Inrony In Pride & Prejudice Essays - Mr. Darcy, Pride And Prejudice

Inrony In Pride & Prejudice Pride and Prejudice is one of the most popular novels written by Jane Austen. This romantic novel, the story of which revolves around relationships and the difficulties of being in love, was not much of a success in Austen's own time. However, it has grown in its importance to literary critics and readerships over the last hundred years. There are many facets to the story that make reading it not only amusing but also highly interesting. The reader can learn much about the upper-class society of this age, and also gets an insight to the author's opinion about this society. Austen presents the high-society of her time from an observational point of view, ironically describing human behavior. She describes what she sees and adds her own comments to it in a very light and easy way. She never seems to be condescending or snubbing in her criticism but applies it in a playful manner. This playfulness, and her witty, ironic comments on society are probably the main reasons that make this no vel still so enjoyable for readers today. Some rules and characteristics depicted in the story seem very peculiar and are hard to conceive by people of our generation. Nevertheless, the descriptions of the goings-on in that society are so lively and sparkling with irony that most people cannot help but like the novel. Jane Austen applies irony on different levels in her novel Pride and Prejudice. She uses various means of making her opinion on 18th century society known to the reader through her vivid and ironic descriptions used in the book. To bring this paper into focus, I will discuss two separate means of applying irony, as pertaining to a select few of the book's characters. The novel is introduced by an omniscient narrator, unknown to the reader, who describes and comments on the given situations throughout the novel. The narrator serves to represent and speak for Jane Austen, enabling her to aim her criticism not only through the characters, but also in a more direct fashion. She uses this unspecified person, who is outside of all the novel's action and gives explanations, as a medium of communication to present her own opinion in an allusively open way. This narrator is the first means of making ironic remarks. Through the narrator a certain mood is created that prevails throughout the novel. The very first sentence of the novel shows this with the following sentence, It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife (Pride and Prejudice, p. 3). The irony of this statement is the universal validity with which assumptions are made in that upper-class society. It is assumed that there is nothing else for a man of high rank to want but a wife to complete his possessions. Along with his money, land, riches etc. she acts as nothing more but another piece of property, which was a common attitude in those days. Austen manages to make the attitude towards matrimony upheld by this upper class look rather ridiculous and incredible. Another ironic description is given, for instance, when Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst take care of the sick Jane, who stays at their house. They prese nt themselves as very affectionate and caring friends to Jane. However, that does not stop them from talking very bad about Jane's relations. The real ironic comment is that the narrator lets us readers know that after those two ladies have finished bad mouthing Jane's sister Elizabeth and the rest of her family, they return to Jane (w)ith a renewal of tenderness (p. 27). These high-society women are well versed at putting others down and whimsically, and as they think wittily, insulting the characters of those who are of a lower class - and Austen comments on it ironically by describing their behavior with irony. Through the narrator, Austen shows us how fickle this society is; being based on class and rank. The narrator exposes the vanities and its stupidity rather drastically. The comment on Aunt Phillips who would hardly have resented a comparison with the housekeeper's room (p. 56) of Rosing's with her own living-room

International Marketplace essays

International Marketplace essays The Everyday Effects of the International Marketplace American is increasingly connected to the rest of theworld as a global economy becomes more important. We participate in the international marketplace both as providers of goods and as consumers. How we buy and sell affects us both in terms of what goods we can choose from, but also what jobs are available, and what kinds of industries will come to dominate our economy. One of the most important changes in recent years in our place in the global economy is the dropping of trade barriers with such political moves as the approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This has had an impact on our economy which has filtered down to the everyday lives of our people, both as workers and as consumers. On the one hand, NAFTA has been good in that it has caused the dropping of tariffs by Mexico and Canada, making U. S. goods more affordable in those countries. This has helped to stimulate some areas of the American economy by opening up new markets to sell our products abroad. In urging the passage of NAFTA, the Clinton Administration publications said that NAFTA would increase high wage jobs, boost U.S. growth, and expand the base from which U.S. firms and workers could compete in a world-wide market. It predicted job gains of approximately a million due to increased Mexican exports, and suggested that by 1995 there would be approximately 200,000 more high wage jobs created due to the opening of free markets. The industries most expected to benefit were those dealing in computer technology, machine tools, aerospace equipment, telecommunications equipment, electronics, and medical devices all areas where wages were already 12 per cent higher than the national average (Expanding (1993), 3-5). Such growth in jobs would have an effect on the workers and their communities, giving a boost to both individual wealth and the community itself. These benefits spread outward...

