Los Angeles, or L.A. as the people love to call it, is a beautiful city and the most influential metropolis on the West Coast. This sprawling city has a population of over 4 million people, a figure that makes it the second most populated metropolis after New York City. The documented history of Los Angeles began with the settlement of the Hokan linguistic groups who ware later pushed away by the Tongva tribesmen. The Tongva are thus considered the native occupants of the area that became today’s Los Angeles City. They originally lived in small villages surrounding the Los Angeles Basin. A Spanish explorer and sailor named Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was the first person from Europe, who traveled to the LA basin around the year 1542. He described Southern California as a smoky valley because of the dense fumes he encountered from bonfires created by the defensively aggressive Tongva tribesmen.
Get original essayIn the 1770s, Fr. Junipero Serra and his Franciscan missionaries settled throughout California and set up missions and settlements throughout the area which now came to be now as Alta California. Some Spanish settlers from New Spain in Mexico set up a pueblo in 1781 along a river and it was given the name ‘Town of Our Lady of Angels.’ The name Los Angeles was derived from this expression. New Spain became independent from the mighty Spanish empire in 1822 and California was consequently annexed by Mexico. The Mexicans dominated before history decided to surrender the city to the United States in 1850 following their win in the Mexican War. LA was then a small town in the American West, with its saloons, gaming rooms, and dirt roads. With the construction of the Southern Pacific railway in 1872, Los Angeles was connected with various parts of California as well with as the rest of the country.
In the late 1870s, Southern California emerged as a big farming center. During the start of the 20th century, filmmakers from Hollywood settled in LA and set up film studios. In 1932, the Olympics were organized and hosted in the city. During the Second World War, this region had a crucial role to play at produced weaponry, airplanes, and war machinery. In the 1960s and the 1970s, the city became more diverse due to immigrants from the Middle East and Asia. Unlike other cities that were destroyed in order to get re-build, Los Angeles retains some of its heritage and its architectural past. During a visit to this beautiful city, you can enjoy and admire the architecture of the oldest buildings and some recent ones as well. Do not miss the most original and futuristic architecture of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which is reminiscent of the Sydney Opera House.
Terror in the soul of an individual was one of the main topics in the work of 19th century American writer, poet, journalist and literary critic Edgar Allan Poe. Inspired by the English Gothic novel, he tried to depict the horrors and fears in human life. In his case, however, it was not outward places that caused these terrors; they came from the human core itself. He did not achieve this goal only by using specific, vivid vocabulary but also through the length of the sentences in which those words appeared. Reading his short stories, we may notice that the lengthy, descriptive sentences are sometimes followed by the short ones which makes the reader’s heart beat faster and his body shiver with terror. In what cases and for what other reasons do these sentences appear? A few illuminating answers are offered by examples from Poe’s short stories “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
Get original essayBoth of the selected short stories have quite a few things in common. The narrator is in each case unreliable, and we do not know much about him. “The Tell-Tale Heart” narrator’s condition resembles the condition of Roderick Usher, as they both claim to have hypersensitivity, though it may be just their imaginations at play. The narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart” killed a man and Roderick Usher in a way caused the death of his sister. Both of the stories also lead to grand, quite surprising finales, towards which Poe directs us using a gradation which is achieved with the help of the short sentences.
“Yet, for some minutes longer I refrained and stood still. But the beating grew louder, louder! I though the heart must burst. And now the anxiety seized me – the sound would be heard by a neighbour! The old man’s hour had come!”[1]
“Oh! Wither shall I fly? Will she not be here anon? Is she not hurrying to upbraid me for my haste? Have I not heard her footstep on the stair”?[2]
These short sentences are put together to form gradation towards the climax of the story; they cause suspense in the reader and make him breathe faster. They, in a way, also transfer the terror from the character of the story to the reader.
Poe’s short stories, however, do not contain only short sentences which are next to each other. We can quite often encounter one of the brief sentences surrounded by sentences consisting of longer clauses or more clauses, or both. This type of short sentence usually interrupts the descriptive part of the story and raises questions which are often not easy to answer, as these sentences tend to be quite ambiguous. Poe’s stories are generally symbolical and often have several levels of meaning which lead into the border areas of consciousness and insanity.[3] These brief sentences function as the escalation of the descriptive portions, giving the raising terror an actual form.
[...]I talked more quickly – more vehemently; but the noise steadily increased. I arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations, but the noise steadily increased. Why would they not be gone?[4]
[...] No sooner had these syllables pass my lips, than – as if a shield of brass had indeed, at the moment, fallen heavily upon a floor of silver – I became aware of a distinct, hollow, metallic and clangourous, yet apparently muffled, reverberation. Completely unnerved, I leaped to my feet; but the measured rocking movement of Usher was undisturbed. I rushed to the chair in which he sat.[5]
These sentences stop us from reading and make us think; they give us time to recollect what happened and make us nervous about what is about to follow. They increase the suspense by interrupting the flow of the previous sentences.
In “The Tell-Tale Heart” we encounter more short sentences than in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” where the brief sentences occur only sporadically. These elements of "The Tell-Tale Heart" are connected with the personality of the narrator, who claims that he is not insane. Yet the stream of his thoughts, intensified considerably with the usage of short sentences, proves him wrong. The arrangement of these sentences, not to mention their content, very much gives the impression of him being a madman. The culmination of such passages leads to the concluding part of the story, which is wholly composed of only brief sentences. These heighten the terror Poe was building throughout the story.
[...] I felt that I must scream or die! – and now – again! – hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! – ‘Villains!’ I shrieked, ‘dissemble no more! I admit the deed! – tear up the planks! – here, here! – it is the beating of his hideous heart!’[6]
The usage of brief sentences in Poe’s short stories varies. “The Tell-Tale Heart” consists mostly of them, whereas “The Fall of the House of Usher” prefers long sentences with only occasional interruption by the brief ones, which are mainly situated at the end of the story. However, these short figments of thought have an important part in both of the stories. The former uses brief sentences to heighten the nervousness, to depict the narrator about whom we otherwise know almost nothing. Their culmination towards the end functions as a support of the carefully built element of terror, which grows stronger as the story leads towards its climax. “The Fall of the House of Usher” presents lengthy, describing sentences which are replaced by the briefer ones at the end of the story. This method makes the climax even more terrifying, as it happens suddenly and strikingly, as opposed to the protracted revelation that ends “The Tell-Tale Heart”.
[1] Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” 270.
[2] Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher,“ 95.
[3] Wagner. A history of British, Irish and American literature. 328.
[4] Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” 271.
[5] Poe, “The Fall of the House of usher,” 94.
[6] Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” 272.
Literature
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Tell-Tale Heart.” In Selected Tales. Edgar Allan Poe, 267-273. London: Penguin Popular Classics, 1994.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” In Selected Tales. Edgar Allan Poe, 76-96. London: Penguin Popular Classics, 1994.
Wagner, Hans-Peter. A History of British, Irish and American Literature. Trier: WVT, 2010.
People who have successfully completed an academic degree, or course of study are graduates. Actions that is carried out and planned by an individual with an assumption of advancement in their career relying on the estimated skills and attributes they would gain which will have market in the future in order to make triumphant, fruitful and pleasurable career is called career planning. Career planning are developed after understanding the time and situation. Career planning is not only about setting the goal and getting the career of one`s want rather it is a continuous and long lasting exercise which teaches to acclimatize all through the life to reach the target. Career plan are developed considering the possible options they can have for them like if they do not have the previous experience on work how can they develop the career in it, grab the opportunity when it is available to maximize one`s development. Career planning has great importance among graduates, as many of them might not be able to land on their dream job its importance are; it might help graduates to develop certain expertise and attentiveness so they can be working as an assistant. Career planning helps them to understand the work they have to perform in their career that makes them to be an effective for that role by developing the critical knowledge and professionalism in the particular field of their interest. Career planning also helps in empowering them to make refinement on their ability either for a furtherance in career or in selecting an alternate career.
