Why is part one of And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou called Touch Me, Life, Not Softly Essays

Why is part one of And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou called Touch Me, Life, Not Softly Essays Why is part one of And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou called Touch Me, Life, Not Softly Essay Why is part one of And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou called Touch Me, Life, Not Softly Essay Essay Topic: Maya Angelou Poems There are four parts to And Still I Rise, by Maya Angelou, the first of which is named Touch Me, Life, Not Softly, and contains eight different poems. Here, I will use these poems to explore the possibilities as to the origins of the title of the first section of the anthology.The touch me part of the phrase can be very ambiguous, as it could signify the way in which there has been physical touching, or being touched in an emotional or mental way, for example, being moved to tears. The latter could then be incorporated into saying the author feels life should affect her deeply, as also illustrated with not softly, which is a theme heavily referred to in this first section.The very first poem of the anthology is A Kind of Love, Some Say, which explores physical abuse within a relationship, and the way the abused partner feels there is still love between the couple, as shown with, Sorry eyes, spoke not/ Of lost romance, but hurt. The idea of life touching people is seen here, as the ph ysical abuse in the poem will surely affect the person in question deeply, not only in life in general, but through all of their future and present relationships. Our relationships with other people are a very large part of our lives, therefore the abused partners life could be said to change forever, as they may find it very hard to trust people ever again, or find it hard to relate to people.In A Kind of Love, Some Say there is also the phrase Love by nature, exacts a pain, showing how Angelou feels life itself makes love hard, in a way that cannot be matched by anything else Unequalled on the rack. This also relates back to the way life touches people, in a way nothing else can.The next poem is Country Lover, looks at the way men can often be seen to be very careless and lack value for women throughout life, as seen with the capital letters used throughout the poem, and the very specific parts of the mans night (Funky blues, High water pants), and then the final line of and anyb odys daughter, which lacks the capital letters or the specific woman in question, instead implying the man does not care who he goes home with, as long as there is someone. As this subject can be linked to all generations of men throughout the world, it strongly reflects how life can touch people, as there are many, many women who will have been affected by a similar situation, and not in a positive way, as they may feel they are lacking importance in life, as the word anybodys implies there is really no significance as to who the woman is. This could deeply affect women, as they may go through life feeling inferior to men and therefore possibly not making as much of themselves as they could.The third poem, Remembrance, focuses on the subject of sex, but rather than the actual act, the more intimate parts of making love, such as the foreplay and the aftermath. However, the title of the poem, Remembrance, also shows how Angelou feels her favourite part of the sexual intercourse is af terwards, when her partner has left, and it is then, only/ then, can I greedily consume/ your presence. This illustrates how she does not feel emotionally stable until this point, and it is at this point she can fully take in the magic of the experience. Sex is another part of life that often deeply affects people in very different ways, for instance, in the way they view the experience, or the way particular sexual encounters have affected them in the past. It is definitely not something that would touch someone softly.Where We Belong, A Duet is the fourth poem, and looks at the way people in the world appear to always be searching for a soulmate, throughout life Then I went to schoolrooms/ And poolrooms/ And half-lighted cocktail bars. Love, of course, plays a major part in everyones life, whether it is the platonic, unconditional or romantic kind, and therefore obviously can affect people very deeply, like with the sex in the above poem, due to past encounters, or the way they v iew love. Again, like sex, love is not a subject to be viewed lightly, as it can be said to affect everything in life.Next we have Phenomenal Woman, which explores the way Angelou and other people view her, and how she feels you do not have to be cute or built to suit a fashion models size in order to be a successful woman in life. Instead, the poet feels it is not what youve got, but what you do with it, for example the fire in my eyes, or the ride of my breasts. Our lives are often much affected by the way we are viewed and also view ourselves, as it can affect everything, from the way we act around certain people, to the way we treat certain situations. Life itself can also affect the above factors, as we are often shaped by the events we experience. This is therefore a strong example of how life can touch someone, not softly.Men looks at the experience of a young girl, through a sexual encounter, possibly viewed as rape or the loss of virginity Shattered./ It is your juice/ Tha t runs down their legs. and how she feels about it; in this case, not very positive, as shown with the aforementioned quote, and also, Your mind pops, exploding fiercely, and Your body has slammed shut. Forever. As mentioned with Remembrance, it is most often experience that shapes who we are and how we feel and react to certain situations. Both the loss of virginity and rape are very serious matters, especially the latter, and so are very likely to affect people in strong ways. Touch me, life, not softly therefore relates to this strongly, as no one who ever as been raped could say it was a light experience or that they have not been touched by it in some way, as it is highly likely to have been a very negative experience.The penultimate poem is Refusal, focusing on the plight of a woman on her death bed, who will not deign to die unless she knows the partner she adores will be with her in her future lives, as she feels he has been in her other lives and lands. I defy my bodys has te is a key phrase of the poem, as the word defy is very strong and shows just how much the woman in question does not want to let go without knowing she will see her greatest love again. Refusal implies that it is not just life that touches us, not softly, but also the people we meet throughout life, as she is so enamoured by her love that she never wants to leave him, even after death, so he has clearly had a very large impact upon her life. The fact that she appears to believe in reincarnation That we will meet again,/ On other worlds some/ Future time undated. shows how she believes her love will prevail all, if she can meet her soulmate again and again in many different lives. Therefore, life can also touch us deeply through the people we are deigned to meet throughout our course upon earth, and the ways in which they affect us.The final poem is Just for a Time, looking at past relationships and how despite not liking reminiscing about past events, the narrator still does thi s and looks at the ways he loved his girl. While the first two stanzas reminisce about the past love, the final stanza explores how the narrator feels now, I dont spill tears/ On yesterdays years/ But honesty makes me say,/ You were a precious pearl. Again, it is often our relationships throughout life that very strongly affect the way we react to and feel about things as we are touched by, not softly.Overall, I believe that the first section of Maya Angelous poetry anthology is called Touch Me, Life, Not Softly as all of the poems mentioned above focus on events and experiences in life that shape us strongly, and imply that life does not let us get away with things easily. However, as Angelou appears to be telling life to do this to her, she is saying, that without life demanding so much from us and affecting us so wholly, we would not be the people we are, and would possibly be not as strong as we are.

