Friday, September 6, 2019
Joyces treatment of Epiphanies Essay Example for Free
Joyces treatment of Epiphanies Essay Explore Joyces treatment of Epiphanies in some of the stories you have studied. In literally every of story of Joyce studied so far we could discover one or more epiphanies. This term is generally used as a description of any sudden moments of understanding or sense of revelation. Joyce himself once described them as sudden spiritual manifestations, whether in the vulgarity of speech or gesture or in a memorable phase of the mind itself. I will try to fathom these epiphanies and Joyces use of them in the following. The story I am going to start with is An Encounter, which happens to be at an early stage of Joyces chronological order in Dubliners childhood. It mainly deals with a bunch of younger school boys, who live a rather sheltered childhood in catholic Dublin, reading stories about the Wild West, playing Indian fights, and having parents who go to eight-oclock mass every morning. Inspired by the stories read in their Wild West booklets, Leo Dillon, Mahony and the narrator decide to have their own little adventure and plan a day out of school, playing truant and going to see the so called Pigeon House at the other end of Dublin. However, in the next morning they are starting their journey without Leo Dillon. Mahony freely comments: Come along. I knew Fattyd funk it. When the two boys, after a long voyage, still havent arrived at their destination, they agree to give up their initial plan and just to rest some time on a bench in a field. After a few calm minutes Mahony and the Narrator discover an older man approaching at the far end of the field, shabbily dressed and walking with one hand upon his hip and a stick in the other hand. Having arrived at the bench with the two young boys on it, he wishes a good-day and starts to talk about the weather. Suggesting the boys that the happiest time of ones life was undoubtedly ones schoolboy days, the bores Mahony and the narrator, who nevertheless keep silent. In the following, the old man talks, mainly to the narrator, about literature and, from there, changes the subject to totties. He expresses a very liberal point of view about young peoples lives Every boy, he said, has a little sweetheart. Silence follows a long monologue of the old man about young girls and other things the speaker admits not actually to understands, which implies us that it could be about sexual allusions as the two boys are still quite young. The man stands up and walks to the near end of the field. Arrived there, he does something that wakes Mahonys interest: I say! Look what he is doing and a bit later I say Hes a queer old josser which suggests us that the man might be, excited by two little boys, masturbating just a few meters away from them. Some minutes later, he comes back and again starts a monologue, but it seems he has forgotten his recent liberalism: In language influenced by sadism he states that school boys should be whipped and whipped again, especially if they told lies about their sweethearts, he would give them such a whipping as no boy ever got in this world. Calmly, the narrator departs, obviously worried by behaviour and stories of the old man, and joins Mahony who has gone away, into the field, earlier. Together they leave the place. Back to the epiphanies: the first one we can find is apparently the moment when Mahony finds the old man masturbating only a few meters off. No matter if the boys actually know what he is doing, it is definitely a so called sudden spiritual manifestation: they know that what the man is doing there is strange for them, and it abruptly changes the way they look at him. Although there is no physical threat for them at that moment, Mahony and the speaker feel worried and confused, and one of them even runs away after having seen this. Although directly related to the old mans behaviour linked to the first epiphany, we can find another one when he is back and talking again: the way he speaks and his opinions have changed so drastically that there must be another strange awakening in the speakers mind. We feel reminded of a definition of an epiphany mentioned earlier: It is a sudden spiritual manifestation in the vulgarity of speech and gesture. The third and last epiphany, I suggest, might be found at the very end of the story, when the boys are just about to leave, to finish their day off and start the journey back home: they now realize that they have really find out what their adventure was like: they have met a sexually sick bloke instead of having an exciting day in Dublin, visiting a sight and enjoying themselves. A second example for Joyces treatment of epiphanies could be the short story After the Race. Unlike An Encounter it deals with adolescence, and tells about what happens on a particular evening in paralysed Dublin. Four young people return to Dublin. They have just taken part in a car race, and have won the second place. The group is made up of a French man, a French-Canadian, a Hungarian and Doyle, a Dubliner. Through Doyle, Joyce shows the ambitions and aspirations of middle class Dublin. His father was a butcher, but had been fortunate enough to secure some police contracts and had become rich enough to be referred to as the merchant prince. The father has plans for his son Doyle is first sent to Cambridge, to study, where he first encounters international upper class lifestyle, not the one he knows from Dublin. Studies do not particularly interest him, and he returns to Dublin. Doyle could be called a typical rich son, and he is highly interested in music and motoring. He got to know a member of the racing team, and is now elated to be