The Underground Railroad and Iowa On the Road from...

The Underground Railroad and Iowa: On the Road from Slavery to Freedom â€Å"I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person†¦ There was such a glory over everything. The sun came up like gold through the trees, and I felt like I was in Heaven.† Harriet Tubman uttered these words when she arrived in Pennsylvania, a free woman at last (National Geographic). Years later, when talking about the reasons she ran away, Ms. Tubman would state, â€Å"[There are] two things I [have] a right to and these are Death and Liberty. One or the other I mean to have. No one will take me back alive† (America’s Civil War, 42). While most research on the Underground Railroad focuses on the northern states, the state of Iowa played an essential role in the†¦show more content†¦In 1850, representatives of Clinton County tried to introduce the bill again. Both houses opposed it, but eventually the bill passed and the governor signed it. However, there was an important stipulation to the bill; it could only go into effect after it w as published in the newspapers; Iowa City Reporter and the Iowa Freeman of Mt. Pleasant. Fortunately, the Freeman refused to publish it, thus effectively stopping the bill from becoming law (History of Clinton County, 54). Nevertheless, there was another legal move to block runaway slaves from achieving freedom, this time from the United States Government. Before the Federal Government passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, slaves felt safe if they could run away to a free state. However, after this law went into effect slave catchers everywhere hunted them. The Fugitive Slave Act brought the problem of slavery to â€Å"Iowa’s doorstep† (History of Clinton County, 54). People protested against the Fugitive Slave Act by providing assistance, either directly or indirectly, to runaway slaves. â€Å"Nearly 100 Iowans flouted the law and some judges ignored it† (History of Clinton County, 55). However, few Clinton County residents could actively participate in the dangerous and illegal work of the Underground Railroad. Most of the citizens gave money, shelter, andShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Road to Freedom—the Underground Railroad2714 Words   |  11 PagesThe Road to Freedom—the Underground Railroad Introduction Many times I have suffered in the cold, in beating rains pouring in torrents from the watery clouds, in the midst of the impetuosity of the whirlwinds and wild tornadoes leading on my company—not to the field of...war...but to the land of impartial freedom, where the bloody lash was not buried in the quivering flesh of a slave.... (7,p.i). Such were the conditions of the Underground Railroad. It was a fictitous railroad butRead MoreThe Election Of 1848 And Emerging Sectional Divide Between The North And The South Over The Issue Of Slavery1708 Words   |  7 Pagesthe north and the south over the issue of slavery. The was the 16th presidential election held on November 7, 1848. Zachary Taylor, who was a member of the Whig party won over Martin Van Buren of the free soil party. Slavery was defined as a legal or economic system in which principles of property law were applied to humans allowing them to be classified as property, to be owned, bought and sold accordingly, and they could not withdraw unilaterally from the arrangement. Two societies, two regionsRead MoreCompromises of 1820 and 18502024 Words   |  9 Pages1820 and 1850. Slavery came about in America in 1619 (RN). It lasted through the American Revolution, even after Thomas Jefferson scripted his famous lines in the Declaration of Independence, All men are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Clearly, slaves were not part of this included in Jeffersons words. When it came time to write the Constitution, the word slavery was never usedRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 PagesNot Treating It Fairly ..................................................................... 174 Not Accepting the Burden of Proof ............................................................................................. 175 Diverting Attention from the Issue ............................................................................................. 176 Re-defining the Issue ....................................................................................................................

