Jane Eyre Essay -- Literature Writing Jane Eyre Papers

Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre arouse be linked to galore(postnominal) fairy-tales. Some of these tales such as Charles Perraults Bluebeard, Arabian Nights, and many more are actually cited in the text. Others are alluded to through the events that take place in the story. Jane Eyre has often been viewed as a Cinderellatale for example. There is also some other story, however, that though not mentioned directly, can definitely be linked to Brontes novel. This tale is none other than witness and the Beast, which was part of one of Perraults compilations. Bronte uses the ideas and themes of Beauty and the Beast to reveal the importance of inner beauty and to make a point that its whats inside a person that counts. The beauty that can be found through outward appearance is superficial. A persons inner beauty as shown through the relationship of Jane and Rochester can inhibit societys ideas of what constitute being delightful. We know that Bronte was familiar with Perrault s works because she explicitly refers to another of Perraults tales, Bluebeard when exploring Thornfields third story. Also at that place is another connection to Perrault. Elizabeth Imlay through her study of Jane Eyre and fairy tales unveiled a fascinating connection. She questioned the idea that Janes French teacher, Madame Pierrot could in fact be a reference to Perrault himself. Jane talks about a French storybook when attending Lowood. She says, I examined, too, in thought, the possibility of my ever being able to translate currently a certain little French story--book which Madame Pierrot had that day shown me (83 ch. 8). Imlay argues that, The title of the little French story--book promised to Jane by Madame Pierrot is not revealed, although . . . Pie... ...auty is on the inside. She did not need to make Jane or Rochester beautiful in the end because that would defeat and contradict her purpose. Bronte uses the motifs in Beauty and the Beast and modifies them to help stren gthen her views of the importance of inner beauty over outward appearance. As Jane mentions in the novel, Most true is it that beauty is in the eye of the gazer (177 ch.177). Works Cited Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Boston Bedford/St. Martins, 1996. Imlay, Elizabeth. Charlotte Bronte and the Mysteries of Love. New York Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1989. LePrince de Beaumont, Jeanne-Marie. Beauty and the Beast. Ed. D.L. Ashliman. 6 October 2001. U of Pittsburgh. 1 defect 2003 . Schwingen, Mary. Fantasy, Realism, and Narrative in Jane Eyre and Alice in Wonderland. Victorian Web. May 1994. National U of Singapore. 2 March 2003.

Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman by Marjorie Shostak :: Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman

Nisa The vitality and Words of a Kung Woman by Marjorie ShostakIn the track record, Nisa The brio and Words of a Kung Woman, written by Marjorie Shostak is a culturally shocking and extremely touching book about a woman who had gone through and through many struggles and horrific tragedies in her life. This book also emphasizes the eyeshot of most of the women in the society. There atomic number 18 many striking issues in this book that the pack of the Kung race go through. Marjorie Shostak, an anthropologist who had written this book had studies the Kung tribe for twain years. Shostak had spent the two years inter inspecting the women in the society. The Kung tribe resided n the Dobe area of Northwest Botswana, thats infused with a series of clicks, represented on paper by exclamation points and slashes. Shostak had studied that the people of the tribe relied mostly on nuts of the mongongo, which is from an indigenous guide thats part of their diet. Shostak, out of all the women in the tribe had made close connections with a fifty year old woman with the name of Nisa. The woman, Nisa, is what the book is about. The book is written in Nisas point of view of her life experiences while growing up in that type of society. Nisas willingness to speak in the interviews about her childhood and her life gave Shostak a solid undercoat on what to write her book on. Nisas life was filled with tragedies. She had gone through sealed government agencys where Nisa loses two of her children as infants and two as adults. She had also disordered her husband soon after the birth of one of their children. According to Shostak, None of the women had experiences as much(prenominal) tragedy as Nisa (Shostak, 351). Shostak, when interviewing Nisa, considers that in the beginning of the book, Nisa seems to exaggerate the stories from when she was an infant. Although the stories are exaggerated by Nisa, a lot of women can relate to her life until now with the geographica l distance between them or if the society is completely different. Women of the aforesaid(prenominal) age can relate to Nisa, or if they went through the same situations like her. Certain women, even in America, have gone through a situation where they had to bury their own child or if they have lost a husband. This book had commencement started out by introducing the readers to what this book is going to sound like, which was the Introduction.Nisa The Life and Words of a Kung Woman by Marjorie Shostak Nisa The Life and Words of a Kung WomanNisa The Life and Words of a Kung Woman by Marjorie ShostakIn the book, Nisa The Life and Words of a Kung Woman, written by Marjorie Shostak is a culturally shocking and extremely touching book about a woman who had gone through many struggles and horrific tragedies in her life. This book also emphasizes the perspective of most of the women in the society. There are many striking issues in this book that the people of the Kung tribe go throu gh. Marjorie Shostak, an anthropologist who had written this book had studies the Kung tribe for two years. Shostak had spent the two years interviewing the women in the society. The Kung tribe resided n the Dobe area of Northwest Botswana, thats infused with a series of clicks, represented on paper by exclamation points and slashes. Shostak had studied that the people of the tribe relied mostly on nuts of the mongongo, which is from an indigenous tree thats part of their diet. Shostak, out of all the women in the tribe had made close connections with a fifty year old woman with the name of Nisa. The woman, Nisa, is what the book is about. The book is written in Nisas point of view of her life experiences while growing up in that type of society. Nisas willingness to speak in the interviews about her childhood and her life gave Shostak a solid basis on what to write her book on. Nisas life was filled with tragedies. She had gone through certain situations where Nisa loses two of her children as infants and two as adults. She had also lost her husband soon after the birth of one of their children. According to Shostak, None of the women had experiences as much tragedy as Nisa (Shostak, 351). Shostak, when interviewing Nisa, considers that in the beginning of the book, Nisa seems to exaggerate the stories from when she was an infant. Although the stories are exaggerated by Nisa, a lot of women can relate to her life even with the geographic distance between them or if the society is completely different. Women of the same age can relate to Nisa, or if they went through the same situations like her. Certain women, even in America, have gone through a situation where they had to bury their own child or if they have lost a husband. This book had first started out by introducing the readers to what this book is going to sound like, which was the Introduction.

