God and Dignity Essay Example for Free

God and Dignity Essay The researchers would like to dedicate this research paper to those people who have lost their ways and wander in darkness. We hope that even just a little bit, we are able to open your minds and touch your hearts. Always remember that no matter what happens, we will always be there for you and accept you. Acknowledgements The researchers would like to thank and acknowledge these guys and things for helping us in making us finish our research paper. Without these guys, we could have done nothing. Eljays would like to thank the following: Adobe, Google and Acer Laptops. Special thanks to my family and friends for the continuous support you had given to me. Hagi – chan would like to thank the following: Her Values Education book. Who would have even thought that you could be that helpful. My sister’s Val. Ed book and to my over we anime husbands for making me inspired. Title: Dignity: It’s Value Thesis Statement: â€Å"Dignity of a person doesn’t really matter due to temptations like money and lust but still, some people value it.† I. Introduction A. General Background What is dignity? We sometimes encounter this word, some might be familiar. But what is it? Can it be given importance? Can it be forgotten? Well those questions will depend on you, your actions and the way you bring yourself. Dignity means being respected for who you are and what you believe in. That’s something that can be done in both big and little ways. Like saying please or lending a helping hand are ways of showing dignity. Sharing your toys with others or making a donation to a charity are ways of showing dignity too. Just by being kind to others no matter who they are, what they look like and where they come from is a way to show dignity too. (Just by) Well, there are so many ways to show it like a cancer patient fighting against his illness to his death. Now, here’s the word â€Å"death†. Don’t you know dignity can be showed in death? Yes it is, it’s called Death With Dignity. In death with dignity, we all have experiences to share. There are our constituent’s personal stories of courage, pain, joy, fear, sadness and hope. Also, dignity is in women. Ah, yes. The dignity of a woman. Her most important thing that once take away, it will never com back. Just like all things that are lost will never return. It’s just that the â€Å"thing† in woman is just like time, gold and important. This thing is called virginity. Now, I’m very much sure that this word is very familiar to us, especially teenagers. With all the teenage pregnancy, sex trafficking and the porns how come that we wont know that dignity is lost in this field! Were not implying that once you’re not virgin, you don’t have your dignity. This case is totally not the concern for married women, engaged ladies and widows. But what about the girls, teenage girls. They’re young and fresh, so easy to be tempted. That’s why it’s important to know dignity, give its importance and value it for us to lea rn more and watch out. This is what our study’s all about. B. Statement of the problem The researchers would like to seek answers to the following questions: A. What are the possible ways to bring back the lost dignity? B. What are the effects/ impact if the person wreck his/her dignity? C. What’s in dignity that a person or every person should have? D. How can you convince others especially to those who doesn’t value their dignity to give importance to it? E. Which is far more better to die with dignity or to live without dignity? C. Significance of Study As we all know dignity is important as a person with feeling that can feel shame, guilt pain and anger. Our study mainly focuses on two things: death with dignity and living without dignity. Which is more better, which is preferred by others. This study is to wake up those youngsters out there to the things that they are doing which is not right. To right them from their wrongs, to bring light in their minds and to lead them to the right way. As a fellow teenager, we are the ones who can understand them better. Why! We talk the same way, dress the same way and behave the same way. So it’ll be much more better if were the ones to help them too. To let them understand things and no matter what happens, they’re always accepted. II. Body Every human being has the right to be treated with dignity. Dignity is the quality of being worth of respect. This means all of us, regarding of who we are or what we might have done, should be treated with respect. Its because of dignity that we are able to stand up and get to our feet. It’s the reason we feel good about ourselves and that we thought that others should respect us. Dignity comes from the Latin adjective (which means) â€Å"dignees† which means â€Å"worthy†. You see, our dignity makes us worthy for others. That’s why the higher, the more dignity a person has, the more likely he or she is respected and has great esteem to others. The dignity given to the human person allows him or her to manifest his or her worth, specifically, inner worth. God design for the human person is to posses and inherit self-worth and to be worthy of respect because he or she is a creation of God. By elevating his or her intellect to God and by fulfilling the precepts contained in the moral law through the exercise of his or her will, the human person earns greater worth and dignity. But no matter how hard a person tries to keep his or her dignity here are temptations all over us. Those things to keep his or her dignity, there are temptations all over us. Those things leads us to do evil. They tempted us and once we had done it, it’s hard to stop. And sometimes the evil we do can result in scandal. Scandal comes from the Latin word â€Å"scandalum† meaning a stone that causes people to trip over. If the sin you committed caused others to follow your example, then you are also guilty for their sins because you brought it about. God created the human person in his image and likeness. As the divine image the human person possesses intrinsic dignity. When the human person inherited the sin from Adam and Eve, sin also become part of human life. Doing wrong or cooperating in evil diminishes the dignity of the human person. It is like the thing that the bible stated at Genesis 2:16 – 17, â€Å"And