Get original essayFurthermore, by analyzing the career plan they feel a sense of maneuver when they complete a stage on their career which leads to the personal and professional success, this accredit them to subsist challenges that might come in their life to lead a healthy, happy and prosperous life. Career planning helps to figure out what skills they have and what are their passions, which career suits them, what type of job they can perform. All of the above, strategic plan gives them motivation to set first concern in life. Moreover, career planning supports them in selection of the career choices, finding out factor motivating them to make those selections, determining their area of their strength and sector in which they need development. Overall, career planning executes the upcoming career desire along with the possible opportunities to give them a breakthrough in the career.
In recent times, strategic plan is an eye for a future. It is an ability to analyze a situation effectively so that they can generate objective on that by setting goals, determining prime concern, probable difficulties and opportunities. Likewise, I have made my career plan to be a water treatment engineer. Now, I am studying the Masters in Chemical and Biomolecular Sciences. I prepared my strategic career plan to understand in a better way and easily in four step.
Step 1: Scoping - Key Facts of the Situation
In this step I studied my situation, figured out my interest, strength and skills and outlined each step that I will complete for my career development.
Step 2: Analysis with PMI and OPV
In this step, I kept myself in other shoes to think from their perspectives so that I can understand about the point of view of the people associated with me and my career. The advantage and disadvantage in the career of my choice. As they are the source of inspiration and important part for my career development.
Step 3: Visioning (Great Outcomes)
It is the important step where I can see myself being successful and moving forward for my career advancement. Here, I planned about the achievement that I will complete in the given timeframe which will indicate that I am moving forward to achieve success.
Step 4: Implementing Ideas into Actions
It is the most critical step while outlining the career plan. Here, I inscribed all possible answers that explains the reason, person, place, time and the element that inspired me to take a career I am passionate about.
Without guidance and grooming from the career coaches, mentors, external advisors, I cannot just establish myself as a water treatment engineer. Along with that, I need to have capabilities and skills. To get guidance from the mentors I searched for the people ranging from researcher to the administrative person who are working in the water treatment industries. I want to get connected with many of them as their work was inspiring and motivating for me. For me, connecting with them is also moving a step forward towards the career advancement as they could be the potential mentor and employer for me. They can provide the advice, insight view of the career, challenges and required skills and knowledge to me. As one can do a lot better with the help of the coaching from the advisors. I have to establish network with many people. Among them, I wanted to learn from Dr. Ralf Cord-Ruwisch. He is a senior researcher in biological water treatment and currently working in improved biological removal of water pollutants and commercializing improved nitrogen removal technology waste water treatment. To be able to learn from him I have to get connected with him I had to know about him for which I searched about him on Google and sent an email to him. It was uncertain to get response from him. I had the fear of rejection to get reply from him. My confidence was low. It took time to get a response from him. Despite that, I had hope to hear from him. Indeed, he replied, he said that he was busy and does not have time to talk with me on phone. Instead, he said that he can reply to my queries via email. In that way, I got answers to my every questions, his opinions about the roadblocks in the career advancement and his advice. That was helpful and invaluable for my knowledge and personal growth. This activity helped me to develop social skills and self-confidence. I even got his reference to get connected with other people in the water industries.
I want to do internship in water treatment industries in Australia by second half of 2020. There are several possibilities for that. I might be able to do internship easily and in predicted time or I might not be able to do so. Every place has their certain rules and priorities and if I be the one to fall on those priorities it increase my chance to get an internship. Next possibility is that there would be competition among the people to do intern. I have to stand above all of them in every way like talent, knowledge, communication skills, inter personal skills to grab that opportunity quickly. When I get call for internship I should be able to utilize that opportunity wisely and prove myself during that time so that they can think of me as a good person as well as a potential employee in the future. But if I could not complete my course in expected time I might not be able to get an internship. There may not be call for internship in the desired industries at that time. There are several reason that might cause the failure of the predicted plan for internship. If everything goes well, following that, I want to get expertise in chemical engineering within 2023 which I will start right after the completion of my internship in early 2021. Firstly, I have to meet the pre requisites to join University for chemical Engineering. Though, it would be a hard to work and study full time. I have to manage time efficiently focus more on study and less on other activities.
While working I should work to get to the positional power within 6 years from 2023 as well so that it would allow me to achieve my vision. This will give a great advancement in my career. I might be able to research on my own. I might be able to discover a new technique and that would be the great achievement. I might be able to contribute to the community. This won`t be an easy task as well. I should acquire the required skills and knowledge to carry out research by that time. I might not get permission from government to carry out the research in that field. I might not get sufficient funding for the research. I might not be able to continue on study and research. I might have to give time for my family and personal life. There might be an unexpected incident within family so I might have to go back to my home country without completion of my study.
Nevertheless, I want to establish myself as a water treatment engineer and researcher by 2029 and continue working on water treatment projects. There are many positive and negative aspects on that. Firstly, I would like to discuss about the positive aspects of that timeline. To be able to establish myself as an engineer and researcher would be a great achievement. I could be able to do something better for community and people. After getting to this point I should have developed certain skills and expertise on my field, social skills and self-confidence. I should have develop excellent engineering knowledge, good skills to communicate in a positive respectful way, comfort to work in a team as a team member as well as leadership skills, ability to be proactive and self-starter and troubleshoot problems as they arise. I might have a job satisfaction, excellent pay and benefits, quality life and happiness. I cannot get all the above mentioned success unless I have dedication, passion for work and continuity on work. It requires lots of effort and hard work to reach there. Moreover, chemical engineer working in water treatment industries is potentially hazardous working condition. It could cause serious illness due to the exposure in such conditions. Chemical engineering has a mixed job prospectus as well as busy life. My parents, husband might want me to stay with them. It is my responsibility to take care of them. But due to busy life I might not be able to balance between work life and family life and spend a quality time with them. The job might be stressful as the work of the chemical engineer in water treatment industries is time consuming. I might not be able to have a quality and happy family life.
However, now there are lots of women working as a chemical engineer in water industries, they can be my role models. I could learn the way to balance my career with a family. One day I will have kids and at that time I will have more people to look after and take care of. I should be flexible enough to manage time effectively for a demanding career and to have a great family life. Obviously, for that I need a lot of helping hands and innovative time scheduling. I should be communicative and efficient to establish a supportive network and relation at work so that I could help them and I can get help from them as well. Moreover, their suggestion and advice would be invaluable. To look after kids I can ask my parents to lend a hand to help me doing that could allow us to spend more time together.
Strategic plan is a process guide for me to make my decision for future and to move forward. Strategic plan for my career helped me to be committed to my study and my career. It allowed me to establish a long term objectives that I will be performing with the time. It includes all my possible decision to get to my career goal and the path that I will follow to achieve those goals. It helped me to prepare strategies to achieve my goals which I can assess when needed. When making the strategic plan of my career, I have set my objectives and define those objectives. At the time of the execution of the plan I can monitor if I am moving forward or in any other direction. I can revise those plan everyday remind myself of what I need to do to keep moving forward in a path so that I can achieve my goals in time. My career goal is to establish myself as a chemical engineer in water treatment industries. Strategic plan gives me a vision when and how to act to get to my goals. It is developed with discipline, foresight and lots of honesty. However, as everything has a two sides only a strategic plan will not be sufficient to conquer my goals. Chemical engineering career is always changing and modifying with time to be in up to date as it needs to adapt with the changing environmental and market conditions. If I only follow the strategic plan and goal I might not be able to change in the required aspects because of that my career won`t get breakthrough and success. Next thing is that after writing the career plan I might not use it or review continually which would lead to be a failure to achieve the goals. I have made my plan to be chemical engineer in water industries but, later if there is no opportunity for chemical engineer in water industries my plan would be a waste.
Keep in mind:
This is only a sample.
