Bartok And His Musical Language Film Studies Essay

Bartok And His Musical Language Film Studies Essay Bartoks music showed signs of a rejection of traditional tonality and growth in his individual harmonic language, giving a new rendition to tonal principles. This characteristic was very much due to the influence of Debussy, and also affected other composers such as Stravinsky. Additionally, after his several years of studying the German tradition at the conservatory in Budapest, he had picked up a manneristic sympathy towards this German late-Romantic style of composers like Wagner, Richard Strauss and Brahms. His earliest works show several stylistic influences present, for example his Piano Quintet (1904-5) which has a finale unquestionably modelled on that of Brahmss Second Piano Concerto. In time, Bartoks music was somewhat liberated from such influences due to his encounter with Magyar folk music in 1905. In spite of this, some influences remained, like the discovery of new harmonic possibilities in Debussys music which came about in 1907. Bartoks researches, which eventually encompassed the folk music not only of Hungary but the Slavic regions, Turkey, and North Africa, convinced him that the essential folk traditions were those having frequent contact with other cultures, allowing a mutually enriching exchange of ideas1. Bartoks compositional style reveals this outlook, which draws upon various, even seemingly contrasting, sources yet he manages to integrate them within a fully coherent frame while keeping in touch with his personal expression. 4.1.1 Tonal Language in his Piano Music 1 Morgan, Robert P. Twentieth-Century Music (W.W.Norton Company Inc., 1991). p.109Works like the Fourteen Bagatelles and Ten Easy Pieces were described by Bartok himself as experimental, reflecting this influence and revealing a certain affinity with Debussy like the use of parallel dissonant chords; except that the quality and colour of the dissonances in Bartoks music differs significantly from that of Debussy. Moreover, the Fourteen Bagatelles and the Ten Easy Pieces, small and early composed as they are, show stylistic homogeneity within each of the pieces and are more adventurous than, for example, the Debussy Preludes. The first composition which brings to light Bartoks research on folksong is shown in his series of piano pieces called For Children, based on Hungarian and Slovakian folksongs. Harmonies are usually simple but never predictable and conventional, making use of Aeolian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian and Mixolydian melodies, pentatonic and other modal tunes. Bartok comp osed three Burlesques, all of which were composed in different years, and these bring out the typical style of his development. They are slightly unpleasant in mood, with harsh clashes of dissonance and bizarre accents. In his Allegro Barbaro, he had established a complete assimilation of folk elements with authentic Magyar style, unrelated to the pianism of Hungarian characteristics found in Liszt and no signs of the impressionist keyboard music like Ravels. This work had brought out an immensely percussionistic sound through the martellato chords and the hammering rhythms. It marks Bartoks becoming of age, from whence his stylistic progress is outspoken, without trial and no going back to the earlier style in his music. He had recognized the piano as a percussion instrument, with works such as the Sonata, his Concertos, and the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion abiding by this idea. In his answer to a questionnaire about the Piano problem (1927), Bartok had stated the following : The neutral character of the piano tone has long been recognized. Yet it seems to me that its inherent nature becomes really expressive only by means of the present tendency to use the piano as a percussion instrument. Indeed, the piano always plays the part of universal instrument. It has not lost its importance for concert performances.2 4.2 Mikrokosmos Bartok was quite the innovator when it comes to writing what he wanted on the score, and in his Volumes of the Mikrokosmos, one might encounter special musical notation which indicate a specific sound that he had in mind such as newly devised key signatures (also including the use of two different key signatures at the same time), use of  ½ pedal, and the use of the  ¯ for the effect of harmonics, an effect generated by playing the selected keys without sounding them and producing harmonics as the other notes are played. Figure 4.1 First 10 Bars from No.102, Vol.4 2 Bartok, Bà ©la. Bà ©la Bartok Essays ed. Benjamin Suchoff. (University of Nebraska Press, 1976) p.288The first four books of the Mikrokosmos were specifically written for pedagogical reasons as they propose specific tasks which should