Essay about a movie Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

About a movie - Essay Example Her family expects her to marry a Greek man and raise children. His father is over-patronising, according to Toula, as he refuses to let her pursue further education in a computer academy. She manages to achieve it with the help of her mother and eventually takes up an office job and stops working at her family restaurant. Toulaa, played by Nia Vardolas, undergoes sea change in terms of her looks, grooming and fashion in the mean time. At the same time, she falls in love with a young Anglo-Saxon Protestant, Ian Miller, who is a school teacher, played by John Corbett. Toula’s patriarchal Greek family, especially her overbearing father, refuse to accept their relationship and Ian agrees to be baptised as a Greek Orthodox Christian, which earns the family’s approval. The families get introduced and the couple get married eventually. The movie is a portrayal of ethnic-identity, romance and interaction between cultures. For example, while almost everyone in Toula’s large extended family interferes in wedding planning, Ian is surprised at just the size of her family and the number of cousins she has. Especially when the two families come together and interact, the differences are more evident. For instance, Ian’s nuclear family is surprised to see that every single person from Toula’s extended family being present at the introduction and make it a big party. The movie was very interesting to watch and it was pleasant and funny. It was also insightful into inter-cultural marriages. The range of characters and their vastly different characteristics made the movie a great

Somali Pirates Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Somali Pirates - Personal Statement Example They possess automatic weapons along with loads of AK-47s, tracking equipments, advanced communication devices. They have different levels of attack and methods of dealing within each level. In my line of thinking, they are the true masters of deception and entrapment although this includes physical attack; their camouflaging is better than the chameleons themselves. One aspect of piracy which surprises me a great deal is the inability to sustain security onboard and on the seaways. In other words, world’s massive trade is moved through these very seas estimated to be at more than 90% of the world’s economy is most prone to attacks and loss of billions of money through piracy! The only explanation I can think of is a refusal to attend to the indifference. But then in my opinion these areas have the largest amount of poverty and are, one way or the other, entitled to the world’s money. And the corporations suffering the loss deserve it because poverty began when the world denied people the right to have money. Although several corporations are involved in helping the Somali pirates buy the latest technology; getting their hands on such technology is something that they cannot accomplish by themselves. It is a known fact that the waters of Somalia cannot be regulated at all much less 24/7, the reason being as simple as the government being unable to impose further responsibility on their already strained assets. Although in my opinion is it is not entirely impossible because if a huge force is to arrive on the scene, piracy can be lessened. NATO and other such organizations are patrolling the area though without guarantees of any sort. Piracy has become socially acceptable in Somalia; after all what is one supposed to do after almost two decades of unending conflict. Somalia’s need for food aid is estimated to be at about 50 % of

Gender Stereotypes In Advertising Campaigns

Gender Stereotypes In Advertising Campaigns The role of women is more stereotypical than that of the men in the promotional campaigns, and the power of women are inferior to the man especially in the TV advertisements. According to the research on adverts researchers have been done before, the results usually fall into the following categories including: (1) Women being linked with sexual meanings. (2) Women being viewed less powerful than men. (3) Women being thought to be obliged to dominate the housework. (4) Women being believed to comply with their male partners. Over 30 years ago it was argued that advertising placed women into subordinate roles and that the male voice was authoritative (Lewin-Jones, J, Mitra, B. 2009), which is supported by a number of researches. Ferguson, Kreshel and Tinkham (1990) suggested that woman have long been viewed as sexual objects in the advertisements. Dilevko and Harris (1997) stated that in the journals advertisements they researched, females activities are more restrained than males, and men are more likely to gain fame and to be connected with a promising future. Meanwhile, Sexton and Haberman (1974) illustrated that the images of women reflected in advertisements is narrow. All they have to do is to dress up, stand still and being watched. In addition, advertisements