Isaac Newton on essence of God Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Isaac Newton on essence of God - Essay Example First was the admission that there are no causes of natural things that are true or sufficient in explaining their appearance (Newton, 54). The second rule is that due to lack of truth and sufficiency in the explanation of appearance of things, same natural effects must be assigned to the same cause. Here, he gave the example of how man and beast respire as well the difference of light from culinary fire and that from the sun. Third example was that of qualities belonging to bodies that humans can have access to during experiments and therefore such qualities can be esteemed as the universal qualities for all bodies. From this rule he deduced that all bodies are impermeable and are movable, endowed with some powers that help them in resisting motion (Newton, 54). In addition, all bodies gravitate towards the earth with a proportion of their quantity of matter. Examples of such are the way the sea gravitate towards the moon or the motion of planets towards each other. According to Newton, God is the overall creator of the universe. He states that â€Å"this most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.

Reading About The Freedom Writers English Language Essay

Reading About The Freedom Writers English Language Essay When someone thinks of freedom writers, they instantly think of the movie that was made in 2007. Most people dont even know that the movie was based on a true story. In the 1990s, a new schoolteacher by the name of Erin Gruwell decided that her curriculum needed to be changed. Erin wanted to inspire low-achieving students. Instead of teaching the students about subjects that they dont care about, she handed out journals and asked the students to write about their own lives and the struggles they have been through. Erin knew that all the students didnt like her and she wanted to not only be a teacher, but to be a friend to her students. Making a connection to her students was hard, but she knew that something would be able to get to them, and that was to connect her work to the lives of the students. Stories and plays such as Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet and Anne Frank were presented within the classroom. The students could relate to these stories because just like in Romeo and Julie t, there were gangs. In Anne Frank, there was racism and death. After reading about The Freedom Writers, to words that stand out to me are racism, gang violence and struggles during school and at home. At the time, education was strict because that was the only way to succeed in life. A quote that was stated by one of the writers says, Ive lost many friends, friends who have died in an undeclared war. By analyzing this quote, I feel as if this writer is talking about their experience with gang violence. Because of gang violence, most, if not all, of the writers have to have their guards up. They never know when a gun rampage might begin. Most of the writers were already in a gang because they had no choice. They didnt know what was right from wrong and even their families were in gangs. If they didnt have family, they would go into a gang and make a family. Being in a gang has affected teens way of learning while in school. Their focus is not on school work. Gangs also caused more racism during school. In most of the classrooms, the students were all separated into their racial groups. These groups affected the way the students felt because if they werent a certain type of race, then they werent allowed in. This made it hard for students to ask for help in classrooms because they were in a different group. After reading through the diaries, anyone can understand why and how the writers have overcome their obstacles. To succeed in life, they had to be more open minded and not judge people without knowing them. Its crazy to read the diaries and see how difficult it was to live in a life where you could only talk to people that were in your group, or judging people who I dont even know just because they are different. When someone thinks they have an awful life now, itd good to look back on how the lives of the writers were because it helps us realize that we actually do have a great life and we should be grateful for all of the opportunities we get to take. Being able to go to school, get an education and have friends of many racial groups is an honor. One of the most interesting stories that involved the Freedom Writers was The Diary of Anne Frank. This story was introduced to the writers in the classroom to help them realize that there is someone out there who has it just as bad as they do. Anne Frank had to deal with the Holocaust which was when Germany killed pretty much all of the Jews. Anne Frank fortunately made it out alive because Miep Gies helped hide Anne Frank. Miep Gies actually got out alive as well and was able to write about her experience in the Concentration Camps. The writers were so interested in this book that they just had to meet Miep Gies. They actually raised money and worked together and in the end, they get to meet Miep Gies. Her story touched the hearts of the students and that moment changed their lives forever. Statistics say that during this time, most if not all of the students did pass high school and even move on to college. They honestly didnt think that they would be able to pass because no one believed in them, until Mrs. Gruwell came to teach their classes. I dont blame the students either. Imagine being in a poor neighborhood where all around you are gangs and every night you cant sleep because you hear gun shots. Your family never graduated from school or maybe you have no family to look up to. How in the world could anyone believe in themselves when no one around them cared enough to help them? The Freedom Writers, in my opinion, is probably one of the greatest stories in human history. It not only tells people a little bit about the Holocaust and how it affected many people, but it also lets people know that there are people out there who are suffering and we dont even realize it. I know for certain that most people dont even go in a down town area because they know that there are trashy and poor people who live there. They dont even get the chance to let those types of people explain their story and how they ended up there. Most teens dont have the ability to get a good education like most upper classmen do. After reading about and even watching the movie about the Freedom Writers, it