Odysseus By Homer s The Odyssey - 891 Words

In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus endures an arduous voyage filled with countless dangers. Although he is praised by comrades and countrymen as a wise, heroic king, Odysseus does not actually live up to his name as he begins this trip back to Ithaka. Through his journey though, Odysseus corrects his reckless, undisciplined, and arrogant actions, learning responsibility, restraint, and humility in the process. Although Odysseus is the captain of a fleet, he initially takes no responsibility for the welfare of his crew. When exploring unknown lands, he often â€Å"sent out two picked men and a runner to learn what race of men that land sustained.† *(147) The king delegates the task solely to fulfill his own curiosity, without consideration of any dangers his men might face, such as intoxication in the land of the Lotus Eaters and cannibalism in the land of the Laistrygonians. Due to his indiscretion, Odysseus puts his men in unnecessary peril. Not only does Odysseusâ€℠¢ decisions lead to the death of crewmates, his choices also brutalize innocent people. He lacks the control to restrain himself and his crew from pointless violence. At the first stop on the journey, the land of the Kikones, the king and his crew â€Å"stormed that place and killed the men who fought.† (146) Extending their barbarism, they plundered and â€Å"enslaved the women, to make division, equal share to all†. (146) Odysseus has no control of reason, causing irrational bloodshed and atrocities upon mere strangers.Show MoreRelatedSimilarities Between Katniss And Odysseus And Homer s The Odyssey1867 Words   |  8 Pagesend, are similar. Katniss and Odysseus both experienced the epic hero cycle and display similar characteristics. In the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen was a girl whose purpose was to find a way to support her mother and younger sister. That is until she took the place of her sister as a tribute in the Hunger Games, an annual game held by the ruli ng Capitol as punishment for previous rebellions. The only way out of the games was to kill. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus was a war hero who was tryingRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s Odyssey : Odysseus And His Son Telemachus1434 Words   |  6 Pagesspiritual growth brought about that freedom. Homer, as little as we know about him, seemed to want to tell a great story of adventure, spiritual growth and triumph. It is said that â€Å"the Greek view offers humankind the greatest hope for change, growth, and freedom, because it claims that there are no restrictions upon our growth. Humans choose their particular fate and are therefore free to see their limitations and transcend them† (Apatow 81). Homer s story explains just that, in order to experienceRead MoreCharacter Traits of Odysseus in Homer ´s Odyssey Essay508 Words   |  3 Pages Odysseus, king of Ithaca, was probably on of the greatest warriors in the history of Ancient Greece. It is said that the poet, Homer, wrote the story of the Odyssey. In this story, Odysseus and his crew are trying to make their voyage back home to Ithaca after they have fought with the Trojans. During the long journey, Odysseus will show some of his character traits which include his bravery, cleverness, and wisdom that will assist him with the situations he encounters on his journey home. Read MoreOdysseus And His Throne : A Hero Of Homer s Odyssey995 Words   |  4 PagesOdysseus and His Throne Known as a hero of Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey, Odysseus was king of Ithaca and a legend amongst men. He was also an important figure in Homer’s Iliad. In Latin, he was known as Ulysses or Ulixes in Roman mythology hence there may originally have been two separate figures, one called something like Odysseus, the other something like Ulixes, who were combined into one complex personality.[1] Son of Laertes and Anticleia, Odysseus was renowned for being cunning and cleverRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s Odyssey, The Story Of Odysseus And His Son1341 Words   |  6 PagesIn The Odyssey, the stories of Odysseus and his son, Telemachus, are explained to the reader in ways that create contrasts between the two characters. These contrasts provide an opportunity to observe how the young Telemachus developed a stronger sense of self confidence and traits that form the foundation for heroism, which is likely part of the reason why he was included in the story in the first place. The following discussion compares and contrasts Telemachus with his father, the hero OdysseusRead MoreOdyssey Death and Rebirth in the Odyssey1402 Words   |  6 PagesThe Odyssey, by Homer, is a classical piece of Greek literature. Throughout The Odyssey, the Blind Bard makes use of many literary techniques in order to lend meaning to the poem beyond its existence as a work of historic fiction and aid his readers in the comprehension of the tale. One of these techniques is the use of motifs. A motif is a recurring theme that is used throughout the work. In The Odyssey, Homer makes use of many motifs including