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The above research, methodology and data collected indicate that the consumption of certain foods with high levels of hidden sugar content has an effect on the blood glucose levels of a person, although it is only a slight increase in most cases, I feel that it also answered my research question of if it is possible to lower your blood glucose levels by reducing the amount of food you consume which contain high levels of hidden sugars.
Get original essayIn test group A which consisted of three matrics who consumed mango, all of their blood glucose levels increased after eating it. Individual 1 had an increase of 1 mmol, starting with a reading of 3,6mmol and ending with a reading of 4,6mmol, individual 2 had the lowest increase in the group with a 0,9mmol increase, starting with a reading of 4,3mmol and ending with a reading of 5,2mmol and individual 3 has the highest increase of 2mmol in the test group, starting with a reading of 4,8mmol and concluding with a reading of 6,8mmol
In test group B which consisted of three grade 11’s who consumed dried fruit, all of their blood glucose levels increased after eating it. Individual 4 had the highest increase in the test group, with an initial reading of 3,3mmol and a final reading of 5,1mmol meaning there was a 1,8mmol difference, individual 5 had an increase of 0,2mmol the lowest of the group with an initial reading of 4,4mmol and a final reading of 4,6mmol and individual 6 had an increase of 0,4mmol, starting with a reading of 4,4mmol and ending with 4,8mmol
In test group C which consisted of three grade 10’s who consumed litchi fruit juice, all of their blood glucose levels increased after drinking it. Individual 7 had the highest increase of 1mmol starting with an initial reading of 3,8mmol and ending with 4,8mmol, individual 8 had an initial reading of 3,5mmol and ending with 3,8mmol resulting in a 0,3mmol difference, while individual 9 had an initial reading of 4,1mmol and ended with 4,7mmol and a difference of 0,6mmol
In test group D which consisted of three grade 9’s who consumed flavoured yoghurt, individual 10 had an initial reading of 4,3mmol and ended up with a reading of 4,8mmol a difference of 0,5mmol, individual 11 had the lowest increase of the group with a difference of 0,1mmol, starting with an initial reading of 4,1mmol and ending with 4,2mmol while individual 12 has the highest increase with a difference of 0,6mmol, starting with an initial reading of 3,3mmol and ending with 3,9mmol.
The readings explain clearly that foods with high sugar levels will result in a minimal increase of one’s blood glucose levels, there are no contradictions in the results as no individual in their respective test group had their blood glucose levels decreasing after the consumption of their required food.
From the data collected above, one can say that a high level of sugar content in a product does not necessarily mean there will be a drastic increase in the blood glucose levels after an individual has consumed it, for example the highest increase of all the test groups occurred with individual 3 of test group A who consumed mango that has a sugar content level of 11,3 grams which is the lowest sugar content level out of the four possible food items.
In conclusion, while the numbers which reflect how much an individual’s blood glucose levels are low, it is important to note that this is not the only sugar the average individual consumes in a day. A spoonful of sugar in ones coffee in the morning, the jungle bar eaten in the car, the normal food consumed and the occasionally sweet treat, these numbers can accumulate quickly and cause a significant spike in one’s blood glucose levels.
It is evident that the consumption of foods with a high level of hidden sugar content has an effect on and individuals blood glucose levels even though this effect is very slight. One cannot draw a solid conclusion that is possible to lower your blood glucose levels by reducing the amount of food an individual consumes which contain high levels of hidden content.
With "The Visionary Hope," Samuel Taylor Coleridge romanticizes the overpowering state of yearning without excluding the turmoil it causes in human life. Coleridge develops for the reader an almost picturesque cluster of emotional impulses and handicaps far from abstract, and obscure only in the question of their true source. The reader of "The Visionary Hope" must decide if the individual significance of that vision roots itself in the naive hope of an end, or if, in actuality, the fantasy remains for fantasy's sake. While presenting two sides of an argument concerning the validity of human aspiration, the author finds hope itself to be the one and only necessary lifeblood for the spiritually thirsty soul. At the same time, however, Coleridge's fantastic surrender to the power of a single hope at the close of the poem provides a subtle solicitation of self-examination; the reader must ask discover whether the value of an ungraspable prospect lies in the glimmering possibility of it being met, or merely in its capacity to foster a cleansing outpouring of lustrous emotion and feeling.
Get original essayAt the onset, Coleridge makes clear what will be the outcome of his poetic debate between reason and emotion. Opening with "Sad lot, to have no hope!" (Line 1), the author proclaims the reigning source of living valor to be hope, however "visionary" it may actually prove to be. To Coleridge, he who "fain would frame a prayer within his breast" (2) lives a brave existence in submission to blind faith. While acknowledging the sheer lowliness of his "kneeling" (1) to an unrealistic desire, the speaker, fighting for relief, simultaneously understands his own ignorance while experiencing surreal solidarity with his spiritual psyche: "Would fain entreat for some sweet breath of healing, /That his sick body might have ease and rest; / He strove in vain!" (3-5) Supporting Coleridge's stark contrast between emotional magnificence and its subsequent all-consuming strife, his character acts in "fain" entreaty to the powers that be. In full realization of his powerlessness to the hope that limits, and yet, propels him through life, he continuously puts conscious effort into developing that unfulfilled desire which now has become more real than concrete reality. Ironically, what is to the rational person a meaningless pursuit driven by fleeting emotions is for the speaker no less than the veritable meaning of his life.
Despite that the object of the speaker's desire provides his life's guiding force, the poem's character does submit to pain's disarmament, in all human actuality: "The dull sighs from his chest /Against his will the stifling load revealing"(5-6). While the speaker's indulgence in his imaginative project fills his heart with purpose, Coleridge suggests the existing counterbalance of a deliberate cry for relief from worry. Here the author fully examines the weight of reason in a life of distortion; although the power of the hope itself undermines the speaker's rational ability to see completely through it, his earthly will nonetheless desires escape from pain as much as the achievement of his vision. However, where Coleridge equalizes the status of reality and fantasy, he distinctly places them in separate psychological poles. The speaker's cries reveal the "stifling load" of his unattainable prospect, "though Nature forced" (7), and no escape is possible. Coleridge's capitalization of "Nature" along with more abstract concepts of "Hope" (17, 20, 27) and "Love" (20) in later lines set the stage for both nature's physical power and its connection to the psychological nature of the soul. Not only does this hope represent a larger entity of intangible human affections, but its power, indeed, surpasses a human's effort to be realistic: "Some royal prisoner at his conqueror's feast, / An alien's restless mood but half concealing" (8-9). The speaker, in this instance, does not yet choose to live by the hope, but falls at its foot, powerless; alien to his own strife, his attempts to stamp out an unreasonable aspiration fall captive to the vision's tyrannical existence.
"The Visionary Hope" unveils, by and large, Coleridge's laser-beam sense of clarity regarding reason's distortion in the midst of an all-powerful pining. The speaker's expected grief as he withers away in the impossibility of meeting his hope moves him to take one last grasp at base reality, "The sternness on his gentle brow confessed" (10). Fairly quickly, Coleridge's poem, and thus, the convoluted rationality of the speaker, take a sharp turn away from reality and into feelings whose roots are now indefinable. Sickness and misery, tangible evidence of his fantasy's harm on him, become no more than "obscure pangs" (12) that "made curses of his dreams" (12). Significantly, the world of dreams suggests sleep, submission, and surrender. Although Coleridge's speaker mindfully dreads that world of sleep, he fails to deny it: "each night repelled in vain, / Each night was scattered by its own loud screams" (13-14). Sucked in by the muscle of his longing, not even his earnest desire to turn from it can falter the journey into obscurity.
Thus, Coleridge envelops the reader into the command of the speaker's heart. No more is the speaker tormented by "obscure pangs" (12), but acknowledges his foregoing strife to be only the equally magnificent remnant of hope: "For Love's despair is but Hope's pining ghost!" (20). In deliberation, Coleridge cancels out the speaker's miniscule sense of rationality and creates a world where all is vision, all is wonderfully intangible, and the fantasy itself provides relief from complex reality. When, one might say, the tables are turned on reality, this capitalized condition of "Hope" (17) serves as the speaker's source of pride, "his inward bliss and boast" (17). Coleridge's speaker makes a conscious choice to live by his dreams. Furthermore, he needs nothing more than a simple goal in and of itself to live, day in and day out: "For this one hope he makes his hourly moan, / He wishes and can wish for this alone!" (21-22) While physical human needs remain, Coleridge's primary concern are those hungers and thirsts of the soul.
"The Visionary Hope" romanticizes dreamlike pining as it is a means for expressing splendorous sensitivity to emotion. Contrasting elements of pleasure and pain represent Coleridge's ever-existing question of a dream's realistic validity beyond forming an ideal prospect: "Pierced, as with light from Heaven, before its gleams/ (So the love-stricken visionary deems)" (23-24). While the visionary will inherently fall captive to an ignorant hope of attaining the unattainable, he lives in a tranquil sense of certainty, an understanding of his own simple ignorance and blind faith, in the half-reality of imagining what meeting his goal would mean. In a word, Coleridge's character lives the dream most fully in the awareness that it is not, and may never be, fulfilled. Concluding verses proclaim the thinker's adamant decision: "Or let it stay! yet this one Hope should give / Such strength that he would bless his pains and live." (27-28) In Coleridge's eyes, faith in what is purely imaginative brings the human closer to his own divinity. Through romanticizing blind faith, he eloquently reveals an individual's spiritual elevation in understanding what he cannot grasp.
Coleridge's poem speaks to the emotional heart; no source other than a heartfelt sense of the intangible dream can sustain a life of individual awareness. For the author, rationality of the mind cannot substitute the sensations of the soul, for to live motivated by something ever-nearing but never arriving is to condition the strength of human passion. Coleridge's poem calls hope salvation from an otherwise bleak existence. The dreamlike aspiration constantly nourishes and draws one forward, allowing one to "bless" and cherish all aspects of happiness and pain involved in living a human life. One can hope and "wish for this alone" (22), for the act of envisioning grants greater human consciousness.
