Purpose of the Education System Essay Example for Free

Purpose of the Education System Essay The question posed is What should the education system be? This question cannot be answered specifically because the education system means something different to everyone. The education system is, to an extent, what it should be, which is an institution devoted to the development of the intellect. American education should however, be more than rote instruction of mandated materials. Our children should be taught more life skills along with science and math. Children sit in rows, facing straight, not talking. They select and use educational materials in unison, and watch the teacher write on the board. The droning sound of the teachers voice attempts to fill their minds with knowledge. It sounds militaristic because it is. Students remember more of what they are taught if the material is presented in a less formal, more enjoyable atmosphere. School administrators and state agencies set forth guidelines from which teachers must not deviate. The problem is, these administrators are removed from the classroom and tend to forget that children have changing needs. Todays teachers learn more progressive teaching methods such as portfolio assessment vs. testing, and sitting in groups instead of rows. There are few administrators willing to incorporate these changes into their schools. Education management needs to allow teachers the flexibility to teach their students using whatever methods actually work. There is no reason why children should not look forward to school. For the most part, our education system is devoted to teaching students. There is great concern that students should be prepared to move on to higher stages of education. Tests are given periodically to gauge students progress. There is much discussion how improving education and better preparing students for the world. Students do learn, and many excel, but school is still viewed as drudgery by most students. If our education system is to prepare children for the world educators need to look more closely at curriculum. Art, philosophy, history, math, English  and science are all important subjects. They teach us about the world around us and how things work. The social setting of the educational facilities also compels students to learn about society and what is acceptable behavior. However, are we properly preparing our students for the world? Are we teaching life skills like personal finance and relationship dynamics? Can we lower the rate of divorce or the number of poverty-stricken retirees by educating students in these areas? Our education system needs to incorporate fundamental life skills into the curriculum. The focus on education should not stop at the goal to create an intelligent adult. The education system must also attempt to create a responsible citizen, an asset to the community. The American education system is not entirely broken. There are many positive things happening. Progressive teaching methods are being employed and the student is being recognized as more of an individual. America cannot stop here. We need to ask ourselves if the moral fabric of our country can be improved through education. The education system plays a larger role in our lives than any other one thing. The system needs to use this influence to improve society as a whole and people as individuals.

Cultural Aspects In British Culture Cultural Studies Essay

Cultural Aspects In British Culture Cultural Studies Essay Since the 1950s Britain has gone through an intense period of accelerated social and cultural transitions. These changes come from the results of the disintegration of the British Empire, the expansion of the Commonwealth and the movement of people from various nationalities, languages and cultures. These phenomena have supported the progressive globalization of life and conceived a multi-ethnic and multicultural society, with a strong plurality of identities and heritages. One of the most driving motions through this period has been the womens movement. Their entrance into the labour market and their growing autonomy has designed fundamental changes in their role in society and their relations with men. Similarly, the emergence of youth as an identifiable group with a very different lifestyle to members of older generations, has contributed substantially to the changing social and cultural profile of the country. The younger generation has a more equality view of the role of women in society. The Hofstede analysis for Britain reports strong feelings towards individualism and masculinity. On the other hand, the power distance and uncertainty avoidance are ranked considerably low. Long-term orientation ranks the lowest. This study indicates potential change that Britain is willing to achieve rapidly with the new generations. Men and women mix freely, with independent relationships to one another. In the football club girls are all very open, they can get in touch with strangers very easily, undress without any shame. And Jess behaves on the contrary. The most vivid example of the British youths independence is the fact that parents cant interfere in Juless private life, even when it deals with her sexual orientation. According to Halls scale of levels of cultures, British culture is a low level context culture because the messages are clear and the words carry most of the information in most communication (for example, when the coach sees that Jess has problems with her parents because of football, he goes there and tells them