Gothic Fiction and the Separation of Barbaric Past

Gothic Fiction and the Separation of Barbaric Past Gothic fiction challenges the separation between an apparently barbaric past and the civilised world, showing that the two can overlap.Gothic fiction is one of the most outstanding genres of the nineteenth century, the era of a significant societal and technological changes. These changes at that time have greatly contributed to the unique features of the gothic genre. This essay will be showing the overlap between the barbaric past and civilised present by discussing the general overview of the nineteenth century as a developing age and how the savage past was still present in the dark corners of the civilised world, as well as, the popular idea of moral degeneration existed in the period. This essay will also investigate the novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson and the short story The Phantom Coach by Amelia Edwards.[G1][G2] First and foremost, gothic fiction portrays the Victorian society as an advanced period of time in both scientific field and human behaviour. It is the transferring phase between the ancient and the modern world. In this period, the scientific way of thinking replaced magic-based method of explaining. Scientific topics appeared in most gothic fictions from the story of the old scientist in the Phantom Coach to the taste of Dr. Jekyll[G3] being rather chemical than anatomical (Stevenson 1886, p. 32). All reflect the dominant and undeniable existence of science. Its role was so important that people reject as false all that cannot be brought to the test of laboratory or dissecting room (Edwards 1864, p. 4). This is a significant advancement of the Victorian society as their ideas were shaped by logical thinking and scientific developments instead of magical thinking. In the new era, they observed continuous series of new inventions in science and [G4][G5]technology which motivated them to test the nature to prove the reality. To them, an idea or a phenomenon could only be true if it could be tested in the laboratory, thus, they rejected superstitious or supernatural ideas. Moreover, there was an advancement in human behaviour and awareness in that society. In order to maintain their reputation, they had to act responsibly to their good name as can be seen here in Mr. Utterson[G6] who enjoyed the theatre, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years (Stevenson 1886, p. 3). Based on their occupation and class, they had their own code of conduct which meant what kind of behaviours are accepted and suitable for their class. Characters like Dr. Jekyll, [G7]Mr. Utterson[G8] in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde[G9][G10] and the lawyer James Murray in the Phantom Coach belong to the higher class in the Victorian society. They live a decent life in a well-to-do neighbourhood and hang out with peers having the same social status. There were certain rules that they had to obey s o that they could be respectable and most importantly, they could not have any desire or enjoy certain pleasures such as [G11]drinking alcohol or visiting prostitutes like people in the lower class. However, the new society was definitely not perfect, it was not entirely civilised because of some remaining factors of the past. Despite the upward changes benefiting the society, some vicious pieces of the past still remain and hide   in the dark. The nineteenth century seemed to be civilised and developed but when taking a closer look, people might find out that the past still lingered in the dark side. Although most of the barbaric elements had already disappeared, they were not completely gone. The existence of Mr. Hyde is a typical example representing the past in London from his physical features to his behaviours. On describing his appearance, Stevenson reveals the following quotes Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity (Stevenson 1886, p. 19) and he gave Mr. Utterson the feeling of unknown disgust, loathing, and fear ([G12]Stevenson 1886, p. 19). The description of Mr. Hyde evokes the readers a sense of villainy and his bad intention for others. His ugly features are typical to Gothic fictions villain. Corresponding to his outward look, his monstrous behaviours reflec t himself as sinister and barbaric by the act of trampling the girl (Stevenson 1886, p. 6) and the murdering Sir Danvers Carew (Stevenson 1886, p. 28). In an advanced society, people do not use violence to discuss an issue, they use reasons and logic to solve problems. However, Mr. Hyde is not a part of the modern world but having more resemblance to the people in the past who are not fully evolved and tend to be dominated by anger and violence. He usually appeared in the dark night of London, enjoyed degrading pleasures that no gentlemen would ever do without taking into consideration his reputation. In addition, the coming back of the past is most clearly demonstrated in the Phantom Coach. Edwards (Edwards 1864, p. 7) suggests that the existence of brutal past in the modern society through the ghosts with fiery unnatural lustre eyes, livid face and bloodless lips. They suggest the return of the past in the civilised world. In the period when people no longer believe in supernatura l stories, witnessing the corpses carriage is the most obvious evidence for James Murray about the frightening past remaining in the civilised world. They represent the terror and fright existing at dark night. The past does not mean that it has entirely extinct, it shows up when people least expect it. Behind the fanciness of the nineteenth century remaining the decaying past that is hiding in the night and waiting to come back unexpectedly.[G13] It is the idea of degeneration that fosters the existence of the savage past in the developing society. When the society is on its way to be more developed, human behaviour, on the other hand, tends to degrade. Societal and economic advancement brings lots of benefits to the world but at the same time, it restricts humans enjoyment. Stevenson describes Dr. Jekyll[G14] as a person who concealed my pleasures (Stevenson 1886, p. 73) or had learned to dwell with pleasure, as a beloved day-dream (Stevenson 1886, p. 75). He desires to freely enjoy his life without being restrained by the rules, nonetheless, he also wishes to keep his good name as an honourable doctor who is highly respected in the society. The stress from his responsibility and fame has put a strain on Dr. Jekyll to find a way out to [G15]have a desire for himself[G16] without negatively affecting his social status. Therefore, it leads him to create Mr. Hyde. Unfortunately, Mr. Hyde is the downgrade version of human in tha t period from his appearance to behaviour. Contrary to Dr. Jekyll who is described as a tall, fine build of a man ([G17]Stevenson 1886, p. 53), Mr. Hyde was more of a dwarf (Stevenson 1886, p. 53). Furthermore, his inhumane behaviours such as murdering the member of Parliament suggest that Mr. Hyde represents the idea of moral degeneration at the time. He not only arouses a sense of dissipation but his cruel personality also suggests that he is a brutal criminal belonging to the lower class. However, in fact, Mr. Hyde is actually a [G18]moneyed gentleman as what Mr. Enfield calls him (Stevenson 1886, p. 6). He belongs to the same class as Dr. Jekyll [G19]but he is a gentleman representing moral degeneration. Mr. Hyde[G20] is not the only symbol of degeneration; Dr. Jekyll[G21] is as well an example. Stevenson reveals that The powers of Hyde seemed to have grown with the sickliness of Jekyll (Stevenson 1886, p. 93). His separation from his friends, colleagues and his association with a cruel person like Mr. Hyde risks his good reputation[G22]. He also led a downward path of life both physically and morally as he isolated himself from the outside world and lived in the fear of his secret. Dr. Jekyll himself[G23] became degenerating from a respectable gentleman to a fearful person controlled by the savagery of his other personality. In conclusion, taking into consideration the novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson and the short story The Phantom Coach by Amelia Edwards, it can be seen that gothic fictions demonstrate that within the modern present, the sinister past still lingers in the society and that both of them overlap each other since not one of them is completely overshadow the other. Bibliography Edwards, A. B 1864, The Phantom Coach, Retrieved September 13, 2017 from  http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/PhanCoac.shtml Stevenson, R.L 1886, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde[G24][G25], Retrieved 10 January 2016  from http://www.planetebook.com/ebooks/The-Strange-Case-of-Dr- Jekyll.pdf

