Utalitarian Principle in Charles Dickens Hard Times

INTRODUCTION Utilitarianism is the assumption that human beings act in a way that highlights their own self interest. It is based on factuality and leaves little room for imagination. Utilitarianism dominated as the form of government in England's Victorian age of eighteenth century. Utilitarianism, as rightly claimed by Dickens, robbed the people of their individuality and joy; deprived the children of their special period of their lives, ‘Childhood' and deprived women of their inherent right of equality.The theme of utilitarianism, along with industrialization and education is explored by Charles Dickens, in his novel  Hard Times.. Hard Times written in those times intended to explore its negativisms. Utilitarianism as a government was propounded as a value of system which evaluated its productivity by its overall utility. It substantiated the idea of â€Å"highest level of happiness for the highest numbers of people†. Since the overall happiness of the nation depend ed open the overall productivity, industrialism became the walk of everyday life.Moreover, since Utilitarianism assumes that what is good for majority is good for everyone, individual preferences are ignored. The majority answers are always right. Minorities are subjugated and oppressed, instead of being asked for their opinions. Their feelings are ignored and society becomes increasingly practical, and driven by economics. The theory fails to acknowledge any individual rights that could not be violated for the sake of the greater good. Hard Times  was in fact an attack on the Manchester School of economics, which supported  laissez-faire  and promoted a distorted view of Bentham’s ethics.The novel has been criticised for not offering specific remedies for the Condition-of-England problems it addresses. It is debatable whether solutions to social problems are to be sought in fiction, but nevertheless, Dickens’s novel anticipated the future debates concerning anti -pollution legislation, intelligent town-planning, health and safety measures in factories and a humane education system. The school teachers are compared to a gun loaded to its muzzle by facts ready to be exploded to the children. The children in schools don't have names and are called by numbers.There is no room for imaginative answers. When the teacher asks to answer what ‘horse' is, a student named Bitzer gives a factual answer, â€Å"quadruped† having this-many teeth etc, but by no means the ‘qualities' of the horse is exemplified and considered. The influence of utilitarianism is shown particularly by two characters in the novel, Gradgrind and Bounderby. Both are money-oriented, have materialistic outlook and give importance to ‘facts'. eople in insane productivity. Dickens provides three vivid examples of this utilitarian logic in Hard Times The first; Mr.Thomas Gradgrind, one of the main characters in the book, was the principal of a school in Coketo wn. He was a firm believer in utilitarianism and instilled this philosophy into the students at the school from a very young age, as well as his own children. Mr. Josiah Bounderby was also a practitioner of utilitarianism, but was more interested in the profit that stemmed from it. At the other end of the perspective, a group of circus members, who are the total opposite of utilitarians, are added by Dickens to provide a sharp contrast from the ideas of Mr. Bounderby and Mr. Gradgrind.Thomas Gradgrind Sr. , a father of five children, has lived his life by the book and  never strayed from his philosophy that life is nothing more than facts and statistics. . Thomas Gradgrind in particular always gives importance to facts and raises his children to be hard, machine-like and epitomes of facts and they lack any emotions. Even while justifying Louisa's marriage to ‘old' Bounderby, he does so by some mathematical calculations and logic.. He has successfully incorporated this belief into the school system of Coketown, and has tried his best to do so with his own children.They did not consider, however, the children’s need for fiction, poetry, and other fine arts that are used to expand children’s minds, all of which are essential today in order to produce well-rounded human beings through the educational process. One has to wonder how different the story would be if Gradgrind did not run the school. How can you give a utilitarian man such as Gradgrind such power over a town? I do like how Dickens structures the book to make one ask obvious questions such as these.Dickens does not tell us much about the success of the other students of the school besides Bitzer, who is fairly successful on paper, but does not have the capacity as a person to deal with life’s everyday struggles. Gradgrinds two oldest children, Tom and Louisa, are examples of how this utilitarian method failed miserably. These children were never given the opportunity to thin k for themselves, experience fun things in life, or even use their imaginations. True, they are smart people in the factual sense but do not have the street smarts to survive.Tom is a young man who, so fed up with his father’s strictness and repetition, revolts against him and leaves home to work in Mr. Bounderby’s bank. Tom, now out from under his fathers wing, he begins to drink and gamble heavily. Eventually, to get out of a deep gambling debt, he robs a bank and is forced to flee the area. When Bitzer realizes that Tom has robbed the bank and catches him, Mr. Gradgrind begs him to let Tom go, reminding him of all of the hard work that was put on him while at the school.Ironically Bitzer, using the tools of factuality that he had learned in Gradgrinds school, replies that the school was paid for, but it is now over and he owes nothing more. I think this is extremely funny how, at a time of need, Gradgrind’s educational theory has backfired in his face. I thin k Dickens put this irony in as a comical device but also to show how ineffective the utilitarian method of teaching is. Louisa, unlike Tom, does get along with her father. She even agrees to marry Mr. Bounderby, even though she does not love him, in order to please her father.She stays in the marriage with Bounderby, and goes about life normally and factually, until she is faced with a dilemma and panics. Mr. James Harthouse, a young, good looking guy, is attracted to Louisa and deceivingly draws her attraction to him. She does not know what to do since she has never had feelings of her own before. Her father never gave her the opportunity to think for herself, or even love someone. This is why Louisa goes frantic and ends up crying in her fathers lap. She has always been told what to do and what is ‘right’, and now even her father is stumped.For the first time in the whole novel, Mr. Gradgrind strays from the utilitarian philosophy and shows compassion for his daughter and her feelings. One must think that he is beginning to doubt his philosophy after seeing it backfire in his face more than once. Josiah Bounderby is another prime example of utilitarianism. He is one of the wealthiest people in Coketown; owning a bank and a factory, but is not really a likable person. His utilitarian philosophy is similar to Gradgrinds in the sense that factuality is the single most important virtue that one could posses.Mr. Bounderby maintained throughout the story his utilitarian views, which basically stated that nothing else is important besides profit. Being the owner of both a factory and a bank, Bounderby employs many workers, yet seems to offer them no respect at all. He refers to the factory workers as â€Å"Hands,† because that is all they are to him. Bounderby often states that workers are all looking for â€Å"venison, turtle soup, and a golden spoon,† while all they really want is decent working conditions and fair wage for their work.H e is not concerned about his employees as human beings, but how much their hands can produce during the workday, resulting with money in his pocket. When one of his workers, Stephen Blackpool came to Bounderby’s house asking for advice about his bad marriage, he was treated as inferior just because of his social status. Dickens portrayed the scene as one in which Blackpool was on a level five steps below Bounderby and his associates because he was a lowly worker who was obviously much less educated than them.It almost seemed like they would not even take him seriously because he was such. Blackpool was told that he could not divorce his wife because it would be against the laws of England. Later in the book, Bounderby divorces his wife. This shows that wealth played a large role in determining the social classes that people were in and the privileges they had. This was definitely unfair but the social classes were structured in a way which allowed those who had money to look down upon those who were less fortunate.Generally, those who were not well-educated did not have any money, while the well-educated ones such as Bounderby and Gradgrind were wealthy. The people who knew the factual information, (utilitarians) were successful, while those who did not were reduced to working in the factories of the utilitarians. Dickens paints a vivid picture of this inequality between social classes and shows he does not care much for it. It is fairly easy to see that Dickens holds a contempt for Bounderby and the utilitarian philosophy he carries.The book details the philosophy, then shows how miserably it failed. How much different would their lives be if the town was not run by utilitarians. Dickens cleverly added in circus people as a contrast to the utilitarian approach to life. The circus people could be called the total opposite of utilitarianism. If one element of the book stands out in my mind, it would be this one. The circus people are simple, open-minded human beings whose goal in life is to make people laugh.Dickens portrays them as a step up from the â€Å"Hands† but still close to the bottom in the social structure. These people are hated by Gradgrind, Bounderby and other utilitarians because they represent everything that is shunned in utilitarianism such as love, imagination, and humor. Sissy Jupe, the daughter of a circus man, was taken in by the Gradgrinds to live in their home. She is representative of the circus people with her innocence and free-will, qualities which are lacking in the lives of the people around her.Just by her presence, her goodness rubs off on the people around her, although it is too late for most of them. Even after numerous attempts to force utilitarianism into her by Mr. Gradgrind and his school, she is still the fun-loving girl that she always was because she grew up living with â€Å"normal† people who thought for themselves and loved each other. She influenced these qualities on the youngest Gradgrind daughter Jane, who led a much more enjoyable and fulfilling life than her older sister Louisa because of those influences.Jane is not spoken of much until the end of the book but I like the way Dickens showed the effects of the utilitarian lifestyle as opposed to the non-utilitarian lifestyle. The utilitarians ultimately ended with a great downfall because their narrow-minds could not endure the pressures that life can impose on oneself. The people that did not fall victim to the utilitarian trap were able to live their lives happily and freely, able to love, laugh, and use their imagination; which is the way life ought to be lived.Dickens obviously had a definitive opinion of the way life should be lived and did an excellent job of depicting it. His method was somewhat indirect in the sense that he worked backwards to get his point across, but turned out to be very effective as the story progressed. Most of the story revolved around utilitarianism and the study o f cold hard facts, but when the character flaws began to surface as a result of this philosophy, Dickens is quick to emphasize them. One actually sees the main character of the book and firm supporter of utilitarianism, Mr.Thomas Gradgrind, experience the faults of his practice and begin to stray from it. Now, after watching his life fall apart, maybe he wishes he were in the circus. .  . The working and living conditions were often atrocious. Working days were long, and wages low, as employers often exploited their workers and increased their profits by lowering the cost of production by paying meagre wages and neglecting pollution control. Safety measures were often ignored and workers were put out of jobs by the introduction of machines that created a surplus of labour.The rate of accidents was very high. A handicapped worker was doomed to extreme poverty, as there were no social security or insurance payments. The New Poor Law of 1834 was based on the â€Å"principle of less eligibility,† which stipulated that the condition of the â€Å"able-bodied pauper† on relief (it did not apply to the sick, aged, or children) be less â€Å"eligible†that is, less desirable, less favorable than the condition of the independent laborer. This reasoning was absolutely correct from the scientific and the Utilitarian point of view, but it rejected any emotional considerations.There was no consciousness of class beyond a recognition that the ‘masters' constituted a different order of society into which they would never penetrate. Their aspirations were modest: to be respected by their fellows ;to see their families growing up and making their way in the world, and to die without debt and without sin. Trade unions did appear to introduce and protect workers rights, but in the initial stages of industrialisation, the workers were not protected. Purely theoretically, it can be proven that Utilitarianism poses a threat to humanity.For example, if one person must suffer to make other people happy, then in the Utilitarian terms it is acceptable to make that person suffer. One of the Hands in Bounderby’s factory, Stephen lives a life of drudgery and poverty. In spite of the hardships of his daily toil, Stephen strives to maintain his honesty, integrity, faith, and compassion. Stephen is an important character not only because his poverty and virtue contrast with Bounderby’s wealth and self-interest, but also because he finds himself in the midst of a labor dispute that illustrates the strained relations between rich and poor.Stephen is the only Hand who refuses to join a workers’ union: he believes that striking is not the best way to improve relations between factory owners and employees, and he also wants to earn an honest living. As a result, he is cast out of the workers’ group. However, he also refuses to spy on his fellow workers for Bounderby, who consequently sends him away. Both groups, rich an d poor, respond in the same self-interested, backstabbing way.As Rachael explains, Stephen ends up with the â€Å"masters against him on one hand, the men against him on the other, he only wantin’ to work hard in peace, and do what he felt right. † Through Stephen, Dickens suggests that industrialization threatens to compromise both the employee’s and employer’s moral integrity, thereby creating a social muddle to which there is no easy solution. Through his efforts to resist the moral corruption on all sides, Stephen becomes a martyr, or Christ figure, ultimately dying for Tom’s crime.When he falls into a mine shaft on his way back to Coketown to clear his name of the charge of robbing Bounderby’s bank, Stephen comforts himself by gazing at a particularly bright star that seems to shine on him in his â€Å"pain and trouble. † This star not only represents the ideals of virtue for which Stephen strives, but also the happiness and tran quility that is lacking in his troubled life. Moreover, his ability to find comfort in the star illustrates the importance of imagination, which enables him to escape the cold, hard facts of his miserable existence.In  Hard Times  human relationships are contaminated by economics. The principles of the ‘dismal science’ led to the formation of a selfish and atomistic society. The social commentary of  Hard Times  is quite clear. Dickens is concerned with the conditions of the urban labourers and the excesses of laissez-faire capitalism. He exposes the exploitation of the working class by unfeeling industrialists and the damaging consequences of propagating factual knowledge (statistics) at the expense of feeling and imagination.However, although Dickens is critical about Utilitarianism, he cannot find a better way of safeguarding social justice than through ethical means. â€Å"In place of Utilitarianism, Dickens can offer only good-heartedness, individual chari ty, and Sleary’s horse-riding; like other writers on the Condition of England Question, he was better equipped to examine the symptoms of the disease than to suggest a possible cure† (Wheeler, 81). Hard Times  proves that fancy is essential for human happiness, and in this aspect it is one of the best morally uplifting novels.Dickens avoided propagating employer paternalism in the manner of Disraeli, Charlotte Bronte and Gaskell, and strongly opposed commodification of labour in Victorian England. As John R. Harrison has pointed out: The target of Dickens’s criticism, however, was not Bentham’s Utilitarianism, nor Malthusian theories of population, nor Smith’s free-market economics, but the crude utilitarianism derived from such ideas by Benthamite Philosophical Radicals, which tended to dominate social, political, and economic thinking and policy at the time the novel was written.The Gradgrind/Bounderby philosophy is that the Coketown â€Å" Han ds† are commodities, â€Å" something† to be worked so much and paid so much, to be â€Å"infallibly settled† by â€Å"laws of supply and demand,† something that increased in number by a certain â€Å" rate of percentage† with accompanying percentages of crime and pauperism; in fact, â€Å"something wholesale, of which vast fortunes were made. † REFERENCES * All references to Bentham's  Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation  will be to the section of it republished in Burr and Goldinger's  Philosophy and Contemporary Issues.New York: Macmillan,1992. p. 225-232. * Dimwiddy, John. Bentham. Oxford  and  New York:  Oxford  UP, 1989. * Mitchell,Sally,ed. Victorian  Britain: An Encyclopedia. New York  and  London:  GarlandPublishing,1988. * Cazamian, Louis. The Social Novel in  England  1830-1850. London  and  Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1973. * Woodward, Sir Llewellyn. The Age of Reform 1815- 1870. The  Oxford  history of  England. Oxford:  Oxford  UP, 1962. Utalitarian Principle in Charles Dickens Hard Times INTRODUCTION Utilitarianism is the assumption that human beings act in a way that highlights their own self interest. It is based on factuality and leaves little room for imagination. Utilitarianism dominated as the form of government in England's Victorian age of eighteenth century. Utilitarianism, as rightly claimed by Dickens, robbed the people of their individuality and joy; deprived the children of their special period of their lives, ‘Childhood' and deprived women of their inherent right of equality.The theme of utilitarianism, along with industrialization and education is explored by Charles Dickens, in his novel  Hard Times.. Hard Times written in those times intended to explore its negativisms. Utilitarianism as a government was propounded as a value of system which evaluated its productivity by its overall utility. It substantiated the idea of â€Å"highest level of happiness for the highest numbers of people†. Since the overall happiness of the nation depend ed open the overall productivity, industrialism became the walk of everyday life.Moreover, since Utilitarianism assumes that what is good for majority is good for everyone, individual preferences are ignored. The majority answers are always right. Minorities are subjugated and oppressed, instead of being asked for their opinions. Their feelings are ignored and society becomes increasingly practical, and driven by economics. The theory fails to acknowledge any individual rights that could not be violated for the sake of the greater good. Hard Times  was in fact an attack on the Manchester School of economics, which supported  laissez-faire  and promoted a distorted view of Bentham’s ethics.The novel has been criticised for not offering specific remedies for the Condition-of-England problems it addresses. It is debatable whether solutions to social problems are to be sought in fiction, but nevertheless, Dickens’s novel anticipated the future debates concerning anti -pollution legislation, intelligent town-planning, health and safety measures in factories and a humane education system. The school teachers are compared to a gun loaded to its muzzle by facts ready to be exploded to the children. The children in schools don't have names and are called by numbers.There is no room for imaginative answers. When the teacher asks to answer what ‘horse' is, a student named Bitzer gives a factual answer, â€Å"quadruped† having this-many teeth etc, but by no means the ‘qualities' of the horse is exemplified and considered. The influence of utilitarianism is shown particularly by two characters in the novel, Gradgrind and Bounderby. Both are money-oriented, have materialistic outlook and give importance to ‘facts'. eople in insane productivity. Dickens provides three vivid examples of this utilitarian logic in Hard Times The first; Mr.Thomas Gradgrind, one of the main characters in the book, was the principal of a school in Coketo wn. He was a firm believer in utilitarianism and instilled this philosophy into the students at the school from a very young age, as well as his own children. Mr. Josiah Bounderby was also a practitioner of utilitarianism, but was more interested in the profit that stemmed from it. At the other end of the perspective, a group of circus members, who are the total opposite of utilitarians, are added by Dickens to provide a sharp contrast from the ideas of Mr. Bounderby and Mr. Gradgrind.Thomas Gradgrind Sr. , a father of five children, has lived his life by the book and  never strayed from his philosophy that life is nothing more than facts and statistics. . Thomas Gradgrind in particular always gives importance to facts and raises his children to be hard, machine-like and epitomes of facts and they lack any emotions. Even while justifying Louisa's marriage to ‘old' Bounderby, he does so by some mathematical calculations and logic.. He has successfully incorporated this belief into the school system of Coketown, and has tried his best to do so with his own children.They did not consider, however, the children’s need for fiction, poetry, and other fine arts that are used to expand children’s minds, all of which are essential today in order to produce well-rounded human beings through the educational process. One has to wonder how different the story would be if Gradgrind did not run the school. How can you give a utilitarian man such as Gradgrind such power over a town? I do like how Dickens structures the book to make one ask obvious questions such as these.Dickens does not tell us much about the success of the other students of the school besides Bitzer, who is fairly successful on paper, but does not have the capacity as a person to deal with life’s everyday struggles. Gradgrinds two oldest children, Tom and Louisa, are examples of how this utilitarian method failed miserably. These children were never given the opportunity to thin k for themselves, experience fun things in life, or even use their imaginations. True, they are smart people in the factual sense but do not have the street smarts to survive.Tom is a young man who, so fed up with his father’s strictness and repetition, revolts against him and leaves home to work in Mr. Bounderby’s bank. Tom, now out from under his fathers wing, he begins to drink and gamble heavily. Eventually, to get out of a deep gambling debt, he robs a bank and is forced to flee the area. When Bitzer realizes that Tom has robbed the bank and catches him, Mr. Gradgrind begs him to let Tom go, reminding him of all of the hard work that was put on him while at the school.Ironically Bitzer, using the tools of factuality that he had learned in Gradgrinds school, replies that the school was paid for, but it is now over and he owes nothing more. I think this is extremely funny how, at a time of need, Gradgrind’s educational theory has backfired in his face. I thin k Dickens put this irony in as a comical device but also to show how ineffective the utilitarian method of teaching is. Louisa, unlike Tom, does get along with her father. She even agrees to marry Mr. Bounderby, even though she does not love him, in order to please her father.She stays in the