about his opinion, without any rituals, very directly). More interpersonal connections of shorter duration exist in Britain. Even choosing football in this movie seems to refl ect the low level context British culture is experiencing. Football is one of the most rule and goal-oriented, strictly defined and team playing games (where each has its own job). According to Halls cultural theories, British culture seems to be the mix of the past-oriented and future-oriented cultures. Old generation is still trying not to lose traditions, they are still very conservative but the younger people are much more future-oriented, as it is very obvious from Bend it like Beckham. In conclusion, British culture is definitely an individualistic one, due to its high level of individual independence, goals and concept of individuality over group goals. Individuals have universal communication and equal attitude to everyone, in the family and in everyday life where men and women enjoy equal rights. Its also a feminine culture with several specific features of male culture. British culture is a low level context one where people play by external rules, they have separation of time, space, activities, relationships; more interpersonal connections of shorter duration; almost everything is task-centered (decision and activities focus around what needs to be done, division of responsibilities) and so on. Indian culture Indias history has forged its culture. Its particular geography and the assimilation of customs, traditions and ideas from some of its neighbors have been shaping the country, as well as maintaining its ancient heritages, from the Indus Valley Civilization onward. India enjoys a great diversity of practices, languages, customs, and traditions, which are the results of a unique and particular cultural blend over the past five millennia. The family plays an important role in teaching and transmitting values and traditions. The respect for elders is a major component in Indian culture. They represent the familial driving force and pass on the Indian culture within us. India is a high contest culture with close connections between people, less verbally explicit, more indirect verbal interaction, less written and formal communication and more relationship focused. The respect to one another is also a strong pillar. Power Distance score for India is synonymous with high level of inequality of power and wealth within the society. This situation is at some point accepted by the population as a cultural norm. In contrast, people tend to promote interdependent relationship with each other as collectivistic cultures do, by embracing interdependence, family security, social hierarchies, cooperation, and low levels of competition. Indian scores a long term orientation dimension, which is indicative of a perseverant and parsimonious culture. It is also oriented toward masculinity, which reinforces a greater gap between values of men and women. India scores low towards the uncertainty avoidance dimension, which indicates a culture more open to unstructured ideas and situations, as well as fewer rules and regulations towards. The head of the Indians family is male oriented, the father or husband. We can see here male culture, but also with some elements of female culture. The woman in Indian culture is a symbol of house. Jesss mother shows us how real Indian wife has to behave, as mother and housewife. Her main goal is to give her daughters all knowledge that she knows. Communication style The Indian culture is oriented toward collectivism and group goals. Their pillar is traditional house holding and the family. We can see that Jess has a huge amount of relatives who really are happy with her sisters wedding. We can see with Jess sisters wedding the role and active participation the family plays in Indian culture. We can see also that the status is very important for Indians. In the episode Jesss coach comes to talk to her family about football trainings. Jesss father was telling his attitude to football and to problems that he had many years ago because of the football, at the same time Jess interrupted him and tried to say some her own opinions, but it was prohibited because father is the head of the family. So Jesss mother made the reprimand: It is your father, you cant talk while your father is talking. This moment shows us the respect and the importance of the status. Attitude to other cultures Strong differences and reluctances exist between the Indian and other cultures. Indians are conservative and dont attempt to mix culturally. Jess sisters wedding shows the Indian reluctance to include other culture in their traditional ceremony. Jesss mother teaches her daughters to married Indians sharing the same values, culture and traditions. Jess will find all along the movie to evolve from those cultural practices with her relationship with her coach. British Asian Culture In the previous parts, we discussed two main cultures English and Indian. Both of the cultures have strong traditions and deep values which people are trying to keep alive today. It is not easy as everything is changing. But even harder it is for Jess who tries to honour her father Indian roots but at the same time wants to be fully accepted in the English society. This trend is called the new British Asian generation. The term British Asian is used to denote a person of South Asian ancestry or origin, who was born in or was an immigrant to the United Kingdom. Britain has a large Southern Asian population due to British India once being the