The Knight and the Cart Essay -- essays research papers

The Knight of the CartBy the end of el plainth century, Western Europe had experienced a powerful cultural revival. The flourish of New towns provided a place for exchange of commerce and flow of knowledge and ideas. Universities, which replaced monasteries as centers of learning, poured urbanized knowledge into society. New technological advances and economics transformations provided the means for building magnificent architectures. These developments were representative of the mental and behavioral transformations that the medieval world underwent and the new relationships that were brought about between men, women and society in the twelfth century. As in technology, science, and scholasticism, Literature was also reborn with a new theme.3Very different from traditional writings of the past was the new flourish of jongleur poetry. Troubadour poetry, derived of courtly romances, focused on the idea of unrequited retire. A young man of the knightly class loved a lady, virtual ly often, the lady was married to the young mans lord. The courtly lover would compose highly lyrical and erotic poems in honor of his lady, and the jongleur was filled with rapture even at the slightest kindness that the lady might offer him.3 This new literary artifice provides us clues to the cultural changes that took place in medieval Europe during this time.Of the many writers of courtly romance, the most distinguished literature can be found in the work of Chretien de Troyes. Troyes was a native of east Champagne and most of his career was spent the court of Marie de Champagne. He was the inventor of Arthurian literature and the first to speak of Camelot, and write adventures of the Grail. He may even have been the first to sing the tragic love of Tristan and Isolde. One of Chretein de Troyes works, Chevalier de la Charette (The Knight of the Cart) expresses the doctrines of courtly love in its most developed form. The dapple of this story is believed to have been given to him by Marie of Champagne and has been called the perfect romance for its portrayal of Queen Guineveres affair with Lancelot of the Lake.1The elements of courtly love operate at several levels simultaneously in The Knight of the Cart they are expressed by the behaviors of Lancelot, Queen Guinevere, Meleagant and other characters in the story. Two vividly deployed elements are the concepts of loyalt... ...es heavenly elevation. In addition, Lancelot literally sacrifices himself for her, when he finds out mistakenly that she has died, he tries to kill him self. Guinevere is portrayed as a divinely creature. Only she had the power to rescue Lancelot and soothe his agony and pain. Lancelot reaffirming her alleviating power, begs Guinevere to allow him to go to her If you grant me permission, my way is clear. But if my scheme does not suit you, then the way is so difficult for me that my door is impossible." Once she permits him to enter "Lancelot had every wish .as he held G uinevere in his arms greatest joy and pleasure, confirming that his salvation was in her hands.2When all the courtly love elements that flow through The Knight of the Cart are composed, in addition to a tale of love affair between Queen Guinevere and Lancelot of the Lake, a catalogue revealing the enchanting history of the Twelfth Century Renaissance is created. Troyes, our powerful storyteller, was able to do this by taking us on a move around with Lancelot, not only though his exciting battles to Guinevere but, through his passionate and enamored thoughts and behaviors that yearns for his beloved.

