Review of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Review of 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens David Copperfield is probably the most autobiographical novel by Charles Dickens. He uses many incidents of his childhood and early life to create a considerable fictional achievement. David Copperfield is also the novel that stands as a mid-point in Dickens oeuvresomewhat indicative of Dickens work. This novel contains complicated plot structures, a concentration on the moral and social worlds, and some of Dickens most wonderful comic creations. David Copperfield is a broad canvas on which the great master of Victorian fiction uses his entire palette. Unlike many of Dickens other novels, however, David Copperfield is written from the point of view of its titular character, seemingly looking back on the ups and downs of his long life. Overview of David Copperfield The story begins with Davids childhood, which is an unhappy one. His father dies before he was born and his mother re-marries the frightful Mr. Murdstone, whose sister moves into their house soon after. David is soon sent away to boarding school because he bit Murdstone when he was undergoing a beating. There, at the boarding school, he meets a couple of boys who become friends: James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles. David doesnt complete his education because his mother dies and hes sent to a factory. There, Copperfield meets Mr. Micawber, who is later sent to debtors prison. At the factory, he experiences the hardship of the industrial-urban pooruntil he escapes and walks to Dover to meet his aunt. She adopts him and brings him up (renaming him Trot). After finishing his schooling, he goes to London to seek a career and meets James Steerforth and introduces him to his adoptive family. At around this time, he also falls in love with a young girl, the daughter of a well-renowned solicitor. He also meets Tommy Traddles who is boarding with the Micawbers, bringing the delightful but economically useless character back into the story. In time, Doras father dies and she and David can be married. However, money is very short and David takes up various other jobs in order to make ends meet includinglike Dickens himselffiction writing. Things are not well with a friend from home – Mr. Wickfield. His business has been taken over by his evil clerk, Uriah Heep, who now has Micawber working for him as well. However, Micawber (along with his friend Tommy Traddles) determines to expose the bad dealings with which Heep has been taking part and finally, has him thrown out,  returning the business to its rightful owner. However, this triumph cannot be truly savored because Dora has become incredibly ill after losing a child. After a long illness, she finally dies, and David travels to Switzerland for a number of months. While hes traveling, he realizes that he is in love with his old friend, AgnesMr. Wickfields daughter. David returns home to marry her. A Coming of Age Story David Copperfield is a long, sprawling novel. In keeping with its autobiographical genesis, the book has a certain feel for the ungainliness and largeness of everyday life. In the earlier parts of David Copperfield, the novel has all of the power and resonance of Dickens social critique of a Victorian society that had very few safeguards against the mistreatment of the poor and, particularly in its industrial heartlands. In the later parts, we get Dickens most realistic and touching portrait of a young man growing up, coming to terms with the world and finding his literary gift. Although it certainly portrays Dickens comic touch to the full, it also has a  seriousness that is not always apparent in some of Dickens other books. The difficulty of being an adult, of marrying, of finding love and of getting on feel very real and shine from every page of this delightful book. Full of lively wit and Dickens characteristically finely tuned prose, David Copperfield is an excellent example of the Victorian novel at its height and Dickens master of it. Popular (like so many of Dickens works), it has deserved its sustained reputation through the twentieth and into the twenty-first century.

