A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Essay Example for Free

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Essay Injustice is probably one of the oldest forms of hate known to man. Injustice can be found anywhere and in all forms of life. One of the most well known forms of injustice is slavery. Men and women of all ages and races suffer under slavery still to this day. Romania, for example, has been home to the unfortunate youth who are sold as prostitutes by their own parents! We all know that this is wrong, but society has driven us to not considering this as slavery, just cruelty. Obviously slavery is unjust, but some people to this date still do not know this because of the way they were brought up. However, what was once justified can, upon closer examination, be considered unjust. This was also the case during the revolution in France that began in 1789. Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities described the many injustices that resulted from oppression in France. Injustice during the French Revolution affected everyone touched by it because the revolution claimed many victims on all sides. French peasants suffered, the aristocrats suffered, and innocent people suffered when the Revolution claims its victims. The unjust French government oppressed the poor peasants until they revolted in a bloody uprising. Everyone has a breaking point, and once it was reached, it was very hard to go back to a calm state. It was already bad that Marie Antoinette was using the tax money from the poor peasants to pay for her unnecessary dinner parties. Once Antoinette raised the taxes for that same purpose, it became unjust. This resulted in the beheading of Marie Antoinette. The wine was red wine, and had stained the ground of the narrow street in the suburb of Saint Antoine, in Paris, where it was spilled. It had stained many hands, too, and many faces, and many naked feet, and many wooden shoes. The hands of the man who sawed the wood, left red marks on the billets; and the forehead of the woman who nursed her baby, was stained with the stain of the old rag she wound about her head again. Those who had been greedy with the staves of the cask, had acquired a tigerish smear about the mouth; and one tall joker so besmirched, his head more out of a long squalid bag of a night-cap than in it, scrawled upon a wall with his finger dipped in muddy wine-leesblood (Dickens 37). The wine, which symbolizes blood, was smeared everywhere. This showed how desperate the French were to find some nourishment, even if it meant slurping wine off the city streets. It was amazing how a calm day in France changed into first come first serve madness. Also, the raiding of the Bastille showed how little the peasants could tolerate before retaliating. In this massacre, the peasants overpowered the guards to set the famous landmark on fire. Next, the aristocrats suffer from the united peasants uncontrollable anger and violence. One may wonder how the aristocrats and the peasants suffered at the same time? Before the Revolution, the aristocrats had all the money and happiness, but as the Revolution progressed, this happiness gradually converted into fear. Once the peasants realized that they made up the majority, they took advantage of this. The peasants anger drove them to imprisoning and killing every rich person in sight. Innocent people were killed just because they were rich. Aristocrats had no chance of survival because they were hated most. Anyone who worked for the government or even believed in what it stood for lived in a life of fear. The Marquis from A Tale of Two cities was too ignorant to realize that his comments bothered the people. This angered the peasants along with how wealthy he was. But one didnt have to be the Marquis to be punished. Any wealthy man returning to France could be considered an emigrant. For instance, Darnay, a wealthy man, was accused of being an emigrant, so he was immediately sent to prison. As you can see, even the wealthy had no protection under the crumbled government. Lastly, innocent people suffer as the Revolution burned out of control. Innocent people, which included relatives of those directly affected, suffer just because of the overgrown madness. A good example of this would be Lucie and her daughter Little Lucie. Madam Defarge (who was probably the biggest reactionary in the whole book) wanted the whole Manette family to suffer just because Darnay (the nephew of the Marquis) married into the family. Luckily, Little Lucie was not hurt, thanks to Mrs. Pross who put her own life on the line just to save the Manette family. Mrs. Pross, who lived a simple, quiet life, suffered partial deafness from the sound of a single gunshot. Many relatives of the aristocrats received death by the guillotine just because of their family ties and heritage. This was not right, but the people were blinded by their madness to even think about who they were killing and punishing. As illustrated, injustice during the French Revolution affected everyone touched by it because the Revolution claimed so many victims on all sides. Thousands of irreplaceable lives were taken during the time of the Revolution. There were no winners in the outcome of the revolution. These few years were some of the worst France had ever seen. The grindstone had a double handle, and turning at it madly were two men, whose faces, as their long hair flapped back when the whirlings of the grindstone brought their faces up, were more horrible and cruel than the visages of the wildest savages in their most barbarous disguises (Dickens 260). Is it ok to do unjust things in the name of justice? Will there ever be an end to injustice in the world we live in? At the rate were going, we may never reach the desired utopia that we dream of.

