Thursday, January 30, 2020
The Victorian Upward Mobility as Viewed by Three Novels Essay Example for Free
The Victorian Upward Mobility as Viewed by Three Novels Essay Victorian refers to the things and events that had developed during the period where Queen Victoria was the ruler of the British Empire. This era had been the prelude of  modern Europe. This is the time were people began to feel the need for urbanization. The people tend to move to the cities. They leaved their farms and took on the city life and its opportunities for a better living. Some had flocked to London and Manchester which had caused those cities to be densely populated. There had been a growing number of industries and many factories had been instituted in the London and other big cities in Britain. The poor people of the cities were displaced because their previous places had now been occupied by big industrial plants. The decreasing number of farm lands in Britain had caused the empire to depend heavily on the raw materials of the colony. The British Empire had further their grip in the colony causing large amount of conflicts with other imperialist like the French and the Spaniards. Some people had migrated to the colonies to explore and establish an improved living in wide farms; and also to supply the burgeoning need of the empire.            However, the Victorian era signifies a period of economic prosperity and industrial successes. There had also been a quick changes and developments in almost every field of knowledge. This is the time where Darwin, Marx and Freud had appeared. They had presented modern ideologies that seem to be altering and deviating with the old view of things. This occurrence had caused some historians to describe the Victorian era as a transition period towards modernity. This claim was proven by many factors. First, the power of the churches and other religious groups weakened. The people no longer derived their morality from the church; the people seemed to derive their morality from society-based standards. The people began to feel the connection between themselves and the society that they sought alliances with socio-civic groups. The period was also characterized as the golden age for democracy in Britain where people had felt the power of their voices and the freedom to express their sentiments to the state and to its policies. The abolition of slavery was the first indication of this.                        However, many scholars had preferred to describe the Victorian era as old fashioned and traditional. This may brought a lot of confusion because Victorian era is described as the prelude to modernity where harsh and radical changes had occurred. However, this is true to the early period of the era that many scholars had accounted that it was a period of harsh transition. The technology may have improved but the society seemed to be stagnant , and radical changes were not accepted at first. However, the development of the era had been accounted by many scholars as a struggle for both the society and the people. The people appeared to accept the technological development but were stiff on accepting the sociological and the political development.            Moreover, the capitalist view of life was never removed and capitalism was still the key player in terms of economic policies. However, even though capitalism had demolished the feudal lords and feudalism yet the bourgeoisies remained. Social stratifications were still common and many, during the Victorian era, had motives to further increasing their wealth and their status. This is the basis of why many scholars had argued that the Victorian era is old fashioned and traditional.            Moreover, the status of men was still higher than women. There were certain rights that where only entitled to the male and were prohibited to the women, example of this is the right to suffrage and the right to college education. However, one of the most significant revolutions that had occurred in the Victorian era is the high degree of activism which had caused the major changes to the society and to the Victorian period itself. Many of these activisms were women-driven and their tool was the pen and the paper.            Even though the early British society did not much recognized the work of women, many women still had ventured into writing. They had adopted male names to disguise themselves and in order that their work be sold and be read by the people seriously .This was the beginning of feminism. Few of these writers were Mary Ann Evans, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte and Jane Austen. Moreover, many of these works had fairly described the people and the setting of the Victorian period.             Mary Ann (Marian) Evans, more commonly known as George Eliot, had ventured into writing, after her marriage with a critic George Henry Lewes. She had become fond of realism and started her way on becoming a writer. This realism was very evident on her first novel, Adam Bede which appeared in 1859. She continued to write that the daughter of Queen Victoria – Princess Louise became an avid fan and admirer of her novels. However, one of the most controversial novels of George Eliot was the Felix Holt, the Radical which appeared in 1866. It was deemed as a social novel because it discussed the effect of the First Reform Act of 1832 to the electoral and electioneering processes. However, the novel did not only focus on the act, however it also discussed the struggles of the different classes of society to maintain or to better his economic stature.  This is commonly referred to as upward mobility and economic advancement. In Felix Holt, the Radical, Harold Transome was being compared and contrasted to Felix Holt. Felix Holt, even though a radical, wanted to live a life in modesty and poverty rather than a life of comfort. However, Harold Transome was a man who wanted material success and security. He wanted that the wealth and estate he had so long worked hard for will not be lose to obnoxious undertakings;  but he wanted to secure it and further increased it. Transome was a clear manifestation of a Victorian gentleman who wanted upward mobility. He decided to run to the elections to the parliament to get hold of a position that will secure his wealth and his estate. However, the electioneering of him and the other radicals was deeply criticized by Holt. The giving of beer to miners in exchanged of their votes was done by the Radicals; however Transome still had lose the election to Philip Debarry . Meanwhile, Felix was involved in pacifying a riot on Election Day and he had been jailed for an allege manslaughter. However, after the election, Debarry and Transome reconciled and had removed him from jail.            