the Lord God commanded to man, saying, ‘from any tree of the garden you may freely eat, but from the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die’†. Ever since that we humans are capable of doing evil. Evil destroys dignity and there are bout hundreds of things to do it. No, probably thousands. Even a regular high school student can destroy his or her dignity. Fro example, a student rather an honor student was caught cheating on a major examination. What do you thing are the possible things that have happened to him or her? The teachers won’t believe in him or her anymore, people will start rumors and worst he or she might get detention or be expelled. Another example is that teenage girls being pregnant. Now that is a very big issue. Normally, people will look down on her and all her life will be covered in regret and shame but that depends on the person. It depends if she is a strong one or a weakling. Yes, we are created by God but we have different thoughts and personalities as well. We are unique in her own ways. Now, are these ways to bring back the lost dignity? Of Course not, just like things that are lost it will never turn. But, you can always have and make a new one. Something much more better than the previous one. But its not easy making new ones proving others that they are wrong and not every body is perfect. You feel regret and a little bit down. It’s like you wanna cry your whole life but every time you see your inspiration, that feeling disappears. It’s the reason why others still fights and currently living. They have that motivation to start a new life and set things right and currently living. They have that motivation to start a new life and set things right. Just believe in God above anything else. He writes the story of your life and he’s the one capable of ending it but then along the way he prepared trials and good things for you. As the saying goes at Philippians 4:13 â€Å"I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me.† But then again, not all people have the guts to change things. Some preferred to stay in the darkness and lurk in the shadows. There are lots of effects if a person wreck his/ her dignity. One of these things is being a suicidal freak. They intend to end their life/ lives because they can’t endure no longer the pain, shame, guilt, anger and hatred. But what’s to get in killing yourself? What about those people who was always there for you and that you didnâ⠂¬â„¢t just realize? Won’t you feel sorry for them? Of course, there are lots of negative rumors about you. More people looking down and bullying you but then why don’t you speak up? Ignore those rumors for they’ll drag you down to despair. Let them talk all they want, stand up for yourself and let them see that even though something terrible has happened to you, you can still walk with your head held up high. People are so conscious about dignity especially the old ones. What’s in dignity really that every person should have? Simple, dignity is the source of you respect. If you want to be respected then protect your dignity. If you want to be respected, you have to give it in order to have it. It’s just like giving and receiving something much better in return. That’s how it goes. Remember the past where I stated that some people refuse to fight back and hide themselves in the shadows? Those people whose thoughts are field with negative effects, or things and that they might do more evil acts. They are one of those people who are spreading evil in this world. Examples of those people are drug addicts, sex addicts and so on. But then there are ways to convince those people. To snap out of them and make them realize that they are wrong. Most of theses people are teens, isn’t it a pity if we are not able to help them? We can still convince them from stopping them from doing evil things that can wreck their dignity. The best way, let them hear the world of the Lord our God. Just by hearing those words, they can realize and make things right once and for all. Their ill manners will change into good ones and they’ll be better persons. Lastly, if there is death in dignity, and there is living without dignity; which is more better, to die with dignity or to live without dignity? This question is bugging us for quite a while. Most of us, fear death that’s why we choose to live even under any circumstances. But what is living without dignity? Isn’t that hard? Those things depends in each one of us. It will be our decision in which will we choose. We are given the freedom to dot the things which we thought it’ll be best for us. But do remember, decide for the better outcome and don’t regret it later. There is nothing you can get for blaming yourself. III. Conclusion A. Summary In our body there are several important things that we have stated. The meaning of dignity, the effect of losing it and many more. There are so many temptations in this world like money, seduction and lust. Most that are tempted are the teenagers. Teenagers are young and they have much to learn. They believe in what they see and stand for it. Teenagers are young and they have much to learn. They believe in what they see and stand for it. Teenagers are like white cloth, it can be dyed with either good and evil. Those dyes are stains, hard to remove, hard to erase and even if it can be removed there are still marks left from it. Those marks can be a threat to our dignity by the greater threat is the dye. Whether you do the actual evil things or just cooperate with any of those acts, you still brought about the spread of evil in this world. You have not helped in making this world a better place to live in. Therefore, protect your dignity, value it, give importance to it. For your whole well being lies on it. B. Recommendation We recommend for you those elders to guide the young ones to the right path. To lead them to a brighter future. And for those who have lost their ways help them to get back and find the good tracks. Even if we lost once, it doesn’t mean we lost forever, let us fight back. We mustn’t stop nor step backwards instead we move forwards. People around you are there for you. Let’s help one another, don’t discourage instead give courage. Respect others, it builds foundation towards relationship. And ask God for help for he knows what to do.