entering Dublin in the teams company. That evenings Dinner is a matter that causes great excitement in Doyles family, as it shows father and mother that the ir son has arrived arrived in the world of jet-set and international playboys, as they think. However, Joyce doesnt reject to admit that Dublin wasnt actually a metropolis as it seemed to be then: That night the city wore the mask of a capital. The company of the young men is heady. They talk loudly and gaily. And when they stroll along Stephens Green, people on the road make way for them. I think Joyce wants to imply here how much the odour of wealth and internationality are worshipped in Dublin another allusion on the paralysis he finds in Dublin in those times. They team makes its way to a yacht, where the go on celebrating themselves happily. The party continues with game where money is staked Doyle loses heavily, but who cares on such a night? The party ends up with the Hungarian, who unlike Doyle realized that this isnt his world, retired from the game, announcing Daybreak, gentlemen! In this story, we find another way of use of epiphanies: Joyce keeps it until the very end until he uses the epiphany with the Hungarian reminding the team that it is time to wake up and face the realities of a normal day. This shows Doyle that the last twelve hours were just an illusion and that he cant actually cope with the standard of these international jet-setters. He has lost far more money than he can afford and has to realize that he is just a Dubliner and that Dublin hasnt got its place in a line-up of the international capitals. Joyces use of the epiphany is remarkable, as it wasnt to the very end of the story that he effectively used it. For the whole time, Joyce left Jimmy Doyle and us in the imagination that the Dubliner could actually cope with his colleagues until he abruptly drops him out of his dream world. So far we could discover quite a different use of epiphanies in two of Joyces stories: used three times in An Encounter, opening different point of views for the boys of the day and of the old man, Joyce uses, in contrast, only one epiphany in After the Race, which in itself, however, is much sharper and more abrupt. While in After the race the epiphany is used at the very end only, they are spread wider in An Encounter. Both stories epiphanies have in common that they actually always are memorable phases of the persons minds themselves, or in Joyces words, these sudden spiritual manifestations I mentioned before.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Varieties of Market Segmentation
Varieties of Market Segmentation MARKET SEGMENTATION Market segmentation is the process of categorizing the market into several groups on the basis of various factors such as demographic, geographic, psychological, and behavioral factors. This is to ensure that the marketers can understand their target audience better so as to make the marketing more effective and get more satisfied customers. Thus, the marketers can gain a great advantage over the competitors. There are different ways by which market segments can be categorized. It can be done by categorizing the preferences of the consumer. Based on this, market can be categorized as homogeneous preferences, diffused preferences and clustered preferences. In homogeneous preferences the customers roughly have the same preferences whereas it varies in case of diffused preferences. When a group of consumers have shared preferences it leads to the formation of natural market segment which refers to clustered preference. While marketing a product three areas of marketing must be taken into consideration, i.e, mass marketing, product differentiated marketing and target marketing. Mass marketing takes into account mass producing, mass distributes and mass promotes on product to all buyers. It is important to realize the great variety in individual customers and therefore the marketers use this type of segmentation to customize their marketing programmes for each customer. In product differentiated marketing more than one product with different features, style, size, and quality is introduced. In target marketing, on the basis of the market segments the products are developed and customized. Market segments can be differentiated in various ways. Some of them are demographics, geographics, psychographics and behavioural segmentation. Demographic segmentation Demographic factors are age, gender, income, occupation, education, religion, generation, nationality, family size, family cycle, social class etc. Based on these demographic values, the customers are divided into various segments. This type of segmentation is suitable because the variables are easy to measure and as they provide description of the target customers therefore media buyers and others can target a desired target market. Some of the important variables while segmenting markets are: Age and Life cycle segmentation As the desire and need of customer change with their age therefore age and life cycle is a good factor in order to determine marketing approach. One of the examples is of a 70 year old person using landlines instead of mobile phones due to lack of technological knowledge. Therefore marketers need to take this into consideration and guard against stereotypes. This can also be associated with buying pattern and behavioural characterstic. For example, as married people have various economical obligation therefore they tend to spend less on luxury items whereas on the contrary, single people tend to purchase new fashionable items as they donââ¬â¢t have such economic obligations. Gender Segmentation As the needs and wants of men and women are different therefore gender