most populous portion of the former British Empire. That is shown as well in the movie where Jess parents want that she attends university and gets good education as doctor. They have no problems with seeing themselves as British. Mainly they are not accepted as British from the point of old people from Britain. But at the same time they say that they do not even want to be accepted. Their first language is really English. The most important thing they have been brought up there. In addition, the young people see their way of life as different from life in India as well as from their parents. New British Asian generation do not think of gender identity. That is also the biggest issue in Bend it Like Beckham, where Jess is eager to play football. In India that is only men job. Even though Indians might have lived all their lives in Britain the differences are remaining. High expectation of loyalty to strong family is common theme among British Asians. It is seen as the biggest culture differences between Asian and English values. Basi cally if you have grown up in England, there is no family unit which at the same time is totally different for Asian families where you reflect on your family. Individualism versus family values is a dichotomy difficult to reconcile. If you are judged by who is your family or your family is judged by your actions, what do they do then, when they do not want to become doctors, lawyers or just want to smoke weed (very popular thing in UK). That is where the youth of British Asian struggle. For some it even results in exclusion from the family structures because they refuse to accept collectivism pressure. The other issue in British Asian society is marriage. Still most of traditional families want arranged marriages and assessed that those arranged marriages are quite misconceived. An arranged marriage is not a forced marriage. Religion is another British Asian issue. Even though they have grew up with very religious background the 2nd generation is more questioning and searching. They are trying to adapt it by keeping some of its values and foundations to a more modern approach. Also, the new language Asian and English form should not be seen as a mixing of heritages, but as the creation of a potential new heritage. England is a multicultural society, not a multitude of cultures living together and separately from each other. This young generation is redefining their values and reinterpreting what it is to be British. They are not British Asians. Not even British Caribbean or Caucasian. They are second generation and want to make their own mark. This attitude can be seen in the movie where Jess is bright example of British Asian representative. She proves that at the end it is possible to make happy every part of society and be happy herself. She and her British Asian friends show that they are creating their own culture from adapting their strong family values and involving their new sides of English culture. They are taking the most important element they need from both of the cultures. The Movie Genre and Structure The film combines different genres: sports movie, Coming-of-Age, music clip, but primarily British comedy and Bollywood film. These so-called Bollywood films follow the formal and substantive traditions. A key issue is the preservation of the tradition. The older family members embody the forces of tradition. As an important event, there is often an opulent and glamouros wedding-scene. Music and dance in Bollywood films push the emotions of the characters. They are also the moral censorship, because they help to disguise the love scenes. The British comedy derives its humor from the surreality of everyday life and works with a lot of wit and quick word dialogues. Many protagonists are coming from the working class and middle class, discussed their everyday problems in heavily story-line-orientated stories. Bend it like Beckham juggle with both narrative: Thematically it refers to one of the classic Bollywood themes, the conflict between tradition and modern world. The wedding in the movie is the culmination depicted, but equivalent to the other peak, the football final. This shows the film tradition and modern life with the same weighting. Again, the parents embody the classic values, the father does, however, a conversion and finally supports the willingness of change of the daughter. The conquest of a male-domain Football in Europe is the undisputed leader sport millions of people are excited about. This is true at least for the male version. Although there are now more and more female players, the womens football is not in the same form and will be hardly recognized. In the film, this conservative attitude is represented by the mothers. Jules mother is convinced that playing football diminishes the chances of their daughter in the marriage market. As there is a conversation between Jess and Jules, she even feared that the two are lesbian. Jess mother thinks that sports clothes are improper and would prefer that her daughter learn how to prepare Indian dishes. The mothers are trying to stop their daughters from playing football symbolized in the release of Jess, who sees her female family members in the wall during a freekick. Mixed Culture appearing in the movie Jesminder Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is deeply admiring of the professional skills David Beckham exposes as a Manchester United star. Nobody can bend it like Beckham is her leitmotiv motivation. She is in a total discordance with her parents vision of