The Great Gatsby and a good man is hard to find Essay Example for Free

The Great Gatsby and a good man is hard to find Essay There are so many ways and means that man evolve himself into: his pursuits of his dreams, his conduct of his life as he sees it fit; his definition and interpretation of the other lives that revolve around his own life. The parallelism and yet paradoxically the extreme difference in the central characters of â€Å"The Great Gatsby† and â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† – illustrate the variances and also the similarities in the lives of two different men. It is therefore necessary for man to be properly guided by his perspective in life to enable him gain his rightful place in society and in this life. The Great Gatsby: Stocks and bond became an intriguing business in the 20’s and thus it lured a curious, young, business neophyte – Nick Carraway. From his hometown in Minnesota, he moved to New York to pursue the burgeoning promise of wealth. Nick lived in a house he rents in Long Island New York in the area of the wealthy in West Egg district. He soon learned that his neighbors are all socially well connected and established with newfound wealth that makes them all aggressive, dreamy, gregarious and showy. One such neighbor is Jay Gatsby. In Gatsby’s magnificent mansion, fabulous parties and guests happen every time. And what unfolds to Nick are circumstances that mixes all the decadence there could be. Nick is distinctive from his West Egg neighbors because he is a Yale graduate and has nevertheless established connections with the high society of the East Egg district of Long Island. Nick has a cousin that lives in East Egg, Daisy Buchanan. Daisy is married to Tom, who was Nick’s former classmate in Yale University. During one visit of Nick to his cousin, Daisy and Tom introduced Nick to a beautiful young girl, Jordan Baker. Nick and Jordan become besotted, fell in love and carried a romantic affair. It was Jordan who confessed to Nick about the true state of the marriage of his cousin Daisy and Tom. It is because Tom is carrying an extra marital affair with a certain Myrtle Wilson. Myrtle lives in a not so impressive neighborhood in a dumping ground of industrial refuses that is located between New York City and West Egg District of Long Island, called the Valley of the Ashes. Indeed it has come to pass that Tom was audacious to invite Nick to join him and Myrtle to parties. The summer that came along, Nick got an invitation from Jay Gatsby for one of his famous parties. Nick attends and finds Jordan Baker already there. It was Jordan who formally introduced Nick Carraway to Jay Gatsby. Nick was impressed by Jay a someone who is extremely gregarious, pretentious, good looking, and has a very winsome smile. It was Jordan who told Nick that Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan were friends way back their days in Louisville. Jay has been in love with Daisy from day one and still carries the torch to the present time. The reason why Jay pursued his dream, his social status, his wealth were all because of Daisy whom Jay wants to impress and win her love. Therefore, inviting Nick and meeting him was for purposes of Nick arranging for Jay to meet Daisy once again. It is because Jay learned from Jordan also that Nick is the cousin of Daisy. So, Nick found a way for Jay and Daisy to meet and talk. Daisy eventually got enamoured by Jay and thus the two has an affair. To which, Tom slowly became suspicious. Inspite of Tom’s infidelity, he still feels outraged that his wife has the gall to cheat on him. Tom confronts Jay and told him that he can never truly win Daisy’s heart because what they shared is something that Jay cannot out shine. Tom also confronts Daisy and told her that she is being blinded by Jay’s status, wealth and power because she does not know and will never know that what Jay Gatsby has are all from illegal businesses. Daisy eventually realizes that she loves Tom and feels she has to sustain her loyalty to her husband. A tragedy that transpired twisted all of their fate. Myrtle Wilson, the mistress of Tom was ran over by a car and died. The car is Jay Gatsby’s car and it was driven by Daisy. Gatsby could not take to heart that Daisy will be made responsible for Myrtle’s death. Gatsby decided that he will take the blame and claim that he was the one driving. Thus, it was such that Tom told George Wilson, the husband of Myrtle – that Gatsby was the one driving the car that killed Myrtle. George therefore suspected that Gatsby and Myrtle must be having an affair. George confronts Gatsby and shoots him to his death. Then George consequently shoots himself. Nick was the one who arranged for the final services for Jay Gatsby and buries him. Nick breaks off with Jordan and completely decided to leave behind the New York City life that he thought would make him pursue his dreams of wealth, prestige and power. It is because he found himself immersed in mind boggling misery of intrigue of decadent morals, greed and values. Nick concluded that there is really no such thing that can be emulated from Jay Gatsby as the epitome of an American dream fulfilled. A Good Man is Hard to