Understanding ‘The Fish’

Report

            ‘The Fish’ by Elizabeth Bishop is a free form poem where the poet does a spectacular job in describing that occur from the moment she catches a fish to the time she releases it after a chain of rather interesting events.  At the beginning of the poem, Bishop creates an image of a helpless fish which is held captive by the narrator in the poem. In doing so, she is able to lead the audience into feeling sorry for the fish and the situation described in the poem in general. She starts off by describing the fish’s ‘skin’, its gills, jaw, white flesh and lip to create an image in the audiences mind of the fish in question and to help them develop an attachment with the fish (Bishop 463). She further uses her imagination to remove the flesh of the fish, revealing its inner contents which she mentions as different parts, a move that could be described as her visualizing the fish as different parts that could be used for various purposes. However, as the events transpire, Bishop eventually develops a relationship with the fish as is seen by the events that occur.

            The relationship develops further and becomes more personal especially when she into the fish’s eyes and describes how the fish stares back at her (Bishop 463). The decision to look into the fish’s eyes is an important point in the poem because it is at this point that she is able to identify with the human existence with the existence of the fish. Since the audience is reading the poem and following the narrator’s actions, the audience’s relationship with the fish further develops in line with that of the narrator. As the narrator continues to stare at the fish, its interdependent existence becomes clearer to her (Bishop 463). She reaches a higher admiration level for the fish when she notices the five hooks still attached to the fish’s jaw. The hooks are an indication that the fish had been caught five other times yet still managed to get away. Such a realization is also clear to the audience whose relationship develops even more out of admiration of a fish that had been caught five other times, got away and was still alive.  

            The narrator describes the hooks attached to the fish’s jaw as ‘badges of courage’ (Bishop 463) which help the audience to have an understanding of the type of life that the fish had lived and still persevered. Bishop uses a lot of imagery and a well delivered description that acts as a tool that is successful in getting the audience to develop a great admiration for something as simple as a fish. Later on, she decides to the set the fish free, and this occurs after she is able to identify herself within the fish. The identification with the fish solidifies the belief that nature is and has always been an ecological system where the existence of one element is greatly determined by other elements occurring in nature (Bishop 464). Towards the end of the poem, the audience can see that the ship used by the narrator had been in use for a long time resulting to its beaten up state. Despite it leaking oil and its engine having rusted over the years, it is on this ship that the narrator managed to catch the fish.

            The narrator tries to show certain events that some people consider a blessing may cause harm to others. Oxygen for example is described as a poisonous substance that causes a lot of distress for the fish when it is brought half way out of the water (Bishop 463). In most cases however, human beings would describe oxygen as a necessity and a wonderful thing to have since they need it to live. The narrator thus shows how killing the fish could result to more negative repercussions. She therefore uses the image of a rainbow to indicate that a transition has occurred and that the narrator has reached another level of awareness. Out of the displeasing description of the ship and the act of catching such a tremendous fish, the narrator uses the rainbow to show that good things can come out of a bad situation (Bishop 464). When she decides to set the fish free, she is able to not only save its life but also gains a better understanding of life.

Essay

            In the poem ‘The Fish’, the use of short lines and the presence of enjambments indicate that the poet, Bishop, is giving her own thoughts. This form of poetry gives the impression that the poet is not simply writing the words on a piece of paper but is rather speaking them out loud. The poem is presented in a way that the audience feels as if the poet was present at the scene and was narrating the events that occurred throughout the poem (Bishop 463). The poem is also written as a single stanza. The decision to write it this way may have been in an attempt to portray the long ordeal that fishermen engage in when fishing. In doing so, bishop is able to prepare the audience for the poem and to make sure that it resonates with the act of fishing itself. The poem is also full of imagery that is very vivid and a lot of description which help the audience to visualize what is being narrated in the poem (Bishop 463). Through the narration, tone and imagery used, the audience is led into creating a bond with the fish. This bond is essential as it is through it that the audience develops the same admiration towards the fish as the narrator does and appreciates the plight that the fish has endured. The audience thus creates a vivid mental picture, one that makes them believe that the actions really happened and thus grows to respect not only the narrator, but also the fish (Bishop 463).

            In the beginning of the poem, the narrator creates an intense image of the fish by describing it as being tremendous, venerable, battered and homely. Such a description leads the audience into sympathizing with the fish especially for people who have ever been fishing. The narrator later compares the fish to a household object that is familiar to most, if not all of the audience.  “Here and there / his brown skin hung in strips / like ancient wallpaper, / and its pattern of darker brown / was like wallpaper” (Bishop 463). By using two similes that have a common object, the Bishop manages to create sympathy for the fish that is being held captive.  Using the wall paper to describe the fish creates a personal image of its appearance (Bishop 463). Wallpapers are something common and most of the audience can relate because they either own or have seen one. The analogy of an ancient wall paper is used to give an idea of how old the fish was. Even though the wall paper was old and faded, it had managed to overcome various challenges and withstand the various adversities. The narrator uses this as an indicator that the fish had endured a lot of challenges yet still came out strong.

            Ironically, Bishop describes oxygen, something that is essential for our survival, as being terrible because of what it does to the fish when it is taken out of water (Bishop 463). She describes it as being terrible so as to help the audience visualize how the fish gasped for breath and fought against the oxygen. The fish’s gills were also described as being frightening despite the role they play in safeguarding its survival. The descriptions help to create an image of the fish and how big it was so that the audience can understand what an achievement the narrator had done in catching it. Describing it as having “coarse white flesh packed in like feathers” (Bishop 463) intensifies the views that the audience has of the fish to a level where they can relate to the events that were occurring in the poem.

            The narrator was also able to relate to the fish on a more personal basis when she stared into its eyes and admired its jaws and face (Bishop 464). The intense diction used allows the audience to develop a tone of respect especially when the narrator goes down to the level of the fish creating more respect for the situation that the fish is in. the fish’s stare is described as that of an object that has tipped to the direction where there is light allowing the audience to connect deeper with the fish and the narrator in the poem. The well described lip of the reader personifies the fish making it more real to the audience. As bishop describes how the fish’s lips have grown around the hooks, the audience sees them as part of the fish (Bishop 464). The hooks are then seen as medals won by the fish after the various escapes made from other fishermen who attempted to catch it. The fish is considered wise and having achieved great fetes which in turn demands more respect from the audience.