Oopp Lab Work Free Essays

Create a class account that maintains AC_no, name, and balance. Perform deposit, withdrawal and statement print operations. (statement print must print all the transactions that has taken place so for – use structures inside the class to maintain the details about Create a class that holds the details of the mobile phone like brand, mime, no of Simi cards, hone numbers etc. We will write a custom essay sample on Oopp Lab Work or any similar topic only for you Order Now . Allow user to login with their mobile no. Use a function that sends a message from that mobile. Maintain the details of the message as a static member inside the send message function and display each time all the messages sent from that mobile, (b) 4. Create a class ID_card that maintains the details In an ID card. Perform insert, update, delete and display operation through functions that takes input through reference parameter. (c) Create a C++ program that takes employee details like ID, first name, last name, age and address. Create a class for student {name, course, regular/part-time, address}. Use friend function to check that a student with same name and address can’t be a regular student as well as an employee. (c) 6. Synthesize a C++ program that has two classes (one for employee and one for student), have a separate class for address (with door no. Street name, city, state) and reuse address both for employee and student. Perform insert, delete and display operations by taking choice of person (employee or student) from the user. Allow user to have more than one address also. Create an class that stores details about the computer (Assembled/branded, RAM, HAD, processor speed, price etc. ,). Use constructors to initialize the object and a destructor that deducts the count of object each time the object is passed to destroy function. Also use copy constructor to create a system with the configuration same as that’s of an existing system. (b) 8. Create a savings_account class that maintains the details of customers like name, phone number. Cancan. Balance. Ensure that the variables are protected with proper specifies such that only the user’s personal details can be modified directly. Perform deposit, withdrawal, statement print, and pin change operations by checking for minimum balance and other conditions. Create a new account for the same user by copying the basic details of the user using a copy constructor. (c) † 9. Create a class which maintains information like surname, password, age, mailed, phone number, accepted friends list, etc†¦ Declare a friend function Inside the class. Create 3 users such that the first user is friend with 2 and 3 (update friend list of user 1 with user names of 2 and 3). If the users logs in, he should see the personal Information How to cite Oopp Lab Work, Papers

English as a Global Language Spoken or Learned

Question: Discuss about the Report for English as a Global Language for Spoken or Learned. Answer: When a language is termed as a global language, it essentially refers to language that is spoken or learned globally. Such a language is usually characterized by factors such as; the speakers (both native and non-natives), geographical distribution and its uses at the international level particularly its use in the formation and maintenance of diplomatic relations. Thus, English is a global language and acts as a lingua franca with more than 350 million people first language speakers and approximately 430 million second language speakers. In other words, English as a lingua franca is a language that aids communication and relation of people from different ethnic backgrounds (Rubdy Saraceni, 2006). English as a global language can be said to be far-reaching in history as compared to other very common languages like Latin and French. Indeed, the impacts of English as a global language are evident in a wide range of fields including; medicine, education, politics, business, computing, entertainment, and academics. English has had therefore a long historical background as it rose to a global level. Thus, the primary aim of the research is to discuss the emergence of English as a global language as well as the forces that have shaped the accent and structural features of global English. The Evidence for the Emergence of English as a Global Language The emergence of English as a global language has been a swift process. English originated from the Northern Europe and arrived in England in the fifth century and eventually spread to the British Isles. It widely spread in Celtic-speaking countries such as Cornwall, Scotland, and Wales. The spread of English in most parts of the Scotland was mainly influenced by the Norman conquer of the England in 1066 thus many people fled to Scotland. According to Crystal (1997) the emergence of English as a global language is twofold. That is, English as a global language assumes both geographical-historical and socio-cultural perspectives. The former which he also terms as geo-historical indicates how English first became dominant of other languages while the latter explains why the language is still dominant across the world. The history of the spread of English can be traced back in America, Asia, and the Antipodes. The further spread was influenced by colonial movements in the South Pacific and Africa in the nineteenth century as well as the adoption of the language as an official and semi-official language in most of the newly independent countries (Crystal, 1997). This dramatic change of events took place in the mid of the twentieth century. It also later spread to other continents and islands such as Fiji, Hawaii, St Helena and Seychelles islands. Crystal thus argues that the rapid spread of the language played a role in t he labeling of English as a global language. The rise of English in America was influenced by a number of factors firstly by massive immigration that took place. For instance, the Spanish occupied the larger west and south-west part of America while the French occupied the northern and the middle part. Similarly, the end of the seventeenth century was marked by massive immigration of the Germans who settled in Pennsylvania (McCrum Cran, 2002). During the same period extending to the eighteenth century, there were a lot of Africans entering the Southern of America through the slave trade. The nineteenth century was also a significant