Great Expectaion & She Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Great Expectaion & She - Essay Example In realism, characterization and development of the character is more important than the plot or the setting. The characters move within their own personality, social class and past. The events happening around him are believable and one might think that the story must have a hint of truth in history. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and She by Rider Haggard are just two of the many novels that used realism to show reality and its possible connection to history and life. Both novels used realist devices to emphasize the possibility of the story to happen in real life. The realist devices used in the novels gives the reader the feeling of actuality. The discussions or depictions of social class and societal problems and change give more truthfulness in the literature as the reader can somehow relate to the setting, the events and the characters described in the novel. Since literary realism depicts life and plausible events that may happen in the past and in the present, one device used to emphasize its connection to the real world is using first person narration. Both Dickens and Haggard used this in their novels in which they describe what is happening through the eyes of the narrator. It is an effective tool as such characterization of the narrator emphasizes that he, as the narrator, saw everything that happened through his own eyes. The reader becomes closer to the main character through the use of first-person narration. It makes the reader almost see the narrator’s eyes looking outward and describing the events in the story. In Great Expectations, the use of ‘I’ makes the reader see more closely and identify with Pip, the main character of the story. Dickens plunges the reader into the depths of thoughts of the narrator by allowing the reader to see through the eyes of the main character. The shift of the narrator’s perspective from telling his story through child eyes and through mature eyes, the shift from a

A utilitarian approach to poverty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A utilitarian approach to poverty - Essay Example Singer further argues that people in rich countries spend their income on things which are effectively useless for them. Singer therefore argues that if people can actually curtail their expenses on unnecessary things and donate them, they can actually contribute towards the improvement in the lives of many. Singer’s thesis is critically more important because it outlines the need to have a broader and compassionate view of the poor of the world and how their lives can be improved with just little bit of effort. Singer therefore suggests that rich should help poor because their help will actually result into greater good for the greatest number of people. He also provides the analogy of Bob Bugati and suggests how people from developed world actually ignore how a small time effort can save lives. Singer than suggests that there may be certain objections as to whether the funds donated or the help provided by the Westerners actually end up being utilized properly. There is a cl ear argument of whether the aid or the donations offered at the personal level can actually be utilized for the purpose for which they are given. This argument however, been discussed from the point of view how a little bit of research can actually help anyone to find out credible organizations which utilize the overall donations in fair manner. Underlying the arguments of Singer is probably the implicit assumption that money can actually buy happiness. Singer argues that financial donations and help from the rich can actually fulfill the basic and smaller needs of the poor. This ultimately translates into better and improved quality of the life for poor and may pave way for them to engage themselves into something meaningful. The argument of Bob Bugati however, also presents an alternative view of how money can actually restrict rich to help poor as people like Bob may value money and their financial belongings more than the lives of poor living thousands miles away. Singer therefo re, appears to be offering both the views that money can actually buy happiness while at the other hand, expensive financial possessions of the individuals can actually deter them to look for helping poor. The overall arguments of Singer are relatively straight forward however, there may be certain point of contention based upon which the overall disagreement can be made. First, the implicit assumption that money can actually buy happiness for the people may not be entirely correct argument. Though, money may be the most essential thing for the survival of the people in poor countries however, there is a need to actually view happiness from multi-dimensional purpose. By associating utility with the consumption of wealth can actually be a flawed argument considering the fact that poor countries have relatively higher level of happiness index value as compared to the countries where wealth is relatively high. Considering this from the perspective of Marxian analysis, one needs to argu e as to how to determine what is actually good for the people. To investigate as to what is essentially good for the people may be relatively difficult task because even providing foreign aid may not result into the creation of greater good for the poor because of corruption and other structural issues. Marxian criticism also suggests that

