Hard times by Charles Dickens Essay Example for Free

Hard times by Charles Dickens Essay The book Hard times, relates to the hard times that people were going through at the time of the industrial revolution, during the 1840s. the book was published in 1850, so that when Charles wrote the book, he was looking back on the events that occurred 10 years earlier. In his book Hard Times Dickens focuses on education and how children used to be taught. Dickens does not agree with the type of teaching that was going on in those times, and by making the characters of the story his object of hate, it makes them prime targets of ridiculing, and does so throughout the book. He describes how the educators insist on teaching fact, and fact alone, nothing but fact. This way he can put forward his views and feelings of this form of teaching, by ridiculing the characters and continually ripping them apart with criticism. The educators insist on teaching fact and pluck all the opinion from the tiny fragile minds that can be so easily moulded into fact filled objects. They scoop out every little fragment of imagination, not leaving the smallest detail to spare and replace it with fact, fact, fact, until they are over spilling with them. As if when filling an empty money box with pennies until it is full to the brim and over flowing, and when you take off the lid they all pour out, one after the other, penny after penny, fact after fact. Facts were ridged and solid, there was no room for interpretation, or another view on the matter, a fact could not be disproved, or argued against, a fact was a fact, and that was what the educators were trying to pour into the innocent little minds, once filled with imagination and opinion. Dickens chooses the names of characters very well. Such as Grad grind, this gives an impression of a strict, hard faced man stuck in his ways. Dickens is very descriptive which gives the reader an image of the characters, and yet at the same time he leaves other aspects to the imagination. The educators were filtering out the opinion and imagination, leaving room for only the facts to get through. This is what Dickens disliked about this form of education, he thought that each child should be independent, and have their own opinion of things and have a free imagination. Dickens himself was a very bright child, yet was denied the right to education, due to the conditions of the time, and the fact that his family were so poor. He left school at the age of 14 and went to work. This is the main reason why Dickens feels so strongly about education and he feels that people should do what they want to do not what they have to do, as he had to leave school in order to get a bit more money for his family. In chapter 2 we learn that the teacher Gradgrind has little, if any respect for the children as he refers to them by numbers, also he criticises on of the girls names. He forms the impression of a very narrow minded man with little consideration or respect for children. He is full of fact and stuck in his ways, he believes that because he has been taught facts that every one should be taught pure fact. Dickens doesnt like this way of learning, and continually ridicules it and the people teaching it. Dickens gets his points across through satire and comic exaggeration, he uses this to achieve humour and also as an extreme way of getting feelings across. During the Victorian times people had a very dim view of education, they did not think it was that essential for children to learn, however in the Victorian times it all came down to your social class. If you were upper class you would have had an education, however if you were lower class you would be considered very lucky if you went to school and even then you would have hat to have left school early to work to get that extra bit of money for the family. I thin these views existed because people had no idea of the importance and it all came down to your social class, also children were ill treated and expected to be seen and not heard. These views of education are very wrong as it is now important especially as we have more rights, and people are respected more.

Good and Evil in Tess of the dUrbervilles Essay -- Tess of the dUrbe

Good and Evil in Tess of the d'Urbervilles Though the central action of Tomas Hardy's novel "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" centres on Tess, the other characters are not lacking in interest and individuality. Undoubtedly, Tess's life is marked by two contradictory temperaments, those of the sensual Alec d'Urberville and the intellectual Angel Clare. Both characters are described with artistic detail to show a blend of weakness and strength governed by fate. Both are flesh and symbol complementing the other in the fall and rise, rise and fall again of Tess herself, and both play crucial roles in shaping her destiny. Although Alec is the evil man in Tess's life, he has some good qualities, coming trough us more as a man than Angel does. Alec is tall with a dark complexion, crude red lips and black moustache. There are touches of barbarism in his contour as well as a singular force in his face. Alec feels sexually attracted to Tess from the very beginning and showing to be straightforward with regard to what he wants and how to achieve it, he will do anything to take her. Finally, his dark instincts reveal and taking advantage of Tess's youth and innocence, he seduces her. Although we cannot forgive him for raping Tess, we have to recognise that he is not a complete villain. What he shows is a combination of desire to master her again and a genuine regard for her welfare. He is troubled for his sight of her agonizing labor at Flintcomb Ash, he reacts against society for its cruel treatment of Tess's family and he offers to help her in a variety of ways. Nevertheless, Alec is angry at her ingratitu de and very often taunts her about her missing husband, until in the end Tess kills him. The other man in Tess's life is Angel Clar... ...d on a number of levels: Alec abuses Tess in the flesh but Angel in the spirit; Alec's condemnation of Tess's husband finds its equivalent in Angel's unspoken condemnation of Tess's seducer. Alec returns, Angel doesn't until too late; Alec is in Tess's mind her real husband, while Angel who marries her is not and does not consummate the marriage, at least not, until too late. Consequently, it seems to be certain that neither Alec is completely bad nor Angel completely good. In both Hardy is presenting male dominance, with the resulting reduction of the woman in both, the flesh and the spirit. On one side Angel seems to be a better man than Alec but on the other, it is Angel rather than Alec who destroys Tess with his rejection. In conclusion, although different, both men help her and both contribute to her ruin. In relation to both, Tess is in each case a victim.

