Analysis of Elizabeth Keckleys Behind the Scenes Essay Example

Analysis of Elizabeth Keckleys Behind the Scenes Essay Example Analysis of Elizabeth Keckleys Behind the Scenes Paper Analysis of Elizabeth Keckleys Behind the Scenes Paper Brian Lindner Research Writing 109:2 Mrs. Linda Clary 6 October 2010 Analysis of Elizabeth Keckley’s Behind the Scenes The American Presidents have a distinct aura that surrounds them and covers their true identity with a faulty exterior, only portraying stoic, standup men. Elizabeth Keckley in her memoir Behind the Scenes gives us an inside look at President Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln, as well as a look into her own life. Elizabeth Keckley was a black slave who bought her freedom, and worked for rich families as a seamstress, including working in the White House for Marry Todd Lincoln. She became close friends with Mrs. Lincoln and one of her only confidantes in the time after President Lincoln was assassinated (Dasher-Alston 1). In her piece Keckley explains how she sees the Lincolns at some of the best times that they have while in the White House as well as some of the worst times they have. Keckleys memoir gives us a deep look into three fascinating people’s true characteristics that would almost be unknown otherwise: Abraham Lincoln was a fun-loving, uncomplicated, caring man; Mary Todd Lincoln was an irritable, brash, strong woman; and Elizabeth Keckley was a hardworking, honest, and loyal woman. Abraham Lincoln gives off the appearance that he is always conducting himself with the up-most character and decorum, nearly always being pictured standing tall with his black suit and top hat however, this is not the case Mr. Lincoln was a fun-loving, uncomplicated man. He seems very relaxed at times almost like any other hard working man of that time. Keckley Lindner 2 accounts of a time where she was helping Mrs. Lincoln dress and he comes into the room: â€Å"Mr. Lincoln came in, threw himself on the sofa, laughed with Willie and little Tad, and commenced pulling on his gloves, quoting poetry all the while† (Keckley 178). Mr. Lincoln was also a simple man with simple pleasures. He owned two pet goats which he loved almost as if they were his own children. Lincoln is describing his goats to Keckley one afternoon and he says, â€Å"Madam Elizabeth, did you ever before see such an active goat? . . . [h]e feeds on my bounty, and jumps with joy. Do you think we could call him a bounty-jumper? But I flatter the bounty-jumper. My goat is far above him† (Keckley 179). In comparison many things are far above bounty-jumpers but to say that his goats can even compare to humans shows his love and shows how he treats them as if they were humans. Bounty-jumpers were men who accepted the cash bounty offered for enlisting in the civil war and then deserted (bounty jumper 1). Mr. Lincoln loved these simple pleasures in life; he was a fun-loving, uncomplicated man. Along with these fun characteristics he was also a caring man. He loved his children and his wife and kept them first in his life, but also had a kind word for all he came in contact with. Keckley gives examples of how President Lincoln laughs with his children, and would be outside playing with his children, and the fun they would share together playing with the pet goats (Keckley 178-79). It shows a lot into the character of the president that as busy as he was he made time for his children. He also treated his wife with an unconditional love. He complimented her and different times recited poetry to her. One instance President Lincoln said, â€Å"I declare you look charming in that dress. Mrs. Keckley has met with great success† (Keckley 178). The President used this playful use of poetry to both compliment his wife and be the romantic poetic husband every woman longs for. Lindner 3 The woman behind the great man was an irritable, brash woman. Mrs. Lincoln expected the best and sometimes perfection from the people she was around. When Keckley was being hired she remembered being in a room with three other dress makers waiting to be interviewed (Keckley 177). Keckley was the last to be seen as all the others could not meet the near perfect requirements that Mrs. Lincoln had set forth. She also made very brash, hasty decisions at different points. Keckley explains this brashness saying, â€Å"After Willie’s death, she could not bear the sight of anything he loved, not even a flower. Costly bouquets were presented to her . . . and [she] either placed them in a room where she could not see them, or threw them out the window† (Keckley 180). This quick, almost inconceivable action of throwing a gift out the window was an almost normal action for Mrs. Lincoln. Behind this brash, irritable exterior was a strong mother, who put up this front to hide pain and suffering. Mrs. Lincoln lost saw the death of one of her child and her husband cut short both of their lives. Following the death of Mr. Lincoln, one of the toughest things to deal with her son Tad pleads with her not to cry, because if he were to hear his mom crying he also would cry and break his heart. Mrs. Lincoln then calmed herself and hugged held her child (Keckley 183-84). Mrs. Lincoln in the time that she was suppose to be getting consoled put her son first, stopped crying, and put his needs before her own. Elizabeth Keckley was a hard working, honest woman. She worked hard to become the dress maker for the first lady. Keckley tells of a time when she was making a dress for Mrs. McClean one of her first customers, and she promised the dress would be made by Sunday. Keckley worked night and day working on that dress saying, â€Å"I would undertake the dress if I should have to sit up all night- every night, to make my pledge good† (Keckley 175). Keckley Lindner 4 did have the dress made by the deadline date keeping her word. It was this hard work and determination that led to her being the White House dress maker. Keckley was also a loyal friend to Mrs. Lincoln as well as her dress maker. She cared for her and Mrs. Lincoln trusted and confided in her. On the night that President Lincoln was shot, Keckley was overwhelmed with concern both for the President but also for Mrs. Lincoln. Keckley says, â€Å"I could not sleep. I wanted to go to Mrs. Lincoln as I pictured her with grief . . . and I must wait till morning (Keckley 182). Her first thoughts as often as they were, were not on herself and what this would mean for her career no longer being in the White House, but for her dear friend Mrs. Lincoln and the pain and grief she must have been going threw at this tragic time. Elizabeth Keckley takes us inside the White House, seeing the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln in a way that would otherwise be unknown, but in her telling us about them she also gives us great detail into her own life and the amazing woman she is. Abraham Lincoln will be remembered as a fun-loving, simple, and caring man, while Mrs. Lincoln will be remembered as brash, irritable, but ever so strong. Elizabeth Keckley who otherwise may be another unknown White House worker will be known for her hardworking, honest, and loyal ways. Beneath all these characters faulty exteriors lies a true interior that only a few can know, and because of Elizabeth Keckley, Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln are now seen in a different way. Lindner 5 â€Å"bounty jumper. † Def. 1. yourdictionary. com. Wiley, 2010. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. Dasher-Alston, Robin M. â€Å"Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley. † Voices From the Gaps. University of Minnesota, 6 Dec. 1998. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. Keckley, Elizabeth Hobbs. Behind the Scenes. Ed. Jay Parini. New York: Norton, 1999. Print.

