Poem Analysis Sassoon s Poetry - 1493 Words

Every so often, a truly powerful work of literary merit emerges. The literary movement of the First World War led to an extraordinary flowering of poetic talent. The influence of English war poet and soldier, Siegfried Sassoon, extended far beyond his own works. His journey through the conflict of war reflected a wider evolution of the literary world. I find that following the evolution of Sassoon’s poetry throughout his life contributes to the understanding of the reality of the ‘Great War for Civilisation’. Through his poetry, Sassoon exposed war as it really is – destructive, brutalising, and an indefensible waste of human life – something which was not conveyed in the traditional, idealistic views of his romantic contemporaries. In combining realistic detail with a bitter satirical edge, Sassoon made his concern with truth his primary focus. In doing so, he created a poignant and didactic body of memorable verse which I believe remains unr ivalled and unique. It is the gritty realism and raw anger that Sassoon embraced in his poetry that I have come to admire for its uniqueness, and that inspired me to compile this anthology. This anthology is a compilation of poems which highlight the dramatic transformation of Sassoon’s poetic style that accompanied his attitude towards the war, from a patriotic idealist to a modernist. A poetic language that can articulate the trauma of the war and the trenches. Following the evolution of Sassoon s poetry, bothShow MoreRelatedRegeneration Analysis: the Relationship of Rivers to One of His Patients1022 Words   |  5 Pagesrelationship of Rivers to one of his patients (e.g., Prior, Burns, Sassoon). What challenges does the patient present to Rivers and does Rivers overcome those challenges? As Rivers is a psychiatrist at Craiglockhart, his perceptions of the world are altered by the patients that he treats. Characters such as Prior, Burns and Anderson influence the doctor, but the person who changes Rivers the most is Sassoon, the author of the declaration. Sassoon challenges Rivers on a personal level, changing his viewpointRead MoreAnalysis Of Wilfred Owen s Poem Dulce Et Decorum Est1692 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Welcome back to the Poetry and Society unit of the literature topic. We are moving on from last week’s poetry type, American slam and we are now studying Protest and Resistance poetry. The protest poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, written by Wilfred Owen, challenges the dominant World War One ideologies of militarism and nationalism. You will find that this poem is a great example as it defies the dominant values and beliefs of war in Britain. Wilfred Owen Let’s discuss the poet. Wilfred

