Has there ever been a day, where everything that could go wrong does, and it seems like nothing can reverse the damage? But then upon arriving home, something worthy of much gratitude happens to ease away the pain of this awful day, even if only small in measure. It could be the giving of unbiased love and affection from one’s animal companion, the lended ear and open heart of a friend, or even the discovery of good leftovers in the fridge from one’s favorite restaurant. The appreciation felt for the uplifting abilities of the ordinary details of one’s life is addressed in William Wordsworth’s poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud. The poem’s speaker describes a time when they were strolling through the countryside and discovered a very large grouping of yellow daffodils. They recall the daffodils to be so enchanting as they waved in the passing breeze …show more content…
Present day American society places such an obscene amount of emphasis on obtaining success and achieving goals that the borderline obsession is deteriorating people’s lives and characters. In his book The Cheating Culture, author David Callahan discusses how Americans seem to have adopted two different moral compasses, the first directing people’s behavior in situations concerning family, sex, traditional crime, drugs while the second directs people’s behavior in situations concerning money, careers, and success (Callahan 14). It is concerning to think that a person may be so focused on achieving their goal that they would willfully choose to change their morals and tarnish their character just so they can rationalize and justify their use of what would normally be
John Muir’s essay, The Calypso Borealis, and William Wordsworth’s poem, I wandered Lonely as a Cloud, are two wonderfully written works centered towards their love for nature. They were able to create vivd images in the reader’s head through their writing as well as emotional transitions. Both works, inspired by events in the 19th century, have their differences, however, their emotion and love for nature is the same and creates the same impact with the
William Damon’s “The Death of Honesty” presents a solemn analysis of the decline of modern virtue due to a “dysfunctional tipping point” where honesty is no longer viewed as a moral characteristic worthy of pursuing. Dishonesty is presented as both a virtue and a vice that is shaping our contemporary society. The Hoover Institution of Stanford University published Mr. Damon’s article in 2012 under the Task Force on the Virtues of a Free Society, which would provide a target audience of students, educators, parents or anyone with an interest in sociology, specifically in the United States. A rhetorical analysis exposes flaws in Mr. Damon’s logic, while the appeal of ethos and pathos are successful tools in creating a connection with readers.
A number of high schools, colleges, and universities have adopted an honor code to cultivate integrity amongst students at their institution. These principles vary from cheating to tardiness, to plagiarism and have garnered praise from multiple outlets for apparently being successful in preventing cheating and enforcing punishment for those who break the rules. However, others like myself, criticize the honor code due to skepticism in its abilities to prevent such rule breaking, its success in being enforced, and whether it would actually convince a student to not cheat. If Windham High School were to establish an honor code, it would be a failure given that it would not encourage students to abstain from breaking it. Academic institutions
This article on ethics was really interesting and a dilemma that is prevalent within criminal justice. In the article Dr. Steven Davis recognized that students cheating in high school increased by 20% in the 1940 to 75% today. Davis stated, "If students lack ethics in high school and college, then there should be little surprise that they lack ethics in their careers. (2008). " This observation by Davis holds some value, because individuals that is willing to cheat to get ahead, definitely has no problem crossing ethical lines, because in their mind the wrong is acceptable, just as it was when they cheated.
Nature is undeniably beautiful. There is something so angelic about the way it surrounds us everywhere we go. Nature is essential to life. " The Calypso Borealis," an essay by John Muir, and William Wordsworth's poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," both describe their perspectives and mood towards nature. Nature highly impacts both these authors according to their writings.
People of any and every background face difficulties. Many people do not even know how many people support and care for them. For example, when a family's house in a community burns down, it is reassuring to see their neighbors, friends, family, and even strangers, come together in order to protect and help the family in a time of need. In Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Shoulders,” she shows just how important protecting loved ones is. “Shoulders” is about a father who needs to protect his son from the rain in order to let him sleep.
Moral Code suggests that being faithful to your spouse is a must, and for the most part women obey this rule. On the other hand, guys are aware of this moral behavior, yet find it difficult to actually follow through with it. Barry advocates that men are easily tempted in contrast to women. The contrast found in this essay elaborates upon the author’s argument by giving the reader specific examples of the sexes differences.
as in her final moments the narrator recalls her earliest connection to the landscape. A key theme throughout the poem is the importance of embracing nature, emphasized by the metaphor of the “fine pumpkins grown on a trellis” which rise in towards the “fastness of light”, which symbolizes the narrators own growth, flourishing as a fruit of the earth. Through her metaphors and complex conflagration of shifting perspectives, Harwood illustrates the relationship that people can develop with landscapes, seeing both present and past in
The days, which were once spent in the serene of the outdoors, are now filled with “getting” the material things that only make the hearts of man grow more selfish. The money as well as youth of people is being “spent” away on items that ultimately will not bring true pleasure to the soul. The materialism that Wordsworth encounters is not much different from that which can be seen in society today. Throughout the poem, diction is also used to explicitly show how the shift to materialism was a cognizant decision made by the society as a whole. These growing material desires did not
Wordsworth and Muir express their fascination with nature using imagery and mood. In “Calypso Borealis”, John Muir states that he finds himself “glorying in the fresh cool beauty and charm of the bog and meadow heathworts, grasses, carices, ferns, mosses, liverworts displayed in boundless profusion” (Muir). The words “boundless profusion” appeals to the sense of sight and helps us imagine the scene and all the bountiful natural beauty of the place. The image shows Muir’s relationship with nature because it demonstrates his overwhelming, nearly spiritual, experience with nature. In the poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud”,
The poem "Kindness" by Naomi Shihab Nye speaks about how you experience kindness and what it really is. The main point in this poem is that in order to experience people's kindness you need to experience hurt, sorrow, and loneliness. The author says that when you loose everything and have no one or thing that when kindness comes along it lifts you up "and then goes with you everywhere/ like a shadow or a friend" (33-34). When portraying this message the author uses a sad but hopeful tone to send the message she wants to say. This tone helps portray the message because you can feel how sad someone is when they are lonely and they have nothing.
“There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while
He believes that because humanity has absorbed so many materialistic ideals that the connection between nature and oneself feels absent. “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” instead begins with the discovery of a field of golden daffodils, “fluttering
The calming light that speckles onto the ground through the leaves of the tree enchants the speaker. It captivates the poet to become under nature’s spell by its enchanting beauty. The power and mystery behind nature is unbelievable as humans continue to explore the wonders of how nature works at its
Even within "Tintern Abbey," Wordsworth shows an unpleasant time through his lamentation of the loss of youth. In some ways the poem refers to a crisis of passing time, maturation, and the effects of memory on "that best portion of a good man's life" (34). By claiming "all its aching joys are now no more," (85) he laments the passage of time. Memory helps to highlight the good in these times long passed.