A Separate Peace :: essays research papers

It seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, only wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart.The emphasize of A separate Peace is the Second World War and the focus of book is a group of sixteen-year-old boys who are moving towards a war. The extract comes from the termination of the book where Due to what constituent had done to Finny, he has been made to look at himself and now sees the war differently from the other boys. Gene has been forced to brass his own ignorant heart, and he now feels that he understands that people can be evil and hurt those who love them. Gene now knows that wars are created not by generations but by the human ignorant heart. In A separate Peace there are two wars being fought. The study war is Word War Two while the other war is the one that Gene tries to create between himself and Finny. This is war is always a private sided battle, as it is both created and fought in the mind of Gene .At the beginning of this novel Gene is very Ignorant of his heart. He constantly lies, not only to others but also to him self. Finny on the other hand is a very honest person, he never lies about anything to make him sound or feel give away about himself. An example of this is the incident where the boys are asked their height and Genes says he is 59 and Finny corrects him by saying, no your five foot eight and a half, the uniform as me. This quote shows the honesty that Finny possesses and that Gene lacks. Gene refuses to admit that he isnt tall while Finny openly admits it. Gene refuses to admit that he isnt brave or that his motives for injuring Finny where entirely false. Gene cannot face what he is and this leads to tragedy.Because Gene is dishonest he imagines that everyone else is as well. Gene imagines that Finnys character is exactly the alike(p) as his, which of course it isnt. Gene builds up hate, anger and fear of the character that he has given to Finny. Since this is his own character and not Finnys at all, the emotions that Gene feels towards this character are really what he feels towards his own character.

Low Wage Jobs and Barbara Ehrenreichs Nickel and Dimed Essay -- Pover

McDonalds, Wal-Mart, and cleaning services all of these have one thing in common-they are all minimum pay jobs. Their pay is pathetic and work load high, and because of this living as a low wage player is never easy. One must handle many hardships in roam to project a few meager dollars, with which most cannot sufficiently live. The living wage in the United States is between $9-10.18 sounds great to a college student, but in the real military man this kind of money just isnt going to cut it, (Ramisch). Minimum wage standards for American workers rest at $5.15 per hour, and in such slighted fields, very few make much more than that, perhaps $6-7, but even that is a rarity. The material life of a low-income employee includes bare necessities and next to zero luxuries. These workers often live paycheck to paycheck and never have a moment to fully enjoy life because they are constantly working, supporting themselves, and/or their families. Barbara Ehrenreich tries capturing this unacknowledged side of low wageworkers in her book, Nickel and Dimed, when she goes undercover as a fellow employee. Her real life accounts are noted as accurate and shocking as she brings the roughness of poverty to the forefront for many Americans (Ehrenreich 3). She portrays the lives of millions in one simple novel, and it is through this piece of literature that so many relate and feel less estrange in the overall scheme of things. This relation is especially true for three young women, Brandyll Powers, Whitney James, and Charity Pouge all of whom are forced to live on their scrimpy incomes in todays society. These interviewees discuss their daily struggles of living on minimum wage and how they are active representations of Ehrenreich?s novel. ... ...idden truths and in essence, portrays a minimum wage worker quite well. But for those that must live this life style on a daily basis, simply writing about their injustices will never be sufficient. Government act ion is the next needed step to help modify minimum wage, and the answer is clear raise the accepted standard. However, with all the other issues in this country, when will the government finally realize it is time to take action? Works CitedEhrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed. New York Henry Holt, 2001.James, Whitney. Telephone Interview. 16 March 2006. Pouge, Charity. personal Interview. 14 March 2006. Powers, Brandyll. Personal Interview. 14 March 2006. Ramisch, Claudia. ?Living on Minimum Wage.? ENGL 1302H Class Presentation, Kentucky Wesleyan College, Owensboro, KY. 13 March 2006.

