Free Pride and Prejudice Essays: Narrative Techniques :: Pride Prejudice Essays

Narrative Techniques of Pride and Prejudice This essay will focus on Chapter 53 or Vol III, Chapter 11, depending upon the edition of the novel. This passage is taken from Bingley and Darcy's first visit to Longbourn after their return to Meryton. The passage focuses on Mrs Bennet's foolishness and Elizabeth's feelings about the proceedings. Mrs Bennet's speeches in the passage point to her ignorance, which is part of Austen's narrative technique of letting characters reveal themselves through their speech. The effect is particularly comic due to Mrs. Bennet's utter ignorance, which manifests itself in moral insensitivity, as seen in her belief that Lydia is "well married" in her disgraceful union with Wickham, and in lack of simple knowledge, as seen in her commenting that Newcastle is "a place quite northward, it seems." Because of this, she manages to be obsequiously polite yet quite rude, as we can see from the contrast between her invitation for Bingley to shoot birds on Mr Bennet's manor "When you have killed all your own birds" and her insult to Darcy that Wickham has "not so many [friends] as he deserves." Austen uses a similar treatment for Mr Collins, whose sycophantic language is even used when he is criticising Elizabeth's class [?] in his proposal to her, and whose excessive praise makes him utterly ridiculo us. The length of Mrs Bennet's speeches betray[s] the fact that although she says much, she thinks and means very little, [very good.] a technique which is repeated in Mr Collins's speeches and letters and on Lady Catherine's argument against Elizabeth marrying Darcy on her visit to Longbourn. This is emphasised here by the fact that she is the only one quoted in direct speech as speaking aloud in the whole passage. Despite Elizabeth's sense, her own feelings are kept to herself while her mother chatters away indiscreetly on anything that enters her mind. Elizabeth's poor reasoning as she listens to her mother disgrace herself shows the extent of her shame and misery. Although this scene is largely seen from the viewpoint of Elizabeth, Austen sometimes speaks as the omniscient narrator to reveal little ironies about Elizabeth herself. For example, after Elizabeth feels that "The first wish of my heart... is never more to be in company with either of them", which the reader should know to be silly, especially with regard to

Arranged marriage Essay

? â€Å"Literature is the mirror of life† is one of the main quotes which our lecturer, Mr. Puveneswaran keep on telling to us in his every lesson. This quote answered my question which I asked myself since the first lesson of Literature in English. A great literature is the mirror upon which the realities of life are reflected. A term that used to describe written or spoken material is known as literature. By studying this subject, I could understand that literature is all about the obsession with ideas and also a way in which we can capture and interpret what has happened and is happening to us personally and to the world as a whole. Broadly speaking, the study of literature allows people to develop new ideas and ethical standpoints and can help individuals to present themselves as educated members of society. There are many short stories that I have studied in this semester such as A Dream of China, The Mahogany Table, No Place For A Woman and so on. As the requirement of my coursework, I choose two short stories such as Everything’s Arranged and Dey Raju. This Everything’s Arranged by Siew Yee Killingley tells about a Ceylonese girl named Rukumani having secret affair with a Ceylonese boy named Devanayagam while studying at University. Their secret affair discovered by their parents. Rukumani have struggle and suffer because of their family members, relatives and their community as they try to get together in life. The Ceylonese, however educated, still hold to their tradition, beliefs and family values so adamantly. At the end their marriage was called off. Dey Raju by Saras M Manickam is a story about a boy named Raju. Raju’s father arranged a marriage for him. Raju wrongly saw the ‘bride’. He refuses to get married because the lady that he thought his bride was fat. Amazingly, he found out that the fat lady was not his bride. His bride was beautiful. Raju got to know the truth and talked to his bride. They both love each other. According to Mathew Arnold, literary criticism is a disinterested endeavor to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world. Using the theories and principles of theoretical criticism, the practical critic defines the standards of taste and explains, evaluates, or justifies a particular piece of literature. Since there are a few literary criticisms in those two short stories, I found cultural criticism is the most suitable one for those two short stories that I have been chosen. Cultural criticism is known as criticism or analysis of a specific culture and society on a continuing basis with the end result being some sort of practical solution being found to fix any problems. In the Everything’s Arranged short story, Indian culture is well depicted and portrayed. As a Ceylonese, Rukumani’s parents believe that marriage is a spiritual thing and if a girl has an affair with a guy before marriage, it is considered as a sin. The girls shouldn’t be in love before marriage. This can be clearly seen when a man who is a visitor to Rukumani’s house said that â€Å"When we were young our mother never mentioned the word ‘marriage’ to any of my seven sisters until two days before they were to be married. Everything fixes first, then talk. † We can know that they are very possessive and exposed to Indian culture that were truly practiced when Rukumani’s mother scolded her by telling that Rukumani have been so brazen and shameless as to spoilt yourself with her beloved ones. Even though she protested herself that she never did anything wrong, her mother cried and told her not to tell about shameful things. I also found evidence for the culture that they belief where the girls shouldn’t choose a guy as their life partner by themselves. For an example, â€Å"How dare you choose somebody for yourself? † wept her mother. Moreover, sex is an issue that cannot be mentioned in home. There was stated that Rukumani’s parents liked to pretend Rukumani was too spiritual to know anything about sex and that topic was never mentioned at home. The Ceylonese, however educated, still hold to their tradition, beliefs and family values so adamantly. Education failed to change their thinking. Social life is a taboo for their young sons what more for a daughter. Dey Raju is one of the most favorite short stories of mine where I found the pure love between married to be couple. The cultural criticism in this short story is arranged marriage. Raju who works in Kuala Lumpur received a telegram from his father states that â€Å"Marriage arranged. Come immediately†. Even though he hasn’t seen his bride, he agreed to his father’s statement and went back to his hometown immediately by train without thinking for a second. When the mates at work ribbed Raju mercilessly about marrying a bride that he had never seen before, he said that â€Å"Mine was traditional Indian culture with five thousand years of history. By golly, I was proud of it†. This shows that Raju is still conservation and holds his Tamil culture which is arranged marriage. This is also can be clearly seen when an elderly neighbor from home, Auntie Rukku asked him whether he has set eyes on his bride and know his bride’s name or  not. â€Å"It’s our tradition, Auntie Rukku† replied Raju. It is being a common thing to modern culture where people can find their own spouses and didn’t depend on their parents but yet Raju follows the Indian culture. In a conclusion, I could understand more clearly and well about cultural criticism by reading and interpreting those two short stories. I also able to know that the formal study of literature enables us to explain our responses to any text, allows us to articulate the function of literature in an academic and a personal way.

