused the rest cure in The Yellow Wallpaper to alarm other