«The Sea is no doubt, a difficult novel to read. John Banville’s language can be quite strenuous, and at some times, enigmatic. No major events or plot points seem to occur in The Sea, that is, externally. There is not much of a linear plot, if any....» Document abstract
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Language : english
literature
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date published
21/04/2008
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SummaryThe Sea is no doubt, a difficult novel to read. John Banville’s language can be quite strenuous, and at some times, enigmatic. No major events or plot points seem to occur in The Sea, that is, externally. There is not much of a linear plot, if any. Almost everything that happens in the main character’s tale has already happened to him. The narrator of The Sea is an old man named Max Morden, whose entire life consists of his memories; even his present life in which we are introduced to him is infused with nostalgic pining. The Sea is a piece of literary fiction, which can often be described as putting prose before plot, or style before substance. Literary fiction mainly focuses on style, but that is not to say that The Sea lacks substance. The themes of past and present, and loss run rampant throughout the novel. Two memories prevail in Max’s mind, intermittent fragments of his lost love Anna, and reliving his childhood summers in Ballyless with the Grace family.
Table of Contents- The novel is beautifully wrought and, as always with Banville, patched with dark humour.
- It is difficult to call The Sea a 'pageturner,?.
- The things that Max observes, and chooses to remember, give the reader a definite sense of him as a character.
- That is not to say that the acute detail is superfluous, rather, it gives Max's tale importance.
- Banville also explores loss through the slippery notion of reality and truth.
- The Sea begins when Max goes back to Ballyless after his wife Anna dies.
«In the Butcher Boy, Patrick McCabe paints a picture of the perfectly dysfunctional family in The Bradys, who are shown in stark contrast to the perfectly normal family, the Nugents. From the start, Francie Brady’s family was the epitome of unstable....» Document abstract
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literature
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22/04/2008
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SummaryIn the Butcher Boy, Patrick McCabe paints a picture of the perfectly dysfunctional family in The Bradys, who are shown in stark contrast to the perfectly normal family, the Nugents. From the start, Francie Brady’s family was the epitome of unstable. Francie’s father was an alcoholic who abused his wife, and she ended up going to a mental institution after a suicide attempt. The hero of the family, Uncle Alo, turned out to just be another phony whose stories were fabricated. Francie had no proper influences in his upbringing to tell him what was right and wrong, which left him to basically take care of himself. Francie wanted to be proud and honor his parents, but at the same time, the only reason he became alienated within the community was because of his family.
Table of Contents- Not only did his parents neglect to nurture him, but the community itself refused to help him.
- There is an obvious theme of the differences in class in the Irish town, and the stronghold that these differences has within the town.
- Mrs. Nugent has no motivation for this tyrant, other than the fact that Francie stole Philip's comic books.
- Even worse than recognizing that the Mr. Nugent may be right about his family being pigs, is the fact that Francie would rather be part of the Nugent family.
- Francie realizes the fakeness of Mrs. Connolly and her friends that gossip all day long.
- The only part of the community that Francie was a part of, was his friendship with Joe Purcell.
- Francie is completely alienated from the community through the whole novel, and with the loss of his best friend Joe
«Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is her first book dedicated to “all the strong black birds of promise who defy the odds and gods and sing their songs.” The cage represents a life of racism, poverty, illiteracy and dysfunction. The...» Document abstract
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humanities/philosophy
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22/04/2008
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SummaryMaya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is her first book dedicated to “all the strong black birds of promise who defy the odds and gods and sing their songs.” The cage represents a life of racism, poverty, illiteracy and dysfunction. The black birds represent the certain people in the book who overcome these odds and still sing their songs. In this book, Angelou tells us stories of her dysfunctional family, her low self-esteem and her experience with rape and abuse. After all that she goes through, she still rises above this way of life and becomes someone great and successful. She still “sings” even though her life is that of a “caged bird.” In her novel, Angelou writes about herself and others that have risen above the odds to become quite remarkable people considering the resources and circumstances that they were afforded.
Table of Contents- One group of people that overcome the odds are the junkyard kids.
- Momma encourages Maya not to stoop to the level of bad people.
- Finally, the caged bird that sings loudest of all in this book is Maya Angelou.
- Another trying time in Maya's life is when she meets her father's fiancé, Dolores.
- Several people in Angelou's novel overcome life's most difficult trials.
