Langston Hughes Poetry :: essays research papers

Langston Hughes (1902-1967) absorbed America. In doing so, he wrote about many issues critical to his time period, including The Renaissance, The Depression, World War II, the civil rights movement, the Black Power movement, Jazz, Blues, and Spirituality. Just as Hughes absorbed America, America absorbed the black poet in just about the only way its mindset allowed it to: by absorbing a black writer with all of the patronizing self-consciousness that that entails.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The contradiction of being both black and American was a great one for Hughes. Although this disparity was troublesome, his situation as such granted him an almost begged status; due to his place as a â€Å"black American† poet, his work was all the more accessible. Hughes’ black experience was sensationalized. Using his â€Å"black experience† as a faà §ade, however, Hughes was able to obscure his own torments and insecurities regarding his ambiguous sexuality, his parents and their relationship, and his status as a public figure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of Hughes’ most distinctive styles stemmed from urban nightclubs in which black artists performed for a white audience. Hughes’ great appreciation for the black urban music style is obvious throughout the various rhythms, patterns, and unpredictable improvisations that mirror the chaotic and pulsating tempo of city life. Jazz and black oral influences, as well as social dichotomy are pervasive elements throughout Hughes’ poetry. Like nightclub entertainers, Hughes used the progression of Afro-American music (jazz, ragtime, swing, blues, and be-bop) in order to show the growth and change of a community in conflict, as is shown in â€Å"Subway Rush Hour.† This poem, brimming with sudden and broken rhythms, is characteristic of jazz riffs popular in the 1920s. In â€Å"Subway Rush Hour,† Hughes uses the musicality of his poetry and incorporates it with an important social statement regarding the relation status between blacks and whites. Equality is an ever-present theme throughout Hughes’ poetry. In â€Å"Theme for English B,† Hughes presents us with musical and effective language, an intense social statement, and a very important sense of equality, shocking us into reality. Although â€Å"Theme for English B† was published in 1949, it has many of the characteristics that his earlier works from the Harlem Renaissance possessed. The rhythmic rhyming adds to the musicality of the poem. The language is simple, yet effective in making a very important social statement. An especially intense aura of American separatism is present throughout the poem. A sense of egalitarianism is also present throughout the poem: the instructor is just as much student as the student is professor, young and old each have much to offer the other, and black and white partake of each other.

