A Look At Repression English Literature Essay

A Look At Repression English Literature Essay Ladies Coupe: A novel in parts narrates the tale of six women who meet purely by chance on a short train journey. It traces the lives of the six women as they travel in the ladies compartment. The stories they relate help the protagonists Akhilandeswari to find resolutions for the tormenting questions that taunt her and enable her to establish her true identity. The other five women belong to different age groups and classes of the society. Their individual struggle against the myriad repressive forces instills in Akhila a sense of courage and clarity in action. The repressive forces in their multiple manifestations as patriarchal attitudes, sexual politics and sexual stereotyping impose a restriction on womens individuality and leads to their marginalization which is effectuated by traditional and cultural institutions. Feminist perspective as a woman centered theory provides strategies for change. As such the feminist principle is an uncompromising pledge and an antidote to all types of exploitation and repression of women. The fundamental goal of feminist perspective, according to Maggie Humm, is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to understand womens oppression in terms of race, gender, class and sexual preference and how to change it. (Maggie, x) The personality of woman has been sought to be damaged and distorted and her very status as human being has brought down under the overwhelming male domination. Thus, a woman who protests against her depersonalization and annihilation and who walks out of home to live and to be human are made aware of the futility of her actions. Clearly, the forces of cultural and social inculcations are too strong to be completely overcome. We find the Indian women being torn between individual desires and societal expectations. In the tradition bound society like our Indian society, it is no wonder that writers like Anita Nair has reflected such types of repression in her novels. The problem of repression faced by women varies according to their social, cultural and economic status. The tradition bound Indian society considered the very birth of girls a curse and rearing a girl child is more expensive and risky than a male child, so people dreaded the very birth of girls. The girls have to undergo a lot of difficulties in this chauvinistic society, after their difficult entry into this world. Discrimination was shown even in education. People firmly believe that a girls place is only at home, so they were reluctant to give her education. Even when she was educated, she was trained only in domestic traits. This is because a girl is viewed only as wife and a mother. Therefore, the one and only idea instituted in her mind, right from her birth was to please the male. This becomes the soul purpose of her life. So, even right from her birth the repressive problems are faced by women. In Ladies Coupe, Anita Nair delineates various women characters and provides a macro picture of womens society. Janaki got married at the age of eighteen. As a girl of eighteen, she is not matured enough to know the meaning of marriage and what to expect of marriage. Janaki accommodates her body and mind to marriage and what it had to offer her in life. She did not live for her own self; she lived for her husband. Janaki didnt know what to expect of marriage. All through her girlhood, marriage was a destination she was being groomed for. She wasnt expected to know what it really meant to be married, and neither was she curious about it. It would come to her as it had to her mother. (LC 25) As a wife in the patriarchal society, Janaki finds her husband a loving and protecting one in the initial of her life. She is not matured enough to understand her suppressed condition in the patriarchal society. She remembers the words of her mother, He is your husband and you must accept whatever he does (LC 25). They have a son and daughter-in-law. They were branded as the golden couple and were exemplary perfect parents. As she got married at a very early age, she doesnt even know that she is suppressed in the bond of marriage. Only at the age of forty-five, she realized that all her desires are oppressed. But, Janaki resents her husbands overbearing nature over their son and revolts against it. She questions his right to control their son and slowly she begins to hate her husbands actions. Janaki could not unlearn what patriarchy had instituted in her. Even the initial revulsion of the physical act in the beginning of her married life, turns into an acceptance of the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã ‚ ¦ pleasures hidden in rituals of togethernessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (26). She is confined in the bondage of a wife, mother and most importantly the woman that patriarchy has moulded into her. Marriage life is the next stage of repression. After marriage, a girl becomes a woman and she has various roles to perform. She has to play the roles of a daughter in law, wife, mother and mother in law. Of all the roles mentioned here, the most difficult roles are a woman as daughter-in- law and wife. They could never come out of tradition. The inborn feminine traits of the traditional never allowed them to mould away from tradition. They never opposed or questioned their men folk. Instead, they suppress all their emotions and desires and are being controlled by the repressive forces. Janaki, an elderly and wise woman, comes out with a meaning of life that all women are prone to: I am a woman who has always been looked after. First there was my father and my brothers; then my husband. When my husband is gone, there will be my son, waiting to take from where his father let off. Women like me end up being fragile. Our men treat us like princesses. And because of that we look down upon women who are strong and who can cope by themselves. I believe in that old clichà © that a home was a womans kingdom. I worked hard to preserve mineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and then suddenly one day it didnt matter anymore. My home ceased to interest me, none of the beliefs I had built my life around had any meaning. I thought if I were to lose it all, I would cope. If I ever became alone I would manage perfectly. I was confident about that. I think I was tired of being this fragile creatureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Now I know that even if I can cope it wouldnt be the same if he wasnt there with me. (22-23) Evelyn Cunningham says that the women are the only oppressed group in our society that lives in intimate association with their oppressors. They even felt glorified in their sufferings, and if any women had rebellious attitude, the people around them curbed that in the beginning itself. Women were brainwashed right from their birth to be polite, submissive and obedient. She was expected to be chaste and faithful even when her husband was unfaithful. It is not only these illiterate home birds who were afraid to rebel against tyranny and exploitations but even the educated house wives stuck firmly to the traditional role. Such women inspite of their education considered suffering in their husbands place was far better than leading a lonely life. Margaret Shanthi, is one of the important characters in the novel Ladies Coupe novel. She is a chemistry teacher by profession is married to Ebenezer Paulraj, the principal of the school she worked in. He was a pompous self-opinionated individual who successfully destroyed Margarets self-confidence by bullying her always and then treating her as a house keeper and a cook. She goes through many physical, mental and spiritual crises. Their marriage had a fairy tale like charm initially which slowly disintegrates when Margaret begins to see the true nature of Ebe. He loved her but she dare have no individuality. Margaret initially is the little girl who says yes to whatever he says and is out to please him always. Margarets husband wanted her to become a docile wife. This is the life of the women to look after her home, her husband and her children and give them food she has cooked with her own hands (LC 40). She leads a life of obscurity in some corner of the house all the time pretend ing to be satisfied and happy. As Kamala Das says in her poem The Suicide, But I must pose I must pretend I must act the role of a happy woman Happy wife. (227) She is forced to pursue B.Ed though her real interest is to do Ph.D. Ebe insists and forces her to abort their first child which ultimately is the last straw for Margaret. She sees through his dual nature of pretentious politeness and inner cruelty. His ridiculous theories, derisive contempt of her way of house keeping and cooking and collection of defacing books with ugly