Several natural catastrophes happen over the course of the novel; the dogs driving the sheep off the cliff, the fire, the sheep feeding upon clover, the storm. What role do these events play with respect to the character of Gabriel? Set in Wessex, a fictional location in rural England, Far From the Madding Crowd is a nineteenth century novel, based around the character of Bathsheba Everdene, a young, bright woman who arrives in the village of Weatherbury, to work the dilapidated farm that is her inheritance from her uncle. She is a 'beautiful heroine', a youthful and vain woman who is attracted to Sergeant Troy and becomes infatuated with him; being of youth, good looks and possessing a sense of danger and excitement. Like many women in the human existence, she is utterly oblivious to the fact that is apparent: a hardworking, honest and trustworthy, local farmer, Gabriel Oak. He loves her dearly, but as in most, 'love/tragedy', scenarios she doesn't love him at all. In a particular situation, Bathsheba's "Thoughtless" actions consequence in a loan farmer, Mr Boldwood passionately falling for Bathsheba who, again loves her more than Troy but, a result to a tragic end, leaves her with one man. Gabriel Oak is almost a faultless character in Far from the Madding Crowd. His personality which is calm, kind and strong-among other rare qualities, corresponds to the name Gabriel Oak. 'When Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread till they were within an unimportant distance of his ears his countenance like the rays in a rudimentary sketch of the rising sun'. This description of Gabriel's facial features delivers a warm, approachable and soft image and perception of his character. He is a leader and a problem solver who, when in times of crisis and adversity, copes, when most would retreat, give up or become suicidal. Gabriel has good presence of mind. He is generous, attentive and helpful. He has enduring love for Bathsheba and remains trustworthy to her throughout the novel, when confronted with extremely, soul-testing situations. In chapter five, Gabriel is challenged with a pastoral tragedy. As a result, he descends in the farming trade and becomes impoverished. 'With the clothes he stood up in and nothing more'. Struggling and striving to overcome this dilemma, he leaves for the annual hiring fair held in Casterbridge, knowing it is imperative that he finds work. Gabriel exerts himself as a Bailiff but is not successful in gaining employment. He has mounds of emotional strength but is disheartened and drawn by this. 'Gabriel was paler now. His eyes were more meditative and his expression was more sad'. However, sinking from his, 'Modest elevation as pastoral king into the very slime pits
In this book, Kolbert travels to many places to find out what is happening with global warming. Quite often she ran into the same fear at the places she went, the fear for loss before the next generation. When she went to Alaska, many people were fleeing from their homes because the sea ice surrounding them, creating a buffer zone for storms, was melting and that was causing houses to just be swept away.
In the short story "The Rite," Hiroko Takenishi tells of some of the horrors that took place during and after the bombing of Hiroshima. This story was a creative response to the actual devastation Hiroko witnessed. She may have chosen to write this story as fiction rather than an autobiography in order to distance herself from the pain. This work may have served as a form of therapy, by allowing her to express her feelings without becoming personal. She could accomplish this by attributing her own feelings and thoughts to Aki, the narrator of this story.
A Vanished World: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Spain is survey medieval Spain, where Christians, Jews, and Muslims once lived side by side and the Muslims were in charge. The book tries to lead the reader to the conclusion that there is indeed a historical precedent for the three major religions establishing a beneficially symbiotic relationship which may be an enduring lesson for coexistence. The author, Chris Lowney, is an ex-Jesuit and holds degrees in medieval history and philosophy.
In his essay, "The Magnitude, Duration, and Distribution of Evil: a Theodicy," Peter van Inwagen alleges a set of reasons that God may have for allowing evil to exist on earth. Inwagen proposes the following story – throughout which there is an implicit assumption that God is all-good (perfectly benevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient) and deserving of all our love. God created humans in his own likeness and fit for His love. In order to enable humans to return this love, He had to give them the ability to freely choose. That is, Inwagen holds that the ability to love implies free will. By giving humans free will, God was taking a risk. As Inwagen argues, not even an omnipotent being can ensure that "a creature who has a free choice between x and y choose x rather than y" (197)1. (X in Inwagen’s story is ‘to turn its love to God’ and y is ‘to turn its love away from God,’ towards itself or other things.) So it happened that humans did in fact rebel and turn away from God. The first instance of this turning away is referred to as "the Fall." The ruin of the Fall was inherited by all humans to follow and is the source of evil in the world. But God did not leave humans without hope. He has a plan "whose working will one day eventuate in the Atonement (at-one-ment) of His human creatures with Himself," or at least some of His human creatures (198). This plan somehow involves humans realizing the wretchedness of a world without God and turning to God for help.
The battle of good versus evil is present in all aspects of life. Actions taken by people can determine how others view them. Some choose to do what is right and good, while others choose what is wrong and evil. Many characters are forced to choose between the two, and some do not foresee the consequences of their actions. In the book Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, actions committed by the Davy, Jeremiah, and Jeremiah’s friends, both good and evil, always have consequences.