Aphasia: A Language Disorder :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Aphasia A Language Disorder My most valuable tool is words, the words I can now use only with difficulty. My voice is debilitated - mute, a prisoner of a communication system damaged by a stroke that has robbed me of language, stated A. H. Raskins, one of approximately one million people in the United States who suffer from aphasia (1), a disorder which limits the comprehension and expression of language. It is an acquired impairment repayable to brain injury in the left cerebral cerebral hemisphere. The most common cause of aphasia is a stroke, but other causes atomic number 18 brain tumors, head injury, or other neuralgic illnesses. Of the estimated 400,000 strokes which occur a year, approximately 80,000 of those patients develop some form of aphasia (2). Another important observation is that within the United States, there are twice as many people with aphasia as there are individuals with Parkinsons disease (2). Yet, what is so astounding is the lack of public awareness slig htly aphasia. Aphasia attacks an intricate part of a persons daily life - the simple act of communication and sharing. The disbursement of such a tool deprives an individual of education knowledgeable through their life, often leaving the ill fated feeling hopeless and alone. In considering the effects of aphasia, a deeper analysis of the two most common forms of aphasia pass on be examined Brocas aphasia and Wernickes aphasia. While both forms occur usually as a result of a stroke in the left hemisphere of the brain, their particular settle of impairment produces different side effects in an individuals comprehension and speech. These regions have been further studied through experimental researches such as positron sack tomography (PET). Moreover, although there is currently no cure for the disorder, there are treatments and certain guidelines to follow when encountering an aphasic.In physiological terms, Brocas aphasia and Wernickes aphasia occur in the left hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for controlling the right side of the body along with speech and language abilities. Brocas aphasia affects the frontal lobe adjacent to the primary motor cortex, and Wernickes aphasia affects the posterior portion of the for the first time frontal lobe (3). A general distinction made between the two disorders are that Brocas aphasia limits speech, while Wernickes aphasia limits comprehension.Brocas aphasia characterizes patients as people who has loss the production of complete curse structures in speech and writing. Although the individual may retain the usage of nouns and verbs, the aphasic may have lost all forms of pronouns, articles, and conjunctions (3).

Aphasia: A Language Disorder :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Aphasia A Language Disorder My most valuable tool is words, the words I can now use only with difficulty. My articulation is debilitated - mute, a prisoner of a communication system damaged by a stroke that has robbed me of language, stated A. H. Raskins, one of somewhat one one thousand thousand people in the United States who suffer from aphasia (1), a disorder which limits the comprehension and expression of language. It is an acquired impairment due to brain injury in the left intellectual hemisphere. The most common cause of aphasia is a stroke, but other causes are brain tumors, head injury, or other neuralgic illnesses. Of the estimated 400,000 strokes which occur a year, approximately 80,000 of those patients develop some form of aphasia (2). Another important observation is that within the United States, there are twice as many people with aphasia as there are individuals with Parkinsons disease (2). Yet, what is so astounding is the lack of public awareness about aphasia. Aphasia attacks an intricate part of a persons daily intent - the simple act of communication and sharing. The disbursement of such a tool deprives an individual of education learned through their life, often leaving the ill unredeemed feeling hopeless and alone. In considering the effects of aphasia, a deeper analysis of the two most common forms of aphasia will be examined Brocas aphasia and Wernickes aphasia. While both forms occur normally as a result of a stroke in the left hemisphere of the brain, their particular site of impairment produces different side effects in an individuals comprehension and speech. These regions have been further studied through experimental researches such as positron emission tomography (PET). Moreover, although there is currently no mend for the disorder, there are treatments and certain guidelines to follow when encountering an aphasic.In physiological terms, Brocas aphasia and Wernickes aphasia occur in the left hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for controlling the right side of the consistency along with speech and language abilities. Brocas aphasia affects the frontal lobe adjacent to the primary motor cortex, and Wernickes aphasia affects the posterior portion of the first frontal lobe (3). A general distinction make between the two disorders are that Brocas aphasia limits speech, while Wernickes aphasia limits comprehension.Brocas aphasia characterizes patients as people who has loss the production of complete sentence structures in speech and writing. Although the individual may keep open the usage of nouns and verbs, the aphasic may have lost all forms of pronouns, articles, and conjunctions (3).