Hazardous Wastes from Materials Extraction Assignment

Hazardous Wastes from Materials Extraction - Assignment Example The two metals are mined as ores with impurities such as lead, selenium, benzene, cadmium and numerous other impurities. The ores are melted in a furnace till they reach their boiling points which are 7000 degrees Celsius. The boiling point of other impurities in these ores is lower and, therefore, by the moment aluminium and steel begin to boil the impurities are already in vapour form which is condensed to their respective pure metals such as lead, and selenium (Fletcher 10). Aluminium and steel are left in their furnaces as a sludge that is condensed with the help red sludge as a reducing agent. The success of steel and aluminium refining depends on how well the vapour of impurities is condensed and not released into the atmosphere. It also depends on how the manufacturer is ethical so as not to dump these wastes illegally. When released illegally, these heavy metals will be swept off by running rain water and taken into rivers. This causes these metals to de eaten by fish. This f ish is then consumed by human beings. As these metals cannot be digested, they accumulate in the body causing various ailments such as cancer. In addition, if the red sludge is not well disposed of it causes soil alkalinity that is expensive to correct. The substance also contains heavy metals that it picks from the molten aluminium. Its proper disposal is, therefore, important. The refining of oil is also an energy intensive process. Crude oil is boiled in a fractionating column that allows the various components to evaporate when its boiling point is reached. When the boiling point of plastic elements in crude oil is reached, the liquid is collected and molten into various forms. The success of this process also depends on how impurities such as plastics are trapped before they escape into the atmosphere as pollutants (Fletcher 10). Similarities The refining of the three elements involves melting their original complex compound, that is, crude oil, steel ore and aluminium ore. The impurities of these ores evaporate and these elements are left in pure form (Smith 13). US industries and Reporting US have many industries dealing with steel, aluminum, and crude oil. These industries are required by law to submit annual environmental audits of their activities. These reports outline the effects their activities have on the environment. They also outline the measures they are taking to control the bad effects of their production process. They are also required to employ latest technologies to save energy use and conserve resources. Environmental Protection Agency monitors all industries to ensure they have complied with environmental laws (Kubova 12). Fairness of the Industries The cases presented in the websites do not give a fair compensation to those who were affected by the sludge and toxic smoke from the steel industry. This is because they are reported to be dumping illegal toxic materials beyond levels that are agreed. They also promise to restore degraded land areas of which they cannot be restored completely. They also give false information that the sludge is not harmful to both people and environment (Olivares 12). This is not the reality because people had to be taken to hospital with burns and some also died due to harmful effects of the sludge. Are there differences in pollution generation based on country of production? Companies from developed countries shift their industries to third world counties because they often find it

Article summarize Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summarize - Article Example 30 female and 39 male participants completed all the requirements and were included in the data analysis (Tate 2008, p. 19). In assessing self-monitoring, the synder and Gangestad’s version of a self-monitoring scale was used (Tate 2008, p. 19). A measure of authentic leadership was created during the research because no such measures were in existence. The created measure was based on Georges five characteristics of authentic leadership that are; passion for the purpose, leading with heart, demonstrating self-discipline, practicing solid values, and establishing enduring relationships. The responses were using the 5-point Likert-type scale (Tate 2008, p. 19). To test hypotheses 5, 3, and 1 of the research, correlational analysis was used while hypotheses 4 and 2 were tested using Hierarchical Liner Modeling (Tate 2008, p. 20). The results failed to support hypotheses 5, 3, and 1. There was no substantial correlation between perceptions of leadership and self-monitoring. Based on the results, neither authentic leadership nor self-monitoring correlated with self-rated perceptions of leadership. Leadership perceptions over time were, however, positively related to all measurement times (Tate 2008, p. 21). The researcher concluded that the variations on how individuals are seen as leaders by others have effects on leadership practice (Tate 2008, p. 27).

