The Chimney Sweeper Essay Example for Free

The Chimney Sweeper Essay William Blake wrote two versions of his poem â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper†, firstly in 1789 and secondly in 1794. They both describe the lives of children as chimney sweeps. Three poetic techniques carefully explored by Blake are imagery, tone and diction to bring a sense of sympathy to his audience. Though these poetic techniques are handled in both poems, they are shown through different perspectives. In both versions of the poem, images of death are depicted similarly using the color black. In the 1789 version, the speaker says that chimney sweeps are â€Å"lock’d up in coffins of black† and in the 1794 version, the speaker mentions that there is a â€Å"little black thing among the snow. † This outlines the blackness of the soot on the children, depicting the daily turmoil the children have to endure. Furthermore, illustrating the chimneys as ‘coffins’ describes their conditions: chimneys, like coffins, are claustrophobic and terrifying. Also noted in the 1794 edition, the speaker says â€Å"They clothà ©d me in the clothes of death.† This conveys the image that chimney sweeps live in fear, and that their work is that of death. Their clothes are black, like mourning, which once again illustrates death in both versions. Another type of imager is that of Heaven and God. The person who takes the children out of their work daily is referred to as an ‘Angel’, â€Å"And by came an Angel who had a bright key/And he open’d the coffins set them free.† He is mentioned as an Angel because he is the one who literally ‘frees’ them from their work. However, the tones of the two poems contrast; with one having a positive view on life and God, the other with a negative view. In the 1789 version, the speaker does not give out a personal opinion and listens to what he is told. God is seen as someone good, giving hope to people, â€Å"And the Angel told Tom, if he’d be a good boy/He’d have God for his father never want joy.† The tone of this poem is hopeful and prospective, the speaker looks forward to the future, saying that if the work is done, nothing will go wrong, â€Å"So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.† On the other hand, the speaker of the 1794 poem is bitter; he blames his parents for having to work as a chimney sweeper, and looks on with detest, â€Å"They think they have done me no injury.† The speaker of this version is outspoken and, unlike the speaker of the 1789 version, is accusatory of God, â€Å"†¦God his Priest King/who make up a heaven of our misery.† God, like the child’s parents, is being blamed for the anxiety the chimney sweeps have to suffer. Diction is also an important element in both versions of the â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper.† In the 19 version of the poem, William Blake uses the word ‘white’ to raise feelings of both purity and innocence. In line 8, the speaker says â€Å"You know what that the soot cannot spoil your white hair† and in line 17, â€Å"Then naked white, all their bags left behind.† This also is a reminder of childlike innocence; how the children want freedom from their work. Other words mentioned in this version of the poem that invoke a similar tone are ‘bright’ and ‘shine.’ In the fourth stanza of the poem, the speaker says, â€Å"Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run, and wash in a river and shine in the Sun.† The phrase ‘wash in a river’ gives the thought of baptism, the children are being cleansed. This furthers the tone of innocence in the poem. The 1789 version is dominated by words of despair, such as ‘woe’, ‘black’ and ‘misery.’ It begins from the first line of the poem, which says â€Å"A little black thing among the snow.† This exaggerates the blackness of the soot upon the child. In line 8, the speaker refers to saying ‘sweep’ as â€Å"the notes of woe† and in line 12 calls his and other chimney sweeper’s lives as ‘misery.’ This choice of diction conveys a more serious tone to this version of the poem and helps to arouse more irritation at the fact that young children were being forced to work.

Poes Fall of The House of Usher - The House and its Inhabitants :: Fall House Usher Essays