            According to Bishop, the fish has a lot of wisdom and endurance which is why it was able to escape from being caught five times (Bishop 464). The survival of the fish is thus seen as the endurance of nature and its ability to persevere despite the adverse challenges that may occur. It is also a statement demonstrating that despite humans’ various harmful activities, nature will always emerge victorious and continue thriving. Out of either bravery or wisdom, the fish did not put up a fight when caught by the narrator (Bishop 464). This may have been as a result of its various encounters with fishermen. In its old beaten up state, the narrator would have felt sympathetic and simply let the fish go. Its body was also in a bad condition, filled with strings and wires. The narrator was able to grasp the concept that, no matter how badly human beings abused nature, it would still continue to thrive like the fish had done.

The state that the fish was in led the narrator into developing a deeper appreciation for the situation she was in. for a moment, the narrator took her attention from the ship to the ship she was using. It was old and beaten up with oil dripping into the lake, making a rainbow as it came into contact with the water (Bishop 464). Bishop uses the image of the rainbow as it is regarded by most, if not all of the audience as a symbol for hope in the future. The belief in the rainbow as a sign for hope for a better future can be traced down to biblical times when God sent a rainbow as a sign to Noah that the floods that occurred after forty days and nights of rain were over. The rainbow thus symbolized that the fish would no longer suffer under the hands of the narrator as it is at this point that she decided to set it free (Bishop 464).

The fish also leads the narrator into realizing that human beings are not the only intelligent species. As most people would assume, catching a fish is an easy tasks especially because not many fish can escape the hooks used by fishermen. In the poem, there is evidence that the fish was able to escape after being capture five times. This is proof that man is yet to fully conquer nature especially when a simple creature like a fish escapes with hooks and adorns them as medals. It is this realization that dawns down on the narrator and she decides to set the fish free. Had she decided to kill the fish and keep her catch, she would have ignored all that she had learnt and failed to benefit from what the experience had taught her. She however decided to set it free, in the hope that it would have the same effect on the next fisherman that manages to catch the fish.

Work cited

Bishop E, “The Fish” 1917

Two Spirit People

Background

This paper carries out an analysis of the themes outline in the Two-spirit literature and touches on the collection of various stories including poems. The theme of the literature fits the contribution of the homosexual, transgender or bisexual people and two-spirit writers in a context of decolonizing methodology. The literature accomplishes these themes across  various genres which include fiction ,poems and scholarly discourse  and asserts the presences of real canal desires among the people who are considered not straight sexually  in the society. The paper highlights the conceptions of sexuality, gender and community by the Two-spirit stories which seem to portray to portray individuals – Coyote – expressing their sexuality (Uzendoski, 353).

Purpose

 The two-spirit literature focuses on what was in the older times considered to be strange identity formation as seen in the context of resisting colonial gender descriptions and sexual regimes and therefore can be said to reflect a wider indigenous experiences among the  concerned people. The stories focus on the need to educate the communities who have interest in learning about the sexual orientations of the indigenous people. The Sovereign Erotics recognizes the decolonizing impulses probably trying to have people open up and embrace others regardless of their sexual orientation. This theme can be seen in the stories where characters are presented as normal people with a need to associate with those they are sexually attracted to without fear of segregation. But, the fear existed among the American Natives which is portrayed in the poem where the two are merging form the war debris (Driskill, Justice, Miranda & Tatonetti, 69). The stories in this collection tend to reflect on the themes of sexuality in the indigenous people. They strive to identify with the identities’ complexity within the Gay people and how they searched for an approval from the influential people such as missionaries and   priests. They collaboratively aim at demonstrating the radical variance or diversity among the current indigenous gay and bisexual people and the strength, beauty and resilience observed among such people in the 21^st century (Uzendoski, 353).  

The writers have an impressive achievement by presenting various voices of two-spirit-identified individuals who are trying to push their boundaries on sexuality. The articles can thus be said to be describing the potential in erotic pleasure which is profoundly dynamic and productive. They include the individual pleasure as a tool for pursuing historical understanding of how such individual faired.  Deborah Miranda portrays Coyote as an individual intending to fulfill his individual erotic pleasure only that he seems to fantasize more than really attaining it. This is seen in his mental orgies at the beach while not really getting to know them physically.   The writers utilize the erotics to stand up to the hegemonic efforts of colonial societies in the regulation of the indigenous people’s behavior and sexualities as one of the ploy for colonialism.  

Conclusion

The writer of the articles utilizes the theme of love, sexuality and friendship to reflect on the individual erotic pleasure for the native America people of different sexual orientation. They not only demonstrate diversity but the views of the outsiders on the sexual behavior of the native people. They use such words as wounded, sexy and angry to express the desires of the characters and the society members in which they exist.

Reference

Uzendoski, A. "Qwo-Li Driskill, Daniel Heath Justice, Deborah Miranda, And Lisa Tatonetti, Eds., Sovereign Erotics: A Collection Of Two-Spirit Literature." Western American Literature 48.3 (2013): 353. British Library Document Supply Centre Inside Serials & Conference Proceedings. Web. 22 Sept. 2016

Driskill Qwo-li, Justice Daniel, Miranda Deborah , Tatonetti Lisa. Sovereign Erotics.A collection of Two-Spirit Literature .1995.69

Hemingway's ’Primitivism’ and 'Indian Camp

            Meyers starts his essay with several interpretations that are raised by the critics based on power and its meaning.  The doctor performs an operation to a pregnant woman with a jackknife without an anesthetic and this makes her husband commit suicide.  This makes the suicide become unjustified but did not explain the behavior of the Indians (Jeffrey, 211). 

            This interpretation explains the thesis of the author based on the limitations of the Hemingway criticism during his last years as the same explanation is given by the doctor about the Indian suicide.  This suicide shows the Hemingway’s approach to the prehistoric and his success in showing the account (Jeffrey, 215).

