Sunday, April 12, 2020
The Ron Clark Story free essay sample
In The Ron Clark Story, students are considered to be the bottom of the barrel. Most of the students do not have a wonderful home life and it is reflected onto their school work. For an example, a young boy named Tayshawn has a very disturbing and abusing home life and is not afraid to use violence on others. Badriyah ,even though she shows her eagerness to learn; she still manages to get bullied over her love for reading by her family and friends. Most of the teachers look at these children as ââ¬Å"worthlessâ⬠and ââ¬Å"trashâ⬠. In the beginning one student is actually standing in the trashcan because his teacher told him he was ââ¬Å"trashâ⬠and was not able to learn like the other students were capable of learning. The adults in the beginning come across as untrustworthy and quitters. The students are used to having new teachers come in and out of their lives. We will write a custom essay sample on The Ron Clark Story or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For example, when Mr. Clark first appears as the new teacher the students are willing to do all that they can to get him to leave. Adults are portrayed also as not caring because they simply havenââ¬â¢t even given the children the time of day, they donââ¬â¢t truly get to know the students and understand why they have problems. The student voice is initially engaged when Mr. Clark bring up his ââ¬Å"rulesâ⬠. He has students learn his rules and understands why he has them. He wants them to become a family inside the classroom, he wants their attention, and most importantly, he wants them to get excited about learning and about school. Late in the movie he plays a game with them involving chocolate milk. They initially were not working together, but they eventually came to a conclusion they could make him vomit. They of course did not like Mr. Clark so they realized if they worked together as a team, maybe he would get sick and vomit the chocolate milk everywhere. The biggest rule is that they are a Family. They all need to learn to respect each other and help support one another in the classroom. Mr Clark stumbles upon the school as an outsider and his first impression is a teacher having it out with a student and that actually was considered to be normal. It took Mr. Clark a few tries to finally get his rules across to the class. The students seem to be calmer and actually show signs of learning and growing as a class. The other teachers initially are stunned by what they are witnessing in the transformation of Mr. Clarks class. The principal seems to be the hardest to convince. He thinks that Mr. Clark is childish and his ââ¬Å"activitiesâ⬠in the classroom are not appropriate and he will eventually fail as the teacher. Towards the end of the movie he eventually starts to come around and even helps Mr. Clark with one of his students. Culture and Society is an important part of this move. Ron Clark is first introduced as a teacher from a very small town in North Carolina whose students are exceedingly smart and talented. He then makes a decision to go to New York to teach in Harlem. It is understood that these are some of the lowest educated schools in the country and most of the students come from a very rough background. Most students are considered to be in the poverty level and have grown up with violence. Even though the students are in New York, a huge culture shock is when Badriyah is speaking to Mr. Clark and her father interrupts her and tells her ââ¬Å"the men are speakingâ⬠. The student differences are the reason for most of the problems that the students face at school. Each student has a different culture, family background, and even one student comes from an abusive foster home. One of the students named Shameika comes from a single parent home and she is in charge of her brothers and sisters while her mother works two jobs. The result of her home life means she has no time for anything that is related to school. Tayshawn is a foster child who thinks that violence is always the answer. Badriyahs home life is dealing with a father who seems unsupportive and uninterested of her love for education so she is very shy when it comes to showing it. Mr. Clark is the only teaching that has actually stuck around and showed any interest in the students. He starts to receive potential from each student and eventually has them believing and helping each other. It takes one incident involving Shameika and her mother to actually understand that most of the students parents also do not believe in their children. Mr. Clark offers to help Shameika outside of class and helps her with daily house chores while she is able to do her homework. Her mother comes home and immediately jumps to the conclusion that Mr. Clark thinks she is a bad mother. It is not until Mr. Clark tells her mother that she is ââ¬Å"giftedâ⬠and has potential that the Mother finally sees and understand. The Ron Clark Story is relevant to this class because it teaches us that all the students we will come across as teachers will come from different backgrounds and have differences. It teaches us to stand up for our students, not to let them get discouraged and down about their learning style. Each child is unique in their own way and it should be embraced not hidden. Being a teacher is not just ââ¬Å"teaching by the bookâ⬠it finding your own fun and exciting way to teach children to learn. The movie is applicable to my life because it will help me remember that each student comes from different cultures and backgrounds and that they all have the ability to learn. It will also help me not to give up on my students and be someone that they are able to depend on and trust.