In Tennessee Williams' play The Glass Menagerie, the narrator conceives of art as a reprieve from the grim monotony of reality. Art, in this conception, is a medium that enables one to interpret reality. Tom, the narrator of the play, consciously creates art in an effort to subjectively redefine the present moment, and as a coping mechanism for the troubles in his life.
Get original essayTom deals with the tedium of his everyday life by using art as an escape. He single-handedly supports his mother and crippled sister by working a thankless job in a shoe factory. At home, Tom is the provider for the household, but in the factory Tom is little more than a robot. In this stifling environment, Tom's individuality is reduced to near-absolute anonymity. He has no great motivation or pride in his life, and turns to art to fill his emotional void. Tom's mother, Amanda, proclaims, "You live in a dream; you manufacture illusions! Where are you going?" (1999) to which Tom answers, "I'm going to the movies" (1999). Rather than stay and face the reality of his life, Tom chooses to go to the theater and live vicariously through the fictional lives of movie characters.
In reality, Tom assembles shoes, used as padding and protection for the feet while traveling from point to point. Yet, to escape the tedium of his life, Tom pads his reality with the dream-like nature of movies. Also, when Amanda asks Tom where he is going, she implicitly questions his direction in life. Tom cannot answer, and only replies that he is going to the movies. He feels that he can push ahead blindly in life as long as these artful illusions pad his feet from the constant painful reminders of reality. Tom exclaims, "Man is by instinct a lover, a hunter, a fighter, and none of those instincts are given much play at the warehouse" (1968). He feels trapped by the overbearing structure of the factory because there is no place there for these so-called instincts romanticized by the media. Tom weaves art into his life to satisfy these instincts, and to redefine his needs and priorities in life.
Tom consciously creates art, since he narrates the play with a subjective approach based on his memory. He describes each event in the play as a scene:
[it is] memory and is therefore unrealistic...it omits some details, others are exaggerated, according to the emotional value of the articles it touches, for memory is seated predominantly in the heart...the interior is therefore rather dim and poetic. (1954)
Like a movie director, Tom weaves dramatic touches into his narration; what he presents is a subjective distortion of reality. The audience does not truly know whether or not Tom offers accurate recollections of his history, because the narrator can freely omit and edit any aspect at will. For example, when Amanda shares her experience with gentlemen callers with her children, "Tom motions for music and a spot of light on Amanda. Her eyes lift, her face glows, her voice becomes rich and elegiac" (1956). In Tom's unique perspective of the event, Amanda despondently longs for her past popularity. She becomes a movie star with a spotlight on her face, her features glow, and she laments her youthful past in a rich, sorrowful voice. However, Amanda's demeanor may have been entirely different from another individual's perspective. She could have given the impression of being proud and boastful, belittling her daughter for not achieving the same success in courting gentlemen as she experienced when she was young. Tom conveys his personal perspective by effectively editing and tailoring the confines of reality to his taste. He manipulates qualities of the environment to reflect and focus on superficial character attributes that he deems important. Tom's utilization of artistic symbolism transforms the intrinsic attributes of his characters, as well.
Tom often employs symbolism in his narration in order to eliminate the distinction between reality and illusory art. When Amanda asks her daughter, Laura, if she has ever liked some boy, "on the dark stage the screen is lighted with the image of blue roses. The music subsides. Laura...is washing and polishing her collection of glass" (1957). Tom directs visual and aural cues to coincide with Laura's actions, thereby emphasizing certain characteristics of her disposition. By explicitly displaying the symbol of the blue rose as Laura cleans her glass collection, the narrator removes the aspect of realism from his account in favor of abstract complexity and depth, as one sees in art. He distorts Laura's real identity by juxtaposing her presence with an inanimate object, which he uses to represent her character. Tom utilizes a musical score to accompany his drama as well. This form of aural symbolism adds a dream-like depth and mood to the scene and provides entertainment value for the audience. Tom claims, "I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion" (1953). Tom's memory, although altered by his subjective perspective and interweaving of artistic symbolism, nonetheless represents the essence of truth in a different form. This art that Tom presents is not an accurate reflection of reality, but rather a study of the social ramifications of the impact and influence of art on personal life and decision-making.
Tom creates art from his memories in response to popular art in the media. The conflict between his reality and the ideals of happiness portrayed in the media cause him to redefine himself to fit this popular standard. Tom mentions that, "In Spain there was revolution. Here there was only shouting and confusion...This is the social background of the play" (1953). The troubles that Tom experiences are not well-defined or publicized. He experiences an internal struggle, rather than an external one with clear-cut sides of good and bad. Tom seeks a life with clearly defined paths and with rewards for valor, like those he sees in movies. As he begins his telling of the memory play, Tom "enters dressed as a merchant sailor...strolls across to the fire-escape...and lights a cigarette" (1953). Based upon this quotation, one speculates that Tom joined the military in search of the romanticized adventures that he witnesses in movies. The time period of this play is post-World War II America, when hundreds of thousands of Americans entered combat in the global arena. However, Tom completely excludes any mention of this possibly traumatic battle experience from his memory. He transforms his life into the very art that impacted him in an attempt to redefine his role in society, but ultimately fails to replicate the movie-inspired romance and adventure that he seeks.
The play that is Tom's life is nothing like a movie: there is no happy ending. He forsakes his family to escape the tedium of his life, and he continues to struggle internally. He exclaims, "Oh, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me...I reach for a cigarette...I run into the movies or a bar, I buy a drink, I speak to the nearest stranger - anything that can blow your candles out - for nowadays the world is lit by lightning" (2000). Whether Tom seeks to redefine himself through the fickle illusions of alcohol, drugs, or popular media, his transformation is still an illusion. Only now does he realize that the art he creates is like a candle, which subjectively illuminates only the favorable aspects of life that he wishes to see. Tom describes the world as being lit by lightning, a natural force beyond any man's grasp. For those few seconds as lightning strikes, the whole world is illuminated, and the inescapable truth is revealed, without prejudice or subjective taint. Although the world plunges back into darkness within moments, the truth of reality remains, and there is no escape.
Obesity is defined as the abnormal condition and increased fat deposition in adipose tissues. Overweight and obesity are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The American College Health Association (ACHA) states that 34.1% of college students are either overweight or obese, and the greatest increase in rates would be of adults between the ages 18-29 years old. There has been evidence in previous research that has proven that college weight gain is permanent. Obesity causes many health problems including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, breathing problems, high blood pressure, and body pain. It also causes social problems, such as facing discrimination in school and in society. Mental problems could also be an issue because college students who are overweight or obese are more likely to be depressed, have anxiety, and have lower academic achievement. Young adults in college are still establishing habits for the rest of their lives and that is why it is vital to promote a healthier lifestyle while they are in school.
Get original essayEating healthy and increasing physical activity are key components to preventing overweight and obesity. It is also important to examine the underlying factors that contribute to obesity among students. I propose having a health nutrition class as a required undergraduate course, providing more accessible and affordable healthy food on campuses, further the research to understand the factors causing obesity, and giving more support to students who are already obese or are at risk of obesity.
Obesity it not a disease caused by one factor and it is not just about food. There are multiple levels and factors associated with gaining weight. It’s been a known fact that obesity causes many physical health issues including type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and sleep apnea. However, as a college student, “changes in behavior such as drinking alcohol, a less active lifestyle, hormonal alterations due to decreased sleep, social gatherings, easy access to cafeterias and fast-food options, and poor nutritional habits are among the factors that may contribute to weight gain during college years” (Miller & Hartman, 2019). Pope, Hansen, and Harvey (2017) state overweight or obese rose from 23% to 41% - a 78% increase - throughout their four years in college. Understanding the factors that contribute to weight gain can help researchers create better and more appropriate health interventions.
Combining social and environmental factors, college students can gain weight at an alarmingly fast rate in just a few years. Lee (2018) found that only 5% of college students ate the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, and only 30% exercised routinely. College students are often pressed for time and are under a lot of stress, so it might be difficult for them to avoid fast food restaurants and find the time to eat healthy foods.
Once habits are developed and established, it’s very difficult to change. Not only is obesity linked with dozens of chronic illnesses, it also accounts for 21% of all U.S. medical expenses - $190 billion annually. Obesity is a very expensive condition with over 75 million Americans trying to lose weight. As a result, the U.S. market for pills, weight-loss chains, and diet drugs are valued over $60.9 billion. Targeting college students could be the best, most effective way to combat the rising rates of adulthood overweight and obesity.
There are many efficient and easy ways to decrease the rates of obesity in college students. Numerous studies have shown lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating habits are the biggest contributors to overweight and obesity. Focusing on the largest factors would be the most efficient when trying to combat weight gain.
My first proposal is to have a physical fitness and nutrition class as a required course for undergraduate students. Encouraging exercise and healthy eating when young adults enter college is a great way for them to establish health promoting behaviors. Many young adults are unaware of what they eat and if they’re getting the recommended amount of exercise per week. The transition into college could be difficult and I believe taking this course would be beneficial and help in the shift of change. The following would be taught in this course:
Students could learn valuable information that they can implement into their daily lives and will hopefully carry on throughout their academic careers into adulthood.
College is very expensive - from tuition, books and supplies, room and board, transportation, loan fees, and personal/miscellaneous items. For example, at California State University, Northridge, living on campus for a year costs about $23,642. That’s why it might be easier for college students to eat junk food and fast food since it is cheap and affordable. According to Public Health (2019), “Unfortunately in America today, we are surrounded by junk food, which is usually extremely high in added sugars. And even worse, this food is often easier to prepare and more accessible than healthy options, like fruits and vegetables.” I suggest for health nutritionists to explore campuses and list healthy foods that students could eat at various restaurants. Campuses should also limit the access to junk foods and replace junk food in vending machines with healthier snack options.
