...How Accurate is it to Summarise the Period Before 1848 as: ‘The Time when Nothing Happened’? Bismarck described the era before 1848 as ‘the time when nothing happened’ and to a certain degree it is true, however, a number of key events did occur that had long lasting effects on Germany that would come to hinder, advance and affect the pace and direction of unification. Friedrich I established Prussia as a kingdom, independent of its previous association as a Polish fief, Prussia expanded its borders massively into neighbouring states. Under Friedrich I Prussia emerged as one of the strongest military and economic powers in Europe proper. The strong economy and growing military reputation lay foundations for a strong, proud and militaristic culture. As a relatively new state it could learn from the mistakes of others and as a large state it could bully and manipulate its neighbours, but it was still a subordinate of Austria in the Holy Roman Empire and nowhere near powerful enough to contend Austria’s seat of dominance. The influence that Prussia gained allowed for a stronger Prussia later, the knowledge that Prussia was vastly superior to its neighbours aided in giving Prussians a sense of self-confidence that allowed them to make the exertive steps towards unifying Germany after 1815. From the 9th century until 1806, the Holy Roman Empire dominated the German states, a common language and a notably similar culture had developed and bound the member states together as the...
Words: 2318 - Pages: 10
...sight. Without any type of imagery, it would make it very difficult to relate with the author. Color imagery is used to trigger sight and make us visualize colors and associate it with the words either preceding or proceeding. In the two poems, “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost and “Spring and All” by William Carlos Williams, color imagery plays a big role in describing the scene. “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Browning is a poem about nature and how everything is so beautiful at first, but it then becomes subsides and isn’t as wonderful. “Nature’s first green is gold”, this could refer to the sunrise in the morning (499). This reminds me of all the gorgeous hues of a sunrise and how the sky and everything the sun hits seems golden. It could also be referring to seasonal changes. When spring is around, all the flowers and sunlight look amazing, but when the flowers start turning into leaves and falling off, it is a little upsetting to look at. “So dawn goes down to day”, this gives me the sense that Frost is talking about the early mornings (499). Watching dawn turn into day is disappointing, especially when you get to see all the natural colors coming from dawn and then it just turns into another plain day. The last line “Nothing gold can stay” can refer to many things (499). Frost left this last line to the reader to create an image in his or her own head. This could have the reader picturing that the sunrise can’t last forever. It also allows the reader to think about...
Words: 637 - Pages: 3
...In this passage from The Scarlet letter, the narrator uses contrary diction to describe his attitude towards Hester Prynne and women in general, but has a sexist tone when talking about women in general, and uses imagery to describe his attitude towards Hester. The narrator uses contrary diction and imagery to convey his attitude towards Hester Prynne. For example, he says that Hester had undergone a “sad transformation.” And when describing her form he uses the word “nothing.” These word show that the narrator doesn't like what Hester has become. When using nothing to describe her form he gives the feeling that she's worthless. There is no presence of her, and she has nothing to offer. When you look at her she seems empty. By using...
Words: 341 - Pages: 2
...St. Thomas Aquinas explains the existence of God in five different proofs. The first argument he attempts to prove the existence of God through, is the "unmoved mover" argument. He claims that since there is motion in the world, and motion has to be caused by another thing, which has to be caused by another thing, leads to the original mover, God who caused the first motion. The argument can be broken down like this: 1. Nothing can move itself. 2. If every object in motion had a mover, then the first object in motion needed a mover. 3. Movement cannot go on for infinity. 4. This first mover is the Unmoved Mover, called God. Aquinas motion includes any kind of change or growth. Aquinas argues that things that are at rest is the natural condition for them. Something that is moving is unnatural and must have been put into that state of motion by some external force.(Higgins) In the second argument for the existence of God, Aquinas bases it on the theory of Causation. He claims that since we know that something is caused by something else, so nothing can be caused by itself. No object can create itself, so something previously had to create it. He writes If there is no first cause which is God, there would be no effect. There has to be a uncaused first cause who began existence for everything. The agruement can be broken down this way: 1. There exists things that...
