Author Zitkala-Sa, also given the name Gertrude Bonnin, tells the story of her past struggle in transitioning to American culture from her Native American culture in her novel titled “The School Days of an Indian Girl.” Similarly, well known rapper and songwriter Kanye West, also given the name Yeezus tells the story of his daily struggle living in American culture in his song titled “All Falls Down.” Both the novel by Zitkala-Sa and the song by Kanye West delve into the idea of a minority individual becoming influenced by societal factors. Factors that become so influential both Mr. West and Ms. Bonnin begin to perceive themselves differently. Whether it’s having to hide from the attention of society like Zitkala-Sa or actually having to please it like Kanye West, both artists struggle in finding a way out. These artists prove to show how societal factors can alter the perception of one’s self.
Author Archives: m.kumar
Thesis for the analysis of “The School Days of an Indian Girl” and “All Falls Down”
The novel “The School Days of an Indian Girl” written by Zitkala-Sa and Kanye West’s song “All Falls Down” both delve into the idea of a minority individual being strongly influenced by societal factors.
Dudley Williams’s Dance to I Wanna Be Ready
The song “I Wanna Be Ready” arranged by James Miller and performed by Dudley Williams has a message expressed through the lyrics of James Miller and through the dance of Dudley Williams. Lyrically, the words of the song sends a strong message in that the speaker/singer wants to be ready to see the Lord. He wants to be cleansed of his sins (such as gambling) because if not, were the Lord to call the speaker/singer, he would not be ready. The song repeats the same verse several times, each time ending with the same line, “Ready to put on my long, white robe.” Going along with the visual aspect, the idea of “white robe” and the fact that the dancer, Dudley Williams, is also wearing all white emphasizes the idea of white and its relation to purity and innocence. The dancer starts out staring into the sky, which seems to be him looking into the heavens for his Lord. The dancer can be observed peering into the sky many times throughout the whole piece. He is looking into the heavens for assurance that he is ready for the calling of his Lord.
Thesis of Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Harriet Jacobs continually repeated the idea of the confinement and its relation to slavery . Although it may seem like she had experienced terrible conditions, her description helped to portray that those conditions of confinement were more favorable than those of slavery.
Ups and Downs
In the song Ups and Downs by Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, there is much emphasis point on having your “ups and downs”. The meaning of the song is that at some point in our life we are all going to experience times of high achievement. But then there will also be those times where we have the experience of being in the gutter. The song starts of with the line, “No matter who you are, you have your ups and downs.” The main idea of the song is portrayed through the first line of the song, which is pretty self explanatory. Throughout the song that same line is repeated several times. In the song, the lines, “Every lifetime is a lesson” and “whatever goes around” are also repeated several times. The line, “Every lifetime is a lesson” tells us of how lessons are learned through just living life, and it may bring us to a low when we have to learn the lesson, but the lessons learned can help bring us up. The line, “Whatever goes around” may emphasize on the point of some sort of karma. Whatever you do can backfire at you, so when you are doing something good you will experience your time of being up high.
Introduction to the Speech
Introduction
Hello Baruch Administrators, Alumni, Faculty, and fellow Students. It has come to my attention that Bernard M. Baruch College is in need of change. Change in the commute of the students who live in the dorm. Change in the daily commute the students take to get to their classes. Change in the environment in which the students can learn, study, and even relax. These changes will not only improve the lives of the entire student body and but it can even improve your lives as well.
Why I want a Wife by Judy Syfers
In Judy Syfers’ piece of work, Syfers takes a very humorous approach in describing all the roles and responsibilities that come along with being a wife. Judy Syfers describes all the reasons why she would want a wife and the desires she hopes for the wife to fulfill. Although the list seems quite unrealistic and lengthy, wives generally tend to do all of the roles Syfers wishes for.
Judy Syfers’ work can seen as very sarcastic and humorous as she is just labeling all wives as the same kind of person with the same life. She is plainly describing how a “conventional marriage” is supposed to function. But really, there is no real answer to what a “conventional marriage” should be defined as.
It is actually very interesting to see how all of the reasons in which makers Judy Syfers wish for a wife, in reality are just the daily jobs a wife accomplishes. Judy Syfers uses a whole four paragraphs of her piece of work to just list out the to-do’s for her “wife”. Syfers is showing how this enormous to-do list can actually be taken for granted when someone is labeled as “wife”.
The Food Sucks!
Esteemed administrators and faculty, fellow students, and members of the Baruch community, the food sucks! It’s too expensive. It’s not good quality. It’s not what we paid for. It should be better. Why should it be better? We spend way too much for us to be left with this food. With all the money that Baruch accumulates we should either get better quality food or receive free meal vouchers. It is a very simple problem with a very simple fix.
Massachusetts General Court , January 9, 1961 (JFK)
At the beginning of his speech, John F. Kennedy immediately grabs the attention and support of the audience. He speaks about his origins in Massachusetts, and the credit he owes to the states and its people. JFK states, “For fourteen years I have placed my confidence in the citizens of Massachusetts.” This statement gives the people a sense of pride and accomplishment, as well as arousing their curiosity. After gaining their trust, JFK refers to John Winthrop’s “City Upon a Hill” in order to inform how the eyes of all people are watching them and they, the people of the United States, must be a shining light. JFK’s opening statements help him to ease into the part of the speech where he begins to speak about, very subtly, the problems of their government and the items that need to be addressed. I find it very interesting how John F. Kennedy lists out the issues at hand with questions. He asks the people if they were men of “courage”, “judgment”, “integrity”, and “dedication”. Listing out the issues using a question format helps to get the audience and even myself to think about them. JFK then leaves the audience with closing remarks that again gain the support of the audience. In stating that those qualities mentioned before are the qualities the state of Massachusetts already has he appeals to the people. These last remarks set a standard for the upcoming presidency of John F. Kennedy.
Reponse to “What Does A Conductor Do?”
http://nymag.com/arts/classicaldance/classical/features/conductors-2012-1/
After playing in a youth symphonic band for the last seven years, seeing the title of an article being, “What Does A Conductor Do?” had really caught my attention. I have always wondered what really goes on in the mind of a conductor as all the musicians are the ones projecting the sound to the audience. The conductor is just a man with a small wand in his hand waving it around, as the musicians are projecting their sounds out to the crowd. If to say the conductor does mess up a beat or miss a signal, it is still up to the musician/s to still stay on top of the music and make sure what needs to happens, happens. So then “What Does A Conductor Do?”.
Reading through the article, there were so many points where I could directly relate to the situation happening in the article. When he starts to speak about how he has to demonstrate how to get the right sound out of the triangle, how he has to sing the bassoon line, and how he has to point out discreet harmony changes, those are all jobs of the conductor that I have encountered being done before. Actually hearing from a conductor and the his experiences of conducting has given me a new opinion on conducting. Conductors do a lot more than just wave their wand around. They lead the entire orchestra with their tiny baton. The power of the baton is immense, as it leads every single instrument. Each and every musician look up to the conductor for guidance at any particular part of the piece of music, and the conductor will surely demonstrate what needs to be done through the baton. The conductor can express the music being played through his conducting, as it is then transferred to the orchestra and projected to the audience.
The article has given me incite on the crucial elements that the conductor can control. He practically leads the entire orchestra and is there on that podium to give them guidance whenever a single musician needs it. The conductor molds the sounds of the orchestra into symphonic music.