drawings only intensifies Margarets hatred. She hates her husband whom she once adorned and worshipped because her dreams were broken and she comes crashing down to reality, when she is forced to abort her first pregnancy. Gnawed by indecision, guilt and pain, she allows herself to be coerced into it. She sees another side of her husband when after her abortion, a week later, he says: I love it when you call me Ebeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I like you like thisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ unstained and cleanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I never want you to change. I want you to remain like this all your life (LC 111). Whenever she tried to share her fe elings with her mother she is advised in turn: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and like I have said many times before, it is a womans responsibility to keep the marriage happy. Men have so many pre occupations that they might not have the time or inclination to keep the wheels of a marriage oiled (112). Ebe became more and more over bearing after he becomes the principle of a school. He begins to nag her and find fault in her house keeping and cooking. She begins to hate him. Margarets family cannot accept the idea of a divorce and though she feels stifled in her marriage she continues living with Ebe. Her only consolation is food and she puts on weight. His dual nature, artificial politeness and warmth and inner cruelty; his ego, his defacing books with ugly drawings, his various theories and his constant derisive contempt of her, make her suffer intensely. I, Margaret Shanthi did it with the sole desire for revenge. To erode his self-esteem and shake the very foundations of his being. To rid this world of a creature who if allowed to remain the way he was, slim, lithe and arrogant, would continue to harvest sorrow with a single-minded joy. (LC 96) Repeatedly discouraged by her mother and the fear of the stigma of divorce, she stops short of openly asking questions that torment her mind and soul: What about me? Dont I  have a  right to  have any  expectations  of him?  Dont I work as hard as he  does and more because I run the house as well (112). Liberation is meaningful, if we do not confine women within the bonds of family. The marriage makes women submissive. This is one of the main repressive forces that every woman in the society is facing. Margaret Shanti is a good example of how women are repressed upon by male power. The powerlessness is like the colonized who fail to see and appreciate their true worth. Societal expectations far outweigh personal needs and so Shanti negates herself again and again. From an ambitious and brilliant student who wants to chart out a career on her own, she becomes a dutiful wife to Ebenezer who rouses fear in everyone around him. She silences her aspirations in order to be what Ebenezer wants her to be. She decided to become a teacher instead of working on her decorate. She cut her hair short. She stopped going to church every Sunday, eating bhelpuri outside and finally agrees to abort her child though she knows that her religion forbids it. As usual, he takes the decisions and I (Shanti) let his voice smooth away my fears. He was Ebe. My Ebe. He was right. He was always right (LC 109). Shashi Deshpande, in her novel The Dark Holds No Terror, defines the lopsided gender equation within the context of urban marital relationships. A wife must always be a few feet behind her husband. If he is an M.A., you should be a B.Aà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Womens magazines will tell you that marriage should be an equal partnership. Thats nonsense. Rubbish. No partnership can ever be equal. It will always be unequal, but take care that its unequal in favor of your husband. (The Dark Holds No Terror 85) The belief that existed in the past and continued to be fresh in the minds of the people was that the man should be the bread winner and woman the home maker in the family. It was the husband who slogs way at job or business, to give the family a decent way of living, fully confident that the wife at home would efficiently manage the house, also look after his parents and children, awaiting his return for a conjugal round of dinner. In the present day, the situation becomes different. Women now demand more space, the rights and freedom because they want to come out of the repressive forces. They are not ready to be submissive and meek as their mothers. The problem of violence against women is not new. Women in the context of Indian society have been victims of repression, torture, humiliation and exploitation. All were merely trying to seek fulfillment by playing the role of a devoted wife and a caring mother. Friedan writes, For a woman, as for a man the need for self-fulfillment autonomy, self-realization, independence, individuality, self-actualization is as important as the sexual need, with as serious consequences when it is thwarted. Womens sexual problems are, in this sense, by-products of the suppression of her basic need to grow and fulfill her potentialities as human being, potentialities which the mystique of feminism fulfillment ignores. (282) Nairs women suffer from a system of sex role stereotyping and repression that exist under patriarchal social organizations. Of course, patriarchy, in its different forms, has tried in many ways to repress, debase and humiliate women especially through the images represented in cultural and traditional forms. She is supposed only to listen, not to speak; only to suffer, not to shriek (42). In Ladies Coupe, Marikolanthu is the last one to narrate her story. She is a young girl and uneducated who is poorly dressed and lives in a tamed and controlled environment. She lives in a noisy psycho-social group and she is stressed by it. Hans Seyle, an endocrinologist says that stress is the rate of wear and tear in the body. Her mother works as a cook at the Chettiar household. Her mother stopped her schoolings and allowed only her sons to go for school. Marikolanthu was repeatedly warned by her mother  because she was easily impressed by people: you give your heart too easily,  child.  They will break it  into thousand  pieces  and leave it on the ground for others to trample into dust (LC  216).  On such occasions  she had  always  teased  her  mother asking her if the heart was a glass bangle (LC  216). But her experience results in her realization of the value of her  mothers  words.  She  says, But you know what, the heart is a glass bangle. One careless moment and it is shattered. We know that, yet we continue to wear glass bangles. Each time they break, we buy new ones hoping that these will last longer than the others did. How silly we women are. We should wear bangles made of granite and turn hearts into the same. When the girls are trained in the domestic affairs, the boys are expected to keep away from the domestic traits. Much discrimination are shown in the upbringing of boys and girls. In a male chauvinistic society like India, boys are given a long rope, while the girls are confined at home. Even the girls themselves never minded such discriminations. On the contrary they are well contended with their role. Later Marikolanthu is employed as a domestic helper and also she has to look after Sujata akkas son. She adores that kid but hates her own son Muthu who is born after a rape encounter with Murugesan so she resents the birth of her unwanted son. Her life revolves around the Chettiar household. She looks after the households and in the afternoons, she willingly obeys whenever Sujatha akka needs her for her physical fulfillment and whenever the master needs her for the same. When Sujatha akka learns about her husbands affair, she rejects Marikolanthu and throws her out of the house. Marikolanthu leaves Kanchepuram and before that she mortgages her son Muthu for rupees five thousand at her rapist Murugesans looms. Later, there is a change in her heart when she sees her son lighting the pyre of the dead Murugesan. She decides to take care of her son Muthu. Marikolanthu has to face the strains of life herself. She is a victim of repression, a virtual slave, the victim of men, of casteism and of innumerable social injustices. It is that gender bias and oppression of women emerges as a powerful theme of the novel. She is being repressed by Murugesan. The device he uses to control her is rape. She feels defiled and corrupt. She evokes our sympathy when she says, In the distance, I heard the calls. Bogi! Bogi! The sparks would fly as the bonfire was set alight and the night would crackle with the sound of dried logs and twigs waking up. With my past, my future too had been torched alive. (LC 241) Marikolunthu suffers extreme repression social, familial and financial. It is ultimately