Describing Death

Giovanni Martinellis early c arer as a Florentine painter is relatively unknown. It is documented that he moved to Florence in 1634. Prior to relocating, Martinelli produced keepsake Mori (Death Comes to the Dinner Table). This piece has a comparable style to the Florentine painters Filippo Tarchiani and Anastagio Fontebuoni. souvenir Mori is displayed in a clear narrative style. Martinelli created a colorful and dramatic scene that was underscored by the hasty arrival of expiration. Some translations state that Memento Mori marrow Remember, you shall die. Here, Martinelli portrays a group of five individuals of varying ages. They appear to be from a wealthy stock. They wear expensive clothing and are seen at a dinner table partaking in a party of sorts. They are gallivanting around a table that is filled with an abundant collection of exotic fruits, pies, and pastries. Along with the food, Martinelli painted confused wine glasses that appear to be hand-crafted and of the highes t fashion. Giovanni used bright, shiny silken wear with colors ranging from yellow, to peach, to blue.The colors complement each figure, adding to their personality and thirst for greed. These wealthy-looking passel appearalmost instantaneouslyto be in a rigid state of duress. On the far right side of the painting, we see, in wickedness shades, the resemblance of a skeleton holding up an hourglass, as if to say, cheers. This one-time jovial band of feasters is seen reacting to the new character intruding on their high-standing party. The faces offer gestures of utter horrify and dismay.All the focus shifts from their colorful mealtime festivities to this arch nemesis, and back again. The skeletal metaphor of death leans into one mans shoulder. This man closest to death is in the act of clutching his heart. His eyes dilate toward the figure of death and his mouth, just slightly ajar, appears to be ready to cave open in utter horror. He, however, is too befuddle by this apparent figure of deaths close proximity to do anything but freeze in horror. ANALYSIS OF MEMENTO MORI There are two men at the rear end of the table, uttermost from death.They are also horrified. One man is seen posturing with arms wide-open, even though his is furthest from death. He is attempting to back away yet, at the same time, he is powerless and unable to leave the empty gaze of deaths vision for political campaign will do no good to the mortal man, regardless if he led a life of sin-hood or martyrdom. Morals were almost epidemic in Martinellis fresco works. Memento Mori is another classic story-telling scene with moralistic intent. The era of this 17th century creation occurred at a time when provoke was a hearty, healthy killer.The deathful onslaught of plague, in all its pestilence, came to towns without warning. It attacked the poor and wealthy alike, caring little for a persons status in regards to wealth, politics, or religion. To create the moral fabric surrounding the p owers of death through plague, Martinelli displayed deep mental imagery between the youthful party-goers who were enjoying their food and intoxicating drinks. He contrasts these free-willing, wealthy individuals with the disconsolateeven chilling humans of death. He does so by casting deaths chin over one mans shoulder.This imagery adds power and personality to the fresco. Martinelli displays the image of death coming to this gathering alone and without emotion or guile. The lone figure of death is shown to uproot the lives of this group of healthy, stress-free peoplestartling the living daylights out of everyone, young and old. MODERN-DAY IRONY Today, some four-hundred years after Giovanni Martinelli finished his last brush stroke to canvas, we remain as close to the fear of deaths randomness as the 17th century plague-ridden societies were. For 300 years plague hung over the lives of Europeans like an omnipresent cloud, express Mormando, who is an Italian studies professor at Boston College. This statement, today, holds tremendous weight to our real-world current lifestyle. Today, terrorism, war, suicide bombing, and the like are the molds that cast this same skeletal image at our kitchen table. Terrorism is a specter that comes at us in many forms anthrax, subway bombs, and suicide hijacker leading to the massive death of September 11, 2001. dependable as smallpox left past centuries in a state of despair and real fear, we, today, see how fear forces us to change our reality.This changing reality holds an ominous likeness to the changes that the banqueters in Momento Mori faced. Martinellis plague painting is characteristic 17th century Italian. The horrific tendency of the subject matter never undone the utter beautyeven charismatic charmof the oils that he chose to mix in his representation of terror and deathly destruction. For in his era of epidemics and massive death, just now a decade passed without plague haunting a town and bringing it to its knees. When this painting was created, there wasnt anything small about death.It came in massive, near significative proportions, decimating generations in the blink of an eye. So, the timing of Martinellis piece was right in line with the mood of the generation. This connection further enlivened his work back then. Since we, in the dawn of the 21st century, can relate to massive death and fear through terrorism, war, and civil upheaval around the globe, it also adds empowering imagery to his age-old mastery. The imagery of Memento Mori is further encapsulated by the grave images on these wealthy party-goers faces.The hand-crafted beautiful likeness on the faces of those facing death offers deep-rooted thinking that says As some of the Italians survived a plague-ridden epidemic, they continued to look-over-their-shoulders awaiting the next surprise visit by the specter of death. Its rather haunting how this parallels with what terrorism instills upon societies around the planet to day. hassle paintings like Martinellis, many times, depicted a person pinching their nose to refrain from smelling the horror of death in the air.Martinelli, however, appeared to glaze over his moral of death and the fear of death by not rendering any people in his paintings to be abhorred by the scent of death. This may further enhance the veritable lifestyle of the wealthy in the 17th century they had more than they could fathom. So, was Martinelli a closet optimist? Or was his subliminal imagery set up to leave us with this question How can the rich continue to ignore the fate of death, and why dont they seem concerned with finding ways to better universe instead of bettering their personal property and lavishness?In closing, we must also consider the element of hope and healing, and why it is not apparent in Memento Mori. We must consider the miasma theory and its transmission by way of corrupt air. Its the complete randomness of plague that Martinelli depicts so well that ad ds such(prenominal) force to this painting. As we continue to live in corrupt societies, it seems that the fear of death will continue to hang over our shoulders. Terrorism is likened to the countless plagues that wash over communities those many centuries ago. As death and terror come and go, the art of the masters remain untouched.