Articulated Prepositions in Italian

Articulated Prepositions in Italian You’ve learned about prepositions like â€Å"a†, â€Å"di†, and â€Å"da†, but you’ve also been seeing ones that look like â€Å"al†, â€Å"del†, and â€Å"dal†. Are these the same prepositions, and if so, how do you know when to use them? These prepositions are called articulated prepositions, and they are formed when the simple preposition (like â€Å"su†) combines with a definite article (like â€Å"lo†), and form one word that looks like, â€Å"sullo†. Why Do Articulated Prepositions Exist? Despite the difficulty they add to all of the Italian grammar you have to learn, articulated prepositions are probably one of the reasons you like listening to Italian. They add a melodic flow to the language that makes Italian easier on the ears. What Do Articulated Prepositions Look Like? Below you’ll find a table with all of the articulated prepositions.   For example: Ho comprato delle uova. - I bought some eggs. Delle - di le Note: Pay particular attention to what happens when you combine the preposition â€Å"in† with a definite article as the form changes more dramatically than the others. Articulated Prepositions in Italian Definite Article A DI DA IN SU CON il al del dal nel sul col/con il lo allo dello dallo nello sullo con lo l all dell dall nell sull con l i ai dei dai nei sui coi/con i gli agli degli dagli negli sugli con gli la alla della dalla nella sulla con la l all dell dall nell sull con l le alle delle dalle nelle sulle con le Esempi: Vai al cinema? - You’re going to the movies?Vorrei tanto andare negli Stati Uniti! - I would really like to go to the United States!Ci sono tanti ristoranti sulla spiaggia. - There are a lot of restaurants on the beach.Uno dei miei amici mi ha consigliato di andare a Verona. Che ne pensi? - One of my friends advised that I go to Verona. What do you think?Mi piace leggere alla sera. - I like to read in the evening. Also, note that you only need to know how to change five of the seven prepositions into their articulated forms, with con typically only combining with il and i.   You never need to change â€Å"tra†, â€Å"fra† or â€Å"per†. When Do You Use Articulated Prepositions? When you do or do not use this form of prepositions can get tricky very quickly as there are often more exceptions than rules. However, there is one rule that tends to stay consistent. Typically, you would use articulated prepositions when the noun following whatever preposition you’re using requires an article, like â€Å"Che ore sono? - What time is it? → Sono le dieci. - It’s ten†. When you’re talking about time, the article is most likely needed. With that in mind, you would know to use an articulated preposition in this phrase: We’ll see each other at ten. → Ci vediamo alle dieci. Some expressions in Italian are also fixed and must include the articulated preposition, and you’ll often see this happen with locations. For example, â€Å"I’m going to to the dentist† would be, â€Å"Vado dal dentista†. It’s easier, however, to talk about when you should avoid using articulated prepositions. Here are the most common situations. DON’T use articulated prepositions before: A name, like â€Å"Luca†Names of cities, like â€Å"Boston†Fixed phrases, like â€Å"vacanza da sogno - dream vacation†

