Definition of Literature Essay Example for Free

Definition of Literature Essay Literature is an outlet of escape from reality. At the end of the day, I open a book and allow the story to take me to a world where my own fades into a distant memory. With every turn of a page, my imagination is free to reinvent a narrative that is better than the reality I live. Literature can be non-fiction and based on facts surrounding real events, people, and places. Examples include history books, memoirs, biographies, newspapers, self-help, devotionals, and textbooks. Literature can also be writings based not on truth, but on the imagination and creativity of the author. This includes fiction novels and children story books. A lot of times authors of fiction will get their idea from a real life event and then they allow their imagination to recreate the characters and plot. Aside from being fiction or non-fiction, literature can also fall into different categories according to the genre, purpose, and style. Some genres include romance, science fiction, Christian, suspense, and western. The authors purpose for writing will likely determine what style and genre they will use. Poetry and drama are forms of literature that are stylistically different from other writings. Every writer wants to engage their audience and capture their attention in order to convey a message. The meaning of the text may hold differing messages within the audience, but it is the goal of the author to captivate the reader and keep them wanting to read more. John Smith wrote historical accounts of life while he was living. His writings brought insight and hope regarding English settlement during the early 1600s. The General History of Virginia is difficult to comprehend in areas because I am unfamiliar with his use and style of language, but nonetheless it is a beautifully written piece of literature. John Smith’s targeted audience was most likely the people of his time, with the goal of informing them of recent events. I appreciate the way he portrays the struggles of daily life realistically and in a way that inspires and intrigues. William Bradford was not formally educauted, yet he was a wise and well-read man. His writings spread throughout the world and have been studied and quoted by many. As with most of the literature from his time period, Bradford’s style is simple, but he writes with such conviction that demands the attention and respect of the reader. Bradford was a man of faith and often expressed this in his writing. In Of Plymouth Plantation he often refers to God’s providence and makes continuous references to God. Bradford may refer to God more than any other author in this colonial unit. Anne Bradstreet was a powerful force in literature during the 1960s because she was one of the first recognized women poets. Centuries later she is a revered writer and her poetry remains enchanting. â€Å"Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is the opening line to her poem The Author of Her Book and illustrates just how feeble her brain is not. She has the unique capacity to use words to express herself so creatively and with so much emotion. To My Dear and Loving Husband is a great romantic poem that I admire. Bradstreet’s style reminds me slightly of my own. However I need more experience and practice to become nearly as talented as she. Upon the Burning of Our House reminds of my own experience of a house fire and has inspired me to attempt to capture my experience through poetry. Through all Anne Bradstreet’s work, she inspires others to recognize the beauty and power in writing. Edward Taylor was a highly educated, well respected, and devout religious man who used poetry as a private expression of his faith. He did not seek fame or recognition for his writing, rather just the pleasure it brought him. Taylor writes of God beautifully and is a master of creating moving and emotional works of art without intending to. As with most poets, Taylor and Bradstreet used metaphors and had a personal style unique from others. There is also an overflowing of emotion from both Taylor and Bradstreet within all their writings. William Byrd was a very accomplished man of his time. He was well educated, respected, and prosperous. His most famous writings are the journals that he wrote to describe day to day life. In The History of the Dividing Line I was able to pick up on the humor that has lead Byrd to be one of the first distinct comedic writers. The humor is not â€Å"pee your pants funny† rather it is more light-hearted humor that makes the reader smile. It is evident in his writing that Byrd was indeed well-read. A writer is capable of learning a great deal about language, word usage, and style through reading. Byrd’s style is simple, yet he articulates his message very well and although he wrote for himself, he managed to write in a way that would capture an audience’s attention. Jonathan Edwards was an intelligent man of God who served as a preacher. As an author, he wrote popular sermons and other serious works on religion, metaphysics, and philosophy. Edwards’ style of writing is quite different from other authors in this unit because unlike the others he gives the reader an array of possible positions for the topic he is presenting. In the sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Edwards develops his view on destruction and punishment from verses in Deuteronomy. Not only does he explain how he interprets the scripture, he also gives other possible views. St. Jean De Crevecoeur wrote about religion but he did not profess or maintain that he believed in God. He was a well-educated humanitarian who served his people and country. I found Letters from an American Farmer difficult to get through because his style of writing is unexciting. I was also turned off by the way he wrote about certain topics particularly African American issues. Crevecoeur was not a racist man, but he lacked some sensitivity in discussing his unique view on negroes and parenting. He believed that negroes should not continue having children because if they did misery would undeniably result for themselves and their offspring. I understand that he is referring to slaves and perhaps even slaves may have wished to not have children in order to save future generations from being forced into slavery. Crevecoeur surprised me with the boldness in his writing. The progression of writing from Smith to Crevecoeur is interesting to track and there are noticeable changes in language and word usage. As defined earlier, literature to me is written art that engages my imagination and takes my mind away from reality. Not every piece of literature will bring me the pleasure of leaving my own world for a moment and that does not mean the author has failed. Genre plays an important role in this element of the definition. For example the writings from the colonies unit are primarily non-fiction history writings that are meant to inform more than entertain. Anne Bradstreet is an exception. As the writer of poetry, her style is most obviously different from the more serious and constructed essays of the other writers. Every writer has a style that is unique, however one similarity in the colonial writings is the purpose of the author’s writing. Many of the writers were writing for the sake of recording daily life and making historical accounts of slavery, war, and developing colony life. Centuries later, authors such as Smith, Bradford, Bradstreet, Taylor, Edwards, and Crevecoeur are recognized as masters in the field of writing. Writers during the establishment of the colonies wrote simple, yet serious and powerful pieces of art. They have a style of writing and voice that still captures the hearts of readers.