love that brings her on the right track where she will find happiness and fulfillment. Her struggle has been one of hate for herself and accommodating with humiliating relationships thereafter. Her resolve to bring up her child shows her forming in to a new character. The words of  Marikolunthu could be quoted as an apt conclusion to the motif of the novel: Women are strong. Woman can do everything as well as men. Women can do much more. But a woman has to seek the vein of strength in herself. It does not show itself naturally. (LC 210) The female body becomes the site of violence in the case of the rape of Marikolanthu. Like the violence unleashed by the colonizer on the powerless colonized, she has to face physical repression and mental torture when left to fend for her. With his brute strength, Murugesan attacks her and she is left helpless. She is different from the other women in the coupe because her experiences are far more painful. The traditional image that a girl forms in her mind is to be submissive, committed, docile and tolerant so that she may prove herself an ideal woman not only for her husband but also for her father in law, mother in law and the other in laws. The Brahmin heroine, Akhila, whose life has been taken out of her control, is a spinster, daughter, sister, aunt and the only provider of her family after the death of her father. Getting fed up with these multiple roles, she decides to go on a train journey away from family and responsibilities, a journey that will ultimately make her a different woman. In the ladies coupe compartment, she meets five other women each of whom has a story to tell. The stories are all an attempt to answer Akhhilas problematic question. Can a woman stay single and be happy at the same time? Akhila asks such a question because she is being suppressed by all the members of her family. She has never been allowed to live her own life. She questions her family members, Why shouldnt I live alone? Im of able body and mind. I can look after myself. I earn reasonably well. Akhila paused when her voice chocked with tears, and asked me what my desires were or what my dreams are? Did anyone of you ever think of me as a woman? Someone who has needs and longings just like you do? (LC 206) The protagonist Akhila loses her father at a very young age and since then she has been shouldering the responsibility of the entire family. She served as a clerk in the income tax department. When Akhilas father died, the family responsibility falls on her fragile shoulders. The narrator elucidates: When Akhilas father died, two things happened: Sunday become just another day of the week and Akhila became the man of the family (LC 75). Manning the responsibility of the family begins to repress her desires. Even her mother does not care about her desires. They have never asked, What about you? Youve been the head of this family ever since Appa died. Dont you want a husband, children, a home of your own? (LC 77). Akhila wanted to lead her life with Hari who is younger than herself. But her desires have been repressed by the social norms. Akhila wished for once, someone would see her as a whole being. What Akhila most desired in the world was to be her own person; in a place that was her own. To do as she pleased. To live as she chose with neither restraint nor fear of censure (LC 201). Akhilas youthful days were spent bringing up her sister Padma and two brothers Narayan and Narsi. They are happily married and settled. She is seen as a bread winner and they continue to suppress her desires with their needs and demands. Akhila says Dont you think you should wait for your elder sister to get married before you think of a wife and a family? (LC 77). Her selfish siblings were concerned only about their own well-being. They married and moved on in life without even bothering to think about Akhilas future. Akhila has wasted away her precious youthful days and when she finally mustered the courage to make a difference in life; she was given a lot of advice by her siblings about the dangers of living alone as a spinster. Her sister Padma needed the financial support of Akhila to run the household. The brothers Narayan and Narsi were worried about society. Narsi its improper for a woman to live alone. What will society say? That your family has abandoned you. Besides, there will be a whole lot of questions that will pop up about your reputation. You know how people put two and two together and come up with six. Nalinis family will be scandalized if they hear about this. Have you thought of how embarrassing my position will be? (Ladies Coupe 205) Akhilas brother tried to smoothen her ruffled feathers. He said that he owed his life to his sister. But he too was worried about Akhilas decision to live alone. He said, How will you cope? This is not a reflection on who you are. How can any woman cope alone? (206). Thus a patriarchal society did not approve o a womans decision to live alone without the protection of the men of the house, even if they financially depended on the women. Akhila saw the irony of the situation and later developed the succor to overcome such tyrannical systems. Initially Akhila undertakes the journey to Kanyakumari as a form of escape. Akhila is placed in a situation of unfamiliarity and dislocation precisely because her struggle for identity should come out more clearly. What she hated most à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦was not having an identity of her own. She was always an extension of someone elses identity. Chandras daughter, Narayans Akka, Priyas auntà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ she wished for someone would see her as a whole being. Akhila undertakes this journey as a form of escape, a desire to go away alone, a sense of excitement of being able to do something all by herself, not having to take permission, of taking an independent decision. She moves on to see what has never been seen, go where she has never gone before. Akhilas journey begins with a sense of escape: the smell of a railway platform at night fills Akhila with a sense of escape (1). Always the daughter, the sister, the aunt or the provider, she had no time to actualize herself, until one day she bought for herself a one-day ticket to the seaside town of Kanyakumari. She is gloriously alone for the first time in her life and is determined to break free from all that her conservative Tamil Brahmin life had forced on her. Akhila had always dreamt of this à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦eyes looking ahead. Of leaving. Of running away. Of pulling out. Of escaping(1). Akhila has never done anything that she desired to, but only what she was expected to do. But now she has a strong desire to be free and want to experience the real happiness of freedom. She decides to go the lands end to make a new beginning of experiencing the real meaning of freedom. And we are introduced to Akhila as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ that sort of a womanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (who) does what is expected of herà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(1). In their minds Akhila has ceased to be a woman and had already metamorphosed into a spinster. Akhila is a woman who is throbbing with life, vitality and sexuality. All these are suppressed to cater to the needs of her family. Akhila understands that matrimony is a patriarchal practice which sanctions men power to overpower woman. All the women characters in Ladies Coupe have been affected in one way or other because of patriarchal system. It provides an insight into emotional challenges of each of the women overcame in their life. It is the emotional outburst of the deprived women that Akhila has tried to portray. Women hesitate to take decision on their own and they think marriage is the ultimate aim of their life and pleasing their husband is a main concern of women. In the due course, they failed to create identity of their own. The self abnegation of women goes unrecognized in a patriarchal society and this leads to the self abasement of womens importance in society. A woman in t he post independence era is aware of the discrimination she has to face, the sexual harassment and violence which she explores in the male dominated society. Nair discusses marital rape perpetrated by the modern Indian male in her novels. The restrictions prevalent in Indian family prevent the Indian girls from youthful love before marriage. Girls are generally not allowed to mix with boys during their adolescence. The girls feelings are not shown as they are rarely expressed in real life. It is common for all girls in the middle class to express their love or make decisions. As the girls are confined at home the most part of their pleasing others becomes their prime duty at