Find: The family of Bailey is due for a holiday vacation and they planned to go to Florida. However, Bailey’s grandmother prefers to go to Tennessee. To win the debate, Grandmother pointed out to her son and his family that there is an escaped convict who has murdered to so many people and is on the loose. He is called The Misfit. The family was taken to the story of the Grandmother and they decided on Tennessee. On the road for their trip, the family did not know that Grandmother sneaked out her cat in a basket. She was seated at the back of the car, together with her grandson John West and her granddaughter June Star. Bailey and his wife were seated in front with their baby. Along the way, Grandmother remember at a certain section came to her recollection as the plantation that she used to live. She insisted to her son Bailey that they should stop for a while so she could visit. Grandmother enticed the family to abide by her wishes by telling her grandchildren that the house is mysterious for it has a secret panel that leads to somewhere yet to be discovered. The children got fussy and intrigued by the story and insisted that their father follows the wish of their Grandmother to visit that house in that plantation. The road was graveled and bumpy. As they all struggled thru the uncomfortable ride, Grandmother shifts her leg and it irritated the cat. The cat escaped from the basket and crawled at Bailey’s back. This caused the accident and the car turned over. However, no one is hurt. A car is seen to be soon driving by and they all waved for help. The car stops and three men approached the family of Bailey. The three men were carrying guns. And Grandmother recognizes one of man as The Misfit himself. The Misfit told the family that they have put themselves in trouble since they recognized him. The two other male companions were told to haul the entire family in the thick woods ahead of the road and kill them. Grandmother started begging The Misfit in all sorts of manner elucidating on the Christian principle that all men are good and that The Misfit does not actually have to be mean and bad. Grandmother was trying her best to convince The Misfit that he could even be her own son but nevertheless is loved by his own parents and family and God and he should be inspired by that. Grandmother assured The Misfit that he could find happiness in prayers. To it all, The Misfit nevertheless shot and killed Grandmother. The Theme: The Great Gatsby expounded on the realities of what it takes to reach ambition and goals in life. With the scenario of a prosperous decade of the 20’s the abundance of opportunities lured the Americans to pursue the heights of anything – no matter at what cost and what it takes. As Nick said in Chapter IX: â€Å"I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all—Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life. † â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find ventures on the ethical values and faith to be generally in every human being. The conviction of the Grandmother that she could spare her family from the ire of The Misfit is based on such principle. She pleadingly tried to convince The Misfit when she said: â€Å"Listen, you shouldn’t call yourself The Misfit because I know you’re a good man at heart. I can just look at you and tell†. The Symbol: The Valley of the Ashes is the metaphorical representation in The Great Gatsby between being a success or a failure in one’s pursuit of your dreams. It is because that stretch of dumping ground separates the old rich constituents of East Egg and the place of struggle of their dreams which is New York City The cat buried deep in the basket that which eventually escaped symbolized the means that life can unfold to bring one’s fate to an undefineable track. Grandmother, with all her imaginary, fictionalized stories to earn all her whims was finally struck by the unforeseen way that the cat could bring her to her end, inspite of all the righteousness she beholds. She just has to have her way. As her granddaughter June Star said: â€Å"She wouldn’t stay at home to be queen for a day. † Works Cited O’Connor, Flannery. â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†. 1993 Rutgers University Press Fitzgerald, F. Scott â€Å"The Great Gatsby†. Hayes Barton Press

The Tourist Gaze by John Urry | Summary and Analysis

The Tourist Gaze by John Urry | Summary and Analysis Critically consider the argument that Urry’s concept of the ‘tourist gaze’ places too much emphasis on the visual. Urry’s ‘tourist gaze’ remains one of the most influential concepts in tourism research. The ideas developed by Urry are still widely quoted and relevant today but a major criticism of his work is that too much emphasis is placed on the visual aspects of being a tourist rather than the whole experience. This essay will investigate this claim before concluding whether or not this is the case. In order to do this, this essay will be broken into several parts. The first section will look at what the ‘tourist gaze’ actually is. It is important to have a definition of this term before proceeding with the rest of the assignment. The second part of this essay will draw on wider academic