eating/drinking, Odysseus sRead MoreHistory, Symbolism, and Characters in Homer’s The Odyssey 1118 Words   |  5 Pages In The Odyssey, it takes Odysseus twenty years to make it home from the Trojan War. On his journey home, he runs into many obstacles and creatures that he must overcome. He encounters the sirens, the Cyclops, and others. Each event in this epic poem has a symbolic meaning behind it. Homer writes about the history, symbolism, and the characters in The Odyssey. The Odyssey is about the Greek gods and heroes and their adventures (Makman). Odysseus is the main character, and he is going on a questRead MoreEssay on Archetypes in the Odessey718 Words   |  3 PagesArchetypes in The Odyssey In Homers epic poem â€Å"The Odyssey† there are many archetypes, many of which were the origin of the archetype. An archetype is a character type, place, or symbol, every culture shares. In â€Å"The Odyssey† Homer uses archetypes to evoke meaning to the story. Some examples of archetypes in â€Å"The Odyssey† are the temptress, and the father-son conflict. In the story â€Å"The Odyssey† there are a couple temptress’. Two examples are Calypso and the sirens. In â€Å"The Odyssey† Calypso keepsRead MoreWomen in the Odyssey1646 Words   |  7 Pagesimportant positions and purposes within it`s routine were filled by males. This societal organization is often times reflected in many pieces of literature of various time periods, however there are texts in which contrary to the patriarchal society models, women are given substantial importance within the plot. Homer`s The Odyssey, Heart of Darnkness by Joseph Conrad and Aeschylus`s Oresteia each demonstrate or conceal female importance in a given society. The Odyssey was written in a time when men playedRead MoreThe Odyssey By Homer s Odyssey1267 Words   |  6 PagesLife in The Odyssey In The Odyssey, Odysseus is constantly being challenged. He is being challenged, so Homer can show us the standards for life in The Odyssey. There is no doubt that Odysseus is a great man, Homer even says so in the beginning lines of the text. Although Odysseus is a great man, he also makes mistakes but not any that he doesn t pay for. We learn the representation of life in The Odyssey through Odysseus challenges. Throughout the book, Odysseus specifically struggles with arrogance

Black Women and the Abolition of Slavery Free Essays

â€Å"Rachel Weeping for Her Children†: Black Women and the Abolition of Slavery by Margaret Washington Photograph of Sojourner Truth, 1864. (Gilder Lehrman Collection) During the period leading up to the Civil War, black women all over the North comprised a stalwart but now largely forgotten abolitionist army. In myriad ways, these race-conscious women worked to bring immediate emancipation to the South. We will write a custom essay sample on Black Women and the Abolition of Slavery or any similar topic only for you Order Now Anti-slavery Northern black women felt the sting of oppression personally. Like the slaves, they too were victims of color prejudice; some had been born in Northern bondage; others had family members still enslaved; and many interacted daily with self-emancipated people who constantly feared being returned south. Anti-slavery women such as Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman were only the most famous of the abolitionists. Before either of these heroines came on the scene and before anti-slavery was an organized movement, black women in local Northern communities had quietly turned to activism through their church work, literary societies, and benevolent organizations. These women found time for political activism in between managing households, raising children, and working. In the late 1820s, Zion’s African Methodist Episcopal Church in New York City, Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, and the African Meetinghouse in Boston were centers of female anti-slavery activity. Black women proclaimed that their cause was â€Å"let the oppressed go free. † They organized bazaars to promote the purchase of goods made from free labor, met in sewing circles to make clothing for those fleeing bondage, and raised money for Freedom’s Journal, the nation’s first black newspaper. In 1830, when Boston editor William Lloyd Garrison proposed his idea of publishing a newspaper devoted solely to immediate emancipation, a committee of black women began raising funds for it. The first copy of the Liberator appeared on January 1, 1831, with strong financial backing from black women. At their literary-society meetings, black women switched from reading European classics to discussing the Liberator and anti-slavery pamphlets, and inviting male speakers to expound on the evils of slavery. Throughout the 1830s, black women engaged heavily in activism. They vowed to â€Å"heed the enslaved mothers’ cry for children torn away† and designated their dwellings as â€Å"free homes† for those fleeing bondage. For example, Hester Lane of New York City, a successful black entrepreneur, used her home as an Underground Railroad station. Lane also traveled south to purchase enslaved children whom she freed and educated. Mary Marshall’s Colored