Consider the significance of the Edict of Nantes 1598 Essay

The Edict of Nantes immediately followed the Wars of Religion, which further divided France in terms of religion. The Edict of Nantes could be described as a significant development in policies regarding religion in France in the 17th century. The policies were implemented by a monarch who sat on the fence when it came to religion, having devotions to both Catholicism and Protestantism, in the shape of Henry IV. The Edict of Nantes itself was very significant as its policy was the first of its kind in French politics. Never before had a French monarch tolerated both Catholicism and Protestantism and allowed them both to flourish in the same ‘country’. Whatever Henry’s beliefs and motives in implementing such a policy, it was certainly an original policy and a significant development in sixteenth and seventeenth century France. Toleration existed and although it can be argued that Protestants didn’t have very much power and the Catholics remained in near total control of the majority of areas in the country but the Protestants certainly had more power than they had under previous more anti-Protestant monarchs. The Edict could also be described as a turning point. Indeed, it could be described as a very significant turning point. Legislation was put in place in an attempt to avoid discrimination against the Protestants. Discrimination was not evident by the Edict itself; it was more of a case of trying to give the Protestants more rights. Henry couldn’t go as far as giving the Protestants equal legal, religious and political rights because he would lose the support of the Catholics. However, there can be no denying the significance of the legislation. It was the attempt to be pragmatic where religion is concerned which resulted in his death. The significance of Henry’s reign lies in the difference and the pragmatism of his reign. The actual legislation could be described as ground breaking. The rights that the Edict of Nantes gave the Protestants included full liberty of conscience and private worship; liberty of public worship wherever it had previously been granted and its extension to numerous other localities and to estates of Protestant nobles; full civil rights including the right to hold public office; royal subsidies for Protestant schools; special courts, composed of Roman Catholic and Protestant judges, to judge cases involving Protestants; retention of the organization of the Protestant church in France; and Protestant control of some 200 cities then held by the Huguenots, including such strongholds as La Rochelle, with the king contributing to the maintenance of their garrisons and fortifications. In practice, things were slightly different for the Protestants who were oppressed by the Catholics and still weren’t allowed anywhere near Paris. It is clear that full, equal rights for the Protestants were not given by Henry – for example, Roman Catholic judges had more power in the courts than the Protestant judges did and often Roman Catholic bias came through in a number of cases – but there was some attempt to give the Protestants some rights and freedoms which was in itself significant. The Edict of Nantes was also very significant in terms of Henry’s foreign policy. He wanted to protect the southern border of France from the Spanish and Austrian Hapsburgs. Henry was more patriotic than the French kings before him and his policies show this as he placed the Protestants in the south of France, using the Protestants to protect France from Spain. All of this means that – in terms of French foreign policy – the Edict of Nantes carries further significance for a number of reasons†¦ The removal of the Protestants away from Paris and further towards the south means that Henry IV embarked on a policy of centralisation. There is no doubt that Henry converted to Catholicism and tried to maintain as much power as possible for his Catholic friends in the establishment. Policies were made more in a centralised way i.e. from Paris and the Protestants were freezed out in positions of power by the Catholics. This is significant because of the reign of Louis XIII who furthered the centralisation policy, and shows that there was a trend towards centralisation before Louis XIII came onto the throne. This also shows that Henry’s domestic and foreign policy can easily be linked, which is also significant. All of this emphasises how significant the Edict of Nantes was. Henry’s patriotism was also on show in the implementation of the Edict of Nantes. He didn’t want any foreign influence in his affairs and he wanted to appease the Protestants. The best way to appease them was giving them an important role whilst getting what he wanted in his foreign policy by getting the Protestants to protect the borders of France. This is highly significant as never before had a French monarch been as patriotic as Henry and it is also significant because it indicates that Henry didn’t actually want the Catholics to have power in all areas of France which probably indicates that he still had allegiances to the Protestant beliefs despite his conversion to Catholicism. Henry’s tactical manoeuvres were also significant in another way. Basically, he prevented the Wars of Religion from continuing and restarting again. The irony is that his tendency to sit on the fence on the issue of religion in the end cost him his life. This is why some historians place emphasis on the significance of this aspect of the Edict of Nantes. Henry’s early life as a Protestant and his subsequent conversion to Catholicism make the Edict of Nantes interesting as well as significant. To consider the significance of the Edict of Nantes, we have to consider the situation in France before Henry IV came to the throne and even beyond the Wars of Religion. The Wars of Religion were where the Calvinist Huguenots (Protestants) and the Catholics did battle for control of the monarchy. The Catholics won and maintained control of the monarchy; however, it is clear that something needed to be done to prevent another War of Religion from happening. Henry IV was the man with the job of preventing another War of Religion and he turned out to be the perfect man for the job. Unlike most French monarchs in this period, Henry was pragmatic when it came to religion although he had developed a slight preference for Catholicism. Henry felt that they were more important things than religion – his patriotism as opposed to his religious beliefs – but ultimately it was this that caused his downfall and eventual death. However, the very fact that the Wars of Religion didn’t happen again throughout Henry IV’s reign is very significant considering the huge division between the two religions. Another War of Religion could have shaped French history differently, especially if the Protestants/Calvinists came out on top. Today’s France could also have been completely different if a war wasn’t avoided. This makes Henry’s reign and – of course – the Edict of Nantes take on further significance. The Edict of Nantes certainly cannot be described as revolutionary but it was almost a complete reform of the laws regarding religion. In reality, there was little reform because there was major exploitation of flaws in the law by the Catholics. However, this shouldn’t take anything away from the significance of the Edict of Nantes because the laws created Protestant strangleholds in the south of France. Despite all this, the Edict of Nantes takes on an apparent lack of significance because of what happened to Henry and what happened under the reigns of subsequent monarchs. The Edict was indeed revoked in 1685 and steadily the Catholics moved towards a position of total power over the Protestants. So this means that the Edict of Nantes loses some of its significance because the policies of Henry had no impact on future monarchs. During Henry’s reign, however, significance can be attached to the Edict.