marriage with Bounderby, and goes about life normally and factually, until she is faced with a dilemma and panics. Mr. James Harthouse, a young, good looking guy, is attracted to Louisa and deceivingly draws her attraction to him. She does not know what to do since she has never had feelings of her own before. Her father never gave her the opportunity to think for herself, or even love someone. This is why Louisa goes frantic and ends up crying in her fathers lap. She has always been told what to do and what is ‘right’, and now even her father is stumped.For the first time in the whole novel, Mr. Gradgrind strays from the utilitarian philosophy and shows compassion for his daughter and her feelings. One must think that he is beginning to doubt his philosophy after seeing it backfire in his face more than once. Josiah Bounderby is another prime example of utilitarianism. He is one of the wealthiest people in Coketown; owning a bank and a factory, but is not really a likable person. His utilitarian philosophy is similar to Gradgrinds in the sense that factuality is the single most important virtue that one could posses.Mr. Bounderby maintained throughout the story his utilitarian views, which basically stated that nothing else is important besides profit. Being the owner of both a factory and a bank, Bounderby employs many workers, yet seems to offer them no respect at all. He refers to the factory workers as â€Å"Hands,† because that is all they are to him. Bounderby often states that workers are all looking for â€Å"venison, turtle soup, and a golden spoon,† while all they really want is decent working conditions and fair wage for their work.H e is not concerned about his employees as human beings, but how much their hands can produce during the workday, resulting with money in his pocket. When one of his workers, Stephen Blackpool came to Bounderby’s house asking for advice about his bad marriage, he was treated as inferior just because of his social status. Dickens portrayed the scene as one in which Blackpool was on a level five steps below Bounderby and his associates because he was a lowly worker who was obviously much less educated than them.It almost seemed like they would not even take him seriously because he was such. Blackpool was told that he could not divorce his wife because it would be against the laws of England. Later in the book, Bounderby divorces his wife. This shows that wealth played a large role in determining the social classes that people were in and the privileges they had. This was definitely unfair but the social classes were structured in a way which allowed those who had money to look down upon those who were less fortunate.Generally, those who were not well-educated did not have any money, while the well-educated ones such as Bounderby and Gradgrind were wealthy. The people who knew the factual information, (utilitarians) were successful, while those who did not were reduced to working in the factories of the utilitarians. Dickens paints a vivid picture of this inequality between social classes and shows he does not care much for it. It is fairly easy to see that Dickens holds a contempt for Bounderby and the utilitarian philosophy he carries.The book details the philosophy, then shows how miserably it failed. How much different would their lives be if the town was not run by utilitarians. Dickens cleverly added in circus people as a contrast to the utilitarian approach to life. The circus people could be called the total opposite of utilitarianism. If one element of the book stands out in my mind, it would be this one. The circus people are simple, open-minded human beings whose goal in life is to make people laugh.Dickens portrays them as a step up from the â€Å"Hands† but still close to the bottom in the social structure. These people are hated by Gradgrind, Bounderby and other utilitarians because they represent everything that is shunned in utilitarianism such as love, imagination, and humor. Sissy Jupe, the daughter of a circus man, was taken in by the Gradgrinds to live in their home. She is representative of the circus people with her innocence and free-will, qualities which are lacking in the lives of the people around her.Just by her presence, her goodness rubs off on the people around her, although it is too late for most of them. Even after numerous attempts to force utilitarianism into her by Mr. Gradgrind and his school, she is still the fun-loving girl that she always was because she grew up living with â€Å"normal† people who thought for themselves and loved each other. She influenced these qualities on the youngest Gradgrind daughter Jane, who led a much more enjoyable and fulfilling life than her older sister Louisa because of those influences.Jane is not spoken of much until the end of the book but I like the way Dickens showed the effects of the utilitarian lifestyle as opposed to the non-utilitarian lifestyle. The utilitarians ultimately ended with a great downfall because their narrow-minds could not endure the pressures that life can impose on oneself. The people that did not fall victim to the utilitarian trap were able to live their lives happily and freely, able to love, laugh, and use their imagination; which is the way life ought to be lived.Dickens obviously had a definitive opinion of the way life should be lived and did an excellent job of depicting it. His method was somewhat indirect in the sense that he worked backwards to get his point across, but turned out to be very effective as the story progressed. Most of the story revolved around utilitarianism and the study o f cold hard facts, but when the character flaws began to surface as a result of this philosophy, Dickens is quick to emphasize them. One actually sees the main character of the book and firm supporter of utilitarianism, Mr.Thomas Gradgrind, experience the faults of his practice and begin to stray from it. Now, after watching his life fall apart, maybe he wishes he were in the circus. .  . The working and living conditions were often atrocious. Working days were long, and wages low, as employers often exploited their workers and increased their profits by lowering the cost of production by paying meagre wages and neglecting pollution control. Safety measures were often ignored and workers were put out of jobs by the introduction of machines that created a surplus of labour.The rate of accidents was very high. A handicapped worker was doomed to extreme poverty, as there were no social security or insurance payments. The New Poor Law of 1834 was based on the â€Å"principle of less eligibility,† which stipulated that the condition of the â€Å"able-bodied pauper† on relief (it did not apply to the sick, aged, or children) be less â€Å"eligible†that is, less desirable, less favorable than the condition of the independent laborer. This reasoning was absolutely correct from the scientific and the Utilitarian point of view, but it rejected any emotional considerations.There was no consciousness of class beyond a recognition that the ‘masters' constituted a different order of society into which they would never penetrate. Their aspirations were modest: to be respected by their fellows ;to see their families growing up and making their way in the world, and to die without debt and without sin. Trade unions did appear to introduce and protect workers rights, but in the initial stages of industrialisation, the workers were not protected. Purely theoretically, it can be proven that Utilitarianism poses a threat to humanity.For example, if one person must suffer to make other people happy, then in the Utilitarian terms it is acceptable to make that person suffer. One of the Hands in Bounderby’s factory, Stephen lives a life of drudgery and poverty. In spite of the hardships of his daily toil, Stephen strives to maintain his honesty, integrity, faith, and compassion. Stephen is an important character not only because his poverty and virtue contrast with Bounderby’s wealth and self-interest, but also because he finds himself in the midst of a labor dispute that illustrates the strained relations between rich and poor.Stephen is the only Hand who refuses to join a workers’ union: he believes that striking is not the best way to improve relations between factory owners and employees, and he also wants to earn an honest living. As a result, he is cast out of the workers’ group. However, he also refuses to spy on his fellow workers for Bounderby, who consequently sends him away. Both groups, rich an d poor, respond in the same self-interested, backstabbing way.As Rachael explains, Stephen ends up with the â€Å"masters against him on one hand, the men against him on the other, he only wantin’ to work hard in peace, and do what he felt right. † Through Stephen, Dickens suggests that industrialization threatens to compromise both the employee’s and employer’s moral integrity, thereby creating a social muddle to which there is no easy solution. Through his efforts to resist the moral corruption on all sides, Stephen becomes a martyr, or Christ figure, ultimately dying for Tom’s crime.When he falls into a mine shaft on his way back to Coketown to clear his name of the charge of robbing Bounderby’s bank, Stephen comforts himself by gazing at a particularly bright star that seems to shine on him in his â€Å"pain and trouble. † This star not only represents the ideals of virtue for which Stephen strives, but also the happiness and tran quility that is lacking in his troubled life. Moreover, his ability to find comfort in the star illustrates the importance of imagination, which enables him to escape the cold, hard facts of his miserable existence.In  Hard Times  human relationships are contaminated by economics. The principles of the ‘dismal science’ led to the formation of a selfish and atomistic society. The social commentary of  Hard Times  is quite clear. Dickens is concerned with the conditions of the urban labourers and the excesses of laissez-faire capitalism. He exposes the exploitation of the working class by unfeeling industrialists and the damaging consequences of propagating factual knowledge (statistics) at the expense of feeling and imagination.However, although Dickens is critical about Utilitarianism, he cannot find a better way of safeguarding social justice than through ethical means. â€Å"In place of Utilitarianism, Dickens can offer only good-heartedness, individual chari ty, and Sleary’s horse-riding; like other writers on the Condition of England Question, he was better equipped to examine the symptoms of the disease than to suggest a possible cure† (Wheeler, 81). Hard Times  proves that fancy is essential for human happiness, and in this aspect it is one of the best morally uplifting novels.Dickens avoided propagating employer paternalism in the manner of Disraeli, Charlotte Bronte and Gaskell, and strongly opposed commodification of labour in Victorian England. As John R. Harrison has pointed out: The target of Dickens’s criticism, however, was not Bentham’s Utilitarianism, nor Malthusian theories of population, nor Smith’s free-market economics, but the crude utilitarianism derived from such ideas by Benthamite Philosophical Radicals, which tended to dominate social, political, and economic thinking and policy at the time the novel was written.The Gradgrind/Bounderby philosophy is that the Coketown â€Å" Han ds† are commodities, â€Å" something† to be worked so much and paid so much, to be â€Å"infallibly settled† by â€Å"laws of supply and demand,† something that increased in number by a certain â€Å" rate of percentage† with accompanying percentages of crime and pauperism; in fact, â€Å"something wholesale, of which vast fortunes were made. † REFERENCES * All references to Bentham's  Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation  will be to the section of it republished in Burr and Goldinger's  Philosophy and Contemporary Issues.New York: Macmillan,1992. p. 225-232. * Dimwiddy, John. Bentham. Oxford  and  New York:  Oxford  UP, 1989. * Mitchell,Sally,ed. Victorian  Britain: An Encyclopedia. New York  and  London:  GarlandPublishing,1988. * Cazamian, Louis. The Social Novel in  England  1830-1850. London  and  Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1973. * Woodward, Sir Llewellyn. The Age of Reform 1815- 1870. The  Oxford  history of  England. Oxford:  Oxford  UP, 1962.