Role of Media in Changing Our Culture and Society Free Essays

There is an old saying†Man is a social animal†, which means beyond other requirements such as food and shelter, man has another fundamental need and that is, need of communication with each other. The urge of communication is a basic one and in our contemporary civilization, it has become a necessity for survival. In order to facilitate communication, man has established several means which have developed from time to time such as sending messages, letters, telephone and telegraph and these all assist in providing connection between people even with those who are at far distant places. We will write a custom essay sample on Role of Media in Changing Our Culture and Society or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the present era, the means of communication have evolved into a very advance phase and are now collectively called â€Å"Mass Media†. So How Do We Define Media? Media is actually an art of transmitting information, ideas and attitudes from one point or person to another. When an individual communicates to the other, this may be through use of gestures like passing on smiles when happy or in a good mood, frowns when showing a displeased expression, or selection of our words or tone while speaking depending on the feelings within us. In either case we want to select the most effective ways to communicate exactly what we intend. However, communication among a large number of people or society is not as simple as with individuals, but it’s far too complex. Information or news that is important to a mass of people may not be passed on to them from individual to individual. This must reach many people at the same time and also effectively. Such as the forecast of a storm to warn one whole city to take immediate measures cannot be passed on individual to individual since time factor is important. This may be done through newspapers or television or both. Or if some product is to be advertised, it has to be conveyed collectively to a mass that again may be done through radio, television or newspapers. These technological means of communicating information or news collectively to a large number of people is therefore called â€Å"Mass Communication†. Impact of Media on Culture A culture comprises of the language, habits, beliefs, religion, dresses, foods etc. in a particular region and the media has a direct and significant effect on it since it is undoubtedly an influential aspect in modern day society. As technology has become very much advanced now, media touches all types of people in various forms such as radio, televisions, newspapers etc. and the society also depends on it in order to get informed on the events taking place all over the world. Media touches every aspect of life. This includes not only the events going on around the world, but also the developments and progress, education and employment, the political situations in a country, the socio economic issues of a region, marketing of products, health and beauty, fashion and styles, violence and the issues of behaviour of youth verses older generation etc. All these when conveyed to a society by printing, broadcasting or telecasting in the form of news or highlights or discussions do have a direct impact on a society and its culture which gains its leverage depending upon the integrity of the information conveyed. An example is the talk shows that are telecast on around all news media. Every day we watch such programs where our politicians are invited to discuss over current affairs. Either the case is of cheating or undue spending of public funds by influential people or the use of their unauthorised powers, almost all the current affair programs end after hot discussions without reaching to a logical conclusion since the participating opponents would never let know what the truth is. This is because the opponents come fully equipped with whipping words that lashes away the possibility of revealing the truth by anyone who tries to speak out. Therefore despite of the whole matter already known in black and white, the facts reach to the public completely distorted. As a result, no issues of common people are solved which causes heightening of anger, hatred and frustration in public which in turn increase the criminal activities since law and order and justice seem to be unavailable. The question therefore remains: whether the information conveyed is unbiased and untarnished? This then depends upon the people within society to sort through the many bits of information fed to them in order to filter out what actually the truth is. Also one can see that media may contribute to a society’s culture both positively and negatively. On one hand there is lot of rubbish that is watched on media every day. Children watch movies which show too much violence and stuff exhibiting unethical actions, words and language. These are in general furnished with murder stories, use of drugs, smoking cigarettes, using abusive language in everyday life etc. These preach school goings and youth how to earn more without doing much and how to behave wrongly with parents and the society. Such a material only communicates new generation how to be demoralised. To watch such movies has become a today’s tradition which is acting like slow venom that is damaging and killing the moral character of our society. On the other hand, making available appropriate educational programs on television and publishing good informative magazines for children may provide safer environments that may aid children and provide their parents tools to implement moral values that are need of the present time. Such programs should be full of general and technical knowledge so that it may inculcate a desire in the new generation to learn more. Advertising is another aspect of media that affects society very much. This is an important social phenomenon which stimulates consumption of every day changing products, enhances economic activity and alters life styles of people. Consumers are confronted with extensive daily doses of advertising through multiple media. With the continual attack of marketing media, it is for sure that it affects our individualism and society as a whole. Sometimes it is surprising to note that how consumer’s minds can be moulded with changed opinions. It is due to this advertising that brands have acquired more importance over usage of items these days. An example is the frequent use of hair dye among our youth who want to have change in looks since looking the same every day is boring. Also it seems that priorities of public change with the way products are displayed through ads. Earlier soft drinks were considered health hazard but now the sports superstars as models in the ads of soft drinks easily convince their viewers to consume it regularly despite being harmful to health. Also in various ads of cigarettes, masculine characters are shown performing heroic acts which encourages and misguides our youth to develop habit of smoking since it will make them courageous and powerful. Media has also a great role in changing fashions and designs. Though this is a social activity and is acceptable however, it shall be in permissible limits of our culture. Unfortunately with the increase in exposure of western media which has blended in ours, unethical dress fashions have also intruded into our culture which is affecting the new generation and causing significant harm to the overall society. Conclusion On the whole, we conclude that everything may have its good and bad effects depending upon how it is used. Media may play both negative and positive roles in changing a culture and society. Although media should be free and independent, however there shall be some ethics/ moral standards with proper rules and regulations which shall be followed by mass media so that it may contribute a dignified role in formation and development of a healthy society. How to cite Role of Media in Changing Our Culture and Society, Papers

