#8220;Expository Essay Sample on Nature Based Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier #8220;

#8220;Expository Essay Sample on Nature Based Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier #8220; Nature plays a major role and has a profound impact on the lives of all organisms; it can be a friend or a foe. From the time a being comes into existence, it almost immediately, becomes aware of the necessary connection with the outside world. The creature begins by exploring all parts of the new surrounding, deciding how it maybe able to cope with the environment, making all the essential adaptations. As the life form grows, it becomes more and more dependent on nature, realizing how important the trees, grass, and even the sky really are. This dependency is also spiritual, one that comes from within, easily determining moods, emotions, actions, and sometimes proving to be an unlikely escape from reality or serving with unthinkable hardships. This intermingling bond, between being and nature, is almost inevitable in all beings. This union is the source of many struggles and conflicts that prove to be a test to the soul. This reliance, provided by nature, is nowhere else more evident then in writing. Authors take advantage of the daily struggles that are offered by setting to develop magnificent plots and create stunning suspense. This is especially so in the ageless love story, Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, which describes the adversities that an outlaw soldier faces on his journey home to the unreachable mountain, where he hopes his love will be waiting. The fictional setting of the ferocious forest calls for developed characters that have courage, endurance, and a deep down sense of fright. The characters conflict and ally with natural forces in their daily struggles with life. Inman, one of the main characters in the novel, has a unique bond with nature, as he battles with it and then uses it as an internal remedy. He grows dependant on it, as both a mental getaway and a source of survival. In the beginning of the novel, Inman, from the confines of the hospital, looks out the window of his room and drifts into a mental ecstasy. For him, nature is an escape from the hospital environment and the pain of his wounds. He flashes back to his childhood. Inman remembers an incident that occurred when he was a schoolboy, and he threw his hat out of the window of the classroom. He went to retrieve it, running away from the school, and fleeing from all his troubles. In his mind, Inman longs to run away from the cruel world full of blood, killing, and misery. He fantasies about Cold Mountain and his life before the beginning of the war. Mentally, Inman establishes his own survival mechanism, a way to drift away from the images of death that are instilled in his mind. These visions cause him to have a great desire to break away, even at the cost of becoming a fugitive and, ultimately this drives him to find his way home. Inman’s fantasies could not have prepared him for the grueling journey that he encounters; he has immense struggles with nature. Numerous times, he finds himself at death’s door, but because of his mental will, he perseveres. He stumbles upon nature’s cruelty, with harsh weather, dangerous animals, and poisonous plants. Proving to be a major set back to his expedition, Inman overcomes treacherous rainstorms and bitter blizzards. He has no choice but to continue through whatever nature throws at him. While walking miles upon miles under the nightly sky, Inman is greeted the mysterious hoot of owls and crows that fly over his head. Even though these gloomy animals do not pose an immediate danger, they do create an eerie effect that depresses the deserter. Inman must learn to protect himself from the much more threatening animals that roam the landscape. On one occasion, Inman, for his own safety, is forced to drive an attacking mother bear off a cliff, and, with mu ch discontent, shoot her orphaned cub, which would otherwise not survive. To add to Inman’s own wounds, the run away soldier travels through unknown paths that are infested with poison ivy. The ivy injects more throbbing pain into its already injured victim. In terms of survival, nature is fighting against Inman. He must fend for himself, not only against the Home Guards, but also against the brutality of daily life in his surroundings. This leaves him weary and warn out, which, in turn, brings down his conviction. As nature wages war on Inman, it also supplies him with many necessities. The lush forest offers protection from enemies, provides him with shelter, and many times furnishes him food. Because of the large territory of the woodlands, Inman can, easily, keep himself hidden by taking unknown paths and hiding the bushes. The forest proves to be the safest place that Inman could be in; every time he travels into town to gather more supplies, he finds himself in