Queen Elizabeth 1 Essay -- essays research papers

Elizabeth I (also known as Elizabeth the Great, or the "Virgin Queen") was born in 1533 into a dangerous world of political intrigue. When she was only two years old, her father, King Henry VIII killed her mother, Ann Boleyn, because she had not yet produced a male heir. Henry's routine killing of her successive stepmothers every few years traumatized Elizabeth, who loved her father. Although Henry finally did father a son, Edward VI, the boy did not live long, dying at the age of sixteen after a six-year reign, and thus Elizabeth's older sister Mary I came to the throne in 1553. Meanwhile, the young Elizabeth showed exceptional intelligence, excelling at her studies well beyond any of the other royal children. A Catholic, Mary married the Hapsburg prince of Spain, the soon-to-be Philip II. Mary would come to be known as "Bloody Mary" for her harsh treatment of English Protestants in her attempt to restore Catholicism to England. When Sir Thomas Wyat the Younger's Rebellion threatened Mary's rule, she believed Elizabeth to have been involved in the plot and imprisoned her in the Tower of London. By a combination of luck and skillful persuasion on the part of her political allies, Elizabeth survived this ordeal and became queen when Mary died in 1558. Elizabeth quickly consolidated power and returned the country to Protestantism, passing the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, although by Reformation standards Catholics fared well under these acts. Wi...

The RSC Production of Beauty and the Beast

When watching the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of â€Å"Beauty and the Beast† I noticed several aspects of the production that I found particularly impressive. One such aspect was the use of lighting and shadows on stage. Spotlights and floodlights were the main types of lighting used. In many of the scenes that did not take place in the Beast's house, a relatively bright yellowy-orange light filled the stage showing there was nothing particularly important or magical about these scenes/ As soon as the audience's attention was required to be focused on a particular character, lights would fade out and a spotlight placed on the character. One such example of this was when Mama dies and Beauty sang a solo part. In the Beast's house, lighting was taking to a much darker level, reflecting the magical and mysterious characteristics of the house. Once particular use of lighting in the house was very effective, the use of different coloured lights when Beauty and the Beast were eating supper. When the bowls were placed on the floor, trapped doors beneath them were opened so that floor lights could flood through the translucent bowls, giving the effect of different magical foods. One bowl lit up red, to which Beauty responded with â€Å"Oh! Strawberries!† then, as Beauty put the lid back down, the colour of the lighting changed to blue and then to green. At the same time, the stage was slowly filling with dry ice, which had lights from different places shining into it. This dry ice gave the magical side that the scene needed, and the colouring in it added even more mystery and magic. Another effective use of lighting was the mirror ball in the room/hall of mirrors. This reflected onto the audience and made them feel more involved in the scene. The music used in the production added a depth of atmosphere, causing slight unrest when in the Beast's home, and a sad, emotional ambience at the death of Beauty's mother. In the Beast's house, a man on the balcony sang notes rather that words, backed by eastern, slightly oriental instruments. These instruments had the ability to make a strange, but somehow welcoming atmosphere feel apparent in the Beast's house – something that was important in understanding both the setting and the character of the Beast. The music that played during the dance in which the mother played the horse was sharp and almost violent, mirroring the movements of the horse. At one point, the chorus used large wooden sticks to bang off the floor as a way of backing up the music and adding a stronger beat, possibly shadowing the horse's hooves as it ran. When Beauty's mother died, she sat on the floor and sang a classic French song that was repeated at certain points in the play. Another time repetition was used was when a woman on the balcony repeatedly sang the word â€Å"Beauty†¦ Beauty†¦ Beauty†¦Ã¢â‚¬  when Beauty sat alone on the stage. Both of these examples of repetition create a slightly eerie, but at the same time calming atmosphere, which made me feel rather uneasy in the audience. The set, although rather simplistic, was highly effective, and very symbolic at times. It began with a taut cotton sheet with the front of a Parisian style house painted on. Two workbenches were at either side of the ‘door'. This sheet was pulled down, revealing the family standing on more benches, this time of different heights; the parents were in the middle, on the highest of the benches, the boys were standing on the right, slightly lower and the girls were on the left and were at the lowest level. When the family lost their wealth the benches were taken away and the backdrop pulled up, leaving an empty stage. A row of coat hangers came down from the ceiling and each family member hung up their expensive clothing. This showed it was the end of an era, and that they had to move on. The hangers going up, rather that just backwards or to the sides, showed that the life the family once had was now out of their reach and they had no way of getting back to it. This is an imaginat ive and cleaver way of showing the loss. A swing then came down and the family climbed onto. It swung back and forth and as a way of illustrating the family how the family had to move far away, to the downtrodden cottage in the countryside. Having the family on the swing gave time for us to see how each of the characters were reacting to the change, I think this helped the audience to understand the characters on a more personal level. When the family got off the swing, it was onto a silky brown sheet of material that was hooked onto the edges of the stage, around 0.75m off the ground at the back, but slowly sloping down to meet the floor at the front of the stage. This was used to symbolise the mud near to the cottage – a sign