The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn - Intolerance Essays

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Intolerance The entire plot of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is rooted on intolerance between different social groups. Without prejudice and intolerance The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would not have any of the antagonism or intercourse that makes the recital interesting. The prejudice and intolerance found in the book are the characteristics that make The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn great. The author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is Samuel Langhorn Clemens, who is more commonly known by his pen name, Mark Twain. He was born in 1835 with the passing of Haleys comet, and died in 1910 with the passing of Haleys comet. Clemens often used prejudice as a building block for the plots of his stories. Clemens even said, The very ink in which history is written is merely fluid prejudice. There are many other instances in which Clemens uses prejudice as a foundation for the entertainment of his writings such as this quote he said about foreigners in The Innocents Abroad: They spell it Vinci and pronounce it Vinchy; foreigners always spell better than they pronounce. Even in the opening paragraph of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Clemens states, Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. There were many groups that Clemens contrasted in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The interaction of these different social groups is what makes up the main plot of the novel. For the objective of discussion they have been broken down into five main sets of antithetic parties: people with high levels of melanin and people with low levels of melanin, rednecks and scholarly, children and adults, men and women, and finally, the Sheperdsons and the Grangerfords. Whites and African Americans are the main two groups contrasted in the novel. Throughout the novel Clemens portrays Caucasians as a more educated group that is higher in society compared to the African Americans portrayed in the novel. The cardinal way that Clemens portrays African Americans as obsequious is through the colloquy that he assigns them. Their dialogue is composed of nothing but broken English. One example in the novel is this excerpt from the conversation between Jim the fugitive slave, and Huckleberry about why Jim ran away, where Jim declares, Well you see, it uz dis way. Ole missus-dats Miss Watson-she pecks on me all de time, en treats me pooty rough, but she awluz said she woudn sell me down to Orleans. Although this is the phonetic spelling of how some African Americans from the boondocks used to talk, Clemens only applied the argot to Blacks and not to Whites throughout the novel. There is not one sentence in the treatise spoken by an African American that is not comprised of broken English. The but in spite of that, the broken English does add an entraining piece of culture to the milieu. The second way Clemens differentiates people in the novel of different skin color is that all Blacks in the book are portrayed as stupid and uneducated. The most blatant example is where the African American character Jim is kept prisoner for weeks while he is a dupe in a childish game that Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn play with him. Clemens spends the last three chapters in the novel to tell the tale of how Tom Sawyer maliciously lets Jim, who known only unto Tom is really a free man, be kept prisoner in a shack while Tom torments Jim with musings about freedom and infests his living space with rats, snakes, and spiders. At the end of this charade Tom even admits, Why, I wanted the adventure of it The next two groups Clemens contrasts are the rednecks and the scholarly. In the novel Clemens uses interaction between backwoods and more highly educated people as a vital part of the plot. The main usage of this mixing of two social groups is seen in the development of the two very entertaining characters simply called the duke and the king. These two characters are rednecks who pretend to be of a more scholarly

To Kill a Mockingbird (Atticus essays

To Kill a Mockingbird (Atticus essays Although Atticus describes Mrs. Dubose as "the bravest person I ever knew", it is Atticus himself who is the real hero of the novel. Atticus is unlike most heroes, he is a humble, intelligent man who teaches his children that moral courage is far greater than being brave with a gun in your hand. Throughout the novel his character shows compassion and sympathy for the less fortunate, whether they be right or wrong. In a time in America where blacks were considered to be subhuman he has a black woman raising his children and defended an innocent black man,doing so with integrity and pride. Atticus Finch is a good lawyer, who believes in justice and the justice system. Atticus Finch would have been one of the few lawyers of his time who could honestly admit that he believes that the justice system should be colour blind. Through Scouts eyes we only get the smaller details of the Tom Robinson trial in the beginning, although her point of view also makes Atticus, her father, seem to us, as he would seem to her: a hero. In his closing statement Atticus stated a famous quote from a man admired by most the people in the court room and most importantly on the jury he said " Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal .... we know that all men are not created equal in the sense some people would have us believe - some people are smarter than others, some people have more opportunity because they are born with it.... But there is one place in this country in which all men are created equal - there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man an equal of Einstein and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. This institution, gentlemen, is a court .... in our courts all men are created equal" (pg. 209). Atticus is a very intelligent and well educated man. This is evident his personal beliefs and high moral standards are told to his adolescent children as advice. His civ ...