segmentation is being applied from a long time in terms of clothing, hairstyle, magazines, cosmetics. But the marketers must not define a product as being masculine or feminine as metro sexuality has become a common gender-factor. Income Segmentation This type of segmentation can be seen in automobiles, financial services, travel, clothing, and cosmetics. Usually the high income customers are the target but it should be considered by the companies that just the income cannot be suitable criteria to determine the customer as they might have different preferences and priorities while selecting a product. Even the lower income groups are targeted as the competitive pressure reduces and the consumer loyalty is gained. Generation Segmentation Various significant events, many a times characterize a particular period. These influential factors can be music, politics, movies etc. Therefore the marketers must make use of the images and icons of a particular generation in order to market their product. Social class Segmentation Most of the companies design their product for a specific social class. It divides the customers on the basis of their preferences towards cars, clothing, leisure activities, home furnishing, retailers, reading habits etc. Demographic segmentation thus assumes that people with different backgrounds and other differences are likely to share same values and behaviour. Geographic Segmentation In this method of segmentation, customers can be categorized on the basis of countries, nation, state, region, city, and neighborhood. But a company must consider the fact that the data might vary due to population shift. Various sales and purchases are based on the geographical variables as the purchasing behaviour of the customers are influenced on where they live or work. Sometimes there are also differences in the location where the product is marketted due to cultural factors, tradition, politics. These differences can be significant in one segment whereas in other segments there might just be minor differences. Globalization plays a major role in linking socio economic and demographic characteristics. This type of segmentation is referred to as geodemographics. It therefore combines the target customers with where they live. Instead of comparing the consumers by their occupation, the consumers are compared on the basis of where they live, hence the companies are more capable of predicting consumer behaviour. Psychographic Segmentation There are two types of customers, personality profiles and lifestyle profiles. The psychological variables provide the marketer opportunity to get additional information about traditional, geographical, demographic bases like sex, age, income. Psychological profiles are often used as a supplement to geographics and demographics. Therefore on the basis of their attitude, values, lifestyles, interests and opinions people are divided in psychographic segmentaton. Behavioural Segmentation There are various behavioural variables such as occasions, benefits, status, usage rates, loyalty, attitude, buyer readiness (which will be discussed in detail) which determine behavioural segmentation .These variables are considered the best starting points in constructing market segments which are mainly based on the customers attitude towards the use and response to a product. Occasions Customers are divided into segments according to the time on which they get the idea to buy a product. The time can be a day , a week, a month or an year. An example for this situation is the variation in market strategy for Christmas and Valentines day. Benefits As different kind of people look for different benefits in the same product, this segmentation divides the customers based on this. People tend to look for the benefits provided by different brands and accordingly they make their choice. Here casual factors play a major role rather than descriptive factor like demographics. User status This type segmentation is done on the basis of the category of users , i.e potential users, non users, ex-users, first time users, regular users etc. The marketing approach varies according to the type of users. Usage rate Based on the usage of the product, the customers are divided into various segments like non users, heavy, medium, light product users. The basic strategy followed by the company is to target one heavy user instead of several light product users because the heavy users account for a high percentage of total buying although they constitute a small percentage of the market. But the other users must not be neglected as even they may provide better future prospects. Usage rate further divides the customer according to time which means that the product to be sold may vary according to time. Buyer readiness stage It depends on the factors such as peopleââ¬â¢s awareness and interest in the product. A person might be aware of the product and he also may not be. The difference lies in whether they are just informed about the product or interested in buying the product or they desire to buy the product or just intend to buy the product. In all the cases, a customer must be lead along so that he finally gets convinced to buy the product. For example, a person belonging to a different place might not be aware of the products particularly sold at one place hence the marketing strategy should be different at that place and the product should be promoted more. Loyalty status Based on the loyalty of the customers, they can be categorized as hard core loyals, split loyals, shifting loyals and switchers. Hard core loyals tend to stick to a particular brand for a long period of time without even considering other brands. Split loyals have preference