The Rise of the Novel in the Eighteenth Century Essay Example for Free

The Rise of the Novel in the Eighteenth Century Essay The new form, i.e the novel is about certain realistic people living in a certain society and not about fanciful characters, supermen or monsters. On the contrary, the characters are ‘individualized’: which means that every individual, person or character ( ordinary or extraordinary) is independent from other individuals. In the past, individuals or characters in the prose works never stood for themselves: they stood for certain abstracts or qualities :Mr. Greedy, Mr. Angry, Mrs. Domineering, ..etc. With the rise of this literary form, individuals are drawn realistically as independent, regardless of their social status or personal capacity. The characters are analyzed in detail, and shown as complex individuals, affected by social pressures. b) The rise of the middle class: The new middle class in England ( consisting of merchants, lawyers, businessmen, doctors,..etc.) were very educated, but they were unlike the upper classes who were taught in Greek and Latin. The middle-class people could read in English, so they among the readers of then novels at that time. c) Educated women: Women became educated at that time , and so they were a crucial factor in producing a readership for fiction. They benefited from the rise of the novel because they were not educated in Greek and Latin but in history, English grammar, geography,..etc. d) Better education for the middle classes coincidedwith a period of great leisure for women in the middle and upper classes. This left a vacuum in their lives which demanded to be filled. Men, also, demanded imaginative works because they looked for other interests beyond their jobs. Thus, the novel opened new real worlds. e) The increase and spread of newspapers during the eighteenth century is evidence of this interest. Many periodicals such as The Spectator and The Tattler were popular. Addison and Steele, the editors of those periodicals created characters such as Sir Roger de Coverley-an individualized character with essay-like short stories. f) Thirst for travel books characterized by realistic incidents and realistic characters during a period where the British Empire was expanding show the people’s need to learn about other people from other cultures and other lands with different traditions and manners..Many of the eighteenth-century novels were written in the form of travel books such as Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver’s Travels to satisfy this thirst. g) The thirst of the reading public to learn about the manners, and circumstances of other classes and localities. Richardson’s Pamela is a plan to write a series of letters which provide examples of the correct way of behaving in different social situations. h) The novelists, too, felt it was their duty not just to inform bu t also to teach moral lessons. This shows the moral usefulness of the novel. Thus while the novelists introduce their readers to new social worlds, and show the manners of others, they provide the best moral way for their readers to behave. This triple aim- to reveal, to educate, and to encourage moral behavior was an important feature of the eighteenth-century novel. i) As a consequence, the novels were detailed , long, and therefore expensive which means that the rich only could buy them. But by the middle of the eighteenth century, there appeared circulating libraries. So, people could borrow novels free of charge. That was a very important development. j) The rise of modern industrial capitalism, also, emphasized the idea of individualism. Because of industrial capitalism, people started to believe that the individual could choose and decide his future because it taught people how to earn and keep money. Thus, because of those social factors, novelists started to study the individual. In the past, characters were seen as general concepts, without emphasis on their personalities. With the rise of modern industrial capitalism and individualism, the social attitude changed. Novelists started to study the individual’s ehavior, appearance , feelings and materialistic attitude. They chose characters from the real society around them, and who were individualized to the extent that most of them named their novels after the main characters. Some of the themes to be discussed The Moral Significance in Robinson Crusoe (Points to be considered about the theme of moral and spiritual re-awakening) 1- In his novel, Robinson Crusoe, Defoe emphasizes the moral element and â€Å"the wisdom of Providence in our life.† 2- Although R. Crusoe blamed his fate and bad luck at the beginning of his adventures, he would gradually believe that his misfortune was â€Å"a judgment of Heaven†, or a punishment of God because he disobeyed his father, and went to sea ignoring his advice. 3- When his ship was first overtaken by a strong storm, Crusoe prayed to God that if He spared his life, he would directly go home. However, when the sea became calm again, he forgot his vows. 4- The ship was overtaken once again by another storm, and the captain told him that it was â€Å"the hand of Providence† punishing Crusoe for his disobedience and breaking his vows to God. 5- The captain warned him that henceforth he would meet with â€Å"disasters and disappointments† if he did not go back to his father. What the captain said proved to be true. 6- On his next voyage to The Canary Islands, Crusoe was kidnapped by pirates and became a miserable slave for two years. 