Bleak House Commentary Essay Example for Free

Bleak House Commentary Essay The following is an analysis of a passage from Charles Dickens novel, Bleak House, in which a bleak and dreary atmosphere is conveyed. The first thing that is mentioned by the narrator in the first paragraph of the passage is mud, and this plays a significant part in the depiction of a filthy, dirty environment. The beginning line, As much mud in the streetsand it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill uses hyperbole to suggest that the streets are so muddy that its almost like the beginning of the world, and it wouldnt be strange to see a dinosaur roaming around because of that. Also, the line Dogs, undistinguishable in mire. Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers is an exaggeration of how the streets are so dirty that one cannot tell the different between the mud and the dogs, and even horses are up to their eyes in it. This shows us just how much mud and grime there is, and how dirty everything is. Another aspect in this passage is the dreariness and the bleak environment. This is expressed in the line Foot-passengers, jostling one anothers umbrellas, in a general infection of ill temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if this day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud Firstly, the line jostling one anothers umbrellas suggests that the place is so overcrowded and uncomfortable that people are all bumping into each other, and that their ill temper is spread like a disease every time they come into contact, and it stirs in us a sense of claustrophobia because the people are all packed together. This adds to the implication that its a miserable and unpleasant place to be. Also, the fact that the foot-passengers are using umbrellas suggests that it is or has been raining, strengthening the general feeling of gloominess. Furthermore, the fact that the part of the line slipping and sliding since the day broke (if this day ever broke) is written in parenthesis suggests the sarcastic voice of the narrator, that he is mocking the foot-passengers ill temper and derisively commenting on the cold and depressing atmosphere, and this in turn reinforces that very fact. The use of sibilance in slipping and sliding further increases the effect of the dismal environment. The following line, Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snowflakes gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun is very effective in expressing how unpleasant the place is. The fact that the smoke is lowering down, instead of drifting upwards as it normally does, implies that the atmosphere is so oppressive that even smoke cant escape and is being pushed down. In addition, there is a personification of the soot and snow, as they have gone into mourning for the death of the sun. This could be an implication that the place is so gloomy and polluted that you can no longer see the sun, and that is why it has died, and is also why everything is black. This effectively intensifies the feeling of despair and dreariness that is hanging over the city, and the bleakness of the environment. The second paragraph of this passage concentrates mainly on fog and how it has been personified into a shadowy demon from which there is no escape. The first line of the second paragraph begins with Fog everywhere, and this alone is a very abrupt, aggressive statement that makes us feel, once again, slightly claustrophobic, as though there is fog pressing in all around us and that there is no escape from it. Subsequently, the lines Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the firesides, and Fog cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of his shivering little prentice boy on deck are examples of how the fog is personified, and made to seem sinister, omnipresent, like an oppressor that takes pleasure in attacking weak, vulnerable people like ancient Greenwich pensioners and the shivering little prentice boy. Another very effectual line is Chance people on the bridges peeping over the parapets into a nether sky of fog, with fog all round them, as if they were up in a balloon, and hanging in the misty clouds. The use of the verb peeping is very interesting because it means the people are looking quickly or secretly over the bridges, and it creates a sense of nervousness and apprehension, as though the people are frightened of the fog, thus making the fog seem all the more threatening. In addition to this, the use of parapets may not be just a reference to the sides of the bridge, as it also makes us think of castles, and so people peeping over parapets makes it seem as though they are under siege or under attack from an army of fog, which goes back to the allusion that the fog attacks weak or vulnerable people. Furthermore, the last part of the line, as if they were up in a balloon, and hanging in the misty clouds conveys a sense of helplessness, because when youre in a balloon you have very limited control, and this has been used as a metaphor to suggest how the people have no control over the fog and that they are trapped by it. Once again, this creates the feeling of claustrophobia and makes it seem overwhelming as there is so much fog and theres no way out. The structure of these this passage is very interesting to note. The first paragraph is almost conversational, as though the narrator is describing to us the many events of the day, while the second paragraph suddenly switches to more somber, grave narrative of the fog, and this affects us and makes us feel uneasy of the fog. This is also partly because the passage is written in the present, and so it involves us, makes us feel as if we are there in the dreary environment. Additionally, the elongated syntax of the sentences mirrors the long, miserable day and the never-ending fog, and this intensifies the gloomy feeling we get from it. In conclusion, this passage from Bleak House uses many different techniques such as personification, hyperbole and tone of voice to effectively express the dirty and gloomy environment and the general feeling of misery and despair.

