A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner: Major Themes Essay

â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is a short story written by William Faulkner and initially published in 1930. This is a story of an eccentric spinster, Emily Grierson, and her life. The strange circumstances alongside with odd family relationships with Emily’s father and lover are being uncovered throughout the story. Emily was manipulated and strongly controlled by her father and now, in the upstairs, she hides the corpse of Barron, her lover, which explains the gossips of the townspeople of Jefferson. The story is distinctive for the first person plural point of view; whereas non chronological description of the events further complicated the matter. â€Å"A Rose for Emily† has a lot of themes – the extreme psychosis of the heroine, the role of women in the South and their relationships with society, and, most importantly, the society of South overall. Due to complexity of the work and a lot of secondary themes present in the work, we will focus on the image and role of society in the story. Even though Faulkner does suggest a psychological cause of Emily’s sickness, a number of factors remain unexplained if one chooses to concentrate of psychological factors rather that of society. Firstly, this is plural narrator; secondly, the complicity of the town in the murder of Barron; thirdly, the awareness of the townspeople of the room that is locked in the house; finally, the title of the short story itself (Hamblin and Abadie, 2000). At the same time, the final macabre scene taking place in the bedroom tomb, which reveals Emily’s necrophilia, also suggests necrophilia of the entire society. Society lives in the dead, but still unburied past. Emily essentially becomes the sickness of the town inherited from the past, which is fostered upon the town by Sartois, who ordered the freed female slaves to appear in the streets and in such way symbolize submission to the whites: â€Å"Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town,† (Thomas and Corbett, 1970, p. 9). The new generation does puts effort in shrugging off the burden, but it cannot, as Emily is part of the society and Emily’s pride is the pride of townspeople: â€Å"a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument,† (Thomas and Corbett, 1970, p. 9). Obviously, plural narrator sympathizes with Emily. The Grierson house is, in turn, the symbol of the past: as Emily is trying to retain what belongs to her at any cost and regardless whether it is dead or alive, the society – South follows the same pattern. Chronological order of the story is also destroyed by Faulkner – in order to extend the significance of the events that are taking place and at the same time reveal the human tendency to tie oneself to the past. In the story, the major heroes are being manifested in such a manner in order to become the symbols of the society without losing own individuality. The whole story is being composed of the controversies– love and hate, respect following contempt. The final paradox adds up to the complex image created throughout the story – on one hand, a rose is being offered to a woman with indomitable spirit who clung to the vision of dissolution; on the other hand – there is the omnipresent society with aging culture and corrupt materialism, society that gradually becomes impotent (Hamblin and Abadie, 2000). The analogy between Emily and the Old South is omnipresent in the story. Emily’s acceptance of the patriotic image and even family connections point out that Emily is the symbol of the old tradition. Author’s attitude towards Emily and culture is dualistic – society cannot live with the main heroine, as townspeople instantly spread gossips; and yet townspeople cannot live without Emily – the main heroine embodies the values of the South. Society in â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is highly patriarchic and contributes to isolation (Curry, 1994). Once all beloved men left Emily, either by death of simply by leaving, Emily did not allow anyone to get close to her. Being unable to accept the reality – that people whom she loved were gone – Emily was isolated in the house. Emily is a perfect example of a women living up to, sometimes indirectly fighting with the patriarchal society. Interestingly, in the first paragraph of the story, Faulkner aligns the community; the second paragraph discusses the house from outside; the third paragraph then allows readers into the discussion of Emily’s past. Even though Emily did try to challenge the principles by going against of what is considered to be normal, she still went back to the past – preferring past but beautiful reality to what is going on now in her life. Emily, being the embodiment of the South, is a very strong woman. Despite her sticking up to the past events in attempt to find happiness, Emily had the whole town absolutely convinced that she could not hurt a fly. At the same time, Emily was capable of a murder. The image of society in â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is created through the main heroine of the story – Emily, who is trying to live in contemporary society still sticking up the past. Values of the South are highly patriarchal; materialism is dead and death still does not allow letting in the future. Society of South is portrayed is being highly patriarchal, isolated, and degrading. Works Cited Curry, Renee R. â€Å"Gender and Authorial Limitation in Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily.† The Mississippi Quarterly 47.3 (1994): 391. Hamblin, Robert W., and Ann J. Abadie, eds. Faulkner in the Twenty-First Century: Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha, 2000. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2003. Inge, M. Thomas, and Edward P. J. Corbett, eds. A Rose for Emily. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, 1970.