Examine the differences and similarities between European and Arabic Essay

Examine the differences and similarities between European and Arabic romanticism. Illustrate your answer with examples - Essay Example We might begin by distilling some of the central themes and features of the Romantic Movement in Europe. It first gained prominent in the later 18th century, as the Continent felt the pressures of rapid economic development, although it was with the industrialization of the 19th century that Romanticism reached its most influential period. Confronted with the transformation of life in Europe, with rapid industrialization and urbanization changing the very landscape, many authors, artists and others looked to strong emotion as a response, while the basic themes of literature were transformed. A preoccupation with nature in its wildest, untamed and purest form became a widespread concern in literary circles, while remembrance of a simpler, pastoral past was also a common subject. At the same time, there was a new focus on women and children, and on the heroic role of the storyteller or the artist as an important cultural figure, whose position should be exalted in society. All of this constituted a clear break with much of what had gone before it in European culture, but the issue before us here is whether this movement took on a similar character in Arabic literature, when a movement which has been characterized as ‘Romanticism’ arose there. A crucial difference between Arabic and European Romanticism is surely the time and circumstances of their inception. As noted above, European Romanticism was born of a period of extreme socioeconomic change in the region, and reached its height in the 19th century. Arabic Romanticism, by contrast, arose much later, with its zenith usually placed in the period between the First and Second World Wars. By the time Arabic Romanticism was having a major impact, European Romanticism had long since ceased to be a dynamic force. For example, al-Shadi was living in England as T. S. Eliot wrote, but was mainly interested in Victorian and Romantic poetry. Badawi (1985) formulates several possible reasons for the Arabic in terest in Romanticism rather than newer cultural movements in Europe. Chief among these is that it was still perhaps the most popular movement, and was ‘more spontaneous and emotional in its appeal’ (p.125). Perhaps they also identified with its aims, in making a break with previous European literary traditions, as they themselves sought to innovate in their own language. Also, Arabic Romanticism was at its height in a period of political, cultural and socioeconomic change for the Middle East, and shares that with the European movement. The circumstances were different for sure, with Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, which flourished under European colonialism, as well as the rise of an urban middle class, being major changes, but movements found their roots in revolutionary periods. Of course, Arabic Romanticism, despite many similarities of theme and preoccupation, also differed in its aims. A major concern was its search for cultural identity, in a Middle East which was increasingly being westernized. The role of the Mahjar poets – those who had left for the Americas in search of cultural freedom and economic opportunity, also displayed some unique themes. A feeling of homesickness runs through many of their compositions. However,