Free Essays - A Dysfunctional Henry in A Farewell to Arms :: Farewell Arms Essays

A Dysfunctional Henry in A Farewell to Arms In Ernest Hemmingway's A Farewell to Arms, the protagonist, Frederic Henry is both dysfunctional and tragic. Throughout the story Henry lives up to this description of shear tragedy and dysfunction. The main elements that aid in making him both tragic and dysfunctional are: the fact that the love he and Catherine shared at the end of the book was doomed, this love was only "role-playing" to him at first, and he went AWOL on the Italian army. The first detail that contributes to making Henry a dysfunctional character is that he uses role-playing as a way of escaping the realization of the human mortality which is unveiled by the war. This role-playing begins on Henry and Catherine's third encounter. After this meeting the two become increasingly comfortable with their roles. It is as if their whole relationship is a "game". Neither one of them mistakes role-playing for a truly intimate relationship, but both recognize that it can be a useful device for satisfying certain emotional needs. This role-playing is a very dysfunctional characteristic of Frederic Henry. The second point that makes Henry a dysfunctional character is that he deserted the Italian army. Not only was this illegal but it could have cost him his life. Henry, although an American, had made a commitment to the Italian army, to protect and serve Italy. This characteristic alone is enough to make one dysfunctional, as it does to Henry. In addition to being a dysfunctional character, Henry is also a tragic character. Catherine is pure tragedy. Although the relationship that the love that Henry gains for Frederic and Catherine had started out to be only role-playing it turned into something much more, it became true love. This love was more than could be explained in words. Their love during an ugly war was not to be recreated or modeled even as much as through a baby conceived by their love. The baby could not be born alive because their love was beautiful yet doomed so that nothing could come out of it. "In a world where the abstracts of glory, honor, and sacrifice meant little to Frederic, his physical association with Catherine was the only thing he had and it was taken away from him long before she died.

Brothers and Sister Maude Comparison

Brothers and Sister Maude comparison Matthew Davis Comparison between the range of emotions felt by the speaker in ‘Sister Maude’ and ‘Brothers’. In Both ‘Sister Maude’ and ‘Brother’ a range of language devices are used in order to portray the different emotions and the varied relationships the poem focus on. Both poems use structural elements in order to portray a certain effect on the reader and to make them feel certain emotions just based on the way the poems are structured.In ‘Sister Maude’ the enjambment between each of the lines emphasises the jealousy of ‘Maude’ herself and the continuation of the jealousy she undergoes for her sisters lover. The Rhyme scheme could also symbolise the continuation of the poem as the scheme is in a ‘A,B,C,B’ formation throughout each stanza continuing the jealousy of Maude. In ‘Brothers’ the use of enjambment is still apparent throughout the poem.In the first stanza we see the possibly the main use of enjambment to show the continuation of the Brothers to the bus stop and therefore show the continuation of the relationship, However the enjambment is broke further on in the poem with the use of a full stop; ’Bus fare. ’ The break of the enjambment here is viewed significantly as the continuation has stopped along with the boy who ‘froze’ and realised he had forgot his bus fare. However the enjambment used in ‘Brothers’ makes it appear as a ‘story’ and the breaking of the enjambment acts as the breaking of the continuation of a book when everything stops flowing properly.The Symbolism in both poems various significantly due to the different relationships in each poem and the different emotions the reader feels. In ‘Sister Maude’ the symbolism is based around the jealousy portrayed from Maude about her sisters’ lover who she kills. The shock of this i s portrayed as we find Maude’s sister in disbelief; ‘cold he lies, as cold as stone’. This disbelief of the incident is repeated throughout the poem to portray its traumatism caused to the woman. This relationship is a juxtaposition to he average relationship as the only reason they have a relationship is because they have to as their sisters as much as they would like to part, they cant. However ‘Brother’ has a much more simpler meaning towards the reader as it is the emotion felt by the younger brother as his older brother has left him while the younger brother went back to get some bus fare. The brother cowardly says to his younger brother ‘you should go and ask mum’ for the bus fare as the brother does not want to confront him.The older brother thinks he is old enough and mature enough to take his younger brother out and be trusted; this turns out to be a complete juxtaposition to the reality and juxtaposition to the title as true br other are not ones that leave you for a ‘joke’. Guilt is a theme that occurs in both poems as the individual feels remorseful for what they’ve done. In ‘Sister Maude’ the guilt is quite an obvious one; the guilt of Maude killing her sisters lover out of jealousy. The hatred of Maude’s sister is emphasised particularly in the last two stanzas and most effectively in the last line; ‘Bide you with death and sin. Even at the end of the poem Maudes sister has not forgiven her and has no future plans of doing so due to the full stop appearance at the end. This really cuts off the poem and the relationship between Maude and her sister as a sister relationship is thought to be a loving and caring one which completely juxtaposes the entirety of the poem. The guilt in ‘Brothers’ is an obvious one too although not much is said about the guilt the older brother feels a sense of guilt for leaving his younger brother thinking it was †˜funny’ and thinking he was mature enough to take care of his little brother.At first they have a close, unconditional love relationship; ‘saddled with you’. However this changed after the younger brother went home to get his bus fare off his mom as he ‘windmilled home’. This shows he was possibly skipping home and generally enjoying the company of his brother instead of his mom. The breakage of this happiness soon falls as he realises the bus has gone along with his older Brother as he ‘ran on, unable to close the distance I’d set in motion’. He was really ager to be with his brother and catch the bus but his brother went off without him; the relationship therefore breaking and the guilt feeling showing in his older brother. The relationship within both poems varies throughout the poem as sometime there is a strong relationship but at other times; not so strong. In ‘Sister Maude’ the relationship at first was a stro ng one due to the fact they were sisters and you have unconditional love for sisters however as the poem continued the relationship came to a halt as Maude’s sister found her lover dead.The hatred then for her sister broke the relationship. We learn a lot from Maude, the main thing we learn is the spitefulness of her as she didn’t really think how it would affect her sister; she just thought how it would affect her as she can no longer be jealous of someone that’s dead. ‘Lurked to spy and peer’ shows how ‘perverted’ she was towards her sister’s lover and how she wanted to take her away from her sister. In the end she didn’t only take him away from her sister but took him away from her herself; the man she wanted all along.In ‘Brothers’ the relationship is an unconditional one due to the Brotherly relationship. Even though the older Brother betrayed his younger brother there will be a small break in the relatio nship but one that can be easily fixed as Brother have unconditional love for one another no matter what the circumstances are. The story like structure really portrays this as with all stories there’s always a happy ending. Although there is no sign of a happy ending the as the relationship is dented there is still unconditional love for one another that will never change.The imagery portrayed in both poems are pretty significant as they sum up what the reader is thinking and enable the reader to feel the emotion they are feeling. In ‘Sister Maude’ the imagery of the ‘clotted’ suggests a violent side to Maude and could be the way in which she killed him. The reader associates ‘clotted’ with physical violence to produce blood and to wound the skin of the man. Towards the end of the poem the imagery portrayed is hatefulness towards Maude as the sister is coming to terms with what she has done and is imply wanting her sister to die and to be sinned for all her life. This summarises the ‘future’ for Maude but however much hatred there is they’re still siblings and have to have a certain extent of love for each other. In ‘Brothers’ the first word; ‘saddled’ provides imagery towards the reader as ‘saddled’ could possibly mean he has been burdened and could suggest negative feelings for the speaker and for his brother as he views his brother as an inconvenience and is restricting the freedom of the speaker.The word ‘Spouting’ also portrays how he views his brother as he thinks of his brother to be perhaps energetic and childish therefore making the older brother think he can take responsibility of him when in actual fact he can’t. In both poems the way it is written and the language used internally for the poem is what makes the poem what it is and what makes the reader feel the emotion the reader feels.

