The Perfect Couple in Woman in White Essay -- Wilkie Collins Woman in

The Perfect Couple  in Woman in White  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Woman in White, the author gives the reader many opportunities to find their favorite romantic plot. The reader is left to wonder which characters are well suited for each other. We are given the choices of the gentlemanly Walter and the feminine Laura or Laura and the deceitful Sir Percival. It seems to this reader that the author gave us the answer to the puzzling perfect couple question; only, the perfect couple is really a perfect trio- Walter, Laura, and Marian. Walter did not have to make a choice between the two main female characters because they made it for him. It is obvious that Laura and Marian complete each other. We see that whatever qualities Laura lacks, Marian has, and vice versa. These two women combine to make the perfect woman. Let us first examine Laura. Walter seems to fall in love with Laura at first sight. She is the image of the perfect Victorian woman. She is beautiful, rich, and pliant. She is willing to do whatever it takes to make other people happy. She has a dee...

Alexander’s Vast Accomplishments as a Conquerer Essay -- alexander the

The first matter to consider is what constitutes â€Å"greatness†. There are no set standards no checklist, to apply to a person, to determine it they are â€Å"great.† The simplest way that I could conceive to decide whether this title should apply to Alexander was to determine if he was, in some way, superior to the rulers that came before or after his reign. The most obvious place for me to start my consideration is with Alexander’s vast accomplishments as a conquerer. Alexander inherited an impressive military from his father and a stable kingdom; he also followed his father’s plans to invade Asia. Does this detract from his own accomplishments with the Macedonian army? I would argue that it does not. It does not matter how large his or how well trained his standing army had been, there can be no success without some form of military leadership. Alexander began his military campaign and his rule much where his father left off. Whether or not it was his aim, this created a sense of normality for the men that was part of his father’s regime. Alexander’s position as a warrior-king who stood side-by-side among his men also served to create respect among his peers. Gradually, as Alexander conquered more Persian land, he began to adopt the policies of Persian rulers. Alexander’s change in policy extended beyond just political roles, he gave consideration to the local gods in many of the lands that he conquered. Eventually, Alexander brought people in from the conquered nations to serve under him. It is unknown whether Alexander intended to adopt these practices; if he adopted the policies that he liked; or if he adopted policies for political purposes. No matter his intentions, Alexander’s changes in leadership pol... ...here are few people in history that can claim the military prowess, uncanny political maneuvering, and the overall lasting effect of the dissemination of a particular culture such as Alexander. Alexander’s exploits led to the spread of the Greek culture throughout Asia and Africa. They even went so far as to impact the Romans who dominated Hellenistic Egypt. He left in his wake and expansion of territory and commerce, with expanded trading ports and the exportation of the Greek political system. Christianity emerged with the Hellenization of the Jews and spread throughout Hellenized gentile communities. It seems impossible to catalogue every impact of Alexander’s empire. In the end, I have to conclude that Alexander does ‘fully deserve’ the title of â€Å"the Great.† Works Cited Worthington, Ian. Alexander The Great: A Reader. New York: Routledge, 2012.

