Bret Harte Essay Example for Free

Bret Harte Essay The United States has some of the best literature that has ever been written. American literature is very well refined and unique from other countries. In the writing world, American literature has not even been around that long. The past 337 years that America has been a country is relatively short compared to the thousands of years that literature has existed. The many great American writers are what make American literature able to overcome its short lifespan and be one of the greatest countries for literature in the world. From Washington Irving to Mark Twain, American authors are responsible for American literature’s current amazing state. One certain author played an especially important role in shaping a specific genre in American literature. Bret Harte is the man responsible for making the Western genre of literature popular. His stories are captivating. Bret Harte was able to contribute to the rise of American literature by shaping the Western genre so that other authors may adapt to his new style of writing, and by writing some of the most memorable stories of all time, such as â€Å"The Outcasts of Poker Flat. † Bret Harte was born in Albany, New York, on August 25, 1836. He was raised as one of his family’s four children. Harte was very ill from ages six to ten, which gave him free time for reading (Franks 829). This time for reading had a great influence on Harte, giving him blocks for him to build on in his writing career. He was especially affected by the writings of British author Charles Dickens (Franks 829). His family was so poor, that they were unable to afford for him to finish school (Franks 829). When his father died in 1845, Harte and his family moved to Brooklyn. When his mother became engaged again, he and his family moved to Oakland, where his mother was married. His family was still very poor though. These times of hardship were also very influential on his writing. He was able to understand difficult struggles, thus making the problems that his characters face in his stories more interesting. He connected with his characters in many ways when they would experience times of hardship. His time in Oakland is what made him such a great â€Å"Western† writer. It made writing about the Wild West natural for him. Harte then moved to Union, California, but was run out of town after publishing a newspaper story about local white men slaughtering Indians. Harte married Anna Griswold, and they had four children together. They lived together in San Francisco, where Harte wrote most of his popular stories and became quite famous. During the height of his popularity, he signed a contract with The Atlantic Monthly for $10,000 for 12 stories a year, the most money then offered to a U. S. writer (â€Å"Hutchinson’s†). His fame led to his stories becoming even more popular, but it would also go to his head. The main genre used in most of Harte’s stories is the â€Å"Western†. According to The New Encyclopedia Britannica, the â€Å"Western† is defined as â€Å"an original genre of novels and short stories, motion pictures, and television and radio shows that are set in the American West, usually in the period from the 1850s to the end of the nineteenth century,† (598). An average Western story was about a cowboy fighting Indians or a sheriff catching a bad guy, but Harte made his special. Of those stories, one of the most popular is â€Å"The Outcasts of Poker Flat. † This story is about a group of people who are kicked out of their town for being â€Å"bad† people. They set up camp together and attempted to work with each other to stay alive. The group experiences many setbacks, including a member betraying them, a long snowstorm, and a shortage of food. While the reader watches the story unfold, he or she starts to see that these people really are not that bad, and perhaps they did not deserve this punishment. This story is very different from the traditional Western stories. In â€Å"The Outcasts of Poker Flat,† Harte is able to make criminals seem like good guys. Usually a â€Å"Western† is about a perfect main character, who stops the bad guys; but in this story, the main characters are some of the worst people in the town. His is also different from traditional â€Å"Westerns† in the way that it does not have any guns. When most people think of a â€Å"Western,† they think of guns, but Harte was able to change that. He wrote a story with no guns at all, and it is able to focus more on the characters and their feelings, rather than action and violence. Harte goes far beyond the ordinary way of writing with this story. In the opening paragraph of â€Å"The Outcasts of Poker Flat,† Harte writes: As Mr. John Oakhurst, gambler, stepped into the main street of Poker Flat on the morning of the twenty-third of November, 1850, he was conscious of a change in its moral atmosphere since the preceding night. Two or three men, conversing earnestly together, ceased as he approached, and exchanged significant glances. There was a Sabbath lull in the air, which, in a settlement unused to Sabbath influences, looked ominous. (â€Å"The Outcasts of Poker Flat†) As is visible in this paragraph, Harte was a very descriptive writer. He was able to paint a picture in the reader’s mind and effectively set his story’s mood. The characters that Harte used in this story were very significant. As said by Abby H. P. Werlock, his characters included â€Å"the stoic gambler, the soft-hearted prostitute, the unthinking drunk, and the vigilante committee driven by personal interests and blinded by the passion of a moment† (Werlcok). All of these characters that Harte used are still seen in many Western stories today. In fact, they are quite typical in modern Western stories, but Harte was the one to come up with them. Shaping the Western genre and writing some of the most memorable stories of all time, such as â€Å"The Outcasts of Poker Flat,† was how Bret Harte was able to contribute to the rise of American literature. After Harte’s era, â€Å"Westerns† became much more popular. He forever changed American literature to be much more Western themed. Harte will always be remembered as one of the best authors of all time, and more specifically, the man who changed the way Western stories are written.