How Sugar Had Become A Dominant Product Of Sugar Production

In the late 17th and 18th centuries, sugar had become a dominant product in numerous plantations in the Caribbean. The French and British continually competed over the dominance in these particular sites. The British sugar industry finally took hold in 1655, and lasted up until the mid-19th century (Background Essay). Due to the ideal land masses for sugar production (Doc. 1, 2, 6, 7), a large slave work force (Doc. 8, 9, 10, 11), high consumer demand (Doc. 3, 5), and competition in the trading industry (Doc. 4, 12), the sugar trade was able to flourish and remained a part of the global economy. As shown in documents 1, 2, 6 and 7, one driving force of the success of the sugar trade was finding the perfect area to establish sugar†¦show more content†¦However, it was undeniable that these conditions were significant in the success of producing this export. In document 6, Belgrove demonstrated that owning a plantation was a big deal, requiring the owner to obtain possessi on of a plethora of supplies and items, such as windmills, a boiling house, and the amount of slaves and animals necessary. All of these things were needed in order to run a fully-functioning plantation. The date that this document was made, 1755, indicates that it could be a credible source, for it was created in the middle of the diffusion of the sugar trading business. In document 7, Mintz states that mainly wealthy English families owned plantations. Men like Robert Hibbert and John Gladstone collected a great amount of wealth through the ownership of the large areas of land and through the amount of sugar produced by the African slaves (Doc. 7). This denotes the view that an effective way to gain wealth was through the ownership of the sugar plantations, thus encouraging others to do so as well; ultimately the desire for more wealth leads to an increase in the production of sugar and boosts the development of the sugar trade. However, Williams failed to mention how long it too k these plantation owners to acquire that much wealth, which can cause the readers of this excerpt to think that these owners had instant success.