Oliver Twist - Name Etymology Essay -- essays research papers

Oliver Twist - Name Etymology Summary: Oliver Twist is a poor orphan boy cruelly treated in the public workhouse. Pennyless and hungry, he runs away to London, only to fall into the clutches of a gang of thieves and pickpockets led by the master criminal, Fagin. Befriended by a man robbed by the gang, Oliver ultimately learns his true identity and gains a new home, a fortune and a brand new family! Name Analogies: Oliver: Norman French form of a Germanic name, possibly the name Alfihar meaning "elf army". The spelling was altered by association with Latin oliva "olive tree". The olive tree also symbolises longevity and hope, and the olive tree is renowned eternal. It is also a symbol of peace and reconciliation, the branch of the olive tree is chosen by God to mean to Noà © (Noah) that the Flood is finished and that the diminution begins, symbol of the forgiveness. Also symbolising of victory, the olive tree is a present loaded with a gratifying meaning during the Olympic Games in Athens. Crown of olive tree and jars of olive oil are so offered to the winners. A symbol of force, the olive tree is renowned for its very compact, very heavy and very hard wood. It is wooden of olive tree that are made Hercules’s bludgeons and it is with the wooden picket of olive tree that Ulysses brings down Cyclops in the Odyssey. I think this name suits Oliver very well as his name, derived from the olive tree. It symbolizes peace and reconciliation as Oliver duly shows...

