Theme Of Facade In The Harlem Dancer English Literature Essay

Theme Of Facade In The Harlem Dancer English Literature Essay Masks mean many different things to many people. They are used at parties, ceremonies, rituals, sports, and so many other things. Most people eventually take masks off, revealing who they really are. However, some people put masks on to conceal who they really are, shielding them from the world. The poems The Emperor of Ice Cream by Wallace Stevens and The Harlem Dancer by Claude McKay both demonstrate the theme of faà §ade in different ways. The women depicted in the poems are completely different, however they both felt as if they needed to use a mask to go on with their lives in society. The Emperor of Ice Cream by Wallace Stevens portrays a woman who has passed away and the wake that is held for her. It is implied that she is nothing but a common woman who had no real achievements in her life. Her social status is revealed in the second stanza: Take from the dresser of deal, Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet On which she embroidered fantails once And spread it so as to cover her face If her horny feet protrude, they come To show how cold she is, and dumb. It can be understood from reading that her dresser is lacking the three glass knobs that the dresser is old and possibly falling apart, implying that this woman does not have the money to afford a new one. The sheet that was placed over her body also came from atop of the dresser. She had also embroidered fantails once. When someone does not have a lot of money, it makes them thrifty. She must have embroidered the birds onto the sheet to make it look nicer. Making herself appear to have more wealth and status seems like something she did often. However, when her horny feet are revealed her masquerade is over. Her callused feet reveal that she has had hardship and has done a lot of hard work in her life to just survive. The size of the sheet that covers her is also very telling. The fact that the sheet was not large enough to cover her entire body reveals that she was not quite what she let people think she was. It is as if the sheet covered the part of her that she showed to the worl d and in her passing revealed the part of her that she really was. Her death has finally revealed that she was just an ordinary woman who tried to make her life seem better by tweaking a few things to live her faà §ade. The first part of the poem is also very telling about how the people who knew her perceive her now as she lays deceased in her bedroom. Let the wenches dawdle in such dress As they are used to wear, and let the boys Bring flowers in last months newspapers. Let be be the finale of seem. The people that are attending her wake seem to be dressed in ordinary clothing. They seem unbothered by the fact that they are at a wake of a woman that they possibly know. They are in such dress as they are used to wear which means that this event is not of major importance to them. The boys also brought flowers that are wrapped in last months newspapers. The womans wake was not even important enough for them to wrap the flowers in something nicer than last months newspapers. Both the girls and the boys who attended her wake did not think it was important enough to do anything special. The most telling line of the first stanza is, Let be be the finale of seem. The finale of seem represents the finality of the mask of what the woman wanted people to perceive when they looked at her. The line is saying that it is time to let fall the mask that the woman put on for a large portion of her life. This line alone sums up the theme of faà §ade in this poem. The faà §ade that this woman has worked so hard to maintain is lifted and even as she is dead, she is left pathetic and in her true form. The people who knew her used her death as an occasion to eat ice cream, to relieve some of their own troubles. Another poem that explores the theme of faà §ade is the poem The Harlem Dancer by Claude McKay. This poem is in the form of a sonnet, unlike the other poem which was free verse except a rhyming couplet at the end of each stanza. This poem captures what life was like for an African American woman during the 1920s. Being a woman in the 1920s was hard enough. When this poem was written women were given the right to vote two years prior, so tensions were still high. To add to the tension, an African American woman would have been given a harder time. Although no longer slaves, the tension between whites and African Americans still existed and would continue to exist until the Civil Rights Movement. This is the time that Claude McKay lived in. McKay used his experiences as a Harlem Renaissance writer to depict what an African American woman during the 1920s might have done in order to get by. The mask that the woman wears in The Harlem Dancer is much different than the mask the woman wears in The Emperor of Ice Cream. The mask the woman uses in The Harlem Dancer is used to protect her and save what little dignity she has left. Devoured her shape with eager, passionate gaze; But looking at her falsely-smiling face, I knew her self was not in that strange place. The woman in this poem is not being herself as she dances for the people throwing money at her. She had taken herself completely away mentally from the situation she is presently in and has put herself somewhere more comforting. She put on a mask to protect herself, instead of trying to make herself appear better than she really is. She uses her mask as a shield, making sure that no one will ever be able to get to the shred of pride and dignity in herself that she has left. It is obvious that this woman does not like dancing for money for these people that treat her terribly and ridicule her. It can be said that this is one of the few things that she is able to do to make ends meet. In order to support herself and possibly others, this is probably the profession that is the most lucrative for her during this time. The sad part of this is that she is not even earning much money. This is revealed in the line, Luxuriant fell; and tossing coins in praise. She is only earning petty coins and nothing of real monetary value that could be of use to her. Another part of the poem is also very telling about how resilient this woman is because of how she maintains her faà §ade. She sang and danced on gracefully and calm, The light gauze hanging loose about her form; To me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm Grown lovelier for passing through a storm. The woman seems to be weathered and has also gone through hardship much like the woman in the first poem. She has gone through things that have made her stronger in mind and body. It seems that because she has gone through such hardship, it has made her even more beautiful than she was. What has helped this woman become so strong and able to get through the tough times is that she can separate herself from the profession that she has to do any her actual self. It is akin to a victim of a murder or a rape that as it is happening, they block it out and put themselves somewhere else in their mind so they can get through the terrible experience. This woman is putting her mask on once again to get through her degrading job so she can support herself and possibly others. Her strength gives way to the hope that she will be able to stop dancing and be successful. The faà §ade presented in the poem The Emperor of Ice Cream has more to do with concealing and hiding away what the woman really was from the rest of the world. Her mask was like a security blanket, making sure that no one would ever see that she was just an ordinary woman with nothing to show of her existence. However, the faà §ade in the second poem The Harlem Dancer is more like a defense-mechanism. The woman in the second poem puts on the faà §ade to protect her dignity and to also transport herself away from the trauma. This faà §ade is used as a necessity whereas the faà §ade used in the first poem was a matter of pride for the woman. The women in both poems have seen many hardships and both struggle to survive in the world. They try to better themselves in hopes of living happily. The woman in the first poem hoped that the mask she put on would someday be who she really was. The woman in the second poem hoped that she would not have to wear a mask any longer. By using a f aà §ade, both women hid their true selves from the world.

