Free sample - Death. translation missing

Death. DeathSuzan -Lori Parks is an American artist, who stayed in Germany for quite some time when she was young. As a writer, she received several awards in 2001 and 2002 consecutively. Parks was heavily influenced by Faulkner’s book ‘As I Lay Dying’, written in multiple perspectives. Her own version, ‘Getting Mother’s Body’, borrows heavily from Faulkner’s book in terms of stylistic devices and plot arrangement. On the other hand, William Faulkner who at one time was awarded an award for literature back in 1950s was a child of Murray Charles. Born in America, his writing skills are well known with several stories and novels to his credit. His style of writing is connected to modernism European literature; which is why the reader unless very keen and highly intuitive, cannot grab anything until may be later in the text. Back in 1930, ‘As I Lay Dying’ was brought in the lime light by William Faulkner. The text revolves around Addie Bundren sickness, her eventual death and burial ceremony. In the text, the author uses the family of the deceased to communicate their information through monologue. The late is not caught in many incidences by the reader using monologue apart from when she is pronouncing her burial site. In this article, the focus will be in one specific way in which Lori Parks in her text Getting Mother’s Body 2003, echoes and perhaps rewrites William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying 1930. It will focus on how a specific theme of death is focused in the latter as echoed in the former. The essay will bring on the surface how death is witnessed in the two books beyond the literal meaning of the word. Like for example, how is death experienced in marriages? What causes the death of characters? How is it received by the bereaved? In the two books, the theme of death is evident and is being represented by the two mothers in each case.   Just like in Faulkner’s book where the family is moving with the body of their dead mother in preparation for burial in the upcountry, in Parks text, Billy Beede is soliciting for support from his close friends and family to help get the body of her mother given that the burial location is being taken over by a shopping mall enterprise. In Parks’ text, the mother’s blues songs are used symbolically by the author to show her message while in Faulkner’s text the mum talks while in the burial box. In this text, the author engineers the death of Billy’s mother to come when she is only ten years of age and this leaves her with a lot of problems as the only people who can take care of her is the aunt and the uncle. On the other hand, Faulkner brings on the surface the little children of Addie when she dies. Although the father is still alive, the family is very poor and they even struggle to give her a decent burial. In Getting Mother’s Body by Parks, the death of Billy’s mother left her so disappointed now that she was an orphan and she was living in Texas town which was being associated with poverty. This is also the same case in Faulkner’s text when Cash the eldest son of Addie makes her a coffin way before she had died. The death of Addie Bundren in Faulkner’s text is received by the family members differently. The youngest son Vandram likens her death to that of a fish he manages to trap some hours back. He is so disturbed that her mother is closed in a box. Just like Billy Beede gets pregnant while still a teenager, the same happens to Dewey Dell in Faulkner’s book in that she gets pregnant while still a teenager. Another echo in form of thematic concern of death by Parks is the death that is experienced in marriages. In the text ‘Getting Mother’s Body’, Billy is unfortunate to get pregnant while she is hardly eighteen years of age. On getting pregnant, she parts way with her estranged boyfriend. This can be viewed as a death of a relationship which emanates from the love that the two had dying. On the other hand, in the text ‘As I lay Dying’ Faulkner’s exposes Dewey Dell as experiencing the same type of death in her affair with Lafe. This is clearly brought immediately after her mother dies so much so that she is so frustrated that she cannot even be in a position to mourn the death of her mother. Going