The Lost Duke of Wyndham Chapter Ten

Jack's usual response when delivered unpleasant tidings was to smile. This was his response to pleasant news as well, of course, but anyone could grin when offered a compliment. It took talent to curve one's lips in an upward direction when ordered, say, to clean out a chamber pot or risk one's life by sneaking behind enemy lines to determine troop numbers. But he generally managed it. Excrement†¦moving defenseless among the French†¦he always reacted with a dry quip and a lazy smile. This was not something he'd had to cultivate. Indeed, the midwife who'd brought him into the world swore to her dying day that he was the only baby she'd ever seen who emerged from his mother's womb smiling. He disliked conflict. He always had, which had made his chosen professions – the military, followed by genteel crime – somewhat interesting. But firing a weapon at a nameless frog or lifting a necklace from the neck of an overfed aristocrat – this was not conflict. Conflict – to Jack – was personal. It was a lover's betrayal, a friend's insult. It was two brothers vying for their father's approval, a poor relation forced to swallow her pride. It involved a sneer, or a shrill voice, and it left a body wondering if he'd offended someone. Or disappointed another. He had found, with a near one hundred percent success rate, that a grin and a jaunty remark could defuse almost any situation. Or change any topic. Which meant that he very rarely had to discuss matters that were not of his choosing. Nonetheless, this time, when faced with the dowager and her unexpected (although, really, he should have expected it) announcement, all he could do was stare at her and say, â€Å"I beg your pardon?† â€Å"We must go to Ireland,† she said again, in that obey-me tone he expected she had been born with. â€Å"There is no way we shall get to the bottom of the matter without visiting the site of the marriage. I assume Irish churches keep records?† Good God, did she think all of them were illiterate? Jack forced down a bit of bile and said quite tightly, â€Å"Indeed.† â€Å"Good.† The dowager turned back to her breakfast, the matter good and settled in her mind. â€Å"We shall find whoever performed the ceremony and obtain the register. It is the only way.† Jack felt his fingers bending and flexing beneath the table. It felt as if his blood were going to burst through his skin. â€Å"Wouldn't you prefer to send someone in your stead?† he inquired. The dowager regarded him as she might an idiot. â€Å"Who could I possibly trust with a matter of such importance? No, it must be me. And you, of course, and Wyndham, since I expect he will want to see whatever proof we locate as well.† The usual Jack would never have let such a comment pass without his own, exceedingly ironic, One would think, but this current Jack – the one who was desperately trying to figure out how he might travel to Ireland without being seen by his aunt, uncle, or any of his cousins – actually bit his lip. â€Å"Mr. Audley?† Grace said quietly. He didn't look at her. He refused to look at her. She'd see far more in his face than the dowager ever would. â€Å"Of course,† he said briskly. â€Å"Of course we must go.† Because really, what else could he say? Terribly sorry, but I can't go to Ireland, as I killed my cousin? Jack had been out of society for a number of years, but he was fairly certain this would not be considered good breakfast table conversation. And yes, he knew that he had not pulled a trigger, and yes, he knew that he had not forced Arthur to buy a commission and enter the army along with him, and yes – and this was the worst of it – he knew that his aunt would never even dream of blaming him for Arthur's death. But he had known Arthur. And more importantly, Arthur had known him. Better than anyone. He'd known his every strength – and his every weakness – and when Jack had finally closed the door on his disastrous university career and headed off to the military, Arthur had refused to allow him to go alone. And they both knew why. â€Å"It might be somewhat ambitious to try to depart tomorrow,† Grace said. â€Å"You will have to secure passage, and – â€Å" â€Å"Bah!† was the dowager's response. â€Å"Wyndham's secretary can manage it. It's about time he earned his wages. And if not tomorrow, then the next day.† â€Å"Will you wish for me to accompany you?† Grace asked quietly. Jack was just about to interject that, damn yes, she'd be going, or else he would not, but the dowager gave her a haughty look and replied, â€Å"Of course. You do not think I would make such a journey without a companion? I cannot bring maids – the gossip, you know – and so I will need someone to help me dress.† â€Å"You know that I am not very good with hair,† Grace pointed out, and to Jack's horror, he laughed. It was just a short little burst of it, tinged with a loathsome nervous edge, but it was enough for both ladies to stop their conversation, and their meal, and turn to him. Oh. Brilliant. How was he to explain this? Don't mind me, I was simply laughing at the ludicrousness of it all. You with your hair, me with my dead cousin. â€Å"Do you find my hair amusing?† the dowager asked sharply. And Jack, because he had absolutely nothing to lose, just shrugged and said, â€Å"A bit.† The dowager let out an indignant huff, and Grace positively glared at him. â€Å"Women's hair always amuses me,† he clarified. â€Å"So much work, when all anyone really wants is to see it down.† They both seemed to relax a bit. His comment may have been risque, but it took the personal edge off the insult. The dowager tossed one last irritated look in his direction, then turned to Grace to continue their previous conversation. â€Å"You may spend the morning with Maria,† she directed. â€Å"She will show you what to do. It can't be that difficult. Pull one of the scullery maids up from the kitchen and practice upon her. She'll be grateful for the opportunity, I'm sure.† Grace looked not at all enthused, but she nodded and murmured, â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"See to it that the kitchen work does not suffer,† the dowager said, finishing the last of her stewed apples. â€Å"An elegant coiffure is compensation enough.† â€Å"For what?† Jack asked. The dowager turned to him, her nose somehow looking pointier than usual. â€Å"Compensation for what?† he restated, since he felt like being contrary. The dowager stared at him a moment longer, then must have decided he was best ignored, because she turned back to Grace. â€Å"You may commence packing my things once you are done with Maria. And after that, see to it that a suitable story is set about for our absence.† She waved her hand in the air as if it were a trifle. â€Å"A hunting cottage in Scotland will do nicely. The Borders, I should think. No one will believe it if you say I went to the Highlands.† Grace nodded silently. â€Å"Somewhere off the well-trod path, however,† the dowager continued, looking as if she were enjoying herself. â€Å"The last thing I need is for one of my friends to attempt to see me.† â€Å"Do you have many friends?† Jack asked, his tone so perfectly polite that she'd be wondering all day if she'd been insulted. â€Å"The dowager is much admired,† Grace said quickly, perfect little companion that she was. Jack decided not to comment. â€Å"Have you ever been to Ireland?† Grace asked the dowager. But Jack caught the angry look she shot him before turning to her employer. â€Å"Of course not.† The dowager's face pinched. â€Å"Why on earth would I have done so?† â€Å"It is said to have a soothing effect on one's temperament,† Jack said. â€Å"Thus far,† the dowager retorted, â€Å"I am not much impressed with its influences upon one's manners.† He smiled. â€Å"You find me impolite?† â€Å"I find you impertinent.† Jack turned to Grace with a sad sigh. â€Å"And here I thought I was meant to be the prodigal grandson, able to do no wrong.† â€Å"Everyone does wrong,† the dowager said sharply. â€Å"The question is how little wrong one does.† â€Å"I would think,† Jack said quietly, â€Å"that it is more important what one does to rectify the wrong.† â€Å"Or perhaps,† the dowager snapped angrily, â€Å"one could manage not to make the mistake in the first place.† Jack leaned forward, interested now. â€Å"What did my father do that was so very very wrong?† â€Å"He died,† she said, and her voice was so bitter and full of chill that Jack heard Grace suck in her breath from across the table. â€Å"Surely you cannot blame him for that,† Jack murmured. â€Å"A freak storm, a leaky boat†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He should never have stayed so long in Ireland,† the dowager hissed. â€Å"He should never have gone in the first place. He was needed here.† â€Å"By you,† Jack said softly. The dowager's face lost some of its usual stiffness, and for a moment he thought he saw her eyes grow moist. But whatever emotion came over her, it was swiftly tamped down, and she stabbed at her bacon and bit off, â€Å"He was needed here. By all of us.† Grace suddenly stood. â€Å"I will go find Maria now, your grace, if that is amenable.† Jack rose along with her. There was no way she was leaving him alone with the dowager. â€Å"I believe you promised me a tour of the castle,† he murmured. Grace looked from the dowager to him and back again. Finally the dowager flicked her hand in the air and said, â€Å"Oh, take him about. He should see his birthright before we leave. You may have your session with Maria later. I will remain and await Wyndham.† But as they reached the doorway, they heard her add softly, â€Å"If that is indeed still his name.† Grace was too angry to wait politely outside the doorway, and indeed, she was already halfway down the hall before Mr. Audley caught up with her. â€Å"Is this a tour or a race?† he asked, his lips forming that now familiar smile. But this time it did nothing but raise her ire. â€Å"Why did you bait her?† she burst out. â€Å"Why would you do such a thing?† â€Å"The comment about her hair, do you mean?† he asked, and he gave her one of those annoying innocent whatever-could-I-have-done-wrong looks. When of course he had to have known, perfectly well. â€Å"Everything,† she replied hotly. â€Å"We were having a perfectly lovely breakfast, and then you – â€Å" â€Å"You might have been having a perfectly lovely breakfast,† he cut in, and his voice held a newly sharp edge. â€Å"I was conversing with Medusa.† â€Å"Yes, but you didn't have to make things worse by provoking her.† â€Å"Isn't that what his holiness does?† Grace stared at him in angry confusion. â€Å"What are you talking about?† â€Å"Sorry.† He shrugged. â€Å"The duke. I've not noticed that he holds his tongue in her presence. I thought to emulate.† â€Å"Mr. Aud – â€Å" â€Å"Ah, but I misspoke. He's not holy, is he? Merely perfect.† She could do nothing but stare. What had Thomas done to earn such contempt? By all rights Thomas should be the one in a blackened mood. He probably was, to be fair, but at least he'd taken himself off to be furious elsewhere. â€Å"His grace, it is, isn't it?† Mr. Audley continued, his voice losing none of his derision. â€Å"I'm not so uneducated that I don't know the correct forms of address.† â€Å"I never said you were. Neither, I might add, did the dowager.† Grace let out an irritated exhale. â€Å"She shall be difficult all day now.† â€Å"She isn't normally difficult?† Good heavens, she wanted to hit him. Of course the dowager was normally difficult. He knew that. What could he possibly have to gain by remarking upon it other than the enhancement of his oh so dry and wry persona? â€Å"She shall be worse,† she ground out. â€Å"And I shall be the one to pay for it.† â€Å"My apologies, then,† he said, and he offered a contrite bow. Grace felt suddenly uncomfortable. Not because she thought he was mocking her, but rather because she was quite sure he was not. â€Å"It was nothing,† she mumbled. â€Å"It is not your place to worry over my situation.