research to test whether or not Urry’s ideas do place too much emphasis on the visual. The final part of this essay will bring together all the arguments to form some sort of conclusion. In order to fully understand the ‘tourist gaze’ it would be useful to have a clear understanding of what a tourist is and what tourism as an activity is. Turner et al. (2005) define a tourist as, â€Å"someone who has travelled to another place for a brief sojourn, an experience that necessarily entails a distinct period of transition and discontinuity from the everyday world† (p. 11). Urry (2002) describes the act of tourism as, â€Å"a leisure activity which presupposes its opposite, namely regulated and organised work. It is one manifestation of how work and leisure are organised as separate and regulated spheres of social practice in ‘modern’ societies† (p. 2). The environments that these tourists visit are subject to what Urry (1990) has described as the ‘tourist gaze’. Urry states that tourists are, â€Å"directed to features of the landscape that, which separate them off from everyday experience. Such aspects are viewed bec ause they are taken to be in some sense out of the ordinary†. The tourist and the viewpoints are manipulated, â€Å"so that the gaze falls upon what the gazer expects to see† (Turner et al, 2005: 11). Most of the time this gaze is from a static location but if it is mobile then it is directed from an insulated environment such as from a train window or a sign-posted route. The tourist only sees what they are supposed to see. Urry (1990) states, â€Å"the typical tourist experience is†¦to see named scenes through a frame, such as the hotel window, the car windscreen or the window of the coach† (p. 100). In a sense, real life is suspended or hidden away in these places so that the tourist can gaze upon what upon they expect to see. For example, in the Lake District in England, houses can only be built to very exacting specifications with traditional methods and materials. This helps to preserve the traditional look of the area. This expectation has been built up by promotional material such as brochures and adverts on the television. Goss (1993) argues that tourism marketing provide tourists with representational images of the places they are about to visit and this helps form an imaginary construction for the tourist. Culler (1981) argues that tourists read the landscape for anything that represents these pre-established notions. In The Tourist Gaze, Urry (1990) states that when we go away and become tourists, â€Å"we look at the environment†¦we gaze at what we encounter†¦and the gaze is socially constructed† (p. 1). Perkins and Thorns (2001) state that there is no single uniform gaze, rather it is, â€Å"varied temporally and across social groups and that the concept of the gaze encapsulates tourists’ experiences and is an interpretation of the things they seek and do when on holiday† (p. 187). Perkins and Thorns (2001) go on to argue that, â€Å"the gaze is a concept which comprises a way of looking at the world which simultaneously forms what is seen and the way of seeing† (p 187). There have been numerous criticisms leveled at Urry’s concept of the ‘tourist gaze’. Perhaps the most common one and of most interest to this essay is that the gaze doesn’t fully capture the tourist experience. Perkins and Thorns (2001) argue that there needs to be more of a focus on the concept of the tourist performance because in places like New Zealand, tourists are more about ‘doing’ rather than simply ‘seeing’ or ‘gazing’ and, â€Å"thus about putting their bodies into tourism in a way that is not reflected in much of the analysis arising from a focus upon the tourist gaze† (p. 199). This criticism highlights an important change in the tourism industry. This is the search for authentic experiences and the search for experiences that invigorates all the senses. Thrift (1999) suggests that tourists want ‘contact’ with their surroundings. This contact goes beyond the visual realms as suggested by Urry. As Franklin and Crang (2001) point out that tourists, â€Å"are seeking to be doing something in the places they visit rather than being endlessly spectatorially passive† (p. 13). Franklin and Chang go on to suggest that tourists have become bored by the gaze. MacCannell (1989) states that, â€Å"touristic consciousness is motivated by its desire for authentic experiences, and the tourist may believe that he is moving in this direction, but often it is very difficult to know for sure if the experience is in fact authentic. It is always possible that what is taken to be entry into a back region is really entry into a front region that has been totally set up in advance for touristic visitation† (p. 101). Urry fails to notice the distinction between authentic experiences and inauthentic ones. MacCannell (2001) believes there is a second gaze, one that is in a way suspicious of the totally visual elements of the tourist gaze. The second gaze is where the tourist is aware that, â€Å"something is being concealed from it†¦the second gaze knows that seeing is not believing. Some things will remain hidden from it†¦The second gaze turns back onto the gazing subject an ethical