The Leader Speaks Praising the Folly

The Leader Speaks Praising the Folly There will never be a consensus about fables – people either hate them or love them. While it is hard to deny the fact that fables have teeth-grindingly obvious moral that is shoved in the reader’s face at the end of the story (Fogarty and Stoehr), most fables still find an original and entertaining way to convey these morals (Barbauld and Hale 25) – especially the fables by James Thurber.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Leader Speaks: Praising the Folly specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Known mostly for his short story titled â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,† Thurber wrote a number of unique fables, one of which, â€Å"The Owl Who Was God,† is the subject of the given paper. There is nothing ordinary about The Owl Who Was God – even the title of the fable is surreal enough to make the reader puzzled. Opening in a standard once-upon-a-time manner, the story tells abo ut an owl that was mistaken for God, since it could see in the darkness, unlike the rest of the animals. Furthermore, everything that the owl said or did was considered genial. Hence, all forest inhabitants started seeking its wisdom: â€Å"‘Can you give me another expression for ‘that is to say’ or ‘namely’?’ asked the secretary bird. ‘To wit,’ said the owl. ‘Why does the lover call on his love?’ ‘To woo,’ said the owl† (Thurber). When the owl appeared in front of the animals in the broad daylight, however, it was blinded by the sun. Leading the animals and birds to a concrete highway, it could not see the approaching car and was killed by it along with most of the animals. Though the plot is seemingly simple, it still has a number of underlying ideas and implications for the readers to explore. Like in many other short stories, the size does not allow to develop the characters, the plot and the se tting equally; therefore, some of the elements of The Owl Who Was God stand out even with such ridiculous idea as a plot for the story. However, choosing the element that has been taken to the highest degree seems rather hard, since each of these elements serves its purpose in the story perfectly; once at least one of them is taken out, the story evidently loses a great chunk of fun. For example, the story is narrated in a very concise manner, yet Thurber somehow manages to tell the audience a lot of details; for example, the reader learns instantly a lot about the forest and the way it looks (â€Å"They could not believe it was possible for anyone to see them in that thick darkness,† Thurber).Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, there is just as much about the character development – Thurber shows in a very graphic way how fast the forest crea tures start believing that the owl is a godsend and tells in graphic details about their final revelation (â€Å"He’s God!,† Thurber) and the tragic aftermath. Finally, the story is also developed very well. Therefore, the choice between the three is rather complicated. However, there are two elements that stand out the most, i.e., the irony and the satire. It is clear from the very start that Thurber offers a parody on human society; however, there is not a single direct reference to people’s culture except for the concept of God. Thus, the satire works in the context of the given story. Irony is also there; every single line that one of the characters say can be interpreted as an ironic comment on people’s tendency to follow a certain trend blindly: â€Å"’Aren’t you afraid?’ he asked. ‘Who?’ said the owl calmly, for he could not see the truck. ‘He’s God!’ cried all the creatures again† (Thurb er). As a matter of fact there is a line in the story that offers a very unique comment on the human race: â€Å"So they followed him wherever he went and when he bumped into things they began to bump into things, too† (Thurber). Thurber expressed his idea about fads that people follow blindly without even questioning the purpose of these fads in the given line. In addition, Thurber makes an important statement about the people who are attracted to a certain person or concept – as a rule, when being completely in love with their new fad, people lose the ability to critically evaluate things (Magstadt 116). Thus, when their leader starts bumping into things and face the obstacles that could have been easily avoided, the followers repeat the leader’s mistakes instead of choosing their own life track. Like any other writer, Thurber wrote in his own manner, which means that the style of â€Å"The Owl Who Was God† has a lot to do with Thurber’s another famous novel, â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.† First, both novels revolve around people or a person seeing something that is not true. Secondly, neither of the novels shows that the character has undergone a transformation – as well as the animals who worshipped Owl until the very end, Walter Mitty does not show any sign of changing his ways in the end. Finally, both novels tell the story of small people (or animals, for that matters) who try to become something grandeur, like the pilot of a Navy hydroplane or even God.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Leader Speaks: Praising the Folly specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Barbauld, Anna L. and Sarah J. B. Hale. Things by Their Right Names, and other Stories, Fables and Moral Pieces. Boston, MA: Marsh, Capen, Lyon and Webb, 1840. Print. Fogarty, Robin and Judy Stoehr. Integrating Curricula with Multiple Intelligences. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 200 7. Print. Magstadt, Thomas M. Understanding Politics. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2012. Thurber, James. The Owl Who Was God. n. d. Web. Thurber, James. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, n. d. Web.

