Challenging the Identity of the Family in What Maisie Knew by Henry Jam

Challenging the Identity of the Family  in What Maisie Knew   Ã‚  Ã‚   Although Henry James did not confine himself exclusively to the scope of literary themes facing America, in his novel What Maisie Knew, he did challenge the changing identity of the modern family.  Ã‚  At the turn of the century, the dynamics of the family institution became an important theme in American literature due to such issues as the increased social mobility of the industrial age, the new emerging independence of women, and a modern view that lent itself to challenging tradition.  Ã‚  For many of James' contemporaries, Edith Wharton, for example, a colleague and friend of James, this theme became the focus of works like "The Other Two."  Ã‚  In this work, the new situations facing the family illustrate themselves through the central agent of the child, who remains the focus for bringing these circumstances to light.  Ã‚  While the child never enters the action of the story, she becomes the catalyst that brings about the adult confrontations that shape, not necessarily for the better, the identity of the family.  Ã‚  In James' novel, though set in Europe and intended to present an extreme case, the same type of situation remains.  Ã‚  The focus for this work, however, targets the psychology of the child.  Ã‚  James proves more interested in the effect that the dynamics of the modern family have on the children than on the issues themselves.  Ã‚  The situations that the members of Maisie's "family" create force her into a number of roles that strip the innocence of her youth and quickly introduce her to the corrupt reality of adulthood.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although Maisie must encounter situations that, at first, are apparently beyond her control, she quickl... ...lues given by the narrator and the other characters in the novel, as well as Maisie's own actions, we can trace her understanding and her ability to affect her situation throughout the novel. Her own understanding Maisie never entirely reveals until the end of the novel, but we can see that she deserves more credit than she receives. What Maisie Knew. Ricks, Christopher (ed. and introd.). New York, NY: Penguin; 2010.