of how basic what they actually had was. The chorus had crawled underneath the fabric and when the family stood on the mud, they used their arms and heads to create shapes to show the mud and gloopiness. After a time, the family lay down in the ‘mud' and the chorus sat up, cradling the c ast in their arms as a way of showing acceptance from the family and the countryside that this is how things were going to be. When this was got rid of, a house folded up from the floor that used two panels from the floor as the roof and thing, what looked like wooden, panels for the walls. This use of thin materials for the house was a direct symbol of the family's situation and, although the house was very simple, it had a certain fairytale-cottage-like look about it. The Beast's palace was far more extravagant and impressive than the family's cottage. When the father first went into the house big bamboo sticks bowed down from the ceiling, with lights inside. This gave a striking, slightly imposing entrance to the palace and led to a circular doorway at the back of the stage that was blacked out, creating a sensation of mystery and curiosity. When Beauty went into the palace, and we saw her room, the swing that had carried to the family to the countryside had now turned into a four poster bed, with pink covers, which swung to help relax Beauty and make her feel more welcome. As it swung, the audience could see that Beauty was warming to the palace, which is something we had not seen before this scene. At one point in the play, when the Beast was feeling particularly low, he climbed a ladder on the back wall of the stage and crawled into a small compartment, only big enough for himself. The fact that he was completely alone in there shows that he w anted to be cut off from civilization, possibly because he did not feel worthy enough to be around humans in his beast-state, however the compartment was above everything so it was symbolic of how he was the supreme leader of his palace and had overall control. This helped to give us an insight into the character's feelings at the time, which aids our understanding. As if to show a passage of time, when Beauty returned home to the country cottage the house has gained another story and big fans decorated with painted roses were surrounding the house. The overall view of the house gave a sparkling, happy fairytale effect and showed that the family were now more comfortable in the house, that they had settled in and were gaining from the experience. The final aspect I have chosen to look at it the costume designs. At the very start, all the family members were in white, expensive looking outfits – obviously a sign of their status and showing that they are good people. When the family had to hang up their clothes, they stayed in the undergarments they had on for a while, until after they had arrived in the countryside when they put on plain overalls. These overalls may have been a sign that, although they were not best pleased with being stuck in the countryside, they were aware that they had no choice and were willing to work for their money. Beauty did not change her clothes, and for the entirety of the play, she wore a plain – but pretty – white dress. The witch, who was played by the same actress as who played Mama, wore an extravagant ball gown that was sparkly and dark, with a very large headdress that showed she was an important character in the story. The dress was very dark, as you would expect a witch's clothing to be, however when the light hit it just right it glittered a lot, which showed to be lighter, which is something that is perhaps portrayed in her character. The Beast was wearing brown rags that had hints of a goldy material in them. At times, when the light hit the fabric just right, a tiny patch shone gold and sparkly. This hidden colour shows the character of the Beast well ~ we know he doesn't like who he is, or what he is, but we cannot escape the fact that he is of authority and high status. He wore a claw on his one hand and make up that created the physical aspects of the character. When he became a man, the rags were removed and he wore simple leggings with a chiffon type robe that showed off his muscles and body shape, emphasising the fact that he was a proper man. When Beauty returned home late on in the play the family were dressed in bright clothing that looked far less grand – this showed that they had accepted their life and lost all sense of importance of appearance because they had found true happiness in the countryside. Many of the different examples above give us a better insight into a character, or a place – for example, the Beast showed us that he felt isolated and alone at one point in the play simply by climbing into a compartment only big enough for him. The aspects of the play I have talked about work together in the performance to create atmospheres and to explore characters' emotions. An example of atmosphere being created may be how costume and music were entwined to create the sombre moment in which Beauty, wearing her pure white dress and holding the doll that symbolised her for the beginning part of the play, sing almost as a tribute to her dead mother. We are meant to feel sympathy for Beauty, and we do because she looks so pure and innocent in her dress, however if she were in a black dress this feeling may not have been stirred as our basic minds associate white with good and black with bad. Lighting and costume also worked together well, such as in the witch's costume. The headdress was very elaborate and when the lights shone onto her, a huge shadow fell on a section of the stage. The imposing shadow, with the spikiness and movements made me feel quite unnerved and was an impressive way of showing that she has high importance and power. Every one of the aspects I have discussed came together in the Beast's house. The overall effect was only created well by using suitably magical lighting, the creepy voices and instruments, a good set or in some cases using the chorus line to create the feeling of magical furniture, and costumes that gave us an insight into the character, such as Beauty's dress or the Beast's costume, whilst also serving well in the purpose of making the play feel alive. This mix of all the different aspects came together to create an aura of a mystical and scary palace.

