We Wear the Mask Essay -- Literature

Paul Laurence Dunbar’s â€Å"We Wear the Mask† is a lyric poem in which the point of attraction, the mask, represents the oppression and sadness held by African Americans in the late 19th century, around the time of slavery. As the poem progresses, Dunbar reveals the faà §ade of the mask, portrayed in the third stanza where the speaker states, â€Å"But let the dream otherwise† (13). The unreal character of the mask has played a significant role over the life of African Americans, whom pretend to put on a smile when they feel sad internally. This ocassion, according to Dunbar, is the â€Å"debt we pay to human guile," meaning that their sadness is related to them deceiving others. Unlike his other poems, with its prevalent use of black dialect, Dunbar’s â€Å"We Wear the Mask† acts as â€Å"an apologia (or justification) for the minstrel quality of some of his dialect poems† (Desmet, Hart and Miller 466). Through the utilization of iambic t etrameter, end rhyme, sound devices and figurative language, the speaker expresses the hidden pain and suffering African Americans possessed, as they were â€Å"tortured souls† behind their masks (10). The poem’s meter, iambic tetrameter, stands for the speaker’s heartfelt attitude regarding the sorrow that blacks kept away from whites, and in some cases, themselves. In the first stanza, the speaker proclaims that â€Å"[w]ith torn and bleeding hearts we smile, / And mouth with myriad subtleties† (4-5). During the time Dunbar published â€Å"We Wear the Mask,† blacks were treated with no dignity and were discriminated against on a constant basis. They felt they could not do anything to stop the series of unfortunate events that were happening to them, such as beatings, lynches, and no sufficient way to earn income or educ... ...eding hearts† and â€Å"mouth . . . . myriad subtleties† (4-5).Today, everyone is entitled to having equal opportunities in the US. Back in Dunbar’s time, on the other hand, slavery prohibited blacks from being an ordinary person in society. Although they prayed heavily and persevered, they wore the mask for the time-being, in the hopes of living in a world where the color of one’s skin would not determine his or her character. Works Cited Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "We Wear the Mask." Prentice Hall: Literature Portfolio. Ed. Christy Desmet, D. Alexis Hart, and Deborah Church Miller. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. 466-67. Print. "Paul Laurence Dunbar." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 9 February 2012. Web. 12 February 2012.

The James Wright Festival :: essays research papers

The James Wright Festival Part One   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After reading the poem entitled â€Å"Youth†, I felt that James Wright was not only describing the life of his father but also the lives of the many other factory workers in the Ohio Valley. Many of these workers had either dropped out of school or went straight to the factories after high school, never really getting a chance to enjoy their lives as young `````adults. I think that has something to do with the title of this poem. It’s clear that Wright knew his father and the other men were not satisfied with their jobs and just chose not to speak about it. These factory workers slaved away and then came home â€Å"quiet as the evening† probably because they were content to just be relaxing at home with their families. They knew that this was their way of life and they had to do it, even if they had big dreams to someday get away. I think that Wright was also trying to make a point that these men who worked so hard every day were not valued as much as they should have been. These men did not have the education to get a higher paying job but they did have the proper skills and knowledge to work in the factories. I like that James Wright mentioned Sherwood Anderson in this poem as I enjoy his work. Anderson left his Ohio hometown for Chicago to pursuit bigger and better things because he knew if he stayed in the area, he would be unhappy. However, it is a little ironic that Anderson one day just got up and left in the middle of writing and was said to have a mental breakdown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I can definitely see what Wright was communicating with this poem. I had a somewhat depressed feeling after reading it, but I don’t know how one could read this and NOT feel that way. I also felt a little sad because I have been around people like this all of my life. Family, friends, friends of the family- a large majority of these people worked in factories and in the steel mills. As a child, I did not realize just how hard working these people