Sunday, March 29, 2020

The Grapes of Wrath Importance of the Title

'The Grapes of Wrath Importance of the Title The Grapes of Wrath, a Pulitzer-prize winning book written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939, tells the story of   the  Joads, a poor family of  tenant farmers driven out of Depression-era Oklahoma also referred to as Oakies by drought and economic factors, who migrate to Californa in search of a better life. Steinbeck had trouble coming up with the title for the novel, a classic in American literature, and his wife actually suggested using the phrase. From Bible to Battle Hymn The title, itself, is a reference to lyrics from The Battle Hymn of the Republic, written in 1861 by  Julia Ward Howe, and first published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1862: Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:His truth is marching on. The words have some important resonance in American culture. For example, Martin Luther King Jr, in his  address  at the conclusion of the Selma-to-Montgomery, Alabama, civil rights march in 1965, quoted these very words  from  the hymn.  The lyrics, in turn, reference a biblical  passage in  Revelations 14:19-20, where the evil inhabitants of Earth perish:    And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine press of the wrath of God.  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine press, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. In the Book The phrase grapes of wrath does not appear almost until the end of the 465-page novel: In the souls of the people, the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage. According to eNotes; The oppressed such as the Okies are ripening in their understanding of their oppression. The fruit of their anger is ready to be harvested. In other words, you can push the downtrodden so far, but eventually, there will be a  price to pay. In all of these references from the tribulations of  Joads, to the battle hymn, the biblical passage and Kings speech the key point is that in response to any oppression, there will be a reckoning, likely ordained by God, and that rightness and justice will prevail. Study Guide QuotesThe Battle Hymn of the RepublicQuestions for Study DiscussionJohn Steinbeck Biography

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Classical Music Concert with 3 Instruments essays

Classical Music Concert with 3 Instruments essays Classical Music is still popular after it has already developed for hundreds of years. Currently, there are still many people fascinate this unique kind of performing music by many classical instruments. Unlike pop-musical instruments, classical instruments are usually much more peaceful. As a result, the atmosphere they create is extremely pacific; this kind of atmosphere is simple to depict many scenes of many stories. The concert, Bonie Hampton and Faculty Friends: A Chamber Music Reunion, which was performed by faculty of Juilliard School of Music, is a classic classical performance with only piano, violin, and viola. It produced an extremely peaceful felling to listeners and allowed listeners to come out of many mental reflections of many different scenes in their minds. Before the concert started, listeners were waiting in the standby line and discussing about the greatness and contents of the concert with each other. I heard that this concert was centennial that performed by some experienced faculties of Julliard School and those faculties would not perform publicly very often. This concert became mysterious to me at that moment. The first song in the concert was called Robert Mann and Earl Carlyss, which was performed by piano and viola. It had a slow tempo at the beginning and continuously speeding up. When the song started, the dynamic was piano, after a minute, it became mezzo-piano. Overall, the entire song was crescendo. In the middle of the song, there were a few moments that had subito from piano to forte; it created many surprises for every listeners. I was shocked when subito happened. After the subito, the dynamic turned decrescendo. During the subito-decrescendo period, the entire dynamic was like a person climbed a hill up and down. The song seemed more and more interesting to the listeners, especially to me. The atmosphere of the whole song was from peaceful to...