Lucy montgomery :: essays research papers

Lucy Maud Mntgomery The author of the famous Canadian novel ‘ ANNE OF GREEN GABLES’, Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in Clifton (now New London), Prince Edward Island, 30th November, 1874. When she was two, her mother died of tuberculosis. Her father, who was a merchant, remarried, and moved away. Montgomery was raised by her maternal grandparents in Cavendish. The place was isolated and her childhood was not particularly happy: she grew up in an atmosphere of strict discipline and punishment for the slightest reason. She joined her father briefly in Prince Albert, but they soon returned to Prince Edward Island. At an early age Montgomery read widely. She started to write in school and had her first poem published in a local paper at the age of fifteen. In 1895 Montgomery qualified for a teacher’s license at Prince Wales College, Charlottetown. During the 1890’s she worked as a teacher in Bideford and at Lower Bedeque, both on Prince Edward Island. From 1895 to 1896, Montgomery studied literature at Dalhousie University, Halifax. She returned to Cavendish to take care of her grandmother and worked at a local post office. On July 5th, 1911after her grandmother died, Montgomery married the Reverend Ewan MacDonald, to whom she had been secretly engaged since 1906. Prior to her engagement to Macdonald, she had two romantic involvements: an unhappy engagement to her third cousin Edwin Simpson, of Belmont, and a brief but passionate romantic attachment to Herman Leard, of Lower Bedeque. After their marriage, Montgomery and Macdonald moved to Leaskdale, Ontario, where Macdonald was Minister in the Presbyterian Church. She bore three sons, Chester (1912), Hugh (stillborn in 1914), and Stuart (1915). She assisted her husband in his pastoral duties, ran their home, and continued to write best-selling novels as well as short stories and poems. She faithfully recorded entries in her journals and kept up an enormous correspondence with frie nds, family and fans. Maud Montgomery Macdonald did not live on Prince Edward Island again, returning only for vacations. While caring for her grandmother, she wrote the first book of the Anne series. It drew on her girlhood experiences. The idea was based on a notebook entry from 1904, â€Å"Elderly couple applies to orphan asylum for a boy. By mistake a girl is sent to them.† Anne of Green Gables was the story of a talkative, red-haired orphan, Anne Shirley. She had big green-grey eyes and a narrow, freckled face. Lucy montgomery :: essays research papers Lucy Maud Mntgomery The author of the famous Canadian novel ‘ ANNE OF GREEN GABLES’, Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in Clifton (now New London), Prince Edward Island, 30th November, 1874. When she was two, her mother died of tuberculosis. Her father, who was a merchant, remarried, and moved away. Montgomery was raised by her maternal grandparents in Cavendish. The place was isolated and her childhood was not particularly happy: she grew up in an atmosphere of strict discipline and punishment for the slightest reason. She joined her father briefly in Prince Albert, but they soon returned to Prince Edward Island. At an early age Montgomery read widely. She started to write in school and had her first poem published in a local paper at the age of fifteen. In 1895 Montgomery qualified for a teacher’s license at Prince Wales College, Charlottetown. During the 1890’s she worked as a teacher in Bideford and at Lower Bedeque, both on Prince Edward Island. From 1895 to 1896, Montgomery studied literature at Dalhousie University, Halifax. She returned to Cavendish to take care of her grandmother and worked at a local post office. On July 5th, 1911after her grandmother died, Montgomery married the Reverend Ewan MacDonald, to whom she had been secretly engaged since 1906. Prior to her engagement to Macdonald, she had two romantic involvements: an unhappy engagement to her third cousin Edwin Simpson, of Belmont, and a brief but passionate romantic attachment to Herman Leard, of Lower Bedeque. After their marriage, Montgomery and Macdonald moved to Leaskdale, Ontario, where Macdonald was Minister in the Presbyterian Church. She bore three sons, Chester (1912), Hugh (stillborn in 1914), and Stuart (1915). She assisted her husband in his pastoral duties, ran their home, and continued to write best-selling novels as well as short stories and poems. She faithfully recorded entries in her journals and kept up an enormous correspondence with frie nds, family and fans. Maud Montgomery Macdonald did not live on Prince Edward Island again, returning only for vacations. While caring for her grandmother, she wrote the first book of the Anne series. It drew on her girlhood experiences. The idea was based on a notebook entry from 1904, â€Å"Elderly couple applies to orphan asylum for a boy. By mistake a girl is sent to them.† Anne of Green Gables was the story of a talkative, red-haired orphan, Anne Shirley. She had big green-grey eyes and a narrow, freckled face.