Emily Dickinson’s This was a Poet- it is That Essay -- Poet Poem Poeti

Emily Dickinson’s This was a Poet- it is That Emily Dickinson was an unrecognized poet her whole life. Her close family members recognized her talent, and her needs to write poetry, but the literary establishment of her time would not recognize her skill. Even though she was unrecognized, she was still quietly battling the established views through her poetry. Her literary struggle was exposed after her death since, while living, only five of her poems were published. Many of her poems were a reaction to the rejection of many publishers and other literary critics. This particular poem’s character comes from Dickinson’s reaction to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s statement that â€Å"poets are thus liberating gods.† Here she is challenging the established literati by questioning popular Emersonian views. In particular, this poem is a reaction to Emerson’s belief that â€Å"the poet is the sayer, the namer, and represents beauty.† Basically, it is a reaction to the idea that the poet is the creator of beautiful words, liberating the common people by giving them words they would not have access to. This was a Poet  ­ It is That by Emily Dickinson This was a Poet  ­ It is That Distills amazing sense From ordinary Meanings - And Attar so immense From the familiar species That perished by the Door - We wonder it was not Ourselves Arrested it - before Of Pictures, the Discloser  ­ The Poet  ­ it is He  ­ Entitles Us  ­ by Contrast - To ceaseless Poverty - Of Portion  ­ so unconscious - The Robbing  ­ could not harm - Himself  ­ to Him  ­ a Fortune - Exterior  ­ to Time  ­ In the first stanza the author is describing the role of the poet. The poet is one who recreates an irregular view, or creates a s... ...nd the commoner, both victims of the relationship they have with each other. Although she does agree with Emerson that the poet is a namer, she disagrees with some of his other thoughts. Through this poem, Dickinson is setting herself apart from the Poets of her time. She does not consider herself a robber baron of words. She also chooses to deny that the poets are liberating gods because she feels that the poet is in fact dominating the ordinary person, not liberating them. Instead, Dickinson chooses to categorize herself with the ordinary people. She is criticizing Emerson’s obvious belief that the poet is above the ordinary man. He calls himself a liberating God because he is a poet when Dickinson just wants to be a normal person who is a poet. Dickinson does not want to be above the ordinary person in a condescending way, but wants to be among them.