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Get custom essayNonetheless, while exercising on strategic plan, if I studied the marketplace reality for job on that career, potential problem and put a realistic career direction for future I can definitely improve the opportunity for fruitful execution of my strategy. That will definitely make my strategic career plan a successful career plan.
The genesis of the Russian radical movement is portrayed in Ivan Turgenev's classic novel Fathers and Sons as a shock which resonated throughout the Russian public sphere, effecting change within both families and society. Indeed, historian Daniel Brower argues in {em Training the Nihilists: Education and Radicalism in Tsarist Russia} that the radical movement changed not only the lives of the university students who were recruited, but also the society around them, by creating a legitimized niche for such counter-cultural activity. He claims further that most recruits for the movement entered not for intellectual reasons, but because of the recruitment process, which proved crucial to the movement's later success:
Get original essayThough ideological questions. . . appeared the major concern of radical journalists whose articles and books set the intellectual tone for the movement. . . much of the writing of the radical journalists was far above the heads of potential recruits. . . Rational analysis was not by itself adequate to generate large-scale, collective recruitment of radicals. Family, peers, church, and state all combined to discourage collective resistance. . . Some of the radicals did follow an individual, intellectual path to dissent. But the evidence suggests strongly that only the institutional force of the school of dissent made possible massive recruitment into the radical movement during the 1860's and 1870's. (Brower 18--19)
As a realist novel, Fathers and Sons tries to portray details of its historical milieu, particularly forbidden aspects of life, supposedly without bias. Thus, we might indeed expect Turgenev's portrayal of Bazarov to coincide somewhat with a historian's view of a typical radical.
Although three of the four young characters in Fathers and Sons seem to conform with Brower's description, the character of Bazarov seems to be superficially quite different from the others. Despite appearing to be completely intellectualized and unaware of social pressures, Bazarov is often subject to social influence, and cares how he is perceived. Many of his actions appear to be motivated by a desire to please others and thus make a good impression; as scrutiny makes evident, he has clearly developed skills to do this.
At first blush, the reader sees Bazarov as independent, and intellectually committed to what he terms nihilism. (footnote - Turgenev actually coined the term nihilism to refer to the beliefs of the radical movement. Finding Turgenev's term overly negative, other authors have used the more positive-sounding intelligentsia to refer to the class of radicals. Brower explains that he chooses to refer to members of this group as radicals, to avoid the debate altogether. I shall use the terms radicalism and nihilism interchangeably.} Nihilism, as espoused by Bazarov, is largely a mixture of empiricist, utilitarian, positivist, and materialist philosophies; although Bazarov claims to negate even logic in his second argument with Pavel Kirsanov, (footnote - Ivan Turgenev, Fathers and Sons, trans. and ed. Michael R. Katz (New York: Norton, 1996), 37-42) Subsequent references to this edition will appear in parentheses in the text.} he exhibits a clear preference for scientific ideas throughout the book, calling all else nonsense or romanticism (e.g., 20--1, 26, 35, 51).
With this vague assemblage of scientific philosophies as an operative definition for Bazarov's radical beliefs, it becomes possible not only to compare Bazarov with Brower's portrait of the typical student radical, but to contrast his much espoused attitudes with his behavior. To avoid questions of changes within Bazarov's personality during the course of the book, evidence will be limited to indications of Bazarov's personality before he visited Odintsova at her estate. The primary concern of this essay is thus Bazarov's impetus for becoming a radical while at university: his subsequent evolution is irrelevant. (footnote - While much interesting speculation about Bazarov's character is possible from observing his interactions with Odintsova, and the way he reacted to subsequent events, this topic is left as an exercise to the reader.)
In the characters of Arkady, Sitnikov, and Kukshina, the reader is certainly introduced to radicals who match Brower's description perfectly. Comparing the scene at Kukshina's home with Brower's description of a usual reading circle yields a striking resemblance. Brower explains that students joined self education reading circles not only to read and discuss recent intellectual theories, but for an informal atmosphere in which a variety of more personal issues could be discussed, with some amount of emotional involvement. Police records from that time describe some circles as having quite a confused atmosphere, where the entire conversation turn[ed] on revolutionary themes interrupted often with revolutionary songs . . . [and] toasts to the French republic, the success of the red flag, and revolution in general, which were triumphantly received by the participants (Brower 196).
The gathering at Kukshina's home doesn't sound much less confused:
You can't do anything with [women], Sitnikov said. One ought to despise them, and I do, absolutely and completely! . . . Not a single one of them could understand our conversation; not one even deserves being talked about by serious men like us! But they've no need to understand our conversation, said Bazarov. . . What? Then you must share Proudhon's opinion [said Kukshina] Bazarov drew himself up arrogantly. I don't share anyone's opinion: I have my own. Down with authorities! cried Sitnikov, delighted with the chance to express himself incisively in the presence of the man before whom he fawned. But Macaulay himself, Kukshina started to say. Down with Macaulay! thundered Sitnikov. (53)
In this conversation, as with others in the scene, intellectual discourse drops into the background of the characters' lively and vacuous banter; instead, a large number of names are dropped and authorities invoked. Both settings are chaotic, and marked by a great deal more attention to seeming radical than intellectual interchange.
In addition, it seems that Bazarov's disciples, Arkady and Sitnikov, are committed to him rather than to his ideas. Bazarov seems to exert a social influence on them which makes them consciously evaluate themselves with respect to his ideas. We see this attitude in Sitnikov's obsequious manner above, as he fawns for Bazarov's attention, as well as when he first encounters Bazarov and Arkady, and credits Bazarov with his regeneration (49).
In Arkady, we see a great deal of self-conscious attention paid to radical ideas, such as when he consciously conceals his emotion because it was not for nothing that he was a nihilist (46). Arkady's initial comment to his father about how important Bazarov was to him, though he hadn't know him very long, shows the degree of confidence he has invested in Bazarov (7--8). He perhaps gives a great deal more credit than is deserved with his comment to Bazarov's father that a great future awaits [Bazarov] (95). From such remarks about Bazarov's personal qualities, it seems that Arkady is captivated more by Bazarov's personality than his ideas. However, to place this devotion in perspective, it should be noted that Arkady does not dress in the manner of most radicals, and will not hesitate to show irritation with Bazarov (e.g., 33--34).
While three of the four young people in this book are relatively typical radicals, according to Brower's description, we are left with the question of Bazarov's conformity to the radical image. We can judge Bazarov's conformity to the Brower's typical radical in several ways: demographically, by his physical appearance, and from his apparent motivations for joining the radical movement (i.e., whether his radical convictions were developed independently, or if he seems overly concerned with social considerations such as fitting into the radical milieu.) As with any question of human motivation, this last criterion is quite difficult to judge decisively. This question is further complicated by the fact that radicals made an effort to appear socially deviant, so their own words must be evaluated for motivations. With respect to dress, Brower notes:
The radicals chose their attire to differentiate themselves from their social peers. The unique social position of the radical community created the desire for unique appearance (16).
noindent Thus Bazarov's indignant declaration, I don't share anyone's opinion: I have my own! (53), can be taken as a true declaration of ideological independence or as an expression of his desire for such originality. To avoid such a dilemma, it is possible to look for indications that Bazarov cares about how he is perceived by others, even if the image he projects is not one which is accepted in mainstream society. We can also examine Bazarov for signs of a desire to be accepted by others at all; such a desire would indicate that Bazarov is not simply a lone intellectual, but actually cares about his social role. Upon investigation, it seems that not only does Bazarov want acceptance, but he is quite good at pursuing it.
Bazarov fits well into Brower's demographic breakdown of a typical nihilist. The son of a doctor, and thus a member of the honorary nobility (Brower 44), he was also the son of upwardly mobile ancestors: his paternal grandfather was a peasant (39). While such students were not as well represented within the radical movement as were hereditary nobility, they still comprised a fair proportion, according to Brower. Bazarov was a student at the medical school, a center for the radical movement. (footnote - This central role played by the Petersburg medical school can also be seen in radical literature, such as Chernyshevsky's {em What is to be Done?} which used medical students as central characters, and models for the "New People".)