Oedipus Research Paper Essay

Aristotle has long been recognized for his contributions to many areas of society, from math and science to literature. It is claimed that Aristotle was racist, sexist and homophobic and that these views colored the way he saw the world (Engle, 2008). From some of these views, the tragic hero emerges. There are several key components to a Oedipushaving a tragic hero. The first is that the main character (protagonist) must be of noble birth or a member of a royal family. In addition to being of noble lineage, the protagonist must suffer from a fatal or tragic flaw. This flaw is not necessary a morale flaw, but rather a flaw that occurs as a consequence of one’s choices or actions. A tragic hero will evolve the feelings of pity or fear and cause the reader and audience to identify with the main character. And, finally, the audience or reader must experience â€Å"Catharsis†. Catharsis is a feeling of relieve that the main character had his come-uppance and was brought down. It is not a feeling of depression or sadness over the fate of the nobleman. Kennedy (pages 856-858). To elaborate, the nobleman must be of high estate that gives him a place of dignity. The fall from this dignity makes the event seem more of a calamity in that it involves more than just the main character. A fall that affects an entire nation or people is often the result of a nobleman’s fall. The main character is certainly no superman; he is fallible and has a weakness of character that leads to his end. Kennedy (pages 856-858) According to Aristotle, the ideal tragic hero is defined as: â€Å"There remains then the man who occupies the mean between saintliness and depravity. He is not extra-ordinary in virtue and righteousness and yet does not fall into bad fortune because of evil and wickedness but because of some hamartia of a kind found in men of high reputation and good fortune such as Oedipus and Thyestes and famous men of similar families. † Adade-Yeboah, et al (2012). The next part of a tragic hero’s role is that of recognition or discovery. This part includes the revelation of some prior unknown fact or element to bring to light the true identity of the main character. The revelation may be due to the actions of the main character or due to those of a minor character. They may already be known by the reader or the audience, thus making some of the choices the character makes almost painfully ignorant. Often times, once the revelation has been made, it leads to a reversal. A reversal is simply an action that has the opposite effect from the one intended. This reversal may be due in part to the tragic or fatal flaw of the protagonist. Kennedy (pages 856-858) Finally, there is the fear and pity that is aroused in the audience and / or reader. Even though most may feel like the main character deserved the end results, there is still a sense of pity or sorrow that they must suffer and hurt so much. Now that we have looked at the common requirements for a tragic hero, we will look at King Oedipus as the tragic hero. King Oedipus was worshiped by the people of Thebes. They saw him as wise and came to him to seek help and counsel when their city was suffering. He has freed them from the tyranny of the Sphinx and they were forever grateful. He even recognized his own greatness by referring to himself as the one who was called great by all men and calling the people of the city children. Oedipus (Prologue, Line 8) Through birth and adoption both, Oedipus was a nobleman. He has been left out in the wilderness by his other due to a prophecy that his father would die by the son’s hand. He was then adopted by King Polybus of Corinth. Thus, he fulfilled the first requirement of the tragic hero – being of noble birth or royal bloodlines. The next aspect of a tragic hero is one with a fatal or tragic flaw. Oedipus wanted to seek the truth regarding the murder of King Laius, believing that the truth would purge the city of the horrible curse that it was under. We see the king as one of high moral integrity, but subject to the normal frailties of the human being (Adade-Yeboah, et al (2012). He is portrayed as being somewhat short tempered and often rash due to his desire to do the right thing. This perhaps is his tragic flaw – in his zeal to find the murdered, he makes rash statements about shunning the individual guilty of the murder, regardless of his standing in society (Oedipus). This brings us to the next aspect of the tragic hero – the revelation. Through seeking the advice of a prophet, it is revealed to King Oedipus that he is the murderer â€Å"You are the murdered of the king whose murderer you seek. Oedipus Initially, the king does believe that this is the case, but as he examines the evidence, it becomes clear that he is the guilty one. This revelation leads to the reversal in the king’s life. In one moment, he realizes that his wife is his mother, that his children are his brothers and sisters and that all is lost for him. Then enter pity for the king. Not only does Oedipus find out that he is adopted, he also discovered that he killed his father, and had married his mother. He was truly sorrowful for the shame and anguish that the people of his city would suffer â€Å"I grieve for you, my children. Believe me, I know all that you desire of me, all that you suffer; and while you suffer, none suffers more than I. † Oedipus We feel even more pity for him when his wife and mother hangs herself and he puts his own eyes out â€Å"He was called my king, but now whose tale is more miserable? † Oedipus As Oedipus loses his throne, his thoughts are of those around him who he has hurt – the people of Thebes and his children (who are also his brothers and sisters). He leaves them in the care of their uncle Creon. Before leaving them, he tells them how sorry he is â€Å"For the unhappiness that must be yours: And for the bitter life that you must lead. † Oedipus In conclusion, Oedipus has all of the criteria for a tragic hero. He is a nobleman, through choices and actions experienced a fall from greatness and his throne and aroused the pity of the reader and audience. Aristotle speaks of a tragic hero’s Harmatia or his tragic flaw being not one of moral roots, but rather one that is displayed through the choices and actions of the character. It is quite apparent that had Oedipus not killed his father, then the other events of marrying his mother, fathering his brothers and sisters, losing his site and his throne would not have come about. Although there is tragedy throughout this drama, one must applaud the nobleness and courage that Oedipus demonstrated by accepting responsibility for his actions and accepting the same consequences as he had previously deemed needed to purge the land of the curse. As a result of the fall of the king, the audience and reader is left with a feeling of relieve (catharsis) that the king gets what he deserves for killing his father. Although there is pity for all the heartache he has to endure, there is a sense of poetic justice that just because the â€Å"hero† was of noble birth, he was not spared punishment. References Adade-Yeboah, A. , Ahenkora, K. , & Amankwah, A. S. (2012). The tragic hero of the classical period. English Language and Literature Studies, 2(3), 10-17. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/1045567248? accountid=12085 Engle, Eric (2008). Aristotle, Law and Justice: The Tragic Hero, Page 1. Kennedy, X. J. , & Gioia, D. (2010). Critical Casebook – Sophocles. Literature- An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama & Writing (pp. 856-858). New York: Pearson.