period that facilitated the rising of English globally. During this period more immigrants entered America following the adverse outcomes of the famine, revolution and poverty in Europe. There was also the potato famine in Ireland that saw multitudes of people flee to America. The Germans and the Italians also arrived after the aftermath of the failed revolutions in 1848. All these episodes translat ed to more people speaking in English which was the dominant language in America. In essence, as various generations arrived in America, the number of English speakers increased rapidly. Generations learned the language through the natural process of assimilation thus English became a mother tongue to the majority of the immigrants (McCrum, 2011). According to Jenkins Leung (2013) since America was now becoming a monolingual society. The perception is that the English language was playing a vital role in maintaining unity and peace throughout the America amid the cultural diversity. It was a dominant language that opened many opportunities for the speakers. Nevertheless, Hewings Seargeant (2016) also maintains that the need for cultural identity and preservation of linguistic heritage began to arise among the minority groups. Consequently, the desire for identity and intelligibility triggered a conflict that saw the declaration of English as the official language in the United States of America in the later decades of the twentieth century. Conversely, the spread of English continued to take place in Canada. Its spread in the Atlantic Coast was influenced by the arrival of the English-speakers settlers who were attracted by such activities as fishing, farming and trading in Canada. The number of English speakers further incr eased following a significant development of the US Declaration of Independence in 1776. The Britain loyalists could not stay any longer in the new United States and thus migrate to Canada (Wallraff, 2000). Moreover, there was rapid spread of English language in the south, Caribbean during the first years of the America settlement. The spread of the language was as a result of the importation of the slaves from African continent who were brought in large numbers to work as laborers on the sugar plantations. The slave trading continued in the West African coasts as the demand for more slaves increased in the Caribbean and the American coast. As the slaves and the sailors interacted several pidgins forms of communication were developed with the majority speaking in English. Upon their arrival in the Caribbean, the Pidgin English forms continued to be used widely among the blacks and the land owners. The later generation born in the Caribbean continued to use the Pidgin English as their first language thus the birth of the first black Creole speech. Additionally, as the spread of the Creole English continued to permeate to the larger parts of the southern plantations and in the coastal tow ns the standard British English on the other hand, it was gaining prestige due to the rising political influence of the Britain (Phillipson Skutnabb-Kangas, 1996). The continued British exploration played a significant role in the establishment of English language in the southern hemisphere specifically in Australia and New Zealand approaching the end of the eighteenth century. There were, even more, English language speakers in the Northern hemisphere as compared to the southern hemisphere. Since the British Isles contributed a majority of the settlers in the Southern hemisphere, there was much influence on the English language. In New Zealand, the emergence and the growth of English happened later and spread slowly (Bhatia, 1997). According to Crystal (1999) three factors have contributed to rapid growth of English in the New Zealand. These factors include; the New Zealand's historical association with the Britain and value for the British institutions and values, sense of the national identity and consideration of the Maori natives. The growth and spread of English in South Africa was influenced by the British settlement in the region. English had widely spread in the region such that it was declared the region's official language in 1822. The language was also incorporated in many other sectors such as in education, public domain, and law although it was the Afrikaans' second language (Mesthrie, 2006). There also developed an African variety of English mainly spoken by the black population after learning the language in the mission schools. While the Afrikaans perceived the language as a form of repression and authority, the Afrikaner government perceived English as a language of self-determination and protest while the majority of the blacks perceived it as a way of uniting them and giving them an international voice. Additionally, the use of English in South Asia show tremendous growth with the number of speakers in the Indian subcontinent estimated to be more than the total of the UK and the US speakers. Thu s, it is argued that the history of South Asian English has its roots in the Britain (Trudgill Hannah, 1985). The Britain influence was marked by the inception of the British East India Company in 1612. English had become the medium of instruction in education and an administrative language in the subcontinent since 1765 until the subcontinent gained its independence in 1947. In 1960, English was selected as the alternative to the Hindi, a local state language. Today, English is used as an alternative official language in the continent and continue to be used in the Indian education system, the legal system, government administration, tourism, business as well as in media (Kirkpatrick, 2002). In the former colonial Africa English is said to have taken roots in the nineteenth century as commerce and anti-slave trading campaign took place. There arose various English pidgins and creoles which were used alongside the Standard English varieties of the soldiers, missionaries, traders and the colonial officials (Sewell, 2016). Consequently, there was development and spread of the British English variety in some countries where English has been made an official language. These countries include; Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Gambia, Kenya, Cameroon, Botswana, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Lesotho, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Additionally, there is