† â€Å"Does Wyndham?† Grace looked up at him, somehow captured by the directness of his gaze. â€Å"No,† she said softly. â€Å"Yes, he does, but no†¦Ã¢â‚¬  No, he didn't. Thomas did look out for her, and had, on more than one occasion, interceded when he felt she was being treated unfairly, but he never held his tongue with his grandmother just to keep the peace. And Grace would never dream of asking him to. Or scold him for not doing so. He was the duke. She could not speak to him that way, no matter their friendship. But Mr. Audley was†¦ She closed her eyes for a moment, turning away so he could not see the turmoil on her face. He was just Mr. Audley for now, not so very far above her. But the dowager's voice, soft and menacing, still rang in her ears – If that is indeed still his name. She was speaking of Thomas, of course. But the counterpart was true as well. If Thomas was not Wyndham, then Mr. Audley was. And this man†¦this man who had kissed her twice and made her dream of something beyond the walls of this castle – he would be this castle. The dukedom wasn't just a few words appended to the end of one's name. It was lands, it was money, it was the very history of England placed upon one man's shoulders. And if there was one thing she had learned during her five years at Belgrave, it was that the aristocracy were different from the rest of humanity. They were mortals, true, and they bled and cried just like everyone else, but they carried within them something that set them apart. It didn't make them better. No matter the dowager's lectures on the subject, Grace would never believe that. But they were different. And they were shaped by the knowledge of their history and their roles. If Mr. Audley's birth had been legitimate, then he was the Duke of Wyndham, and she was an overreaching spinster for even dreaming of his face. Grace took a deep, restorative breath, and then, once her nerves were sufficiently calmed, turned back to him. â€Å"Which part of the castle would you like to see, Mr. Audley?† He must have recognized that this was not the time to press her, and so he answered cheerfully, â€Å"Why, all of it, of course, but I imagine that is not feasible for a single morning. Where do you suggest we begin?† â€Å"The gallery?† He had been so interested in the paintings in his room the night before. It seemed a logical place to start. â€Å"And gaze upon the friendly faces of my supposed ancestors?† His nostrils flared, and for a moment he almost looked as if he'd swallowed something distasteful. â€Å"I think not. I've had enough of my ancestors for one morning, thank you very much.† â€Å"These are dead ancestors,† Grace murmured, hardly able to believe her cheek. â€Å"Which is how I prefer them, but not this morning.† She glanced across the hall to where she could see sunlight dappling in through a window. â€Å"I could show you the gardens.† â€Å"I'm not dressed for it.† â€Å"The conservatory?† He tapped his ear. â€Å"Made of tin, I'm afraid.† She pressed her lips together, waited a moment, then said, â€Å"Do you have any location in mind?† â€Å"Many,† he answered promptly, â€Å"but they'd leave your reputation in tatters.† â€Å"Mr. Au – â€Å" â€Å"Jack,† he reminded her, and somehow there was less space between them. â€Å"You called me Jack last night.† Grace did not move, despite the fact that her heels were itching to scoot backwards. He was not close enough to kiss her, not even close enough to accidentally brush his hand against her arm. But her lungs felt suddenly devoid of air, and her heart had begun to race, beating erratically in her chest. She could feel it forming on her tongue – Jack. But she could not say it. Not in this moment, with the image of him as the duke still fresh in her mind. â€Å"Mr. Audley,† she said, and although she tried for sternness, she did not quite manage it. â€Å"I am heartbroken,† he said, and he did it with the exact right note of levity to restore her equilibrium. â€Å"But I shall carry on, painful though it may be.† â€Å"Yes, you look to be in despair,† she murmured. One of his brows rose. â€Å"Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?† â€Å"Just a hint.† â€Å"Good, because I assure you† – he thumped one hand against his heart – â€Å"I am dying on the inside.† She laughed, but she tried to hold it in, so it came out more like a snort. It should have been embarrassing; with anyone else it would have been. But he had set her back at ease, and instead she felt herself smile. She wondered if he realized what a talent it was – to return any conversation to a smile. â€Å"Come with me, Mr. Audley,† she said, motioning for him to accompany her down the hall. â€Å"I shall show you my very favorite room.† â€Å"Are there cupids?† She blinked. â€Å"I beg your pardon?† â€Å"I was attacked by cupids this morning,† he said with a shrug, as if such a thing were a common day occurrence. â€Å"In my dressing room.† And again she smiled, this time even more broadly. â€Å"Ah. I'd forgotten. It's a bit much, isn't it?† â€Å"Unless one is partial to naked babies.† Again her laughter snorted out. â€Å"Something in your throat?† he asked innocently. She answered him with a dry look, then said, â€Å"I believe the dressing room was decorated by the present duke's great-grandmother.† â€Å"Yes, I'd assumed it wasn't the dowager,† he said cheerfully. â€Å"She doesn't seem the sort for cherubs of any stripe.† The image that brought forth was enough to make her laugh aloud. â€Å"Finally,† he said, and at her curious look, added, â€Å"I thought you were going to choke on it earlier.† â€Å"You seem to have regained your good mood as well,† she pointed out. â€Å"It requires only the removal of my presence from her presence.† â€Å"But you only just met the dowager yesterday. Surely you've had a disagreeable moment before that.† He flashed her a broad grin. â€Å"Happy since the day I was born.† â€Å"Oh, come now, Mr. Audley.† â€Å"I never admit to my black moods.† She raised her brows. â€Å"You merely experience them?† He chuckled at that. â€Å"Indeed.† They walked companionably toward the rear of the house, Mr. Audley occasionally pressing her for information of their destination. â€Å"I shan't tell you,† Grace said, trying to ignore the giddy sense of anticipation that had begun to slide through her. â€Å"It sounds like nothing special in words.† â€Å"Just another drawing room, eh?† To anyone else, perhaps, but for her it was magical. â€Å"How many are there, by the way?† he asked. She paused, trying to count. â€Å"I am not certain. The dowager is partial to only three, so we rarely use the others.† â€Å"Dusty and molding?† She smiled. â€Å"Cleaned every day.† â€Å"Of course.† He looked about him, and it occurred to her that he did not seem cowed by the grandeur of his surroundings, just†¦amused. No, not amused. It was more of a wry disbelief, as if he were still wondering if he could trade this all in and get himself kidnapped by a different dowager duchess. Perhaps one with a smaller castle. â€Å"Penny for your thoughts, Miss Eversleigh,† he said. â€Å"Although I'm sure they are worth a pound.† â€Å"More than that,† she said over her shoulder. His mood was infectious, and she felt like a coquette. It was unfamiliar. Unfamiliar and lovely. He held up his hands in surrender. â€Å"Too steep a price, I'm afraid. I am but an impoverished highwayman.† She cocked her head. â€Å"Wouldn't that make you an unsuccessful highwayman?† â€Å"Touche,† he acknowledged, â€Å"but alas, untrue. I have had a most lucrative career. The life of a thief suits my talents perfectly.† â€Å"Your talents are for pointing guns and removing necklaces off ladies' necks?† â€Å"I charm the necklaces off their necks.† He shook his head in a perfect imitation of offense. â€Å"Kindly make the distinction.† â€Å"Oh, please.† â€Å"I charmed you.† She was all indignation. â€Å"You did not.† He reached out, and before she could step away, he'd grasped her hand and raised it to his lips. â€Å"Recall the night in question, Miss Eversleigh. The moonlight, the soft wind.† â€Å"There was no wind.† â€Å"You're spoiling my memory,† he growled. â€Å"There was no wind,† she stated. â€Å"You are romanticizing the encounter.† â€Å"Can you blame me?† he returned, smiling at her wickedly. â€Å"I never know who is going to step through the carriage door. Most of the time I get a wheezy old badger.† Grace's initial inclination was to ask him if badger referred to a man or a woman, but she decided this would only encourage him. Plus, he was still holding her hand, his thumb idly stroking her palm, and she was finding that such intimacies severely restricted her talents for witty repartee. â€Å"Where are you taking me, Miss Eversleigh?† His voice was a murmur, brushing softly against her skin. He was kissing her again, and her entire arm shivered with the excitement of it. â€Å"It is just around the corner,† she whispered. Because her voice seemed to have abandoned her. It was all she could do to breathe. He straightened then, but did not release her hand. â€Å"Lead on, Miss Eversleigh.† She did, tugging him gently as she moved toward her destination. To everyone else, it was just a drawing room, decorated in shades of cream and gold, with the occasional accent of the palest, mintiest of greens. But Grace's dowager-inflicted schedule had given her cause to enter in the morning, when the eastern sun still hung low on the horizon. The air shimmered in the early morning, somehow golden with the light, and when it streamed through the windows in this far-flung, unnamed drawing room, the world somehow sparkled. By midmorning it would be just an expensively decorated room, but now, while the larks were still chirping softly outside, it was magic. If he didn't see that†¦ Well, she did not know what it would mean if he did not see that. But it would be disappointing. It was a small thing, meaningless to anyone but her, and yet†¦ She wanted him to see it. The simple magic of the morning light. The beauty and grace in the one room at Belgrave that she could almost imagine was hers. â€Å"Here we are,† she said, a little breathless with the anticipation. The door was open, and as they approached, she could see the light slanting out, landing gently on the smooth surface of the floor. There was such a golden hue to it, she could see every speck of dust that hung floating in the air. â€Å"Is there a private choir?† he teased. â€Å"A fantastical menagerie?† â€Å"Nothing so ordinary,† she replied. â€Å"But close your eyes. You should see it all at once.† He took her hands and, still facing her, placed them over his eyes. It brought her achingly close to him, her arms stretched up, the bodice of her dress just a whisper away from his finely tailored coat. It would be so easy to lean forward, to sigh into him. She could let her hands drop and close her own eyes, tilting her face toward his. He would kiss her, and she would lose her breath, her will, her very desire to, in that moment, be only herself. She wanted to melt into him. She wanted to be a part of him. And the strangest part was – right there, right then, with the golden light rippling down upon them – it seemed the most natural thing in the world. But his eyes were closed, and for him, one little piece of the magic was missing. It had to have been, because if he had felt everything that was floating around her – through her – he never would have said, his voice utterly charming – â€Å"Are we there yet?† â€Å"Almost,† she said. She should have been grateful that the moment was broken. She should have been relieved that she did not do something she was sure to regret. But she wasn't. She wanted her regrets. She wanted them desperately. She wanted to do something she knew she should not, and she wanted to lie in bed at night letting the memory keep her warm. But she was not brave enough to initiate her own downfall. Instead, she led him to the open doorway and said softly, â€Å"Here we are.†