has shown me that people need to give other people a break and not judge anyone just by looking at them. Since the Freedom Writers actually happened, most of us are accepting people of other races and more people are getting educations. In our society, we cant get anywhere without an educati on. From personal experience, The Freedom Writers is actually an inspiring story for young people like me. This story is being read in classrooms all around the world still today. The journals that were written by the students in the classroom, was actually made into a book and is inspiring people all around the world to do better for themselves and for others. After the story of the Freedom Writers leaked out, a foundation called The Freedom Writers Foundation was formed. Its a non-profit organization that was created to inspire young, underprivileged students to pick up books instead of guns and knives. One of my favorite quotes from The Freedom Writers was, When you die, do you think its going to matter if you were a gangster? If you had swag? If you dressed a certain way? Youre dead and youre going to rot. And when you rot, no one is going to remember you because all you left behind in this world was something no one cares about. This quote was stated by Erin Gruwell and this quote should be said to every student thats in school. A lot of people act or dress a certain way to become popular or to stand out, but thats not going to get them anywhere in the world. No one cares how good you look in the real world; its how good you handle situations that are thrown at you. The Freedom Writers is one of the most known stories in American history. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/jan2007/free-j27.shtml http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/freedomwriters.php http://michaellmaxwell.hubpages.com/hub/Freedom-Writers-Diary-A-True-Story http://www.aish.com/j/f/48942031.html http://www.myhero.com/go/hero.asp?hero=e_gruwell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Writers_Foundation http://pinterest.com/pin/210613720044334735/

Slaughterhouse-Five :: Literary Analysis, Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut was an anti-war book about the bombing of Dresden. The main theme of the book seemed to be fate, or that nobody has free will. Throughout the book, Billy, is randomly traveling in time. Whenever he has the opportunity to make a choice that would seem like the right, or intelligent thing to do, he does not, as he does not have the free will to make that choice. This also leads to Billy not caring about many things, knowing they will happen no matter what anybody does. As explained on the planet of Tralfamadore, Billy can not make any choices. The Tralfamadorians tell him that he lacks free will, saying "Only on Earth is there talk of free will" (109). One of the Tralfamadorians also said they were "trapped in another blob of amber" (108), referring to the fact that neither he or Billy can change anything in life, and that everything has been, is, and will be the same. The Tralfamadorians also know how the end of the universe will come. They will be testing their rocket fuel, and it will fail and destroy the entire universe. When Billy hears this, he asks "isn't there some way you can prevent it?" (149). The Tralfamadorians tell him that they cannot change it, as the pilot has always done it, and always will do it. This is likely when Billy finally loses all belief in the idea of free will. A main example of fate would be when Billy is on an airplane. In Slaughterhouse-Five, it states that "Billy, knowing the plane was going to crash pretty soon, closed his eyes, traveled in time back to 1944" (198). Soon after, "the plane smacked into the top of Sugarbush Mountain in Vermont. Everyone was killed but Billy and the copilot" (199). Instead of doing anything about it, Billy just waits for the plane to crash. If Billy had free will, he would have tried to warn the others on the plane, or not gotten onto it at all. Another good example of the lack of free will would be when Billy is about to die. Normally, someone would care about their death, but Billy does not. He locks up a tape in a safe-deposit box, saying "I, Billy Pilgrim, will die, have died, and always will die on February thirteenth" (180). Before he dies, he is giving a speech, and he knows that he will be assassinated.

Analysis of “The Yellow Wallpaper”

CHARLOTEE PERKINS GILLMAN THE YELLOW WALLPAPER (1892) The cult of true womanhood defined women as â€Å"ladies†(pure, diligent). When we talk about American woman, we have to specify their religion, sexual orientation, race, social class (it is therefore essentialist to talk about â€Å"women† in general. Depending on the group which they are in, certain coordinates are applicable. The Yellow Wallpaper is about a white, protestant, heterosexual woman at the end of the 19th century in the higher middle class. Gilman wanted to obtain more freedom and in order to do so, she had to rebel against the most important institution oppressing her: MARRIAGE. 1) Nowadays, the typical happy family is outdated and doesn’t exist. Gilman lived at a time when the perfect family was imposed on women (spinsters and bachelors were frowned upon in protestant society). The upper class women were brought up with the sole aim of being good housewives and mothers. The idea of a woman rea ding a book was frowned upon in society and they were only encouraged to read moralising and exemplary tales (eg. The angel in the house). Young girls were accompanied by a â€Å"chaperone†, who had the role of looking after and policy them. The Yellow Wallpaper takes place in a Victorian house and attic which used to be a nursery. Spaces in the house were GENDERED (some spaces were meant for men and some for women: kitchen, sitting room for women and library for men. The upper stories of the house become a gothic territory: THE ATTIC = discarded things This space is exploited from a literary point of view, whereby women who don’t fit into the cult of true womanhood are enclosed /imprisoned (= old object that doesn’t work). The most important example of this is JANE EYRE (Mrs. Rochester is locked in the attic and dies in a fire so Mr. Rochester could Marry Jane, even though he became blind/She is imprisoned due to the colour of her skin. The husband can? t show her). This is a literary image and symbol to represent the fact that women become part of the trash in the attic, not valid for anything. In the Yellow Wallpaper, the fact that the attic used to be a nursery is