The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Analysis Essay Example for Free

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Analysis Essay Shirley Jackson is a master of suspense. She starts the story The Lottery off by describing what seems to be a normal summers day in an average village. This gives the reader a false sense of security which quickly turns into a sense of horror by the end of the story. Jackson uses the elements of a short story, atmosphere, plot and characters to create a sense of horror. One of the five elements of a short story that Jackson uses to create a sense of horror is atmosphere. Jackson describes the story as taking place on a clear, warm and sunny summer day but when one first reads about the children in the story, they are not playing and having fun and one would expect, instead they are quietly grouped together not doing much of anything. The fact that these children, more specifically the boys, are acting uneasy, and loafing around on beautiful summer day is one of the ways that Jackson uses atmosphere to create a sense of horror. Another one of the elements that Jackson uses to create a sense of horror is plot. When Tessie Hutchinson finds out that her husband and head of the family, Bill, has drawn the marked piece of paper she starts shouting out that â€Å"You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper her wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair!† so everyone should have to draw again, it is starting to become clear that being the winner of this lottery is not a good thing. This is made even clearer when Tessie starts trying to have her in-laws added to the roster of the next group of contestants in order to better her chances of not being picked. Characters are the third and final element of a short story that Jackson uses to create a sense of horror. One of ways that Jackson use characters to create a sense of horror is through their names. An example of one of the characters she uses to do this is Mr. Graves. Grave can be used as an adjective or noun. The adjective means to cause alarm or to be serious. The noun refers to a burial place, typically a hole in the ground. Black is a color commonly associated with bad, mysterious and dark things, death being one of those things. When Mr.Graves makes his appearance he is bringing in the black box. The fact that a man called Mr. Graves is walking in with a black box, the author is letting the reader know that something bad is going to happen. This is one example of how Jackson uses the characters to create a sense of horror. Shirley Jackson tells a suspenseful story about a group of average people in an average village. She uses atmosphere, plot and characters, three of the five elements of a short story to create a horrific story which shows the reader how what we think to be normal customs and rituals can actually turn out to be horrific and barbaric if one takes a step back and judges them from a different perspective.

Arthurian Literature: The Evolution of Merlin Essay -- Literature

Arthurian Literature: The Evolution of Merlin  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In all the long history of literature, some fictional characters have loomed above others, written about again and again by various authors of various eras. Arthurian literature is one area of fiction that has always been popular for writers to recreate in new versions, and one of the most intriguing characters of all Arthurian literature is Merlin, the magician/ prophet who aids Arthur early in his reign. As the Arthurian saga develops, so does Merlin, changing from an aloof, druidical character into a more human, magical being, though always retaining some traces of his Welsh origins. Merlin gains his first mention in eight ancient Welsh poems attributed to the Welsh bard Myrddin. (Bruce) Signs of his Welsh, druidical heritage are all through the verses. One poem invokes an apple-tree to hide Merlin from his pursuing enemies, and magical apple-trees are common in Welsh fairyland. Another of Merlin's purported poems is addressed to a little pig, and in another he mentions a wolf as one of his few companions. Both of