danger. Inman has many close encounters with the town folk who try to kill him or capture him. He is also able to find caves and rest under the trees, which give him much needed shelter and a limited opportunity to rest from a countless days of walking. Inman quickly learns how to use the forest for his survival, hunting small animals. He soon finds himself connected with the forest in everyway possible, relying on it to stay alive, becoming a part of it, much like the small animals that he hunts. In his journey home, the forest eventually becomes his only source of his spiritual feelings. As Inman travels west, he begins to feel liberate from the war, attempting to let loose his horrid memories of blood. With every step, he is able, in his mind, to come closer to his goal, freedom. Therefore, when he is captured by the Home Guards and is forced to travel east, he feels like his life is ending, like he is traveling back in time. When Inman is shot, buried, and left for dead, he becomes one with the ground and his peaceful surroundings. Later, when the wild hogs uncover his body, he is brought back into the outside world, and reminded of the horror that exists. Inman also searches nature for a spiritual connection that would help him find meaning in his life. The dim landscape represents the suffering within his soul. The loneliness of the terrain symbolizes Inman’s feelings within himself. Inman identifies and envies the crow, a symbol that remains constant and establishes a relationship with all of the characters throughout the novel. He is jealous of this animal’s independence and unconformity to the world that mankind has established. Inman, in a way, also resents bird’s cunning and sneaky ways, as it is able to acquire everything it desires. Moreover, when Inman encounters a woman in the woods and seeks shelter at her camp, he discovers her connection and dependency on all that is around her. He finds fascinating the fact that she lives as a hermit, oblivious to the outside world. Inman soon concludes that be could not be so isolated from the exterior. Inman is not the only character in the novel that establishes a connection on many levels with nature. Like Inman, Ada uses nature as an antidote to her problems. She is a cultured young lady who is looking for a sense of direction after the death of her father, whom she had depended on all her life. She has absolutely no skills to revive her dying farm to provide her with a steady income. In the beginning of the novel, she takes in her surroundings much like a small child. Ada finds comfort in the trees and bushes that invite her to evade from the outside world. Therefore, she often buries herself in the shrubbery, falling asleep in this safety blanket. Other times, she sits under the peach tree, recollecting her time with Inman, her true love. Sitting on the front porch, Ada’s mind escapes into a book or into memories of her father. In nature, she does not seem to realize or even care to realize her problems. Ada’s prayers are answered and a miracle comes in the form of a girl named Ruby. She is a self- raised orphan who is looking for affection from a troubled childhood. Her approach to nature is more out of necessity than any other means. Because Ruby, from the time she was able to walk, has been dependent on the outside for survival; she is not able to establish a spiritual connection with the landscape. She is aware of the benefits and dangers of the greenery and therefore is able to help revive the failing farm and help Ada get back on her feet. Their meeting and relationship was truly a blessing to both Ada and Ruby. From each other, the both learn more than they could have ever bargained for, filling in the gap between practical and spiritual knowledge. Ruby teaches Ada how to work hard and the details of the terrain. She shows her that a little sweat can have great rewards, not only physically but also mentally. She realizes that she feels better about herself because she has interacted with nature in a way that she never has before. Ada offers Ruby something that Ruby has never had before, love. Ada presents her with a connection through books and shows Ruby how to see the world in a different light. She gives her affection and Ruby begins to have a strong spiritual bond with that is around her. Ada assures Ruby that it is all right to dream and to build castles in the sky. Together, each one fills each other’s void and both become much more complete. The bond between man and nature is expected, as both are interlinked with each other. It can provide great mental relief from daily tribulations and anguish. Other times, it can be the greatest adversary that man has to deal with. This bond is necessary for both existence and sanity. Nature determines many aspects of one’s life, even ones of life and death. The conflicts that the environment provides enable man to become stronger and he triumphs or fails at daily struggles.