The Reasons of Chinese Immigrated to the United States

The Reasons of Chinese immigrated to the United States Chen Zhang The Reasons of Chinese immigrated to the United States Introduction In China, since the reform and opening-up, there have been two waves of immigration in the last century late 70s and early 90s. With the advent of a new century, China’s economy has come into the phase of rapid development and its informatization construction has been developed at a high speed. Surprisingly, at that time, there is growing the third emigration which is a larger scale one. Among these immigrants, the professional elite and the proportion of affluent people increases year by year.Why do so many Chinese immigrate to US while China is growing fast and full of opportunities? That’s a very good question which might have thousands of answers from the Chinese immigrants. The present study surveys Chinese immigrants’ reasons and attitudes toward immigrate to the United States. Method Participates: The interviews were request ed to be completed by Chinese people I have met in the Chinese school in Edison and New Brunswick, people work in the Asian Cultural Center of NJ, and some of my friends in Montclair State University, Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickenson University.I have totally interviewed 30 people included 5 people want to immigrate, 23 immigrants, 2 second-generation immigrants (American born Chinese). Questions: Besides the basic information about ages, incomes, the questions included 1) When was your first come to the United States? 2) When did you immigrate? 3) Is there any family member immigrated with you? 4) Why you immigrated to the United States? 5) Why did you choose the United States? Conclusion First, people pursue the high quality of life and the high quality of experience.In this rapidly developing society, the pursuit of a high quality of life has become a demand of modern people. As economy is developing fast, people's living conditions have greatly improved. When people ge t a promotion, they want to move into bigger house and higher living conditions. Human desires are not always fulfilled. People are alive and never satisfied with the present condition. Especially, some successful young people prefer to choose one new life in order to pursue the high-quality experience. They want to challenge themselves in a totally different situation. Life isn't about finding yourself, Life is about creating yourself! † said Lichun Zhang, 46. She is a reporter of one of the biggest Chinese newspaper in the USA. When she was in China, she was a manger of one famous company of Shanghai. For her dream, she left her native place. For this dream, she abandoned a lot such as her prestigious job and her comfortable life. Second, the natural environment in United States is better than in China. During the rapid development of the global economy, natural resource encounters the over-limited exploitation that destroys the environmental balance.Some heavy industry citi es have been serious polluted. Industrialization quickly affected local water and air quality around factories. We can see the big gap between the air quality in China and in some Western country such as the United State. A Chinese student studies in the Fairleigh Dickson University, Zerong Ding said that he likes this new life. He seems to live and study in a big forest park. On the contrary, there are varied and numerous of tall buildings around us. More and more buildings were constructed, less and less green space were damaged.The green space has a great function on adjusting and meliorating the urban climate system and on purifying the urban atmosphere. There are apparent differences in forest fragmentation and disturbance patterns between China and the USA in the current analysis. The possible underlying reasons responsible include differences in political systems, institutions, economy, and so on. (Li, Mao, Zhou, Vogelmann, Zhu,2010) Lawmaking in China did not take ecological , economic and societal benefits of forests into account in the past, which led to an inadequate protection of natural forests.In particular, forest fragmentation issues were not involved in the processes of legislation. To date, a well-defined tenure or ownership has not been available for those collective forests in southern China, and an overloaded forest-related taxation still exists for forest farmers. This has heavily undermined the afforestation initiatives available to forest farmers (Zhang, 2008). In contrast, the USA has pushed many favorable policies, including an adoption of taxation incentive packages to encourage citizens to manage forests.A comprehensive system of laws related to forest management has dramatically advanced forest management levels and led to an overall forest inventory regularly. Beside governmental supports, various NGO’s pay much attention to forest fragmentation issues when management plans are being developed. (Li, Mao, Zhou, Vogelmann, Zhu ,2010) In contrast, USA attaches greater importance to the preservation of natural forests (FAO, 2006). More importantly, the USA tends to pay more attention to technical innovations, as well as efficient and sustainable forestry practices, to help minimize anthropogenic disturbances to forests.Currently, there are significant gaps in forestry technologies and administrative philosophy and capabilities between