Charles Dickens and Mark Twains lessons Essay -- GCSE English Literatur

group D Friday II Final essay Charles Dickens and Mark Twain's lessons Writers can not only entertain their readers by telling an appealing story, but they can also educate the readers and open their minds. Charles Dickens and Mark Twain are both very famous and important writers. Although Dickens is British and Twain American, they had the same purpose with their writing. They both wrote novels that made stories appealing to the common man as well as to educate people. A comparison of the two novels Hard times by Charles Dickens and The adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain can show that although both writers lived in different societies they shared the same point of views about life and used their writing to educate their readers and change their societies positively. Both books satirise individuals who think that they are superior to others, by doing this the writers want to show their readers that this is a wrong thing to do. In The adventures of Huckleberry Finn the general southern public is satirised, as they are mostly portrayed as ignorant, prejudiced individuals. In their society, whites are seen as the superior race, and blacks are owned as property, and are slaves to common folk. The word ''Nigger" is used multiple times in the story, as to stress their ignorance. It is illegal for blacks to get proper education, so in no way could they rise up, and seemingly be forever oppressed. This is shown as Jim, a black slave is constantly called a Nigger, even by Huckleberry, who is the only character in the book that treats Jim as a person. In Hardtimes the arrogance of the upper classes is satirised. The characters Mrs. Sparsit and James Harthouse represent the upper class in the novel. Mrs. Sparsit clings fiercely to her heritage and fade d glamour. She is arrogant to those beneath her and despises the efforts of the workers to organize a union. Harthouse is revealed as cynical and directionless. He seduces Louisa, one of the important characters and treats this as a division, without thinking of the consequences of his actions. In both stories the conflict of the wisdom of the heart and the wisdom of the head is brought out to show people that they sometimes have to let their heart guide them. In Hardtimes, Gradgrind represents the wisdom of the head. His philosophy is utilitarianism. This philosophy is based on scientific laws that d... ...nce between Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. They both were against unequal treatment between people. In Mark Twain's case the inequality between black and white in America and in Charles Dickens case the inequality between the different social classes in England. They both believed that people essentially have good hearts but are distracted from what their good hearts tell them by their heads which are filled by society with wrong philosophies. In Hard Times the wrong philosophy is utilitarianism and in The adventures of Huckleberry Finn it is the philosophy that whites are superior to blacks and that blacks are thus their property. Mark Twain and Charles Dickens were both against abusive societies that made the lives of people a struggle. They both lived in such societies and wanted to change this. They dreamt of an idealistic society where people are equal and listen to their good hearts and used their writing skills and wrote novels like Hard Times and The Adventures of Huckle berry Finn to educate people. References: Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. London: Penguin books, 1995. Twain, Mark. The adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: W. W. Norton & Company inc. 1990.

Nature’s Influence on Janie’s Desire in Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay

As children we often cling to the storybook romance. The â€Å"happily ever after† clichà © certainly appeals to the young romantic: however, the harsh reality of life may soon prove this to be foolishly sentimental. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston explores these circumstances as she outlines Janie’s pursuit of happiness. Janie is described as a child of nature. The spiritual power of nature has a tremendous affect on the development of her character. Hurston uses this metaphor to symbolize Janie’s eagerness to find love. Though as a child she craved a conventional romance, nature guides her to her one true love. Before meeting the man of her dreams, Janie experiences many failed relationships that highlight the changes in her desires. Throughout the novel, Janie is influenced by natural forces that alter these desires in her relationships with Johnny Taylor, Logan Killicks, and Joe Starks. On a spring day in West Florida, Janie spent the afternoon lying under a pear tree. The delicate serenity of nature filled her with sheer contentment and delight. In a dream like state, â€Å"through the pollinated air she saw a glorious being coming up the road† that in â€Å"her former blindness she had known as shiftless Johnny Taylor† (11). Janie’s romantic visions are reflected by springtime. At sixteen years old, Janie, herself, was blooming into a woman. In a trance, Johnny Taylor became the target of her infatuation. Nature’s power of suggestion was able to â€Å"[beglamore] his rags and her eyes† (12). Just as Johnny Taylor kisses her, Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, wakes from her nap and catches the two under the pear tree. In desperation, Nanny has Janie married off to a wealthy farmer, Logan Killicks, and in an instant Janie’s carefree fantasies come to an end. Logan Killicks embodies all the qualities that Janie detests. Though she cannot seem to find nature’s beauty within him, Janie agrees to marry Logan to appease her grandmother. Her naivety is made apparent when she assumes that â€Å"marriage compel[s] love† and that happiness would follow (21). Logan initially treats Janie with great care, but Nanny warns her that his display of affection would be short-lived. Janie soon becomes concerned that she will not been able to love her husband. She romanticizes marriage and longs for some kind of natural attraction. When Janie realizes that she would never love her husband her â€Å"first dream was dead, [and] so she became a  woman† (25). As their marriage deteriorates, Janie notices that their relationship dynamic has changed. As Nanny predicted, Logan no longer treats her with the kind of respect that he once did. Their loveless marriage turns strained and unpleasant as Logan strips Janie of her free will, forcing her to work as a field hand. When Logan leaves town, Janie catches the attention of a passerby, Joe Starks. Joe strikes Janie as a man with ambition; his youthful energy and conviction remind Janie of her own independent nature. Joe seeks to establish an all black city in which he could voice his opinion. Their budding relationship appeals to Janie’s romantic visions of love and her thirst for adventure. When Logan returns, Janie decides to take her life into her own hands and runs off with Joe. She hopes that â€Å"from now on until death she was going to have flower dust and springtime sprinkled over everything† however; she would soon discover that these childlike desires did not produce the love she so craved (32). Janie is initially quite taken with Joe’s physical beauty. Unlike Logan, she is proud to have him by her side. When the newly married couple arrives in Green Cove Springs, they find themselves in an underdeveloped town. Joe goes to work building a community from the ground up by purchasing two hundred acres of land, establishing the town’s first store and post office, and installing the very first lamppost. Eatonville, as Starks later named it, matures into a booming town. As the Mayor, landlord, postmaster, and storeowner, Starks adopted many responsibilities that took a toll on his marriage. In order to promote and protect his distinguished position in the community, he persuades Janie to maintain a high-class status that contrasted her free-spirited nature. Janie fears that this bureaucratic relationship would ruin their marriage. As Joe became consumed with his work, â€Å" a feeling of coldness and fear took hold of [Janie]. She fe[els] far away from things and lonely† (46). Though he continues to provide for her, Joe discourages her desire to become a part of the town. Joe considers Janie inferior and believes she cannot think for herself. Janie resents his authoritarian manner and tries to resist however, Joe continues to suppress her independent nature. Having grown weary of the constant power struggle, Janie eventually surrenders her personal freedom and comes to realize that Joe never was the man of her dreams. Janie could no longer see the â€Å"blossomy openings dusting pollen over her man† and yearns to rediscover the passion  they so desperately lacked. (72). Having grown weary from exhaustion, Joe falls sick. Renewed with purpose, Janie confronts Joe and blames him for robbing her of her freedom.