prepare students as they take on new problems step by step in their first years of learning. Albeit this, Benjamin Suchoff had stated that: Evidence indicates that the Mikrokosmos was not conceived of as a piano method in 1926, the year of its origin, but as recital pieces to fill the need Bartok had of such material due to the increase in his concert bookings3. The exercises are supposedly put in progressive order according to technical and musical demands, although this order might be manipulated by the tutor with each individual student according to their abilities. Despite this, the value of these volumes lies not so much in the technical demands themselves, but it provides the opportunity for the player to encounter essential characteristics of twentieth-century music, for instance, harmonic practices like: bitonality, whole-tone scale, chords in fourths and major and minor seconds, or counterpoint methods such as: inversion, mirror and free canon, not to mention other devices like syncopation and irregular rhythms. 4.3 Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm Bartok ends his 153 pieces called Mikrokosmos with a set of six dances which he composed and dedicated to the British pianist Miss Harriet Cohen. As the title suggests, they are comprised of dances with folk flavour dominant throughout, containing a variety of rhythms commonly found in Bulgarian folk music. Bartok had already made use of the Bulgarian elements in No.113 and No.115 from the fourth Volume of Mikrokosmos, and he aptly named them Bulgarian rhythm I and Bulgarian rhythm II. This rhythm is frequently found in folk music from Bulgaria, and refers to a rhythm in which the beats within each bar are of dissimilar length, so that the subdivisions of each beat change in number. This set, all composed with quavers as the main beat, would therefore represent the Bulgarian rhythm grouped like this: qzzz qz qzz- corresponding to the time signature of 4+2+3/8, although the whole set of these last six dances exhibits a wide variety of possible groupings. The different rhythmic groupin gs give each of the dances a contrasting character, but still give a sense of a unified work, mostly due to a chromatic characteristic appearing in each piece and the fact that all six dances are full of energy. Figure 4.2 3 Suchoff, Benjamin. History of Bela Bartoks Mikrokosmos from the Journal of Research in Music Education, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Sage Publications Inc., 1959) p.196The first dance opens with a mildly temperate mood, but still full of life as it introduces the main theme. The dance is polymodal, based mainly on the E-Phrygian/Lydian scale, occurring in the two main elements present, which are the melody (Fig. 4.2) using notes of the E-pentatonic scale and the accompanying scalar ostinato passages based on the E major scale (Fig. 4.3). Figure 4.3 This first dance makes consistent use of the 4+2+3 Bulgarian rhythm throughout the piece, and is the only work from the set of six that has the most distinct tempo changes. A variation of the main folk motif (Fig. 4.2) occurs in the slower section marked Meno Vivo (Fig. 4.4), which builds up towards a transitional energetic area, leading to yet another calm variation of the main theme with a sense of direction leading towards the closing of the dance which is contrastingly loud and decisive in mood compared to the previous soothing variations, but it rounds off the dance bringing it well into balance and aims directly towards the complementing second dance. Figure 4.4 Variation of the main melodic motif is marked with the brackets The second dance is lively and bright in mood, introducing itself with the main rhythmic element appearing throughout the piece which is based on the 2+2+3 meter (Fig.4.5). Figure 4.5 Bb.1-3 The first three bars of ostinato-like chords are immediately followed by another motif (Fig. 4.6a) containing a syncopated melody on the C-pentatonic scale which repeats soon afterwards; this time it is transposed a 4th higher on F-pentatonic scale and it is half the length of the previous phrase, almost as if it is getting slightly impatient and increasing in tension (Fig. 4.6b). Figure 4.6a Figure 4.6b Figure 4.7Subsequently, running scales appear (Fig. 4.7), which give a reminiscing sense of some parts from the first dance. This is followed by developing material of both the initial melodic material and of the running scales once again. The scale passages keep occurring against a thick chordal bass until eventually coming to a halt and transitioning to the coda which concludes with the introductory dance rhythm, slowly drifting away to the last to chords. The third dance acts like an extension to the second dance, with a similar energetic drive but with more added force to it. Its meter is