towards two to three brands and they keep switching in these. Shifting loyals stay with a particular brand for some time and then change it. Switchers do not have any specific choice and they keep changing the brands from time to time. Attitude People can have an enthusiastic, indifferent, positive, negative, or hostile approach towards a product. Based on these factors people can be divided into various segments and hence the company can get a good idea of the market and the strtegy to be followed. To improve the targetting strategies and get a clear picture of the market, it is important for the marketers to combine different behavioural variables. A marketer must reach all buyers in all segments by defining its target audience. By taking into account various concepts such as demographic segmentation, geographic segmentation, the psychographic segmentation and the behavioural segmentation, a company must decide which is the most appropriate concept while designing the market strategy. For example , demographic and behavioural segmentation are the most appropriate oneââ¬â¢s while designing market strategies of a telephone as the ages of the customers is an important factor. Apart from age, attitude is also an important factor. Once the target customers have been defined, the next step is to evaluate the market segments and decide in which segments the marketing strategy should be directed. Market targeting is the second stage of the segmentation process.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Rene Descartes Second Meditation Evaluation
Rene Descartes Second Meditation Evaluation My Paper is on Rene Descartes Second Meditation. I chose to analyze and critique the concepts and ideas that were presented in Rene Descartes second meditation because it is in the second meditation were Rene Descartes famous adage was produced Cogito, Ergo Sum or I Think Therefore I am and also I find his second meditation the most controversial and most interesting of all his meditations. The second meditation is the most controversial of Rene Descartes meditations because it is here that his first rule of methodic doubt process is clearly introduced which is Accept nothing as true unless you can be sure that it is certain and it is also here that his idea becomes Radicalized because it suggest that one must critique all types of knowledge, that one has to doubt everything including himself and this is what the second meditation is all about because the second meditation is about ones existence. Descartes says that one must never accept anything or any knowledge unless one is certain of this knowledge and for Descartes being certain of knowledge means that there must be no place for doubt, it must be self verifying and it must be indubitable or in other words unquestionable and not open to doubt. The second meditation starts with Descartes doubting existence itself because of the radicalism of his philosophy that assumes everything is false, so in the second meditations Descartes doubts even existence, he says that even our very own existence needs to be doubted so as to arrive at the truth in the end of course of the second meditation Descartes does prove that without a shadow of a doubt that one does exist because one thinks hence the famous saying I think therefore I am. When one reads the second meditation Descartes does sound like someone who is a bit crazy and perhaps someone who had too much time in his hands because to doubt even existence is for me at first just down right absurd and many of us would have the same feeling on this matter maybe because of how we were brought up but it is exactly this kind of thinking that Descartes was trying to destroy he wants everybody to think for themselves and not just accept opinions as truths because if we just accept the texts of the ancient and the opinions of everybody as truths then how can we arrive at certain knowledge if those texts and opinions happen to be false he wants us to discover the truths for ourselves and perhaps he wanted people not to be lazy. When reading the second meditation the philosophy that is included there is definitely a radical one because he doubts existence and that what we perceive as truth may in fact be false, perception for Descartes is deceitful and our mind errs all the time so there is no way for us to be certain of things. We can be certain of our existence however but not this kind of existence were there is the body and the limbs but our existence as a thinking being since for Descartes the body and the things around is maybe just be an illusion created by an evil deceiver who does all he can to deceive us with all this false perception or we can just be dreaming that what we see and feel is all but a dream and therefore not real because how can we be sure that we are not just dreaming right at this very moment and that we are just dreaming everything and everyone around us this concept was a very intriguing concept what if we were just dreaming all this time, this was a concept that is so intriguing that even Hollywood adopted it in their film Inception which delves into dream and reality. The only certainty that we know we exist is that we know we are thinking and no great deceiver or dreams can doubt the fact that we think and therefore because we think we exist but for Descartes it is a thinking existence because it is the only thing that one can be certain of and that everything else we perceive may be false or just an illusion, one cannot trust our senses because are senses may just be an illusion or the senses may just be perceiving an illusion therefore not certain so for Descartes perception cannot arrive at the certitude of truth. Sensation as