A Film Evaluation V For Vendetta English Literature Essay

A Film Evaluation V For Vendetta English Literature Essay V for Vendetta depicts the message of political action and tells the audience it could soon happen to their government one day if they allow it to take control and not take a stand against their government. There are a lot of scenes throughout this film that depicts this message. The plot of V for Vendetta is an interesting story. The film takes place in Great Britain, which does not have the same form of Government that we do in America. Although it does not have the same government, it exposes lessons about the United States Constitution. Remember, remember the Fifth of November, says a man that goes by the name of V, who is preparing to destroy parliament over the Gunpowder Plot. Director James McTeigue portrays in his film, V for Vendetta, the corruption of Great Britains totalitarian Government and a freedom fighter who is wanting to bring them down. Chancellor Adam Sutler (John Hurt) takes over in power and puts fear into his citizens to make sure that they know who is in charge and that it is they, who can only protect them. Hugo Weaving who plays the main character, V, sends out a message to Londons citizen and tells them to stand up against their Government and to not be afraid. Prior to sending out his message on live television, many killings had occurred with the Doctors who were involved at a detention center that William Rookwood was in before he changed his name to V. He sought revenge for what the Doctors did to him and thousands of other innocent people, and he sought to bring justice back to Great Britain. Along the way of Vs plans, he comes across a young woman, Evey Hammond, walking the streets after curfew and two men decide to attack her for disobeying the rules. Of course V saves her and without realizing it, Evey Hammond will soon become his collaborator. Inspector Finch played by Stephen Rea is assigned by the Chancellor to take V down for the terrorist things he has done and before he does more to panic the Chancellors country. After V took over the television station and footage of him was collected by Inspector Finch, the inspector learned for sure that Evey Hammond and V were working together. Inspector Finch was determined to take down V to save his job. As he tries to take down V, he comes across all these questions and mysteries that Vs actions reveal, and he soon start to question his own countrys Government. Many questions appear, are Vs actions constitutional? Is he or is he not a terrorist? V in general is very controversial. James McTeigue is a director who likes to weave politics into his films. The first thing he portrays in the film is terrorism. In V for Vendetta the first thing audiences will notice is that Vs actions are both like a terrorist and like a freedom fighter fighting for Great Britains freedom from a totalitarian government. Killing high government officials and blowing up historical buildings is an act of a terrorist. When the twin towers in New York was brought down by a group of terrorist, many of the U.S. citizens wanted vengeance for their destruction and we went to war are still currently at war in Iraq, but Vs actions might not be like those terrorists. The Old Bailey is the first building V destroys, and it was where major criminal cases happened in Great Britain. There was no justice in the Old Bailey. The Old Bailey was also a historical building, so blowing up this building meant justice and getting rid of the old regime. Vs actions communicate his beliefs, so his actions also teach us about the First Amendment. Freedom of speech could be applied to V. However, with all rules, there are limits to citizens freedom, so Vs ways of communication may be questionable and not protected by freedom of speech. Another lesson in the film is civil liberties. With Chancellor Adam Sutler in power, he has taken all civil liberties from his citizen and replaced them with fear and allowing the government officials to spy on whomever and whenever they want without a warrant. If this happened to the United States, it would violate the Forth Amendment, which gives the right to privacy. In his message on television, V said, Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent. This quote shows that Vs mission is to awaken the London citizens and stand up against this cruel Chancellor and other political officials, and take back the peoples right to privacy and other rights. A third lesson is about cruel and unusual punishment. The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and If the Eighth Amendment was a part of Great Britains Government, then it would be broken by Eveys torture which she thought was by the Government. Evey Hammond is found at Gordons home and is captured for questioning. She never reveals any secrets of V and refuses to give answers. She chose to go through the torture and beatings even though she could have given up at any time. Here is example of cruel and unusual punishment from Eveys imprisonment: Interrogator: I am instructed to inform you that you have been convicted by special tribunal and that unless you are ready to offer your cooperation you are to be executed. Do you understand what Im telling you? Evey Hammond: Yes. Interrogator: Are you ready to cooperate? Evey Hammond: No. Interrogator: Very well. Escort Ms. Hammond back to her cell. Arrange a detail of six men and take her out behind the chemical shed and shoot her. The scenes of Eveys captivity and the scenes of the young woman pictured in the letter that Evey finds in the wall, gives a crucial image of what Londons citizens went through. The United States Eighth Amendment would be broken by these scenes. These scenes make us aware that our own government can soon become a totalitarian government just like In the film, if we the citizens allow the government to take over and let them make our choices, we the people, will suffer cruel and unusual punishment. The final lesson in the movie is the positive thing citizens can do to save the world. Although V was violent, his actions were good because it did a lot to free Londons citizens from a corrupted Government. He inspired people, got them to rise against their government and to not be afraid. V was a man who stood up and never backed down. V was said to be an idea, believing he could make a difference, someone to remember, Remember, remember the Fifth of November. With this line being repeated through the movie, I have learned this line comes from the Bonfire Prayer, which every Fifth of November, the poem is recited and is declared Guy Fawkes day in England. When the day finally came of the explosion of the Gunpowder Plot, V passed away and passed his plan on to Evey allowing her to have the choice of the freedom of the country or to continue suffering in totalitarian government. She chose to continue Vs plan, causing a domino effect. Another scene in the movie is when V creates the d omino image of his symbol and pushes the first domino over. V is the first domino. Then the ripple effect that is created represents everyone. V is every one of us says Evey to Inspector Finch while watching the explosion. The last domino that is standing is Evey, who controls the next ripple effect. This shows that everyone can be a part of something that could make a difference in the world. Not just making a small change but a big change by influencing the people around you, socially and politically. The fact that director McTeigue created this film in England does not mean it is only relating it to the citizens of England because it can also relate to the citizens of the United States. V for Vendetta depict the message of political action and tells the audience it could soon happen to their government one day if they allow them to take control and not take a stand against their government. V teaches that people should not let fear overcome them and they should stand up for their rights and make a change in society. Everyone is a part of change, from a child to a high class government official. There are a lot of scenes throughout this film that depict this message. If people are not loud and do not stand up to the government, the United States could one day turn into a totalitarian government like in V.