Do You Agree That Students Can Bring Hanphones to School or Not?

The relationship between teens and drugs has been around for decades; however, this is not what you would call positive. Substance abusing (which is using drugs or alcohol in ways than can cause physical harm) is often associated with crime. But why do youths take drugs† Youth take drugs for the following reasons: social disorganization, peer pressure, family factors, emotional, or rational choice. Social disorganization deals with drug abuse to poverty and disorganized urban environment. Drug use by youth minority group members has been tied to factors such as racial prejudice, low-esteem, social status, and stress produced from environment.The National Youth Survey found that drug use tends to be higher among urban youths. Peer pressure is the most well-known reason for teens to partake in substance abuse. Some may argue that teen drug abuse is highly correlated with the behavior of close friends especially when family supervision is weak. This relationship, in fact, is recip rocal: substance abusers seek out friends who engage in similar activities. Associating with drug abusers leads to increased levels of drug abuse. Another explanation is that drug users have a poor family life.Studies show that majority of drug users have had an unhappy childhood which included harsh punishment and parental neglect females and Caucasians who were abused as children are more likely to have alcohol and drug arrests as adults. Youths who learn that dugs provide pleasurable sensations may be most likely to experiment with illegal substances; a habit may develop if the user experience anxiety and fear. Other family factors associations with teen drug abuse include parental conflict over child-rearing, practices, failures, to set rules, and unrealistic demands followed by hard punishments.Low parental attachment, rejection, and excessive family conflict have all been linked to adolescent substance abuse. Psychodynamic explanations of substance abuse suggest that drugs hel p youths control or express unconscious needs thus come in taking drugs for emotional reasons. They may use drugs as an escape from real or imagined feelings of inferiority. Substance abuse is one of the many problems that begin early in life and remain throughout the life course. Youth who abuse drugs lack commitment to religious values, disdain education, and spend most of their time in peer activities.Rational choice is when they choose to drugs because they want to: some use them to get high, relax, improve creativity, or increase their sexual responsiveness. Most teens say â€Å"it's my life; I can do what I want. † However, some teens may use to this cover up the fact they do have problems or want to fit in. They don't want to be portrayed a follower rather than someone who can make their own decisions. The top two substances abuse is marijuana and alcohol; alcohol is the number one drug abused respectively.A survey from the Washington Post showcased that: out of 10, 61 6 8th graders: thirty-six percent had tried alcohol and thirteen percent admits to drinking regularly. Out of the 10, 484 seniors interviewed, seventy-two percent had tried and twenty-nine percent still use it. Fourteen percent of them sold drugs at one point while twenty-nine percent said they have came to school drunk or high. A direct relationship has been established between drug use and delinquency. Drug users may commit crimes to pay their habits. A study conducted in Miami found that 563 users annually committed more than 200, 000 crimes to obtain cash.Drug users may be more willing to take risks because of their inhibitions is lowered by substance abuse. Cities with high rates of cocaine are more likely to experience higher levels of armed robbery. Basically they are trying to say that teens who take drugs contributed greatly to the crime rate. With all the reasons for teen to take drugs like social disorganization, for example, I believe that the main reason is because of e motional problems and rational choice. I believe that drug abusers do contribute to the crime rate but not as much as they try to say it does.Studies have shown that the rates of teens that partake in drugs have dropped. Most teens drink and smoke with friends or alone. Some don't go out and commit crimes; they associate getting high as a regular part of hanging out with friends. With several programs like D. A. R. E. , the consequence of doing drugs is being spread out. I believe that's why most teens tend to smoke marijuana since the dangers aren't as high as cocaine and heroin users. However, some will do it out of rebellion and not recognize the link of their actions of today and the consequences they may have tomorrow.

