Media Connections to Appearance vs. Reality Essay Example for Free

Media Connections to Appearance vs. Reality Essay Themes are the framework of works of art. Just like a backbone in humans is needed to provide support and aid movement, a theme is used to send a message across to the audience and provide the means used to send it. Appearance vs. reality is a theme most commonly used in writing. It requires the audience to think about the fact that the piece of art they have just read or seen has more to it. This theme is used in Nadine Gordimer’s â€Å"Once Upon a Time†, Julio Polanco’s â€Å"Identity† and American rock band Evanescence’s song, â€Å"Everybody’s fool†. It is used in the plot of each work to give three major underlying messages. The first is that appearance exists to hide the truth, the second is that reality is often a harsher world and the lastly, they use it as an umbrella to express their feelings and thoughts. Reality is the state of things as they actually exist. Appearance on the other hand, was made to cover up reality. There only reason as to why the original, fixed state of things has to be altered is to hide the truth. For instance, the main characters of Gordimer’s story are a family living in a suburb that are racist but try not to make it seem so. They put up a silhouette of an intruder as a warning to future burglars. The silhouette is neither black nor white proving that the family is not racist (Godimer). The possible burglars the family was expecting were the coloured people from the other side of town. This is racist because they see them as harmful because of their colour. Likewise, Julio Polanco’s poem also shows that there is something hidden under all the glamour and falsity that is appearance. It is about pretty flowers that are â€Å"always watered, fed but harnessed to a pot of dirt† (Polanco). The flowers appear better off because they are being taken care of but in reality, they are not truly happy because they are not free. Lastly, Evanescence again reinforces this idea through the behaviour discussed in their song. They describe how one alters their behaviour when around others. The person has â€Å"no flaws when they are pretending† (Lee). This is because they use their changed behaviour to cover up their true imperfect selves. Appearances are often made because it is an easier alternative to the real thing. Life is full of hardships, struggle and anxiety which one must face almost daily. This becomes too difficult for people and they create an idealistic way of life which appears easier and better. For example, in Gordimer’s story, the family does not want to face violence from the coloured people. â€Å"There were riots, but these were outside the city, where people of another color were quartered† (Godimer). Due to this, the family creates a safe home with lots of security reinforcements and this keeps the danger out so they do not have to face it. Similarly, Evanescence’s song tells readers about a character who covers up their true personality. They sing â€Å"without the mask where will you hide? Can’t find yourself lost in your lie† (Lee). The person creates a new self- image because they probably did not like who they used to be. In like manner, Julio Polanco makes an even stronger point of the harshness of reality with descriptive words in his poem. The flowers are well kept and cared for unlike the weed that is â€Å"exposed to the madness of the vast, eternal sky† (Polanco). The condition the weed grows in is harsh so even though the flower is not free, it lives in a safer environment. Appearance is also used broadly by the writers as a metaphor to express their opinions on political or social issues. Gordimer’s story expresses her opinion on a political issue while the topic of both Polanco and Evanescence’s work is based on social issues. On one hand, â€Å"Once Upon a Time† may feel like a children’s tale but it is really showing how she feels like a children’s tale but it is really showing how she feels about apartheid in South Africa (CITE). The story is written in simple language but it has a serious undertone as to the consequences of racial segregation. The colours people are not the only ones affected by racism. Racism has an effect on everyone involved. In her story, Gordimer expressed this using the death of the son (Godimer). Her opinion is that apartheid benefits no one. On the other hand, Julio Polanco writes about a social issue. In his poem he says, â€Å"I’d rather be a tall ugly weed† (Polanco). This is an extended metaphor used to show how the narrator prefers being strong and free while suffering hardship as opposed to being under the rule of another. Julio Polanco shows that he believes in the right of freedom. By the same token, Evanescence’s style in their lyrics voices their opinion on hypocrites. They think these kinds of people go from fooling everyone to becoming â€Å"everyone’s fool† (Lee). In conclusion, these artists use the theme to express themselves. Deeper thoughts are stimulated in the audience when the theme of appearance vs. reality is used. It is a message within a message. Nadine Gordimer, Julio Polanco and Evanescence are only a few of the artists who use this theme. In their works, they show that appearance is only serves as a blindfold to the truth; appearance exists because reality can become too hard to face and lastly, use it as a means of expression. The theme of appearance vs. reality is like a matryoshka doll, the message is there, you just have to go through all the other layers. Works Cited Gordimer, Nadine. â€Å"Once Upon a Time†. Hot Elements of Literature Sixth Course – British Literature. Nexus learning. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. Lee, Amy. Lyrics. â€Å"Everybody’s fool†. Fallen. CD. Wind up. 2004. Azlyrics. Web. 18 Jan. 2013. Nadine Gordimer and the South African Experience. Nadine Gordimer and the South African Experience. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. Polanco, Julio. â€Å"Identity†. Bread loaf poetry exchange. PB works, 2011. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.