The Life and Writing Style of Mark Twain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Life and Writing Style of Mark Twain - Essay Example By employing humor in his works, Twain was able to expose the bitter, realistic attributes of of society, religion and humanity. In fact, Twain’s two masterpieces â€Å"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County† and â€Å"Letters from the Earth† demonstrate Twain’s two kinds of humor. Mark Twain was born in 1835 as Samuel Langhorn Clemens, a man who had had numerous careers before he even turned 30 from being a journeyman printer to being a riverboat pilot. When he found a job at a newspaper company, he immediately adopted a pen name – Mark Twain. It was in 1865 when he gained overnight fame from his first masterpiece – a short story entitled â€Å"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,† and also a piece of work that practically displays Mark Twain’s typical writing style (Schultz). Most of Twain’s writings had in them local color realism and mainstream realism. For â€Å"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,† Twain employed local color realism and mainstream realism, while for â€Å"Letters from the Earth,† the author used sharp sarcasm and wit. In â€Å"The Celebrated Jumping Frog,† local color realism can be proven by Twain’s use of the dialect of the deep south. The vocabulary used by the character Simon Wheeler in short story is typical of local color realism. In the story, Wheeler uses â€Å"feller† instead of fellow, and contractions like â€Å"reg’lar† and â€Å"solit’ry† (Twain, â€Å"The Celebrated†).... ost curious,† â€Å"she don’t,† which is supposed to be â€Å"she doesn’t,† and â€Å"ketched† which stands for â€Å"catched† but which is supposed to be â€Å"caught.† (Twain, â€Å"The Celebrated†). Moreover, mainstream realism is also used in â€Å"The Celebrated Jumping Frog† as Twain mentions real life events like gambling and cheating. Both local color realism and mainstream realism attribute the realistic aspect of any literary work during the era of realism in literature. On the other hand, Twain employs sarcastic humor in â€Å"Letters from the Earth.† In fact, the whole story is heavily peppered with sarcasm. One of these instances is in saying that â€Å"[man] believes the Creator is proud of him; he even believes the Creator loves him† when in fact He does not (Twain, â€Å"Letters,† I). In fact, the picture of man as otherwise arrogant and proud is what he means by the aforemention ed example. Twain was therefore trying to awaken people through his sense of humor coupled with realistic elements. Satan also mentions in his letters that although human beings place sexual intercourse â€Å"far and away above all other joys,† they have somehow forgotten to include it in their idea of heaven (Twain, â€Å"Letters,† II). This now addresses a confusing issue about sex. If human beings consider the act as sexually and physically pleasurable as it is stated in the Bible, then why would the idea of sex be excluded from one’s perception of heaven? Twain addresses this issue in â€Å"Letters from the Earth† (Twain). As an addition to sarcasm, Twain used religious references in â€Å"Letters from the Earth† but references to the government in â€Å"The Celebrated Jumping Frog.† The purpose is to instill humor. Through the characters of the archangels Michael and Gabriel and

Vocabulary game Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Vocabulary game - Essay Example The document is arranged in order of the different exercises that should be followed in sequence to prepare the students for the lesson and then to take them through the lesson and finally revise the lesson. It should be kept in mind that this vocabulary game has been designed assuming that the level of English knowledge acquired by the students in question is minimal and have never heard a single term that is used in the lesson. Therefore the teacher will have to use his or her discretion when deciding which exercises are not required as the students above the assumed level. Before beginning the lesson and introducing the terms that will be learnt in unicellular and multicellular it is best to introduce the concept of what is going to be learnt using life experience and day to day concepts. This can be done by talking to students about the single purpose and multipurpose objects such as a water kettle vs. microwave oven and a television or DVD player vs. a home entertainment system. This will enable the students to get an idea of what they are going to learn in the next chapter in science. Once the students have understood the concept that they are going to learn - use the human body to introduce the concept further. This will have more scientific basis and at the same time be something that all students understand irrespective of culture and background (Settlage, J. & Southerland, S. A., 2007). Now that the students understand the concept that they will be learning in the next chapter in their science lesson it is time to introduce some of the basic and common terms that they will be learning. These terms should be introduced with pictures or diagrams. While students may never have heard the terms before it is quite possible that they have seen the different organisms that are being introduced and this will help them to make a connection between the terms and what they already know - this will help retention and better understanding. Now that the students have made a basic connection between the common terms and diagrams it is time to let them work on their own to build and increase their understanding. Now they should be encouraged to use different resources that are available to them to learn the definitions of each of the terms that have been introduced to them. This will help give them a deeper understanding of the terms and will help them make a deeper connection with what they already know and what they are about to learn in the future. Next once the students have adequate knowledge of the terms and definitions some games can be brought in to enhance the knowledge, stimulate more interest and also to make the lesson interesting. Students can be given opportunities to become competitive by dividing them into groups and asking them to match terms with diagrams, match terms with definitions and fill in the blanks in closed sentences that would enable further understanding o