How Digital Technology Influences Art

How Digital Technology Influences Art Introduction Digital technology has become part of the everyday life in the world. Various sectors such as music industries have faced the problem of responding to the speedy developments in digital technology. In the world of arts, digital technology changes every day especially in media convergence technologies and digitalisation of production.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on How Digital Technology Influences Art specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Gà ¼ndà ¼z (2012, p. 202) confirms how digital technology factors have become the engine through which the wheels of art and design revolve all across the world. This advancement has made it very difficult for any country in the world to do without digital technology in its arts industry. Various economies have therefore put in place mechanisms to counter the effect of the digital revolution to keep abreast with technological changes. This section of the paper discusses t he impacts of digital technology on the world of arts. It has reduced Expenditure Digital technology has cut down the expenditure of producing art works thus improving accessibility by many people. Just the way the use of cars, motorbikes, and airplanes has increased the speed of travelling, with people reaching their destinations without much efforts, the digital technology has lessened the efforts that people had to put on walking or running to production studios and to areas where artists portray their work. According to Bhattacharjee et al. (2009, p. 140), the art industry, which used to produce its work manually thus using much funds, has increased the speed of production with less efforts and expenses due to digital technology. Since works of art are now produced at a lower cost, it has also become easier for masses to access this work because prices are also lower in the market. Technology reduces production expenditure hence making production expenses cheaper. Constaninides (2004, p. 115) also points out that digital technology has lessened the efforts that producers and consumers put in accessing raw materials and products consecutively. Artists can currently access raw materials for their business from the internet thus cutting on travelling costs. It has expanded the Amount of Artwork that One Artist can do With digital technology in place, one artist can do several activities at the same time. According to Van House (2011, p. 125), an artist can sing on a digital audio recorder, play some digital accompaniments, and dance at the same time. Digital technology enhances efficiency of the whole process of producing artwork.Advertising Looking for essay on art? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Writing of scripts, a stage that was very cumbersome to most artwork producers, has been made easy by the inception of digital technology. Constaninides (2004, p. 112) argues that a lot of informati on is available for artists on the internet and other educative media. From such sites, artists learn how to improve their multi-tasking skills. According to Faye et al. (2012, p. 147), reduction of manual work has also enabled the disabled artists to take part in arts through the digital technology. Recording of artwork was also a cumbersome activity in the past. However, with digital technology, an artist can record a multiplicity of episodes in one day. According to Bhattacharjee et al. (2009, p. 140), today, digital cameras, audio devices and recorders, and editing programs are in place. They have improved the quality of the products that come from artwork. Digital technology makes images and pictures clearer, attractive, and clean for the consumers despite having been produced simultaneously. Accessibility of cost effective machines and gadgets for example Digital Versatile Discs players (DVD) and video players though which consumers can access products of art has also enabled the artist to produce more. For artists who involve themselves in drawing and designing, digital technology has enabled them to produce their products in bulk. Digital technology has also improved on the quality of artwork that artists produce. It has improved the Capacity of Artists to show up their expected Designs Digital technology has widened consumer platform. With a wider consumer contact point, artists can access millions of consumers hence providing the right information and impression about their products directly to them. These platforms include televisions channels, cinema, video players, social media, and the internet among others. As the number of platforms increases, the number of audiences that the artists have also increases. It is also possible that digital technology provides more elaborative information about an artist. Consumers are therefore more informed. Hence, they can make the right choices in picking products. Faye et al. (2012, p. 147) affirm that even th e visually impaired artists can display their products through the help of the digital technology.