Meyers supports his thesis in that the story reveals the main character that shows his idea, experience and knowledge that he never had.  The doctor in question is has young boy in the North Woods of Michigan and accompanies his father to the Indian camp.  The boy assists his father in holding the woman but turns his neck away.  They discover that the Indian man was dead and Nick asks his father why the man killed himself.  Hi father explains that he could not stand seeing his wife in pain (Jeffrey, 217).

            Although the Indian man could not stand things, there are some other reasons as to why he committed suicide.  Meyers want the readers to understand that the approach of the doctor to the woman and the kind of treatment also were some other factors that caused him dead.  The doctor tells his son that the woman was screaming out of nothing and this makes the Indian man roll over the wall and cuts his throat with a razor (Jeffrey, 220).

Based on the Hemingway’s primitivism, the author is trying to show the difficult aspects of the story that Hemingway did not understand why the Indian stays in the room when the wife is groaning in pain.  He also stays in the room but he feels sympathy with his wife.  Thus the Indian camp shows Hemingway’s primitivism and demonstrates his success in showing it (Jeffrey, 222). 

Work cited

Meyers, Jeffrey. "Hemingway's 'Primitivism' and 'Indian Camp.'" Twentieth Century Literature. 34.2 (1988): 211-222. Print.   

Retrieved from: https://users.hfcc.edu/~pkim/HemingwaysPrimitivismandIndianCamp.pdf

Digressions Instances

            What do we know about the future? Difficult question, simple answer: nothing…. We cannot predict the future… who would anyway know what the future…anyway…  We only can create a vision of the future, how it might be, a vision which reveals disruptive ideas, which is inspiring, and this is the most important reason which breaks the chains of common thinking.

There are a lot of people… and when I say a lot of people I should have mentioned that it’s people from the past… people who created their own vision about the future, for instance, this vision here from the early 20th century. It says here that this is the ocean plane of the future. It takes only one and a half days to cross the Atlantic Ocean… imagine taking one and a half days only… anyway… Today, we know that this future vision didn't come true. So this is our largest airplane which we have, the Airbus A380, and it's quite huge, so a lot of people fit in there and it's technically completely different than the vision I've shown to you.

            I'm working on Airbus…although not alone but with a team… and we have created our vision about a more sustainable future of aviation. So sustainability is quite important for us, which should incorporate social but as well as environmental and economic values. So we have created a very disruptive structure which mimics the design of bone, or a skeleton, which occurs in nature… of course this is not work of one person but of a team as I had mentioned… So that's why it looks maybe a little bit weird, especially to the people who deal with structures in general. But at least it's just a kind of artwork to explore our ideas about a different future.

What are the main customers of the future? So, we have the old, we have the young, we have the uprising power of women, and there's one mega-trend which affects all of us. These are the future anthropometrics. So our children are getting larger, sorry I meant l bigger, but at the same time we are growing into different directions. So what we need is space inside the aircraft, inside a very dense area. These people have different needs... of course I’m sure you can imagine why… So we see a clear need of active health promotion, especially in the case of the old people. We want to be treated as individuals. We like to be productive throughout the entire travel chain, and what we are doing in the future is we want to use the latest man-machine interface, and we want to integrate this and show this in one product.

            So we combined these needs with technology's themes. So for instance, we are asking ourselves, how can we create lighter? How can we bring more natural light into the airplane? So this airplane has no windows anymore, for example. What about the data and communication software which we need in the future? My belief is that the airplane of the future will get its own consciousness. It will be more like a living organism than just a collection of very complex technology. This will be very different in the future. It will communicate directly with the passenger in its environment. And then we are talking also about materials, synthetic biology, for example. And my belief is that we will get more and more new materials which we can put into structure later on, because structure is one of the key issues in aircraft design. So let's compare the old world with the new world. I just want to show you here what we are doing today. So this is a bracket of an A380 crew rest compartment. It takes a lot of weight, and it follows the classical design rules. This here is an equal bracket for the same purpose. It follows the design of bone. The design process is completely different. At the one hand, we have 1.2 kilos, and at the other hand 0.6 kilos. So this technology, 3D printing, and new design rules really help us to reduce the weight, which is the biggest issue in aircraft design, because it's directly linked to greenhouse gas emissions. Push this idea a little bit forward.

            So how does nature build its components and structures? So nature is very clever. It puts all the information into these small building blocks, which we call DNA. And nature builds large skeletons out of it. So we see a bottom-up approach here, because all the information, as I said, is inside the DNA. And this is combined with a top-down approach, because what we are doing in our daily life is we train our muscles, we train our skeleton, and it's getting stronger. And the same approach can be applied to technology as well. So our building block is carbon nanotubes, for example, to create a large, rivet-less skeleton at the end of the day. How this looks in particular, you can show it here. So imagine you have carbon nanotubes growing inside a 3D printer, and they are embedded inside a matrix of plastic, and follow the forces which occur in your component. And you've got trillions of them. So you really align them to wood, and you take this wood and make morphological optimization, so you make structures, sub-structures, which allow you to transmit electrical energy or data. And now we take this material, combine this with a top-down approach, and build bigger and bigger components.

            So how might the airplane of the future look? So we have very different seats which adapt to the shape of the future passenger, with the different anthropometrics. We have social areas inside the aircraft which might turn into a place where you can play virtual golf. And finally, this bionic structure, which is covered by a transparent biopolymer membrane, will really change radically how we look at aircrafts in the future. So as Jason Silva said, if we can imagine it, why not make it so? See you in the future. Thank you. (Applause)

Martin Luther King Jr's ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’

Letter from Birmingham Jail was an open letter that was written by Martin Luther King Jr back in 1963 after being arrested and incarcerated in Birmingham prison. The theme of the letter was to address the issue of racial segregation and defending nonviolent resistance that was performed by African-Americans in the 20^th century. As a result, the letter asserted that it was the moral responsibility of the people of color to take action of breaking unjust laws instead of sitting back and wait for the justice to come to them. This was after martin Luther heard that heard that people who were opposing his activities claimed that his activities were “unwise and untimely” (Luther, np). Thus, he wanted to prove that his activities were meant to encourage his people to take actions towards injustice. In the rhetorical analysis of this Martin Luther’s letter from Birmingham jail, this paper will assess his use of pathos, ethos and logos towards conveying the theme of injustice that dominated the American society in the days.