In the book Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina, education, and the lack there of, plays one of the largest roles in the character's lives. At this time in West Virginia, where the book is set, many children had to leave school and actually go into the coalmines, as Rondal Lloyd did, or work on the family farm. Racial ignorance is also a key element Giardina confronts in the novel. The characters, chief and secondary, equally cultural and racially bland, pass on their beliefs and therefore help to maintain the continuous circle of inequality that carries on even today. Political knowledge, at least on the national and state level, is also lacking within the little town of Annadel. With this knowledge coupled with her own experiences from growing up as an immigrants daughter in the same coalfields as her novels characters, Denise Giardina tries to explain the function of education and ignorance in not only the coalfields of West Virginia, but throughout the entire world.
In conclusion, while Ransom journeyed to Malacandra as an ignorant young man, fearful of the unknown, he was completely transformed by the end of the novel by his complex understanding of fear. Although memory primarily inhibited any development in Ransom’s character during the first half of the novel, following Ransom’s understanding that initial reactions are often erroneous, Ransom’s memory allowed him to see the problems of Earth clearly. On the other hand, Ransom additionally learned to use morality to overcome fear rather than the converse. While modern dictionaries describe fear as “an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by expectation or awareness of danger,” Ransom would define fear as ignorance, the possibility of lost opportunities, and most importantly, inequality within the world.
Throughout an individual’s life-time, he/she has a vision as o what his/her should be. But when things do not go as planned and the unexpected occurs, does that person face it, or run away? In “An Act of Vengeance” by Isabel Allende, running away is not an option at well. Through the usage of plot, character and irony, Allende illustrates the cost of war.
Some of the most intriguing stories of today are about people’s adventures at sea and the thrill and treachery of living through its perilous storms and disasters. Two very popular selections about the sea and its terrors are The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger and “The Wreck of the Hesperus” by Henry Longfellow. Comparison between the two works determines that “The Wreck of the Hesperus” tells a more powerful sea-disaster story for several different reasons. The poem is more descriptive and suspenseful than The Perfect Storm, and it also plays on a very powerful tool to captivate the reader’s emotion. These key aspects combine to give the reader something tangible that allows them to relate to the story being told and affects them strongly.
“Vengekeep Prophecies” written by Brian Farrey is a good book for kids. The main message of this week's reading is always be careful who you come upon. If you don’t be careful of who you come upon, you’ll meet someone who you really like. If you meet someone, then you’ll have to betray that person which will make them really sad. You’ll have to betray that person because you might get orders from your leader to betray that person. In this case Jaxter got orders from Edilman to betray the Dowager. First this happened, Jaxter meets Da’s long lost friend and they unite together to help save Vengekeep. (Da is Jaxter’s Dad)After that this happened, Jaxter and Callie finds out that Edilman has the “Death Sentence”.
Garret Hardin’s “Tragedy of the Commons” is an article that identifies the nation’s current problems and predicaments that can’t be resolved through the use of technical solutions. Hardin’s work heavily focuses on overpopulation, a prominent and unceasing issue that significantly distorts and affects the stability of the Earth and the abundance of the planet’s resources. In his article, he mentioned some reasonable and important solutions to overpopulation, but he also explained its downside and how the said solutions may not be ideal and practical. “Tragedy of the Commons” revealed that the human population will continue to flourish and how it will be greatly detrimental to our society unless individuals get the education that they need and
The fear of divine vengeance brought upon mortal souls by god who penalize you for your family’s sins has inhabited the minds of people for centuries, and And Then There Were None and The Hounds of the Baskervilles capitalize on this, though the masterminds cause all of the so-called “divine wrath,” not angry gods. The dog in THotB that is thought to be an offspring from hell is revealed to actually be a violent dog equipped with a concocted preparation of phosphorus on its muzzle. As shown on page 214 in THotB, “Phosphorus,” I (Watson) said.
In the beginning of chapter 2 the Valley of Ashes was introduced, the place where the poor people lived. Ashes grow like wheat into ridges, and the air is powdery, there are ashes everywhere. They make it seem as if everything is covered by ash, it’s a sad place, where no one wants to be. There is a small river that has a drawbridge for whenever something has to ge through. Everything there represents hopelessness and sadness, the only color that you are bound to see there is grey.
It seems as though there is so much more evil than good in the world today. We hear of war and fighting 24/7 but we rarely hear about the good things that happen. Everyone is born with both good and bad within them. We, as humans, must choose which one we want to be. In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph is good while Jack is evil. Ralph represents the good side of us while Jack represents the evil side. Although sometimes it is easier to be evil, it pays off to be good. The novel is a perfect example of how all people are born with both sides. At the beginning, the boys choose the good side, with morals and civilization. But as the story moves on, the boys find it more exciting to be on the bad side. It shows that all the boys are torn between good and bad and there is a very thin line that separates both. We realize that people are born inherently good and bad because in life there are always right and wrong choices, children are born good but are easily influenced to do bad, and it is always harder to do what is right than what is wrong.
Port Orchard, Washington is a town overflowing with rich forests, fresh air, and spectacular views. As Isaac Suttle walks from his front door, he can see the Two Brothers to the west and Mt. Rainier to the east. His home sits quietly in an area of Port Orchard surrounded by trees, the nearest neighbor hundreds of feet away. Like that of most western Washington, the weather is cool and rainy throughout the year with little relief in the summer. The drizzly rain can last for months; Isaac can remember a time when it persisted for 93 days straight. Though at times the weather can be miserable, it keeps the forest green and the air clean and refreshing.