also help to cultivate social roles and responsibilities of men and women respectively, in particularly the later ones. The image of women constructed by some established magazines are mostly in conventional occupations and working women profiled in these magazines tend to express themselves by lacking power in their jobs (Ruggiero and Weston, 1985). Simultaneously, Bartsch, Burnett, Diller and Rankin-Williams (2000) argued that Gender bias still exist as females are underrepresented as product representatives for domestic products and males are overrepresented as representatives for non-domestic products. Briefly speaking, these studies show that in the advertisements, women are more inclined to the jobs and titles of housewives while men are more likely to domain in the working field. Moreover, an interesting point has been found out in several of the researches, i.e., in the advertisements, the voice of the spokesmen/spokeswomen can affect the acceptance of the products, which also reflects gender stereotypes. Peirce and McBride (1999) stated that in the commercial advertisements they have studied, more males are used as spokes-characters, and more male spokes-characters are remembered than the female spokes-characters. Media, especially the commercial advertisements of promotional campaigns, do have some strong influence on the construction and cultivation of gender stereotypes, because it helps to reinforce the different roles of man and women in the society and it repeats and retells every day through various channels such as newspapers, radio, bulletin board and TV. In those ads, men are strong and powerful, and they are supposed to save the world, while women are weak and sentimental, and they are set to worship their male heroes. Men should be working outside whilst women should clean the house. Although it is hard to tell whether ads have been affected by the culture or vice versa, it is true that advertisement, as a part of culture itself, do make a difference in constructing gender stereotypes. In fact, gender stereotypes that outstand in the advertisements are not rare. For example, the Mercedes-Benz S Class 8 airbags advertisements. In that advertisement, a woman showing only her breast was being copied four times so that it made eight breasts in one dimension, which compared the breasts as the airbags to symbolise safety and reliability. It is true, to some extent, that this ad is creative enough to stimulate the male audience and to call on their emotional appeals which can turn into actions of buying in the end, but it also used female image, or sexual image specifically, to persuade their targets. As said by Diane Barthel (1988), the beauty rolethe importance of appearing attractive in public, of maintaining standards, of encouraging male attentionbecomes a central preoccupation for girls and mains a concern for women for much of their lives, if not all their lives. Another typical status quo that represents gender stereotypes in the advertising campaigns can be found in one of the channels from Chinese Central Television, namely CCTV5, which is focused on sports news. And it has been years since this channel only broadcast advertisements on mens sports wear, suits, wines, luxury watches and cars. In that channel, ads are made for the males to notice and watch, as are sports programs. If a female audience is watching this channel, she might get a confusing impression that she is not supposed to watch it. Men are born to be sport-oriented, and women are too weak to do intensive exercises. This is blatantly shown in the advertisements that the companies do not even bother to take their female customers into account when it comes to the field of sports and sports competitions. As a matter of fact, this phenomenon has already been studied and by some researchers, and they come up with the conclusion that advertisers made no attempt to appeal female sports market as a separate segments. (Shani, Sandler, and Long, 1992 ) Based on the researches and the examples listed above, it is likely to draw a conclusion that gender role portrayals in ads has been and is still going to be stereotypical for a long period of time(Ivy Backlund, 1994 , as cited by Brasted, M 2010). There might be some new ads showing that females are gaining their own power and are stronger than they used to be, but the mainstream of the promotional campaigns in the market nowadays are still emphasising on the different roles that man and women plays respectively, or on the point that women should stay home and maintaining attractive to men. However, one thing people can not deny is that, the ads producers get their ideas and thoughts from the cultures they have long been lived in, which in return affect the culture itself by influencing the audience who grow up there as well. People can not avoid from the gender stereotype thoroughly because it roots in their lives, but people do can avoid imposing on it by realising the potential effect it will have on them.