marked as 5/8 and the rhythm is subdivided into two groups: 2+3. The first rhythmic motif is divided as shown (Fig. 4.8), using notes from the E-Lydian pentachord with a minor and major seventh degree4. Figure 4.8 The second thematic material that follows is based on a symmetrical 3-bar phrase:  Ã‚ ±Ã‚ Ã‚ ±. |  Ã‚ ±Ã‚ Ã‚ ¥Ã‚ Ã‚ ± |  Ã‚ ±Ã‚ Ã‚ ±. lasting until Bar 19, leading to four bars of ostinato rhythm using chords a 5th apart, based on the dominant (V) of the A-major pentachord5, employed in the second thematic material. Variations with development on both first and second motifs appear following each other with chromatic elements throughout, leading to the close which starts off with the same introduction as the beginning, followed by a short closure using the main dance rhythmic theme, rounded off by the concluding chord (Fig. 4.9). Figure 4.9 The next dance is more upbeat and cheery in mood compared to the previous dances. It has the form of a rondo-variation with the parts generally subdivided into four-bar sections. According to Bartok, this piece is Very much in the style of Gershwins tonality, rhythm, and colour. The American folk song feeling.5 The additive 3+2+3/8 meter grouped as such (Fig. 4.10), occurs in the first movement, second theme, of Gershwins Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra as 4/4  Ã‚ ¥ q  Ã‚ ±  Ã‚ ±  Ã‚ ¥.6 The first theme (Fig. 4.10), consists of harmonies from the C-Lydian/Phrygian polymode, and the motif is soon repeated an octave higher. The same ideas soon answer in different registers transposed into the left hand almost upside down. Figure 4.10 In discussion to the Gershwin-related tonality as described by Bartok himself, there is a section in this dance where the same melodic motif appears in a slower area (as indicated by the composer; Meno mosso) with a jazzy colour added to it, accompanied by triads ascending in stepwise motion (Fig. 4.11). This area is followed by a brief recapitulation of the melodic introductory motif played in octaves with a small ritardando at the end of the phrase which jumps to a short but very energetic Coda that concludes the dance. 6 ibid. 5 ibid. p.158 4 ibid. 3 Suchoff, Benjamin. Bartoks Mikrokosmos: Genesis, Pedagogy, and Style (Rowman Littlefield, 2004) p.157 Figure 4.11 The fifth Bulgarian dance has a more varied rhythmic schemata, in the sense that it has at least three different sections which consist of diverse rhythmic groupings (Fig. 4.12a; 4.12b; 4.12c), but all under the same meter i.e. 2+2+2+3/8. Figure 4.12a i.e. qz  Ã‚ ±z  Ã‚ ±z  Ã‚ ±zz Figure 4.12b i.e.  Ã‚ ±  Ã‚ ±  Ã‚ ±  Ã‚ ±  Ã‚ ¥ Figure 4.12c i.e.  Ã‚ ±zzz  Ã‚ ±  Ã‚ ±zz Like the second dance, it has brisk, light steps, but is more playful, slightly more colourful in tonality but less ostentatious in character. The introductory material starts with a short passage of alternating chords between the two hands, eventually leading to a clearer melodic line in bar 7 which serves as the basic material for the entire piece. The middle section consists of brief dense phrases occurring in between short staccato areas, with the thick areas having a fundamental chromatic melodic line which corresponds to the whole element of the six dances. The sixth and final dance of the whole Mikrokosmos automatically shoots off with a jump start as a kind of reaction to the strong intervallic ending of the previous dance. The chordal motifs reflect a Debussy-like influence, with the striking rhythmic elements proving the underlying thoughts of having the piano regarded as a percussive instrument. The chords against a repeated 3+3+2 quaver movement grouped as such: qZZ qZZ qZ switch hands, increasing in thickness of sound the third time it appears, due to the lower register of the keyboard. The chords are the holders of the main melodic line in this dance. Repeated eighth notes occur throughout most of the dance with abrupt accentuated phrasings. Corresponding to the chromatic element of the whole set which links them together is an area full of melodic motifs displaying chromatic movement in both hands, with the phrases running on top of each other constantly, keeping a rhythmic flow (Fig. 4.13). Figure 4.13 The only section in this piece where there are not any running rhythms is in the extremely aggressive chordal area marked fortissimo (Fig. 4.14), halting abruptly on a dissonant chord which is followed by several bars of repeated notes, soon to have the other voice join in once again, both charging towards the flamboyant ending of the piece. Figure 4.14

George Eliot, Pseudonym of Marian Evans :: George Eliot Writers Authors Essays

