Nelson Mandela Essay -- essays research papers

Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Mandela is born in a small village in the Transkei province in the Eastern Cape of South Africa on July 18, 1918. He was in a tribe called The Madiba, his tribal clan, is part of the Thembu people. His family has royal connections; his great-grandfather was a King and Mandela's father is a respected counselor to the Thembu royal family. His father has four wives and He is one of thirteen children. On his first day of school, Rolihlahla is given the English name Nelson by an African teacher. After receiving a good education at local boarding schools, Mandela enters Fort Hare University and completes two years before deciding to leave for Johannesburg to avoid a marriage arranged for him by his guardian, Chief Jongintaba. Mandela then earns his B.A. degree, enrolls in law school and joins the ANC (AFRICAN NATONAL CONGRESS) which is an organization est. in 1918 to promote black freedom. Believing that the ANC leadership is too staid, Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu form the ANC Youth League. They plan to organize mass support for the ANC and make it a more verbal organization.1948; the National Party comes to power under Dr. Daniel Malan. His platform is called apartheid, meaning "apartness." They make new laws supporting racial discrimination and almost deleting almost all black rights. In1949, The ANC responds to the new apartheid policies, the ANC drafts a Program of Action calling for mass strikes, boycotts, protests and passive resistance. In 1951, Mandela becomes national president of the ANC Youth League. After that it is all downhill and Mandela is arrested several times. Later 1952, He draws up a plan for the ANC to work underground called the M-Plan. Early 1960’s Mandela escapes the country and travels in Africa and Europe, studying guerrilla warfare and building support for the ANC. Late 1962, Returning to South Africa, Mandela is arrested, convicted and sentenced to five years. He is held on Robben Island .He is held there for more then 20 years. 1985, United States Senator Edward Kennedy visits South Africa to show his anti-apartheid support. He is hosted by Bishop Desmond Tutu the recipient of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize; Kennedy also visits Winnie Mandela (Nelson’s Wife). Same year, South Africa's church leaders take up the anti-apartheid cause, led by Bishop Tutu. Late1985, During the summer, anti-apar... ...edy also visits Winnie Mandela (Nelson’s Wife). Same year, South Africa's church leaders take up the anti-apartheid cause, led by Bishop Tutu. Late1985, During the summer, anti-apartheid rallies and protests take place in New York City, Atlanta and Washington. North America keeps up their support when world famous musicians, including Bruce Springsteen and Miles Davis, release the anti-apartheid disk "Sun City.' The song "Free Nelson Mandela" reaches the Top Ten on rock-music charts in England. Feb 2 1990, In a dramatic speech to Parliament, de Klerk (head of getting Mandela out of jail) announces the lifting of the bans against the ANC and other political organizations. Feb 11 1990, After 27 years of imprisonment, Mandela is released. His new life is busy, visiting old friends and supporters, becoming deputy president of the ANC, and traveling with Winnie to the U.S., Europe and North Africa. In Sweden, he visits his old friend Oliver Tambo. 1993. Mandela and de Klerk are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. 1994, Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as president of South Africa, with his daughter Zenani beside him; de Klerk is sworn in as deputy president.