The Code of Chivalry in The Once and Future King Essay -- Once and Fut

The Code of Chivalry in The Once and Future King      Ã‚  Ã‚   T.H. White's novel The Once and Future King presents a code of chivalry that outlines the expected knightly behavior of the time. This particular code stresses loyalty to one's liege, love and respect toward women, and absolute devotion to justice. At the height of Arthur's kingdom, this code was widely accepted by all. However, as Arthur's kingdom begins to decline, the code of chivalry begins to hold less importance among the people. The fall of Arthur's kingdom is directly related to the absence of the code of chivalry in the behavior of the Knights of the Round Table. Sir Lancelot betrays Arthur when he has an adulteress affair with Guenever. Sir Lancelot also disrespects women when he leaves Elaine to be with Guenever in Camelot. King Arthur himself is disloyal to justice when he allows Guenever to be rescued by Lancelot.    The love triangle of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guenever is a constant theme throughout every account of the Arthurian legend. Geoffrey Ashe's The Arthurian Handbook states that "We may say that these knights are expected to serve their King..."(81). The revelation of the affair finally comes when Sir Agravaine shouts, "'Traitor Knight! Sir Lancelot, now art thou taken'"(White 569). Lancelot was summoned to Queen Guenever's bedroom, and Sir Agravaine is finally exposing the affair and gaining revenge on Lancelot for unhorsing him many times in the past. The two people that Arthur trusts most are Guenever and Lancelot. Arthur is well aware of the affair between the two, but chooses to pretend that nothing is going on. Due to this naivety, Arthur earns the disrespect (and even hatred) of Agravaine and Mordred, who eventual... ...misuse of justice make way for Mordred and his ideas to take root in Camelot. All of these actions eventually lead to Arthur chasing Lancelot and waging war upon him, while Mordred takes over in Camelot. This symbolizes that there is no middle ground between good (Arthur) and evil (Mordred). As good dissipates, evil always grows stronger. However, the same goes for evil dissipating and good rising to power. Given the time period in which T.H. White wrote (post World War II), White is speaking of the downfall of Hitler and the rise of a new order in Europe.    Works Cited Ashe, Geoffrey. The Arthurian Handbook. New York, USA: Garland Publishing, 1988 Morris, Rosemary. The Character of King Arthur in Medieval Literature. Cambridge: Brewer Publishing Co., 1982 White, T.H.. The Once and Future King. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1987   

Gaining Control of the Gene Responsible for Apoptosis Essay -- Apoptos

Gaining Control of the Gene Responsible for Apoptosis When we gain control of the gene responsible for the phenomenon of apoptosis, we will be in control of aging. We are finding more evidence every day, indicating genetic links to all sorts of factors in the human being. We are just now beginning to scratch the surface of our own genetics. A landmark discover has just been unveiled: In February [2001], the two groups charting the human genome published their results—the entire 3 billion base pair sequence. The only definitive conclusion so far: Humans are far more complicated than we thought. †¦Eric Lander, director of the Whitehead Center for Genome Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts †¦ adds: â€Å"within a decade, we will understand a lot about the causes of diseases. Understanding, however does not translate into cures.