Kateri Tekakwitha Essay Example for Free

Kateri Tekakwitha Essay Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, patroness saint of ecology, nature, and the environment. Kateri was born in 1656, in Ossernonan. At birth Kateri Tekakwitha was given the name Catherine, or Kateri in Iroquois languages. Kateri Tekakwitha became an orphan at age 4 when her village got attacked by smallpox and her family died, including her parents and her baby brother. After being weakened, scarred and partially blind, she survived. Her 2 aunts and uncle, the Kanienkehaka chief then adopted her. Because Kateri was not baptized as an infant and at age eighteen Father de Lambertville, a Jesuit missionary, baptized her. Her family did not accept her choice to embrace Jesus Christ. Her family refused to feed her on Sundays when she did not work and do chores. Since her life’s rougher times she devoted her life to God. Kateri fled her life in the village and ran 200 mi through woods, swamps, and rivers to the Catholic mission of St. Francis Xavier at Sault Saint-Louis, near Montreal. At the mission she taught the young and help those in the village that were poor, sick, or injured. Her motto became, â€Å"Who can tell me what is most pleasing to God that I may do it? She then made her own chapel in the woods by craving a cross into a tree and spent time to say a prayer there, kneeling the snow. When poor health, which plagued her throughout her life, led to her death in 1680 at the age of 24. Her last words were, â€Å"Jesus, I love you†. On December 19, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree necessary for canonization of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. She will be canonized on October 21, 2012. I learn in this essay that most people are luckier then they think and should not be selfish about it. The very worst times in your life could be even worse in someone else’s life. The rougher times in life are there to make you stronger, not to punish you.