Love Poems of the English Renaissance

Love Poems of the English Renaissance The love poems of the Renaissance are considered to be some of the most romantic of all time. Many of the most famous poets are more well-known as playwrights Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson and the most renowned of all, William Shakespeare. Throughout the medieval period, which preceded the Renaissance, poetry changed dramatically throughout England and Western Europe. Slowly, and with influence from movements like  courtly love, the epic ballads of battles and monsters like Beowulf were transformed into romantic adventures like the  Arthurian legends. These romantic legends were the precursor to the Renaissance, and as it unfolded, literature and poetry evolved still further and took on a decidedly romantic aura. A more personal style developed, and poems clearly became a way for a  poet to reveal his feelings to the one he loved. In the mid-to-late 16th  century, there  was a virtual flowering of poetic talent in England, influenced by the art and literature of the Italian Renaissance a century before. Here are some prominent examples of English poetry from the crest of the English Renaissance of letters. CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE (1564-1593) Christopher Marlowe was educated at Cambridge and known for his wit and charm. After he graduated from  Cambridge he went to London and joined the Admirals Men, a group of players. He soon began writing plays, and those included Tamburlaine the Great, Dr. Faustus and The Jew of Malta. When he wasnt writing plays he often could be found gambling, and during a game of backgammon one fateful night with three other men he got into a quarrel, and one of them stabbed him to death, ending this most talented writers life at the age of 29. Besides plays, he wrote poems. Heres an example: Who Ever Loved That Loved Not at First Sight?   It lies not in our power to love or hate,For will in us is overruled by fate.When two are stripped, long ere the course begin,We wish that one should love, the other win;And one especially do we affectOf two gold ingots, like in each respect:The reason no man knows; let it sufficeWhat we behold is censured by our eyes.Where both deliberate, the love is slight:Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?   SIR WALTER RALEIGH (1554-1618) Sir Walter Raleigh was a true Renaissance man: He was a courtier in the court of Queen Elizabeth I, an explorer, an adventurer, a warrior, a poet. He is famous for putting down his cloak over a puddle for Queen Elizabeth in an act of stereotypical chivalry. So its no surprise that he would be a writer of romantic poetry. After Queen Elizabeth died, he was accused of plotting against King James I and was sentenced to death and was beheaded in 1618. The Silent Lover,  Part 1 Passions are likend best to floods and streams:The shallow murmur, but the deep are dumb;So, when affection yields discourse, it seemsThe bottom is but shallow whence they come.They that are rich in words, in words discoverThat they are poor in that which makes a lover. BEN JONSON (1572-1637) After an unlikely beginning as an adult that included being arrested for acting in a seditious play, killing a fellow actor and spending time in jail, Ben Jonsons first play was put on at the Globe Theatre, complete with William Shakespeare in the cast. It was called Every Man in His Humour, and it was Jonsons breakthrough moment. He got in trouble with the law again over Sejanus, His Fall and Eastward Ho. accused of popery and treason. Despite these legal troubles and antagonism with fellow playwrights, he became poet laureate of Britain in 1616 and is buried in Westminster Abbey. Come, My Celia Come, my Celia, let us proveWhile we may, the sports of love;Time will not be ours forever;He at length our good will sever.Spend not then his gifts in vain.Suns that set may rise again;But if once we lose this light,Tis with us perpetual night.Why should we defer our joys?Fame and rumor are but toysCannot we delude the eyesOf a few poor household spies,Or his easier ears beguile,So removed by our wile?Tis no sin loves fruit to stealBut the sweet theft to reveal.To be taken, to be seen,These have crimes accounted been. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616) William Shakespeare, the greatest poet and writer in the English language, is shrouded in mystery. Only the barest facts of his life are known: He was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon to a glover and leather merchant who was a prominent leader of the town for a time. He had no college education. He turned up in London in 1592 and by 1594 was acting and writing with the play group the Lord Chamberlains Men. The group soon opened the now-legendary Globe Theatre, where many of Shakespeares plays were performed. He was one of the most, if not the most, successful playwright of his time, and in 1611 he returned to Stratford and bought a substantial house. He died in 1616 and was buried in Stratford. In 1623 two of his colleagues published the First Folio edition of his Collected Works. As much as a playwright, he was a poet, and none of his sonnets is more famous than this one. Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summers Day?   Shall I compare thee to a summers day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate.Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And summers lease hath all too short a date.Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,And often is his gold complexion dimmed;And every fair from fair sometime declines,By chance, or natures changing course untrimmed.But thy eternal summer shall not fadeNor lose possession of that fair thou owst;Nor shall death brag thou wandrest in his shade,When in eternal lines to time thou growst,So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.