Fairy Tales And Realties By Hans Christian Andersen

Fairy Tales and Realties â€Å"Now then, let us begin. When we are at the end of the story, we shall know more than we know now: but to begin† (Andersen) This is the way the story of â€Å"The Snow Queen† begins, by the author Hans Christian Andersen. As this story unfolds the reader see’s many avenues that this multi-faceted story shows, based on imagination and reality. It is easy to get lost and discouraged throughout the short story, but in the end, all is found and made known like looking at one’s self in a mirror, one sees all the imaginary and reality, if only they look hard enough. Now, as fairy tales often begin: Once upon a time in a faraway land, in 1805 a boy by the name of Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark to a†¦show more content†¦Kay is a boy that gets a speck of the mirror in his eye and a shard in his heart. The mirror is an evil object that was created to make the world ugly. What was beautiful when viewed in the mirror it became very ugly and distorted. The speck in his eye eventually led to his blindness of his surroundings and the shard in his heart made him very cold and cruel. Gerda in this story is all that is sweet and innocent in this world, and unbeknownst to her, she has the power to talk to animals and understand them. The reader see’s evidence throughout when she talks to a raven and other birds as well as animals throughout the seven stories. Her greatest power is the power over people to persuade them into helping her throughout this story. She comes across a woman, which brings to mind the witch from Hansel and Gretel and the reader is led down the path to the gingerbread house, but this is not the case the woman helps Gerda, instead of trying to eat her. She gives her shelter and it is unclear just how long she stays with this woman, but it appears to be some time before she moves on. The Witch in this story gives her a set of new clothes to aid her on her way. Gerda has lost her red shoes in the river as she climbed into a waiting boat that took her down the river to the cottage where she meets the woman. As she travels down the ri ver, the river itself is trying to help poor Gerda by floating her red shoes after her

The Legacy Of The Civil War - 1508 Words

From 1861 to 1865 more than 620,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were massacred. In only four years America annihilated the number of American soldiers killed in all other wars combined. America experienced her first full scale house division. The people were in such confusion, Reconstruction Acts had to be used to bring the country back together. Civil War introduced a split country, breaks of states from the union, the South denying rights to emancipated slaves, improving the lifestyle for African Americans, death, and reconstruction of America. Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States, endured a difficult time period in American history, the Civil War. America was split. The South was a huge proponent of slavery while its†¦show more content†¦War efforts shift gears from bringing the union back to abolishing slavery after Lincoln witnessed terrible treatment given to African Americans. The emancipation proclamation announced â€Å"†¦all slaves in rebellious states henceforward shall be free (Wills).† Lincoln did not want to upset the South from ever returning to the Union, but his conscious told him something had to be done about slavery before preserving the union could be achieved (Wills). On December 20th, 1860, South Carolina dissolved from the union. Unknown to the nation, the deadliest war in America had begun. Lincoln seized federal property and military installations when South Carolina seceded, South Carolina refused. Shore batteries of the seceded state open fired on the Union garrison holding Fort Sumter on April 12th, 1861 (Wills). Lincoln henceforth knew the issue could only be resolved with blood. The union would not be repaired without a fight. At the end of war the secession of states created chaos in the capital as officials tried to figure out what punishment Southern states ought to receive (Reconstruction). The North was at a loss for how to punish the South. In 1863, Lincoln proposed a plan (now called the 10 percent plan) allowing ex-confederate states to rejoin the union once 10 percent of its votes swore an oath of allegiance to the United States. Lincoln looked for a peaceful resolution rather than harsh punishment. Even after

I Am Sam free essay sample

Sam Dawson (Sean Penn) works at the local Starbucks, not as a coffee server, nor as a cash register clerk, but as a dining room Janitor. You see, Sam is an adult with the mind of a 7-year-old who has Just experienced the birth of his daughter as the product of a one-night stand with a homeless woman. The babys mother exclaims, l only wanted a place to sleep as she disappears, leaving Sam to raise the child himself. Does a mentally disabled individual, without the mental capacity to even run a cash register, have the right, much less the capability to raise a child? Should we as a society, allow mentally disabled individuals to raise children? I Am Sam makes a compelling argument that love is the most important ingredient in raising a child, and as we learn from Sam, mentally challenged individuals are definitely capable of giving love. We will write a custom essay sample on I Am Sam or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Penns performance as Sam must be mentioned alongside that of Dustin Hoffman as Rain Mans Raymond Babbitt. It is that good! Many contend that it is easy for an actor to perform in the role of a mentally challenged individual, as the actor must only erform his craft in a one-dimensional range of human emotions. My contention is that an actors true abilities shine when he/she is asked to perform outside of the range of common, everyday human interaction. Although Sam has his peculiarities and autistic routines that should not be disrupted Wednesday is video night, Thursday is dinner at HOP, Friday is karaoke night he manages to spend much time with his daughter, Lucy (Dakota Fanning). He named her after The Beatles Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and he is very successful at providing for her emotional needs. As she turns eight-years-old and begins to surpass the intellectual capacity of her father, government authorities want to take her away. Remember the name Dakota Fanning. She delivers a mesmerizing performance that is guaranteed to garner her many leading roles to come. She has that magical spark in her eye and her working chemistry with Penn allows their performances to rise above the screen. Their cohesiveness reminds me of that between Sam Rockwell and Mischa Barton in Lawn Dogs. To fight the social service workers who want to place Lucy in a foster home, Sam must etain the services of an attorney. Enter Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfeiffer), a high- powered, selfish attorney who takes on his case on a pro-bono basis Just to show her fellow litigators that she does indeed have a heart. Pfeiffer excels in her role almost as if drawing from real-life experience to deliver her performance. We also see Laura Dern deliver a short but sharp presentation as the foster mother who attempts to adopt Lucy. I Am Sam is a brilliant look at a heartbreaking subject that demands the viewer to nique characters, and a wonderful soundtrack featuring many of todays popular artists giving their rendition of Beatles tunes. The whole story is threaded with Beatles references that connect the characters to the story and provides a layer of familiarity for the viewer. Because of its full range of human emotions explored, I give I Am Sam the highest rating in the Julia Roberts factor. Not much there to give it a significant macho factor though save for Michelle Pfeiffer. Safe for the kids and safe for the in-laws.