Acquiring a Contract with the Navy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Acquiring a Contract with the Navy - Assignment Example This has raised the importance of negotiation in order to win the bidding on a contract with Navy (Dilger, 2013). In United States, most of the jobs are created in small business as a result of which initiative for growth and development of the concerned sector has been taken into account through the implementation of federal contracts. The Small Business Act (1953), states the importance of federal contract for the development of concerned sector. The Act further states that equal opportunity is provided to small sectors to ensure participation in the federal contracts. In the context of small business, HUBZone set-asides for small business that restrict some contracts associated with the same. Lester has developed the business across the regions and has been creating a huge amount of impact on the overall area and developing the effectiveness of the system. Therefore, it can be considered that with respect to the policies of the Act LesterMyers is qualified for gaining the bid cont act of Navy. In addition Lester has the proposed financial capacity that helps in developing as well as supporting it to meet with the needs of specifications of HUBZone (Dilger, 2013). The multi-year contract signifies continuous purchase of products and services from the same supplier for the period between one to five years at maximum. In case of multi-year contract, it becomes essential to maintain the performance according to terms of contact because it may lead to cancellation of payment to the concerned contractor. A multi-year contact is likely to be beneficial for Navy because it reduces the problem associated with seeking to identify the potential supplier of services. The changing rate of inflation as well as other market factors is likely to affect the price associated with the service (Jensen, 2006). In such case, multi-year contact is beneficial for navy as it ensures that change in prices does not affects the overall value of contact. A multi-year

Bank failure in jamaica Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bank failure in jamaica - Essay Example According to Jenifer Daley, the banking industry in Jamaica relied on foreign-owned banks. Foreign heads managed these banks, and the banks depended on the requirements of foreign legislation. The banking industry in Jamaica was crowded with diverse financial institutions including building societies, credit unions, money markets, export-import banks and stock exchanges. Commercial banks dominated the financial sector, in Jamaica. This diversity led to the fragility within the banking environment and structure (Daley 4). The changes in the banking sector in 1990s showed these fragilities in the arrangement of the banking industry. This placed immense pressure on the institutional structure and financial resources. The banking environment in Jamaica resulted from immense deregulation of activities, in the financial sector. This increased competitive challenges for the financial firms and banks. This mandated a strong Central Bank with roles such as the formation of monetary policies and directing an orderly development and growth of the system. Additionally, the experienced growth in the industry provided a springboard for the establishment and proliferation of financial firms and groups with different structures. These structures contributed to the breakdown of operational safeguards because of their fashion of operations (Daley 3). The structures also pressurized the cadre of managers. The instability experienced in 1980-1990s led to the unfavorable macroeconomic climates because of no-growth on the real sector and high inflation. This led to the beginning of government guidelines in the industry. Later politics took a central role in the management of the financial sector. The Finance Minister controlled the Central National Bank and closed it because of insolvency. The bank was illiquid and insolvent than the financial statement of 1997 had indicated. The bank tried to hide this state by ignoring the provision of

