How to Study for the SAT Exam, Step by Step

Essay on Ida B. Wells and Mary Mcleoud Bethune - 1628 Words

The history of The Black Civil Rights Movement in the United States is a fascinating account of a group of human beings, forcibly taken from their homeland, brought to a strange new continent, and forced to endure countless inhuman atrocities. Forced into a life of involuntary servitude to white slave owners, African Americans were to face an uphill battle for many years to come. Who would face that battle? To say the fight for black civil rights was a grassroots movement of ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things would be an understatement. Countless people made it their lifes work to see the progression of civil rights in America. People like W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, A Phillip Randolph, Eleanor Roosevelt, and many†¦show more content†¦On two separate occasions, Wells sued the railway company and was victorious. Unfortunately, the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the lawsuits in 1887. Wells stated, I have firmly believed that the law was on our side and would, when appealed to it, give us justice . This statement seemed to exemplify the overall views of blacks that time. I could not imagine a more demoralizing turn of events. Two Steps Forward and One Step Back, is a phrase that is repeated throughout the fight for civil rights. 3 An extraordinary person by definition is one who is far more than usual or exceptionally remarkable. Ida B Wells life went above and beyond. As a black woman in the south she was a rarity. She was an educator and later became a journalist. Her journalism gave her a voice, a voice in which she boldly spoke out in a time where black men as well as women were seldom heard. The next tragic turn of events served as a platform for Ida B. Wells to lash out at the horrific act of lynching in the south in the late 1800s. In 1892 three of her friends were lynched. Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell, and Henry Stewart. These three men were owners of Peoples Grocery Company, and their small grocery had taken away customers from competing white businesses. A group of angry white men thought they would eliminate the competition so they attacked Peoples grocery, but the owners fought back, shooting one of the

Succubus Blues CHAPTER 11 Free Essays

string(76) " it on and off\?† â€Å"It’s a bit more complicated than that\." Hospitals are creepy places, cold and sterile. A true reminder of the tenuous nature of mortality. The thought of Hugh here made me nauseous, but I squelched the feeling as best I could, sprinting through the halls to the room Samantha had named. We will write a custom essay sample on Succubus Blues CHAPTER 11 or any similar topic only for you Order Now When I reached it, I found Hugh lying calmly in a bed, his large body clad in a gown, his skin bruised and bandaged. A blond figure sat next to the bed with him, holding his hand. She turned in surprise when I burst into the room. â€Å"Georgina,† Hugh said, giving me a weak smile. â€Å"Nice of you to stop by.† The blond woman, presumably Samantha, studied me uneasily. Slim and doe-eyed, she tightened her grip on Hugh’s hand, and I figured this must be the twenty-year old from work. Her unnatural breasts verified as much. â€Å"It’s all right,† he told her reassuringly. â€Å"This is my friend Georgina. Georgina, Samantha.† â€Å"Hi,† I told her, offering my hand. She took it. Hers was cold, and I realized then that her nervousness was not so much at meeting me as general concern over what had happened to Hugh. It was touching. â€Å"Sweetie, would you excuse Georgina and me for a bit? Maybe go get yourself a drink from the cafeteria?† He spoke gently and kindly to her, a tone he rarely used with the rest of us on our pub nights. Samantha turned to Hugh anxiously. â€Å"I don’t want to leave you alone.† â€Å"I won’t be alone. Georgina and I just need to talk. Besides, she’s a, uh, black belt; nothing will happen to me.† I made a face at him behind her back as she considered. â€Å"I suppose that’s all right†¦ you’ll call my cell if you need me, right? I’ll come right back.† â€Å"Of course,† he promised, kissing her hand. â€Å"I’ll miss you.† â€Å"I’ll miss you more.† She rose, gave me another uncertain look, and retreated out the door. I watched her go a moment before taking her chair beside Hugh. â€Å"Very sweet. I think I’m getting cavities.† â€Å"No need to be bitter. Just because you can’t form meaningful attachments with mortals.† His jest hurt a lot more than it probably should have, but then, I still had Roman on the brain. â€Å"Besides,† he continued, â€Å"she’s a little upset about what happened today.† â€Å"Yeah, I imagine so. Jesus. Look at you.† I surveyed his wounds in greater detail. Hints of stitches appeared beneath some bandages, and dark blotchy bruises blossomed here and there. â€Å"Could be worse.† â€Å"Could it?† I wondered archly. I’d never seen any immortal sustain so much injury. â€Å"Sure. First, I could be dead, and I’m not. Second, I heal just like you do. You should have seen me this afternoon when they brought me in. The trick now will be to get me out of here before someone notices just how fast I’m recovering.