well is not a good determinant for certitude because one could again just be dreaming. Thinking for Descartes is very important since thinking for him determines ones existence. The act of thinking is the self guarantee of thinking. The act of thinking provides the ground for realizing that one exist. Human beings have a natural propensity to think therefore he or she can prove his or her existence. Thinking can never be false, because it is a process, thinking itself is beyond judgment, the thoughts that come from thinking are always real we only make mistakes in our judgment. Descartes explains in the second meditation using the honeycomb wax as an example of what kind of existence we can perceive and have since the wax changes its form but yet we know it is still the same wax Descartes thought that perhaps this is the true existence we are not just body and limbs but we are beyond that because we can still change and still be the same and this is how our minds works it has something innate that enables us to know it distinctively. The Second Meditation deals with reality and existence, like I mentioned before I thought that Descartes perhaps just too much time on his hands for thinking something so crazy as that everything around us is just an illusion and that we cannot trust out perception. I thought to myself that here is another philosopher saying something controversial just top be noticed but now that I was a little aware of a science called quantum physics and now I wonder if Descartes was actually someone who was way ahead of his time in thinking that everything is just an illusion and that what we perceive is actually false because quantum physics itself says that perhaps what we perceive as real, what our senses perceive as true my actually be false because it may just be an illusion created by our sense perception. With this in mind Rene Descartes is not crazy and his theory was not absurd this despite him being a member of the Rosicrucian group which believed in an invisible church that they built. Rene Descartes Philosophical theory on Existence and Reality was in fact a science which was way ahead of its time. His philosophy on doubting everything so as to arrive at certain knowledge can be seen as something radical and impractical and if we do take him literally then it is no doubt that this philosophy is indeed a radical form of Philosophy and an impractical one at that because one will just waste his time doubting and questioning everything one sees and this is just an impossible task. I think Rene Descartes is someone who was obsessed in knowing the truth and this led him to create this philosophy that before we can have certain knowledge we must first doubt. To have knowledge one must first doubt, this philosophy of Descartes becomes practical if we do not take to the extreme by really questioning everything, I think Descartes main point is that for man to use his reason rather than just accepting opinions, Descartes believes that reason is higher that any kind of opinio n, Descartes wants us to use our reason and there is nothing radical about using our reason. Sources: Rene Descartes Second Meditation
Essay --
Recently, the topic of oil consumption and production has been thrust onto the world stage. As demand for oil increases internationally, the role of major producers will change dramatically. As a representative of Saudi Arabia, I will offer my position on these topics, and I will represent the views of my nation as clearly as possible. The first topic Iââ¬â¢d like to address is OPECââ¬â¢s control on global oil production, supply, and pricing. Right now, OPEC member nations control nearly 81% of crude oil reserves, compared to 19% of non-OPEC member nations (EIA.gov). Because we control such a large percentage of the total amount oil reserves in the world, we can effectively control prices through production. If we decrease production, prices rise, and if we increase production, prices fall. As a representative of both Saudi Arabia and OPEC as a whole, I believe that our control over world oil production and supply is both justified and correct. My country in particular controls nearly 1/5 of total world oil reserves, and acts as the largest exporter and producer of petroleum (EIA.gov). Therefore, we should have a significant amount of control over world oil prices, because we control such a large percentage of world oil reserves. We should be able to essentially control international oil prices, and cut off supply to any country we see fit. On the topic of our cooperation with OPEC, the current member nations need to reorganize and reassess our goals. Although we have set oil production allocations for each nation to ensure price stability and adequate supply, nations like Iran and Iraq have skewed production due to their unstable oil output and refusal to adhere to production quotas. In terms of my countryââ¬â¢s position on non-OPEC produ... ...my, because OPEC has such a large influence on world oil supplies. Therefore, although Iraq and Iran have, in the past, taken action contrary to OPEC policy, we have to continue cooperating with them. These points of opposition against my country, although they may be justified, do not take into account Saudi Arabiaââ¬â¢s political and economic situation. Because of this, they are short-sighted and unreasonable. At this conference, we hope to resolve outstanding foreign relations issues with countries around the world to both ensure continued oil exports and stable oil prices. We will not, however, make any concessions in terms of oil production and greenhouse gas emission, as any decrease in production would stunt our economy growth. Hopefully, we will be able to achieve our goals of mending foreign relations issues while sustaining our control over world oil prices.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Comparing Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Oedipus the King and Antigone :: comparison compare contrast essays