Ethos      

Citing from the fact that ethos relates to defending one’s reputation, it is factual that one of the major themes of Luther’s letter is based on defending himself from false representation. At the prologue of his letter, Luther King asserts that he came across statements that called his activities imprudent and inconvenient (Luther, np). Therefore, in the defense for these accusations, Luther King starts by stating that one of the reasons that he was incarcerated is because of the injustice that ruled United States. He meant that the reason why he was in jail was not because of his culpability but rather because of the inherent injustice (Luther, np). Thus, it is evident that he tried to defend his reputation as he was misrepresented to his people and the general American society. To support his contentions, Luther King argued that statements that were made against him failed to express the reason he was demonstrating and focused basically on the act of protesting (Luther, np). It was perceptible that those who opposed Martin Luther concealed the issue of injustice and racism that resulted to segregation and violation of rights of African-American. Generally, Martin Luther King Jr in his letter cites from the cases of injustice and violation of the rights of African-Americans in order to defend his reputation from false statements that were made against him and his activities.

Pathos      

To start with, pathos delineates the appeal of emotion created by the author in order to convey the mood of the theme and content to the audience. In expressing the extent of injustice in United States, Luther King Jr uses examples of uncountable cases where Black Americans had been treated unfairly. Citing from the nature of Birmingham city, he asserted that the area was known for the extreme brutality that the Blacks were subjected to (Luther, np). He also used cases such as unfair judgment of cases in courts, Black-American massacres, and segregation from the American society. Additionally, he narrated how their nonviolent demonstrations were in vain after the claims that there were threatening national securities. Some African-Americans lost their lives in nonviolent demonstrations after soldiers were ordered to disperse them with the claims that their created tension in the society (Luther, np). It appeared that their yarning for freedom was rewarded with injustice and violence every time they expressed their concern. Generally, pathos in the letter are exhibited through cases of injustice and violation of Afro-Americans’ rights.

Logos

Precisely, logos define the logical facts raised by the author which derive the deductive and inductive reasoning for the audience. Therefore, in the support of the unwillingness of the Black-Americans in the support of unjust laws of the whites, Luther King draws some examples from the Bible such as the way Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar on the claims that they were immoral and unreligious (Luther, np). Additionally, he used facts such as how early Christians were ready to be eaten by hungry lions rather than submitting to the Roman unjust laws. Martin Luther used these examples to prove that it was not immoral for them to demonstrate against unjust laws. These examples drew a conclusion that if early believers of faith defied unjust laws, it is factual that it was moral for them to protest against the injustice.

Conclusion            

Generally, citing from the fact that Martin Luther King Jr wrote the letter to defend his reputation against false statements and prove the injustice of the laws, he used ethos, pathos and logos to convey the theme. Precisely, he used ethos to defend his reputation using facts and examples to prove that the society was dominated by injustice and the same injustice was the reason why he was incarcerated. Lastly, he used pathos to derive the mood and emotions when the Blacks are treated unfairly by the whites. Luther King’s arguments were made logical by facts and examples he raised to support the reason they were demonstrating against injustice in the society.

Work Cited      

Luther, M.K. Letter from the Birmingham Jail. Mass Resistance. 16^th April 1963. Retrieved from http://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen/09a/mlk_day/birmingham_jail.html  

The Case of the Colorblind Painter

B.

Is seeing believing?

            Seeing is believing is an idiom that means, physical evidence is convincing. This phrase implies that it is hard to accept the truth unless we see it. The reading about the experience of a colorblind explains the fact that seeing is believing because if one saw a black color, he or she will automatically believe the color seen is black. For instance, a colorblind person who knew the exact appearance of things hardly believes if those are the same things he used to know. That is why after the occurrence of the accident, when the painter drove to his studio the following day, he found a police carbon copy, which he did not manage to read but he believed, that was the paper looked like (Sacks & Wasserman, 4).

            The next day he again decided to go to work, but that day appeared to him as if he was driving in a fog even after him knowing that it was a bright sunny morning (Sacks & Wasserman, 4). The painter believed it was a foggy morning because that was what he had seen. Everything appeared to him as misty, grayish, bleached and indistinct and he believed it was so. He was confronted by police even after failing to identify the red lights and he believed there were no red lights because he had not seen them. When he reached his studio, he expected to find the horrible fog gone such that he may see clear things then but unfortunately, he could not see the brilliant colored paintings but instead could see entirely gray and void color in the studio. Mr. I the painter could no more bear the appearance of people to the extent of shunning sexual intercourse with his wife he saw people’s flesh including his had changed to grayish and he believed it was the appearance that is the reason he did not bear any more with the changed appearance (Sacks & Wasserman, 4). He closed his eyes while eating because of the grayish, dead of the food and this also show that he believed what he had seen and he could not want to look how disgusting the food was even after knowing the real appearance of some foods like tomatoes. This made him to black and white foods such as white rice, black olives, black coffee and yogurt instead of eating other foods that appeared horribly abnormal to him (Sacks & Wasserman, 5). This therefore explains that he preferred eating what he saw well because it was hard for him to believe the other foods because of their strange appearance. He found it hard to believe his wife’s selection of his clothes because he believed on what he knew and what he had seen before. This explains that seeing adds power on one’s belief.

            The phrase “seeing is believing’ can also be used to mean, that through seeing, one is able to do something perfectly. Meaning you do something with assuredness of what you are doing. It is also true in the case of the painter because when he tried to continue painting normally as he used to, he did not bring out perfect pictures like the way he used to (Sacks & Wasserman, 7). This therefore means seeing is believing and without seeing without believing. Therefore to produce brilliant pictures  for people with normal eyes, the painter needs to have normal eyes.

