Nicholas Lezards Quote on Atonement Essay Example for Free

Nicholas Lezards Quote on Atonement Essay â€Å"†¦the novel is itself the act of atonement that Briony Tallis needs to perform; yet we are very much in the land of the unreliable narrator, where evasion and mendacity both shadow and undermine the story that is told† (Nicholas Lezard). Discuss this criticism of Atonement. When one reaches atonement, it means that they feel forgiven, regardless whether they are actually absolved for an offence or not. In Atonement, a novel of drama, war and romance, the author Ian McEwan characterizes the main character, Briony, as a very self-centered person. McEwan’s novel is self-referential when it is implied that the novel is one Briony wrote in order to reach atonement. Nicholas Lezard, critic for the Guardian, says that Briony’s atonement and ‘the truth’ of her story is weakened by Ian McEwan’s characterization of her as an unreliable person. However, some may argue that the novel Briony wrote was a good way to atone for her crime. In the end of the McEwan’s novel, Briony shows that she believes she had done the best she could have to reach atonement. When talking about the final draft of her novel she says â€Å"I’ve regarded it as my duty to disguise nothing – the names, the places, the exact circumstances – I put it all there as a matter of a historical record† (McEwan 349). This makes the reader believe she is being entirely honest. In addition to this, Briony, being a well-known published writer at the age of 77, decides to use her passion, her talent, to become part of her atonement. Although Briony can’t publish her novel until after the death of Lola and Paul Marshall because of her fear of litigation as well as the power and wealth the couple have and will use to protect their names. â€Å"The Marshalls have been active about the courts since the late forties, defending their good names with a most expensive ferocity† (McEwan 349). Her inability to do anything more at this stage of her life makes readers feel sympathy for Briony and want to believe everything that she claims to be true. For these reasons many readers may well believe that Briony had done respectably the best she could have to reach atonement. On the other hand many may agree with Lezard and feel that Briony’s fictional happy ending to her story is a final attempt to evade the guilt she feels. Briony’s medical condition and the fact that she is dying, as a result draws attention away from her desperation to relieve her guilt. â€Å"It is only in this last version that my lovers end well, standing side by side on a South London pavement as I walk away. All the preceding drafts were pitiless† (McEwan 350). This makes the reader question how much more of what actually happened was changed in Briony’s story. Briony even calls herself an â€Å"unreliable witness† (McEwan 338) of the events that occurred which she then wrote about. This also puts the reader in a position to not want to trust anything Briony says. She also says that she likes to think that Robbie and Cecilia’s happy ending wasn’t â€Å"weakness or evasion, but a final act of kindness† (McEwan 351), which contradicts to her claim of having the novel published as a historical record, enforcing to the reader her untrustworthiness. These are a few of the reasons for which Briony can be seen as an unreliable person. Aside from her desperation and lies as a result of her coming closer to death, there are other ways in which McEwan characterizes Briony to be unreliable and wanting to partially avoid blame for her committed crime. Briony, the protagonist, wrote her entire novel with an omniscient 3rd person narrator, which as a result distances Briony from the reader and draws some attention away from her offence. Another effect that this has is that it suggests to the reader that the events that occurred happened exactly as they are described, when that is not the case. Should the novel have been written in 1st person from Briony’s point of view, the reader would have seen Briony as an arrogant and not believed her story so easily. Briony on page 350 then clearly states that she made of part of her story when she says When I am dead, and the Marshalls are dead, and the novel is finally published, we will only exist through my inventions (McEwan). McEwan’s characterization of her as a self-centered and unreliable person is consistent from when Briony is 13 years old up to when she is 77. On page 336, Briony says â€Å"However withered, I still feel myself to be exactly the same person I’ve always been† (McEwan), which to the reader signifies that Briony has not matured as a person and still may think like she did when she was a child, making the same mistakes without realizing them. A clear example of the same mistakes Briony makes as an adult, is how she is jealous of her older cousin at the age of 77, the same feeling she had as a child. On page 341, Briony also says, â€Å"I’ve always been good at not thinking about the things that are really troubling me† (McEwan), which has the same effect of characterizing her as unreliable. Briony tries to do good by trying to atone with the novel she wrote, although on page 340, she says, â€Å"If I really cared so much about the facts, I should have written a different kind of book. But my work was done. There would be no further drafts† (McEwan 340), which then makes it very clear to the reader that Briony’s story cannot be trusted. The entire novel is damaged and cannot be believed as a result of Briony’s unreliability. Although Briony’s attempt to atone may seem justifiable to some, it is more reasonable to say that McEwan’s novel of Atonement is reduced from the story of a girl committing a crime and separating two lovers, down to the fantasy world of Briony Tallis blended in with some facts of events she witnessed. The novel being self-referential when it is revealed that Briony wrote it in order to reach atonement, leaves the reader with a very strong impression of Briony as a very unreliable, self-centered person, which then undermines the entire story.

