Thursday, January 30, 2020

Spain’s Golden Age Essay Example for Free

Spain’s Golden Age Essay Spain was at its most glorious stately place in the 17th Century, at the time when Miguel de Cervantes wrote his classic novel, â€Å"Don Quixote†. The country had established its colonies all over the world, controlling Mexico, Peru, Cuba, the Americas, and even going as far as Asia, in the Philippines. Silver and gold poured in to catapult Spain in economic and political splendor, making it the world’s superpower at that time. Historians call this period the golden age of Spain. However, it was also during this glorious era that Spain had ruthlessly suffered its inevitable defeat, the most popular of which is the destruction of the Spanish armada in 1588, by English forces. Because of this, the country found itself in an atypical, conflicting period, a period wherein a new age was rising to the surface, a period wherein the country was suspended between grandeur and degradation. While the cause of Spain’s decline is debatable, one thing is historically certain: its kings were having trouble with managing the vast territories, and numerous antagonistic events, like the plague in Castille that claimed many Spanish lives, contributed to the country’s saddening fate. Catholicism, Spain’s dominant religion was also on the decline, spurring conflicts against other religions like Islam and Protestantism, stemming from the crusades in earlier history. These noteworthy historical occurrences are evident in â€Å"Don Quixote†, since the novel illustrates the highly diverse Spanish sociological and political experience at that time. However, it is Cervantes’ personal experience, sociological and political, that serves as the most potent source of the novel. It contains elements in parallel with the novelist’s own life; for instance, the Algerian pirates appearing on the Spanish coast, the Moors being exiled, the Spanish prisoners failing to escape are similar events in Cervantes’ own life. Spain: The 17th Century Superpower Page 04 The sociological and political structure of 17th Century Spain had a direct, powerful influence in the writing of Spain’s classic golden novel. The Romances: Spain’s 17th Century Literary Tradition The dominant literary tradition in this â€Å"golden age† was the chivalric romances. Spain’s Arts and Humanities were loaded with popular writings of knights upholding chivalry. The main characters of these stories and verses were knights who set out protecting and saving those who are weak, who go from one place to another to do good deeds. The romances contained melodramatic tones and exaggerated heroic feats that the emotions illustrated seemed to be too sentimental, and the events portrayed seemed to be too heroically impossible. The main character of the novel â€Å"Don Quixote,† was also a knight who set out to save people, but he was portrayed in a humorous light, and his adventures were played out in such a ridiculous way that it was clear the novel is a parody, a mockery of the chivalric romances so popular in Cervantes’ time. The novel, in this context, was a scathing commentary of the literary tradition of the romances. The upholding of chivalric ideals in the novel, however, produced another commentary on Spain’s 17th century literary tradition, this one being quite positive. Cervantes was careful not to assail the code of chivalry because he himself believed in it. The ideals may be communicated in a humorous manner, and through a humorous character, but the message was quite evident: the belief in chivalric ideals is never wrong. â€Å"Don Quixote† was a novel that educated its readers at the time when they most needed such an instruction. The decline of Spain was apparent, and yet its literati favored romantic literature which subscribed to impossible feats and exaggerated Spain’s Golden Age Page 05 characters. The wide acceptance and phenomenal success of â€Å"Don Quixote† only proved that Spain’s literary market truly appreciated the enlightenment provided by Cervantes. Springboard for the Novel, â€Å"Don Quixote† The historical context and the literary culture of Spain in the 17th century served as major prompters for the writing of â€Å"Don Quixote. † We can clearly see that Miguel de Cervantes was greatly influenced by the sociological, political and literary conditions in his time that he incorporated and used these real-life elements in his novel. Cervantes relied on his social and political experience to produce a literary work that reverberates with sociological and political themes, themes which are in perfect consonance with his real-life setting. Spain’s dual condition of grandeur and degradation in his time prompted Cervantes to explore the themes of human identity and morality, providing a commentary on the social mores. More importantly, the novel is rich with historical influences, of events that actually happened in 17th century Spain. The literary culture of 17th century Spain, on the other hand, played a key role in the writing of â€Å"Don Quixote,† for very obvious reasons. The chivalric romances popular at that time made the novel an interesting, radical read because it departs from its formula. The characters, Don Quixote and his loyal squire Sancho Panza, embody the chivalric ideals upheld by the romances, but they also destroy the image of the impossibly heroic knight by being humorous caricatures of chivalry. Moreover, their ridiculous adventures make a mockery of the exaggerated heroic feats portrayed in the romances. These influences are strongly pronounced in the text of â€Å"Don Quixote† thereby proving that Miguel de Cervantes was a writer who used his golden age experience to write a golden novel. Spain’s Golden Age Page 06 References Barrio, J. F. (2007). The golden century. Si, Spain. Retrieved November 17, 2007 from SiSpain. org. /http://www. sispain. org/english/language/golden. html/ Phillips, B. and Davidson, S. (2007). SparkNote on Don Quixote. Retrieved November 17, 2007 from cgi. sparknotes. com. /http://www. sparknotes. com/lit/donquixote/.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

