Abstract
This paper analyzes the poetic images of winter in the works of Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and William Shakespeare. The paper explains that by understanding the often barren and silent image of winter in the poems by these authors, one can understand how they are written within the atmosphere of negativity and despair. The paper looks at how focusing on the specific symbolic and metaphoric use of winter as a negative and despairing environment, these authors create powerful images that are physical and mental in their descriptions of various human behaviors and life events. The paper further demonstrates that the overall scope of winter does not provide an overall positive image of coldness and despair, but illuminates the various problems that human beings must endure at different points in their lives.

From the Paper
"This manner of behavior shows that Frost is yet again, seeking to portray a lone traveler that is unsure of his destination and is found wandering on another person's property. The man driving his horses clearly sees the grim silence of winter and the 'downy flakes', which represent his own sense of isolation and poor navigation off the main road. Also, this negativity is part of Frost's image of winter as a despairing haven for travelers that lose their way in life. This also occurs in a previous stanza that dictates the solace of the wintry wood as a poetic image of despair."

Tags:symbolic, metaphoric, solace, behavior, cold, barren

Abstract
In this article, the writer concentrates on the short story 'The Chrysanthemums' by John Steinbeck to demonstrate that the author has the knack of using very few words to express a wealth of meaning. This was due to his effective use of symbolism. The writer discusses that throughout the story, Steinbeck uses the comparison of the growth of the blooming flowers and the corresponding bleak, sandy and barren land to show the couple's barren and childless life.

From the Paper
"She gives an explanation about the way to take care of the fragile blooms and then "stood up then, very straight, and her face was ashamed, since the tinker had mentioned once again that he did not have money to eat." When he first said this, he was just coming onto Elisa's property. Now, he mentioned again when she had talked so passionately. She feels embarrassed, because of the pleasure she showed in front of him. It was a one-sided, unrequited nonverbal communication. She walks over to the shed and gets two pots for him to fix, and pays him for the service. Elisa explains that she is perfectly capable of fixing the pots herself, so he knows that she is just helping him have some extra money. Yet, does Elisa really have the ability to fix the pots? Thus far, based on the story, it does not appear so."

Tags:barrenness, symbolism, relationship, Elisa

Abstract
The paper reviews the book "The Trouble with Wilderness" by William Cronon. The paper illustrates the cultural biases inherent in the term, "wilderness". The paper illustrates how wilderness was considered a barren and scary place, but by the end of the 19th century, due to shifts in cultural ideology and the effects of industrialism, the American concept of wilderness changed dramatically. The paper further examines how the Bible presents two dualistically opposed views of wilderness: the Garden of Eden and the dangerous wasteland of the desert and how this dualistic worldview is at the root of the conflicts within the environmental movement. The paper concludes with Cronon's wish that all environmentalists pay attention to the cultural and historical context of wilderness.

From the Paper
"Cronon's main motive in writing "The Trouble with Wilderness" is not to criticize the environmental or conservation movements but to "abandon the dualism that sees the tree in the garden as artificial," (387). All nature is sacred and sublime, including the grasses on the prairies and the marshlands in Florida. Labeling some parts of the natural world as "wilderness" makes those parts valuable in the public consciousness and consequentially, the public may ignore the beauty outside their bedroom window."

Tags:Alice, Hamilton, America, Roosevelt

Abstract
This paper analyzes 'The Fire Sermon' - a short passage from the poem "The Waste Land", by T. S. Eliot. This paper looks at the story of Oedipus from which the character of Tiresias is drawn, and discusses the definite links between Sophocles' imagery of a barren and plague-stricken Thebes and the wasteland depicted by Eliot. The writer discusses the idea of human behaviour as an empty mechanism in relation to this passage of "The Waste Land". The writer suggests that this particular passage can be seen as a portrait of the human condition as Eliot saw it in pre-war England.

From the Paper
"T.S. Eliot's poem, The Waste Land is described as '[...]a study of a civilisation doomed by its own sterility'. Throughout The Waste Land, Eliot can be seen to suggest this through his fragmentation of the narrative and using a series of different voices, each of them serving to juxtapose the relative richness of the past to the sterile wasteland of the present. It is not, though, until we reach the mid-point of the poem that we are introduced to the character of Tiresias as a narrator, both man and woman, that all of these voices are unified, and one can begin to metaphorically put the pieces together and find the root cause of this wasteland. It is not until this is considered that one can consider whether this civilisation is truly doomed."

Tags:Oedipus, sterile, Tiresias, social, comments, sexual, sin

Abstract
This paper will discuss the book "Edge of Taos Desert: An Escape to Reality" by Mabel Dodge Luhan and seek to understand why this author is so entranced with this geographic site. By revealing the people that lived there in the time that the book was written, we can see why the author used this book as a sort of return to her self in the scope of the desert. The scope of this paper will be to understand why she chose to see the desert as a home, rather than a barren and lifeless place.