Oedipus and Antigone: Is Fate Determined? Is everything determined? This question has caused fierce debate and has plagued both the science and literary worlds. Fate and Prophecy have both appeared in literature, most notably in Ancient Greek and Roman plays. Two plays that stand out as being based on prophecy are Oedipus Rex and Antigone, both written by Sophocles. Sophocles may have eggagerated certain aspects of fate, but he had many correct observations concerning fate and destiny. I think that everything is determined because free will is just an illusion, time travel depends on it, probability dictates it. In the play Julius Caesar, Cassius tells Brutus, "Men at some times are masters of their fate." But is this true? Can we do anything we chose or is the universe's fate fixed? The answers to these questions we may never know. But we can guess. In Antigone, Creon is faced with a decision. Should he condemn Antigone to death or should he let her get away with a crime? He feels as if he has a choice between the two. But, he doesn't. It was determined that he would put Antigone in a cave and try to get her out after contemplating it carefully. No matter what he did, he could not have defied this. He had the choice between the two, but it was determined that no matter what advice he received from Haemon and Tieresius, he would inevitably choose to put her in the cave. As Oedipus portrayed, you cannot escape fate no matter how you try. The prospect of time travel depends on and proves that everything is determined. If you go back and find out you should have turned left when you turned right and change it, then you may think you have defied fate. But, you are utterly wrong. Most likely, like Oedipus, you will do exactly what was determined, and step right into the prophecy. Doing this will, in fact, create an alternate quantum reality in which it was fixed to happed that way! (If you want to understand this fully, read about Feynman's Sum Over Histories in any of Stephen Hawking's books). The prophet who had spoken to Oedipus about his fate knew what was predestined. If Oedipus had gone forward in time and seen what he had done, he would have tried to avoid that fate.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Reading response on Communication Essay
For any effective communication, there must be understanding between the parties involved. This will therefore depend on the medium used and consideration of the barriers to effective communication. Students depend on communication to learn and when it is effective and inclusive, they get opportunities to grow and learn. In education, parents who are magnetic involve themselves in finding opportunities for their children. This is by involving the community at large and the administration to get opportunities for their children(Henderson, 297). Other parents are not concerned, which leads to inequality between the different children. Other families plan a teacher visit to the family, which increases unity and communication. When a teacher, parent and a student have a close relationship, they facilitate ample communication that leads to growth and opportunities. Accordind to (Mediratta, 32), for one to create opportunities that leads to growth among children, there should be a link between the outside of the school and the culture in the school. This is because the teachers do not understand the base the children are coming from especially in boarding schools. The power issue of the teachers goes down when the parents and their children mingles freely with the children which increases communication avenues. Poor families lack even the basic needs which make their students lack concentration due to the stress of their homes. This leads to inequality in the opportunities to children from richer families. Creating a link between the families and the general community leads to expansion of the communication network which leads to opportunities and growth. This addresses structural inequality and enables student from poor families learn and have good health. According to WARREN, (15), translation of important information to languages that learners understands leads to effective communication. Those who understands the foreign language have added advantage to those who can not. A barrier to translation is money to pay the translators and some parents lack the time to opportunity talk. In opportunity talks, the issue of freedom when talking is an issue due to distrust among members in the society(Zehr, 8). Relationships that can be trusted spread opportunities and this is true with parents who create friendship with their childrenââ¬â¢s teachers as they create trust between them. This is different from the parents who can not create this relationshipthat lead to disadvantage on their studentsââ¬â¢ opportunities. Organizing and planning for events for the school with older people with children improves their skills and confidence. This boosts their opportunities and improves their communication prowess unlike those who do not involve themselves in such programs. References Henderson, T Anne, Johnson Vivian, Mapp Karen, and Davies Don. Selection from Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family/School Partnerships. New York: The New Press, (2007): 296-301 Mediratta, Kavitha, Shah Seema, and McAlister Sara.Building Partnerships to Reinvent School Culture: Austin Interfaith. Providence, RI: Annenberg Institute for School Reform. Mark Warren, ââ¬Å"Communities and Schools.â⬠(2009):1-49. Print. WARREN, MARK. ââ¬ËCommunities And Schools: A New View Of Urban Education Reformââ¬â¢. Harvard Educational Review 2.75 (2005): 1-40. Print. Zehr, M. A. Civil Rights Deal Signals Federal Push for Translation Services. Education Week, (2011): 30(3), 8-9. Source document
