Analysis Of The Poem ' A Planet Of Slums '

W.E.B. Du Bois has contributed greatly to contemporary sociological thinking because he began a conversation of what it means to be “other” in this American Society. In his conversation of what it means to be other he constructed and included three major concepts that continue to resonate till this day. His concepts include “the color-line”, “the veil”, and the “double consciousness” (Appelrouth and Edles, 269). Together, these concepts not only described past experiences of blacks in American society (e.g., slavery) but also continue to remind us that the relation of whites and people of color remains complex. In Du Bois’s own words, “the Nation has not yet found peace from its sins” (273).

An outburst in growth of America’s big city population, places of 100,000 people or more jumped from about 6 million to 14 million between 1880 and 1900, cities had become a world of newcomers (551). America evolved into a land of factories, corporate enterprise, and industrial worker and, the surge in immigration supplied their workers. In the latter half of the 19th century, continued industrialization and urbanization sparked an increasing demand for a larger and cheaper labor force. The country's transformation from a rural agricultural society into an urban industrial nation attracted immigrants worldwide. As free land and free labor disappeared and as capitalists dominated the economy, dramatic social, political, and economic

Reading poems can be very intriguing but difficult at the same time, especially reading poems of William Blake. Blake wrote a poem called “The Land of Dreams”. William Blake has many other poems that can contribute to being a part of the songs of innocence and experience. When it comes to “The Land of Dreams” it is hard to actually put it in a category with experience and innocence. For some reason, this poem can be put into both categories of experience and innocence. They way Blake starts off his poem and the way it ends can give you an idea that it can be both innocence and experience. Also, Blake has many other poems that can contribute to whether “The Land of Dreams” is a part of the songs of innocence or the songs of experience. Two

American Writer James McBride, who wrote the essay "Hip Hop Planet", spent most of his life disliking the culture of hip hop, but after some research and personal experience, he had a change of heart. The purpose of his essay is to shine a positive light on hip hop culture and move his audience-- people who think it is all bad-- to have a change of heart like him, and to achieve his purpose, he uses rhetorical strategies including appeals, specific diction, and meticulous sentence structure.

The speaker then moves to a restaurant where he picks up a chicken noodle soup and gets his want across to the staff by simply pointing at it. The stanza ends with the line “I am adjusting well to the new way”(10), showing that according to the speaker the new law is working fine for him and he is able to live a normal life. However, with the entrance into the third stanza we begin to question whether the speaker naturally only acted this way towards the phone call and the staff in the restaurant, without using any words or he was actually saving them for his lover. The second reason is more likely to be true, due to his statement in the next verse “I call my long distance lover, proudly say I only used fifty-nine today. I saved the rest for you”(11/13). Here, the second character is introduced in the poem – the long distance lover. It becomes obvious that the speaker, who is most probably a man, is in a long distance relationship with a woman and the way communicate is via phone call. The speaker tells his lover proudly he has only used fifty-nine words today and has saved the rest for her. This shows the speaker’s devotion towards his lover because he has chosen to use most of his words on her.

How have the social and demographic changes of the last century led to the increased growth and aging of the population? Be sure to discuss this in terms of the demographic transition theory.

Identity is moulded by a multitude of different sources, and this is demonstrated on personal, social, historical and cultural levels. The intricacy of the relationship depicted in "Feliks Skrzynecki", between the narrator and his father presents a perspective on the author 's personal identity. "Post card" illustrates the historical perception of identity, representing a disparity of identity between the narrator and his parents caused by a lack of presence in Warsaw. The perception of social identity is demonstrated in "The Shipping News", where the main character, Quoyle is socially disabled and unable to conform to society. Cultural identity is shown in the poem "Migrant Hostel", where the narrator explores the different perceptions of

“gentrification has been and still continues to be a critical task when it comes to urban geography of cities, such as New York City and cities around the world as well” (Smith, pg.129).

Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums, predicts the direction in which the world’s cities are headed, and how the changes in living conditions are only going to deteriorate if certain trends continue. The title of his book explains Davis’s vision for the future of cities as he feels there is enough evidence pointing towards an exponential rise in slum populations across the world’s largest cities. Additionally, he expresses his opinion on many issues regarding the rapid rise in developing cities’ slum populations, although he offers very one-sided arguments geared towards those who feel the current system is causing more problems rather than improving current conditions. This causes Davis to overlook the problems of slums as resolvable through different modes of assistance such as international aid programs. Instead, he views aid programs as the root cause of imbalance created during industrialization. Throughout the book, Davis presents information that confirms his preconceptions towards the slums. Therefore, all the evidence that is presented by him portrays confirmation bias as Davis fails to mention anything about the resolution of the problem of the growing number of slums and instead sees this problem as unavoidable. Particularly, Davis’ writing, although intended for the general population, is more geared towards critics who have similar ideas. Instead of providing the means through which the economy could be improved and the problem of slums could be resolved, it is

In Planet of the Slums Mike Davis creates an expansive and more dynamic understanding of the term slum as well as the relationship they have with the concept of urbanization as well as the usage of religion and religiously affiliated organizations to act as a form of activism within the slums. Davis begins by noting that the ways in which the twenty-first century has created an irreversible change to the urban-rural migration patterns, causing the urban population has to rival the rural population in the future. Additionally, he notes forms of urban and peri-urban settlements that exist. These include megacities (between 8 million and 20 million) and hypercities (over 20 million) as well as what he terms “…neither urban nor rural but a blending

In the poem “Tropics of New York,” the speaker tells how he misses the tropical country where he is from and how he has a longing of the old times.The speaker also has a m The overall adaptation of this poem to the graphic form is not effective.The overall adaptation of this poem was not effective because significant words were not represented in the video.For example, according to the poem,words such as “benediction,” “nunlike,” “mystical,” and “parish”convey a strong spiritual sense that the video fails to convey.Furthermore the overall adaptation was not effective because the video includes a family on a picnic.The poet doesn't write in any stanza about a family on a picnic and the video adds in many other things the video also leaves

The demographic transition model, derived by famed demographer Warren Thompson, is a model that conveys the demographic stage in which a certain country fits. This is broken up into five major stages. In stage 1, birth rates and death rates are high. This trend was common all around the world before the Industrial Revolution. So, population remains constant, however it can have major swings as events like wars or pandemics occur. Next, in stage 2, modern medicine becomes available and so it lowers death rates all while birth rates remain high; therefore, the population grows rapidly. Many of the least developed countries today are in this stage of the model. Next, in stage 3, birth rates decrease, almost always as a result of the improvement in economic conditions, women having more rights, and contraception being available. Population growth continues, however at a slower rate. Many of the developing countries today are in stage 3. In stage 4, birth and death rates are both very low. This fact stabilizes the population. Countries that fall in this stage tend to have strong economies, high levels of education available to most anyone, high quality healthcare, a large amount of women are working, and a fertility rate of around two children per woman during her childbearing years. Most of the developed countries today fall into this stage of the model. Stage 5 of the demographic

A comparison of Sharon Olds’ “Still Life in Landscape” with Linda Pastan’s “I Am Learning to Abandon the World.”

“The Sky is Gray” by Ernest Gaines is a realistic example of a long epidemic has hovered over the African American community like an dark storm cloud just waiting to burst. Personally, this story called to me, like I was meant to read it. The mother in this short story reminds me of my own mother. Stepping into that masculine role to show strength and provide for her family. Then, teaching her son these harsh life lessons to ensure his survival in a society that is not welcoming to an African American man; act rationally, not emotionally.

“Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul,” said William Maugham, a British playwright from the 19th century. Vincent Van Gogh, an artist who is considered by many one of the most inspirational artists in history, was no stranger to depicting his struggles in life or feelings in his work. Van Gogh’s piece Starry Night, designed in the year 1889, shows this to be true in that it was the result of his experiences in an asylum that encouraged this piece. Despite this work has being so well known, many critics and observers of the piece have differing views on what he was trying to communicate through it. Two prime examples of this can be seen by the views expressed in the poems entitled, “Vincent” and “The Starry Night”, written by Don McClean and Anne Sexton, respectively. While the poem “Vincent”, has a depressing tone to it, “The Starry Night”, by Anne Sexton, depicts Starry Night as having a more lively mood, which more accurately represents that of the painting, by Vincent Van Gogh.