were but of course as I grew older I started to understand. No one really spoke of it, as Wright also expressed in the poem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As far as what was important to me in the experience of the poem, I felt that the fact that I could actually relate was important. The James Wright Festival :: essays research papers The James Wright Festival Part One   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After reading the poem entitled â€Å"Youth†, I felt that James Wright was not only describing the life of his father but also the lives of the many other factory workers in the Ohio Valley. Many of these workers had either dropped out of school or went straight to the factories after high school, never really getting a chance to enjoy their lives as young `````adults. I think that has something to do with the title of this poem. It’s clear that Wright knew his father and the other men were not satisfied with their jobs and just chose not to speak about it. These factory workers slaved away and then came home â€Å"quiet as the evening† probably because they were content to just be relaxing at home with their families. They knew that this was their way of life and they had to do it, even if they had big dreams to someday get away. I think that Wright was also trying to make a point that these men who worked so hard every day were not valued as much as they should have been. These men did not have the education to get a higher paying job but they did have the proper skills and knowledge to work in the factories. I like that James Wright mentioned Sherwood Anderson in this poem as I enjoy his work. Anderson left his Ohio hometown for Chicago to pursuit bigger and better things because he knew if he stayed in the area, he would be unhappy. However, it is a little ironic that Anderson one day just got up and left in the middle of writing and was said to have a mental breakdown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I can definitely see what Wright was communicating with this poem. I had a somewhat depressed feeling after reading it, but I don’t know how one could read this and NOT feel that way. I also felt a little sad because I have been around people like this all of my life. Family, friends, friends of the family- a large majority of these people worked in factories and in the steel mills. As a child, I did not realize just how hard working these people were but of course as I grew older I started to understand. No one really spoke of it, as Wright also expressed in the poem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As far as what was important to me in the experience of the poem, I felt that the fact that I could actually relate was important.

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Twelve

â€Å"Good practice,† Christopher said, stopping next to Matt as he headed out of the locker room. â€Å"You've got some great moves, man.† â€Å"Thanks,† Matt said, glancing up from putting on his shoes. â€Å"You were looking pretty good out there yourself.† He could tel Christopher was going to be a solid team-mate, the kind of guy who did his job and focused on the big picture, working to help the rest of the team. He was a great roommate, too, generous and laid-back. He didn't even snore. â€Å"Want to skip the dining hal and order a pizza?† Christopher asked. â€Å"This is my night to beat you at Guitar Hero – I can feel it.† Matt laughed. In the couple of weeks they'd been living together, he and Christopher had been working their way through al the Wii games Christopher had brought with him to school. â€Å"Al right, I'l see you back at the room.† Christopher slapped him on the back, grinning widely. After Christopher left, Matt took his time getting his things together, letting the other guys get out of the locker room ahead of him. He felt like walking back to the dorm alone tonight. They were a nice bunch of guys, but he was sore and tired. Between footbal practices and Vitale Society pledge activities, he'd never worked his body quite so hard. It felt good. He felt good. Even the stupidest of the Vitale activities – and some of them were pretty stupid: they'd had to work in teams to build houses out of newspaper the other night – were kind of fun, because he was getting to know some amazing people. Ethan had been right. As a group, the pledges were smart, determined, talented, everything you'd expect. And he was one of them. His classes were interesting, too. Back in high school he'd gotten okay grades but had mostly just done what he had to do to pass. The Civil War, geometry, chemistry, To Kill a Mockingbird: al his schoolwork had sort of blended into the background of his real life of friends and sports. Some