Alone In The Dark Media Essay

Alone In The Dark Media Essay People sometimes find themselves alone in the cold, cruel, unforgiving darkness with nothing around them. Suddenly, they see a flickering flashlight in the distance. Running, they quickly come to the flashlight, but just as their fingertips brush against the comforting plastic the flashlight disappears. It is scary to think about, isnt it? For many college students this becomes a reality when their dreams, ambitions, and hope flicker out like a dying flashlight battery and disappear into a world of darkness due to poor preparation for exams. Many college students may take tons of notes during the semester in preparation for midterms and final exams. Unfortunately, they fall into pulling All-Nighters or other educational pit holes even with adequate notes. When facing the threat of failing a midterm or final, college students should have two goals in mind. The first goal should be to maintain stress levels while dealing with the exam. The second goal should be to do well on the exam with no problems because of proper study preparation. With the following tips and advice, college students will be able to hit the books with ease and avoid falling into study pit holes. Procrastination is a common aspect of the college life. Many students value their social scene more than their study scene. Every waking moment does not have to be devoted to studying. If, however, something as simple as shopping can be put off to a later date, the pupil should put it off. Too many students fail their exams due to trips, parties, or social events that they place before their studies only to realize their foolishness when it is too late. When preparing for a college midterm or final, it is very crucial to have time management. Students often put off studying until the last minute and find that their brain overloads and all information is wiped clean. How can a college student avoid such a disaster? The answer is simple. Plan ahead. Plan ahead. Plan ahead. College students are lucky when it comes to taking major exams. The instructors of each college course generally hands out a syllabus with important dates. A great way to start for people to start off off planning for midterms and finals is to get a daily planner. With a planner, the student can mark the days of the midterms and schedule daily study sessions to help them prepare. It is very important, especially at a college level, to prioritize study time. Many students are juggling more than fifteen credit hours and will panic the closer it gets to exam time. Even the most intellectual student will sometimes study for one subject more than another. The end result of such a procedure is not a pretty sight. The proper method of studying involves dividing time equally among all subjects. Prioritizing allows students to be mindful of their study time and allows all of their subjects to get equal attention. Everyone is different when it comes to studying. Some students can study with the radio on or with lots of noise while others prefer peace and quiet. It is important when it comes to preparation for exams to find a study spot that works. The choice is up to each individual person, whether it is in the tub or in a park. Another good way to prepare for taking midterms is for students to schedule study breaks. Many students will try and study one week before their exam and will be too ldquofriedrdquo to take the exam properly. When planning for a study session, students should take breaks that last ten minutes. Study breaks will stimulate the brain and will relax the student. Taking these steps will enable students to concentrate more on the subject they are studying. Here are ways that students can find relief from studying: Going for a run Reading a novel Having a snack Watching a television show Playing a video game Study breaks are meant to give the student a small amount of time to relax and refresh themselves. Often, college students dont give their brain a decent break and the overload causes multiple problems like mental fatigue, physical fatigue, and the inability to study. Falling asleep during a midterm is not uncommon for college students. Most of the time students will attempt to cram the night before getting as little as three hours of sleep. Students usually are fooled into thinking that they can function at a proper mental level to think critically when taking an exam. Like studying, proper sleep plays a valuable role when it comes to mental preparation for an exam. Many times people fail exams because they didnt understand their concept matter. It is important if students dont understand something to go and ask the professor for help. The worst thing a student can do is not ask questions. Students should talk to them, ask for study guides, and get together with one-on-one development plans. When midterms and finals come around, students should not find themselves unprepared. They should not attempt to pull an All-Nighter and end up falling into pit holes that could have been avoided with proper preparation. Learners should not let their dreams, ambitions, and futures fade away because without proper study methods they will be nowhere except by themselves alone in the dark.