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Top 10 Confused Words in English [A-B]
Top 10 Confused Words in English [A-B] Top 10 Confused Words in English [A-B] Top 10 Confused Words in English [A-B] By Maeve Maddox In compiling a list of the top ten confused words, itââ¬â¢s difficult to choose between simple misspellings and words whose meanings are mixed up in the mind of the writer. For example, the word altar (raised structure for sacrifice) is frequently misspelled as alter. The writer probably knows the difference between the noun altar and the verb alter, but hasnââ¬â¢t learned the fact that they are spelled differently. Likewise, the pair its/itââ¬â¢s usually tops lists of ââ¬Å"confused words,â⬠but it seems to me that writers who commit errors with this pair have problems with the correct use of the apostrophe in general. The words in the following list represent misunderstanding of the wordsââ¬â¢ meanings and not simply an inability to spell them correctly. Notice that this post covers words starting with the letters a and b. 1. affect / effect These two words have specialized meanings in psychology, but in ordinary speech and writing, affect is most often used as a verb meaning ââ¬Å"to act on or to cause a changeâ⬠and effect as a noun meaning ââ¬Å"a change that is the result of some actionâ⬠: How will the move to New Orleans affect the family? (verb) What is the effect of this move on the children? (noun) Note: Effect can also be used as a verb meaning ââ¬Å"to causeâ⬠or ââ¬Å"to bring aboutâ⬠: The new mayor has effected positive change in the police department. 2. advice / advise The error with this pair results from mispronunciation and failure to distinguish between a noun and a verb. The c in advice is pronounced with the sound of /s/. The s in advise is pronounced with he sound of /z/. Advice is a noun meaning ââ¬Å"recommendation regarding a decision.â⬠Advise is a verb meaning ââ¬Å"to recommendâ⬠: She always gives me good advice. (noun) What do you advise me to do? (verb) 3. aisle / isle Both words are nouns. An aisle is a passageway between rows of seats, shelves, or other fixtures or obstacles that people need to move between. An isle is an island: Youââ¬â¢ll find the children in the toy aisle. Robinson Crusoe was stranded on a desert isle. I want a modern kitchen with a work isle in the middle. 4. adverse / averse Both words are adjectives that imply a form of opposition. Something that acts against oneââ¬â¢s interests or well-being is adverse. The word averse describes feelings of repugnance towards something: The jury delivered an adverse verdict against the defendant. Ferris Bueller was averse to attending school that morning. 5. amoral / immoral Morals and morality relate to considerations of right or wrong. For anyone who has internalized a code of moral behavior, acting against it is immoral. For example, Macbeth acknowledges that it is wrong for a host to kill his guest, but he and his wife do it anyway. Their murder of Duncan is immoral. When the sharks in Jaws kill people, their behavior is amoral. They donââ¬â¢t feel that itââ¬â¢s wrong to kill a human being. Here are two examples of current uses of amoral: Nature isà amoral. Nature is neither good nor bad. It just is. Mr. David Coleman once said that no one really cares about what a student thinks and feels. What is important is writing and reading information text. Thus, the Common Core is an amoral curriculum. 6. appraise / apprise Appraise means ââ¬Å"to set a value on something.â⬠Apprise means ââ¬Å"to informâ⬠: A new Audemars-Piquet limited-edition womens pocket watch with Swiss movementà appraised atà $13,500. As stated inà Marby, only when it develops that the defendant was not fairly apprised of its consequences can his plea be challenged under the Due Process Clause. à 7. aural / oral The adjective aural relates to the ear or to hearing. The adjective oral relates to the mouth or speaking. The study investigatesà listeningà and auralà experience in a New York City community devoted to avant-garde jazz. A goodà oral presentationà is well structured; this makes it easier for the listener to follow. After the accident, Jones required extensive oral surgery. 