Sailors’ Boarding Home was another busy sanctuary. Marshall kept a vigilant eye out for refugees from bondage, and was determined that â€Å"No one who had the courage to start should fail to reach the goal. † Other black women organized petition drives, wrote anti-slavery poetry, hosted traveling abolitionists, and organized fairs. By 1832, black women had formed the first female anti-slavery society in Salem, Massachusetts. They also held executive offices in biracial female anti-slavery societies in Philadelphia, Boston, and elsewhere. Anti-slavery black men insisted that black women work only behind the scenes, but women sometimes refused to do so. In New York City, a group of black women confronted white authorities in a courtroom where several self-emancipated women were about to be returned to bondage. Black men accused the female protesters of bringing â€Å"everlasting shame and remorse† upon the black community and upon themselves. In 1831, black women in Boston organized the African American Female Intelligence Society. This organization became a forum for Maria Stewart, the first woman to speak publicly against slavery. Stewart proclaimed that she was called by God to address the issues of black emancipation and the rights of black women. â€Å"We claim our rights,† she asserted, â€Å"as women and men,† and â€Å"we are not afraid of them that kill the body. † Stewart also published a pamphlet in the Liberator on behalf of black women and the enslaved, but Boston’s black male community censored Stewart for her public expressions and forced her into silence. She soon left the city. Although she never again spoke publicly, she remained active through women’s organizations and conventions. She joined other black women who held office, served as delegates, and otherwise participated in the biracial women’s anti-slavery conventions in 1837, 1838, and 1839. The anti-slavery movement took a more progressive turn in the 1840s, when the American Anti-Slavery Society (Garrisonians) welcomed women as officeholders and speakers. Most black women continued their quiet anti-slavery work, but some were outspoken. The first black woman to take the public stage for the American Anti-Slavery Society was Sojourner Truth. Born into slavery in 1797 among the Hudson Valley Dutch and emancipated in adulthood, Truth was already known as a preacher when she joined the Garrisonians in 1844. She made anti-slavery speeches throughout New England, and in 1845, gave her first address at the American Anti-Slavery Society’s annual convention. Sojourner Truth became known from Maine to Michigan as a popular and featured anti-slavery speaker. Truth published a Narrative of her life and used the proceeds to purchase a home and finance her abolitionist work. Another surge of radicalism occurred in 1850 with the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law. It decreed that any citizen could be enlisted in the service of a slaveholder to capture an enslaved person, and it nullified the individual civil rights that a state guaranteed its citizens, including those formerly enslaved. That same year, Harriet Tubman, a thirty-year-old self-emancipated Marylander, began defying the Fugitive Slave Law by leading enslaved men, women, and children out of the South. With slave catchers lurking everywhere and a price on her head, Tubman safely conducted her charges through the Northern states and on to Canada. Mary Ann Shadd (Cary) was a twenty-five-year-old freeborn schoolteacher when the Fugitive Slave Law was passed. Inspired by her father, whom she described as a â€Å"chief breakman† on the Delaware Underground Railroad, Shadd soon moved to Canada and established herself as a militant abolitionist, influential emigrationist, and the first black woman newspaper editor (of the Provincial Freeman). In 1854, twenty-eight-year-old Frances Ellen Watkins (Harper) joined Sojourner Truth on the Garrisonian lecture circuit. Born into a well-connected Baltimore family, Watkins was a poet and teacher. She was drawn into the abolitionist struggle by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which rescinded the restrictions on slavery in the remaining territories acquired under the Louisiana Purchase. Watkins traveled throughout the Midwest, sometimes with Sojourner Truth. Watkins spoke eloquently of the wrongs inflicted upon her people; she sold her books of poetry at anti-slavery lectures and used the proceeds to support the Underground Railroad. In 1858, Watkins joined black male leaders in Detroit and led a large group of angry citizens in storming the jailhouse. The group attempted to remove from protective custody a black â€Å"traitor† to their cause, who had intended to expose the operations of the Underground Railroad. Despite the Fugitive Slave Law, the Underground Railroad remained the â€Å"heart’s blood† of black resistance. Black woman abolitionists played a vital role in this work. They were often the ones who intercepted refugees; who provided them with food, clothing, shelter, health care, and spiritual and psychological comfort; and who directed them to the next station. Women sometimes confronted slave catchers