home. Shashi Deshpande rightly judges that, everything in girls life, it seemed was shaped to that single purpose of pleasing a male (79). The novel Mistress discusses the sexual violence and the repressive power of Shyam in the marital relationship of Shyam and Radha. This novel revolves around the life of Radha, Shyam and their morbid marriage against the backdrop of the narratives of Radhas uncle Koman, who is a Kathakali exponent. Her unhappy situation in the ill matched marriage drives her into the arms of Chris, an American writer. The novel culminates in Radha finding her own voice and deciding to go against the repressive force of her husband. The most remarkable part of the novel is the characterization of Shyam, which is a perfect mould of a modern, educated, tech savvy Indian male who finds it hard to shed his traditional role as a man. Nair has given Shyam his own voice through his first person narrative and thereby taking the reader straight into his mind. Shyam is a twenty first century male through and through. He is extremely successful in his business, which is his undoing in a sense. He is never reluctant to turn any opportunity into a money making venture. His only failure perhaps is his inability to understand his wife and treat her as an individual who has a mind for her own. To him, Radha is another possession, which he is proud of, as he is of his business ventures. He often refers to her as My Radha (90) as if to affirm his ownership. Simone de Beauvoir speaks about this masculine trait in The Second Sex: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Subordinated economically and socially to her husband, the good wife is the mans most precious treasure. She belongs to him so profoundly that she partakes the same essence as he; she has his name, his gods, and he is responsible for her. He calls her his better half. He takes pride in his wife as he does in his house, his lands, his flocks, and his wealth and sometimes even more; through her he displays his power before the world; she is his measure and his earthly portion. (207) Shyams idea of marriage is to keep a pretty wife, indulge in her wishful fancies and make her dependent on him. He does not want an assertive woman as a wife. Radha and Shyam are incompatible in many ways and Radha feels suffocated by her marriage. She compares herself to the butterfly which can be taken as a good example of repression. His arms pins me to the bed. His bed. I think that for Shyam, I am a possession. A much cherished possession. That is my role in his life. He doesnt want an equal; what he wants is a mistress. Someone to indulge and someone to indulge him with feminine wilesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I think of the butterfly I caught and pinned to a board when it was still alive, its wings spread so as to display the markings, oblivious that somewhere within, a little heart beat, yearning to fly. I am that butterfly now. (Mistress 87) Feminism voices the new womans demand to be treated as an equal human being, rather than a piece of furniture meant for the convenience of man. The repression of woman is expressed well in the novels of women writers in all its intensity. Shyam wanted to prove that he is the husband and he has complete right over his wifes body whether she welcomes the intrusion or not. Shyams perpetrate acts of sexual violence leaves a deep scar on Radha, where as, he is quite satisfied with what he has done without any remorse. He is blind in his pursuit and does not care for Radhas feelings. His only aim is to bring her under control by suppressing her desires and emotions. The key to happiness in marriage is the ability to endure and go on. But there are many marriages where women are dominated by their husbands and do not find freedom and space in their marital life. There is a new breed of women who is questioning the very institution of marriage and the double standards of judgment applied to women and men. Panduranga Rao rightly admires that, Given the limitations of tradition and its inhibitive influence one cannot but admire the guts of these women who have taken it upon themselves to question and question logically what comes to be accepted as a divine fiat in matters of man-woman relationship and related areas. (Ra0 75) For Shyam, Radha is his proud possession and the marriage between Shyam and Radha fails to be a marriage of minds or hearts. In place of an understanding and meaningful relationship that marriage can be, Shyam wants an unequal relationship that would make Radha his proud possession so the marriage between Shyam and Radha is not a marriage of minds or hearts. Radha has no expectations from the institutions of marriage. Shyam always does things to maintain his prestige. He says I am a survivor everyday and in every way. Im getting better and better (160). This attitude makes Radha uneasy. She is escorted everywhere and has little freedom to do anything on her own. All her desires and emotions were totally repressed. In her relationship with Shyam she feels, I think that for Shyam, I am a possession. A much cherished possession. That is my role in his life. He doesnt want an equal; what he wants is a mistress. Someone to indulge and someone to indulge him with feminine wiles. (Mistress 153) She is blamed always for being disorderly. She never arranged books in the shelf properly. There is a lack of meaningful communication between them which leads to a rift in their relationship. However, Shyam admires Radha in every way and loves her very much. Radha says Shyam likes to think of me prettying myself for him. He prefers a glossy, silly wife to a homely, practical one. Glossy, silly wives are malleable (Mistress 61). She is kept at home like a bird in the cage unable to exhibit her talents. When he prevents her from going to the match factory, a clash occurs again between them. Radha is also thwarted from taking tuitions in a primary school. Shyams domination over her prevents her from making a choice of her own. This kind of domination makes her feel suffocated and she asks him, Dont I have a right to a

Imagination and the Holocaust Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Pap

Imagination and the Holocaust The great secret of morals is love; or a going out of our own nature, and an identification of ourselves with the beautiful which exists in thought, action, or person, not our own. A man, to be greatly good, must imagine intensely and comprehensively; he must put himself in the place of another and of many others; the pains and pleasures of his species must become his own. -- Percy Bysshe Shelley, "A Defense of Poetry" I believe that truly humane learning can't help but expand the constricted boundaries of human sympathy, of social tolerance. Maybe the truest thing to be said about racism is that it represents a profound failure of imagination. -- Henry Louis Gates, Jr. "Integrating the American Mind" The imagination and the ability to empathize with others is the key to living a wider life, a key to escaping the prison of a limited self. But, imagination and identification are also menacing. As we read and listen to the words of survivors, as we study the Holocaust from all points of view, our imaginations threaten us. As I pick up Elie Wiesel's novel Night, I take the Holocaust in my hands, and I hear children's' voices in the dark. I am afraid for them and for myself. First, I am afraid my imagination will fail me, and I will be overwhelmed. The terror and humiliation of the Holocaust may so numb me that I will go into "shock." I will isolate myself, deny everything -- suffering, empathy, mercy, family, God. I will experience what Wiesel experienced when his father was struck and he did nothing (36-37), or, in the end, I will abandon my father. Wiesel says to me, "I awoke on January 29 at dawn. In my father's place lay another invalid. They must have taken him away before dawn an... ...elling and the Journey to Wholeness. New York: Bantam, 1992. Pagis, Dan. "Written in Pencil in the Sealed Railway-Car." Truth and Lamentation: Stories and Poems on the Holocaust. Eds. Milton Teichman and Sharon Leder. Urbana and Chicago: U of Illinois P, 1994. 491. Roder, Thomas, Voller Kubillus and Anthony Burwell. Psychiatrists -- the Men Behind Hitler. Los Angeles: Freedom Publishing, 1995. Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "A Defense of Poetry." In English Romantic Writers. Ed. David Perkins. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1967. 1072-087. Weinberg, Jeshajahu and Rina Elieli. The Holocaust Museum in Washington. New York: Rizzoli, 1995. Wiesel, Elie. Night. Trans. Stella Rodway. New York: Bantam Books, 1960. - - -. "Why I Write: Making 'No' Become 'Yes.'" The Essay Connection. 4th ed. Ed. Lynn Z. Bloom. Lexington, Massachusetts: D. C. Heath, 1995. 40-47.