Education For Media Literacy Media Essay

Education For Media Literacy Media Essay Media literacy is an approach to education which provides a framework to analyze, evaluate and access messages in various forms and thereby building an understanding of the role of media in the society as well as self-expressions required for citizens of a democracy. Media literacy is the ability to know and understand how the mass media works. This includes how they are organized, how they produce their meanings and how they use them wisely. A person who is media literate can clearly describe the role of media in their lives. He or she understands the basics of various media and enjoys using them deliberately in a conscious way. He or she has full recognition that protects them from being unnecessarily frightened and therefore has a full control of his or her media experiences. Often, the media is lumped together as a single entity but in reality it is actually many forms of communication like the newspapers, billboards, television, radio, magazines, video games, computer games and videocassettes. Education for media literacy uses the inquiry-based pedagogic, model which encourages the people to ask questions in relation to what they read, hear and watch. Media literacy provides tools which help people analyze messages and offer them opportunities to broaden their experience of media. It assists them develop creative skills in coming up with their own media messages. Critical analysis includes identifying the author, his purpose and point of view, examining the construction techniques and genres, patterns of media presentation and detecting any bias, censorship and propaganda available in the news and public programming. Media literacy explores how structural features like the media ownership and funding model affects the information presented. Media literate people are skillful in creating and producing media messages to facilitate understanding of specific qualities of each medium and at the same time create independent media and participate as active citizens. Media literacy has contributed to an expanded conceptualization of literacy which treats mass media, popular culture and digital media as types of texts that require critical evaluation and analysis. Due to the transformation process of media consumption into an active and a critical process, people have gained a bigger awareness of the potential for manipulation and misrepresentation through public relations techniques and get to know the role of mass media in constructing the views of reality. Sometimes, media literacy is viewed as a channel to address the negative side of mass media, digital media and popular culture which includes gender, media violence and racial stereotypes, concerns about loss of privacy, internet predators, the sexualization of children and cyber bullying. Media literacy provides a type of protection for children and helps them make good decisions in their consumption habits and the patterns of their use. Learning abilities linked to media literacy can be used to create learning and teaching methods for example through mobile phones, internet based learning and interactive whitboard. Media interprets the past and shows us what has made us into being the way we are. Like geography, it defines for us our place in the world. Media literacy also helps us understand the workings of our immediate world and also our places individually in it. The media is also a major source of modern culture and entertainment and also requires us to learn and use the critical thinking skills. Media literacy helps us define how we communicate with others and also helps us to adopt the edge of modern technological innovations. Media literacy also helps us determine much of the cultural diet and weave part of the fabric part of our lives. Media literacy also helps us to understand ourselves as well as misunderstand ourselves and others. It helps us interpret our world, its ideas to us and its values. Media literacy helps us understand how things work, because it has carefully planned constructed and designed products. By helping kids and teens to become media literate, we can help them protecting them against pressures from advertising and several others media forms to drink, use drugs, eat unhealthy foods and have sex. We also help them build good communication skills , put portrayals of others as well as themselves, encourage them to look into multiple interpretations of media messages and also improve their media usage habits like changing the ritualistic viewing behaviors. The goal of media literacy is not bashing or to ridicule the media because it is a dominant force in our culture and therefore should be evaluated fairly and not denigrated. Media literacy is also not a magic wand or a silver bullet to solve all our problems but rather our best defense to resist manipulation and to keep a perspective of the images and messages that are a part of the youth culture and the media. Media literacy is therefore about helping students to become competent and critical in the various media forms so that they are well equipped to control the interpretation of what they observe and hear instead of letting the interpretation to control them. To be media literate is not about memorizing or taking statistics about the media but rather learning to raise the appropriate questions about what is seen, heard or read, in other words it is the ability to think for oneself. Without this ability, an individual cannot have the full dignity to exercise citizenship in a society which is democratic.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Essay example -- English Literatur