significant. Her husband is a doctor. The story is written in the 1st person: apparent diary, which depicts/reports the protagonist? s descent into madness. Language tries to recreate her mental breakdown. Any woman in 19th century who might have shown a rebellious attitude to the patriarchal culture was considered to be mad). The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story. The woman in the ex-nursery is †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. . Everything that happens in the story must be understood figuratively. The doctrines (cult of true womanhood) that constructed what a woman was at the time are â€Å"cultural constructs†. Even children are culturally constructed . Our identity is changeable and flexible according to our context. Marriage is another social construct/fought against feminists. The nursery becomes a symbol of the attic (madwoman in the attic), in which women become invisible. ____________________________________________________________ ___________________________ *BOSTON MARRIAGES†two women lived together all of their lives, but were not considered as lesbians (society simply recognised the fact that women could live together and help each other). Homosexuality wasn’t recognised officially and would only be at the end of the 19th century. Oscar Wild was the 1st homosexual who was openly out. (1) Marriage is not an imprisonment for everybody. For white middle-class women in US it was a chance to legitimise them in society, while black women weren’t allowed to get married. How can she find a way to express herself? She writes on the wallpaper, because that? s the only paper left. Fashion the way we dress tells others about who we are: we are who we dress. We are guided by people who tell us what is in fashion and in the 19th century high class women were advised to wear certain outfits: corsets were controversial at the time because they deformed the female body. Women? s bodies were constructed by fashion. Bicycles gave women new freedom and so did â€Å"bloomers† – a way of giving women more freedom of movement. Catherine E. Beecher (1842) wrote novels and believed in the cult of true womanhood. She wrote about domestic economy. Feminism: a) of difference b) of equality Feminism of DIFFERENCE: Men and women are not the same (men-public sphere/ women – private sphere). Women are not inferior to men, they can achieve the same thing in different ways. Women are morally superior to men and take control of the house: Beecher? s ideas. Feminism of EQUALITY: Men and women should be equal in front of the law: suffrage movement. Feminism of difference was conservative but stated that women should be educated as their role would influence future generations (children). â€Å"American woman? s home†, â€Å"Art of cookery†. Women were taught to be good housewives. The family state and home was a heavenly kingdom on earth. Mothers were supposed to be self-sacrificing (mission: self-denial). Until the end of the 18th century women didn’t exist in terms of sex. Women were â€Å"deformed man† (clitoris=small penis, womb=2 aborted balls). Scientific discourse created sex and indoctrinated the world against women? s capacity. If women were â€Å"aborted men†, this meant that they would never have the intellectual capacity of men either. In the Yellow Wallpaper, the man is a doctor because they had the capacity to define women. The protagonist is defined by her husband? s scientific discourse. He has the power to identify what is happening to her and tell her what she is (nothing exists until doctors name it. ) We always find dichotomy: man-woman/night-day. If we believe that all women are feminist, this is an example of ESSENTIALISM. Not all women are the same: gender is a cultural construct and women are indoctrinated into behaving in a certain way. The author fights against MARRIAGE. She is a pre-feminist (feminism of difference). For a long time, the story has been considered as autobiographical (= confessional mode), as these sold books. In Protestant society, public confession was and is extremely popular. Confessional literature has always been sold well in the US and this is the reason that Perkins wrote† Why I wrote The Yellow Wallpaper†. Originally, the world â€Å"wallpaper† was hyphenated†wall† covered by â€Å"paper† (important connotations): 1st footnote. In short stories, everything is relevant. At the time of writing, women were considered as side of â€Å"hysteria†: that the womb was irritated/inflamed. People believed that when women behaved in a way that they weren’t expected to, they were sick (hysteria). Women were expected to fulfil some roles. This â€Å"irritation or the womb† made people believe that a woman? s reproductive system was at threat and might stop working. Because of this, reading was â€Å"dangerous† for women because it excited the mind and therefore the womb. At the time of writing, there was a physician who said that high-class women should have a REST CURE to relax. He forbade any kind of intellectual work(reading and writing), to go into a kind of lethargic state. The confessional tome of her introduction makes readers automatically believe her. Women found it hard to get credibility and a doctor told them nothing was wrong with them. They were expected to get married and have babies (live a life as domestic as possible). Gilman wanted to show people how important it was for white and high-class women to work. (white women were fighting against marriage as a bourgeoisie ethos at the same time , black women wanted to fight to be able to get married and embrace the ethos. In her introduction, all of the autobiographical information is false (she never was at the brink of insanity because of a physician? s advice. She also states that her literature is therapy, as it â€Å"saved† a woman after she read it. This is also false. ANALYSIS OF THE YELLOW WALLPAPER Title yellow: connotation of sickness – tuberculosis (yellowish: blood doesn ’t flow through your veins. ) Some people have interpreted the text as a criticism of Asian immigrants arriving on the shores of the west Pacific to work as railroad workers (S. fran. Bay – Angel Islan) Chinese â€Å"carved poems† about the clash between their expectations about the American dream and their reality. wall-paper: women enclosed by the paper 1st person narrator who tells the reader what she is feeling from the start to the end of the piece. Syntax becomes increasingly repetitive and we see a stream of consciousness, a non-mediated representation of thoughts. Progression in the story reflects mental