Analysis of Agency Theory

Analysis of Agency Theory Agency theory is one of the most important concepts of the business areas especially financial economics. Because of its importance, this theory is included in most of the introductory chapters of the modern financial economics books and publications. It is commonly cited as one of the key areas for progress and improvement of the modern financial economics. Moreover, its assumptions provide wide explanations for crucial business areas such as: merger activities, dividend policies, capital structure, corporate restructuring, and executive compensations, etc Agency theory defines the company or the firm as â€Å"nexus of contracts† between different resource suppliers. It is centralized on two different parties: principal, who supply the capital, and the agent who manage the day to day operations for the firm. In other words, it is the relation between one who determines the work and another who does the work. For example, in corporations, principals are the shareholders who delegates work to the agent which is the manager in the company. Agency theory assumes that shareholders and managers are motivated by their self –interest, thus managers are likely to persist their self-interest goal that contradicts with the goals of the owner. However, agents are supposed to work for the self-interest of the principal. This conflict results with a cost called the agency cost. This cost represents the cost of supervising the behavior of the agents as well as the profit loss resulting from operating policies and restrictions on managem ent. Although the agency theory is controversial and contradictory, many scientist talked about this concept and explained its advantages and disadvantages on many business fields’ especially financial economics. Many scientist and scholars talked about the agency theory, and it is one of the most crucial theory in the economic and financial history fields. This theory was originated and created by two scholars, Stephen Ross and Barry Mitnick. Each one had a take a part of the agency theory and created. Economic wise, Stepeh Ross is the one responsible for the economic theory of agency, and financial wise, Barry Mitnick is responsible for the institutional theory of agency. These two scholars used the same concepts but under different assumption. Everyone introduced the theory in his own way or thinking. Ross introduces the agency theory from the side of problems of compensation relation and as an incentive problem. On the other side, Mitnick introduced how the institutions should evolve to deal with deficiencies that is created by the agency relationships. According to Mitnick, â€Å"Behavior never occurs as it is preferred by the principal because it does not pay to make it perfect.† This is the main problem that Mitnick suggest as a deficiency of the agency relationship and he suggested that the society created rules and policies that help the companies to attend these imperfections, managing to deal with them, and adapting to them. Therefore, in order to understand the agency, people need both sides to see the incentive side as well as the organizational structure. However, this theory did not accurately defined properly and introduced to the world until the initiation of Jensen and Meckling articles in 1976. Jensen and Meckling introduces the agency theory as a relationship problem that arises between the owner of the resources and the one who is managing those resources. More general speaking, a conflict can arise between one who owns the capital and the one who is controlling the day to day operation since every party has his own interest that wants to be achieved and those interests can be contradictory. According to Jensen and Meckling, â€Å"Agency cos t arise from the conflict of interest between a principal and an agent.† For example, when managers, who are responsible for decisions that impact the operation of the firm, are not the primary beneficiary of the firm net assets, and do not accept any effect regarding his or her decisions. Moreover, the agency cost is divided into three type of cost: structuring cost, monitoring cost, and bonding cost. Structuring cost is the cost that a firm should take it when manufacturing any product or service such as transaction cost, suck cost, and fixed cost. It is the fixed cost divided by the variable cost. Monitoring cost is watching and supervising the recording of cost daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. It is very important for the owner to have mangers that allocate the proper time to the proper work and minimize cost as much possible. Due to this problem, Jensen offers many solutions to save the firm from this problem. Setting the use of contract is a cost that the firm should use in order to align the actions of the mangers with the actions of the owner. As Jensen (1994) suggests, â€Å"Managerial decisions designed to strengthen organizations often meet with opposition from colleagues, employees†¦ providing managers with incentives to compromise their decisions.† In other words, the best way to insure that the decisions are not conflicting is to ensure that the trade-off that mangers face are pushing them to take the correct decisions. Therefore, the goal of the agent should increase the firm wealth that lead to increase the performance and market price. Moreover, in order the manager to increase value of the firm, the owner should create compensation plan that trigger the agent to spend his or her efforts or works to maximize the firm profits and productivity. According to the agency theory, the shareholder should have the sense that offering a compensation package to the agents can reduce the agency cost which means that interest of the two parties will be in the interest of the firm as whole, and the two parties will be one team working to maximize the value and the wealth of the organization. The agency theory creates many obligations that shareholders must take into consideration in order to save their firm. The agency cost is one of these assumption that is created in order to show the types of expenses that the firm should spend. It is divided into three types: expenditures to monitor managerial activities such as audit cost. Nowadays, auditing becomes one of the most important business issues that every organization especially the banking sector should apply. For example, due the agency problem, the Lebanese central bank oblige all the banking sector to have two independent big four auditors in order to assure all the financial information that is created by the managers. The second cost is the cost of structuring the organization such as appointing outside members to the board of directors or reengineering the organizational chart in the firm. To have a well design organization charts in a firm is very effective since it helps to allocate the jobs in a way that can m aximize efficiency and get rid of relation problems. The third cost is the opportunity cost that is created by the owner such as voting in specific issues and limit the ability of the managers regarding the actions that advance the shareholder wealth. For this purpose, many mechanism are introduced to the business world that can minimize those costs and solve the agency problems. First, compensation plan can be applied for the mangers such owning a stock in the firm and stock price changes. In this case, managers I obliged to work efficiently for the sake to increase the financial wealth to increase his or her stock value. Another extreme, is to have in the firm stockholders that have a theory X management style which means that they will manage each step or decision that is taken by the managers, but this would be costly and inefficient. The best solution to have a compensation that is based on performance and some monitoring should be undertaken. Moreover, the owner can create a s ense for managers that if they make any wrong decision that affect the firm negatively, they will be fired or replaced by another manager. However, this solution is somehow risky in a case that creates problems in the workplace. For example, many publicly traded companies are creating shares based on performance levels which are shared given for the mangers based on performance which are explained by many financial measures such as earing per share, return on assets, and return on equity etc†¦ If the performance is below the level, the shares will be less than 100 percent. These incentives are created for two main goals. First, they offer executives to take action that will increase shareholder wealth. Second, these types of plans help the firm to retrain managers that can have confidence to risk their financial wealth based on their abilities which can lead to better performance.