† â€Å"Does Jerome know about this?† â€Å"Of course. I called him earlier, but he’d already felt it. I expect him to show up any time now. Did he call you?† â€Å"Not exactly,† I admitted, hesitant to bring up the note quite yet. â€Å"What happened? When you were attacked?† â€Å"I don’t remember a lot of details.† Hugh shrugged slightly, an awkward maneuver for one lying down. I suspected he’d already gone through this story with a number of others. â€Å"I stepped out for coffee. I was the only one in the parking lot, and while coming back to my car, this†¦ person, I guess, just jumped out and attacked me. No warning.† â€Å"You guess?† He frowned. â€Å"I never really got a good look. He was big, though, I could peg that much. And strong – really strong. A lot stronger than I would have thought.† Hugh himself was no weakling. True, he didn’t work out or do much with his body, but he had a big frame and a lot of density to fill that frame out. â€Å"Why did he stop?† I asked. â€Å"Did someone find you guys?† â€Å"Nah, I don’t know why he quit. It was all beating and slashing one minute; the next, he’s gone. Took about fifteen minutes before someone else came along and helped me.† â€Å"You keep saying ‘he.’ You think it was a guy?† He attempted another shrug. â€Å"I don’t really know. Just an impression I got. Could have been a hot blonde for all I know.† â€Å"Yeah? Should I question Samantha?† â€Å"You shouldn’t be questioning anyone, according to Jerome. Did you ever talk to Erik?† â€Å"Yeah†¦ he’s looking into some things for me. He also reaffirmed that vampire hunters can’t kill you or me, nor has he ever heard of anything that can.† Hugh turned thoughtful. â€Å"This person didn’t kill me.† â€Å"Do you think he was trying?† â€Å"He was certainly trying to do something. Seems like if he could have killed me, he would have.† â€Å"But he couldn’t,† a voice behind me pointed out, â€Å"because, as I’ve said, vampire hunters can only inconvenience you, not kill you.† I turned, startled at hearing Jerome’s voice. It startled me further to see Carter with him. â€Å"Leave it to Jerome to play devil’s advocate,† joked the angel. â€Å"What are you doing here, Georgina?† demanded the demon icily. My mouth gaped, and it took me a moment to speak. â€Å"How†¦ how did you do that?† Carter stood there dressed as disreputably as ever. Whereas Doug and Bruce looked like they were in a grunge band, the angel looked like the band had kicked him out. He gave me a lopsided grin. â€Å"Do what? Come up with a clever pun referencing Jerome’s demonic status? The truth is, I usually keep a stash of them on hand and – â€Å" â€Å"No. Not that. I can’t feel you†¦ can’t sense you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I could see Carter with my eyes, but I could not feel that powerful signature, aura, or whatever, that normally radiated from an immortal. Turning to Jerome suddenly, I realized he was the same. â€Å"Or you. I can’t sense either of you. I couldn’t the other night either.† Angel and demon exchanged glances over my head. â€Å"We can mask it,† said Carter at last. â€Å"What, like a light switch or something? You can turn it on and off?† â€Å"It’s a bit more complicated than that.† â€Å"Well, this is news to me. Can we do it? Hugh and I?† â€Å"No,† both Jerome and Carter answered together. Jerome elaborated, â€Å"Only higher immortals can do it.† Hugh weakly attempted to sit up. â€Å"Why†¦ are you doing it?† â€Å"You never answered my question, Georgie,† Jerome pointed out, obviously avoiding the subject. He glanced at the imp. â€Å"I told you not to contact the others.† â€Å"I didn’t. She just came.† Jerome turned his gaze back on me, and I fished the mysterious note out of my purse. I handed it to him, and the demon read it expressionlessly before handing it over to Carter. When the angel finished, he and Jerome looked at each other again in that annoying way of theirs. Jerome deposited the note into an inner pocket of his suit jacket. â€Å"Hey, that’s mine.† â€Å"Not anymore.† â€Å"Don’t tell me you’re going to stick to your party line about this being a vampire hunter,† I shot back. Jerome’s dark eyes narrowed shrewdly at me. â€Å"Why wouldn’t I? This person mistook Hugh for a vampire, but as you’ve already observed, Nancy Drew, Hugh could not be killed.† â€Å"I think this person knew Hugh wasn’t a vampire.† â€Å"Oh? Why do you say that?† â€Å"The note. The person who wrote it mentions my shape-shifting. He knows I’m a succubus. He probably knows Hugh’s an imp.† â€Å"His knowing you’re a succubus explains why he didn’t attack you. He knew he couldn’t kill you. He wasn’t sure about Hugh, however, so he took his chances.† â€Å"With a knife.† Again, I remembered: How do you know if a demon is lying? His lips are moving. â€Å"I thought the story was that this was some amateur vampire hunter arbitrarily going after people with a stake because he didn’t know any better. Instead, this person somehow knows about me and took on Hugh with a knife.