her future, and her older sisters path traditionally engaged to marry within weeks. While schooling other girls, she explains that Indian girls arent supposed to play football, and is replied that Thats a bit backwards, by one of her teammates. Jess finally justifies that Its just culture, thats all. She is navigating from cultures all along the movie, looking for emotional stability, a sense of belonging and great ambitions to fulfil. The movie successfully shakes all those expectations and their challenges by shaping Jess experience. The film follows its two main characters by developing a strong panel of contrasts and similarities, exploring the divergences in their respective backgrounds, and most importantly, the ways they will achieve this absorption of traditions taught by their environment with the mix of other cultures and changing times. Through crisis and conflicts, the movie finally brings a disparate epilogue that crosscuts between a final football match and Jess sister traditional wedding. This picture shows the divergent clash of these cultures that finally converge responsively to one another in a universal approach. Music In the film the producer mixes Indian and Western pop music. The Indian music accentuated the conservative or traditional areas of life, the western represent the New Age. When Jess and Jules are shopping for the first time and having a beer in a pub, Mel C. sings Independence Day. The trip to Hamburg is musically connected with the group Blondie Your hair looks beautiful. Indian music is essential in the Hindu celebrations, but also when Jess is forced to do the kitchen work by her mother, one can hear the Indian way of music. During the parallel-creation of the wedding and the final game, first Indian and later English music is used for those scenes. The goal kick and the enthusiastic viewers are accompanied with a piece from Puccinis opera Turandot background. The movie and the cultural aspect all together Jess ´ situation based on her relationship to her family Bend it like Beckham picks a topic, which is relevant for adolescents, regardless of their cultural context. It is about the creation of self-determination and the own conceptions of life, independent from external expectations, and thus linked to questions of identity and personal values. For Jess, that leads to a special conflict, because her culture traditionally admits less freedom. From a dramaturgical perspective, it allows to enhance the universal conflict. Through the culture movement the film tells about, the understanding and tolerance for differences in other cultures are encouraged. Seemingly effortlessly the film combines conflicts, which are characterized by the close social contact of cultural values and role models, which went through strong developments in European societies over the past decades. Jess situation according her future and the realisation of her life-concept On the one hand, Jess embodies the whole dilemma of the so-called second generation, as one can see in all European countries in which the children of emigrants were born. They are linguistically and culturally much closer to the culture of occident. However they are still in contact with the original homeland and the traditions of their parents generation. For this generation it is necessary to make pioneering work, to prevent prejudices on both sides, as Jess practiced in the movie. Jess accepted the cultural values of her parents lives and also the traditional religious wedding ceremony of her sister Pinky. At the same time, Jess asks for respect to her lifestyle, but it is quite clear that her mother can never really understand, what kind of life she is trying to live. Jess has reached the allowance to play football and the relationship with her coach Joe, is the next cultural barrier that she will need to overcome.

Importance of Nursing Informatics in Nurses Daily Practice

Importance of Nursing Informatics in Nurses Daily Practice Introduction Data is the basic and the fundamental concept that this study focus on. Since there is no information can be acquired without availability of data (Ahsan and Shah, 2006). The data that we are talking about in this context is the clinical data, which is the data that gathered about patients in practice by clinicians (Millar et al., 2009). Pressure ulcer (PU) data is one of these data that collected by nurses in clinical settings, these involve all the elements of PU data, like; prevalence, incidence, risk assessment, ulcer grading, and prevention data. Data is a concept being of high interest in the discipline of nursing informatics. (Graves and Corcoran, 1989) define nursing informatics as a combination of computer science, information science and nursing science to assist in the management and processing of nursing data, information and knowledge, to support the practice of nursing and delivery of nursing care. So, the nursing informatics as a speciality begins with the basic concept data, as the present research did. Indeed, nursing informatics can be applied in four areas, that are summarised in the word CARE; clinical, administration, research and education areas (Hannah et al., 2006). In this study, the nursing informatics concepts chosen to be applied in a clinical oriented subject, which is PU. PU as one of the important clinical areas has been selected due to the importance of this problem, in term of its size and the costs of preventing and treating such problem, from one side, and due to limited numbers of previous works that relate the concept of