History of the Big Four Men Railroad System free essay sample

The Big Four were the men known in building the Central Pacific Railroad, the western portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States. The four men were Leland Stanford who was the President, Collis P. Huntington who was the Vice President, Mark Hopkins who was the Treasurer, and Charles Crocker who was the Construction Supervisor. Leland Stanford was born in the year of 1824 in Watervliet, New York, and was raised on family farms. Stanford began law school around the year 1848. Stanford got married in 1850 and had one son. Stanford moved to California during the Gold Rush after loosing the law library his father got for him. He helped in organizing the Sacramento Library Association, which later became the Sacramento Public Library. Stanford was one of the four Sacramento, California businessmen known as â€Å"The Big Four†. They were all the investors of the Central Pacific Railroad that was incorporated on June 28, 1861. We will write a custom essay sample on History of the Big Four Men Railroad System or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He was part of forming the Pacific Union Express Company. He was head of the railroad company which built the western part of the First Transcontinental Railroad over Sierra Nevada Mountains. Stanford and his men got control of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1868. He was also president of the Southern Pacific Company from 1885 to 1890. Stanford was elected chairman of the Southern Pacific Railroad’s executive committee in 1890. Stanford oversaw a corporation which imported thousands of Chinese laborers in the construction of the railroad. He cut the state’s debt in half and advocated for the conservation of forests. Stanford served as Chairman of the U. S. Senate Committee on public buildings and grounds in the United States Senate. He wrote many senate bills. Leland Stanford died of heart failure at his home in Palo Alto, California on June 21, 1893. He is buried in the Stanford family mausoleum on the Stanford campus. Collis Potter Huntington was also on of the â€Å"Big Four† men of the western railroading. He was born in the year 1821. Huntington was part of building the Central Pacific Railroad which was part of the first U. S. transcontinental railroad. He also helped in leading other major interstate lines known as the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. The new railroad facilities by the river resulted in expansion of the town of Guyandotte, West Virginia. Huntington was also known for the CO’s Peninsula Extension. This resulted in opening a pathway for West Virginia bituminous coal. When he died, his nephews continued his work at Newport News. Most of the railroad and industrial development are very important activities in the 21st century. The Southern Pacific is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad and the CO became part of CSX Transportation. He pursued the idea of creating a rail line that would connect the America’s East and West with the three other men. In 1869, the tracks of the Central Pacific Railroad joined with the tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad and America then had a transcontinental railroad. Huntington had a friend introduce a bill in order to excuse the company from repaying money for the railroads. The Southern Pacific grew to more than 9,000 miles of track. Huntington prevented the port of San Pedro from becoming the main port of Los Angeles using the Southern Pacific Railroad. Mark Hopkins was also one of the investors involved in the Central Pacific Railroad. Hopkins was born in Henderson, Jefferson County, New York. Hopkins formed the â€Å"New England Mining and Trading Company† when the California Gold Rush began. Hopkins opened a store in Placerville, California but it did not succeed. He then opened a grocery store in Sacramento in 1850 with his friend Edward H. Miller who became secretary for the Central Pacific Railroad. In 1861, Hopkins and the rest of the Big Four men founded the Central Pacific Railroad. He was well known for his thriftiness. He was the companies treasurer. Hopkins had health problems soon after and died on a company train in Arizona. Charles Crocker was the other man that was part of the Central Pacific Railroad. Crocker was born in Troy, New York. In the year 1845, Crocker invested his money in the railroad business by opening up an independent iron forge. In 1861, he became one of the four investors in the railroad. He was the construction supervisor and president of Charles Crocker and CO. Crocker bought train plows to plow the tracks. This didn’t work because of the frequent ice on the tracks. He later built over forty miles of snow sheds to cover the tracks in Sierra Nevada Mountains. Crocker and his men got control of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1868. Crocker was also in charge of Wells Fargo and was the president. He also took control of the Woolworth National Bank and gave it to his son. In the year 1886, Crocker got injured in a carriage accident and didn’t recover. He died two years later.