† (Sinha 43) With this research we will uncover more factors that our genetic code regulates, many factors that were previously believed to be random events. Spontaneous cell death, as it turns out is not spontaneous at all, but genetically predetermined at conception. Cell death is an essential part of life. The cells in our bodies are constantly dividing, producing hundreds of thousands of new cells every second. To maintain balance, for every new cell, another cell must die. Our cells are programmed to kill themselves through a process called apoptosis. This in-built program of cell suicide prevents cancer by eliminating cells with damaged genes (Cotran 18). Similarly, our bodies replace cells with a new type of cell when a change is needed, such as during embryonic development (Cotran 18). To illustrate this point, we look at one of Dr. Adamchak’s â€Å"stories of physiology,† as taught from Martini... ... Schneider, Edward, L. New York: Plenum Press, 1978 Cech, T. â€Å"Life at the End of the Chromosome: Telomeres and Telomerase.† 20 Sept. 2000, National Institute on Aging, NIH Massur Auditorium, 18 March, 2001. . Cotran, Tucker, and Vinay. Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunder, 1999 Heydari, Ahmad, R. Understanding the Secrets of Aging and Cancer Through Nutritional Intervention. 3 January, 2001, Heydari Laboratory, Wayne U., 19 March, 2001, . Leeuwenburgh, C., Pollack, M. Mitochondrial control of Apoptosis in Aging and Exercise. 21, January, 1999 Aging Biochemistry Laboratory, College of Health and Human Performance, U. of Florida, 19 March, 2001, . Martini, Frederic, H. Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology. 4th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998 Sinha, G. â€Å"Our Genes Exposed.† Popular Science. May 2001: 43

The Iron Wall Essay -- Religion Government Church State Essays

The Iron Wall When reading the famous American magazine Time, you see a picture of President Bush with his cabinet praying. This is not a special occasion, but rather a daily prayer that begins his administration workday. It is not uncommon to see religious demonstrations and creeds throughout our society. Our money has â€Å"In God we Trust† and our schools daily pledge states, â€Å"†¦One nation under God†¦Ã¢â‚¬  We take oaths under the Bible and are sworn in with it. It would be foolish to believe that our founding fathers did not have a spiritual side to them. It would be even more naà ¯ve to believe that our sense of being does not come out in our writing; therefore, our nation was delivered on religious foundations and it remains today in all of the different political factions. Although the belief is that our founding fathers when creating the constitution were not trying to create a nation that was completely separate from religious beliefs. They did not want to mix church and state due to fears of a government that would not function as designed. They came from lands in which they were persecuted and religious leaders possessed too much authority in political affairs and they created threats to civil liberties. â€Å"Persecution is not an original feature in any religion, but it is always the strongly marked feature of all religions established by law.† (Thomas Paine) It is lucid to see the fears of an established state religion, but does freedom to excercise it and establishing it often mixed today? The First Amendment has always guaranteed our civil liberties, but the judicial branch is believed to have guided their interpretation too narrow and strict in fear of losing their iron wall. Society today, portrayed from the court... ...e free speech rights of students involved in Christian groups. It found that the school had violated those rights when it refused to pay for the printing of the Christian’s group’s newspaper; even though, it paid for the publications of a wide range of other student organizations. The fight for our rights has clearly taken a stronger turn more recently in our country. The obvious errors of government officials are being overturned and our schools are being forced to recognize our inalienable rights of freedom and liberty that comes from the first amendment. The laws of today are meant to protect us and keep control, but even laws can enslave men if not fair. And who decides fair? The same people who tell us how the laws should be enforced, so maybe it’s time to question if we are really free, and not just remain trapped behind an Iron Wall!