Explore the theme of love in Auden Essays

Explore the theme of love in Auden Essays Explore the theme of love in Auden Paper Explore the theme of love in Auden Paper Essay Topic: W H auden Poems This was an arranged marriage which allowed her to have the British citizenship and escape from Nazi Germany. Aden met his true love, the poet Chester Coalman, in New York in 1939. Coalman became Addends companion for the rest of his life. Love is a recurrent theme in Addends poetry but so are many others such as world war two, politics, indifference, nature or time. Therefore, we could ask ourselves how important love is in Addends poetry. As Aden has been in love for the major part of his life, a lot of his poems talk about it or at least mention it. Among them, the most famous one is Funeral Blues as it has been used in the movie Four weddings and a funeral. In this poem, Aden talks about the death of his lover. It is one of the rare poems in which Aden assumes his homosexuality when he says He Is Dead. It must be said that at this time, being gay was unacceptable and people could even end up in jail for that (this might be one of the reasons why in the memo Roman Wall Blues, Aden talks about my girl though we know that his lover was a man). In Funeral Blues, the poet describes how the lover meant everything to him, by using the lexical field of space North, South, East, West, time noon, midnight, but also senses such as the view or hearing especially in the first stanza. The entire poem is about the void that the death of the lover has left and how much he counted in Addends life. This is pretty much the same in the poem underneath the abject willow. Indeed, in the two poems the lover is dead. But in the second one, there is a positive note by the middle of the poem Strike and you shall conquer which become more and more imposing by the end of it. It ends up on a sign of hope walk then, come, no longer numb into your satisfaction which is contrasting with the beginning. This sudden change in the characters way of thinking almost makes the reader forget that at first, this poem was written after the lovers death and it could possibly be a way for the author to express his grief. This evolution of atmosphere is common with other poems such as The more loving one. It begins very sadly, the poet seems depressive for all they care, can go to hell. The use vulgarity is a sign of how fed up the poet is. He uses it again in stanza three stars that do not give a damn to emphasis that he has had enough. Indeed, being in love is never easy because as Aden says equal affection cannot be. One person always loves more than the other does. Aden wants to be the more loving one, not as a sign of sacrifice but rather as a sign of understanding of the situation. By the end of the poem, he seems appeased by his choice, or at least a little, and able to put things into respective l should learn to look at an empty sky. In this poem, Aden shows love as omnipresent in peoples lives as it keeps being a concern even at night time, under the stars. The evolution of atmosphere can be from a negative one to a positive one as we have just seen but it can also be inversely such as in O what is that sound and Refugee Blues. Indeed, in both poems, the atmosphere is quite pessimistic in the first stanzas but it becomes more and more obvious that the protagonists are wanted and that the end is going to be tragic. For instance, in O what is that sound, one of the two beakers still has hope in his voice at the beginning only the scarlet soldiers, dear, the soldiers coming but as we continue reading, we can feel that he starts worrying or perhaps a warning, now they are running and by the end, he is as scared as the first speaker is or maybe even more l promised to love you, dear, But I must be leaving. In Refugee Blues, the fact that the protagonists are wanted is really clear as soon as the first stanza yet theres no place for us, my dear, yet theres no place for us but it still becomes more ND more precise as long as we read the poem looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me. Those poems are both tragic as we understand that the characters are Jews wanted by the Nazi Germany. Love is here used as a way of moving deeply the reader as we can easily identify in the nickname dear used all along the two poems. The use of the theme of love can also be seen as a ploy to soften the harshness of reality. This use can also be found in Lullaby. Even though the major part of the poem is quite sad, love is present since the beginning lay your sleeping head, my love and until the ND watched by every human love. The love mentioned in this poem is not only romantic love, but also spiritual love. Indeed, Addends speech is quite philosophical, he wonders why the world is as it is. Love is one of the few elements that bring back the reader to the real world. It is shown as a positive thing that makes reality easier to accept. Sometimes though, love is not welcome. This is the case in Miss Gee, in which the old single lady is disgusted by the sight of the loving couples. It can be seen as a sign of jealousy and loneliness.