Bazarov's appearance and manner also differs quite drastically from those around him: he wears a Slavophile jacket, long hair and side whiskers, and has a lazy voice (6). When he fails to offer his hand immediately to Nikolai Kirsanov (6), Arkady explains that Bazarov is simple and not one with whom to stand on ceremony (7). Bazarov thus essentially concurs in appearance and manner with that of Brower's radicals (Brower 16). (footnote - A difference worth some note is that Brower describes radicals as generally wearing working class clothes, such as coveralls; however, Bazarov's long tasselled jacket conveys essentially the same show of solidarity with the Russian people, as well as shock value.)
To address the question of Bazarov's motivations for joining the radical movement, it is best to start by examining his attention to social dynamics to determine whether he actually was a lone intellectual; Brower's typical radical cares more for social matters than ideology, and should thus seem socially conscious (Brower 18--19, and others). At first blush, Bazarov simply seems maladroit: he manages to dominate every scene unintentionally, interrupting Arkady's conversation with his father to ask him for a light for his pipe (11) and becoming the center of attention upon his entrance, his intellectual powers overwhelming everyone around him. At first meeting, Bazarov is portrayed as unquestionably intelligent and self-confident, even from the phrenological evidence of the prominent bulges in his capacious skull (6). Except with Odintsova, he wins all of his arguments by using much fewer words than his opponent, as Arkady complains of (35). Similarly, during an argument with Bazarov, Pavel becomes visibly intimidated, as his lip trembles (37).
It seems that Bazarov lacks both a sense of tact and the ability to use social situations to his advantage. On several occasions, he pushes his points with Arkady, even after it is obvious that the latter has become angry: in criticizing Arkady's father's lack of practicality (14), laughing at the fact that Arkady's father plays the cello at the age of 44 (34), and remarking upon the sad state of the family farm (33). Bazarov continually disparages Arkady on points of disagreement, with leading comments such as So you still attach significance to marriage; I never expected that from you. (33). Arkady seems so obviously intolerant of these remarks that one wonders why Arkady wanted Bazarov as a friend at all.
Bazarov's treatment of Pavel and Arkady seems initially puzzling, as though he were either unaccustomed to argument, or didn't much care about the opinions of Pavel and Arkady. The first possibility seems unlikely, as we know that Bazarov has at least two disciples, and so must have converted them through persuasion somehow. The second possibility seems more likely; Bazarov might realize that Pavel Kirsanov is a lost cause, and might take Arkady's allegiance to him for granted. We see here an elucidation of Turgenev's use of Arkady and Pavel, as foils for Bazarov. Arkady plays the role of the faithful side-kick who will remain loyal to Bazarov to the end, regardless of the latter's treatment of him, or so the reader might believe.
Pavel, meanwhile, is a man of the 1840's; like Bazarov, he portrays himself as having been formed from the dominant philosophy of his youth, Sentimentalism, and yet is not as entirely committed to it as he professes. A former social lion, he would have likely played a role quite to Bazarov's dominant one; their roles, parallel in time, explain much of their intense rivalry, as Pavel becomes insecure that his jokes have started to fall flat (19, 20) and that Bazarov might dare dislike him (34). (footnote - The parallels between Bazarov and Pavel are manifold, and would alone provide enough material for a paper. Additional parallels become evident later in the book, such as their eventual tragic love for a mysterious or inscrutable woman.)
Bazarov's attitude to those he respects but who do not agree with him is quite different, as he appears to ration his tact for them. He regards Nikolai Kirsanov as quite a pleasant man, but one with too many romantic tendencies (14, 32). Rather than confront him directly, as he might have with Pavel, he tells Arkady to try to alter his father's behavior, such as recommending the materialist book {em Kraft und Stoff} instead of Pushkin (35). Bazarov also rations his attention, choosing one social encounter over another: he chooses to visit Odintsova who he is quite intrigued by, despite his promise to his parents that he would return that very day (62). Rather than being universally undiplomatic and socially gauche, Bazarov instead makes decisions about which people are worth his tact, and acts accordingly; in the latter case, his decision was even motivated by desire for Odintsova, as opposed to a rational basis. While this rationing of diplomacy may seem unnecessary, it certainly shows Bazarov to be more socially savvy in this respect than one might imagine. One might even argue (without any substantiative evidence) that Bazarov is intentionally undiplomatic and brusque in order to further his image as being independent of social conventions.
The idea that Bazarov is a lone intellectual is compelled by his reduction of everything to a rational basis; he even opines that he can't stand a stroll without a purpose (35). On the subject of love, he uses a physiological basis to describe the phenomenon, denigrating Pavel for throwing his life away after he is denied the only woman he really loved because one should simply be able to rationally override such feelings (26). (footnote - This is, incidentally, a clear foreshadowing to Bazarov's loss of interest after he is rebuffed by Odintsova.) Treating beauty as objective, he remarks after meeting two females, There was only one pretty girl (32). Throughout the novel, he makes many remarks objectifying women, who he claims (as in the conversation quoted above) are useful only for their beauty, in his rationalistic intellectual calculus.
Examples of his objectification about: he sees no point in visiting Kukshina if she is not good-looking (49) (footnote - Although he ends up demurring, because he is told that there will be champagne); he claims that he does not like women free-thinkers because they're all ugly monsters (58); even after a long conversation with her, he describes Odintsova as having a delectable body --- perfect for the dissecting table (61); he tells Arkady that Katya is the real prize rather than Odintsova, because although Odintsova has a real head on her shoulders, Katya is malleable fresh, unspoiled, timid, taciturn, anything you like (67). Although these comments are made on a rational basis, they belie Bazarov's ultra-rationalist pose, by reflecting his desires for these women; Bazarov's rational standard is thus nothing more than his personal taste.
Upon closer examination, Bazarov's further sensitivities to the intricacies of human life are revealed, contradicting his pretense of intellectual independence: others find him attractive, and he can selectively apply social charms as needed. This social adroitness makes it seem unlikely that Bazarov is a lone intellectual, but is instead accustomed to being part of a social network. As Brower notes, radicals joined reading groups less for ideological reasons than to seek fraternal companionship while away from home (Brower 192); a typical radical might thus, when away from university, seek acceptance without discrimination by ideology, desiring companionship from even non-radicals.
His attractiveness to others is unquestionable. Despite not having known him very long, Arkady remarks to his father, I can't tell you how much I value [Bazarov's] friendship. (7--8) Fenechka's young son Mitya, who is often shy with strangers and backs away even from Arkady, is completely unafraid of Bazarov (32); the servants of the Kirsanov household feel as though he was almost one of them (34); Dunyasha, a young servant girl, flirts with him whenever she sees him (34). It also appears that he holds an attraction for a variety of women. From her first impression, Odintsova remarks that he's the only guest at the ball who interests her (57). Kukshina seems to pays him special attention, at one point moving closer to him and suggesting that the group discuss love (52, 54). Bazarov's bedroom in the Kirsanov household even becomes filled with his essence: a mixture of the odors of a medical-surgical setting and cheap tobacco (26).
Even in unbecoming situations, Bazarov makes a graceful entrance and adapts his behavior to fit social norms. When meeting the admired Fenechka, Bazarov alters his personality and manners to charm her, saying things which he would not have otherwise allowed himself to say, and would in fact have criticized others for. He acknowledges her superstitions good-naturedly, when after praising Mitya's appearance, he remarks, Don't worry, I haven't given anyone the evil eye. (32). In echo of her statement that she was in good health thank God, he begins his next statement with Thank God (32). Together with the above evidence of his low opinion of the female intellect, it seems that Bazarov does know that simply echoing Fenechka's chief beliefs is the most effective way of winning her respect. This decision was not simply made rationally; it was his desire for Fenechka which caused him to alter his manner towards her.