also wide use of both American and British English in the South-east Asia and the South Pacific. The British influence in the regions began in the eighteenth century following the exploration of the English sailors. In the Southeast, Asia English became the language of power. Other regions where English is widely used include; Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Papua New Guinea. In general, the status of English as the global language mainly draws from two main factors that include the emergence of the United States as the dominant and leading economic power of the twentieth century and the spread of the British colonial power in the nineteenth century. The dominance of the United States as the economic power greatly informs the future of the English language. The origin, spread, and use of English as a global language have been summarized by Kachru (1985) in terms of three concentric circles. The innermost circle represents the historical origin of English. It represents states such as; USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and Canada. The outer circle represents the countries whose populations are non-native English speakers but where now English has been integrated as a fundamental, second language. These are countries such as; Malawi, Singapore, and India. The expanding or extending outer circles represents those nations that recognize English as a gl obal language although they were not subject to colonization by the inner circle countries and have not accorded English any special administrative status. The circle represents countries such as; Japan, China, Poland and Greece (Crystal, 2006). Forces that have Shaped, and are Likely to Shape, the Accent and Structural Features of Global English Different accents are used in the English language across the world. Consequently, some scholars such as Llurda (2004) argue that global English is the verge of developing other unfathomable languages distinct from English. Thus, to avoid such an outcome Seidlhofer (2013) suggest that there is the need to keep the global English structural features of the different varieties close to each other. There are therefore a number of factors that have shaped and continue to shape the accent and the structural features of the global English. One of the forces refers to the richness and familiarity of the global language vocabulary. English has been in contact with several other languages. Thus it has borrowed widely from these languages (Holliday, 2005). As a consequence, the global language lexicon increases from time to time. The new words borrowed from other languages may not be pronounced in a similar manner by all the English speakers thus resulting in accentual variation. The language' s wide borrowing from other languages is said to give a sense of welcoming and familiarity as compared with other languages such as French and Latin. English has also been perceived to be an easy language when it comes to pronunciation and spelling although this perception remains contentious (Warschauer, 2000). This is mainly because, in spelling, one does not require to memorize the tonal variations or the consonantal clusters. The spelling is rather random. English has between 44 and 52 sounds which comprises of the consonants and the vowels. The English consonants are relatively regular in terms of pronunciation and are free of diacritic marks and accent. There is also an argument that majority or approximately 84 percent of the English spellings conform to the general rules while only a 3 percent does not comply with the rules. Additionally, the global English is considered as a flexible language. For example, the flexibility of the word order and the phrasing of a sentence as either passive of active are considered as easy. Another feature involves the use of a certain lexical word as either a verb or a noun which may not be applicable in other languages. It is also easy to create new words through such methods as compounding and addition of suffixes or suffixes. The global English grammar also does not have system of coding that denoted social differentiation like in other languages. For this reason, English is perceived as a democratic language as it does not exhibit instances of social class (Graddol, 1998). The accent of the global English has been influenced by the use of slang in some English speaking regions. In essence, the languages of the various ethnic communities seem to have a lot of influence in the spoken English. Therefore, the use of slang has increased considerable thus affecting the accent of the global English. It is also assumed that the original overseas influences have played a role in shaping the global English accent (Yano, 2001). It should also be remembered that the English language has also got its roots in the mixture of the Anglo Saxon dialects. Whereas English became dominant first in the Britain and the Ireland in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, it was later spread to all parts of the world. Thus, it means that the very first English is incomparable with the modern global English due to influence by various accents of the speakers. It is also important to consider the American English influence in the development of the global accent. The northern America was the first colony that permanently spoke English. Later on, the Americans developed another form of English different from that spoken in the Britain Isles. The Americans also coined numerous words to describe things such as wildlife, foods and lifestyle, vegetation as well as landscapes. As new settlers arrived from the UK and settled along the east coast, there arose various accents and words' pronunciation. These differences in pronunciation are what transpired into distinction between the British and the American English (Bolton, 2005). The transfer is also another force that results in the formation of the accent in the global English. Usually, the non-native speakers of a language tend to transfer some aspects of their first language into the second or foreign language. This results in negative transfer whereby the sounds of a target language are replaced by sounds of the first language. Other sounds of the target language may not correspond well with either sound in the first language or the target language thus they appear in between the two sounds (Bhatt, 2001). Crystal (1995) also argues that