The Scarlet Letter :: Literary Analysis, Hawthorne

When someone makes a mistake, they usually try to hide the truth to avoid the consequences. The Puritans had a very stringent society in which all sins were met with harsh punishment. In The Scarlet letter, by Nathanial Hawthorn, Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale commit adultery, but the public only knows about Hester’s sin; Dimmesdale’s remains hidden. However, by hiding his sin, Dimmesdale suffers much more than Hester does. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorn shows that the repercussions of a â€Å"secret sin† are much worse than those of a revealed sin. Hester’s punishment comes from society, so it is not nearly as painful as it could be. One part of Hester’s punishment is to stand on the scaffold – in shame – for three hours. The scaffold is a place where â€Å"iniquity is dragged out into the sunlight† (57) and the truth is revealed, so everyone in the Puritan town knows that Hester is guilty of the sin. While her punishment is denigrating, it is not as bad as the punishments usually are, for she does not have to undergo â€Å"that gripe around the neck† (58). The other part of her punishment is to wear, for the rest of her life, a scarlet â€Å"A† on her dress. The A, for adulterer, is meant to be a stigma for everyone to see and mock. However, Hester beautifully embroiders the mark with gold-thread and wears it with pride. The mark stays with her after she leaves the scaffold and finds a home on the edge of town. She is originally scorned and avoided, but she is needed: S he sews for the governor and soldiers for public ceremonies. Due to the passage of time, her usefulness, and her acceptable behavior (she never battles with the public nor complains), Hester is forgiven and her sin is forgotten. Seven years after receiving the â€Å"A,† people change the meaning of the letter from â€Å"adulterer† to â€Å"able,† and instead of referring to her as a sinner, the townspeople refer to her as one who is â€Å"so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted† (169). Society feels that Hester had already served enough punishment, and she eventually becomes a respected woman in the town. Since the truth about her sin is known, Hester is able to overcome society’s punishment; eventually she regains the acceptance, and even the admiration, of the Puritan townspeople.