Religion In Life Of Pi Theology Religion Essay

Religion In Life Of Pi Theology Religion Essay If you stumble about believability, what are you living for. Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe. Life of Pi is a tale about survival, belief in God and coming of age that unfolds while the protagonist is floating in a lifeboat on the Pacific Ocean. Belief in God is clearly a major theme in this novel, and has been the most controversial in reviews of the book. Throughout the novel, Pi makes his belief in and love of God clear. This exhilarating story begins with an old man in Pondicherry who tells the narrator, I have a story that will make you believe in God. The protagonist explores the different issues of religion and spirituality from an early age and survives even 227 days shipwrecked in the ocean. Storytelling and religious beliefs are two closely linked ideas in the novel. On a literal level, each of Pis three religions, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam, come with its own set of tales and fables, which are used to spread the teachings and illustrate the beliefs of the faith. This book defends not only the common spirit behind these three religions, but the rituals and ce remonies of each. Its as if all three religions find harmonious common ground in this character. Seems unlikely, but then again, the protagonist argues passionately that the miraculous happens in our darkest moments. These three religions are really all the same except for small differences in the practice of their faith. Hindus have a great capacity for love; Muslims see God in everything; and Christians are quite devout. In this case, Pi enjoys the wealth of stories, but he also senses that, as Father Martin assured him was true of Christianity, each of these stories might simply be aspects of a greater, universal story about love. Pi remains unattached to any one interpretation of God. Sure, he believes each religion but he doesnt guard their specific tenets jealously. Pi shares a rich parable: Each time the milkmaids try to possess Krishna he vanishes. Likewise, each time a religious faith tries to claim sole ownership of God, true religion vanishes. This story reveals a few of the workings of Pis complex religious beliefs. You may have wondered how anyone could ever hold Hindu, Christian, and Muslim beliefs all at once. Pis answer: without a trace of jealousy. Stories and religious beliefs are also linked in Life of Pi because Pi asserts that both require faith on the part of the listener or devotee. Surprisingly for such a religious boy, Pi admires atheists. To him, the important thing is to believe in something, and Pi can appreciate an atheists ability to believe in the absence of God with no concrete proof of that absence. Pi has nothing but disdain, however, for agnostics, who claim that it is impossible to know either way, and, who therefore refrain from making a definitive statement on the question of God. So Pi sees that this as an evidence of a shameful lack of imagination. To him, agnostics who cannot make a leap of faith in either direction are like listeners who cannot appreciate the non-literal truth a fictional story might provide. Regarding with the plot of this novel, we begin with a little boy, Pi Patel, who is the main character of Yann Martels novel Life of Pi. Hes the son of a zookeeper who runs a small zoo in India. Despite all his familys ideas of modern secularism, Pi is drawn to religion. In his adolescence he adopts not only the beliefs of Hinduism, but Catholicism and Islam as well. Each religion gives Pi something that he felt was missing in his spiritual life so, because of this, he never feels compelled to choose one belief system over the other. Religion will save us, I said. Since when I could remember, religions had always been close to my heart. So, in this case and because of his family, he was first introduced to Hinduism and describes it as the religion of his birth and a deep part of himself. For him, Hinduism is not a religion to be left behind when he discovers another, but rather the intrinsic framework of his own spirituality. Then, when he finds out Catholicism, he studies it through curiosity for what it entails, not because of any dissatisfaction with his current understanding of Hinduism, largely for his own pleasure. The same is true at the time that he later adds the religion of Islam to his quilt of religious beliefs. While the young boy is comfortable with his firm and serious belief in three seemingly disparate religions, the leaders of these religions are obviously not so happy when they learn of his expanded view of religion. As chance would have it, Pis priest, pandit and imam all happen upon Pi and his parents at the same time. This ensuing conversation captures current religious discord as all of the religious leaders agree that Pi cannot be Hindu, Catholic, and Muslim at the same time and despite their prodding, Pi insists that he simply wants to love and adore God. He says: I just want to love God (Martel 69) and will not choose between religions. Then, during his adolescence, he also discovers atheism through his biology teacher, Mr. Kumar. Though Pi greatly respects Mr. Kumar, and calls him his favourite teacher, Pi isnt comfortable exploring all the ideas of atheism or seeing how science holds its own beauty without need for a deity. He decides that atheists are his brothers and sisters of a different faith, but it is not a belief that he understands or chooses to explore. In fact, the concept of atheism frightens him so much. Pi, who asks many questions when he is presented with other religions, is very silent when Mr. Kumar always offers some of his atheistic views: Religion? Mr. Kumar grinned broadly. I dont believe in religion. Religion is darkness. Pi answers: Darkness? I was puzzled. I thought, Darkness is the last thing that religion is. Religion is light. Was he testing me? Was he saying, Religion is darkness, the way he sometimes said in class things like Mammals lay eggs, to see if someone would correct him? (Only platypuses, sir.)(1.7.9 11) and finally explains: It wasnt for fear of angering Mr. Kumar. I was more afraid that in a few words thrown out he might destroy something that I loved. Pis education includes both science and religion; he comes to love both these disciplines but agnosticism the suspension of belief (e.g., I dont have enough evidence to believe in God so I wont commit one way or the other.) drives the boy bonkers. For Pi, belief is one of the most beautiful actions of human life. To live otherwise is to live statically. One can either choose a rich, dynamic life or a static, uncommitted life. Yet, this religious discussion takes place well before Pi is set adrift in a lifeboat filled with wild zoo animals. Here it is the groundwork that shapes the rest of the story, a wonderful and incredible story that is only and exclusively meant to make listeners believe in god. Part two of the book begins the tale of Pis shipwreck and subsequent survival. When Pi is 16, his family decides to sell the zoo and immigrate to Canada to escape the increasingly undesirable political developments in 1970s India. They will get a better price for many of their animals in America, so the family and several of the animals of the zoo begin their journey on a Japanese cargo ship named Tsimtsum. Midway to Midway the ship suddenly and quickly sinks for unknown reasons. When this unfortunate event takes place, Pi finds himself in a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and an adult Bengal tiger. There are no other human survivors, and it is not long before the animals do away with each other-the hyena dispatches the zebra and the orangutan and the tiger dispatch the hyena-, leaving Pi and the tiger alone in the lifeboat. In the same way, we can clearly assert that Pi Patel wins lots of different challenges covering from his psychic and spiritual learning to his basic and essential instinct and survival throughout his horrific and very hard adventures at sea. The most relevant fact is that his unbelievable believing in God, helps him to survive multiple obstacles that he faces on the lifeboat. His study about all three religions, serves as a great defensive safeguard from the difficult harsh situations of life. It is a very long journey filled with too much danger, loneliness and doubt, but most of all an exploration of faith. This astonishing character maintains all his religious beliefs while on the life boat through his daily ritual prayers, which helps to sustain him. Hes faced with physical difficulty almost all time, ranging from salt-water boils, to the threat of death by a tiger, to cold, to starvation, to dehydration, to dementia and many other difficulties. He continues to pray regularly, an d must plead to God in order to survive his ordeal. He remembers the misery he felt after such a long time away from God, saying: It was natural that, bereft and desperate as I was, in the throes of unremitting suffering, I should turn to God (Martel 315). With Pi keeping his ritual prayers going, that helped him to survive. Also, he was able to maintain somewhat the religious lifestyle that he had prior to the sinking of the Tsimtsum. He also makes many religious relationships throughout his journey and lots of comparisons between Orange Juice and the Virgin Mary. She came floating on an island of bananas in a halo of light, as lovely as the Virgin Mary (Martel 111). Truly, Pis religious faith remained strong throughout his journey on the Pacific Ocean. Straightway, when Pi eventually washes up on the shores of Mexico, and the tiger dashes off into the jungle never to be seen again, he is nursed back to health by locals. While Pi is recovering, two men from the company that owned the Japanese cargo ship come to visit him. They are very anxious because they are looking for answers about what might have caused the ship to sink so then he tells them the fantastic and amazing tale that he experienced and was presented through the book. Obviously, the men do not believe him so they became very upset and tell Pi that they want to know what really happened. They only want to know a rational truth. After some discussion, Pi agrees to tell them another story, another one that does not involve animals or any marvellous fact. His second boring story involves a handful of human survivors, including one who kills the others, even including Pis mother. He affirms that at the end of the story he kills the killer and is left as the only survivor. N either story sheds any light on why the ship might have sunk. Before the men leave, Pi asks him about which of the two stories is the best, since neither provides factual information that they can use. The men who appears at the beginning, who was listening the whole story, agree that the story with the animals was a better story. This is the point of the book. It is the reason why readers are supposed to now believe in god. When it comes down to a choice between realism and fantasy, or science and religion, which story is the best? Religious minded readers may find comfort in the notion that it is better to believe in an uplifting story over more believable, but less entertaining facts. However, this argument is unlikely to be persuasive to atheists or encourage them to believe in God.