Far from the madding crowd Assignment Essay

Gabriel never really liked Troy, as he was able to win the woman that he loved without loving her in return. He feels as though Troy may have used Bathsheba to take over the farm. By meditating he allows himself to escape Troy’s world and to return to being himself. The only reason that the men stay at Troy’s party is because they want to make a good impression and also to ensure a winter’s work. Had any man refused to stay and get drunk with Troy, they would most likely have lost their jobs, and would be stuck through the winter. Had Bathsheba, Gabriel or Boldwood held the party, the men would have been free to come and go as they pleased, without the risk of losing their jobs or fear of letting anyone down. This all goes to show the kind of person that Troy is, the way that he is very conceited and feels that he has the authority to push people around as he is better than them. The weather and setting of the storm clearly projects the feelings and moods of the characters. While Gabriel is outside struggling to secure the farm, the thunder symbolises his anger. It shows how he could erupt at any minute because of Troy, yet the calm, quiet breaks in the thunder shows us that he is calm and tolerant, and the fact that he is risking his life for Bathsheba. The rustic characters are very important to the event of the storm, they give Hardy a background to show us the real person that Troy is. If there were only Gabriel, Boldwood and Bathsheba on the farm it would be very difficult to show Troy’s selfishness as one of them might have stood up to and challenged him. As the rustics are at the bottom of the farms hierarchy they are a lot more responsive to Troy’s orders and suggestions. When Troy holds the party in the barn, he makes the reader think that he is not as bad as they might have first thought, he has gone to the trouble of setting up a big party and has invited everyone that is linked with the farm. It is only when he starts to force the men into drinking more than they can handle, when he becomes too forceful it is then that the reader’s opinion of Troy begins to change. Bathsheba tries to reason with Troy to save the men. She says: â€Å"No-don’t give it to them-pray don’t, Frank! It will only do them harm: they have had enough of everything. † In doing this, Bathsheba clearly knows that Troy has gone too far, she can tell that the men can not handle any more alcohol. At this point Troy is only getting started, he does not care for his men, and he just wants to have a good time. In fear that Bathsheba could do something to ruin his party he immediately orders all of the women and children to leave so that he can get the men as drunk as he wishes. Troy shows a typical Victorian male attitude to women by making them all leave the barn, by doing so he shows his true power and ability to manipulate people to suit himself. The majority of Victorian men see women as lower than themselves, not as equals. Troy knows that he has the ability to make them do what ever he wishes. The morning after the storm Gabriel meets Boldwood on his detour back to the farm, Boldwood seems very distant as he struggles to hear and understand what Gabriel is saying to him. Gabriel is shocked to find that the wise and experienced farmer Boldwood has overlooked the ricks on his farm, they been left unprotected and vulnerable to the storm throughout the night. It can clearly be seen that Boldwood is not himself by his reply to Gabriel asking whether his ricks had been protected: â€Å"O yes. ‘ Boldwood added, after an interval of silence: ‘What did you ask, Oak? ‘ I agree that the characters are judged by each other and by the reader through their devotion to the land as the most devoted characters prevail in the end. Gabriel Oak, the most respected and caring of the land, has the trust of the whole farm, the reader and nature. Bathsheba, a caring and devoted businesswoman, is only looking for the opportunity to manage her own farm and to look after the crops. She is again liked by all and obsessed by Boldwood, in the end she too prevails as she ends up in love with a man who truly cares for her, her feelings and the farm. Boldwood, a very mature and experienced farmer who cares dearly for his farm, is lead astray by a joke valentine’s, after he discovers that Bathsheba sent the card he becomes obsessed with her and loses all care for his farm and land. Troy, an untrustworthy, lying, selfish and conceited soldier who only has time for himself ends up in the worst possible position, he has no love for the land and does not even care about the farm, he is hated by almost all of the characters and eventually by his own wife. At the end of the novel his sinful lifestyle takes its toll as he is brutally murdered by Boldwood. Boldwood who lost what little devotion he had also ends up dead, though his ending does not come as a result of a sinful life, but an obsession that drove him to madness, and finally to the grave.

