Research Paper On The River Jordan

At the beginning of the novel, the motif of water is used to represent Sarah and Handful’s hope for freedom and unnoticeable, understated rebellions. The imagery of water is utilized to represent Sarah’s quiet defiance in her campaign for autonomy and fight to become a lawyer.

9. The river is a vital symbol in this novel. What is the function of the river and how is it associated with

1. The River – Almost any source of water will focus on the importance of life. Without water there is no life. A journey on or down a river is often a metaphor for life’s journey or a character’s journey, especially if the river is shown as a road or means of travel – pulling or pushing a character through changes. (Twain’s Huck Finn) Rivers can also be a metaphor for the passage of time (Big Fish) or the stages of a human life (creek, roaring river, sea; or the crossing of the river Styx in Greek myths). Since rivers are often used as political borders or boundaries, crossing one may be seen as a “passing over” or a decision that cannot be taken back. In Africa, and thus African literature, rivers are the

 Water represents Sethe's transition from slavery to freedom. Sethe left Sweet Home pregnant with Denver, "and ran off with no one's help" (p.224). She ran scared and fearful of the trackers following her trail.  Sethe met Amy Denver, a white women, on her way to Ohio.  Amy helped Sethe find the Ohio River.  The river was "one mile of dark water...[and] it looked like home to her and the baby"(p.83).  When Amy left, Sethe traveled downstream and met Stamp Paid.  He helped her and Denver cross the river to freedom.  Stamp took Sethe upstream, "and just when she thought he was taking her back to Kentucky, he [Stamp Paid] turned the flatbed and crossed the Ohio like a shot" (p.91).  The river locked away the memories of Sweet Home and began her life with Denver at 124.   Water represents the transition of Sethe's slave life to her life of freedom.  Again, water has cleansed the soul of the sin of slavery. The river is now a barrier.  It separates Sethe's life of slavery, to her new life of freedom.

The geography of rivers is important to their symbolism in this story. Antonio’s river starts from a lake, a place of no morals; studies prove that infants are selfish beyond belief, and so is water at its birth. His river carries the water to the ocean, the place where all water lands, carrying the blood and salt and debris that it picks up on its long journey. All high rivers go to the ocean, no matter how many lakes they go through. The ocean is where water goes to die, until its spirit, in clean water, is carried through the clouds back into the frigid mountain lakes, where it is born again. This is the cycle of water, and the cycle of life.

The last and most prominent example of the river symbolizing peace, calmness, and freedom was the ability of Huck and Jim to when they wanted �lit the pipes, and dangle their legs in the water and talk about all kinds of things.� The most surprising aspect was when Huck stated that �we was always naked, day and night.� This continues to portray the theme of peace, calmness, and freedom that is given to the characters by the river. The most obvious is that because the river was so peaceful and calm that it led to their freedom to do as they please without the barriers given by society on land.

In the fourth line of the poem Hughes speaks of the Euphrates River. This river symbolizes the birth of life and the beginning of civilization. This river represents the youth of the African American people. It speaks of their beginning. Then Hughes talks of the Congo River in Africa. This is an image of home for many African Americans. It represents a place of peace and tranquility in their lives. Hughes writes about the Nile River and the great pyramids in Egypt. The pyramids can be viewed as a symbol of slavery to many people due to the slave labor that it took to create these grand structures. Finally the great Mississippi River is written about. Many symbols arise from this river of the South. To many whites it represents prosperity, especially in the time of the Civil War when slave trade was one of the bases of economy. To many African Americans this river may represent the oppression of their people. The image of Abe Lincoln riding down the Mississippi can be seen as a symbol of hope and freedom to the slaves of the South. The very fact that he is on this particular river represents the times of change about to come.