7- On his next voyage to Africa, â€Å"the Hand of God† punished him again. A strong storm struck the ship, and all the other seamen were drowned except Crusoe who found himself in a deserted island. 8- It was not until several horrible incidents took place in the island ( the earthquake, the hurricane, his illness, and the terrible dream), that Crusoe realized for the first time his ‘wrongdoings’, that he lived in wickedness â€Å"without desire of good or consciousness of evil.† 9- From now on, Crusoe starts to re-evaluate his life, to pray to God sincerely, and to reappraise his duty to God. Thus, after much soul-searching, he reaches self-discovery and spiritual re-awakening. 10- The novel ends with Crusoe being a mature individual, in full control of his wealth, using it not for pleasure but to help his old friends and relatives. Industrial Capitalism, Individualism and the Rise of the Novel 1-The rise of the novel during the eighteenth century is greatly associated with the rise of individualism at that time. 2- Individualism stressed the fact that every individual was independent from other individuals, and as a direct result of industrial capitalism, it emphasized that the individual had to choose and decide his future. Modern industrial capitalism, also, taught people how to earn money ,and how increase it. Thus it brought emphasis on the individual and his money. 3- In the past, characters in the romances stood for certain qualities(e.g. Mr. Greedy, Mr. Angry,†¦etc.) and not for themselves. 4-In the eighteenth -century novel, individual characters are drawn as independent regardless of their social status or personal capacity. They are portrayed as complex characters, affected by social pressures. 5-Eighteenth –century novelists such as S. Richardson, H. Fielding, and D. Defoe studied the individual’s attitudes, feelings, and motivations. Defoe emphasized individualism by writing a novel that has one central character with independent individual characteristics. Likewise, Richardson and Fielding concentrated on the individual and named their novels after their main characters. 6-The modern industrial capitalism made people pay great attention to money: how to gain it and how to keep it. In the earlier prose fiction, the main character had moral ideas, and thought only of virtues and good deeds. The eighteenth-century writers became more realistic and dealt with the only interest of the individual at their time, i.e. money. All Defoe’s characters pursue money, and they pursue it very methodically according to the loss and profit of book-keeping. Thus Robinson Crusoe leaves his father’s house and the secure life of the middle class to seek more money. This materialistic point of view began to have a tremendous influence to the extent that idealistic moral values were no longer the core of stories, but the individual and his struggle to gain money. Points to be stressed about The Character of Robinson Crusoe 1. Robinson Crusoe is the central round character who learns the moral lesson which Defoe is trying to convey to his readers. 2. From the beginning, Defoe presents him as an individual endowed with a capability for moral development because of his natural possession of moral sensitivity. 3. As events open, he appears as lacking a certain degree of moral insight and self knowledge, but gradually he gains moral and spiritual re-awakening and self discovery. 4. This gradual change can be traced in three stages in his life: a) When the novel opens, Crusoe leaves home in disobedience of his father and without asking for God’s blessings in search for more wealth, neglecting his father’s advice concerning the advantages of the middle class. Crusoe ,then, goes through four adventures in the sea during which he experiences many misfortunes, and has very narrow escapes from death. At this stage, Crusoe’s character is shown as discontented, rash, romantic ,lacking reason and any sense of moral duty towards God and father. Despite the dangers he faces, he never realizes the moral lesson or that these dangers are a punishment of God for his wrongdoings. He blames his bad luck, fate, or his companions. b) The second stage in Crusoe’s moral and spiritual development starts with his journey to the coast of Guinea which ends up in his shipwreck, the death of all his fellow sailors and his own survival after he swims to a remote deserted island. During this stage, Crusoe suffers, first, physically to provide for his food, shelter, and security. As he struggles to do this, he shows his great abilities of a resourceful, energetic, and inventive individual, although he has never had any knowledge of mechanics or mathematics. At the same time, however, he has many moral reflections which show his mental stress. c) The final stage of this process of gradual moral and spiritual re-awakening culminates in the episode his illness and dream after the earthquake. For the first time, Crusoe recognizes that he is the doer of all his misfortunes, and realizes that he is responsible of all his wrongdoings for has neither asked God for help when he is in danger, nor thanked Him when he is rescued. With this admission of guilt, Crusoe moves quickly in the road of moral and spiritual recovery. Thus he sincerely prays to God for help for the first time. After that, he feels not only physical but also spiritual ease and comfort. As he triumphs over the cannibals, saves Friday and the captain of the ship and his crew, and finally saves himself, he reaches complete satisfaction 5. Thus Crusoe is portrayed as a complex round character who reaches his moral and spiritual growth, after many experiences, .