and kidnappers, who were often right on the heels of the â€Å"fugitives. Caroline Loguen, the wife of Syracuse, New York, abolitionist the Reverend Jermain Loguen, answered many a midnight knock during her husband’s frequent absences. Once she and her sister successfully fought off slave catchers attempting to enter her home in pursuit of â€Å"fugitives. † In 1858, Anna Murray Dougla ss, wife of black leader Frederick Douglass, hosted John Brown, the famous white abolitionist, for a month. Brown was in hiding after having been charged with murdering pro-slavery farmers in Missouri. In the Douglass home, Brown perfected his plans for the raid on Harpers Ferry. In an 1859 meeting with Brown in Maryland just before the assault on Harpers Ferry, Douglass gave him ten dollars from the wife of a Brooklyn couple, the J. N. Gloucesters, who like Douglass himself were close to Brown. Along with the money, Mrs. Gloucester â€Å"sent her best wishes. † When Brown was captured, tried, and sentenced to death, black woman abolitionists sent money to his wife, Mary, and wrote letters expressing their deep regard for her husband. Frances Ellen Watkins also sent gifts as well as one of her poems, â€Å"Bury Me in a Free Land,† to Brown’s condemned men. During the antebellum era, black woman abolitionists moved, in keeping with the urgency of the times, from quiet activism to militancy. By 1858, even Sojourner Truth, the archpacifist, recognized that war with the South was inevitable if black people were to obtain their freedom. Black women furthered the goal of emancipation during the Civil War by continuing their abolition work. Harriet Tubman offered her services to the Union Army. Sojourner Truth lectured throughout the Midwest, where she confronted threatening pro-slavery (so-called â€Å"Copperhead†) mobs. Black women organized petition campaigns to Congress and the president; they sent food and clothing to the Union front lines for destitute blacks; and they went into Union-occupied areas to provide education for black refugees. After the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863, black women immediately began working on the next phase of their mission—the task of uplifting their race as a free people. Margaret Washington is a professor of history at Cornell University. Her publications include Sojourner Truth’s America (2009) and A Peculiar People: Slave Religion and Community-Culture among the Gullahs (1998) How to cite Black Women and the Abolition of Slavery, Essay examples

The American Civil War Essays (750 words) - , Term Papers

The American Civil War In 1860, arguably the world's greatest nation was locked in Civil War. The war divided the country between the North (Union) and South (Confederate). The war lasted five years and by 1865 the Confederate forces were truly beaten. Out of this horrendous war though, where some 600,000 men died grew a greater sense of nationalism than is today, unrivalled around the world. The American Civil War is interpreted differently by many historians but most see the catalyst as slavery, the motivation as economic, the outcome was a unified national identity. Slavery was a major issue that triggered the American Civil War. Slavery started out, as a few individual slaves coming from England that were generally white. This changed however, and soon the Southern slave traders began 'stealing' blacks to take back to the South. The slaves were forced to work 16-hour days, slave women were only seen as breeders and there were no laws against the rape of a female slave. In 1860 slaves accounted for one third of the South's population and even still they had no rights (see appendix one). The Unionist North many people believed it was immoral to own another human being. These people were called Abolitionists. The South relied strongly on the slave trade and when the North spoke of abolishing it, the South spoke of forming there own country, The Confederate states of America. The South began to see that the North was going to take action against the South's inhumane slave policy. In early 1860, South Carolina formed under a new flag, Confederate States of America flag, so that they could continue to operate their slave trade. What followed was an ordinance of succession which saw the other slave populated states also swear an oath to the Confederate States of America, also so that they could continue their slave trade. This situation was found to be unworkable and it divided the country in two. So in the words of Abraham Lincoln, 'A house divide against itself can not stand. I believe this country can not endure permanently half-slave, half-free.' Slavery formed two opposing societies and could not have been abolished with out the Civil War. The North was very industrialised and had a stable economy in comparison to slave-dependant South. During the mid-1800s immigration to the North skyrocketed. Jones says, 'the immigration (many escaping the Irish potato famine) were willing to work for almost anything and withstand inhumane factory conditions.' Although this exploitation was extremely cruel and much like the treatment of the slaves in the South, the Northern