A Losing Battle, By Thomas Hardy

William Manchester, author of “The Bloodiest Battle”, utilizes personal war-stories throughout the essay to portray not only the challenging hardships of war but the vivid descriptions of human-to-human annihilation, and how that affected him emotionally. Manchester’s purpose was to show the audience that two countries (America and Japan) could make peace, but the individuals who fought it still struggle, including himself. He portrays the idea that there is more behind the victory of the war.

All times, the disappearance of cherishable beings brings people unbearable agony. Eventually, they cry, and then suffer more heartache, yet the attitudes when confronting a farewell vary dynamically within individuals. In Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” and Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art”, both speakers experience a painful loss. However, while Thomas strongly opposes the undeniable fact of his father’s death process, Bishop reluctantly accepts the departure of her beloved. The two speakers react differently to recover from the ineluctable sadness, to regain inner peace. In the end, the poems’ comparison concludes losing valued relations is distressingly unavoidable, and that there is no ideal way to cope with losses. Therefore,

In the middle of this strict social code, Hardy came into being. He met his first wife, Emma Gifford, in 1870 when he visited Cornwall. He was captivated by both her and the landscape that surrounded her. Some controversy surrounded her methods in securing his hand in marriage. She probably exaggerated her attachment to a local farmer in the hopes of pressing Hardy into a proposal. It did eventually come, and the two were married on September 17, 1874. They were both thirty years old, though she thought he looked older and he thought she was much younger.

Battle Royal is a short story that metaphorically address many such issues such as racial discrimination. The Author, Ralph Ellison, uses symbolism such as blindness and the concept of initiation to compare the world to a real life battlefield. Ellison intended to emphasize, both passive and aggressive elements of battle is necessary to achieve the American Dream.

The struggles of many black is should never be described lightly. Many african americans were treated like animals and never was given the respected deserved. In the story, Battle Royal, by Ralph Ellison, a young African American man is trying to fit into white society that holds majority of blacks back. During the beginning, the narrator is bewildered by his grandfather 's last words. His grandfather spoke out about being a traitor in front of his family. The family was confused and concerned about the remarks that the grandfather 's had made. His words have been kept behind his mind. Soon after the grandfather death, the narrator is anticipated to give a speech at his high school graduation party located in the nearest local hotel. Little does he know, he is forced to participates in a duel between other young American men in his class in front of local white leaders. Throughout the fight the young African man becomes very concerned about giving his speech. Through the story of battle royal, the author sends the message of the struggle of poor treatment to color people and shows being meekly will help your situation.

You are galloping full speed at full speed like it is the last day of your life, you ride into the city of Yorktown fiercely, then your rider wants you to go faster, you are galloping faster than you have ever run, as fast as a speeding bullet. The wind is slapping your face as hard as a hammer, you finally run into the sea of smoke, muskets, and bayonets. The person riding you violently thrusts his mighty sword, and swiftly fires his French pistol. Cannonballs fly over you like soaring hawks destroying the fortifications that may have taken years to build, you are a proud horse in The American Revolutionary War, and you will never stop galloping for the Patriots even if it kills you.

When a loved when is gone it feels like a hole in the world. With much grief he says, “Never again will anyone inhabit the world the way he did. Questions I have can never now get answers. The world is emptier. My son is gone. Only a hole remains, Avoid, a gap, never to be filled”(33). This phrase describes his emotions and how he views the world without his son. The author gives advice on what to say to someone who is mourning. He says to never say its Ok because its never okay and death is awful. “ What I need to hear from you is that you recognize how painful it is. I need to hear from you that you are with me in my desperation” (34). When some passes away no one really knows what his or her loved ones are feeling because each death is unique and each person is different. The wisest of words don’t even make the pain go away, and all that can be done is lending an ear to listen, a shoulder to lean on.

John Keegan describes his book, The Face of Battle, as "a personal attempt to catch a glimpse of the face of battle." This personal aspect that Keegan mentions is essential to his book and is excellently articulated, driving home his point. Keegan, who taught at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for over 25 years, begins by acknowledging his uneasiness with the fact that even though he taught British cadets military history, "I have not been in a battle; not near one, nor heard one from afar, nor seen the aftermath . . . And I grow increasingly convinced that I have very little idea of what a battle can be like." Keegan is clear to state his proposition that almost all military history has functioned simply as a “battle piece” description in which one can see all the larger moving aspects followed by the outcome. However, this sort of recounting fails to acknowledge the personal side of war, the experience of battle. What really ensues when a cavalry unit meets an infantry unit? What are the vital features in determining whether soldiers stand and fight or turn and run?