Managing projects in engineering and construction Lab Report

Managing projects in engineering and construction - Lab Report Example First, before commencing my project, I developed a time schedule to guide me during the project. The activities listed in my time schedule included organizing for meetings with my supervisors and lecturers for training and orientation before commencing the experiment. Besides, I came up with a separate project plan outlining the specific phases and procedures of the actual experiment. In addition, I made a visit to the school laboratory to book a date on which to perform the triaxial tests. An early reservation ensures that all the necessary pieces of equipment for the experiment are available on the experiment day. A tamping rod, a measuring scale, a measuring cup, de-aired water, a spatula and, pair of scissor is the equipment required in the experiment. Additionally, I acquired a small notebook on which I recorded my meetings with the lecturer and supervisors. I also ensured that the supervisors and laboratory technicians signed the notebook. Signed notebooks serve as evidence for the attended meetings. In an attempt to account for the resources I used during the research, I prepared a budget and a time plan for the activities. Budgets and time plans ensure effective and efficient use of resources. Besides, time plans and budgets act as monitoring and evaluation tools, helping me identify failures and making necessary adjustments to the project In any experimental project, there are potential challenges likely to occur. I planned for some difficulties liable to affect my experiment.

Telephony Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Telephony - Essay Example Over the years, the increasing development in the field of technology presents the capability of human beings to master over nature (Vergragt 2006, pp.1-3). Telephony represents that form of technology that allows easy and active interactions between different points through the availability of voice equipments. Telephone is the most commonly observed and used instrument of the technology of telephony. It provides interactive facilities to every residential house as well as in businesses. Telephones have also been associated with telephony switching systems and exchanges that are necessary for the processing of the calls occurring between two points. Developments have occurred over the years in telephony reflecting a shift from the initial local point to point connections to highly sophisticated connections in the modern world (What is Telephony 2012). The present study focuses on the origins, characteristics, and consequences of technological system considering the example of teleph ony. ... xtensive knowledge on the nature of sound that he applied in determining the possibility of passing multiple messages through at the same time through the same wire (Bellis 2012). The figure on the left presents one of the earliest telephones as invented by Graham Bell. The use of multiple telegraph had been suggested and tried earlier as well. However, with Bell’s application of a harmonic approach, the idea could be actually implemented. It was in the year 1878 that the first Bell telephone company was established. It is now known as the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T). In 1878, the first exchange of telephone was established in New Haven. Earlier the connections of the telephones had to be done in pairs. In the year 1889, the system of pay phone came into existence. Thereafter, with the advancements in the technology, the touch-tone phones, cordless phones, and mobile phones were developed (Bellis 2012). Characteristics of Telephony: The Technological System : The service of telephony or telecommunications is provided by an industry that includes different groups of people like the engineers, scientists and craftsmen. Telephone companies are either under the control of the government of a country or they may also be private in nature (Freeman 2004, p.1). Basic Telephony: The simple connection of the telephone as is most commonly known to the world is characterised by a device that is connected to other points across the world through use of pair of wires. The parts of such a telephone include a handset, a cradle, along with the signalling system that contains either dial or push buttons for making the connections. The handset is created with two electroacoustic transducers, the earpiece that acts as the receiver, and a mouthpiece that acts as the

Lesson Plan Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lesson Plan Analysis - Essay Example Another benefit of this game is that it has too much variety to it and once children know how to play it and the teacher knows how to monitor them then there is a long way to go. Another reason for its attractiveness is that it stimulates children verbally and mentally. It keeps evolving at such a pace that children get engrossed in playing it. Teacher can focus on the vocabulary or use of fully grammatically correct sentences. The development of coherent speech at a good rate can be achieved if a teacher keeps incorporating this game in class lessons. It also provides the teacher with an opportunity to assess the language while playing. The only constraint I can see is of arrangement of the material. The lesson 'What did you wear today' is an excellent example of one to one presentation. Reasoning abilities can build besides building the blocks. Blocks are very helpful and useful to give math and science concepts and many other adjustments are possible with blocks. The hand -eye coordination along with counting and fine motor skills gets developed at a good pace. Sooner or later child will be able to relate the similarities and relationships of objects. Massive amount of vocabulary related to clothing can be given and then become more targeted depending on teacher's intentions of teaching. I think there are too many concepts taken care of in this lesson, for example, vocabulary, the concept of present tense, counting, magnitude, enumerations etc. They also get to explore sizes, shapes and different weights. At last but not the least is that it gives them an opportunity to solve construction problems and make a decision every time they want to build. At the age of 3 to 4, childre n can very comfortably build vertical or horizontal towers and can easily get the sense of accomplishment. Free play can be a very good option with blocks children can love building stacks on their own. But expecting children to repeat the whole process on their own will be a high expectation. Language development can also take place during the free play or instructional play along with the growth of social skills. A good lesson always gives a chance to a teacher to assess the child and it does for sure. Most of the preschool teachers consider free play time very significant and children cherish it. It is very essential for psychological development of children. The science lesson "Ice block Designs" is a very good example of free play where children can be in high spirits. Hutt,Tyler,Hutt & Christopherson (1990) write, " Free-play with material, outcome is unpredictable" (p.122.) An adult just need to monitor and let the children generate language, build concepts and explore with minimum intervention. Children can develop the concept of colors, textures and experiment. Reasoning, expressing original thoughts and improvement of co ordination can be stepped forward through this lesson. Open ended data can also be obtained by questioning and supplying attractive materials. The only draw back again is of arranging the ice blocks and keeping the weather in mind before carrying out the activity. The social studies lesson "Shoe skating" can be a good follow up lesson. Again in this class, children can have lot of fun as it will give some time to free play and pretend to skate.

The Irish History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Irish History - Essay Example How various people responded to the Great Famine of 1845-1852 will also be discussed. Moreover, it will address the role of women in the history of Ireland, as well as the contributions of the Hollywood and Bill Clinton family to promoting peace in Ireland. The Irish Conquest came to a close during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James. This was after several years of struggle, which was characterized by very brutal conflicts. There was an Irish Parliamentary meeting in 1541, during which Henry the eighth ascended to power as the new King of Ireland. This consequently made sure there was a government in place. Therefore, having a friendly king in Ireland, the English saw it as a rare opportunity to acquire further control of over their Kingdom of Ireland to its other claimed territories. This process took them close to a century to eventually succeed in their new endeavors. The process was characterized by various fighting and negotiations between the English administrators an d independent Irish and conservative English lords (Moody and Martin 31). As stated above, the conquest only ended during the times of Elizabeth and James. After a complete conquest, the English realized their first real governance of Ireland. They then established a centralized government all over, an event which was immediately followed by a complete disarmament of the local lordships. However, I would like to argue that this conquest cannot be termed as fully successful by 1603. I admit that by this time they had established a strong control over this territory, at least physically. Some structures, however, still remained unchanged. The Irish had been dominantly Catholics, a fact that had not changed a big deal by 1603. The Irish had not yet adopted the English Protestant ideology by 1603, and there was no sign that that would happen in the near future. The English were also employing very crude methods to strengthen their hold the territory. Methods such as martial law only att racted more resentment from the natives. There was also the introduction of the infamous plantation system which meant total colonization. The English had simply just failed, at least from the ideological perspective (Moody and Martin 31). The Irish gave another life to William of Orange as a Protestant savior even after years of irrelevance among the non-Protestants. William had preached the Protestant ideologies as the ideals. He had worked so hard within the Orange Order, an organization which had emerged after the â€Å"Battle of Diamond.† The ideology of â€Å"biblical Protestantism† emerged again under the new Orange Order, with the stronger principles of reformation. This Order also only accepted those who subscribed to the Protestant ideologies (Johnson 180). William had also successfully convinced not only other Orange Order members but also other protestant Irish that it was important to help The United Kingdom rein forever. Under the English rule, the Protes tants were assured of security and prosperity, since it would highly enrich them while discriminating against the Catholics. Therefore, William’s ideas for Unionism, which opposed any form of Irish re-unification or even the independence of Scotland, was an admirable gesture that would ensure that Protestants rule over Irish Catholics forever. Therefore, William was always seen as the Protestant savior against any fall (Johnson 180). The Catholics were continuously treated