            However, this phrase can be disapproved by certain incidences thus, seeing shall not always suggest that something is factual. This therefore implies that seeing does not mean believing. There are things that can be believed even without seeing them. Basing on the case of the colorblind painter, he developed a desire to paint in color even after knowing that he could no longer see colors. He believed that even without seeing, he will be in position to paint using colors. His first exercise was to paint flowers from his palette (Sacks & Wasserman, 7). Nonetheless, the pictures he painted while blind were so confusing to a person with normal eyes and they could only reveal themselves when seen in black and white.

            Visual perception refers to the ability of the brain to make sense of what the eyes have seen. The way we interpret the world dictates the sense of reality. A person may have a complete vision and still have problems with visual perception. Visual perception starts immediately when the eye focuses the physical in form of light on to the retina. Those stimuli are then sent as electrical signals to the brain then interpreted as images. Visual perception skills are important for daily skills such as writing, reading, drawing, painting, completing puzzles, dressing and many others. Tit therefore implies that one’s visual perception may not be the exact representation of what is actually there. There are people with visual ability yet they lack perceptual capacity to process what they have seen. That is why we have people with a problem of misidentifying materials or example mistaking soap for pate. This problem is mostly suffered by people with colorblindness.

            When looking at the case of the colorblind painter, there are many chances of mistaking things. First of all, the way he perceives the colors is contrary to the exact color, for instance red and green are perceived as black whereas yellow and blue are perceived as whitish (Sacks & Wasserman, 5). In this scenario, the visual perception cannot be a representation of what is actually there but instead a wrong representation. The painter’s case has presented many scenarios of visual perceptions different from the actual representation. He perceived a bright and sunny morning as a foggy because of the effect of inaccurate visual perception. The way he perceived the appearance of people was completely different from the actual appearance of those people. When he tried to continue with his painting work, his visual perception of colors was already distorted and he could not view those colors as he used to. That is why the pictures he produced were perceived as confusing to those with normal eyes causing divergence between a normal eye’s visual perception and colorblindness’s visual perception.

Conclusion

            It is considerably agreeable to say that seeing is believing because you agree of something after seeing it. This for instance implies that what your eyes have seen is what you will believe it is. This is articulated in the case of the colorblind painter as he believes in things, despite his destruction of sight. He relied on what he was seeing even after him knowing the real appearance of those particular things. This destruction of vision destroyed his visual perception. Meaning his previous visual perception is different from the contemporary one.

Work cited

Sacks, Oliver & Wasserman, Robert. The Case of the Colorblind Painter. The New York Review of Books November 19, 1987

I Am Qualified, Why Not Me?

1. Bobby could be having a legitimate complaint because of the qualification he had along with a five year experience in the same field. When looking at the experience, his was more creditable than for the other guy who got the job because he achieved his experience within the same company unlike the other one who came from a different company. Additionally, Bobby had excellent performance appraisals all throughout his being in that company. This could also support him to be promoted.

However, there are many reasons why Bobby was not chosen for that particular job regardless of his qualifications. One of them is that Bobby’s qualification could have been less strong than his colleague who got the job, meaning Bobby was having very strong qualification yes, but the other had stronger qualification than him.

2. Promotion from within policy has several impacts over outside recruitment. Promotion from within can be used as a tool to improve staff productivity and morale since staff will always be motivated to work harder in so as to be promoted (Adler, 25). Through doing this, the employees feel motivated. Inside hires already have knowledge about the company’s culture of operation hence there is less severity in the learning curve. Less is spent when promoting an inside employee for example advertising cost are reduced.

However, this system of operation also has negative impacts; one of them is that no fresh ideas are introduced into the organization. The job may require skills not found within the organization at that moment (Adler, 26). This policy may cause resentment amongst employees in the organization who would also feel they deserve the post. There is a possibility of promoting a less qualified employee just because he or she is from within than the stronger outside employees as a way to comply with the policy.

Work cited

Adler, Lou. Hire with Your Head: Using Power Hiring to Build Great Companies. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2002. Internet resource.

Indian Camp Literature

Introduction

Indian camp acknowledges the full range of existence from the time of delivery to demise that eventually can take place in a day. The story shows Nick’s custom of passage since the beginning as a naive child to being a grown-up with the very direct information of the human being transience and the absurdity of demise that takes place simultaneously. From the story, Nick does not complete the passage which indeed ends up with a conclusion of him entertaining his own thought concerning his own mortality that he will not die. This is an evident form of refutation as the start of a disaster has already been placed in his mind (Meyers, 212).  There is the inclusion of a contrast in the story between the savage and the civilized behavior.  This is evident when the pregnant woman bites Uncle George and goes further to call him a damn squaw which is an assault on him and can be regarded as a primitive and instinctive reaction to the pain she was going through but in his own response George considered it a cultural condition that had being displayed in a racial biases (Meyers, 212).

A post-colonialist approach has been used by Ernest Hemingway as he tried to explain the interaction of the natives and the white Americans. This approach creates a deeper and a clear understanding of the colonization and how the Native Americans were treated by the white Americans. Hemingway uses a symbolic story that puts out the injustices that were inflicted by the white people who were oppressors by the use of his character (Meyers, 213). He deeply and openly expresses the personality of the colonizers and the ones who were colonized. Nick’s character has been personified with innocence, George represents oppression while the doctor who was Nick's father represents denial or dismissal (Meyers, 219). The characteristics of the white have highlighted traits such as the inability of adapting with the colonizers, loss of identity and the fear they had about death (Meyers, 218).

Hemingway grew up in the outer part of Michigan where there was an extensive integration of the Native American people and the whites. The short story has expressed the very actual events that happen in his daily life as it contains several biographical parallels of his life and that of his father as he was a physician who took his son fishing similar to that of his father. By using the post-colonialism approach he has been able to create characters that reflect on the colonized society that has helped in portraying a cruel image of the Native Americans in a manner that impacts the reader (Meyers, 215).