Confusion and Anxiety in Robert Frost’s Poems Essay

During his lifetime, Robert Frost wrote poems that relate the confusion, anxiety, and struggles of the human mind. In his poems, he depicts how people’s minds may be imbued by confusion and anxiety as they experience pain and explore life’s possibilities. Particularly, in â€Å"The Road Not Taken† and â€Å"Acquainted with the Night,† the poet illustrates how thee two themes can lead a person to attempt to escape reality and give up one’s life. The two poems share similar elements, one of which is the persona. Both poems form the image of a confused person, someone filled with much anxiety. In â€Å"The Road Not Taken,† the author makes an analogy between the persona’s situation in the woods and real life decisions one has to make in life. As the persona chooses between the two roads in front of him, he wants some assurance that the road or decision he will make is right. Seeing that both roads look the same, he is quite confused which one to take. Nonetheless, he takes the road which he describes to be untraveled. Likewise, the persona in â€Å"Acquainted with the Night† suffers from confusion; but unlike the other, his confusion is worse and more intense, somehow similar to a dilemma. The way the author presents this is also climactic. First, he mentions the journey that he has taken, â€Å"I have walked out in rain — and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light. I have looked down the saddest city lane. (2-4) These journeys have made the persona weary and confused, which is why he claims to have been â€Å"acquainted with the night. † The night in the first stanza refers to the different images of the night that people are usually aware of. As he reveals in his journeys, there is the image of night based on its literal meaning, the image of night as the darkness or confusion, then there is also the image relating to sorrow and emptiness. As the two poems relate the journeys they take, the time element of the poems becomes significant. In the first poem, the persona describes a momentary confusion that could affect his lifetime. The decision he makes that time would reveal other realities he will face in the future. This shows the tendency of the persona to persevere and move on, despite obstructions along the road. In contrast, the persona in the second poem imparts a confused state that has long existed. As he reveals, he has been to many places, and has experienced a lot of sadness, thus he has been â€Å"acquainted with the night. † This ailing confusion makes him decide to stop, as he relates, â€Å"I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet. † This shows the desire of the persona to stop the confusion, or end the sorrow, which similarly suggests a desire for death. This is the very reason why the first line is repeated in the last stanza: to establish a different meaning of â€Å"night. † The luminary clock in line 12 is time itself, with all its abstractness. As it declares that â€Å"time was neither wrong nor right,† it tells the persona that it is not yet the right time for him to die, and in fact, it cannot declare whether it is the wrong time either for no one can actually predict death. Notably, as the persona confronts all these confusions, he implies the desire to discontinue, unlike the other persona who is more optimistic about his fate. As the personas in the poem think about their present struggles, they experience some anxieties. In the first poem, the persona expresses his anxiety regarding the road ahead of him, â€Å"I doubted if I should ever come back. † (15) In the real sense, he is anxious of the challenges he needs to face in life as he takes the untraveled road. In the second poem, the persona shows anxiety regarding sorrow and death. As he desires and waits for death to come, he apprehends and takes note of its coming in another person’s house â€Å"far away an interrupted cry came over houses from another street. † (8-9) It is not clear how the persona feels about his failure to die, but this thought adds up to his anxieties. The themes of confusion and anxiety are commonly illustrated in the two poems based on the mental processes that the personas undergo. As both personas undergo these experiences, there shows a tendency to digress or escape their present confusion. In the first poem, the persona wishes to elude the road he has taken but realizes there is no turning back while in the other, the persona tries to escape his sorrows by welcoming death. As both personas fail to give up their present realities, the author intentionally imparts a unified message to his readers; that is, no matter how confusing or challenging life is, taking up our journey is still the wisest option. Works Cited Frost, Robert. â€Å"Acquainted with the Night. † 1923. In New Hampshire. 12 May 2009 . Frost, Robert. â€Å"The Road Not Taken. † (n. d. ). Poets. org. 12 May 2009 .

Comparing William Wordsworths London 1802 - 1272 Words

Writers and especially poets often use their media as a means to address political, social, and economical situations of their countries. In the case of the English poet William Wordsworth and the Saint Lucian poet and playwright Derek Walcott, that seems to be the case. In William Wordsworth s â€Å"London 1802†, the speaker in the poem begins by addressing John Milton, a dead poet, regarding the dire and wayward situation that England is currently in. As for Derek Walcott’s â€Å"A Far Cry From America†, the speaker appears to be bewildered and indecisive between choosing the civilized Great Britain and choosing to support his native land as they are subjects to brutal treatment by the colonizers. Even though both both poems have distinct†¦show more content†¦(line 10-14) As presented in the final five lines of â€Å"London 1802†, the speaker makes several more claims about who Milton was in and the effect he had when he was alive. Thus, it is said that Milton had a powerful poetry voice which sounded like the sea, he lived his life like common people do, and was such a tremendous human being who was not frightened to take even the not so glamourous tasks that life presented him. So the poet John Milton was a humble person whom the speaker, which in this case is Wordsworth himself, is inspired by, and had such an infectious presence with his larger than life heart. John Milton was a beloved English poet and William Wordsworth did fail to show so. In Derek Walcott’s â€Å" A Far Cry From Africa† be begins by describing a gory and bloody scene where Mau fighters from east Africa are â€Å"Batten upon the bloodstreams of the [open country]† (line 3). The imagery of this bloodshed is cemented with the illustration of the corpses â€Å" [which] are scattered through a paradise† (line 4). The native Africans are being slaughtered and annihilated like the Jews were during the Holocaust and the question in consideration is â€Å"What is that the white child hacked in bed?† (line 9). Thus, it appears that a white child has been killed and the ensuing bloodshed was the consequence paid by the native blacks. The violence that Walcott illustrates is gruesome and he draws a comparison between what is considered the wild beast and the â€Å"uprightShow MoreRelatedEssay on Compare London and Composed upon Westminster Bridge2519 Words   |  11 PagesCompare London by William Blake and Composed upon West minster Bridge, September 3rd 1802 by William Wordsworth. As a part of my coursework for GCSE English, I will be comparing two poems written about London in nineteenth century. The two poems I have chosen to write about are: London by William Blake and Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3rd 1802 by William Wordsworth. 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