Anne Stevenson Essays - Human Development, Childbirth

Anne Stevenson " I thought you were my victory /though you cut me like a knife" (Stevenson 1-2) The opening lines of Anne Stevenson's poem The Victory set a tone of conflict. This poem, at its surface, expresses a mother's thoughts on giving birth to a son. Stevenson describes the mixed feelings many mothers have upon the delivery of their first born. The final release from pregnancy and birthing pains, coupled with the excitement of bringing a live creature into this world, at first seem a victory to the new parent. The author goes on to confute the event as a victory. Using words such as "antagonist" (5), "bruise" (6), and "scary"(13), she shows the darker side of childbirth. The mother has felt her own life's blood flowing that a stranger might live "The stains of your glory bled from my veins." (6-8). That she sees her own child as a stranger is evident in lines nine and ten, where the child is described as a "blind thing" (9) with "blank insect eyes"(10). The mother portrays her baby as a bug, not even human. In the last section of the poem, two questions are asked, attesting to the mother's internal conflict. "Why do I have to love you?/ How have you won?" (15-16). These unanswerable queries are some of the fundamental questions of our human existence. Below the topmost layer of meaning in The Victory, is an underlying theme that any parent or guardian will easily relate to. Children are born out of the great pain their mothers endure. They are helpless in one sense, yet they command the care of their parents. Stevenson describes the intrinsic helplessness of infants with the words "Blind"(9) and "Hungry"(14). Yet, this poem does not refer to new born babes alone. Birthing pains do not cease with the delivery of a child. The conflict described in this poem is felt by parents of adult children as well. All parents give of their lifeblood, at least in the emotional sense, in raising and maintaining their offspring. The Victory is a poem written as if by a mother only just delivered of a new born son, yet the themes expressed in its lines apply to all the stages of human life. Stevenson seems to stress the pain that is felt when one life brings forth another, but there are many pains felt by parents in ways unphysical. "You barb the air. /You sting with bladed cries" (11-12) these are sharp words that bring thoughts of tangible pain. These words also describe mental and emotional pain that is felt by many parents who sacrifice much for their children. The poem does not place a guilt on the baby nor, therefore on children in general. It seems to acknowledges the turmoil of birth and life as natural. The child who is born today, collects the sacrifice of its parents and will make sacrifices for the child born tomorrow. Even though The Victory is worded to sound resentful, as though the mother begrudges her child his new found life, it also has a resigned tone. The mother accepts her lot, however painful. Even deeper into this poem is the hint of feminism. The author chose the sex of this baby intentionally. She used two references to a knife, indicating pain inflicted in a manner unnatural. The knife has traditionallybeen a man's weapon. "Tiny antagonist" (9) could refer to the entire male gender. "Scary knot of desires" (13) is a reference to the sex act, which is sometimes seen as male aggression. The child is the manifestation of this act. "Hungry snarl! Small son." (14) the use of an animalistic noise directly precedes the revelation of the baby's gender. Once again Stevenson's choice of words reminds one of male aggression. The woman in the poem seems to feel cheated in bearing a male child to the man who is indirectly responsible for her condition. Why does she have to love him? Does that sum up the plight of woman? Is it Eve's curse that woman shall embrace man, though in so doing she must suffer childbirth to bring forth more men? (Or daughters who shall suffer likewise.) Is that how he has won? The Victory asks

Project program Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Project program - Assignment Example The mortgage company offers a 2 year fixed mortgage, low rate variable and performance plus mortgagee designs. My Mortgage Freedom online mortgage application makes the company’s covers versatile and convenient for most people. All the same, the main challenge of the business is to attract customers to its portfolio. Online Customer Segment One way to attract more customers to My Mortgage Online shops is by maximizing the search engine visibility of the company. People in most cases will make a first stop in search engines when looking for any product or service. Search engine ensure the marketer is at the right place and at the right time. It will be important for the company’s SEO strategist to use specialized tools such as the Google’s Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics in monitoring the baseline metrics, and understanding the SEO health in the company’s website. Such a detailed analysis will showcase areas that need more attention (Brightpearl, 3). T he strategist has to start analyzing the following key metrics once per month to indicate the success of this approach: Sales generated by the search marketing, the number of visits to the page, and the number of new visitors recorded, the number of new visitors converting to paying visitors, the cost per click on all paid search adverts, and the best sources that most traffic is coming from (Bright pearl, 3). In addition, the strategist has to review the keywords used, and how these keywords will match landing on any paid search or SEO strategy. The use of good keywords would be ideal in accessing the competition, and search volume. The Google analytics tool may be used to access the search dynamics, and the keyword-to –search term relationship (Brightpearl, 4). Carrying out detailed A/B testing of the used Keywords and any used text is important in optimizing the paid search pay per click (PPC) campaigns. In the process of building intelligence around the used keyword, land ing on page relevance and search terms, the conversation rates and quality score go up while significantly reducing the CCP, which will save the business significant amount of costs. In addition, there are more platforms available at much reduced rates, or at no cost, though such free platforms may not be solely enough for attracting customers (Pozin, 2012). Strategic company branding will increase customer’s attention towards My Mortgage Online. Currently, there are a good number of such Mortgage companies online competing for customers. To overcome its competitors, the company needs critical rebranding in its website to make the webpage unforgettable. Rebranding may involve embedding real estate video clips or pictures in their websites, or any other photos that may show how people have benefited from their mortgage plans. As reflected in the My Mortgage Freedom Company, the domain name used reflects the name of the company, which makes it unique and easy for the customers to sport online. In addition, the website has to be professional and integrate their web page to social media. Integrating My Mortgage Freedom with social media such as Facebook will attract attention of social media users who will click the leads to the company’s website. This is a versatile way of increasing traffic to the company’s website (Prozin, 2012). The company has then to ensure mechanisms through which customers getting to the website from

Dealing with the cold weather in toronto Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dealing with the cold weather in toronto - Essay Example However, like all other cities in Canada, Toronto experiences some really cold spells every year. The cold weather is especially common throughout winter when temperatures periodically hit below the freezing point. As a result, residents have developed several suitable ways of dealing with the unpleasant weather that rocks the city, especially during the usual cold months. But, is the cold really an inhibitor of anything? Should anyone worry that the cold season is finally here? These questions can be easily answered by capturing the moods of the residents of the city during the times of extreme cold. The problem of cold weather not only creates fear among residents of Toronto, it also demotivates workers and school-going children who have to constantly brave through the freezing cold to their respective places of work and schooling. Residents have had to try many different ways to overcome the menace. However, the cold season perpetually presents tough times for families; what with contending with waking up unwilling children and later send them off to school in the snowy weather; waking up as a worker and realizing that you have to brave the cold one more day in order to make some few more pennies; and the manager’s impatient wait for late staffs still shaking off their blankets and riding slowly along the foggy roads before they can finally make it to the place of work? Well, reflecting upon the effects that the cold season has on the residents clearly tells you that it is a big problem among the people, and a solution to it is paramount to their happiness and comfort a s they attempt to endure any cold spell. After all, residents here have to put up with temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius. Some of the regularly ways advocated as effective in beating the cold weather have been with us for centuries. As a precaution, the residents of Ontario have adapted to preparing in time for upcoming cold spells. One of the most effective