Essay on Earths Holocaust and The Birthmark -- Birthmark Essays

Essay on Earth's Holocaust and The Birthmark Hawthorne knew that all men are defective. Earth's Holocaust is his most striking statement of the theme, but every story and novel is based on that premise. Those who ignore human imperfection in their planning become, like Aylmer of The Birthmark, destroyers rather than creators. From his knowledge of universal depravity came and not as paradoxically as it may seem a humility and a sense of social solidarity too often lacking in our young critics of society. The society with which he was concerned was a wider society. As we have noted, his people are often ''saved'' through love for one other person. The heart is touched by love, bringing warmth, or ''reality." But the saved one does not then withdraw with his loved one in a society of the elect; he does not join a Brook Farm or a commune. He returns to the larger society, to what Lewis calls "the tribe." He is defective and incomplete-as it is defective and incomplete; he needs it as it needs him. Thus love unites Phoebe and Holgr ave, but also serves the larger social purpose of uniting two warring families, displacing hate by love and "cleansing'' a cursed house. Love for Clifford brings Hepzibah out of destructive pride and isolation into intercourse with the world. Hester is saved at the end not by the "consecration of its own" she once thought blessed her union with Dimmesdale, not by escape into ... ...ch somehow we all bear complicity, and with both joy and trouble intensifed by love, linking us to others who share in the human condition. With such distinctions, we can hardly call Hawthorne a true and complete hippie. Neither can we deny that he shared the hippies' aversions and the most essential of their desires. We can see him as relevant the word is useful if overworked even to the hippie generation. To do so we need those qualities in which he was strongest: humility to accept as equals and as like ourselves people of all classes, ages, and times, and historical imagination to see essential likeness of one time to another beneath their superficial differences. Essay on Earth's Holocaust and The Birthmark -- Birthmark Essays Essay on Earth's Holocaust and The Birthmark Hawthorne knew that all men are defective. Earth's Holocaust is his most striking statement of the theme, but every story and novel is based on that premise. Those who ignore human imperfection in their planning become, like Aylmer of The Birthmark, destroyers rather than creators. From his knowledge of universal depravity came and not as paradoxically as it may seem a humility and a sense of social solidarity too often lacking in our young critics of society. The society with which he was concerned was a wider society. As we have noted, his people are often ''saved'' through love for one other person. The heart is touched by love, bringing warmth, or ''reality." But the saved one does not then withdraw with his loved one in a society of the elect; he does not join a Brook Farm or a commune. He returns to the larger society, to what Lewis calls "the tribe." He is defective and incomplete-as it is defective and incomplete; he needs it as it needs him. Thus love unites Phoebe and Holgr ave, but also serves the larger social purpose of uniting two warring families, displacing hate by love and "cleansing'' a cursed house. Love for Clifford brings Hepzibah out of destructive pride and isolation into intercourse with the world. Hester is saved at the end not by the "consecration of its own" she once thought blessed her union with Dimmesdale, not by escape into ... ...ch somehow we all bear complicity, and with both joy and trouble intensifed by love, linking us to others who share in the human condition. With such distinctions, we can hardly call Hawthorne a true and complete hippie. Neither can we deny that he shared the hippies' aversions and the most essential of their desires. We can see him as relevant the word is useful if overworked even to the hippie generation. To do so we need those qualities in which he was strongest: humility to accept as equals and as like ourselves people of all classes, ages, and times, and historical imagination to see essential likeness of one time to another beneath their superficial differences.