8. bring / take Both of these verbs have multiple meanings, but as a pair, they form opposites in the context of conveying something from one place to another. Bring is ââ¬Å"to carry along from one place to another.â⬠The word implies motion towards the place where the speaker or auditor is. Take also means ââ¬Å"to carry something to another place,â⬠but the movement is away from a place. The Chicago Manual of Style explains the difference this way: The simple question is, where is the action directed? If itââ¬â¢s toward you, use bring (e. g., bring home the bacon). If itââ¬â¢s away from you, use take (e.g., take out the trash). You take (not bring) your car to the mechanic. 9. bated / baited The error with these words occurs in the idiom ââ¬Å"with bated breath.â⬠The error is to write baited for bated. In the context of the idiom, bated means ââ¬Å"in great suspense.â⬠In another context, baited means ââ¬Å"with bait attached,â⬠as in ââ¬Å"The hook is baited with a worm.â⬠10. broach / brooch Both words are pronounced the same. Broach is a verb meaning ââ¬Å"to open up.â⬠Literally, one might broach a cask of wine. Figuratively, one might broach a subject in conversation: I sat and waited in the awkward silence, trying to decide if I wanted toà broach theà subject ofà hisà hesitationà in Belgrave Square. Brooch is a noun. Originally, a brooch was used like a safety pin to fasten clothing together. Those who could afford it wore decorative brooches fashioned of precious metals set with precious stones. No longer essential to secure clothing, a brooch is usually just an ornament pinned to something: Create a choker necklace using a narrow scarf andà flashy brooch. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Signs and Symbols You Should Know"Owing to" vs "Due to"7 Sound Techniques for Effective Writing
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Judgement analysis paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1
Judgement analysis paper - Essay Example The key message of the book is that leaders are basically assessed by the quality of judgment they make throughout their occupation. It is always thought that judgment is something that cannot be learnt rather it is advocated to evolve over time. However, Tichy and Bennis have found method to assist leaders to improve their capability to make effective judgment. They also have articulated leadership judgment as a simple and understandable procedure. Leaders at every organizational level make judgment regarding employees, strategy and crisis situation. Tichy and Bennis demonstrated the type of knowledge required in order to make successful decision and how leaders can effectively use such knowledge in order to execute the judgments (Tichy and Bennis 1-285). In the first chapter, the authors proclaimed that effective leaders not only make better decisions but they are also capable of making the appropriate judgment. Effective leaders are those who are better at entire judgment procedure that starts from observing the requirement for an appeal of judgment, to framing the organizational issues, to figuring out the serious ones and to organizing as well as stimulating the teams towards accomplishing the organizational goal. Tichy and Bennis in their book have stated that there is a framework containing three crucial areas within which every judgment are made. Among various other judgments, the decision regarding people are most critical than decisions taken regarding strategy or on any crisis situation. The authors stated that effective judgment is a procedure rather than an event. Every judgment starts when a leader identify the requirement of taking decision and frame them accordingly. The procedures of making judgment continue through e xecution and alteration phases. The authors also stressed the significance of acquiring sufficient
Friday, February 7, 2020
Stroke, Communication and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Stroke, Communication and Management - Essay Example Unfortunately, this makes stroke the number six principal cause of disability in the entire world. It is indeed the case that the incidence of stroke worldwide is very alarming. Nonetheless, despite its common occurrence worldwide, it is not often obvious to people why this particular illness takes place. Not all are aware of how this disease attacks and causes permanent disability or even death to its sufferers. According to Sims and Muyderman (2009: 80 ââ¬â 91), stroke happens when the blood supply to the brain is disturbed because of blockage of the blood flow or loss or leakage of blood. Given this, the oxygen supply to the brain cells is interrupted causing damage and death to the cells. Given this case, a permanent neurological impairment is more probably the outcome in which according to Donnan, Macleod and Davis (2008: 1612 ââ¬â 1620) is due to the improper functioning of the affected area of the brain. True enough, the common disability outcomes of stroke are as foll ows: impairing the vision, paralysis or the lack of ability to move one or more limbs on