Words: 1493 - Pages: 6
...Mark Nestor Poetry Essay: Imagery and Figurative Language Wallace Stevens’ poem “The Snow Man” is a poem that creates a unique situation using imagery and figurative language. The wintry imagery in this poem is used to express the wonders of the mind while forcing the reader to determine what is metaphorical and what is literal. Wallace uses imagery and figurative language to aid in showing how our mind becomes one with a scene upon seeing it. While Stevens’ poem is masterfully painted with imagery, it is ultimately the meaning of the poem that is so very rewarding and that makes it so great. The speaker describes snow covered trees as the sun glitters off of the top of the distant snow covered banks, while the wind blows and creates a sound that gives the reader a miserable feeling. The speaker talks about how winter is a cold and miserable time and it takes a special type of mind to see past that. The speaker has two realities in his hands- the cold and harsh reality of winter and what the speaker creates using his own perspective. What all of this really means is that using imagination, a whole new perspective can be created allowing the reader to hide the harsh, bare reality that the world really is. Stevens’ uses this to demonstrate that the central viewpoint of this poem lies in perspective. When reading the poem the reader comes to the realization that there is no snowman in the poem. Well, how could this be? That is because the title of “The Snow Man” is a metaphor...
Words: 999 - Pages: 4
...‘How Harper Lee describes the town of Maycomb.’ The first time Harper Lee mention Maycomb, she creates a very unpleasant atmosphere, it’s a very unwelcoming and quite secretive as well. Harper Lee uses the method of personification in the first sentence when she says ‘it was a tired old town’. It makes us picture the town as an old man withering away over time. She also uses personification when introducing the courthouse, saying ‘it sagged in the square’ this also puts the image in our heads of a sad elderly who is not strong enough to live on for much longer. When she talks about Maycomb she talks in the past, she says ‘tired old town when I first knew it’ which makes us assume that Maycomb has changed for the better from when she was writing about it. We sense that Maycomb is badly looked after and that the citizens don’t care for it. ‘In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop’ we get the feeling that Maycomb would be a nicer place to live in if it was better looked after. The mood in Maycomb isn’t very bright either. ‘Nowhere to go…nothing to buy…nothing to see outside.’ We feel that Maycomb isn’t a very interesting place to live especially for children among the age of Scout because they had to entertain themselves, as there was nothing that Maycomb provided. Harper Lee writes in a way where we can tell what time period she is writing in. ‘Bony mules hitched to Hoover carts’ tells us that she is not writing in the modern times but in the past. She also tells...
Words: 673 - Pages: 3
...Define “Creatio Ex Nihilo.” In Latin, “ex nihilo” literally means “out of nothing.” It often appears along with the concept of creation, as in “creatio ex nihilo”, meaning “creation out of nothing.” It contrasts with the phrase “creatio ex materia” (creation out of some pre-existent, eternal matter) and with “creatio ex deo” (creation out of God.) Christians all believe that the world is created ex deo, however, whether the universe was created “ex nihilo” or from already present material is still a topic of discussion today among Christians and people of other beliefs alike. There is evidence in the bible supporting both creatio ex nihilo and ex materia. Despite the simplicity of defining the concept of “nothingness” (a pronoun denoting the absence of anything), it is still difficult to understand nothingness as a concept. It is very hard to describe something, without saying it is something. Therefore, even saying that a certain thing is nothing is technically describing it as something, which gets confusing after a while. For example: Blue is a colour, as are yellow and red. All three of these colours make up every colour tone we see. Theoretically, there was an absence of colour, what would be in its place, white or black? It is very difficult to imagine this, as all our life we have been able to distinguish what we have seen because of their colour(s). Even when we try to imagine a world without colours, it becomes impossible not to end up labelling the absence of colour...
