Saturday, January 25, 2020

Importance of Setting in Eveline of James Joyces Dubliners :: Dubliners Essays

Eveline: The Importance of Setting Setting is one of the most significant elements in a story. The setting goes far beyond the simple physical attributes and external face value. It seems "Eveline" solely takes place in Dublin in an old room, but the setting actually plays a key role in the story. The setting in "Eveline" helps the reader to better understand the behavior of the main character. The setting in "Eveline" is paralyzing, and this helps the reader to understand why Eveline does not go with Frank to Buenos Aires. In the majority of the story Eveline "sat at the window," (512) which parallels with her paralysis because she does not move. Eveline "was going to go away like the others" (512) because she was one of the only people left in Dublin from her childhood. However, Eveline doesn't go since she is trapped in her setting. Almost nothing in Eveline's setting ever changes throughout her life. The significance of Eveline looking around the room "reviewing all its familiar objects" (512) is that she "never dreamed of being divided" from them. All around her Eveline "had those she had know all her life about her" (512). Eveline is a product of her environment. The reader can see how the setting never changes, Eveline's life molds to it. This explains the reason for her not going away and starting a much happier life. It is extremely hard for her to make the decision of whether or not to go with Frank because she only knows one way. Eveline understands that she has "a hard life,"(513) and she has the chance to go to a place where "it would not be like that" (513). However, it scares Eveline to change her setting. After thinking about leaving she did not find her present setting as "wholly undesirable" (513) as she previously did. The latter part of "Eveline" is set by the sea. This sea is a symbol of rejuvenation for Eveline. Much like in "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin, the sea is a way to escape life. "All the seas of the world tumble around her heart," (515) and Eveline is unable to flee from her life to go away with Frank. Eveline's mind has been subconsciencly designed by her environment, and she can't imagine living life any other way. Eveline is so confused and doesn't know what is holding her back, but something is.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Poetry Essay Essay

Vocabulary: Winds – takes a twisting route â€Å"to have many bends and twist† Aches – to hurt with a dull pain â€Å"to feel a continuous dull pain† Belch – to burp noisily â€Å"to let air come up noisily from your stomach and out through your nose† Strummed – to sweep fingers over a stringed instrument â€Å"to play a guitar or similar instrument by moving your fingers up and down across the strings† Brow – is a person’s forehead â€Å"the part of the face above the eyes and below the hair† Drenched – to be soaked through â€Å"to make something or somebody completely wet† â€Å" † Hornby, A.S. ed 2010. Oxford Advanced leaner’s Dictionary of Current English. 8th Edition: Oxford University Press My Notes: The poem is a free verse there is no punctuation; it describes the anxious thoughts of a teenaged boy who does not know what tomorrow will hold. The title of the poem includes the words â€Å"June 16th. † This date is a very significant date in the history of South Africa, as Youth day is commemorated and celebrated on this day. It goes back to the time in South African during the Apartheid regime. On June 16th 1976 thousands of students marched in the streets of Soweto to protest against Bantu education, which limited the level of education to most South Africans. There was an angry youth crowd fighting against and angry government and this resulted in the police killing two hundred young people and injuring hundreds more. This poem is therefore a good poem as it reflects how the people felt during this time in history and it also reflect where we come from as a nation and how the youth can play such an important role in changing an entire history of a country. Critical analysis on the poem: A young man’s thoughts before June the 16th, by Fhazel Johennese. To me â€Å"A young man’s thoughts before June the 16th†, written by Fhazel Johennese is quite a good poem. I must admit I had to read it quite a few times before I started to understand it. Although it is a short poem, the style is simple and the writer gets straight to the point. I understand that the poem is about a young man who is about to go and fight for his rights in South Africa, but I feel that he would rather be somewhere else. I like the poem, it is not difficult to read and you can feel the emotions of the young boy through the words written in the poem. He is anxious about what tomorrow will bring and just wants to be a normal young person. He longs for his mother and wants to spend time with his friends and he knows that he will probably die. In this poem, Fhazel Johennesse is placing himself in somebody else’s shoes (this person knowing that he was going to die as a result of the march of June the 16th). Therefore he is not the narrator of the poem but rather a character which will result in his death. The poet uses words like â€Å"I, me and my† which make the poem very personal and you can imagine the young man going through all the emotions that he is going through. The poem can be seen both as literally and figuratively therefore making the reader or narrator enjoy how the poem has been described. In the literal sense, the person in the poem is going to march, â€Å"travel on a road† (line 1) on June the 16th. There is a use of alliteration which occurs by the use of the phrase â€Å"broad belch of beer† (line 7). However figuratively, the â€Å"march† is the journey, the struggle, against apartheid for a better tomorrow. The speaker slows the poem down when reading it because of the repeated alliterations, this make the poem full of sadness. In the last line the poet writes that his sunset is drenched with red. This symbolises that there is going to be a lot of lives lost and their blood will be spilled all over the place. The poet uses a lot of literary devices in the poem: Firstly the whole poem is written in small letters. This shows that the person in the poem feels inferior and does not think highly of himself. Also there are no punctuation marks used in the poem, the lines just go on and on. This emphasises the fact the he is in an on-going struggle that just goes on and on. His thoughts, â€Å"his sweet memories of (his) youth† are unstoppable. He thinks about the important things like his family and friends, despite his trials and tribulations. â€Å"The Friday nights†¦with a broad belch of beer† (alliteration in line 6 and 7) for example, were important to him. His thoughts run onto the next line and maybe death will ultimately make his thoughts break. The lines of the poem are long and because there are no punctuation marks in this poem, one does not know when to pause because of this. This therefore makes the poem to be slow paced and makes you think of a sad song, sung at funeral. This emphasises that the poem could be some kind of a tribute to one of the young men who died on June 16th. In the poem we also read about the â€Å"my heart aches for my mother†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (line 5) and â€Å"sweet memories of my youth† (line 4). This makes me think that he must be very young and if he had the choice he would rather be somewhere else instead of facing death. When we read a poem such as this it makes us realise that many people old and young alike have died to make a difference in South Africa. On June the 16th we should remember what so many young people stood for and even gave their lives for. In the poem all that the young man wants is for someone to remembers and to tell others the story of what happened on June the 16th, so that those of died did not die for nothing. BIBLIOGRAPHY * Hornby, A. S. ed 2010. Oxford Advanced leaner’s Dictionary of Current English. 8th Edition: Oxford University Press * Ways of knowing: Fiction, Poetry and Drams, Tutorial letter EED102G/101/3/2012.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

