Writers’ Feminist Views Essay Example for Free

Writers’ Feminist Views Essay The themes in Jane Eyre and Arcadia vary, but one theme that unites them both is feminism. It could be argued that in Jane Eyre the main theme is Marxism, but as the main character is female there is a feminist element as well. As the story progresses the Marxist theme is diluted because Jane is more empowered, and the feminist theme is more central. In Arcadia there are many themes but they all revolve around the main theme of feminism. Whereas Jane Eyre is a typical Victorian narrator who we trust, Thomasina is a character that we are drawn to. Throughout Jane Eyre it is hard to grasp how far Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s views are feminist. She reveals a lot of her own opinions through Jane, and there are moments when Jane expresses feelings of injustice when women are treated as though they are inferior to men, but Jane is also portrayed as a woman who knows her place, and does not feel equal to men or even women of a higher class to her. In Arcadia, Tom Stoppard conveys Thomasina as a very intelligent young woman with great wealth and a certain degree of power over Septimus. Stoppard doesn’t fail to show the attitude towards women of the Victorian era, but at the same time he shows his own view towards women. By making Thomasina’s character very intelligent (especially for her age) he instantly empowers her. A typical Victorian author would not write their female characters as intelligent, or as women with op inions different to those of their male superiors (like Thomasina). One of the last lines in Jane Eyre – â€Å"Reader I married him† is a great portrayal of feminist views. This direct address coming from a female narrator was completely unheard of during the Victorian period; it gives Jane authority. This line implies that the marriage was Jane’s decision, or that she consented it (again empowering her) as opposed to Rochester. This is echoed by Rochester’s eventual physical condition (poor, injured and impaired) where he is humbled and Jane’s status is raised, as she no longer depends on him, he depends on her. Jane was given a considerable sum of money, and she could have chosen not to spend the rest of her life with Rochester but she still did. Furthermore, the way in which Rochester used to speak to Jane (whilst still pleasant) sounded as though she were a little girl, but at the end (as a result of her sudden gain of power) he changed the way he spoke to her and spoke to her more as an equal. In some ways, Jane did grow up by the end of the book, more in certain frames of mind than physically. Whereas the ending of Jane Eyre empowers women, the ending of Arcadia portrays the inevitability of a woman’s life. The fire in both stories is symbolic, in Jane Eyre it brings Rochester and Jane together (he’s physically dependent, she still chooses him) and in Arcadia the fire is a release as well as a tragedy, but it releases Thomasina from the inevitability of womanhood. The fire brings together but sets free. In both stories the fire was a pivotal point. Jane is left empowered at the end of Jane Eyre but Thomasina is left susceptible to death, life is fragile and she’s not in control. That is of course if she didn’t deliberately cause a fire in order to end her own life, because if she did then she is as empowered as Jane, taking life in her hands and ‘playing God’. However, the very fact that the audience would consider the idea that Thomasina took her own life shows that we recognize how bleak her future seemed. The ending of Jane Eyre is considered happy, and the Ending of Arcadia tragic, but these statements could be questioned. Jane Eyre represents independent, free-thinking women during the Victorian period; she is gradually empowered with money, friendship, an independent job and newly discovered family, yet in spite of these things she still chooses to settle with Rochester, care for him, and tend to him as a loving wife. Jane succumbed to the stereotypical expectations of Victorian women, belittling her efforts and strong mindedness, and possibly leaving her unhappy or unsatisfied. Similarly, Arcadia’s ending with Thomasina’s death (although initially appearing to be tragic) could be interpreted as a happy ending. A typical Brontà « convention is the idea of death being a release, and the fire (whether it were a fault of Thomasina’s or not) could be seen as her escape from her dismal future prospects that were already set in stone. Furthermore, if the fire was of Thomasina’s doing then it amplifies even more so that it was an escape and that she felt the need to run away from what her life was becoming. Both arguments are a question of whether or not what the reader contracts from each text, is what the author intended. Thomasina’s death is one of the best dramatic ironies since Romeo and Juliet. Thomasina had a great yearning to waltz with Septimus before her 17th birthday, to have one moment where she felt the love of the man she loved who did not love her in return, but loved her mother. The play ends with a blackout, and just a candle left on stage. The candle is symbolic: it could show the last glimpse of light left in her life, that moment dancing that she’d remember forever, or it could repeat the theme of inevitability (she was sharing such an important, special and unlikely moment with somebody she loved, and all that time, the cause of her death was lighting her last happy memory). Jane Eyre initially appears to be a novel based around Marxism, but it could be argued that this is not the main theme of the novel. There are feminist elements to the novel and as the author was a Victorian woman and the main character is female, it could be said that Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s intention was to create a feminist novel. Arcadia’s themes are much more complex as there are so many more themes of science, progress, intellect, adultery, nature, the arts and literature. The idea is played on that our planet is gradually going cold and fading to nothing. Thomasina intelligently explores these ideas; she has many intuitive opinions that she has formed about life and the universe. The criticism of art and literature is a less central theme. Despite all of these themes, the central theme is the subject of Thomasina’s wealth and intelligence through feminism and all the other themes spin around feminism because of Thomasina. This said, Lady Croome is a powerful authoritative character and in some ways takes the role of the father; she somewhat has the male role of the novel which reflects the feminist view that women are equally capable of a male role. In spite of all that Thomasina is capable of, her fate is no different to that of any other upper class Victorian girl. To conclude, Jane Eyre is a novel in which the ending is significant but doesn’t wholly focus on feminism, whereas Arcadia has more of an unjust feeling at the end, which is generated from the strong feminist views throughout (and particularly towards the end).