Essay on Character Analysis of The Necklace

Essay on Character Analysis of The Necklace Essay on Character Analysis of The Necklace This is an example essay on character analysis of The Necklace: Guy de Maupassant narrative of The Necklace is chilly and has a cruel irony effect. The suffering set forth in the story seems to have been needless, due to the fact of misunderstanding and petty pride in Mr. and Mrs. Loisel. The craftsmanship of the story had been masterfully manipulated to where the revelation was held until the very end of the story. Characters in a story can be classified as â€Å"dynamic† or â€Å"static†. Dynamic characters are characters that change as the story progresses. That is, they recognize, change with, or adjust to circumstances. Static characters, which can also be described as â€Å"flat†, are characters that are not well developed and remain fairly unchanged throughout the story. Usually static characters have minor roles in a story (e.g. co-workers, friends, policeman, etc.). Mathilde Loisel, the main character in â€Å"The Necklace† seems to be a very dynamic character, although some of her moods appear to stay with her longer than others. Many of the things she had imagined often were not considered by other women of her social rank, such as worn-out chairs, curtains, and boiled beef for dinner, tortured and filled her with despair. (3) Feeling as though she had once deserved to marry better, but was unable to obtain a well to do husband she settled for a marriage with a minor clerk in the Ministry of Education. She is described as to have suffered ceaselessly, according to her daily description of her lifestyle. She would often ease her suffering of being in a drab house by visiting with her rich friend, Mrs. Forrestier. Mrs. Loisel had often dwelt upon her fantasies of a more elaborate life. Her desire to be of a higher status and to possess nice valuable trinkets seemed to poison her very nature. Mr. Loisel notice that his wife is not satisfied with her lifestyle. Seeing how she daydreams of living in luxury they cannot afford. He becomes excited as he carries an invitation to go too a formal dinner with the Ministry of Education. He had worked hard to get recognized for his efforts. Not too many clerks were invited to such an occasion. (6) Mrs. Loisel becomes upset because she has nothing elegant to wear for such an occasion. By forcing a few tears and sadly confronting her husband about her misfortunate state, she is able to convince him that she needs an expensive dress for a once in a lifetime event. Mrs. Loisel tells her husband she will need about 400 francs to purchase a dress worthy enough to get the attention of the other people at the dinner. The price was slightly more the he expected but gave her the money to purchase it from his next summer’s vacation fund. Continuing with the emotion of self-pity, she develops into a greedy individual. The dress is not en ough on its own, she will need an elaborate necklace to draw attention to herself. Mathilde is able to obtain a rather lovely necklace from Mrs. Forrestier who has large amount jewelry. The night of the party, Mrs. Loisel was prettier than anyone else, stylish, graceful, smiling, and wild with joy. (53) She enjoys the immense amount of attention she is receiving. Mrs. Loisel is so caught up in her own self-centeredness that she totally forgets about her husband. She cares for nothing, but the moment she is in. The party ends in the early morning hours and Mrs. Loisel wants to leave in a hurry. She wants the people she met at the party to remember her as was. She conceals her true identity because she is embarrassed for who she really is. In the midst of a returning home after a grand evening she notices she has lost a costly possession†¦the necklace!! Mr. and Mrs. Loisel look through her dress, shawl, pockets, and retraced all their steps from the party. (65) They worried and fretted about the lost necklace offering a reward for its return. They realize the inevitable situation they are in and have to replace the necklace. They went from jeweler to jeweler, searching for an indistinguishable replacement. (90) The replacement would cost 36,000 francs. Mr. Loisel had 18,000 francs left to him by his father. The other half would take three days to acquire from various loan companies and friends. Mrs. Loisel returns the necklace and does not tell Mrs. Forrestier that it’s not the same one that she borrowed. Mrs. Loisel now has to work, along with her husband working late hours. She takes a job as a servant, cleaning house, washing dishes, and other heavy housework. (99) She rents out a servant’s quarter and learns what its like to be among the