Placebo Effects of Caffeine on Cycling Performanc Coursework

Placebo Effects of Caffeine on Cycling Performanc - Coursework Example For instance, Clark et al conducted a research where subjects where divided in to three groups. However, his research could not provide correct results on the cause of placebo effect since half the subjects had prior knowledge that carbohydrates would increase their performance. The third group had prior knowledge that their drink could lead to improved performance hence the researcher could not control the findings of the research. The research study used a sample of seven cyclists and used both quantitative and qualitative methods of study. The cyclists were not aware that placebo capsules were administered since they thought it was caffeine. Two baseline and three experimental trials were used. The research is beneficial since it utilized semi-structured interviews to explore the symptoms of the capsules. The level of confidence error provided in the research is sufficient for us to conclude the findings are true. The research suffers from various theoretical and methodological limitations since cyclists were selected from well-trained competitive teams hence they could have increased their performance without use of caffeine. The subjects had prior literature from published research on the positive relationship of caffeine and cycling performance. The research method was flawed since it only selected only seven cyclists from the age of thirty to forty one years hence the sample surveyed was insufficient. Fo r instance, the power output of the fourth subject varied up to 20 percent between adjacent trials which the research has not explained the causes of the variance in the power output (Jackson 170). The subjected were exposed to three different conditions which are moderate dose, high dose and randomly assigned double blind basis hence the research study ignored the optimum control of the amount of caffeine which subjects could take.

Article Summary. See instructions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Article Summary. See instructions - Essay Example Thus, as the authors state, as many as 66% of these cases are never reported (Lohmeyer, Mccrory, and Pogreb, 2002). The authors state that IT (information technology) departments in businesses have most often been in charge of information security within companies. However, some companies have gone beyond this and made information security both a business and a technological concept. Regardless, the authors feel that there is still a wide need for improvement in information technology and business practices within the majority of businesses. According to the article, 30 Fortune 500 companies that were studied had placed a senior business executive in charge of ensuring information security. The article further states: â€Å"According to an April 2001 estimate by Gartner, half of the Global 2000 are likely to create similar positions by 2004.† (Lohmeyer, Mccrory, and Pogreb, 2002). A few of these companies are also making sure that further safeguards are being added to the technological measures already being used to protect the business information. Even this approach, however, does not se em to be working for all businesses—or not all businesses are taking it seriously enough. While some of these Fortune 500 companies are taking the concept in strict measure, several of them are ignoring the problem all tougher, and just see information security as a technological issue that only requires some kind of technological solution. This is certainly a problem, since most of those that are experts in technology know that networks cannot be made totally impenetrable, and that all security features must be constantly updated to stay ahead or up to date with hackers. (Lohmeyer, Mccrory, and Pogreb, 2002). Businesses that only focus on security issues as a technology problems are also ignoring the fact that many of these problems can

The Comparison of Two Top Selling Sales Contact Management Software Essay

The Comparison of Two Top Selling Sales Contact Management Software Company - Essay Example Every company is aiming for results and to be way ahead of its competitors. The company's goal upon buying contact management software is to efficiently manage large number of contact information as well as minimize cost by starting-up with low operations and training costs. Two of the top selling contact management software companies are ACT! by Sage Software Inc., and GoldMine Software UK. Over the years, it has always been an argument as to which company provides better products. These two companies have long been tough rivals in the contact management software world. Sage software has been developing automated support in business management for over 25 years. With a wide range of front office and back office solutions including accounting, human resources, payroll, fixed asset management, customer relationship management, and e-commerce software - Sage Software offers award-winning products and services that have revolutionized the way small and mid-sized companies do business in today's marketplace. (Company overview) Sage software is catering to the small scale business establishments with 25 employees or fewer and medium scale business establishments with over 500 employees in North America. Act! By Sage is the contact management solutions software which the Sage Compa... These are: Act!, which caters to companies with 1-10 users, Act! Premium for Work Groups, which provides for companies with 5-50 users, Act! Premium for Web, which can be accessed anytime, anywhere, ACT! for Palm OS and ACT! Link for Use with QuickBooks. Its latest version for ACT! Contact management is ACT! By Sage Version 8.0 which was launched in Manchester last December 13, 2005 (Onsite Marketing Solution). This version allows the company to use its built-in sales process system or customize its own system to track down, monitor and maintain the customer relationship and communication as well as the accuracy of sales forecasting and trends. With the use of this system, companies can analyze the trends of sale and profile of their customers thus, making it easy for them to plan an effective marketing and sale campaign. Through this system, communications from customers such as mail shots, letters and meetings are easily tracked down. GoldMine Software Corp. GoldMine Software company is a private company founded in 1989 by president Elan Susser and executive vice president Jon V. Ferrara. (Schupbach et al, 1999) The company was first known to be Elan Software but sometime later, the company changed its name to GoldMine Software and then after a merger with Ben Data, which owned the HEAT products, ultimately became FrontRange Solutions. (2003) The first ever designed software for GoldMine was Business Contact Manager. This software is designed for Insurance, Legal Services, Real Estate, Engineering, Government or other leading professions of small scale and medium scale business firms and the mid-market. GoldMine Software assures a fast return on investment and low operational cost but provides a wide range of easy to implement