Implementing simple tips and making them visible to students will help them to make better eating choices. Many young adults do not know what’s healthy on campus because they are underinformed. Incoming freshmen are on their own for the first time and the guidance from health nutritionists on campus can help them create healthy eating habits.
Research has shown that young adults entering college who are already overweight or obese have a higher risk of chronic diseases and mental illnesses. There shouldn’t only be a focus on preventing obesity, but on providing help for those who are already overweight or obese. Seminars should be held every semester for all college students, including those who are overweight and obese, who strive to live a better and healthier life. The seminars would provide college students with more information on ways to be healthy and give them support to lose weight. A research was done that shows students who were obese were at the highest risk of being diagnosed with depression. Encouraging body positivity and physical activity can help them combat obesity. Health nutritionists would be speakers in the seminar and they share their knowledge of the food industry and provide students with easy and affordable ways to eat healthy. Fitness advisors would also be speakers and they can present students with ways to be more active, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator when going to a class that’s on the third floor or choosing to walk to the grocery store around the corner instead of driving a car. The goal of this seminar is to provide confidence for those battling obesity and to let them know they aren’t alone on this journey.
I recommend that college students be provided with as many resources as possible to live as healthy adults and to decrease the obesity epidemic happening in the United States. Requiring taking a physical fitness and nutrition course provides each student the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, attitude, skills needed to adopt and maintain healthy behaviors. Visibly advertising healthy food everywhere on campus can help students make the right food choices. Giving overweight and obese students the proper support will hopefully influence them to change their life for the better.
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Get custom essayIt is very easy to gain weight, but difficult to lose. It is simple to develop and establish habits, but very hard to change. My proposal gives a profound insight on the rising obesity rates in college students. Focusing the attention on college students is the best way to fight obesity. All in all, “prevention of obesity, beginning at an early age and extending across a lifespan could vastly improve individual and public health, reduce suffering, and save billions of dollars each year in health care costs.”
Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger explores the contrasting threads of corruption and morality in Indian society, exposing the depravity and exploitation that pervade the modern state. Juxtaposing the incommensurate worlds of “Light” and “Darkness”, Adiga demonstrates that in a society of only “two castes”, decency and prosperity are unable to coexist. The oppression of the land where the “black river” flows is shown to provide few opportunities for a life of morality, whilst the larger web of societal corruption is depicted as being integral to the achievements of the “men with big bellies”. Adiga ultimately demonstrates that once success has been found, morality becomes a choice, rather than a luxury.
Get original essayDescribing a rural populous in anything but “paradise”, Adiga suggests that the bleak lives of those in India’s Darkness demand a sacrifice of integrity in order to ensure survival. As narrator Balram Halwai describes the “defunct” resources and support systems of his home in Laxmangarh, Adiga illustrates the hopelessness of a people with “nothing left…to feed on”. Just as Balram struggles to extricate himself from the “millipede” of his sleeping cousins, liberation from the Darkness is deemed impossible. Adiga utilises the symbolism of the Ganga, a renowned river of “rich, dark, sticky mud” that stunts the growth of surrounding vegetation just as the lives of those in the Darkness are prevented from flourishing. When Balram offers the harsh reality that his parents “had no time to name [him]”, the reader is presented with a truly grim image of the lives of a people devoid of success or even comfort. Adiga asserts that in an environment of such oppression, survival is the only productive motivation. In describing the actions of his school teacher, who had “stolen [their] lunch money” as a “man in a dung heap” who shouldn’t be expected to “smell sweet”, Adiga’s desire to excuse a lack of principles in an exploited people is made clear. Contrastingly, the steadfast morals of Vikram Halwai, “a man of honour and courage”, may have ensured him a “sweet” reputation, but ultimately meant that he was left to live as a “donkey, without respect, dignity or prosperity. Adiga depicts the “Darkness” as being devoid of the “light” of hope or opportunity, with success rare and morality a luxury that few can afford.
In The White Tiger, the societal corruption that pervades India’s rapid economic growth is seen to be integral to the success that is shared by those in the “Light”. The malfeasance that perpetuates corruption in all facets of “new India” is demonstrated by Adiga to drive the economic growth of the modern state, bringing advantage to all those with big bellies and maintaining the entrenched disadvantage of the lower castes. As the true depravity at the root of India’s “parliamentary democracy” is exposed through the farcical voting system in Laxmangarh, Adiga highlights the lack of morality in the way that officials can manipulate society to manufacture individual success. The dark humour and irony with which Balram jokes that he is “India’s most faithful voter” makes clear to the reader that such corruption is commonplace in a nation where one must be “straight and crooked” to ascend the ranks of status and success. The calamitous effects of such an immoral approach to achievement are depicted in the reprehensible conditions of the rural hospital, where Vikram dies from entirely curable tuberculosis. Adiga’s jarring language in describing how Balram “mopped [his] fathers infected blood off the floor”, a luxury only available after he “bribed the ward boy 10 rupees” conveys the disgraceful nature of a society lacking in integrity. As Balram finds employment with the “Stork”, once a marauding landlord of Laxmangarh, the reader is given further insight into the ways which those of the “Light” obtain their wealth. As the Stork and Ashok bribe politicians in order to protect their dishonest coal business, they are depicted as completely lacking in principles. The destructive power of manipulating India’s political and legal spheres is reinforced by the ease with which the Stork can cast aside decency to shift blame onto Balram for Pinky Madam’s hit and run. Adiga therefore suggests that a life of power and luxury serves only to reduce the influence of an individual’s innate sense of morality, resulting in a class lusting after success, whatever the consequences.
Whilst Adiga expresses the depravity that lies behind India’s booming economy, he demonstrates that for some of those born into privilege, morality can be a choice. When the primal need for survival that dominates the lives of those in the Darkness is absent, some in the Light have the luxury of tempering their judgement with principle and morality. Adiga emphasises this in the character of Ashok, Balram’s master, whom he dubs “The Lamb”. Just as this pseudonym contrasts with the more predatory labels of the “raven” and “wild boar”, Ashok’s morals set him apart from other characters in the “Light”. He shows an interest in the wellbeing of his servants, expressing his sadness at the decrepit nature of Balram’s living conditions. These signs of integrity are mirrored in the behaviour of his wife, Pinky Madam, who resents the corruption and inequality that pervades Indian society. As Balram demonstrates his surprise that “the lady in the short skirt is the one with the conscience”, Adiga conveys to the reader the way that prosperity affords people the luxury of a conscience. The shift in Balram’s attitude towards integrity and its worth is also visible as he ascends from “Darkness” to “Light”, subverting the narrative of servant and master. As he struggles with poverty and life in the shadows of the “men with big bellies”, he readily casts aside his principles at any chance to improve his position, culminating in the violent murder of Ashok. However, Adiga endorses the notion that success provides opportunities for morality as his narrator states that in the Light, “if a man wants to be good, he can be good”, unlike in the abject poverty of Laxmangarh. The reader observes Balram’s naivety in attempting to convince himself that his newfound ability to act on his principles excuses the crookedness of his past, as Adiga juxtaposes the ease with he pays off the police after one of his employees accidentally kills a man with his apparently earnest attempt to help the family of the victim. The White Tiger therefore demonstrates that morality is able to take root in the psyche of some of those in the “Light” only due to the security created by the success they are party to.
The place of morals in a largely corrupt Indian society is explored in Adiga’s social commentary, as he suggests to the reader that without success, morality is not always a productive motivation. Just as Adiga emphasises the disparity in prosperity between the “Light” and “Darkness” of new India, he makes clear the difference inn opportunities to “smell sweet” that exist for those in abject poverty and those with plenty to “feed on”. Ultimately, Adiga illustrates that in an India of two castes, the coexistence of success and morality is a rarity.
Light and music are two elements of drama that can become significant in developing the plot and characters. Certain playwrights may further incorporate stage lighting including directional lighting and setting lighting in order to not only divert attention to the critical area of the stage, but as well to adequately present their ideas. Correspondingly, music as well can be indirectly implemented in plays through the characters’ dialogue and allusions to musical pieces; thus, becoming symbolic. Furthermore, this music can be directly presented in the background of the play. Both playwrights, Tennessee Williams and Athol Fugard employ the elements of lighting and music in their respective plays, The Glass Menagerie and Master Harold and the Boys in order to both intensify the reality of their plays as well as develop the theme of escapism and the accompanying theme of hope and hopelessness.
Get original essayWilliams uses light for stage directions and as a symbol in The Glass Menagerie in order to develop his theme of hope; more specifically, to portray Laura’s ultimate sense of hopelessness. The stage directions call for “gloomy gray” lighting with a “turgid red glow” and a “deep blue husk”. This form of lighting helps construct the images of memory and its unrelenting power as well as its associated mood of nostalgia and deep melancholy. Such a mood is one that alludes to a sense of hopelessness for which Laura experiences. This hopelessness is emphasized through the symbol of light rather than the stage lighting. That is, the following simile is developed where Laura is described to be “like a piece of translucent glass touched by light, given a momentary radiance, not actual, not lasting”. Such a description not only forecasts her inability to maintain confidence but as well suggests that her beauty is innately tied to her delicacy and the disadvantage she has with her condition. Moreover, it displays the impermanence of hope in her life, as it comes as quickly as it goes. Williams further emphasizes Laura’s delicacy through another character—Jim. Upon Jim’s arrival to their home, and Laura’s refuge, there is a "delicate lemony light" that appears and eventually a soft light that brings out Laura’s “unearthly prettiness”. As the light symbolizes hope, it becomes evident that Jim provides Laura with a temporary sense of hope upon his arrival. The “lemony” or yellow color that the light is described through, however, becomes of significance as it becomes cautionary of the damage that Jim will ultimately provoke in Laura. Though Jim enlists hope in Laura by providing her with comments that temporarily raise her self-confidence, he flees abruptly, leaving Laura hopeless once again and thus sparking the argument that the play ends on a rather pessimistic note. Williams underscores this lack of hope through Tim’s physical escape from the house; that is, his attempt to escape their reality suggests that he too has withdrawn all his hope in Laura having a better, happier life.