The House and its Inhabitants In the story â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher†, Poe presents the history of the end of an illustrious family.   As with many of Poe’s stories, setting and mood contribute greatly to the overall tale.   Poe’s descriptions of the house itself as well as the inhabitants thereof invoke in the reader a feeling of gloom and terror.   This can best be seen first by considering Poe’s description of the house and then comparing it to his description of its inhabitants, Roderick and Madeline Usher. Poe uses several descriptive words in his portrayal of the house.   The reader’s first impression of the house comes from a direct observation from the narrator.   This unnamed narrator states, â€Å"†¦ with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit.†Ã‚   As the narrator continues to describe the house he uses several similarly dismal adjectives.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The gloom experienced by the narrator is not limited to merely the house itself.   The vegetation, which surrounds the area, is described as â€Å"a few rank sedges and †¦ a few white trunks of decayed trees.†Ã‚   He emphasizes these facets of the house and its environs by restating the descriptions reflected in a â€Å"black and lurid tarn.†Ã‚   The narrator points out that the house seems to be in a dilapidated condition.   While he claims that the house appears structurally sound, he takes time to comment upon â€Å"the crumbling condition of the individual stones.†Ã‚   He also emphasizes the long history of the house by stating that its features recall an â€Å"excessive antiquity.† To of the most striking descriptions used to portray the house are those of the windows and the fissure.   He describes the windows as â€Å"vacant [and] eye-like.†Ã‚   With this description the narrator effectively anthropomorphizes the house.   Thus he almost gives the status of character to the house.   The other outstanding description is that of the fissure.   It is described as â€Å"a barely perceptible fissure, which [extends] from the roof of the building in front, [making] its way down the wall in a zigzag direction, until it [becomes] lost in the sullen waters of the tarn.†Ã‚  Ã‚   It is interesting to note that the narrator spends so much time describing a feature that he describes as barely perceptible. The first of the two Ushers to be introduced to the reader is Roderick.   He is first seen lying upon a couch.

Abusive child labor in China Essay

News correspondent David Barbosa of the New York Times Magazine has published an article on May 1st 2008, entitled: ‘China Says Abusive Child Labor Ring Is Exposed’. In his news article, Barbosa uncovered more in-depth analysis surrounding the incident of child labor in China, in which according to him acknowledges child labor abuse at the heart of China’s export economy. This paper will discuss Barbosa’s finding on the plight of Chinese children amidst extensive economic production. Article Summary Who was involved? Based on Barbosa’s news article, child labor ranges from the age of 13 to 15 which have been deceived and possibly kidnapped by a child trafficking syndicate then sold to employment agencies. To cite, the series of crackdown by Chinese authorities has found rampant child labor employment from Western Sichuan Province of Liangshan that supplies the children to factories in Guangdong, wherein forced labor engages about 300 working hours monthly (Barbosa, 2008). Result of the crackdown The summary of result on crackdown of child labor rings has prompted the Chinese authorities to enacting more enforcement, which according to Barbosa has put China in significant scandal and embarrassment [aside from the political issue with Tibet who rejects China’s massive preparation to the forthcoming Olympic Games]. With the incoming Olympic event, Chinese authorities has doubled its efforts in enforcing the strictest possible campaign against child labor traffickers, wherein the April 30th 2008 crackdown to various legal and most specifically illegal employment agencies [or simply child traffickers] have been arrested and initially rescued about 100 children-laborers from Dongguan City where major electronic manufacturing firms are located. Behind child labor issue    According to Barbosa, child labor and abuses depicts China’s scarcity of laborers as a result of soaring inflationary rates and foreign currency devaluation that decreases profitability of both small and medium manufacturers that resorted to move quickly in the â€Å"edge† of competitive manufacturing and mass production; that involve cheap labor of children and adult laborers [of both men and women], wherein the Chinese labor law has even reduced the legal age requirement from the age of 16. Barbosa insinuated that may be the â€Å"political issue† involving Tibet’s [rejection and defiance to holding the Olympic Games in China] may have attributed to the seeming crackdown of human trafficking for cheap labor, in general. As cited, the earlier cases of child labor and human trafficking incidents could have been picking up â€Å"loose response† of enforcement, apparently becoming â€Å"stiff and tight† on the current dates. The critical issue behind the rampant child labor and human trafficking in China espouses the fact of looming poverty incidence in Southern and Western localities of China wherein continuing increase of   production and raw materials costs are insignificant to cost-cutting measures. To cite, even the renowned transnational Wal-Mart company have been charged with child labor, wherein similarly other foreign firms in China were illicitly engaging. In related child labor issue, Barbosa pointed out the observation of Professor Hu Xingdou from Beijing Institute of Technology who quoted that ‘China’s economy is developing at a fascinating speed, but often at the expense of laws, human rights and environmental protection’.   Further to cite, local government encourages incentives to grow their economy and thereby encouraging participation of cheap labor forces that includes children. Postscript in the report Journalists have jointly advocated pursuing the progress of Chinese authorities’ campaign against child labor and human trafficking.   According to Barbosa, the Southern Metropolis newspaper (in Beijing, China) conducts fact-finding mission in Liangshan Prefecture of Sichuan Province wherein indigenous families resides and being targeted by child labor recruiters. Barbosa stressed that journalist may access and could uncover the truth brought about by the scandal of child labor and abuse. As quoted by Barbosa; â€Å"journalists could discover the facts by secret interviews in a few days, since how could the labor departments show no interest in it and ignore it for such a long time?† Reference Barbosa, D. (2008). ‘China Says Abusive Child Labor Ring Is Exposed’. The New York Times (Asia Pacific) Electronic Magazine. Retrieved 08 May 2008 from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/world/asia/01china.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Essay example

