Analysis of The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Analysis of The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton Context By the time the bloody chaos of the First World War finally came to an end on November 11, 1918, the American novelist Edith Wharton had already been living as an expatriate in Paris for five years. During that time, she had essentially ceased to write fiction and had turned her energies instead to the Allied effort by providing war relief for soldiers and refugees. Her devotion and enthusiasm for her work was, in fact, enough to win her the French Legion of Honor. By the end of the war, however, Wharton found herself disturbed by what she saw as the profound social disruptions that had been brought on by the war. In the months after the armistice, she again picked up her pen to write what many critics consider to be her war novel. One would be hard pressed, however, to find any elements within The Age of Innocence that even remotely address the disruption and the bloodshed of the First World War. Set in 1870s New York, Whartons novel depicts a society that is in many ways the antithesis of war-devastated Europe. Old New York, Whartons term to describe this wealthy and elite class at the top of the developing citys social hierarchy, was a society utterly intent on maintaining its own rigid stability. To Wharton, Old New York imposed on its members set rules and expectations for practically everything: manners, fashions, behaviors, and even conversations. Those who breached the social code were punished, with exquisite politeness, by the other members. The differences between the fractured society following the First World War and the Old New York of The Age of Innocence are without a doubt dramatic. However, there is more of a connection between them than may first appear. Edith Wharton herself was born into the claustrophobic world of Old New York. When she began, at the age of fifty-seven, to write what would become her Pulitzer-prize winning novel, she had already witnessed an astounding amount of social change. Both horrified and fascinated by the chaos and the freedom of the new century as it headed towards modernism and war, Wharton was prompted to compare this new age with that of her own past. The Age of Innocence, then, stands as both a personal recollection of the culture of Whartons youth and an historical study of an old-fashioned world on the brink of profound and permanent change. It is believed that the expression keeping up with the Joneses once specifically referred to Edith Jones Whartons parents, who were known throughout New York for their lavish social gatherings. Born into such an atmosphere of opulence, Wharton had access to all the privileges of an upper- class upbringing: education, travel, and the assurance of a good marriage. Yet for all the luxury of her youth, Wharton felt her individuality continually stifled by the rigid expectations and narrow perspectives of her class. Not surprisingly, these sentiments become central themes in The Age of Innocence. Unhappily married at an early age to a man thirteen years her senior, Wharton faced, like Ellen Olenska, the temptations of adultery and the censure of divorce. As a writer, too, Wharton faced the criticisms of her class, who disdained and feared what they called the bohemian life of artists and writers. Post-war Paris was a far cry from this stifling environment, and Wharton was interested in tracing the differences between her past and present not only on a personal level, but also a historico-anthropological level. By the end of the War, rigid Old New York appeared as a lost world, a defunct civilization that bore little similarity to the present era. Like many authors of her time, Wharton was interested in evolutionary theories and the newly developing field of anthropology. To a great extent, it is this interest in the sociology of Old New York that gives the novel its keen sense of detached irony. While post-Civil War New York saw itself as the pinnacle of civilization, Wharton undercuts this picture by comparing its unbending societal customs to those of the most primitive tribes. Plot Overview Newland Archer couldnt be more pleased with his recent engagement to the beautiful debutante May Welland. However, his world is thrown upside down by the sensational arrival of Mays cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska. Recently returned to America after separating from her husband, a philandering Polish count, Countess Olenska shocks the staid New York aristocracy with her revealing clothes, carefree manners, and rumors of adultery. Because the Countesss family, headed by the powerful Mrs. Manson Mingott, have chosen to reintroduce her into good society, Archer and May feel it necessary to befriend her. As Archer comes to better know the Countess, he begins to appreciate her unconventional views on New York society. Meanwhile, Archer becomes increasingly disillusioned with his new fianceà ©, May. He begins to see her as the manufactured product of her class: polite, innocent, and utterly devoid of personal opinion and sense of self. The Countess Olenska soon announces her intention of divorcing her husband. While Archer supports her desire for freedom, he feels compelled to act on behalf of the Mingott family and persuade Ellen to remain married. At a friends cottage near Hudson, Archer realizes that he is in love with Ellen. He abruptly leaves the next day for Florida, where he is reunited with May and her parents, who are there on vacation. There, he presses May to shorten their engagement. May becomes suspicious and asks him if his hurry to get married is prompted by the fear that he is marrying the wrong person. Archer