by this, it is evident that parks echoed Faulkner’s book only that in the latter’s text the girl gets pregnant immediately her mother dies while in the former’s it come after some time. In Parks text, ‘Getting Mother’s Body’ the sudden death of Willa Mae’s marriage is brought out. When this happens, she decides to move in with Dill Smiles. After some time Billy is born although she is dark skinned owing to her mother’s many lovers. This is after the death of her former marriage which equally does not seem to work magic for her. On the other hand, in Faulkner’s text, the marriage of Addie Bundren is headed for the rocks due to poverty. This leads to constant quarrels between her and Anse Bundren her husband. The theme of death is further emphasized in the two books on how the bereaved behave upon the death of a loved one. For instance, when Willa Mae succumbs, owing to self induced miscarriage, Dill Smiles, upon receiving the shocking information, avails himself in hospital just in time to offer her a decent burial as the deceased had requested. Willa, as it is revealed in the text, had been buried with very expensive jewels. This is a clearly indication how the dead are honored by those left behind. On the other hand, the death of Addie Bundren is taken with a lot of seriousness by all and sundry in Faulkner’s text. Upon her death after a long illness, her son Cash takes his time to build a coffin just for his mother. He does this with a lot of seriousness as he takes into account all his skill to come up with something magnificent just for her mother. On the burial ceremony day, the same honor for the dead is witnessed where people sing in honor of Addie. The men are also seen o bserving silence as a sign of respect and honor to the deceased. In the same way dill smiles honors the wish of Willa Mae on where she will be buried, Anse Bundren tries so much to honor the request of her wife although by the time she dies he is very broke. It is amazing how the dying women talk in their deathbed. In Parks’ text, ‘Getting’s Mother’s Body’, Willa talks to dill smiles on where to be buried. She also reveals her affair with an affluent man who gave her an expensive ring. She requests to be buried with it. In Faulkner’s text, Addie Bundren talks on her deathbed about her affair with a rich man from the town. This she says led to a very miserable marriage to her husband Anse Bundren. It is the same infidelity that resulted to the birth of Jewel just like in Parks’ it led to Billy’s birth. The theme of death is further emphasized in different ways by the two authors. In Parks’ text, the death is symbolically brought through self induced miscarriage by Willa Mae. It is clearly seen in the text how the writer engineered Willa’s death through abortion that turns sour. This is meant by the author to show the reader how dangerous abortion is, that it can result to death. In Faulkner’s text, the author uses the younger son to compare the death of Willa with that of a fish. It can be explained to say that the death of the fish is symbolic of Willa’s death just as the young son observes. It is also surprising how everybody relates everything to death. Upon the death of her mother Jewel also tends to think that his horse was dead. In a strange but equally humorous way, the two authors bring on the surface the death of the unborn. In Parks’ text, Willa Mae meets her death while she was trying to kill the unborn child in her womb. As fate would have it the unfortunate happens. This might have been used by the author to caution on the dangers that comes with abortion. In Faulkner’s book, Dewey Dell attempts to commit the same mistake that Willa did although her efforts to try and buy a medicine to induce abortion is cut short by a pharmacy attendant who takes her to bed. Finally, the last nail on the coffin of Anse’s marriage to Addie is witnessed when he introduces his new bride to his children. In conclusion, Parks’ text, ‘Getting Mother’s Body’ borrows heavily from Faulkner’s text ‘As I lay Down’ in many perspective. The same thematic concerns addressed in the former’s book are the same in the latter’s. All in all, parks have given the story a different meaning and it sounds more interesting compared with the original text.