Reflection paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 30

Reflection paper - Essay Example illiant work of American FBI agents and their valuable experience, they still sometimes miss important facts just because the crime is committed by a person who simply could not be suspected of committing any crime. The case of Robert Hanssen was one of such cases which seem hopeless. The most unpleasant moment in the investigation is the desire of agents not to find a spy, but to close the case. They started suspecting an innocent man Brian Kelly and traced him everywhere until he was fired from job. They caused many troubles to him, but the real violator remained free and unsuspected. Finally, looking for the evidences of Brian’s non-existed guilt, they got the file with the proofs of spies work in the Soviet Union from the ex-agent of KGB for $7 million. Inside the file they found an audio record of a conversation. They were sure that they would hear the voice of Brian Kelly and were unpleasantly surprised when heard a voice of a different man, unknown, but a bit familiar. Finally one of the agents recognized the voice: it was the voice of Robert Hanssen. It is also known that they found the fingerprints of Hanssen on one of the document and recognized the voice only after that. But we can hardy state that he would be suspected only due to fingerprints. Criminalists are currently facing a very serious problem connected with the interpretation of fingerprints. They doubt if they should believe this method. If genetic dactyloscopy can be considered an absolutely reliable method of personality identification provided that the selection was made correctly, plain analysis of fingerprints frequently leads to mistakes. Widespread belief in the uniqueness of papillary lines for each person is rather a product of intuition, but not of the scientific investigation. Such belief is not supported by any scientific method, theoretical model or empirical evidence. The wide application of a method can’t guarantee its credibility. During many years the best Eur opean