George Eliot, Pseudonym of Marian Evans George Eliot, pseudonym of Marian Evans (1819-1880) This article appeared in The Times Literary Supplement and was reprinted in The Common Reader: First Series. Virginia Woolf also wrote on George Eliot in the Daily Herald of 9 To read George Eliot attentively is to become aware how little one knows about her. It is also to become aware of the credulity, not very creditable to one’s insight, with which, half consciously and partly maliciously, one had accepted the late Victorian version of a deluded woman who held phantom sway over subjects even more deluded than herself. At what moment and by what means her spell was broken it is difficult to ascertain. Some people attribute it to the publication of her Life. Perhaps George Meredith, with his phrase about the ‘mercurial little showman’ and the ‘errant woman’ on the daà ¯s, gave point and poison to the arrows of thousands incapable of aiming them so accurately, but delighted to let fly. She became one of the butts for youth to laugh at, the convenient symbol of a group of serious people who were all guilty of the same idolatry and could be dismissed with the same scorn. Lord Acton had said that she was greater than Dante; Herbert Spencer exempted her novels, as if they were not novels, when he banned all fiction from the London Library. She was the pride and paragon of her sex. Moreover, her private record was not more alluring than her public. Asked to describe an afternoon at the Priory, the story-teller always imitated that the memory of those serious Sunday afternoons had come to tickle his sense of humour. He had been so much alarmed by the grave lady in her low chair; he had been so anxious to say the intelligent thing. Certainly, the talk had been very serious, as a note in the fine clear hand of the great novelist bore witness. It was dated Monday morning, and she accused herself of having spoken without due forethought of Marivaux when she meant another; but not doubt, she said, her listener had already supplied the correction. Still, the memory of talking about Marivaux to George Eliot on a Sunday afternoon was not a romantic memory. It had faded with the passage of the years. It had not become picturesque. Indeed, one cannot escape the conviction that the long, heavy face with its expression of serious and sullen and almost equine power has stamped itself depressingly upon the minds of people who remember George Eliot, so that it looks out upon them from her pages.

The Great Depression and John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath :: John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath

The Great Depression and John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath Though most Americans are aware of the Great Depression of 1929, which may well be "the most serious problem facing our free enterprise economic system", few know of the many Americans who lost their homes, life savings and jobs. This paper briefly states the causes of the depression and summarizes the vast problems Americans faced during the eleven years of its span. This paper primarily focuses on what life was like for farmers during the time of the Depression, as portrayed in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, and tells what the government did to end the Depression. In the 1920's, after World War 1, danger signals were apparent that a great Depression was coming. A major cause of the Depression was that the pay of workers did not increase at all. Because of this, they couldn't afford manufactured goods. While the factories were still manufacturing goods, Americans weren't able to afford them and the factories made no money (Drewry and O'connor 559). Another major cause related to farmers. Farmers weren't doing to well because they were producing more crops and farm products than could be sold at high prices. Therefore, they made a very small profit. This insufficient profit wouldn't allow the farmers to purchase new machinery and because of this they couldn't produce goods quick enough (Drewry and O'connor 559). A new plan was created called the installment plan. This plan was established because many Americans didn't have enough money to buy goods and services that were needed or wanted. The installment plan stated that people could buy products on credit and make monthly payments. The one major problem with this idea was that people soon found out that they couldn't afford to make the monthly payment(Drewry and O'connor 559). In 1929 the stock market crashed. Many Americans purchased stocks because they were certain of the economy. People started selling their stocks at a fast pace; over sixteen million stocks were sold! Numerous stock prices dropped to fraction of their value. Banks lost money from the stock market and from Americans who couldn't pay back loans. Many factories lost money and went out of business because of

Porters 5 force analysis of Fast food industry Essay