nursing informatics to PU field, from other side. More specifically, this research has related the concept of nursing informatics on PU data. Nursing informatics deal with the data, that processed to support nursing care, and PU data is one of these data that should be processed to support the delivery of patient care. In this thesis, the recording of PU data in recording systems, either paper or electronic was explored, and the uses of these data in these records were identified. As has been recommended, more researches are needed to realize what need to be recorded in the recording systems and how this will be used (Urquhart et al., 2009). Personal motivations toward the research The researchers interest in this subject arose from the importance of nursing informatics in nurses daily practice. The nursing informatics specialists have a special role in using the information technology (IT) to enhance the safety, effectiveness, and quality of health care (Murphy, 2010). It is acknowledged that all providers of healthcare assumed to be skilled in exercising the IT to make decisions that lead to better care (Saba and McCormick, 2006). PU topic investigated due to its great importance. As a nurse used to work in clinical practice caring for PU patients, and observing the magnitude of the physical and psychological impacts of this problem on patients and their families life, the researcher decide to choose this area to be studied. Noticing many patients die because complications of this problem is an enough motivation to start digging in this area. First, to understand how PU data is recorded and used in practice, in effort to understand the difference between recording this data on paper and electronic record. Then, to realise the size of this problem in the researcher country Jordan, to make a reference data for health policy makers to adopt prevention programs in Jordan, there is no one in action yet. Statement of the problem PU is one of the health problems that are very common and prevalent, without accurate portrait of PU data, the problem will continue to grow. Nurses in clinical practice collect and record large volume of PU data every day. This data should be recorded and used appropriately in practice. Taken into considerations that recording and utilising of patients data is the fundamental role of any healthcare provider (Millar et al., 2009). Further, and in the second study, urgent identification of prevalence and prevention data in Jordan is necessary, especially that there is no previous works have been located. So, the primary focus of this study was on the problem of PU, identifying its size, the preventive measure provided to PU patients, and how its data recorded and utilised in practice. Overall Research Aim The overall research aim is to explore how PU data are recorded and utilised in clinical settings. This is the overall aim of the study, with many other secondary objectives for each study and method of the research, but all these objectives are come under the main aim of the study. The objectives of each method will be presented in the methodology chapter (chapter 3). Definition of terms From the general aim of the study, the reader can note that many terms have been used in formulating the aim. The following represent the operational definitions of each term presented in the study aim: PU data: raw facts that related to PU concept, like prevalence, risk assessment, ulcer grading, and prevention data. For instance; a prevalence rate for a specific ward is 5%, Waterlow risk assessment score is 10, patients PU grade is 4, and patient repositioned on his bed every 2 hours. All these are clinical data related to the PU problem. PU Data recording: recording and documenting of PU data that specified above into patients medical record, either this record held on paper or electronic format. PU Data utilization: the uses of the collected and recorded PU data in practice, what they are make of this data, what they are benefit from it. Clinical settings: the different care settings that usually collect, record and used patients clinical data, including PU data. Most commonly, it is composed from primary and secondary settings. Background to the study problem Scope of the problem European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP), are group has been lunched to guide all Europe nations in preventing and treating PUs. They define PU as: an area of localised damage to the skin and underlying tissue caused by pressure, shear, friction and or a combination of these (EPUAP, 1998). These ulcers, regardless of their basis, represent negative outcomes for patients; these negative outcomes may include pain (Reddy et al., 2003, GÃ ¼nes, 2008), longer hospital stays, where it can add about 7 days to a hospital admission (Anthony et al., 2004), decreased quality of life (Price, 1998, Neil and Munjas, 2000), and increased the spending of care provider time and costs (Alterescu, 1989, Clough, 1994, Severens et al., 2002a, Bennett et al., 2004). PUs have been regarded as the most physically debilitating complications in the twentieth century (Burdette-Taylor and Kass, 2002), and it is the third most costly problem after cancer and cardiovascular diseases in the Netherlands (Shahin et al., 2008). In fact, there are many complications for PUs, including infection, sepsis, and osteomyelitis (Thomas, 2001). It has been found that more than half (51%) of long term care patients with PUs have Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infection (Capitano et al., 2003). Furthermore, PUs are linked with two-fold rates of increased mortality, regardless of the origin of the ulcer (Brem and Lyder, 2004). This is consistent with Landi et al (Landi et al., 2007) study, who investigated the connection between PU and the risk of one year all reasons mortality in a community of very elder people, and found a significant difference between the PU group and non-PU group in mortality rate, 29% vs. 14% (p

