Analyzing Eyre and Copperfield Essay -- Literary Analysis

In the novels Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, the protagonists are retrospectively looking back on their lives and illustrating tribulations they endured regarding familial, social, and romantic relationships. At the end of both novels, the central characters find harmony in idealistic partners. Ultimately, both novels demonstrate the necessity of eminent relationships, the impingement of negative relationships, and the experiences that led both protagonists to recognize the difference between which relationships were hindering and which were constructive. The Bildungsroman genre entails a character’s formative years and his or her development from childhood. The characters from this type of novel recall, in detail, past relationships and experiences that impacted the characters growth, maturity, and exemplar for their relationships with other characters. An important component to Bildungsroman novels is the concentration on the characters childhood (Gottfried & Miles, 122). In Jane Eyre and David Copperfield, both characters childhoods were despondent. Both characters experience the loss of a parent: Jane is a literal orphan; David’s loss is metaphorical, then literal. When Jane Eyre begins, Jane has already lost both parents and is under the guardianship of her aunt, Sarah Reed. Reed and her children, Jane’s cousins, are abusive to Jane and never accept Jane as family. Jane has lost both parents and with the death of her uncle, Sarah’s husband and an advocate for Jane, Jane is without any caring re lationship. In addition to being without affection, Jane must endure torment. It is this lack of adoration that leads Jane to seek acceptance throughout her life, while attempting t... ...ight is present as the main character retells their life story, but is capable of exhibiting the naivety and inexperience that the character possessed at specific stations throughout their life. Works Cited The Undisciplined Heart of David Copperfield Gwendolyn B. Needham Nineteenth-Century Fiction , Vol. 9, No. 2 (Sep., 1954), pp. 81-107 Published by: University of California Press Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3044322 Defining Bildungsroman as a Genre Marianne Hirsch Gottfried and David H. Miles PMLA , Vol. 91, No. 1 (Jan., 1976), pp. 122-123 Published by: Modern Language Association Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/461404 Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Charleston: Forgotten Books, 2008. Print. Burstyn, Joan. Victorian Education and the Ideal of Womanhood. Hatfield, UK: Routledge, 1980. 138-40. Print.