Political Testament of Cardinal Richelieu Essay - 785 Words

At the beginning of the 17th century, France was a place of internal strife and bickering bureaucrats. The king, Louis XIII, had come to the throne in 1610 at the age of nine, leaving the running of the kingdom to his mother, Marie de Medici. One of her court favorites, Armand de Plessis de Richelieu, rose through the ranks, eventually gaining the title of Cardinal and becoming one of Louis’ key advisors and minister. His political manifesto, Political Testament, was a treatise for King Louis XIII that offered him advice mainly concerned with the management and subtle subjugation of the nobles and the behavior of a prince. Beneath all of the obeisant rhetoric, Richelieu was essentially writing a handbook for Louis XIII on how to survive†¦show more content†¦This aversion to shame could be an invaluable tool for the shrewd king: he could threaten to take away their title and position if they refused to meet his requests. During this period in French history, the nob ility was starting to gain power and prestige, and this power presented the king with a problem: he needed to have strong nobles to strengthen his realm by extension. However, he still had to maintain power and his position of supremacy. Richelieu posits that the king must maintain a firm system of punishments and rewards:†Punishments and rewards are two quite necessary elements in the conduct of states. It is an ordinary allegation, but more true, and often repeated by all men, that rewards and punishments are the two most important tools of government available in a realm.† This system played on the honor obsession the nobility had, and strengthened the kingship at the same time. If one helped the king, they were rewarded with more honor and a higher position; if they resisted, they lost everything. This strengthened the kingship as well. Those he rewarded would be assets to the kingdom, while those he punished would serve as warnings to those who considered resisting . Richelieu’s section regarding the power of the prince was particularly reminiscent of 15th century Italian political strategist Niccolà ³ Machiavelli’s seminal work, The Prince. The Prince also deals with the management of one’s people, and arguedShow MoreRelatedComparing Cardinal Richelieus Practice of Ruler Ship to Niccà ²lo Machiavellis Ideas About the Effective Exercise of Power2015 Words   |  9 PagesArmand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu. Upon entering the French political arena, Richelieu was thrown amidst the struggles of international diplomacy, the devious schemes of the nobility, and the disgruntlement of the common people. Similarly, the unstable Florentine Italy which Niccà ²lo Machiavelli familiarized himself with led both these prominent men to publish their respective works: The Prince by Machiavelli and The Political Testament of Cardinal Richelieu by Richelieu himself. By rejecting conventionalRead MoreThe Political and Religious winds of The Seventeenth Century from Charles the First to Oliver Cromwell2303 Words   |  10 Pages THE POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS WINDS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY FROM CHARLES I TO OLIVER CROMWELL The Restoration, a period of constantly changing ideals, shows how the change in government from Charles I to Oliver Cromwell affected the people of that time, shows the Child of Hope, shows the shift in winds of religion, compares and contrasts Absolutism and Constitutionalism, shows how the influence of the English people on the world, and shows a new era being heralded in without which we would not