Words: 1625 - Pages: 7
...The town of Holcomb is the perfect place to set the stage for murder. In the opening of “In Cold Blood”, Truman Capote paints a picture of Holcomb that is nothing more than a dull, boring, and desolate small town. He develops his view thought specific detail selection which depicts visual imagery, a detached and repetitious tone, accompanied with a specialized sentence structure. In a town that is as dreary as Holcomb, no one would ever expect a quadruple murder. Through his details, Capote attempts to place Holcomb as an extremely desolate and lonesome a area. He refers to Holcomb as a place that “other Kansans call ‘out there’”. He also depicts that the small town is surrounded by rivers, prairies, and wheat fields which gives the reader a feeling of loneliness. Several times he mentions the decaying paint among the “aimless congregation of buildings”, which shows how he views that Holcomb is dull and unchanging. Capote also uses broad terms to describe the inhabitants. He has them all “barbed with a prairie twang [accent]”, and wearing trousers and “boots with pointed toes”. He focuses on the superficial and outward appearance of all of the townsfolk of Holcomb, while describing one specific towns person as “[she] wears a rawhide jacket, denims, and cowboy boots”. That is another way of saying trousers and pointed toe boots. He never really develops any unique insight into any of the inhabitants. This overgeneralization proves Capote’s view that Holcomb is one-dimensional...
Words: 818 - Pages: 4
...GETTTO KNOW YOU! HOW WOULD SOMEONE WHO REALLY KNOWS YOU DESCRIBE YOUR BEST QUALITIES? Helpful, friendly, Enthusiasm HOW WOULD SOMEONE WHO REALLY KNOWS YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WORST QUALITIES? Bossy, compulsive WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? HOW DID IT INFLUENCE YOU? Born and bred in Singapore. Singapore is a multiracial country, she allow me to learn a lot of different culture of other races and the languages. TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY AND/OR PEOPLE IMPORTANT TO YOU In my family there is total of 5 members. Father, mother, two sisters and I. we love to travel around to many different parts of the world. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? IF SO, WHAT ARE THEY AND WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES? No. DESCRIBE YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT OR EXPERIENCE This just happen not long ago, it happens during my Taiwan trip with my whole family. I trip over a small chair while I was happily eating my ex-large chicken chop and the whole chicken chop landed on my face. WHAT WAS THE LAST UNUSUAL, EXCITING OR SPONTANEOUS OUTING YOU INSTIGATED? The flight to shanghai was having a 70% offer. I flew there the next day with my friends DESCRIBE SOMETHING YOU WOULD DO IF YOU KNEW YOU WOULDN’T GET CAUGHT Be a spy WHAT ARE YOU LIKE IN A ROOM FULL OF STRANGERS? I will start looking at them, and see what they are doing. If they give me an eye to eye contract I will talk to them. WHAT TYPES OF PEOPLE INTIMIDATE YOU AND WHY? I do not have any...
Words: 692 - Pages: 3
...“Nothing Lasts Forever” ENG125: Introduction to Literature Instructor Shawn Mangerino November 25, 2013 Patricia Martinez In all aspects of life we have a beginning and an end. Not many things last forever and if they do they do not usually stay the same. In life things change, and they end. I believe the pieces I have chosen both speak of endings and changes. “Nothing Gold Can Stay” describes a sunrise and the beauty of it and how that beauty fades as the sun continues to rise. In “I Used to Live Here Once” the main character is remembering her childhood home and in the story visits the home and describes the changes. I choose these pieces because they are both about endings and change and use symbolism to describe the changes. These pieces both show the change in a very detailed way even though one is a poem and the other a story. In comparison they may not look the same but when you read the words in both you can imagine what is being seen and feel that you can see it fade, as nothing lasts forever. In the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” I found it is full of symbolism. "Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold, Her early leaf's a flower, But only so an hour, Then leaf subsides to leaf, So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day, Nothing gold can stay.” (as cited in Clugston, 2010) In the poem the first line states “Natures first green is gold” the symbolism I find in this line is green refers to new life or birth, often times you hear...