breakdown of main character. (syntax, story) Biologism, essentialism way women are indoctrinated into patriarchal culture – brain washing). one expects that in marriage† she starts her role (perverted by patriarchal society). Later, she tries to fight against it, but there is no way to escape, so she goes mad. John doctor/scientist (against superstition) *scientific world has the power to define her: enemy (discourse) Surrounded by a male text who defines what is happening to her (hysterical tendency) (dead paper written and lost ). Sometimes it is easier for men to find a reason that they know (= prescribe a solution) than to find out the reason behind the problem and question their beliefs (doubt their own knowledge). She has 2 possibilities: to believe what they say or go against it (when problems arise) Forbidden to work not house work (upper-class) Contradictions expresses desire and says she is not permitted to do so. Anything she does, feels, wants, etc. Will be questioned by John and explained by science and rationality. John: logic, coherence, science, etc. Her: opposite Control in American society, the only way to rule is to control one? s desires. When we are out of control, we became responsible for our failures. If we are not successful, we lack self-control. Everything in society falls onto the shoulders of the individual. American dream: whatever you want, you will achieve. (worst possible thing: to be a loser) Our protagonist cannot understand that there are some things that are out of control. Clash between what she wants and the burdens of society. On the one hand, she cannot recognize that there are 2 confronting Johns: nice and loving/ controlling. To make us blame ourselves for the blame of others in the worst situation that we can find ourselves in. Nursery he infantalises her and deprives her of all responsibilities. At the top of the house mad oman in the attic (to hide her). Writing = LIBERATION Baby: John doesn’t allow her to be a wife or mother. Little by little, the paper becomes a protagonist and a reflection of the protagonist? s mind. As she is forbidden to write, she has to project her thoughts through the paper. * Page 652 She is projecting her fears, her deepest feelings, obsessions, repressions: a gothic story comes out using monsters, horrendous monsters. That creature is herself. She? s projecting herself on the paper. The paper becomes the text and the room is the symbol of her min, everything is torn (rascado/roto). There comes John? s sister†¦ : everything we? ve talked about (white, high class women), a very few women. Here we have the example that all women don’t think they have to rebel against this patriarchal system. John? s sister is like many other women, she is happy being indoctrinated in this patriarchal system. A woman against woman. The text makes it clear. The protagonist is the rebellious while the other is happy with the system. We can? t universalise. Enthusiastic housekeeper: maybe she? s single. She? s backing up her brother and she is not helping the protagonist. As we can see, not all the women were rebelling against that repression. * Page 653 John? s sister – Tennice : patriarchal –minded woman (cult of true womanhood). Conspires with other 2 male characters against protagonist (also believes her creativity and writing is making herself sick). no possibility of sisterhood or gender – solidarity because John? s sister condemns writing and is also the protagonist? s enemy. The challenge to break out of patriarchal society and not feel guilty is what drives her mad. Contrast between rationality that ruled society (=logic, symmetry, etc. and the female body (curves, illogical) Little by little, her syntax becomes more shortened, to represent what is going on in her mind. The protagonist is not strong enough to break through the layers that John has suppressed her in. She has to die within herself. She puts all of the burden on herself and is unable to escape from John. Rationally, she accepts what is happening, but physica lly, she cannot: clash. * Page 655 1st time she sees a woman in the paper. Bit by bit she feels more identified with the woman in the paper (journey of self-identification). The paper is a projection of her madness. In imagining things, we project our fears. The woman on the paper wants to escape and as the protagonist couldn? t get divorced (social class problems), madness was her only way to â€Å"free† herself. And it is like a woman: she says freely that the wallpaper is a woman. From now onwards: a progressive journey to self-identification and that means madness. The crazier she gets the more self-aware she becomes. Moon: signifies femininity Parallel movement: husband and sister-in-law look at her differently because she is losing ground and her stability (1st p. narrative). At the same time, she starts to distrust them. Process in crescendo. Pattern: patriarchal society In the end, she pulls down the patriarchal paper and is free but mad. * Page 660 The woman in the pattern was creeping and now she creeps. She? s narrating what the husband is doing. John is desperate. In the end: the door locked, he opens it later and he stops short: that is John? s vision. She is no longer a woman, she identifies with the projection of herself, woman escaping and creeping in the wallpaper. However, she has changed the meaning of that paper, she has achieved freedom. The paper is a way she got liberation – she is mad. Analysis of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† CHARLOTEE PERKINS GILLMAN THE YELLOW WALLPAPER (1892) The cult of true womanhood defined women as â€Å"ladies†(pure, diligent). When we talk about American woman, we have to specify their religion, sexual orientation, race, social class (it is therefore essentialist to talk about â€Å"women† in general. Depending on the group which they are in, certain coordinates are applicable. The Yellow Wallpaper is about a white, protestant, heterosexual woman at the end of the 19th century in the higher middle class. Gilman wanted to obtain more freedom and in order to do so, she had to rebel against the most important institution oppressing her: MARRIAGE. 