responsibility for the construction of its own existen ce† (p. 36). MacCannell (2001) finds the concept of the tourist gaze as defined by Urry too narrow a concept and argues that it is, â€Å"a blueprint for the transformation of the global system of attractions into an enormous set of mirrors to serve the narcissistic needs of dull egos† (p. 26). Nicholson-Lord (2002) is in partial agreement although he also takes issue with the concept of the second gaze as well. He argues that, â€Å"tourism is a powerful cultural solvent; it takes customs and beliefs that are locally rooted and distinctive, puts them into the global blending machine and turns them into liquefied gunk to which a mass market has been primed to respond† (p. 24). Although MacCannell is arguing for the need for a wider experience than Urry suggests, they have both been criticized by those who suggest that they focus too exclusively on the tourist experience and the subjectivity of the tourist. Little mention is given to the subjectivity of the host. In a world where affluent tourists are able to seek out experiences and gaze upon sights in worlds that are just becoming open to them, little mention is given to how this affects the host cultures. Bianchi (2001) states that, â€Å"in a world of hyper-mobile capital, instant communications and the mass movement of peoples, international tourism encapsulates the contradictory forces at play in today’s world. These are mobility and freedom for the wealthy few, and immobility and impoverishment for the disenfranchised many† (p. 16). This imbalance is completely ignored in the work of Urry. It would be fair to argue that this is because he places too much emphasis on the visual for the t ourist and not enough on looking at the wider impact of tourism on the hosts. As we move into an age of more ethically aware tourism, this becomes more of an important concept. Of course, Urry would argue that there is no single gaze and that this movement to more ethical tourism is just simply a different gaze for a different type of tourist but the fact that he ignores the impact of tourism on the host cultures is evidence that his preoccupations are elsewhere. The tourist gaze as a concept is a helpful one when studying tourism. It helps us to understand how tourism has evolved and changed over the past few decades. It also helps us to understand how we as tourists act as players within a larger system that has been created to match our expectations of what we want to see on when we go on holiday with the supposed reality of what is actually there. It helps us to understand all the visual sign-posts that are created to help match up these two worlds, the reality and what we expect to see. However, this concept does have some limitations. Although it tries to be all encapsulating, trying to explain all our visual experiences by saying that people from different classes seek different things and gaze on different things when they go on holiday, it is still too narrow. It fails to really encapsulate the entire essence of tourism which is the experiences that you have that can’t be explained away as simply visual. This essay has touched on the notion of performance and contact. This is what tourism is all about. It is about the experiences that you have that come from the smells and sounds and the activities you partake in in the place you are visiting. Of course the sights play a huge part in this but they are not the whole experience. Another place that Urry’s concept falls flat is his failure to look at tourism from the point of view of the host culture. In this day and age where we are becoming more ethically aware in everything that we consume, including our tourism, this is quite a big failure of the concept. It’s preoccupation on the consumers and how they are being manipulated with no mention of how these consumers impact on the cultures that they visit. Urry’s concept is still useful but it is getting less and less relevant in today’s market. Bibliography and References Chin, C.B.N. 2008, Cruising in the Global Economy: Profits, Pleasure and Work at Sea, London: Ashgate. Franklin, A. and Chang, M. 2001, The trouble with tourism and travel theory?, Tourist Studies, 1(1), 5-22. Goss, J. 1993, Placing the Market and Marketing the Place: Tourist Advertising of the Hawaiian Islands, 1972-1992, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 11, 663-688. MacCannell, D. 1992, Empty Meeting Grounds: The Tourist Papers, London: Routledge. McGuigan, J. 2004, Rethinking Cultural Policy, London: McGraw-Hill International Perkins, H.C. and Thorns, D.C. 2001, Gazing or Performing?: Reflections on Urry’s Tourist Gaze in the Context of Contemporary Experience in the Antipodes, International Sociology, 16(2), 185-204. Thrift, N. (1999) ‘Still Life in Present Time:The Object of Nature’, conference paper  presented to Sociality/Materialism – The Status of the Object in Social Science,  Brunel University, UK 9–11 September 1999. Turner et al. 2005, The Tourist Gaze: Towards Contextualised Virtual Environments, Kluwer. Urry, J. 1990, The Tourist Gaze, London: Sage. Urry, J. 1992, The Tourist Gaze â€Å"Revisited†, American Behavioral Scientist, 36, 172-186.