Splattered with mud and carrying a writhing bag, Bazarov encounters the Kirsanov men having tea on this first morning of his visit; he greets them and excuses his appearance with a flourish worthy of Pavel Kirsanov (19). Had he not responded so well to smooth over the situation, he may have looked foolish before Nikolai's and Pavel's opinions of him were fully formed; with his smooth greeting, he managed to finesse this potentially awkward situation into looking almost normal. This example also demonstrates that Bazarov alters his normal mode of speaking when speaking with both women he wants to impress and men whose admiration he wishes to win.
At some points, we see Bazarov regretting his behavior, further compelling the argument that he is concerned with others' perception of him and, like one of Brower's typical radicals, desires respect from those around him, even (and perhaps especially) non-radicals. In his second argument with Pavel Kirsanov, for instance, his face turns a coppery color (39) and in the middle of it, he realizes that he has been too expansive with Pavel (40); in other words, Bazarov finds it necessary to remind himself to restrain himself to one line answers.
Bazarov is hyper-sensitive to his peers' perception of him. While he pays more attention to the champagne than the conversation at Kukshina's (55), when he feels that his validity as an independent thinker has been questioned (in the conversation quoted earlier), he feels the need to interject, I don't share anyone's opinion: I have my own (53). His profound concern with others' perception can be seen in his first meeting with Odintsova. Although, as with Fenechka, Odintsova first intrigues Bazarov with her physical attractiveness (56, 58), and causes him to make insinuating remarks about her to Arkady (58), his first meeting with her is quite unlike that with Fenechka and is, in fact, a departure from his usual mode of interaction; he notices his embarrassment and thinks in astonishment, Well, I'll be. Afraid of a woman! (59). Bazarov makes a great deal of effort to interest her, and rather than start an argument about nihilism, speaks with her about less controversial matters (60). At his departure, Bazarov blushes and bows (61).
Here we see a marked change from Bazarov's usual attitude: not only does he seem to care about Odintsova's reaction to him, but he is ingratiating to her. As with Fenechka, he does not discuss nihilist ideas, but with Odintsova, he seems even to respect her intellect, discussing botany and other scientific subjects; his treatment of Odintsova does not take on the same condescending tone he shows with Fenechka. This reversal of his usual treatment of women demonstrates that Bazarov recognizes that social context and goals can predominate over ideology. Bazarov optimizes his strategy for interaction with Odintsova, allowing his goal of attracting Odintsova to determine his interactions with her, rather than being driven by his intellectual convictions about how an encounter with a woman should proceed, as expressed in his conversation with Sitnikov quoted above. Contrary to his claim that. People are like trees in a forest; no botanist would study each birch individually. (64) this encounter shows that Bazarov must indeed believe something to the contrary. (footnote - This comment does, in fact, come during Bazarov's first conversation while visiting Odintsova's estate; it is nonetheless typical of his views.)
A realist novel, Fathers and Sons tries to portray details of its historical milieu supposedly without bias; we might accordingly expect Turgenev's portrayal of its young characters to coincide with a historian's view of a typical radical. Comparison with Brower's description of a typical radical reveals that all four young characters conform fairly closely with their historical model. Although the character of Bazarov appears to be superficially more ideologically committed to radicalism than his cohorts, deeper examination shows him to be subject to social pressures, despite his attempt to appear completely intellectualized and unaware of such influences; many of his actions appear to be motivated by a desire to please others and make a good impression, without apparent discrimination by their ideology.
In fact, the effort he expends towards impressing women indicates that he is guided by desire in choosing the objects of his attention. Based on his attention to social dynamics, his hypersensitivity to how he is perceived by others, and evidence that his rationalism is merely part of a pose, it seems more likely that Bazarov would have joined the radical movement due to the institutional force of the school of dissent, rather than from the independent ideological motivation he attempts to convey to others.
Turgenev, Ivan. Fathers and Sons, trans. and ed. Michael R. Katz. New York: Norton, 1996.
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Get custom essayBrower, Daniel. Training the Nihilists: Education and Radicalism in Tsarist Russia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. 1975.
On October 14th, 2019, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom delivered a speech in the British Parliament and was rated as a “farce” by Diane Abbott, the spokesperson for the British Labor Party’s internal affairs. This is also a microcosm of the Queen’s recent embarrassing situation.
Get original essayWhile the Queen was “forced to be involved in the political whirlpool,” discussions about the British constitutional crisis also came and went one after another. A representative event is the “Parliament Adjournment” event. To break the predicament of “Brexit,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson requested Elizabeth II’s consent on August 28th. He asked the British Parliament to adjourn for five weeks so that parliament members could not pass legislation to prevent Britain from “Brexit” without a deal. On September 24th, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom made a final judgment, ruling that the practice of forcing Parliament to adjourn for five weeks is illegal.
Some analysts believe that the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom indicates that the United Kingdom, a rare country without a written constitution, will usher in an unusual constitutional moment and an unprecedented political crisis. Anthony Barnett, author and co-founder of the British “Open Democracy” website, pointed out that a series have broken the informal checks and balances in the UK’s unwritten constitution of prime ministers who are eager to change the rules to benefit them. Johnson asked the Queen to “close” The “Parliament” is just the latest of many cases. So, has the British constitution-making moment arrived? At present, the United Kingdom has faced at least three difficulties in enacting a written constitution.
Britain is one of the rare countries in the world today without a written constitution. British politics can be described as a “patchwork,” a product of constant “repair” in the evolution of history. The British Constitution was not created but only grew naturally and cannot be listed in one or several official documents, nor can it be strictly distinguished by past or present time; it lacks explicit content and a complete system. British Constitution may is divided into two parts: the British constitutional law (jurisprudence, regulations) and the British constitutional code (classic, custom, training, convention). The political system mainly relies on constitutional conventions and traditions to operate. The core ideas of conservatism have three main points:
One is that political issues are essentially religious and moral issues and that human society is an organism rather than a machine. Emphasizing history and tradition, emphasizing the need to maintain continuity with the past, as far as possible to make changes gradually and as far as possible not to disrupt the original normal order, oppose the “logicism” based on the construction of human rationality (that the written constitution is largely based on the construction of human rationality).
The second is to believe that a civilized society needs a hierarchical order. Not against the most fundamental equality before “God” and equality before the law, but the equality of status and status, thinking that the equality of status and status is essentially the slavery of people. The monarchy is a system worthy of preservation because the king embodies the dignity of national power, the long history and the splendor of civilization, and the monarchy can inspire the people’s patriotism.
The third is to believe that traditions, reasonable prejudices, and past customs are inherently reasonable. This conservative tradition is not simply embodied as a kind of political thought, but its essence involves the structure of British social interests and political psychology.
Britain’s outstanding contributions to modern human history include at least two items: one is the industrial revolution; the other is creating a modern political system. The modern political system’s biggest breakthrough to the traditional political system is the birth of the “representative institution.” The British Parliament is known as the “mother of the world parliament.” The history of the British political system is reflected a certain extent in the monarch’s history, the aristocratic house, and the lower house competing for legislative power. Although the lower house is increasingly dominant, the monarch’s power and the aristocratic house cannot be ignored.
Johnson applied to the Queen for the mandatory adjournment of Parliament for five weeks, which is another more significant political event of this power struggle. Although today the Queen of England seems to be “pending” Parliament or the prime minister’s decision, the royal family’s status in British politics is much more important than a formality.
Also, Britain used to be the world’s largest colonial empire. After World War II, based on the colonial empire, Britain led the British Commonwealth establishment. In particular, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which the British descendants established, respected England’s Queen as their heads of state. These countries’ capitals were called “Governors” (the British’s highest officials to the colonies during the colonial period).
Formally and psychologically, these countries respect Britain as their “mother country.” The British royal family also has high prestige in these countries. The international status that Britain has today cannot be separated from its political influence in the Commonwealth. To formulate a written constitution, it is also necessary to properly handle the royal family’s status in the new political system structure; otherwise, the British Commonwealth’s dominant position will be greatly affected.