Williams further conveys the very theme of escapism and demonstrates the characters’ abstinence from confronting reality by incorporating music in his theatrical piece. Not only does the music hold a great degree of symbolic significance, but it as well provides emotion to the scenes. In the fourth scene, for example, Williams incorporates “Ava Maria” in the background in order to allude to the harsh responsibilities that Amanda has as a mother. These responsibilities are what ultimately fuel Amanda’s desperate efforts in obtaining a better life for her daughter. In the process of doing so, Amanda feels inclined to escape her reality and own failures as well as the reality of Laura’s handicap. As Tom attempts to make his mother face the reality of her daughter’s handicap, “the music changes to a tango that has a minor and somewhat ominous tone". The music helps to provide a worrying impression and thus demonstrate Amanda’s fear of reality and the consequences that come with confronting reality. Another character whose attitude towards reality is described through music is Laura. That is, as Jim arrives, Laura becomes terrified and begs her mother to open the door, but she refuses and forces Laura to open it. Before reluctantly opening the door, however, she winds the Victoria to play music. Laura attempts to play this music in order to escape from the intense situation—to escape reality. With Amanda escaping from her past, Laura escaping her troubled existence and Tom escaping the house with its responsibilities including the burden of obtaining a better life for Laura, the characters ultimately push each other farther apart as they retreat into their own imaginations. Hence, music aids in conveying not only the idea of escapism but as well in depicting the alienation the characters feel from not only one another, but from society as a whole.
Fugard as well employs light in his play, Master Harold and the Boys merely as a symbol for hope. When Hally and Sam discuss ballroom dancing, and whether or not dance is considered a form of art, Hally argues and describes that in his imagination, dancing simply involves people “having a so-called good time”. Sam offers another description, claiming that it Hally’s imagination “left out the excitement” and that it is “not just another dance...there’s going to be a lot of people...having a good time...party decorations and fancy lights all around the hall...the ladies in beautiful evening dresses!” The lights evidently become symbolic for positivity and hope as the description of such lights aid Sam in defying Hally’s pessimistic outlook on ballroom dancing. Fugard associates “fancy lights” with the extended metaphor of ballroom dancing in order to present ballroom dancing in a rather positive and hopeful manner. By doing so, Fugard describes the dreamlike quality that the dance and dancers possess. This sort of description demonstrates the dance as a metaphor for social harmony. The symbolic element of light is again presented at the end of the play when the jukebox “comes to life in the gray twilight”. This gray light is incorporated at the end of the play in order to further emphasize the hope for such potential harmony and peace among Blacks and Whites. As gray is midway between black and white, Fugard deliberately incorporates this light as a means of conveying the hope for Blacks and Whites to come together as one. This very idea is further highlighted through Fugard’s employment of the motif of music and the corresponding theme of escapism.
Fugard uses music to not only provide movement to the play, but as well to develop theme of escapism; more specifically, escaping reality as attempted by Sam and Willie. Throughout the play, Sam and Willie practice the “waltz” and “foxtrot” for their ballroom dancing. Similar to light, music as well becomes associated with the extended metaphor of ballroom dancing. Thus, the music helps to allude to a dreamlike, collision-free world by which the dancers are capable of enlisting order in a disordered world, and respectively, an ideal society with no "collisions" between Blacks and Whites. Sam and Willie use music and ballroom dancing to escape their realities; however, Hally interferes with such an escape as he claims “The truth? I seem to be only one around here who is prepared to face it. We've had the pretty dream; it's time now to wake up and have a good long look at the way things really are. Nobody knows the steps, there's no music, the cripples are also out there tripping up everybody and trying to get into the act, and it's all called the All-Comers-How-to-Make-a-[Mess]-of-Life-Championships.” As music becomes a symbol for escaping reality, Hally specifically indicates that there is “no music” in order to suggest that escaping reality is impossible. Fugard does not, however, allow these words to convey his final message. Rather, he officially ends the play with lyrics of a song sung by Sarah Vaughn called “Little Man, You’ve had a Busy Day”. This song becomes significant as it suggests that Hally is the little man who was compelled upon adulthood. The little man in the context of the song is in tears because he lost his toys; this seems so simple and foolish to the adult but heartrending to the child. Rather than neglecting his child or disregarding his sadness, the father comforts the child and suggests for him to go to bed. Correspondingly, Sam, who is presented as the ‘father’ of Hally provides him with unconditional support, and suggests for him to sleep so as to allude to escaping the harsh reality of the apartheid system. Though insulted by Hally’s spitting, he ultimately does not lose hope on Hally waking up and realizing that he can control his life and personal decisions and overlook the system of apartheid.
Both Athol Fugard and Tennessee Williams develop the theme of escapism and theme of hope and hopelessness in their plays Master Harold and the Boys and The Glass Menagerie through their incorporation of light and music in the form of stage directions and motifs. Though there is an evident similarity in the manner by which the two playwrights develop these themes, there is also an apparent difference in the final meaning that the two are attempting to convey. That is, Tennessee Williams uses light to convey a sense of hopelessness while Athol Fugard employs this light to leave the audience with a more hopeful attitude towards the future by the end of his play. Williams’ use of light helps justify the characters’ desire to escape their reality and retreat into their fantasy world. Because there is no hope in enhancing their lives, all the characters cope through a complete escape. Fugard offers an antithetical message; rather than the characters’ hopelessness propelling them to escaping their reality, it is their ability to escape the harsh reality of the apartheid system that provides them with hope.
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Get custom essayThe difference in the two plays is further understood through the macrocosmic vision that the two playwrights allude to. In The Glass Menagerie, Williams portrays a sense of hopelessness and an ultimate desire to escape in his play in order emphasize the way in which individuals viewed the 1940s as an exciting escape from the 1930s. Hence, Amanda, Laura, and Tom become associated with other Americans in the Great Depression who sought relief from their distressing lives by escaping their reality through films, false identities, and fantasies. By making such an association, Williams demonstrates the negative affect of The Great Depression. In Master Harold and the Boys, Athol Fugard ends on a more optimistic note in order to send out an anti-apartheid message—a message that transcends the norms of South Africa at the time. He encourages the fight against the racial segregation as he suggests that society can be a whole and can be harmonious if Blacks and Whites function in unison with each other. Thus, it becomes evident that the manner by which the two playwrights present their themes in their plays correspond with their macrocosmic visions—with and without hope.
In Metaphysics, Aristotle creates a series of dualities which are intrinsically "male" or "female." Included in this original set of oppositions are light and darkness and good and evil - the former of each duo being inherently associated with the male, and the latter associated with the female. In many of his works, including Paradise Lost, John Milton not only draws from these opposing dualities but creates a relationship between them. In his first Prolusion, "Whether Day or Night is the More Excellent," Milton clearly associates light with both God and goodness: "I regard Day as Heaven's first daughter, or rather as his son, whom he is said to have begotten to be the consolation of humanity and the terror of the deities of hell" Day is not only a relation to Heaven, but also terrorizes the "deities of hell," such that day (and therefore light) must be good, as opposed to Night (and therefore darkness), which must not only be bad, but also related to Hell's occupants. In Paradise Lost, Milton expands upon this relationship between light and good and darkness and evil to include the human faculty of sight as it relates to the first humans' relationship to good and evil, which are embodied in God and Satan, respectively. The human ability to see is a thematic centerpiece in Milton's epic narrative and, intertwined with the presence of light (or lack thereof) as such a presence relates to God, this narrative creates a motif which links books throughout the work as a whole. As the epic poem progresses, the abundance of light and vision which the reader meets in the beginning of Book III becomes obscured when Satan enters the Garden of Eden and prevents Eve from being able to "see" his true intent; in the final books, Adam and Eve's sight is restored when Michael physically lifts the barrier from Adam's eyes which has prevented him from fully seeing the implications of Original Sin. The ability or inability of Adam and Eve to see, therefore, is reflective of the general course of action in Paradise Lost as a whole, and through examining the motif of the human faculty of sight, the greater theme of the relationship of light and darkness to goodness and evil emerges as an avenue through which the epic narrator links separate books together within the poem as a whole.
Get original essayThe invocation and following text of Book III serve as an introduction to God and his role in the light-darkness duality which is important in the subsequent foreshadowing of Adam and Eve's fall. Known as the "Book of God," Book III begins with the epic narrator's invocation to the muse of Light, which reaffirms Milton's relationship between light and God: "Hail holy Light, offspring of Heav'n first-born,/ Or of th' Eternal Coeternal beam/ May I express thee unblam'd? since God is Light,/ And never but in unapproached Light/ Dwelt from Eternity, dwelt then in thee," (PL III, 1-5). After the first two books of Paradise Lost set in Hell, this immediate and unwavering proclamation by the epic narrator that Light is "offspring of Heav'n first-born," leaves no doubt that since "God is Light," and God is good, then light is good.