The metaphor issue has been articulated well in the plot.  The image of suffering has been well but out as well as some culture issues. Women assist pregnant women to give birth but men are not supposed to do so according to the culture as they are seen to move away so that they cannot hear her screaming. It is their ritual that only women are allowed to see other women labor.  Indian men are not interested in childbirth (Meyers, 215). The metaphor of dark is brought in by Hemingway.  This shows that there are secrets, it is all hard and they are not allowed to see (Meyers, 216). That is the reason men are seen to distance themselves with the pregnant women who make loud noises as they prefer silence.  According to Nick’s father the noise is not important most probably he hears it very day during his work and it nothing new compared to the reason why the Indian men prefer not to hear about it. It is the opposite to Nick as he finds the noise a bit scary as he can relate the pain the young woman is going through as he is seen asking his father if there is something he can do about it in order to reduce it but the father rubbish it off by telling Nick to try and ignore it basing it on the fact that Nick is a young boy and it is so well understandable (Hemingway, 30).

The fishing knife is also used as a metaphor whereby the knife is used as a surgical tool to perform the operation as it is the only operation (Meyers, 211). The operation took place without the administration of any anesthesia to the Indian woman that shows it as the most primitive way of an operation but despite all that the Indian woman is grateful the big assistance she got. The metaphor of the blanket and the bunk has helped in building images which give sense of truth in the story.

The theme and genre issue has been initiated from the beginning of the story as Nick is exposed to childbirth and the unintentional violent death of the Indian man. Hemingway story of sexuality culminates butchery kind of style birth and the bloody death that resulted in Nick’s anxiety as he is seen to turn away from the caesarean but his father involved him in it (Meyers, 213). The events that Nick witnessed badly scared him as they made him nervous. The trauma of childbirth and the suicide have been painted by Hemingway in a leitmotif manner that has unified the framework of the story. Nick was overwhelmed by the thought of death as there were three shots the previous night when Nick was left in the forest alone (Hemingway, 30).

Thematic issues have been well articulated as there has been the use of symbols and symbolism (Hemingway, 30).  There has been thematic usage of both light and darkness which is a symbol of racial prejudice together with the personal growth of the central character. The narrative has showcased to the whole world the oppression of the Indian people and the chauvinism that has degraded the role of the ignorant stereotypes. The narrative also describes the white men as a self made utopia of understanding and light. There is the symbol of supremacy when a white skinned man is seen to take over the dark skinned man in the entire narrative. The theme of light and darkness symbolizes the two different cultures that are seen to crush but they can be considered as a symbol of unenlightenment and understanding that affects both the cultures as well as the story of Nick who is considered to be protagonist (Meyers, 214).

Plot issues have been expressed well in a fairly simple manner (Hemingway, 31). Nick is not the same compared to the way the story ended as he started experiencing certain thing that is bound to happen to anyone during their life. The events have changed how he viewed life and at least had the knowledge of the other culture of the Indians who seems not to be so friendly with them (Meyers, 215). There has been a description of Nick’s inner feelings as he felt that he will never die which is contrary to the normal expectation of humans. Nick’s character has been contributed by his life encounters compared to that of the other characters (Hemingway, 30). The plot is in a literal manner as it has involved the causes and the effect that do change over time and as a result of the casual scenes the Indian camp  plot as been well constituted. The conversation between Nick and his father shows how greatly Nick has been affected by the traumatic events of a woman delivering and a man taking his life away as they both experience a lot of pain that he did not understand well. The plot of Nick confrontation of the life and death has been clearly shown that Nick will not be the same again as he has been exposed to mood-altering and mind-altering experiences that should not be witnessed by a young growing man (Hemingway, 30).

Conclusion

The narrative has expressed its issues in a third person perspective but it has been able to achieve its objective. It is true to say that Ernest Hemingway is a significant writer as he has been able to portray the plot in an orderly manner. Despite all the credit there is bound to be some criticism due to the idea of feminism in the plot. The writing styles have been well incorporated making the achievement of the Indian camp remarkable as it can be described to be best known, violent and dramatic as well that adds power to his fiction of saving of a life.

Work cited

Hemingway, Ernest. “Indian Camp.” Reading and Writing about Literature, 2nd ed. Ed. Phillip Sipiora. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2002: 28-31.  Print.

Meyers Jeffrey. Hemingway’s Primitivism and Indian Camp. Hofstra University (1988). Retrieved from https://users.hfcc.edu/~pkim/HemingwaysPrimitivismandIndianCamp.pdf

            So What Is For Dinner?

            The dinner party is a time to enjoy and relax with family and friends. However, the food that is served at the dinner table must satisfy the guests (Belasco, 2008). The guests that are coming to the dinner party are vegetarians, dairy farmers, nutritionists, my mother and me. Every individual have different opinions about how they want their food to be served and whether the food follows their values. The foods that will be served at the dinner party are Zucchini herb casserole, Creamy Three Cheese Vegetable Lasagna, Spinach Salad with Avocado, Fresh Mozzarella, and Strawberry Dressing, Tropical Fruit Salad, and Chili Panner with rice.  The foods will involve three major cooking concepts as illustrated by a culinary triangle. The preparation of the meals will involve boiling, roasting and steaming. These foods will be served in the party because it represents their values, identity and the tastes of all the groups attending the dinner party.

The meal is both convenient and responsible because it involves a consideration of pleasure, individual preference as well as creativity.  The menu that I will offer for the dinner party is considerable to identity that involves such factors like family, tastes, individual memories and ethnic background. The menus are convenient because it encompasses variables like availability of the ingredients, price, and preparation ease. In addition, the preparation of these meals does not require much energy, labor as well time and skills. This, therefore, shows that the meals are both responsible and convenient. Responsibility is demonstrated by the fact that the meals considerers both individuals and social values. Responsibility implies the act of understanding individual positions in the food chain which is well demonstrated by the menus (Belasco, 2008). My selection of the food is based on the diversity of the groups as each of them must be incorporated.

            Food diversity not differentiates and depicts a culture but can additionally reflect the personality of an individual’s personality, social and lifestyle status. Cultural and social understanding of the groups is also required because it helps in eradicating chances of being bias (Belasco, 2008). The selected menu is attention calling to all the groups and this will ensure that there is no individual that feels discriminated. This is mainly because as the host I want to ensure that the dinner party is a happy one by valuing everyone’s eating interests.