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on How Digital Technology Influences Art specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Live recording and presentation programs such as programs on beauty pageants competitions that are televised live are an opportunity for designers to show up their designs (Van House 2011, p. 125). Artists can now televise, record, and sell various works of arts including martial arts as videos. Through digital technology, the artist can now reach almost every person who accesses the new media. The audience has also been empowered through digital technology. Foss (2001) argues that the media has been so active in monitoring the behaviour and conduct of leaders in various nations. Artists have become opinion leaders due to their fame and acceptance as celebrities. Most of the people would want to be achievers in certai n areas just as the artists. When the audience accesses information about immorality or underperformance of their favourite artists on the digital platforms, they are empowered to change their opinions about them and even to stop consuming their products. In fact, digital technology provides a better platform in which the audience can interact, scrutinise, and even criticise the artist. However, uncontrolled access to the websites of these artists can be problematic. Moore argues, â€Å"Identifying and accessing various resources of network system can allow a way into confidential documents or even databases† (2005, p.258). Cyber crimes have intensified with growth in digitalisation. Therefore, digital communication technology has brought the power of people-to-people. Artists have become very powerful and influential across the world. Almost every commercial advertisement, political advertisement, charity, and even religious advertisement is using artists as product ambassad ors thus increasing their platforms. Aghion and Tirole (1997) also affirm that people are also exchanging information through the social networks about how various celebrities are conducting themselves. For example, a gospel artist whom a company has adopted and paid to advertise and become the product ambassador for a product or a program that is sponsored by a beer or cigarette company is likely to be criticised and mocked on the social media. Similar complains and ridicules have been raised on televisions and radios through call-ins from the audience. Digital technology has therefore increased the platform for the audience to monitor the lives of artists. Foss (2001) insists that various artists and art companies have established websites that they post information about themselves and their programs for the citizens.Advertising Looking for essay on art? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The consumers of artwork who prefer plays, songs, paintings, and martial arts can also access any information they want from such websites. This possibility is a great response to digital communication exploration in the world today. Digital technology has paved a way for artists to speak to wider spectators Spectators are the target markets for all artists. They can watch the artists live on televisions and on the internet as they perform on stage. According to Marchese (2011, p. 302), although most of the spectators may not be in a position to travel to the venues of the concerts and exhibitions, they can become part of the program through digital communication. As artists display their products and talents, many more spectators are now able to access the proceedings in real time. In fact, some people become spectators and fans through accident. As one scrolls through the channels, he or she is likely to find such a program proceedings. If the work of art is interesting, educative , or entertaining, the audience becomes part of the spectators of such an artist. Digital technology increases the number of spectators. Marchese (2011, p. 302) argues that the response to digital technology in arts that is clearly visible in most countries is the development of e-commerce. E-commerce enables artists to market and sell their products to a wider market. With e-commerce, the artist does not have to meet one-on-one with the customer. All the transactions can be done online. Calvo and Monge (2009, p. 281) argue that many countries of the world have realised that trading in arts especially in the current world of digitalisation cannot escape the impact of modern technology. DRozario and Bryant (2013, p. 9) confirm that the adoption of digital technology by most nations of the world today has made the world of economics a small business village. One can trade and even converse with his or her fans that are in a far continent. Constaninides (2004, p. 112) argues that digit al technology has eliminated the geographical boundaries between trading partners such as artists, their fans, art firms, and their fans hence reducing transport cost and increasing the quality and quantity of information flow between parties. Calvo and Monge (2009, p. 281) argue that, in the United States, a spectator can order for certain products from an artist online and pay for them online and wait for delivery online within no time. The indication is that digitalisation of arts has even enlarged the market to spectators and artists (Garcà ­a Whittinghill 2011, p. 309). Another good example is the use of digital technology to purchase ringtones for mobile phones and even to download videos. During live concerts, artists pause to take the audience through a process of prompting downloads of ringtones and videos over the mobile phones and iPods. In such a forum, artists gain a lot of money instantly since most of the fans buy their products online as prompted by e-commerce. Acc ording to Bonsu and Darmody (2008, p.356), e-commerce has empowered consumers in the world of business to undertake their roles. Customers of the products of arts have become more informed in making choices between products. DRozario and Bryant (2013, p. 10) argue that the roles played by buyers and sellers in the US before the inception of e-commerce have drastically been changed. The time of passive customers and over active sellers has been eliminated in the American economy through digital technology. According to Gronroos (1994, p.9), quick evolution of e-commerce has made consumers of art products active players in the whole transaction. Customers have an opportunity to choose from an assortment of goods and services advertised online. In the same way, consumers can trade with the artist that they consider the best according to the information posted on their websites. Gronroos (1994, p.9) also argues that e-commerce has made many economies turn from 12 hours to 24-hour workin g economies. According to Constaninides (2004, p. 112), increase in