a side of the body, loss of sensation on a side of the body, difficulties in swallowing, loss of thinking or intellectual capacity, loss of memory, transformation of the emotional aspect and/ or damaging the capacity to communicate competently due to problems in speech, difficulties in expressing words and trouble of understanding (Irish Heart Foundation, no date: 13 ââ¬â 16). In addition to that, stroke affects its survivors in making them feel frail and weak on one side of their body (US Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality, 1995: 3). It likewise impacts the individual to have problems with balance and coordination since their muscles are not that strong enough as compared to those muscles prior to the attack (US Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality, 1995: 3). Oftentimes, as a result of the attack, they happen to be numb, have problems with controlling their bladder and bowel, and make them feel depressed (US Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality (1995: 3). Given the permanent damage to the ability of the stroke sufferer to express himself or herself and at some points, to be understood, communication with the sufferer of the particular illness has a certain difficulty indeed. This is because after the attack of stroke, the life of the sufferer has most likely changed. As such, this requires an enormous amount of patience for everyone, in particular to the caregivers and to the family members, who has the most interaction with the stroke survivor. However, this raises a question of what kind of treatment and management should be done by the individuals around the patient who has suffered from stroke when interacting with them, in particular, in terms of communication. To make an effective communication with a person who has suffered from stroke, it is important to note that there are a number of general considerations. First and foremost, it is deeme d important to take into consideration that due to a stroke, the individual sufferer may undergo some impaired movement or skills that can be temporary or permanent. Given such difficulties, it must be understood that this is not easy physically, psychologically and emotionally for the patient. We all know and experience how frustrating it is to feel not understood. This is one of the difficulties that the stroke patient is going
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Victorian author Essay Example for Free
Victorian author Essay Victorian authors and painters give a good representation of what life must have been like for the people of that period. John Ritchieââ¬â¢s painting, ââ¬Å"A Summerââ¬â¢s Day in Hyde Parkâ⬠, for instance shows that, while people in the Victorian era might have been overly-dressed, they certainly were not without their fair share of amusement. In the bottom, right hand corner of the painting, a gentleman can be seen rowing a lady (perhaps his wife) and a young girl (perhaps his daughter), home in a boat. The entire family has come to the beach for an outing a site less often seen in modern days, where families (and especially elderly relatives) tend to be a bit sedentary. Meanwhile, in the background of the picture, A gentleman can be seen riding by in a carriage, tipping his hat to his neighbors as he passes. The writing of Victorian authors suggests that the fact that a man ownââ¬â¢s a carriage means he has some wealth. In William Thackerayââ¬â¢s Vanity Fair, for instance, Becky Sharp comments that the ââ¬Å"acquirement of that dignified deportment and carriageâ⬠is ââ¬Å"requisite for every young lady of fashion. â⬠(Thackaray, 2005, p. 1) In the left hand corner of the painting, an officer in a red coat can be seen resting wearily on the bench next to a lady who seems to be paying no attention to him at all. The lady next to her may be giving the officer some attention, but it is impossible to tell, because her face has no detail. It is merely a blotch of paint. Still, because her head is tilted upward, it seems reasonable to believe she might be speaking to the officer. Indeed, if there is any truth to how Victorian authors portray the importance of soldiers to young women, then the viewer can be fairly certain that she is attending to the officer. For in William Thackerayââ¬â¢s Vanity Fair, officers are some of the most ardent admirers of the main characters, Miss Sharp and Miss Amelia. Although there is much merriment depicted in Ritchieââ¬â¢s painting, there is something disturbing about the way he treats the subject of children. Many of them are in the painting, but only one seems to be looked after. Her grandparents, rather than her parents seem to be doing the watching. The reason for this can be seen in Victorian author Charlotte Bronteââ¬â¢s writing, which suggests that children in the Victorian era were sometimes looked upon as inferior to adults. In Jane Eyre, Bronte describes a situation in which Janeââ¬â¢s Aunt says to her the following: Jane, I dont like cavillers or questioners; besides, there is something truly forbidding in a child taking up her elders in that manner. Be seated somewhere; and until you can speak pleasantly, remain silent. (Bronte, 2005, p. 1) It is no wonder, then, that Ritchieââ¬â¢s adults pay such little attention to their children. In conclusion, Victorian painters and authors show that the Victorian era was one of leisure for wealthy adults, but not, perhaps, the most nurturing environment for children. Works Cited Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. 