Stagnation and the ultimate desire to break free from the rut of factory work

Stagnation and the ultimate desire to break free from the rut of factory work are the key themes of David Dominguez poetic narrative Work Done Right. Unlike other books, the story unfolds in verses and meter rather than the usual paragraphs and chapters.However, the method used still captures the essence of the main character’s personal journey from being stuck at a Sausage processing plant and finally striking it out in the world which was triggered by the death of his only friend Guillermo. Also the use of poetry as chapters allows more vivid images. It allows the readers to supply the unspoken words in the story with their own ideas of work, freedom and growth.By the use of poetry and stanzas Abraham’s day to day struggle in the factory and the constant wish to get out become more felt. In the end, the decision to â€Å"quit† the job is felt as a major turning point in his life as well as an epiphany of sorts, where after several poems about the dangers of usi ng big machines, the boredom in industry work and the routine lifestyle, is magnified for the reader to actually feel good about freedom.There are many important elements in the entire narrative. There is death, friendship, hardship, menial labor, the plight of workers as modern day slaves, love and most importantly growth, search for one’s identity and liberation. Abraham, the main voice in the story, can be likened to an apprentice or a young lad who still has high spirits about the world and who finds everything interesting.Abraham, â€Å"the great-grandson of Alberto, a Mexican soldier who crouched below a shrub of honey mesquite and buried in his uniform† (Between Magnolia and Ash, 3), descends from a line of immigrants. The history Alberto, his great grandfather, is shown in the first poem where it is told that he was caught ravaging a young woman which was the reason why he was perhaps banished from the land. This story begins what can be called hardship because from estate owner, the Alberto clan became poor with nothing but â€Å"a cart and a young mare† to their name (4).The second poem would explain the present condition of Abraham. Like all high-spirited youths, he means to travel the world with his second-hand pickup truck with nothing but â€Å"two pairs of jeans, a few T-shirts, and a pair of work boots† (Mi Historia, 7).What can be seen here is that Abraham has become independent and is out looking for a job. He does not like to have a dead-end life because it feels like that his liking for the road speaks of his wish to go on and on in a journey for himself. In the same poem, it is revealed that Abraham wants to right his own history—not the history of men, of earth or of anyone else but his own. Again, he does not want to get stuck at becoming some stereotype and it is felt that he is hell bent on making sure that he makes a name—a history for himself which is a grand ambition for a young teen.Followi ng this brief history of Abraham’s life, the author now zooms in to the main setting of the story which is the Galdini Sausage factory. Abraham applies for the job perhaps eager to earn money to pay for his needs now that he is on his own. He is a newcomer to the factory but settles in quite easily because of the welcoming factory workers who helped him out. However, his senses are assaulted by the overwhelming stench of raw pork meat.He notes that† â€Å"pork gripped the men and was everywhere, in the form of blood, in the form of fat, and in pink meat stuck to the worker's shoes† (Pig, 11). The title of the poem chapter captures the lingering stench of raw material and thoughts of hours of hard work along with the overwhelming sense of industrial slavery if not stagnation. Put differently, the smell of pig and the fact that bits and pieces of raw meat are stuck everywhere immediately gives to the readers a feeling of being trapped.The pervasiveness of pig meat is a powerful imagery that it brings up the emotion of hopelessness and desperation. Abraham even observes that â€Å"one man stood straight up into the sky, closed his eyes, and with his thumb and forefinger worked out bits of meat from his eyelashes† (ibid.). This only goes to show that the workers there have dedicated their lives to their work so much so that parts of their work turn up in different places in their bodies and clothes. Still, Abraham attempts to work in the factory. Despite the dirty job involve he pushes on determined perhaps to make some money and become an adult.He starts work with â€Å"strange men† who are his co-workers. The scene is a little bit hostile because Abraham does not yet know how to use the machine and how to cut the links. He is at once intimidated by a co-worker who they call Mamas who is able to cut links with precision for hours on end. As if by way of comparison, he notices that his job was â€Å"’Woman's work’â €  and he feels that his â€Å"nicked-up knuckles began to burn and fray with blood, [while] Mamas move her hands with grace† (Contigo 13).The image that is shown is one of a newcomer trying to keep at pace with a veteran in the factory. Yet the differences in their skills do not deter Abraham from taking on the job, but only reminds him of distant memories form the past of another woman with the same slender hands (ibid.).It is important to point out that at the very first day of his work Abraham’s thoughts begin to wander around. He is physically manning the grinder but his mind is elsewhere. This is indicative of the fact that he is the type of person who will not like to be tied down to one place or to one activity. Immediately after watching his co-workers work, his thoughts take him back to memories of his grandfather, to empanadas and to other days when he was still a young child. He compares the life of an adult filled with so many problems and responsibilit ies to a child who is carefree and is free from any obligation.