            Handling diverse groups during dinner is not an easy task as it requires much energy as well as creativity.  Every group has its own opinions and tastes and therefore developing a suitable menu is not an easy task. In addition, suitable meals not only comprises of responsibility and convenience but also hygiene (Belasco, 2008). All the meals must be suitable in regard to health. This is mainly because the world today is characterized by obesity and long-term ailments due to lack of proper eating.

            Conclusion

            In hosting a diverse group suitable food for everyone and good company is adequate enough to bring out the best in every group.  This is because it does not even hurt to develop a menu that suits every person that is suitable for all the needs of the guests. Selecting various foods for every group is important as the different foods are associated with distinct tastes. In addition, the different foods provide different varieties of nutrients which may interest the groups.  Selecting food varieties will assist in making the meals desirable and interesting in order to impress all the involved groups.

            Reference

Belasco, W. J. (2008). Food: The key concepts. Oxford: Berg.

            Explication- Emily Dickinson poem, “Success is Counted Sweetest’’

Introduction

            Emily Dickson’s poem titled ‘’Success Is Counted Sweetest’’ unveils a special vintage thought of success. Emily holds a belief that failure gives an individual the experience of depending on others assistance.  This thus provides them with a feeling of the distinction between success and failure (Lehman, & Brehm, 2006). Despite the fact that the poem was developed through the use of the third persona it is a representation of individual’s lifestyles.  The poem offers the thought that individuals who achieve success never appreciate it in real sense and those that fail of struggles to attain something truly appreciate the wonderful nature that they would derive from achieving.  The poem thus presents the dilemma that success is not only counted sweetest by only the individual’s that  for too long before achieving success but also by the individuals who Ne’er success (Lehman, & Brehm, 2006). There is nobody that actually appreciates victory to the highest desert as those who could appreciate it that high once they get the chance the ability to actually appreciate victory is lost.

            The utterer in ‘’ Success Is Counted Sweetest’’ is in a period of anguish after the loss of a fight against another party (Dickinson, 2011).  This is supported by the third stanza of this poem after the author makes a mention that the man is defeated and he is already in a dying moment.  The man is in frustration due to the loss and he asserts that nobody can understand the implication of victory other than him.  In the poem’s second stanza, the utterer asserts that the opponent who defeated him in the fight may not be able to comprehend the actual meaning of success.   Emily, the author utilizes a purple color in an illustration of the feeling of royalty.  This develops an additional thought that royal people are successful in their leadership roles and they hold no experience of failure.  This thought is presented in the poem’s first stanza which makes that claim that victory’s nectar is only appreciated by the losing party.   Nectar victory can be used by victors in their celebration as they are not worried of those that lost (Dickinson, 2011).

            ‘’ Success Is Counted Sweetest’’ poem is comprised of twelve distinct lines which made up the three complete stanzas.  The poem, therefore, lacks a specific poem rhyme and this is essential because it allows the utterer to deliver the message with simplicity and it holds no complexity (Dickinson, 2011).  Based on the fact that the poem can be classified as a free structured poem, this provides a wider ground for critical development and supporting of the developed thoughts.  The poem’s author makes emphasizes on the basic thought that an individual can truly comprehend and understand the implication of victory only after a loss.  This is supported by the poem’s lines which state that comprehending nectar necessitates painful need (Dickinson, 2011).  The author states that an individual is supposed to experience pain before they can actually appreciate its significance.  Through the writing of the poem the thought of maintaining humbleness is addressed in a manner that is not straight. Based on the ideas of the author humbleness can be sustained even when success has been achieved by gaining the experience of the sensation of loss.

            The first two opening lines addresses victory in a direct manner with the following of two metaphors which are battle loss and starvation which makes the assertion that victory appreciation necessitates failure (Lehman, & Brehm, 2006).  The following metaphor alters the poem’s scope thus increasing the reader’s ability to comprehend the intended messages.  This is the statement made by the author that appreciation is no longer based on victory but it is based on desires as well as wants.  For an individual to understand nectar the individual must understand all the surrounding characteristics of success which requires an experience that is not appealing.  This generates the dilemma that when an individual is hungry they truly appreciate the wonderful feeling of being full, but after getting a bite and they are no longer needy the capability of appreciating is most immediately.

            The last stanza of the poem presents another metaphor. The author illustrates both the perspectives of losing and those of winning in a fighting field. The winning side cannot understand the sensation of losing and neither can they get the sensation of appreciating success in comparison of those that have lost the match.  The first four lines discuss the significance of victory and especially on the individuals who have never attained it (Lehman, & Brehm, 2006).

            In summing up, success can be appreciated different based on the individual’s position.  In addition, victory is understood and felt in a different manner as those that lose will always desire and appreciate it more. The ability to actually appreciate victory is transformed at the moment when victory is achieved. Generally ‘’Success Is Counted Sweetest’’ is a poem that creates a straight relation between the life of the author and the deep desire that she held in regard to succeeding but the chance to achieve victory was never achieved.

            References

            Dickinson, E. (2011). Delphi poet’s series: Complete works of Emily Dickinson (delphi classics). S.l.: Delphi Publishing Limited.

            Lehman, D., & Brehm, J. (2006). The Oxford book of American poetry. Oxford [u.a.: Oxford Univ. Press.

            A Memorable Encounter

            It was like the usual Fridays at home on that particular night some years ago.  As usual, after dinner, I would head to my bedroom or to the study room but for this particular Friday, my mom knew that I had to rest.  I took my dinner in a hurry and after dinner, I rushed to the living room to catch my favorite show and in the process I feel asleep.  As a teenager, my mom was always watching me closely and she had to take me to bed every day before nine.  Normally going upstairs meant that I had to rest in order to be ready for the next day’s activities but for this particular Friday it was different.  All teenagers’ Fridays were booked for a night out on the streets to have a little fun and I had to be there too.  Being a teenager I believed that I had an equal chance as the rest to be out there with the other kids.  However, my parents did not comprehend or agree to my concept because they believed that I was too young to be out at night and with this I permitted myself out each Friday.