Mcdonald’s Healthier Happy Meals Essay

McDonald’s Happy Meals for children came under extreme scrutiny when parents, consumer-advocacy groups, and certain city councils deemed it to be inappropriate to lure children to such an unhealthy meal by including a free toy. In November 2011, the San Francisco city council decided to prohibit the addition of toys to meals that did not conform to specific nutritional values (Melnick, 2011). In July 2011 McDonald’s announced that they plan to provide their customers with a healthier option. In order to successfully make these changes McDonald’s hired a research group to conduct an extensive research and present them with a cost effective solution. The Research Questions The questions the company had to look into to resolve this issue was: * How can they make the meals for the children healthier while maintaining the convenience that fast food is known for? * How can they cut the calories from their existing meals? * How can they make healthy food desirable to children? * How can they keep these healthier options cost effective? * What would be the best marketing strategy to launch these healthier changes? The Hypothesis A hypothesis explores a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation (Merriam-Webster, 2013). In the exploration to raise a question and find an answer, the company has to face the question: how can they make the meals for the children healthier while maintaining the convenience that fast food is known for? Through the years McDonald’s has added a couple new features to their menu like a wider selection in desserts, a value menu, and select new refreshing healthier choices to their fast food chain. But the question now is, how can they further cut the calories from these meals? Yes, McDonald’s has gained a fine respect in the fast food industry for upgrading to healthier choices, but now the kids menu may need some revamping on their own. If the regular menu can provide healthier choice selections like salads, less than 400 calories, and weight watcher approved items, what can they do about happy meals? A solution to providing a healthier selection is to offer a more beneficial meal that kids can enjoy. Apple bags, celery sticks, carrots, reduced milk, baked instead of fried items and healthier meat. Those are just a couple of suggestions to an issue that is easy to solve. The main purpose is to change the world one step at a time, and healthier living for is the new road to take. The Variables Local societies are becoming more health conscience and looking for healthier options when going out to eat. Even though McDonald’s did not follow the popular approach by luring people in through the use of famous celebrities, people felt that offering toys with their Happy Meals were unacceptable. The variables in a research scenario are considered to be independent (IV) and dependent variables (DV). In this research scenario the independent variables are the food and the marketing strategy, while the amount of calories and interest of the children are the dependent variables. Many children were attracted to McDonald’s Happy Meals for the toy they got with it and this is what their marketing strategy revolved around. In April 2012, The Time’s released the article â€Å"Why we’re eating fewer happy meals†. The article’s main focus was McDonald’s use of toys with their Happy Meals and the use of a clown who â€Å"is hell-bent on the creepy mission of luring children into McDonald’s, where they’ll be fattened up and primed for a lifetime of regular fast-food dining visits† (Tuttle, 2012, p. 1). Along with improving their Happy Meals, McDonald’s has also changed their marketing strategy. They still offer the toys but it is no longer their main focal point. Instead they now show Ronald McDonald playing around, participating in healthy activities and proclaiming that a healthier life style is a lot of fun.

Platos 4 Virtues - 1406 Words

The Four Virtues of the Republic In the Republic, Plato sets up a framework to help us establish what the four virtues are, and their relationship between them to both the city and the soul. According to Plato, the four virtues are wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice. There are three classes within the city: guardians, auxiliaries, and artisans; and three parts within the soul include intellect, high-spirited, and appetitive. By understanding the different classes of the city or parts of the soul, one will be able to appreciate how the virtues attribute to each one specifically. Book II of the Republic opens with Plato’s two brothers, both who want to know which is the better life to live: the just or the unjust. First, Socrates†¦show more content†¦For Plato, â€Å"Justice, I think, is exactly what we said must be established throughout the city when we were founding it†¦everyone must practice one of the occupations in the city for which he is naturally best suited† (Cahn 147). This only happens when the city is not in a state of internal conflict with itself allowing the highest principle, good, to be seen; making it the most unified, therefore being just. Since the proper order of the city has now been established, it is time to turn inward to one’s soul to determine where justice and injustice might lie, and what the difference is between the two. Plato believes, â€Å"if an individual has these same three parts in his soul, we will expect him to be correctly called by the same names as the city if he has the same conditions in them† (Cahn 148). Now that Plato has found the four virtues within the larger environment of the city, he now wants to investigate their relationship to the smaller environment of the soul. The first part of the soul that calculates is considered rational by having the ability to make good judgment, known as its intellect. The second part of the soul that desires certain indulgences and pleasures; such as, food, drink, and sex, is considered irrational and is known as its appetitive part. The third part of the soul is known as the high-spirited, which allows a person to get angry by giving way to the use of their emotions. The appetite of one’s soul draws a personShow MoreRelatedAristotle s Theory Of Virtue1493 Words   |  6 Pageswhat virtue is. Aristotle’s definition of virtue can be described as the as the â€Å"state of character concerned with choice, lying in a mean relative to us, this being determined by reason and by that reason by which the man of practical wisdom would determine it† (Nicomachean Ethics, 31). In addition to that, Aristotle illustrates two types of virtue that stem from his primary idea; moral and intellectual virtue. Ari stotle expounds moral virtue as actualizing from habit, in which the virtue cannotRead MoreExamining the Ethics of Plato and Aristotle Essay1063 Words   |  5 Pagesfive fundamental concepts of Plato and Aristotle before providing my own opinion and view on their ethics. I will concentrate on their theories on the good life as a life of justice, censorship, knowledge and the good life. I will first examine Plato’s ethics. Plato was a philosopher who was both a rationalist and absolutist. According to his view, people must be schooled to acquire certain kinds of knowledge i.e. mathematics, philosophy and so forth. This training will give them the capacity toRead More Aristotle vs. Plato Essay1408 Words   |  6 Pagesrenders excellent the thing of which it is a function is Plato’s definition of virtue. What does this definition really mean though? Plato and Aristotle both had their own unique arguments devoted to the topic at hand, and their own ways of describing what virtue really is. 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