U.S. Holiday Shopping

Sales among U. S. stores went stronger than expected over the weekend causing a relief for most retailers who were expecting a bleak shopping extent due to overall slowdown of the economy. However, even though the figures are up, signs of more troubles were evident. Apparently, the bargain prices which helped drove shoppers to buy were so shocking that some analysts predicted that these stores will hold a much worse profit slashing from their sales in the long run.Most retail experts consider the Friday after Thanksgiving Day as the overall barometer of retailing performance for holiday sales which basically account for at least 25 percent of their annual sales. The very indicator for these retailers came appear when ShopperTrak released a report indicating a 3 percent increase of sales last Friday compared with last years performance. Moreover, the National Retail Federation (NRF) added that shoppers washed-out at least 7% more this year compared to 2007 with an average shipper spending about $372. 7 from Friday through Sunday. According to Kathy Grannis of the federation, It seems that not only did retailers do a good job of attracting shoppers but it seems that shoppers were also excited again to take part in the tradition of Black Friday weekend. Fridays store sales which ranged from 50 to 70 percent will not provide better profits for retailers in the long run experts said.It was such an indicator that retailers are somewhat dread(a) to sell, according to Hana Ben-Shabat, of A. T. Kearneys retail practice. NRF reported that 172 million shippers visited shops and online stores after Thanksgiving weekend which is up from 147 million shoppers last year. In general, shoppers bought low-cost items like clothes, DVDs, video game CDs and other accessories. Gift card were not as popular having a 10 percent decrease in sales.