1) Nowadays, the typical happy family is outdated and doesn’t exist. Gilman lived at a time when the perfect family was imposed on women (spinsters and bachelors were frowned upon in protestant society). The upper class women were brought up with the sole aim of being good housewives and mothers. The idea of a woman rea ding a book was frowned upon in society and they were only encouraged to read moralising and exemplary tales (eg. The angel in the house). Young girls were accompanied by a â€Å"chaperone†, who had the role of looking after and policy them. The Yellow Wallpaper takes place in a Victorian house and attic which used to be a nursery. Spaces in the house were GENDERED (some spaces were meant for men and some for women: kitchen, sitting room for women and library for men. The upper stories of the house become a gothic territory: THE ATTIC = discarded things This space is exploited from a literary point of view, whereby women who don’t fit into the cult of true womanhood are enclosed /imprisoned (= old object that doesn’t work). The most important example of this is JANE EYRE (Mrs. Rochester is locked in the attic and dies in a fire so Mr. Rochester could Marry Jane, even though he became blind/She is imprisoned due to the colour of her skin. The husband can? t show her). This is a literary image and symbol to represent the fact that women become part of the trash in the attic, not valid for anything. In the Yellow Wallpaper, the fact that the attic used to be a nursery is significant. Her husband is a doctor. The story is written in the 1st person: apparent diary, which depicts/reports the protagonist? s descent into madness. Language tries to recreate her mental breakdown. Any woman in 19th century who might have shown a rebellious attitude to the patriarchal culture was considered to be mad). The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story. The woman in the ex-nursery is †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. . Everything that happens in the story must be understood figuratively. The doctrines (cult of true womanhood) that constructed what a woman was at the time are â€Å"cultural constructs†. Even children are culturally constructed . Our identity is changeable and flexible according to our context. Marriage is another social construct/fought against feminists. The nursery becomes a symbol of the attic (madwoman in the attic), in which women become invisible. ____________________________________________________________ ___________________________ *BOSTON MARRIAGES†two women lived together all of their lives, but were not considered as lesbians (society simply recognised the fact that women could live together and help each other). Homosexuality wasn’t recognised officially and would only be at the end of the 19th century. Oscar Wild was the 1st homosexual who was openly out. (1) Marriage is not an imprisonment for everybody. For white middle-class women in US it was a chance to legitimise them in society, while black women weren’t allowed to get married. How can she find a way to express herself? She writes on the wallpaper, because that? s the only paper left. Fashion the way we dress tells others about who we are: we are who we dress. We are guided by people who tell us what is in fashion and in the 19th century high class women were advised to wear certain outfits: corsets were controversial at the time because they deformed the female body. Women? s bodies were constructed by fashion. Bicycles gave women new freedom and so did â€Å"bloomers† – a way of giving women more freedom of movement. Catherine E. Beecher (1842) wrote novels and believed in the cult of true womanhood. She wrote about domestic economy. Feminism: a) of difference b) of equality Feminism of DIFFERENCE: Men and women are not the same (men-public sphere/ women – private sphere). Women are not inferior to men, they can achieve the same thing in different ways. Women are morally superior to men and take control of the house: Beecher? s ideas. Feminism of EQUALITY: Men and women should be equal in front of the law: suffrage movement. Feminism of difference was conservative but stated that women should be educated as their role would influence future generations (children). â€Å"American woman? s home†, â€Å"Art of cookery†. Women were taught to be good housewives. The family state and home was a heavenly kingdom on earth. Mothers were supposed to be self-sacrificing (mission: self-denial). Until the end of the 18th century women didn’t exist in terms of sex. Women were â€Å"deformed man† (clitoris=small penis, womb=2 aborted balls). Scientific discourse created sex and indoctrinated the world against women? s capacity. If women were â€Å"aborted men†, this meant that they would never have the intellectual capacity of men either. In the Yellow Wallpaper, the man is a doctor because they had the capacity to define women. The protagonist is defined by her husband? s scientific discourse. He has the power to identify what is happening to her and tell her what she is (nothing exists until doctors name it. ) We always find dichotomy: man-woman/night-day. If we believe that all women are feminist, this is an example of ESSENTIALISM. Not all women are the same: gender is a cultural construct and women are indoctrinated into behaving in a certain way. The author fights against MARRIAGE. She is a pre-feminist (feminism of difference). For a long time, the story has been considered as autobiographical (= confessional mode), as these sold books. In Protestant society, public confession was and is extremely popular. Confessional literature has always been sold well in the US and this is the reason that Perkins wrote† Why I wrote The Yellow Wallpaper†. Originally, the world â€Å"wallpaper† was hyphenated†wall† covered by â€Å"paper† (important connotations): 1st footnote. In short stories, everything is relevant. At the time of writing, women were considered as side of â€Å"hysteria†: that the womb was irritated/inflamed. People believed that when women behaved in a way that they weren’t expected to, they were sick (hysteria). Women were expected to fulfil some roles. This â€Å"irritation or the womb† made people believe that a woman? s reproductive system was at threat and might stop working. Because of this, reading was â€Å"dangerous† for women because it excited the mind and therefore the womb. At the time of writing, there was a physician who said that high-class women should have a REST CURE to relax. He forbade any kind of intellectual work(reading and writing), to go into a kind of lethargic state. The confessional tome of her introduction makes readers automatically believe her. Women found it hard to get credibility and a doctor told them nothing was wrong with them. They were expected to get married and have babies (live a life as domestic as possible). Gilman wanted to show people how important it was for white and high-class women to work. (white women were fighting