Malaria: Infection and Relatively New Species

The Compromise of 1850 is one of the most important compromises in this history of the United States, maybe even the world. The Compromise of 1850 is made up of five bills passed in the United States of America in September 1850, and it terminated a four-year confrontation between the slave states of the south and the free states of the north concerning the position of territories gained during the time of the Mexican-American war which was in 1846-1848. The most important political ramification in the Compromise has to be the Fugitive Slave Act for numerous reasons. Many historians have argued that the Fugitive Slave Act was very obliging to the abolitionist cause, even though some of the abolitionists did not like its’ provisions. The Fugitive Slave Act was not beneficial to the slaves and it did not help the slaves escape to freedom. The subject matter of fugitive slaves in an intellect became one of the single main influential armaments in the hands of the Abolitionist Movement. The Constitution has an article that says that fugitives from industry must be sent back to the South if they were caught in the North. Also, this gave slavery what people like to call more territory. That meant that it made slavery a global organization. Although the northern states did have the ability to abolish slavery, they could not pass up their own Constitutional priority to enforce the slave laws that were in the southern states. Some fugitives even carried with them the officially authorized status of slavery, even in a territory that didn’t have any slavery at all. In reality, most of the states did not do much about this. That is the reason the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was enacted, which made the federal government responsible for tracking down and apprehending fugitive slaves in the North, and sending them back to the South. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, one might say, was the most powerful exercise of federal authority within the United States in the whole era before the Civil War. The Fugitive Slave Act also had a great amount of features that seemed to terminate some liberties of free Caucasian northerners. The Fugitive Slave Act permitted the federal government to represent citizens, even if that meant against their will, and make them to take part in posses and any other groups to grab a hold of fugitive slaves. Also, it said that limited courts couldn’t give a ruling whether somebody was a slave or not. Federal commissioners would be likely to come in and see and hear the testimony. Also, the slaves were not permitted to testify either. The person who testified was the owner, or the so-called owner, of the suspected fugitive. Then, the commissioner would arbitrate whether the owner of the suspected fugitive’s testimony was actually believable or not, and after that they would send the person back to slavery. The Fugitive Slave Act was a very powerful tool. It was mostly used to gather a great amount of slaves, escaped slaves, or even people who weren’t even considered slaves at all, who were born free and ship them back to the South. The Fugitive Slave Act wasn’t a success due to an effort to keep the Union together. Rather, they focused on differences on the issue of slavery. The act also brought up some very important problems about what it means to trace the direction of law and go after fairness beneath a Constitution that both advertised freedom and permitted slavery. The acts exasperated Northern sensibilities that had turned aligned with slavery. Both, Northern social and legal reaction next to the acts were intimidating and abusive to Southerners. Southerners felt that a few abolitionists in the North, yet some Northern legislatures heartening slaves to rebel, an option that a great amount of Southerners really feared. The Fugitive Slave Act arranged commissioners to go after slaves who had to flee into Free States to capture them and return them to their masters. Because a great amount of Free States disliked being obligated to assist with a scheme they wanted to border and ultimately abolish, they enacted laws intended to limit the efficiency of the commissioners and a great amount of officials declined to assist even though mandated by law to do so. It brought up the stage of public opinion in the North that felt it could not coexist, both half slave and half free. Previous to 1850, if runaway slaves were captured, they were normally killed, and sometimes even tormented in an open exhibit to fright other slaves. Chastisement in the North for Caucasian citizens and free African-Americans who helped during escapes were formally not as cruel normally a fine for the loss of property and a petite prison sentence that might not be enforced. In 1850, consequences became much steeper and incorporated more jail time. Whites, who fortified slaves, which was frequently mandatory along the hazardous direction, could be executed. Back in the South, anybody whether white or black who helped a fugitive, could face fatality. Northern response in opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act was physically powerful and a great amount of states enacted laws that invalidated its’ effect, making it valueless. On top of that, slave gatherers could officially maintain that any African-American citizen they saw was a runaway slave, which not only threatened free African-Americans but infuriated many white citizens. Northerners were shocked by reports of slave gatherers luring young free African-American kids onto boats and departing them to the Deep South. In cases where the rule was put into effect, intimidation or acts of horde aggression often required the send out of federal troops. Citizens convicted of infringing the act were frequently and seriously fined, locked up, or both. The rejection of northern states to put into effect the Fugitive Slave Act was suspected by South Carolina as one cause for its secession from the Union earlier to the start of the Civil War. Any citizen aiding an escapee slave by providing protection, food or any other form of support was legally responsible to six months' custody and a $500 fine, Â ¬ a pricey consequence in those days. Those officers catching a fugitive slave were permitted to a fee and this encouraged some officers to take hostage free Negroes and wholesale them to slave-owners. If a runaway slave was seen, he or she ought to be detained and turned in to the authorities for banishment back to the rightful possessor down south. It was considered that the Fugitive Slave Act would reduce the incentive for slaves to try to flee. The underlying principle behind this was the slaves' comprehension that even if they managed to run away from their cultivated area, they could still be captured and brought back by any citizen in the United States of America. Also, the Fugitive Slave Act led to the Civil War. Northerners, who may have been reluctant to go to war over the slavery in the South, were located in a tricky condition by the obligation that they capture African-Americans who had ran from burden and return them to their previous slave-holders. This put Northerners frankly in conspiracy with slavery, and they couldn't exist with that. In conclusion, the Fugitive Slave Act was not a success at all. Sure it had great intentions, but it just did not work out. This was one of the most contentious acts of the 1850 compromise and heightened Northern worries of a slave power scheme. It confirmed that all fugitive slaves were; upon detain, to be returned to their owners. Abolitionists called it the Bloodhound Law for the dogs that were frequently utilized to track down fugitive slaves.