Porter generic strategies this is a strategy on the dimensions of the strategic scope meaning the market penetration and strategic strength referring to the company. For porter an industry is impacted by five forces. (Porter, 1985)   This study is going to examine the aviation industry, which is amongst the biggest and competitive industry and highly growing Rivalry In a convectional economic setup, competition among rival companies reduces profits of the companies to nil. However, competition can not be perfect and companies are so sophisticated to counter competition by gaining competitive advantage over their rivals. Competition varies depending on the different industries. In the aviation industry the competition is high as there are many companies offering the same services. In pursing the competitive advantage in the industry, the aviation industry can continue to improve its services by introducing new products. At the same time the industry can innovate new ways of services, and improved its general operations. The aviation industry is very competitive and companies in the industry need to merge to reduce competition while gaining competitive advantage. As it is now several companies has collapsed due to high competition in the industry. (Porter, 1985) Threat of substitutes Substitutes in an industry according to Porter (1985) are products from other industries. A threat of a substitute will occur when the demand of the product is affected by changing of price of a substitute product. The price elasticity of a product is directly affected by the availability of substitutes. Since availability of substitutes will make the demand of a product to be more elastic.   In The case of the aviation industry, the industry is getting threats of substitute from the other transportation industry such as road, water and rail transportation networks. Though, aviation industry offers the fastest traveling services, security risks and high air fares have made its customers to opt of these other substitutes. According to Aaker (1984) the industry   Ã‚  can wade off fear of substitutes, by building strong and unique services, having good customer orientation and creating attractive marketing strategies to attract more customers and retain existing ones. Buyer power This is the impact that buyers have on a specific industry. Generally if there is a strong buyer power, the relation between the industry and the buyer is termed as â€Å"monopsony† such a condition happens when there is one buyer and many suppliers. On the other hand buyers are weak when they are many or different segments  Ã‚   and there is no specific buyer who has particular influence on the price of the product. Aviation industry has a weak buyers, the industry can   have take advantage of this by setting prices of its services   customer friendly and offering a high product-mix on the market to satisfy the demand of various customer segments. (Porter, 1985) Supplier power Porter, (1980) states that, each industry needs raw material, components and labor and other provisions. This need creates supplier-buyer relationships between the companies which provide the raw material and the industry. In cases where suppliers are powerful, the can impact the industry through selling of the raw material highly. However, sometimes suppliers are weak, this happens when there are many suppliers for the same product or if the purchasers are many. In the aviation industry, suppliers are many and the industry is not impacted by the suppliers. Aaker (1984) observes that, the industry can use economic of scale to source for better deals to ensure that it gets the best quality of raw material at the best prices. Barriers to entry Apart from rivals posing threat to existing companies, new entries in the industry also pose a threat the existing companies and increases competition in the industry. In practice any company should be able to enter and leave the market. Nevertheless, aviation industry has features that protect high profits of the companies in that industry and restrain additional competitors from entering the industry. Aviation industry has many regulations and licenses both national and international which an   new has to adhere to before entering the industry, this has restricted some potential new comers who can not adhere to this requirements. (Porter, 1980) Conclusion Industry analysis in important in improving   and ensuring the success of a company, in industry analysis there are several tools that are used to analysis the performance of a an industry. Porter’s five forces is one of the tools that are used in industry analysis, to provide vital information concerning the performance of the industry in relation to the five forces which are Rivalry, Threat of substitutes, Buyer power, Supplier power and Barriers to entry.