Abstract
In this article, the writer examines the Gobi Desert, which is one of the most striking natural phenomena in the world. The writer explains that it is the world's northernmost desert and home to the world's southernmost glacier in the Gobi's Yol Valley. The writer points out that the Gobi Desert is situated across the border between Mongolia and China. The writer notes that despite the general conception of a desert as full of sand, much of the Gobi desert is only barren rock. The writer concludes that as students we can look to the Gobi Desert as a unique source of knowledge about geography in one of the most extreme environments in the world. The writer notes that the Gobi Desert can provide the thoughtful researcher with a wealth of information about how landscapes are shaped and manipulated by almost purely natural forces.

From the Paper
"Many of the geographical features of the Gobi Desert were formed because of the effects of plate tectonics over millions of years. At one time, the Gobi Desert region was at the convergence of two tectonic plates, a fact that helped shape the unique geographic features of the region. More recently in geological terms, the Gobi Desert region has felt the effect of the Indian subcontinent tectonic plate moving northward into Asia. While this movement has had the immediate effect of driving the Himalayas upward, the pressure of this convergence has consistently spilled to the east and west. It has fractured the Gobi landscape and helped drive much of the region up into higher elevations. When we consider the major geologic and geographic features of the region, plate tectonics must be seen as a primary cause in their formation."

Tags:sand, rock, mountain, winds

Abstract
This paper discusses the 1996 article, "Heroism and Tragedy: the Rise of the Redneck in Glasgow's Fiction", in which Duane Carr speaks of Ellen Glasgow as a transitional author entrapped by ideals of the traditional and the modern. Carr's stated thesis is associated with Glasgow's character as a person as well as an author. The paper shows Carr's criticism for Glasgow's characters in her novel, "Barren Ground". It shows also his praise for one character, Dorinda, who, according to Carr, represents a completeness in Glasgow's work.

From the Paper
"Though Carr contends that there is no real solution offered for the dichotomy of old versus new or traditional versus modern, the real interpretation lies in the idea that each step toward anything is gradual. Dorinda realizes that she has a lack of control over just how much change can occur and, though this may be sad because she seems to lose so much of her vision through this realization, she also acknowledges the vision in what is right in from of her, the land, her family and a simple life. Dorinda learns that it is alright to be just who she is and not ruin her own life by constantly trying to manipulate and alter her situation."

Tags:South, Rufus, Joshua

Abstract
The poem 'Chayote' predicts the death of the planet Earth that has been mistreated by its inhabitants. This poem explores the impact of industrialization on even the most humble of towns. The setting is Cuernavaca, a getaway for the residents of Mexico City, a city of about one million people located in Central Mexico. The author concludes that the struggle for survival in a barren, infertile environment is shared by the poor and the plants, joining them as Nature, and the victims of the carelessness of industrial society.

From the Paper
"The title of Margaret Gibson's collection of poems, Earth Elegy, laments the impending "death" of a planet mistreated by its inhabitants. One poem that takes this theme is "Chayote," which explores the impact of industrialization on even the most humble of towns. The setting is Cuernavaca, a city of about one million people located in Central Mexico. While the city is large, it still exists as a getaway for the residents of the nearby capital, Mexico City. The pastoral image of Cuernavaca contrasts with the reality of the dire situation that the author discovers during her visit. "

Tags:hope, nature, poetry, Earth, Margaret, Gibson, Chayote, planet, death, Elegy

Abstract
This paper examines chemical and biological weapons, by defining them, defining their use in past wars and their use today. It illustrates the repetition of history in the correlation between historical use of mass destruction weapons and today. The paper uses Vonnegut's novel "Cat's Cradle" as an example to poses a scenario in which an ultimate chemical weapon (ice-nine) is used on soldiers. The paper shows that the greed in the novel results from the creation of chemical and biological weapons, which threaten to tear apart the world, which it eventually does, leaving a barren frosty wasteland.

From the Paper
"For the last century, the use of chemical and biological weapons has stood in the back of people's minds as an impersonal and distant horror. This is especially true in the United States, which did not see the poisonous clouds over its battlefields or the sight of businessmen choking to death on its subways like Europe and Japan did. This has changed in recent times, with cases of anthrax continuing to arise from within the bounds of America. Though this danger of chemical and biological weapons is not anywhere near the proportions seen in the novel Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut, it has shown Americans that the threat and destructive power of chemical and biological weapons is valid. Now more than ever it seems that more measures need to be taken to stop the production and use of deadly chemical and biological weapons."

Tags:ice, nine, terrorism, vonnegut, mass, destruction

Abstract
This paper will discuss Edward Abbey's book entitled "Desert Solitaire" and begin to understand the motives that lie beneath the book's seemingly barren landscape. By visualizing Abbey's philosophy, we can see why he wrote this book in the way he intended to. This analysis will argue for the "values" that Abbey places within the text about the region of desert that he lived in and find out what he meant by these values within the scope of the book.