Its Time to Lift the Embargo Against Cuba :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

It's Time to Lift the Embargo Against Cuba I waited an hour and a half for my first camello. It was too hot at the bus stop to do anything but stand and stare at the corner where the camello-a semi carrying a small jail, as a friend described it-would turn onto 23rd. The line was long, maybe forty people. When the camello finally arrived, the line broke into a desperate mob. I let myself be pushed inside. A pregnant woman in front of me panicked and began swearing and throwing elbows. I caught one in the ribs and tried to make space for her. Inside I kept one hand on my bookbag, one hand on the rail. But there was no way I could have fallen; we were like sardines in a can. They let in more people at the second stop. Now the camello was too full to close the doors. A man next to me joked, "Quà © subdesarrollo"-"What underdevelopment." Camellos were introduced in Havana to help solve the public transportation crisis in 1995. They are city buses, capacity of probably two hundred, pulled by flatbed trucks. Their two humps give them the popular name camello, Spanish for camel. The running joke is that they are like the Saturday night movies and may contain sex, violence, and adult language. I used camellos to get around Havana in July because it was cheap-one cent per trip-and I had time. But also because it is what Cubans do. I invariably got off the camello drenched in sweat, clothes wrinkled from being packed in, and not feeling well. I met Cubans who spend three hours taking camellos one way to work each day. Waiting in long lines is part of living Cuban. There are other quirks that an economics professor might call "inefficiencies endemic to socialism," or maybe just underdevelopment. To get things done requires a contact and a special favor. For instance, to get a phone line out of the country I would ask my friend Mario to call his cousin who works at the phone company. Electricity blackouts and water shortages are common. Another friend has the money to buy a car-relatives in Tampa send money- but it will take him years to get through the paperwork.