Minimum School Leaving Age Essay

In some countries the minimum school leaving age is 15 years and children and their parents have no right to decide when they will leave school. According to the law in those countries it would be illegal for them to leave school earlier. However, there is a number of reasons for children to have to leave school earlier not taken into the account by the government. Firstly, I am going to consider the family reasons. It is undoubtedly true that not all families have the necessary financial basis to raise a child. On the contrary, families in some countries are so poor they hardly have any money to support their day-to-day living. Sometimes they cannot even provide a child with a lunchbox for school or the suitable clothing, not to mention paying the school fees. In these cases families often want their children to start working at an early age so, by earning their living, they can help the family to survive. Often the attitude towards education in those families is very negative; they do not find it useful for a child and consider it as waste of time. Secondly, it is important to consider how schools may influence students to leave school early. The common problem to cause many children, especially the talented ones to leave early is bullying. Despite their awareness of the problem, some schools still fail to notice the signs and take necessary measures to protect children from constant abuse by other students. Thirdly, I would like to mention personal reasons such as poor learning ability, lack of wiliness and motivation and also personal circumstances in particular early pregnancy for girls. These factors may also cause children to leave school. However, even though there are family, school and personal reasons resulting in children leaving school before reaching the minimum school leaving age, it is still very important for children to reach a minimum level of education before entering the adult world. In particular this is essential in a way that a child should have had expanded their own knowledge to the  point where they are able to make decisions and choices of their own rather than their parent’s. In conclusion, it is vital that governments ensure children reach a minimum level of education by motivating students to stay at school. For example, schools may introduce more subjects for students to choose from, and make those extra subjects job orientated. They can also improve the ambiance at school and establish rewards for children to continue their education.

Dworkinian Law essays

Dworkinian Law essays Dworkinian interpretation is very much like the general interpretation of the constitution, in that not only must law imposersconsider the explicit meanings of the constitution but also their impact and acceptance by society. In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education, the court held that it was not constitutional to segregate blacks and whites, but if a strictly explicit view of the constitution was taken segregation would have been in accordance (Altman 85). This brings the human aspect into the equation. With the original meaning or intent an inhumane law would have been upheld. Consider the impacts on our culture if that ruling had been that it was constitutional. Implicit and explicit interpretations are both very important aspects to consider when ruling on a law, a case, or simply an infraction. Though implicit ruling may be viewed as a very liberalist approach to law making, one must consider that the original constitution was meant as a guideline not as a stone clause. By allowing decisions to be made only through the explicit meanings of the constitution, we are allowing the social stature of a two hundred year old society rule in a very different and diverse time. In the revolutionary war, the beginning battles were fought using respectable tactics. This meant standing in a formation and exchanging fire, at an extremely high death rate. Now fighting a war like that in our common day would be ridiculous, virtual suicide. If following the original warrior way is suicide, then why should the judgment of citizens strictly on what those soldiers and scholars wrote explicitly in the constitution be any different. According to Dworkinian theory the constitution should be viewed as an underlying philosophy to law, meaning we should use the words of the constitution as a backbone for the embodiment of law. It is best described as the difference between concepts and conceptions (Altman 84). This ...