China and the USA, which are key contributors to different types and levels of forest fragmentation(Li, Mao, Zhou, Vogelmann, Zhu,2010). Although the hardware environment in some big cities of China is good, sometimes even better than American, the forest management levels and the relatively policies must be improved. Third, the rhythm of life in China has become faster and faster, people can easily feel pressure and lost their happiness. China is densely populated.As for China, a developing country with large population, it is hard to solve the problem of employment. Obtainin g employment of university students is a vital and key problem in the development of higher education. More and more graduates are facing a serious problem of obtain employment. In today's highly competitive market environment, working pressure and heated competition are growing day by day. No one wants to be left behind in the competition. Everyone is confronted with more and more fierce competitions. As everybody is pressed for time, the rhythm of life is more anxious. The level of people’s happiness dropped apparently.Today, when people visit China’s major cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai or Chongqing, people can easily feel the rhythm of life much faster than America. Everything happens in a fast forward mode. People feel the vibrancy, and people feel the pressure, too(Lifestyle – China vs. North America). Starting from late 90’s, China pushed forward its reform in its residential housing system, privatizing residential houses by encouraging people t o buy houses with governmental subsidiary. Only since then, China’s real estate market tool off (There was no houses or apartments you can buy before the reform.Everyone lives in the state owned apartments). In merely 10 years, accompanying the fast growing economy, the housing prices in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have skyrocketed over 10 folds. However, the affordability went straight down(Lifestyle – China vs. North America). For instance, (Bridge to China, 2010) the current average housing price in Shanghai is about RMB10,000 per square meter, which means a 100 square meter (930 sqft) apartment would cost RMB1 million. (Note: Because China’s large cities are heavily populated, e. g. 0 million in Shanghai alone, few people can afford living in a house, or â€Å"villa† in Chinese term, which costs millions in US or Canadian dollars. Most people live in high-rise condo apartments). The average annual personal income, however, is only RMB40, 000. That means a double income family need 12. 5 years income to pay off their home without spending a dime on food or entertainment. Here in North America, we only need 4 to 5 years. Simply put, in China the young people there just cannot afford to be not aggressive, no matter at work, in business or study. Fourth, the parents want their children can received better education.Shushu Ye, a teacher of Chinese school in Edison said that she has immigrated for her eight-year-old son, Boyang. She wants her son can received advanced skills and techniques in this developed big country. On the other hand, the different between Chinese education system and American is significant. Hailin Wang is the principal of Chinese school in New Brunswick used â€Å"Fear of public speaking†, the most common phobia that people have, to explain these two different systems. For example, strictness is the well-known brand of education in China. In class, students take notes while listening to the l ecture.Most teaching still emphasizes direct instruction and passive learning. Gradually, students become silence and lost our own views in class. We have not chance to talk in public. On the contrary, the interactive learning in the American classroom offers the opportunities to exploit the logical thinking and creativity. American students are used to voice their thought in public. We need to learn from them and practise more in order to supply our deficiency. Fifth, it is convenient for travellers, visitors or the business men do the commercial intercourse between China and America. People have to go through a lot of red tape to get the visa.However, if people become American citizen, they can enjoy the visa exempt. It is convenient for the business man to do the commercial intercourse. For the past ten years, Huang Ye has done a lot of trade with American company. Generally, she needs to travel from China to America three times per month. She has a big company to sell china and Zisha teapot. Zisha teapot of Yixing, is a wonderful work of the traditional Chinese arts with a long history. Ye told me that she loves her job because she found that many American people love these Chinese crafts very much.ReferencesMingshi Li, Lijun Mao, Chunguo Zhou, James E. Vogelmann, Zhiliang Zhu, Comparing forest fragmentation and its drivers in China and the USA with Globcover v2. 2 , Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 91, Issue 12, December 2010, Pages 2572-2580 Zhang, 2008 L. Zhang, Reform of collective forest right system in Jiangxi Province, Scientia Silvae Sinicae 44 (7) (2008), pp. 79–83 (in Chinese). FAO, 2006 FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 Rome (2006) ftp://ftp. fao. org/docrep/fao/008/A0400E/A0400E00. pdf/Online . Lifestyle – China vs. North America, January 26, 2010, http://bridge2china. wordpress. com/tag/chinese-immigrants/. Online.

