IF - a victim of its own success :: essays research papers

IF it is true that familiarity breeds contempt, it would explain the contradictions that surround Rudyard Kipling's famous poem If-. On the one hand it is one of the most popular and best-known poems in the English language. On the other this enormous popularity has done it a disservice. For instance, despite appearing in many anthologies of verse, If- is excluded from The New Oxford Book of English Verse. Instead, editor Helen Gardner selects Kipling's Mandalay, Danny Deever, Cities and Thrones and Powers, The Way through the Woods, and the imperialistic Recessional. Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), poet, short-story writer and novelist, was born in Bombay. He was sent to England to be educated, and then returned to India at the age of 17, where he rapidly made a name for himself as a superb journalist and caustic observer of Anglo- Indian society. He returned to England in 1889, where he achieved celebrity status with his poems of army life, Barrack-Room Ballads (1892), which established him as an unofficial spokesman for the then much-despised British soldier, and for the British Empire. From this period until his death, Kipling's reputation was to vary according to the political climate. Kipling was inclined to be crudely chauvinistic, and to display unpleasant arrogance towards peoples ruled by or hostile to Britain, though he also emphasised British responsibility for the welfare of the governed peoples. Be that as it may, it is interesting to note that his most enduringly popular works are two of his children's books, The Jungle Book (1894-5) and the Just So Stories (1902), the latter of which Kipling illustrated himself. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907. Kipling's poetry is striking for its success in using, vividly and musically, popular forms of speech such as the dramatic monologue and ballad tradition. He was also able to write poetry appropriate for public occasions and capable of stirring the feelings of a large public. His poetry is generally simple in its components but, when it rises above the level of doggerel, strong in its impact. It needs to be read in selection. Which brings us back to If-. The poem first appeared in Kipling's less celebrated children's book Rewards and Fairies (1910). Apart from its over-quoted opening lines `If you can keep your head when all about you/Are losing theirs and blaming it on you', its most memorable lines are in the final stanza:

Catcher in the Rye Psychological Analysis Essay

J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye portrays Holden Caulfield, a New York City teenager in the 1950’s, as a manic-depressive. Some critics of Salinger’s novel assert that Holden is too whiney and annoying as a character. What these critics fail to realize is that Holden’s actions throughout the novel perfectly exemplify that of a depressed teenager. Manic depression, compulsive lying, and immaturity throughout the novel characterize Holden. Holden’s depression finds its roots with the death of his brother, Allie. Holden is expelled from numerous schools due to his poor academics brought on by his depression. The manner that Holden sees himself and how he sees others leads him to be expelled from school. According to Michael Martin’s book titled Teen Depression, â€Å"depressed teenagers can struggle with depression for month or years. â€Å"It is a mental disorder which†¦ includes†¦ feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, guilt, problems with concentration† (Teen Depression). Throughout the novel, Holden exhibits these symptoms quite frequently. In fact, Holden makes his depression clear when he expresses how, â€Å"packing depressed me a little,† (51, Catcher). Holden expresses these feelings when he packs his bags after being notified that he is expelled. Holden leaves school and heads for New York City, where he finds himself to be more lonely and depressed than ever. When alone, Holden laments that â€Å"what I really felt like doing was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out of the window. † (104, Catcher). Too ashamed to return home, knowing his mother will be upset and his father will be angry with him, Holden turns to thoughts of suicide. He also adds that â€Å"I wasn’t feeling sleepy or anything, but I was feeling sort of lousy. Depressed and all, I almost wished I was dead,† (90, Catcher). Critics tend to describe Holden as being just an angst riddled teenager, whose perspective of the world around him is warped. While these critics may view these attributes as annoying, they actually serve to provide an emotional depth onset by Holden’s depression. For example, Negativity and hopelessness is often a symptom of depression, so when Holden narrates, â€Å"I’m pretty sure he yelled â€Å"Good luck! † at me. I hope not. I hope to hell not. I’d never yell â€Å"Good luck! † at anybody. It sounds terrible, when you think about it. (78, Catcher) Salinger is simply channeling the thoughts of a depressed teenager. Depression is a disease which causes the victim to enter this pessimistic state of mind, so naturally outside observers may be irked by Holden’s actions. However, this excerpt clearly illustrates the warped mindset of a depressed teen. Depressed teenagers tend to believe that their situation is entirely hopeless, and cannot possibly be rectified. The utter hopelessness which accompanies depression is not a rare phenomenon and is perhaps the most troubling aspect of the disease. Holden’s actions in the novel could easily be attributed to these symptoms. According to Teen Depression, depressed teenagers tend to look for relief in sex, drugs, or alcohol abuse. In the short time frame of the novel, Holden sought out 2 out of the 3 aforementioned items. These actions could be attributed to his desire to seek out a temporary form of relief in his life. Drinking allows Holden to escape from his heavy, pessimistic mentality. While Holden was with the prostitute, he was able to rid himself of his overwhelming isolation. Eric Lomazoff summarizes Holden’s situation best when he says that Holden was simply â€Å"trying to make the best of his life, though ultimately loosing that battle† (Lomazoff). Holden Caulfield is not a bad person, as so many critics make him out to be. In fact, Lomazoff goes as far to say that Holden is â€Å"a good guy stuck in a bad world†. The main reason why The Catcher in the Rye is so revered is because Salinger is able to embody the perspective of a troubled teenager so seamlessly. Holden’s depression is perhaps the most critical component of Salinger’s story. It is clear that upon closer examination, one would discover that Holden is not just a troubled teenager, but a clinically depressed one.

