An Analysis of the Poetry of Yeats :: Biography Biographies Essays

An Analysis of Down by the Salley Gardens One of Yeats' poems, Down by the Salley Gardens is a typical story of inexperienced youth in the realm of love. The final two lines hold the key to the theme of the poem: She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs; But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears. The poem is evidently about the relationship between the narrator and the woman with the "little snow-white feet†¢ and the narrator's failure to be able to cope with that relationship. Whilst she wanted to enjoy herself and "take life easy†¢, he was too "young and foolish†¢ to understand her needs, resulting in them going their separate ways, hence the ?nal line. Down by the Salley Gardens has a number of problems, probably due to it being written at an early point in Yeats' writing career. It lacks the subtlety of his later poems; there really is very little to analyze in terms of the themes and issues raised within. The language is also far simpler - there are no very memorable lines in this poem, whereas his later works contained lines that would eventually enter most people's collective unconscious, such as some of the first few lines of The Second Coming: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The repetition used in the last two lines of each stanza is obvious and overstated, and the bouncy, cheerful rhyme scheme does not seem to compliment the rather downbeat and morose tone of the poem. Down by the Salley Gardens simply lacks the power and depth with which he later infused his poems. The Lake Isle of Innisfree Written only four years after Down by the Salley Gardens, The Lake Isle of Innisfree is a remarkable advance. This poem is far more sophisticated in all respects. An immediately noticeable difference between it and the previous poem is its maturity; the themes explored and the techniques used to do so are far more complex and detailed than those used in Down by the Salley Gardens. The central theme is that of exile, and it is portrayed in a somewhat curious way. The narrator longs to live on the island of Innisfree and be closer to nature, hence the lines:

Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients? Essay

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a federally funded block grant which provides needy families assistance in finding and obtaining work opportunities. The funds are given to states to distribute. States are allowed some flexibility in how they chose to distribute these funds. There has been a recent movement among states to implement drug testing for applicants and recipients to receive this assistance. Many people see this as a violation of their 4th amendment rights. The ideology behind drug testing is to weed out misuse of funds by recipients, thus alleviating budgetary concerns in hard economic times. Are there other means of easing budgetary issues without potentially violating the 4th amendment rights of the poor? A common stereotype of people receiving public assistance is they are people who are drug addicts, alcoholics, lazy, and don’t want to work. Stereotypes are generalizations made about a certain group of people, good or bad. Stereotypes have a ne gative affect when they keep us from seeing a person for who they really are negating the individual (Iowa State University Study Abroad Center). According to an opinion poll on Debate.org, seventy percent of people responded â€Å"yes† when answering the question, â€Å"Should someone receiving welfare be drug tested?† Respondents stated reasons such as â€Å"You can’t trust someone to use free money on things they need†, â€Å"Help should be given to those who really need it not to people who are too lazy to work†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , and â€Å"I don’t believe it is fair †¦ hard-working people have to pay taxes, and the money goes to lazy people who spend our hard earned money on drugs† (Debate.com). These statements are indicative of stereotyping; stereotypes being pervasive within our society (Iowa State University Study Abroad Center). However, not all applicants or recipients needing public assistance fall within the stereotype. Luis Le bron is a 35-year-old Navy veteran, father of a 4-year-old, the sole caregiver for his disabled mother and a student at the University of Central Florida. He just needs some help after having served his country and while trying to finish school and take care of his son and disabled mother (Bloom). The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Florida has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Lebron due to his refusal to submit to a drug test and relinquish his 4th Amendment rights. Lebron feels that, â€Å"It’s insulting and degrading that people think I’m using drugs just because I need a little help to take care of my family while I finish up my education.† The 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution states: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized (Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute). The concept of the 4th amendment is to protect two basic freedoms – the right to privacy and freedom from random search and seizure. (Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute). Twenty-eight states have proposed drug testing public assistance, according the National Conference of State Legislature. Utah has passed legislation requiring applicants to complete a written questionnaire screening for drug use. Georgia passed legislation requiring drug tests for all applicants. The Louisiana House endorsed random drug-testing of 20 percent of the state’s welfare recipients. Ohio is considering a pilot program to test welfare recipients. Florida’s drug testing law required applicants to pay for their tests and then would be reimbursed if the results proved negative (Prah). Federal or state laws that require suspicionless drug testing for eligibility to receive public assistance may be subject to constitutional challenge. Constitutional challenges are aimed towards privacy and unreasonable search. For searches to be reasonable, they generally must be based on suspicion, unless a â€Å"special need† can be shown that may allow for an exception. Public assistance programs do not necessarily create these special needs grounded in public safety that the Supreme Court has recognized in the past (Carpenter). There has only been litigation initiated in two states where the laws require suspicionless drug testing – Florida where the U.S. District Court issued an injunction to stop testing and Michigan where several individuals were granted a temporary injunction. A number of other applicants in Florida chose not to submit to drug testing. Because applicants are not required to explain why they chose not to submit to the tests, there is no statistical data as to the reasons why. Proponents for testing believe it is because applicants knew they would fail the test. However, opponents state that the reasoning could be because applicants may not have been able to afford the tests or because testing sites were not easily accessible (The Assoicated Press). It has been suggested that drug abuse is a major cause of welfare. However , there is only evidence, based on secondhand information, to support this. If drug use among welfare participants were reduced to the levels of non-participants, welfare participation would decline by approximately one percent (Kaestner). A report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism states, â€Å"Proportions of welfare recipients using, abusing or dependent on alcohol or illicit drugs are consistent with proportions of both the adult U.S. population and adults who do not receive welfare† (National Institute of Health). The researchers found the rate of drug abuse and/or dependency among welfare recipients to fall between 1.3 and 3.6 percent, as opposed to a rate of 1.5 percent within the general population. Data from the National Household Survey of Drug Abuse roughly coincides with these findings, with the rate of drug dependency among welfare recipients being approximately 4 percent. Further, the data suggests that no more than one in five welfare r ecipients used illegal drugs in any given year; half of those having used only marijuana (Budd). The evidence from these three studies shows that although drug use is tied to homeless and welfare participation, proportionally to the general population there is not a significant difference. Finally, in the study by Kaestner, he suggests that for purposes of reducing welfare, public programs should focus their efforts on something besides drug use (Kaestner). There is the belief that testing welfare applicants and recipients will reduce the payment of benefits to people who are mishandling the funds. In a 2011 article from the Tampa Tribune, Whittenburg reports, with the average cost of test being approximately $30, the state would owe $28,000 – $43,000 in reimbursements for applicants who passed tests monthly. The state would save approximately $32,000 to $48,000 for rejected applicants, assuming 20 to 30 people failed the test monthly. Welfare recipients receive an average of $134 per month, so the state would save approximately $2600 to $3300 which the rejected applicants wouldn’t receive. Over a one year period, which is the disqualification period for one failed test, the state could save $32,000 to $48,000 annually on the applicants rejected in a single month. The net savings would be $3,400 to $8,200 annually on one month’s worth of rejected applicants. Over 12 months, the money saved on all rejected applicants would add up to $40,800-$98,400 for the cash assistance program that state analysts have predicted will cost $178 million this fiscal year (Whittenburg). In a 2012 article from the New York Times, Alvarez reports that during the period that the Florida state law was in effect that required drug tests for welfare applicants, there was no direct savings. It found only a few drug users and didn’t affect the number of applications. According to the law, applicants who passed the drug test were reimbursed, an average of $30 for the cost of testing. Negative testing thus cost the state a little more than $118,000. This alone is more than the cost of benefits to those who failed the test. Ultimately, this turns out to be a cost to the state of an extra $45,780 (Alvarez). In order to avert any further court proceedings initiated by plaintiffs who believe their 4th amendment rights have been violated and avert costly testing programs, it would be prudent for the Federal government to exact language that explicitly prohibits the use of suspicionless drug testing in order to receive money from federally funded programs. Rather, government officials should refocus their efforts in the fight against drugs to the recovery from substance abuse of the general public rather than targeting a specific group of people, namely welfare recipients. Citizens should petition their states representatives to vote against proposed laws that support drug testing. Further, those representatives should seek to supplement existing or fund new treatment programs with the dollars saved by eliminating drug testing programs for welfare applicants and recipi ents. Another step to solidify a stance against suspicionless testing would be an amendment to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) to include language that explicitly prohibits suspicionless testing. Given that the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that substance abuse is no more prevalent in welfare applicants and recipients than the general population (National Institute of Health) then there is no basis for testing as a condition for receiving benefits. Alleviation of budgetary concerns is not guaranteed by the reduction of caseloads due to positive tests (Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation). Where challenged, courts have determined that suspicionless testing is a violation of the 4th Amendment (Schaberg). North Carolina’s Governor, after vetoing a bill to implement drug testing, stated, â€Å"Drug testing †¦applicants †¦ could lead to inconsistent application †¦ That’s a recipe for government overreach and unnecessary government intrusion. This is not a smart way to combat drug abuse. Similar efforts in other states have proved to be expensive for taxpayers and did little to actually help fight drug addiction.† (Smith) Bibliography Alvarez, Lizette. â€Å"No Savings Are Found From Welfare Drug Tests.† The New York Times 18 April 2012: A14. Bloom, Rachel. â€Å"Poor People Have Rights Too.† 12 October 2011. American Civil Liberties Union. 3 August 2013 . Budd, Jordan C. â€Å"Pledge Your Body for Your Bread: Welfare, Drug Testing, and the Inferior Fourth Amendment.† 2011. William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal . 7 August 2013 . Carley, Frances. Drug Testing Welfare Recipients: A Review of Potential Costs and Savings. Lansing, 2012. Carpenter, David H. â€Å"Constitutional Analysis of Suspicionless Drug Testing Requirements for the Receipt of Governmental Benefits.† Report. 2013. Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute. Fourth Amendment. n.d. 5 August 2013 . —. Fourth Amendment. n.d. 5 August 2013 . Debate.com. Should someone receiving welfare be drug tested? n.d. Iowa State University Study Abroad Center. Stereotypes. 7 June 2011. 21 Augusr 2013 . Kaestner, Rob ert. â€Å"Drug Use and AFDC Participation: Is There a Connection?† May 1996. the National Bureau of Economic Reearch. 6 August 2013 . National Coalition for the Homeless. â€Å"Substance Abuse and Homelessness.† July 2009. National Coalition for the Homeless. 6 August 2013 . National Institute of Health. â€Å"NIAAA Researchers Estimate Alcohol and Drug Use, Abuse, and Dependence Among Welfare Recipients.† 23 October 1996. National Institute on Alocohol Abuse and Alocoholism. 7 August 2013