Horror and Suspense

Horror and Suspense Discuss how horror and suspense are created in two short stories. In this essay I am going to look at how horror and suspense are created by the authors Charles Dickens and his gothic short story ‘The Signalman and Thomas Hardy and his mysterious story ‘The Three Strangers. In Charles Dickens ‘The Signalman, Dickens creates and maintains a sense of horror and suspense throughout the story. There are numerous ways in which he composes this sense to infiltrate the readers mind into the atmosphere present throughout the story. The presentation of the characters help to create this atmosphere throughout the story. The author creates a sense of mystery with the main character as he does not introduce or describe the appearance of the character, but yet sets the story through this characters first person perspective, acting as the narrator of the story. This allows the reader an insight into the thoughts and feelings of the main character. Dickens also introduces the signalman as dark and sinister. He describes his appearance in a gothic fashion, using repetition of the word ‘dark when describing his features; â€Å"he was a dark sallow man with a dark beard†. Dickens also presents the signalman to be a disturbed man who â€Å"had run wild, misused his opportunities, gone down, and never risen again.† The setting in which the story takes place also creates horror and suspense. Dickens gives a description of the railway cutting with intricate detail and encompasses it with a cloud of gloomy and a depressive mood. He associates places and objects with certain impressions which produce this large image of negative and horrifying vibes and feelings. When the narrating character has his first impression of the railway cutting, he compliments it as â€Å"extremely deep, and unusually precipitate†. When Dickens describes the signalmans box, Dickens bombards the reader with adjectives of a morphed and â€Å"depressing† atmosphere. He called it a â€Å"dungeon† which implies a sense of torture and a horrid nature. The description of the signalmans box creates a feeling of suffocation and being trapped. â€Å"On either side, a dripping-wet wall of jagged stone, excluding all view but a strip of sky; the perspective one only a crooked prolongation of this great dungeon. † The emphasis on the gloominess and â€Å"forbidding† â€Å"deadly† environment conveys the relevance to death. The mouth of the tunnel is also described as having â€Å"a barbarous, depressing and forbidding air.† These details combined with the cold wind and loneliness of the place; add up to a feeling of dread and foreboding. This all adds to the horror of the story and creates uneasiness and suspense for the reader. The language used in ‘The Signalman creates an atmosphere of horror and suspense and also draws the attention of the reader. The language used is of a Victorian context as the story was written and set in a Victorian setting. This creates an element of being in the Victorian times. Dickens also uses long sentences to create an element of suspense. Dickens uses the language of the story to create the atmosphere of horror and suspense through many methods. For instance, â€Å"Halloa! Below there!† is a small expression that is used several times throughout the story and was repeated by several characters. This strikes the reader with alarm and fear as Dickens creates a paradox for the reader; is it a coincidence or is it involved with the idea of the supernatural? The imagery used in ‘The Signalman also creates horror and suspense in the story. Dickens describes the place as a repugnant and disturbing place to illustrate the unnatural and gothic vibe of the place. The narrator describes the place as a â€Å"dungeon† and analysiss the cutting as â€Å"†¦extremely deep, unusually precipitous. It was made through a clammy stone, that became oozier and wetter as I went down.† Dickens emphasizes the gloomy and unpleasant elements of the cutting to engulf the reader into this unnatural world so the reader can endow the â€Å"depressing† feelings which the narrator has; â€Å"For these reasons, I found the way long enough to give me time to recall a singular air of reluctance or compulsion†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Note the use of the words â€Å"reluctant† and â€Å"impulsive† which again adds to the suspense of the story. The conclusion of the story also creates horror and suspense. Horror is created in the tragic death of the signalman. The narrator begins to see the specter in the ghostly tunnel, and begins to realize that the death of the signalman had occurred just as he had imagined; â€Å"that only in my mind, to the gesticulation he had imitated†. Suspense is created in this conclusion as it links with the idea of the supernatural and the story concludes with no resolved ending, leaving a mystery to what can happen next. The story gives the impression that it is about the effect of technology and industrialization on the human soul. The signalman is driven â€Å"mad† by the monotony and, at the same time, the awful responsibility involved in his work. He is â€Å"alienated† from his environment; with little to occupy his mind and always knowing the smallest mistake will lead to terrible loss of life. The supernatural element reflects the Victorian fascination with the paranormal as a reaction against the advances in science and the technology during the 19th century that seemed to deny the existence of a spiritual dimension to life. The story is a true mystery; it can have no solution as it is about the impossibility of ever knowing what is real. In Thomas Hardys story ‘The Three Strangers, Hardy creates and maintains a sense of horror and suspense throughout the story. There are numerous ways in which he composes this atmosphere of horror and suspense. Unlike the narrator in ‘The Signalman, the narrator in ‘The Three Strangers does not have the roll of a character in the story. This allows the reader to see the story from a third person perspective which allows the readers to endure the atmosphere of the story. The characters in ‘The Three Strangers appear to have similarities to the characters of ‘The Signalman. One similarity is that the characters present mystery as well in Hardys story. Not much is revealed about the characters at the start of the story which creates a sense of suspense for the reader. The three strangers are the main object of the story and as the story proceeds, so does the readers knowledge of the three strangers. This creates suspense as the readers knowledge of the three strangers is the plot of the story, the strangers being the twist in the tale. Although Hardy describes the other characters in the story with warmth and, the three strangers are the only people who present horror and suspense. Hardy describes the first stranger to be thin â€Å"a man of supple frame† and tall â€Å"He appeared tall†, and considers him to be a dark and mysterious character by saying â€Å"he naturally belonged to the black-coated tribes of men.† Hardy also makes the stranger seem mysterious through some of his reactions such as when â€Å"At the sound of the same the man in the chimney-corner took up the poker†¦ as if doing it thoroughly were the one aim of his existence†. The second stranger also seems to present suspense as when he arrives, he causes the first stranger to do abnormal things, such as the example above. The third stranger also creates suspense as he alarms the people at the party into believing that he is the sheep stealer in which the authorities were after through his reactions of â€Å"his k nees trembling, his hands shaking violently†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Unlike the unnatural world created by Dickens in ‘The Signalman, Hardy sets a very natural scene in agricultural England, complimenting the place with â€Å"grassy and furzy downs†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Yet Hardy also uses this natural scene to build horror and suspense throughout the story. Hardy creates a balance of good and evil in the setting. He presents the party inside the cottage as a warm, comfortable, and cosy environment while on the outside of the cottage, he presents the weather as â€Å"boisterous†, with violent winds and heavy rain. This outside environment creates horror and suspense as it encloses the comfort and cosiness of the inside environment with its euphoric atmosphere. As in The Signalman the language again adds to horror and suspense. Hardys short story employs Victorian context as it too was written in Victorian times. This creates a Victorian atmosphere and engulfs the reader into the old culture of England. Hardy uses language to create an atmosphere of horror and suspense in various methods. For instance, the author maintains the mysterious identities of the strangers by referring to the strangers by their appearance or position, such as the first stranger being referred to as â€Å"the man in the chimney-corner† and the second stranger being â€Å"the stranger in cinder-grey†. This mystery about the strangers identities creates suspense as the reader does not know how the strangers interact with the plot of the story or even who they are. Hardy also uses long sentences in contrast to Dickens to create an element of suspense. The imagery used in Hardys short story is the opposite of Dickens as his imagery is more natural than gloomy and gothic. In the story, Hardy uses imagery to create horror and suspense. Hardy gives an image of a natural countryside in the south of England describing its features as â€Å"grassy and furzy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  An image of a storm is created in the story which compliments the suspense of the story and creates an uneasy atmosphere for the reader. Unlike the conclusion of ‘The Signalman, ‘The Three Strangers concludes in a more vivid tone. The story ends with the reader knowing that the first stranger got away with his crime however, creates a vibe of suspense as nothing is known about the whereabouts of the first stranger. Although ‘The Three Strangers concludes, it has a similarity to ‘The Signalman as nothing is known about what can happen next. We know that the first stranger got away with his crime but we dont know where he had gone to, while in ‘The Signalman we know that the death of the signalman may be partly the fault of the narrator, but we dont know what fate is in store for the narrator. All in all, it is evident that horror and suspense are created in the two short stories; ‘The Signalman and ‘The Three Strangers both writers use character setting, language and plot as a means of creating the desired atmosphere, and both succeed in achieving their aim. However there are differences in which this creation of horror and suspense are orchestrated within these stories. In conclusion, both stories provide a horrifying and suspense experience through different methods and techniques.