Provision 7 case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Provision 7 - Case Study Example Therefore, Melisa should devise an effective strategy to address the problem before it gets out of hand. The interaction of the instructor and the student will bear some influence on behavior perception. In this regard, Melisa should be vigilant when relating with the students to avoid development of negative attitude by the students. There are many approaches that the instructor can use to solve the problem facing the student and other difficulties facing the entire students’ body. For instance, the instructor can call the student in a private room or an open field where they are just the two of them and dialogue about the problem facing the student. Doing this gives the student assurance that the conversation is secure and that personal information cannot leak to a third party. After identification of the problem, the nursing instructor should prescribe the appropriate method of handling the problem. In addition, the instructor should refer the student to a professional counsellor to facilitate effective solution of the problem. In summary, nursing instructors should always be prepared to address both simple and complex problems facing the students, in addition, nursing instructors should engage in regular training to enhance development of diverse

Managerial Applications of Technology (Emerging IT Trends) 1 Assignment

Managerial Applications of Technology (Emerging IT Trends) 1 - Assignment Example This reduces an organization’s operation cost. In business, it is clear that when it comes to technology the entities that adopt a technology first are always the highest beneficiaries of the technology. This is because by the time the other organizations start adapting the new technology they would have already integrated the new technology into their system. By integrating a technology first a business organization, a business organization will be able to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. It is therefore advisable for a business organization to adopt new technologies as early as possible (Alam, 2014). However, this should come after serious considerations and research on whether the technology in question will be of any benefit to the business organization. The risk involved in early adaptation is that it is always a big gamble with no assurance of the effectiveness of the technology. The other consideration regarding emerging trends in information technology is that a business organization might decide to prototype a technology before actually adopting it. This will enable them to know if the technology will actually be viable for the organization (Brunetti, 2014). However, the negative thing about prototyping is that it can sometimes be

Talent Leadership Model Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Talent Leadership Model - Assignment Example Such as selection, training and development, succession as well as performance management. Talent management generally mandates human resource professionals as well as their clients to comprehend the way talent is defined, i.e. who should be regarded as ‘the talented’ and what should be the backgrounds of talented employees in an organization. In the context of talent management, talent leadership can be identified as the method of selecting and administering the performance of a particular team who assist in fulfilling the vision of an organization. It is quite significant for an organization to attract and retain the best talent in order to create the leadership pipeline. Organizations are further required to develop an efficient working climate so that they can generate higher productivity as well as requisite learning environment. Considering the talent management principles, the paper intends to propose a talent leadership model that can be successfully deployed by an organization for developing the performance. The objective of the paper is to describe various steps of talent leadership model and define how it can be beneficial for an organization to manage talents. In order to grow and thrive in the current business environment, there is requirement for talent leadership, robust communication as well as effective performance management in an organization. The direction in which an organization grows is basically dependent upon the effectiveness of the leaders to manage the talented employees.

DQ1 Case Lenovo Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DQ1 Lenovo - Case Study Example Lenovo differentiated its products in the marketplace by providing a greater value proposition than the competition. Other important values of the company include customer focus, innovation, and trustworthiness. Customers often rely on subjective factors to determine whether to trust a company (Philosophe). Investing money in marketing can increase the customer awareness and level of trust towards a company. The company should advertise the ThinkPad product in a manner in which the customer knows that Lenovo is now responsible for the manufacturing of the product. This will give the customers confidence that other products developed by Lenovo are of high quality. The design, functionality, and features of the ThinkPad should stay the same to maintain consistency in the customer’s minds. Lenovo should position itself as a global corporation. The firm can no longer think domestically only since the Chinese market is limited in comparison with the global market. It is better to have a small market share of a big pie, than a big market share of a small pie. In 2011 there were 352.2 million computers sold worldwide (Plunkett Research,

Joyce’s novel Essay Example for Free

Joyce’s novel Essay The novels Mrs. Dalloway and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, written by Virginia Woolf and James Joyce respectively, are tales of persons who are challenged by the society in which they live. The roles traditionally handed down to men and women become elements of restraint for many of the characters within the stories. While convention dictates the actions that the characters should perform, the readers get the impression that the authors are in opposition to these traditions. Throughout the day spent with Mrs. Dalloway and her friends, situations arise in which characters become critical of others’ choices in a way that depicts the ideas of the narrator or author. Likewise, in the experiences of Stephen Dedalus and the other characters of Joyce’s novel, one finds that they often desire to perform actions alien to the stereotypical roles of their genders. In these novels, therefore, we find that there is no apparent desire within characters for males or females to inherit traditional gendered roles. In fact, we discover a desire to occupy a multi-gendered identity. This is important because it gestures at an identity separate from societal construction of gender. Hermione Lee relates that Virginia Woolf sought a â€Å"combination of sensibility and tenacity† in her work (xvii). This suggests a similar mixing of feminine and masculine qualities with which she imbues several of her characters in Mrs. Dalloway. Clarissa Dalloway has become a woman who ostensibly fits perfectly within the role societally configured for her gender. She is the wife of a statesman and the mother of a beautiful daughter. She throws fine parties and does the traditional female jobs of overseeing the servants, visiting the sick, and other things. Yet, Woolf appears immediately to intimate to the reader the undesirability of all this tradition to Clarissa herself, as she is seen at the outset of the novel going on an errand that should normally have been reserved for her servants. Her desire for independence is asserted in the first sentence, â€Å"Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself (Woolf 1). Though this rebellion is a small one and is buried in the guise of â€Å"womanly† work (going to buy flowers), the commercial aspect of it places her in the position of a business person, just as the errand frees her from the confines of the home. On this walk she thinks of Peter Walsh, a man with whom she once shared her passions for literature and freedom. Her thoughts and desires break through conventions that dictate the subservience of women. She considers marriage in a way that seems alien to its constitution, as she imbues her role in it with the type of independence that one does not usually find in the traditional view of marriage. She explains that her decision against marrying Peter was made because â€Å"In marriage a little licence, a little independence there must be between people living together day in day out in the same house; which Richard gave her, and she him† (Woolf 5). This demonstrates the extent to which she desires not to be subsumed by her husband as women often are in marriages. Continuing, she thinks, â€Å"When it came to that scene in the little garden by the fountain, she had to break with him [Peter] or they would have been destroyed, both of them ruined, she was convinced† (6). This tells what she considers her life would have been like with Peter. She seeks to add a portion of masculinity to her role by keeping something of herself and continuing to show herself to the world—a right that is usually granted without reservation to married men, but tacitly withheld from women of that time. Clarissa continues to demonstrate her inner tendencies to throw off the traditional gender role and to fulfill her political and occupational dreams. During that time in England, women’s occupations were limited to household-related chores. She considers other women who had lived non-traditional lives, and longs to have her life to live again so she could make different choices. The first of those choices would have granted her an occupation that would defy her gender. The narrator assures us that Clarissa Dalloway â€Å"would have been, like Lady Bexborough, slow and stately; rather large; interested in politics like a man; with a country house; very dignified, very sincere† (Woolf 8). The use of the phrase â€Å"like a man† is telling, in that it highlights the extent to which Mrs. Dalloway longs to be released from the confines of her sex. She wants to be endowed with the possibilities that attend a man. Also telling is her desire to be â€Å"very sincere† (8). Sincerity is not a trait that has been traditionally accorded to women, as they were encouraged to keep their thoughts to themselves (or perhaps not to have any at all). Therefore, a woman with any ideas or opinions can be considered to have been somewhat forced into insincerity by their very act of subordination to the will of their husband and in their pretence at never having anything to say beyond remarks about the running of the household. Clarissa’s urge to speak sincerely demonstrates her desire to combine traditionally masculine qualities with her feminine ones.

