Free Essay

Hurricane

In: English and Literature

Submitted By ErikaDanielle94
Words 401
Pages 2
Erika Brown
Professor Mecucci Springer
GEW 101
18 October 2012
Ruben “Hurricane” Carter American novelist Richard Powers once said, “We will live with racism forever but, senses of self, senses of belonging, senses of us and of others? Those are up for grabs.” What Powers is saying is racism will live among us until the end of time but, being able to have the decency to come together at a time of need is essential to our society. This reminds me of a song I once heard called Hurricane written by Bob Dylan; a 60’s American musician. Controversy in the 1960’s raised a lot of questions that influenced musicians such as Dylan to write songs regarding social and political issues; Hurricane describes the brutal story of Ruben Carter, a famous American boxer who was subjected to racism and wrongly accused of a murder crime he did not commit. Dylan told a detailed story where he used his song lyrics to take a strong stance on the case in favor of Carter’s innocence. Hurricane by Bob Dylan shows that racism in America is still in existence today.
Dylan's tone of voice and its change from time to time play an outstanding effort in the conveyance of the situation at hand. The structure as well as the tone of Dylan's song is also clearly repetitive. Apart from the repetition promoting the song with rhythm it also helps with drawing the listener's attention to the parts that Dylan wants them to focus on. For example the tern 'Hurricane' which is also the title of Dylan’s song is repeated though out the entire song. The term Hurricane could be interpreted to mean horrors evoked by the prejudices that surround Ruben in this song and the way they violently sweep him into a situation that is entirely out of his control on the basis of his race.
Dylan also uses figurative language that is loaded with meaningful attributes to get his message across. For instance Dylan describes “Ruben sitting like Buddha in a ten foot cell referring to him as an innocent man in hell” This tells listeners the racial discrimination and the abuse or misuse of power that causes this man to be living in hell. The comparison of Ruben to a sitting Buddha helps listeners create a mental picture of the situation that the lyrics are trying to describe. (I NEED TO FINISH )

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Hurricane Maria Hurricane

...Disaster hit when Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on September 20, leaving Puerto Ricans struggling extensively to get back on their feet. Maria has inflicted massive destruction on the island of Puerto Rico and has caused an immense level of disorganization and ruin. Puerto Ricans are still attempting to clean up their homes so they have a decent place to live. However, it is hard to clean up anything when you have no access to electricity, clean water, money or food supplies. Obviously, in these conditions, the recovery process has been slow and painful. Hurricane Maria was nearly a category 5 hurricane when it made a direct hit on Puerto Rico on September 20. The hurricane lashed the island with wind and rain for longer than 30 hours. Puerto Rico hasn’t had a hurricane with winds of 155 miles per hour, a category 4 hurricane like Maria, hit the island since 1932. The damage that it caused was astronomical. The death toll has risen to 45 and counting while 113 people still remain unaccounted for. Furthermore, it has left the whole island in ruins....

Words: 451 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

American Hurricane Sandy Hurricane

...Superstorm Sandy was a tropical hurricane in the 2012 hurricane season. Sandy began to form in the Caribbean on October 22nd and continued to enlarge into a hurricane once it passed Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas. Sandy moved towards the Atlantic on the 28th. On the 29th, Sandy turned towards New Jersey. Then, turned into a post-tropical cyclone on the 30-31st, hitting New York. “There was an estimate of $50 billion is damages, making Sandy the second-costliest cyclone to hit the United States since 1900” (https://www.weather.gov/okx/HurricaneSandy). Sandy had the greatest number of fatalities in North America with at least 147 deaths. At the time Sandy hit land in the United States, it grew to a Category 2 storm with up to 80 mph. winds...

Words: 501 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Hurricane Katrina

...Hurricane Katrina: Race and Class in America and the Failure of Its Government Carlus R. Townsend English 215 2/25/12 Introduction How hurricane Katrina exposed Racism in the US Hurricane Katrina that happened 7 years ago was a natural adversity. Few years following Hurricane Katrina, individuals are still feeling the repercussion and queries of racism. Katrina uncovered racism and division inequality in America, and the way the government failed the citizens in so many aspects. Many black people residing in New Orleans that were affected felt as if they considered themselves as genocide victims compared to what happened to them and the treatment they received after the hurricane. The majority of the affected people were blacks and this paper try to analyze how the victims of the hurricane were discriminated upon because of their race and face unbearable inequality because of their race ethnicity. Discrimination against Hurricane Katrina victims Various people, particularly the politicians, spoke out insisting that the comparison of the holocaust was inappropriate, as there was no use of any gas chambers utilization. This resulted to many people wondering if the act of racism was in existence without absolute violence. Communities residing in New Orleans insists that individuals died because of utter neglect. This took place because the affected persons were the black race, and so the government neglected them and was not concerned to what happened...