Moreover, on of the most common among female writers was a woman protagonist. In Felix Holt, the Radical, Esther, Reverend Lyons step daughter, was described to be a modest teacher with refined manners. At the opening of the novel, she antagonized Felix Holt and Felix appeared to despise her. However, as the novel progressed, Esther had seen the goodness of Felix Holt and she softened on him. This was the common characteristics of women in the Victorian period. They were passive and they prized themselves a lot. They were often ambitious and they often desire to marry men with higher social status than them. However, Eliot had been creative and was very effective in the concluding part of the novel. Even though Esther had discovered that she was the real heir to the Transome estate and she had a valid claim to the estate, and even though Harold Transome had been courting her and a life with him was a lot more comfortable than with Felix Holt yet she refused it all. She still chose Felix Holt to be her husband.            However, the novel had shown the different struggles that Esther had combated. Before Esther had chose Felix, the narrative immensely described the torments and the anguish that she had been feeling. It is vividly described that Esther like most common Victorian women had the tendency of favoring wealth and prosperity rather than real love. However, she chose to be happy. In this manner, George Eliot had shown the resistance of both Felix and Esther to the Victorian upward mobility.            Likewise, Charlotte Bronte was also an immense female writer during the Victorian period and she had written many successful novels that had been cherished by many generations. However, charlotte like Mary Ann Evans had also disguised her name in publishing her first novel, Jane Eyre in 1847 in the name of Currer Bell. However, Jane Eyre was a realist view of the nineteenth century Britain. It enormously portrayed the role that woman played in the Victorian period.            Jane Eyre was a proof to the claim of many scholars that the early Victorian period was still traditional and old fashioned. In Jane Eyre, the protagonist had described on how female education remained the constant and unchanging. It also described the fact that male superiority was still evident during that time and few privileges were given to women. The story started with a Cinderella-type plot wherein Jane was being maltreated by her evil cousins; however she managed to get away from them when she entered a boarding school for women which was also very common during that time. She had excelled in her subjects and she had become a teacher for two years in the school. Then, afterwards she became a governess and a tutor for a little girl named Adele. She had felled in love with the father of the girl who is Edward Rochester. Jane fell in love with Rochester not because of money but because of his intellect. The character of Jane was often compared and contrasted to the character of Miss Ingram. Miss Ingram was the rival of Jane with the love of Rochester. Miss Ingram was described in the novel as beautiful and had a high social stratum. Yet both Jane and Edward knew the financial ambitions of Miss Ingram. So Edward proposed to Jane and she accepted. However, at the marriage ceremony, Mr. Briggs interrupted. Edward and Jane could not marry each other because Edward was married to Bertha Mason. Bertha Mason was the psychotic who was incarcerated by Edward in the attic and whose noise disturbed Jane when she was a tutor to Adele.            However, Edward had married Bertha because of the same reason as Miss Ingram would like to marry him –money. This was the turning point of the novel and it this innately described the upward mobility that both would like to experienced. However, like Eliot, Bronte had positioned the protagonist to resist the urge of an upward mobility. In the ending, it was very evident that true love still prevailed. Even though Jane had been an heiress, she tried to seek Edward and had been reunited with him and had married each other.            However, Charles Dickens, a male writer had also contributed to the description of upward mobility in the Victorian period. In his novel, Great Expectations, in 1861 described a story filled with great expectations and surprises. Pip, the protagonist, was a person of humble beginnings who rose through the odds to better his social status. At a young age, he had accompanied Miss Havisham, a spinster, and was scorned by her adopted daughter, Estella. Due to the love that Pip felt for Estella, he had promised himself that he will become prosperous and rich to win her love. With the help of a mysterious benefactor, Pip had better his stature and had gained economic prosperity and upward mobility. However, when he came back for Estella, Estella had married Drummle. However, he soon discovered the identity of his benefactor and it was Magwitch, the convict he helped to escape when he was just young. He also had discovered that Magwitch was the real father of Estella. However, the convict, even helped by Pip, did not escape the authority. Yet in the end, Pip had resolved to part from his material accomplishments. He sought Estella and found happiness with her.            Moreover, the three novels had described vividly the setting of the Victorian period. Men and women during those times were status conscious and most wanted to marry in order to better his social position. However, in the three novels, the authors had clearly resisted the conventions of the upward mobility of the Victorian period. They had inclined their protagonist in pursuing happiness rather than material accomplishment. Works Cited Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Courage Books, 1989. Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York: BarnesNoble, 2000. Eliot, George. Felix Holt, the Radical. New York: Penguins, 1970.