If a written constitution is introduced, how will the relationship with the three local bodies in Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland be treated by the British central government? Especially when the voice of independence in Scotland is high, and the status of Northern Ireland is still unstable, this is a high-risk political undertaking, and the UK must carefully weigh it.
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled that Johnson’s request for a five-week adjournment of Parliament was illegal. Do not overestimate and over-interpret this. The British Constitution is “the result of thousands of years of courts fighting for private rights. To put it simply, the British Constitution is just a charter created by a magistrate.” This ruling may be just another example of the “charter created by the magistrate.”
Judging from the chaotic situation of Britain’s “Brexit,” today’s political system centered on the lower house has revealed its shortcomings. As a so-called democratic country, according to the voting results, the United Kingdom initially supported the referendum “Brexit” more than those who supported “Remain.” In the long “Brexit” tug-of-war, the disputes between the House of Commons’ parties and individual ambitions seem to overwhelm the popular referendum’s results. Some people say that Britain’s “Brexit” is not difficult to negotiate with the EU, but the Parliament’s struggle. Some scholars call this malaise “the abuse of parliamentary democracy by professional politicians.”
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Much has been written about the religion and politics of Gulliver’s Travels, specifically in relation to Part I, A Voyage to Lilliput. Of all of the voyages and peoples that Gulliver, the protagonist of the novel, meets during his several adventures, religion plays the largest role -- albeit a superficial one -- in Lilliput. This essay seeks to identify and analyze the nature of this role, its relationship with Lilliputian politics, and the satiric implications of that relationship. The significance of this question lies in its potential for contributing to contemporary understandings of primitive European discourse on secularization, with Gulliver’s Travels playing a noteworthy role in that discourse. Moreover, by presenting an alternative reading, this essay challenges conventional interpretations of Lilliputian religious history, namely that it “is a general fable on the futility of fighting about opinions in religion” (Lock 97) and “highlights the senseless disputes between sects about inessentials” (145). It will be argued herein that the Lilliputian religious schism satirizes specifically those religious differences with political origins, thus implying that secularization is a favorable solution to such schisms.
Get original essayPrior to our indulging in a thorough explication of Part I of Gulliver’s Travels, it is imperative that this essay’s arguments are first contextualized. The aim of the following remarks on eighteenth-century Britain is to provide an intellectual precedent for this essay’s findings, and thus prove the plausibility of such a reading. Moreover, as stated in the introduction, the aim of this paper is to suggest that Gulliver’s Travels plays a noteworthy role in primitive discourses on secularization; thus, connecting the essay’s analysis with contemporary intellectual influences is imperative.
Eighteenth-century Britain was characteristic of most politically tied religious feuds. Undoubtedly such feuds stemmed from the British political system, in which the sovereign was the head of the Church. Consequently, the Anglican Church developed as a political body. Just as they were centuries prior, during this period, the main religious rivalries were with Catholics and Protestants, with the latter rivalry owing to their political dominance and persecution of the former (Black 125). Moreover, politics was an instrument of enforcing Anglican hegemony over Catholics and Dissenters. This was accomplished by several means, including the replacement of Catholic officials and landowners with Protestants; the Banishment Act of 1697, which drove bishops and clergy out of Ireland; and the prohibition of mixed marriages (125). In England, sectarianism -- and specifically, Anglicanism against Dissent -- had a much more egalitarian manifestation due to its taking a political form in the Whig–Tory struggles (131). Whether the religious elements of such feuds were a result of differences in the essentials or in the subsidiary branches of Christianity is a question beyond the scope of this paper. What should be taken from the above summary is the prevalence of sectarianism perpetuated by political power. In the background of the eighteenth-century religio–political turmoil, there developed a distinct intellectual trend best exemplified in the works of the English philosopher John Locke, which argue for a secular contractual political system (Sambrook 87). Such ideas were promulgated in Locke’s A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), published more than 35 years prior to the composition of Gulliver’s Travels (1726), and thus available during the latter’s composition. Toleration was a clarion call for the separation of church and state. The main thrust of Locke’s argument was that in order to preserve both religious and political (commonwealth) interests, it was imperative that the two distinct authorities be separated. Moreover, the proliferation of schisms, he argued, was principally owed to a conflict of interest “between those that have, or at least pretend to have, on the one side, a concernment for the interest of men’s souls, and, on the other side, a care of the commonwealth” (Locke 118). Thus, Locke argued that the British political system of his time was structurally prone to religious schisms. Furthermore, the above passage suggests his belief that such schisms were at least in some instances not the result of honest intellectual activity, but rather of pretentious political leaders seeking to achieve commonwealth interests under the guise of religiosity. It is upon this premise that this paper provides its unique reading of Gulliver’s Travels. It will be argued herein that the Lilliputian egg schism is the manifestation of a structural conflict inherent in the Lilliputian monarchy that pretends to have, on the one side, a concernment for the interest of Lilliputians’ souls, and on the other side, a care of the commonwealth.
Through various creative methods, Gulliver’s Travels indicates that the Lillliputian egg schism is essentially politically motivated. Thus, it is a secular schism dressed in an ascetic cloak. This is implied both structurally and contextually. First, the text juxtaposes the “two mighty Evils” (Swift 42) -- i.e., the high and low Heels and the Big- and Little-Endian conflicts by mentioning the two conflicts in the same paragraph, thereby connecting them in the reader’s mind. Moreover, the two distinct conflicts are paralleled, in both cause and effect, in the historical account of Reldresal, the Principal Secretary of Private Affairs, who explains that both conflicts stem from different levels of adherence to tradition. The high Heels, owing to their being “most agreeable to ancient [Lilliputian] Constitution,” are virtually excluded from government (42). Similarly, the Big-Endians have been persecuted due to their strict adherence to traditional religious interpretations (43). Furthermore, we are told that the effects of the two schisms are also essentially the same. Notwithstanding the obvious differences in severity, in both cases a policy of exclusion enforced by the dominating group has suppressed the meaner of the two. The Secretary tells us that the King “hath determined to make use of only low Heels in the Administration of the government” (42); and with respect to the Big-Endians, they have been “rendered incapable by Law of holding Employments”; in addition, their “Books ... have been long forbidden” (43). Thus, this juxtaposition serves to structurally or visually secularize the apparently religious schism.
In identifying the true causes of the egg schism, it is helpful to resolve the text’s implicit emphasis on the gross gap between cause and effect. This gap, and its implications to the reader, can be seen as analogous to a defendant arguing in court that his murder spree was sparked by missing the express bus: anyone listening to such an outrageous claim will instantly assume that there must be a more potent cause due to the greatness of the effect. Similarly, the text’s implicit assertions of the gross triviality of the religious schism, when juxtaposed with its great destructive effects, leave the reader searching for an unstated alternative cause. This cause seems to be the Lilliputian monarch’s secular ambitions, which are pretentiously perpetuated and maximally trivial in pursuit of political autonomy and hegemony. Thus, this explanation serves to fill the “logic gap” produced by Gulliver’s satiric account of Lilliputian history. This point is further enforced by the text’s implicit suggestions of the triviality of the schism, thus reinforcing the unstated cause. For example, Reldresal suggests that the matter of breaking the egg is a “fundamental doctrine of [the] great Prophet Lustrog, in the 54th chapter of the Brundrecal” (43). When examined closely, this statement satirizes the expressed fundamentality of the doctrine. That is, the suggested significance of the doctrine is refuted in the same clause by his saying that it is found in the fifty-fourth chapter. How important can a doctrine be if it is mentioned only once and so late in the text? Again, a likely solution to filling this “logic gap” is the suggestion that the Lilliputian political authorities, with whom religious authority also rests, have amplified and perpetuated this triviality for political means, such as justifying imperial aggression against the rival empire, in the name of upholding divine laws.