Brand Positioning of Maruti Suzuki

MARUTI SUZUKI – BRAND POSITIONING By: Shweta Amin [ Market Research Analyst ] on  February 13, 2011 1 Comment What comes to your mind first when u come across the term ‘MARUTI SUZUKI’, it always absolutely has to be Maruti 800, best known as ‘The Middle class car of India’. BRAND IMAGE:- MARUTI from as a brand itself is seldom looked at, as a luxury brand. Maruti as a brand is more linked with the SEC B rather than A. And over past many years Maruti Has maintained and up till certain extent restricted its Target Market to same SEC’s.VARIOUS MODELS OF MARUTI SUZUKI IN MARKET:- Hatchback: – Maruti 800, Wragon R, Alto, Swift, Estilo, Ritz, A-star Sedan: – SX4 & Dzire. SUV:- Grand Vitara, Maruti Gypsy, EECO This is quite evident that Maruti Suzuki is leading in its variety of ‘Hatchback’ cars. These for all this while were targeting the group of people who are middle incomed, but Maruti Suzuki has slowly entered and is steadily growing into the category of ‘Sedan’ Vehicles. REMARKABLE GROWTH:-If we observe Maruti as a brand over the years we can note a remarkable phenomena or strategy from their growth in past years. * It first became popular n still is with its launch of Maruti 800 many years back. They targeted middle income groups, who were first time car buyers, looking for low ownership cost with basic need of a family vehicle and the price was approx 2lacs. * After this they never looked back. Then came the other various hatchback models of Maruti like Zen, Wragon, and Alto etc.These Cars again targeted the middle income groups, but this time the positioning was not as the basic need, it was comfort at comparatively lower price, of 4 – 5 lacs. * Then putting Yet another Step forward, they came into Sedan’s with a price of 8-9 lacs these Sedans targeted SEC A as well as B(up till a certain extent) MARUTI KIZASHI The most recent development from Maruti Suzuki is the Launch of ‘Maruti Kizashi’. It has been positioned as the sports sedan; it is fairly high on cost with a Price of approx 17 to 19 Lacs.This Sedan is targeted towards the SEC A with a luxury touch to it. By this way, Maruti Suzuki is now able to target and provide a solution to various types of car buyers, who basically are the different targeted groups according to its Database. Maruti Suzuki seems to have efficiently planned and structured to connect its brand to masses as not only an ‘Economic Brand’ but also a ‘Luxury Brand’ turning it into an all-rounder. It will be interesting to see the consumers’ reaction to this change in the Brand Image of their one of most trusted brands

Thematic Study on A.K.Ramanujans Poetry

Introduction: A. K. Ramanujan is one of the interesting poets in the 20th century Indian English literature. His timeline is between 1929 and 1994. His poetry attained its popularity in 1960s. He is considered as the voice of modern India, though he shows his deep root in Indian tradition and culture. Among his contemporaries A. K. Ramanujan seems grave and sincere due to variety of themes prevailed in his poetry. He is not only a poet but also the greatest translator. He is famous for his translations rather than other creative works. His Major Works: An astonished classic Ramanujan has written numerous poems. They were gathered and put in four volumes under one title The Collected Poems. Of these four volumes The Striders, Relations, and Second Sight were published in his life time. His fourth collection The Black Hen was published after his life time in 1995. He is a transnational figure and trans-disciplinary scholar. His academic research ranged across five languages: Tamil, Kannada, English, Telugu and Sanskrit. His major translation works are The Interior Landscapes: Love Poems from a Classical Tamil Anthology, Speaking of Shiva and Hymns for the Drowning. Themes in his Poetry: His Collected poems represents the rich sensitivity, intellectual rigour and feeling. Most of his poems though intensely personal, have a universal dimension of their own. The main themes of his poetry are Indian culture and tradition, family and relations, past memories, art, love, despair, death, myth, hybridism, etc. ,. They are full of humour, irony, paradox and sudden reversals. He is really a poet of memory, commotion, childhood impressions, fear, sorrow, common sufferings and conflicts. Art as a Theme: The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting and sculpture is known as ‘art’. Poetry and other works produced by such skill and imagination can be come under this productive term ‘art’. In the poem â€Å"The Black Hen† Ramanujan portrays the art of writing poetry. He explains that poetry should come naturally as leaves come to a tree. This natural way of writing the poetry is evidenced through the lines: It must come as leaves to a tree or not at all. (1-3) Further the following lines, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ the black hen with the red round eye n the embroidery stitch by stitch. (5-8) -show the painful and troublesome kind of writing poetry. Here the poet compares the black hen with the poetry. The term ‘embroidery’ refers to the luxurious and decorative work which is done for the poetry. The phrase ‘stitch by stitch’ indicates the hard labour done for writing poet ry. The poet also expresses the respectful fear of the poets through the lines: the black hen stares with its round red eye and you are afraid. (11-13) According to the poet if a creative work is done once, fear grips the maker or he stares at his own work. Thus the entire poem â€Å"Black Hen† deals with the symbol of art and creativity. The image of the black hen symbolizes poetry. Theme of Time: Time is a dimension in which events can be ordered from the past through the present into the future, and also the measure of durations of events and intervals between them. Time has long been a major subject of study in religion, philosophy, science and art. Ramanujan focusses on the theme of time in his poem â€Å"At Zero† The first stanza of the poem â€Å"At Zero† has an image of clock. The poet says that â€Å"when the clocks lose their tongues† and