The epic narrator also introduces the faculty of sight in Book III, foreshadowing its relationship to Adam and Eve's fall within the personal experience of the epic narrator. Regardless of whether Milton created the epic narrator as a reflection of himself, the narrator is blind and uses his blindness to create a solid relationship between sight and goodness before Adam and Eve are introduced in the poem. The first time the narrator establishes his inability to see, he tells the Muse "thou/ Revisit'st not these eyes, that roll in vain/ To find thy piercing ray, and find no dawn" (PL III, 22-24). By having his eyes "roll in vain to find thy piercing ray," the narrator expresses his desire to find light but also acknowledges his inability to do so. However, the narrator also recognizes that his physical sight is not necessary to relay the story of Adam and Eve: "So much the rather thou Celestial Light/ Shine Inward, and the mind through all her powers/ irradiate, there plant eyes, all mist from thence/ Purge and disperse, that I may see and tell/ Of things invisible to mortal sight" (PL III, 52-56). By asking for the Muse's "celestial light" to "shine inward," he can be inspired without the physical faculty of sight, and the epic narrator can tell of the plight of Adam and Eve and the consequences of Satan's guile, "things invisible to mortal sight." By creating such a pointed emphasis on the motifs of sight as associated to light and goodness, the epic narrator creates a relationship central to the poem such that when Adam and Eve are introduced later, the theme seamlessly transitions to apply to the characters.
Satan's arrival at the Garden of Eden in Book IX not only brings with him the obscurity which impedes Eve's ability to "see" goodness from evil but also reaffirms the centrality of the light-darkness duality in the poem. Although Satan is previously introduced within Paradise Lost as an evil entity, in the invocation to Book IX the epic narrator draws on his own suffering and blindness to create an invocation for a tragic, not epic, poem. In the process, the narrator reiterates Satan's mission and associates him with darkness: "By Night he fled, and at Midnight return'd/ from compassing the Earth, cautious of day" (PL IX, 58-59). Comfortable with the night, Satan's caution toward day - and therefore light - clearly serves as an early indicator in the book that the epic narrator intends to maintain the relationship between God and Satan to the duality of light and darkness. Satan's own existence is framed by a series of extremes, much like the authoritative dualities: "the more I see/ Pleasures about me, so much more I feel/ Torment within me, as from the hateful siege/ Of contraries; all good to me becomes/ Bane" (PL IX, 119-123). For Satan, then, anything good in his immediate vicinity fuels the rage within him and confirms his own inability to see the implications of his ejection from Heaven. In Satan's perverted mindset, anything good turns sour, so his resolution to bring any remaining creation of God down with him to Hell is a logical one. Milton's genius, however, is apparent in the fashion in which he guides Satan to do so as he relies on a character who thinks in solely visual terms.
Throughout Paradise Lost, Eve is established as a character who thinks in visual terms and relies on sight to understand her surroundings. By obstructing Eve's ability to see his true intent, Satan pulls a metaphoric cloak of darkness over her eyes such that her own shortcomings ensure his victory. By incorporating the motifs of light and darkness with good and evil, Milton transfers these themes - previously reserved for God and Satan only - to Adam and Eve, and incorporates the frail faculty of human sight as a vehicle through which humans can understand why light is good and darkness is bad. Satan understands the importance of human sight and uses the body of a snake to hide himself because "his dark suggestions hide/ from sharpest sight" (PL IX, 90-91) within the snake, which Satan calls a "Fit Vessel, fittest Imp of fraud" (PL IX, 89). Satan knows Eve's loyalty to God, and knows the only way he will be able to trick her is if he shields his true identity. Satan knows he can use his rhetoric to convince Eve to eat the apple, but before he can do so, realizes that he must appeal to her visual senses to get her attention: "Of the bow'd/ His turret Crest, and sleek enamell'd Neck,/ Fawning, and lick'd the ground whereon she trod./ His gentle dumb expression turn'd at length/ The Eye of Eve to mark his play" (PL IX, 524-528). Eve is a victim of sight from her first introduction in Paradise Lost when she is mesmerized by her own reflection in a pond, and Satan's sensuous actions here do not fail him in attracting Eve. When he turns to rhetoric, Milton maintains sight as a theme in Satan's attempt to exploit Eve's narcissism: "Who sees thee? Who should be seen/ A Goddess among Gods, ador'd and serv'd/ By Angels numberless" (PL IX, 546-548). By capitalizing on the similarly-female quality of emotion, Satan deceives Eve into believing that she should be adored by Angels who do not see her - when in reality, it is Eve who cannot see that Satan's rhetoric is empty and unfounded. Nevertheless, "into the Heart of Eve his words made way," (PL IX, 550) and Eve falls into Satan's trap. Milton, therefore, directly relates Original Sin to the authoritative duality of light and darkness by creating a relationship between the ability to see and light as being good - whereas the inability to see and darkness are evil.
The end of Paradise Lost not only maintains the credibility of Milton's plot as juxtaposed with the Biblical version, but also retains the theme of sight as it relates to the light-darkness duality to examine the post-lapsarian existence of Adam and Eve. One of the first things Michael does after leading Adam out of the Garden is to physically remove the film which was obscuring his ability to see clearly: "Michael from Adam's eyes the Film remov'd/ Which that false Fruit that promis'd clearer sight/ Had bred; then purg'd with Euphrasy and Rue/ The visual Nerve, for he had much to see." (PL XI, 412-415). Ironically, however, by doing so Michael simply encourages Adam's existence as a visual creature by physically removing the "film" so Adam could see what was rendering him metaphorically blind. Once able to "see," Michael orders Adam to, "ope thine eyes, and first behold/ Th'effects which thy original crime hath wrought/ In some to spring from thee, who never touch'd/ Th'excepted Tree" (PL XI, 423-426). In the same visual manner which Satan used to convince Eve to eat the apple, Michael attracts Adam's attention by showing him visually what will become of the generations which would follow him. After witnessing the murder of Abel by Cain, Adam cries, "But have I now seen Death? Is this the way/ I must return to native dust? O sight/ Of terror, foul and ugly to behold,/ Horrid to think, how horrible to feel!" (PL XI, 463-465). In the last book of Paradise Lost, however, Adam fails to see - not because of an evil intercession, but due to his own human shortcomings. Consequently, Michael must dictate the remainder of future history to Adam through words, not visual images: "thou hast seen one World begin and end;/ And Man as from a second stock proceed./ Much thou hast yet to see, but I perceive/ Thy mortal sight to fail." (PL XII, 6-9).
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Get custom essayThe authoritative dualities of light and darkness materialize in multiple motifs in Paradise Lost, but clearly the most obvious theme in which the opposing sides matter most is the relationship of human sight to the fall of Adam and Eve. All of Paradise Lost is highly visual and filled with descriptions reminiscent of Renaissance paintings; Milton, not coincidentally, in portraying the most fatal mistake of humankind, shows the readers that such an event was essentially born from visually-dependent characters. In addition, Milton's audience is no less visually-dependent than Eve as she is portrayed in the poem. One could argue, then, that ultimately, we are all just as vulnerable as the first humans were in the Garden of Eden - always threatened by darkness.
The growing concern about the oil prices and the environmental protection against emissions have made the auto makers move towards alternative lightweight materials like Al and Mg as a replacement for regular steel and cast irons. Due to the strict laws imposed on the regulation of Co2 emissions, there is a need for the development of new concepts or methodologies to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle and thereby reducing the pollution. Through the studies conducted in Europe, it is observed that the amount of Co2 per kilometer can be significantly reduced by reducing the weight of the car. Hence reduction of the weight of the vehicle plays an important role in reducing the fuel consumption and the emissions. The weight reduction can be achieved mainly in two ways; first is by altering the materials used in the vehicle; second is by the structural optimization of the Body in White (BIW). When choosing a new light material several aspects like cost, material properties, impact on the product design and the production process etc., have to be taken into consideration. Most importantly the several performance parameters like the dynamics of vehicle, operational strength, crashworthiness etc., should be satisfactory. The evaluation of such parameters can be done with the help of a testing a physical prototype of the final design of the vehicle. If the performance is not as expected then there is a need to improve the structure or change the material used and repeat the process of testing through an updated physical prototype. This continues until we get a model with desired performance and considerable weight reduction. It is clearly a time consuming as well as costly process and hence the numerical methods like Finite Element Methods (FEM) are used to generate virtual prototypes and test in the computer without the need of a physical prototype. Using FEM in combination with the optimization techniques like Multi-Disciplinary Optimization, the structures can be optimized for the weight and functional targets like static and dynamic performances, during the initial stages of design itself (Gaetano). In this way the time to design a new product with optimized material usage can be reduced along with the simultaneous consideration of the multiple disciplines like dynamics of driving, structural statics and crashworthiness etc.
Get original essayAluminum has been widely used for manufacturing different sub-systems of a car like, chassis, Body in White (BIW), powertrain etc.
The powertrain mainly consists of engine blocks, intake manifolds, cylinder heads, transmission housings etc. Aluminum is commonly used in all these components of the powertrain since long time but its use in the engine block to reduce the engine weight is recently started. Since engine will be running at high temperatures it is required that the material possess properties like good thermal conductivity, fatigue strength, vibrational resistance etc., at elevated temperatures. Also for the efficient combustion of the fuel with air, the engine components should have a very good resistance against leaks. Since Al has the ability to meet all the above mentioned requirements, it is being efficiently employed in the manufacturing of the powertrain components.