Philosophical Ethics Final Project Research Paper

Philosophical Ethics Final Project - Research Paper Example However, the current society has witnessed high levels of abortion because moral standards have gone down. Additionally, laws that permit abortion have been enacted in several countries especially when the mother’s life is threatened. Abortion in ancient history In the ancient era, abortion practices were tolerable in Greece and Rome. Safeguarding of the unborn life was a matter of consideration only if the father was interested in the child. Children conceived outside wedlock, or bore to prostitutes or with other men other than their husbands were killed pre and post birth. Several western countries held the belief that abortion was acceptable between 18-20 weeks or before embryo movement. As a result, most women who fell in these categories procured abortions to save themselves from anguish and embarrassments. Abortions and contraception were unsafe. In pre-colonial America, there were strict laws regarding pre marital sex. Consequently, abortions were procured and the issue kept secret. Only in cases where the mother’s life was at risk was abortion legal. In 1973, the Supreme Court judgment legalized abortion in America in the case of Roe vs. Wade (BBC journal 23) Philosophical Aspects of Abortion Aristotle In order to understand Aristotle’s view on abortion, one has to understand his nature. He was a kind, hardworking and devoted man. In his quest for knowledge and information, he observed practicality and societal processes using a keen eye. Many people described him as fair and calm. Most Aristotle’s views were rooted in his belief for equality among all people and the need to follow natural law. He said that abortions performed before the onset of life and sensation are permissible. According to him, the onset of sensation and life begins forty days after conception for males and eighty days for females. He iterated that abortions procured before forty days after conception are allowed and those after are illegal and inhuman. Many scientists said that his remarks are pro life because he focused on embryo development at that time. They also argue that had he understood the scientology behind embryo development as the current society does now, he would have been against abortion. He stated that, â€Å"As to the exposure of children, let there be a law that no deformed child shall live. However, let no child be exposed because of excess population, but when couples have too many children, let abortions be procured before sense and life has begun† (Pangle 5) John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham The two renowned philosophers, Mill and Bentham justified abortion using the idea of utilitarianism. John Stuart Mill came up with the happiness principle. It states that the most desirable things are pleasurable and free from pain. Utilitarianism is based on the consequences of human actions. The philosophers advocated for actions whose consequences are good irrespective of the motive. Bentham was a principled hedonist who thought that pain is quantifiable using calculus calculations. In his calculations, the tendencies of committing an action are measured using seven different factors. For Stuart Mill, the quality of pleasure was the defining factor. He believed that the good can only be defined using the level of pleasure. Utilitarianism supports abortion and concentrates on the outcome and not action. In this approach, a woman who conceives through rape has the choice of terminating the pregnancy or keeping it to term.

Drugs and disease in Dorian Gray and Dracula Essay

Drugs and disease in Dorian Gray and Dracula - Essay Example Hungry for power, control and the bustle of a busy court, Dracula seeks to find dominion and lordship in new lands and has a most terrifying means of obtaining it – by destroying the lives of others as he converts them one drop of blood at a time, into his own personal slaves. However, a closer look at the character of Dracula reveals that the nature of evil is not necessarily the ugly, vile, immediately recognizable thing these types of interpretations suggest. Dracula instead presents himself as a well-mannered country gentleman who can easily charm his way into genteel company. In a similar mix of outward charm and inner brutality, Dorian Gray, the starring character in Oscar Wilde’s Portrait of Dorian Gray, has all the outward appearances of youth and beauty as well as the education, intellect and natural charm to ease his way into any company he wishes to keep, but finds himself also the force of destructive evil in the lives of the young people he knows, eventuall y leading to the destruction of the one true friend he had ever really had. In each instance, Dorian Gray and Dracula reflect outward beauty and a natural charm yet each is a force of destruction that can only exist on the edges of society, never in the thick of the action. Both Dorian Gray and Dracula are portrayed as among the upper class elite of society in many ways, not the least of which is their appearance or proper use of upper class mannerisms. The words of Lord Henry perhaps best express the outward impression given by the aspect of Dorian Gray to Wilde’s Victorian audience: â€Å"Beauty is a form of Genius – is higher, indeed, than Genius as it needs no explanation. It is one of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or spring-time, or the reflection in dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon. It cannot be questioned. It has its divine right of sovereignty† (Wilde, 1891, p. 23). Such an expression was incarnate in the figure of Dorian