economy profited immensely (Brinkley,1991:264). Come 1860, the Union had an overwhelming advantage over the South. The North played host to 109,974 industrial firms whereas the South had only 18, 026. The Northern States also produced 96%of the locomotives in the entire country, and as for firearms, more of them were made in Connecticut than in all the Southern factories combined ("Civil War", Encyclopedia Americana:1988). The Southerner's believed cotton to be their biggest industry and economic boosted during the Civil War but they had no factories capable of processing the cotton. The cotton was sent to Northern factories to be processed for a fraction of the price the Union sold it back to them for. This cycle alone made a huge idiosyncrasy in the economies. So with all the industrial and many economical advantages over the South was it any wonder that the North were victorious in the Civil War? The cost of the Civil was tremendous not only in money but in lives taken. By 1865, the South surrendered, slavery was abolished and President Lincoln was assassinated the total cost of the War for all American's was around 15 billion dollars but priceless for the 600,000 lives lost. What came out of this war however suprised everyone, in the next centaury America was seen as the strongest nation in the world. The cause of the war was finally resolved when slavery was abolished and because of this many inhumane slave owners went bankrupt with out the slaves running the farms. What followed the American can only be described as the birth of a Unified National Identity. In this period of 5 years in which many people died many of America's major problem have been solved. Since the Civil war towns have been rebuilt, mew industries flourish, and new schools have been erected. Now in America both the North and South live prosperously and peacefully together. Schenck describes America at the close of the war as, 'A developing industrial nation emerged from the Civil War and

Use of Pastiche in English Prose

Use of Pastiche in English Prose A text that borrows or imitates the style, words, or ideas of other writers. Unlike a parody, which aims for a comic or satiric effect, a pastiche is often intended as a compliment (or an homage) to the original writer(s)though it may just be a hodgepodge of borrowed words and ideas. Examples and Observations: The pastiche prose form openly mimes the content and mannerisms of another written work. Its a respectful, if often jocular, an homage to the work that inspired it. (Its literary cousin is the parody, but that imitation subtly or savagely satirizes its source material.) The pastiche implicitly says, I appreciate this author, the characters, and the fictive world . . . and my imitation is sincere flattery.The affection for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his immortal Sherlock Holmes is evident in August Derleths stories about brilliant, deerstalker-wearing Solar Pons of 7B Praed St.(Mort Castle, Write Like Poe. The Complete Handbook Of Novel Writing, 2nd ed. Writers Digest Books, 2010)The secret mechanism of a pastiche is the fact that a style is not just a unique set of linguistic operations: a style is not just a prose style. A style is also a quality of vision. It is also its subject matter. A pastiche transfers the prose style to a new content (while parody transfers the prose style to an inadmissible and scandalous content): it is, therefore, a way of testing out the limits of a style.(Adam Thirlwell, The Delighted States. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007) Parody and Pastiche in The SimpsonsParody attacks a particular text or genre, making fun of how that text or genre operates. Pastiche merely imitates or repeats for mildly ironic amusement, whereas parody is actively critical. For instance, when an episode of The Simpsons loosely follows the plot of Citizen Kane (rendering Mr. Burns as Kane), no real critique is offered of Orson Welless masterpiece, making this pastiche. Yet on a weekly basis, The Simpsons plays with generic conventions of the traditional family sitcom. It also mocks forms of advertising and . . . it occasionally lambastes the form and format of news, all with critical intent, thereby making such instances bona fide parody.(Jonathan Gray, Jeffrey P. Jones, and Ethan Thompson, The State of Satire, the Satire of the State. Satire TV: Politics and Comedy in the Post-Network Era. New York University Press, 2009)Pastiche in Green Days American Idiot (Musical)The sheer volume of the stage band’s music and the frenet ic rush of action provide constant energy. But tunes recalling the 1950s pastiche of The Rocky Horror Picture Show or, during We’re Coming Home Again, the Phil Spectoresque Springsteen of Born to Run, have few punk credentials. The indulgent-youths versus dutiful-wives combat of Too Much Too Soon also shows how much [Bilie Joe] Armstrong’s characters are [Jack] Kerouac boys and girls at base, American idiots and ennui unchanged.