of what he was doing at Dalcrest was like that, too, but in most of his classes, he was starting to see connections between things. He was getting the idea that history, language, science, and literature were al parts of the same thing – the way people thought and the stories they told – and it was real y pretty interesting. It was possible, Matt thought, with a self-mocking grin, that he was â€Å"blossoming† in col ege, just like his high school guidance counselor had predicted. It wasn't ful y dark yet, but it was getting late. Matt sped up, thinking about pizza. There weren't a lot of people roaming the campus. Matt guessed they were either in the cafeteria or holed up in their rooms, afraid. He wasn't worried, though. He figured there were a lot more vulnerable targets than a footbal player. A breeze started up, waving the branches of the trees on the quad and wafting the smel of grass to Matt. It stil felt like summer. In the bushes, a few early-evening fireflies blinked on and off. He rol ed his shoulders, enjoying the stretch after a long practice. Up ahead, someone screamed. A guy, Matt thought. The cry cut off suddenly. Before he could even think, Matt was running toward the sound. His heart was pounding, and he tried to force his tired legs to move faster. That was a sound of pure panic, Matt thought. He strained his ears but didn't hear anything except his own ragged breaths. As he came around the business building, a dark figure that had been bent over something in the grass took off, its long skinny legs flying. It was moving fast, and its face was completely concealed by a hoodie. Matt couldn't even see if it was a guy or a girl. He angled his own stride to race after the figure in black but came to a sudden halt by the shape in the grass. Not just a shape. For a moment, Matt's mind refused to process what he was seeing. The red and gold of a footbal jersey. Wet, thick liquid spreading across it. A familiar face. Then everything snapped into focus. He dropped to his knees. â€Å"Christopher, oh no, Christopher.† There was blood everywhere. Matt frantical y felt at Christopher's chest, trying to figure out where he could put pressure to try to stop the bleeding. Everywhere, everywhere, it's coming from everywhere. Christopher's whole body was shaking, and Matt pressed his hands against the soaking footbal jersey to try to hold him stil . Fresh blood ran in thick crimson streams against the brighter red of the jersey's material. â€Å"Christopher, man, hold on, it's going to be okay. You'l be okay,† Matt said, and pul ed out his phone to dial 911. His own hands were covered with blood now, and the phone was a slimy mess as he held it to his ear. â€Å"Please,† he said, his voice shaking, â€Å"I'm at Dalcrest Col ege, near the business building. My roommate, someone attacked my roommate. He's bleeding a lot. He's not conscious.† The 911 operator started to ask him some questions and Matt tried to focus. Suddenly Christopher opened his eyes, taking a deep gulp of air. â€Å"Christopher,† Matt said, dropping his phone. â€Å"Chris, they're sending an ambulance, hold on.† The shaking got worse, Christopher's arms and legs vibrating in a rapid rhythm. His eyes settled on Matt's face, and his mouth opened. â€Å"Chris,† Matt said, trying to hold him down, trying to be gentle, â€Å"who did this? Who attacked you?† Christopher gasped again, a hoarse gulping sound. Then the shaking stopped, and he was very stil . His eyelids slid down over his eyes. â€Å"Chris, please hold on,† Matt begged. â€Å"They're coming. They'l help you.† He grabbed at Christopher, shook him a little, but Christopher wasn't moving, wasn't breathing. Sirens sounded in the distance, but Matt knew the ambulance was already too late.

Reflective Writing Study Skills Essay

At the beginning of the task no one took the initiative of introducing themselves. Our initial concern was getting started on the jacket. This seemed to be of more importance to everyone. This could be viewed as unsociable, but on reflection, previous to this task we all took part in an ice-breaker session, whereby we had to introduce our selves by name, followed by a descriptive word, this meant we were already acquainted with one another, so concentrating on the task in hand seemed most appropriate. I believe we were all very wary of taking over as we were always asking one another ‘do you think this is a good idea?’ and ‘shall we do this?’, rather than just doing it without the opinion of other team mates. Although this was the case it is possible we were being very agreeable to any idea put forward in order to keep peace, and put over a likable persona. Upon reflection the organisation of our group to begin with was very inefficient, we did