Becoming the Woman or Man You Want to Be

In present society, men and women alike are still bound to the stereotypes assigned to their respective sexes. While the gender situation has definitely improved today as compared to the past decades, the discrimination between the sexes is still present. The gender impositions are clearly restrictions.The gender-role expectations of society hinder an individual from reaching their full potential, simply because the options provided for growth appear limited. This is the reason why it is liberating for both men and women to develop more flexible views regarding the said expectations.By adapting a flexible attitude with regards to gender roles, an individual can go beyond what is expected of them and their gender. In a way, it allows the person to break free from what he or she thought she should do and enjoy the freedom by doing what he or she wants to do. However, the gender problem can only be resolved if the change begins in the individual. The person must develop the flexible per spective himself or herself to be able to break free from one’s gender restrictions.As a woman, it is important for me to adapt the flexible view of gender expectations myself. Compared to men, women are more burdened by these expectations, as females are regarded as the weaker and more inferior sex. Therefore, I must learn to develop a more lenient viewpoint regarding gender roles because I am more affected by it. In the past, women were only expected to stay at home and devote themselves to their husbands and children. As a woman in modern society, I strive to go beyond that stereotype.There are so many options for women like me today, may it be in terms of family or profession. By developing a more flexible view on gender role expectations, I can liberate myself from the housewife stereotype and pursue a life of unlimited opportunities. If I want freedom, the change has to start from me. This is because if I believe that those expectations are the only ones I can pursue, I will remain restricted by my gender. Hence, it is very important for me as a woman to develop flexible views about gender role expectations.

Misrepresentations of African Americans in the Media essays

Misrepresentations of African Americans in the Media essays Misrepresentations of African Americans in the Movies It seems that the entertainment industry has helped to shape the way that African Americans are viewed by modern day America. As a white male who has little or no experience within an actual black family unit, I am not sure exactly how accurate media portrayals are. However, I am fully aware of the stereotypes that often plague the African American race. Myths and untruths about the work ethic and sexual ferocity of Black males, the unskilled or careless parenting of Black mothers and fathers, and the general moral deterioration of the Black family as a whole run rampant in todays films, television shows, and other forms of media. Through real life interactions and experience, books and classes, and common sense, I have put these stereotypes to rest for myself. I know that they are not accurate. Unfortunately, there are many who do fall victim to the stereotypes, and there are many more who experience prejudice and pain because of them. After watching some movies that are currently popular, it seems to me that the majority of current films that are aimed at an African American audience fill and support these negative stereotypes of African Americans. When Hollywood pitches an idea for a film, it is aimed towards a specific audience. Some of these movies are specifically aimed towards African American teens. These films usually star African American actors and actresses, sometimes popular rap stars, and they usually take place in an urban setting. I have seen two such comedy movies recently; Friday, starring Ice Cube, and How High, starring Method Man and Redman. Because these movies star popular rap artists, they are meant to attract those artists core audience, African American teens. However, upon viewing these films, I was disturbed rather than amused. Because of the extremely high number of racial stereotypes that these movies held, I co...