(Nick Hasted, Green Day’s American Idiot, Hammersmith Apollo, London. The Independent, December 5, 2012) Pastiche in Peter PanThe apparent contradiction whereby war converts into a game is weirdly captured in Baden-Powells favorite play, J.M. Barries Peter Pan (1904), which he saw many times in the years he was gestating Scouting for Boys. In the Neverland of the play, Peters boys, the pirates, and the Indians relentlessly track after one another in a literal vicious circle that, though it is on one level all burlesque, an excessive late Imperial pastiche of the commonplaces of childrens fiction, is also deadly seriousas the final carnage on Captain Hooks ship vividly dramatizes.(Elleke Boehmer, introduction to Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship by Robert Baden-Powell, 1908; Rpt. 2004)Samuel Becketts Use of Pastiche[Samuel] Becketts cutting and pasting his reading onto his own stock of prose produced a discourse that Giles Deleuze might call rhizomatic or a technique Frederic Jameson might call pastiche. That is, these early works are finally assemblages, intertextual layerings, palimpsests, the effect of which is to produce (if not reproduce) a multiplicity of meanings in a manner that will come to be thought Postmodern in the second half of the twentieth century. . . .Postmodern pastiche would suggest that the only style possible in contemporary culture is travesty or mimicry of past stylesquite the opposite of what Beckett was developing. Intertext or assemblage or pastiche allowed Beckett to assault the idea of style and so (or thereby) develop his own . . ..(S.E. Gontarski, Style and the Man: Samuel Beckett and the Art of Pastiche. Samuel Beckett Today: Pastiches, Parodies Other Imitations, ed. by Marius Buning, Matthijs Engelberts, and Sjef Houppermans. Rodopi, 2002) Fredric Jameson on PasticheHence, once again, pastiche: in a world in which stylistic innovation is no longer possible, all that is left is to imitate dead styles, to speak through the masks and with the voices of the styles in the imaginary museum. But this means that contemporary or postmodernist art is going to be about art itself in a new kind of way; even more, it means that one of its essential messages will involve the necessary failure of art and the aesthetic, the failure of the new, the imprisonment in the past.(Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism and Consumer Society. The Cultural Turn: Selected Writings on the Postmodern, 1983-1998. Verso, 1998)

Foreign Language Requirements for College Admissions

Foreign Language Requirements for College Admissions Foreign language requirements vary from school to school, and the exact requirement is often not clear for any individual school. For example, is the minimum requirement really adequate? Do language classes in middle school count? If a college requires 4 years of a language, does a high score on the AP fulfill the requirement? Requirements and Recommendations In general, competitive colleges require at least two years of foreign language classes in high school. As youll see below, Stanford University would like to see three or more years, and Harvard University urges applicants to take four years. These classes should be in the same language- colleges would much prefer to see proficiency in one language than a superficial smattering of several languages. When a college recommends two or more years of a language, they are clearly signaling that language study beyond two years would strengthen your application. Indeed, no matter where you apply for college, a demonstrated proficiency in a second language will improve your chances of being admitted. Life in college and after college is becoming increasingly globalized, so strength in a second language carries a lot of weight with admissions counselors. That said, students who have just the minimum can win admission if their applications demonstrate strengths in other areas. Some less competitive schools dont even have a high school language requirement and assume some students will simply study a language once they get to college. If you score a 4 or 5 on an AP language exam, most colleges will consider that evidence of adequate high school foreign language preparation (and youre likely to get course credit in college). Check with the schools to which you apply to find out exactly what their Advanced Placement policies are. Which Foreign Language Is Best In general, colleges want to see foreign language proficiency, and they dont really care which language you study. Most students, in fact, have few choices. Many schools offer just a couple of languages such as French and Spanish. That said, it can be a plus if your study of a foreign language aligns with your career goals. German and Chinese are both valuable languages for students interested in business, and strong French skills would be ideal for someone who wants to teach English or work in public health in Francophone Africa. In 2018, when Harvard Universitys Dean of Admissions testified in court about the schools admissions policies, he revealed that students who studied Greek and Latin and showed an interest in the ancient classics had a slight edge over many other applicants. On the whole, however, study the language that you are most interested in learning. Let your passions