Europe being controlled

With the rest of Europe being controlled in a complex string of alliances and treaties during the later half of the 19th century, Britain remained uninvolved. Their policy of Splendid Isolation was to keep themselves out of the quarrels and disputes of continental Europe, and allow them to focus on their overseas empire. With the crowing of a new Kaiser in Germany, and the interest of other nations to hold overseas colonies, Britains colonial empire was under attack. Their interest to focus on their vast empire would eventually lead them into disputes with other European nations. It would ultimately be their reason of going into isolation that would end it. In 1888 Kaiser William II ascended unto the German throne. William II was filled with a sense of Germanys destiny as the leading power in Europe.(Kagan, Ozment, Turner, The Western Heritage 2nd Ed.) William longed to achieve recognition from the rest of the world that Germany was as great, if not greater the Great Britain. He believed the only way to achieve a place under the sun (Kagan, Ozment, Turner, The Western Heritage 2nd Ed.) was to build a navy and establish colonies like Britain. Thus began William IIs commitment to colonial and commercial expansion. The German commercial rivalry with Great Britain not only brought direct trouble, but nourished German desire for sea power and a large navy. The Baghdad Railway was a venture from German businessmen to create a railway from Turkey to Baghdad. The British, who feared German influence too close to the Suez Canal and India, opposed greatly to the idea. The Suez Canal was an important waterway to India. If the oncoming Germans disrupted the usage of the canal, then Britains ability to transport to and from India would be disrupted by having to go around the tip of Africa. Even worse, if the Suez Canal were to fall under German hands, then Britain might have...