Words: 1918 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Hurricane Responders

...When there is a hurricane, people may see it on the TV, or hear about it from someone they know. How does that make people feel? Does it make people feel like they should go out there, and help the people who are in need? Hurricanes have the capability to occur at any point in time. Hurricanes are a rotating tropical storm that happen when a lot of sea water evaporates, and the air temperature is around twenty-seven degrees. As individuals come together, they work as a team to help the hurricane victims, and bring supplies from all over to help those in need. They also try to do whatever they can to find the people that might be trapped or injured. Being in a situation like a hurricane is something no one would want to go through, so it is important to have hurricane responders to help the affected victims. By becoming a hurricane responder, these volunteers can help hurricane victims by helping rebuild their homes, providing medical services, and helping...

Words: 966 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Hurricane Bob

...HURRICANE BOB The world is filled with many wonders and natural disasters that are powerful enough to remember forever. It has always historically seemed that most natural disasters are weather related and Mother Nature in her fury can be some of the most awesome spectacles on the planet. Hurricane Bob was one of the most catastrophic and vigorous natural disasters to hit the east coast United States in the past century. On August 16th 1991, a tropical depression formed 200 miles to the east of the Bahamas. As the storm slowly moved to the northwest, twenty four hours later it became Hurricane Bob, a vastly powerful Hurricane with a scale reading of 3 out of 5. Bob moved up the east coast accelerating toward Cape Hatteras where it peaked with winds of 135mph. It continued to do so as the Hurricane then arrived in Massachusetts and Cape Cod. This is where most of the disaster and corruption took place. With the Hurricane at full force, communities of Rhode Island and Southeast Massachusetts were highly impacted. The 100mph plus winds did the most damage to homes, buildings, power lines, and trees. Cape Cod was virtually inaccessible on the roadways and highways. Trees down and all sorts of blowing debris blocked them. Practically all of the rivers and lakes both salt water and fresh were completely over flown. Cars in certain areas were up to the windshield and even the majority of SUV’s couldn’t trek their way trough the storm. On the Outskirts of Cape Cod, Nantucket and...

Words: 788 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Hurricane Katrina

...Hurricane Katrina was one of the five deadliest and most destructive hurricanes in United States History. There were at least 1833 deaths and 80 billion in damages. I was not personally affected by Hurricane Katrina. However, I remember seeing news coverage on the tragedy. I remember seeing all the destruction that the hurricane had caused, seeing people trying to hold on to whatever they could. I was in middle school at the time and several students who were survivors of the tragedy were move to my class. This one student in particular I remember him telling me how his family had lost everything. He was worried how him and his five siblings and his mother were going to make it; they were in a new place and they knew no one. He shared with me that even though he was happy that him and his family were safe he missed New Orleans and wanted to go back. After several months I did not see him anymore. I am not sure if he did make it back to New Orleans. Anthony David Feat. Algebra & Phonte Kenny Lattimore – “For You” Luther Vandross – “Here And Now Monica – “Angel of Mine” Kc JoJO all my life Eric Benet Tamia Spend My life with you Jagged edge lets get married Luther/Mariah endless Mariah carey Monica for you I will Lovin you Mariah carey vision love Emeli sande ny kind of love John Legend All of me John Legend Nobody in the world Jagged edge rest of my life The one he kept for me You Caught me Tori Kelly Beyonce my heart still beats Your my everything boys...

Words: 695 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Hurricane Katrina

...Tameka Whitney Introduction to Geography April 7, 2013 Hurricane Katrina On August 29, 2005 the Gulf Coast of The United States would change forever. The country watch from near and far as one of the strongest hurricanes in the past century made landfall. It caused havoc for so many. The days leading up the predicted landfall of Katrina, many residence of the South from Louisiana to Florida took warning and evacuated. It was the less fortunate fold such as the elderly, homeless and the immobile that were left to “ride” the storm out or find means to get to safer grounds. From Biloxi, Mississippi to New Orleans folks scrambled to take what they could salvage. As Katrina made landfall with a punch carrying hurricane force winds sustained at 125mph with a central pressure recorded to be the third lowest on record (Hurricane Katrina, NOAA). According to the Saffir and Simpson scale, Katrina made a rating of a Category 3 at landfall. With Katrina’s strength it broke sea walls and levees that were in place to hold the waters back from such storms. As the levees failed on the Mississippi River at New Orleans, Katrina pushed on ward flooding at least 80% of New Orleans with 3-10 feet of water (Getis, Pg. 81) Hurricane Katrina moved on land and vanished into the Ohio Valley and Northeast causing a major rainfall event for them. The real reality was just beginning to unfold as residence of the Gulf Coast were watch and seeing firsthand what devastation was left behind. Lives...