Misconception and Misdiagnosis of Tourette Syndrome

{draw:g} {draw:g} {draw:g} Tourette syndrome, (TS), named after Gilles de la Tourette who discovered the condition, is a disorder that causes motor and vocal tics due to a chemical imbalance in the brain. Neurotransmitters constantly misfire in the brain of a TS sufferer releasing a chemical, known as dopamine, which transmits signals to many parts of the body causing these uncontrollable tics. Lange, Olivier and Meyer (2003) states, â€Å"This neuropsychiatric disorder is, in all likelihood, genetically determined and associated with neurotransmitter (â€Å"chemical†) imbalances in the brain. Although there is no known cure for TS, medications are available that help control the condition. Society often misunderstands those who suffer from TS, because the condition is commonly misdiagnosed and misunderstood. There are many misconceptions about TS and much of society is poorly educated and misinformed about the condition. Physicians do not refer to TS as a disease, but more c ommonly as a â€Å"condition†, even though people lend to view those who suffer from TS as having some debilitating disease. Although this is not an accurate conception of syndrome, some patients with severe case may suffer some type of debilitation. One of the most common misconceptions that society has regarding TS patients is that they curse uncontrollably in public. The media contributes to this by depicting characters with the syndrome in movies displaying this type of behavior. This is entirely inaccurate and represents only a small percentage of TS patients with more severe cases. Society is also guilty of misrepresenting and misunderstanding people with TS, often using hurtful quips or acting out in jest towards people who have this condition. This is not only psychologically damaging to TS patients but can temporarily cause tics to become more severe due to stress and discomfort associated with ridicule. TS is no joking matter and is a serious condition that affects the daily lives of many people. There are public awareness groups that have information needed to provide better understanding of TS as well as how to live with the condition once diagnosed. The most notable is the Tourette syndrome association (TSA) founded by group of medical professionals, laypeople and TS patients. This organization educates people about the condition and provides assistance, information and encouragement to those who have it. TSA has been instrumental in bridging the gap between the medical profession and the public. Tourette syndrome generally develops in early childhood between ages of four and eight. Mayo clinic staff (2004) wrote the following: â€Å"The first symptom of Tourette syndrome is usually a facial tic, such as eye blinking. As many as 1 in 200 children develop tics that last only a few weeks or months and then stop. Tourette syndrome, however, involves multiple motor and vocal tics that have lasted longer than a year. Children with TS, like a percentage of children who develop tics that eventually disappears, often experience a wax and wane of tics over a long period, making it difficult condition to diagnose. The symptoms of TS include motor and vocal tics as well as behavior symptoms such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention-deficit hyper-acti vity disorder (ADHAD). Motor tics may include heard jerking, eye blinking or twitching, shoulder shrugging as well as unusual torso or limber movements. Vocal tics include throat clearing, coughing, humming and uncontrollable cursing. OCD and ADHAD are psychological co-morbid behaviors that are associated with many patients with TS. Although there is no guaranteed predisposition to these co-morbid behaviors for every TS patient, it does play an active role in most cases. Budman and Feirman (2001) stated, â€Å"Disturbances of affective regulation, including mood disorders, OCD, obsessive-compulsive symptomatology, non-OCD anxiety disorders, ADHAD, personality disorders, and self-injurious behaviors, have been reported to occur more frequently among patients with Tourette’s syndrome who are seen in clinical settings. Again, this is not a medical adherence to a guaranteed predisposition to these behaviors. It is; however, a good indication that they are likely occurring more often than not in TS patients. This supports many doctors and physicians belief that TS is a genetically inherited condition. Effective diagnosis of TS is a long-term process. In order for doctors to make a positive diagnosis, monitoring of patients for a period of several months is necessary to determine critical question is the degree to which tics are interfering with the child’s emotional, social, familial, and school experiences. To determine this, it is useful to monitor symptoms over a few months in order to assess their severity and fluctuation, impact on the family, and the child’s and A medical professional skilled in the observation and treatment of TS is required to make accurate diagnosis. Just as Gilles de la Tourette observed long ago, most doctors and leading experts still believe there are genetic linkages associated with TS. Leckman (1997) states, â€Å"Gilles de la Tourette’s original reports hypothesized an etiologic role for hereditary factors. Subsequent twin and family studies confirm that genetic factors play an important role in the transmission and