reassures May that he is in love with her. Back in New York, Archer calls on Ellen, and Archer admits that he is in love with her. Just then, a telegram arrives from May, announcing that her parents have pushed forward the wedding date. After their wedding and honeymoon in Europe, Archer and May settle down to married life in New York. Over time, Archers memory of Ellen fades to a wistful image. But on vacation in Newport, he is reunited with her, and Ellen promises not to return to Europe as long as she and Newland do not act upon their love for each other. Back in New York, Archer learns that Count Olenski wants his wife to return to him and that Ellen has refused. After the stroke of her grandmother, Ellen returns to New York to care for her. She and Archer agree to consummate their affair. But suddenly, Ellen announces her intention to return to Europe. May throws a farewell party for Ellen, and after the guests leave, May announces to Archer that she is pregnant and that she told Ellen her news two weeks earlier. Twenty-five years pass. In that time, the Archers have had three children and May has died from pneumonia. Now Archers son convinces him to travel to France. There, they arrange to visit the Countess Olenska at her Paris apartment. However, at the last minute Archer sends his son alone to visit her, content instead to live with his memories of the past. Character List Newland Archer The novels protagonist. Archer is a wealthy young lawyer married to the beautiful debutante May Welland. He is in love, however, with Mays cousin Countess Ellen Olenska, who represents to him the freedom missing from the suffocating environment of the New York aristocracy. Archer is torn between his duty to May and to his family, and his passion for Ellen. In the end, he remains faithful to his wife and comes to be known in society as a philanthropist and civic figure. Countess Ellen Olenska Mays cousin and Mrs. Manson Mingotts granddaughter. Ellen was educated and raised in Europe. There, she married a Polish count, who cheated on her and prompted her to leave him. Upon her return to New York family, she hopes to be reintegrated to American life, but she finds only judgmentality and stifling mores. Her behavior is deemed too unorthodox for her to fit in to Old New York. To Archer, however, she is free and truly alive, her own person. May Welland The dewy-eyed and artless young thing who marries Archer. May appears to be unassailably innocent. Over time, Archer comes to see her as the living embodiment of New York society: incapable of thinking on her own, conditioned to act as she is expected. Despite her apparent innocence, May is not as naà ¯ve as Newland thinks. However, she remains a loyal wife even after she suspects that Newland is having an affair with Countess Olenska. Mrs. Manson Mingott Grandmother to May and Ellen, Mrs. Mingott is a fat and fiery old aristocratic lady who wields great influence over the New York clan. While her moral standards are irreproachable, she has some unorthodox social views. She insists on family solidarity and remains confident in Ellen, supporting her financially when she leaves New York to return to Europe. Henry and Louisa van der Luyden The descendants of pre-Revolutionary Dutch aristocracy, this elderly couple is the last word in social authority. They are last in a long line of powerful social leaders. Very quiet and non-adventurous people, they are rarely seen in public and only rarely invite guests to their solemn Madison Avenue mansion. Julius Beaufort Little is known about this British bankers past, but it is widely rumored that he left Europe after some shady business deals. With his elaborate annual balls, Beaufort is one of the most important and lavish hosts of New York entertainment. Following a scandalous business failure, he is swiftly exiled from good society. Mrs. Archer and Janey Archer Mother and sister of Archer, these two women act almost like sisters. Somewhat socially timid, they love to gossip, grow ferns, and make lace. While they are devoted to Archer, they are nonetheless frequently shocked by his social views. Lawrence Lefferts Widely considered to be the arbiter of good taste and moral values, Lefferts is also a huge gossip and an unfaithful husband. There are suspicions that he courted Countess Olenska soon after her arrival and was soundly rejected. Sillerton Jackson An elderly gentleman and good friend of the Archer family. Jackson is the unofficial archivist of all New York gossip and family history. Medora Manson The eccentric old aunt of Ellens, Medora raised her after the deaths of Ellens parents. A penniless itinerant, she is repeatedly widowed, and is tolerated by society only because of her family connections. Ned Winsett The bohemian journalist friend of Archer. Ned Winsett is one of the few people with whom Archer can really converse. He sees him as both an emblem of social freedom and its immense costs. Mrs. Lemuel Struthers Although as heir to a shoe polish fortune Mrs. Struthers is considered common, she becomes a popular hostess known for her artistic gatherings. Summary The novel opens in the new opera house, where all of New Yorks high society has assembled in its expensive box seats to see and to be seen. Newland Archer, the protagonist, has just arrived fashionably late and joins his friends in time for the climax of the opera. As he glances across the filled theater, he spots May Welland, his new fianceà ©, seated in the box of her aristocratic old grandmother, Mrs. Manson Mingott. Archer, struck anew by her pure and innocent beauty, dreams of blissful married life with May. His reverie is abruptly interrupted by his acquaintance Larry Lefferts, who notices a stranger entering the Mingott