The Life of Frederick Douglass :: American History Slavery Narratives Essays

The Life of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland, near Hillsborough. He doesn’t know for sure of his age, he has seen no proof and his master will not inform him. Most masters prefer for their slaves to stay ignorant. He believes that he was around twenty-seven and twenty-eight when he began writing his narrative - he overheard his master say he was about seventeen years of age during 1835. His mother, Harriet Bailey, was separated from him when he was an infant and she died when he was seven years old. Frederick’s father was a white man who could have been his master but he never found out. Education was of utmost importance in his life. He received his first lesson while living with Mr. and Mrs. Auld. Sophia Auld, Frederick’s "mistress", was very humane to him and spent time teaching him the A, B, C’s. After he mastered this, she assisted him in spelling three and four letter words. At this point in his lesson Mr. Auld encountered what his wife was doing for Frederick and forbid her to continue. He believed that "if you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell" and continuing with "learning would spoil the best nigger in the world". The masters felt that an ignorant slave formed a choice slave and any beneficial learning would damage the slave and therefore be futile to his master. His next step on the road to success was during his seven years living with Master Hugh’s family. Frederick would make friends with as many white boys as he possibly could on the street. His new friends would be transformed into teachers. When he could, Frederick carried bread on him as a means of trade to the famished kids for knowledge. He would also carry a book anytime he had an errand to run. The errand would be completed quickly, allowing extra study time. When Frederick was working in Durgin and Bailey’s ship-yard he would notice timber marked with various letters. He soon discovered how the letters matched the type of wood and the names of these letters. Any boy he met that could write he would challenge them to a writing contest. Frederick would use the letters he recently learned and told the child to challenge that. He then copied the Italics in Webster’s Spelling Book until he knew them well.

How to Masturbate :: essays research papers

Creative Masturbation Contraptions and Techniques: Cotton Balls Put glitter on the outside too to make it look pretty: Take a roll of toilet paper or paper towels (depending on what's more comfortable for you), put glue on the inside, then stuff it with cotton balls. You'll have yourself a nice sex toy, all you have to do is put your cock in and go for it. ------------------------------------------ Mummified Wanking Even better if you can find a nurse to help with the prep work: Stroke until you get hard then "lightly" (or as tight as you want) wrap an ace bandage around your cock. Round and round you go, until you wrap it all the way around. You now have a perfectly shaped "tube pussy". Once that is complete, gently remove your dick from the bandage, take a condom (or latex glove), anything rubber and smooth. Stick your dick into the hole where your cock was. Pull the edges out around the bandage and get a rubber band.. Put it around the edge to keep the latex item in place. After that, lube up your dick and have a blast! It's tight, just like a real cunt. For best results, put a pillow under and over the bandage; sandwich it while you fuck it. Also, it's a no-mess situation.. Fuck the shit out of it, cum in it. then just throw the condom or latex item away.. The bandage will keep it's form for future use. ------------------------------------------ Balloon magic Nice: Get about four or five balloons. Fill them with warm, not hot, water. Tie the ends so water will not squeeze out. Take a pillow; roll it up like a tube and tie a string around it or even use your belt. Push the warm water balloons into the opening of the pillow tube. Your fleshy warm vagina is almost ready. Take a small plastic kitchen trash can bag. Push it in between the balloons in the pillow. Put some lubricant of your choice inside the plastic bag that is being tightly squeezed by the balloons. Get your dick ready. Put the pillow on bed. Put your dick inside this plastic vagina. You will feel the warmth, slipperiness and tightness you only dreamed of. ------------------------------------------ Baby Bottle Liner You first might want to throw away the box with the picture of the baby on it: They make 'drop-in' baby bottle liners.. get the 8 ounce size.. comes 20 or so to a box.

How to Purchase a video recorder? :: Digital Video Camera

How to Purchase a video recorder? A video camera can be a very useful tool in recording milestones in your family, or just something that you would like to see again. Unfortunately there are so many factors that can make purchasing a video camera a very difficult task. If you don’t do your research on the types and features of video camera you may have gotten yourself into some deep trouble. Looking for camera’s in the store before doing some research is extremely troublesome. The store has a number of features listed that aren’t extremely important, and others not listed that are very important. Also at a store with sales people, often time the salesman knows very little about the cameras and tries to convince you that the most expensive is the best for you. Reading this paragraph has shown that there are many factors included in making this decision. After reading this paper you will be better equipped to go out and to choose the camera that is best suited for you. The two most popular types of video cameras on the market right now are DVD camcorders and Mini-DV Camcorders. The average price of a DVD Camcorder is between â€Å"$550 and $600† (http://www.camcorderinfo.com/). The average price of a Mini-DV camcorder is â€Å"under $500, with many models under $300† (http://www.bestbuy.com). The main reason that the DVD camcorder is more expensive is because it is more convenient to the average user. The average camcorder user will not use his camcorder very often, and will not do much if any video editing. The DVD camcorder records all of the video directly onto a DVD that you placed in the camcorder. This enables you to be instantly able to watch the movie on a television using a DVD player, thus making it more convenient. Mini-DV camcorders are the mainstream camcorder for the novice to the more experienced user. This is because of their low price and large functionality. Mini-DV camcorders record movies onto a digita l tape rather than a DVD or an analog tape. If you are a video-editing enthusiast you may want to be much more selective about the camera you purchase. Video editing is the process in which you capture video using a camcorder, and then transfer the video from the camcorder to your pc.