2005. Classic Reader. 19 July 2007. http://www. classicreader. com/read. php/bookid. 31/sec. 1/ Thackaray, William. Vanity Fair. 2005. Classic Reader. 19 July 2007. http://www. classicreader. com/read. php/bookid. 91/sec. 2/kw. acquirement+of+that+dignified/
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Alcohol and Alcoholism Essay -- Drinking Binge Alcoholic Effects Essay
Alcohol and Alcoholism Alcohol is a drug, but unlike the other drugs, marijuana, cocaine, heroine, and probably all the others for some reason this is socially accepted and is legal. Alcohol is bad for you and does have long term affects associated with it. Such as the long addiction to it, effects on the body, and the social interaction effects. Alcohol, and alcoholism is common in America, but drinking is more common around kids. Social drinking a term kids and drinkers have come accustom to, social drinking is defined by one standard drink per hour, and no more than 3 per day, but some people just socialize around people that drink as heavily as they do and confuse that for social drinking. Addiction to alcohol can be acquired easily if not careful, binge drinking and family history are all keys in the identification of addiction. Family history could be linked to alcoholism by finding out if your family had problems in the past with alcohol, and it is determined by studies that genes have effects on alcohol. Alcohol is a drug, but legal unlike the other drugs on the street, in my opinion drugs are all harmful to the body, and can have serious problems to you in the long run. Alcohol can effect the body in multiple ways. The tranquilizing effects of being drunk, acts like a stimulate, but is a depressant, and causes the brain to lower self control, and impairs vision, other senses and effects bodily coordination. This tranquilizing e... Alcohol and Alcoholism Essay -- Drinking Binge Alcoholic Effects Essay Alcohol and Alcoholism Alcohol is a drug, but unlike the other drugs, marijuana, cocaine, heroine, and probably all the others for some reason this is socially accepted and is legal. Alcohol is bad for you and does have long term affects associated with it. Such as the long addiction to it, effects on the body, and the social interaction effects. Alcohol, and alcoholism is common in America, but drinking is more common around kids. Social drinking a term kids and drinkers have come accustom to, social drinking is defined by one standard drink per hour, and no more than 3 per day, but some people just socialize around people that drink as heavily as they do and confuse that for social drinking. Addiction to alcohol can be acquired easily if not careful, binge drinking and family history are all keys in the identification of addiction. Family history could be linked to alcoholism by finding out if your family had problems in the past with alcohol, and it is determined by studies that genes have effects on alcohol. Alcohol is a drug, but legal unlike the other drugs on the street, in my opinion drugs are all harmful to the body, and can have serious problems to you in the long run. Alcohol can effect the body in multiple ways. The tranquilizing effects of being drunk, acts like a stimulate, but is a depressant, and causes the brain to lower self control, and impairs vision, other senses and effects bodily coordination. This tranquilizing e...
Monday, January 13, 2020
Jay Gatsby And Halvard Solness As Victims Of Their Own Dreams Essay
Do both Halvard Solness in Henrik Ibsenââ¬â¢s The Master Builder, and Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s The Great Gatsby, destroy themselves in pursuit of their dreams? Clearly, they do, and while their dreams are quite different, they pursue them to ultimately tragic ends. Solness and Gatsby are alike in this critical way. Both Solness and Gatsby are men of considerable material success. Gatsby occupies a mansion in West Egg, New York, a magnificent copy of a French hotel de ville (Great Gatsby 5), from which he pursues a career as a Tremalchio (Great Gatsby 113), opening his house weekly for ostentatious parties open to anyone caring to wander in. (Great Gatsby 39-56). Solness is the master builder, a man at the peak of his powers, able to lord himself over others, although trying frantically to hold on to his position. (Beyer. 