â€Å"when the hands fall off† there will be no occurrence of sound. There is a symbol of zero with this silence of clock. It is also the symbol of emptiness too. The image of clock and pendulum in the clock surely reveal the passage of time. There are further more references of time through the lines: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ time pieces on wrists and towers lose time. (5-7) In Ramanujan’s view, the time is totally lost by the time pieces on wrists and towers. Though the first stanza speaks about the loss of time, the second stanza concentrates on the motion of time, which is considered as the victory of time. The lines which express the victory of time are following: though the wheels turn, the cogs catch: at the centre of the white, black, or coin face, the axle, dot of metal, turns continually:†¦.. (10-14) Here the phrase ‘turns continually’ perfectly matches with the movement of time. The two hands of the clock and twelve numbers certainly indicate the time and its message. Ramanujan opines that the twelve numbers say nothing when they are not touched by the two hands inserted in the clock. He additionally tells that time just keeps on moving. In an airport people are waiting for their flight to take off, they go on measuring the time. In Ramanujan’s description their eyes look but can’t see anything and their ears listen but cannot hear anything. At any place at anytime, time is not going to stop its function. It moves on and does its duty. It remembers the readers an Indian proverb â€Å"Time and tide waits for none†. Theme of Indian Culture and Tradition: Each country of the world has its own culture, with many customs, traditions and refined qualities. The culture of India refers to the religions beliefs, customs, traditions, languages, ceremonies, arts, values and the way of life in India and its people. Ramanujan’s poetry reveals his strong faith in Indian culture and tradition. The second stanza of the poem â€Å"At Zero† starts with the line â€Å"blank Brahmin-widow faces†. This blank widow faces make the readers to remember a typical Indian widow. It expresses the Hindu way of life in India. The last stanza of the poem concentrates on the potter-saint, who is ready to offer his child to God. He resembles a typical Indian saint and the ancient culture of India. The lines about the potter-saint are: †¦.. potter-saint singing hymns, dancing his god, kneaded with his feet the soft red clay, burying alive his youngest child. (38-42) The potter-saint considers his job only to pray to God. Ramanjuan has given a biblical reference here. Moreover the potter-saint resembles biblical character Abraham. His poem â€Å"Fire† also has a certain Indian traditions. It has a paradoxical view on fire. It symbolizes both creation and destruction of fire. The second stanza of the poem â€Å"Fire† portrays the destruction of fire with the lines: Ordinary wood blocks delivered at the door. A box of matches bought at the corner store. And here this supernatural fire that can burn the house down, maybe the whole neighbourhood, (7-10) Here the term the ‘supernatural fire’ makes the readers to think of Indian rituals which can be done with fire. Theme of Hindu Culture: The Indian Hindu culture is a culture of love, respect, honoring others and humbling one's own ego so that the inner nature, which is naturally pure and modest, will shine forth. He has described some of the important Hindu traditions and culture of India. His poem â€Å"Of Mothers, among Other Things† is concentrated on the descriptions of his mother, where there are certain elements of Hindu mythology. In the third stanza her hands are compared with an eagle: a wet eagle’s two black pink-crinkled feet one talon crippled. Here the image of the eagle does not seem to go well with the fleeting, delicate and fragile personality. Though this comparison is unusual, in Hindu mythology the eagle is the vehicle of the Supreme God, Vishnu. The poet associates the eagle with the female figure. There is an indication in this poem that after his father’s death, his mother assumes the role of his father. There is a little bunch of four poems around the Hindu thought. They are â€Å"A Hindoo to his body†, â€Å"The Hindoo: he doesn’t Hurt a Fly or a Spider either†, â€Å"The Hindoo: he reads his Gita and is calm at all events† and â€Å"The Hindoo: the Only Risk†. These are the poems from his first collection The Striders. These titles themselves show his strong faith in Hindu culture. The opening lines of â€Å"The Hindoo to His Body† are: ‘Dear pursuing presence,/ dear body and so on. This is an example of Hindu beliefs regarding body. (Chindhale 70-71) Immigrant writings in his poetry: His poem â€Å"Salamanders† describes the mentality of an immigrant in a foreign country. It seems that the poet deals with this poem his own experience in North America. Salamanders are really legendry creatures. The poet presents the pure image of salamanders to portray the immigrants. In the second stanza of the poem the term ‘we’ refers to the immigrants. The phrase ‘flee in panic’ expresses the status of the immigrants, who are in need to work and who wish to work hard. The poet describes the salamanders in the third stanza through the following lines: Salamanders I’d heard live in fire and drink the flame as we the air: (10-12) Like human beings breath with the help of the air for our survival, salamanders drink the flame and live in fire. The poet calls the salamanders ‘naked earthlings’. He additionally portrays its beauty through the lines : †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ poor yet satin to the eye, velvet to the touch. (16,17) Ramanujan opines that immigrants are like salamanders. They are burning inside and eating fire such as tension, anxiety, urge to lead their life in foreign countries. They have flame within their heart for using the prosperity of foreign lands to lead their life. Their sad and pathetic condition of dependence of the foreign lands is explained in the poem â€Å"Salamanders†. Like the lizards waiting for the dragonflies, immigrants are waiting for their ambitions to be