Allie’s Basketball Dream Essay -- Literary Analysis, Barbara Barber

Allie’s Basketball Dream Just by looking at the cover of the story â€Å"Allie’s Basketball Dream† by Barbara Barber I could already tell that the story itself seems to be an ideology. The ideology is not hard to figure out; even the name of the story gives it away. Most girls dream of being a ballerina, a princess, or even a vet but with Allie’s case she wants to be professional basketball player. When I first picked up this book, the name of the book intrigued me to want to read it because I never would have guessed a girls dream would be to be a professional basketball player. As I started to read this book I noticed that the book is based on adults and children of African-American race in urban and inner-city areas. In urban and inner-city areas, playground basketball is a popular form of recreation. Many children and adults in these areas play neighborhood games in parks, alleys, driveways, backyards, and playgrounds. In the neighborhood I was brought up in, I never saw basketball played anywhere besides at school or if you had a basketball hoop in your driveway. The story starts out with Allies father giving her a gift of a basketball that she really wanted. Allies father brought her a gift and said â€Å"Because I love you (Baber 2)† and kissed Allie on her nose. This shows that Allies father is already portrayed as strong and caring which makes this book adult-centered already. When I look at the picture of Allie and her father at the beginning of the book I can see the loving relationship they have with each other (1). The colors of the background of the picture are yellow and soft which makes the picture safe. Allie and her father are in the center of the page along with the basket ball. This shows that Allie, her fat... ...he first time her father brought her to a basketball game she said "No way i'm getting rid of this ball! It's a gift from my dad. Someday I'm going to be the best basketball player ever (Barber 20)." Even though Allie doesn’t say something like "I don't want to be girly" she is still resisting the ideology that â€Å"only guys play basketball† or â€Å"girls don’t play basketball.† In this book gender role interpellation is shown. Up to now, it has been assumed that boys are more dominant and powerful then girls. For example, boys â€Å"are stronger† and can protect better then woman because they are men and they are built differently. However, females have been seen are the care takers, compassionate, and taking on the role of being feminine which means acting and doing all the things girls are supposed to do. Also, females are portrayed as being more â€Å"emotional† then males.

Apush Notes Chapter 8

A. P. U. S. History Notes Chapter 8: â€Å"America Secedes from the Empire† ~ 1775 – 1783 ~ I. Congress Drafts George Washington 1. After the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord in April of 1775, about 20,000 Minutemen swarmed around Boston, where they outnumbered the British. 2. The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, with no real intention of independence, merely a desire to continue fighting in the hope that the king and Parliament would consent to a redress of grievances. a. It sent another list of grievances to Parliament. . It also adopted measures to raise money for an army and a navy. c. It also selected George Washington to command the army. 1) George had never risen above the rank of colonel, and his largest command had only been of 1200 men, but he was a tall figure who looked like a leader, and thus, was a moral boost to troops. 2) He radiated patience, courage, self-discipline, and a sense of justice, and though he insisted on wo rking without pay, he did keep a careful expense account amounting to more than $100,00. II. Bunker Hill and Hessian Hirelings 1. In the first year, the war was one of consistency, as the colonists maintained their loyalty while still shooting at the king’s men. 2. In May 1775, a tiny American force led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, surprised and captured the British garrisons at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 3. In June 1775, the colonials seized Bunker Hill (before known as Breed’s Hill). a. Instead of flanking them, the Redcoats launched a frontal attack, and the heavily entrenched colonial sharpshooters mowed them down until meager gunpowder supplies ran out and they were forced to retreat. 4. After Bunker Hill, George III slammed the door for all hope of reconciliation and declared the colonies to be in open rebellion, a treasonous affair. 5. The King also hired many German mercenaries, called Hessians, who, because they were lured by booty and not duty, had large numbers desert and remained in America to become respectful citizens. III. The Abortive Conquest of Canada 1. In October 1775, the British burned Falmouth (Portland), Maine. 2. The colonists decided that invading Canada would add a 14th colony and deprive Britain of a valuable base for striking at the colonies in revolt. a. Also, the French-Canadians would support the Americans because they supposedly were bitter about Britain’s taking over of their land. b. General Richard Montgomery captured Montreal. c. At Quebec, he was joined by the bedraggled army of General Benedict Arnold. d. On the last day of 1775, in the assault of Quebec, Montgomery was killed and Arnold was wounded in one leg, and the whole campaign collapsed as the men retreated up the St. Lawrence River, reversing the way Montgomery had come. e. Besides, the French-Canadians, who had welcomed the Quebec Act, didn’t really like the anti-Catholic invaders. 