Pablo Neruda’s Use of Nature Essay

The natural world is one that exists outside of all human constructs and limitations, and illuminates a valuable reality in the world. When considering Pablo Neruda’s body of work, a clear thematic focus on nature is visible. Many of his poems reference the natural, untouched world. This is a thematic juxtaposition to the over-structured, artificial nature of human culture. Using nature symbolically within these poems allows for a clear distinction to be drawn between the real and the artificial, and speaks to the flaws that Neruda sees within society. He brings to the reader’s attention the value of instinctual behavior and emotion, as well as the natural qualities of humans, women in particular, and the social constraints by which all people are bound. His disapproval and call for change is apparent. Neruda’s use of natural symbolism within Walking Around and I Crave Your Mouth, Your Voice, Your Hair illustrates several separate issues of superficiality versus reality, The poem I Crave Your Mouth, Your Voice, Your Hair serves as an excellent demonstration of this divide of the real versus the superficial. Natural imagery is used within this poem to illustrate that the woman in question supersedes the artificial constructs of society. â€Å"Your hands the color of a savage harvest,/ hunger for the pale stones of your fingernails† is an evident example of this natural symbolism. Within this poem the female is portrayed as raw and real, an element of nature, as opposed to a part of the society that humans have created. Neruda uses similes and metaphors to draw this comparison, illustrating her value and power within the world and upon him. Through his stylistic choices, he demonstrates how his attraction, his need for this woman, is not merely superficial and lustful, as she herself is something greater than what society allows. Although throughout the poem the woman’s physical features are illustrated as the attractive elements of her, it is clear that it is not in fact the body to which he is speaking, but to the qualities that supersede shallow lust. Furthermore, Neruda addresses the most complex and visceral elements within the woman, which he finds the most attractive. â€Å"I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body† may at first seem as a line speaking to lust for her body, when this is not the case. Neruda’s utilization of the sunbeam to describe her body makes this evident. He is not addressing her body, or any material aspects,  but in fact addressing the elements of true humanity, that so many people lack, within her. It is clear that he values this true sense of life more than her outward appearance, and it is this yearning for the natural and real that stands as true for all of Neruda’s works. He makes it evident that it is the elements beyond superficial beauty, those that are more than the wants or needs of society, which he truly values and adores. This natural imagery, often used in the context of woman, speaks to Neruda’s overall belief that true emotions are fundamentally more valuable than what society has to offer. He clearly illustrates that although the artificially constructed may be more comfortable, whilst the natural may be more vulgar and unpleasant, the latter is more valuable nevertheless. It is evident throughout his works that he yearns for real emotion and true feeling, as can be seen through several lines in I Crave Your Mouth, Your Voice, Your Hair, where he describes himself as â€Å"Silent and starving,/ I prowl through the streets.† The visceral qualities here, as well as the direct comparison of himself to a predatory animal, allow the reader to understand what he perceives as important: the return to natural ways and instincts. Accompanying this is natural emotion, without the veil of social or political acceptance present. His metaphoric hunt for this woman can be paralleled to his search for true emotion and rawness thought within the world. The woman can then be seen as a metaphor for the society that Neruda lived in, within which the natural and instinctual was hidden behind an outward appearance. This importance cast upon true emotion is also emphasized in Walking Around: â€Å"The only thing I want is to lie still like stones or wool.