box. A slim young woman wearing a theatrical and low-cut dress takes a seat in the box, seemingly unconscious of all the attention she attracts. With shock, Archer realizes that this woman is no other than the Countess Ellen Olenska, cousin to May Welland, who has returned to New York after having lived abroad for many years. Lefferts, considered to be the authority on form, or style and fashion, and Sillerton Jackson, the unofficial archivist of all family histories and scandals within the upper class, are both shocked that the Countess would appear in good society with the rest of her family. We learn through their gossip that it is rumored that she had left her unfaithful husband, a Polish count. Newland admires the fiery and somewhat unorthodox determination of Mrs. Manson Mingott to support this black sheep of her family by not only hosting her indefinitely in her home, but also by allowing her to appear publicly in the family box at the Opera. Yet at the same time he is bothered that all of New York society will see such a scandalous figure sitting next to his innocent young fiancee. As the men continue to gossip, Archer feel compelled to take decisive action. As the fiancà © of May Welland, he decides that he has the responsibility to defend the Mingott clan. During intermission, he hurries over to the Mingott box. Although no words are exchanged between May and himself as to the reason for his sudden appearance, she shows her understanding of the situation and her gratitude to Archer with her smile. Both she and Archer are aware that by appearing in the Mingott box with the Countess Olenska, Archer is demonstrating his connection to that family and his support of their decision to include the Countess in their social activities. Archer is introduced to Olenska, who was one of his childhood playmates. He is struck by her flippant, friendly manners and finds her descriptions of New York society rather disrespectful. After the opera, many of the wealthy New York families attend the annual ball at the Beaufort residence. Julius Beaufort, we learn, is a handsome, charming, and disreputable Englishman with a shady financial history and a strong tendency toward infidelity; his wife Regina is a pretty but dull woman of reputable family background. Although many consider the Beauforts to be common, no one would ever pass their elaborate and ostentatious balls, which provide a cornerstone for New York social activities. At the ball, Archer and May officially announce their engagement. In a moment alone together in the conservatory, they express their happiness. May suddenly asks Archer to announce their engagement to her cousin Ellen Olenska. Ellen, to the relief of her family, did not attend the Beauforts ball. Analysis In the opening chapter of The Age of Innocence, Wharton immediately evokes a specific time, a place, and a society. Her panoramic description of the opera is highly effective as an introductory setting, for it not only acclimates the reader to the fashions and entertainment preferences of Old New York, but it also presents the members of this society as if they were an assembly, a closely-knit collection of individuals and families. The fact that everyone in good society attends the opera demonstrates immediately their similar tastes in art and entertainment. Yet the opera does not serve merely as a bonding activity for the very rich. Indeed, the members of the audience scrutinize each other far more than the opera itself, singling out in particular the fashions and manners of their peers. One goes to the opera to see and to be seen, to judge and to be judged. This may explain why Wharton is quick to introduce two characters who are otherwise minor to the plot. She singles Larry Lefferts out of the crowd as the foremost authority on form. Form, or a code that indicates the acceptable tastes in fashion and manners, is extremely important to this society, which is so concerned with appearances. And an unusual dress or a flippant attitude may, in fact, signify more than just a lack of taste but also a lack of proper moral values. Such a potential wantonness threatens to destabilize the delicate existing code and is therefore judged harshly. In addition to Lefferts, Wharton pauses over the character of Sillerton Jackson, the unofficial archivist of family histories. Not only does Jackson know every blood and marital relationship within the tight clan of Old New York, he also knows each familys scandals, whether real or rumored. Thanks to Jackson, ones private history does not remain a secret for long. Here and throughout the novel, Wharton employs certain imagery by which to portray Old New York society. She describes the evening at the opera as an extremely predictable event: one arrives there fashionably late, every family has a carriage waiting for them at the entrance, and even the ball at Beauforts that follows is an annual tradition. On a basic level, Whartons language indicates how boring such a world can be; no one acts differently from anyone else and there is no variation in the course of events from year to year. In the following chapters, Archer will become more and more frustrated with the monotony of this stultifying environment. On a more symbolic level, Wharton ironically compares the traditional behaviors and codes of cultured Old New York with those of primitive or ancient cultures. Both are obsessed with ritual events and behaviors, she indicates, and Archers concern with acceptable behavior is no different from the totem terrors that had ruled the destinies of his forefathers thousands of years ago. It is, of course, the arrival of Countess Ellen Olenska that brings tension to this perfectly ordered scene. Thanks to the good memory