not consult one another about how we would make the jacket, before getting on with the task, this meant the sleeves were being made by myself, whilst the body of the jacket by another, with no idea how they would fit together. I believe this is because we all wanted to have a share in making the jacket and help as much as possible, but no one wanted to adopt the role of task leader. On the other hand our team displayed great efficiency in the way we worked together, at one point we had a production line, where one would pass the Sellotape, then one would hold the piece in place, while the other stuck them together. We became a more efficient team the more we worked together on the task. Communication between us became more important. On the whole and on the basis of the finished product, it is evident that our team did work together efficiently, as we finished the task in good time and all of us had an input in the overall finished product. I believe I took on many different roles within the team. Initially I took on the role of energiser. This was evident by my enthusiasm, I was eager to get started and began listing many different ideas I had about how to put the jacket together, Jake was also an energiser as he had many different ideas he wanted to express and was fully involved in the task. Ricky initially  took on the role of relaxer as he was contemplating how things would work out and managed to condense our ideas to form a jacket. In these kind of situations I would usually put forward a good argument as to why my idea should be used above someone else’s. I did not adopt this attitude in this instance because my team mates were new acquaintances so I wanted to leave a good impression, I was more conscious of their thoughts and ideas and accommodating them was important to me. With this in mind I would conclude that we worked as a collective rather than a hierarchy. Further into the task I took on the role of nurturer. I wanted to make sure that everyone had an input on the finished product and that all of our ideas had been listened to fairly, and put in place if all agreed. This was evident in that I was asking my team members what other ideas they had, and finding ways of accommodating them. I did not want anyone to feel left out or less involved. Ricky’s mathematical mind meant that it was easier for us to measure out the different parts of the jacket equally and in proportion. As Jake is used to working as a team when he plays football, this quality was evident in this task, as he was an up building and upbeat member of the team, trying to include everyone in the activities. Jake was soon nominated by myself and Ricky to be the model for the jacket, therefore it was up to me and Ricky to actually make the jacket. We both had an equal share in the labour, cutting, sticking and measuring different parts of the jacket at the same time, then finding a way to fix them together. This was important because if somebody was uninterested or just giving out orders the whole team could be affected and not want to take part. We all helped each other when needed and were happy in our individual tasks. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate the importance of achieving the task 6/10. This is because I did view the task as a competition, even though we were never told it was such. On reflection this would show I am a competitive person and I like a challenge. When a task is viewed competitively one will be more inclined and motivated to try their best and ultimately reach their potential. Initially the task seemed menial and pointless hence why I only  scored 6/10. I was aware the jacket itself had little importance and that rather the emphasis was on team work. Even though I was aware of this my competitiveness made me want to create an excellent jacket. With the prospect of becoming a teacher one day, this teamwork exercise has taught me that there are many different roles people can take on under a team building exercise. Everyone within my team had different skills and abilities. This exercise has taught me, not only how to identify these skills and abilities but also how they can be used in a beneficial way to complete a task. As a teacher I will have to cater for the needs of each student identifying their strengths and weaknesses and using them in a positive and up building way, so they can reach their potential. I have also seen how important these exercises are in terms of the class getting to know one another, for the student this can help by taking the emphasis of social fear and more onto learning. This is evident by more members of the class being involved in group discussions after the task. This could have the same effect on my future students.