against marriage as a bourgeoisie ethos at the same time , black women wanted to fight to be able to get married and embrace the ethos. In her introduction, all of the autobiographical information is false (she never was at the brink of insanity because of a physician? s advice. She also states that her literature is therapy, as it â€Å"saved† a woman after she read it. This is also false. ANALYSIS OF THE YELLOW WALLPAPER Title yellow: connotation of sickness – tuberculosis (yellowish: blood doesn ’t flow through your veins. ) Some people have interpreted the text as a criticism of Asian immigrants arriving on the shores of the west Pacific to work as railroad workers (S. fran. Bay – Angel Islan) Chinese â€Å"carved poems† about the clash between their expectations about the American dream and their reality. wall-paper: women enclosed by the paper 1st person narrator who tells the reader what she is feeling from the start to the end of the piece. Syntax becomes increasingly repetitive and we see a stream of consciousness, a non-mediated representation of thoughts. Progression in the story reflects mental breakdown of main character. (syntax, story) Biologism, essentialism way women are indoctrinated into patriarchal culture – brain washing). one expects that in marriage† she starts her role (perverted by patriarchal society). Later, she tries to fight against it, but there is no way to escape, so she goes mad. John doctor/scientist (against superstition) *scientific world has the power to define her: enemy (discourse) Surrounded by a male text who defines what is happening to her (hysterical tendency) (dead paper written and lost ). Sometimes it is easier for men to find a reason that they know (= prescribe a solution) than to find out the reason behind the problem and question their beliefs (doubt their own knowledge). She has 2 possibilities: to believe what they say or go against it (when problems arise) Forbidden to work not house work (upper-class) Contradictions expresses desire and says she is not permitted to do so. Anything she does, feels, wants, etc. Will be questioned by John and explained by science and rationality. John: logic, coherence, science, etc. Her: opposite Control in American society, the only way to rule is to control one? s desires. When we are out of control, we became responsible for our failures. If we are not successful, we lack self-control. Everything in society falls onto the shoulders of the individual. American dream: whatever you want, you will achieve. (worst possible thing: to be a loser) Our protagonist cannot understand that there are some things that are out of control. Clash between what she wants and the burdens of society. On the one hand, she cannot recognize that there are 2 confronting Johns: nice and loving/ controlling. To make us blame ourselves for the blame of others in the worst situation that we can find ourselves in. Nursery he infantalises her and deprives her of all responsibilities. At the top of the house mad oman in the attic (to hide her). Writing = LIBERATION Baby: John doesn’t allow her to be a wife or mother. Little by little, the paper becomes a protagonist and a reflection of the protagonist? s mind. As she is forbidden to write, she has to project her thoughts through the paper. * Page 652 She is projecting her fears, her deepest feelings, obsessions, repressions: a gothic story comes out using monsters, horrendous monsters. That creature is herself. She? s projecting herself on the paper. The paper becomes the text and the room is the symbol of her min, everything is torn (rascado/roto). There comes John? s sister†¦ : everything we? ve talked about (white, high class women), a very few women. Here we have the example that all women don’t think they have to rebel against this patriarchal system. John? s sister is like many other women, she is happy being indoctrinated in this patriarchal system. A woman against woman. The text makes it clear. The protagonist is the rebellious while the other is happy with the system. We can? t universalise. Enthusiastic housekeeper: maybe she? s single. She? s backing up her brother and she is not helping the protagonist. As we can see, not all the women were rebelling against that repression. * Page 653 John? s sister – Tennice : patriarchal –minded woman (cult of true womanhood). Conspires with other 2 male characters against protagonist (also believes her creativity and writing is making herself sick). no possibility of sisterhood or gender – solidarity because John? s sister condemns writing and is also the protagonist? s enemy. The challenge to break out of patriarchal society and not feel guilty is what drives her mad. Contrast between rationality that ruled society (=logic, symmetry, etc. and the female body (curves, illogical) Little by little, her syntax becomes more shortened, to represent what is going on in her mind. The protagonist is not strong enough to break through the layers that John has suppressed her in. She has to die within herself. She puts all of the burden on herself and is unable to escape from John. Rationally, she accepts what is happening, but physica lly, she cannot: clash. * Page 655 1st time she sees a woman in the paper. Bit by bit she feels more identified with the woman in the paper (journey of self-identification). The paper is a projection of her madness. In imagining things, we project our fears. The woman on the paper wants to escape and as the protagonist couldn? t get divorced (social class problems), madness was her only way to â€Å"free† herself. And it is like a woman: she says freely that the wallpaper is a woman. From now onwards: a progressive journey to self-identification and that means madness. The crazier she gets the more self-aware she becomes. Moon: signifies femininity Parallel movement: husband and sister-in-law look at her differently because she is losing ground and her stability (1st p. narrative). At the same time, she starts to distrust them. Process in crescendo. Pattern: patriarchal society In the end, she pulls down the patriarchal paper and is free but mad. * Page 660 The woman in the pattern was creeping and now she creeps. She? s narrating what the husband is doing. John is desperate. In the end: the door locked, he opens it later and he stops short: that is John? s vision. She is no longer a woman, she identifies with the projection of herself, woman escaping and creeping in the wallpaper. However, she has changed the meaning of that paper, she has achieved freedom. The paper is a way she got liberation – she is mad.

Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay

After the publication of The Scarlet Letter in the year 1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne was recognized as one of the most significant writer in the United States. He has the ability to write like a â€Å"romancer† able to probe the inner mysteries and also as a realist who can describe to the reader the American character and experience (Gollin, par. 1). This means that in the early to the middle-part of the 19th century Hawthorne as writer can be depended upon as a guide, able to show how America was shaped by the forces of religion, migration, and other forces unique to the New World. Hawthorne is not a religious writer but the reader can get more from his work when it comes to the study of religion and religious men than by reading a religious treatise. The following will examine the man and the writer as he became instrumental in how the world came to view and understand nation building the American way. Biography   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   He was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804. He came from a family of Puritans. His father was a sea captain who died when he was four years old and so his mother brought him up together with his two sisters. For a few years he lived in Raymond, Maine but he was forced to go back to Salem so that he can prepare for college. It was at this time that he knew he was going to be a writer but at the same time realized that it would be difficult to earn a living writing full time (Golin, par. 2). He would always complain about the fact that he was forever forced to spend time and energy to make money to buy bread rather than to devote a great deal of his time doing the thing that he really loved. However, circumstances prevented him from doing so, especially when he decided to marry and raise a family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But when he had the means and the opportunity to write, Hawthorne began to show his brilliance as a man of letters. Even his early works like Young Goodman Brown and Twice-told Tales gained approval from critics (Golin, par. 3). Nonetheless, Hawthorne still could not find a way to make writing novels a full-time job. He was forced to gain political appointments so he can have a decent source of income from working in places like the Customs House. Yet since he was a political appointee he was at the mercy of those who are in power. In 1849 he was dismissed and he fought to be reinstated. (Golin, par. 7).   He was rejected once more but this failure became a stepping stone for him because it was also during this time that he completed The Scarlet Letter, a novel that would catapult him to fame.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It was The Scarlet Letter that made him famous as a writer who chose to express himself in the genre of romance. He was a unique writer in the sense that he spoke against the excesses of the Puritan tradition (Idol & Jones, p. 471). But what made his works so penetrating and so influential was the fact that he was an insider. He was no ordinary journalist who merely investigated the character flaws of the Puritans, he was one of them, the descendant of one of the most feared and respected Puritan. Moreover, he lived in Salem, the infamous location of the Salem witch trials.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   He would later learn about the intimate details of the paranoia that swept the region and he would also come to know his ancestors who ruled the area with an iron fist. His embarrassment to be associated with them and the horrors that he discovered forever influenced his writing style and the type of subject matter that he would like to deal with in his future writings. His inspiration for doing so was described clearly in one of his autobiographical works and there he revealed his desire to remove the stain that embellished the Hawthorne name and he wrote: He was a soldier, legislator, judge †¦ he had all the Puritanic traits both good and evil. He was likewise a bitter persecutor, as witness the Quakers, who have remembered him in their histories †¦ His son, too, inherited the persecuting spirit,and made himself so conspicuous in the martyrdom of the witches, that their blood may fairly be said to have left a stain upon him (Woodberry, p. 124). By writing about the Puritans and the good as well as the bad things they did provided a way out for Hawthorne, a type of healing for the soul and the emotions. It can be argued that he was not very proud of his heritage but by writing about it he can have the ability to rectify some of the damages created by his ancestors. His ancestors thought that everything they did was righteous, but Hawthorne, writing generations later would like to set the record straight that although the Puritans help build a New World their religious views can sometimes do more harm than good. The Scarlet Letter   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Everything that he knew and everything that he felt he poured out in the writing of The Scarlet Letter. This is perhaps the reason why this novel is considered a masterpiece. In the second chapter of the tale Hawthorne was able to capture the imagination of the readers when he brought them to a place where severe punishment was given to those who disobeyed the law no matter how trivial it may sound in the hearing of modern men. Hawthorne said that a lazy servant, a disobedient child, a person with different religious views, and even an â€Å"Indian† who may have behaved not in accordance to the customs of the land can receive punishment that should have been reserved only for criminals and not those who simply wanted to exercise their God-given freedom to live and pursue happiness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hawthorne then explained why the people living in that particular village acted so harshly and he wrote: â€Å"Meagre, indeed, and cold, was the sympathy that a