these animals are common devotional cult-objects in Welsh druidism. One poem indicates that Merlin/Myrddin spends a great deal of his time with deer, perhaps even appearing in the form of a stag and living as one. This description is reminiscent of the Welsh stag-god Cernunnos, "The Horned One," who appears as a man with a stag's head and associates with deer. (Tolstoy) In the Welsh poem "Ymddiddan Myrddin a Thaliesin" ("The Dialogue of Merlin and Taliesin"), written down around 1050, we receive our first indication of Merlin's most prominent gift in la ter literature, that of prophecy. The poem ends with the lines "Since I, Myrdin, am next after ... ...ne of the great and enigmatic characters of the Matter of Britain and, for that matter, of all literature.    Works Cited Bruce, Dr. James Douglas. The Evolution of Arthurian Romance. Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1958. Loomis, Roger Sherman. The Arthurian Romance. London: Hutchinson & Co. Ltd., 1963. Loomis, Roger Sherman, ed. Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages: A Collaborative History. Clarendon Press, 1959. Ownbey, E. Sydnor. Merlin and Arthur: A Study of Merlin's Character and Function in the Romances Dealing with the Early Life of Arthur. Vanderbilt University, 1932. Paton, Dr. Lucy Allen. Studies in the Fairy Mythology of Arthurian Romance. New York: Burt Franklin, 1960. Tatlock, J.S.P. The Legendary History of Britain. Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1950.       Arthurian Literature: The Evolution of Merlin Essay -- Literature Arthurian Literature: The Evolution of Merlin  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In all the long history of literature, some fictional characters have loomed above others, written about again and again by various authors of various eras. Arthurian literature is one area of fiction that has always been popular for writers to recreate in new versions, and one of the most intriguing characters of all Arthurian literature is Merlin, the magician/ prophet who aids Arthur early in his reign. As the Arthurian saga develops, so does Merlin, changing from an aloof, druidical character into a more human, magical being, though always retaining some traces of his Welsh origins. Merlin gains his first mention in eight ancient Welsh poems attributed to the Welsh bard Myrddin. (Bruce) Signs of his Welsh, druidical heritage are all through the verses. One poem invokes an apple-tree to hide Merlin from his pursuing enemies, and magical apple-trees are common in Welsh fairyland. Another of Merlin's purported poems is addressed to a little pig, and in another he mentions a wolf as one of his few companions. Both of these animals are common devotional cult-objects in Welsh druidism. One poem indicates that Merlin/Myrddin spends a great deal of his time with deer, perhaps even appearing in the form of a stag and living as one. This description is reminiscent of the Welsh stag-god Cernunnos, "The Horned One," who appears as a man with a stag's head and associates with deer. (Tolstoy) In the Welsh poem "Ymddiddan Myrddin a Thaliesin" ("The Dialogue of Merlin and Taliesin"), written down around 1050, we receive our first indication of Merlin's most prominent gift in la ter literature, that of prophecy. The poem ends with the lines "Since I, Myrdin, am next after ... ...ne of the great and enigmatic characters of the Matter of Britain and, for that matter, of all literature.    Works Cited Bruce, Dr. James Douglas. The Evolution of Arthurian Romance. Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1958. Loomis, Roger Sherman. The Arthurian Romance. London: Hutchinson & Co. Ltd., 1963. Loomis, Roger Sherman, ed. Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages: A Collaborative History. Clarendon Press, 1959. Ownbey, E. Sydnor. Merlin and Arthur: A Study of Merlin's Character and Function in the Romances Dealing with the Early Life of Arthur. Vanderbilt University, 1932. Paton, Dr. Lucy Allen. Studies in the Fairy Mythology of Arthurian Romance. New York: Burt Franklin, 1960. Tatlock, J.S.P. The Legendary History of Britain. Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1950.      