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
John Bunyan’s Pilgrimes Progress Essay -- Literary Analysis of Pilgri
Many people wonder what it would be like to go from a dangerous city where they live and journey to a plentiful heaven. This storyline is portrayed in John Bunyan’s allegorical book, Pilgrim’s Progress. This fascinating story describes the life of Christian, a married man living in the City of Destruction, who longs to travel to the Celestial City. As Christian struggles to stay on the right, though more difficult path, I fight to focus in school and not pay attention to distracting ideas. I also fight to get strong enough in dance to become a professional dancer, just as Christian has to climb the Hill of Difficulty to get to the Palace Beautiful. In order for Christian to arrive at the Celestial City without wasting away his life, he must be patient. In the same way, I must be patient to reach my life goal. Just as Christian struggled to get through his obstacles in his life, I must get stronger to dance, focus in school, and be patient in order to reach my l ife goal of becoming a faithful and patient person of God. Christian encounters many people who try and lead him down a different path including Worldly Wiseman. Worldly Wiseman encourages Christian to take the get rid of his burden, and take the short, easy route to his destiny, instead of the long, hard route Christian is currently taking. Christian finds that even though the short route is described as ‘better’ by Wiseman, Christian knows that he needs to stay on his own route because he finds relief: â€Å"I don’t care what I meet in the way as long as I can also find deliverance from my burden†(Bunyan 16). Worldly Wiseman focuses his life on getting rid of all burdens, and focusing on worldly comforts. Christian, on the other hand, keeps his burden, and pushes th... ...e, I struggled to get stronger to go on pointe, but in the end, my reward was actually being able to dance on the ends of my toes without getting injured. Also, I had to focus hard in school while missing the fun with friends, but my grades stayed high and it made school easier. At the time, I was not feeling very wise like Mr. Worldly Wiseman, but I soon learning that it also taught me to be patient. In all of my experiences in my own life, I learned to be more patient with myself and realized how much easier it will be to reach my life goal with new experiences. Even though I have not yet met my life goal, I still learn through my experiences just as Christian learned from his experiences going to the Celestial City. Works Cited Bunyan, John, and L. Edward. Hazelbaker. The Pilgrim's Progress in Modern English. Alachua, Florida: Bridge-Logos, 1998. Print.
Monday, January 13, 2020
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Internet Essay
People nowadays seem to spend a lot of their time on smart phones, laptops and ipads. The reasons behind them spending so much time are because of the internet. Internet has made people to connect with the world. One cannot imagine a life with internet. It has become so popular in people lives. Internet has made communication and access to information easy. Though internet has made people lives simple and convenient its has also wreaked havoc in their lives. The writer will show the advantages and disadvantages of using the internet. Oxford dictionary( ) has defined internet as ‘a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities consisting of interconnected networks using standardized communication protocols’. Therefore one can say internet is a network that promotes people to research and communicate easily in the global village. According to Webster’s dictionary he defines information as data that is stored and can be retrieved either from library or internet. The storage of information by internet has made easily accessible. Read more: Essay on Role of Internet in Education Communication is defined by Gordon (2013:np) as ‘a process of sharing information thoughts and feelings between people’. Therefore for communication to take place the is need for a reliable medium. Internet has played a vital role in making communication an easy process for people. The introduction of computers, smart phones even ipads has help in improving the communication industry. One of many advantages of using internet is that it has promoted access to information. Internet has promoted access to information. It has become a source of information. Whatever question one has internet has made it easy for people to search for answers. Lecturers now encourage their students to research on internet. With internet one can research at the comfort of their homes. According to Steve and Charette () ‘internet opens up potential research modalities’. Therefore internet has made it easy for people to do their research their projects or subjects. Internet has provided search engineers like Google and yahoo. Numerous of web sites offer loads of information for people to research on. Though internet has made it easier for people to research, some resources in the internet have proved not to be reliable compared to the research done on the library. Resources in the library have been thoroughly evaluated by experts before they were published were as the internet on the other side anyone puts anything they want on the website and there is no review or screening process. Another advantage of using the internet is that one can conduct personal and business transactions from home. It has introduced what is called online banking were one does not need to physically go to the bank they can do any transaction in their finger tips. Internet has also helped people not to carry money around but to pay using their electronic cards e.g. bank cards, credit