Beethoven 9th Symphony

Ludwig van Beethoven, great music composer, born in December 17, 1770 in Bonn Germany, and died in March 26, 1827 in Vienna. He was interested in music at a very young age. He grew up in a family where his father was a musician but he had drinking problem, and his mother was gentle loving care person. Beethoven claimed his mother as his best friend. When Beethoven took interest in music, his father taught him music day and night and how to play an instrument. He gave his first concert when he was 6 years old. Without a doubt, the child was gifted and his father Johann envisioned creating a new Mozart, a child prodigy. The musical and teaching talents of Johann were limited therefore, he hired teachers and musicians; composition by renowned musician such as Gottlob Neefe.In 1782, before the age of 12, Beethoven published his first work, 9 Variations in C Minor for piano on a march by Earnst Christoph Dressler. The following year, in 1783, Neefe wrote in the Magazine of Music, about hi s student. â€Å"If he continues like this, he will be, without a doubt, the new Mozart.† His mom passed away on July 17th 1787 only five year after this. Beethoven felt that he was responsible of his two brothers because of irresponsible drunk father.He started earning money by playing instrument in orchestra and giving music lessons. In 1792, Beethoven start working under Austrian wonderful composer Joseph Hyden in Vienna. By the 1800’s his compositions established him Mozart successor. He had an amazing currier as composer and pianist. He composed, he wrote music for himself. Sadly, when he started to lose his hearing his musical style changed but still he created some of his amazing masterpieces. From 1802 to 1814 he composed some masterpieces like Appassionata Sonata, and his only opera Fidelio.In 1815 when his brother died he had to adopt his brother’s son and dealing with all the legal matters affected his work to slow down tremendously. His nephew wasnâ €™t talented in music like himself as he hoped for. Unfortunately, by 1819 he was completely deaf but his composing was not at all. He composed quite of few symphonies including his 9th symphony after losing his hearing. The only difference was he start to compose for others.Beethoven’s 9th symphony 4th movement is very important because it is the longest (over 1 hour), and the largest (by instrumentation) symphony ever written at its time, and still today one of the longest ever. It took  Beethoven to complete six years to finish the symphony and it was finished in 1824. It is famously known as â€Å"Ode to Joy†. It premiered on Friday, May 7, in the Karntnerthortheater in Vienna. Another important fact about Symphony No 9th and 4th movement is Beethoven was the first composer to include the human voice at the same level as the instruments.Beethoven had long been completely deaf when he composed it, but still conducted the premiere performance back then. When th e piece ended, Beethoven, being deaf, was still conducting, the soprano soloist turned him around to accept his applause. Beethoven's â€Å"Ode to Joy† was adopted as the European National Anthem in 1972. It’s text written by An Die Freude.Instrumentation for the symphony was the largest of back then. The performing forces required and how they are used Beethoven’s 9th symphony 4th movement has the largest forces by instrumentation at its time and still to this day it is the longest symphony.Orchestra had these forces: Woodwinds are; Piccolo (fourth movement only), 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets in A, B-flat and C, 2 Bassoons, Contrabassoon (fourth movement only). Brass: 2 Horns (1 and 2) in D and B-flat, 2 Horns (3 and 4) in B-flat (bass), B-flat and E-flat, 2 Trumpets in D and B-flat, 3 Trombones (alto, tenor, and bass; fourth movements only).Percussion: Timpani, Bass drum (fourth movement only), Triangle (fourth movement only), Cymbals (fourth movement only). Voices ( fourth movement only); Soprano solo, Alto solo, Tenor solo, Baritone solo, SATB Choir (Tenor briefly divides). Strings; Violins I, II, Violas, Cellos, Double basses.Beethoven’s original idea was to make 9th symphony instrumental but his desire to put human voice into the symphony did not come until the fourth movement. As to the finale he had sketched an instrumental fourth Movement that he decided to gratify his lifelong desire to set Schiller's Ode to Joy to music. Beethoven selected only certain verses from Schiller's Ode, and even altered the order of these, thus affirming his right to exercise his own judgment and single out only that which suited his. It had no less than three different choral groups combine into one fiercely profound powerhouse of sound.There was a conflict about the form of Beethoven’s final movement on 9th symphony. He found it difficult to suddenly introduce a chorus of voices after a long instrumental symphony; it was simply out of place.Briefly, the movement begins with an outraged, confused, flurry of sound; then a restatement of the prior three movements, each interrupted and rejected by instrumental recitative. If we go little bit more in detail; in the beginning flurry of instruments (dissonant too) than the cellos and basses play dramatic recitative. It follows themes from the three prior movements’ plays but quickly basses and cellos interrupts. Now, new theme begins but hesitant.Again, minor protest from the bases and cellos. Other instruments join in, which lead to a triumphant statement of the theme in D Major. Beethoven replays the opening of the finale. This time, though, the human voice replaces the cello and basses. The human voice is solo baritone voice. Then exquisite choral-orchestral exposition on Schiller’s Ode to Joy engages in four stanzas. Then Turkish March takes the lead like hero marching to victory. This march then leads to a long orchestral interlude, then to a fugue o n two themes. This leads to a an overpowering full orchestral-choral development.A display of the male and female choruses is sung in an almost meditative, prayer-like way, starting from Seid umschlungen Millionen!, or Be embraced, all ye Millions! As for the ending, I think David Wright puts it the right way; ponders the mystery and beauty of divine grace. Then everybody goes all-out to the joyous and thrilling close.†