The Battle of Concepcion of the Texas Revolution

The Battle of Concepcion of the Texas Revolution The Battle of Concepcià ³n was the first major armed conflict of the Texas Revolution. It took place on October 28, 1835, on the grounds of Concepcià ³n Mission outside of San Antonio. Rebel Texans, led by James Fannin and Jim Bowie, fought off a vicious assault by the Mexican Army and drove them back into San Antonio. The victory was a huge one for the morale of the Texans and led to the subsequent capture of the town of San Antonio. War Breaks out in Texas Tensions had been simmering in Mexican Texas for some time, as Anglo settlers (the most famous of whom was Stephen F. Austin) repeatedly demanded more rights and independence from the Mexican government, which was in a chaotic state of disarray barely a decade after gaining independence from Spain. On October 2, 1835, rebellious Texans opened fire on Mexican forces in the town of Gonzales. The Battle of Gonzales, as it came to be known, marked the beginning of Texas armed struggle for Independence. Texans March on San Antonio San Antonio de Bà ©xar was the most important town in all of Texas, a vital strategic point coveted by both sides in the conflict. When war broke out, Stephen F. Austin was named head of the rebel army: he marched on the city in the hopes of putting a quick end to the fighting. The ragged rebel â€Å"army† arrived at San Antonio in late October  1835: they were heavily outnumbered by Mexican forces in and around the city but were well-armed with lethal long rifles and ready for a fight. Prelude to the Battle of Concepcion With the rebels camped outside the city, Jim Bowies connections proved vital. A one-time resident of San Antonio, he knew the city and still had many friends there. He smuggled a message to some of them, and dozens of Mexican residents of San Antonio (many of whom were every bit as passionate about independence as the Anglo Texans) surreptitiously left the town and joined the rebels. On October 27, Fannin and Bowie, disobeying orders from Austin, took some 90 men and dug in on the grounds of the Concepcià ³n Mission outside of town. The Mexicans Attack On the morning of October 28, the rebellious Texans got a nasty surprise: the Mexican army had seen that they had divided their forces and decided to take the offensive. The Texans were pinned against the river and several companies of Mexican infantry were advancing on them. The Mexicans had even brought cannons with them, loaded with lethal grapeshot. The Texans Turn the Tide Inspired by Bowie, who kept cool under fire, the Texans stayed low and waited for the Mexican infantry to advance. When they did, the rebels deliberately picked them off with their lethal long rifles. The riflemen were so skilled that they were even able to shoot the artillerymen manning the cannons: according to survivors, they even shot down a gunner who held a lighted match in his hand, ready to fire the cannon. The Texans drove off three charges: after the final charge, the Mexicans lost their spirit and broke: the Texans gave chase. They even captured the cannons and turned them on the fleeing Mexicans. Aftermath of the Battle of Concepcià ³n The Mexicans fled back into San Antonio, where the Texans dared not chase them. The final tally: some 60 dead Mexican soldiers to only one dead Texan, killed by a Mexican musket ball. It was a heady victory for the Texans and seemed to confirm what they suspected about the Mexican soldiers: they were poorly armed and trained and didnt really want to be fighting for Texas. The rebellious Texans remained camped outside of San Antonio for several weeks. They attacked a foraging party of Mexican soldiers on November 26, believing it to be a relief column loaded with silver: in reality, the soldiers were only collecting grass for the horses in the besieged city. This became known as the Grass Fight. Although the nominal commander of the irregular forces, Edward Burleson, wanted to retreat to the east (thus following the orders that had been sent from General Sam Houston), many of the men wanted to fight. Led by settler Ben Milam, these Texans attacked San Antonio on December 5: by December 9 the Mexican forces in the city had surrendered and San Antonio belonged to the rebels. They would lose it again at the disastrous Battle of the Alamo in March. The Battle of Concepcià ³n represented everything the rebellious Texans were doing right†¦and wrong. They were brave men, fighting under solid leadership, using their best weapons - arms and accuracy - to best effect. But they were also unpaid volunteer troops with no chain of command or discipline, who had disobeyed a direct order (a wise one, as it turned out) to keep clear of San Antonio for the time being. The relatively painless victory gave the Texans a great morale boost, but also increased their sense of invulnerability: many of the same men would later die at the Alamo, believing they could hold off the entire Mexican army indefinitely. For the Mexicans, the Battle of Concepcià ³n showed their weaknesses: their troops were not very skilled in war and broke easily. It also proved to them that the Texans were dead serious about independence, something that had perhaps been unclear before. Not long after, President/General Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna would arrive in Texas at the head of a massive army: it was now clear that the most important advantage the Mexicans possessed was that of sheer numbers. Sources Brands, H.W. Lone Star Nation: The Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence. New York: Anchor Books, 2004. Henderson, Timothy J. A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and its War with the United States.New York: Hill and Wang, 2007.