Voltaire and the Enlightenment Essay -- Essays Papers

Voltaire and the Enlightenment During the eighteenth century a group of French writers and critics known as the Philosophes favored change and reform. They believed in the power of the human mind, which was an idea that was inspired by the Scientific Revolution. The philosophes had faith in the power of rational criticism to challenge the tradition of the past. They also sought to apply the rules of reason and common sense to nearly all major institutions and social practices. The philosophes proposed a new kind of organized religion, a social religion which encouraged harmony and tolerance while strengthening the bonds of moral obligations within society. One of the major French philosophes during the eighteenth century was Voltaire. He was greatly inspired by the work of Isaac Newton during the Scientific Revolution, who believed there was a close relationship between his scientific theory and religion. Like Newton, Voltaire also theorized about the existence of God. One critic named Victor Hugo wrote, "'To name Voltaire is to characterize the entire Eighteenth Century. Italy had a Renaissance and Germany had Reformation, but France had Voltaire.'"1 Voltaire strongly believed that humans used their reason to make decisions and he also proposed a social religion and speculated about the existence of God which caused people to question their faith and reason. Voltaire, like many other Philosophes, believed in man provided that he was educated and used his reason. However, many people in Voltaire's time were illiterate, superstitious, unreasonable, and relied upon the guidance of the ruler. Voltaire believed in enlightened despotism, which was when the people obeyed the laws and made sure they were fairly enforced by all cla... ... the church and caused many people to question their faith and reason. Voltaire was one of the many philosophes who challenged people's faith and who was a part of the advancements in reason during the Enlightenment. - Frederick Artz, The Enlightenment in France (Oberlin: The Kent State University - Press, 1968), p. 66. - See Frederick Artz, p. 76. - See Frederick Artz, p. 79. - See Frederick Artz, p. 80. - Ronald Boss, "The Development of Social Religion: A Contradiction of French - Free Thought," Journal of the History of Ideas v. 34, no.4 (1973): p. 582. - See Ronald Boss, p. 583. - See Ronald Boss, p. 584. - See Ronald Boss, p. 585. - Rosemary Lauer, The Mind of Voltaire: A Study of his "Constructive Deism" (Westminster: Newman Press, 1961), p.90. - See Rosemary Lauer, p. 91. - See Rosemary Lauer, p. 92. - See Rosemary Lauer, p. 93.

Othello’s Physical and Psychological Journeys :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Othello’s Physical and Psychological Journeys  Ã‚   Othello is the tragedy, and, incidentally, the name of a Moor who serves as a general in the Italian military. He spends the first act of Shakespeare’s play in Venice, but is ordered shortly to Cyprus to fight the Turkish invasion. His journey isn’t officially noticeable at all in the play. One moment he’s defending himself in the Senate of Venice, the next he’s in Cyprus, taking credit for being victorious in a battle the storms fought for him against the Turks. The story unravels from there. His soon-to-be-lieutenant, Iago, whispers in his ear about his wife, Desdemona, and the unforgivable crime of adultery, throwing Othello’s orderly world to the winds of fate. ......Still, if the starting point and destination of Othello’s initial journey were to be compared to Othello’s psychological journey throughout the play (and, more importantly, the development of his relationship with the villain, Iago), they are found to be startlingly similar. Whether Shakespeare intended the parallel or not, and there isn’t really any sure way to tell, the coincidence is great. ......Venice, where the story starts, is a place of order, rich and wonderful. Likewise, Othello’s relationship with Iago is shown by the third scene of Act One to be, on the surface, based on honesty, respect, and admiration. He says, as he prepares to lead the ships to war: â€Å"honest Iago, my Desdemona must I leave to thee.† (1.3.336) While it may seem naà ¯ve for Othello to do such a thing when trouble is obviously brewing and the sense of foreshadowing is nearly tangible, the reader must keep in mind that Venice is an orderly, respected city and the General’s relationship with Iago can be summed up neatly in one sentence spoken by Brabantio: ......â€Å"This is Venice. My house is not a grange.† (1.1.119) ......But while Venice is certainly not a grange, there is plenty going on behind the scenes. One could even argue that Iago’s first scene when he incites Desdemona’s father to go and take revenge on Othello by using racist and bestial slurs is very similar to the first talks of war in the Senate and the general being told he must leave his homeland to defend Cyprus from the Turks. ......â€Å"An old black ram is tupping your white ewe,† (1.1.98) Iago shouts to Brabantio, at the same moment that Othello is being informed of his new assignment.