Debate between Locke and Bentham Essay Example for Free

Debate between Locke and Bentham Essay In a parallel universe, Adolf Hitler was in a court trial for the Nazi partys human experimentation, sterilization program and genocide during WWII. John Locke was the prosecuting lawyer and Hitler invited Jeremy Bentham to be his defending lawyer. Write a report of the trial recording the debate between Locke and Bentham and the courts final judgment. Name: Ma Wai Ching Student ID: 10555573 Lecturer: Danny Leung No. of words: 516 Adolf Hitler was in a court trial for the Nazi partys human experimentation, sterilization program and genocide during WWII. John Locke was the prosecuting lawyer who advocates liberalism while Jeremy. Bentham was the defending lawyer of Hitler who advocates utilitarianism. The Nazi’s party’s acts are said to be torturing and inhumane. This report records the debate between Locke and Bentham and the court’s final judgment. ? John Locke argued that all people have natural rights. So, it means that all people have the right to life, right to liberty and right to property. Besides, the government role is to protect our basic natural rights and maintain social justice. 1 In what Nazi’s Party did in their human experiment, sterilization program and genocide, they had violated the human rights which are inappropriate according to John Locke. In the first place, the human experiments violated a large number of prisoners’ right to life and right to liberty, who are mainly Jews. They were also taking away their dignity. Besides, the Nazi’s Party neglected the willingness of the experimenters who were never informed consent. 2The one who were forced to participate are resulted in permanently disability or even death. For the sterilization program, the Nazi Party applied the eugenic policy to sterilize the one who is considered to be defective person such as mentally-ill, deaf, blind, etc. They applied the policy to avoid the reproduction of one’s member. 3 Since eugenics and racial categorization were in the forefront, the Nazi Party also carried out genocide to deracinate the Jews. He did not only kill them but putting the Jews to die in agony. 4 Locke concluded that all doings which are done by the Nazi Party are said to be invading others’ right. Besides, the Nazi Party abused its power and hence violated the social contract and the social justice. To rebut, Jeremy Bentham argued that what Nazi Party did is just for the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. What the Nazi Party had done in human experiment, sterilization program and genocide are just helping the society to eliminate people who will not make any good contribution. Eliminating the one who is unproductive, it is also helping the government to use the resources wisely. The productive people can help the society in certain means like in economic aspect. When eliminating the unproductive one, it also means some burden of the society can be released. In fact, the human experiment enhances the discovery of new medical alternatives like transplant, vaccines injection, etc. which can also helped in the medical development.

Debates On Mercy Killings

Debates On Mercy Killings If a Wife kills her Husband because of the pain he is in from his medical problems. Do you think that she should be charged with manslaughter, homicide, or any other charge acquitted to death of another human being? I say she should. Should euthanasia be legalized in our country? This is indeed a question often discussed in community. In some countries like Holland, its already allowed, while the German politicians cant stop discussing about it over and over again. Both states could argue with several statements and their opinions about it, but which of them would be correct? Is there even a right decision? First of all, euthanasia, also called mercy killing, is the act of putting a person or animal to death painlessly or allowing it to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, when its suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. In other words, if a person is death-ill or otherwise has lost his will to live, doctors are allowed to end the patients life if theyre requested/allowed so by the person. Should the patient be unable to make the decision himself, his/her family has to decide if they want to continue with medical treatment or not. If an animal is suffering from an incurable disease or condition, the owner has to decide about its fate. There are several forms of euthanasia: Voluntary euthanasia is the form of euthanasia conducted with the patients permission. Involuntary euthanasia is conducted without the explicit consent of the individual concerned and means that an individual makes a decision for another person incapable of doing so. Both voluntary and involuntary euthanasia can be conducted passively or actively. Passive euthanasia entails the withholding of common treatments, such as antibiotics, necessary for the continuance of life. The administration of increasingly necessary, although toxic doses of Opioid is regarded as a passive measure. Active euthanasia on the other hand is the conducting of life-limiting measures on the basis of the actual or presumed wish of a person and is also called assisted suicide. Except for the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, it is prohibited worldwide. Although euthanasia may not be a common and appreciated topic for daily-life, one can still find a lot of reasonings for and against it after a little research. One of the most popular arguments to forbid (active) euthanasia is the question how it can be decided whether a patient is beyond any hope to heal or not. Even if the possibility of recovering is only up to a minimum, some people would refuse to end their loved-ones life before time and rather waited for time and medicines to take care of the injury/disease if theyre not entirely sure that theres no change of betterment. And most important, what if the concerned person is no longer able to decide for himself? Who would be able to take the burden of ending a family members life? The guilt of having done something like that would surely shatter everyones mind, so its far easier to just wait and watch things develop. Not to mention that it would be a violation of the Bibles laws. As it is clearly written in the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20: 2-17, the sixth commandment says: You shall not murder. And isnt murder defined as killing of another human being with intent ? So what is euthanasia but murder? Adding to that, it can also be said that there had been cases in Holland where doctors conducted both passive and active euthanasia at their patients without permission. And that cannot be allowed in our state. But of course, there wouldnt be a contra without a pro. In fact, all of the listed arguments above not to legalize euthanasia can be negated. As a first addition, euthanasia is only conducted in really incurable cases, not after a simple car-accident where one has broken his leg and believes to suffer greatly, but more in cases where the patient can only be kept alive with great medical treatment, maybe even attached to a machine, having lost all power or abilities to take care of himself. If one is not aware of how much pain this inflicts on both the body and the mind of the concerned person, he can hardly understand how much of a release it would be for them to be allowed to let go. Especially old or handicapped people feel like a burden for their family. As long as one is able to decide for himself, he has the right to determine what shall happen with him, this also including the right to end his life. And it would at least happen under medical observation, painlessly, which is really good. Just imagine, for example, your paralyzed uncle would want to end his life, but was not allowed to assign for it in a hospital, ending up directing his wheel-chair to the nearest stairs in his desperation at full speed. No, nobody wants this to happen, do they? Then let them finally fall asleep and dont disturb them. Death belongs to the flow of life just as well as life itself, it cant be stopped, no matter how much we sometimes crave for it to change. I know, its hardly believable, but releasing a concerned family member is also a relief for the rest of the family. Of course there will be a lot of sorrow, but they will soon notice that is had been entirely to his best. Another aspect is that you cant let someone else suffer through great pain just because of your morals and your religion. Really, atheists wont care a bit if it was against your gods word to kill another person, because, stuck in unbearable pain, it simply doesnt matter to them. Every person has his own definition of right and wrong, so forcing someone else to follow your completely different ways would be the real crime. As for the abuse of legalized mercy-killing in the Netherlandsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Well, sadly but true, thats how our world functions. There will always be abuses of any kinds of rules, and there will never be a time when mankind decides to stop eating itself away. Were like that. I dont like it either, but we cant just ignore it. Finally, I would like to clarify that I neither fully favor nor forbid euthanasia because I can very well understand both sides of the argumentation. My personal opinion is that everyone should talk to their loved-ones to plan out what should happen in case of such an emergency, so that it will later be clear whether the person wants to live on or not.

Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights - A Great Romantic Novel Essay

Wuthering Heights: A Great Romantic Novel      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Romantic Period was a very imaginative and creative period of thinking. The literature produced during this period reflected this wild and free-spirited imagination. The works dismissed the Enlightenment thinkers in their claims of "Reason, progress, and universal truths" (Damrosch, 1317). Instead, these writers explored superstitions and had a renewed sense of passion for the wild, the unfamiliar, the irregular, and the irrational (Damrosch, 1317). Other common elements of the writing during this period were the returned interest of gothic romance elements, a fascination of exploring the inner world of the mind and the unconscious into its dark side, an interest in emotional adventures in exotic and remote times and places, an interest in the outcast people in society (outlaws, rebels, nonconformists, exiles, etc.), and an interest in characters performing dangerous self-explorations that take them to hell, and not always back (Agatucci, 1&3).    Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte, is an excellent example of a great Romantic novel, especially of the kind of romanticism known as Dark Romanticism. There are many different Romantic elements found in this novel, making it a masterpiece of the period. These elements include that fact that it is most definitely one strange story that is very original, emotionally charged, and imaginative and innovative (Agatucci, 4); its characters are very intense, passionate, go to emotional excesses, and even become violent; and it deals with the element of the supernatural and the antirational also (Agatucci, 4). Other Romantic elements contained within its pages include its Gothic setting that is sensual but remote, the dark roma... ...d Heathcliff.    Thus, as you can see, this is indeed a very powerful, emotionally charged story that delves into the darkness of the human unconscious, the supernatural forces that surround reality, and the romantic charges that initiate and cause all sorts of different human actions and thought. The story is very strange, but full of adventure, creating a very engrossing reading. This novel by Emily Bronte is definitely a piece of classic Romantic literature, and will continue to be read for years to come.    Works Cited Agatucci, Cora. Lecture Notes. Romanticism & Realism. Literary-Historical Contexts for Wuthering Heights. 2001. Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1990. Damrosch, David . The Longman Anthology Of British Literature. Volume B. Compact Edition. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 2000.

Mother Loves Me :: essays papers

Mother Loves Me Children usually form a powerful and unseparable bond with their family. These fortunate angels get all the love and attention they call for. But for children less fortunate, they are also in need of love and care. For example, Jerry, a twelve year old orphan in the short story A Mother in Mannville by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, had experienced his young life without a family. He was sent to the orphanage at the age of four. However, as he started to spend time with the writer who lived in a cabin below the mountains, Jerry felt a great maternal affection towards her. They became very close and, hence, developed a strong relationship between them. For Jerry and all children, a child's true wish is for their mother's love. A period of time after Jerry had been with the writer, he developed a strong affection towards her. One night, sitting with the woman in front of the warm fire, Jerry became sentimental, telling her that she looked a little like his mother. He told a moving story about his mother, who lived in Mannville, and how she always sent gifts to him on Christmas and on his birthdays. But the story was later revealed that Jerry never had a "mother in Mannville." He fabricated the lie because he loved the writer just as much as he would love his own mother. Jerry felt that the woman was very close to him, and being with her gave him a warm feeling-a feeling like home. Even the writer's dog, Pat, was intimate and never barked at him. To Jerry, the writer and Pat were a part of his life. If Jerry never felt this kind of motherly love from the woman, he would not have lied about his "mother in Mannville." In other words, if the writer was not as nice and understanding, Jerry would not have lied. He would never want a mother who does not care about him. When Jerry lied about his mother, he wanted the writer to realize that he was really referring to her as his "mother." There was no distance between them and Jerry always felt safe and comfortable to talk to her. But if Jerry never sensed the passion and