Is gun control an effective method of reducing crime

Is gun control an effective method of reducing crime Occasional Gun-Related Incidents Start the Discussion The subject of regulating firearm ownership has been a cause for  debate  between gun control proponents and their opponents. Rising rates of crime or occasional gun-related incidents always act as a match to light up this discussion. The issue mentioned above is a serious one and deserving of serious consideration. Each side has valid points to prove their case. However, gun control does not reduce crime, in most cases. Better ways of solving such issues are being sought as opposed to the much-accustomed way of  law  making. The debate on gun control will continue well into the future as long as guns are manufactured and used. The most prevalent argument by proponents of gun control is that countries with lower rates of gun ownership have lower rates of crimes. The above is simply not true and has been statistically disproven. The opposite is, in fact, true. Research has clearly shown that countries with higher rates of gun ownership have lower crime rates than countries with low gun ownership rates. The most probable cause for the above is that criminals are less likely to attack a citizen if there is a higher chance of the latter retaliating. In the second case, offenders with firearms have a higher chance of success if they know they will encounter victims who are unarmed. Citizens with firearms tend to be more empowered than their unarmed counterparts. Criminals in areas with low gun ownership rates have more power over their victims, and a higher success rate is an incentive to continue the practice. Therefore, reducing the rates of gun ownership would not have the desired effect of reducing crime. Deaths from Firearms Are Quite the Rarity The argument by gun control proponents that firearms are involved in many human deaths is unsubstantiated. According to certain publications, there are about seventy million privately owned firearms in the USA. Their primary uses are hunting, target practice, household, and business premise protection. Of all the homicides committed in the country in a single year, less than one percent involve the use of guns. The abovementioned statement shows that ninety-nine percent of guns do not participate in any loss of human life. The opponents of gun control are clearly right in this respect. Many firearm owners have a gun for self-defense purposes, and many of them have no criminal or violent intention of using the gun. In fact, many handguns are rarely fired and are only kept as a security contingency. Deaths from firearms are quite the rarity. Many more people die from illnesses, home, and vehicle accidents than from gun violence. The above fact involves children too who gun control prop onents usually use to strengthen their argument. You may be interested in: Torture Is Never Justified Smoking in Public Places Should Be Banned Single-Parent Children Behaviour Can Science Go Too Far? Media Influence With already so many gun laws in place, how do criminals manage to access firearms and ammunition? The above question goes to prove that gun control laws do not deter criminals with a desire to acquire and utilize guns. There exists a very extensive black market for guns that may be bigger and more developed than the legal guns and ammunition market. Constructing tougher and additional legislation to restrict gun ownership will have no effect on criminal individuals and organizations with no regard to already existing laws. If anything, more gun control would discourage citizens from making the effort to own firearms which, as been shown above, would lead to even higher crime rates. Laws also have loopholes that can be exploited by knowledgeable lawyers, who more often than not, represent powerful and dangerous criminals. More laws could open up more leeway to be exploited by those who are capable. More Gun Ownership Leads to More Citizenry Safety As can be vividly seen above, proponents of gun control do not have a compelling case. It is clear that more gun ownership leads to more citizenry safety. Certain structures can be put in place to reduce the access criminals have to guns, but the reasons provided by gun control proponents are irrational and unsubstantiated. Gun control would eventually do citizens more harm than good. Using firearms to reduce crime rates is an insurmountable task with no prior proof of success anywhere. Until better measures are found, it would be better to let citizens exercise their constitutional right to bear arms.

Dubliners Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Dubliners - Essay Example Despite differences in all these stories, the reader finds that at a particular point all these stories are interlinked, though the link is never sequential. Each of these stories deals with lives of common people, their expectation from life, relations, and their dissatisfaction. In each of the stories, the author has dealt with different themes of life and conjointly Dubliners represent a complete cosmos of he contemporary life in Ireland. The themes of paralysis, entrapments and isolation have recurred in all these stories. Joyce, with the purpose of portraying the true picture of human lives and their plight, has focused over intricate details of the life of an individual as well as provided accurate details of the psychological condition of an individual. Equal focus over both these aspects provides a reader a sense of completion as he goes through the stories. Themes of paralysis, entrapments and isolation that Joyce has reflected through the characters and stories of Dubliners , is common in the lives of every individual, living in this society. While reading Dubliners, a reader identifies himself with the characters. At the same time he identifies his plight with plight of the character, living in a modern society. Henceforth, appeal of such themes become universal and this sense of universality is reflected in the best manner through the three stories that are main subjects of discussion in this thesis. If one attempts to find any kind of sequential connection among the stores of Dubliners that would be a futile attempt. Even from the perspective of aesthetic appeal these stories are quite different but in one sense all these stories are waved together that they deal with life of the capital of Ireland, Dublin. Joyce, through these stories, unveils various emotional perspectives of common residents of this city. These stories were written at such a point of time when Irish nationalism reached it point of culmination. A