Testing of Hardened Concrete

Part B: Testing of hardened concrete 1. Objectives: The objective of the hardened concrete test was to determine the compressive and indirect tensile strength. On the other hand, this experiment was also used to examine the effect of curing condition on strength of concrete, the influence of specimen shape on compressive strength, the effect of compaction on compressive strength and this experiment was also to examine the effect of increasing water to cement ratio on compressive and in direct tensile strengths of concrete. 2. Procedure (Refer AS1012 for full details) 2. 1 Compressive Strength In this test, standard cylinders and cubes will be subjected to uniaxial compressive loading and the load will be applied gradually at a standard stress rate of 15MPa/min. , up to failure. The maximum applied load is recorded for the determination of the compressive strength. * When testing a cylinder, a hard- rubber cap is needed to achieve uniform loading. * When testing a cube the load is app lied to cast surface and no capping is needed. * Compressive strength of concrete [fc] (MPa) = Maximum Load [P] (N) / Load bearing area [A] (mm2) Load bearing area for cylinder = ? (r^2), where r is the radius of the cylinder Load bearing area for cube = d x d, where d is the cube size 2. 2 In-direct tensile strength (AS 1012:10) In this test, a standard cylinder is subjected to a compressive loading along its length and the cylinder splits in indirect-tension along the diagonal, due to the induced tension (Poisson's effect). It is necessary to use bearing strips between the concrete and the testing machine platens to avoid local crushing. In-direct tensile strength [fst] (MPa) is calculated using the following expression: (MPa) = 2000 x Maximum load P (kN) / ? l (mm) x d (mm) Where d and l are the diameter and length of the cylinder in mm. Testing procedure * Fix the compressometer centrally around the 100mm diameter cylinder. Carefully center the specimen in the testing machine. * Three times gradually load the specimen (15+2 MPa/minutes) to the test load level (40% of the cylinder strength) and unload it. Records need not to be kept during first loading Record the following: 1. Applied load when the deformation is such that the specimen is subjected to a longitudinal strain of 50 microstrain 2. Deformation attained at test load. 3.From these results the following are to be determined: 4. 1 = applied stress at the strain of 50 microstrain 5. 2 = applied stress corresponds to the test load 6. 3 = strain at test load 3. Test Result 3. 1 Compressive Strength – Cylinders (Water cured for 28 days) Specimen No. | Diameter| Height| Weight| Max. Load| cylinder strength (Mpa)| average cylinder strength (Mpa)|   | (mm)| (mm)| (g)| (kN)|   |   | A1. 1| 100. 1| 200| 4138| 569| 72. 3| 71. 6| A1. 2| 100. 1| 200| 4109| 555| 70. 5| | A1. 3| 100. 0| 200| 4125| 566| 72. 1| | B1. 1| 100. 3| 202| 4050| 490| 62. 0| 60. 5| B1. 2| 100. 2| 200| 4025| 463| 58. | | B1. 3 | 100. 1| 200| 4018| 478| 60. 7| | C1. 1| 100. 4| 203| 3995| 345| 43. 6| 45. 5| C1. 2| 99. 7| 204| 3981| 366| 46. 9| | C1. 3| 100. 4| 202| 3978| 365| 46. 1| | D1. 1| 100. 2| 198| 3842| 286| 36. 3| 36. 5| D1. 2| 100. 3| 202| 3833| 277| 35. 1| | D1. 3| 99. 9| 201| 3865| 299| 38. 1| | Table1. Compressive Strength – Cylinders (Water cured for 28 days) Observation: 3. 2 Compressive Strength – Cylinders (Air stored for 28 days) Specimen No. | Diameter| Height| Weight| Max. Load| cylinder strength (Mpa)| average cylinder strength (Mpa)| | (mm)| (mm)| (g)| (kN)| | | A1. 4| 100. 2| 201| 3946| 373| 47. 3| 48. | A1. 5| 100. 2| 200| 3947| 397| 50. 3| | A1. 6| 99. 7| 201| 3954| 383| 49. 1| | B1. 4| 99. 8| 200| 3863| 319| 40. 8| 41. 3| B1. 5| 100. 3| 201| 3890| 334| 42. 3| | B1. 6| 100. 2| 200| 3883| 323| 41. 0| | C1. 4| 100. 0| 202| 3800| 305| 38. 8| 38. 4| C1. 5| 99. 7| 203| 3795| 296| 37. 9| | C1. 6| 100. 2| 202| 3783| 304| 38. 6| | D1. 4| 99. 8| 203| 3738| 193| 24. 7| 25. 7| D1. 5| 100. 1| 202| 3726| 205| 26. 0| | D1. 6| 99. 7| 202| 3717| 205| 26. 3| | Table2. Compressive Strength – Cylinders (Air stored for 28 days) Observation: 3. 3 Indirect Tensile Strength – Cylinders (Water cured for 28 days) Specimen No. Diameter| Length| Weight| Max. Load| cylinder strength (Mpa)| average cylinder strength (Mpa)| | (mm)| (mm)| (g)| (kN)| | | A1. 7| 100. 2| 201| 4151| 151| 19. 1| 20. 1| A1. 8| 100. 1| 201| 4137| 169| 21. 5| | A1. 9| 100. 1| 203| 4166| 155| 19. 7| | B1. 7| 100. 2| 201| 4044| 136| 17. 2| 16. 5| B1. 8| 100. 1| 201| 4022| 129| 16. 4| | B1. 9| 99. 8| 200| 4002| 124| 15. 9| | C1. 7| 100. 2| 202| 3899| 115| 14. 6| 14. 6| C1. 8| 99. 7| 200| 3912| 109| 14. 0| | C1. 9| 99. 9| 201| 3903| 120| 15. 3| | D1. 7| 99. 8| 198| 3861| 96| 12. 3| 12. 3| D1. 8| 100. 1| 200| 3837| 93| 11. 8| | D1. 9| 100. 2| 198| 3859| 102| 12. 9| |Table 3 Indirect Tensile Strength – Cylinders (Water cured for 28 days) Observation 3. 4 Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity  œ Cubes (Water cured for 28 days) Specimen No. | Path Length| Elapsed Time| pulse velocity(km/s)| average velocity(km/s)| cylinder strength (Mpa)| | (mm)| (? sec)| | | | A1. 10| 100. 1| 21. 1| 4. 7| 4. 8| 20. 1| A1. 11| 100. 2| 20. 9| 4. 8| | | A1. 12| 100. 1| 20. 7| 4. 8| | | B1. 10| 100. 0| 21. 2| 4. 7| 4. 7| 16. 5| B1. 11| 100. 1| 21. 4| 4. 7| | | B1. 12| 99. 9| 21. 3| 4. 7| | | C1. 10| 99. 9| 21. 5| 4. 6| 4. 6| 14. 6| C1. 11| 100. 0| 21. 6| 4. 6| | | C1. 12| 100. 1| 21. 6| 4. 6| | | D1. 10| 99. 9| 21. 9| 4. | 4. 5| 12. 3| D1. 11| 100. 2| 22. 0| 4. 6| | | D1. 12| 100. 1| 22. 1| 4. 5| | | Table 4. Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity – Cubes (Water cured for 28 days) 3. 5 Compressive Strength – Cubes (Water cured for 28 days) Specimen No. | Width| Depth| Weight| Max. Load| cylinder strength (Mpa)| average cylinder strength (Mpa)| | (mm)| (mm)| (g)| (kN)| | | A1. 10| 100. 1| 100. 2| 2631| 695| 88. 3| 86. 2| A1. 11| 100. 2| 100. 0| 2625| 677| 85. 9| | A1. 12| 100. 1| 100. 1| 2611 | 664| 84. 4| | B1. 10| 100. 0| 100. 0| 2536| 555| 70. 7| 72. 2| B1. 11| 100. 1| 99. 9| 2548| 567| 72. 0| | B1. 12| 99. 9| 99. 9| 2539| 580| 74. 0| | C1. 10| 99. 9| 100. | 2497| 431| 55. 0| 54. 6| C1. 11| 100. 0| 99. 8| 2484| 420| 53. 5| | C1. 12| 100. 1| 100. 1| 2500| 436| 55. 4| | D1. 10| 99. 9| 100. 