expression of TS. † practitioners believe that natural and behavioral methods can assist in the control and tolerance of TS, although there is no agreement about treatment in this manner. The most effective treatment, although not without substantial risks and side effects, is that of pharmacotherapy. Medications can reduce symptoms of TS significantly but ultimately may cause side effects, which are also difficult to live with. Alpha-adrenergic medications such as Clonidine and Atypical and typical neuroleptics such as haloperidol and pimozide, though studied and administered the most can have more severe side effects. Neuroleptics cause side effects that include weight gain, sedation, and EKG abnormalities. Alternative treatments such as relaxation and discipline techniques can be effective in reducing the onset and severity of tics but only provide temporary relief of symptoms. As TS patients learn how to cope with their condition and adapt to the challenges that it can cause in everyday life, sustaining a normal, fulfilled life as possible. Social ramifications can have devastating effects on TS patients who are incapable of finding self-worth due to social anxiety and/or personality behavior disorders associated with the condition. These challenges can be more difficult to overcome than the condition itself. Due to misunderstanding and lack of patience between parents and children, problems in home can have a profound effect on a child’s emotional and psychological state. The key for a family is to seek professional guidance and counseling to learn how to deal with and accept the challenges that TS may cause at home. The long-term, lifelong challenges that TS poses to patients are complex. First, acceptance of the condition is imperative. Secondly, and even more important, professional guidance is encouraged in order to help TS patients deal with and adapt to the changes and challenges that he or she will face in life. . Third, as TS sufferers deal with social and personal conflicts, each must find balance in his or her own life through combination of emotional, physical, and medical treatments and methods that are necessary to gain control over the condition. Lastly, it is extremely important for TS patients to find positive experiences and factors in his or her situation. Most people with condition demonstrate certain gifts or abilities such as increased determination and drive, inner and physical strengths, creativity and intelligence. the gifts that TS patients demonstrate. Swain and Leckman (2005) state, â€Å"Children with TS are often observed to be particularly attuned to the concerns and well being of others, possibly because of their own experience of illness. † These positive traits can help offset the negativities often experienced by TS sufferers. As with anything, the more positive attitude a person adapts in life, the more likely he or she is to succeed and flourish. TS is a condition not considered debilitating or handicapping to anyone, although more severe cases reported have such effects. For society to understand and accept people who suffer from TS, more information needs to be readily available via the internet, medical journals and media coverage in order to educate the general population on this fascinating condition of the human mind and body. Society often misunderstands those who suffer from TS, because the condition is commonly misdiagnosed and misunderstood. Tourette syndrome is not contagious; therefore, no one has a reason to fear or reject those who suffer from the condition. References Mayo Clinic Staff (2004, March). Tourette syndrome. hhtp://www. mayoclinic. com Swain, J. J. , & Leckman, J. F. , (2005) Tourette syndrome and tic disorders: Overview and Practical Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment. _ Psychiatry_ Leckman. J. F. , (1997, April). What Genes Confer Vulnerability to Gilles de la Tourette’s syndrome? Psychiatric Annals. Olivier, M. A. J. , Meyer, L. W. , & De Lange, N. (2003). Tourette’s syndrome: isn’t that the foul mouth disease? Early Child Development and Care Prestia, K. (2003, November). Tourette’s syndrome: Characteristics and Interventions. Intervention in School and Clinic. Budman, C. L. , & Feirman, L. (2001, September). The relationship of Tourette’s syndrome with its psychiatric co-morbidities: Is there an overlap? Psychiatric Annals.

Clement Clarke Moore, Author of The Night Before Christmas

Clement Clarke Moore was a scholar of ancient languages who is remembered today because of a poem he wrote to amuse his children. His memorable work, widely known as â€Å"The Night Before Christmas† appeared anonymously in newspapers beginning in the early 1820s, titled A Visit From St. Nicholas. Decades would pass before Moore claimed  he had written it. And over the past 150 years, there have been hotly disputed claims that Moore did not really write the famous poem. If you accept that Moore was the author, then, along with Washington Irving, he helped to create the character of Santa Claus. In Moore’s poem some of the traits associated with Santa today, such as his use of eight reindeer to pull his sleigh, were established for the very first time. As the poem gained popularity over several decades in the mid-1800s, Moores depiction of Santa Claus became central to how others portrayed the character. The poem has been published countless times and the reciting of