Dr. I. King Jordan was on June 16, 1943 in Glenn Riddle, Pennsylvania. Glenn Riddle is a small town near Philidelphia. Dr. Jordan’s parents were hearing parents and he didn’t have anybody in his family at all that was deaf. Dr. Jordan and his wife, Linda, currently live in West River, Maryland. He used spoken language until he joined the Navy after high school and became deaf. He then learned sign language and used ASL. While he was in the Navy, he was in a very serious motorcycle accident. He was not wearing a helmet at the time and almost died. When he was in the hospital, the doctors told him that he had temporary hearing loss. He had to face the fact that he had become deaf. Dr. I. King Jordan said, “I

Jordan is mention in the song which is an actually place that you would cross. Jordan is the Ohio River or could be heaven.

Jordan was administered three assessment measures to help the clinician identify the severity of his anxiety-based symptoms. The Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale main purpose is to provide an overall view of Jordan’s self-perception. This scale will assist the therapist by finding problematic areas that will be addressed in treatment. Jordan’s self-reported baseline was 39. The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) focuses on assessing the severity of anxiety symptoms. Jordan’s self- reported baseline is a 39. The CES-DC scale assess for depression and Jordan’s self-reported baseline is 17. Based off the self-reported measures Jordan does not meet the criteria for a formal diagnosis due to the time (duration)of the symptoms. Jordan has displayed the requisite symptoms for less than 6 months. He did however, meet criteria for subclinical generalized anxiety disorder. The data from the anxiety and negative affectivity questioners indicate that Jordan has moderate but not severe levels of discomfort. Additionally, Jordan’s level of self-esteem was good and his level of depression was low. Jordan’s 12-week treatment and sessions will include the following; 1-2 engagement, 3-4 psycho-education about anxiety with Jordan and his parents, 5-6 exposure element techniques, 7-8 relation techniques, 9-10 positive self-talk, and 11-12 termination.

The river represents the period between life and death. Another part of this symbol is the air representing life and under the rocks and waterfall representing death. Just as the transition from life to death is in motion, so is the rushing of the water. Both have a beginning and an ending point, but the part in the middle is constantly moving, swirling and churning. As the girl loses hope for survival and the waterfall is approaching, the narrator states, “[S]he becomes part of the river” (45). The girl now crosses over the borderline of life and death, and she is about to be swallowed up by the falls of death and can never return to life. However, when the diver goes into the river to save her, he comes out saying that “he’d never enter that river again” (47). He encounters the spiritual eccentricity of the edge of death when he looks into lifeless girl’s animated eyes, and he can not fathom that experience. Another symbol that is introduced twice is the gurgle of the aquarium, which symbolizes the attempt to understand nature’s cycle of life. As she floats downstream, the girl remembers “her sixth-grade science class, the gurgle of the aquarium at the back of the room”(45). During this moment, all of her thoughts are puzzled, and she cannot understand the death awaiting her. Later on, after sleepless nights, the diver is in the empty school where “the only sound the gurgle of the aquarium” (48). This moment is the point at which he decides

The theme of freedom, throughout the novel, takes place on the Mississippi River. In the story the main purpose of the river is to be a symbol of freedom. Rivers are seen as

Survival, both its temporary means and its ultimate permanence, is certainly a theme throughout this story, and the river is the most obvious metaphorical representation. Among the undulant hillsides, the river remains steady

Insignificant droplets of water plunging to the ground, gradually elaborating into a system which proclaims its existence with such scintillation and momentous significance, the river. The river that carries the same inexorable rate which we live our lives by, parallels to the current of an unstoppable river. Shifted to different directions by the different obstacles encountered, the river finds different routes to get to the destination it desires and life mimics its nature as many avenues close and others open. But the river carries on and does not pass through the same obstacle twice, it does not struggle or brawl the happenings opposed to it, it simply takes another path and learns from its mistakes. The river symbolizes life. In the book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. The river plays a significant role on a reflective surface which redirects his actions into the eyes of the protagonist, Siddhartha.

A river is the same way you can force it to irrigate your crops by creating irrigation canals. Also, they can be used for fishing and ships can trade goods over the water also. When Machiavelli wrote that rivers and men can’t be trusted I also agree with this too, because a man naturally will have a harder time keeping a secret because there is that thrill that only certain people know and they want to be the one to gossip about it. In a different way rivers can’t be trusted because rivers flood unpredictably (unless that river is the Nile) and when it floods it spreads havoc throughout the