Measure for Measure

The Following dialogue is spoken by Duke Vicentio in Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’, Act 3, scene 1. Duke Vicentio makes Lord Angelo the leader of Vienna temporarily and pretends to leave but instead dresses as a friar to observe the goings in his absence. Angelo is strict, moralistic, and unwavering in his decision-making; he decides that there is too much freedom in Vienna and takes it upon himself to rid the city of brothels and unlawful sexual activity. Claudio is arrested for impregnating Juliet, his lover, before they were married. Claudio is sentenced to death in order to serve as an example to the other Viennese citizens. Vienna already has strict rules against these unlawful activities. But the rules were not being followed strictly. It is true that whoever enforces these rules will obviously become unpopular with the public. Hence the Duke cleverly arranges Angelo to do this enforcement. Hence he tells Friar Thomas, ‘We have strict statutes and most biting laws. The needful bits and curbs to headstrong weeds,  Which for this nineteen years we have let slip;’ He refer to ‘o'ergrown lion in a cave’ which is actually a reference to himself. The words like ‘lion’, ‘prey’ are significant here as they denote the extreme measure the Duke has in his mind. The punishment given by Angelo is already in the mind of the Duke. But fearing unpopularity he makes the latter the scapegoat and achieves his objective. The Duke refers to ‘terror’, which is a little more that what Angelo is capable of. In the following passage,   Ã¢â‚¬ËœFor terror, not to use, in time the rod Becomes more mock'd than fear'd; so our decrees, Dead to infliction, to themselves are dead; And liberty plucks justice by the nose; the baby beats the nurse, and quite athwart Goes all decorum’, one can understand that the Duke has accessed his town’s situation thoroughly. In spite of knowing all this, what would have made the Duke pretend to leave Vienna under the care of Angelo in the first place? The next question would be why Angelo. This particular passage answers these questions. The Duke is a clever man who knows his moves precisely. He uses Angelo because he is strict and a Moralist. He has judged Angelo’s credential well enough to know that this man would bring havoc by over stressing on following the rules. The Duke expected an uproar in the town and in the opportune moment he would come and release those in Angelo’s captivation. This way the Duke plans to enforce the rule   and at the same time not get into the bad books of his subject. As per his plan everything turned out well and he gained popularity by releasing Claudio. He also utilized the women to heighten the seriousness of the situation. The passage is also significant in showing the intensity of feeling of the Duke about Justice prevailing in his town. It is an indication that he may take to deception or any other means to make Justice prevail. This passage forms the essence of the attitude of the Duke.

Femininity In “Dracula” Essay

Many critics and literary analysts believe that femininity or to some extent metamorphosis of women constitutes the central theme of Stoker’s â€Å"Dracula. † For instance, Kline explains that femininity occurs in two ways: first by the transformation of the â€Å"good† English women into sexually or intellectually challenging New Women, and then again when their â€Å"potentially revolutionary attributes †¦ are destroyed, one way or another† either through death, as seen with Lucy, or reduction to a silent (and therefore no longer intellectually challenging) inspirational figure, as occurs with Mina (Kline, 144). Explaining the idea behind women in Dracula Stoker argues that â€Å"†¦for women to deny their traditional role was to deny their womanhood, to challenge the distinctions between women and men upon which the family ~ and therefore society — depended† (Stoker, 206). Stoker’s â€Å"Dracula† addresses these concerns regarding femininity as outlined by Stoker and Kline, and contains examples of it, through the â€Å"brute force† and â€Å"sexual wantonness† of the vampire women that attack Jonathan, as well as Lucy’s transformation and the â€Å"masculine aggressiveness† represented by Mina’s capabilities. The men in the novel are established as representatives of a patriarchal society, but it is the authoritative presence of Van Helsing that is primarily used both to advocate a return to a patriarchal system, and to refeminize women through either denial of their abilities or by repeated insistence that they are objects of chivalric concern. The text is replete with examples where female identity is transformed. This is accomplished through a variety of methods that are, like the vampiric taint from the mixing of blood, interrelated. For example, Mina is transformed into an object of idealization and chivalric concern, and as a result of this â€Å"protection,† she is also attacked by Dracula and emotionally altered as a result of her exclusion – both of which occur precisely because the men remove her from their counsel and leave her unattended. The