Free Oedipus the King Essays: Hamartia in Oedipus Rex :: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex

Hamartia in Oedipus the King According to the Aristotelian characteristics of good tragedy, the tragic character should not fall due to either excessive virtue or excessive wickedness, but due to what Aristotle called hamartia. Hamartia may be interpreted as either a flaw in character or an error in judgement. Oedipus, the tragic character in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, certainly makes several such mistakes; however, the pervasive pattern of his judgemental errors seems to indicate a basic character flaw that precipitates them. Oedipus’ character flaw is ego. This is made evident in the opening lines of the prologue when he states "Here I am myself--you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." (ll. 7-9) His conceit is the root cause of a number of related problems. Among these are recklessness, disrespect, and stubbornness. Oedipus displays an attitude of recklessness and disrespect throughout the play. When he makes his proclamation and no one confesses to the murder of Laius, Oedipus loses patience immediately and rushes into his curse. Later, he displays a short temper to Tiresias: "You, you scum of the earth . . . out with it, once and for all!," (ll. 381, 383) and "Enough! Such filth from him? Insufferable--what, still alive? Get out--faster, back where you came from--vanish!" (ll. 490-492) If an unwillingness to listen may be considered stubbornness, certainly Oedipus would take advice from no one who would tell him to drop the matter of his identity, among them Tiresias, the shepherd, and even Jocasta. Even after Oedipus thinks he has received a reprieve from the fate he fears when he hears that Polybus is dead, he does not have the sense to keep still. "So! Jocasta, why, why look to the Prophet’s hearth . . . all those prophesies I feared . . . they’re nothing, worthless," he says. (ll.1053-1054, 1062, 1064) To the shepherd, Oedipus certainly has no respect for the man’s age when he tortures him. Oedipus’ cruelty indeed literally squeezes his own demise out of the shepherd: "You’re a dead man if I have to ask again . . . I’m at the edge of hearing horrors, yes, but I must hear!" (ll. 1281, 1285) After his recognition and reversal, Oedipus exclaims "The hand that struck my eyes was mine, . . . I did it all myself!" (ll. 1469, 1471) He is not only referring to his self-inflicted mayhem, but also the chain of events that led to his demise.