Formerly, the chassis of the car was manufactured out of steel which leads to higher unsprung mass of the vehicle. The vehicle’s vibrational behavior directly depends on its unsprung mass, lower the unsprung mass better will be ride comfort and the safety due to better tire-road contact. Therefore auto makers have started to use Al for the chassis components for the weight reduction. The typical chassis components like wheels, suspension, braking system, fuel system etc., are produced out of casted Al. In the casting process the rate at which solidification of the microstructure occurs is very important and needs to be effectively controlled in order to produce defect free castings. Moreover the porosity and the formation of oxide films can be eliminated by avoiding the turbulence during the metal pouring. This is achieved with the help of computer assisted heat and fluid flows and proper designing of the location and geometries of the foundry components like sprue pin, risers and ingates. In this way the Al castings with very good fatigue and impact resistances can be obtained. In chassis Al 5000 series alloys are primarily used due to their good forming capability, weldability, and good after forming strength, and the supreme corrosion resistance even without the need of any coatings. However when the components are located close to heat sources like engine or exhaust systems, to resist the thermal loads the Mg content in the alloy should be less than 3%, which otherwise would lead to intergranular corrosion (IGC). The figure below shows the components in chassis made out of Al 5000 series. Apart from these, wheels are also manufactured from casted Al, especially in luxury cars both to reduce the weight and to have a superior appearance of the customized design. In case of the heavy machinery like trucks and construction equipment, where the magnitude of loads are high, the wheels are produced from forged Al to meet the requirements of higher mechanical strength. On the whole the application of Al in chassis components not only reduces the fuel consumption but also most importantly enhances the driving comfort and safety of the vehicle.
An efficient design of a front end helps in improving the driving dynamics as well as the ability of the vehicle to take up the crash loads. BMW has been able to successfully employ Al in manufacturing the structure of front end and achieving a weight reduction of 30% when compared to steel structure. From the figure below it can be observed that the front end modules are manufactured from different techniques like extrusion, casting, and sheet stamping, with each having their own contribution to meet the requirements of strength, stiffness and resistance to corrosion. The formability of the structure can further be improved by increasing the Mg content in the Al alloy.
BIW which was formerly manufactured out of steel is the heaviest part of the vehicle and contributes to about one third of the whole weight of the car. Hence the auto makers found a great weight reduction potential of the whole car through building of BIW with Al alloys. BIW mainly comprises the sole structure and the hanging parts like Door, Hood, Fender etc. attached to the structure through bolts. Both the 5000 and 6000 series Al alloys in the form of thin sheets are used for the manufacturing of the BIW, and the selection of the material is done based on whether the component is subjected to thermal loads or not and also whether it is a part of the inner or outer structure. Heat treatable Al 6000 alloys with low Mg content are used for the BIW outer panels and the hanging parts in order to make use of the heat during the paint baking process for strengthening of the material. In addition, a very good surface finish and corrosion resistance can be imparted which is very essential for the outer panels as they are directly exposed to outside world. Whereas for the BIW structure and inner panels, strength and formability are main parameters and since they are not exposed to heat or thermal loads, using Al alloys with high Mg content is preferable. Therefore Al 5000 series alloys with Mg content greater than 5% by mass have been developed and successfully employed in BIW structures.
BIW of a car can be designed and fabricated mainly in two ways: first is a structure which is primarily made from stamping process of different panels of the body, which are welded together by means of spot welding. The other method is a BIW structure where different components are made from different manufacturing processes like metal casting, extrusion and of course conventional stamping. For employing the standalone stamping process, the Al sheets used should be feasible enough to be able to form into required complex shapes at reasonable cost. The section below presents the different models in the Industry employing different methodologies to manufacture a BIW.
Audi which is one of the leading automotive manufacturer in the world, has employed the Space Frame Concept for building the BIW of A8, which weighs about 277 kg. It has the parts mainly manufactured using extrusion process and also few components are produced from the casting and sheet metal stamping processes. Different parts are joined together by using techniques like Riveting, Metal Inert Gas welding, Laser welding, and adhesives. Through the application of Al alloys, Audi was able to successfully reduce the weight of BIW by 40% and found the Space Frame Concept really efficient. Eventually they are producing very high volumes of cars every year using the same concept and with even lighter BIWs.
However, the Jaguar in their XJ Model 2002, are still employing the conventional ‘‘Stamped Sheet Monocoque’’ for building the BIW. It can be observed that in contrary to the Space Frame Concept used by Audi, the number of parts produced from Sheet metal stamping are very high than that of the parts manufactured from casting and extrusion. Also the primary procedures employed for joining are adhesives and rivets which leads to higher weight of the BIW as compared to BIW of Space Frame Concept.
Aluminum extrusion is a widely employed manufacturing process in the automotive domain, especially to produce parts with complex designs. The weight reduction of the components can be achieved simultaneously meeting the required functionalities and hence extrusion process is often employed in series production. Currently the Al extrusions are used in Space Frame Concept model of BIW and also in complex components like bumpers (fig), crash absorbing elements, air bags etc. Due to high strength requirements for extrusions, heat treatable Al 6000 and Al 7000 series alloys are employed. The strength and formability of the Al 6000 series alloys can be improved through hardening over the period of time. Research is still going on to develop new alloys which have enhanced extrudability, mechanical strength, and tolerance levels to be able to operate in toughest conditions without failure.
A major section of the automobile parts are manufactured using casting process, which include engine components like block, cylinder head, and other sub systems like suspension, chassis, brakes etc. Due to best casting ability, strength, and endurance, cast iron was widely used, however in order to reduce the weight Al castings are recently employed. Extensive research lead to the development of high performance Al alloys possess significantly improved mechanical properties to meet the real world requirements. Also the development of computer aided casting process and advanced casting methods enables the application of Al casting to produce complex parts in an automobile. Newly developed AlSiMgMn alloys are used to manufacture complex structures like a pillar with many rib sections, which connects the B-pillar instrument panel and front- end structure. For high-pressure die-castings (HPDC), it is required that the development of alloy and material models happen in parallel, in order to observe how the casted part behaves under the load. Also we can compare the force at which fracture occurs and the crack propagation rate for the simulation as well as for the real experiment.
Magnesium has all the potentialities to reduce the weight of the car as it is one third times lighter than Al and three quarters times lighter than steel or cast iron. In addition the components made out of Mg can be easily blended to required shapes and sizes with high surface finish due to very good manufacturability and machinability. Moreover Mg alloys when in pure form have high corrosion resistance and when casted without pores leads to high impact strength. On the other hand, it has lower ultimate tensile strength, lower fatigue and creep strengths, which can be compensated using a distinctive or application specific design with additional features like ribs, beads, and supports. Also Mg exhibits poor performance at high temperatures and hence cannot be employed to withstand thermal loads. Solidification time is a very key aspect of casting process and Mg has a low solidification time compared to steel or Al and hence the productivity is higher.
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Get custom essayEven though the cost of Mg as a raw material is almost twice than that of the Al, but due to its low density, the actual cost of the component is nearly same as that of the component having the equal volume made out of Al. When good manufacturability of Mg is taken in to consideration, the final cost of the part produced from Mg may be even less than that manufactured out of conventional steel or Al. However due to its poor mechanical properties and poor performance at high temperatures its application in the automotive domain is limited. The figure below depicts the current and future application of Mg as a raw material for automotive components.
Lignocellulosic Biomass - the broadly utilized lignocellulosic materials as feedstock to deliver ethanol seem to be:
Get original essayAmong the feedstock, SCB has a few favorable circumstances contrasted with different materials. SCB is delivered as a piece of the sugar creation process, so it doesn't require a different reap. It is likewise physically ground as a feature of the juice extraction process (Fox et al 1987). Moreover, SCB is shoddy, promptly accessible, and has high fermentable sugar esteem (Martin et al 2002).
Ebb and flow pretreatment examine is centered around recognizing, assessing, creating and exhibiting promising methodologies that essentially bolster the resulting enzymatic hydrolysis of the treated biomass with bring down protein doses and shorter bioconversion times (Alvira et al 2010). A substantial number of pretreatment approaches have been researched on a wide assortment of feedstock writes and there are a few late survey articles, which give a general review of the field (Hendriks and Zeeman 2009, Taherzadeh and Karimi, 2008, Yang and Wyman 2008). The reason for the pretreatment is to evacuate lignin and hemicellulose, lessen cellulose crystallinity, and increment the porosity of the materials. Pretreatment must meet the accompanying prerequisites: (1) enhance the arrangement of sugars or the capacity to in this way shape sugars by enzymatic hydrolysis; (2) stay away from the debasement or loss of starch; (3) dodge the development of side-effects inhibitory to the consequent hydrolysis and aging procedures; and (4) be practical. Physical, physico-compound, concoction, and natural procedures have been utilized for pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials (Sun et al 2002). Pretreatment comes about must be adjusted against their effect on the cost of the downstream preparing advances and the exchange off between working costs, capital expenses, and biomass costs (Wyman 1995, Palmqvist and Hahn-Hagerdal 2000)
The pretreatment expels lignin and modifies the arrangement of lignocellulosic materials, which builds the absorbability of polysaccharides (Soderstrom et al 2003). The accessible pretreatment techniques depend on organic/physical/synthetic/physico-concoction standards.
Concentrated strong acids, for instance, H2SO4 and HCl have been extensively used for treating lignocellulosic materials since they are extraordinary authorities for cellulose hydrolysis (Sun and Cheng, 2002), and no impetuses are required resulting to the destructive hydrolysis. Ideal conditions of concentrated destructive hydrolysis are the flexibility to the extent feedstock choice, high monomeric sugar yield and moreover smooth temperature conditions that are required. Drawbacks of using concentrated acids are ruinous nature of the reaction and the need to reuse acids in order to cut down cost. To date, a couple of associations are commercializing strong destructive hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass for microbial maturing purposes (BlueFire Ethanol, 2010; Biosulfurol, 2010).