guide you. Where would you be most interested in traveling? What language is most likely to intersect with your future plans? If you might study abroad, where would you go? Examples of Foreign Language Requirements The table below shows the foreign language requirement at several competitive colleges. School Language Requirement Carleton College 2 or more years Georgia Tech 2 years Harvard University 4 years recommended MIT 2 years Stanford University 3 or more years UCLA 2 years required; 3 recommended University of Illinois 2 years University of Michigan 2 years required; 4 recommended Williams College 4 years recommeneded Keep in mind that 2 years truly is a minimum, and you will be a stronger applicant at places like MIT and the University of Illinois if you take three or four years. Also, its important to understand what a year means in the context of college admissions. If you began a language in 7th grade, typically 7th and 8th grade will count as a single year, and they should show up on your high school transcript as a unit of a foreign language. If you take a true college class at a college, a single semester of a language will typically be the equivalent of a year of high school language (and those credits are likely to transfer to your college). If you take a dual enrollment class through a collaboration between your high school and a college, those classes are often a single-semester college class spread out over the course of a full year of high school. Strategies if Your High School Doesnt Offer Adequate Language Classes If youre a high achiever and want to graduate from high school with three or four years of language classes but your high school offers only introductory-level classes, you still have options. First of all, when colleges evaluate your high school academic record, they want to see that you have taken the most challenging classes available to you. They recognize the significant disparity between schools. If upper-level and AP language classes simply arent an option at your school, colleges shouldnt penalize you for not taking classes that dont exist. That said, colleges want to enroll students who are well prepared for college, for these students are much more likely to persist and succeed if admitted. The reality is that some high schools do a much better job at college preparation than others. If youre at a school that struggles to deliver anything beyond remedial education, your best bet may be to take matters into your own hands. Talk to your guidance counselor to see what opportunities exist in your region. Typical options include Taking language classes at a local community college. You are likely to find evening or weekend courses that work with your high school schedule, or you may be able to take an early morning or late afternoon college class during a high school class period.Taking online language classes. If there is no college in your area, you can find many options for online college language classes. You may even be able to get high school credit for an online college course. Ideally, youll want a course that includes audio or video conferencing so that you can develop the listening and conversational skills that are so important to language learning. Be forewarned that many colleges will not transfer language credits earned online.Self-studying to take an AP language exam. There are lots of programs out there such as Rosetta Stone, Rocket Languages, and Babbel that can help you learn speaking, reading, and writing skills. An AP study guide can help guide your self-study so that you are targeting ma terial that is likely to be on the exam. Travel that immerses you in a foreign language can also be extremely beneficial. Ideally, youd want to take the AP exam your junior year so that youll have the score in hand when you apply to colleges. Earning a 4 or 5 on the exam (and perhaps a 3) is a convincing way to demonstrate your language knowledge. Note that this option is only good for self-motivated students. Languages and International Students If English is not your first language, you most likely wont need to worry about foreign language courses as part of your college education. When a student from China takes the AP Chinese exam or a student from Argentina takes AP Spanish, the exam results arent going to impress anyone in a significant way.   For non-native English speakers, the much bigger issue will be demonstrating strong English language skills. A high score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), the Pearson Test of English (PTE), or a similar exam will be an important part of a successful application to colleges in the U.S. A Final Word About Foreign Language Requirements As you consider whether or not to take a foreign language in your junior and senior years of high school, keep in mind that your academic record is almost always the most important part of your college application. Colleges will want to see that you have taken the most challenging courses available to you. If you choose a study hall or an elective course over a language, the admissions folks at highly selective colleges wont view that decision positively.

