Joseph Ellis

Beethoven was born during the Classical era, so naturally he would learn violin. He was far more advanced in his piano skills, but he did have knowledge on playing the violin and the viola.The violin and the viola have similarities and differences. One of the similarities is how they are positioned: held horizontally (parallel with the floor) and is angled to the left of a straight forward position, placed on your left collar bone (some prefer the soft spot just behind the collar bone), and…

Two Sides of a Monsters Story. "There are two sides to every story and the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle." Paul. J Alessi. “Beuwulf” is the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and is recognized as one of the most important works of Old English literature. The poem was written in England between the eighth and the early eleventh century. The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to as the "Beowulf poet". Scandinavia is the know setting for the poem. The poem…

The Archetypal Lens of Good vs. Evil in Heart of Darkness In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad focuses on the main characters of Marlow, the story’s narrator, who recounts his journey into the interior of the Congo, and Kurtz, an ivory trader, who is shrouded in mystery as Marlow is eager to meet him. Through the archetypes of the hero’s journey and shadow, both Marlow and Kurtz become deeply affected by their setting, which illuminates the theme of good versus evil. Throughout Heart of Darkness,…

In any poem with a hero you can always bet that there will be a call to adventure. The hero will be called to task and he will have to go forth and save the day. Whether he has to save the town, save the girl, or prove his knighthood he will have to go through trials. The hero will have three challenges, mental, physical, and spiritual. In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, written by The Pearl Poet, Sir Gawain is called to task by The Green Knight At the start of the poem, King Arthur is eating…

Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 (Appassionata) Ludwig Van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 –1827) was a crucial character in the period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western music. He was also one of the most influential composers in the music history. Beethoven was born in a musical family. His alcoholic father was his first music teacher and later he was sent to Vienna to study under various teachers including Mozart and Hayden. In about 1800,…

Some inherit “darkness” lies at the center of every individual. Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness explores this through the journey of Charles Marlow, who, as he ventures into the Congo, comes to realize that to believe those of a more advanced society are above this base savagery is to tell oneself lies. The hypocrisy of imperialism is a prominent theme throughout Conrad’s novel and it is reflected in not only the thoughts of Marlow, but the pervasive ill treatment of the native Africans as…

The novella Heart of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad in 1899, which is set in the Congo, Africa in 1890. It is based on the narrator Charles Marlow travels to the Congo, in the heart of Africa to relieve a brilliant ivory trader named Krutz, who is working for the Belgium Government. While there is a complexity on British identity of Joseph Conrad, the role he played in the development of British literary history is significant. The writings of Conrad were not inherently English but…

Corruption and manipulation have many times been a part of civilizations and countries in history. One of the most remarkable leaders who fits this profile is Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union. George Orwell wrote Animal Farm in order to show his point of view, as a socialist, regarding the Soviet Union, giving us a closer look of how Stalin's rule was affecting the Russians. By creating characters for many relevant figures in the Soviet Union, Orwell was able to create a literary piece of work…

Comparing|Contrasting animal farm with Lord of the Flies: “What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?” ― William Golding, Lord of the Flies. The speech was said that by one of the boys. What the boy meant by the speech was that they were not able to control themselves so they started acting in a savage way. (I found this quote in goodreads). Animal Farm is about an unspecified Animal farm and Lord of the Flies are both related in savagery, and power. There is Snowball, and Ralph. There is…

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play about what happened during the Salem Witch Trials. It gives insight about what people had to deal with in this situation and how they handled it. The trials were basically a big test which helped figuring out whether or not people were guilty of witchcraft. This is an example of what a crucible is. In our world today we still have crucibles and even though they are different than back then, they all relate to each other because of what influence they have…