3. In January 1776, the British set fire to Norfolk, Virginia, but in March, they were finally forced to evacuate Boston. 4. In the South, the rebels won a victory against some 1500 Loyalists at Moore’s Creek Bridge, in South Carolina, and against an invading British fleet at Charleston Harbor. IV. Thomas Paine Preaches Common Sense 1. In 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, which urged colonials to stop this war of inconsistency, stop pretending loyalty, and just fight. 2. Nowhere in the universe did a smaller body control a larger one, so Paine argued, saying why tiny Britain had to control gigantic America. . He called King George III â€Å"the Royal Brute of Great Britain. † V. Paine and the Idea of â€Å"Republicanism† 1. Paine argued his idea that there should be a â€Å"republic† where senators, governors, and judges should have their power from the consent of the people. 2. He laced his ideas with Biblical imagery, familiar to common folk. 3. Hi s ideas about rejecting monarchy and empire and embrace an independent republic fell on receptive ears in America, though it should be noted that these ideas already existed. a. The New Englanders already practiced this type of government in their town meetings. . Some patriots, though, favored a republic ruled by a â€Å"natural aristocracy. † VI. Jefferson’s â€Å"Explanation† of Independence 1. Members of the Philadelphia Congress, instructed by their colonies, gradually moved toward a clean break with Britain. 2. On June 7, 1776, fiery Richard Henry urged for complete independence, an idea that was finally adopted on July 2, 1776. 3. To write such a statement, Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson, already renown as a great writer, to concoct a Declaration of Independence. a. He did so eloquently, coming up with a list of grievances against King George III and persuasively explaining why the colonies had the right to revolt. b. His â€Å"explanation† of independence also upheld the â€Å"natural rights† of humankind. 4. When Congress approved it on July 2nd, John Adams proclaimed that date to be celebrated from then on with fireworks, but because of editing and final approval, it was not completely approved until July 4th, 1776. VII. Patriots and Loyalists 1. The War of Independence was a war within a war, as not all colonials were united. . There were Patriots, who supported rebellion and were called â€Å"Whigs. † b. There were Loyalists, who supported the King, often went to battle against fellow Americans, and were called â€Å"Tories. † c. There were those who didn’t care, and these people were constantly being asked to join one side or another. 2. During the war, the British proved that they could only control Tory areas, because when Redcoats packed up and left other areas, the rebels would regain control. 3. The Patriot militias constantly harassed small British detachments. 4. Loyalists were generally conservatives, but the war divided families. a. Benjamin Franklin was against his illegitimate son, William, the last royal governor of New Jersey. 5. The Patriots were generally the younger generation, like Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry. 6. Loyalists were most numerous where the Anglican Church was strongest. 7. There were also those who sold to the highest bidder, selling the British and ignoring starving, freezing soldiers (i. e. George Washington at Valley Forge). 8. Loyalists were less numerous in New England, where Presbyterianism and Congregationalism flourished. VIII. The Loyalist Exodus 1. After the Declaration of Independence, Loyalists and Patriots were more sharply divided, and Patriots often confiscated Loyalist property and resell it (good way to raise money). 2. Some 50,000 Loyalists served the British in one way or another (fighting, spying, etc†¦), and it was an oddity that the Brits didn’t make more use of them during the war. IX. General Washington at Bay . After the evacuation of Boston, the British focused on New York as a HQ for operations. a. An awe-inspiring fleet appeared off the coast in July 1776, consisting of some 500 ships and 35,000 men—the largest armed force seen in America ever until the Civil War. b. Washington could only muster 18,000 ill-trained men to fight, and they were routed at the Battle of Long Island. c. Washington escaped to Manhattan Island, cross ed the Hudson River to New Jersey, reaching the Delaware River with taunting, fox-hunt calling British on his heels. d. Crossing the Delaware River at Trenton on a cold December 26, 1776, and surprised and captured a thousand Hessians who were sleeping off their Christmas Day celebration (drinking). e. He then left his campfires burning as a ruse, slipped away, and inflicted a sharp defeat on a smaller British detachment at Princeton, showing his military genius at its best. f. It was odd that General William Howe, the British general, didn’t crush Washington when he was at the Delaware, but he well remembered Bunker Hill, and was cautious. X. Burgoyne’s Blundering Invasion 1. London officials adopted a complicated scheme for capturing the vital Hudson River Valley in 1777 which, if successful, would severe New England from the rest of the colonies: a. General Burgoyne would push down the Lake Champlain route from Canada. b. General Howe’s troops in New York, if needed, could advance up the Hudson and meet Burgoyne in Albany. c. A third and much smaller British force commanded by Colonel Barry St. Ledger would come in from the west by way of Lake Ontario and the Mohawk Valley. 