Witchcraft and the Inquisition of the Catholic Church Essay -- Essays

Witchcraft and the Inquisition of the Catholic Church Witchcraft. The word in itself evokes a certain kind of eeriness. In past centuries, people who were accused of being witches were thought of to be the worst kinds of people there are. There were several kinds of witches and several ways in which they operated. Whatever the reason, the Catholic Church saw witches, or those accused of being witches, as sinful. Partly to stop this kind of sin and other forms, the Inquisition of the Catholic Church was implemented. It is important to know what the factors leading up to the Inquisition included to fully understand its implementation. Once the history is reviewed it is easy to see how the Faith of the Church and the reason behind its thinking were hand-in-hand at the time, and also the way in which they seemingly conflict today. There are many factors leading up to the establishment of the Inquisition by the Catholic Church. One of the main factors is the beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe. A symbol of these emerging ages is Pope Gerbert of the year 1000. Although he was a Pope, he was learned in algebra, and because of his knowledge he was considered somewhat of a wizard. He once wrote to a friend in Italy asking for secular books written in Latin. He instructs the friend to make sure the books are "procured quietly." (Nickerson 12) . Nickerson feels that this makes Gerbert a symbol of his times because it is out of similar knowledge that the Medieval times arise. Around the same time, the Normans were conquering England, the Church begins to have a common purpose, and the First Crusade begins. Although the Church was secure in its universality, two groups, the Albigensians and Waldensians emerged, each with very di... ...ured endlessly. Finally, all people were allowed to believe what they wanted to believe. Faith and reason were in harmony. Bibliography Books James B. Given, Inquisition and Medieval Society; Power, Discipline, and Resistance in Languedoc. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997). Hoffman Nickerson, The Inquisition: A Political and Military Study of its Establishment. (Port Washington, NY.: Kennkiat Press, Inc., 1968). Mary Elizabeth Perry, and Anne J. Cruz, Cultural Encounters: The Impact of the Inquisition in Spain and the NewWorld. (Berkeley, CA.: University of California Press:, 1991). Albert C. Shannon, O.S.A., The Medieval Inquisition. (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1991). Internet Sources Hilgers, Joseph. "Index of Prohibited Books." The Catholic Encyclopedia.URL:

Fiscal Policy Essay -- essays papers

Fiscal Policy Supposing the status quo of the United States today states that: there is no real unemployment, the consumer price index is rising at 2 percent annually, and the federal government budget deficit, 200 billion dollars, is equal to 5 percent of the gross national product. Now, the question is how and what changes will result from fiscal and monetary policy. For example, if legislation has just passed which holds government spending constant and raises personal income taxes enough to balance the budget, then obviously the deficit would cease growing, as mentioned, along with other fluctuations of the gross national product as a whole. Because the government will stop borrowing money, it will also cut down on the spending, which will cause the economy to slow down as is illustrated by the equation: Y = C + I + G + X. In the short run people will respond to the raised taxes by decreasing their consumption, while simultaneously the marginal propensity to consume will increase because people will have less money to save. Therefore, the short run effects of this fiscal policy will force companies to lower wages, produce less, and/or lay off a portion of the work force. All the while The Fed is working up their counter cyclical monetary policy to keep deviation from the potential GDP to a minimum. The Federal Reserve Bank goes public with its goal to significantly increase the money supply. Due to rational expectations of the consumer, people might be... Fiscal Policy Essay -- essays papers Fiscal Policy Supposing the status quo of the United States today states that: there is no real unemployment, the consumer price index is rising at 2 percent annually, and the federal government budget deficit, 200 billion dollars, is equal to 5 percent of the gross national product. Now, the question is how and what changes will result from fiscal and monetary policy. For example, if legislation has just passed which holds government spending constant and raises personal income taxes enough to balance the budget, then obviously the deficit would cease growing, as mentioned, along with other fluctuations of the gross national product as a whole. Because the government will stop borrowing money, it will also cut down on the spending, which will cause the economy to slow down as is illustrated by the equation: Y = C + I + G + X. In the short run people will respond to the raised taxes by decreasing their consumption, while simultaneously the marginal propensity to consume will increase because people will have less money to save. Therefore, the short run effects of this fiscal policy will force companies to lower wages, produce less, and/or lay off a portion of the work force. All the while The Fed is working up their counter cyclical monetary policy to keep deviation from the potential GDP to a minimum. The Federal Reserve Bank goes public with its goal to significantly increase the money supply. Due to rational expectations of the consumer, people might be...

From Anxiety to Power: Grammar and Crisis in Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

In the article â€Å"From Anxiety to Power: Grammar and Crisis in Crossing Brooklyn Ferry†, by Roger Gilbert, he talks about Walt Whitman’s poem â€Å"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry†. Gilbert feels that this poem is odd for Whitman because he â€Å"never speaks directly of death† (339). He says that â€Å"Whitman’s tone remains resolutely ebullient† (341), even though death is also present throughout the poem. Whitman’s struggle with death is figured in the poem to be a struggle with writing and to cross out of writing and into speech. He wants to start writing about life and power, not death and absence. Whitman really thought out the title of the poem. Crossing Brooklyn Ferry† is a crisis poem because of his need to â€Å"overcome the deathliness of writing and to return to the spoken idiom that is Whitman’s truest mode† (342). Gilbert feels that the crossing carries the poet from the â€Å"face of death† to â€Å"a renewed sense of his own power†. In the poem, Whitman uses a second person pronoun, which is rare to see. The article asks why Whitman uses the phrase â€Å"face to face†. Gilbert says the answer is because â€Å"objects have become people, people in turn have become objects† (343). This allows them to be mastered by Whitman, but also the passengers let him know that he isn’t impervious to death. When Whitman says the word you in his poem, he in the end talks about â€Å"the future commuters† (344). As you read more into the poem, you see that the poet is â€Å"metamorphosed from a me† to a scheme that no longer goes with the object-world. Towards the end of the poem, Whitman becomes more passive, which is very uncharacteristic of him. When he says â€Å"The current rushing so swiftly and swimming with me far away†, he hints that he is disappearing from the scene. Also after Whitman talks about the sunset and falling back to sea, you can see how prominent death is in the poem. In my opinion, Gilbert does a good job of interpreting Whitman’s poem.