Essay on My Family - 931 Words

My Family My Family has always been a very important staple in my life, they come to all of my sporting events and school activities to support me 100%. They are always there if I ever am in trouble or in need of help, they can do whatever I need. If I need a talking to and I need to calm down and focus they can do that for me. Then there are the times that I have with my brothers and my other family and we have a lot of fun, memories that you share with your family you will never forget. We have thanksgiving together, and all of my family comes out here for the 4th of July and we have the best time. During the day we go out in the boat and things in the water and at night we eat a lot of food and shoot off tons of fireworks. Then we†¦show more content†¦No name, no face to put with him, heck I dont even know if I look like him. My family and I are different, there are families that dont share the same situation as having four adopted kids that are all spread apart in age. Y et my family and I push through that and we look past that, people dont understand they think that coming from different parents would divide us kids by thinking, hey, you arent my real brother That kind of thing does not happen, if anything being from different parents brings us together because we are so different from each other we are curious to learn about each other. Some people see it as a tough thing to deal with and I see it as a blessing for my parents, my brothers, and myself to be unique in this way, and we have always been a religious family so we definitely believe that each one of us kids was a blessing to our parents. The sacrifice that they make everyday when the go to work to support four kids who they never owed anything, never had to call themselves our parents, but they took us in and called us their own and they are angels walking, for the wonderful impact they have had on the lives of me and my brothers. Growing up in a large family there will always be troub les and when the ages are so far apart there will always be growing pains. Being adopted they have the choice of picking kids that are farther apart from each other which means that we are all in aShow MoreRelatedMy Family Of The Family1312 Words   |  6 Pages Because my parents’ families are so different, there are few strengths common to all three family sculptures. One strength that applies in most cases is that children near each other in age tend to have close relationships. My family of origin was broken down into pairs: Steven and Daniel, Julia and Michael, Alyssa and Natalie, and Matthew and Emily. All of these paired relationships were generally healthy, and it was within these pairs that we were assigned roles within the family. Because of thisRead MoreMy Family Of The Family1061 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction A person’s family of original is their family he or she grew up in (Welch). 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