Words: 614 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Hurricane Katrina

...The initial response or lack thereof, to the widespread disaster in the Gulf Coast, caused by Hurricane Katrina, demonstrated high levels of incompetence and disorganization by government officials. Images of desperate individuals awaiting rescue on their rooftops, and masses of people packed together in deplorable conditions in the Super Dome, circulated the globe. There was no hiding from the painful reality and the obvious inaction or inability of those responsible to care for these individual in the wake of this catastrophe. Although a considerable amount of the blame has been placed at the feet of FEMA, it should be understood that multiple factors contributed to the situation in New Orleans. Some sections of the levees had been poorly constructed, and were not properly maintained. Local agencies failed to adequately plan and prepare of such an event. Local officials waited too long to order an evacuation, and did not consider how to assist those citizens who lacked the financial resources to evacuate on their own. Many of the obstacles and complications encountered during Hurricane Katrina may have been avoided if the training exercise labeled “Hurricane Pam” would have been completed in 2004. The fictional exercise was five-days long, and was intended to help prepare New Orleans for a category 4 hurricane. Over 50 officials from state, volunteer, and federal organizations participated, unfortunately FEMA caused an early termination of this event by pulling its funding...

Words: 1917 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Hurricane Katrina

...Hurricane Katrina According to (Brunner, 2007), Hurricane Katrina slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, destroying beachfront towns in Mississippi and Louisiana, displacing a million people, and killing almost 1,800. When levees in New Orleans were breached, eighty percent of the city was submerged by the flooding. About twenty percent of its 500,000 citizens were trapped in the city without power, food, or drinking water. Rescue efforts were so delayed and haphazard that many were stranded for days on rooftops and in attics before help arrived. The city became a toxic pool of sewage, chemicals, and corpses, and in the ensuing chaos, mayhem and looting became rampant; about fifteen percent of the city’s police force had simply walked off the job. The 20,000 people who made their way to the Superdome, the city’s emergency shelter, found themselves crammed into sweltering and fetid conditions. At a second shelter, the convention center, evacuees were terrorized by roaming gangs and random gunfire. Relief workers, medical help, security forces, and essential supplies remained profoundly inadequate during the first critical days of the disaster. New Orleans was in the path of that particular storm. I remember it like it was yesterday. My family and I received minor damage from this hurricane that year. We were left in the dark for over a week when this storm occurred. The city was mostly deserted during this storm. It was mostly the poor...

Words: 600 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Hurricane Katrina

...Hurricane Katrina is one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States of America. It took thousands lives of citizens of New Orleans, left them without homes and families, and changed their lives forever. Many of those who survived the hurricane died waiting for help to come. Hurricane Katrina exposed the existence of ''two Americas''. It took government several days to get help to the victims of Katrina in New Orleans. After watching Spike Lee's documentary ''When The Levees Broke'' I learned that the Government doesn't care about its citizens. After Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to do what it was created to do - provide immediate relief to the victims of the disasters. People were waiting for help for days, suffering from the heat, lack of food and drinking water and watching their loved ones die without medical help. Those who were tired to wait for the rescue buses and started to walk toward the Gretna bridge were turn around at the gun point. They were not allowed in, like they were citizens of another country- refugees, and thats how the media called people of New Orleans. The disaster of Hurricane Katrina could've been avoided if the levees that protect city would have been designed and built properly. I believe that Federal Government and other officials were aware of the situation for a very long time and still did nothing to protect the people of New Orleans. Most of the citizens of...

Words: 409 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Hurricane Rita

...1. Which external environment factor(s) did Hurricane Rita affect? Discuss. To find a work is not easy task because the labor market is limited, more over the potential of the employee located in the certain geographic area can be recruiting in the local area, the labor will always change as in Compensation scales that were in use prior to the hurricanes had to be thrown out and new plans implemented. Union, External environment in legal consideration also affect Hurricane Rita because the worker maybe concern about the safety and health. The worker have come a first in mind because the worker is the one who generate income. Repair crews would just find an empty lot and set up tents for the night because all motels were full which can affect the environment factor The most important elements that will influence Scott's plans will be the workers. He has to make sure he keeps the right ones, those who are really good at their work. He also has to watch out for union workers, who will look out for the workers interests. Another is the government officials and civic leaders, who would want information all the time, as to what is going on. 2. How were the human resource functions affected by Hurricane Rita? The role of the human resource department is providing the right person at the place at the right time which is staffing. After Hurricane Rita the business become worse and there were a shortage in the employment so large small businesses were frantically trying...

