Gabriel Oak Essay Example for Free

Gabriel Oak Essay The minor character in the novel, such as the farm labourers and Bathshebas maids, although appearing to be insignificant and unimportant actually have influential and crucial roles to play in the novel. They provide the story with many aspects which help move the plot forward whilst bringing authenticity, humour and personal views to the tale. Undeniably the most important minor character is Liddy, she provides the reader with large amounts of valuable information concerning the personalities of Bathsheba from the conversations they hold. This is mainly due to the close relationship between the two, Liddy being Bathshebas maid. As a result, the characteristics of the latter are shown, not through narration which would be too crude and observable for Hardys style, but through conversations between the two. By using this method Hardy can exercise his trademark subtlety and let the audience come to their own conclusions concerning Bathsheba, that of which Hardy originally intended. A good example of this technique where by using Liddy as a medium in which the characteristics of Bathsheba are fed to the reader is at the beginning of the novel where we first come into contact with Bathshebas excessive vanity. The following quote was from a conversation between the two women on the subject of Oaks proposal: HHHHHHHHHHHHsad A man wanted to once, she said, in a highly experienced voice How nice it must seem! said Liddy, with the fixed features of mental realization. And you wouldnt have him? He wasnt quite good enough for me. Although Liddys main role is to provide the reader with the characteristics of Bathsheba, she has also serves the purpose of moving the plot along. In fact, one of the most essential developments in the story was sparked by a comment from Liddy, the decision to send Boldwood the Valentine card which later lead to his complete psychological breakdown: What fun it would be to send it to the stupid old Boldwood, and how he would wonder! said the irrepressible Liddy. Besides Liddy there are also many other minor characters that play important and influential roles in providing the story with the ingredients that contribute to making the whole book an attractive read. One of the most major roles that they play is their comments on the main characters and actions which take place. This was Hardys method of relaying information that have not been directly covered in the narration to the readers. The mindless chat of the labourers and maids provide us with essential gossip on the actions of the main characters but also they provide the audience their own views on the subject in hand. By giving the reader views from characters in the book, Hardy knew that this would inspire our own thinking upon the subject and they for us to form our own judgements. From those judgements, the majority of the reader will come to the same conclusion, that of which Hardy originally intended. Due to the predictions that the reader will be subconsciously making whilst all this information is relayed to them it creates an air of suspense as one waits to see if their prediction was correct. An example of this can be seen when Gabriel Oak first arrives in Weatherbury and is told about the story of the stealing balif by the rustics: As to shepherd, there, Im sure misess ought to have made ye her baily-such a fitting man fort as you be. This comment by Joseph Poorgrass makes the reader wonder if Bathsheba will indeed employ Oak as her balif. And automatically the audience moves to the question of whether Oak and Bathsheba will actually develop a relationship should Oak work for her. This is Hardys technique of ensuring interest from the audience, by using the comments of the rustics he is able to create curiosity and suspense in the story. Another example of Hardys style of parallels of what is to happen comes from a conversation Liddy and Boldwood hold after the town hears of the death of Troy: My mistress certainly did once say, though not seriously, that she supposed she might marry again at the end of seven years from last year. Reading this remark once again sparks the interest of the readers drawing them to the question: will Bathsheba marry again at the end of the seven years and if so who? Boldwood or Oak? However, despite the subtle intention of drawing attention from the readers the rustics also have a more basic objective of providing the reader of more understanding of the characters and the events. Especially, we learn more detail regarding the past of the main characters which gives us a more comprehensive understanding of the saga as a whole. In addition, from this knowledge more accurate pre conceptions are made and leads back to the point I suggested previously on the topic of drawing interest. We learn that Boldwood has had madness in his family and therefore gain a more perceptive insight into Boldwoods passion and obsession: Oh Coggan, said Troy, as if inspired by a recollection, do you know if insanity has ever appeared in Mr.Boldwoods family? Jan reflected for a moment.