2. However, Benedict Arnold, after failure at Quebec, retreated slowly along the St. Lawrence back to Lake Champlain, where the British would have to win control (of the lake) before proceeding. a. The Brits stopped to build a huge force, while Arnold assembled a tattered flotilla from whatever boats he could find. b. His â€Å"navy† was destroyed, but he had gained valuable time, because winter set in and the British settled in Canada; they would have to begin anew the next spring. 1) Had Arnold not contributed his daring and skill, the Brits most likely would have recaptured Ticonderoga and Burgoyne could have started from there and succeeded in his venture. 3. Burgoyne began his mission with 7000 troops and a heavy baggage train consisting of a great number of the officers’ wives. a. Meanwhile, sneaky rebels, sensing the kill, were gathering along his flanks. 4. General Howe, at a time when he should be starting up the Hudson, deliberately embarked for an attack on Philadelphia. a. He wanted to force an encounter with Washington and leave the path wide open for Burgoyne’s thrust; he thought he had enough time to help Burgoyne if needed. b. Washington transferred his troops to Philly, but was defeated at Brandywine Creek and Germantown. . Then, the fun-loving Howe settled down in Philadelphia, leaving Burgoyne â€Å"to the dogs. † d. Ben Franklin, in Paris, joked that Howe hadn’t captured Philadelphia, but that â€Å"Philadelphia had captured Howe. † 5. Washington finally retired for the winter at Valley Forge, where his troops froze in the cold, but a recently arrived Prussian drill master, Baron von Steu ben, whipped the cold troops into shape. 6. Burgoyne’s doomed troops were bogged down, and the rebels swarmed in with a series of sharp engagements, pushing the St. Legers force back at Oriskany while Burgoyne, unable to advance or retreat, surrendered his entire force at Saratoga, on October 17, 1777. a. Perhaps one of the most decisive battles in British and American history. XI. Strange French Bedfellows 1. France was eager to get revenge on Britain, and secretly supplied the Americans throughout much of the war. 2. After the humiliation at Saratoga, the British offered the Americans a measure that gave them home rule—everything they wanted except independence. 3. After Saratoga, France finally was persuaded to enter the war against Britain. a. Louis XVI’s ministers argued that this was the perfect time to act, because if Britain regained control, she might then try to capture the French West Indies for compensation for the war. b. Now was the time the strike, rather than risk a stronger Britain with its reunited colonies. 4. France, in 1778, offered a treaty of alliance, offering America everything that Britain had offered, plus recognition of independence. a. The Americans accepted with caution, since France was pro-Catholic, but since they needed help, they’d take it. XII. The Colonial War Becomes a World War 1. In 1779, Spain and Holland entered the war against Britain. . In 1780, Catherine the Great of Russia took the lead in organizing the Armed Neutrality (she later called it the Armed Nullity) that lined up all of Europe’s neutrals in passive hostility against England. 3. America, though it kept the war going until 1778, didn’t win until France, Spain, and Holland joined in and Britain co uldn’t handle them all. 4. Britain, with the French now in the seas, decided to finally evacuate Philadelphia and concentrate their forces in New York, and even though Washington attacked them at Monmouth on a blisteringly hot day in which scores of men died of sunstroke, the British escaped to New York. XIII. Blow and Counterblow 1. French reinforcements, commanded by Comte de Rochambeau, arrived in Newport, Rhode Island in 1780, but flares sometimes erupted between the Americans and the French. 2. In 1780, feeling unappreciated and lured by British gold, General Benedict Arnold turned traitor by plotting with the British to sell out West Point. a. When the plot was discovered, he fled with the British. b. â€Å"Whom can we trust now? † cried George Washington in anguish. 3. The British devised a plan to roll up the colonies from the South. a. Georgia was ruthlessly overrun in 1778-1779. b. Charleston, South Carolina, fell in 1780. . In the Carolinas, Patriots bitterly fought their Loyalist neighbors. d. However, in 1781, American riflemen wiped out a British detachment at King’s Mountain, and then defeated a smaller force at Cowpens. e. At the Carolina campaign of 1781, Quaker-reared tactician General Nathanael Greene distinguished himself with his strategy of delay. 