Jane Addams and Hull House Essay -- Jane Addams, Hull House

Jane Addams and Hull House   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Born in Cederville, Illinois, on September 6, 1860, Jane Addams founded the world famous social settlement of Hull House. From Hull House, where she lived and worked from it’s start in 1889 to her death in 1935, Jane Addams built her reputation as the country’s most prominent women through her writings, settlement work and international efforts for world peace. In 1931, she became the first women to win the Nobel Peace Prize.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Addams, whose father was an Illinois state senator and friend of Abraham Lincoln, graduated in 1881 from Rockford College (then called Rockford Women’s Seminary). She returned the following year to receive one of the school’s first bachelor’s degrees. With limited career opportunities for women, she began searching for ways to help others and solve the country’s growing social problems. In 1888, Addams and her college friend, Ellen Gates Starr, visited Toynbee Hall, the two women observed college-educated Englishmen â€Å"settling† in desperately poor East London slum where they helped the people. This gave her the idea for Hull House. In the years from 1860 through 1890, the prospect of a better life attracted nearly ten million immigrants who settled in cities around the United States. The growing number of industries produced demands for thousands of new workers and immigrants were seeking more economic opportunities. Most immigrants settled near each other’s own nationality and/or original village when in America. They could speak their own language and act as if they were in their own country. Within these neighborhoods, immigrants suffered crowded conditions. These were often called slums, yet they became ghettos when laws, prejudice and community pressure prevented inhabitants from renting elsewhere. Health conditions were terrible in these districts. Typhoid fever, smallpox and diphtheria were some of the diseases that ravaged the slums. Many children suffered from juvenile diseases such as whooping cough, measles and scarlet fever. The infant morality rate was very high. Along with immigrants, blacks suffered greatly as well. Immigrants couldn’t afford better housing, but blacks were trapped in segregated areas. Blacks were driven out of skilled trades and were excluded from many factories. Racist’s whites used high rents and there was enormous pressure to exclude blacks from area... ... obtains wherever educated young people are seeking an outlet for that sentiment of universal brotherhood which the best spirit of our times is forcing from an emotion into a motive†.(Women’s History,2) The Creation of Hull House allowed for a closer and more understanding relationship between the settlement workers themselves and the immigrants and the poor. Jane knew as a little child that she wanted to help the poor and she recalls an incident early in her life of seeing a homeless man on the street. She asked her father why that was, and he replied that that was just the way things were. From that day forward, Jane knew that something had to be done. She was an amazing women and loved being able to help the less fortunate. Works Cited Addams, Jane, Twenty Years at Hull House, New York, Macmillan, 1910. Women’s History website #1. Women of Hull House   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  . Women’s History Website #2. Jane Addams-Bibliographies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  . Women’s History Website #3. Jane Addams-Education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  womenshistory.about.com/cs/addamseducation/index.htm>.