the number of hours for doing business in many nations has also increased the number of online customers and audience for artists. Largely, this case increases the market since most people can access the products of the work of art that the artist places in stalls. Such is the economy of the United States. Gronroos (1994, p.9) believes that customers and artists can carry out exchange transactions at any time of the day or night via the internet. Garcà ­a and Whittinghill (2011, p. 309) affirm that artists in the economy of United States have become very powerful and influential across the world. Conclusion In conclusion, digital technology has had a big influence on art. The world has become a global village today due to digital revolution. Gà ¼ndà ¼z (2012, p. 202) affirms that as the economy of the world grow, its cultural aspects must also grow with it. Growth in digital technology has cut down the expenditur e of producing artworks hence improving the accessibility of artwork by many people. Digital technology has extended the array and amount of artwork that one artist can do in a given period. Artists can produce many products in a short period and even in real time. The paper concludes that digital technology has improved the capacity of artists to show up their expected designs though various digital platforms such as the internet, social media, televisions, videos, and mobile phones. References Aghion, P Tirole, J 1997, ‘Formal and Real Authority in Organisation’, Journal of Political Economy, vol. 105 no. 1, p. 29. Bhattacharjee, S, Gopal, D, Marsden, R, Sankaranarayanan, R 2009, ‘Re-tuning the Music Industry -Can They Re-Attain Business Resonance?’, Communications of the ACM, vol. 52 no. 6, pp. 136-140. Bonsu, A Darmody, A 2008, ‘Co-creating Second Life: Market- Consumer Cooperation in Contemporary Economy’, Journal of Macromarketing, vol . 28 no. 4, pp. 355-368. Calvo, E Monge, J 2009, ‘New Technologies in Central American Contemporary Art: A Partial Archaeology and Some Critical Appreciations from the Institutional Realm’, Third Text, vol. 23 no. 3, pp. 281-292. Constaninides, E 2004, ‘Influencing the Online Consumers Behavior: The web Experience’, Emerald Research Journal, vol. 14 no. 2, pp. 111-126. DRozario, D Bryant, K 2013, ‘The Use of Dead Celebrity Images in Advertising and Marketing- Review, Ethical Recommendations and Cautions for Practitioners’, International Journal of Marketing Studies, vol. 5 no. 2, pp. 1-10. Faye, W, Selvadurai, C, Smithwick, Q, Cain, J, Cavallerano, J, Silver, P, Goldring, E 2012, ‘The Seeing Machine Camera: An Artistic Tool for the Visually Challenged Conceived by a Visually Challenged Artist’, Leonardo, vol. 45 no. 2, pp. 141-147. Foss, K 2001, ‘Organising Technological Interdependencies: A Coordination Perspective on the Firm’, Industrial and Corporate Change, vol. 10 no. 1, p. 151. Garcà ­a, E Whittinghill, D 2011, ‘Art and Code: The Aesthetic Legacy of Aldo Giorgini’, Leonardo, vol. 44 no. 4, pp. 309-316. Gronroos, C 1994, ‘From marketing mix to relationship marketing: Towards a paradigm shift in marketing’, Management Decision, vol. 32 no. 2, p. 9. Gà ¼ndà ¼z, U 2012, ‘Digital Music Format Mp3 as a New Communications Technology and the Future of the Music Industry’, Scientific Journal of Humanistic Studies, vol. 4 no. 7, pp. 202-207. Marchese, T 2011, ‘Conserving Digital Art for Deep Time’, Leonardo, vol. 44 no. 4, pp. 302-308. Moore, R 2005, Cybercrime: Investigating High Technology Computer Crime, Bender Company, New York. Van House, A 2011, ‘Personal photography, digital technologies and the uses of the Visual’, Visual Studies, vol. 26 no. 2, pp. 125-13.

Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut Essays

Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut Essays Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut Paper Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut Paper Love, Death, and War in J. D Salinger’s â€Å"Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut† J. D Salinger was best known for his portrayal of isolationism and the loss of innocence in his literary works. Like many Modern artists of the 1950’s, such as his good friend Ernest Hemmingway, Salinger was highly interested in reflection of the individual as well as the disconnectedness between adults and children (Calloway 3). In his short story, â€Å"Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut†, Salinger uses the themes of love, death, and the war to reflect the emotional detachment between Eloise and her own life, as well as her relationships with her husband and daughter. Eloise and her college roommate, Mary Jane are introduced to the reader at the same time, the beginning of the story. Both women have left college before finishing for reasons related to men. The setting for much of the plot resides within the living room of Eloise’s house. The language Salinger gives Eloise mirrors her critical and somewhat cold attitude. As the two women position themselves comfortable on the couch, they begin to discuss past classmates and relationships. We are first introduced to Eloise’s relationship with her mother-in-law. Though the information regarding this relationship is brief, we are able to gather that they do not get along. I dont have one damn thing holy to wear. If Lews mother ever diesha, hashell probably leave me some old monogrammed icepick or something. The manner in which she speaks about this reflects her carefree attitude. After Mary Jane attempts to inquire about the relationship between Eloise and her mother-in-law, the young woman quickly changes the subject. As their conversation continues, involving other classmates and their husbands, they are interrupted by the introduction of Ramona, Eloise’s young daughter. Salinger wastes no time in feeding the reader the relationship, or lack thereof, that Eloise has with her daughter. Upon Ramona’s entrance into the house, she commands her to