† Carter stifled a yawn and joined in on Jerome’s game. â€Å"Maybe this person’s learning. You know, expanding their choice of weapons. After all, no one stays an amateur for long. Even new vampire hunters wise up eventually.† I jumped on the one detail here no one had addressed yet. â€Å"And even children know that vampires don’t come out in daylight. What time were you attacked, Hugh?† A strange look crossed the imp’s face. â€Å"Late this afternoon. When the sun was up.† I looked exultantly at Jerome. â€Å"This person knew Hugh wasn’t a vampire.† Jerome leaned against a wall, appearing unfazed as he picked nonexistent pieces of lint from his slacks. He looked more like John Cusack than ever today. â€Å"So? Mortals get delusions of grandeur. He kills one vampire and decides to do his part against the rest of the evil forces inhabiting this city. That changes nothing.† â€Å"I don’t think it was a mortal.† Both Jerome and Carter, looking at other things in the room, now snapped their heads toward me. â€Å"Oh?† I swallowed, slightly flustered under that scrutiny. â€Å"I mean†¦ you guys prove higher immortals can go around without being sensed, and no one’s been able to sense anything from this guy. Plus, look at Hugh’s damage. Erik said mortals can’t really do substantial – † I bit off my words, realizing my error. Carter laughed softly. â€Å"Damn it, Georgie.† Jerome straightened like a whip. â€Å"I told you to let us handle this. Who else have you talked to?† Whatever cloaking Jerome had been doing vanished, and I suddenly became aware of the power crackling around him. It reminded me of one of those sci-fi movies when a door opens into outer space, and all the debris gets sucked out as a result of the vacuum. Everything in the room seemed to be drawn into Jerome, toward his swelling power and might. To my immortal perceptions, he became a glowing bonfire of terror and energy. I cringed against Hugh’s bed, resisting the urge to shade my eyes. The imp put a hand on my arm, though whether it was for my comfort or his own, I didn’t know. â€Å"No one. I swear it, no one else. I just asked Erik some questions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Carter took a step toward the furious demon, face angelically calm. â€Å"Easy there. You’re sending up a beacon to any immortal in a ten-mile radius.† Jerome’s eyes stayed fixed on me, and I felt true fear for the first time in centuries in the focus of all that intensity. Then, like the light switch I’d joked about earlier, it all vanished. Just like that, Jerome stood before me completely incognito for all arcane intents and purposes. Like a mortal. He exhaled heavily and rubbed a spot between his eyes. â€Å"Georgina,† he said at last. â€Å"Contrary to whatever you believe, this is not all some elaborate attempt to vex you. Please stop going against me. We’re doing what we’re doing for a reason. Your best interests really are at heart here.† My catty nature wanted to ask if demons had hearts, but something else struck me as more pressing. â€Å"Why the ‘we’ here? I assume you mean him.† I nodded toward Carter. â€Å"What could involve both a demon and an angel and make them skulk around hiding their presence? Are you guys afraid of something?† â€Å"Skulking?† Carter sounded jovially indignant. â€Å"Please, Georgie,† intoned Jerome, patience obviously at a breaking point, â€Å"leave well-enough alone. If you really want to do something useful, you will avoid dangerous situations like I advised before. I can’t make you stay in protected company, but if you persist in being a nuisance otherwise, I can find a convenient place to stash you until this all blows over. This is not about anyone’s ‘side,’ and you only run the risk of muddling up matters you don’t understand.† I unconsciously squeezed Hugh’s hand for support. I did not want to think about what sort of â€Å"convenient place† Jerome had in mind. â€Å"Do we understand each other?† the demon asked softly. I nodded. â€Å"Good. You will be of most assistance to me by keeping yourself safe. I have too many things to worry about now without adding you to the list.† I nodded again, not trusting myself to speak. His small display had had its intended effect on temporarily cowing me, though some niggling part of me knew I would be unable to â€Å"leave well-enough alone† once I walked out of here. It would be best to keep that knowledge to myself. â€Å"That will be all, Georgie,† Jerome added. I heard the dismissal. â€Å"I’ll walk you out,† offered Carter. â€Å"No thanks.† But the angel followed in my wake anyway. â€Å"So how’d it go with Seth Mortensen?† â€Å"Okay.† â€Å"Just okay?† â€Å"Just okay.† â€Å"I hear he’s living here now. And spends a lot of time at Emerald City.† I eyed him askance. â€Å"Where’d you hear that?† He only grinned. â€Å"So? Tell me about it.† â€Å"There’s nothing to tell,† I snapped, uncertain why I was even discussing this. â€Å"I’ve talked to him a few times, toured him around. We don’t really click. We can’t communicate.† â€Å"Why not?† Carter wanted to know. â€Å"He’s a hardcore introvert. Doesn’t talk much. Just watches. Besides, I don’t want to encourage him.† â€Å"So you’re increasing his silence.