Jessica Dirr: The Most Outstanding Law Student Essay

Different people have different callings in life. Some shine above their peers, while others just try to blend in and mix with others. The different challenges that this university give its students provide numerous opportunities to excel in their chosen fields. This academic institute, hones the talents and the knowledge that students have helping them shine and be recognized.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Every year, our organization nominates the graduate who has exemplified high academic achievement, and the most positive impact in leading the organization. For this year, our organization has nominated Ms. Jessica Dirr as the most outstanding Law student. She was hand-picked for this award because of the extraordinary contributions   and the exemplary performance that she made both in her co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jessica is a very determined and hard working student. Her commitment to the school is astounding. She completed more than half of the program on her first year, while working on a part time basis. Jessica was even selected as the graduate reasearch assistant of Mr. Jimmi Manning, the over-all project director of Critical Ethnography. This is one of those unique courses that requires a screening process before being allowed to enroll.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even as a student, she still managed to be actively involved with professional organizations. She is the Social Chair of the Graduate Student Organization, while still being an active member and alumnae of the Theta Phi Alpha.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even if Law took up most of her time, Jessica still managed to demonstrate a high level of involvement on the different organizations, both on campus and in the community. Being the Social Chair of the Graduate Student Organization, she planned and executed social events for a program which aided in the development of close relationships among the people involved. Since she was an active member of the Theta Phi Alpha, she assisted and helped in the recruitment of the members for her chapter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jessica’s involvement in different fundraisers provided excellent leadership for her sisters. She is well respected, and is often the person her sisters run to for support and assistance regarding the problems of the chapter and of their personal lives. Recently, she teamed up with another graduate in planning a large scale fundraising event, called Dancing with the Scholars. This event has been generating tons of discussions among NKU students. It was predicted that this event will be watched out by the students, and will be one of the most successful events of the year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jessica Dirr also represented our school in different regional and national conferences. She and her classmates responded to a topic through a debate regarding research, practice, and pedagogy. Their topic was â€Å"Graduate Call to Action: Re-Invigorating Communication through debate regarding research, practice and pedagogy.† They answered the topic as fluent and as confident as they can. In May, she will represent our school again as she attends and presents at the CSCA Conference. Her presentation will be about interdisciplinarity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With everything that has been mentioned, we believe that Jessica Dirr is the perfect recipient of this year’s Most Outstanding Law Student Award. Her accomplishments, both as an individual and as a student of this university, are very much impressive and should be recognized. The numerous contributions that she has made have paved way for the betterment of this university and of its students. She is an extraordinary individual who students can look up to, and a esteemed person who students admire with dignity.

Plato vs. St. Augustine of Hippo Essay

Our world has developed and flourished by the thoughts and contributions of many leaders. Among those leaders were Saint Augustine and Pluto. For many historians, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and Augustine’s The City of God, are historical pieces that point out what had happened during ancient times. These pieces are significant because they shed some light on different thoughts and beliefs of people. Even though these works do not have similar world views, they attempt to show guidance to human life and to their beliefs. In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, he teaches a world view with an example of a cave filled with darkness that people inside should get out by finding the truth and seeing the light. On the other hand, in Augustine’s The City of God, a Christian author, perceived this world as a place where the heavens and the earth coexist. Even though they both showed some similarities on the concept of dualism, these two philosophers had quite different principles and foundational beliefs. Augustine lived in the time around the fourth century. He was born in Tagaste, a Roman province in northern Africa. During his life time, the Roman Empire was on the verge of weakening and later collapsed for good. And according to Brian Levack, one of the main reason for the collapse of the once great empire was due to invasion from many sides in addition to the â€Å"unwise decisions, weak leadership, and Military Failure† in the empire (Levack 190). During this time, Constantine (AD 272-337) strived to Christianize the Roman Empire and thus Christianity was spreading all over the empire; however, there were debates and disagreements in the doctrine of Christianity and thus there existed splits among Christians that gave rise to the division in the Roman Empire. It was during this time the idea of Monasticism and Donatism flourished. Greek and Roman philosophical thoughts existed in the fourth century. The origin of the philosophy is traced back to the classical age of Greece. At that time, many thoughts emanated from different philosophers, each with their own views. However, as many would agree, Plato (ca.429-327  B.C.E) was the most prominent philosophers in the realm of ancient philosophy. He was influenced by the scientific thoughts of people that existed long before him. Since Plato was a student of Socrates, his teachings and beliefs have paved a way for Plato which in turn influenced Aristotle. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, clearly explains his philosophical thoughts and understanding. Basically, this work is a dialogue between Socrates, his mentor, and Glaucon (Plato’s brother). The work paints a picture of prisoners tightly chained in a cave in an attempt to describe the nature of justice –one of the â€Å"absolute forms.† Above these prisoners is a fire that casts a shadow of objects that pass through the way between the fire and them. He describes that for the prisoners that are unable to see anything but only the shadows casted by the objects on the wall of the cave. Plato further explains that if any one among the prisoners is set free and is forced to look up to the light, he will be suffer from its glitter on his eyes till he adjusts to it. If told that what he used to observe in the caves was an illusion, he will not be well convinced and would rather choose to go back to the cave where he will claim what he sees in the cave is a reality . However, if he is forced to stay in the world above, he will see the reality, the objects themselves: â€Å"And first he will see the shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves.† After having a thorough understanding of the reality in the above world, if he returned back to the cave, his vision will be filled with darkness and requires time to adjust. And even if he does, he, along with his ideas and believes will not be accepted among other prisoners. As mentioned above the works and contributions of these philosophical thoughts and ideologies had shaped influential people in the world of Christianity and among them was Augustine. In his early days, his parents sent him to Carthage for his rhetorical education. During his stay, he was struck by the search for truth. And this quest led him to the probe in to the Manichaeism ideology which was widely spread at the time. However, after discovering that the ideology could not bring the solutions what he was longing for, he become interested in neo-Platonic ideas while he was in Milan. This interest of his compelled him to become a Neo-Platonist (Gonzalez 210). During the time of Augustine, Christianity was spreading through the Roman Empire before the time of its downfall. Also, divisions occurred in the Empire after the death of Constantine, who is credited for his attempt to unify the churches in the Empire. Levack mentions that the Huns, Alaric and Vandals played great role that contributed for the collapse of the once great empire in the year A.D 410(191). In addition to this, many sources point out many reasons for downfall of the Empire, but most of them point their fingers at the transformation of the Empire to Christianity. According to historians, Polytheist claims that Christians were more interested to serve God than the Empire and have a sense of forgiveness towards enemies. Therefore both polytheist and pagans stressed that the Christian God failed to protect the Empire. In an attempt to prove Christianity was not a threat, and also to clear the misconception about the allegation that the Church profoundly contributed to the Roman collapse, Augustine wrote The City of God. Basically, the work mainly revolves around two cities: The Earthly city and the Heavenly city. The earthly city is a typical example of a place, presumably inhabited by pagans and polytheist and is found on earth. On the contrary, the heavenly city sojourns on earth. He makes a comparison between the two. He says that both are formed by two loves: â€Å"the earthly by the love of self† and that of the heavenly by the love of God. While the earthly city pleasures from the glorification of itself and its men, the heavenly counterpart pleasures in the glorification of God. The earthly operates on its own; that is, with the power, wisdom and rule of men while the heavenly is fully dependent on God. Augustine criticizes men of the earthly city for excessive pride in their own wis dom and for unthinkable representations of the image of God they made to worship, and this men that he is referring to are neo-Platonists. Augustine explains the two opposing aspects that exist in the city: peace and Conflict. He mentions that the earthly city is characterized by arguments, wars, and quarrels. Although victories over such aspects exist, he claims that it is either â€Å"life destroying† or â€Å"short-lived.