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest

Art from its very beginning has played the role of upgrading the value of the society. Literature works have taken the responsibility of improving the value of the degraded societies. Literature works are the perfect mirrors of the nature, culture and practices prevailed in societies existed in different ages. Literature of twentieth century would differ from that of the twenty-first century. The characters of the literature works are the representatives of the generation of that period. Poets and authors were very much aware and bothered about the society and people and used their pen as a sword to destroy the evilness that existed. The best way to learn history and culture and the life of early generations is to move through the literature works of that particular period.Plays of famous playwrights beautifully illustrate the whole generation of that age. It will also reflect the dialect and standard of the generation. Writings in particular have the capability to touch the very bas e of the society by criticizing and applauding its activities, conventions, customs and practices. All the plays, novels and other works have something good to exhort to the society. A piece of writing will be highly influenced by the background of the author and the place which he represents. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and Hamlet by William Shakespeare are two examples of such works that contain high moral and social theme in it. The Importance of Being Earnest of Oscar Wilde is an ultimate demolition of late nineteenth-century moral and social attitudes and is a comic critique of late Victorian value.Oscar Wilde's witty remark ‘The truth is rarely pure and never simple’ exhibits a major theme of the play. ‘Truth’ in Victorian England was revealed in the stagnant social conventions that suppressed individual expression. The play openly criticized various sluggish and vein practices. Oscar Wilde was against this conventional notion of tr uth as it was used to keep blinders on the society and prevented individuals from looking at life from different angles. He wanted define truth to a different way. He did not respect anything which is traditionally considered as truth value or morality.He was against the rigid set of rules that are supposed to be as truth or justice. There were various examples of human nature and reality that were evident throughout the play The Importance of Being Earnest. Human practices and the belief about morality or justice often will be quite away from the actual truth or justice. It is also a fantasy in which unattainable human ideals are permitted to realize themselves. He wonders what does it mean to be perfectly earnest? How does it differ from society and people? He himself was found to be perplexed while exploring certain things and cry out what meaning does the word earnest give. Oscar Wilde himself addressed this play as ‘A trivial comedy for serious people'. The moral confusio n in the play is an example of the mishap that prevailed in the contemporary Victorian society.In The Importance of Being Earnest, the concept of marriage is of paramount importance. The question of the nature of marriage appears first time in the opening dialogue among Algernon and his butler, Lane, and this point continues for a while. The play depicts an ongoing debate about the nature of marriage, discussing whether it is ‘pleasant’ or ‘unpleasant.’ Lane says that marriage is a pleasant state though he late says that his marriage was the consequence of a serious ‘misunderstanding between myself and a young person’. The concepts of Lane about marriage is ‘somewhat lax’ as far as Algernon is concerned.His concepts are found to be persistently cynical till he falls in love with Cecily. Algernon, but, opines that the truth â€Å"isn’t quite the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet, refined girl.† These contrasting and confusing views of these characters of the play are the original reflection of the chaotic Victorian society and their morality. The Importance of Being Earnest intended nothing but pure criticism.In general these assumptions reveal the conventional preoccupations of Victorian respectability; its social position, character and income. Morality and the constraints is also a major topic throughout The Importance of Being Earnest. Algernon (character) is of the opinion that it is the responsibility of the servant class to set a moral standard for the upper classes. In Jack’s (character) opinion, reading a private cigarette case itself can be ‘ungentlemanly.’ Algernon points that ‘More than half of modern culture depends on what one shouldn’t read’.   