In today’s day in age, different sexualities and gender identities are quickly becoming more accepted in mainstream society. Despite this change, there are many people who believe that having a different sexual orientation or gender identity is a choice that is frowned upon. In order to refute this belief, research and biology of the brain is necessary. Researching the brain on the basis of sexuality is a fairly new topic of discussion because it is somewhat difficult and confusing. This paper will explore the different identities of gender, sex and sexual orientation and the main biological reasons behind these. There is also some validity of different sexual orientations and identities through the evidence of sexual disorders like†¦show more content†¦Gender is not based on physical attributes. Sex is the word that should be used when speaking about biological characteristics. So, based on the definition of gender by LeVay, gender identity is one’s per sonal attitude towards being more male or female. It is normally thought that gender is something that is developed at birth and is something that is set in stone. More recently in time, people have started to express that they feel that their gender identity is different and separate from their sex at birth. Egan and Perry are considered very important researchers in the field of gender identity and psychology. The two proposed that gender identity is multi-faceted and is made up of five different components that are generally independent of one another. The categories are as follows: knowing one belongs to one gender or another, how much they feel they belong to the category, how happy they are with that gender, how much pressure they feel to conform to gender stereotypes and how much they feel their sex is superior to the opposite (Carver, Yunger Perry, 2003, p. 95). All of these relate to adjustment in different senses. Egan and Perry found that by middle childhood, most have a fairly stable idea of their standing on all of these categories. Their perception thrives most when they are confident in themselves and when they feel that they are not constricted in their freedom to explore otherShow MoreRelatedSexual Orientation And Gender Identity863 Words   |  4 PagesRecent studies estimate that between one and nine million children in the United States have at least one parent who is either lesbian, gay, or transgender. However, many people feel uncomfortable about being open due to their sexual orientation and gender identity due to fears of discrimination; such fears include, but are not limited to, loss of employment, loss of child custody, anti-gay violence and hate crimes. Although many people may have distinctive opinions on certain outcomes or effectsRead MoreSexual Orientation And Gender Identity2164 Words   |  9 Pages As mainstream media is now embracing the once taboo topics of sexual orientation and gender identity as popular culture utilities, psychologists and medical professionals are still researching the biological, psychological, and social differences between the two. Since the phenomena of  ¨coming out, or openly identifying as a sexual orientation or gender identity besides heterosexual or cisgender respectively, is a relatively recent anomaly, there is limited but contemporary research. The analysesRead MoreGender Identity And Sexual Orientation3311 Words   |  14 Pagessexualities and gender identities are quickly becoming more accepted in mainstream society. Despite this change, there are many people who believe that having a different sexual orientation or gender identity is a choice that is frowned upon. 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I chose this particular article because it was a 10-yearlong study dedicated to sexual identity in the United States. This is a national longitudinal study examining the stability and change of sexual orientation identity over time data was drawn from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States through a survey. The survey was conducted twice either by mail or phone what theyRead MoreGay, Straight, And The Reason About Sexual Orientation1236 Words   |  5 Pageshuman sexual orientation. More same-sex couples have fostered children than ever before in our nation s history. Institutions such as military and professional sports have (slowly but surely) began to accept openly gay members. Most importantly, a recent amendment to the Marriage Act of 1961 now defines marriage as a union of two people; an amendment which removed the prohibition of same-sex marriages. These landmarks in the progression of social awareness surrounding sexual orientation are derivative