Even if the Lilliputian monarch’s persecution is taken at face value and thus deemed a purely religiously natured struggle, their application of the aforementioned scriptural passage reveals their ulterior political motives of asserting political dominance for secular goals. This suggestion is made through an apologetic clause following the Secretary’s “official” interpretation of the verse in question: he tells Gulliver that insisting on breaking the egg on the big end is “a meer (sic) Strain upon the Text: For the Words are these; That all true Believers shall break their Eggs at the convenient End: and which is the convenient End, seems ... to be left to every Man’s Conscience, or at least in the Power of their chief Magistrate to determine” (43). The secretary is effectively saying that Lilliputian political authority overrides scriptural and religious authority. This passage contains one of the clearest indications that the monarch’s obsession with the egg schism is rooted in his desire to assert the “Power of their chief Magistrate” and not in any interest in upholding a true, scripturally sound religious orthodoxy. This revelation undermines interpretations such as those presented in the introduction, which argues that the Lilliputian history is a satire on religious controversies and conflicts over trivialities. Rather, in addition to affirming the absurdity of schisms about religious trivialities, the satire identifies its sources and drives in the secular realm, thus rendering religious trivialities secular.
Last, the political or secular motives of the schism are shown through the monarch’s convenient religiosity. The matter of religion is absent in discussions and descriptions of Lilliput and Lilliputians throughout Part I with the exception of the last few pages of Chapter Four. On the surface, this omission appears unimportant; however, this apparently trivial fact is indicative of the monarch’s convenient religiosity. To elaborate, religion is irrelevant to the governing of the state in religious or even secular matters except when it can conveniently serve secular goals. More specifically, the reader is only informed of Lilliputian religion when such information is a necessary means for Redresal to convince Gulliver to aid the empire in their imperial efforts against “two mighty Evils.” If true religiosity is absent in the political realm in matters not tied to imperial interests, such as those covered in Chapters One through Three, then it seems suspicious that they will only suddenly gain primacy when land, money, and power are at stake. Thus, Gulliver’s Travels is indeed more of a satire of secular-based “religious” schisms, or scrambled schisms, than a satire of earnestly religious-based schisms over trivialities like broken eggs.
By situating this reading within the eighteenth-century context in which it belongs, and in which Lockeian thoughts of governmental secularization also belong, the greater message behind the scrambled schism satire becomes obvious. Part I portrays the monarch’s endowment with religious authority as being detrimental to the religion, its practitioners, and the nation as a whole; Gulliver’s Travels thus serves to suggest that the solution to this dilemma is structural, meaning that it may only be rectified by means of structural changes -- namely, the separation of secular and religious authority as proposed by Locke’s Letter Concerning Toleration. This final rung in the interpretation of the Lilliputian schism adds to the greater significance of Gulliver’s Travels as a novel that helped to usher in the age of secularization. Moreover, this novel can thus be considered as a significant source of knowledge about primitive discourse on modern Western secularization.
Works Cited
1. Black, Jeremy. Eighteenth Century Britain: 1688-1783. England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001. Print.
2. Lock, F. P. The Politics of Gulliver’s Travels. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980. Print.
3. Locke, John. The Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration. New York: Dover Publications Inc, 2002. Print.
4. Sambrook, James. The Eighteenth Century: Intellectual and Cultural Context of English Literature 1700-1789. London: Longman Publishing Group, 1993. Print.
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Get custom essay5. Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.
Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is unique in that the narrator and arguably main character of the story, Chief Bromden, is not the protagonist. Instead, McMurphy fills this role, and Bromden acts as both the main character, providing our view of the story, and the confidant of the true protagonist, McMurphy. Throughout the novel, Bromden acts as a both an intentional and unintentional confidant, and through his proximity to McMurphy becomes close enough to realize McMurphy’s true fears and motivations and fears, ultimately carrying out McMurphy’s final escape plan.
Get original essayFrom the first scene in the book, we see that people say things in front of Bromden that they otherwise wouldn’t have. Thanks to his perceived deafness and muteness, both staff and patients are comfortable saying things in front of Bromden that they otherwise would not have. For example, according to Bromden the black boys “don’t bother not talking out loud about their hate secrets when I’m nearby because they think I’m deaf and dumb. Everybody thinks so.” (Kesey 3) The idea that everyone is comfortable discussing private details with Bromden around is crucial to his development as a confidant in the novel, because even when he reveals his ability to speak later in the novel the people of the ward are conditioned to his role as a confidant. For example, even after revealing that he can hear by voting for being able to watch the World Series, Bromden is allowed to clean the staff room during a meeting. This role is also important for the narration of the novel, as it provides a means for the readers to know the intimate details of those on the ward while allowing the narration to remain from the perspective of a character.
While Bromden’s perceived deafness and muteness serve him well in the role of a general ward confidant, he becomes closer to McMurphy by sheer proximity. From the beginning, McMurphy realizes that Bromden might not actually be deaf and dumb, because while talking to Bromden at night he realizes that Bromden responded when he mentioned that the black boys were coming, saying “Why you sure did give a jump when I told you that coon was coming, Chief. I thought somebody told me you was deef.” (Kesey 84) Later, the bond between McMurphy and Bromden grows as they continue to talk in their room. McMurphy gets Bromden to laugh by asking him about the gum under his bed, and makes him feel “big” again by slowly restoring his self-confidence. Their bond is at its strongest when they are sent to the disturbed ward together, and McMurphy experiences the electroshock therapy that the Bromden had experienced so many times.
Bromden acts in the role of McMurphy’s confidant several times while their bond strengthens as previously described. When they are sent to the disturbed ward following their fight in the showers, McMurphy asks for Bromden’s insight on what they are about to face, asking “What they got on the program for us now, Chief?” (Kesey 279) After McMurphy undergoes a lobotomy, Bromden demonstrates that he understands McMurphy beyond his appearance and the appearance that he put out to the world through acting as his confidant when he says “Sure, they can do things like scars and broken noses, but they can’t do that look. There’s nothing’ in the face. Just like one of those store dummies…” (Kesey 321) By showing that he sees beyond the physicality and pure symbol of masculinity that most of the ward viewed as McMurphy, Bromden reveals that he has a deeper understanding of the complexities of McMurphy’s character, thanks mostly to their conversations as roommates. Additionally, by carrying out McMurphy’s escape plan, throwing the console through the window and leaving, Bromden acts as a sort of successor to the spirit of McMurphy. Bromden’s escape is McMurphy’s legacy made tangible through the actions of the person he confided in taking his ideas and making them a reality.
At the beginning of the novel, we see Bromden as the perfect confidant. Because the other characters believe he can neither hear nor talk, they also believe there’s no risk in being purely, brutally honest in his presence. While the readers know the deafness and muteness are a façade, the character’s belief in them lends the readers a more informed narrator. Beyond the function as a narrator, though, Bromden’s role as a confidant to the protagonist, McMurphy, allows him to act as the Irishman’s spiritual successor, and carry out the escape plan where McMurphy had failed. Through proximity to McMurphy, conditioning of the ward, and Bromden’s keen ear, he acts throughout the novel as the perfect confidant.
Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is set in a mental institution, where the characters’ mental illnesses reveal much to the reader. Kesey enlightens the reader by characterizing the reticent Chief Bromden, who narrates the main events of the story, as a mentally ill man. In particular, the novel succeeds in revealing the symbolism in Bromden's delusions and in writing the harrowing tale in Chief’s stark point of view.
Get original essayChief’s original characterization portrays him as very mentally sick, and his delusions help further the plot. Kesey starts the book off by revealing the reader multiple layers of information, saying that Nurse Ratched has “let her arms section out long enough to wrap around” several misbehaving aides (Kesey 5). By doing this, not only is he describing what her character is like and how she is viewed on the ward, but also telling the readers that Chief's narration may be unreliable. Additionally, Chief is obsessed with what he calls "the Combine", which he defines as “a huge organization that aims to adjust the Outside as well as [...] the Inside” (Kesey 22). Chief constantly rants about the combine, but he actually has a point. One night, he swears he sees a “whole wall [slide] up” (Kesey 67). This happens after a dramatic ward event because he’s worried the nurse will win, giving insight into how the actions of the Nurse and Mcmurphy are affecting other in the ward. Chief’s delusion of the combine reacts and adjusts to the real world, cluing the reader in to what each action means in the context of the plot and its symbolic importance.. Therefore, his delusions give the reader a broader understanding of the text and the world outside of it.
