Comparing Social Norms in My Last Duchess by Robert Browning and Ulysse

When one travels, it is easy to observe differences in social norms from country to country. One may also observe differences within a country, for example, the social norms of a small town or village versus those of a large metropolis. Differences in social norms can also be observed in literature. This essay will focus on two dramatic monologues, which were written by poets who lived in England during the same period. Robert Browning published My last Duchess in 1842, the same year that Alfred Tennyson published Ulysses. Both poets lived in England during the Victorian era. However, by examining characters from their poetry, namely Alfonso in My Last Duchess and Odysseus in Ulysses, we can see that they express opposite norms concerning controlling power, change, form and death. â€Å"E'en then would be some stooping; and I choose Never to stoop. Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt, whene'er I passed her; but who passed without Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together† (Line 42-46) (Browning 714). This implies that Alfonso can't sand his wife's behavior, which leads him to kill her. He doesn't want to stoop for her, which means he doesn't want to give in to her to gain her attention in that way. Instead of being nice to her, he chooses to affect his power over her, a power he is afraid to lose. Yet even after he kills her, he keeps her picture, and covers it with the curtain. This is his way of putting her in her place, a prison of sorts, in which he chooses when and to whom she will ever smile again. Then he says to the servant of the Count of Tyrol â€Å"the curtain I have drawn for you† and he shows the picture to him. From Alfonso’s words, we can tell that he is satisfied with this action becau... ... In My Last Duchess, Browning shows that thing has a form, which he literally has and everyone can see it, had a value and it will not change forever. Even Browning expresses that death still can bring back something he wants. In contrast, Tennyson mentions powers itself doesn’t attract or move him. A death won’t give anything to him. Therefore, to achieve what he wants means more to him. Browning doesn’t find any interest in the thing, which has a form and will not change forever. Change itself actually has value. From this, even though Browning and Tennyson lived in the same era, their norms are world apart. Works Cited Browning, Robert. "My Last Duchess." Literature Across Cultures. Ed. SheilaGillespie, et al 4th Ed. New York: Longman, 2005. Tennyson, Alfred. "Ulysses". Victorian Literature, 1830-1900.Boston: McPeek, 2002. pp. 399-400. Print.

American Writers Essay

List of American Novels for Research Project English 11H Historical/War Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane Killer Angels, Michael Shaara A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier My Brother Sam is Dead, JL Collier African-American Beloved, Toni Morrison (mature themes) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou Native Son, James Baldwin The Color Purple, Alice Walker (mature themes) Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston Malcom X (autobiography- lengthy) A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Ernest Gaines Go Tell it on the Mountain, James Baldwin Black Boy, Richard Wright (memoir) Dystopian/Futuristic/Science Fiction Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut Catch-22, Joseph Heller The Giver, Lois Lowry Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury Realism/Naturalism/Regionalism The Call of the Wild, Jack London White Fang, Jack London O’Pioneers, Willa Cather My Antonia, Willa Cather Maggie, Girl of the Streets, Stephen Crane The Jungle, Upton Sinclair Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain Miscellaneous Modern/Contemporary novels The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd. The Natural, Bernard Malamud (baseball; Jewish myth) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey (set in a mental asylum) House on Mango Street, Sandy Cisneros Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (Chinese-American culture) The Help, Kathryn Stockett (set in 1960s; about African-American maids in the South) Shoeless Joe, WP Kinsella (baseball) Franny and Zooey, by JD Salinger (from 1950’s; If you have an interest in world philosophy or eastern religion, you’d probably like this. ) The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath (mature themes) Research Novel Lottery Preparation. Native American Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Sherman Alexie Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Sherman Alexie Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko Quest/Journey On the Road, Jack Kerouac The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway The Road, Cormac McCarthy Dark Romanticism The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne (set in Puritan New England; challenging) ark Roma nticis m he Scarlet Letter For our project, you will read one of the books on this list and (later) research the reasons this has become a significant member of the American literary canon. (What literary elements make it unique or powerful? What impact has this work had on our history or way of thinking? ) During our next class, we will conduct a lottery so that each student has a different title. To help insure that you end up with a title that you will enjoy, please spend 20-30 minutes choosing 4 titles from the list that you will be pleased to read and research. You ARE NOT allowed to read any book that you have previously read. I strongly suggest you do some Internet searches on various titles to examine what those books are all about, and to determine if their content might appeal to you. You also need to make sure ahead of time that your choices are okay with your parents. Remember, we will draw names and choose titles, so it’s highly likely you won’t get your first choice. You may, in fact, want to come up with more than four choices! Four top choices: 1_________________________________________________________________________ 2_________________________________________________________________________ 3_________________________________________________________________________ 4_________________________________________________________________________ Please see side two for list of titles—————————————————————————–?

Harriet Tubman And Her Impact - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 496 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/05/31 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Harriet Tubman Essay Did you like this example? I was a conductor on the Underground Railroad, and I can say what many others cannot. I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.Assisting low income families, liberating slaves, and empowering women these accomplishments are just a glimpse of what makes Harriet Tubman a significant inspiration: a name remembered till today! Picture this, your feet ache as you take another step and you hear your stomach growl in pain. You are a slave on the Underground Railroad (a system of hidden routes and houses to help slaves escape) walking the long winding path to freedom along with other slaves, but youre scared.really scared. Out loud, you complain to turn back and thatrs when the leader of the group, a dark woman adorned with a vibrant head scarf, suddenly points a gun to your head and orders you to Move or die. Frightened, you rush forward to continue the journey. That woman was Harriet Tubman, and that encounter, it really happened. Yeah that may have come off as harsh, but it was Tubmanrs fierce attitude that led eighty slaves to freedom and kept her, in all of her thirteen missions, from losing any of them. Her fellow abolitionists rewarded her with the nickname Black Moses. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Harriet Tubman And Her Impact" essay for you Create order Tubman was not just brave but a compassionate woman proven in how she made it one of her missions to aid those struggling financially and care for the disabled. Because of her own disabilities from life as a slave, she could barely care for her needs; for her family; for those in her care. Despite her diminishing health, she never stopped working to bring people to safety, buying twenty-five acres of land for them to live on. Tubman would encourage those under her wing to strive towards independence and taught them new skills. Harriet Tubman opened new doors for women: she became the first female to organize a military raid in America. Her speech at a womenrs suffrage meeting and appearance in the National Association of Colored Women conference revealed her persistent passion for equality. Tubmanrs actions destroyed the stereotypes of what it meant to be a woman. Her courage lives on forever in the stories of those lucky enough to know her. Thomas Garrett, a dedicated abolitionist, describes one such event. In the freezing cold of March, Tubman and the runaway slaves with her suddenly came across a deep river. Despite the slaves fears, Tubman fearlessly went deep into the gushing waters while the slaves waited safely on land until they knew for sure it was all right to cross. There are very few people out there with the faith and confidence to put the needs of others before her own, and that is what makes Harriet Tubman so different. With commitment, persistence, courage, Harriet Tubman transformed history by helping and changing lives. To this day and for the rest of history, we will and will always remember the name, Harriet Tubman.