Bullying in the Philippines Essay

A few years ago, the idea that bullying in the Philippines is widespread was thought to be a joke. People thought that bullying wasn’t as bad as the bullying seen in American teen movies. We Filipinos thought that bullying isn’t even an issue here in our country. But recently, our eyes have been opened to the reality that bullying is a bigger issue in the Philippines than we originally thought. Out of nowhere, cases like the online bullying of Christopher Lao, Tito Sotto, and the most recent case, Pauline Salvosa. It can really make us wonder how a country we thought of as Bully-free can produce such acts of hate towards another. If people can bully others to this extent even the public’s eye, what about during their everyday lives where they are unsupervised and much freer to do whatever they want, whenever they want to do it; whether it is in the workplace, home, and in this study’s case, at the school. This study will focus on that. Statement of the Problem The purpose of this study is to develop a deeper understanding of the effects that in-class bullying can have on a high school teenager. It is important to study this issue because school is one of the foundations of the formation of an individual’s character. A major challenge confronting DepEd here in the Philippines is the rising number of cases of in-class bullying in the country despite their efforts to stop the occurrence of In-Class Bullying. Sotto, Lao, and Salvosa were all greatly affected by the bullying. Salvoso and Lao were greatly depressed by the verbal attacks, Sotto even created a law against it. If these three victims were really shaken by the bullying, what about the other people who go through bullying every day in their neighborhood, in the workplace, and in school? What about the children in school who also experience this every day? If three grown adults are all affected by this, how much greater does it affect the kids who are still developing their inte llectual and emotional quotients? This will be the focus of the study, and the following questions will be answered: 1.) How much of their self-concept is affected by the bullying? 2.) What actions do these teens consider as bullying? 3.) Are there other factors that affect the development of the Self-Concept other than bullying? 4.) How much of their self-concept has changed over the period of time that the individual has been bullied? 5.) How do the teens cope with the bullying? Research Objectives The study will aim to discover more about how bullying schools affect the formation of one’s self-concept. It will help us in analyzing the effects, thus giving us more ways to deal with it. The research will help open a new dimension of understanding for bullies, parents, and most importantly, the victims themselves, on how to approach the issue of bullying in schools and it will help pave the way in developing a better idea of how to handle a bullying situation. This study will also help us see how big an issue bullying has become here in Baguio city. In order to accomplish these objectives, a survey and a conversational analysis of interviews will be carried out. The survey’s aim is to formulate a universal definition of what the students deem as â€Å"bullying†, while the interviews will help the study determine how the students are affected by in-class bullying. Significance of the Study Bullying is becoming a rather big issue here in the Philippines and this study will help us understand the gravity of the issue that in-class bullying gives. There have been many cases of bullying here in the Philippines, even if we exclude the cyber-bullying cases. The Department of Education has even released a statement about the alarming increase of bullying cases in the country. It is imperative to know why this is happening and how it can be mitigated. The significance of this study is that it may help researchers may use this research’s findings as basis a related research topic. This study might even encourage these future researchers to delve deeper in the issue and create a more detailed and in-depth version of the research topic. It will also serve as basis in the study of the issues related to bullying, the self-concept, and the interpersonal communication patterns of individuals. The study will also provide more in-depth view of the issue of bullying because it focuses on a condition vital to the formation of one’s self-concept. Through this study, students will become aware of the great effects that bullying can have on others and this can help reduce the occurrence of sever bullying cases. Finally, the results of this study will provide some insights and information on how much bullying can change an individual’s view of himself/herself, how it can affect the way they interact with others, and how it c an change their view of the world they live in. Scope and Delimitations The scope of the study will focus on 3rd year – 4th year male and female high school students in Baguio city who are enrolled in schools here in Baguio. These schools are the University of Baguio Science High School. The study does not include students who do not have a junior standing in class. The study will not also focus on the schools that are not enrolled in the top three high schools in Baguio city. This study will not also include out of school teens.