Machievelli Biography Essay

Machiavelli lived during the Renaissance era of the Medieval times. In this time period many concepts and ideas were being reborn, including the Christian faith. He lived during a time period in which the people of the time thought of the Black Plague as a symptom of judgment upon the sinfulness of the land. These same people began to scourge themselves in order to express their sorrow and therefore remove God’s judgment laid upon them. Although Machiavelli lived long after the fall of the Roman Empire, he lived in an Italy that had evolved into a war-torn battleground between the city state dynasties. There were conflicts between the French and Spanish for the control of land. Machiavelli lived in a time of growing political powers and a Christian community that was adapting and changing according to the claims of the Reformers. Machiavelli had a goal: he sought to create a dichotomy between ethical Christianity and the Ethical demands of political rule. The 15th and 16th century world focused on theologically reforming the Church. Many reformers of the time and before Machiavelli’s life, including the 14th century reformer John Wycliffe, wrote on how the papacy of the Church had grown far too powerful. During Machiavelli’s life St. Francis was teaching the commoners about Jesus, and the commoners began relating to Christ. The Church was not only effected by the reformers and the teachings of St. Francis, but it was also effected by itself; it was hurting itself. The church fought against the reformers, condemning them as heretics; the church was threatened by the words of reform. Machiavelli lived among the Christians and like many of the reformers he was seeking a reform between the Church and the State. Essentially, Machiavelli writes to prove that being a moral ruler and a person are two separate ideas, in the case of extreme circumstances and, like Luther, there are two kingdoms independent of each other. Machiavelli probably would’ve been considered a think tank of his time and he believed that a ruler, or anyone may publicly state that they are Christians yet exhibit no real conviction. In the eleventh chapter of The Prince Machiavelli argued that Ecclesiastical principalities were to be desired because the people who inhabited them were governed by their own religious laws. Machiavelli viewed these laws as tools, tools to prevent unruly citizens within the principalities rather than to enforce outside rules. Machiavelli idealizes an idea completely different from the church, that politics is something that deals with facts and not abstracts, that it is a challenge to the notion of both Pope Gregory VII and Pope Innocent III’s â€Å"Divine Right to rule.†3 Machiavelli realized that the divine right to rule theory is nothing but a religious idea that does not work with the present state of man. Machiavelli also understood that human corruption and sin is an unend ing problem that rulers need to deal with. Machiavelli continues by suggesting that being a moral leader does not mean that one is a good leader as good leadership leads to order, stability, and public good. He claimed that when order, stability, and public good are threatened a ruler cannot risk limiting their actions by piety or virtue. Machiavelli believed that morals stood in the way of success, that rulers need to learn how to not be good, and be willing to kill. While the religious leaders saw Machiavelli as non-Christian and destructive, Machiavelli states that leaders need to administer necessary evils in efforts to maintain order and stability within their rule, that humans can be predicted through reason. The Church saw his political agenda as lacking in Christian ethics; however, his political reform lines up with Christian thinkers and with Christian ethics of generosity, compassion, and even the golden rule as we see in Saint Augustine’s and St. Benedict’s writings. An initial consideration of Machiavelli’s thoughts on generosity, we notice that he believes it is good to be considered a generous person, but that it is dangerous to do so. Although sounding contradictory to Christianity, Machiavelli’s reasoning lies in the Christian idea of doing the most good for as many people as possible. Machiavelli argues that being generous requires that the ruler imposes new ways of revenue collection and therefore make his subjects hate him and lead to a guarantee that no one will think well of him.1 Machiavelli makes a similar case for compassion, in that it is better to be seen as cruel then it is to be viewed as loving, if necessary. He asserts that as the head of an army a ruler needs to â€Å"be prepared to be thought cruel.† The same Christian idea can be used to explain his argument as before. In the words of Star Trek’s Spock, â€Å"the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few†. Machiavelli states that its more compassionate to impose harshness on a few rather than make use of compassion and risk chaos to take place.2 If we look back to St. Augustine’s The City of God 4 we learn that rulers and people are dominated by their own selfish lust for power, whereas in the City of God, which Luther also makes notions of in his Doctrine of The Two Kingdoms, people serve one another in charity. Under this assumption we see that men do not serve out of charity, but rather serve in a situation of ‘do unto others as you would have done to yourself.’ Perhaps Machiavelli agreed with this view of Christianity. Machiavelli’s ruler never commits an act that they would not have done to themselves. I think the Machiavellian ruler loves their neighbor as much as themselves. Machiavelli sees the political field as a place for necessary evil. He believes, out of love, that some evil must take place in order to benefit the most people. Machiavelli saw the world he lived in as a two kingdom place, like Luther and St. Augustine did. He viewed human history for what it was, not what it could be; he saw people as evil and sick. Machiavelli’s picture of human history took into account the human equation, that we are sinful and therefore predictable, which he believes will lead to a better understanding of the future.

The Problem Of Adolescent Drug Abuse - 1822 Words

Adolescent drug abuse is a prevalent issue in today’s society. Adolescence is arguably the most challenging time of a person’s life. During these years, young people are on a quest to establish their own identities and it is within this period, social factors can either be positive or detrimental. Drug abuse amongst teens has triggered perpetual debates in the UK and globally. According to Liberal Democrat Minister Norman Baker ‘there is no obvious relationship between tough laws and the levels of drug use’ (BBC 2014). The following essay will examine the factors involved in young people’s involvement in drug misuse. The essay will pay particular attention to adolescents aged between 11 and 19 and discuss both micro and macro levels of risk factors. I will give focus to three factors that are arguably of equal importance namely, peer pressure; poverty and family issues. Drugs misuse is when someone becomes dependent on a substance as it releases chemicals throughout the body, some people find this difficult as it controls their body and mind. There are several different drugs on the market and they all have different prices and effects on the mind. The UK have a class system in place where drugs are put into three categories; Class A, Class B and Class C. All drugs in all classes can have a detrimental effect on ones health however, those listed as Class A are the most harmful. Many young people are curious and want to experiment, for some drugs allow the person toShow MoreRelatedAdolescent Drug Abuse And Alcohol1426 Words   |  6 PagesAlcohol and Drug Abuse Adolescent Drug Abuse and Alcohol Nyria Madison Liberty University Coun 620 Abstract Around the world we are finding that most adolescent are experiencing drugs and alcohol. This has been a huge issue for years. This has become a trend in society as of today. 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