Jet Li as Transnational Actor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Jet Li as Transnational Actor - Essay Example He has taken different career paths such as martial arts, film production, martial arts and acting. He started training for martial arts when he was still a young boy. He trained rigorously in Wu Bin and this helped him in winning a championship in the Wushu competition. This was the turning point of his life. He retired from Wushu when he was 19 years old. He now started acting in several Chinese martial arts film. Later he performed in other Hollywood movies the Expendables being on of the movies that hit the box office movies list. This article is review of Jet Li development in his career an actor, how his various roles in varied cultures have grown him and the overall public reception he has had. Jet Li Careers in Martial Art at Wushu Li was born the last born of a family of five children. When he was only two years, his father died leaving his mother with the huge responsibility of raising the children alone. Jet Li joined Wushu when he was very young. At the age of 8, his trai ners realized the talent that he possessed and he was enrolled for classes. He participated in the sports performed by the Wushu teams. This team would perform in the all Chinese games and this gave him the exposure he needed in martial arts. During this time, he was coached by Wu Bin and Li Junfeng. The coaches realized the talent in this young man and would even go an extra mile to ensure that he did not miss on practice and that he performed well. Jet Li came from a poor family background. The coaches would buy Jet Li family meat as this was the diet recommended for a fighter. A diet with meat as a predominant content was crucial to keep an athlete physically fit. As a member of the wushu team, He traveled to 45 different countries to perform. In 1974, he performed together with the Wushu team before the former president of America Richard Nixon. Nixon was deeply impressed by Jet Li prowess that he requested him to be his personal body guard. Jet Li turned this offer down because he said that he was not meant to protect an individual but hoped that when he grew up he would be able to protect a billion Chinese citizens. During this performance, he won the All Round National Wushu Championship a title he continued to hold for the next five consecutive years. When at Wushu, Jet Li trained on several Wushu martial skills. Among them include praying mantis fist, drunken fist, eagle claw fist, shape intent fist and northern long fist style (Ushan, 2011: 182). He retired from Wushu when he was just seventeen and this is the time he began his acting career. Acting Career Chinese Films Li releases his first film in 1982 and it was called the Shaolin Temple. This movie became a hit in china and opened him to Chinese film. He later relocated to Hongkong where he acted in several Chinese martial arts movies. He got his screen name in 1982 when a publicity company in Philippines though that his real name was hard to pronounce. They likened his new career with a jet whic h takes off very fast. The name jet Li was born and was placed on his movie poster. Soon, people started referring him with his new name which is stuck and he has used it ever since. In 1991, he acted in another Chinese film called the Once Upon a Time in China. Here, he assumed the role of a legendary hero who fought against invaders thereby safeguarding and protecting the lives and property of his countrymen (Leon, 2005: 216). Later he acted in the movie fist of Legend which was a

Explain the determinants of daily price changes of a stock market Coursework

Explain the determinants of daily price changes of a stock market index of your choice - Coursework Example Based on relevant literature and economic theory, this paper explains why there is stock market price change almost every day. Determinants of Stock Market Price changes The table given below is a summary of stock price changes of Apple Inc, American Express, Ameriprise Financial Inc, Noble Corp and Johnson and Johnson, extracted from Bloomberg.com. This table illustrates daily stock price changes for the above mentioned companies. According to economists, there are various reasons and driving forces for this stock market price changes. Â   Apr-18 Apr-19 Daily Price Change Apr-20 Apr-21 Daily Price Change Apr-26 Apr-27 Daily Price Change Apple Inc 437.92 438.95 0.30% 439.3 448.21 2.00% 455.13 456.5 0.30% American Express 53.05 52.67 0.70% 52.67 52.83 0.30% Â   Â   Â   Ameriprise Financial Inc 69.7 70.1 0.60% Â   Â   Â   70.4 70.1 0.30% Noble Corp 46.79 46.82 0.10% Â   Â   Â   47.55 47.49 0.10% Johnson and Johnson 64.56 64.75 0.30% 65.11 65.44 0.33% Â   Â   Â   Source: Ro se, April 19, 2011, Rose, April 21, 2011, Rose April 25, 2011 and Rose April 27, 2011 The major forces in the market are demand and supply and the same play significant roles in fluctuating the stock price too. The above table shows that stock price of different companies change almost every day in different proportions. For instance, Apple’s share price change was 0.30% between April 18 and April 19 and 0.20% between April 20 and April 21. This change is the result of market forces namely demand and supply. In simple economic terms, if more people want to buy a commodity (share) than they want to sell it, then the price essentially increases. If more people want to sell it than buy it, then price conversely move down. It is highly important to understand what makes people prefer a particular share to another one. People like a stock only when they get good and positive news about the company, such as company’s earning. Investopedia (2011) considers market capitalizati on and company’s earning as major measures that people value stock price of a company. The value of a company is perhaps its market capitalization which can be found by multiplying the stock price by the outstanding shares. For instance, a company that sells its share at $250 and it has 10,000 outstanding shares has considerably less value than a company that sells its share at $100 and has 30,000 outstanding shares (250*10,000 = 250,000 whereas 100*30,000 is 300,000). People anticipate and even extensively go for studying the earnings or profitability of a company when they think to buy or sell its share, and if this causes them to buy more, as a result the demand will be more and the price will move up. If people find that company not to be profitable in long-run, they eventually will like to sell its shares and it will increases its supply causing price to decrease. Brigham and Houston (p. 10) explained that stock price changes over time as conditions change and investors obtain new information about a company’s prospects. A good example that he mentioned was stock price variation of Apple Inc. Its stock price ranged from $77 to 4193 between 12 months in 2008 rising and falling as good and bad news about the company released. Stock Price change and Gordon Growth model Gordon Growth mod