and loose tongue of Sillerton Jackson, Ellens appearance is preceded by her reputation. It is important to note Jacksons exclamation upon seeing Ellen in her familys opera box: I didnt think the Mingotts would have tried it on. With this statement is the implication that the actions of an individual reflect upon the family. Jackson is shocked not only because a woman of somewhat ill repute is seen amongst good society, but also because her family is choosing to support such a black sheep. Newland Archer is aware of the crucial importance of the Mingott familys sense of solidarity. When he sees how his friends negatively respond to the appearance of Ellen, he rushes over to the Mingott family box. Since May is a member of this family and Archer soon will be, it is his duty to defend their decision to include Ellen. Simply by appearing in the Mingott box, Archer is sending a clear non-verbal signal to the rest of the New York clan. This gesture, just like Mays grateful glance at Archer, is a subtle but unequivocal form of communication. Throughout the novel, Wharton must interpret these actions for her readers, for often the spoken words of her characters do not contain as much meaning as (and in some cases relate the opposite meaning of) the gesture. In the third chapter, the character of Julius Beaufort provides a clear example of the discrepancy of appearance versus reality. His personal history is spotty at best, and he is notorious for his womanizing. But because of his immaculate dress and public display of manners and hospitality, he is accepted by the New York clan. As long as Beaufort-or anyone, for that matter-can hide the unpleasantness of his past, he will be welcomed into good society. Chapters 4-6 Summary As is expected of all newly engaged couples, Archer and May begin a series of betrothal visits to their friends and relatives. The first is to Mrs. Manson Mingott, who lives by herself in a grand and unorthodox mansion near Central Park. Because of her tremendous obesity, she is confined to her house; but because of her social influence, she is not isolated from the rest of society. Mrs. Mingott happily receives the couple and instructs May on wedding preparations. As they are about to take their leave, Ellen Olenska returns home from shopping with Julius Beaufort. Archer notices that Mrs. Mingott greets them both cordially; she does not seem to consider it improper, as he does, that a married man should be seen in daylight with a recently-separated woman. As Archer leaves, he speaks briefly to the Countess about his engagement to May. She is very pleased and asks Archer to call on her soon. As Archer leaves, he inwardly remarks that the Countesss behavior with Beaufort is most likely acceptable in Europe. All the same, he is glad he is marrying a member of his own New York clan. The next evening Sillerton Jackson dines with Archer and Archers mother and sister at their home. Jackson and the two women are eager to gossip about the arrival of the Countess Olenska. When the conversation inevitably drifts to discussing her appearance in public with Beaufort, Archer shocks his family by claiming that she has the right to go where she chooses and that he hopes the Countess will get a divorce from her brutish husband, even if such things are seldom done. He remarks that he is tired of a double standard for the affairs of men and women and that it is time for women to be as free as men. Alone in his study after dinner, Archer contemplates his approaching marriage to May. Regarding her picture, he wonders to what extent she is the product of her society. Recalling his assertion at dinner that women should have the same freedoms as men, he now concludes that the nice women of his class were brought up to never desire freedom. Archer suddenly realizes that although he wants his future wife to be free and to form her own thoughts, she has been carefully trained by her family not to possess such traits. To him, May is innocent because she is ignorant. While he remains unwavering in his decision to marry her, he begins to feel that his marriage will not be entirely what he had previously expected. A few days later, the Mingott family is in great distress. After having sent out invitations for a formal dinner to be held in honor of the Countess Olenska, they have received refusals from practically all of the invites. It is clear that New York has decided to scorn the Count ess Olenska by not attending her welcoming dinner. In protest, Archer appeals to his mother to talk with Henry and Louisa van der Luyden. The van der Luydens, a frail old couple who are seldom seen in public and receive only their most intimate friends at home, are regarded as the most powerful and most elite figures in New York society. Archer hopes that their influence can atone for the slight that has been dealt to the Countess and her family. Analysis Chapter 4 opens with one of the most humorous character sketches in the novel. The immensely large Mrs. Manson Mingott is an intriguing character to Archer because of her slightly unorthodox living arrangement and her candid way of speaking. Because of her impeccable moral character and high societal status, her free style of conversation does not scandalize others or disrupt the given social standards. As such, she can easily get away with making some perceptive and occasionally critical insights into the society of Old New York. When Beaufort arrives with Countess Olenska at Mrs. Mingotts home, she asks him if he will be inviting Mrs. Lemuel Struthers and remarks that New York is in need of new blood and new money. While Old New York is intensely close-knit and hostile to nouveau-riche outsiders, it is also in risk of isolating itself completely