171; Master Builder 272 (ââ¬Å"New. Not the sort of old-fashioned rubbish I generally build. â⬠) But Solness has acquired that position by destroying almost everything else that has been of any value, in essence, by killing any dreams he had. Because of his desire to become a master builder, he has lost his wifeââ¬â¢s children, her capacity through raising children to ââ¬Å"buildâ⬠them into fine people, his willingness to build churches, and his faith. (Beyer, 171-74, Clurman 174-75) By his actions, he has reduced his wife to ââ¬Å"a tomb. â⬠(Clurman 175) Even as master home builder he feels that what he is doing is hollow and pointless. ââ¬Å"Building homes for human beingsââ¬âis not worth a brass farthing, Hilde. â⬠(Master Builder 342) Into his life comes Hilda Wangel, whom he had met and inspired ten years earlier when she was merely a child. She calls him to retrieve the dreams that he then held. She challenges him to overcome his guilt over the many things that he has done by which he has made himself into a financial success but a remarkably small, cramped, and limited person, and in a physical way to overcome his fear of heights. In the end, at her urging, he tries to break free from his confined life. He climbs to the top of the tower on a new house he has had built, trying to master his dread of heights in an effort to repeat the wreathing ceremony which was where he first met Hilda ten years early, at the construction of the last church he ever built. (Beyer 171-74). Solness has lived much of his life tormented by what he did to gain his first major project. He wanted a fire to occur at the home his wife had inherited from her parents, an ugly, barn-like structure, so that he could build in the land. The fire came, but afterwards his wife grew sick, and her fever spread to her infant twins, killing them. (Master Builder 313 (ââ¬Å"the fire was the making of me as a builder. â⬠) 314, 319-21) Wracked by guilt, he now feels old, on the edge of losing his powers, and he is haunted by what he has done and by what he has failed to do. Possessed of a sickly and fragile conscience, he regrets the limited nature of his life. (Clurman 171-72; Bentley 31) Solness is afraid of youth. Though arguably at the peak of his powers, he fears that younger people, such as his subordinate Ragnar will overtake him. ( Clurman 174) In accepting Hildeââ¬â¢s challenge, Solness tries to break out of the pettiness in which he has lived and to return to something that he had idealized in his youth. (Bentley 30) To do this, he challenges his own fear of heights, insisting on climbing to the top of the new house he has just finished, to drape a wreath over the highest spire. (Forester 10) He overcomes his fears, and atop the house, he appears momentarily to be arguing with someone else who is there. (Master Builder 354 (ââ¬Å"He is disputing with someone. â⬠)) This is apparently his attempt to come to some final reconciliation with God, whom he had renounced ten years earlier in his climbing of the last church he built. (Master Builder 349) In climbing the tower to try to put the wreath over the uppermost spire, Solness is undertakes the great risk that he will be overcome by his dizziness and fear of heights. Nevertheless, he feels that he must do this, futile as it might be, to revive the dreams that he once had. (Gilman 110-111) While his wife and friends tremble at his recklessness, Hilde sees it as the fulfillment of his destiny. (Master Builder 353-54) When he plunges head-first into a quarry, smashing in his skull, she claims him, ââ¬Å"My . . . my master builder. â⬠(Master Builder 354) This is not wild cruelty. When she saw him ten years earlier, placing the wreath on the church spire, he inspired her. She has lived on that inspiration, and wants him to return to that glorious moment when he so moved her, rather than living with the defeats he has borne. (Beyer 175-76) Unlike Solness, Jay Gatsby is not called back to a dream in order to pursue a youthful woman. Nor did he destroy his dream in order to achieve his fabulous wealth. Rather, his dream of obtaining the woman he adores has driven him to obtain wealth as a necessary means to pursuing the woman. Gatsby believed that as a young lieutenant stationed at a camp outside Louisville, he had found his ultimate prize in the person of Daisy Fay, the socialite who was seeing several young officers each day. (Great Gatsby 148-50) He believed he lost her because of the army, the war, and the lack of the resources with which to compete with the likes of Tom Buchanan. Now, just a few years later, free from the Army and free from poverty, he wants to retake his one great and compelling dream. Gatsby is chasing Daisy as the ultimate symbol of success, and while it is a philistine success (Fussell 34), he yearns for it with his whole being. Part of what Gatsby seeks is a wistful longing for a dream that may never have been real. (Stern 105; Great Gatsby 182) There is a naive idealism in Gatsby, the ââ¬Å"heightened sensitivity to the promises of lifeâ⬠(Great Gatsby 2; Gross & Gross 164) that Gatsby inspired in the narrator Nick Carroway. At the same time, while Carroway tells