Bessie Coleman, African American Woman Pilot

Bessie Coleman, a stunt pilot, was a pioneer in aviation. She was the first African American woman with a pilots license, the first African American woman to fly a plane, and the first American with an international pilots license.   She lived from  January 26, 1892 (some sources give 1893)  to April 30, 1926 Early Life Bessie Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas, in 1892, tenth of thirteen children. The family soon moved to a farm near Dallas. The family worked the land as sharecroppers, and Bessie Coleman worked in the cotton fields. Her father, George Coleman, moved to Indian Territory, Oklahoma, in 1901, where he had rights, based on having three Indian grandparents. His African American wife, Susan, with five of their children still at home, refused to go with him. She supported the children by picking cotton and taking in laundry and ironing. Susan, Bessie Colemans mother, encouraged her daughters education, though she was herself illiterate, and though Bessie had to miss school often to help in the cotton fields or to watch her younger siblings. After Bessie graduated from eighth grade with high marks, she was able to pay, with her own savings and some from her mother, for a semesters tuition at an industrial college in Oklahoma, Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University. When she dropped out of school after a semester, she returned home, working as a laundress. In 1915 or 1916 she moved to Chicago to stay with her two brothers who had already moved there. She went to beauty school, and became a manicurist, where she met many of the black elite of Chicago. Learning to Fly Bessie Coleman had read about the new field of aviation, and her interest was heightened when her brothers regaled her with tales of French women flying planes in World War I. She tried to enroll in aviation school, but was turned down. It was the same story with other schools where she applied. One of her contacts through her job as a manicurist was Robert S. Abbott, publisher of the Chicago Defender. He encouraged her to go to France to study flying there. She got a new position managing a chili restaurant to save money while studying French at the Berlitz school. She followed Abbotts advice, and, with funds from several sponsors including Abbott, left for France in 1920. In France, Bessie Coleman was accepted in a flying school, and received her pilots license—the first African American woman to do so. After two more months of study with a French pilot, she returned to New York in September, 1921. There, she was celebrated in the black press and was ignored by the mainstream press. Wanting to make her living as a pilot, Bessie Coleman returned to Europe for advanced training in acrobatic flying—stunt flying. She found that training in France, in the Netherlands, and in Germany. She returned to the United States in 1922. Bessie Coleman, Barnstorming Pilot That Labor Day weekend, Bessie Coleman flew in an air show on Long Island in New York, with Abbott and the Chicago Defender as sponsors. The event was held in honor of black veterans of World War I. She was billed as the worlds greatest woman flyer. Weeks later, she flew in a second show, this one in Chicago, where crowds lauded her stunt flying. From there she became a popular pilot at air shows around the United States. She announced her intent to start a flying school for African Americans, and began recruiting students for that future venture. She started a beauty shop in Florida to help raise funds. She also regularly lectured at schools and churches. Bessie Coleman landed a movie role in a film called Shadow and Sunshine, thinking it would help her promote her career.   She walked away when she realized that the depiction of her as a black woman would be as a stereotypical Uncle Tom. Those of her backers who were in the entertainment industry in turn walked away from supporting her career. In 1923, Bessie Coleman bought her own plane, a World War I surplus Army training plane. She crashed in the plane days later, on February 4, when the plane nose-dived. After a long recuperation from broken bones, and a longer struggle to find new backers, she finally was able to get some new bookings for her stunt flying. On Juneteenth (June 19) in 1924 , she flew in a Texas air show. She bought another plane—this one also an older model, a Curtiss JN-4, one that was low-priced enough that she could afford it. May Day in Jacksonville In April, 1926, Bessie Coleman was in Jacksonville, Florida, to prepare for a May Day Celebration sponsored by the local Negro Welfare League. On April 30, she and her mechanic went for a test flight, with the mechanic piloting the plane and Bessie in the other seat, with her seat belt unbuckled so that she could lean out and get a better view of the ground as she planned the next days stunts. A loose wrench got wedged in the open gear box, and the controls jammed. Bessie Coleman was thrown from the plane at 1,000 feet, and she died in the fall to the ground. The mechanic could not regain control, and the plane crashed and burned, killing the mechanic. After a well-attended memorial service in Jacksonville on May 2, Bessie Coleman was buried in Chicago. Another memorial service there drew crowds as well. Every April 30, African American aviators—men and women—fly in formation over Lincoln Cemetery in southwest Chicago (Blue Island) and drop flowers on Bessie Colemans grave. Legacy of Bessie Coleman Black flyers founded the Bessie Coleman Aero Clubs, right after her death. the Bessie Aviators organization was founded by black women pilots in 1975, open to women pilots of all races. In 1990, Chicago renamed a road near OHare International Airport for Bessie Coleman. That same year, Lambert - St. Louis International Airport unveiled a mural honoring Black Americans in Flight, including Bessie Coleman. In 1995, the U.S. Postal Service honored Bessie Coleman with a commemorative stamp. In October, 2002, Bessie Coleman was inducted into the National Womens Hall of Fame in New York. Also known as:  Queen Bess, Brave Bessie Background, Family: Mother: Susan Coleman, sharecropper, cotton picker and laundressFather: George Coleman, sharecropperSiblings: thirteen total; nine survived Education: Langston Industrial College, Oklahoma - one semester, 1910Ecole dAviation des Freres, France, 1920-22Beauty school in ChicagoBerlitz school, Chicago, French language, 1920