Euthanasia Essay - 1385 Words

Euthanasia Euthanasia, specifically voluntary euthanasia has been a taboo subject for many decades in this, and other countries. Euthanasia, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary – bringing about of this, especially in the case of incurable and painful disease- comes from the Greek word euthanatos, meaning – a gentle and easy death. It is commonly known as death with dignity given to those who want the choice to die. No one can prevent death. The can only prolong it. Many people solicit their physicians to aid in the quick and easy death. Doctors, aware of ethics of their chosen profession, and consequences of their actions, especially malpractice suits, often refuse the request (www.euthanasia.org/ve.html). Involuntary†¦show more content†¦A Living Will is a signed document by a person, giving advanced notice have life-saving procedures withheld or discontinued at the time of serious illness or injury should that person not be able to make decisi ons. It has been argued that Living Wills can be deceptive and vague to the signer, leaving them open to many abuses. Trying to prevent medical treatment measures at the end of their lives may inadvertently cause their own starvation and dehydration. They are also unnecessary at times. People already have the right to make informed consent. Doctors already have the right to withhold treatment deemed as useless. Living Wills should be used when patients are unable to make the decision for themselves. The strategy used by groups such as Concern for Dying, the Society for the Right to Die, and the Hemlock Society is to condition public acceptance of assisted suicide, mercy killing, and legalized euthanasia (www.pregnantpause.org/euth/soundgoo.htm). With growing international support, doctors are accepting patient’s requests for active voluntary euthanasia (www.euthanasia.org/ve.html). The American Medical Association (AMA) is well known for their pro-abortion campaigns and funding. Ironically, the AMA funds many hospices and other palliative care centers. They have a firm stand on life. The AMA has initiated the Institute for Ethics, designed to educated physicians on alternative medical approaches to euthanasia duringShow MoreRelatedEuthanasia Essay : Euthanasia And Euthanasia863 Words   |  4 PagesThis is why Euthanasia is important and summarizing the research that I found on Euthanasia. Euthanasia is important because there is a lot of arguments about Euthanasia. Some people support it and some people do not support Euthanasia (Euthanasia and assisted suicide- Arguments). Euthanasia allows people to be free from physical pain. It is the hastening of death of a patient to prevent further sufferings (Euthanasia Revisited). The religious argument states God chooses when human life ends. EuthanasiaRead MoreEuthanasia Essays : Euthanasia And Euthanasia1432 Words   |  6 PagesDoes euthanasia assists patients to die with dignity? From fresh to dying, is the humanity multiplies the development natural law. Along with medicine progress and life enhancement, the people besides pay attention to eugenics, simultaneous starts to pay attention to the euthanasia. Since this century 50 ages, regarding euthanasia, many countries’ medical arenas, educational world, and ethical groups have been arguing about the euthanasia argument for many years, although many person of ideas haveRead MoreThe Debate Of Euthanasia And Euthanasia1429 Words   |  6 PagesINTRODUCTION: The debate of euthanasia is an ongoing one that’s shrouded with much controversy and ambiguity regarding the ethics of it in contemporary Australian society. However, the frequency of this topic being debated by physicians, influential figures and the media has become more prominent now than ever. In particular, in association with its impending legislation within Australian states. (The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists,2012) Various types of euthanasia are recognised,Read MoreEuthanasia