Modern and traditional architecture

Modern and traditional architecture The architecture of a country acts like a mirror for understanding the way of living and also the developments of the place that have led to the creation of the country as it looks today. The architecture of a country gives an insight into a countrys developments over the years. Many times architecture also helps us predict what type of traditions have been followed in the country over a large span of time. The thesis mainly deals with analyzing whether the direction of development of architecture taken by UAE after seeing an oil boom is justified or not with an aim to understand the role of oil boom in the development of UAEs architecture. The thesis also deals with analyzing whether the country has lost its traditional heritage by building highly modernized buildings. The thesis deals with the important topic of deciding whether a country should go with its traditional methods or would go towards highly modernized architecture in order to attract larger number of tourists and earn higher revenues or should it maintain its traditional architecture which is unique to a country. In my view for a country it is important to plan its architecture in a way that it promotes revenues and also keeps some uniqueness for the country this could be achieved only when the countrys planners decide to develop their architecture keeping in mind the traditions of the country. Islamic architecture mainly deals with the architectural designs that are influenced by Islam Mosques, tombs, palaces and forts form an important part of the Islamic culture (Islamic architecture definition) .Traditional architecture mainly means architectural designs that are common to a place. These buildings might not form part of the highly modernized buildings of the same time and might implement simpler technologies in their construction. Traditional architecture is commonly known as vernacular architecture and is mainly used to define methods of construction which use the resources and traditions of the place to which they belong (Vernacular Architecture). These mainly constitute the common buildings that have been developed over time and usually reflect the cultural environmental and historical contexts of the place in which they evolve. The designs formed by architects usually involve many physical and geometrical calculations in order to develop a design and make it a physical entity but the vernacular architecture is mostly transported by traditions and is base on knowledge that is gained by the trial and error methods and are then passed on to generations. They usually do not involve complex engineering. The vernacular architecture of UAE has characteristics similar to various other gulf countries. The vernacular architecture of UAE shows evidences of its dependence on the natural environment of UAE. The impact of economic, social and cultural factors is also easily visible in the traditional architecture of UAE. The traditional architecture was mainly a result of concentration of people in a location as the population was very unevenly distributed and was concentrated more in areas where water was available. The concentration of population in ancient times in the Abu Dhabi due to the presence of water and palm trees in the village of Al Ain is quite evident and also Dubai was a home for a large no. of people because of its location at the entrance of a curving creek also known as khoor which promoted trade. The construction of forts and citadels also formed an important part of the vernacular architecture of UAE. Al Hisn fort at Abu Dhabi is a good example of architecture. (Vernacul ar architecture in UAE) Islamic architecture comprises of a wide range of secular and religious designs and buildings that have been created from the day when Islam was found to the present day. The mosque, the tomb, the fort and the palace are the four main types of Islamic architecture (Islamic architecture definition). The Islamic architecture is commonly characterized by domes and ceilings, walls and vaults, large interior spaces and Arches and columns. (Characteristics of Islamic architecture). Some of the famous tourist sites like the Burj Dubai are also affected by the Islamic architectural styles and techniques. Modern Architecture is a type of architecture that has led to the simplification of form. It has also led to the usage of the theme and structure of a building to form highly attractive structures. The first variants of the modern architecture were seen very early in the 20th century but they have become popular only after the Second World War and today have also become a representative of modern structures. The discovery of oil led to an increase in prosperity for UAE. As a result of this increase in the revenues and identifying the need to build new buildings the countries managing authorities established planning departments in order to plan the development of cities and villages in the country. The community of UAE started modernizing as a result of increased income to spend on such items and this modernization was also seen in the field of architecture. In the 1970s and 1980s after witnessing an oil boom which resulted in external income for the government the government of UAE took the initiative to build public houses for its citizens. (Architectural styles in Dubai) In the era of seventies and eighties most of the buildings built were based on modern architectural styles which were imported from other parts of the world. This era saw an important role of architects from western countries in the development of Dubai. The buildings built used highly sophisticated and modern technologies for building various forms of architecture (Architectural styles in Dubai). Example of public housing project The era of 1970s and 1980s was an era of modern architecture in UAE. The planning of modern architecture was a result of increased revenues after the oil boom which resulted in large amount of revenues for the government, in the same era the government decided to build structures to fulfill needs and also to increase revenues for the country by developing new tourist destinations which could attract visitors from all around the world and lead to a new source of earning gains for the citizens of the country and would also lead to a decrement in its dependence on oil as a source of income. As a result during this period the government served as the main planner through various planning departments and the architects from different parts of the world were called to develop these projects as the projects involved modern technologies which were new to UAE. hence these planners served as the developers of modern UAE. In the nineties the country saw a new trend in architectural developments the