Birmingham Letter Illusions free essay sample

Letter from Birmingham Jail Allusions in Section 3 Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is one of the most well known documents in American history. King’s profound ability to articulate important ideas, values, concepts and Biblical perspectives made for some of the most powerful and inspirational pieces of American literature ever produced. One technique that King used in his public speeches and letters was his allusions to historical figures, the Bible and opposing congressmen. During the 60’s when cultural prejudice still held strong roots in Congress, it was King’s talent to inspire the public that revolutionized America’s racial injustices. King’s frequent use of allusions in his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail proved his intelligence and greatly attributed to his success and popularity during the 1960’s. His allusions demonstrated his referential capabilities while also making his messages readily relatable to the public. It was often said that it was not King’s intelligence that made him seem so acumen, but that he was â€Å"well read†(knew much from reading). We will write a custom essay sample on Birmingham Letter Illusions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His frequent allusions to major documents and famous statements in contest to his adversaries ultimately lead to his dominance in public speech. In the paragraphs 12 through 14 when king references the election of mayor Albert Boutwell, he states, â€Å"We are sadly mistaken if we feel that the election of Albert Boutwell as mayor will bring the millennium to Birmingham† in paragraph twelve. The millennium is an allusion to a specific verse from the Bible’s book of Revelation interpreted as the 1,000 years in which Jesus comes back to earth to restore peace. He made many correlations to the Bible and major public documents, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights to make his arguments accurate and mainly understandable by restating vital rules and quotes that even the illiterate could comprehend. In these paragraphs he quoted the Bible by using phrases like â€Å"moral light, â€Å"abyss of despair† and â€Å" unjust posture. † King used the word â€Å"wait† in this section of the letter multiple times as a allusion to the current denial of rights to African Americans that had been going on for the last 340 years. He also stated that â€Å"justice too long delayed is justice denied† in correlation to the current racial dilemma in America at the time. All of these direct references made for some of the most significant and powerful American literature ever created and made Martin Luther King one of the most successful authors in this period of civil revolution. By reinforcing his argument with allusions that the public could relate to, King was able to greatly impact the civil rights movement of the 1960’s and ultimately bring around the social turning point of the century that provided racial equality to all and smother prejudice in America thereafter.

Free Essays on Mirror

Mirror Sylvia Plath I chose the poem Mirror by Sylvia Plath because I think it is a good representation of what I have learned in this class. Plath uses metaphors and symbolic gestures to tell a simple story of a woman growing old. The story is told from the inanimate perspective of the silver mirror. Obviously the mirror being a stationary item, the poem can only be told form the woman looking in it, not the mirror following the woman. Hence, the poem can only make references by the woman’s obsessive behavior of repetitively checking herself out. However, the mirror perspective is also shown from the lake. The woman looks at herself in the tranquility of the water. Plath brings up that a young woman drown in the lake, and that the old woman rises towards her everyday like a terrible fish. That enforces the multiple perspective of the mirror, that in which the woman glances in both the mirror and lake. The woman â€Å"growing old† is important in this poem because of the fact that the mir ror has been there this whole time. Viewing the woman on a daily basis the reflection seen is growing old. Plath talks about the moon and candles being â€Å"liars†. I infer this metaphorical relationship as being a false reflection. Both the mirror and the lake give the woman’s reflection. As is the moonlight, and the candlelight flickering in the dark. They are all reflections, and I have a theory that this poem itself Is a reflection on another meaning. Plath says, â€Å"I see her back, and reflect it faithfully. She rewards me with tears and agitation of hands. I am important to her. She comes and goes. Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.† I believe that this has another meaning. Maybe to a loved one. The reward of tears and agitation is saying that it is a pleasure to grow old with the sharing of love with this person. And when they wake up in the morning, the first thing the loved one sees is her face, old or young. Thi... Free Essays on Mirror Free Essays on Mirror Mirror Sylvia Plath I chose the poem Mirror by Sylvia Plath because I think it is a good representation of what I have learned in this class. Plath uses metaphors and symbolic gestures to tell a simple story of a woman growing old. The story is told from the inanimate perspective of the silver mirror. Obviously the mirror being a stationary item, the poem can only be told form the woman looking in it, not the mirror following the woman. Hence, the poem can only make references by the woman’s obsessive behavior of repetitively checking herself out. However, the mirror perspective is also shown from the lake. The woman looks at herself in the tranquility of the water. Plath brings up that a young woman drown in the lake, and that the old woman rises towards her everyday like a terrible fish. That enforces the multiple perspective of the mirror, that in which the woman glances in both the mirror and lake. The woman â€Å"growing old† is important in this poem because of the fact that the mir ror has been there this whole time. Viewing the woman on a daily basis the reflection seen is growing old. Plath talks about the moon and candles being â€Å"liars†. I infer this metaphorical relationship as being a false reflection. Both the mirror and the lake give the woman’s reflection. As is the moonlight, and the candlelight flickering in the dark. They are all reflections, and I have a theory that this poem itself Is a reflection on another meaning. Plath says, â€Å"I see her back, and reflect it faithfully. She rewards me with tears and agitation of hands. I am important to her. She comes and goes. Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.† I believe that this has another meaning. Maybe to a loved one. The reward of tears and agitation is saying that it is a pleasure to grow old with the sharing of love with this person. And when they wake up in the morning, the first thing the loved one sees is her face, old or young. Thi... Free Essays on Mirror Mirror†: Reflections of Truth In Sylvia Plath’s poem â€Å"Mirror†, the reader takes a look into the messages presented and compares them with the reflections that are cast in a mirror and images in a lake. When reading this poem, we discover that the speaker is the actual reflection that gives the interpretation of its views. The first interpretation is shown as a mirror on the wall â€Å"I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.† (1), second as the water in the lake because she states â€Å"Now I am a lake.† (10), and third through the eyes of an aging woman that is revealed in line 17 â€Å"In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman/ Rises toward her day after day†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In the first stanza the reflection personifies the ability to take in what it sees without judging stating â€Å"I have no preconceptions/ Whatever I see I swallow immediately/ Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike/ I am not cruel, only truthful†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1-4). Many descriptions make the reader see through the eyes of the mirror as if it were able to speak back to him or her. The reflection views its surroundings in a manner of a small child who has the ability to take in or ingest whatever information is presented without regard. Visual imagery plays an Barker 2 important role in this poem and the descriptions make the reader immediately understand the truths within a mirror. In the water, the reflection portrays the shadow of a woman as she soul searches for who she really is in life. â€Å"Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness† (16), because she can not find exactly what she is looking for in what she sees through the reflection. As a result, she reminisces about the lies that were told to her in the past, thinks about brief sensations with a flicker of doubt, and gazes through the shadows of the moon while she wanders about passing time aimlessly. She’s been faithful in her visits to the lake , because the c...