0| 2461| 357| 45. 5| 44. 2| D1. 11| 100. 2| 100. 1| 2453| 345| 43. 8| | D1. 12| 100. 1| 100. 0| 2462| 340| 43. 2| | Table 5. Compressive Strength – Cubes (Water cured for 28 days) Observation 4. Presentation of Test Results Materials | Mix A | Mix B | Mix C | Mix D | Cement content (kg/m3) | 16| 16| 16| 16| Free water content (kg/m3) | 6. 4| 7. 2| 8| 8. 8| Free water/cement ratio | 0. 4| 0. 45| 0. 5| 0. 55| Hardened unit weight (kg/m3) | 2614. 03| 2550. 70| 2476. 86| 2467. 41| Cylinder strength (MPa) | 71. 3056253| 60. 4904288| 45. 5208526| 36. 49120537| Indirect tensile strength (MPa) | 20. 10660749| 16. 4968345| 14. 6184321| 12. 34162357| Ultrasonic pulse velocity (km/s) | 4. 791360998| 4. 69489736| 4. 63680017| 4. 548533685| Cube strength (MPa) | 86. 18075386| 72. 236373| 54. 6216624| 44. 16699149| Plot the following graphical relationships and discuss these relationships a) Cylinder compressive strength versus free water-to-cement ratio [water-cured] As seen from the graphical relationship, as the free water content of cement decreases the compressive strength of the concrete specimen will increase.These two properties are inversely proportional to each other. This may be due to the extra water diluting the cement paste mixture which will weaken the bonding between cement paste and aggregates, and hence decreases the compressive strength of the concrete. b) Cylinder compressive strength versus free water-to-cement ratio [air-stored] The ratio between the compressive strength and the free water to cement ratio for the air cured specimens shows a similar trend to that of the water cured i. e. inversely proportional to each other. However it can be obser ved that the compressive strength is lower than that of the water cured specimens.This is due to the superior moisture conditions that the water curing option provides. c) Cylinder compressive strength [water-cured] to cylinder compressive strength [air-stored] ratio versus cylinder strength [water-cured] Comparing the ratio of strengths of water cured concrete and air stored concrete against the strength of just water cured concrete, a difference in strength can be seen. From the graph above, concrete cured in water have higher compressive strength than that of air stored concrete. Therefore, if high strength concrete is needed for construction, it would be important to expose concrete to moist conditions during curing. ) Cylinder indirect tensile strength versus free water-to-cement ratio [water-cured] e) Cylinder indirect tensile strength versus cylinder compressive strength [water-cured] f) Cylinder indirect tensile strength to cylinder compressive strength ratio versus cylinder compressive strength [water-cured] g) Cylinder compressive strength versus ultrasonic pulse velocity [water-cured] h) Cube compressive strength versus free water-to-cement ratio [water-cured] A large free water to cement ratio can cause segregation of aggregates, which leads to uneven distribution of aggregate, strength will vary.This theory can be clearly seen in the graph above. As free water to cement ration increases, compressive strength decreases. i) Cylinder compressive strength versus cube compressive strength [water-cured] – include the theoretical relationship cylinder compressive strength = 0. 80 x cube compressive strength for each mix) As seen from the trend of the results, the cube strength of concrete for a particular mix is always stronger than that of the cylindrical shape. The reason for this result is due to the advantageous geometric properties that a cube precedes over the cylindrical shape.The cubic specimen has anchor points at the corners of the cube which provide greater compressive strength. A general rule states that cylinder strength is about 80% of cube strength. Therefore, it can be stipulated that in construction, members with a square cross – section would have greater compressive strength than that of a cylindrical member. Members with square cross – section would be able to handle futher loads than a same sized cylindrical member. According to our results, the experimental data is quite close to our theoretical data.However, experimental result tends to be slightly higher than theoretical data. Indirect tensile test Apparatus Avery 200Ton concrete test console Bearing strips Dental plaster Procedure Using the same machine as the compressive test, a compressive load is induced along the cylinders length which caused failure along the diagonal direction by tension. Bearing strips are used between the cylinder and testing machine platens which avoids local crushing. Concrete sample was placed between bearing strips which was placed on the undersell testing machine laterally.A constant load was applied to the sample at a rate of 15Mpa/min until the sample fails. Specimen No. | Diameter| Length| Weight| Max. Load| cylinder strength (Mpa)| average cylinder strength (Mpa)|   | (mm)| (mm)| (g)| (kN)|   |   | A1. 7| 100. 2| 201| 4151| 151| 19. 1| 20. 1| A1. 8| 100. 1| 201| 4137| 169| 21. 5| | A1. 9| 100. 1| 203| 4166| 155| 19. 7| | B1. 7| 100. 2| 201| 4044| 136| 17. 2| 16. 5| B1. 8| 100. 1| 201| 4022| 129| 16. 4| | B1. 9| 99. 8| 200| 4002| 124| 15. 9| | C1. 7| 100. 2| 202| 3899| 115| 14. 6| 14. 6| C1. 8| 99. | 200| 3912| 109| 14. 0| | C1. 9| 99. 9| 201| 3903| 120| 15. 3| | D1. 7| 99. 8| 198| 3861| 96| 12. 3| 12. 3| D1. 8| 100. 1| 200| 3837| 93| 11. 8| | D1. 9| 100. 2| 198| 3859| 102| 12. 9| | Indirect Tensile strength – Cylinders (Water cured for 28 days) Non-destructive testing Specimen No. | Path Length| Elapsed Time| pulse velocity(km/s)| average velocity| cylinder strength ( Mpa)|   | (mm)| (? sec)|   |   |   | A1. 10| 100. 1| 21. 1| 4. 7| 4. 8| 71. 6| A1. 11| 100. 2| 20. 9| 4. 8| | | A1. 12| 100. 1| 20. 7| 4. 8| | | B1. 10| 100. 0| 21. | 4. 7| 4. 7| 60. 5| B1. 11| 100. 1| 21. 4| 4. 7| | | B1. 12| 99. 9| 21. 3| 4. 7| | | C1. 10| 99. 9| 21. 5| 4. 6| 4. 6| 45. 5| C1. 11| 100. 0| 21. 6| 4. 6| | | C1. 12| 100. 1| 21. 6| 4. 6| | | D1. 10| 99. 9| 21. 9| 4. 6| 4. 5| 36. 5| D1. 11| 100. 2| 22. 0| 4. 6| | | D1. 12| 100. 1| 22. 1| 4. 5| | | Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity – Cubes (Water cured for 28 days) Cylinder indirect tensile strength versus free water-to-cement ratio [water-cured] The tensile strength of concrete showed a linear relationship with the free water to cement ratio.As the free water to cement ration increased, the tensile strength of concrete decreased. This shows a similar relationship between free water to cement ratio and the compressive strength of concrete as seen in part A and B. It also follows the general trend that an increase in free water to cement ration will decrease the strength of hardened concrete. Cylinder indirect tensile strength to cylinder compressive strength ratio versus cylinder compressive strength [water-cured] From this diagram we are able to observe the relationship between cylinder tensile strength vs. ompressive strength. It is known that concrete is naturally weak in tension, however and increase in the compressive strength will also increase the tensile strength. This is increase the two properties of concrete is due to the lower water to cement ratio which increases the concentration of cement paste providing aggregates to cement paste bonding. This diagram shows the fraction of tensile strength in comparison to its compressive strength of a particular mix. The magnitude is approximately constant for all four mixes, thus showing a concrete tensile strength is an approximate.Cylinder compressive strength versus ultrasonic pulse velocity [water-cured] The above graph shows the relati onship between compressive strength and ultrasonic pulse velocity. The relationship shows that the higher the cylinder strength, the more ultrasonic pulse velocity is produced. This link indicates that with higher concrete strength, the denser the concrete specimen. The transmission time of the pulse travelling through the specimen is much shorter in denser materials. Discussion of all test results Effects of free water content on the properties of fresh concrete (workability and unit weight of concrete).Free water refers to the amount of water that is available for the concrete hydration process after the absorption of the aggregates has been taken into account. If the aggregate is saturated and wet, this will increase the amount of water available for the hydration process, increasing the free water content of the concrete mix. The workability and unit weight of fresh concrete are affected by the free water content as the variables alter the way concrete is utilized and transporte d and a construction site.The most common way of measuring the workability of concrete batch is by measuring the amount of slump in accordance with Australian Standards. A linear relationship between fresh concrete and free water content can be seen from the results of testing fresh concrete. When the free water-content increases, the slump of the concrete batch increases respectively. Lubricating effects can be seen between cement and aggregate particles and thus the more water present in the concrete mix, the easier for particles to slip and slide over each other and therefore increasing the workability.In terms of unit weight, it will decrease with the increase in water content. Cement mainly consists of water, cement and aggregates with respective specific gravities of approximately 1. 00, 3. 15 and 2. 65. With water having the least weight per unit volume, it can be assumed that with an increase in water content in a concrete mixture, the lower unit weight of concrete will be i n the mixture when the mixture is combined as there are lower amount of aggregates and cement which are the heavier elements in a concrete mixture.Lower unit weigh of concrete indicates that lighter concrete mixture for the same volume, and this is beneficial property of fresh concrete as it allows easier pumping around the construction site, however, higher water content can affect the strength of hardened concrete so equilibrium of cost versus benefit must be considered. Effects of free water content on the hardened concrete properties (compressive strength, tensile strength and modulus of elasticity) As shown in the graphs, the compressive strength of concrete generally increases as the free water to cementitious materials ratio is decreased.However as also seen in the graphs the compressive strength of cylindrical shape specimens tends to increase as free water to cementitious materials ratio is decreased at a decreasing rate whilst cube shaped specimens tends to increase in com pressive strength as free water to cementitious materials ratios decreased at an increasing rate. However for cube shaped specimens its compressive strength is relatively higher than that of cylindrical shaped specimens as seen in the graphs.Cylinder strength requires a larger reduction in free water to cementitious materials ratio in order to achieve the same strength as cube strength. A similar behavior can be seen between water cured cylinder specimens and air cured cylinder specimens. Air cured requires a further reduction in free water to cementitious materials ratio to achieve the same strength as water cured. For tensile strength, as the free water to cementitious materials ratio is decreased at a decreasing rate, the strength of the concrete increases.However tensile strength tends to increase less than compressive strength as the free water to cementitious materials ratio is increased. As seen in the graphs also, the modulus of elasticity for concrete tends to increase as t he free water to cement is decreased at an increasing rate. Effects of curing condition on the compressive strength of concrete Curing of concrete is known as the process which encourages cement hydration where an adequate supply of moisture is required to ensure that the rate of hydration of cement is adequate enough to achieve the desired strength for the concrete.Curing allows for continuous hydration of cement where the more days that the concrete is cured the more gain in strength at a decreasing rate there is for the concrete. However this gain in strength will be halted when cement hydration stops, due to the internal relative humidity of the concrete dropping below 80%. Curing of concrete is largely influenced by temperature and humidity, where concrete cured in air after several days of water or moist curing will never reach the strength of concrete that is continuously cured in water.Overall the more days that the concrete is water the more gain in strength