Blended Families Essay

Cartwright (2010) found that distichs who re-marry after divorce can often be led to that decision by the need for an outline relationship and the benefits they receive from that relationship. The need for financial means also brought some to the decision that they would cohabitate in the first place re-marrying. Cartwright also came to the conclusion that while a bunch of the jumpicipants in the study were aw be of the possible difficulties of becoming a intermingle family, most of them did not talk to one another about certain p atomic number 18nting issues such as discipline and rules. Most of the participants also did not discuss how they would handle this change for the chelaren involved in the two families that were commix. Cartwright says that these findings supported earlier research that suggested that couples who are blending their families often avoid talking about difficult issues so as to avoid conflict. What Percentage of Households Have amalgamate Families?Stud ies have shown that about 9% of conjoin couple signs and 11.5% of households where the parents are living together but not married, have stepchildren who live in the home. (Teachman & Teadrow, 2008) A survey make, called the HILDA survey, showed that 13% of households in the third flourish of the survey, have stepchildren that either live in the home or do not and on some occasions both. A longitudinal study was done and indicated that out of the 1265 people involved in taking the study, 18.6% of them had lived in a stepfamily between the ages of 6 and 16 years old. This study included participants where the household was either remarried or cohabitating. (Nicholson, Fergusson, & Horwood, 1999). Many stepfamilies find challenges that make it precise difficult to have normal functional interactions amongst its members. What Areas of Concern Are There for Children in Blended Families? by research studies on blended families at that place seems to be a much(prenominal) greater risk of negative outcomes for children that are part of a blended family, as opposed to other children aroundthem who are from a first time marriage. (Amato, 2000 Bray, 1999 Hetherington & Kelly, 2002). When researchers have done studies on stepfamilies post-remarriage, they have found out very little(a) about how the couple prepares themselves and their families before they re-marry or move in together to live as a whole family unit. There are a couple exceptions. A study done in 1989 in the US was conducted specifically to find out what couples do to prepare themselves and their families for a re-marriage. (Ganong & Coleman, 1989).More recently than that a study was done in Britain that questioned both the mothers and the stepfathers to find out what it was they did, if anything, to prepare prior to the re-marriage. (Smith & Robertson, 2008) The findings were that many re-married quickly and did not discuss what each others role would be when it came to parenting. (Ganong & Colem an, 1989 Robertson, 2008 Smith, 2008). Evidence appeared that showed there was very little, if any, help given to the children to help them with the transition into this new family life. (Robertson, 2008). How Common is Re-Marriage?Research shows that almost 20% of Americans are divorced and remarried. It has become increasingly common over time. Stepfamilies are becoming the fas testing growing family unit. (Berger, 1995 Walsh, 2003b). Studies estimate that one in every two couples in the United States will divorce (Derma, 1999). What Are the Legal Ramifications of a Blended Family?Legal battles can become very expensive and are very complicated. Centuries ago, it was say that the children belonged to the father and so when a marriage ended, the children would stay with the father (Knibiehler, 1995). This was due large in part to the father having to financially support, educate and protect his children much like the father figure of Christian Mythology (Friedman, 1995). Around th e time of the Industrial Revolution came domesticity. With that came the idea and emphasis that a childs need to be emotionally nurtured was much historic. That did not change the fathers legal obligations to financially support, educate and protect his children. With that, thefathers role became one more(prenominal) of support while the mothers role took the lead as the one who provided the children with emotional nurturance (Jacob, 1988).The one exception to the rule that the mother should have delay of the children, was that she be proven to be the cause for the end of the marriage. If that could be proven, she risked losing her property and her children. Around 1975, the idea of no-fault divorces was starting to have an impact on legislation (Fogarty, 2001). small-arm the arguments for this type of divorce were mostly moral ones, the leaders of politics and religion were arguing that we had lost what once held our society together. Another big part of no fault divorce proce edings that nobody gave much attention to for a long period of time, was how violence or abuse within the marriage and family should fall the outcome. Very slowly did family courts begin to take in to consideration the unacceptable behaviors towards spouses and children. Then they began to make decisions based more on those findings. What Things Help a Blended Family to Be Successful?According to Visher, Visher & Pasley, 2003, becoming a blended family is a very complicated process that involves transitioning from ones previous life and household to a whole new life and possibly household where things may be very different than before. There are many things to be cerebration about when choosing to blend a family. Several things must be examined since they may influence how the new family blends together. It is important to know the experiences of the previous marriage, for both parties. It is also important to know how the continued contact with the previous spouse is handled.Al so important is how each spouse differs when it comes to personal maturity, the experiences each has had throughout their lives and what social status they hold. Finally, crafty what each partner considers the norm and what each ones expectations are (Swenson, 1997). Understanding how to help families of remarriage to blend successfully is an important outline for research, intervention and prevention efforts within blended families (Von Eye & Schuster, 2000). Using this approach helps to guide families when they face challenges or difficult times within their blended family (Hawley, 2000Walsh, 1998b, 2003a).When talking about resilience in a blended family, a lot of things are brought into the mix. Risk factors such as stressful events or bad conditions are weighed against protective factors such a family and residential area support to help blended families and their children to be successful in working through the hard times (Norman, 2000). According to McCubbin and McCubbin, ( 1988), there are certain dimensions, characteristics and features that must be looked at in order to help a blended family be more resilient to the hard times. They look at resistance to fault in the event of a change and how well a person adapts in a critical situation.Walsh (1996) came up with the idea of relational resilience. Models have been created to test these factors. The first model, the pre-crisis ABCX model looks at the A (stressor), B (resource), and C (definition of the stressor) which help families protect themselves and get through crisis. Second are the models that focus on before and after crisis factors and the FAAR Model that was developed by McCubbin and Patterson (McCubbin et al., 1996). Last is the Typology Model of Family Adjustment and Adaptation, developed by McCubbin and McCubbin (McCubbin et al., 1996). This model focuses on what patterns are used in the delegacy the family functions and what each persons role is in adjusting and adapting during adversi ty or crisis.According to Walsh (1998b), qualification a blended family successful and helping them to stay together can be accomplished by encouraging the familys belief system, a supportive community, communication with one another and support within the family structure, acknowledging that some adversity it very normal and standing together as a family and believeing that you can achieve what you set out to accomplish. How is Attachment in Stepfamilies Affected?Bowlby (1973) has found that while there is an end little amount of research done on attachment, very little of that has been done on stepfamilies. He found that the disruption of bonds that a child has may make it very hard to form secure attachments otherwise in life, therefore, leading to possible psychological disorders. Separation from a parent and conflict with a new stepparent maycause problems with attachment and adjusting in the future (Henry & Holmes 1998). These types of situations often involve some form of th reat (whether it be real or not) making one of the parents more unavailable (Kobak 1999).There was some speculation that a child being raised in a stepfamily would for sure have less secure attachments than those raised by their biological parents still together. They did state that insecurities may be part of the stress of divorce and remarriage (Love and Murdock 2004).As stated by Robert S. Feldman (2011), more than 5 million couples who are each others second marriages have at least one child that is a stepchild. He states that often times, a childs role is unclear and they are not sure of what is expected of them. Children may not be sure what their responsibilities are as a part of the new family or how they should treat their new parent or siblings. Feldman also states that blending into a new family seems to be easier for children that are school age as opposed to teenagers. He states that it is due to several different things. The familys financial situation usually improves with a remarriage and the addition of a second income. There are also more people in the family to share chores and responsibilities with as well as more people to have a social relationship with (Greene, Anderson, & Hetherington, 2003 Hetherington & Elmore, 2003).though there is not much research on blended families and every aspect of the changes, challenges and successs, it is clear that raising a blended family involves a lot of planning, preparing and nurturing on the part of the children to make it successful for everyone involved.