College Life vs My Moral Code

At the time of this read, 1997, Elisha Dov Hack was a Yale university freshman who based his upcoming dormitory lifestyle off of what he had heard from his older brother. Hack’s objection was that in previous years, there was a policy in motion that granted students the ability to live at home rather than the dorms. Yet when Hack come of age to attend the University there had been a revision to the policy. The change required first and second year students to reside on campus, regardless of their family’s geographical location. This generated a systematic problem with coeducation residency and Hack’s Jewish faith. Every day, for the remainder of their life, students will be faced with decisions that can challenge their upbringing. Regardless of a student’s faith, they are adults capable of making their own decisions, but colleges should be able to offer some flexibility to students who honestly seek separation due to moral concerns. Hack expresses a concern with current tolerances based on aged patriarch. Back then they â€Å"were subject to expulsion† if the student permitted the opposite sex as a guest. This moral conflict has since subsided of those in yesteryears. Although Hack and four of his Jewish colleagues were not attempting to impose their beliefs on others, they felt it was necessary to be the exception to the newly established rule, due to their â€Å"moral standards. † Unless Yale waived residency requirements, the students are unable to exercise their constitutional rights, this is a violation a of law. To persuade Yale’s secular acceptance, Hack felt it was necessary to point out posters advertising safe sex, articles influencing premarital intercourse, and alternative persuasions that detour from abstinence. He demands an answer as to why such an elite group, such as Yale, fails to stand behind their open-minded proclamation. Yet hypocritical standards make it difficult for students who demand devout structure. Yale still prides themselves on â€Å"no parental rules,† the contradictory concept of sexual mortality being in the hands of the student encourages detrimental peer pressure. Even separating genders by floor has unfavorable outcomes, since temptations and ease of access permits visiting opposing sexes to wander through during inappropriate times. Even though the students are adults, they feel violated, since they are forced to surround with other students participating in sinful acts. It is evident that Yale attempts to speak their own language by selling themselves to new students with glamorous advertisement, proclaiming respect and historical retention. This academic institution lacks hindsight that it is an educational environment, while education is not just taught, it is learned by example, just as students learn from their parents by watching. Do students come to class and begin intercourse during instruction? Based on years of intense religious teachings, each individual is subject to a moral message portrayed by each Yale resident, which is not accepted by the Jewish faith. Students with stringent oppositions towards combined gender housing should be given the opportunity to exercise their faith or seek other alternatives. Rather than seeking out â€Å"Yale attention,† Yale needs to focus on what they are teaching the students via peer pressure.

An Explication of The Day Came Slow Till Five OClock

Katie Nichols Dr. Tyrer ENGL 3380 10/24/11 Explication of Emily Dickinson’s â€Å"The Day Came Slow till Five o’Clock† This poem, written by Emily Dickinson, explores the theme of nature and its relationship to a sunrise coming over a hill. The poem describes the appearance of a sunrise as a female guest in a large house is watching it from her window. The poet describes the unique splendor of watching a sunrise mixed with the sounds of a war battle. The speaker seems to be speaking from an observant standpoint, perhaps from above or below, and has no role in the poem, except as a narrator. The speaker feels compelled to speak at this particular time because watching the sunset at this particular time seems to be significant to the woman.†¦show more content†¦Either way, in declaring â€Å"how mighty’t was to stay, a guest in this stupendous place† (14-15), the poet is finalizing her opinion of the place, in all its splendor, and by calling it â€Å"the parlor of the day!† (16), she is explaining that this is only morning, the sun just rose, and there is much more to be said about the hours to come, and whether they will reflect rubies or topaz, death or life. Referring to the setting as a parlor also indicates that there may be religious undertones in this poem, although they are not present until the last stanza, and that the place the poet is speaking from is a parlor to heaven, implying that life on earth only foreshadows life after death, instead of determining it. Emily Dickinson often used imagery in her poems to deepen their meaning, leaving room for her readers to interpret them however they please. Regardless of the true meaning of the poem, and when and why it was written, Emily Dickinson certainly impacts her readers to this very day with the eloquence and poise she displays in her poetry. â€Å"The Day Came Slow† is a mixture of happiness and adoration, disputed by the notion of death that the gunshots so readily bring forth in the poet. Dickinson often placed religious undertones in her poems, and this is no different. This poe m contains many different meanings, and Dickinson may have been using this as a reminder