All these assumptions and restrictions formulated a strict code of morals that prevail in Victorian society. Oscar Wilde is not bothered with questions of what is moral and what is not.He howe ver criticizes the whole Victorian concept of considering morality as a rigid body of rules defining what people should and should not do. ‘Earnestness’, which stands for the quality of being serious and the quality of being sincere, is the chief object of satire of the play. Oscar Wilde wants us to consider irreverence, the opposite of earnestness, as the true moral character. But, earnestness, seriousness or sincerity is the chief most enemy of morality in The Importance of Being Earnest. Earnestness may appear in different styles like boringness, solemnity pomposity, smugness, self-righteousness, sense of duty, and complacency all of which Wilde saw as hallmarks of the Victorian character.For Oscar Wilde, the term earnest is a combination of two ideas: the notion of false truth as well as the idea of false morality. We can see Jack and Algernon attempting to break away from the strictures of modesty and decency by inventing some fabricated alter egos. It is nothing b ut the false morality and values of the Victorian society that impelled them for this. These incidents are the pure example of the haughtiness, smugness and other false practices prevailed in the Victorian society. The Importance of Being Earnest. Criticizes the whole Victorian morality; their false strictness and practices.The pun in the play strikes at the core of the Victorian concept of duty and respectability. We can see Gwendolen desiring to marry Earnest though she is not sure of this earnestness. She simply forgives the deception of Jack. Jack pretends to be both ‘Earnest’ and ‘earnest’ and become the representative of Victorian hypocrisy in the play. The notion of inversion (different types of inversion) found in The Importance of Being Earnest. is also intended to criticize similar morality in the Victorian society. Algernon says that ‘Divorces are made in Heaven’ which is against the common notion that ‘Marriages are made in He aven’. Jack later says that it is ‘terrible’ for a man to be truthful throughout his life.This represents the decayed morality and practices prevailed in the contemporary Victorian society. The characters of the play simply inverted the conventional morality and displayed the standard of the Victorian society in their actions. The female characters of The Importance of Being Earnest. symbolize an inversion of accepted Victorian practices with respect to the gender roles. Gwendolen, Cecily, Lady Bracknell and al other characters possess a face of deception and false morality. The weakness of the characters represents the weakness of the contemporary Victorian society. The moral paradox, the moral breakdown of the Victorian society is the most evident theme of the play.Jokes about death are also visible throughout the play The Importance of Being Earnest. These death jokes give a layer of dark humor to the play and connect to the concept of life being a work of art . The characters in the play discuss death as a happening over which a person can gain control. Double life is another concept that is visible in The Importance of Being Earnest. One of the important paradoxes of The Importance of Being Earnest is the state of impossibility to become earnest or moral even though some people claim to be so. We can see Lady Bracknell commenting about death. An incident of inversion happens as she says that her friend Lady Harbury appears twenty years younger after her husband’s death. She is of the opinion that ‘death is an inconvenience for others’. When she hears about the death of Bunbury (as per the physicians’ predictions) she praises Bunbury as she moved ‘under proper medical advice’.As per the talk of Miss Prism, death is an experience from which people can learn a moral lesson. She opines that it would be good for Ernest to die. Algernon and Jack put plans for killing the imaginary brother of Jack. These superstitions, ignorance, death jokes or dark humor explain life as a wok of art. The character of the play considers death as something which is under the control of man. For them death is the ultimate decision that one can take to shape and color his life. These characters, their beliefs, thoughts and morality are directly pulled out from the life in the Victorian society. Victorian people maintained the same ideology during those times. Oscar Wilde was planning an open criticism through his play The Importance of Being Earnest.ReferencesJordan, R. J. (1970). Satire and Fantasy in Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.Reinert, O. (1956). Satiric Strategy in The Importance Of Being Earnest.Bloom, Harold. Oscar Wilde. New York: Chelsea House, 1985.Ericksen, Donald H. Oscar Wilde. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1977.Freedman, Jonathan, ed. Oscar Wilde, A Collection of Critical Essays. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996.Gagnier, Regenia. Idylls of the Marketplace, Osca r Wilde and the Victorian Public. Palo Alto, California: Stanford University Press, 1986.Pearce, Joseph. The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde. London: HarperCollins UK, 2001.Raby, Peter. Oscar Wilde. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.Siebold, Thomas. Readings on The Importance of Being Earnest. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, 2001.