Guide to Using ACT Practice Tests 20 Hour Prep

Guide to Using ACT Practice Tests 20 Hour Prep SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you only have a short time left to study for the ACT, using official practice tests can help you raise your scores quickly. In this article, I'll take you through a 20-hour ACT prep plan thatuses official practice tests to hone your skills on the test. This approach willshow youexactly what you can expect on test day and helpyou to identify and address the most pressing weaknesses in your test-taking strategy. Below, I've broken down the most effective way to get the swiftly get the greatest benefitfrompracticing with official ACTs, as well as explained the benefits and drawbacks of this type of prep program. Why Are ACT Practice Tests Good for Short Term Prep? Practice tests are the best study tools for students who are less familiar with standardized tests and have limited time to prepare.You will experience the largest point gains in the shortest time through the use of practice tests.Familiarity with the overall test format and time constraints will help students who are new to the ACT improve their scores more dramatically than practicing individual questions in isolation. Understanding and fixing your mistakes on practice tests is the number one way to improve your scores.If you can be honest with yourself about what you’re missing and take steps to counteract your most costly errors, you’ll be well on your way to a great ACT score. How to Prep for the ACT in 20 Hours Using Practice Tests The following is a basic outline of how you can use 20 hours and three official practice tests to prepare yourself for the ACT. You can always spend more or less time reviewing your practice test results depending on how much time you have before the real test! Step 1: Take an Initial Practice Test (4 Hours) You should take an official ACT practice test right off the bat so you can figure out your score level and main weaknesses.Make sure that you use the same time constraints as the real test, and set yourself up in a distraction-free environment with the appropriate supplies.Don’t take the test on a computer; it won’t be the same experience as a paper-based test. You should always print out practice tests!See this article for more information on how to simulate realistic testing conditions. Be prepared with plenty of sharpened pencils that havenice robust erasers. Look at them. Beautiful. Step 2: Review Your Mistakes (4 Hours) Now for the hard part - understanding your mistakes on the practice test and fixing them!You don’t have that much time, so you won’t be able to go super in-depth with what you’re missing, but there are lots of quick fixes you can implement that will result in significant point gains.Notice which sections gave you the most trouble. Your mistakes might fall into a few different categories.Here are some issues that students commonly run into on the ACT and strategies dealing with them: Time Management Problems If you couldn’t finish a section of the test, you have problems with time management.These issues are common for students who are new to the ACT, and can usually be resolved through strategy changes. Since the ACT is a fairly predictable test, you can make a plan in advance to tackle your time problems. As an overall strategy, you should learn to skip questions that you spend more than 30 seconds trying to figure out.Lingering on difficult questions can be very damaging to your scores.If you spend too much time on hard questions early on in a section, you may miss easier questions at the end and sacrifice points. It’s very common for students to run out of time on the Reading section of the ACT because the passages are so long.If this is the case for you, you might try changing your reading strategy.Skimming or reading the questions first rather than reading the passage closely can save a lot of time.Read this article for more information on passage reading strategies. Since the ACT always includes passages in the same topic order, you can also try reading the passage in the topic area where you feel most confident first.For example, the natural sciences passage is always last, but you could skip right to it and do those questions first if science is a strength of yours.This way, you won’t run out of time before you get to the types of questions that are easier for you. If the science section is giving you trouble, you might try reading the conflicting viewpoints passage last.This passage often ruins people’s pace on the science section because it involves more reading and takes up more time than the other data-driven passages.If you save it for last, you won’t be forced to rush on other parts of the Science section that might be easier for you. You can also read our other articles for more tips on how to avoid running out of timeon the ACT. This will be an accurate depiction of you taking the ACT once you overcome your time problems. Careless Mistakes If you find that careless mistakes are an issue for you, there are a couple of steps you can take to get a better handle on them.A careless mistake is a mistake that happened because you didn’t read carefully enough or were rushing through the question.You should have known the answer, but you answered incorrectly anyways. To reduce instances of careless mistakes, you should always double-check your answers at the end of each section.You should also try to read more carefully and avoid rushing.On the Math section, you can underline what the problem wants you to solve for so that you don’t get lost in your calculations.You can also underline key words in Reading and Science questions to keep yourself on track. Lack of Content Knowledge Did you notice that you struggled in a particular content area on the practice test? Since you only have four hours to review your mistakes, you may not be able to fix your content weaknesses completely.That being said, small issues with content can be fixed with minimal study time. Since the ACT doesn’t give you math formulas, it will be useful for you to memorize any formulas you forgot that may have caused you to lose points.You can also brush up on some grammar rules if you had issues on the English section.If there’s a very large area of knowledge that you’re missing, don’t try to learn all of it now. Focus on more superficial issues that will allow you to gain back the most points in the shortest amount of time. Don't break out the heavy duty study materials for your gaps in content knowledge if you only have 20 hours. Zero in on the easy fixes. Step 3: Repeat Steps 1 and 2 (8 Hours) After you’ve evaluated your mistakes on the first practice test and developed a new strategy, you should take a second test to see where you stand.Then, you can repeat the process of analyzing and fixing your mistakes.If you find that you’ve improved significantly, that’s great! You may be making different mistakes now, so reassess your strengths and weaknesses and work on adapting your strategy.If you haven’t improved, you should look at how you reacted to your mistakes on the previous test. Try working with alternate strategies to combat your weaknesses. Step 4: Take a Final Practice Test (4 Hours) After the second round of testing and evaluation, you should take one last practice test before the real ACT.Make sure you use all the strategies you came up with in your review sessions. The extra practice will help to ensure that your performance on the real test is consistent with your current practice test results. Total Time: 20 hours! Yes! You did it! Will 20 Hours Be Enough Study Time for You? You can certainly improve your ACT scores in twenty hours, but for students who need to make significant changes of more than 2 or 3 points it may not be ideal.For example, if you hope to improve your scores by 6 points, 80 hours might be a more realistic estimate of how much study time you need to reach your goal. See this article on how long you should study for the ACT to get a better idea of how to plan out your time.If you’re not sure of your goals yet, read about how to find your target score. Even if you plan on studying for a longer period, going through the 20 hour study plan can be a helpful way to assess your problems and get in some good practice.You can spend more time in the mistake evaluation and strategy revision phase if you plan on studying for longer than 20 hours.You might decide to take an extra practice test or two as well so that you can keep revising your strategies to keep pace with your point improvements.To learn more about why studying for the ACT is worthwhile and how it will help you in the future, read some of our free guides and other resources! What's Next? Are you worried about your low ACT scores? Learn more about some of the best ACT strategies for low scorers who are hoping to improve! Procrastination when prepping for standardized tests is a common problem. Find out how you can beat it! If you're looking for basic tips to improve your ACT scores quickly, read about these 15 mini-strategies that can make a big difference. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points?We have the industry's leading ACT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and ACT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