there will be f or the concrete. Therefore it is very important to properly cure concrete in order to achieve optimum strength. Effect of specimen shape on compressive strength The compressive strength of concrete is also influenced by the shape of the testing specimen. In general, the compressive strength for cube shape concrete is relatively higher than the compressive strength of cylindrical shape concrete.This is largely due to the fact that in cube shaped concrete, the stress is further away from the uniaxial cracking whilst for cylindrical shaped concrete the stress is near the uniaxial cracking. Discuss your reflection on the importance of the laboratory session After having participated in the laboratory testing of fresh concrete and hardened concrete, we now have an in depth knowledge of the behavior of concrete in civil engineering structures, as well we know the various methods and preparation of producing concrete to achieve a particular goal in terms of strength and durability.The impo rtance of our laboratory class is that it lets us see the practical side of concrete properties where practical properties of concrete may sometimes not match the theoretical methods of concrete. This is quite common. The laboratory classes lets us learn how to prepare and produce concrete in order to achieve a particular goal in terms of strength and durability, as well we are able to see how real life situations and environments can affect the behavior of concrete particularly during curing.This would most likely be an important knowledge to us when we go to work in the real world. The laboratory has also helped gain an in depth knowledge of how to produce the most workable, durable and most economical concrete. Conclusion As highlighted in the report, the factors which influence the performance of concrete include: free water to cement ratio, curing, specimen shape. The amount of free water in concrete is critical given that concrete strength decreases as free water to cement rat io is increased.Curing environment is also an important factor influencing the performance of concrete where an appropriate environment is required to give an adequate supply of moisture is required to ensure that the rate of hydration of cement is adequate enough to achieve the desired strength for the concrete. However in general concrete cured in air after several days of water or moist curing will never reach the strength of concrete that is continuously cured in water. Overall the more days that the concrete is water the more gain in strength there will be for the concrete.The shape of the specimen is also an important factor influencing the performance of the concrete. As observed in the report, cubic strength of concrete is generally higher than that of cylindrical strength. The workability of fresh concrete is also largely influenced by the free water to cement ratio, where the workability of concrete increases as the free water to cement increases REFERENCE Standards Austra lia International Ltd (2010), AS1012. 3. 1-1998:Methods of testing concrete –determination of properties related to the consistency of concrete – slump test, SAI GLOBAL, accessed 24th April 2012 http//www. aiglobal. com. ezproxy. lib. uts. edu. au/online/autologin. asp Standards Australia International Ltd (2010), AS1012. 5 – 1999: Methods of testing concrete – Determination of mass per unit volume of freshly mixed concrete, SAI GLOBAL, accessed 24th April 2012 http//www. saiglobal. com. ezproxy. lib. uts. edu. au/online/autologin. asp Standards Australia International Ltd (2010), AS1012. 10 – 2000: Methods of testing concrete – Determination of tensile strength of concrete cylinders, SAI GLOBAL, accessed 24th April 2012 http//www. aiglobal. com. ezproxy. lib. uts. edu. au/online/autologin. asp Standards Australia International Ltd (2010), AS1012. 9 – 1999: Methods of testing concrete – Determination of the compressive strength of concrete specimens, SAI GLOBAL, accessed 24th April 2012 http//www. saiglobal. com. ezproxy. lib. uts. edu. au/online/autologin. asp Vessalas, K. (2010), 48352: Construction Materials Lecture Notes, University of Technology, Sydney http://www. icar. utexas. edu/publications/105/105 1. pdf viewed on 24/4/2012

The Equality Myth Essays - 656 Words

Its pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness. Poverty and wealth have both failed. --Kin Hubbard, Sociologist The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is as much a novel about social hierarchy as it is about class-consciousness. Throughout the novel we are bombarded with images of extravagant wealth and shuddering pauperism with the elite upper class using those around them as stepping-stones to their own selfish happiness. The novel makes a point to differentiate between classes within classes especially how the sociology of the wealthy differs within itself. The new millionaires (represented by Gatsby and those of the West Egg) of the twenties are much more crass compared to the old aristocracy (represented by the†¦show more content†¦Unfortunately these characteristics of Gatsby which make him one of the most enigmatic and interesting characters of the novel also acts to ensure his own demise as he takes the blame for killing Myrtle rather than letting Daisy be punished, ...but of course Ill say I was...(Gatsby pg.137). Conversely the Buchanans undesirable characteristics allow them to remove themselves from the incident both physically and mentally. Daisy is in love with money, ease, and luxury. She is capable of affection (sincerely admires Nick and at times seems to love Gatsby), but not of sustained loyalty. She is indifferent even to her own infant daughter, never discussing her and tre ating her as an object, another possession. This sentiment of possession is especially stressed with the choice of diction, referring to the child as an it. I dont think he ever really believed in its existence before(Gatsby pg.111). Fitzgeralds feelings toward America during his time are represented in the character of Daisy, a set of amoral values of the East Egg (aristocratic upper class). George Wilson is a lifeless, exhausted owner of a run-down auto shop at the edge of the valley of ashes. 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