even as the emergence of Englishes that have a lot to do with the emergence of various accents continue to be steady as time goes by the world English is not under any serious threat. As a matter of fact, Bolton (2005) maintains that the ability to use more than one language variety will only help the speakers satisfy the demand of the international situation. For this reason, the possibility is that there is likely to em erge a new form of English. In conclusion, it is indisputable that English as a global language has had a rich and complex background. Its dramatic emergence supersedes other dominant languages such as French and Latin which were once considered as the global languages. Deriving from the various evidences, it is inarguable that in the history there has never been a language as widely spoken and spread as English. Consequently, the argument that the rising demands of identity and intelligibility pose a threat to the status of English as a global language does not hold. This is because the demand for intelligibility and identity are likely to be easily diminished by the emerging social dynamics such as the formation of political alliances, demography as well as the changes pervading the immigration policy. In essence, the English language has grown to an extent that it can no longer be dependent on any form of social control. It is used across the world permeates all the sectors including but not limited to tradi ng, media, education, military, legal system, business and technology. Thus English as a global language has been used and is still used as the first language, a second language and as a foreign language. Its future is still promising. References Bhatia, V. K. (1997). Introduction: Genre analysis and world Englishes. World Englishes, 16(3), 313-319. Bhatt, R. M. (2001). Annual reviews of anthropology. World Englishes, 30(1), 527-550. Bolton, K. (2005). Symposium on World Englishes Today (Part II) Where WE stands: approaches, issues, and debate in world Englishes, Journal of World Englishes, 24(1), 69-83. Crystal, D. (1995). World English. In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 92-115. Crystal, D. (1997). English as a global language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Crystal, D. (1999). The Future of Englishes. English Today, 15(2), pp.10-20. Crystal, D. (2006). English Worldwide, in R. Hogg and D. Denison (Eds.) A History of the English Language, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 420- 439. Graddol, D. (1998). The future of English. London: The British Council. Hewings, A., Seargeant, P. (2016). English Language Studies: A Critical Appraisal. In Futures for English Studies (pp. 61-77). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Holliday, A. (2005). The Struggle to Teach English as an International Language.New York, Oxford University Press. Jenkins, J., Leung, C. (2013). English as a lingua franca. John Wiley Sons, Inc.. Kachru, B. (1985). Institutionalized second language varieties. The English language today, 211-226. Kirkpatrick, A. (2002). Englishes in Asia: Communication, Identity, Power and Education. Melbourne, Australia. Llurda, E. (2004). Non-native speakers and English as an international language. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 14(3), 314-323. Mesthrie, R. (2006). World Englishes and the multilingual history of English, Journal Of World Englishes, 25(3/4), 381-390. McCrum, R. (2011). Globish: How the English language became the world's language. Anchor Canada. McCrum, R., MacNeil, R., Cran, W. (2002). The Story of English. Penguin Group. Phillipson, R. Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1996). 'English only worldwide or language ecology?'.TESOL Quarterly, 30(3), 429-452. Rubdy, R., Saraceni, M. (Eds.). (2006). English in the world: Global rules, global roles. AC Black. Seidlhofer, B. (2013). Oxford Applied Linguistics: Understanding English as a Lingua Franca. Oxford University Press. Sewell, A. (2016). English Pronunciation Models in a Globalized World: Accent, and Acceptability. Routledge. Trudgill, P., Hannah, J. (1985). International English: A guide to standard varieties of English. Wallraff, B. (2000). What Global Language? Atlantic Monthly, Nov 2000, pp. 52- 61. Warschauer, M. (2000). The changing global economy and the future of English teaching.TESOL Quarterly34(3), 511-535. Yano, Y. (2001). World Englishes in 2000 and beyond. World Englishes, 20(2), 119-132.

Mother to Son and the Coora Flower free essay sample

In poetry, more so than any other form of literature, understanding sound, meaning and theme are key to understanding the work itself. In the case of the poems â€Å"Mother to Son† by Langston Hughes and â€Å"The Coora Flower† by Gwendolyn Brooks these elements, when heavily focused upon, allow the reader to discover the message that these writers were attempting to convey. Thought both writers use these elements to their fullest to communicate their respective messages, the method and messages vary greatly. In the poem Mother to Son, Hughes tells the tale of a mother speaking to her son about life and the hardships that one must face to make it in the world. Hughes uses extended metaphor to establish this view. In the second line he writes â€Å"Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair†, which initiates the metaphor. He then proceeds to describe the stair of her life. With the lines, â€Å"It’s had tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up, and places with no carpet on the floor†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he support the mothers claim that like has not been a crystal stair case by using the metaphor to make a direct comparison between imperfections in the staircase and the pitfalls in life. We will write a custom essay sample on Mother to Son and the Coora Flower or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He continues on with the line â€Å"bare† symbolizing rock bottom, nothingness, the absence of value. Then poem then begins to rise in action to signify the continued climb and the need to continue on, which is seen in the following lines; â€Å"I’se been a-climbin’ on,/ and reachin’ landin’s,/ and turnin’ corners,/ and sometimes goin’ in the dark†¦Ã¢â‚¬  the narrator states to the son once more that they still continue to climb and that life was easy for them. The language and the line structure chosen by