The pretreatment of lignocellulose with acids at surrounding temperature improves the edibility of the lignocellulosic materials. Schell et al (2003) pretreated corn stover at 20% (w/w) strong fixation over a scope of conditions, incorporating a habitation time of 3– 12 min, temperature of 165– 195ºC, and H2SO4 grouping of 0.5– 1.4% (w/w). The pretreated solids were tried, utilizing the concurrent saccharification and maturation (SSF) process, to quantify the reactivity of their cellulose segment to enzymatic absorption by cellulase. The cellulose transformation got in SSF was 80– 87% for a large portion of the absorbable pretreated solids. Xu et al (2009) used acidic corrosive for the pretreatment of crude corn stover. The most astounding glucan recuperation announced was 97.42%, when 15 g acidic corrosive/kg of biomass was utilized. The most noteworthy xylan recuperation of 81.82% was watched, when 10 g acidic corrosive/kg crude corn stover was utilized amid the pretreatment. Saha et al (2005) pretreated wheat straw utilizing 0.75% v/v of H2SO4 at 121°C for 1 h, and the detailed saccharification yield was 74%. Cara et al (2007) detailed 76.5% of hydrolysis yield from olive tree biomass, when it was pretreated with 1.4% H2SO4 at 210°C. Weaken corrosive pretreatment is performed by absorbing the material weaken corrosive arrangement and afterward warming to temperatures in the vicinity of 140°C and 200°C from a few minutes up to a hour in view of the biomass. Sulphuric corrosive beneath 4 wt% focuses has been of most intrigue since it is reasonable and successful. In corrosive pretreatment, some portion of hemicellulose is hydrolysed to monomer sugars.
Solubilized hemicelluloses (oligomers) are subjected to hydrolytic responses creating monomers, furfural, HMF and other (unstable) items in acidic situations. The solubilized lignins will condensate and accelerate in acidic condition, this abatements the enzymatic edibility (Liu and Wyman 2003). The upside of corrosive pretreatment is the solubilization of hemicellulose and making the cellulose all the more effortlessly available for the compounds and the hindrance is the development of unpredictable corruption items. Solid corrosive pretreatment for the ethanol creation isn't alluring, in light of the fact that there is a hazard on the development of inhibitors. Weaken corrosive pretreatment is considered as one of the promising pretreatment techniques; since auxiliary responses amid the pretreatment can be denied in weaken corrosive pretreatment. Weaken corrosive pretreatment alongside steam blast are the most broadly considered strategies. The National Sustainable power source Research center (NREL) of US Division of Vitality, which as of now is creating ethanol generation advancements from biomass, has favored the weaken corrosive pretreatment for the plan of its procedure options (Aden et al 2002, Wooley et al 1999).
Yang and Wyman (2004) contemplated impact of xylan and lignin expulsion by corrosive course through pretreatment in corn stover and inferred that lone little lignin is broken up by corrosive pretreatment however in the meantime it expands the weakness to compounds. Baggase, corn stover, rice straw and bodies, wheat straw are a portion of the biomass gave high return on hydrolysis by weaken corrosive pretreatment (Lynd et al 2002, Martinez et al 2000, Rodrõ'guez-Chong et al 2004, Saha et al 2005a,b, Schell et al 2003. Xiao and Clarkson (1997) demonstrated that the expansion of nitric corrosive amid corrosive pretreatment tremendously affects the solubilization of lignin of daily paper. Hamelinck et al (2005) detailed the productivity of weaken corrosive hydrolysis has around 35% from biomass to ethanol and enhancements in pretreatment proficiency by process blends can bring the ethanol effectiveness to 48%. Albeit weaken corrosive pretreatment can altogether enhance the cellulose hydrolysis, its cost is higher than steam blast or AFEX and balance of pH is essential for the downstream enzymatic hydrolysis or maturation process (Sun et al 2002). Xu et al (2009) examined four diverse pretreatments with and without expansion of low fixation natural acids on corn stover at 195°Cfor 15 min and announced that the pretreatment with acidic and lactic corrosive yielded the most elevated glucan recuperation of 95.66%. Synchronous saccharification and aging (SSF) of water-insoluble solids (WIS) demonstrated that a high ethanol yield of 88.7% of the hypothetical in view of glucose in the crude material in acidic corrosive pretreatment.
Salt pretreatment enhances cellulose hydrolysis, and successfully evacuates lignin. This procedure shows lesser hemicellulose and cellulose misfortune than corrosive or aqueous procedures (Carvalheiro et al 2008). Soluble base pretreatment is performed at temperatures running from 30 to 121°C, and the treatment time ranges from seconds to days. This strategy was accounted for to cause less sugar debasement than corrosive pretreatment, and was more powerful on delicate wood buildups than hard wood materials (Kumar et al 2009). By and by, the conceivable loss of fermentable sugars must be considered to upgrade the working parameters. Sodium, potassium, calcium and ammonium hydroxides are reasonable for basic pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass. The expansion of NaOH causes swelling which expands the inside surface of cellulose and abatements the level of polymerization, which incites lignin structure disturbance (Taherzadeh and Karimi 2008). The absorbability of hardwood by NaOH ranges from 14 to 55%, and the decrease in the lignin content changes from 20 to 55% (Kumar et al 2009). Millet et al (1976) revealed that weaken NaOH pretreatment diminished the lignin content from 55 to 20%, and expanded the absorbability of hardwood from 14 to 55%. In any case, no impact of weaken NaOH pretreatment on softwoods with lignin content more prominent than 26% was watched. Silverstein et al (2007) revealed 65.63% lignin diminishment and 60.8% cellulose transformation for cotton stalks, treated with 2% NaOH for 90 min at 121°C and15 psi. Peng et al (2009) assessed the consecutive medicines of dewaxed SCB with 1 and 3% NaOH watery arrangements. The outcomes indicated 25.1% hemicellulose yield, which represents 74.9% of the first hemicellulose. Soluble pretreatment of hacked rice straw with 2% NaOH and 20% strong stacking at 85°C for 1 h diminished the lignin content by 36% (Zhang and Cai 2008). The isolated and completely uncovered microfibrils demonstrated an expansion in the outer surface region and porosity, and this encourages the enzymatic hydrolysis. The fundamental impact of NaOH pretreatment on lignocellulosic biomass is the breakage of the ester securities that cross connection lignin and xylan (Tarkov and Feist 1969).
Akhtar et al (2001) pretreated wheat straw, rice straw and SCB with 2% NaOH, with the goal of enhancing enzymatic hydrolysis. Because of pretreatment, 33%, 25.5% and 35.5% hydrolysis was accomplished, individually. Antacid pretreatment depends on the impacts of the expansion of weaken bases on the biomass. The impact of antacid pretreatment relies upon the lignin substance of the materials. Soluble base pretreatments increment cellulose absorbability and they are more compelling for lignin solubilization, displaying minor cellulose and hemicelluloses solubilization than corrosive or aqueous procedures (Carvalheiro et al 2008). The instrument of antacid pretreatment is accepted to be saponification of intermolecular ester bonds cross-connecting xylan hemicelluloses. The porosity of the lignocellulosic materials increments with the expulsion of crosslinks. Weaken NaOH treatment of lignocellulosic materials caused swelling, prompting an expansion in interior surface region, a decline in crystallinity, partition of basic linkages amongst lignin and starches and distruption of the lignin structure (Sun et al 2002). Sodium, potassium, calcium and ammonium hydroxides are reasonable basic specialists for pretreatment, among which sodium hydroxide has been examined the most (Kumar et al 2009). Contrasted and corrosive pretreatment, antacid pretreatment gives off an impression of being the best technique in breaking the ester bonds between lignin, hemicelluloses and cellulose, and keeping away from discontinuity of the hemicelluloses polymers (Gasper et al 2007). Antacid pretreatment of cleaved rice straw with 2% NaOH with 20% strong stacking at 85°C for 1 hr diminished the lignin by 36% (Zhang and Cai 2008). NaOH has been accounted for to build hardwood absorbability from 14% to 55% by decreasing lignin content from 24– 55% to 20% (Kumar et al 2009a).
As indicated by Bjerre et al (1996), NaOH pretreatment was exceptionally successful for the straws with moderately low lignin substance of 10 – 18%. Antacid extraction can likewise cause solubilization, redistribution and buildup of lignin and adjustments in the crystalline condition of the cellulose. These impacts can lower or balance the constructive outcomes of lignin evacuation and cellulose swelling (Gregg and Saddler 1996). The monomeric types of hemicelluloses are likely effortlessly degradable to other (unstable) mixes and for instance furfural, which prompts misfortunes of absorbable substrate for the ethanol procedure (Bobleter 1994). Ca(OH)2, otherwise called lime, has been broadly considered. Lime pretreatment evacuates shapeless substances, for example, lignin, which builds the crystallinity list. Lignin expulsion builds protein viability by decreasing non-profitable adsorption destinations for compounds and by expanding cellulose availability (Kim and Holtzapple 2006). Lime likewise expels acetyl bunches from hemicelluloses decreasing steric deterrent of compounds and upgrading cellulose absorbability (Mosier et al 2005). Pretreatment with lime expands pH and gives a minimal effort other option to lignin evacuation (Chang et al 1998). Commonplace lime loadings are 0.1 g Ca(OH)2/g biomass. At least around 5 g H2O/g biomass is required. Lime pretreatment can be performed at an assortment of temperatures, running from 25 to 130 °C, and the relating treatment time ranges from weeks (25 °C) to hours (130 °C). Favorable position of utilizing temperatures underneath 100 °C is that a weight vessel isn't required, taking into account the likelihood of basically pretreating a heap of biomass without the requirement for a vessel. Notwithstanding the temperature, lime treatment expel around 33% of lignin and 100% of acetyl gatherings. For low-lignin herbaceous materials (e.g., switchgrass), this level of pretreatment is adequate to render the biomass absorbable (Chang et al 1997, Gandi et al 1997, Kaar and Holtzapple 2000).