Analysis of the short story Essay Example for Free

Analysis of the short story Essay `This essay will discuss certain reaction to the story ‘Examination day’, as well as reviewing the lifestyle and world Dickie lives in. The Jordan family are not rich but they are part of the working class society. The accommodation is quite small, they’re ‘little apartment’ is described in line 21: ‘The boy †¦ wandered to that part of the living room which had been ‘his’ from infancy. ’ This shows that things have not changed in terms of housing since he was young and probably their wealth has not increased as much as they would have liked. In the ‘little apartment’ Mrs Jordan mentioned ‘the Exam’ which was why the tension was quite high in the room. ‘The Exam’ is the ‘Government intelligence test they give to children at the age of twelve. ’ This examination was to make sure that there is no-one clever enough to overrule the current government. This test shows an example of what a dictator ruled government is like. This government is a totalitarian government in terms of not wanting to lose power or authority of any sort. These citizens are stuck in an unwanted dictatorship. The examination room was just as restricted as the lives they lead. The room was very dim which represents amount of information they know about the world and their current government. Also in Dickie’s eyes the room doesn’t look very inviting or welcoming even if it was an examination room. Although Dickie could not really see the ‘gray-tunicked attendant’ he knew that this was a very serious matter. The dimness of the room also shows the secretiveness of the government and how much they want their citizens to know. On the day of Dickie’s examination his parents’ were very anxious to see whether or not their son was allowed to come home or not; there were ‘†¦ not speaking, not even speculating. ’ They were so apprehensive that when the phone rang they both tried to reach for it. This shows that they had a feeling that things were not going to work out perfectly for them. When Mr Jordan answered the phone to the ‘Government Educational Service’ he was told that his son’s ‘†¦intelligence quotient has exceeded the Government regulation. ’ This information was a shock to Mr Jordan that even his wife had read the expression of disappointment on his face. The government had announced that Dickie was going to die because he had breached the ‘intelligence quotient’. This shows that the government are too scared to let the clever people live their own lives or even work for them at their young age. This shows that the dictator is not as strong as he portrays himself to be. This shows that he is insecure and that if anyone clever was around he would probably crumble from having lack of authority. I think that the Jordan family live in a completely totalitarian world where they have no freedom to do what they like when they feel like it; unless they are in their own home. Their dictator is too worried about anyone overruling him; he feels the need to get rid all of the clever citizens to be secure in his position. This shows that this dictator is too unsecure to be head of the government. He needs to step aside and let someone else do the job properly.

John Steinbecks East of Eden - The Gift of Free Will :: East Eden Essays

East of Eden - The Gift of Free Will An excellent benefit of choosing to major in English is that it has allowed me four years to dig deeply into my love of the written word. This involves looking beyond the surface of literature and studying its effects in the course of my everyday life. Some books are easy to read quickly, enjoy, and forget, but others exert an influence that is not easily discarded or forgotten. In my mental library, the classic American novel East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, falls into this category. I believe East of Eden has helped shape me morally by illustrating the power of free will in a world caught between a constant battle of good and evil. I decided to read East of Eden after hearing a friend share a short passage from it in his valedictory address. Although I do not remember the contents of that particular passage anymore, I remember that it was the power of Steinbeck's simple, direct language that urged me to take it on as my next big foray into what my high school English teacher called "real literature." The Cain and Abel story, possibly the most enigmatic story of good and evil in the Bible, is the basis for East of Eden. Although allegorical elements are scattered throughout the whole novel, the most evident theme struck me as three of the main characters discussed the ramifications of God's words to Cain after Abel's death. Lee, a Chinese servant to one of the novel's main families, explained to his two companions a little-known conflict between the translations of Genesis 4:7 in two versions of the Bible. In one translation, God tells Cain that "thou shalt" rule over sin. In another, God says to Cain, "Do thou" rule over sin. The first is a promise, and the second is an order. Lee concluded that the ambiguity presented by the two translations is at the heart of the universal human story. I agree. I know some people who surrender themselves to the fatalistic belief that everything in life has been mapped out by God. I also know people who believe that God is a harsh drillmaster who issues demands under the constant threat of damnation. Until I read this book, however, I never wondered where the dispute originated. As the characters in Steinbeck's novel discussed the discrepancy of Genesis 4:7, I also wondered at the intended meaning of the verse.