Words: 2253 - Pages: 10
...In Robert Frost's symbolic poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" he uses the literary devices rhyme, personification, metaphor, and imagery to convey meaning; he explains how nothing, especially something beautiful can last forever. Ways he shows this is "The first green of spring is her hardest hue to hold" and "so Eden sank with grief". All these express that nothing good can last. Frost uses nature as his theme because the cycle of life and death showed through the season provides imagery that people can picture in their head. Robert Frost wrote "nothing gold can stay" after his mother dies and his brother was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. This explains how his theme nothing good lasts forever relates to him in a personal way. When...
Words: 647 - Pages: 3
...The End of Something How does Ernest Hemingway express the emotions state in the story through the action and the setting? Hortons Bay used to be a prosperous lumber town, but nothing was left from it anymore. The title refers to the end of an old-fashioned way of living, and bringing of a new modern life. In the 19th century mills were an important part of production and many American towns were built around mills or factories. But in the beginning of 20th century such remote mills were closed, and people need to find new ways of making a living. Also the title refers to the end of a love story between Nick and Marjorie. Nothing is clearly said about the past of the couple, but Hemingway technique of objective correlations leaves space to the reader to guess the story. It looks like Nick and Marjorie have been together for a long time, since they recall their house in this old town which no more exists. Also there is intimacy and routines between them, which points to what once could have been an important and solid relationship. Nick and Marjorie have gone for fishing; Marjorie loves fishing with Nick, while nothing similar is noted about Nick. The author is reserved, he describes the conversation between the couple, but he doesn’t add anything which can explain their feelings or their thoughts. This task is left entirely to the reader. The settings that Hemingway uses provide the reader with a vivid imaginary of the scenes. Contrary to the emotions of the characters,...
Words: 449 - Pages: 2
...cat’s cradle: while it may seem complex and intricate, in reality it is simple and leads to nothingness. The religion described in the book, Bokononism, follows the teachings of a man, Lionel Boyd Johnson or Bokonon. In the beginnings of his books he warns readers to “close the book at once! It is nothing but foma” (Vonnegut, 265). Foma, are lies. Despite this, most of the island of San Lorenzo follows this religion. Bokonon realized the meaninglessness of life and created a religion based on lies to provide happiness for people as a result. This is why Bokonon leads people to believe they will find out their karass and reason for life only after they die. He wants to spare them the disappointment of knowing everything they do has no purpose. Throughout Cat’s Cradle, there are a few references to the game the book is named for. The first is when Dr. Hoenikker, Newt’s father, tries to show his son the game on the day his bomb was dropped on Japan. (Vonnegut, 11) Later on Newt goes into detail explaining the game to the narrator, Jonah. Atop a mountain, Newt had just finished painting the game. “No wonder kids grow up crazy. A cat’s cradle is nothing but a bunch of X’s between somebody’s hands, and little kids look and look and look at all those X’s….No damn cat, and no damn cradle.” (Vonnegut 165-166)When the painting is seen by another, it is interpreted as a picture of the meaninglessness of life. Even discussing the painting has no meaning. Everything...
Words: 963 - Pages: 4
...their money-god, and the value of life disappears in all of their lives. F. Scott Fitzgerald believes that the American dream is nothing but a defective illusion and people will always be suppressed from accomplishing true achievement. Meyer Wolfsheim is a...
Words: 825 - Pages: 4
...Nothing Gold Can Stay Enjoy things while they last and while you have them.Anything beautiful and meaningful will not last forever but only for the moment.The title of Robert Frost's poem,”Nothing Gold Can Stay” describes deep meaning into nature and life.The color, or hue, doesn't remain the same- in other words, it doesn't "hold." The changing of the color symbolizes how quickly things change.He uses nature to symbolize the beautiful things and how eventually it all fades.This poem reflects life in many different ways.Few things are permanent; life itself eventually comes to an end. We often try to hold on to something or someone that is precious to us ("gold"), and many times we are not able to keep it.."So Eden sank to grief,and So dawn...
Words: 272 - Pages: 2