Dinner with Father :: Example Personal Narratives

Dinner with Father I wonder what it would be like to go to dinner with my father. One of the chief words my uncle uses to describe my father is "classy," so I'm sure that he would take me to a fancy restaurant. We would sit across the table from each other, both decked out in dark suits. My hair would fall into my eyes and I would brush it out of the way, looking to see the expression on his face. He was a large man, both in my memories and in photographs I've seen. I'm sure that he would dominate the conversation, both physically and mentally. His absence from my life has resulted in my sort of revering him, and so I think that the evening would be unevenly balanced toward my listening to him speak. And what better questions to ask than his opinions of me and my habits? It would be strange, seeking acceptance from someone who has had such a powerful effect on my life, influencing me more through his absence than through his presence. My early years with my father have become harder and harder to recall. From what I can remember, and what I have gleaned from my brother and mother, I was on the verge of spending "quality time" with my father. My brother, who is four years older than I, spent the last few years with Dad talking and reading and walking, all things I yearn to have done with him. The dinner would be a chance for me to bond with my father, and to get a sense of the man he was. This is what my brother and my mother know, but cannot convey to me. I would show him some of the poems I've written about him and me. I would question him to see whether or not the image of him I had forged in my mind, in my writing, is true. In my philosophy class this year, we are reading Plato's Republic, which my mother has told me was my father's favourite book. I am fortunate enough to have his copy of the Republic, a tattered, red-leather bound copy from long ago. I want to know what he gleaned from this book that made it so important to him. I would use the dinner (which I know would be too short) to fill in the gaps in my perception of my father.

Study Guide on Communication

1. What is communication? How does communicating relate to parenting? Communication is sharing of meaning between two or more people, it relates to parenting because it helps guide and understand their child better. 2. How can financial issues affect parenting? Financial issues may cause families to spend less time together; children may spend more time be unsupervised and less quality time with their parents. 3. How does negative communication differ from positive communication? Positive parenting differ from negative parenting because positive parenting have to deal with guiding and teaching children and negative have to deal with yelling scream and punishment. 4. How can divorce affect children? Divorce affects children differently depending on the age group under five experience increased temper tantrums, difficulty sleeping, separation anxiety. School children may feel sadness, guilt, anger and develop phobias. Teens experience insecurity, sadness, and engage in drug use, criminal activities, unsafe sex, etc. . What are three tips that parents can use to improve communication with their children? Three communication tips are; 1) Make the child the focus of your attention. 2) Get down to the child's level physically (eye contact). 3) Delay or Pause conversation if you need to. Critical Thinking Questions 1. Why is it important that parents talk to their children about social issues such as divorce, finances, and unemployment? How can parents talk about di fficult topics? It is important because children can understand the problems that their family is having. They can sit down and talk to their child in a calm tone without giving negative contact. 2. When teenagers become parents, what are some of the challenges they face? Teens faces challenges such as depression, stress, fitting in with their peers and anxiety. 3. What are at least three techniques that parents can use when they are communicating with a child about a mistake or misbehavior? Three techniques parent can use are 1) Wait before criticizing out of anger. ) Start a constructive criticism conversation on a positive note. 3) Don’t jump to conclusion first get full story. Discussion Question 1. Who is someone that you feel you have a positive relationship with? What role do you think openness and truthfulness have in making this relationship positive? Someone who I have a positive relationship with is my aunt. I think openness and truthfulness play a big role because if it wasn’t for those I wouldn’t be able to have a positive good relationship with her. 2. What effects do you think the various types of media (TV, Internet, newspapers, Facebook, etc†¦) have on your own life and your family? Do you think the overall effect is negative or positive? How can parents reduce the negative effects? I think media have a negative effect on my life because I spend more time with the media than I do with my family and that’s not good. We are starting to be a little distant and not spend quality time with each other. I think my parents can spend less time with media stuff and more time with us.

Islamic Global State Terrorism - 1920 Words

Brantley Webb Professor Vickery English 102 5/8/2015 Islamic Global State The actual definition for the word terrorist is the following: a person, usually a member of a group, who uses or advocates terrorism. But then to go a step further terrorism is defined as, the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes (Terrorst). Terrorist have been around for thousands of years and they will always be around. For example Iraq and Afghanistan are fraught with terrorism , that is based on the most extreme view of the Islamic religion. These extremists want to make all leaders of the world to be Islamic and they want to end all the involvement and influence from other countries on Islam (Ryan). These Islam extremist will not stop until they get what they want. They do not let anything stand in their way. There intentions are thought to be good only in their eyes. They are a cruel and ruthless group of people who have no tolerance of people who do not support their extreme beliefs. My knowledge of t errorists growing up was simply that they were the enemy; however I never understood why they did what they did. As I became older, I learned more and more about what was going on in the middle-east. I watched the news and heard about the terrorists killing Americans in cruel ways and thought how gruesome! I always thought that they were cruel just because that was their nature. I never really thought deep about why they did what theyShow MoreRelatedIslamic State For The Global Terrorism Index1746 Words   |  7 PagesAccording to the Global Terrorism Index, almost 18,000 deaths accord in 2013 which is a 60% increase from 2012. The 4 major groups responsible for these deaths are: Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria, Boko Haram in Nigeria, the Taliban in Afghanistan and al-Qaida in various parts of the world. 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