LiteraryPearls

 A Retrieved Reformation -Summary " A Retrieved Reformation '' is a 1903 short story by American author William Sydney Porter, writing under the pen name O. Henry. The story was originally published under the title '' A Retrieved Reform '' in the April 1903 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine before being included under its more widely known title in the O. Henry short story collection Roads of Destiny in 1909.  The narrative of " A Retrieved Reformation " is primarily set in the small town of Elmore, Arkansas, during the early 1900s. The story begins with Jimmy Valentine in prison, repairing shoes in the prison shoe shop. He is summoned to the warden's office, receiving a pardon signed by the governor. Advised to "live straight," Jimmy, after serving only 10 months of his four-year sentence, walks out of prison the next day with five dollars in his pocket, wearing prison clothes. After having a satisfying meal, Jimmy boards a train and ...

                "Still Here" by Langston Hughes           Langston Hughes has history of expressing the horrible way African Americans have lived through slavery. His poem " Still Here" focuses on the “rough and terrible conditions the slave has overcome. The poet begins the poem by saying that he has been scared and even punished. (scared and battered). This fear and pain are like a violent wind which has shattered or in other words killed the hope of the Black People.Here it must be noted that the poet uses “I” which rather represents his whole race. And we also find the deliberate misspelling of the words to challenge the White Supremacy. This is a kind of revolt by the Blacks.        In the next lines, the poet says, Snow has friz me, Sun has baked me. Snow and Sun symbolize two extremes of harshness. According to the poet, the Blacks were frozen or isolated and also beaten up so that they may...

Phenomenal Woman- Maya Angelou Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size    But when I start to tell them, They think I’m telling lies. I say, It’s in the reach of my arms, The span of my hips,    The stride of my step,    The curl of my lips.    I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman,    That’s me. I walk into a room Just as cool as you please,    And to a man, The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees.    Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees.    I say, It’s the fire in my eyes,    And the flash of my teeth,    The swing in my waist,    And the joy in my feet.    I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me. Men themselves have wondered    What they see in me. They try so much But they can’t touch My inner mystery. When I try to show them,    They say they still can’t ...