† I shrugged and pushed the button for an elevator. â€Å"I think I know a book that might help you. I’ll dig it out and let you borrow it.† â€Å"No thanks.† â€Å"Don’t knock it. It’ll improve your communication skills with Seth. I saw it on a talk show.† â€Å"Aren’t you listening? I don’t want to improve things.† â€Å"Ah,† said Carter sagely. â€Å"You don’t go for introverts.† â€Å"I – no, that’s not it. I don’t have a problem with introverts. â€Å" â€Å"Then why don’t you like Seth?† â€Å"I do like him! Damn it, stop this.† The angel quirked me a grin. â€Å"It’s all right to feel that way. I mean, past evidence shows you tend to go for showy, flirty guys anyway.† â€Å"What’s that supposed to mean?† I immediately thought of my attraction to Roman. Carter’s eyes flashed mischievously. We were at the hospital’s exit now. â€Å"I don’t know. You tell me, Letha.† I had nearly walked out the door, but his comment jerked me back. I spun around so fast, my hair whipped around and hit me in the face. â€Å"Where did you hear that name?† â€Å"I have my sources.† A great nebulous emotion swelled up in my chest, something I couldn’t entirely identify. It fell somewhere on the continuum of hate and despair, not really subscribing to either one. Hotter and hotter it grew within me, making me want to scream at Carter and that smug, knowing look on his face. I wanted to beat my fists against him or shape-shift into something horrific. I didn’t know where he’d learned that name, but it woke up some sort of sleeping monster within me, something that had been tightly coiled up. He continued watching me coolly, undoubtedly reading my thoughts. Slowly, I became aware of my surroundings. The chilly corridors. The anxious visitors. The efficient staff. I calmed my breathing and fixed the angel with a scathing look. â€Å"Don’t you ever call me that again. Ever.† He shrugged, still smiling. â€Å"My mistake.† I turned smartly on my heels and left him there. I stormed out to my car and didn’t even realize I was driving until I was halfway across the bridge, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes. How to cite Succubus Blues CHAPTER 11, Essay examples

William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet is a play, which is based on tragic romance Essay Example For Students

William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet is a play, which is based on tragic romance Essay William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet is a play, which is based on tragic romance. The play is about two households (Montague and Capulet) who both despise each other; these two households have had a grudge from each other from ages ago and it still exists. Romeo from the Montague and Juliet from the Capulets both fall in love, but this love creates even more chaos for both families. This love creates many deaths including the lives of the pair of star-crossed lovers, but this brings the two families closer. Although it is a play about love, there are many scenes that certainly contain violence and conflict. The play opens with a fight and ends with the tragic death. In this essay I will discuss the historical background of Shakespeare, and the three violent scenes in Romeo and Juliet (act1, scene1 and act3, scene1 and act3, scene5). Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare and first performed in the globe theatre. It is set in the sixteenth century. Elizabeth I was ruling at the time. She loved the theatres. People in the sixteenth century were fond of any sort of entertainment. They liked watching bear bating, cock fighting and executions. It was important for Shakespeare to make his plays as exciting as possible, because the puritans (strict Christians) closed the globe theatre down, because they thought it was sinful, they would call the theatre the school of Satan. So poor people had to travel to another town to see any plays, so if the plays werent exciting then they would waste money and wont go and see the other plays. Shakespeare mocked rich and higher classed people, as this was the sort of theme poor people liked, so Romeo and Juliet would also be a good play to them as they also liked higher class feuds and there is a lot of violence in Romeo and Juliet concerning higher class people. Although Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, the opening scene is full of humour; Sampson and Gregory are joking with each other by teasing. They do this by using puns. This is when one word can have two meanings it is ambiguous. Sampson and Gregory use puns to humour themselves. No, for then we should be colliers.