Shakespeares Psalm 46 :: psalm

Shakespeare's Psalm 46 William Shakespeare is still suspect. A rough overview of the debates surrounding the author, or partial author, or non-author, reveals that: (a) Francis Bacon wrote Shakespeare's plays, (b) Ben Jonson did, (c) the Earl of Oxford penned some of them and died shortly thereafter, and then the bard (or non-bard) stole the batch, (d) nobody knows for sure, and (e) it doesn't matter. Shakespeare's corporeal existence is not in debate. More interestingly, the possibility that he, or the person or persons posing as him, might have had a hand in polishing the King James version of the Bible is also not hotly debated -- that possibility stands as the core of this essay. Shakespeare and the King James version share a curious synchronicity, which the authors of The Story of English, point to: the bard started wrote his last play at the same time the King James Bible was released. Also important is Shakespeare's success and favor with the court in the first decade of the 17th century: "The young actor-playwright quickly caused a sensation with his plays," the authors say -- something of an understatement. A few odd facts need to be thrown in: the Authorized Version was published in 1611 and was heavily revised for nine months before publication, so that "it would not only read better but sound better." The revision took place mostly in 1610. The committee in charge of revising the initial translation was headed by John Bois and Dr. Anthony Downes, who had also coordinated the initial team of 47 translators, give or take a few. Shakespeare was not among the chosen 47, and he is not credited as one of the revisers. Nothing other than time and place links him to the Authorized Version revision -- nothing readily apparent to the eye. Shakespeare was recognized as a gifted artist in his own time. He was favored by the same court that commissioned the Authorized Version. And the peculiar power of this Bible's prosody certainly lends itself to speculation. And then there is Psalm 46. I first stumbled upon the strange nature of Psalm 46 in Anthony Burgess's autobiography, You've Had Your Time. The argument that Burgess makes, as an aside on composing a musical on the life of Shakespeare, is not meant to be conclusive but is offered as a curio.