Words: 467 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Hurricane Katrina

...Datrel Johnson Professor Peter Johnson Geography 101 25 August 2013 Describe Hurricane Katrina Beginning in the 1950s, the United States have witnessed two Category Five Storms and seven Category Four Storms naming Hurricane Katrina as one of the most deadly Category Four hurricanes to hit the Gulf Coast. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina dismantled several sections of the levee which caused it to collapse. The storm then breeched the New Orleans’ levee system allowing Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi River to flow in the heart of the city. Furthermore, a tremendous amount of damages occurred throughout the coast of Mississippi and Alabama. The state of Louisiana sustained most of the damages not just from Hurricane Katrina, “but also to a unique physiographic setting of New Orleans.” (Locke) The storm, Hurricane Katrina was identified as powerful and huge because of the well-formed eye of a typical category four hurricane. Throughout the duration, warm sea water was its fuel for continued momentum and power. The intensity had “closely matched the water temperature” which led the hurricane to reach its peak intensity; category five. (Locke) The storm predicted maximum “rainfall east of the storm-eye track.” (Locke) As Hurricane Katrina took her course, evidence provided “that the right front quadrant” was indeed the most powerful part of the hurricane. (Locke) “The powerful winds and rain occurred here because of rotational winds and steering winds (the prevailing...

Words: 788 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Hurricane Andrew

...Tues.-2:15 Hurricane Andrew A natural hazard is a possibility of a natural event that causes harm to humans, or other things we care about. The hazard is categorized between an extreme event and a disaster. An extreme event is just an unusual event that doesn't necessarily cause harm. A disaster is an event that does cause harm in significant amounts (Tschakert, Zimmerer, King, Baum & Wang, 2012). I thought that Hurricane Andrew was a very good example of a natural hazard. Andrew was formed by a tropical wave near the Cape Verde Islands. It crossed Western Africa to the tropical Northern Atlantic Ocean. This area of low pressure then grew into a Tropical Depression. Winds are at about 31 mph at this point. The next step is the Hurricane stage, where winds reached around 74 mph (Dix, 2001). Hurricane Andrew is considered a disaster from all the damages done to the Bahamas, southern Florida, and south central Louisiana. Andrew became a hurricane on August 22, 1992, and strengthened to a category 4 hurricane the next day. Andrew was the third most intense U.S. land-falling hurricane this century, and the strongest since Hurricane Camille in 1969 (McCown, 11 F). Hurricane Andrew was caused by the creation of a tropical wave, which then turned into a tropical storm the next day. Moving toward Florida, Andrew caused mass destruction while the storm dissipated multiple times. While crossing the Gulf Stream it picked up more power and became a category 5 hurricane. It hit Florida...

Words: 690 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Hurricane Katrina

...Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest and costliest hurricanes in the United States. Katrina made landfall as a category three hurricane on August 29, 2005. The initial landfall was made in the Gulf Region near Buras Louisiana and later at the Louisiana and Mississippi border at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Katrina packed sustained hurricane force winds of 125 mph, and extended out 75 miles from the eye of the storm (NOAA, 2012). Katrina’s damage was devastating to residents of the area affected. The causes and impact of hurricane Katrina were negative environmental, social, and economical effects on the Gulf Coast Region. A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone or a low pressure system which forms in the tropics. It is a huge storm and is accompanied by thunderstorms. They can be as wide as 600 miles across and carry winds as high as 200 miles per hour. Hurricanes gather heat and energy from contact with warm ocean waters. The warmer the water is, the more intense the hurricane becomes. The storm surge caused by the hurricane which can be more than eighteen feet high causes flooding once it reaches land. Hurricanes range in categories one through five. A category one hurricane has winds of 74-95 miles per hour, and is considered to cause minimal damage. A category five storm has winds greater than 155 miles per hour, and the damage to expect is catastrophic. In 2001 FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) released a report that listed three most likely catastrophic...

Words: 337 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Hurricane Katrina

...6/3/14 Period 2 Hurricane Katrina My family and I were living in New Orleans at the time and it was less than 24 hours before the hurricane hit. You could hardly tell though, the weather was beautiful outside. The sun was out and there wasn’t a single cloud in sight. So my friend and I went to Seven Eleven to grab some junk food we could take to the shelter with us before the storm hit. As I walked into the store, I couldn’t help but notice a suspicious looking guy standing over by the Slurpee machines. He gave me the most intimidating look and stared at me for a good minute. That’s when I got the feeling that something wasn’t right. Something really bad was about to happen. I grabbed my friend and insisted that we leave . I told her how the guy was about to do something but she figured I was just being paranoid, and so she just continued to look for junk food. I looked over to see if the guy was still standing there but he was gone. All of a sudden I hear people screaming. I look over to see an man pointing a gun at the cashier and another guy waving a gun at the customers. My heart fell into my stomach. I grabbed my friend and ran to hide in the next aisle. I pulled out my phone and started to dial 911, but right then and there, the guy spotted me. I froze in fear as he came toward me with his gun. He pointed the gun at me. I knew that was the moment my life was going to end. All of a sudden, loud sirens began to go off throughout...

Words: 347 - Pages: 2