(Gregory) And we be in choler (Sampson). The puns are the two underlined words. They sound the same but have different meanings. Often on stage puns become increasingly rude and vulgar, it wouldve also lead to violence. In the opening scene the readers see Sampson stirring a fight, well draw and Gregory making violent cocky, Ay while you live, draw your neck out of collar. Sampsons quote means draw your sword and Gregory s quote means take your neck out of your collar (as he I s calling him a coward.) Humour violence is achieved through puns but the violence between the two households (Capulet and Montague) is gained by the use of repetition. Repetitive language creates an atmosphere in this case it causes a violent atmosphere, Do you bite your thumb at us sir? I do bite my thumb sir, do you bite your thumb at us sir? I do not bite my thumb at you sir, but I bite my thumb sir, This quote gives readers the impression that something bad is going to stir up, because it feels like they are quarrelling. Benvolio arrives at the scene to calm things down and with the help of Tybalt they couldve accomplished that but Tybalt hates peace and starts fighting, what drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues and thee: have at thee coward. The prince in the play is also violent but he is violent to stop people from getting killed or injured. The prince in the play is prepared to take the lives of the households to stop the feud, if ever you disturb our streets again; your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace this means that if there is another public fight between the two households, then one of their lives shall be taken to make peace. Other than repetitive language Shakespeare uses oxymorons in this scene (where opposite words are put in a sentence). He uses oxymorons for Romeos conflict with his past girlfriend Roselin, Romeo was meant to make love to her but she refused and ended up with both of them splitting up. Romeo comes back and is confused about what he says, should without eyes, see pathways to his will heres much to do with hate, but more with love; o brawling love, feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health this love feel I, that feel no love in this. this quote shows us that he is very distressed and confused because he is saying what he feels inside using oxymorons, because you cant have cold fire or feather of lead, so this gives the readers the impression that he is mixed up and confused. The three words EssayBoy this shal not excuse the injuries that thou hast done me, therefore turn and draw, which means that Romeo can not excuse for what he has done to him, so he must turn around and fight. This was after Romeo tells him that he has to love him, because they are now cousins, because they have just eloped. This also tells us hat he is now crazy and still wants to kill. Act3, scene1, just shows how he maintains the violence. In act 3, scene 5 the readers see that problems have occurred to Juliet, because her husband Romeo has now been banished from Verona to Mantua, because he is wanted for the death of Tybalt her cousin and her parents lord and lady Capulet want her to marry Paris (a wealthy, good looking character who is at the party in act 1, scene 2), but she refuses. We see this problem solved through violence. When lady Capulet tells Juliet that she has to marry Paris on Thursday, marry my child, early next Thursday morn, she then refuses, I will not marry yet lord Capulet then enters thinking that she has said yes, but then gets the impression that she has said no by lady Capulet commenting, I would the fool marry to her grave, which means I wish she were dead. Here they should offer help and support, but they straight away go to hate, doth she not count her blest unworthy as she is, here lord Capulet is saying doesnt she thank me for blessing her Paris she is unworthy. The audience can see that there is hate where love should be. The audience then see that Juliet is then verbally abused and forced into marriage with Paris; readers see this through the violent verbal outburst of lord Capulet, green sickness carrion out you baggage, which means in a nasty way you repulsive rotting dead flesh out you heavy load. As Capulet says, sickness, in that quote I makes the audience feel as if he is spitting while talking, another quote for this point is, hang thee young baggage, disobedient wretch, I tell thee what, get thee to church on Thursday, or never after look me in the face. So he has now made the decision for her, if she doesnt come to church on Thursday then she cannot be a part of his family ever again Before he leaves he uses a wide range of violent language, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, here lord Capulet makes it look like he is just about to throw her out, but if she doesnt arrive then this quote simply means that she wont be part of his family and if she is starving, dying or even being hung on the streets, he wouldnt careless. In conclusion to this Shakespeare introduces violence and conflict in many ways. He introduces it by using different types of language. He uses puns- which are two words which sound the same but have two different meanings, repetition- using the same words more than twice, and oxymorons- words that are the opposites put next to each other, i.e. cold fire these types of language help the reader to imagine how it is to be in the characters position, like Romeo and his conflict. When he uses oxymorons it straight away makes the reader feel confused the way Romeo is feeling in the book. The language that Shakespeare uses makes the audience and the reader find the violence physical, emotional and verbal, the reason for this play being a tragic romance.