Listeners :: Essays Papers

Listeners My hands were dirty. I was playing in the mud with the Dolingers up the street when I heard the bell ringing faintly in the distance. It was time to go home. A sweet soft summer breeze pushed me down Delaware Av. to my house on the corner. This same warm fresh breath of ship then gracefully passed through the windows of my living room and finally escaped my home overflowing with music. I walked into a dark and cool living room, my sisters not far behind me. We were immediately greeted with the pleasantly pungent odor of cigar smoke and the powerful music of Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue. My dad was lying on the couch, his eye closed, listening. Only the light above the kitchen stove was on. He would invite and encourage us to listen with him. Since we were only 5 and 6 we would naturally prefer to senselessly watch the Brady Bunch. But on occasion, I remember sitting and listening with him. I remember dancing about the room or lyin g on cool hardwood floors. I remember feeling the vibrations of the speakers through the floor, tickling my body, imprinting the notes on my soul. My dad provided an environment in which we might learn to appreciate the enriching sounds of heterogeneous musical geniuss from Copland to the Grateful Dead. He gave me an amazing gift, the opportunity to learn how to simply listen. Sweets sounds, melodies, rhythms and beats, have been changing and growing for as long as man has walked the earth. medicament is not just a pastime or entertainment, but a method of communication, of identification, of bonding, and learning about other people and cultures around the world. As I grew older, I learned that music or rather the listeners of such enrapturing sounds, make up a very powerful and unique community. Music has always been apart of my life. However, it did not begin to recognizably contribute to my own personal development until half dozenth grade when my then best friend of six years, Colleen, and I began to travel down two different paths.

Knowledge in Stevensons The Beach of Falesa and Stokers Dracula Essay

Knowledge in Stevensons The Beach of Falesa and Stokers genus DraculaSeveral works of late 19th century British imperial literature contrast the parting of information with the utilisation of superstition in colonial encounters. Looking at Stevensons The Beach of Falesa and Stokers Dracula, we see that information plays an important role in both British and non-British characters abilities to dominate over their opponents. However, each of these works differs in its treatment of rational and irrational forms of knowledge. In The Beach of Falesa, the natives irrational legal opinion in demons stands in contrast to the practical knowledge of the Europeans, which is shown as superior to knowledge based on superstition. The role of information in The Beach of Falesa too demonstrates that the high intellect of whites allows them to dominate over the native people whose land they colonize. Stokers Dracula counters this point by illustrating that both Europeans and their non-Europe an opponents can utilize information as a tool for domination and conquest. While The Beach of Falesa portrays rational forms of knowledge as superior to beliefs in magic or folklore, Dracula shows the importance of utilizing multiple types of information in defeating the enemy. Comparing Dracula to Stevensons The Beach of Falesa, Stoker uses the theme of information to challenge the idea of a cleared separation among Europeans and the others they encounter in imperial experience. In The Beach of Falesa, the protagonist Wiltshire asserts that the native Kanakas have a natural predisposition for superstitious beliefs. As he explores Cases devils bush, Wiltshire tells the reader, Any poor Kanaka brought up here in the dark, with the harp... ...defeat the enemy. By avoiding an overly simplistic connection between natives and magic and Europeans and science, Stoker forces the reader to consider a difficult question if rationality and information does not distinguish the B ritish from the other, then what does? While we may not be able to definitively characterize Stoker as a pro- or anti-imperialist based on the role he gives these types of information in Dracula, his young shows how information can blur the distinction between Europeans and the other. Works CitedBolt, Christine. Race and the Victorians, in British Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century, ed. C.C. Eldridge. St. Martins Press 1984. Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Beach of Falesa, in Fictions of Empire, ed. John Kucich. Houghton Mifflin 2003.Stoker, Bram. Dracula, ed. Glennis Byron. Broadview Press 1998.

Essay on Voltaires Candide - Voltaires Opposition to Optimism

Voltaires Opposition to Optimism in Candide Philosophy is a means by which humans seem for a general understanding of the world and its concepts. Through experience, thought, and observation, one can arrive at a conclusion that forms the basis of his ideas. However, if one simply thinks and does non act, this conclusion does not make any significant difference on his life. This is a major point that Voltaire tries to make in Candide. He is trying to multifariousness society by demonstrating the absurdity of optimism. Voltaire attacks optimism by pointing out the evils of the world, criticizing actual people and events of the time, and criticizing Pangloss philosophy. In Candide, Voltaire often criticizes war, denial, and religious views. He opposed violence and this is evident in many situations in Candide. For example, he used the war of the Bulgarians and the Abarians to point out the pointlessness of war. He believed that optimism was unnecessary and unjustified . If this were the best of all possible worlds, war would not have a purpose. Voltaire believed that God created the world and simply left it alone. Therefore, evil is inevitable because human nature leads people to perform evil actions. Voltaire strongly condemns bullish theories, for him they deny reality. (Juan Zerolo) Voltaire does not believe that by saying something, it will come true. Therefore, denying the existence of evil is not logical and does not amount to any great good. Voltaire also denounced others religious beliefs and intolerance. He criticized the belief that the world is in its best state because a higher being created it from the best of all possible worlds. He did not appeal to the corruption of the church, whi... ...g impractical goals on people who have demonstrated that they will never obtain them. This will only end in unhappiness and disappointment. These people have shown that there is a slim chance that their behavior will drastically ch ange to reflect the goals imposed on them. plant Cited and Consulted Bottiglia, William. Candides Garden. Voltaire A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Frautschi, R.L. Barrons Simplified Approach to Voltaire Candide. New York Barrons Educational Series, Inc., 1968. Jonas, Eric, from http//www.ericjonas.com/ Accessed via the Internet 2/25/03 Kahn, Ludwig W. Voltaire. Boston Twayne Publishers, 1980. Voltaire. Candide. New York Viking Publishers, 1998. Zerolo,Juan. Voltaires Candide and the Critics. calcium Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 1996.