go into the kitchen so that Grace, the servant can help her take off her goulashes. â€Å"Ramona, Eloise shouted, with her eyes shut, go out in the kitchen and let Grace take your galoshes off (Salinger). It seems as though Mary Jane is more excited to see the young girl then her own mother is. Eloise does not ask to see the girl, nor speak to her, and the reader is unaware of where the girl might be coming from and how long she was out. This clues us into Eloise’s detachment from Ramona. Upon sending Ramona to be tended to by Grace, she shifts the focus back to the alcoholic beverage, which serves as a plot device and focal point throughout much of the story(Witalec). Mary Jane begins, after insisting that she does not need another drink, to inquire about Lew, Eloise’s husband. Eloise gives critical replies about how their child looks nothing like her, and how Ramona, Lew, and her mother-in-law could pass for triplets. The fact that she is separating herself from her family, in such an outright and obvious manner, exemplifies the disconnectedness that Salinger uses in much of his work. Surprisingly, when Mary Jane asks for a kiss, Ramona quickly replies â€Å"I don’t like to give kisses† (Salinger). This could be seen as a result of the lack of affection that the young girl is missing, the same way Eloise seems to lack affection. Also, the fact that she has conceived an imaginary friend, Jimmy, who is lacking both a mother and a father, could be comparable to the lack of emotional involvement she might experience from both parents(Smith 639). However, the young girl exhibits a type of love for her imaginary friend, and Eloise seems to be critical of the confidence that her daughter places in Jimmy â€Å"You just think so. I get it all day long. Jimmy eats with her. Takes a bath with her. Sleeps with her. She sleeps way over to one side of the bed, sos not to roll over and hurt him (Salinger). Eloise lacks this type of confidence and love in a partner within her life, which may be the result of her criticalness of her daughter and Jimmy. Again, Eloise slides the attention back to alcohol, insisting she refill Mary Jane’s glass and that she stay longer. As the story progresses, we are finally introduced to Eloise’s past love history. She abandons her critical nature and attitude when describing the man of her past, who made her laugh. â€Å"He could do it when he talked to me. He could do it over the phone. He could even do it in a letter. And the best thing about it was that he didnt even try to be funnyhe just was funny (Salinger). The language she uses gives the reader the image of her lying on her couch as she reminisces about her past experiences with him. Salinger invites us into her emotional memory bank, and constructs the dialogue within this very scene in such a way that places Eloise mentally by herself remembering things that once made her happy, and making everything at that moment obsolete, in the same way a lover might recall their past love experiences (Smith 648). It is at this very point within the plot that we become aware of not only her relationship with this other past man, but also where the name â€Å"Uncle Wiggily† was derived from. This name is of significance to her. However, her train of thought is interrupted by Mary Jane reminding Eloise of the current martial situation she’s in now, â€Å"‘Doesn’t Lew have a sense of humor’ Mary Jane said† (Salinger). Her response to the questions of her husband does not run as deep as the memories she has with the other man. Quickly, she answers the question, again in her critical and sarcastic tone, almost as if disregarding she even has a husband. Again, she recalls moments her and her past love have shared together. Eloise reflected a moment, and then said, It wasnt always what he said, but how he said it. You know(Salinger). The fact that Salinger lets us in on these reflections from Eloise is again, emphasizing the connection she has with Walt and the memories, rather than obtaining the connections she should have with her husband. She mentions Lew as if he is insignificant. This relationship lacks everything that she had with her past love. Her reasoning behind not telling her husband about him comes off more as an excuse so that he may never know her true feelings and the apparent loneliness she exhibits (Kennedy). She also refuses to answer seriously to the question of why she chose to marry Lew. The theme of war is then introduced, as Mary Jane presses Eloise to explain how Walt, her love, had been killed. Tension in the plot thickens because we are seeing the break down of Eloise’s character. War and lost love become pivotal elements in Eloise’s apparent unhappiness. She begins to cry while explaining what had happen to him while he was away at War. Oddly enough, he was not killed while in action, instead in an incident involving a stove. As she told this story, she clutched the glass that was resting on her chest. Salinger swiftly incorporates the meaning of alcohol in her life once again, as her sort of comfort for the hurt she lives with. â€Å"She put her hand around the empty glass on her chest to steady it† (Salinger). As the story begins to conclude, the theme of lost or dead love is heightened when Ramona explains that Jimmy was killed. Eloise, instead of showing sympathy towards Ramona, asks what happened and quickly commands the girl to be sent to her room. Secondly, Grace asks for her own husband to stay the night, being that the weather was frigid; Eloise denies her request, therefore separating the husband and wife for the night. While this love is not dead, Eloise is causing a physical disconnect between the two. She then goes into Ramona’s room where she sees the young girl laying on the bed, all the way at the edge, so that her new imaginary friend has room to sleep. She attempts to separate the two by insisting that Ramona sleep the right way and physically grabs her ankles to