Henrician Reformation

To What Extent Was The Henrician Reformation Inspired By The Political And Dynastic Consideration Rather Than Religious Ideology? The Henrician Reformation posed many religiously inspired ideology as well as both political and dynastic considerations. Evidence shows all three played their particular part in successfully inspiring the Henrician Reformation. From various acts being passed in 1533 and 1534, with one of them being The Act of Supremacy, in which Henry’s dynasty becomes more powerful than it was before. However, religiously the reformation was inspired by such things as, the break from Rome and the Pope due to Henry’s need for a divorce form Catherine of Aragon. Also the denominational faith of England being changed to the new ‘Church of England’ faith. Henry’s dynasty was in tact right up to the point in which he died. This was due to, The Supremacy Act. He got what he wanted in terms of wealth, divorce, etc. and the people were fine with his power as it didn’t per say affect until he began closing the monasteries. Henry used parliament and politics to make known his growing supremacy over the Church of England faith. He did initially do this to allow the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. In the 1540s, as Henry’s health go down hill and was not very substantial, William Paget and Co. rallied a successful overthrow against the conservatives. This in turn allowed them to not only control the king’s will but also seize power in the next reign. The Henrician Reformation did however become inspired by religious ideology. The pregnancy of Anne Boleyn ignited Henry’s already urgent plea to be granted a divorce from his current wife, Catherine of Aragon. The pregnancy itself was a social faux par and id not please the Pope and the divorce proceedings would only make the issue worse. This was the first religious inspiration, which could be said to have inspired the Henrician Reformation, which eventually resulted in the break from Rome and the Pope, giving England its new Protestant faith, The Church of England. Once Henry had succumbed to the inevitable loss of his money he and Thomas Cromwell devised a plan to close the monasteries. This would allow Henry to gain money form the tithes and annates. In 1536 the Ten Articles were published. The Ten Articles declared that ‘Christ’s body and blood were actually present ‘substantially’. This statement meant that it could be used by Catholics or Lutherans as well. It was done in the thinking that it would justify the articles which proclaimed that ‘sinners attain the justification by contrition and faith joined with chanty’. This was a Catholic fixation. 3 years later, in 1539, The Act of Six Articles was published. It was published as it came to light that England was not as protestant as hoped and still remained substantially Catholic. Denial of transubstantiation was made punishable by burning. Politically and dynastically the reformation was inspired but evidence shows that without the religious ideology, it wouldn’t have become such a famous reform. Religious ideology initially started off the reformation, with Henry wanting a male heir to the throne of England. Dynastic and political considerations only back-up the initial fact. The Henrician Reformation began with religion and although it was inspired by politics and dynasty, this can’t take away from the fact that religion had a profound effect on the Henrician Reformation.

Suggestions for President Obama's Strategy of Declaring Essay

Suggestions for President Obama's Strategy of Declaring - Essay Example United States is one of the countries considered with the best constitutions globally. However, there are several functional departments that citizens are crying foul of their effectiveness in the country, for instance, the congress. Basically, I agree with Obama’s suggestion that he cannot wait for a â€Å"dysfunctional† congress due to the constitutional system adopted by the United States. This paper focuses on difficulties imposed on policy making by the United States’ constitutional system. It also discuses why founders opted for a system based on separation of power, checks and balances. Moreover, it evaluates its effectiveness in the present situation of the United States. Finally, it offers personal suggestions on Obama’s strategy on declaration that he cannot wait for a â€Å"dysfunctional† congress and suggests several policies. United States is considered the world super power with strong and operational constitutional system. However, th e policies system and structure were only effective in the past years. This is because in the past years United States had really advanced both economically and politically. In the recent few years, the constitutional system adopted by United States has proved ineffective and unreliable (Child 48). This is due to non-responsive nature of the system to the problems facing the country over the past few years. In the past years that is twentieth century, united states have been faced with series of problems that have greatly compromised its position globally and exposed certain weaknesses of the constitutional system on policy making and implementation (Congress 37). United states have been faced with series of problems most of which can be controlled by the country, but the policy making procedure adopted in the constitution does not allow for quick response to such issues due to the legal procedures. For instance, unemployment rate have greatly increased in the United States over the past years (Schwartz 90). Basically, this has been caused by trade with china. China offers cheap products in the country which cannot be adequately and effectively competed against by the country’s locally produced commodities. This has led to closure of several companies’ especially local company. This is because they cannot adequately compete against Chinese products due to their market prices. This has led to exportation of unemployment from china to the United States (Leebrick 79). United States is the largest importer of Chinese products. Low cost of Chinese products is due to their currency value and regulation by the government on value regulation of the currency. Though this has caused United States its economic strength and china emerging as a potential contender as a global power house, United States have done little on addressing the issue (Schwartz 43). The country through its legislation could have suspended trade with china so as to address the problems in the economy due to the trade. However, this has taken long and the country has been frequently faced with similar problems arising from trade between the country and china. The issue has not been addressed due to the policy making procedure in the country and separation of power, checks and balances that take long. According to the constitution of the country, there are several departments and legal investigation and considerations that have to be taken before sanctioning trade with china. This shows the weak