fulfilled. It can be viewed further as the waiting for the production of new generation. The new generation refers to the particular generations in which the new born people are going to surprise the foreigners. Here the hopelessness of the poet to have such a wonderful generation is revealed through the lines: only Hollywood aliens who know us only through legends†¦.. (33,34) Thus the poem â€Å"Salamanders† deals with the emotions and feelings of immigrants. Theme on War: His poem â€Å"Salamanders† tells the readers about the war and its worst quality. He tells the readers about the things, which cannot be happened in this world. They are revealed through the lines: yellow shade in yellow shadow, empty hub of the turning wheel, mother and father of farever unborn, obeying edicts written in smoke by war for countries hat never were- (21-25) These lines mean that there cannot be an empty hub in the turning wheel, there cannot be a yellow shade in the yellow shadow and there cannot be father and mother for the unborn child. With these illustrations Ramanujan explains that there cannot be a country where there is a war. His Poetry on Admiring Traditions: â€Å"Foundlings i n the Yukon† of Ramanujan is written carefully for adoring and admiring traditions and old age. This poem shows his great faith in ‘old’. He really respects the old age. Along with the admiration of tradition Ramanujan shows the subordination of modernized and fashionable world. His adoration of tradition is expressed through the lines: ten thousand years after their time, they took root within forty-eight hours and sprouted a candelabra of eight small leaves. (10-15) The explanation of these lines is that the six unbroken grains, which were found by the miners, were picked and planted after ten thousand years of their lifetime. It definitely shows the greatest and superior quality of the ‘old’ and tradition. The poet shows the inferior quality of modern world through the following lines: A modern Alaskan lupine, I’m told, waits three years to come to flower,†¦.. (16-20) The ancient grains start to grow with in two days where as the modern lupine waits to grow for three years. It shows the subordination of the modern period to the ancient time. The poet’s respect for old age is further revealed by the lines: older than the oldest things alive, having skipped a million falls and the registry of tree-rings, suddenly younger by a n accident of flowering(41-46). Nostalgic Experiences in his Poems: Past always hunts Ramanujan. His poetry is the poetry of restored emotions and feelings. Most of his poems are reflecting his memory. His poem â€Å"Obituary† discusses the death of his father and his own sufferings. In the beginning of the poem he has written: Father when he passed on left dust on a table full of paper left debts and daughters, (1-4) These lines express the poet’s mourning for his loneliness. He feels the pain of missing his lovable father in this poem. The following lines too tell the readers about the pathetic condition of her mother and the burden of annual ritual. They are: And he left us a changed mother and more than one annual ritual. 53-56) His poem â€Å"Three Dreams† also has certain elements of nostalgic experiences. It is about the fellowship given to him for doing research. There he thinks about his worst condition of shelter where he belonged at the time of getting that fellowship. It is shown through the lines: Before I knew it I was in a ruined house lit by rains of dust in the light sleeping through the cracks and t he broken windows. (9-13) The poet’s bad condition of the shelter at the time of getting his fellowship is ruminated by the poet in the poem â€Å"Three Dreams†. Family Relationships in his Poetry: Almost all of Ramanujan’s poems are written with his own feelings, emotions and memories. His own family life, his childhood memories, his pleasures, struggles, sufferings, love, etc are mostly the subject matters of his poetry. â€Å"Obituary† which is a poem about his own father and â€Å"Of Mothers, among Other Things†, a poem dedicated to his mother are the best examples for the elements of family relations. His poem â€Å"Relations† deals with the poet’s strong faith in family. He describes the behaviour of the family members through many of his poems. In his â€Å"Of Mothers, among Other Things† he describes his mother. For instance in the beginning of the poem the poem’s lines are: I smell upon this twisted blackbone tree the silk and white petal of my mother’s youth. (1-4) There are many more things revealed in this poem about his mother. His poem â€Å"Small reflections on a Great House† describes the festivals and ceremonies celebrated by the members of the family with the great enthusiasm. The kinship relationship between him and his family members is explained here. The following lines are the evidences: son-in-laws who quite forget their mothers, but stay to check ccounts or teach arithmetic to nieces. Indeed his family members are the characters of most of his poetry. There are plenty of words related to family relationships like ‘father’, ‘mother’, ‘grand parents’, ‘daughter’, ‘wife’, ‘grandson†, etc. they mainly do the functions of decorating ornaments in his poetry. Personal Elements in his P oetry: All of his poems discuss his personal life. He is experimental in his poetic style to give free expression to his feelings and emotions. Personally he is an Indian and does not show any kind of inclination or fascination towards English or the American poetry. Moreover he is not influenced by the modernism of English poetry. He belongs to a traditional Hindu family. He has written many poems related to Hindu mythology and Hindu faith. That projects one of his personal elements. His poem â€Å"Salamanders† is a poem which deals with his own experiences in a foreign country. There are many of his poems, in which he ruminates over his past and his childhood memories. His sufferings, his struggles, his pathos, his burdens, his pleasant memories, etc are expressed throughout his poetry. â€Å"Obituary†, â€Å"Black Hen†, â€Å"Three Dreams†, etc are some of his personal poetry.