Controversial novels Essay Example for Free

Controversial novels Essay Argued to be one of Hardys most controversial novels, published in 1891 during an era when the underprivileged classes of society, were submissive to superstitious beliefs in particular those such as luck spiritual beings and ultimately fate which were the foundations of lower class civilisation, Tess of the DUrbervilles presents a story of Fate toying with the life of the Heroine Tess. Fate is an influential part of the plot because it is what dictates her life. Events in the beginning of the novel begin a domino effect that cannot be reverse, thus Her fate is already chosen and all she can do is live through the events that happen to her. Whilst Walkers Colour purple is written during an era of gender social and racial inequalities narrated through Celie whose life consisting of an abundance of obstacles refuses to give into the Fate which determined the lives of poor uneducated black females during the 1930s. What exactly is Fate, is it in our personalities, actions and character or are our lives controlled by a supposed force or power which predetermines events in our lifes, meaning regardless of what we do we are unable to change our destiny. This theme is explored thoroughly by Thomas Hardy through his heroine Tess who is portrayed as a victim of fate throughout the novel, chance and coincidence bring about disasters in the novel that we can claim occur due to fate, it appears the main characters are subject to forces beyond their control. The author employs a very fatalistic plot throughout the novel making Tess endure whatever is thrown at her . In the first chapter of the book the horse Prince dies, this is seen as Tess fault as she falls as sleep due to being exhausted, this happens at night when the weather is very depressed. Hardy uses pathetic fallacy by claiming the atmosphere was pale, this makes the reader feel tension and also an expectation of tragedy . This scene is similar to that of the one at the chase when Alec finds Tess unconscious and may have raped her which is ultimately up to speculation. It is clear that Hardy uses the death of prince to create a sense of foreboding as this episode and the one at the chase are extremely similar, on both occasions Tess has fallen asleep due to tiredness and also the weather is used as an indication for what is to follow. From this we can question whether these events are down to fate and also ask if Hardy pre-determines Tess fate and future through her early actions thus her future is unalterable so there is nothing she can do to change. This has lead to the critic The Irvine Howe has writing: May we see her purely as a victim, like the white horse, the pheasants, the animals who are killed at harvest time? Hers is a poor wounded name This supports The interpretation that Tess life was controlled by Fate the just like the events in the novel such as the horses death and the death of the pheasants which all acted as a sense of foreboding and events which pre determine Tess death. Towards the latter stages of the novel during chapter 46, Hardy again emphasises the significant role Fate has played in Tess life and misfortunes. Firstly at the bottom of page 320 Tess states How can I pray for you? When I am forbidden to believe that the great power who moves the world would alter his plans on my account? Tess is telling Alec that she has lost her belief in God as her prayers do not move him. Therefore she is indicating this is happening because God already has his plans made and what she wants makes no difference because she is not important enough for him to change them, thus empowering the element of Fate and its restrictions on her ability to change. Alice Walker, author of The Colour Purple approaches the theme of Fate and destiny in a similar way to Hardy to a certain extent, in The Colour Purple the character Celie goes through a series of events at the beginning of the novel, she is raped by her father on several occasions is forced to give away the children that she conceived through him then her sister Nettie is forced to leave the home in which Celie lives due to her Husband Mr , but later on in the novel we learn that Nettie is now living with the family that adopted her sisters children. This shows that Alice Walker purposely portrayed Celies life as a victim of Fate, but gives her character an opportunity to resist this fate which results in a positive outcome for Celie. Its possible to say that Walker highlights the fact that although we may be victims of Fate we are able to control this Fate and our, she does this by showing that Celie is in fact not a victim of fate and unlike Tess her own actions are what allow her to change her destiny. We can say this because Celie confides in God through her letters, giving her hope and belief and she restrains herself from killing the man who has brought her pain and suffering, Mr , unlike Tess . Celies ability to change and prevent Fate from controlling her life is ultimately down to the letters she writes to God, she tells her sister Nettie Long as I can spell G-o-d I got somebody along She believes she is never alone or hopeless as long as she has God in her life, writing to God gives her hope, this hope is what helps her overcome the negative aspects of her Fatalistic path that seemed as though her life would be controlled by abusive males that would drive her to murder her husband just like Tess did. On the other hand Tess Fate is once again predetermined by Hardy in chapter 41 when she stumbles upon dying pheasents and puts them out of their misery by bringing their inevitable deaths to an end prematurely Poor darlings-to suppose myself the most miserable being on earth in the sight o such misery as yours! she exclaimed, her tears running down as she killed the birds tenderly. This Fatalistic event represents Tess destiny as she to will die due to her neck breaking as she will later be hung, Hardy uses this sense of foreboding once again signifying the belief that her character is her Fate, she is unable to change this, nothing she does will alter it. Similarly but with a contrasting outcome, in Colour Purple Fate re-emerges as killin Mr begins to dawn on Celies mind. How Im gon keep from killing him Naw I think I feel better if I kill him, I say I feels sickish. Numb, now. Mr has abused Celie to the extent that she contemplates killing him, at this stage of the book readers are likely to speculate whether Fate has chosen this path for Tess, is this her destiny? Will she have to emulate Tess action to end her misfortunes? Or will she be able to alter her Fate through her hope in God and rational actions? Although she doesnt go on to murder Mr , through God and her companion Celie she finds the courage to speak up against Mr and leave him, ultimately changing her Fate which is something Tess was unable to do You a low down dog is whats wrong. Its time to leave you and enter into the creation. And your dead body just the welcome mat I need. Here Walker shows her strength and courage obtained through her hope in God. The authors use of foreboding throughout the novel can be seen as a representative of fate, Hardy believed that what happened to us was a product of our personality, class, status and the way in which we view life therefore Tess pride and her concern for Angels reputation after he leaves her prevents her from seeking help at an early stage of her troubles can be seen as her own actions but in Hardys view our own actions were down to fate , she ends up confiding in Alec which leads to disaster. From this we can question whether Tess actions lead to her downfall or was it Fate? This is demonstrated at the beginning of the final paragraph, hardy writes Justice was done, the president of immortals had ended his sport with Tess. Hardy is telling us Fate has finished playing with its victim, Tess. He may have done this to further draw attention to his beliefs that we are subject to a immoral force beyond our control that we are forced to endure and that religion does not have bearing on any events in our life. This is a viewpoint that was developed by critic Irving Howe who too believed Tess fate had already been predetermined, Proposing this is why Hardy named the final phase of the novel fulfilment. Furthermore, another way Hardy depicts Tess as a victim of Fate is through the language he uses, particularly in the last phase of the novel as he named it fulfilment thus this is a play on words as we are left to question what has been fulfilled. It is possible to say Hardy believed Fate had been fulfilled it had played its role in bringing Tess to her tragic downfall. Walker presents Celie as a victim of Fate like Hardy does Tess, however Walker stresses the point that we are able to change our Fate and destiny, this is significant as the colour purple which is the colour of the purple flowers represent spirituality hope. She is almost trying to convey the message that, Fate can be overcome as long as hope is present, where as Hardy purposely doesnt give Tess any chance of overcoming her Fate, he deliberately does this to assert his negative view on religion, Walker gives her character hope through God, this is what enables Celie to overcome her so called Fate or Destiny whilst Hardys pessimistic belief of religion deters him from doing this. Through his novels Hardy repeatedly articulated that chance and coincidence that bring about disaster are ultimately Fate, thus he empowers his belief through Tess that characters are subject to forces beyond their control. This is similar to another of his novels, The Return of the Native. Throughout The Return of the Native bad things happen to good people, this is a depiction of his atheist perception that God does not exist and if there is a God it is lacking in morals, because good people, such as Tess are the victims of bad events and tragedy in life due to Fate. Like Hardy himself said Once a victim, always a victim of fate.