Broadsheet and tabloid article comparison Essay

Three newspapers, ‘The Times'(a British broadsheet), ‘The Mirror’ ( a British tabloid) and ‘Newsweek’ (an American paper) have all related to the same ski incident where 20 people died in a cable car as an American Fight Jet sliced through the cable car’s wires sending its occupants hurling three hundred feet to their deaths in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. The major differences between the three articles is that ‘The Times’ and ‘The Mirror’ were able to get reporters to the scene of the accident within hours of the crash but ‘Newsweeek’ wasn’t able to get a reporter out to the Dolomites as they weren’t a particuarly rich newspaper firm and it took them 2 weeks to publish the news and by then everyone had found out, whereas ‘The Times’ and ‘The Mirror’ chose to publish it the very next day. The Times’ is very factual throughout but ‘The Mirror’ uses very chatty language. ‘The Mirror’ and ‘Newsweek’ are biased towards the victims because they can’t defend themselves against what the American Fighter Pilots had done. The major similarities between the three newspapers is that they have all got the same account of what happened and that the American Fighter Pilots are to blame. Also how it happened and they agree on the basic facts. Within the three newspapers they all use factual content of some description. ‘The Mirror’s factual content is stating that why the incident occured, who was involved, that there were no survivors and how there bodies were found beneath all the rubble. ‘The Times’ goes into more detail about the incident and the paper is more business like and better grammar. ‘Newsweek’ is just stating the facts and is basically worded for the younger readers to understand. There are a couple of discrepancies between the three newspapers, ‘The Newsweek’s descrepancies are that it is has not been illustrated. It took them two weeks to publish the incident. It was using very basic writing techniques. It also prints that the incident was not that bad a disaster â€Å"By then, Prime Minister Romano Prodi had already judged the crash as an act of trajic recklessnesss†. The Mirrors discrepancies are that it uses too many opinions rather than facts. Too much surrounded the incident rather than what the American Goverment should will do to improve its training schemes and how to make it up to the victims’ families. The Times’ discrepancies is that it is too long and too intellectual. I feel out of these three newspaper articles surrounding this accident The Times is the best for facts but The Mirror is the best for witness accounts and opinions and pictures of the wreckage. The language used in the three papers are all different and targeted at a specific group of people. The Mirror is aimed at people who thrive on other people’s misfortunes. The Times is aimed towards the more intelligent and business like individuals. Newsweek is aimed at American people around where this paper is based to give them news about their state. There are not many differences in tone, mood or bias achieved due to the language used. The Mirror’s tone is very dramatic, emotional and to the point, its mood is shocking and is biased towards the victims and does not really mention opinions based on the American Pilots. The Times’ tone is very serious and business like, its mood is partially shocking but still remains serious and factual. The Times is not biased in its report as it considers both sides of the incident. Newsweek’s tone is very evasive and eluding, its mood is not shocking but almost normal, it is biased towards the American Pilots â€Å"An US Fighter Jet clip’s a gondola cable† and they act as if it isn’t such a bad crash. In ‘The Times’ and ‘The Mirror’ interview people who were next in line for the cable car and those who witnessed the incident. The Times also spoke to Fauseo Colasant; who was a police chief in Cavalese, many officals, a spokesman at Aviano, Giorgio Ruialdiwho was a rescue worker at Cavalese, Massimo Brulti who is the deputy Defence Minister. The Mirror’s interviewees were Neil Harmar and his girlfriend Stacey O’Donnell who were next in line, police chief Andrea Russo, a fire service spokesman, American Defence Secretary William Cohen, salesman Neil of Heathfield, Sussex, furious locals, Regional President Carlo Androtti, Cristina Antoniazzi the owner of the Hotel Locanda La Cascato just 100 yards from the cable lines and Air Force Chiefs. All the mentioned people above all commented on how low and dangerous this was, also how trajic an accident it was and that the Military war games should stop which put peoples lives at risk. Newsweek didn’t have any speakers because they it was a strategic choice and chose not to publish the article until two weeks later when everyone had found out about it through other people and other major newspapers such as ‘The Times’ and ‘The Mirror’. Most of the people who were interviewed said that it was a tragedy â€Å"If pilots want to put their own lives at risk that is up to them, but it is not acceptable that inncoent tourists should take the consequences† and many important people mentioned how many victims were confirmed dead. The US Defence Secretary William Cohen said â€Å"The victijm’s were nine women, ten men and one child†, and a fire spokesman said â€Å"It’s official- it’s twenty. † but Air Force Chiefs declined to comment. Regional President Carlo Androtti said â€Å"Military aircrafts should stop these war games which put innocent people’s lives at