Auditing,(True and Fair view and Independence) Essay

Auditing,(True and Fair view and Independence) - Essay Example However, Dean and Clarke (2007) have declared the truth, fairness and independence to be near impossibility due to â€Å"Faulty foundations of accounting†. An auditor’s selected procedures to conduct audit depends upon the auditor’s judgment including the assessment of risks of material misstatement. In making those risk assessments the auditor considers internal controls relevant to the entity’s preparation of financial statements that give a true and fair view of the accounts, he also evaluates the appropriateness of the accounting policies and procedures. Hence, an experienced auditor can even give opinion on the â€Å"faulty foundations of accounting† (Dean and Clarke, 2007) through careful selection of procedures of audit. The objective of accounting remains to present, statements not for accounting only, but also to satisfy the auditor’s judgment which stretches beyond the books, since accounting leads to accountability only when audito r goes through it. What constitutes â€Å"true and fair† by the auditor is being widely discussed criticized, and explored equally by the governments and the corporate sector. Auditors can never be sure that their opinion presents true and fair view of the financial statements( Christopher J. ... on (2010) have taken pure philosophical aspect of TFV and discussed the â€Å"ethical discretion† that gives him â€Å"dramatic ethical role† able to either build or completely ruin the â€Å"trust† of the company under audit. Their conclusion again leads into interlinking the pure morality to be guide through some laid down principles and procedures of accounting. To give â€Å"moral weight†, an auditor has to† show the desirable results† (Campbell and Houghton, 2010), desirable for the stakeholders in general, though the stakeholders may vary from the employees of the company to the shareholders. Thus, claiming the entire morality for TFV in auditing revolves around setting standards and developing systems to ensure TFV. The role of TFV in auditing thus becomes pivotal and the objective of the TFV should be to give an opinion about the assertion of the management, for the shareholders, the strength of the financial position, its standing in t he market so as to lure potential buyers to invest on â€Å"economically informed basis† (Campbell & Houghton, 2001). â€Å"The Immediate role of audit independence is to serve the audit† the prime objective of audit independence is to â€Å"improve the cost effectiveness of capital market† (Jacobson, Peter D, 1998). Independence is â€Å"fundamental to the reliability of auditor’s report† (Ramsay, 2001). An â€Å"objective and disinterested† (Ramsay,2001) assessment of the financial assertion is said to be the foundation of the independence of the auditors, for effective corporate governance, the cost effectiveness of a business, for investor’s confidence, and particularly in wake of recent corporate failures. There are some key ways an auditor can make sure that they are perceived to be independent. Ramsay identifies these as