To Kill a Mockingbird Test Question 1 As readers, we saw Scout mature and grow as our narorater and as a person. She learned many things, but also lost many things. As she grew up and changed, she began to see how things really were, and gained the knowledge of the pure hate that one man can show another. Scout lost her innocence when she found this out. She began to see how cruel the world can be to someone who is a little different or strange. She saw this in the prejudice that was shown to Tom Robinson, Walter Cunningham, Miss Maudie and even herself. She gained the wisdom of the world outside her back door and began to see how society works. Although this may not have been a good thing, she could now see how unimportant it was. Who cared if one was not up high on the social ladder? Atticus taught Jem and Scout to be polite, caring kids. He instilled in them a great sense of love for their neighbor and told them things that would help them get on in life. Scout was very lucky to have someone to guide her along the way. Although she was faced with â€Å"the real world†, she had lots of people who would willingly explain to her and guide her. Scout really matured during the course of this book. She went from a six year old child with no knowledge of the real world to an about ten year old who had a lot of life’s most important lessons shown to her at a very young age. She had to learn, very quickly, that life would not always be easy and fun. She learned of the horrible ways men can treat other men and of the ugliness of station, poverty and hate. To say that Scout would of never found out about these is incorrect. She would of found out about them within due course, but to find out at nine or ten must have been a culture shock for her! Scout was a very brave little girl to accept, reflect, and reject this ugly knowledge that she gained. If she had just been able to keep the innocence of childhood that she lost, she would have been much better off. We cannot let children face the ugliness that Scout learned of. It was too much, to fast, even for someone so smart. We must show love to everyone so that our children will show love. To Kill a Mockingbird Test Question 2 The author, Harper Lee, picked an interesting person to narrate the story. This had some advantages and disadvantages as the story progressed. This writing te... ...o the story. Without him, the story might have been about Atticus prosecuting Tom instead of defending him. To Kill a Mockingbird Test Question 8 Harper Lee once called this book ‘a simple love story’. Critics today call it an icon of American literature. Why can we not call it both? The book is a love story between the children and Boo Radley. But critics say it was so mush more than that! It truly was. Harper Lee used so many literary tecniques, characterizations, relationship developments and so many other things even the greatest literary master probably couldn’t tell you what this book means. But why can’t a book be both? A Wrinkle in Time is a great adventure book but it’s also a great Newberry award winner. So can Harper Lee’s simple love story between three children and a man not wanting to be pulled into society’s drowning currents be one of the greatest books ever written? A book that has so many hidden and double meanings be one of the most well respected and loved books in all of America? Can a book that touches on so many issues that are still alive today and that peaks to every one of us in a special way be on of the most sold and read books in the world? Yes.

A Liter of Light

The solar bottle bulb is taking the developing world by storm bringing sustainable, affordable lighting to the underprivileged rural communities in a number of regions around the globe, the concept is cheap, simple and most importantly sustainable, but how did such an amazing idea come about? The concept was first conceived in 2002 by Alfred Moser, a mechanic in SAA Paulo, Brazil, to light his workshop when his neighborhood was suffering energy shortages, enabling him to continue working.His neighbors, intrigued by the idea, soon started following suit, adding the bulbs to heir homes in kitchens, bathrooms and living areas where electric light was prohibitively expensive and inefficient. The bottle bulb revolution was then further enhanced by The â€Å"Mystery Foundation†, which runs a program in the Philippines called â€Å"sang Lilting Lillian: a Liter of Light†. Based on a project developed by students at MIT under the Appropriate Technologies discipline, the project aims to bring sustainable, affordable lighting to the underprivileged rural communities in the country.A Liter of Light aim to bring light 1 million homes using this green genealogy not only in the Philippines but in shantytowns in India, Africa and other southeast Asian countries, by the end of 2012. Solar bottle bulbs are usually made out of 2-L bottles, use no electricity and produce the same amount of light as a 50- to 60-watt incandescent bulb, there is no leakage and the bottles can stay there for years without any need for maintenance! The water bottle lights are said to last for 5 years.The concept seems so simple but how does it work? The lights work by refracting sunlight in a 360-degree arc around the room, which provides superior light to a window or skylight, only allowing light into a room in a erect beam. The bleach keeps the water clean and clear by preventing algae growth. So what's the science behind the concept? When light moving through the air runs into a dense r medium such as water, it changes direction because of refraction.The light beam â€Å"bends† when it enters the so that it's traveling more directly down into water. That's very helpful if you're trying to get more light to go down through the bottle into a dark room below. Despite this, some of the light will still be on a path to the opposite side of the cylinder. A portion of the light is trapped in the cylinder because of simple reflection.