High School Graduation Essay example -- Personal Narrative

Graduation Epidemic My high school graduation was one of the saddest moments of my life. Although I was excited about graduating, I did not know what I was going to do with the rest of my life. In Maya Angelou’s â€Å"Graduation,† Angelou was excited and proud of all that she had accomplished. In Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"A Late Encounter With the Enemy,† Sally Poker Sash was proud that she was finally graduating and just wanted to show that off to all the â€Å"upstarts†. In the two readings the pupils are contrasting in a few different areas, and a couple of those areas are in pride and feelings that their families have being involved in the graduation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In both of the readings the pupils have a great sense of pride; however the pride is in different things. In Maya Angelou’s â€Å"Graduation,† Angelou’s pride is in her no absences, no tardies, and her academic work. Angelou has worked extremely hard to achieve the thing that she has and that is what makes her proud. She was proud of the fact that she could say the preamble to the Constitution faster than Bailey. On the other hand is Sally Poker Sash in Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"A Late Encounter With the Enemy†. Sash’s pride is in finally graduating after twenty years of school. She also wants to show her degree to the â€Å"upstarts† and show them that she has this degree, but she is not going to change the way that she teaches. The whole purpose in going to school was to learn the correct way of teaching and just to spite the upstarts Sash sti...

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Reading Comic May Help Students Do Better in School

Comics as Learning Opportunities Comic books have come a long way since their inception more than 75 years ago. Particularly in the past decade or so, comics have become increasingly recognized for their potential literary value. Offering a combination of reading and visual stimulation that research shows many pre-teen and teen-aged boys prefer, comic books can, according to some studies, help improve literacy. And this learning potential has not gone unnoticed. Take the non-profit Kids Love Comics, whose main mission is to raise awareness of comic books as educational vehicles.Consisting of comic book creators and publishers along with educators and even fans, the organization, through tours and participation at comic book conventions, seeks to make comics more accessible and available to children. Encouraging Creativity Children can develop writing and reading skills when they are given the chance to create their own comics through New York City's Comic Book Project. Established in 2001 and hosted by the Center for Educational Pathways, the program emphasizes learning by having children express themselves through drawing and writing comic books.And Reading With Pictures, a nonprofit organization founded by graphic novelist Josh Elder in 2009, strives to provide comics for educational use by raising awareness in schools around the country. Its goal is to ‘get comics into schools and schools into comics. ‘ The organization conducts research, consults with schools, works with cartoonists on scholastic comics and assists universities in designing courses focusing on the study of comics. Equating Enjoyment with Reading Well-known comic book writer and editor Stan Lee, who created, among others, Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk and the X-Men, founded the Stan Lee Foundation in 2010.The nonprofit organization is dedicated to providing literary resources and fighting illiteracy. To that end, in May 2011 it joined forces with Team Prime Time, a Los Angeles- based foundation offering programs for low-income and developmentally-disabled children. When asked if he was surprised that comics and education could be combined, Lee answered that as far back as the 1960s he had begun receiving letters from teachers heralding the positive effects of comics on their students. These teachers indicated that they saw improvement in grammar and composition in children who read comic books.Studies show that comics can help young and beginning readers better understand narrative concepts, story structure and character development. At an event at Dodger Stadium hosted by the Stan Lee Foundation and Team Prime Time, graphic novels were given out to any child in attendance. ‘Comics really are a good aid to getting kids to read more literature, increasing their vocabulary and making them want to read,' Lee told IGN Entertainment. He added, ‘If you're a kid†¦ you begin to equate enjoyment with reading. ‘

Monday, January 6, 2020

Poverty Is The Shortage, Deficiency, Or The State Of A Person

Poverty is the shortage, deficiency, or the state of a person who lacks a certain amount of material property or currency.1 Poverty is a versatile idea, that has communal, economic, and political fundamentals.2 Poverty can be defined as absolute or relative. Absolute poverty is lacking necessities like food, clothing, and shelter.3 Relative poverty is someone’s economic statues and how they are materialized. The United States has dealt with poverty for centuries. The amount of Americans existing in poverty in the United States was anticipated to be 35.9 million in 2003 with almost 12.9% of the people in poverty being under eighteen.4 Poverty directly effects the ingenuous children who grow up in hardship suffering families and sadly, studies show that poverty tends to move from one generation to the next.5 In today’s society, you are technically considered poor if you are only making close to 20,000 dollars a year, live in a little home, and drive a beat up car.6 In other cultures and society’s you are doing extremely well if you can provide food, water, and a roof over your families head. With food, water, and a roof over your head you can survive. A lot of the problem in America though is that a lot of people do not have these things. This is the reason why it is hard for people in severe poverty to survive here in America. Another big reason for poverty in America is because of the lack of physical well being.7 Physical well being is all about how healthy youShow MoreRelatedHunger Among Children In United States Of America . Nowadays,1366 Words   |  6 PagesHunger among Children in United States of America Nowadays, hunger is not only linked with food it is also related to the family income level, also, it represents the feeling of starving to the time that it is disturbing or even frustrating. Oxford dictionary define hunger as â€Å"A feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat.† Indeed, most people would admit that when someone is starving, they are not performing to their absolute potential. This senseRead MorePica1443 Words   |  6 Pagesrelated disorders. Stress factors such as family issues, pregnancy, poverty, parental neglect, and a disorganized family, are strongly linked to Pica. 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