Free Essays on The Grave

in her sentences to charm her readers into the understandings of life, death, and rebirth. How she uses symbolism to put life and death into perspective is both original and thought provoking. We begin reading her story in the history of the children's family past. The beginning of the story sets the tone more so than it gives us a concrete setting. The tone is dark and disturbing as we are told that "The grandfather has been dead for more than thirty years," and the grandmother moved his body with her as she traveled. The only reference to setting in the first paragraph is in the telling of the grandmother's final move. It was in Kentucky that the grandmother at last settled into her first farm and was finally laid to rest. Also in the first paragraph, there is the moving of the family plot to the new public cemetery. Here we recognize that the grandmother failed to let the dead stay buried because of her own selfish desires. Death seems to be an inconvenience for the family, rather than something to be revered and respected. The story is set with positive and negative descriptions about the family cemetery. Katherine describes the cemetery as having been a "pleasant small neglected garden of tangled rose bushes and ragged cedar trees and cypress, the simple flat stones rising out of uncropped sweet-smelling wild grass". At first the cemetery is "pleasant" which is positive. Then, it is negative with the descriptions of the "tangled rose bushes", and the "ragged cedar trees". Lastly, Katherine mixes positive and negative with the description of the "uncropped sweet-smelling... Free Essays on The Grave Free Essays on The Grave The Grave Katherine Anne Porter's short story is a third person narrative called The Grave. This piece is about the sweetness of adolescence and the corruption of innocence as a young girl uncovers the realities of life and death. As one reads the story they can get caught up in Katherine's web of descriptions. She uses a mixture of negative and positive words in her sentences to charm her readers into the understandings of life, death, and rebirth. How she uses symbolism to put life and death into perspective is both original and thought provoking. We begin reading her story in the history of the children's family past. The beginning of the story sets the tone more so than it gives us a concrete setting. The tone is dark and disturbing as we are told that "The grandfather has been dead for more than thirty years," and the grandmother moved his body with her as she traveled. The only reference to setting in the first paragraph is in the telling of the grandmother's final move. It was in Kentucky that the grandmother at last settled into her first farm and was finally laid to rest. Also in the first paragraph, there is the moving of the family plot to the new public cemetery. Here we recognize that the grandmother failed to let the dead stay buried because of her own selfish desires. Death seems to be an inconvenience for the family, rather than something to be revered and respected. The story is set with positive and negative descriptions about the family cemetery. Katherine describes the cemetery as having been a "pleasant small neglected garden of tangled rose bushes and ragged cedar trees and cypress, the simple flat stones rising out of uncropped sweet-smelling wild grass". At first the cemetery is "pleasant" which is positive. Then, it is negative with the descriptions of the "tangled rose bushes", and the "ragged cedar trees". Lastly, Katherine mixes positive and negative with the description of the "uncropped sweet-smelling... Free Essays on The Grave Katherine Anne Porter’s â€Å"The Grave,† Uses The Symbols The Dove, The Ring, The Rabbit, And The Grave To Express The Main Character’s Journey From Innocence To Knowledge. The process of maturing and gaining knowledge is a long one. Each person reaches a time in their life when they have reached adulthood, maturity, and the knowledge that comes with it, but the journey requires â€Å"going through a kind of initiation into the mysteries of adult life.†(Brooks 3136) Katherine Anne Porter’s â€Å"The Grave,† uses the symbols the dove, the ring, the rabbit, and the grave to express the main character’s journey from innocence to knowledge. From the innocence of the dove, the luxury of the golden ring, to the mystery of birth and death through the many â€Å"graves,† Miranda loses her innocence and becomes a knowledgeable young woman. Miranda at the young age of nine is as innocent as can be. She has no realization for the criticisms upon her family for the way she has been raised, wearing her â€Å"summer roughing outfit: dark blue overalls, a light blue shirt, a hired-man’s straw hat, and thick brown sandals†, (Porter 364) running around the woods hunting rabbits and doves with her twenty-two Winchester rifle. On one excursion through the woods, she and her brother stumble upon the old family cemetery and decide to explore. After rummaging through the empty graves, â€Å"she saw a silver dove no larger than a hazel nut with spread wings and a neat fan-shaped tail.†(Brooks 3135), â€Å"Miranda’s brother recognizes what the curious little ornament isthe screw head for a coffin.†(3135) This small silver dove was, in a sense, Miranda’s soon to be shed innocence. Paul also made a discovery of his own while searching through the emptied graves; he had found â€Å"a thin wide gold ring carved with intricate flowers and leaves.†(Porter 363) Miranda is enamored at the sight of it and wishes to have it, and her brother is more please...