from the rest of the world, to the detriment of its own health. The character of Newland Archer also takes on several nuances in these cha pters. In the opening Opera scene, Archer appears to be as preoccupied with correct appearances as his friends. At Mrs. Mingotts house, Wharton demonstrates how Archers thoughts on form depart from the norm. He admires Mrs. Mingotts strong personality and the slight sense of impropriety in the arrangement of her house. Yet Archer is relieved when he discovers that Ellen is out for the day, for he fears the controversy associated with her. His acceptance of unconventionality, then, is limited. Mrs. Mingotts harmless banter is not nearly as destabilizing as Ellens behavior in walking in public with Beaufort, which threatens the social code to which Archer is accustomed. In chapters five and six, we also get a glimpse into Archers thoughts on women. At dinner with his family and Sillerton Jackson, Archer attempts to defend Ellens right to have an affair following the infidelities of her husbands by proclaiming that women should be as free as men when it came to their personal relations hips. Yet Archers attempts at gender equality are belied by many of his other comments. Later that evening, he remarks to Jackson that he is sick of the hypocrisy that would bury alive a woman of her age if her husband prefers to live with harlots. While he does here defend Ellens right to manage her own affairs, he labels other women who have made similar choices as harlots. Archer also shows his unequal treatment of women in regards to his own past. In the novels elliptical allusions to his former mistress, Archer is always inclined to judge her actions harshly. Archer is also led to wonder about the usefulness of asserting such rights for women. Although he loves and admires May, he sees that she has been brought up to be a nice woman, one who would never request the right to have an affair. With this revelation, Archer begins to realize just how circumscribed the lives of May and other women in New York society really are. They have been brought up never to question inequalities or double standards. In fact, it is as if they are not even aware that such inequalities exist. They exist in a state of perpetual innocence, untroubled by what they do not know. With this revelation, Archer becomes further disillusioned with the strict codes of Old New York. Chapters 7-9 Summary At the van der Luydens formal and ostentatious Madison Avenue home, Archer and his mother relate the slight given to the Countess Olenska. The van der Luydens decide to stand by the Countess on principle: if her family has already decided to support her admittance into society, the rest of society must support their decision. To make amends, the van der Luydens decide to include the Countess at their reception for the Duke of St. Austrey. In the course of the next week, before attending the reception for the Duke, Archer learns much about the past of the Countess Olenska. After the early deaths of her itinerant parents, Ellen was left under the guardianship of her aunt Medora Manson, an eccentric and frequently widowed woman. After the death of Medoras most recent husband, she packed up and left with Ellen in tow. For years nothing was heard of them, until news reached New York that Ellen had married the extremely wealthy Polish Count Olenski. A few years later, the marriage ended in disaster, and Ellen decided to return to her New York family to recuperate. After learning of Ellens history, Archer is curious to see how-if at all-she will adapt to New York society. At the Dukes reception, the Countess raises eyebrows by appearing late and somewhat disheveled. After dinner, she leaves the side of the Duke (with whom she is expected to converse) in order to talk with Archer. They discuss, primarily, his engagement to May. The Countess reveals her ignorance of New York social customs by asking Archer if the marriage was arranged. When Archer corrects her, she embarrassedly admits that she often forgets that what is bad in European culture is good, by contrast, in American culture. As the conversation is interrupted by the other guests, Countess Olenska bids Archer to call on her at her new home the next day. Archer arrives late at the Countesss shabby, slightly bohemian flat that following day, only to find her away. He decides to wait in her living room until she returns. While he waits, he examines the room, which is artfully decorated with European bric-a-brac and exotic works of art. To Archer, who is used to the standardized Italian art appreciated by those in his class, the Countesss furnishings are novel and intriguing. Suddenly, from the window he sees the Countess descend from Beauforts cab. Inside the flat, Archer is interested by the Countesss novel, if slightly shocking, opinions on the fashions and the families of Old New York. She, in turn, looks to Archer for advice about fitting in to the New York clan. When he explains how misleading appearances are in New York, Ellen responds by bursting into tears. She remarks to Archer that the most lonely aspect of living in New York is that she is required to live around well-meaning people who insist that she pretend to be someone she is not in order to spare them any unpleasantness. Their conversation is interrupted by the entrance of the Duke and Mrs. Lemuel Struthers. Archer leaves, somewhat relieved to be spared any more upsetting emotion. As he stops by the florist to send May her daily bouquet of lilies-of- the-valley, he decides impulsively to send a bouquet of yellow roses to Countess Olenska. Analysis Wharton commences Chapter 7 with a detailed account of the nature of the power structure and chain of command within the