Hughes help facilitate the message. He use very simple language but is able to invoke strong emotions from the reader. The language would potentially lead the reader to believe that this is truly a simple woman who had to struggle everyday of her life to make it. If Hughes had used more formal language within the work I do believe the mood would have been lost. The use of â€Å"And† at the beginning of lines creates almost a stepping motion within the rhythm of the words. Lines four, five and six in conjunction with the use of â€Å"And† creates a feeling of stepping or maybe even falling down stairs. Each lines description gets progressively worse until there is nothing left, which signified having nothing left to lose. Then with lines ten, eleven and twelve the use of â€Å"And† creates the sense of climbing back up with the same speed at which you fell. Line twelve ends the climb in sound and creates a leveling off that coincides with the walk through the dark stated in the poem. This established a mood of cautiousness, feeling things are. I thought this was a perfect example of theme and sound coming together to support meaning. I especially like the lines, â€Å"Don’t you set down on the steps. / ‘Cause you find it’s kinder hard. It shows that giving up isn’t an option; that quitting is the easy way out and that continuing to struggle on and fight is what’s really difficult. She asks no more of the son than she would ask of herself because she knows that it can be done, she was able to accomplish it herself. In Brooks’ poem The Coora Flower, she writes about escapism and reality. The poem starts off with the narrator telling the reader what she le arned about and then we are snatched back into reality with the lines, â€Å"Now I am coming home. / This, at least, is Real, and what I know. The following stanzas construct the comparison between life in school which is the escape and the life outside which is reality; â€Å"It was restful, learning nothing necessary. / School is a tiny vacation. At least you can sleep†¦/ But now it’s Real Business. I am Coming Home. † And as we read on we discover that reality is harsh, cold, painful and unrelenting and that the other world is more optimistic, warm and liberated. â€Å"My mother will be screaming in an almost dirty dress. / The crack is gone. So a Man will be in the house. / I must watch myself. / I must not dare to sleep. These lines define reality within the poem. Brooks also relies heavily on nuances within the structure and language to establish the message. The stanzas that contain information about school are longer and articulate. The lines flow and are inviting. When the lines about reality are read they are short, cold and very deliberate; they give a sense of rigidity. The language is very d irect and in some case demanding â€Å"I must†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . All stanzas about what’s â€Å"real† are two lines long while the ones that focus on school are four lines long. The statements toward school came off as being very cynical to me. It was restful, learning nothing necessary†¦ At least you can sleep†, the use of â€Å"at least† in these lines and the line that follows are what created the cynicism for me. It seemed as if she didn’t respect what went on in school because it wasn’t the harshness of her everyday life. Capitalization is something that caught my attention. The word â€Å"Real† always has the first letter capitalized, which to me established a mood of seriousness within the statements that contained it. I feel this is true the second use of â€Å"Coming Home† and â€Å"Man† in line fourteen. The capitalization on these words was carefully chosen to continue facilitating the theme and meaning. There is one line in this poem that caught my attention and required me to reread repeatedly to get what she truly meant that line is â€Å"which is not free from grief†. At first I thought it was just in reference to the previous line â€Å"At least you can think of love or feeling your boy friend against you† but upon multiple readings I realized that this was in reference to the whole stanza. She’s hinting at the fact that even good things come with their element of heartache. I found that to be an interesting idea and it shows that the narrator may never be able to find peace, maybe she thrives on the hardship and anguish that comes with her life because that is all she knows. When the two works are placed side by side one would have a hard time make a connection between them. It is true that the differences between the works are great but elements exist in both; some minor, some major but all important. One could make the simple connection both individual were African- American doesn’t give them the respect they deserve. Also that connection would have to be made off historical references outside of the work because nothing in either work given you indication that they are African American. The connection that should be made is that the both wrote of adversity and hardship; that both used elements like structure, language, tone to convey their message but end the came out with very different view points. From a psychological perspective the reader can focus on the fact that in Hughes’ poem the adversity within it was deemed to be external to the one relationship shown. In the case of Brooks the adversity was internal to the shown relationship. In both situations the writers own their material, you get the sense that these works are true to life for both of them. But where Hughes’ work is empowering, Brooks’ work is saddening because you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel for her narrator you just she the cold, harsh reality that is life, which was her intention. Her story was never meant to be uplifting it was meant to depress and sadden. Even in her few moments of joy, the narrator still could be happy because she knew at any moment it could all end. Both writers are successful at establishing a mood and theme throughout there works. I believe if these writers had an opportunity to sit down with either they would see elements of themselves in the other. In one case the young and still hopefully individual and in the other harden and scared individual that the young may become. But in the end these are my interpretations and it up to you to make your own. That’s the wonderful part about poetry it’s different for everyone who reads it.