Tell My Horse †A Travelogue by Zora Neale Hurston

Tell My Horse – A Travelogue by Zora Neale Hurston An offspring of the first African American migration from the South to North and Northwest, the Harlem Renaissance spanned roughly twenty five years (1910-1935). With literature, art, and music as the primary vehicle, the epoch was characterized by racial pride and desire to â€Å"uplift† the race (Bean, 1991). Proof of humanity, the demand for equality, perseverance, belief in self and ability, teamwork – the corresponding counter-balance racist circumstances – permeated the ideological core of this movement/ era.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Tell My Horse – A Travelogue by Zora Neale Hurston specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Harlem Renaissance birthed many iconic African Americans figures with Zora Neale Hurston being among the cadre. Hurston’s literary repertoire comprised four novels, fifty plus short stories and plays as well essays with her 1935 short story â€Å"M ules and Men† and novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) as her magnum opus. An ardent folklorist of African American culture, her studies in anthropology and ethnography exude her work. Hurston’s extensive travels throughout the American South and Caribbean furthered her folkloric scope/lens. So called unrefined speech patterns or dialect permeate her work. Use of such idiomatic dialect as well as lack of political and even racial focus placed her at odds with Renaissance contemporaries and intelligentsia such as Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, and Hughes, etc. who felt it was stereo-typical and fueled racist fodder. The conflict was only indicative of the dualistic nature of the era in terms of depiction of the African American experience in the United States and the Diaspora. A travelogue whether in the form of documentary, film, literature, or journal – describes a journey. Chronicling her ethnographic journey in Haiti and Jamaica is Hurton’s 1938 t ravelogue Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica. Opinion divided among literary critics and devotees, Tell My Horse is deemed her worst and most insignificant work or a fascinating guide and invaluable resource depicting Jamaican and Haitian culture, in particular the mysteries and horrors of voodoo. The fascination element is intensified because Hurston provides a vivid and authentic depiction in part due to not being a mere observer but rather a participant/initiate. Irony intertwined with allegory and incoherency characterizes the underlining message/theme and aura of the work. In the first chapter, Hurston provides a list of thought provoking and witty proverbs in which the surface meaning has an encoded dormant meaning. For example, the proverb Rockatone at ribber bottom no know sun hot Hurston translates as The person in easy circumstances cannot appreciate the sufferings of the poor (Hurston, 9).†Advertising Looking for term paper on american lite rature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The proverbs and her interpretations have a duel purpose – they illustrate irony, humor, and most importantly the richness of the Jamaican philosophic culture and are Hurston’s self-reflexive commentary on her narrative. The title itself supports the narrative strategy in terms of the double voice nature. Tell My Horse (Parlay cheval ou’ in French) is a popular form of figurative speech in Haiti. The Horse symbolizes the voice of powerless speaking without repercussion. Under the whip and guidance of the spirit-rider, the horse does and says many things that he or she would never have uttered unbidden. That phrase Parlay cheval ou [tell my horse] is in daily, hourly use in Haiti and no doubt it is used as a blind for self-expression (Mikell, 221).† The narrative style is indicative of a pervading and coexisting dichotomy – freedom and constraint, self expression and vulnerability, the powerful and the powerless. Tragically Hurston died in obscurity and poverty. Much acclaim/focus on her work, however, has surfaced in the past thirty years. Capturing the pure simplicities of African American life and the Diaspora, Zora Neale Hurton’s literary contribution leaves an indelible mark on African American literature and the literary world as a whole. Bean, Annemarie.  A Sourcebook on African-American Performance: Plays, People, Movements. London: Routledge, 1999. Hurston, Zora Neale. Tell My Horse. 1938. New York: HarperCollins, 1990. Mikell, Gwendolyn. When Horses Talk: Reflections on Zora Neale Hurstons Haitian Anthropology. Phylon 43.3 (1982): 218-30. Wall, Cheryl A. The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature. Ed. William L. Andrews, Frances Smith Foster, and Trudier Harris. Oxford University Press, 2001.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Tell My Horse – A Travelogue by Z ora Neale Hurston specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More