Philosophy Reflection Essay

This was my first major introduction into the study of philosophy, and I can honestly say that it has had a major impact on my belief system. Many of my views have been changed and my overall view on life is much different than it was five months ago. To me, the two most interesting works were the Tao and The Mind’s I. The Tao describes a really interesting way of life. Of all the philosophies we’ve read, it is the simplest and most beautiful. Instead of scanning for hidden meanings and analyzing all parts of life, Laozi just tells us to live life. Do no more than you have to do, but do everything you have to do. He tells us not to worry about death and just live life. I honestly think very simple and peaceful way of living can bring us much more happiness than we have now in our current society. However, the only way it can be implemented is if everyone follows the Tao, and that is nearly impossible in our current society. We should honestly try to live simpler lives and see the beauty of everyday things. The other work that really impacted me was The Mind’s I. I’m not sure if it qualifies as a single work, but there were several important themes that really interested me and changed some of my views. The section that really interested me the most was the section describing intelligent machines and animals, and their relationship to humans. I had always considered humans superior to animals due to their intelligence and ability to communicate. I never thought too much about the idea of intelligent animals and even machines and their relationship to humans. An intelligent machine or animal that can communicate definitely would be on the same evolutionary level as humans, and thus there could be no way to justify creating an intelligent robotic servant or helper without harkening back to the ideology that prompted slavery. Also, destruction of this machine or animal would be equivalent to murder. However, I still so no moral objection to creating an intelligent robot, as long as we give it its own freedom, just as we would to one of our children. Its may be considered playing God, but if we are his greatest creations, we should have the right to test our limits. Only through a recreation of consciousness done and understood by us can we begin to understand our own consciousness as well as ourselves. I had never really thought about technology in this way and never seriously questioned the origin of my consciousness, so the Mind’s I really forced me to think about life in a different way. Throughout the term, I not only changed and reconsidered many of my views; I discovered things that I subconsciously believed without really thinking about it. My beliefs not only changed, I discovered beliefs that I never knew I had. Some of these views surfaced when reading certain works like The Mysterious Stranger and Nietzsche. Although these two works didn’t change my deep-set views that much, it was interesting to see my instinctual beliefs get challenged. I discovered I was a pretty moderate thinker, but these readings caused many of my views on life to change. However, I still disagreed with many of the views expressed in class discussions with certain works, like the Tao. But then I realized that the Tao is designed to have different meanings to everyone who reads it so they could find their own way of life and thus doesn’t lend itself well to class discussions. I saw that the way philosophy has evolved over the years mirrors the way society has changed throughout history. The older philosophies that we’ve read, like the Tao and Plato’ work, seem to try to tell us how to live our lives to get the most happiness and satisfaction out of it, and how to find the way or see the light. The more modern philosophies seem to disregard the idea of a true path and tell us how to live in the best way, but they don’t guarantee happiness from it. The most interesting pieces for me were a mix of the modern and older philosophies, like Nietzsche and Socrates’ Apology (I guess because he lived in a ancient but modern society). Even though they were completely different and I completely disagreed with one of them, they were much more compelling to me. One important thing that I learned is that I hate reading about something that I agree on, I dislike having my views â€Å"proven†? by another writer and rather read new ideas and opinions. From all the texts read and discussions we’ve had this year, it’s hard to highlight just three things that I learned. One of the most stimulating texts to me was The Circular Ruins. Especially when read right after Is God a Taoist, this simple story made me reconsider all my beliefs on existence and God. Just like the main character was, we are kept in the dark about our condition, where we came from and how we exist. We claim an all-mighty God as our creator, and call ourselves superior beings in his image. However, whose to say that we are not just insignificant nothings, created by another being of no importance. Would that make us less real and important? From this story I learned to stop attaching importance and purpose to everything I do. Maybe there is a reason we don’t know where we come from; perhaps we don’t want to know. Another important lesson came from Reservation Blues. The main characters all had to deal with finding a cultural identity while trying to escape the trap of the white man. The only ones who made it out were the ones who had a strong cultural identity. They knew themselves and identified with their past before they attempted to escape the reservation. Victor and Junior either tried to ignore their past or couldn’t come to terms with their heritage. They tried to escape before they were ready, and couldn’t cope with the failure. The book’s point, despite the suicide and Victor’s destruction, was amazingly positive, it showed that if you come to terms with your past and yourself you can overcome any obstacle set against you, but you must have this understanding or you will destroy yourself. From The Razor’s Edge I learned a lot about the purpose of life from each of the vastly different characters. At first, it seems like the point of the story is that there is a difference between what we want and what makes us happy and fulfilled. Suzanne, Gray and Elliot all got what they wanted yet all seem to live unhappy, unfulfilled lives. Further inspection showed that they all are living the life that they fully wanted and expected to live, and they are perfectly content. Isabel wanted both Larry and high society type of life, and thus is disappointed with her life because she couldn’t have both. Larry didn’t know what he wanted out of life, so he took basically a timeout from the real world, went into seclusion and discovered what he wanted out of life. Now he, knowing full well what he wants, is the most satisfied of all the characters. The lesson to be learned is that happiness is completely relative, and thus you cannot call anyone a failure unless he considers himself one. Also, it’s all right to take some time out of the real world and relax, take a step back and see what you really want to do next. In the end, this class really has changed my views on the best kind of life. I still believe that you need to live the type of life that will make you the happiest and most satisfied, but I don’t think that most people know what type of life that is. If you don’t have a passion, don’t force yourself into any profession. Explore the world and find something that really interests you otherwise you will get forced into a miserable life that you hate. If you have a passion, you have to follow it. You have to come in terms with who you are; understand and remember your past and childhood. We have to examine our lives to discover what we really want, then try to find it. We must simplify our actions, and we have to stop overanalyzing other’s actions and words. We have to lose our ego and sense of shame, and stop caring what people think of you. This is the simplest way to live and live happily, without having to adjust your actions to fit what other people expect from you. We have to stop fearing death and keep on living life in the happiest possible way. This will be the happiest, simplest and best life for everyone.

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