tight-knit high society of New York. As the sole descendants of one of the most wealthy and aristocratic families in the city, Henry and Louisa van der Luyden serve as legislatures, executives, and judges in regards to certain social problems. It is they who determine the laws of family solidarity. Because Ellens family supports her, everyone outside the family must honor their decision and treat her as one of them. It is also they who judge the severity of the offense against Ellen Olenska; Wharton describes them as the Court of last appeals. And finally, it is they who decide that action must be taken to amend for the insult. By inviting the Countess to their formal reception for the Duke, the van der Luydens send an unmistakable message to those who have previously slighted Ellen. Wharton makes her depiction of the van der Luydens ironic by several different means. First of all, she shows the inconsistencies between the van der Luydens as individuals and as leaders. For all the stuffy splendor of their house and the formal quality of their interview with the Archers, Henry and Louisa are shy and retiring people who dont much like to entertain. They seldom leave their home, due both to health problems and a genuine fear of venturing out in public. Secondly, Wharton describes them in anthropological terms. The van der Luydens are mouth pieces of some remote ancestral authority which fate compelled them to wield. Wharton subtly hints that there is something primitive about the van der Luydens influence over society and that their power is due more to wealth and bloodline than to their capability and temperament. For a society that prides itself on its high culture, such a hierarchy of power seems rather crude and primeval. And finally, Whartons physical description of this harmless old couple involves a large amount of death imagery. Louisa looks like she was rather gruesomely preserved in the airless atmosphere of a perfectly irreproachable existence. This is not unlike the way Wharton sees Mrs. Mingott as a doomed city trapped under her own weight in Chapter 4. In both these cases, Whartons juxtaposition of authority figures with death imagery indicates the ineffectual nature of their power. Ruled by such archaic individuals, Old New York potentially faces a waning of power itself, or even extinction. In Chapters 8 and 9, we begin to get a better grasp of Ellens personality. Up until this point, we have seen Ellen primarily through the eyes of others: through the gossip at the opera and through Archers opinions based on their brief encounters. Now the picture of Ellen becomes more complete through the recounting of her personal history, the descriptions of her exotically furnished apartment, and through her own conversations with Archer. The very nature of their discussion proves to Archer Ellens foreignness and her lack of traditional manners. Unlike May and the rest of New York who communicate indirectly through glances and euphemistic speech, Ellen is quite candid in her opinions. She directly criticizes

Essay on video games violence Essay

The gaming industry greatly impacts how people, from young children to adults, spend their time. According to Health Magazine (2009), â€Å"90 percent of kids aged 8 to 16 play video games, and they spend about 13 hours per week doing so (more if you’re a boy). † Whether its educational, or just plain fun and entertainment video games have evolved greatly in the last 40 years. Today’s sophisticated games are in a class of it’s own with it’s realism and impressive graphics. With this ever advancing technology, comes better games with realistic situations. There’s no harm in playing video games for recreation. However, the problem lies within the violent video games and the aggression that these video games cause in children. For years researchers and experts have issued studies linking video games to aggressive behavior. It’s a controversial subject, nonetheless, it shows just how powerful the affect the games have on children. To illustrate, CBSnews. com reports a story of a 17 year who bought the popular game, â€Å"Grand Theft Auto†. In this game, the player is encouraged to do as much illegal activity and engage in as much violent behavior as they can to be rewarded with accolades and higher points. The more heinous the act, the higher you move up in the game. After playing this game for nine months, the 17 year old gunned down three men, two police officers and a dispatcher in a county jail, in the same style he was trained from the video game. In the kids statement to police, he said : â€Å"Life is like a video game. Everybody’s got to die sometime. † This is just one example of aggressive behavior as a result of violent video games, but there are many more cases. Children’s minds are very impressionable, and violent video games are harmful to their minds because of how interactive and realistic these games can be. According to research by child psychologist David Walsh, as further reported in the article, violent video games can be linked to physical aggressive behavior in children because of the brain. His study revealed that the teenage brain is not fully developed. Violent video games have a deeper impact on a teenage brain versus an adult brain. Walsh further states, it’s â€Å"largely because the teenage brain is different from the adult brain. The impulse control center of the brain, the part of the brain that enables us to think ahead, consider consequences, manage urges — that’s the part of the brain right behind our forehead called the prefrontal cortex. That’s under construction during the teenage years. In fact, the wiring of that is not completed until the early 20s. † Therefore, since children’s mind are still