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Archetypes in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay
In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain utilizes the archetypes of the Unwilling Hero, the Shape Shifter, and Haven vs. Wilderness to show that Huck Finn and Jim can find freedom all along the banks of the Mississippi River. Huck portrays the unwilling hero because he puts a lot of thought into something before he does it, even though it will benefit everybody. He is also very hesitant to perform heroic acts. The King and Duke show the archetype of the shape shifter because they are constantly lying about their identities and deceiving everybody. The Mississippi represents the characters ââ¬Å"havenâ⬠, and Huck and Jimââ¬â¢s home represents the ââ¬Å"wildernessâ⬠. Huckleberry Finn portrays the archetype of the unwilling hero. Huck is very reluctant to do the right thing, and always feels guilty about everything he does. The challenges Huck had to overcome almost caused Huck and Jim to loose their chance at finding freedom, but he always built up his courage and was pushed to fight for what he thought was right. After Tom and Huck spooked Jim, Tom wanted to take it further and ââ¬Å"tie Jim to a tree for funâ⬠(page 5). Huck had felt guilty for scaring Jim and didnââ¬â¢t want to do anymore harm, so Huck said ââ¬Å"no; he might wake and make a disturbanceâ⬠(page 5). This relates to him being an unwilling hero because you can see that Huck felt bad for doing the wrong thing and his conscience pushed him to do the right thing the second time around. Another time when Huck did something to get Jim and himself further down the river was when he said ââ¬Å"I wonââ¬â¢t let no runaway niggers get by me if I can help it. â⬠(page 91). Huck then went on trying to convince himself that what he did was right. ââ¬Å"They went off and I got aboard the raft, feeling bad and low; because I knowed very well I had done wrong, and I see if warn;t no use for me to try to learn to do rightâ⬠¦then I thought a minute, and says to myself, hold on; sââ¬â¢pose youââ¬â¢d ââ¬Ëaââ¬â¢ done right and giver Jim up, would you felt better than what you do now? No says I, Iââ¬â¢d feel bad-Iââ¬â¢d feel just the same way I do now. Well, then, says I, whatââ¬â¢s the use you ainââ¬â¢t no trouble to do wrong. â⬠(page 91). Huck felt guilty for lying about having Jim aboard with him, he knew that what he was doing was illegal and had trouble seeing the good in what he did. As the reader, you know that Jim is actually a good man and doesnââ¬â¢t deserve to be treated as a slave. But for Huck, it was a really hard struggle for him to convince himself that lying about Jim and doing the immoral thing was actually acting as the hero. Even Huck didnââ¬â¢t think of himself as a hero after he did this, he felt bad about what he did, but the fact that it took a lot to persuade him to feel comfortable about his decision shows that he is suitable for the unwilling hero. In the quote ââ¬Å"I says to myself, this is another one that Iââ¬â¢m letting his rob her of her money. And when she got through they all jest laid theirselves out to make me feel at home and know I was amongst friends. I felt so ornery and low down and mean that I says to myself, my mindââ¬â¢s made up; Iââ¬â¢ll hive that money for them or bust. â⬠(page 175), Huck had just allowed con artist to steal money from many different people and had felt guilty about it because he knew of them being shape shifters all along. When the con artists made their attempt to steal these three innocent girls inheritance, Huck felt so bad that he decided to scheme against them and steal their money back. It took a lot of courage for Huck to do this. The reader and Huck share the knowledge of knowing the King and Dukes real identity as con artists. But with Huck being inside the situation, opposed to the reader being able to see the clear decision, Huck did not want people to know that he had done this deed. This shows that he was still hesitant on wanting to do this heroic act. This is showed when Huck says ââ¬Å"I got to do it in a way that they wonââ¬â¢t suspicion that I done itâ⬠(page 175). Once again it takes a lot of Huck convincing himself to do this heroic act and is still unsure about it after he does this. This clearly shows Huck in the archetype of the unwilling hero. Having Huck step out of his comfort zone lead himself and Jim to freedom, but Huck would not have been able to show as much courage if it werenââ¬â¢t for the archetype of the shapeshifter portrayed by the King and Duke. The Duke and King are always lying about their identity and changing their story, they deceive many people including Jim, threatening Huck and Jimââ¬â¢s chance at freedom. The Duke and King began their role as shape shifters when they were first introduced in the novel. Huck and Jim were fooled by them for a bit, but it didnââ¬â¢t take long for Huck to figure out that these were con artists. Having two shape shifters aboard with them also got Huck to explore his role as the unwilling hero more. You can see this by the way he doesnââ¬â¢t want to say he knows who they really are. ââ¬Å"It didnââ¬â¢t take me long to make up my mind that these liars warnââ¬â¢t no Kings nor Dukes at all, but just low down humbugs and frauds. But I never said nothing, never let on; kept it to myself; itââ¬â¢s the best way; then you donââ¬â¢t have no quarrels, and donââ¬â¢t get into no trouble. â⬠(page 125). The King and Duke scammed a whole town out of $87. 