† On the contrary, he points out that the heavenly city is characterized by the existence of everlasting victory and â€Å"never-ending† peace. He sets a clear demarcation between different aspects of both the heavenly and earthly cities. He explains the necessity to live by faith so as to escape the distraction of  that surrounds to deceive families. During his time, since the idea of monasticism and pilgrimage was well known, he encourages that families practice these idea to their advantage to gain heavenly blessings and everlasting peace, and lessen the burdens of the body, a prominent goals of all human beings that live in both cities. However, he contends that their appro aches are totally different: the earthly city has its own set of rules designed by the will and desires of men. Also, the earthly city has ideologies and principles set forth by philosophers, such as polytheists, who Augustine thinks are foolish for their earthly wisdom and understanding of the truth, and yet deceived themselves would also deceive the inhabitants of the earthly city: â€Å"the earthly city has had some philosophers whose doctrine is condemned by the divine teaching, and who, being deceived†¦supposed that many gods must be invited to take part in the interest in human affairs†¦Ã¢â‚¬  furthermore he explains that there would always a discord between both cities, and everlasting peace on earth could be attained through the unity in worshiping one God. Augustine’s City of God was one of his influence works that left positive marks on the thoughts and beliefs of many generations after him. According to Michael W. Goheen and Craig G. Bartholomew in Living at the Crossroads, he played a vital role in influencing the thoughts of many that provided structures for med ieval culture. But still they point out that this work of his is a combination of elements of Scripture and neo-Platonism (77). This shades some light on how he was deeply influenced by Greek and Roman Philosophical thoughts prevalent during his time. Besides, Goheen and Bartholomew argue that Augustine’s deep immersion in neo-platonic thoughts had an adverse effect on the development of western culture (77). This is evident in most of his works that â€Å"bore a [n]eo-Platonic stamp† (Gonzalez 212). Finally, if it was not for Augustine’s works, the Christianity that we have today might be different. It was through his work that became an influential theologian that paved the way for both medieval and modern Christianity: Walsh and Middleton label him as â€Å"the father of middle ages† (111). Although some say that his immersion in neo-platonic thoughts had negative consequences, Gonzalez points out that he was the most quoted theologian in the Middle Ages and thus â€Å"became one of the great doctors of the Roman Catholic Church† (216). It cannot be denied that his biblical world view has some stains of platonic philosophical  views; however, some of these thoughts have some similarity to th e bible. For instance, Plato assumed that there is a supernatural power which he labels as the â€Å"One† which is the reason for the existence of everything. Besides, he point out that there is another world beyond human existence –a world which he calls the â€Å"above world,† which exists at a higher level beyond the existence of humans. This assumption is akin to that of what the bible states as the Heavens. Thus, although Augustine’s works, thoughts and world views are deeply influenced be Greek and Roman Philosophies, he is still the â€Å"favorite theologian† and the most prominent figures for his significant contributions profoundly contributed to the realm of Christianity. As a Christian, I was surprised to discover that how these works are still influential in our world today. Furthermore, these works will broaden the minds of Christians in terms of the history of Christianity and its doctrine. Finally I contend that these historical pieces will gi ve a slight sense of the theological and philosophical world views and broadens ones understanding. Works Cited Augustine. â€Å"The City of God-excerpts on the Two Cities†, Medieval Sourcebook, July 1998. Stephen, Cooper. Augustine for Armchair Theologians, 2002. Print. Plato. â€Å"The Allegory of the cave†, The History Guide, May 2004. Goheen, Michael W., and Craig G. Bartholomew. Living at the Crossroads. Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2008. Print. Gonalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. Peabody: Prince Press, 2007. Print. Levack, Brian, Edward Muir, Meredith Veldman, and Michael Mass. The West. N.p.: Pearson Education, 2007. Print. Walsh, Brian J., and Richard Middleton. The Transforming Vision. Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press, 1984. Print.

Music and Painting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Music and Painting - Essay Example Both music and painting are the visualizations of a theme. The painter or the musician through their works expresses the theme in their own style and pattern. For example, a musician who wanted to create a happy or thrilling mood among audience will make use of fast and pleasant music notes. On the other hand a painter who wanted to portray the dark side of our life may make use of colors like black and gray or a mixture of colors to express his ideas. Both music and painting are mood creative art forms. The person who witnesses the painting or hearing the music will definitely change his moods. For example it is often argued that hearing music will reduce stress and in some cases music therapy can be effective in curing some stress related diseases. Music always changes the moods of the listener. The listener will be forced to follow the moods generated by the music. For example, a person who listens a sad music will be in that mood while who listens fast numbers might be in a thrilling mood. On the other hand watching good paintings will also changes the moods of a person. Good paintings will force the person who watches it to think in terms of the theme provided by the painting. Or in other words paintings always lead us to another forgotten world of our life. Music is an audible art while painting is a visual art. We are using our eyes to enjoy the artistic works while we are utilizing our ears to enjoy the music. Our senses ar e responsible for creating positive and negative thoughts in our minds. It is only through our senses the brain identify the surroundings. Music and painting can enlighten our visible and audible senses.