1) By slowly retreating and losing battles but winning campaigns, he helped clear the British out of most of Georgia and South Carolina. XIV. The Land Frontier and the Sea Frontier 1. 1777 was known as the â€Å"bloody year† on the frontier, as Indians went on a scalping spree. . Most of the Indians supported Britain and believed that if they won, it would stop American expansion into the West, and save Indian land. 3. Mohawk chief Joseph Brant, recently converted to Anglicanism, and his men ravaged the backcountry of Pennsylvania and New York until check by Americans in 1779. 4. In 1784, the pro-British Iroquois (the Oneidas and the Tuscaroras had sided with the Americans, the other four with the British) signed the Treaty of For Stanwix, the first treaty between the U. S. and an Indian nation. a. Under its terms, the Indians ceded most of their land. 5. Even in wartime, pioneers moved west, showing their gratitude to the French with such town names as Louisville while remembering the Revolution with Lexington, Kentucky. 6. George Rogers Clark, an audacious frontiersman, floated down the Ohio River with about 175 in 1778-1779 and captured forts Kaskaskia, Chohokia, and Vicennes in quick succession. 7. The tiny American navy never really hurt the British warships, but it did destroy British merchant shipping and carried the war into the waters around the British Isles. 8. Swift privateers preyed on enemy shipping, capturing many ships and forcing them to sail in convoys. XV. Yorktown and the Final Curtain. 1. Before the last decisive victory, inflation continued to soar, and the government was virtually bankrupt, and announced that it could only repay many of its debts at a rate of 2. 5 cents on the dollar. 2. However, Cornwallis was blundering into a trap. a. Retreating to Chesapeake Bay and assuming that British control of the seas would give him much needed backup, Cornwallis instead was trapped by Washington’s army, which had come 300 miles from New York, Rochambeau’s French army, and the navy of French Admiral de Grasse. . After hearing the news of Cornwallis’ defeat, Lord North cried, â€Å"Oh God! It’s all over! † 4. Stubborn King George wanted to continue the war, since he still had 54,000 troops in North America and 32,000 in the U. S. , and fighting did continue for about a year after Yorktown, especially in the South, but America had won. XVI. Peace at Paris 1. Many Brits were weary of the war, since they had suffered heavy reverse in India and the West Indies, the island of Minorca in the Mediterranean had fallen, and the Rock of Gibraltar was tottering. . Ben Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay met in Paris for a peace deal. a. Jay suspected that France would try to keep the U. S. cooped up east of the Alleghenies and keep America weak. b. Instead, Jay, thinking that France would betray American ambitious to satisfy those of Spain, secretly made separate overtures to London (against instructions from Congress) and came to terms quickly with the British, who were eager to entice one of their enemies from the alliance. 3. The Treaty of Paris of 1783, Britain formally recognized the USA and granted generous boundaries, stretching majestically to the Mississippi on the west, the Great Lakes on the north, and to Spanish Florida on the South. a. The Yankees also retained a share in the priceless fisheries of Newfoundland. b. Americans couldn’t persecute Loyalists, though, and Congress could only recommend legislatures that confiscated Loyalist land. XVII. A New Nation Legitimized 1. Britain had ceded so much land because it was trying to entice America from its French alliance. a. Remember, George Rogers Clark had only conquered a small part of the land. 2. Also, during the time, the American-friendly Whigs were in control of the Parliament, which was not to be the case in later years. 3. France approved the treaty, though with cautious eyes. 4. In truth, America came out the big winner, and seldom, if ever, have any people been so favored. XVIII. Makers of America: The Loyalists 1. Loyalists were conservative, well-educated, thought that a complete break with Britain would invite anarchy, and felt that America couldn’t win against the more powerful army in the world. . Many Britons had settled in America after the Seven Years’ War, and they had reason to support their home country. 3. Thousands of African-Americans joined the British ranks for hope of freedom from bondage. a. Many Black Loyalists won their freedom from Britain. b. Others suffered betrayal, such as when Cornwallis abandoned over 4000 former slaves in Virginia and when many Black Loyalists boarded ships expecting to embark for freedom and instead found themselves sold back into slavery. c. Some Black exiles settled in Britain, but weren’t really accepted easily. . Most Loyalists remained in America, where they faced special burdens and struggled to re-establish themselves in a society that viewed them as traitors. 5. Hugh Gaine, though, succeeded. a. He reopened his business and even won contracts fro the new government. b. He also published the new national army regulations authored by Baron von Steuben. c. When New York ratified the Constitution in 1788, Gaine rode the float at the head of the city’s celebration parade. d. He had, like many other former Loyalists, become an American.