Tribulation Force :: Essays Papers

Tribulation Force Tribulation Force written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It was published in association with the literary of Alive Communications, INC. in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1996. I got this book at the Thomasville Public Library. Jerry Jenkins is an experienced author. He has written or co-written more than one hundred books. His works have appeared in a variety of publications, such as Reader’s Digest, Parade, and many Christian periodicals. He writes his books in four genres: biography, marriage and family, fiction for adult, and fiction for children. Mr. Jenkins also writes the Gil Thorp comic strip. Jerry Jenkins has worked on this series with Dr. Tim LaHaye. Dr. Tim LaHaye is an author, minister, and counselor. Dr. LaHaye came up with the idea to put the rapture and tribulation into a book. He has written over forty books with a wide range of subjects such as, family life temperaments and Bible prophecy. Tribulation Force is part of a continuing series of thos e left behind. In the first book, Left Behind, the rapture took place. The rapture is when God takes his people or the people who has asked Jesus into their hearts up to heaven. This book is about the people that have been left behind and there struggle to survive. The book’s main characters are Rayford Steele, Chloe Steele, Buck Williams, and Bruce Barnes. Rayford Steele is a PAN-continental airline pilot. Rayford lost is wife and son in the disappearance (the rapture). Rayford was on his way to Israel when the disappearance took place. When he was on the plane he met Buck Williams, a newspaper journalist. They became fast friends. Chloe Steele, Rayford ‘s daughter, is a collage student at Stanford University. She has moved back home to be closer to her father in their time of need. Chloe meets a journalist, named Cameron (Buck) Williams. They are currently going out and are eventually getting married. Buck Williams works for the New York Global Weekly, a newspaper, as their senior writer. At home in Rayford’s wife’s church, New Life Community Church, they search for the reasons why their families were gone and not them. They turned to Bruce Barnes, a minister at New Life Community Church, for the answers. Bruce ha s told them that Jesus has came and took his people and that there will be an anti-Christ that will try to rule the world.