transgressor might look for, from such bystanders, at the scaffold. On the other hand, a penalty which, in our days, would infer a degree of mocking infamy and ridicule, might then be invested with almost as stern a dignity as the punishment of death itself† (Hawthorne, Chap. 2). In the opening scene a woman named Hester Prynne emerged from prison clutching her baby in her arms and with a scarlet letter A embroidered on her bosom, symbol of ignominy according to the norms and values of old Massachusetts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The readers felt the harshness of the sentence but pity turned to anger just as quickly when they discovered that a woman like Hester Prynee could not commit the sin of adultery without a partner. Aside from that the emergence of Hester’s husband – who apparently abandoned her – added another reason as to the need for clemency. But there is more. The adulterous partner was a respected clergyman who was so full of hypocrisy that he even joined with the inquisitors to force out from Hester the name of the man who committed adultery with her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Hester did not answer the clergyman as well as those who condemned her to a life of shame and misery the story reached another level of complexity. The woman considered to be the most sinful in the village has transcended her accusers by becoming more righteous than them because she chose to love her enemies. Hester’s actions mirrored the one felt by Hawthorne. He was not anti-religious or anti-God. One can even argue that Hawthorne believed in God and the Bible but he simply could not accept why men of shallow thinking was given the power and the influence to teach the Word of God without learning first compassion and wisdom. Instead of learning the intricacies of the law and the knowledge on how to dispense of punishment in the most cruel and inhumane manner, these ministers should have learned wisdom and love first. By doing so they could have been better servants of God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is not hard to see Hawthorne’s allusion to another famous Bible story when an adulterous woman was brought to Jesus to be judged. The woman was brought to Jesus simply because the Nazarene had earn the reputation for being merciful to the point that the religious leaders of his day interpreted his actions as heresy and a blatant demonstration of unfaithfulness to the Jewish religion and to their traditions. By bringing the woman who was caught in adultery, they sought to trap Jesus and to force him to act in accordance to the Law and if he refused then he will be condemned like the woman in front of her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At this point one can appreciate the complexity of Hawthorne’s writing. He was not simply giving an indictment against the Puritans, he was also trying to show them how it should have been done, not using the author’s righteousness but using the same Bible against them. The Pharisees who was trying to trap Jesus was the ancient version of the Puritans who could not see the big picture, they can only saw the legal aspect, not the person in front of them. And so going back to the Bible story and Jesus this is what the religious leaders said to him: They made her stand before the group  and said to Jesus, â€Å"Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say? (John 8:3-5, NIV) Once again the woman was alone standing in the crowd of men. Where was the man who committed adultery with her? Where was the man who committed the act of adultery with Hester? The religious leaders did not wish to punish the woman because they sincerely believed that she should be punished but they went to great lengths to humiliate her simply because they wanted to uphold an ancient tradition, to preserve a way of life. Furthermore, there is a deeper lesson that the author wanted everyone to know: the community must abide by the rules and regulations because those who will not participate or those who will not consent are considered to be as guilty as the sinner. But Jesus was not afraid of the religious leaders, their accusations, and their condemnation. Jesus instead allowed them to see the big picture that all of them are guilty of secret sins. It may be big or small but if the community focused on punishment rather than in building each other up then they will simply destroy the way of life that they so cherish. They can stone the woman but the one who will cast the first stone must be blameless because the moment he would hurl the first stone his neighbor will turn on him for he too deserved to be punished. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The brilliance of Hawthorne can be seen in so many levels. He was a gifted writer able to describe and analyze the way the Puritans had shaped the New World. But instead of simply criticizing them for their legalistic ways he also offered a way out for them by creating indirect references to the Word of God and when he used it as a basis for his writings he was not only able to rectify the misdeeds of the past, he was also able to show there is a better way to build a new nation. Works Cited Gollin, Rita. â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne.† In The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 5th Accessed 21 July 2010 from http://college.cengage.com/english/lauter/ heath/4e/students/author_pages/early_nineteenth/hawthorne_na.html Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"The Scarlet Letter.† Accessed 21 July 2010 from http://www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/scarletletter/ Holy Bible. â€Å"The Gospel of John.† The New International Version. Accessed 22 July 2010   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%208&version=NIV Idol, John & Buford Jones. Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Contemporary Reviews. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Woodberry, George. Nathaniel Hawthorne. SC: BiblioBazaar, 2008.