Life Styles and Food Habits Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Life Styles and Food Habits - Research Proposal Example Thus, in the modern day Canada, obesity has become a serious threat to the health of the citizens due to their changing lifestyles and food habits. In the backdrop of the prevalence of obesity as a public health problem in Canada for the last three decades, there is an emerging need to devise appropriate intervention strategies â€Å"aimed at reducing† the problem across communities (Twells et al, 2014, p.E18). Currently, the issue has acquired alarming proportions as data reveals that 55.4% of Canadians are either â€Å"overweight (34.2%) or obese (21.2%)† (p.E22). Many studies identify sedentary lifestyle and food habits of the modern humans as the major causative element for a rampant prevalence of obesity and the researchers propose the promotion of â€Å"healthy lifestyles† and improvement of â€Å"healthy eating† as the main intervention strategies for containing the menace of obesity (p.E25). In this scenario, this study gains validity as it will enable a proper understanding of how the lifestyles and eating habits of Canadians are causing the spread of obesity in the country. The scope of this research envisages the exploration of the role of sedentary lifestyles and eating habits of the Canadian people in contributing to the development of the problem of obesity in them. Some of the evidence evaluated during the course of this research has revealed that there is a dearth of investigations that explore the role of physical activity in causing obesity and the available data that connects â€Å"economic instruments† to physical activity is very â€Å"limited and indirect† (Faulkner et al, 2010, p.21). Therefore, it appears that there is much scope for the review of economic measures to encourage physical activities as an intervention strategy for the prevention of the onslaught of obesity. Similarly, food habits of the Canadians have  been seen as another major contributing factor in the development of obesity and evidence suggests that the tax policies on unhealthy food items have only a â€Å"limited impact† on the level of obesity (p.19).  

Article Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Review - Article Example It is observed that once adults start to learn a language they easily grasp those words which are similar to their language to which they can easily relate too. For example, helicopterowhich is in Spanish and helicopter in English are cognates of each other therefore a Spanish child can easily relate to it.These are known as cross-linguistic cognates. There are also certain cognates which have the same meaning but not the same form. Cognates are easy to comprehend as an individual has a very vague idea about it and can join the dots in order to make a complete picture. "When two languages are close, learners will have access to a large number of cognate words" (Ellis, 1999). A lot of researches in the past are based on cognates and how easily one can understand them as a new language learner as compared to words which are not cognates. Cognates act like a stimuli reinforcing and making understanding easier. At times cognates can be semantically quite like each other, there can be res trictions because of grammar found in one language but not the other which can arouse problems occasionally (Odlin, 1989) . The purpose of this study was to understand whether these cognates act as a potential tool for language learning in Early Language Learners (ELL). The authors view on bilingual is that learning languages is essential and just to make it easier and comprehendible cognates are used. Learning English language is essential therefore emphasis is given on considering it as a second language. The author supports his position by providing examples from previous researches andwork done on the same content taking it a step forward. In order to understanding the effect of cognates in (ELL's) various methods were adopted such as research based questions, participation and features of the language. In this the children were allowed to determine and comprehend cognates with their own estimation independently or with certain support depending on his/her caliber. Initially the re wasn’t any drastic difference but gradually they showed improvement with cognates over noncognates. Different techniques were used such as visual and memory aid, age bar, phonological overlapping between the word and its cognate and the prior knowledge of the word. Direct strategy training was used for maximum benefit of 5th grade (ELL). Receptive and expressive help to develop the proficiency in language as well as the pathology of speech and language. Although there wasn’t any study that targeted the cognate status of language which are developing. It was observed that on cognate language of English the bilinguals performed better than the monolinguals but when it came to noncognates both were equal in performance. Statistics were used in order to show the cognate and noncognate items. It was deduced that Spanish students who were ELL did not merely benefit from L1 or L2 on test which were based on receptive vocabulary. An important issue in the methodology that a rises while using the PPVT is item difficulty. Lastly, it was investigated how fast and precisely children knowing only one language i.e. English could match Spanish words to one of the two pictures. This exercise was performed irrespective of language impairment. It was observed that phonological overlap effected performance and language impairment proved to be beneficial. Earlier nonverbal cognate effects were not considered but now