Home-Coming Analysis Essay

Good morning/afternoon teacher and classmates. Last week, our group was designated to analyse the poem Home-Coming by Australian poet Bruce Dawe, who was born in 1930 in Geelong, Victoria. Out of the four siblings in the family, he was the only one to ever attend a proper secondary school. Previously being a part of the Royal Australian Air Force in 1959, his purpose for writing this particular poem was because of the Vietnam War, which claimed a seemingly endless number of lives. This really angered him and so he dedicated this poem to the casualties during the war. In our analysis of the poem, we noticed that the poem effectively incorporated a variety of useful techniques which significantly enhanced the subtle meaning behind the poem. With the clever use of language and structural devices, Bruce Dawe was really able to augment his views and exhibit his true perspective upon war. Some techniques utilised throughout the passage were similes, repetition and irony, just to name a fe w. In a nutshell, the poem revolves around soldiers apparently coming home from the destructive course of war to their loved ones. From the title of â€Å"Home-Coming†, the audience gain an implication of relief and happiness and it insinuates a positive atmosphere. However, later on in the poem this is found to not be the case as the status of all the soldiers are revealed to be deceased. As soon as we read this, we quickly picked up on the fact that it was an anti-war poem. In our points of view, we believe the poem resembles an elegy because of its depressing mood. Also, our group thought that the poet was striving to depict the soldiers as unimportant and expendable through a satirical perspective as well as showing us how little respect they gain from laying their lives down for our freedom. To begin with, the first device embedded in the first section of the poem is repetition. The repetition of the word â€Å"day† in the quote â€Å"All day, day after day† presents a tedious mood in which time is moving extremely slowly and almost seems perpetual when we read it. This technique has such a strong and potent effect on the audience as it is applied in the opening lines of the poem, which forces us to have an immediate reaction. Also, the word â€Å"they’re† is continuously written later on in the poem, such as â€Å"they’re bringing them in, they’re zipping them up†. By doing this, Dawe attempts to  show a somewhat mechanical and constant process of the storage of corpses, thus displaying the soldiers with the qualities of inanimate objects and not worthy of have equality to human beings. Repetition is an important aspect in this poem and gives us the stereotypical view on the soldiers fighting at war. In addition to this, Dawe includes a descriptive array of similes that paint very vivid images in the minds of the audience, which allow them to picture the particular scene that the poet is trying to conjure. As a result, the composer is able to manipulate the imagination of readers and stimulate them into thinking about a specific theme through the use of words. In this case, Bruce Dawe induces strong visual imagery that promotes a lonely, mournful and silent atmosphere. An example of this mood is demonstrated in the quote â€Å"telegrams tremble like leaves from a wintering tree†. To base an image upon a â€Å"wintering tree† provides negative connotations whilst also allowing Dawe to take advantage of words to reinforce the depressing mood of the text. Because of this, the strong meaning behind the similes used is an essential component in the poem of Home-coming. Finally, the last technique adopted in the poem sparingly but effectively is irony. Dawe entices the audience to positive emotions such as hope and relief through the title of â€Å"Home-coming† which obviously is supposed to spark happiness. However, in this case, the poet deceptively turns our hope into confusion as the text then turns to a melancholy mood through quotes such as â€Å"they’re picking them up, those they can find†. The intended reaction that Bruce Dawe wants from the audience is shock, because as we read on, the soldiers are disclosed as dead people. This is where the irony lies as the content of the poem and its atmosphere almost completely contradicts the message that the title is insinuating. Furthermore, another instance of irony is the phrase â€Å"frozen sunset†. Once again, these words build up a cold and desolate basis for the mood of the poem. Bruce Dawe has combined a number of techniques such as irony and similes in this anti-war poem that makes the audience wonder about the terrible effects of war and the devastation it can bring to families. It persuades them to  see through the faà §ade of war with the twisted but true contrasts of the title and content of the poem. As well as this, the text tries to make us consider the way that we act in regards to soldiers and we they should respect them more as they are the reason why our freedom is able to be reserved for the future generations.