The Science Behind How Popcorn Pops

Popcorn has been a popular snack for thousands of years. Remnants of the tasty treat have been found in Mexico dating back to 3600 BC. Popcorn pops because each popcorn kernel is special. Heres a look at what makes popcorn different from other seeds and how popcorn pops. Why It Pops Popcorn kernels contain oil and water with starch, surrounded by a hard and strong outer coating. When popcorn is heated, the water inside the kernel tries to expand into steam, but it cannot escape through the seed coat (the popcorn hull or pericarp). The hot oil and steam gelatinizes the starch inside the popcorn kernel, making it softer and more pliable. When the popcorn reaches a temperature of 180 C (356 F),  the pressure inside the kernel is around 135 psi (930 kPa), which is sufficient pressure to rupture the popcorn hull, essentially turning the kernel inside-out. The pressure inside the kernel is released very quickly, expanding the proteins and starch inside the popcorn kernel into a foam, which cools and sets into the familiar popcorn puff. A popped piece of corn is about 20 to 50 times larger than the original kernel. If popcorn is heated too slowly, it wont pop because steam leaks out of the tender tip of the kernel. If popcorn is heated too quickly, it will pop, but the center of each kernel will be hard because the starch hasnt had time to gelatinize and form a foam. How Microwave Popcorn Works Originally, popcorn was made by directly heating the kernels. Bags of microwave popcorn are a bit different because the energy comes from microwaves rather than infrared radiation. The energy from the microwaves makes the water molecules in each kernel move faster, exerting more pressure on the hull until the kernel explodes. The bag that microwave popcorn comes in helps trap the steam and moisture so the corn can pop more quickly. Each bag is lined with flavors so when a kernel pops, it strikes the side of the bag and gets coated. Some microwave popcorn presents a health risk not encountered with regular popcorn because the flavorings are also affected by the microwave and get into the air. Does all corn pop? Popcorn that you buy at the store or grow as popcorn for a garden is a special variety of corn. The commonly cultivated strain is Zea mays everta, which is a type of flint corn. Some wild or heritage strains of corn will also pop. The most common types of popcorn have white or yellow pearl-type  kernels, although white, yellow, mauve, red, purple, and variegated colors are available in both pearl and rice shapes. Even the right strain of corn wont pop unless its moisture content has a moisture content around 14 to 15%. Freshly harvested corn pops, but the resulting popcorn will be chewy and dense. Sweet Corn and Field Corn Two other common types of corn are sweet corn and field corn. If these types of corn are dried so they have the right moisture content, a small number of kernels will pop. However, the corn that pops wont be as fluffy as regular popcorn and will have a different flavor. Attempting to pop field corn using oil is more likely to produce a snack more like Corn Nuts, where the corn kernels expand but dont break apart. Do other grains pop? Popcorn is not the only grain that pops! Sorghum, quinoa, millet, and amaranth grain all puff up when heated as the pressure from expanding steam breaks open the seed coat.