cards. Shopping online has also made people lives simpler by just typing what item you want to buy and the price; the transaction will be processed without physically going to the shop. People can even purchase tickets of bus or movies, hotel reservations and many more from home. Though the introduction of these electronic cards has made people’s lives simple it has also brought havoc in their lives. There has been reported cases were one identity has been stolen through hacking of accounts. People will access your name, address, and credit numbers for their personal use. They can steal money from your accounts or con you out of your money from the internet and they don’t usually get caught if they are pros in hacking. Internet has played a vital role in improving communication around people. It has played a greatest domain in the communication industry. It has excelled beyond expectations. Internet has made people who are miles away from each other to communicate easily. Today there is no need for one to write a letter and post it to be processed and transported to a different city now one can type and just click send to the receiver. We took to friends and strangers physically who are a distance away from us through chat rooms therefore by establishing global friendship were you share thoughts and ideas. People are now able to stay involved in their families’ lives. Internet has made the world a smaller place by communication and attained the form of a global village. Internet has made communication easy but it has also made people to drift apart. There are less face to face interactions. People have disconnected socially they prefer to chat online than physically. My homes have been broken through social network sites. People have become so addicted to internet to the extent that they hardly get enough time to spend with their families. They prefer on line friends than chatting physically. Social networking has become so popular that it has replaced the physical networking. Internet is also a source of entertainment. People are now able to download games or visit chat rooms for entertainment. People now spend most of their times downloading games and movies. Also chat rooms have become so interesting to people because that’s where they meet new and interesting people even life partners. Other disadvantages of using internet are that computers that have internet are prone to virus. Virus is a program that disturbs the normal functioning of a computer. Access to pornography by minor is also another disadvantage of the use of internet. There a lot of pornographic sites that can be easily accessed if minors are exposed to internet. In conclusion one can say that internet has made people’s lives simple in terms of research, banking as well as communication on the other hand it has brought havoc and disorder in their lives. References 1. The Oxford English Dictionary.1884 2. Webster, M. Unabridged dictionary. Online. 3. University of Florida. 2006: using active listening as a communication tool. [Online] accessed at www.contempinctuct.com on Thursday 5 September 2013. 4. Steven,M.H and Charlette.A. conducting a research in internet,potential,cor=ncerns and reflections. 5. Steven ,D.K.2007. Understanding and using the library and the internet for research. [online] Accessed at http/www.stevenkrause.com/tprw on Thursday 5 September 2013.
Sunday, January 5, 2020
The Atomic Bomb Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki - 1827 Words
The Atomic Bomb After World War I, no one, not even the Head of Chemical Warfare, suspected such a weapon would be dropped on civilians in the near future. Prior to the development of the atomic bomb in World War II, gas bombing and incendiary bombing were prevalent (Rotter 5). The race to create nuclear weapons and the excitement of succeeding technologically is thought to have distorted the morality of those who decided to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These atomic bombings are plausibly the first and last of their kind, as increasing nuclear programs in countries worldwide promise mutually assured destruction to countries associated in such an ordeal. In the future, all countries involved in a war will need to tread carefully, as†¦show more content†¦Ironically, approximately twenty years later, the United States of America was blamed for doing just that. Arguably, the entire Atomic Bomb situation began on August 2, 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt received a letter revealin g by purifying uranium 235 one had the potential to create a bomb. It also revealed the efforts in Nazi Germany to create a bomb (Bellis 1). In response to this letter, a secret government project called the â€Å"Manhattan Project†, began (Bellis 1). The Manhattan Project was top secret at the time, and served the purpose of creating and testing an atomic bomb(Bellis 1). Between 1939 and 1945 over two billion dollars were given to the Manhattan Project (Bellis 1). The scientists burdened with inventing such a bomb mostly originated from the University of Chicago (Bellis 1). To create an atomic bomb, a specific amount of enriched uranium must be used, to create a chain reaction (Bellis 1). The group of scientists, headed by Enrico Fermi and J. Robert Oppenheimer, created a pile of forty five metric tons of natural uranium embedded in solid graphite (Bellis 1). Although the reaction was slowed because the uranium 235 was not extracted, it was considered successful (Bellis 1). The next step was to extract the uranium 235, and create a real bomb (Bellis 1). The way to go about this creation was difficult. The ratio of uranium to uranium ore is five hundred to one. The â€Å"one†part in that ratio is ninety nine
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