Edgar Allan Poe Literary History Essays - Literature, Fiction

Edgar Allan Poe Literary History Numerous writers have made great contributions to the broad-spectrum of literature. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, introduced Americans to life on the Mississippi. Thomas Hardy wrote on his pessimistic perspectives of the Victorian Age. Another author that influenced literature tremendously is Edgar Allan Poe. Best known as the father of the American short story and father of the detective story. Poe immersed reader into a world of imagination and horrendous ecstasy. Poe was great in three different fields, and in each one he made a reputation that would give any man a high place in literary history. Poe wrote great short stories, famous not only in his own country, but all over the world (Robinson V). Hawthorne, Irving, Balzac, Bierce, Crane, Hemingway and other writers have given us memorable short stories; but none has produced so great a number of famous and unforgettable examples, so many tales that continue, despite changing standards to be read and reprinted again and again throughout the world (Targ VII). Poe was the father of the modern short story, and the modern detective story (Targ VII). With the possible exception of Guy de Maupassant, no other writer is so universally known and esteemed for so large of a corpus of excellent tales as in Edgar Allan Poe (Targ VII). In 1831, Poe published a new collection of his poems entitled, Poems. Afterwards, he went to New York, but could find no work there. Eventually he took sanctuary with his aunt, Mrs. Clemm, in Baltimore. There he decided to find work and make a living by writing. Due to the lack attention and critic appraise with his poems, he decided to start writing short stories. Poe competed in a contest for the best short story in 1831. Because of his loss, Poe started on a motivated project. He decided to plan a series of stories told by members of a literary cluster. He found no publisher for his stories, and entered the contest again in June of 1835. This time he sent one poem and six stories (Asselineau 411). His story, Ms. Found in a Bottle, won, and he received one hundred dollars for it (Targ IX). Through the influence of one of the judges, John P. Kennedy, Poe became employed as an editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, published in Richmond (Asselineau 411). Under Poe's editorship, t he Messenger 's circulation rose from 500 to 3500. Poe then went to New York, where he was unsuccessful. In the summer of 1838, he moved to Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia, he worked as the editor of both Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and Graham's Magazine (Asselineau 412). Even though he won a one hundred dollar prize for The Gold Bug (Robinson VI), he moved to New York. Poe found a job in New York as an assistant editor for the Evening Mirror. This was where The Raven first appeared on January 29, 1845. The poem immediately caught the imagination of the public and was reprinted all over the country and even abroad in all kinds of newspapers and magazines, but Poe pocketed only a few dollars for his poems (Asselineau 413). The year of 1845 was a lucky year for Poe. He published a collection of his tales and an edition of his poems named The Raven and Other Poems. He also became the editor of the weekly Broadway Journal. In 1849, Poe died in Baltimore (Targ IX). Instead of really living, he took refuge from the physical world in the private world of his dreams-in other words-in the world of his tales (Asselineau 413). In the Masque of the Red Death, Poe uses his imagination throughout the story (Rogers 43). An epidemic has overwhelmed the entire country, killing numerous people. One by one they die until no one else remains. Death is king of all (Rogers 41). The horror abysmal darkness, and absolute helplessness befalling the victims are described with vivid accuracy in tales such as 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' 'The Cask of Amontillado,' and 'The Premature Burial' (Perry XI-XII). In The Fall of the House of Usher, the narrator visits his insane friend, Roderick Usher. Usher's house is huge and gloomy (Rogers 20). English