position her to how she wants her to lay. It is in this very scene, after Eloise shuts off her daughter’s bedroom light, that the themes of love, death, and war completely break down the character of Eloise (Witalec). â€Å"She picked up Ramonas glasses and, holding them in both hands, pressed them against her cheek. Tears rolled down her face, wetting the lenses. ‘Poor Uncle Wiggily,’ she said over and over again† (Salinger). Salinger brings the story to a closing by having Eloise kiss her daughter, and walk out of the room. This is the first sign of affection from mother to daughter that we see. At the very end she seemed to confide in Mary Jane, asking her about a dress she had once worn. This has symbolism in itself, being that Eloise did not attempt to confide in her husband, we are unaware if he is even home or not by now. In a way, Mary Jane, who had been friends with Eloise for so long and knew her throughout her relationship with Walt, could serve as a type of connection left to the woman’s past memories, and that is why she returns to her at the end of the night (Kennedy). Salinger clearly demonstrates the isolation Eloise displays within her relationship with her own husband and child. He gave Ramona two different confidants within the short period the story takes place, while Eloise cannot find the connection between herself and her own spouse (Witalec). The themes of love, death, and war all seem to consume Eloise, effecting how she reacts to the people who are supposed to be closest to her. Much of the feelings she felt were common among the society of post-war times, and Salinger successful illustrates this to the reader. Work Cited Calloway, Catherine. 15 Fiction: The 1930s to the 1960s. American Literary Scholarship (2002): 1-26. Project Muse. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. Kennedy, J. Gerald. Modern American Short Story Sequences: Composite Fictions and Fictive Communities. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1995 Salinger, J. D. Uncle Wiggily in Conneticut. Nine Stories/ J. D. Salinger. New York : Bantam, 1989. Smith, Dominic. Salingers Nine Stories: Fifty Years L ater. The Antioch Review (2003): 639-649. JSTOR. Web. 16 Nov. 2010 Witalec, Janet. Jerome David Salinger. 65 (2004): 290-339. Literature Criticism Online. Web. 16 Nov. 2010

Maritime transportation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Laurell K. Hamilton Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Laurell K. Hamilton - Essay Example In all of Hamilton’s novels one can come across a number of contemporary themes that goes well in tune with the contemporary American socio-cultural milieu. For instance, her works deal with such contemporary themes in American literature such as gender, sex, identity, oppression, and morality. The paper seeks to explore what makes Hamilton a contemporary writer who deals with contemporary themes in literature and in doing so the paper focuses on the dominant themes in her writings. The themes of gender and sex are dominant in Hamilton’s writings and it is these themes that attribute her works a contemporary nature even though her plot and characters stem out of mere fantasy. One can clearly see that her women protagonists challenge the very notion of the stereotyped gender and sex roles played by women in a male dominated society. Nick Mamatas is right when the author remarks that Hamilton accomplished something quite impossible by creating â€Å"a new subgenre, urban fantasy-adventure with a female lead, and build a new audience for it† (Hamilton & Wilson, 2009, p. 5). In fact, Hamilton created her female protagonists in such a way that the female readers could easily identify with the central characters and her female protagonists undertake such actions which females thought to be impossible in the real life. In all her novels and short stories, one can find that the male characters are forced to follow the female lead. For instance, in the Anita Blake series, Anita Blake assumes a tough personality who always triumphs over men. Thus, one can see that Hamilton challenged the conventions of a standard fantasy novel where the heroine always played a submissive role to the heroes. Her heroines do not end up their lives in the hero’s bed for domestic-sexual bliss. Usually, in popular fiction, â€Å"even if a woman triumphed over a man intellectually, economically, or rhetorically in a scene or two, by the end of the book the female l ead would be humbled and ready to submit to the male lead† and â€Å"Hamilton changed that† (Hamilton & Wilson, 2009, p. 9). Thus, it can be concluded that Hamilton’s writings depict the changing gender roles played by women and such a theme is very much contemporary in literature. No doubt, the themes related to literature derive the real or imaginary life of man and a theme in literature is said to be contemporary when it represents the existing socio-cultural milieu. The readers feel that the writer is giving vent to their own emotions, feelings, grievances, frustrations and experiences. A close reading of Hamilton convinces one that her treatment of sex and female sexuality was very much bold and unconventional. When one finds Anita Blake at the beginning of Hamilton’s series, she is a 27 year old celibate Christian who keeps strict moral codes in her life. However, one finds her supporting premarital sex and engaging in extra marital relations as the story progresses. However, Hamilton gives Anita a reason to go hog wild with sex, and in doing so she unbridged the gap between humans and monsters. In Cerulean Sin, Anita herself states, â€Å"one of my favourite things about hanging out with the monsters is the healing. Straight humans seemed to get killed on me a lot. Monsters survived. Let’s hear it for the monsters.† It is thus evident that Hamilton’s treatment of the theme of sex and sexuality assumes contemporary relevance. Nathan Brazil, reviewing Laurel K. Hamiilton’