Describe Your Learning Style

Running head: How Do I Learn Best How Do I Learn Best Kelli Powell Grand Canyon University: NRS 429V September 30, 2012 What is a learning style? Well a learning style is the way a person tends to learn best. It involves your preferred method of taking in, organizing, and making sense of information, Lake Washington Institute of Technology (2012). Some people prefer to learn by doing and touching, others prefer to learn by seeing, or by hearing the information. Still others learn using more than one learning style.If a person was interested in finding out what their particular learning style is would be to take the VARK questionnaire for learning styles. The most common learning style is the multimodal, but the learner can switch from one type of learning style to another depending on what the subject is being learned and or their mood, Fleming (2011). After taking the VARK questionnaire, Multimodal learning styles was assessed as the learning style of choice. The multimodal learning environments allow instructional elements to be presented in more than one sensory mode (visual, aural, written, and kinesthetic), Sankey, Birch & Gardiner (2010).In this particular case visual and kinesthetic were the dominate methods of learning. Strategies of learning that this person uses are highlighting and underlining notes, grouping subjects together with a certain color highlighter, use of charts, graphs and images to help them learn the subject matter. They would also make graphs or note cards with the information placed in sequenced that they can take with them, listen to music while studying and try to make the material personal to them and others that they know.They would also break their study time up into smaller sections so that it would not seem so overwhelming. As a multimodal learner they would be very adaptable to the different learning styles as they could adapt more easily to different situations and learning environments. For example if their instructor w as only doing a verbal lecture an auditory learner may want to sit towards the front of the room away from windows and doors so that there was less distractions.As a visual learner they would try to take notes during the lecture, would color code their notes, and pay attention to any visual aids that were being used. Where a kinesthetic learner would ask questions and participate in discussions, take a laptop for notes so that they are doing something actively with their hands during lectures, consider taking a three hour class versus one three hour class, Student Development Centre (2009). As a multimodal learner, it is easier to learn when doing more than just reading a textbook as it harder to understand than when doing something that is interactive.As a multimodal learner some adjustments that they would need to make in their study habits would be to not to try and do the assignment all at the end of the week. By starting at the beginning of the week they would be able to break the assignment down into smaller sections so that it would not seem so overwhelming when typing a paper. Other changes that they would need to make would be finding an area and time to study where there were fewer interruptions. The use of more visual aids, for example outline of topic in chart or diagram format.This would help them keep track of where things fit together in their subjects and projects. The major benefit of having a multimodal learning style is that it â€Å"allows students to experience learning in ways in which they are most comfortable, while challenging them to experience and learn in other ways as well†. Someone who is a multimodal learner, that learners on more than one level tends to have a deeper processing of the information, maintains their attention span longer, making the information easier to understand and remember. Sankey, Birch & Gardiner (2010).The VARK Questionnaire Results My scores were: * Visual: 11 * Aural: 6 * Read/Write: 9 * Kinest hetic: 11| | You have a multimodal (VRK) learning preferenceReference Lake Washington Institute of Technology, Learning Styles: Why do They Matter? , Retrieved from http://www. lwtech. edu/trio on September 26, 2012 Sankey, M. , Birch, D. & Gardiner, M. (2010) Engaging students through multimodal learning environments: The journey continues. In C. H. Steel, M. J. Keppell, P. Gerbic S. Hopusego (Eds. ), Cirriculum, technology transformation for   an unknow future. Proceedings ascilite Sydney 2010 (pp. 852-863). http://ascilite. org/au/conferences/sydney10/procs/Sankey-full. pdf Student Development Centre, The University of Western Ontario (2009), Learning Skills Services, Handouts & Advice, Learning Styles & Preferences, Retrieved from www. sdc. uwo. ca/learning/index/html? styles on September 29, 2012 Fleming, N. D. , (2011), VARK: A Review of Those Who Are Multimodal, Retrieved from http://www. vark-learning. com/english/page_content/multimodality. htm on September 23 , 2012

Father and Son in Death of a Salesman, and Fences Essay

The role of a father could be a difficult task when raising a son. The ideal relationship between father and son perhaps may be; the father sets the rules and the son obeys them respectfully. However it is quite difficult to balance a healthy relationship between father and son, because of what a father expects from his son. For instance in the narratives, â€Å"Death of a Salesman,† and â€Å"Fences† both Willy and Troy are fathers who have a difficult time in earning respect from their sons, and being a role model for them. Between, â€Å"Death of a Salesman,† and â€Å"Fences,† both protagonists, Willy and Troy both depict the role of a father in distinctive ways; however, in their struggle, Willy is the more sympathetic of the two. In comparing Willy†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, unlike Willie and his two sons, Troy’s son, Cory, had a job and also assisted Troy with payments. The portrayal between, Willie and Troy as fathers, has had an impact in the development of their sons differently. Firstly, Willie has always had high hopes in his older son, Biff. Willie believed that in raising Biff, he will one day be successful, and ambitious. However, it is a pity that it never turned out that way. In fact, throughout the story, Biff reveals that he is not ambitious. â€Å"Hap, the trouble is we weren’t brought up to grub for money. I don’t know how to do it.† (Gioia, 2010) It is a shame that Willie is a hardworking man who dreams in success and Biff was not born with equal desire. It would not be a surprise if Willie felt heartbreak; to be unable to set an example for his son Biff to follow. On the other hand, Troy could be described as a character that is selfish. Throughout the story, â€Å"Fences† Troy reveals his selfishness when interfering with Cory’s potential in football, and telling him that working is more important . â€Å"You go on down there to that AP and see if you can get your job back. If you can’t do both†¦then you quit the football team.† (Gioia, 2010) Undoubtedly, Troy’s interest is more concentrated in ensuring that the bills get paid, than to agree with Cory playing football. Furthermore Troy wants Cory to maintain that job becauseShow MoreRelated Comparing Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson1267 Words   |  6 PagesComparing Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson have similar themes of conflicts between fathers and sons, conflicts between husbands and wives, and the need to focus on a small unit of space in order to achieve success. 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