Proposal Argument I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Proposal Argument I - Essay Example Meet the Parents† was made on this topic in which a male nurse fell in love with a girl and when they go to visit the parents of that girl everything become a nightmare just because the profession owned by that guy was nursing. The movie represents a true picture of our society because today, millions of people have a perception that nursing is only a field for females and they believe a man cannot fit in a feminine field. I believe this is totally wrong and unfair because the issue of inequality of male nurses is exactly the same to the issues of discrimination in other professions. To understand the reasons for inequality facing men in nursing, it is crucial to have an insight into the past of this profession. In the 3rd century, nursing was founded as an attractive profession in ancient rime and at that time it was dominated by men. In the 20th century, women dominated nursing and had kicked out men from this profession by creating a perception that nursing is a â€Å"feminine† profession. The biggest support with women was the foundation of the American Nurse Association in 1913, which banned the entry of men. Later, somewhere in 1930’s men were welcomed to nursing, but just in papers and documents because they were discriminated by teachers in school and later on by peers, patients and society in their workplace. I have been interviewing many registered male nurses and most of them complained about unequal treatment by teachers in school. Johnson is a registered male nurse and he told me that the course contents, class environment and teaching style were women centered, which compelled me to feel uncomfortable during classes (Johnson). Many authors also participated in making the issue of inequality in the field of nursing for male nurse by referring nurses as women in their books and text books which further discouraged males from choosing nursing as a profession. This is not the limit, as patients usually demand to have female nurses to take care of

Retail Marketing Strategy Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Retail Marketing Strategy Management - Essay Example The products are completely associated with the retail stores at which they are available. Through positioning your retail store builds a certain image of your products in the minds of the people which ultimately generates the volume of customers for your retail store. Retail stores in Singapore are extremely cosmopolitan, complex and sophisticated with nearly every international retailer present there. These retail stores usually depend on high volume of customers for generating their sales. Therefore in order to position the retail store in Singapore in order to gain competitive advantage, there is a need to focus on the market niches and increase sales through regionalization. Strategic allies can also be formed with the international retailers in order to gain competitive advantage. The type of image that a retail store would project for its customers in the target segment harbor should be such that their products and not just the brand it carries should be positioned. The image of a retail store should be that of a brand that adds value to the purchase of the shoppers. Brand positioning is highly important for retail stores at Singapore because the competition is increasing and new competitors are arriving in the market with more efficient strategies. Therefore, in order to gain competitive advantage, brand positioning can be done by: The retail marketplace at Singapore is highly saturated with ... A brand adding value to the purchase of the shoppers so that they are willing to spend more A retail store selling products and not just the brand EXAM QUESTION 2: INTERNATIONAL CONSUMERS' MARKET IN SINGAPORE Introduction The retail marketplace at Singapore is highly saturated with a number of international players. The population of Singapore also consists of a number of tourists and foreigners as Singapore is one of the best tourism spot. Therefore the retail market for international consumers in Singapore is full of opportunities. Since the international consumers have high spending patterns, therefore, targeting this market niche can result in a number of prospective sales. Discussion and Analysis Singapore is a tourism spot for a number of international visitors. At every time in the year, you will find a considerable amount of international consumers in the country. Therefore, the market of the international consumers, if properly targeted and positioned, can generate great retail business and attract a high volume of consumers. The international consumers are usually unaware of the prices and therefore make purchases through the retail stores which they know of and which are mostly international retail stores. The Singaporean retail stores should also target the international consumers due to the increased competition and also because a large population in Singapore comprises of international consumers. The attractiveness of the market for international consumers is evident from the fact that the retail marketplace in Singapore is highly competitive with each retailer targeting specific market niches. Therefore, the market for international consumers is another market