75 by making up a make story just to make some quick money. ââ¬Å"He told them he was a pirate-been a pirate for thirty yearsâ⬠¦heââ¬â¢d been robbed last night and put ashore off of a steamboat without a centâ⬠¦and put in the rest of his life trying to turn the pirates into the true pathâ⬠(page 131) Because the town people thought that their story was so heart touching they decided to give them a lot of money even though they didnââ¬â¢t need it at all. This shows how ruthless these characters actually are even thought they come across as kind people. The King and Dukes final example of being shape shifters was when they sold Jim back as a slave. By doing this Huck and Jim finally realize how cruel and rotten these people are. They completely betrayed the people who had helped these con artists escape down the river buy selling Jim back into slavery for a very small price. This shows their true character and makes Huck so angry, that he finally decides to step up and become Jimââ¬â¢s hero. It was very common for the Duke and King to do this, but it took a lot of courage for Huck to finally decide to rescue Jim. This was Huckââ¬â¢s major act that can be seen as the unwilling hero and the final step into securing Jimââ¬â¢s freedom. All of that can be seen when Huck says ââ¬Å"After all we had done for those scoundrels, here it was all come to nothing, everything was all busted up and ruined, because they could have the heart to sever Jim suck a trick as that, and make him a slave again all his life, and amongst strangers, too, for forty dirty dollarsâ⬠(page 211). Even though the King and Duke where very deceiving shape shifters, they help Huck realize that the Mississippi River was where he could find his freedom and that the river was his ââ¬Å"havenâ⬠. Haven vs. Wilderness is another archetype that is prominent in the novel. Huck and Jim spend almost all of the story out on the Mississippi River, but just because it is in the Wilderness doesnââ¬â¢t mean that that is their ââ¬Å"Wildernessâ⬠. The story starts off with Huck explaining that he has a bad home life. His father is always drunk and doesnââ¬â¢t take care of him, so he lives with the widow. The widow is in full control of Huck and he hates it. He is the kind of person who loves to have freedom and is always striving for it. That is the same for Jim, he is a slave that almost gets sold for money, but all he wants is freedom. Both Huck and Jimââ¬â¢s home lives are not what either of them are looking for. This shows that this part of their lives is actually the Wilderness because to them they are unhappy and not comfortable. This is showed when Huck says ââ¬Å"Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me, but she wouldnââ¬â¢t. â⬠(page 2). Huck and Jim end up running away and spending their lives out on the Mississippi River, hoping that eventually they will cross the border and Huck will have the freedom he wanted and Jim will no longer be a slave. Throughout the story the reader starts to realized that the Mississippi River represents freedom and Huck and Jim have actually found their haven out on the river with each other. Both of them achieve the freedom they want and have a good time exploring and meeting new people (and smoking tobacco). This life is exciting and thrilling for them and is actually what they aspired from the beginning. This is why the Mississippi River is their Haven. You know when Huck gets away when you read ââ¬Å"I fooled pap and got awayâ⬠(page 30). You can also see how Jim was treated when he says ââ¬Å"I hear old missus tell de wider she gwyne to sell me down to Orleans, but she didnââ¬â¢t want to, but she could git eight hundââ¬â¢d dollars for me, en it ââ¬Ëuz sich a big stack oââ¬â¢ money she couldnââ¬â¢ resisââ¬â¢. â⬠(page 43). By the end of the book Huck is saying that he is going to have to stay with his Aunt because his father died and his Aunt couldnââ¬â¢t just let him go. When Huck says ââ¬Å"Aunt Sally sheââ¬â¢s going to adopt me and civilize me, and I canââ¬â¢t stand it. I been there before. â⬠(page 293). Huck is upset about being adopted because you can see that he loved being on the raft with all of the excitement and freedom. Huck is put back into the ââ¬Å"Wildernessâ⬠and finally realizes that what he wants (what his haven is), is to be out exploring the world with his buddies Tom and Jim. Even though this is opposite from what you would expect a haven and a wilderness to be it is what made Huck happy and kept the novel interesting. These places are where Huck finally realized that for the first time in his life he had the freedom that he had always wanted. Through all the example you can see how Mark Twain used the archetypes of the Unwilling Hero, the Shape Shifter, and Haven vs. Wilderness to demonstrate a struggle to freedom in the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn is the Unwilling hero because it takes a lot of persuading for him to do the right thing, but in the end he always does. The King and Duke display the Shape Shifter archetype because of how deceiving and two faced they are around everybody. Finally the Mississippi River represents the characters ââ¬Å"Havenâ⬠and Huck and Jimââ¬â¢s home represent ââ¬Å"Wildernessâ⬠because of how unhappy they are at home opposed to the river where they are both happy. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a very inspirational story of Huck performing selfless heroic acts and will leave you feeling good and hopeful for the characters in their future.
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