With the knowledge of war you have today, would you be willing to volunteer to sign up for the front line?

How does Hardy use poetic techniques to detail changes in his relationship with his wife over time in ‘Neutral Tones’ ?

Throughout life, the people that you may encounter and form relationships with will be the ones that shape who you are and ultimately influence your decisions, actions and personality. In “The Battler” by Ernest Hemingway, Nick Adams, a young man of roughly twenty years of age encounters an older gentleman named Ad Francis, a once-famous boxer who claims to have gone “crazy” after his life as a fighter. Ad is accompanied by his best friend Bugs, a black man who accompanies him on his travels throughout the country and helps keep Ad in-check. At one point, Bugs offers Nick and Ad some ham and eggs that he had just cooked on the fire, and asks for nick to cut the bread with his knife. At the sight of the blade Ad demands that Nick hand over the knife. In order to keep Nick out of any danger that might arise from a conflict with Ad, Bugs whacks Ad in the back of the head with a frying pan, rendering him immobile and unconscious, keeping Nick out of harms way.

The book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a novel that focuses mainly on wealth, matrimony, and etiquettes. Although this might seem cliché, I have learned to never judge a stereotypical book by its cover. As for the character Elizabeth, that lesson might have been useful for her. In the book Pride and Prejudice, getting married to a wealthy man with very high etiquettes is highly looked up to. Two of the five daughters of Mr. Bennet get introduced to two handsome, wealthy men in the name of Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy. Sparks immediately fly between Mr. Bingley and Jane, the oldest of the daughters, but as for Elizabeth, things do not go so well for her and for the very proud, Mr. Darcy. The two lovebirds, Jane and Mr. Bingley, got separated from each other due to Mr. Darcy’s ignorance, and persuaded Mr. Bingley that Jane was indifferent to him. Jane travels to London in the hopes of seeing Mr. Bingley, but his sister, with no great civility towards the two Bennet sisters, tells Jane that Mr. Bingley has fallen in love with Georgiana, Mr. Darcy’s sister. Not knowing that this was a lie, Jane felt very ill about it. On the other side of the road, Elizabeth visits her friend Charlotte, who is married to Mr. Collins; her cousin that will soon inherit the Bennets’ family estate once Mr. Bennet dies. Elizabeth finally meets Lady Catherine de Bourgh, whom Mr. Collins speaks highly of, but little did she know that Mr. Darcy and Lady Catherine are related. During

Love is a strange emotion and can make a person feel ten feet high or a low as a snail. When most people write about love it is full of life and color; however, Thomas Hardy writes of death in his experience with love in his poem, “Neutral Tones.” It is a dramatic monologue poem written in the 1800s and is in first person. The title of the poem clearly points out the neutrality of a colorless failing love. In addition, the poem focuses on describing the events of how the couple ends the relationship and of how it is beyond repair. The lines of the poem gently explain what it is like for the author to experience such a dying love. It is effectively written in a way that the reader can feel the hurt and pain as Hardy explains the sorrow and bitterness as the lovers end the relationship. In “Neutral Tones,” Thomas Hardy uses setting, imagery, and symbolism to illustrate the death of love in his poem.

Central motif of death in the poem is in the first stanza presented as comeback to the natural world and losing of self in favor of creating unity along with the elements. This idea differs as the reader moves to the second stanza and reads about generic death, or individual one. Similarly as in the Thomas’previous poem, he moves from general issue to the more individual or even personal one, that is typical feature of his style of writing.

The poem “Elegy Written in a Country Courtyard” is delving into the them of death and the mind and thought of the speaker of the poem. The poem takes place in a country courtyard and describes the setting and other aspects of the cemetery near the courtyard. By looking at Thomas Gray’s use of metaphors and alliterations to different aspects of the theme, we see that Thomas Gray focuses heavily on the themes of death and the simplicity of country life. He makes it a point to make the reader understand multiple times in his poem about death and how it will come for even the reader. He also goes into detail about how the life of country people are also a lot simpler and that they could have been people of high importance, but they were never given the same chances.