«In “The Little Glass Slipper”, Cinderella is undergoing what anthropologist Victor Turner, in his theory regarding rites de passage, would regard as a transitional period between being a girl under the protection of her mother and a woman under the...» Document abstract
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23/04/2008
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SummaryIn “The Little Glass Slipper”, Cinderella is undergoing what anthropologist Victor Turner, in his theory regarding rites de passage, would regard as a transitional period between being a girl under the protection of her mother and a woman under the protection of a husband. During this transitional, or liminal, state, Cinderella is prepared for her new role by a series of instructors so that she may become what her culture views as an ideal wife. She is first instructed by her stepfamily, which teaches her through forced labor and maltreatment to become the ideal passive, hard working, domestic housewife. Once this training is complete, Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother further transforms Cinderella into the other womanly ideal, that of the pure, beautiful, desirable socialite.
Table of Contents- Victor Turner states that rites de passage 'indicate and constitute transitions between states,?.
- Not only does Cinderella lose her status and name, but she also loses physical presence.
- As well as losing her name, place, and social status, Cinderella is forced to undertake domestic labor.
- After the stepsisters leave for the ball, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother enters to comfort the crying girl.
- The transmission of knowledge from instructor to initiand.
«According to Weber, industrial capitalism emerged in the west though the convergence of a number of key factors. Capitalism itself had existed in areas of the world prior to the west and had even shared some of the same key factors. For instance,...» Document abstract
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economics
book review
date published
23/04/2008
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SummaryAccording to Weber, industrial capitalism emerged in the west though the convergence of a number of key factors. Capitalism itself had existed in areas of the world prior to the west and had even shared some of the same key factors. For instance, capitalist enterprises were found to have developed in places like China, and Egypt yet they failed to become perpetual and broke down into a series of smaller enterprises. One could argue that they lacked the union of Weber’s proposed factors, as well as a social carries to guide the required moral framework on a grand scale. According to Weber the main factors which gave rise to industrial capitalism in the west were the convergence of accounting practices, separation of the home from work, formally free wage labor, predictable law, and distinctive social carriers.
Table of Contents- Advanced mathematical systems existed in places such as India prior to industrial capitalism.
- According to Weber important influential factors conductive to change are carried by prominent individuals and organizations within societies.
- The moral beliefs and life practices of protestant asceticism played a crucial role in the development of modern capitalism.
- Although Pietism and Calvinism were similar in many ways they did in fact share one distinct difference.
- The baptizing sects and churches of Protestantism also several similarities and differences with Calvinism.
- Weber argues that people in modern capitalism society are forced to adopt the same ideals held by the Puritans.
- Marx believed that just as one cannot judge someone of what they think of themselves, you cannot judge a period of transformation by its consciousness.
«The explicit mention of fate occurs only once in regard to Dave Boyle in Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River, but the battle between fate and free will in his life is evident throughout the novel. Dave Boyle, a tragic character, has little free will to...» Document abstract
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literature
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date published
24/04/2008
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SummaryThe explicit mention of fate occurs only once in regard to Dave Boyle in Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River, but the battle between fate and free will in his life is evident throughout the novel. Dave Boyle, a tragic character, has little free will to change the pre-determined forces that have shaped his life. The opening line of the novel “When Sean Devine and Jimmy Marcus were kids…” reflects the plotline and the characters. This opening fatefully situates Dave Boyle into the slot of a less significant person. Before he peaked as a baseball star in high school, he was the sort of kid who was only invited to the movies because he knew all of the lines and could recite them as entertainment, not because anyone particularly liked him.
Table of Contents- The explicit mention of fate occurs only once in regard to Dave Boyle in Dennis Lehane's Mystic River.
- It was a decision made by free will that caused Dave Boyle to be at Sean Devine's house.
- Dave's struggle with fate and free will that is explicitly noted at the beginning of this paper.
- One of the most significant realizations of Dave's battle between fate and free will.
- Even when Dave was coming into his hang over from his previously drunk state he felt fate vibrate through him.
«Edna Pontellier is a victim of the mother/whore duality, unable to escape the conditions of her culture that prevent her from being capable of self-actualization, and so walks into the ocean and never comes out again. This is the conclusion to Kate...» Document abstract
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literature
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24/04/2008
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SummaryEdna Pontellier is a victim of the mother/whore duality, unable to escape the conditions of her culture that prevent her from being capable of self-actualization, and so walks into the ocean and never comes out again. This is the conclusion to Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, in which she creates a character struggling to reinvent herself in the midst of oppressive expectation, to discover that such reinvention is impossible. It is easy to derive hopelessness from such a dismal ending, or a sense of moral redemption for Edna’s sinful character (as many critics of her time did), but it is important that Chopin’s readers instead consider how the story of Edna Pontellier lends itself to the larger discourse of and about women in a male-dominated society, as she both adheres to and strays from traditional depictions of women. It is through Edna Pontellier and the people in her elite sphere that Chopin makes room for dialogue about what women are up against in seeking liberation from male dominance by trying to level the playing field (sexually and otherwise).