Gatsby, ââ¬Å"Youââ¬â¢re worth the whole damn bunch put togetherâ⬠(Great Gatsby 154), he carefully points out that this is the only compliment he ever paid to the man, whom he still disliked profoundly. (Great Gatsby 154, 2 (ââ¬Å"Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn. â⬠)). Gatsby stands as a marvel of contradictions. On the one hand, he pursues Daisy with the faith of the true believer. He values and revalues things through her eyes, bestowing on her a romanticââ¬â¢s adoration of an ideal that is not quite real, and indeed, as it becomes real, it loses its significance. (Great Gatsby 92, 94) At the same time, he is willing to use whatever means are necessary to gain the means with which to court Daisy, dealing with Meyer Wolfshiem, the man who fixed the World Series (Great Gatsby 69-74, 114, 134) bootlegging (Great Gatsby 109, 134) and trading in illicit bonds. (Great Gatsby 95, 167) From the outset, Gatsbyââ¬â¢s dream is doomed because he fails to realize that in the end, Daisy Buchanan will be so fundamentally careless. As the narrator says, ââ¬Å"They were careless people, Tom and Daisyââ¬âthey smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made. â⬠(Great Gatsby 180-81) Gatsby accurately sums her up: ââ¬Å"ââ¬ËHer voice is full of money,ââ¬â¢ he said suddenly. //That was it. Iââ¬â¢d never understood before. It was full of money ââ¬â that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbalsââ¬â¢ song of it. . . . high in a white palace the kingââ¬â¢s daughter, the golden girl. . . â⬠(Great Gatsby 120) But Gatsby fails to realize that money, and critically the comprehensive security that it represents are essentially all that drive Daisy. While she will gladly come over to spend her afternoons with Gatsby (Great Gatsby 114), and while she will curse Tom Buchanan for the thoughtless trysts he has with any convenient hotel chambermaid (Great Gatsby 78), in the end, she will cling to him rather than risk going away with Gatsby. Eventually, she drives Gatsbyââ¬â¢s great yellow car into Myrtle Wilson, races away into the night (Great Gatsby 144-45), and then assumes a stony silence when Gatsby is condemned for the murder. When George Wilson, wild with rage and grief, comes to her house, she allows her husband to point him to Gatsbyââ¬â¢s house (Great Gatsby 180), where Wilson kills first Gatsby and then himself, completing the holocaust. (Great Gatsby 162-63) Gatsby believes, with an unalterable faith, that by showing Daisy the towering wealth he has accumulated, if by questionable and never quite clarified means (Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s letter to Maxwell Perkins), he can take her back to the world as it was when they first met. He has a hard time grasping such basic matters as that Daisy has had a child by Tom (Great Gatsby p. 117), and cannot understand that in the end, she will stay with this incredibly wealthy if insensitive brute, because of the stability he offers. In the end, the great tragedy of Jay Gatsby is that he believed so fervently that if he could establish himself with the wealth that he had lacked when he first met Daisy as a young army lieutenant, his passion for her would be enough to pry her away from anyone who lacked the passion and purity of purpose that he drove him on. Daisy never put the value on this purity of purpose that Gatsby had. Thus, both of these men are destroyed by their dreams. Yet dreaming is a great human capacity, and it seems that as long as there are people, they will dream, and in dreaming, risk their destruction. SOURCES USED: Bentley, Eric. ââ¬Å"Ibsen: Pro and Con. â⬠Theatre Arts. 34:39-43 (July 1950), reprinted in Henrik Ibsen. Harold Bloom, ed. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999). Beyer, Edvard. Ibsen: The Man and His Work. (New York, New York: Taplinger Publishing Co. 1978) Clurman, Harold. Ibsen (New York, New York: MacMillan Publishing Co. , 1977). Fitzgerald, F. Scott, Letter to Maxwell Perkins (Dec. 20, 1924) The Letters of F. Scott Fitzgerald. (New York, New York: Charles Scribnerââ¬â¢s Sons, 1963), pp. 172-73, ), reprinted in F. Scott Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s The Great Gatsby. Harold Bloom, ed. (Broomail, Pennsylvania: Chelsea House Publishers, 1996). Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. (New York, New York: Charles Scribnerââ¬â¢s Sons, 1925). Forester, E. M. ââ¬Å"Ibsen the Romantic. â⬠reprinted in Henrik Ibsen. Harold Bloom, ed. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999). Fussell, Edwin S. ââ¬Å"Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s Brave New World. â⬠ELH. 19:296-97 (Dec. 1952), reprinted in F. Scott Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s The Great Gatsby. Harold Bloom, ed. (Broomail, Pennsylvania: Chelsea House Publishers, 1996). Gilman, Richard. ââ¬Å"Ibsen and the Making of Modern Drama. â⬠The Making of Modern Drama. reprinted in Henrik Ibsen. Harold Bloom, ed. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)