working class. During this time she becomes somewhat practical. Now she has experienced what is really like to be the wife of a clerk. The debt would take 10 years to pay back. After the 10 years she finds Mrs. Forrestier walking with her child. She notices that she is youthful and attractive. Mrs. Forrestier hardly recognizes her and regards her as a lowly working class woman. (110) She tells Mrs. Forrestier that she has just finished paying off the necklace that she had borrowed for the dinner. Sadly, in the end after all she has put herself and her husband through, she finds out that it was really in vain. Mrs. Forrestier tells her if she had only told her years ago, she would have only paid about five hundred francs because it was only costume jewelry. ______________ is a professional essay writing service which can provide high school, college and university students with 100% original custom written essays, research papers, term papers, dissertations, courseworks, homeworks, book reviews, book reports, lab reports, projects, presentations and other assignments of top quality. More than 700 professional Ph.D. and Master’s academic writers. 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Argumentive Reserch Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Argumentive Reserch - Research Paper Example Learners can acquire these skills when they develop appropriate attitudes and knowledge. This makes the main objective of conducting teaching and training programs to correspond to enhancement of knowledge, skills and attitude of learners. The main purpose of this essay is to argue the relevance of the message conveyed by some specific authors on the approach needed for conducting training and teaching programs (Chou, Chang, & Hauer, 2008). I believe that motivation towards learning and training is dependent on knowledge, skills, ideologies and a suitable environment. However, it is also clear that the number of students and the use of a multi-disciplinary approach are useful though the learning approach should not be specific. Counter argument I believe that the twenty steps are instrumental when handling students with learning difficulties. However, opposing ideologies indicate that these steps overwork the teachers, and compromise their ability to attend to other students. Further more, it is highlighted that people should recognise the social and cognitive skills of students while handling their learning needs (Hon and Watkins, 1995). However, the learning needs of a person transcends skills, and is dependent on the environment in several instances. I believe that the procedural steps that involve students in a workshop learning session enhances their interaction and comprehension (Chou, Chang, and Hauer, 2004). However, opposing arguments state that such an approach cannot accommodate a class with numerous students. It is only limited to a few number of students. Rao underscores the need to expose students to an environment where they easily interact with the elderly patients to improve their attitudes. However, attitude cannot be improved by exposure alone. It requires an interdisciplinary learning approach. Argument I believe that it is necessary assist the children with learning difficulties using fundamental steps. This can be successful with the provis ion of appropriate modifications in the learning process. Several steps are necessary in the quest to achieve such objectives. The authors use Greg’s experiences to develop some steps necessary for successful learning amongst children having trouble (Biddulph, Hess, & Humes, 2006). I find this rather disturbing because assuming that all children with learning difficulties are of the same level as Greg is wrong. Greg could have succeeded because the level of his difficulty was mild. Disorder depression does not adversely inhibit the process of learning. Greg listed a number of 20 steps that he considers appropriating in making a child with learning difficulties become successful (Biddulph, Hess, & Humes, 2006). I believe that Hon and Watkins’s attempt to evaluate social skills training program for Hong Kong students highlights the importance of valuing skills, and knowledge. They classify alcoholism, juvenile delinquency and depression as fundamental examples of behavio ral and neurotic problems that are responsible for psychiatric disorders. According to the authors, these are the causes of inadequate social skills. Hon and Watkins focus on directing additional efforts get to the training skills development programs for adolescents. However, these efforts mainly focus on the western countries. In response to this, they come up with well-knitted approaches to address