            I would accomplish this by using the window to get out and then head to the roof’s scale and jump off to the ground using my neighbor’s wall.  I always ensured that I was totally dressed in complete black and I would carry along some requirements for the night like a knife, food as well as a flashlight.

            My so called knife was the same knife that was being used in the house by my mom in buttering bread by carrying it in my bag made me feel safe and authoritative whenever I was out on Fridays.  In regard to my friends they also had they own weapons which ranged from sticks to metals.  These weapons were necessary in case we were harassed by other kids in the neighborhood. Since our neighborhood has started a fresh busing initiative several black kids had been enrolled in our school and from their gang talks this gave us the idea that we needed to defend ourselves. For them, a gang was their way of life and so the weapons helped in ensuring that we were not attacked. After climbing down using my neighbor’s wall my headed to the row which separated our house to that of the neighbors.  From this point, I went climbing through several walls before reaching the back yard where I would meet my friends.

            The particular Friday was different because when I arrived at the backyard my friends were not there. I sat there carried by thoughts wandering whether they had changed their plans, but to my surprise, they had left me a letter on the shed’s door a few steps from where I had seated.  The note had instructed me to meet them at the nearby elementary school’s ground.  This was the school that we all attended at it was just a few blocks away, So I had to rush to catch up with them.  My friends were the type of people who always have crowding plans in their heads and this means that we had to accomplish a couple of them each Friday night.  With this in mind, I ran to the elementary ground which was a distance place if one had shorter legs like those that I had.

            Arriving at the ground I went straight to the swimming pool area as the letter had stated but to my surprise, my friends were not here.  I climbed down the wood bars down to the changing rooms and still I couldn’t find a trace of any of them.  This started to piss me off as it was very unusual for them to miss out.  We were not entitled to phones so I could not access any more information. Being the hot-tempered guy I decided to head home and wait for them to look for me.

            As I walked across the ground on a distance level I saw my friends being held by the school guards and so I had to hide.  I promised myself that I did not have to be the part that because my parents would kill me.  So I used the grounds tunnel and headed out of the field, I literally ran home and on arriving to my bedroom lights were on and I began to think that maybe I forgot to switch off.  I used my normal route and climbed back to the house across the roof then to my bedroom window. Immediately my head got in the room my parents were seated there staring at me. I had no excuse so I just got in and remained silent and waited for death to take it cause. My mom stood up closed the window got me in bed and off they left my bedroom.  I did not see any sense in what they did but I did not have the guts to apologize or question.  This was a lesson well learned so without any argument I decided to quit my Friday nights outing. 

            Shakespeare in the Bush

            Laura Bohannan attempts to prove that there is a universal understanding among individuals through the hamlet experience. The author was telling the story about Hamlet to the TIV people because she expected them to hold similar reactions to that held by Americans. In these actions, the author was in attempting to approve universality of the literature created by Shakespeare (Bohannan, 1966). However, the activity was proved wrong because the TIV individuals remade the same story thus making suggestions that cultural beliefs and values affect literature interpretation.  It is thus clear that language and cultural hindrances amid two distinct parties lead to a completely different of the famous plays written in English as the audiences were left with a great puzzle over the incapability of the western individuals in illustrating how perception is shaped by perspective and understanding literature (Bohannan, 1966).

            In the attempt to prove her argument Laura was interrupted frequently by the audiences as they questioned the story’s theme, plot, the developed motives as well as the acting of the portrayed characters (Bohannan, 1966).  At the end of the attempt, the author was criticized for not telling the actual truth and thus proved that Shakespeare’s literature was not universal.  For instance, the elders failed to understand why a village chief would only be responsible to a single wife, not hold any knowledge about the practices of witchcraft as well as disapproving taxation.  This, therefore, proved that the nature of human differences due to cultural as well as religious backgrounds and not racial superiority (Bohannan, 1966).

            Fighting for Our Lives

            The author advocates that culture should try to win any argument through the utilization of analyzing, understanding, illuminating, connecting, exploration as well as integration (Tannen, 1999).  She argues that individuals are expected to attempt and change the manner in which they argue as well as communicate with each other.  Arguments should not be worn through distortion, mocking as well as emotional mocking because that is basically destruction (Tannen, 1999).

            The doctor was mocked because of his honesty and the argument that he tried to raise. This, therefore, shows that cultural critique results in negative effects because it destroys the physical and emotional nature of those that are affected. Based on the article the western cultural characteristics that are still present include the superiority assumption as well as exploration (Tannen, 1999). This is mainly because an individual tries their best to destroy others in order to conquer every argument.

            How Language Shapes Thought

            I agree with the article by Lera Boroditsky in the regard of the shaping of thoughts by an individual’s language. This is mainly because one’s language holds the capability of altering their world’s perception. Resulting from the language that an individual speaks their capabilities as well as the basic skills is affected (Boroditsky, 2011). This is mainly because language is powerful in nature and it changes the way that a person views things. Boroditsky pointed out since there are many languages there are all characterized by distinct details and they additionally omit some information.  Therefore message transmission among the languages may prove to be a challenging situation.

            The example that interested me most is about message transmission between distinct languages.  She stated that if she wished to communicate the fact that she saw an uncle on a certain street in Guinea their language will be able to utilize the verbs to identify whether the occurrence took place recently or in the past (Boroditsky, 2011). However, the languages in Indonesia will not be able to analyze the verbs to understand whether the event existed or will exist (Boroditsky, 2011). It is therefore very clear that the power of language in shaping the capabilities of individuals cannot be denied.

            Reference

Bohannan, L. (1966). Shakespeare in the Bush. Natural History. Pick From the Past. Pdf

            Boroditsky, L. (2011). How Language Shapes Are Thought. Scientific American. Retrieved from https://psych.stanford.edu/~lera/papers/sci-am-2011.pdf

            Tannen, D. (1999). The argument culture, Fight for our lives. Retrieved from https://www.odec.umd.edu/we/about/facilitator/argumentculture.pdf