Deserts Essays - Ecosystems, Desert, Geomorphology, Xerocole, Rain

Deserts Essays - Ecosystems, Desert, Geomorphology, Xerocole, Rain Deserts A desert is an area defined by it has less than 50 cm of precipitation annually. Not all deserts are dry and sandy.Most of the worlds deserts tend to lie between 20 degrees to 30 degrees north and south latitude. North Africa, south western North America, the Middle East, and Australia support the largest deserts, but there are smaller deserts in other regions. Overall deserts cover one fifth of the earths surface.Hot desert climates are hot and dry, with high temperatures, usually around the 45 degrees Celsius mark which inturn with the low rainfall makes life in the desert very hard to support. At night the temperature can drop to around 18 degrees Celsius. With the hot deserts high temperatures and low rainfall amount, it can make life in the desert hard to support. The main way in which animals and plants survive is by adaptation, they adapt to survive in their surroundings. The Australian desert is the greatest example of a desert in which animals and plants have adapted for the ir survival.Desert plants use various techniques to reduce water loss and increase water intake. Many plants store their water in their leaves or another space. When a plant stores water in its leaves, it must keep it their, without loosing it. Some plants have a low Surface Area to Volume ratio which reduces water evaporation. There is another plant which has the ability to twist its leaves, so its thinnest side is facing the sun, thus it heats less, then less water evaporation occurs. But before plants store their water carefully, they must obtain it. The main way in which desert plants obtain their water is by having a deep root system which are extremely effective.Desert animals use a variety of different techniques of avoiding dehydration. Some animals use the fact that night time is cooler to their advantage (nocturnal). Others store water in a specialised area in their body (camel). The Rock Marsupial survives the high tempretures by living in rock crevices, or in a cave. The y found that inside the caves the tempreture is considerably lower, and the humidity is higher, therefor decreasing waterloss.

Elements of Religious Traditions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Elements of Religious Traditions - Essay Example Several religions exist depending on how an individual is swayed by different religious principles. Despite existence of variations in religious traditions and rituals, certain common themes that guide humanity are, however, shared in various religions. This paper, in effect, discusses some elements of religious traditions. Relationship with Divine Divinity, according to Keene (2006), relates to a supernatural being; a God, god, or a goddess. In religious traditions, relationship with divine explores how human beings relate to these supernatural beings. Smith (1991) explains that human beings consider themselves inferior and unworthy to stand before these paranormal beings. Relationships humans establish with supernatural beings depend on religious teachings or life events an individual has experienced. Therefore, depending on how a person understands the concept of divinity, an individual can have a strong relation with a spiritual being than with a mortal man. According to Smith (1 991), human species consider relationship with a high power as an inevitable act. There are, therefore, systems of laws and guidelines that dictate how human beings should respond to various religious wants or responsibilities. In different religions, these set of laws and regulations are well documented in holy books. For instance, in Christianity, Christian principles are safely kept in the Bible. Judaism and Muslim, on the other hand, use Torah and Koran, respectively, as religious reference materials. Since there is no direct communication between humans and high powers, faith is a crucial element of relationship with divinity. Through faith, humans believe that some supernatural beings are watching them and assess their everyday life (Smith, 1991). Relationship with Sacred Place In religious traditions, the term â€Å"sacred† has different meanings and uses, depending on beliefs an individual has. Sacred, in some religions, is attached to God. For instance, in monotheism sacredness is used to refer to one God. In a different context, sacred is perceived as a mysterious power or an influential energy. In other words, in religious traditions, the concept of sacredness is not only attached to possession of special personal attributes, but also ownership of mysterious power. Sacred is also viewed as something tangible which exists in the natural world (Smith, 1991). In other words, natural world is considered sacred and is thus, regarded as a way through which supernatural beings prove their existence. Humans perceive nature as a holy part of the divine. Therefore, natural world is seen as something to be praised. Native religions, also known as animism, believe that the world and all its contents have special relationships with god. Animists believe that there is a slight difference between human and non-human and between natural and supernatural. Relationship with Each Other In all religions, there is an emphasis on God/god-human relationships and hu man-human relationships (Keene, 2006). Every religion acknowledges that a strong relationship with powerful beings is established when relationship among human beings is strong. As a step in ensuring that a healthy human-human relationship exists, reconciliation is an integral part of life. Peaceful coexistence of human beings is ensured by emulating the believed characters of supernatural being