Essay : Euthanasia And Euthanasia Essay1223 Words   |  5 Pages Euthanasia James Dudley Euthanasia continues to be an ongoing issue in modern society. Over the course of history, there has been a multitude of debates that have tried to justify assisted suicide, or euthanasia. Gallup’s study in 2013 openly shows this statistic by showing that over 75 percent of Americans trust that euthanasia should be acceptable. However, what Americans don’t comprehend is that making any form of euthanasia legal infringes upon the right to life as stated in the constitutionRead MoreThe Issue Of Euthanasia And Euthanasia2073 Words   |  9 Pageslife is beyond toleration or they feel as though there is no point to living, the issue of euthanasia often arises. Euthanasia is technically defined as â€Å"the act or practice of killing someone who is very sick or injured in order to prevent any more suffering†. In america people have the right to end their life. The topic of euthanasia is one that is highly disputed among people over the world.† Euthanasia means killing someone who is very sick to prevent more suffering† (Weaver 1). An example ofRead MoreEuthanasi Euthanasia And Euthanasia1515 Words   |  7 Pagesetymology of the word ‘euthanasia’ originates from the Greek language which has a literal meaning of â€Å"good death†. Other names for euthanasia are ‘assisted suicide’ and ‘mercy killing’. Euthanasia is done when the person is suffering from a terminal illness such as cancer, and then steps are taken to end the person’s life so that they no longer have to suffer. [Helga Kuhse. July 1992. Bioethics News. The World Federation of Right to Die Societies. http://www.worldrtd.net/euthanasia-fact-sheet. AccessedRead MoreEuthanasia And The Death Of Euthanasia1351 Words   |  6 Pagesfor the dying who request euthanasia to be able to end their suffering. Euthanasia is con sidered a â€Å"gentle and easy death† because it comes from the Greek words, Eu meaning good and Thanatosis meaning death. Euthanasia is illegal in most of the United States. However, assisted suicide, is legal in six different states. The states that assisted suicide is legal in are California, Oregon, Colorado, Washington DC, Vermont and Washington. The key difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide is whoRead MoreEuthanasia Essay : The Euthanasia989 Words   |  4 Pagesthe euthanasia process and what to expect. The euthanasia can take place in the privacy of your own home or you may choose to have it done at your veterinarian’s office. Your veterinarian may offer at home euthanasia or you may be able to locate a veterinary service that does at home euthanasia such as Home To Heaven. This is a personal choice and should be made with you and your pet’s comfort in mind. Additionally, you may want to decide if you wish to be present during the eu thanasia. SomeRead MoreEuthanasi Euthanasia And Euthanasia861 Words   |  4 PagesEuthanasia, the practice of medically terminating life in order to relieve pain and suffering of a patient, has been a complex and controversial topic since its conception. In ancient Greece and Rome attitudes toward active euthanasia, and suicide had tended to be tolerant. However, the rise of the Christian faith reinforced the views of the Hippocratic Oath, a swearing of ethical conduct historically taken by physicians. This shift concluded a medical consensus in opposition of euthanasia. IssuesRead MoreThe Debate About Euthanasia And Euthanasia1631 Words   |  7 PagesThe debates about euthanasia date all the way back to the 12th century. During this time, Christian values increased the public’s opinion against euthanasia. The church taught its followers that euthanasia not only injured individual people and their communities, but also violated God’s authority over life. This idea spread far and wide throughout the public until the 18th century when the renaissance and reformation writers attacked the church and its teachings. However, the public did not pay much