Shirley Jacksons The Lottery and Albert Camus The Guest :: essays research papers

Two great works known for irony, in one a great author, Albert Camus, creates a masterpiece and in the other, a masterpiece creates a great author, Shirley Jackson. Camus had been known to the world and his works had been studied even without the presence of â€Å"l’hote† or known as The Guest, but Shirley Jackson was a nobody till she wrote The Lottery and stunned the world. Both works are studied as pieces of irony but I believe both to be great works in other, with a twist of irony in the conclusion, although, worth mentioning, the ironies both serve to the other purpose rather than the plane simple sake of irony. The Guest, a pen and paper advert for Paul Sartre’s Existentialism, carries traces of this thought throughout, while, The Lottery, being a symbolic society questioner, with its many symbols undermines the American society. But both short stories carry within them even more, they talk of breaking the norms, they speak of minorities, giving up, and waste of life. The Existentialists say man is free to choose yet the choice and having to choose is inevitable and this is seen in The Guest where the Arab is forced into Daru’s life so thrusting upon him the crossroad of what to do with the Arab, either turn him in or let him go. In Existentialist belief due to the exact same choice man is always anxious and hesitant, not knowing whether his choice is proper or not, is it accepted by others or not, and this is seen so clearly again by the simple repetition of the word â€Å"hesitation† and its other forms in the story: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The orders? I’m not†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Daru hesitated†¦ {A choice forced upon him} 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He served Balducci more tea, hesitated, the†¦ {Hesitation before the person forcing the situation upon him} 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The old gendarme hesitated. â€Å"It’s up to you†¦ {Hesitation while expressing choice} 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Arab hesitated, then bit into†¦ {Hesitation before even life’s inevitables such as eating} 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the classroom, before going out, he hesitated a second†¦ {Hesitation before making a choice} 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Looked hesitantly at the motionless Arab†¦ {Hesitation before the source of choice} 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Daru hesitated. The sun rather high†¦ {Hesitant look at life} In the end Daru tries to get out of choosing by putting responsibility of the choice on the Arab but this in itself is again choosing. Existentialist beliefs express the dilemma in life and again is shown by Daru not being able to decide what to do with the Arab, whether to go against his country, and let the Arab free to choose, or go against his morals, and turn him in, and all life comes to the crossroad dilemma between freedom and prison for the Arab.

The Modern Business Management

Modern business management can be complicated; it is often as much about instinct as it is about policy. A manager can tell if his or her firm needs improvement in control through a variety of benchmarks: quality, profitability, morale, the performance of individuals within the organization, and the overall performance of the firm in respect to competitors (Gibson, et al, 2003). If improvement is needed, the manager can tell if improvement is needed in several key areas, and steps can be taken for improvement, as follows: Operational: If there is an identified problem within the inner workings of the organization, such as inefficiencies in purchasing, logistics, accounting, etc, this is indicative of operational deficiency that needs to be improved. Managers can implement operational improvements by empowering the work teams in these given areas to provide feedback about their tasks, offer improvements and so forth. This information can be combined with process improvements such as lean principles to provide efficiency and better operations. Financial: Financial problems are detected through the accounting process, and can be caused by excessive costs, insufficient revenue, or a combination of both. To correct financial problems, managers can wisely cut costs through productivity improvement and increase revenues through increased sales activity. Structural: Structural problems emerge commonly when the different strategic business units do not work well together to achieve the goals of the organization, supervisors are not reaching established goals, and individual employees are deficient in a given area or areas. These problems can be corrected by management through personnel changes, a change to the company structure itself, or steps to improve the performance of the ineffective employee(s). Strategic: Problems of a strategic nature are seen when the organization is not performing according to established goals, seems to lack direction, and has problems competing against other firms. This can be corrected through evaluation of the currents strategic plan, and improving the plan or developing another if needed. This process should include staff members from all of the strategic units within the firm itself. In its most basic form, quality has been defined as the essential goodness of a product (Evans and Lindsay, 2003). While this definition is easy to understand, it is vague and ineffective when discussing quality within the scope of the modern business environment. A practical, yet simple definition of quality is that quality exists when products or services meet the expectations of the customer for their given purpose. As an example, a disposable cigarette lighter need only be durable enough to provide reliable service until the fuel within it is exhausted. This quality definition reflects back to the classic business assertion that a light bulb can be made to last 100+ years (in fact, an Edison prototype still lights today) but the price of such an item is beyond what someone is willing to pay for the given utility of the ordinary light bulb. This brings up another interesting point that a given quality level is also necessary in order to offer a product or service at a price that the customer is willing to pay based on perceived value. This quality definition affects managers' behavior because quality control initiatives do not need to exceed the given level of quality that is sought. This affects the strategic planning the manager will undertake, operational costs, the structure of the organization, etc. Overall, quality shapes the organization and the management style of the organization as well.

A Research Study On The Nature Of Interdependence - 859 Words

It is estimated that 50-60% of American couples experience a violent episode at least once in the span of their relationship. A correlational study done at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studied the importance of the nature of interdependence in ongoing relationships, using the investment model to understand decisions to remain in or terminate abusive relationships. Using data obtained from the official files of a shelter for battered women, they studied three different important variables – satisfaction level (severity and frequency of abuse, abuse history), investment size (marital status, children, length of relationship), and alternative quality (education and income levels). The shelter staff interviewed women shortly after their arrival in order to measure their subjective commitment. They also contacted the women after leaving the shelter to check on their safety and determine whether they had returned to their abusive partners, in order to obtain informati on relevant to actual behavior. In this study, there were three different hypotheses that looked at the different variables. Hypothesis 1 predicts that feelings of commitment to an abusive relationship would be associated with limited or poor-quality alternatives, greater investment of resources in a relationship, and greater satisfaction/lesser dissatisfaction. 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