Greek Philosophers :: essays papers

Greek Philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle had virtually the same beliefs about man's relation to the State, although Plato's political theory of the State was more rational than Socrates or Aristotle's. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle all believed that man was not self-sufficient, they believed man would be most happy living in a State. They also believed that all men wanted to live the truly good life where they could be in tune with the truth and achieve their ultimate goals. Although Socrates, Plato and Aristotle's political views of the State are similar, Plato's view is more rational than Socrates and Aristotle's in the sense that he created an ideal State. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were three philosophers in ancient Greece who believed that no man was self-sufficient enough to live on his own. Plato believed "a State comes into existence because no individual is self-sufficing" (Stumph, 70). This theory of Plato's was also shared by Aristotle who said "He who is unable to live in society or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must either be a beast or a god" (Stumph, 103). These two views indicate the importance of a State to an individual according to Plato and Aristotle. All three philosophers believed that man would be much happier if he was part of a State rather than on his own. Socrates once stated "We are all more productive if we specialize in one thing rather than try to excel at many things" (Stumph, 40). Within the State Socrates believed that there would be a division of labour for the provision of food, shelter and clothing. An individual living outside of a State would have to provide thems! elves with these necessities. As Socrates stated above within the State you would specialize in one thing only, while a different individual would specialize in something else and this would allow the quality and the quantity of the product to increase. "Plato assumes that we are all born with physical and intellectual equipment that makes us suited to perform some tasks better than others" (Rice, 42). So now individuals only have to specialize in something that they are physically and intellectually suited for according to Plato. These three philosophers believed that if man could be more productive by specializing in something that they are suited for they would be happier. Aristotle made the point that "Every community is established with the view to some good; and that mankind always act in order to obtain that which they think good" (Copleston, 351). Socrates, Plato and Aristotle all believed that man needs to be