Hamlet Study Guide

Hamlet Study Guide The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is one of William Shakespeare’s best-known works and one of the most widely-read plays in the English language. Estimated to have been written between 1599 and 1602, Hamlet was one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays at the time of its release, and has remained hugely influential since its creation. Fast Facts: Hamlet Full Title: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of DenmarkAuthor: William ShakespeareYear Published: Between 1599 and 1602Genre: TragedyType of Work: PlayOriginal Language: EnglishThemes: Appearance vs. Reality; Revenge and Action vs. Inaction; Death, Guilt, and the AfterlifeMajor Characters: Hamlet, Claudius, Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes, Gertrude, Fortinbras, Horatio, The Ghost, Rosencrantz GuildensternFun Fact: Shakespeare’s son, who died at age 11, was named Hamnet; he may have been an inspiration for the tragic character Hamlet. Plot Summary Hamlet is the story of the events that take place after the king of Denmark is found dead. His son, Hamlet, is visited by the kings ghost, who tells him that Hamlet’s uncle Claudius was the murderer. Hamlet resolves to kill Claudius and avenge his fathers death, but he struggles with the morality of his decision and finds himself unable to act. To fool Claudius into thinking he knows nothing about the murder, Hamlet pretends to be insane; however, Hamlet’s actual mental state becomes less and less certain throughout the play. Meanwhile, when Claudius begins to realize Hamlet knows more than he lets on, he plots to kill him. Hamlet, though, is smart; much of the play depicts his brilliant wordplay and cunning outmaneuvers of the king’s courtiers- until, of course, the play’s tragic ending, which sees most of the royal family killed. Major Characters Hamlet. The protagonist of the story, Hamlet is the prince of Denmark and the son of the murdered king. Possessing a melancholy and depressive disposition, he struggles throughout the play with his inability to act on his desire for revenge. Claudius. The current king of Denmark and the brother of the king, Hamlets late father. Claudius murdered the former king and married his wife Gertrude, stealing Hamlet’s right to succeed his father. Polonius. The father of Ophelia and Laertes and advisor to the king. Obsequious, pedantic, and scheming, Polonius is killed by Hamlet. Ophelia. Hamlet’s love interest and Polonius’s daughter. She aims to please her father and is deeply troubled by Hamlet’s madness, but goes mad herself by the end of the play. Laertes. Polonius’s son. He is a man of action, in direct contrast to Hamlet, and is ready to take his revenge as soon as he discovers Hamlet’s hand in the destruction of his father and sister. Gertrude. The queen of Denmark, Hamlet’s mother, and Claudius’s wife. She was married to the old king, but was unfaithful to him with Claudius. Fortinbras. The prince of Norway, who eventually becomes king of Denmark after Hamlets death. Horatio. Hamlet’s best friend from university, who serves as a foil to Hamlet. The Ghost. Hamlet’s dead father, the former king of Denmark. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet’s childhood friends, whom Hamlet outwits at every turn. Major Themes Appearance vs. Reality. Is the ghost really Hamlet’s dead father? Is Claudius lying? Hamlet must continually grapple with his inability to trust his own interpretation of events, which keeps him in a state of inaction. Death, Guilt, and the Afterlife. Hamlet frequently wonders about the mystery of death. Tied to these thoughts is always the question of guilt, and whether or not his soul- or the soul of another, like Claudius- will wind up in heaven or hell. Revenge and Action vs. Inaction. Although the play is about revenge, Hamlet continually delays the act. Connected to this theme is the question of the afterlife, doubts about which seem to stay Hamlet’s hand. Literary Style Hamlet has had remarkable literary significance from its first performance, which is estimated to have taken place between 1599 and 1602, influencing writers as varied as John Milton, Johann Wilhelm von Goethe, George Eliot, and David Foster Wallace.  It is a tragedy, a genre with roots in classical Greek theatre; however, Shakespeare ignores Aristotle’s injunction for a play to focus primarily on action, not character. Instead, the play follows the twists and turns of Hamlet’s moral struggle much more through soliloquies than plot. The play was written during the reign of Elizabeth I. There are numerous early versions of the play still in existence; each, however, has different lines, so it is the job of the editor to decide which version to publish, and accounts for the many explanatory notes in editions of Shakespeare. About the Author William Shakespeare is arguably the highest-regarded writer in the English language. Although his exact date of birth is unknown, he was baptized in Stratford-Upon-Avon in 1564 and married Anne Hathaway at age 18. Sometime between the ages of 20 and 30, Shakespeare moved to London to start his career in theatre. He worked as an actor and a writer, as well as a part-time owner of the theatre troupe the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s Men. Since little information about commoners was retained at the time, not much is known about Shakespeare, leading to ongoing questions about his life, his inspiration, and the authorship of his plays.

Compare and Contrast two U.S. Presidents - Harry Truman and Ronald Essay

Compare and Contrast two U.S. Presidents - Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan - Essay Example Truman summed up this notion with the words: â€Å"I believe it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure.† (Truman, 1947, quoted in Bostdorff: 2008, p. 4) The speech was carefully crafted by Truman’s advisers, and it proved to mark a definitive change in the direction of U.S. foreign policy, leading swiftly into a period of high tension that we know as the Cold War internationally. Within the United States the anti-Communist rhetoric led to the persecution of people known to have, or suspected of having, Communist sympathies. The events leading up to the Korean war show a President increasingly reliant on military force, or the threat of military force, in foreign policy. There had been qualifying statements in the original speech, spelling out that military options were not the only, nor even the main form of support that America could offer to states under threat from â€Å"outside pressure† : â€Å"I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes.† (Truman, 1947, quoted in Bostdorff: 2008, p. 120) Despite this qualification, Truman found himself drawn into military options and launching into an in which America perceived itself as playing a policeman role in world politics. It may be that one reason for this turn of events is that Truman, never very eloquent or subtle in his dealing with critics and opponents, could not envisage any other path than a clear and simple resistance. Critics acknowledge the great service that Truman gave in his term of office, and his... This essay discusses that each new President brings to the job a different mix of character traits, experience and skills which then help to determine the style of his administration and the type of leadership that the country experiences. Harry Truman, a Democrat, became President towards the end of the Second World War. He made one of the most fateful decisions in the history of mankind when he gave permission for the use of the atom bomb on Japanese cities, in an effort to bring the war to a speedy conclusion. Having served himself as a soldier in France in the First World War he had direct experience of the dreadful casualties of trench warfare with mechanized traditional weapons, and he was reluctantly persuaded that the atom bomb would be a means to an end, pushing the enemies to surrender. The tactic was effective, but the cost in human life shocked the world, and the shadow of nuclear weapons has influenced world history ever since. After the war Truman proved to be a diligen t supporter of the victims of the war. He helped put together the Marshall plan which sent aid to millions of starving people and contributed to the rebuilding of war-torn Europe. Ronald Reagan was a completely different type of character than Truman. He was a Republican, and through his experience in the world of films had an easy rapport with the great and the good of America. He was at first regarded as something of a liability, because of his advancing age, and his lack of substance, but he became one of the most popular Presidents at home and abroad.