Chief Bromden’s delusions and hallucinations color the perspective from which the otherwise perspicuous story is told: “They don’t bother not talking out loud about their hate secrets when I’m nearby because they think I’m deaf and dumb” (Kesey 4). This give him a fly-on-the-wall, insider’s view on everything going on in the ward behind the scenes, especially as the crass McMurphy begins to subvert Nurse Ratched’s authority. Chief describes Nurse Ratched as a “real veteran at adjusting things” (Kesey 22). This information seems reliable; as far as one can tell, there is no disparity between Chief’s account and the attitudes of the other patients. The nurse is shown to manipulate and engineer circumstances to get what she wants. Conversely, some of Chief’s delusions are less literal. After believing a group of men killed a patient on the ward, Chief says he thinks that “somebody’ll drag me out of the fog” and erase all evidence of what went on (Kesey 69). All of this makes Chief’s life is quiet and somewhat choleric and lugubrious, yet chaotic, which flavors the story.
Likewise, the Combine is a symbol for the conformist pressure of American society, yet it has a dual role in that it also symbolizes Chief’s madness since he legitimately thinks there is a combine. The “Combine” is a symbol for power and control, an extended metaphor used throughout the book. Chief defines the combine as a“ huge organization that aims to adjust the Outside as well as she has the Inside” (Kesey 22). Chief constantly writes about the control beyond the combine, saying that the patients all “breath [sic] in … and out … in perfect order; hearts all beating at the rate the OD cards have ordered” (Kesey 25). The monotony in the ward symbolizes the lack of freedom in the ward, and, outside of the book, in the daily lives of Americans, which is contrary to the author’s nonconformist ideals. Similarly, when a patient, Mr. Taber, asks what medicine he is being given, he was treated as though it was a presumptuous declaration: the Big Nurse says that if the patient “chooses to act like a child, he may have to be treated as such.” (Kesey 26). Kesey does this to show that people cannot rebel if they’re being undermined and treated like fussy children, which corresponds to how the hippies were treated. He relates the symbolism in the story with control in the real world, since he brazenly identified as a hippie and clashed with authority.
Kesey enlightens the reader by characterizing Chief as a mentally ill man through potent turns of both perspective and symbolism. The author’s work also illustrates how the moribund culture at the time was unnecessarily stacked against free-flowing spirits longing leave a dint in the world and against mentally ill people alike. Only through a work such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, perhaps, could a man such as Chief Bromden attain a voice.
In Emily Bronte's famous novel Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff is indisputably an evil character. He commits innumerable atrocious acts, yet Bronte ensures that one cannot help but feel sympathy towards him. One reason that the book is considered a study in psychology is the manner in which Bronte tricks the reader into justifying and accepting Heathcliff's cruelty. The author's virtuosic manipulation of conflicting emotions is what gives the simple plot and characters of Wuthering Heights' their intensity and intrigue.
Get original essayHeathcliff is first introduced as "a dirty, ragged, black-haired child" (Bronte 34) that Mr. Earnshaw brings home from Liverpool. Earnshaw names the boy after his deceased son, but the other members of the family refer to him as "it." The reader cannot help but pity Heathcliff due to Bronte's description of how "he would stand Hindley's blows without winking or shedding a tear" (Bronte 35). The reader also thinks less of the other children because of their cruelty, which only serves to amplify sympathy for Heathcliff. As Heathcliff grows older, he and Catherine become friends; but after Catherine becomes friends with the Lintons, Heathcliff feels unworthy of her. Young Heathcliff naively asks Nelly at one point to "Make me decent" because "I'm going to be good" (Bronte 52), before a dinner with the Lintons. The reader also adores young Heathcliff for his desires; as Van Ghent points out, the reader desires that "the beautiful dark boy will be brightened, made angelic and happy, by the beautiful golden girl" (165). Heathcliff believes that he "must wish for Edgar Linton's great blue eyes and even forehead" (Bronte 53) to fit in with the others and thus secure Catherine's affections for himself. To the reader's dismay, Heathcliff fails in this attempt at being proper, and upon overhearing Catherine say that she could never marry him disappears for about a year's time. What Heathcliff overhears, though, is not the complete story; Catherine goes on to describe how much she loves Heathcliff and how she cannot live without him. The reader cannot help but feel sorry for Heathcliff's misfortune which was due to his rashness, a flaw in his character that is no fault of his.
A year later, when Heathcliff returns from his trip to an unknown place, he is a changed man. "The transformation of Heathcliff" (Bronte 90) wins the reader's respect with the newly-educated, militant impression he leaves on the characters in the book. It is at this stage that it becomes apparent how cruel Heathcliff truly is. Incredibly enough however, Bronte manages to keep Heathcliff at least partially in the reader's favor. When Edgar becomes enraged at Catherine's affection for the outsider, he strikes Heathcliff, and even Catherine laughs at him, calling him a "suckling leveret" (Bronte 110). Bronte intentionally does this to highlight Heathcliff's strength of character in contrast with Edgar's feebleness. The reader can't help but imagine that his victims are weak and deserve to suffer, despite the fact that his cruelty "baffles and confounds the ethical sense" (Van Ghent 164).
The conflicting reactions that Wuthering Heights evoke in the reader make it both a philosophically and psychologically engaging work. When Heathcliff rejects and scorns Isabella, it is as if he is mocking the audience by exposing their "bookish expectations of him" (Oates 5); the audience is shocked that he would laugh in the face of her innocent infatuation with him, given his own rejection by Catherine. The reader also sympathizes with Heathcliff when Catherine dies. His maddening love for Catherine, though practically mythical in its strength, is designed to evoke pangs from most people's romantic sensibilities.
For a while, Heathcliff seems cold and cruel, with almost no suggestion of humanity within. But towards the end of the novel, Heathcliff's suffering becomes more apparent. In an unusual moment of honesty, Heathcliff even confesses to Nelly Dean how he dug up Catherine's coffin so that he could see her dead body, and how he had a sexton remove a side wall of the coffin so that when he is buried next to her their remains can mingle together (Bronte 276). The reader is concerned and curious about Heathcliff during his spiral into insanity; the previously insensitive and untouchable villain is suddenly weak and vulnerable. He is so taken with Catherine's spirit that his "whole being and faculties are yearning to attain it" (Bronte 312). Heathcliff is so absorbed in "the finite and tragically self-consuming nature of 'passion'" (Oates 2) that he is unable to eat or sleep until, after several days "he manages to die" (Bump 3). Bronte shows the strength of Heathcliff's devotion to Catherine by allowing him to find peace only as he approaches his death; Heathcliff could never attain peace by taking revenge on those around him. When Heathcliff dies, few people care. But Hareton "sat by the corpse all night, weeping in bitter earnest" (Bronte 322). Readers love Hareton because he changed for the better as a result of a "beautiful golden girl" (Van Ghent 165), as Heathcliff never did. The book closes with Haerton morning Heathcliff's death, and thus resolves most feelings of ill will towards the ghost of Heathcliff.
Bronte's method of creating sympathy for theoretically unlovable characters, keeps Wuthering Heights from being too emotionally alienating for readers. She intentionally creates incongruent emotions within the reader. The realization of these contradictory feelings exposes a thematic conviction of the novel that not everything is what it seems. The reader is forced to think more analytically about the book and about their own reactions to characters when this truth is realized. By exploring the nature of Bronte's fictional characters, the reader is forced to explore the same theme in his or her own life. Through this technique, Bronte creates a compelling novel. The characters themselves are interesting, but the archetypal emotions she describes haunt us even after we finish reading.