Essay The Legend of Zelda A Perfect Religion - 1526 Words

Anyone who wants to call themselves a gamer has to have some idea as to what Zelda is. It is among one of the most popular video game series out there and has created its own cultural wellspring. There have been spin off cartoons, websites, walkthroughs, forms, etc†¦but strangely enough the story for one of the video games doesn’t change much. You are this elf looking boy or adult named Link that is on a quest to rescue Princess Zelda, reunite the Triforce, and save the land of Hyrule from evils such as Ganondorf. That is the general idea for almost every single one of the Zelda games, but what is so different about the Zelda games is that they marked the beginning of the gamer being able to actually guide Link. The gamers are allowed to†¦show more content†¦This set up the way for the gamer to willing accept other ideas in the games, such as the religion of Hyrule. I have mentioned the religion of Hyrule multiple times now, but haven’t explained what it actually is yet. In essence, the religion of Hyrule is the perfect combination of all religions that allows for players of all beliefs or none at all to come and enjoy the game and this is what I will be arguing. Across the many games in the Zelda series, there are traces of Christianity, Muslim, Atheism, and even Shinto, Japans primary religion. These traces all seem to combine into the central idea of the Triforce, the legendary symbol of the Goddesses of Hyrule. The Triforce is made up of three different parts which each represent different virtues. They are the Triforce of wisdom, Triforce of courage, and Triforce of power. When the three pieces are combined, it creates the complete Triforce which grants the inner most desire of person who touches it first. The Goddesses of Hyrule are Din, Nayru, and Farore, who are said to have created the world, then created the Triforce, then elect ed the hero of time (who is Link) to defend the land from the powers of evil that could arise if someone of not pure heart gets ahold of the Triforce. The most interesting part about the three goddesses is the idea that the normal person