developments of this period include a mix of modern and traditional architecture of UAE. This period also saw replacements in the buildings built during seventies to be more related to the region. This trend is continuing even today and even today the buildings are built keeping in mind the traditions and modernization aspects of architecture At last I would like to conclude that although UAE was developing only on the basis of modernization in the seventies but after a short interval of time the developers and planners understood the cultural and traditional wealth of UAE and the current architectural design is a mix of both modern and traditional styles of architecture. References Islamic Architecture(n.d.), Retrieved on April 12, 2010 fromhttp://www.ebook3000.com/Dictionary-of-Islamic-Architecture_36109.html (Islamic architecture) Traditional Architecture (n.d.), Retrieved on April 12, 2010 from http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Traditional+architecture (traditional architecture) Islamic Architecture(n.d.), Retrieved on May 1, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_architecture (Islamic architecture definition) Vernacular Architecture(n.d.), Retrieved on April 12, 2010 from http://www.vernaculararchitecture.com/ (Vernacular Architecture) Vernacular architecture in UAE(n.d.), Retrieved in May 1,2010 from http://victorian.fortunecity.com/dali/428/uaearch/uaearch6.htm (Vernacular architecture in UAE) Characteristics of Islamic Architecture(n.d.), Retrieved on May 1, 2010 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/8647136/islamic-architecture-gains-its-origins-By-Doris-Kemp- (Characteristics of Islamic architecture) Architectural styles of Dubai in different time periods(n.d.), Retrieved on May 1, 2010 from http://victorian.fortunecity.com/dali/428/uaearch/uaearch7.htm (Architectural styles in Dubai)

Objectives of the Personnel Manager. :: Business and Management Studies

Objectives of the Personnel Manager. When the Personnel Manager is involved in recruiting new employees for the store he/she has to first has to look into the Internal and External Constraints. Whilst looking at this the Personnel Manager will have to decide weather the new recruit will stick to the terms of the job. As well as this the Personnel Manager will have to think if the new Member of the team will be able to fit in with the team at present or will he/she be subject to bullying or discrimination of any sort. As well as this aspect it could all be the other way round and the new employee may start to manipulate the other members of the team and start to bully and discriminate against them. Lastly the Personnel Manager will have to consult with the Finance Department and with the new employee on terms of - How much money he/she will get, How many sick days, How many days holiday etc. etc. The Objectives Of The Personnel Manager is to find ==================================================  · The right people at  · The right place at  · The right time with  · The right training. The Personnel manager has to find :- The Right people. This means that the Personnel Manager needs to find the right people for the job, this could mean that they need to have the right Qualities or Qualifications. Also these new people have to fit in with the way the business is currently run and the right attitude for this particular post of this job. The Right Place. This means that the chosen person must have the right post within the organisation. If the person is young and has never had a job, they will have to start off with a low post job and not in charge of anyone. Also you will have to know if the person is able to control over people. The right time. The new people have to have a job that will allow them to keep up with whatever commitments they have outside of work. i.e. if these people have young children they will have to be home early and come to work late so that they can meet their children. The Right Training. If these people are in a computer department they may need training to help them use particular software and programs as well as how to type efficiently. People may also need training if they are getting a promotion so they will need to know how to do things to a better standard, and they will probably be in control of more people

Biography of William Faulkner :: Writer Biographies Essays

Biography of William Faulkner William Faulkner was a prolific writer who became very famous during his lifetime but who shied away from the spotlight as much as possible. He is remembered as both a gentlemanly southern eccentric and an arrogant, snobbish alcoholic. But perhaps the best way to describe Faulkner is to describe his heritage, for, like so many of his literary characters, Faulkner was profoundly affected by his family. Faulkner's great grandfather, Colonel William Falkner (Faulkner added the "u" to his name), was born in 1825 and moved to Mississippi at the age of 14. He was a lawyer, writer, politician, soldier, and pioneer who was involved in several murder trials - including two in which he was accused - and was a best-selling novelist. During the Civil War he recruited a (Confederate) regiment and was elected its colonel, but his arrogance caused his troop to demote him and he left to recruit another regiment. After the war he became involved in the railroad business and made a lot of money; he bought a plantation and began to write books, one of which became a best-seller. He ran for Mississippi state legislature in 1889, but his opponent shot and killed him before the election. Faulkner's grandfather was the colonel's oldest son, John Wesley Thompson Falkner. He inherited his father's railroad fortune and became an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He later became the president of the First National Bank of Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner's father was Murray Falkner, who moved from job to job before becoming the business manager of the University of Mississippi, where he and his family lived for the rest of his life. William Faulkner was born on September 25, 1897 and began to write poetry as a teenager. During World War I, he joined the Canadian Royal Flying Corps – he was too short to join the U.S. Air Force – but never fought; the day he graduated from the Flying Corps the Armistice was signed. The only "war injury" he received was the result of getting drunk and partying too hard on Armistice Day, wherein he injured his leg. After the war, Faulkner came back to Oxford, enrolled as a special student at the University of Mississippi and began to write for the school papers and magazines, quickly earning a reputation as an eccentric. His strange routines, swanky dressing habits, and inability to hold down a job earned him the nickname "Count Nocount.