One Percenters Motorcycle Gang

One Percenters Motorcycle Gang The term One-Percenters originated from the July 4, 1947, annual Gypsy Tour race sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) which was held in Hollister, California. The  Gypsy Tour race,  which was the  pià ¨ce de rà ©sistance of motorcycle racing events during that time, was held at different locations across America and had been previously held in Hollister in 1936. The Event A location near the town was chosen again in 1947 partly because of  its  long relationship with bikers and various biker-related events that were held throughout the years, and also because of the welcome the   AMA  received by the town merchants who knew the positive impact it would have on the local economy. Approximately 4,000 attended the  Gypsy Tour  race and many of the riders and non-riders ended up celebrating in the town of Hollister. For three days there was a lot of hard-core beer drinking and street racing that went on in the town. By  Sunday,  the California Highway Patrol was called in armed with tear gas to help put an end to the event. The Aftermath After it was over, there was a record of about 55 bikers being arrested on misdemeanor charges. There were no reports of property being destroyed or of looting and not a single report of any local people being harmed in any way. However, the San Francisco Chronicle ran articles that exaggerated and sensationalized the event. Headlines like  Riots... Cyclists Take Over Town and words such as â€Å"terrorism† described the general atmosphere in Hollister over the holiday weekend. To top it off, a  San Francisco Chronicle  photographer by the name of Barney Peterson  staged  a photograph of an intoxicated biker holding a bottle of beer in each hand while leaning against a  Harley-Davidson motorcycle,  with broken beer bottles scattered on the ground. Life magazine picked up on the story and in the  July 21,  1947,  edition it ran  Petersons staged photograph   on full-page display titled, â€Å"Cyclist’s Holiday: He and Friends Terrorize Town.†Ã‚  Ultimately, to the dismay of the AMA, the image sparked both fascination and concern about the violent, unruly nature of the growing subculture of motorcycle groups. Afterward, films about motorcycle clubs with members depicting bad behavior began hitting the movie theaters.  The Wild One, starring  Marlon Brando, brought particular attention to gang-type behavior displayed by members of motorcycle clubs. The event became known as the Hollister Riot although there is no documentation that an actual riot occurred and the town of Hollister invited the race back, other cities across the country believed what the press reported and it resulted in numerous cancelations of the  Gypsy Tour races. AMA Responds It was rumored that the AMA defended the reputation of its association and member, with an alleged press release stating that, The trouble was caused by the one percent deviant that tarnishes the public image of both motorcycles and motorcyclists and going on to say  that 99 percent of bikers are law-abiding citizens, and the one percent are nothing more than outlaws.   However,  in 2005 the AMA denied credit for the term, saying that there was no record of any AMA official or published statement that originally used the one percent reference. No matter where it actually originated from, the  term caught on  and  new outlaw motorcycle gangs   (OMGs) emerged and embraced the concept of being referred to as  one-percenters. The Impact of War A number of veterans returning from the Vietnam War joined motorcycle clubs after being ostracized by many Americans, especially within their same age group. They were discriminated against by colleges, employers, often spat upon when in uniform and some considered them nothing but government-grown killing machines. The fact that 25 percent were drafted into the war and that the rest were trying to survive it did not seem to sway opinions. As a result, in the  mid-1960-70s, a  surge of outlaw motorcycle gangs emerged across the country and created their own association which they proudly called, One Percenters.  Within  the association, each club could have its own rules, operate independently and given a designated territory.   The outlaw motorcycle clubs; the  Hells Angels, Pagans, Outlaws, and Bandidos emerged as what authorities  refer to the Big Four with hundreds of other one-percenters clubs existing within the subculture. Differences Between Outlaws and One Percenters Defining the differences (and if any exists) between outlaw motorcycle groups and one-percenters depends on where you go for the answer. According to the AMA,  any motorcycle club that does not adhere to AMA rules is considered an outlaw motorcycle club. The term outlaw, in this case, is not  synonymous with criminal or illegal activity. Others, including some outlaw motorcycle clubs, believe that while all one-percent motorcycle clubs are  outlaw  clubs, meaning that they do not follow AMA rules, not all outlaw motorcycle clubs are one-percenters, (meaning that they do not participate in illegal activity. The Department of Justice does not differentiate between outlaw motorcycle gangs (or clubs) and one-percenters. It defines one-percenter  outlaw motorcycle gangs as being highly structured criminal organizations, whose members use their  motorcycle clubs as conduits for criminal enterprises.