risk. Many people have told me how some Military Planes actually fly under the cables†, The Times has more factual content rather than content rather than speakers but the people who were interviewed said how much of a tragic incident this was. The Pentagon had launched and inquiry into the accident and expressed it’s ‘Deepest Sympathy’ for those killed, but this was an accident that should ahev nopt happened as the conditions were excellent â€Å"Visibility on the mountain had been ‘excellent’ at the time of the disaster. † the Newsweek had Italy’s Air Force Chief General Mario Arpino who said â€Å"The Prowler was four miles off of course and flying 3,300 feet below the altitude designated in the flight plan filed at Aviano. The minimum cruising altitude for US pilots in Italy is 500 feet. † Newsweek doesn’t use its article based on all on the one accident like the other papers did but it compares it to another crash. There is not really and explination for the different nationalities but they must think it is truly embarrasing for letting this get out of hand even with the amount of complaints recieved by the Regional President Carlo Androtti. The Mirror layout is so that the readers will straight away focus on the accident that happened and a photo of the devastation at The Dolomites because of the pictures and the headline. The layout of The Times shows it is a sophisticated paper that contains pictures of the EA-6B Prowler Jet that caused the accident, the devastation and a diagram of how it happened. The layout of Newsweek is very plain and un-interesting. It contains no photo’s of diagrams. This means that it is layed out very poorly and has no effect on the reader. The effect of the use of pictures, diagrams and headlines is expressed very well. The Times has great use of pictures, diagrams and headlines. Their headline is bold, catchy and to the point. Where-as The Mirror is more suttle and detailed, it’s headline is very effective because it stands out. But, Newsweek is exactly the opposite from The Times and The Mirror because it’s headline is based for the reader to become curious and to continue reading the article, thee are no pictures or diagrams which let this article down. In conclusion I feel that The Mirror explains what happened and suggests the full horror of the incident most effectively as it uses many techniques that are typical to a tabloid newspaper. In particular, it gives the incident a personal and British flavour by prominently reporting the reactions of two british Holidaymakers who narrowly avoided being involved in the incident. It also uses bold type, pull quotes and ‘Tabloidese’ – the pacy, dramatic language exemplified by the sub-headline ‘Brits tell of horror in snow’.

Prominent German Philosopher - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1234 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/08/08 Category People Essay Level High school Tags: Karl Marx Essay Did you like this example? Karl Marx, a prominent German philosopher, author, and economist in the 19th century, was a key contributor to the field of sociology through his explorations, research, and discoveries. As an author, some of his most important works include The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital. These writings inspired generations of political leaders. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Prominent German Philosopher" essay for you Create order Although, largely shunned and rejected by peers of his generation, Marx was able to successfully forge his own path in developing theories that helped explain the nature of human societys development. The distinctive quality that separated Marx from other theorist was the fact that he placed so much emphasis on the economic structure and how it affected the rest of society from a materialistic point of view. Marx directly shaped how we view the relationships between economics, politics, anthropology and sociology; hence Marxism. Marx brought forth a few ideas to the world, among them include how culture and class play meaningful parts in society. The fundamental concept of Karl Marx was the longstanding concern of social classes (broadly rich and poor worker and owner) are in conflict. Marxs theories about society argue that all societys progress through the discussion of class struggle. He was disapproving of the current socio-economic model of society, capitalism, which he referred to it as the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, believing it to be operated by the wealthy middle and upper classes solely for their own benefit, and predicted that it would naturally result in internal tensions which would contribute to its self-destruction and replacement by a new system, socialism. Additionally, Marxs theories on economics include: labor theory value, surplus value, surplus product, and exploitation. In Marxian theory, production means the generation of value. Like this, economic development is the process of more value generating, labor generates value. However, high level of production is possible through further accumulation of capital and technological advancement. Ultimately, class conflicts climb. Labor conflicts start and there is class uprising. Sooner or later, there is a collapse of capitalism and rise of socialism. Furthermore, Marx asserts that economic forces in society can be exploitive and destructive, instead of purely competitive and productive. As a notable contributor to conflict theory, Marx argued that culture served to defend inequality. The