English - College Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

English - College Literature - Essay Example The tone of despair and anger underlines a theme of hidden suffering, where people cover up their feelings, only expressing them in prayer, â€Å"We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries / To thee from tortured souls arise.† (1. 0-11). The speaker is not definable as male or female, young or old, but has a voice that could apply to many, as the poet shares the suffering experiences across a whole range of humanity, evidenced by the use of â€Å"we†. The metaphor of â€Å"the mask that grins and lies,† (l. 1) and the reason for using this protection, â€Å"Nay, let them only see us while / We wear the mask† (l. 8-9), signified how people may hurt inside for many reasons but want to hide the pain. It seemed to be a matter of pride, as in â€Å"why should the world be over-wise, / In counting all our tears and sighs?† (l. 6-7), to keep the suffering hidden. Dunbar was a child of slaves and he understood the suffering of slavery. But the concept of covering up our pain can apply to anyone; the mask is a symbol of the human need to protect itself. Often, at school or hanging out with friends, somebody can say something hurtful, maybe as a joke, so we smile or laugh in response, pretending not to be vulnerable and covering up our hurt. The poet expressed exactly how much we hurt and how the pretence can damage us. He makes us feel other’s pain and relate it to our own, and maybe realize that if we take off the mask, we could suffer less and become stronger. â€Å"Incident†, with the simple, repetitive rhythms of a child’s sung rhyme and point of view, gives a difference perspective on how people hurt each other. The boy speaker, most likely the poet, recalled a childhood memory with an ironic tone that suggests he had risen above that experience. Though the poem reads like a child telling a story, with true rhyme such as â€Å"glee† (l. 2) and â€Å"me† (l. 4), â€Å"bigger† (1. 6) and â€Å"nigger† (l. 8), its message is stark. The theme of racism and its

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 63

Reflection - Essay Example Some of the similarities shared between the three religions are the fact that they all worship the same God. This is based on the evidence that the three religions are all monotheistic as they believe in one supreme God (Reed, 2013). Despite the similarity, religion is believed to be amongst the major cause of conflict in the Middle East. This is as the three religions are believed to have emerged from this region. These religions also have their holy centers located in this region. The overlap in the bounders of the different religious groups fuels the conflict. This is as each group claims different territories in which the bounders are seen to overlap in many cases hence the groups resulting to war (Ozdag, 2003). This is the case in the fight over the Gaza strip. The other religious factor that is a contributor to the current state of warfare in the Middle East is the relationship between the Muslims and the Jewish. These two groups have many differences that are seen be geopolitical, religious and ethnic differences. The Jews believe that they are the initial inhabitants of the lands in Middle East. They believe that the lands they currently live in and those that other groups live in were given to them by Jehovah hence the need to recover them. The Arabs, on the other hand, are always unwilling to share the lands they currently hold with the Jews (Ozdag, 2003). In addition to this, the perception held by the Jews that pits the Arabs as second class hence below them leads to strained relations. Historical events like the expulsion of the Jews from Medina by Prophet Mohammed further strain the relation. This is as the expulsion saw the massacre and deportation of the Jews from Saudi Arabia. Anti-Semitic statements contained in the Koran are also a major source of conflict and war in the Middle East. Relations between the Christians and the Muslims in the Middle East are a contributor to the current state in