Biography of Mark Twain Essay -- biography biographies bio

Biography of Mark Twain Mark Twain was a writer whose works revolved around his childhood experiences growing up on the Mississippi River. The main source of his writing was the time he spent in Hannibal, Missouri as a young boy. He also used his childhood friends in many of his work, such as modeling the character Sid in Huck Finn after his brother Henry. Twain also used the happy times in his life to express his feeling in his writings. Twain used the trials of his life to make his works humorous and all-time American classics. Twain's life began in the sleepy town of Florida, Missouri. After a few years of living in Florida, Twain's family packed up and moved to Hannibal, Missouri, about 30 miles away from Florida. Hannibal is where most of Twain's thoughts turned into his writings. Hannibal was a small town of 50 people and 3 stores when the Twain family moved in (Foner 16). By the end of the decade it boasted 1,034 persons, a newspaper, a cigar factory, a whisky distillery, and several slaughter houses (16). The key to Hannibal's growth was the main source of Twain's writings the Mississippi River- "the great Mississippi, the magnificent Mississippi, rolling its mile wide tide along" (16). While in Hannibal the young Twain led a life like any other young boy. He played with friends, went swimming, and of course went to school. But tragedy struck while Mark was only 12 years old: his father passed away. Six years later Twain left Hannibal on May 27, 1853 (21). In the autograph album of one of his girl fr iends, he bade his farewell to Hannibal: "Good-by, good-by, I bid you now, my friend: And though 'tis hard to say the word, to destiny I bend" (21). Twain was four years old when he was brought to Hannibal; he was eight... ...cluding Twain himself. In closing Twain was a writer that took in surroundings and somehow turned them into some of the greatest books in the world; such as his life in Hannibal, working as a river boat pilot, fighting in the civil war, moving to Nevada, and his lectures during 1868 -- 69. All of these events in his life somewhat effected the writing style he used. Twain also used these times in his life to make his writings humorous to his public. Twain didn't write stories that were complicated because he was a fairly "laid back" guy. This style that Twain used was one that anybody could understand or relate to. This is why Twain's name will live on and on for generations. Bibliography: Foner, Philip., Mark Twain Social Critic. New York: International Publishers, 1981 Twain, Mark., The Autobiography of Mark Twain. New York: Harper and Row, 1959

Diana Ecks Essay

Diana Eck’s writings in Darsan: Seeing the Devine Image in India address many of the key elements of the Hindu culture and traditions. Much of her writing deals with the visual aspect of the religion, and how it is more about the spirituality rather than the actual image itself. Within each chapter she hit on other major details within in the Hinduism. However this essay will discuss the specific concepts such as pilgrimage to certain sites, importance of the visual aspect, and how the construction is a religious discipline in itself. Diana Eck’s essay begins with the discussion of how Hinduism is a visual religion. Numerous times she explains how sight was a major aspect in worship and Darsan. In this section she goes on to explain that the very phrase of the Hindu religion is seeing is knowing. The whole point of the darsan aspect is to see and be seen by the god, goddess or diate that lives in the shine. Furthermore the eyes play a key role in the worship of gods. Through the eyes on can gain blessings of the divine. However to get to the dwelling places of these gods is not always a simple trip to a local shrine. She begins to discuss the pilgrimages or journeys of many people in order to achieve darsan at a specific place. During this portion of the essay she talks about the journeys and dedication that many of the Hindu followers partake in. not only do people traveling for gods but also living religious figures. For example Ghandi was perhaps the most exalted living Hindu figure. Thousands would travel just to get a glimpse of him passing in an attempt to achieve darsan. Towards the end of her passage she explains the importance of the construction of the images, and how each one was a religious discipline in itself. Later on in the passage she begins to explain how the construction of a temple becomes part of the cosmos; and in its construction the entire universe is rearranged. The very ground plan is a geometrical map of their cosmos with the sacred image at its center. Many of the temples are models of sacred mountains said to be the dwelling places of the gods, and diates. In a larger sense the temple are said to be images themselves. The construction of the temple gives evidence to this. Eck explains that from the beginning of the construction to the end is a ritual. My thoughts on the passage were that the author had extensive knowledge on the Hindu art forms along with its culture and myths. Her organization made it so each topic led to one another, and also goes into detail on almost every topic discussed. On the other hand I found one of her weaknesses was that the information got repetitive and made it difficult to focus throughout some of the paragraphs. A clear point however was the comparisons between Christianity’s god and the Hindu gods. Many times she compares the two saying a person that practices the Hindu religion could not comprehend the idea of one almighty invisible god, and that it would also be difficult for us to understand the importance of vision being a main part of the Hindu religion. This book has also shown me that each and every design has a specific importance to the religion itself. Before I assumed most of it had to be meaningless decoration, and that gods with more than eye actually serve a purpose for in achieving darsan. I had always assumed that it was just decoration or something completely different from its actual purpose. In this essay I have given a brief summary of some the major points in Diana Eck’s book Darsan: Seeing the Devine Image. These points include importance of the visual aspects of Hinduism, the ritual practice before during and after in constructing a hindu monument, and what the purpose of the pilgrimage is. I also have given a person opinion on the author strengths and weaknesses, prior stereo types and some comparisons that can be found within the book. Overall I found the book to be helpful in the fact that it gave specific reasons for many of the decorations and practices in the Hindu religion.

How to Translate the French Expression De Rien

The French phrase  de rien  (pronounced deu-r yeh) is one that many students  learn to translate as youre welcome. But this common expression of courtesy actually means something slightly different. Its not considered improper or impolite to use  de rien  when someone thanks you, but there are other words that may be more appropriate. Usage The closest English equivalent to de rien is its nothing, which is not the nicest way to acknowledge gratitude. De rien isnt wrong, exactly, but its not as polite as what native French speakers typically say: je vous en prie you are welcome (literally, I beg of you)je ten prie youre welcome (to a friend)cest moi qui vous remercie (or just cest moi) no, thank you (literally, it is I who thanks you)merci à   vous / toi thank you (literally, (my) thanks to you)pas de quoi, il ny a pas de quoi (informal) dont mention it (literally, no need, theres is no need)avec plaisir (South of France) my pleasure (literally, with pleasure) Example Merci, jai beaucoup aimà © ce livre. Thank you, I really liked this book​ De rien!   Youre welcome!