underdeveloped, violent video games have a negative effect and cause children to believe aggression is appropriate. From the National Institute on Media and Family, six medical groups issue warnings as to the effects that violence has on children: (1) â€Å"Children will increase anti-social and aggressive behavior. (2)Children may become less sensitive to violence and those who suffer from violence. (3) Children may view the world as violent and mean, becoming more fearful of being a victim of violence. (4) Children will desire to see more violence in entertainment and real life. (5) Children will view violence as an acceptable way to settle conflicts. † From studies to real life examples of violent behavior, video games has shown to have an influence on children’s behavior. Violent video games will not be going away anytime soon. The only solution to combat the issue of violent video games is for parents to be actively involved in their children’s free time and take an interest in what their children play. Once parents are informed on their decisions to allow their children to play violent video games, they will know that if choosing violence, it will have an effect on the impressionable child mind.Parents beware. References Harding, A. (2008). Violent video games linked to child aggression. Health Magazine. Retrieved from http://www. cnn. com/2008/HEALTH/family/11/03/healthmag. violent. video. kids/ Bradley, E. (2005). Can a video game train someone to kill? Retrieved from http://www. cbsnews. com/stories/2005/03/04/60minutes/main678261. shtml 2010. Fact Sheet. National Institute on Media and the Family. Retrieved from http://www. mediafamily. org/facts/facts_vlent. shtml.

Child Prostitution is a Boon Not a Bane- a Satirical Disposition

Oh! What a fun! You would hear while entering into narrow dirty lanes of a small town of Thailand and you would be attracted by the men of higher disposition enjoying sex with young girls of not more than 10 to 12 years. It’s truly an enjoyment for not just locals but also tourists who are attracted and lured by these young girls who earn substantial revenue.For the poor of the underdeveloped nations, child prostitution can be a good solution to earn revenue and reduce their poverty.If each family out of 10,000 couples can bear at-least five girls each and are offered in a sex trade for at-least 10 dollars for one man then each family can earn 50 dollars from one man alone, and suppose if luck is showering smile on them then one girl can even seduce five men in a day to enjoy her lustrous body and that would bring her substantial income to sustain whole of their life.Child prostitution can become the most common economical indicator and can add to the National income of the so ciety, which is already in a great dwindling state and is already in debt. Here the direct role of the government can substantially give a tremendous boost to the child prostitution.Government can encourage the major players in the tourism industry like big hotels to give special tariffs in the form of young girls for the full enjoyment of single tourists who pay visit to their hotels and of-course with tax notwithstanding.This would bring them good revenue. It is a very good proposal for both the hotels and the government alike. The investment that is being promulgated on the education of girls will cost more than the investment that will be levied on the girls to make them prepare for the entertainment of tourists.The investment on the education of girls will only cost burden on the government’s exchequer without any substantial returns but if same amount of investment is levied on the girls to make them prepare for the sex traffic, then not only it would fill the governmen t’s exchequer, but it would also fill the sexual and financial appetite of government’s officers. In short, government should legalize the child prostitution not only for the economic benefit of the children, but also for the benefit of their family and for the benefit of whole society.Just imagine! So many people would be benefited from this prodigious proposition. Middle man who does the dealing of the girls, girl’s parents and their younger brothers who would get income for their studies, over and above it would maintain the traditional cultural of society whereby boys plays subordinate roles in the families. The standard of the living of the people would rise.Times reported, â€Å"inexpensive Iraqi prostitutes have helped to make Syria a popular destination for sex tourists from wealthier countries in the Middle East. In the club’s parking lot, nearly half of the cars had Saudi license plates.† (Fertik, Online Edition)In North America, country statistics reported 10,000 to 30,000 child prostitutes flourishing and majority of the approximate 10,000 children spending their lives in Toronto, Ontario are involved in the sex trade; yet another nation much smaller than America financially and in size seaming with military rule demonstrates sex trade among children in maximum number and ultimate beneficiaries are Burmese officials.As reported by Guardian on October 2007, its military ruled Burma where military officials would not tolerate any pro democratic demonstrations by Buddhist monks but tolerate 13 to 14 year old girls performing catwalk in front of their customers at night clubs easily available for sale at the rate of $100. (Doyle, Online Edition) If it is happening every where then why not it begins to be promulgated legally and openly.Sara, aged 20 years now is a rich girl with large fortunes and property at her disposal. Her occupation was neither modeling nor acting but prostitution in which she has been into since she was just twelve years, even though she is now affected with