‘Popular’ Music

‘Popular music' is the broadest and as the name would suggest most popular genre of music today. The term ‘Popular Music' was first used in the 19th century but it is the twentieth century that has seen the most developments in popular music. , the technology it uses and the media it is conveyed in The start of ‘Pop Music' is generally thought to have been in the 1950's with the advent of Rock ‘n' Roll. This is when music was first really brought to a mass audience watching on television. By the end of the 1950's over half the population owned a television. Millions more than at the start of the decade. Popular bands were made ‘popular' because they were being brought to the masses. The 1960's saw a broadening in ‘popular music' with TV shows such as ‘Top of The Pops' showing a selection of hits from the top 40 of the singles chart. This use of the media brought most styles of music that were popular to a mass audience. Later in the 1970's and 80's pop magazines were introduced. Some such as ‘Smash Hits! were aimed at the younger early teen end of the market while others such as ‘NME' or ‘New Musical Express' were aimed at older more refined music fans to popular music. The late 1980's saw a flurry of new popular music magazines, many of which are still popular today, rock magazine ‘Kerrang! ‘ being a leading example. I believe that the 1990's has seen a ‘dumbing-down' of some magazines such as ‘Smash Hits! à ¢â‚¬Ëœ. Now aimed at an even younger possibly pre-teen audience it is little more than a promotional vehicle for the groups and artists represented in it's pages. The featured groups in these magazines are often from a new sub-genre that has developed from the 1980's to now and is known as the manufactured band. In recent years the idea of manufactured bands or artists has been embraced into the reality TV format with shows such as ‘Pop Idol' showing the development of a band or artist live on TV. I believe this innovation has been bad for music in general as the top 40 chart is now flooded with either reality TV winners, reality TV losers or artists who have gone through a similar process but have not been televised in doing so. In recent years music television has risen to the fore as a major part of an artist's success. When MTV was launched in the early 80's who could have thought that the music video would become the phenomenon it now is. Artists spend millions of pounds and hundreds of hours making sure their video is just right. In the early 21st century there are now over 20 music channels showing every thing from rock to rap, from classical to teen pop. However nowadays all artist's videos are so good that the music video seems to have gone full circle and now the music is more important again. In the pop music industry there have been thousands of innovations over the years but no genre has surpassed the sub genre of rap for innovative ideas. Originating from street corners where young black males would ‘battle' against each other using lyrics rap is now a multi-billion pound industry with the leading players earning vast fortunes. Rap has certainly come a long way since it's humble beginnings. The 1980's were a massive decade of innovation for rap, a genre that had begun in the 70's. the start of the 80's rappers were still using manual mixers to combine beats and mix tracks in the way that has become a hallmark of rap. By 1990 rappers were using digital mixers to blend beats more harmoniously. The result a more clear-cut sound that has perhaps made rap the music of the 90's. Pop music has come a long way since it begun in the 1950's. Technology and the media have perhaps had as larger part in pop music's success than the music itself. However I believe the media ha s become too involved nowadays by creating stars themselves while not playing other artist's music. After all ‘popular music' should be about the music not making things popular. However there is one dark cloud that looms over the organisations that run the music industry such as record labels and the media. The Internet. Technology has now come so far that music files can now be swapped over the Internet through such software such as ‘Napster' or ‘Kazaa'. Now when a teenager hears a song he or she likes on the radio they don't rush to the record store. They rush to their computer. It is not just teenagers either. Millions of adults indulge in this type of music piracy every day. Even though they are ripping off the very artists they love. I believe however that the problem is not with the designers of ‘Kazaa' or with the people who are downloading it. After all millions of people use these services, law abiding ordinary people. The reason for this I believe is because people see record companies as big faceless corporations who don't really care about music or people, just making money. I think it is the music companies responsibility to stop people using these ways of obtaining music by making ‘popular music' mor about music and less about money.