Band of Angels essays

Band of Angels essays As the title of this novel races through my mind I image a beautiful young girl living a peaceful life. As the story line unfolds the reader is trapped in a world of disbelief and anger. The main character, Amantha Starr, shows the reader that life is not always what it seems to be. On a plantation near Danville, Kentucky, Amantha grew up knowing only the love of her father, Aaron Pendleton Starr. Growing up as a motherless child many would think that she was lost to the world, but her father and Aunt Sukie made sure that she always had whatever her heart desired. Amantha, also called Manty, remembered a scene from her childhood where her father sold a slave. The slave was a dear friend to Manty, and it was hard for the girl to understand why the slave was sold. Her father doesnt like to talk about it and so the child grows up not knowing why. In August of 1852 Amanthas father decides it was time for her to go to school. On the trip they stopped in Cincinnati where Manty meet Miss Idell, her fathers fling at the time. Miss Idell took Manty shopping for new school clothes and such. Manty enjoyed every moment with the lovely woman. Later that week Manty is sent to Oberlin, Ohio where she is to attend school. She stayed with an n older lady called Mrs. Turpin. On the first day of classes Mrs. Turpin, being the godly woman that she was, cut the beautiful ruffles from Manty dress saying that to be beautiful was to be vain. Over the course of several years Manty too came to believe this. On a trip home Manty tried to convice her father to free the slave at Starrwood, the family plantation. He would not do so, saying that even if he did they would have no where to go and he would still have to feed them. Manty feeling hurt returned to school. Some weeks later a letter came saying that Amanthas father had died. She rushed to her fathers graveside. At Amanthas weake ...

Narrative Essay

Narrative Essay Narrative Essay Narrative Essay Unlike other types of essays, narrative essay gives you an opportunity to express yourself and your thoughts.   While writing an essay, you have to explain how your experiences have helped you in life. Everybody has had significant experience that helped us to understand something about ourselves, others or the world in a whole. Narrative essay writing gives you a chance to inform the reader about these experiences, your thoughts and ideas.   While writing narrative essay, you should think about the moments that are worth to discuss. These moments may be from your childhood. Choose a vivid time from your childhood, for example, how you earned your first money to buy something that you really wanted. You must describe any of the events in such a way that your reader understands why the event was important and memorable to you. While writing an essay, you should include details which make an event more real for the reader.   The reader should sense your emotions and be able to dr aw the picture of your experience. Using quotes is not encouraged.   However, is you use quotes, do not forget to express your own thoughts. College narrative essay should be effective and interesting to read. Narrative Essay Writing Help While writing a narrative essay, remember that there are some rules you should follow. You should write it in a first person. However, if it is necessary you may use third person pronouns. It means if you write about your own story, use 'I' if the story is about events that happened to the person you know, use 'he' or 'she'. The narrative essay must be written logically and lack grammar and style mistakes. While writing a narrative essay, you create a story, i.e. your story must have a plot that describes main characters and setting, climax that tell the reader the peak experience related to your thesis, and the conclusion that contains how the narrative's thesis comes to its full realization. Narrative essay writing requires a chronological development of the events. However, you can break this rule. Develop the main idea of your essay.   This main idea is a thesis of your narrative essay. Remember that supporting examples not only prove your thesis statement but also help the reader to draw a full picture. Essay Writing Service If you are hesitant in your writing skills, you are encouraged to ask professional writers working at our site for assistance.   We are educated and experienced in custom essay writing.   knows how to write a narrative essay which gains the attention from the first lines.   Place an order and improve your grades with our help!