Saturday, January 25, 2020

Pope Benedict XVI Biography Essay -- essays research papers

Pope Benedict XVI: A Life and Papacy Revealed   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On April 19, 2005 Joseph Alois Ratzinger was elected as successor to the beloved Pope John Paul II. He was formally enthroned during the papal inauguration Mass on April 24, 2005 and chose the name of Pope Benedict XVI (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). Elected at the age of 78 Pope Benedict XVI was the oldest to be elected Pope since Clement XII in 1730 (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). Pope Benedict is only the eight German Pope to be elected into office the last being Adrian VI (1522-1523) (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). His Early Life   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Joseph Alois Ratzinger was born on Holy Saturday April 16, 1927 at his parents' home in Marktl am Inn, Germany (Ewtn P. Ben XVI bio). He was the first person baptized in the Easter Water and blessed at the Easter Vigil (Ewtn P. Ben XVI bio). His father, Joseph Ratzinger Sr., was a policeman from a family of farmers from lower Baveria and his mother, Maria Ratzinger, was from a family of South Tyrol (Ewtn P. Ben XVI bio). In 1929 Joseph and his family moved to Tittmoning, a small town on the Salzach River, on the Austrian border (Ewtn P. Ben xvi bio). In 1932 his father's outspoken criticism of the Nazis required the family to relocate to Auschau am Inn (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). His father retired in 1937, and his family moved to Hufschlag, outside of Traunstein (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). There Joseph began studying classical languages at his local high school (Ewtn P. Ben XVI bio). In 1939, he entered the minor seminary in Traunstein, his first step toward the priesthood (Ewtn P. Ben XVI bio). Military Backround   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  World War II forced a postponement of young Ratzinger’s studies. In 1943, at the age of 16, Ratzinger was drafted with many of his friends into the anti-aircraft artillery corps (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). Ratzinger and his classmates were posted all over Europe to help in guarding aircraft engine plants (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). According to John Allen, author of Cardinal Ratzinger: The Vatican’s Enforcer of Faith, â€Å"Ratzinger was only briefly a member †¦ and not an enthusiastic one at that.† This was mostly due to the fact that an infected finger prevented him from learning how to shoot (Time 40). On September 10, 1944, Ratzinger was given new notice for the â€Å"Reichsarbeitsdienst† (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). He was posted at the H... ...bio). Others also maintain that single quotes from Dominus Iesus are not indicative of intolerance or an unwillingness to engage in dialogue with other faiths, and this is clear from a reading of the entire document (Locker P. Ben XVI bio). They point out that Ratzinger has been very active in promoting inter-faith dialogue (Locker P. Ben XVI bio). Specifically, they argue that Ratzinger has been instrumental at encouraging reconciliation with Lutherans (Locker P. Ben XVI bio). In defending Dominus Iesus, Benedict himself has stated that his belief is that inter-faith dialogue should take place on the basis of equal human dignity, but that equality of human dignity should not imply that each side is equally correct (Locker P. Ben XVI bio). There are many views on how people feel Pope Benedict will do while he holds the title of Pope .When asked about her overall thought of Pope Benedict XVI Lea Gagliardo, a religion teacher for many years, said â€Å"she feels that he will be a wonderful continuation of the beloved ways of John Paul II.† Overall the attitude seems to be that Benedict will be a great Christina leader and he will be able to continue the ways of the beloved John Paul II.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

“Africville” Poem analysis Essay

In Maxine Tynes’ poem â€Å"Africville,† the theme addressed is despite how the community of Africville was completely destroyed, their pride still prospers and remains in the minds and hearts of all its citizens. Tynes uses repetition, tone of voice, symbolism and imagery to dynamically convey the theme. Throughout the poem, Tynes exhibits a universal tone used to evoke pain and anger, as well as a more contrasting tone that demonstrates pride. This contrast of the specific tone used is demonstrated by Tynes in the first stanza of the poem: â€Å"We are the dispossessed Black of the land/creeping with shadows/with life/with pride† (2-5). â€Å"We are the dispossessed Black of the land/ creeping with shadows† generates a feeling of loss which invokes the event in which the citizens of Africville were dislodged from their beloved land. The following part of the phrase, â€Å"With life/with pride† contrasts the first half by emitting a sense of pride which effectively conveys a more positive aura. This connotation is used to display how the community of Africville still lives on after they were evicted from their Promised Land. In addition to the tone of voice, the speaker uses repetition and well-founded word choice continually in various fragments of the poem. The speaker tells the readers of the poem that â€Å"No house is Africville. /No road, no tree, no well.† (25-26). The word â€Å"no† is repeated throughout the passage to emphasize and convey the theme; that Africville is not simply a location, but a part of the community itself. Thirdly, the theme is intensified by the frequent use of symbolism and imagery. It is recognized that the speaker uses imagery to foreshadow how the Africville community is a strong and hopeful society. The last stanza highlights this in the last few lines: â€Å"We wear Our Africville face and skin and heart. /For all the world. / For Africville.† (33-35). Readers notice that the word â€Å"Our† is capitalized. This addresses how the speaker associates the Africville community with the impression of importance and high value to the speaker itself. Furthermore, the symbolism plays a crucial role in the poem; â€Å"This park is green; but / Black, so Black with community.† (15-16). The colour green is used to represent the peaceful community that Africville used to be. â€Å"Black† is used to contrast the Green by associating itself with the evil of the decision to demolish Africville. In conclusion, Tynes uses a combination of literary and figurative language  to convey the theme; although Africville is gone, its community lives on.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Biography of Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer

Alice Walker (born February 9, 1944) is a writer and activist, perhaps best known as the author of The Color Purple and more than 20 other books and poetry collections.  She is also known for  recovering the work of Zora Neale Hurston and for her work against female circumcision.  She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983 and the National Book Award in 1984. Fast Facts: Alice Walker Known For: Writer, feminist, and activistBorn: February 9, 1944 in Eatonton, GeorgiaParents: Minnie Tallulah Grant and Willie Lee WalkerEducation: East Putnam Consolidated, Butler-Baker High School in Eatonton, Spelman College, and Sarah Lawrence CollegePublished Works: The Color Purple, The Temple of My Familiar, Possessing the Secret of JoySpouse: Melvyn R. Leventhal (m. 1967–1976)Children: Rebecca Leventhal (b. November 1969) Early Life Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944, in Eatonton, Georgia, the last of eight children born to Minnie Tallulah Grant and Willie Lee Walker. Her parents were sharecroppers who worked on a large cotton farm during the days of Jim Crow. Recognizing Alices abilities at a very young age, her mother got the 4-year old into first grade at East Putnam Consolidated, where she quickly became a star pupil. In 1952, a childhood accident blinded her in one eye. Medical conditions in the Jim Crow south meant she did not get proper medical treatment until six years later when she visited her brother in Boston, Massachusetts. Nevertheless, she went on to become valedictorian of her class at Butler-Baker High School. At 17, Walker received a scholarship to attend Spelman College in Atlanta, where she became interested in Russian literature and the burgeoning Civil Rights movement. In 1963, she was offered a scholarship to Sarah Lawrence College, and, after her activist mentor Howard Zinn was fired from Spelman, Walker transferred to Sarah Lawrence. There, she studied poetry with Muriel Rukeyser (1913–1980), who would help her get her first collection of poems, Once, published in 1968. In her senior year, Walker studied in East Africa as an exchange student; she graduated in 1965. Professional Life After college, Alice Walker worked briefly for the New York City Department of Welfare and then returned to the south, moving to Jackson, Mississippi. In Jackson, she volunteered in voter registration drives and worked for the Legal Defense Fund of the NAACP. She met fellow civil rights worker Melvyn R. Leventhal on March 17, 1967, and they married in New York and moved back to Jackson, where they were the first legally married biracial couple in the city. They had one daughter, Rebecca, born November 17, 1969, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1976. Alice Walker started her professional writing career as a writer-in-residence first at Jackson State University (1968–1969) and then at Tougaloo College (1970–1971). Her first novel,  a three-generation saga of sharecroppers called The Third Life of Grange Copeland, was published in 1970. In 1972, she taught a course in Black Womens Writers at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She continued steadily writing throughout this period. Early Writing By the mid-1970s, Walker turned to her inspirations from the Harlem Renaissance period of the early 20th century. In 1974, Walker wrote a biography of poet Langston Hughes (1902–1967), and the following year she published a description of her research with Charlotte Hunt, In Search of Zora Neale Hurston, in Ms.  magazine. Walker is credited with reviving interest in the writer/anthropologist (1891–1960). Her novel Meridian came out in 1976, and the subject was the civil rights movement in the south. Her next novel, The Color Purple, changed her life. Alice Walkers poems, novels, and short stories frankly deal with rape, violence, isolation, troubled relationships, bi-sexuality, multi-generational perspectives, sexism, and racism: all of the things which she knew from her personal experiences. Always, and more as she grew as a writer, Alice Walker has been unafraid to be controversial. The Color Purple When The Color Purple came out in 1982, Walker became known to an even wider audience. Her Pulitzer Prize and the movie by Steven Spielberg brought both fame and controversy. She was widely criticized for negative portrayals of men in The Color Purple, though many critics admitted that the movie presented more simplistic negative pictures than the books more nuanced portrayals. In two books—The Temple of My Familiar (1989) and Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992)—Walker took on the issue of female circumcision in Africa, which brought further controversy: was Walker a cultural imperialist to criticize a different culture? Legacy Alice Walkers works are known for their portrayals of the African-American womans life. She depicts vividly the sexism, racism, and poverty that make that life often a struggle. But she also portrays as part of that life, the strengths of family, community, self-worth, and spirituality. Many of her novels depict women in other periods of history than our own. Just as with non-fiction womens history writing, such portrayals give a sense of the differences and similarities of womens condition today and in that other time. Alice Walker continues not only to write but to be active in environmental, feminist/womanist causes, and issues of economic justice. Her latest novel, Now is the Time to Open Your Heart, was published in 2004; since that time her published work has been poetry. In 2018, she published a collection of poems titled Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart. Sources Alice Walker: By the Book. The New York Times, December 13, 2018.  Howard, Lillie P (ed.). Alice Walker Zora Neale Hurston: The Common Bond. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood, 1993.Lazo, Caroline. Alice Walker: Freedom Writer. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2000.  Ã‚  Takenaga, Lara. A Q. and A. With Alice Walker Stoked Outrage. Our Book Review Editor Responds. New York Times, December 18, 2018.  Walker, Alice. Alice Walker Banned.  Ed. Holt, Patricia. New York: Aunt Lute Books, 1996.  Walker, Alice (ed.) I Love Myself When I Am Laughing... Then Again When I Am Looking Mean Impressive: A Zora Neale Hurston Reader. New York: The Feminist Press, 1979.  Walker, Alice. Living by the Word: Selected Writings, 1973-1987. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Company, 1981.White, Evelyn C. Alice Walker: A Life. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2004.