† Neruda speaks to the condition of being a man in society, with many expectations placed upon him, and his discontentment with it. Instead he would prefer to simply exist, in his purest form, like stones, or wool, preferring to be nothing as opposed to living and feeling falsely as society demands. Through this poem Neruda’s frustration with his inability to do this, due to the social constraints that bind, him is apparent. The use of natural comparison allows for a portrayal of the pure and natural things he wants to feel, and that he believes others ought to feel as well. Neruda acknowledges that society is the barrier to these true emotions, and  within the poem Walking Around he discusses the constraints that the human, artificial world imposes upon people by juxtaposing elements of society against the natural world, saying â€Å"And it so happens that I walk into tailor shops and movie houses/ dried up, waterproof, like a swan made of felt†. Neruda draws a stark contrast between the situations within his life that should be moments of comfort, possibly even luxury, and how he feels, dried up, internally dead. He delivers his message through this imagery, illustrating how society has bound him, and how it binds all people living within it. He goes on to say â€Å"I don’t want to go on as a root and a tomb,/alone under the ground, a warehouse with corpses,/ half frozen, dying of grief.† This very powerful image of decay and entrapment within the earth continues to assert his message. Through this stanza Neruda speaks to the internal death and suffocation he experiences being forced to conform, having to act and feel as is expected, while basking in false comforts and enjoying false commodities. His use of natural symbolism illustrated his wish to break free, and feel true freedom. However, he is also willing to acknowledge the firm grasp society has on all existing as a part of it. â€Å"I don’t want to go on being a root in the dark† is a clear acknowledgment of Neruda’s understanding of the system. Although in this case, the natural imagery used does not bear a positive connotation as it does in other places within his work, it is used to demonstrate power and intensity, and a stronghold upon people greater than anything else in their lives. He understands that he is a root, holding up this tree that inevitably traps him and everyone else, although he does continue to hope for an emotional and spiritual freedom, and indicates the small vict ories that he finds within his life. His desire for a real experience â€Å"†¦pushes me into certain corners, into some moist houses, into hospitals where the bones fly out the window,/ into shoe shops that smell like vinegar† These are the places in which Neruda describes freedom, where the grip of society is not as firm and he can truly feel the ugliness and raw nature of the world can be felt. This entire stanza stands to discuss the places in society that are generally deemed as negative, and although he uses words with commonly negative connotation to describe them, the message he is putting across is a positive one. Through the graphic imagery portrayed and the disgust it evokes, Neruda calls out to the reader, to feel more often, and illustrates how these  negative feelings serve as a great positive. He uses this to juxtapose the feelings of contentment so often evoked in society, and the lack of emotion that exists within this. It is within these ugly places that Neruda feels the reality of life comes through and it is these places he deems most valuable. Through his thematic use of nature this is vividly illustrated for the reader and the importance of this freedom and its extreme power is really emphasized throughout his works. Within I Crave Your Mouth, Your Voice, Your Hair as well as Walking Around Pablo Neruda uses natural symbolism to illustrate three separate issues of superficiality versus reality, and to discuss what he views as the problem with this superficiality. He brings to light the value of the natural within people, in particular in women; the importance of natural behavior and emotion; as well as the social constraints under which all people exist and should attempt to break away from. The use of nature symbolically does this particularly well due to the drastic juxtaposition that can then be drawn between the constructed, artificial human world and the completely untouched natural, true world. This theme is present not only within these two poems but within Neruda’s entire body of work. It serves as a unifying element for his poetry and as a message of great value for his readers. Works Cited Neruda, Pablo â€Å"I Crave Your Mouth, Your Voice, Your Hair† trans. Stephen Tapscott. 27 December 2012. Neruda, Pablo â€Å"Walking Around† trans. Robert Bly. 27 December 2012

France All Things Charming Essay - 1201 Words