Biography of Jean Jacques Rosseau

Rousseau was born in Geneva, the son of a watchmaker. His mother died shortly after his birth, and his aunt and uncle raised him. At 16 he set out on into the world which brought him into contact with Louise de Warens, who became his patron and later his lover. She arranged for his trip to Turin, where he became a Roman Catholic convert. After serving as a footman in a powerful family, he left Turin and spent most of the next dozen years at Chambery, In 1742 he went to Paris to make his fortune with a new system of musical notation, but he failed. Once in Paris, however, he became friends with Denis Diderot. Diderot later commissioned Rousseau to write articles on music for Diderot†s Encyclopedia. In 1749, Rousseau won first prize in a contest, held by the Academy of Dijon, on the question: â€Å"Has the progress of the sciences and arts contributed to the corruption or to the improvement of human conduct? † In 1765 he was expelled from Bern and accepted the invitation of David Hume to live at his house in England; there he began to write the first part of his Confessions, but after a year he quarreled violently with Hume, whom he believed to be in league with Diderot and Grimm, and returned to France in 1767. After wandering through the provinces, he finally settled in Paris, where he lived in a garret and copied music. The French authorities left him undisturbed, while curious foreigners flocked to see the famous man and be insulted by him. At the same time he went from salon to salon, reading his Confessions aloud. In his last years he began Reveries du promeneur solitaire, descriptions of nature and his thoughts about it, which was unfinished at the time of his death. Shortly before his death Rousseau moved to the house of a protector at Ermenonville, near Paris, where he died. In 1794 his remains were transferred to the Pantheon in Paris. Few people in the Enlightenment Period equaled Rousseau†s influence on politics, literature and education. Rousseau†s thoughts begin with the fact the he believed we are good by nature but when put in society we begin become more disorganized. According to Rousseau, humanity†s only flaw was social behavior as he stated in his book â€Å"The Social Contract. † â€Å"But human nature does not go backward, and we never return to the times of innocence and equality, when we have once departed from them. † (The Social Contract, Book I, Ch. ) Going along with his idea of social order was Rousseau†s aim at freedom. He believed that the purpose of law and government was to expose the people†s wishes for the ideal government. Rousseau†s theory was, since the people decided if a ruler is fair or not, it was up to the society if the government was able to grant the people their liberty and well being. Basically, the government was only as strong as the people worked for it to be. If society didn†t like the tactics used by the ruler, the government would not gain control. Rousseau†s ideas on education are still used today. Rousseau outlined in his book, Emile, that education shouldn†t be viewed as trying to get a child to understand everything, but to draw out what was already in the child. Education was to be monitored and controlled very carefully and in the end, the process should result in the natural development of a child†s potential. Rousseau†s writings were always personal, describing his deeply keep secrets and thoughts. During the Enlightenment Period, Rousseau†s writings were incredibly popular. His book, Heloise, was one of the most popular and his book Confessions is still widely read today. His knowledge of musical theory was amazing because it was self-taught. Although his work did not have an effect on Enlightenment music, his compositions live on today. Rousseau†s influence on the Enlightenment was just as great as many of the more well know philosophs. Rousseau expanded on John Locke†s theory that a society has the right to question the authority of an unjust ruler. Rousseau highly influenced German and English romanticism, a movement in the 18th century that was marked by an emphasis on emotion and imagination. His thoughts about the rule of the government had a profound impact on French revolutionary thought. During the Enlightenment, people were beginning to become more independent and question authority. Society was starting to move away from conventional thinking and Rousseau social contract was the beginning to this revolution. Rousseau†s social contract was an addition to Thomas Hobbes†s social contract. Rousseau†s version stated that the contract was an agreement between free individuals to create a society and a government while Hobbes believed the ideal relationship was between a society and its government. Rousseau contributed greatly to the movement in Western Europe for individual freedom and against the absolutism of church and state. Rousseau†s ideas were a stepping-stone onto which the American colonists followed. Using Rousseau†s ideas on individual freedom, the colonists declared their independence from Great Britain and formed their own colonies. Rousseau†s ideas on education not only reflected the movements of his time, his ideas started a new movement. His thinking has not only influenced our ideas on education, they have formed the basis for what we believe in. Rousseau believed every child had the potential to become great, but it just a matter of releasing their knowledge. Teachers today use Rousseau†s thinking of allowing the free development of human potential to guide students through life. His ideas on education were new and different at the time. With these ideas, Rousseau added to the spirit of his time by creating new standards on education and learning. Rousseau†s thoughts can be summed up in a quote from his book, â€Å"The Social Contract,† (Book 2, Ch. 2) â€Å"Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains. Let us then admit that force does not create right, and that we are obliged to obey only legitimate powers. In that case, my original thought recurs, live free as equal individuals in a state of nature. â€Å"