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Get custom essayFor high-lignin woody materials (e.g. Poplar wood), extra lignin evacuation is required and can be proficient by adding either oxygen or air to the lime pretreatment framework. The consolidated activity of soluble base and oxygen solubilizes huge segments of the lignin (~80%), which renders even stubborn biomass absorbable. Oxygen can be included at high weights (~15 atm) and high temperatures (~160 °C), bringing about a generally fast response (~6 h) (Chang et al., 2001). On the other hand, 1-atm air can be permeated through a 55°C heap for response times of around 1 month. The activity of lime is slower than smelling salts and other more costly bases, however its minimal effort and safe taking care of makes it appealing. Lime has been demonstrated effectively at temperatures from 85– 150°C and for 3– 13 h with corn stover (Kim and Holtzapple 2006). Oxidative lime pretreatment of poplar (Chang et al 2001) at 150°C for 6 h expelled 77.5% of the lignin from the wood chips and enhanced the yield of glucose from enzymatic hydrolysis from 7% (untreated) to 77% (treated) contrasted with the untreated and pretreated poplar wood. Pretreatment with lime has bring down cost and less wellbeing necessities contrasted with NaOH or KOH pretreatments and can be effortlessly recouped from hydrolysate by response with CO2 (Mosier et al 2005). An imperative part of salt pretreatment is that the biomass on itself devours a portion of the antacid. The remaining salt fixation after the soluble base utilization by the biomass is the antacid focus left finished for the response. Pavlostathis and Gossett (1985) found amid their analyses an antacid utilization of roughly 3 g NaOH/100 g TS. Lime works astoundingly superior to sodium hydroxide.
Nature, whether in the form of the arctic tundra of the North Pole or the busy street-life of Manhattan, was viewed by Naturalist writers as a phenomena which necessarily challenged individual survival; a phenomena, moreover, which operated on Darwin's maxim of the "survival of the fittest." This contrasted sharply with the Romantic view, which worshipped Nature for its beauty, beneficence and self-liberating powers. In Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, Lily Bart attempts to "survive" within the urbane "drawing-room" society she inhabits. Although Selden uses Romantic nature imagery to describe Lily, throughout the novel such Romantic imagery and its accompanying meanings are continually subverted. By simply invoking different understandings and views of "Nature," Wharton demonstrates that not only is Lily's ability to "adapt" to various environments isn't necessarily salutary, but also that flower imagery, used in an ironic fashion, captures perfectly Lily's need for "climates of luxury." It is Wharton's image of a "hot-house," however, which ultimately captures the ambiguous nature of what, to Wharton, truly is Nature.
Get original essayLily, although a city-dweller, is described by Selden as one who is intimately connected with a benevolent, life-giving Nature. He exclaims, "The attitude revealed the long slope of her slender sides, which gave a kind of wild-wood grace to her outline- as though she were a captured dryad subdued to the conventions of the drawing-room" (13). Selden's notion of Lily's "sylvan freedom" and her interconnectedness to all things "natural" is echoed later in the novel, when Lily is either described as, or compared to, a "rose," (167) an "orchid" (150), a "water plant" (53) and a "fine flower" (216). Even her name, "Lily," like the kind of flower, relates to nature and things natural. Thus a cursory reading of such material would suggest that Lily, despite her urban status, manages to retain a spiritual connection with Mother Nature, a connection, unfortunately, which is restrained and "subdued" by the "conventions of the drawing-room." It could be argued, therefore, that Wharton views the industrial city as preventing Lily from understanding and experiencing her "true self"- namely that "self" present in a state of nature
We shall quickly see, however, that Wharton doesn't always share Selden's Romantic view of Nature. Throughout The House of Mirth we witness Lily's ability to "adapt herself" (53) to whatever environment she enters. Wharton writes, "Selden noted the fine shades of manner by which she harmonized herself with her surroundings" (192) and describes, "Her faculty for renewing herself in new scenes, and casting off problems of conduct as easily as the surroundings in which they had arisen" (196). Such ability is seen most clearly when Lily is forced, unwillingly, to enter the "Gormer milieu" (234). Although she doesn't enjoy this "milieu" it is through "her immense social facility, her long habit of adapting herself to others without suffering her own outline to be blurred, the skilled manipulation of all the polished implements of her craft" that she wins "an important place in the Gormer group" (237). This "adaptability," which ostensibly parallels Darwin's notion that biological species, in order to survive, must adapt to changing environments, does not, in reality, contribute to Lily's survival. Nor does it allow her to retain any sort of "spiritual connection" with Nature. Rather its effect is quite the opposite. Wharton writes, "(Lily's) faculty for adapting herself?served her now and then in small contingencies," but ultimately "hampered her in the decisive moments of life. She was like a water-plant in the flux of the tides" (53). Wharton's simile here, "She was like a water-plant in the flux of the tides," changes the way in which the reader must understand and view Nature. Whereas Selden, when describing Lily, used Nature to represent a kind of benevolent, self-freeing phenomena, Wharton uses Nature in this instance to represent a heartless, unthinking Darwinian process where only the strong survive. Although Lily is still described in terms of "natural" imagery (a "water-plant"), her connection to Nature is no longer liberating or life-renewing, but rather serves to, as Wharton tells us, "hamper her in the decisive moments of life" (53). Thus in this instance Nature's character is altered, which in turn changes how we can interpret the "naturalistic" imagery used to describe Lily. Her adaptability as a "water-plant," rather than being spiritually rewarding, instead proves ultimately unhealthy.
Although Lily has, as we have seen, adaptive powers, Wharton makes it clear that such powers, in addition to not always being healthy or beneficial, are actually quite limited in scope. Although Lily can survive for a while outside of her high-society "drawing-rooms," she is inexorably drawn back to them, like a swimmer coming up for water. Wharton tells us, "(Lily's) whole being dilated in an atmosphere of luxury, it was the background she required, the only climate she could breathe in" (26). We see again how the meaning of "Nature" has been completely transformed. Unlike Selden's view of "Nature," which held that actual, physical surroundings held the key to Lily's well-being and self-liberation, in this case "Nature" has nothing to do with pastoral, idyllic settings, but instead refers to "drawing-rooms." But similar to Selden's view of Nature, we see that, Nature, (in this case, life in the drawing-rooms) is absolutely necessary for Lily's continued existence. It is that which gives her life and allows her to breathe. As Selden tells Lily, "Your lungs are thinking about air, if you are not. And so it is with your rich people-they may not be thinking of money, but they're breathing it in all the while" 69). Not only, however, does Wharton (again) completely transform the meaning of Nature, she also ironically draws upon Romantic nature imagery to complete this transformation. Wharton avers, "(Lily) could not figure herself anywhere but in a drawing-room, diffusing elegance as a flower sheds perfume" (100). The phrase "as a flower sheds perfume" captures accurately the irony which Wharton sees in using Romantic nature imagery (i.e. flowers) within the context of her own version of Nature, that of the drawing rooms. To say that a "flower sheds perfume" connotes the image of a flower giving off an odor, an odor which is then bottled and made into a "perfume," a perfume which is then used by high-society ladies to smell nice. Thus Wharton, in choosing to describe Lily as a "flower" reinforces the notion that Lily's "Nature," her "natural habitat" was that of the drawing-room. But as she is a "flower" that sheds "perfume" Wharton captures the double-meaning extant in such a symbol, showing that not only was Lily's "natural habitat" the drawing-room, but also pointing out the irony of Lily's "Nature." Wharton demonstrates that Lily's supposed "Nature" is a world in which flowers don't shed "scents" or natural "odors" but rather smell like bottled, artificial "perfume," ironic, of course, because "perfume" is not commonly thought of as "natural."
Wharton's final, and most effective, re-imaging of Nature comes when Lily contrasts "the dreary limbo of dinginess" with "that little illuminated circle in which life reached its finest efflorescence, as the mud and sleet of a winter night enclose a hot-house filled with tropical flowers. All this was the natural order of things, and the orchid basking in its artificially created atmosphere could round the delicate curves of its petals undisturbed by the ice on the panes" (150). This passage is the absolute symbolic crux of Wharton's Nature imagery, capturing fully the way in which Wharton views the relationship between Lily and Nature. In this instance Nature is not singly portrayed as a benevolent, life-giving force, nor a heartless, amoral reality, or as being embodied in high-society's "drawing-rooms." Rather Nature is an "artificially created atmosphere," an insulated natural world with a "natural state of things" protected from the harsh Nature of external reality; a world, if you will, within a world, a nature within a greater nature. This symbology corresponds nicely to Wharton's dual fashioning of Nature. Her two views of Nature, that it is an unthinking, unfeeling harsh physical reality, or, conversely, that it exists in the drawing-rooms of New York city as well as in the physical, rural environment, is embodied perfectly in Wharton's image of a "hot-house." The Nature, and natural forces, that exist within the hot-house can be viewed as being akin to the Wharton's Nature, and natural forces, that exist in a drawing-room. Conversely, the external Nature which rages on outside of the hot-house, can be viewed as being akin to Wharton's (other) Nature, and natural forces, of an unthinking, unfeeling harsh physical reality. If we accept, as we should, that the orchid represents, symbolically, Lily, we can understand fully Lily's relation to Nature, viewed in either sense. To represent Lily as an "orchid basking in its artificially created atmosphere" hearkens back to Selden's Romantic view of Lily as a physically natural being which needed to be in "Nature" to truly understand and free her "self." Selden's view, however, employed the idea of Nature as being external, un-artificial and benevolent. Wharton's hot-house although benevolent, is artificial and does not exist in rural nature, although it does function within rural nature. In any event, Wharton states that the orchard's (Lily's) development was the "natural order of things." Such a statement, in turn, reveals the dual ways of thinking about what is actually "natural." Is an orchid growing within a hot-house, within a larger "nature," truly "natural"? That, of course, depends on how you choose to view Nature, a view left ambiguous by the decidedly ambiguous nature of a hot-house.
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Get custom essayWharton's The House of Mirth is a novel in the Naturalist tradition, but a novel which manages to express the endless complexities of Nature at work both in rural countrysides as well as urban jungles.