Human cloning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human cloning - Research Paper Example According to the beliefs of Human Cloning Foundation (HCF), cloning technology is to find out a solution to enormous diseases and to prolong the survival rate. The technology could be utilized for blood cell cloning, organ cloning, treating cancer and to cure infertility. It could be exploited for cosmetic and plastic surgery and to prolong the aging. The technology could be used to overturn heart attacks. The technique utilizes embryonic stem cells for mending and reinstate damaged tissues. It could be used to replace skin tissues for burn victims, to replace damaged brain tissues, spinal cord cells or for regenerating tissues of various malfunctioning or non-functioning organs. Research is also underway to procure the cure for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, Arthritis, plastic surgery or cosmetic surgery, limb amputation, breast implants, replacement of faulty genes, chromosomal anomalies, liver and kidney transplantation (Smith). As every technology comes with enormous pros and cons so do cloning. The moral predicament of human cloning lies on the argument to promote or to impede cloning. Cloning is a kind of asexual reproduction, it therefore reduces the sense of distinctiveness of a character and there lacking uniqueness and freedom.

Gangs in prisons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Gangs in prisons - Essay Example The reasons of joining these gangs while in prisons are equally diversified and include the search for protection and in order to command control over all others. This study therefore intends to analyze the trends in prison gangs holistically within US, the reasons of their formation as well as the possible means of destroying them. The United States have increasingly been recording higher rates of gangs organized within the prisons over the last years (Sheldon, 2004). Both the increase in the number of gangs and gang members along with the increase in criminal activity by these individuals has lead to harsher responses by the criminal justice system including an increase in the incarceration of many gang members. For example, a study conducted in 1999 by prison administrators indicated that 24 percent of male prisoners and seven percent of female prisoners belong to a prison gang (Shelden, 2004). This was an approximately 167-percent increase in the number of prison gang members reported in 1991 whereby only nine percent of male and seven percent of female inmates reported belonging to a gang. In another study conducted in 1999 approximately 47,220 male were gang members in 1999 compared to a similar study in 1993 whereby 43,765 men were identified to be gang members in American prisons (a 7.9 percent increase ) (Shelden, Tracy & Brown, 2001). However, some states that have been identified with higher number of gangs in their prison population, for example Illinois, reported that as many as 34.3 percent of inmates belonged to a prison gang (Fleisher & Decker, 2001) which was the highest percent of prison gang-affiliated inmates in the nation. Despite the number of identified gang members in prisons, research on both the existence and the handling of gangs behind institutional walls is relatively nonexistent (Scott, 2001; Skarbek, 2012). Gangs exist in all prisons throughout United States (Fleisher & Decker, 2001).