Pros and Cons of Computers in Kindergarten Essay

Pros and Cons of Computers in Kindergarten Research Essay Assignment Pros and cons of using computers in kindergarten classrooms Having computers in kindergarten classrooms could improve the level of instruction and can address long-term success in schools. The real pros and cons of using technology in the classroom create a stalemate that can prevent technology from being used more widely in the classroom. Whether we use technology with young children–and if so, how-are critical issues facing early childhood educators and parents. The questions about when children should start using computers; developmentally appropriate computer activities in preschool, kindergarten, and early primary classrooms; benefits of computer use; integration of computers into classrooms; and teacher training. As children enter kindergarten and the primary grades, it is important that they continue to have access to a computer center with a library of developmentally appropriate software. Fun and educational computer activities allow kindergarteners to socialize improve classmate relations; learn about modern communication and problem-solving skills. Children need opportunities to make choices about some of their computer experiences. In addition, kindergarten or primary-grade teachers will want to use the computer for more directed activities that match their learning objectives. For example, to enhance language skills and using the template provided in Starfall or similar software. Children could also work in small groups using software such as Scholastic’s Magic School Bus Explores the Rainforest to compare two of the seven ecozones in the program. Using software such as Edmark’s Kids’ Desk: Internet Safe, other small groups can investigate these two ecozones on Internet Web sites selected by the teacher. The groups then merge to share their discoveries and write a report on the ecozones, illustrating each with pictures drawn by members of the group or downloaded from the Internet sites. Through exploring computer experiences, these children build memory skills, learn how to seek out information, use knowledge until they have a clear understanding from  multiple sources, and integrate their knowledge of how each ecosystem functions. In the process, they learn to delegate responsibility, interact with others, solve problems, and cooperate to reach a goal. Kindergarten children have a positive outlook and an accepting nature. They take pride in their new reading and counting skills and love to converse and share ideas. They are eager to behave well; they are trusting; and they don’t question authority. Kids at this age may be capable at using computers, i.e. following commands, using the mouse, and playing computer games (Jaeger, 2010). In order to understand the pros and cons of computers in the kindergarten classroom, we need to take a look at some of the pros and cons and the goals related to of reading the children’s achievement. Pros: By incorporat ing technology into lessons, students will become more engaged in and excited about the subject at hand. Lessons that would normally be tedious can be much more engaging with virtual field trips and streaming videos. Cons: Finding the right materials online to integrate into a lesson is not always easy. This means teachers may spend a lot more time planning lessons and become overwhelmed and frustrated. Pros: Computers allow students to learn through exploring the internet and doing research. The act of looking up information and researching papers with such an extensive resource can keep students engaged in a project and learning. Cons: Some students will explore beyond the bounds and parameters of the project and become distracted by other activities that they find on the internet. Pros: In special needs classrooms, each student is able to go at his or her own pace with the help of technology. This allows the students get individual instruction directly from the computer, which allows the teacher to accomplish more while feeling less stretched. Special needs students who are handicapped can also make use of assistive technology, which can allow them to communicate better. Cons: Special needs technology can be very expensive and take an inordinate amount of money to acquire and operate. Research has shown that children who use computers with supporting activities that reinforce the major objectives of the programs have significantly greater developmental gains when compared to children without computer experiences in similar classrooms-gains in intelligence, nonverbal skills, structural knowledge, long-term memory, manual dexterity, verbal skills, problem solving, abstraction, and conceptual skills (Haugland, 1992). The benefits  of providing computers to kindergarten and primary-grade children vary depending upon the kind of computer experiences offered and how frequently children have access to computers. The potential gains for kindergarten and primary children are tremendous, including improved motor skills, enhanced mathematical thinking, increased creativity, higher scores on tests of critical thinking and problem solving. In addition, computers enhance children’s self-concept, and children demonstrate increasing levels of spoken communication and cooperation. Children share leadership roles more frequently and develop positive attitudes toward learning. In conclusion, early childhood programs serve diverse populations and have different schedules, curriculums, staffing patterns, resources, and so on. Goals for computer use and the steps that schools take to integrate computers into their classrooms may be completely different but equally successful. A viable beginning is for teachers, administrators, and parents to share magazine, journal, and newspaper articles they have seen regarding children using computers. The understanding of computers in the kindergarten classroom is accompanied by both a personal and professional commitment to early success for all children. Reference 1. Jaeger, V. (2010). Parenting Resources Guide. Niagara Region Public Health 2. KidSource Online. Computers and Young Children. Retrieved from http://www.kidsource.com/education/computers.children.html#top 3. S.W. Haugland. The effect of computer software on preschool children’s developmental gains. Journal of Computing in Childhood Education, 1992.

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