Nicholas Lezard’s Quote on Atonement Essay

the young is itself the act of atonement that briony Tallis needs to perform thus far we ar actually frequently in the land of the unreliable narrator, where evasion and mendacity both shadow and undermine the stage that is told (Nicholas Lezard). Discuss this criticism of Atonement. When one reaches atonement, it room that they feel forgiven, regardless whether they are actually absolved for an offence or not. In Atonement, a novel of drama, war and romance, the author Ian McEwan characterizes the main character, Briony, as a very self-centered person.McEwans novel is self-referential when it is implied that the novel is one Briony wrote in order to reach atonement. Nicholas Lezard, critic for the Guardian, says that Brionys atonement and the law of her story is weakened by Ian McEwans characterization of her as an unreliable person. However, some may argue that the novel Briony wrote was a good expression to atone for her crime. In the end of the McEwans novel, Briony sh ows that she swears she had done the best she could have to reach atonement.When talking about the final draft of her novel she says Ive regarded it as my duty to disguise nothing the name, the places, the exact circumstances I put it all there as a matter of a diachronic record (McEwan 349). This makes the reader believe she is existence entirely honest. In addition to this, Briony, being a salubrious-known published writer at the age of 77, decides to enjoyment her passion, her talent, to become part of her atonement.Although Briony cant publish her novel until after the death of Lola and Paul Marshall because of her fear of litigation as well as the power and wealth the couple have and will use to protect their names. The Marshalls have been active about the courts since the late forties, defending their good names with a most expensive ferocity (McEwan 349). Her inability to do anything more at this stage of her life makes readers feel sympathy for Briony and want to bel ieve everything that she claims to be true.For these reasons umpteen readers may well believe that Briony had done respectably the best she could have to reach atonement. On the other hand many may agree with Lezard and feel that Brionys fictional happy ending to her story is a final attempt to evade the guilt she feels. Brionys medical condition and the fact that she is dying, as a result draws attention away from her desperation to relieve her guilt. It is only in this last magnetic declination that my lovers end well, standing side by side on a South London pavement as I walk away. All the forgo drafts were pitiless (McEwan 350).This makes the reader question how much more of what actually happened was changed in Brionys story. Briony even calls herself an unreliable witness (McEwan 338) of the events that occurred which she whence wrote about. This excessively puts the reader in a position to not want to trust anything Briony says. She also says that she likes to think that Robbie and Cecilias happy ending wasnt weakness or evasion, but a final act of kindness (McEwan 351), which contradicts to her claim of having the novel published as a historical record, enforcing to the reader her untrustworthiness.These are a few of the reasons for which Briony can be seen as an unreliable person. Aside from her desperation and lies as a result of her coming closer to death, there are other ways in which McEwan characterizes Briony to be unreliable and wanting to partially avoid blame for her committed crime. Briony, the protagonist, wrote her entire novel with an omniscient tertiary person narrator, which as a result distances Briony from the reader and draws some attention away from her offence.Another effect that this has is that it suggests to the reader that the events that occurred happened exactly as they are described, when that is not the case. Should the novel have been written in 1st person from Brionys point of view, the reader would have seen Brion y as an irresponsible and not believed her story so easily. Briony on page 350 then clearly states that she made of part of her story when she says When I am dead, and the Marshalls are dead, and the novel is finally published, we will only exist through my inventions (McEwan).McEwans characterization of her as a self-centered and unreliable person is consistent from when Briony is 13 years old up to when she is 77. On page 336, Briony says However withered, I still feel myself to be exactly the alike person Ive always been (McEwan), which to the reader signifies that Briony has not matured as a person and still may think like she did when she was a child, making the same mistakes without realizing them. A clear example of the same mistakes Briony makes as an adult, is how she is jealous of her older cousin at the age of 77, the same feeling she had as a child.On page 341, Briony also says, Ive always been good at not thinking about the things that are really troubling me (McEwan ), which has the same effect of characterizing her as unreliable. Briony tries to do good by trying to atone with the novel she wrote, although on page 340, she says, If I really cared so much about the facts, I should have written a different kind of book. But my work was done. There would be no further drafts (McEwan 340), which then makes it very clear to the reader that Brionys story cannot be trusted. The entire novel is damaged and cannot be believed as a result of Brionys unreliability.Although Brionys attempt to atone may seem justifiable to some, it is more reasonable to say that McEwans novel of Atonement is reduced from the story of a girl committing a crime and separating two lovers, down to the fantasy world of Briony Tallis blended in with some facts of events she witnessed. The novel being self-referential when it is revealed that Briony wrote it in order to reach atonement, leaves the reader with a very strong impression of Briony as a very unreliable, self-centered person, which then undermines the entire story.