As Cole Porter once sang â€Å"Only in Paris one discovers the urge to merge with the splurge of the spring† (LyricsFreak), the French have always had a â€Å"je ne sais quoi† about them, an unforgettable charm and an unrepentant tendency for overindulgence that makes their footprint in the fields of architecture, cuisine, art, fashion and even war, ever so lasting. From Coco Chanel’s simple designs to Victor Hugo’s enchanting prose to Claude Monet’s detailed paintings, it is clear that the French have an unmeasured value for artists, innovators and people who appreciate the intrinsic value of beauty. France has always been the epicenter of the art world; being the birthplace of the greatest forms of art and renowned artists. One of the artists†¦show more content†¦However, not only the fact of being an artist gets one admiration and recognition, being creative and bringing something new to the table earns you a place in the French people’s memory. Innovation has been one of the most valued attributes throughout French history. What makes an artist outstanding is his or her ability to move boundaries, create original ideas and take risks. As Coco Chanel once said, â€Å"In order to be irreplaceable one must be different† she is the prime example of how innovation forever remains thorough French history (ThinkExist). She took a risk when she created a collection that went against everything that had been in fashion for the last two centuries. The tight corsets that made women faint and the layers and layers of undergarments, were gone for Coco Chanel. She cr eated a collection based on simplicity and flow, which liberated women from uncomfortable garbs that were neither versatile nor efficient. Her fashion collection made a statement in the society, showing that women needed simpler clothing that allowed her to do more jobs and to be more than an object of oppression. This was the philosophy she based the famous â€Å"little black dress† (Fig. 1). on, which was â€Å"a sort of uniform for all women of taste† (Journal Star) and created a chance for women of all social classes to look fashionable yet be comfortableShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Necklace1358 Words   |  6 Pagesbut surprisingly it wasn t the necklace that made her shine that night. She already had beauty, all she needed was a splendid dress to wear, gorgeous shoes, and of course her hair beautifully styled for the ball. The main character in â€Å"The Necklace† is considered a round character. She was one of those pretty, charming girls, born as i f by an accident of fate, into a family of clerks. Really this is all to say that Mathilde is too gorgeous not to have jewels, rich, hot clothes, or even a big extraordinaryRead MoreNuit of the Living Dead Essay1052 Words   |  5 PagesDead† by David Sedaris â€Å"Nuit of the Living Dead† written by David Sedaris, the setting in rural France leads to part of the comedic element of this story. Reading this story very much feels like trying to follow an ADD chipmunk. There are generally several thought patterns running simultaneously throughout the entire thing. It’s a quick, fun, charmingly quirky read. One of the most charming parts is the internal dialog of the main character that’s constantly drizzled through the entire storyRead MoreThe Little Willow Essay example612 Words   |  3 Pages`The Little Willow is one of the short stories of author Frances Towers, collected in the book `Tea with Mr. Rochester. Barely recognized in the field of literature, Frances Towers was born in 1885 in England and died in 1948 at the age of 63. 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Sadly, the picture many people now have of Marie-Antoinette is of her running through Versailles with a glass of champagne in her hand, eating bonbons all day long, and rolling in the bushes with a lover. Read More Dick as Tragic Hero in Fitzgeralds Tender is the Night Essays1709 Words   |  7 Pagesand Nicole met and how Nicole won Dick over, and we begin to see a recurring theme. Dick first met Nicole when she was a psychiatric patient at Dohmler’s clinic on the Zurichsee, just before he leaves for France. Not knowing that she was a patient, Dick finds Nicole to be â€Å"`about the prettiest thing [he] ever saw† (Fitzgerald, 120). After many letters written between the two, and upon his return to Zurich, Dick again meets with Nicole and she proceeds to try to win his love. It is here that we see oneRead MoreThe Strengths And Weaknesses Of Henry VIII 1509-1515 Essay966 Words   |  4 Pagesamongst the European powers and was a much sought after ally. 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