Close Reading of Merwin’s Odysseus Essay

The subject in W.S. Merwin’s poem â€Å"Odysseus† feels comfortable only at sea, and, because such a notion is atypical, he cannot articulate or understand where his true home actually is. oAt peace at sea: â€Å"patience / He has wedded to† Numerous islands, but â€Å"one to call ‘home’,† even though he Merwin never specifies which island Odysseus really calls home   Ã¢â‚¬Å"which †¦ / Was the one he kept sailing home to?† †¢W.S. Merwin’s speaker in â€Å"Odysseus† is concerned about his romantic interests. â€Å"Wedded† to his adventures, he experiences a schism when interacting with the women he meets on various islands. oâ€Å"Put before him, the unraveling patience / He was wedded to† â€Å"There were the islands / Each with its woman† Odysseus seems to have a woman on each island, and, not knowing which island is home, seems not to be particularly loyal to any one of them. oIndeed, Odysseus later even says that â€Å"The knowledge of all that he betrayed / Grew till it was the same whether he stayed / Or went.† The only constant in his life is, certainly, his oceanic adventure, which, while there may be many, never change noticeably in c ontent. †¢A world-weary Odysseus relives his adventures in a repetitive, never-changing cycle, losing sight of the difference between ill-wishers and home. oJaded tone: â€Å"always the setting forth was the same,† â€Å"he had got nowhere but older,† â€Å"identical reproaches,† â€Å"it was the same whether he stayed or went† †¢The speaker in â€Å"Odysseus† roams the world, traveling in repetitive circles, hoping to allay the guilt that plagues him for â€Å"betray[ing]† so many women. oClaiming that â€Å"The knowledge of all that he betrayed / Grew till it was the same whether he stayed / Or went,† Odysseus looks for solace from the guilt he experiences from not staying true to any one woman. oWhile his days are repetitive and unchanging, his adventures are a constant, and Odysseus is able to consider himself â€Å"wedded† to that â€Å"unraveling patience† he can keep coming back to after days on land. †¢While Merwin’s speaker in Odysseus at times is unable to differentiate between those who wish him perils and those who remain remote and true, he continuously sails â€Å"home,† even while unable to define where home really is. â€Å"What wonder / If sometimes he could not remember / Which was the one who wished on his departure / Perils that he could never sail through, / And which, improbable, remote, and true, / Was the one he kept sailing home to?† Merwin rhetorically asks the listener to judge whether it really is Odysseus’s fault that he cannot distinguish between his ill-wishers and his home community. oWho is wishing Odysseus perils? Quite possible one of the women to which he was disloyal, and because there have been so many (every island, apparently), he now knows not which women still love him and which do not. †¢W.S. Merwin describes in his poem â€Å"Odysseus† the rift many experience when separating themselves from their interpretations of the norm. oOdysseus is accustomed to life as a traveler, with no real home on land. He also does not appear to be married to a woman; rather, he claims to be â€Å"wedded to† an â€Å"unraveling patience.† However, while he is habituated to his daily life, to an outsider, Odysseus lives atypically. oOdysseus recognizes this fissure, but instead of living comfortably without regards to how others perceive him, he questions himself and attempts to shape his world into a way that outsiders would understand.

How Dickens uses language Essay

There is a variety of repetition in the passage. Phrases like ‘Dead and Buried’ are repeated to remind us, as readers, that most of Pip’s family is dead. The word ‘buried’, suggests that it happened some time ago and that he never knew them, which makes us feel pity and sympathy for the character. Pip talks about his life in the marsh country, where he resided by the river and near the sea. This could possibly highlight how Pip (small like a river), may be connected to something greater than he could’ve ever imagined (like the sea). Dickens also uses some interesting vocabulary, with fascinating imagery in this passage. For example he describes the sea as a ‘distant savage lair’. The word ‘distant’ tells the reader that there is an unknown, oncoming threat. The word ‘savage’ suggests it was over powerful and violent. Finally, the word ‘lair’ implies a dangerous place, where victims are taken to be devoured. This shows the reader that Pip is not safe, and seems to be in grave danger. Alliteration is another technique which Dickens has input in the passage. The phrase ‘low leaden line’, (which describes the river), is a good example of this. Rivers are supposed to be an aquatic blue colour, but Dickens describes it as ‘leaden’, which is a depressing grey colour, suggesting a bleak setting. Finally, Dickens uses third person in the passage, although this is questionable. In one sentence, Pip goes from narrating as an adult in the 1st person and then switches to the 3rd person, where he looks back at himself as a small child. This is because he is in utter disbelief at how lost he was, which is effective as the reader feels confused, just as Pip would have as a small child.