How & Why the Crusades Were Successful and Failures Essay

The Hundred Years’ War, was a conflict between England and France, was not actually a single war that lasted a hundred years; instead it was a series of wars interspersed with periods of peace that began in May 1337 and ended in October 1453. The three main conflicts were the Edwardian War won by English king Edward III; the Caroline War won by French king Charles V; and the Lancastrian War won by French king Charles VII. The Hundred Years’ War was the outcome of disputes between the ruling families of the two countries, the Plantagenets in England and the Capetians in France. Since 1066 the English had controlled rich agricultural areas of France, and the two countries had often fought over these territories. In the 1300s marriages between English and French nobles meant that both English and French kings had a claim to the French throne. During the Edwardian War the English took control of large areas of southwestern France and the northern coastal city of Calais. Although England was smaller than France, it was able to muster a large army. Equipped with longbows and arrows that could pierce French armor, the English defeated the French cavalry. During the Caroline War, the French regained much of the territory lost during the Edwardian War. This success was due to able military leaders and the development of a full-time, professional army and a taxation system to support it. During the Lancastrian War, the English allied with Philip the Good, duke of Bourgogne to conquer most of northern and western France. The tide changed, however, when Philip changed his alliance to the French. It was during the Lancastrian War that the heroic efforts of Joan of Arc, who fought the English, allowed uncrowned French king Charles VII to be officially crowned. The use of newly invented cannons also significantly aided the French war effort. Although the English maintained control of Calais until 1558, they were never again a serious threat to French sovereignty rule. One of the central causes of the Hundred Years War centered on the relationship between the Kings of France and England regarding the duchy of Aquitaine located in Southwestern France. In 1259, the Treaty of Paris designated that Henry III held the duchy as a fief of the French king. As a vassal to the King of France Henry was required to pay liege homage to the king. This meant that the King of England was required to do homage whenever the kingship of either England or France changed hands. However, Henry was the King of England. Control over the French throne further complicated matters. In 1328, Charles IV, King of France, died without a male heir. Edward III, the King of England, held claim to the throne via his mother who was Charles’ sister. The other important claimant was head of the Valois house (Philip VI) grandson of Philip III. Philip VI gained the throne and moved to confiscate Aquitaine in order to consolidate his power. Edward led a raid into French territory in 1338 to defend his claim and two years later declared himself the true king of France. Another cause of the Hundred Years’ War was economic conflict. The French monarchy tried to squeeze new taxes from towns in northern Europe which had grown wealthy as trade and cloth-making centers. Dependent as they were on English wool, these towns through their support behind English and Edward III. The hundreds year war was one by the French. The Hundred Years War was the last great medieval war. The Hundred Years’ War was a series of separate wars, battles, and political feuds lasting from 1337 to 1453 between two royal houses for the French throne. The reason that the French ultimately won is because the English war effort in France was dependent upon their alliance with the Burgundians, but when the Burgundians tepidly switched allegiance to the King of France, it truly crippled the English war effort. As a result of the Hundred Years’ War, the French and English people, who had been ruled as one nation after the Norman Conquest, began to assume separate national identities. They also developed new military tactics. The wars, however, had been a serious drain on the populations of both countries, bringing about a decline in feudalism. France had been severely damaged during the fighting. This was partly caused by official armies conducting bloody raids designed to undermine the opposition ruler by killing civilians, burning buildings and crops and stealing whatever riches they could find. It was also frequently caused by routiers, brigands frequently soldiers serving no lord and just pillaging to survive and get richer. Areas became depleted, populations fled or were massacred, the economy was damaged and disrupted, and ever greater expenditure was sucked into the army, raising taxes. Historian Guy Blois called the effects of the 1430s and 1440s a ‘‘Hiroshima in Normandy’’. Of course, some people benefitted from the extra military expenditure. England, in contrast, had begun the war with more organised tax structures than France, and much greater accountability to a parliament, but royal revenues fell greatly over war, including the substantial losses incurred by losing wealthy French regions like Normandy and Aquitaine. However, for a while some Englishmen got very rich from the plunder taken from France, building houses and churches back in England.

Female Objectification Of Women - 1211 Words

Being female has affected my life in many ways, both positive and negative. However, when I compare them the negatives outweigh the positives. Almost all the negatives on my list seem to lead to double standards. A double standard defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary is â€Å"a set of principles that applies differently and usually more rigorously to one group of people or circumstances than to another; especially a code of morals that applies more severe standards of sexual behaviour to women than to men.† I feel this is very fitting as even in the definition itself it refers to gender double standards that apply to women more than men. I have experienced double standards from sexual objectifications to social pressures and stereotypes.†¦show more content†¦I am in charge of my own body just as boys should be responsible for their own learning. It is not my responsibility to make sure I am not distracting boys. Another example outside of the education system a nd into the public, is topless men versus topless women. â€Å"I am not trying to argue for mandatory toplessness, or even bralessness. What I am arguing for is a woman s right to choose how she represents her body - and to make that choice based on personal desire and not a fear of how people will react to her or how society will judge her. No woman should be made to feel ashamed of her body.† Scout Willis’s powerful statement to the media after she protested topless in New York City. Another point made by Reenan Glazer about how â€Å"In many places, topless women at strip clubs is permissible, and yet a bared breast on the street incites controversy. Why? Because women are the sexual objects and property of men, it follows that what might arouse men can only be displayed when men want to be aroused.† I strongly agree with Scout and Reena as there should not be a difference in what men and women should be aloud to show to the public it only encourages these d ouble standards when we should be working towards demolishing them. Speaking for most girls, we often feel the need to be perfect. I am sick of these pressures and stereotypes that being a girl has put on me. I have been told my whole life what I should look like,Show MoreRelatedWomen s Rights Of Women1655 Words   |  7 Pagesrights of women in the contemporary world, modernity has created systems in which women are prevented from achieving equality. One of the most popular influences in today’s society is the media. Female objectification in media has damagingly grown with the emergence of modernity. Unquestionably, this is an important sociological issue to address. 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