The management of ipratroprium during an asthma attack Essay

The management of ipratroprium during an asthma attack - Essay Example It is however important to realize that the administration of Ipratropium should be managed in a way that makes its use safe for the patient. The delivery of Ipratropium is carried out in the form of aerosolized solution through the use of a metered dose inhaler. The recommended dosage of Ipratropium in inhaled solutions is 500 mcg given 6 or 8 hourly. Therapeutic benefit starts within 30 seconds and reach its 50% level by the end of 3 minutes; this effect persists for about 6 hours. Being a quaternary ammonium compound, ipratropium carries a positive charge and is therefore not easily absorbed from lungs; hence systemic absorption is minimal which makes it a safe compound. Significant improvement in pulmonary function becomes apparent within a time span of 15 to 30 minutes. Combinations of ipratropium and albuterol are also marketed, the use of which should be avoided in patients who have a known allergy to Peanuts, since soya lecithin is used as a career in such combinations (Lehne,

BP oil company Knowledge management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

BP oil company Knowledge management - Assignment Example This is then followed by a discussion on Knowledge management leadership provision and the research reveals that mid-level BP leadership together with excellence coordinators are responsible for tracking dialogue and knowledge exchange initiatives. The paper also contains an extensive assessment of learning cycle, and this illustrates that the learning sequence is prior to, during and subsequent to any experience and is supported by straightforward process tools. The paper recommends that it is crucial for BP to facilitate sharing of knowledge within its highest quality, in order not to sacrifice integrity of the company and the entire knowledge management system. The group needs to assign more individuals who will be responsible for reviewing, approving and enhancing quality of knowledge and learning cycle before it is shared to other personnel. However, the paper acknowledges that knowledge and learning scheme at BP has resulted in gains amounting to more than hundreds of billions of dollars mostly due to informal personnel networks, in addition to supplementary workplace practices. Introduction BP is among the world leading global oil and Gas Company and it offers its clients with energy for transportation, retail services plus petrochemicals products. The company makes annual sales and additional operating revenues amounting to $375,517 million as of last year. BP has over 83.400 employees spread in over 30 nations with retail sites totalling 21800 (BP Global, 2012). The company has two business segments, which are exploration, production/ refining and Marketing. However, a detached business referred to as, Alternative Energy deals with low-carbon businesses as well as future growth alternatives of oil and gas, such as solar, wind, hydrogen, and bio-fuels. The company business activities are structured into four key areas, comprising the upstream, the downstream, the chemicals, and the gas and power divisions. They all add up to around 150 self-directed bus iness units.   BP organizational structure has changed considerably to be more of an entrepreneurial emphasized business unit. Thus, the company board sets up the goals, come up with broader policy measures, and monitors the group CEO performance (Groot, 2009). However, the board does not manage the group businesses, but it delegates responsibility and executive authority to a single point, that of the CEO who is then responsible for refining and marketing affairs. The argument by BP is that a flat organization enables faster decisions making, and at the same time encourages entrepreneurial creativity from its employees along with ideas being managed better. Below the chief executive officer there is the group vice president along with the senior group vice president in charge of safety and operations, and below them there are regional vice presidents whereby individuals such as refinery managers report directly to them. Thus, every business unit contains a high level of independe nce. nevertheless they all share logic of interdependence, in addition to awareness that so as to fulfil their performance goals they will have to become skilled at both from and by each-other. The central corporate organization helps and supports individual business units, and as such individual performance contracts play a crucial role. This brings out commitment to a set of