ruling class produce a culture that upholds their well-being, whilst repressing the interests of the proletariat. His renowned quote to this meaning is that Religion is the opium of the people. Marx believed that the engine of history was the clash amongst groups of people with diverging economic interests and thus the economy determined the cultural superstructure of values and ideologies. It should be noted, that throughout his travels in Europe, Marx saw much of poverty and inequality plaguing human society. Within the laboring class, or proletariat, and the ruling class, or bourgeoisie, discrepancies in the forms of resources, economic power, political influence was all too apparent among the two classes. According to Marx, the ruling class maximized their economic power through methods of exploitation against the laboring class. These methods included paying laborers significantly less than what was owed, extending their working hours in ill suitable working conditions, and by seizing all profits earned from production instead of properly distributing them. Through this method of capitalization, the wealthy became even richer and the poor became even poorer. From this revelation, Marx formed a sociological perspective known as conflict theory that sought to explain that capitalisms growing presence was due to strife involving the ruling and working classes. In summary, Karl Marx was one of the most influential people of his era. He changed the way people looked at societies and changed the world with his writings, theories, and way of thought. Sociological theories give us contrasting viewpoints with which to examine our social world. A perspective is simply a way of observing the world. A theory is a set of interconnecting principles created to explain a phenomenon; it provides us with a perspective. Sociological theories allow us to interpret and predict the world we live in. Sociology consist of three main theoretical perspectives: the functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionist perspective (or simply the micro view). Each perspective presents a range of explanations about the social world and human nature. As stated in the functionalist perspective of sociology, each facet of society is interdependent and is partly responsible for societys stability and functioning. The functionalist perspective is rooted mostly in the works of Emile Durkheim. According to functionalism, society is a system of interconnected components that act in harmony to maintain a state of balance and social equilibrium for the masses. For instance, if crime was non-existent, the jobs relating to lawyers, policemen, forensics scientists etc., would also not exist, this would result in high rates of unemployment. Another example of functionalism is that the ideal life in America during the 50s would mean that men and women have each their own set of tasks to accomplish, each complimenting the other so that men would make money and women would care for the household. Furthermore, functionalists believe that society is held together by social consensus, in which members of the society agree upon, and work together to achieve, what is best for society. This differs from the other two major sociological perspectives: symbolic interactionalism, which focuses on how people act according to their understanding of the meaning of the world they live in, and conflict theory, which focuses on the negative nature of society. As previously stated, the functionalist perspective views society as composed of different parts working together. Conversely, the conflict perspective views society as composed of different groups and interest competing for power and resources. The conflict perspective explains various aspects of our social world by examining which group of people have power and benefit from a social setup. For example, race conflict approach which is a point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories. This includes White Privilege which refers to the countless social advantages, benefits, and courtesies that come with being a member of the dominant race, such as a clerk not following you around in a store or not having people cross the street at night to avoid you. The basis of the conflict perspective can be drawn back to the notable works of Karl Marx. Marx asserts that all societies go through periods of economic development. As societies evolve from agricultural to industrial, concern over meeting survival needs is replaced by concern over making a profit. Industrialization leads to the development of two classes of people: the bourgeoisie, or the owners of the means of production; and the proletariat, or the workers who earn wages. Lastly, the symbolic interactionist perspective of sociology views society as a product of everyday social interactions of individuals. Symbolic interactionists also study how the meaning of objects, events, and behaviors comes from the interpretation people give them, with interpretations varying from one group to another. Both the functionalist and the conflict perspectives are concerned with how broad aspects of society, such as institutions and large social groups, influence the social world. This level of sociological analysis is referred to as macro sociology: It looks at the big picture of society and suggests how social problems are affected at the institutional level. Micro sociology, another level of sociological analysis, is concerned with the social psychological dynamics of individuals interacting in small groups.