AIDS, and has been behind bars for four years and sexually exploited even by police officers, so what! At-least she is rich, has lot of money and luxuries at her disposal.Still governments of various nations have made child prostitution illegal and are sorting out various ways to the control this trade. They are constructing houses for children and starting educational training for parents to protect their children from this safe trade.But I would say by increasing the child trade would ultimately reduce it; as more of this trade would flourish, more children would get richer when they grow up and realize side effects resulting from this trade and would try to make their own children escape from the net work of this trade by educating them and making them more responsible citizens.Underdeveloped nations are marked by the increase in disparity between the rich and the poor owing to corruption and the solution to its prob lem lies with poor families themselves. With the strength of their girl child, they can reduce this disparity by increasing their income to considerable degree.The solution to the problem of poverty was also provided by Jonathan Swift in eighteenth century who like an expert fencer provided an ironical solution to the corruption and poor families of Ireland in his â€Å"A Modest Proposal†. To reduce the financial burden of the families, girl children are being sold to satisfy the sexual desire of the elite class; Swift with his powerful tool of irony wielded at the corrupt and the royal class most effectively yet with the most devastating effect.Swift proposed the poor families of Ireland to utilize the children to raise their income level. He suggested that if the cost of feeding one child for one year is two shillings, and if after one year child is sold to the English landlords, it would bring them the profit of eight shillings and this money can be used for buying food an d clothing to bear more children.These children can become delicacies for the men of fortune. They can eat them as roasted or fried dish. One body of a child can be eaten two times and it would be the most delicious dish and nutritious too. The skin of children can me made into gloves for ladies and summer boots for their children.   He seems to be making a fictive character to express himself in the most contradictory manner to the real cause.

Emily Dickinsons View of Death - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 549 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/09/20 Category History Essay Type Argumentative essay Tags: Death Essay Did you like this example? Emily Dickinson’s view of death is quite different that that of the modern world. The modern world fears death and describes it as dark, scary, and horrible. However, Emily describes it as something that she welcomes and is not to be feared. She knows that once a person dies, he or she begins another life. Through the poem’s diction, Emily Dickinson’s view of death is shown. Death â€Å"knew no haste† and â€Å"kindly stopped† for Emily, so Emily â€Å"[puts] away [her] labor and leisure† for [Death’s] â€Å"civility. † Death is described as a gentleman, who kindly stops the carriage for Emily. Emily welcomes Death and stops what she is doing to follow and join him. The personification of death shows that Emily thinks highly of death and does not fear or dread it. As the carriage drives slowly, Emily and Death pass a school, where children â€Å"strove at Recess in the Ring. † The â€Å"Ring† refers to t he nursery rhyme called â€Å"Ring Around the Rosie† and derives from the Black Plague. The significance of the â€Å"Ring† in the poem is that children do not think about death. In fact, they do not even know that the game that they play refers to death. The children also depict the progress of human life. They have just begun their journey while Emily is near the end of her journey. Emily and Death pass â€Å"the fields of gazing grain† and â€Å"the setting sun† as the â€Å"dews drew quivering and chill. † The grain suggests futurity; that is, it will grow and develop until it dies. It has a future like the children that they passed. The sun passes them as the sun does everyone who is buried. When the sun sets, the world becomes dark. This is a contrast to the light of the previous stanzas in the poem. Also the world becomes damp and cold, which is a contrast to the warmth in the previous stanza. Another thing that Emily and Death see as they ride in the carriage is a â€Å"House† that seemed â€Å"a swelling of a ground;† they could scarcely see the â€Å"roof,† â€Å"the cornice in the ground. † The â€Å"house† that they see is a grave. They could barely see the top of it because it is placed deeply in the ground. The significance of the â€Å"House† is that a person is placed in a grave after they die. The modern world seems to think that being placed in a grave is the end of their life. However, Emily knows that this is not the end of their life. Their body is placed there, but their soul goes somewhere else. Emily concludes the poem by saying â€Å"I first surmised the Horses’ heads were toward Eternity. † The carriage that Emily and Death were traveling in leads them towards eternity or an afterlife. Emily realizes that a person’s journey is continued after death. This is a hopeful concept that many people in the modern world do not realize. Th ey describe it as a horrible thing that they fear. Emily Dickinson makes death seem passive and easy. She knows that death is a natural part of life and is unstoppable for everybody. She also knows that it is not the end of a soul’s journey. The journey continues into eternity. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Emily Dickinsons View of Death" essay for you Create order