Table of Contents- Predominant theme of the novel.
- The expression of desire takes precedence in The Awakening.
- Mrs. Ratignolle is the epitome of what a woman is supposed to be.
- Much of Edna Pontellier's story is based around the search for a feminine voice.
- Edna Pontellier wants to thrive as a human being.
- Edna is unable to become whole, despite finding a voice in art and nature.
«The abolitionist movement in slave-era America was clear-cut and its ethos was simple: Free all slaves in the name of human rights. Looking back centuries later at those who argued for slavery, most would find holes in their argument that Africans...» Document abstract
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Language : english
humanities/philosophy
book review
date published
25/04/2008
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SummaryThe abolitionist movement in slave-era America was clear-cut and its ethos was simple: Free all slaves in the name of human rights. Looking back centuries later at those who argued for slavery, most would find holes in their argument that Africans were meant to be slaves because of their racial inferiority and lack of civilization. The great golden empires of Mali were obviously ignored, as well as the fact that mothers were screaming and crying for their children as they were thrown into nets and hauled away from their villages. Africa had numerous political systems and governments before the age of slavery, and it’s obvious that an African person can feel physical and emotional pain and distress like any other human being. As for intelligence, Africans and African-Americans merely needed to be given a chance to produce such minds as George Washington Carver and Thurgood Marshall. Can any argument on so-called racial inferiority be offered today that can’t be refuted by a non-Eurocentric look at history and biology?
Table of Contents- Tom Regan, author of 'Animal Rights, Human Wrongs', is a different sort of abolitionist.
- Regan points out the numerous health benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet.
- Why should animals be excluded from suffering pain?
- Religions disagree on whether or not a sentient being has a soul or not.
- Food safety laws have been argued for thousands of years.
- Decades ago, fast food started as just another post-war development of convenience.
- While on the subject of the environment, slash-and-burn farming may be discussed as a further violation of animal rights.
- I stand with Tom Regan on his abolitionist stance on using animals for meat, dairy, and fur.
«The Earle Perry Charlton biography, the Charlton Story, is about one of America’s greatest entrepreneurs, in the early 1900’s. The book chronicles Charlton’s life from birth to death, and explains in detail his business relationships and tactics....» Document abstract
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date published
25/04/2008
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SummaryThe Earle Perry Charlton biography, the Charlton Story, is about one of America’s greatest entrepreneurs, in the early 1900’s. The book chronicles Charlton’s life from birth to death, and explains in detail his business relationships and tactics. Overall the main topic of the book was how Charlton amassed an empire out of virtually nothing and how he became one of the five founders of the F.W. Woolworth Company.
Table of Contents- Earle Perry Charlton grew up just outside of Hartford CT.
- Earle Perry Charlton was an unbiased, demanding boss and owner.
- harlton was a great owner and boss because he treated everyone fairly.
- Charlton was a very hardworking and dedicated businessman.
- All of Charlton's characteristics played a major role in his success.
- Kapstein had just graduated High School when he went out looking for a job.
- Earle P. Charlton was a philanthropist.
- The part of the book that had the biggest impact on me had to have been the beginning chapter.
«Dostoevsky’s Underground Man is an attempt to offer an example of the true result of egoism, as opposed to the rational egoism of Western European Enlightenment literature. It became the intellectual fashion at this time to believe that natural law...» Document abstract
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29/04/2008
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SummaryDostoevsky’s Underground Man is an attempt to offer an example of the true result of egoism, as opposed to the rational egoism of Western European Enlightenment literature. It became the intellectual fashion at this time to believe that natural law was the only law, and that if men acted according to what was in their natural best interests, society would be better off. With Notes From Underground, Dostoevsky sought to fight against the moral corruption of the Russian people by these naturalist European theories. The Underground Man is a true egoist who makes full use of the free will that the rational egoists deny, and because of that is shown to be morally reprehensible. I think it is a mistake to read the Underground Man as being in intellectual agreement with the rational egoists, with emotional contradictions. It seems to me that he feels his form of egoism to be truer and fuller than the form represented by the “good men” who (claim to) act according to the laws of nature. Even a man as sick and wicked as the Underground Man wouldn’t be believably human unless he had a moral conscience, even if he doesn’t behave according to it.
Table of Contents- He is fully isolated, and his self-solicitousness is apparent in his preoccupation with his own aims and satisfactions.
- All that being said, it is clear that the Underground Man acts strictly according to his will in the moment.
- Another case for his growth is a fair understanding of reality, despite his continued inability to interact with it properly.
- It is clear that his younger self was not nearly as conscious as his current self.
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