Supporting Children and Young People’s Health and Safety

â€Å"Health and safety in a school is about taking a sensible and proportionate approach to ensure the premises provide a healthy and safe place for all who use them, including the school work force, visitors and pupils. † (HSE Health and Safety checklist for classrooms – August 2011) Task 1 Factors to take into account when planning healthy and safe, indoor and outdoor environments and services are: †¢Lines of responsibility – The Governing Body, Head teacher and Health and Safety Officer. Employees, for example yourself, caretaker and kitchen manager, visitors such as hirers and contractors. Safeguarding and welfare – Safe recruitment for example, CRB checking, raising awareness of child protection, establishing a safe environment for children to learn and develop. †¢Age, needs and ability – Assessing the risks and ensuring that equipment is provided and used appropriately. †¢The safe selection of toys, materials and equipment â₠¬â€œ Assessing the risks and ensuring equipment is provided and used appropriately. The school setting uses the Government's Legislation as set down by the HSE as a source for planning healthy and safe environments and services.Health and safety is monitored and maintained by following the guidance within the setting's Health and Safety Policy. Risk assessments must be carried out to eliminate or reduce risks with any findings recorded. Any arrangements made must be monitored and reviewed by appointed person's with the training, knowledge and skills to carry out these arrangements. It is the appointed person's (Health and Safety Co-ordinator) responsibility to ensure that everyone within the setting is made aware of, read and signed the changed or new policies and procedures.People within the work setting must be made aware of where of the Health and Safety Policy is kept, up to date training must be provided and copies of risk assessments must be given when necessary, for example w hen going on school trips, all adults on the trip must read the risk assessment specifies such as the minibus for travelling in, wearing visors, appointed first aiders, trip and group leaders and toilet trips. This ensures the staff are aware of risks and hazards, how to deal with them efficiently and who to report to.Current health and safety legislation, policies and procedures are followed by employees at the school by reading the Health and Safety Policy and implementing the correct procedures such as the provision of first aid and knowledge of designated first aiders. The reporting and recording of accidents, Fire and Emergency procedures, attending the update of training, the need for parental consent for â€Å"when there is significant risk of injury before children participate in any activity. † (Livingstone Primary School – May 2011) All Employees will report defective items of furniture and equipment and if able, remove.Task 2 It is important when managing ri sks that a balanced approach is taken, the needs of pupils and their rights to learn, explore and play no matter what their age or ability needs to be taken into account. However their health and safety is paramount and excessive risks should not be taken. An example of a balanced approach from my experience is the time when I was on morning playground duty, it came to my attention that the skipping ropes were not being used appropriately. The children had tied the skipping ropes to the climbing apparatus and were using them to swing on and climb.In my opinion this was an excessive risk because the children were at risk of getting the rope caught around their necks or hurting another child who was using the apparatus appropriately. I immediately removed the skipping ropes and explained my reasons that it was too unsafe and encouraged the children to use them for skipping games. Children aged five or six would not be able to play on playground apparatus that is only suitable for chil dren over 8 years of age because the apparatus ould be too high or have more complex climbing equipment and would not meet their age of development. Age appropriate apparatus and equipment should be available to aid their development. Apparatus/equipment for a child with special educational needs who is over 8 years old would not be suitable if their development age may only be equivalent to a 5 or 6 year old therefore they need access to apparatus/equipment to meet their developing age with approved adaptation and 1:1 support if necessary. It is a fact of life that accidents, injury and illness happen to all children on occasions regardless. † (Sited on a Microsoft Power Point, TA Accredited Course – 10 th November 2012) Task 3 Under the Health and Safety Policy, the procedures of the setting in response to accidents and incidents is that every case is dealt with by designated first aiders and is fully and accurately recorded and signed in the accident book that is kep t in the medical room. A form is sent home to parents/carers informing them of any accident.For head injuries parents/carers are informed immediately by telephone and the child is given a sticker to wear stating ‘I bumped my head' this allows all staff to be aware of the child's accident. In the event of an emergency the first aider should be summoned to attend the accident/incident to provide first aid and if necessary call for emergency services. Parents/carers must be contacted as soon as possible. In the event of illness parents/carers are contacted immediately to collect their child.Any medicines that need to be given to a child needs a parent/carer to fill out a form stating the medicine and dosage as well as signed to give permission. Only designated persons should give medicines. Outbreaks of infectious illnesses are reported to all parents/carers via a letter home. Bibliography: †¢HSE Health and Safety Checklist for Classrooms, August 2011 †¢Livingstone Prim ary School, Health and Safety Policy, May 2011 †¢Microsoft Powerpoint, TA Accredited Course, 10th November 2012 Read also: How Different Types of Transitions Can Affect Children