it remains a cherished Christmas tradition. Perhaps no one would be more surprised by its enduring popularity than its author, who was, during his lifetime, highly regarded as a very serious professor of difficult subjects. The Writing of â€Å"A Visit From St. Nicholas† According to an account Moore gave to the New York Historical Society when he was in his eighties and presented them with a hand-written manuscript of the poem, he had first written it simply to entertain his children (he was the father of six in 1822). The character of St. Nicholas was, Moore, said, inspired by an overweight New Yorker of Dutch descent who lived in his neighborhood. (Moores family estate became Manhattans present-day Chelsea neighborhood.) Moore apparently had no intention of ever publishing the poem. It first appeared in print on December 23, 1823, in the Troy Sentinel, a newspaper in upstate New York. According to published accounts from the late 19th century, a daughter of a minister from Troy had stayed with Moores family a year earlier and heard a recitation of the poem. She was impressed, transcribed it, and passed it along to a friend who edited the newspaper in Troy. The poem began to appear in other newspapers every December, always appearing anonymously. About 20 years after its first publication, in 1844, Moore included it in a book of his own poems. And by that time some newspapers had credited Moore as the author. Moore presented several handwritten copies of the poem to friends and organizations, including the  copy given to the New York Historical Society. The Dispute About Authorship A claim that the poem had been written by Henry Livingston dates to the 1850s when descendants of Livingston (who had died in 1828) asserted that Moore was wrongfully taking credit for what had become a very popular poem. The Livingston family had no documentary evidence, such as a manuscript or a newspaper clipping, to support the claim. They simply claimed their father had recited the poem to them as early as 1808. The assertion that Moore hadn’t written the poem was generally not taken seriously. However, Don Foster, a scholar and professor at Vassar College who employs â€Å"linguistic forensics,† had claimed in 2000 that â€Å"A Night Before Christmas† was probably not written by Moore. His conclusion was widely publicized, yet it was also widely disputed. There may never be a definitive answer as to who wrote the poem. But the controversy has captured the public imagination to the extent that in 2013 a mock trial, dubbed The Trial Before Christmas, was held at the  Rensselaer County Courthouse in Troy, New York. Lawyers and scholars presented evidence arguing that either Livingston or Moore had written the poem. The evidence presented by both sides in the argument ranged from the unlikelihood that someone with Moores stern personality would have written the poem to specific notes on language and the meter of the poem (which only matches one other poem written by Moore). The Life and Career of Clement Clarke Moore Again, a reason for speculation about the authorship of the famous poem is simply because Moore was regarded as a very serious scholar. And a cheerful holiday poem about a â€Å"jolly old elf† is like nothing else he had ever written. Moore was born in New York City on July 15, 1779. His father was a scholar and a prominent citizen of New York who served as the rector of Trinity Church and the president of Columbia College. The elder Moore administered the last rites to Alexander Hamilton after he was wounded in his famous duel with Aaron Burr. Young Moore received a very good education as a boy, entered Columbia College at the age of 16, and received a degree in classical literature in 1801. He could speak Italian, French, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. He was also a competent architect and a talented musician who enjoyed playing the organ and the violin. Deciding to follow an academic career, rather than becoming a clergyman like his father, Moore taught for decades at the Protestant Episcopal Seminary in New York City. He published a number of articles in various newspapers and magazines. He was known to oppose the policies of Thomas Jefferson, and occasionally published articles on political subjects. Moore would also publish poetry on occasion, though none of his published work was anything like â€Å"A Visit From St. Nicholas.† Scholars could argue that the difference in the writing style could mean he didn’t write the poem. Yet it’s also likely that something written simply for the enjoyment of his children would be quite different than a poem published for a general audience. Moore died in Newport, Rhode Island, on July 10, 1863. The New York Times briefly mentioned his death on July 14, 1863, without referring to the famous poem. In the following decades, however, the poem kept being reprinted, and it by the late 19th century newspapers regularly ran stories about him and the poem. According to an article, published in the Washington Evening Star on December 18, 1897, an 1859 edition of the poem published as a small book with drawings by a prominent illustrator, Felix O.C. Darley had made A Visit From St. Nicholas extremely popular just before the Civil War. Of course, since then, the poem has been reprinted countless times, and recitations of it are a standard component of Christmas pageants and family gatherings.