text is used to show that these women – in a sense â€Å"new women† representatives – are dangerous and in need of â€Å"correction,† which occurs in the novel through punishment, including death and destruction, and the denial of authority. The sexual aspects of the New Woman are vilified through association with the monstrosity of vampirism, and what vilifies the intellectual woman in the text is her challenge to male intellect and authority. The attack on the sexual woman begins with Jonathan’s assault by the vampire women at Castle Dracula, which then justifies the attack on Lucy when she takes over as their â€Å"modern† equivalent; since he gets no retribution against these vampire women, it is necessary in the text to have Lucy punished for her seemingly similar challenge to gender roles as a result of her potentially promiscuous behavior. The attack on the intellectual woman begins with what Johnson calls Mina’s â€Å"discourteous act† in first handing Van Helsing her shorthand diary, which he is unable to read. The sexual woman in the text is first represented by the â€Å"weird sisters† (Stoker, 80) at Castle Dracula, through both their role-reversing assault on Jonathan and their anti-maternal behavior in feeding on the â€Å"half-smothered child† given to them by Dracula when he halts their attack (Stoker, 71). These women symbolize what Griffins calls â€Å"the worst nightmare and dearest fantasy of the Victorian male: the pure girl turned sexually ravenous beast† (Stoker, 143), with these vampire women being classified as frightening — and by extension, all modern or sexual women ~ in part due to the emotional confusion they create in men. Although they are described by Jonathan as â€Å"ladies by their dress and manner† (Stoker, 68), having â€Å"brilliant white teeth, that shone like pearls† and â€Å"a silvery, musical laugh† (Stoker, 69), their effect on Jonathan is described, through his own reporting, to make him uneasy (69) due to their â€Å"deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive† and his reaction that he â€Å"felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me† (Stoker, 69). Interpreting Jonathan’s mixed emotions as resulting from a fear of an inability to sexually handle three women presents an interesting parallel later with Lucy, who wistfully speaks of being able to marry three men (Stoker, 91). By presenting women’s sexuality as aberrant and monstrous rationalizes the violence that is utilized in destroying Lucy and the vampire women, and the text is therefore suggesting, through this vampiric taint, that all sexual women are dangerous and need to be destroyed. It is this destruction, in addition to physical death, that sends the message that there is no redemption for â€Å"new women†. Seward’s diary records the event that lets Lucy â€Å"take her place with the other Angels† (253): â€Å"The Thing in the coffin writhed †¦ the sharp white teeth champed together till the lips were cut, and the mouth was smeared with a crimson foam. But Arthur †¦ [drove] deeper and deeper the mercy-bearing stake, whilst the blood from the pierced heart welled and spurted up around it† (Stoker, 254). Similarly, Van Helsing records â€Å"the horrid screeching as the stake drove home; the plunging of writhing form, and lips of bloody foam† as he â€Å"restore[s] these [vampire] women to their dead selves† (Stoker, 412). From the beginning of the novel Mina is presented as different from the vampire women, signifying that the woman who challenges gender roles through her intellect is different from the sexual woman. Jonathan’s journal distinguishes her from the â€Å"awful† vampire women: â€Å"Mina is a woman, and there is nought in common [with the vampire women]. They are devils of the Pit! † (Stoker, 85). Once the sexual woman has been dispensed of through Lucy’s death, the text then attacks the intellectual woman through Mina; and it is not until the former is eradicated that Mina’s talents are presented as dangerous or threatening. Although Charles Prescott and Grace Giorgio opine: â€Å"Lucy’s transformation and destruction function as cautionary examples for Mina. She learns not only that vampires and transgression must be brutally brought into line but also what can happen to anyone outside the Victorian codes of normalcy† (Stoker, 151), it is only after she is stripped of the ability to use her intellect, as she is silenced by Van Helsing and excluded through the presumably chivalric protection of the men, that she becomes sexual. Descriptions of violence against women – a retribution for their challenge to gender roles – serve to impart the message that there is no redemption for femininity, that despite any atonement or transformation, their transgressions are considered so heinous that they must be destroyed. Interestingly, the eradication of Dracula, described merely as his â€Å"crumbl[ing] into dust and pass[ing] from †¦ sight† (Stoker, 418), without the brutality that is levied against the female vampires, serves as proof that the destruction previously described is in reprisal for the female transgression of gender codes, and not a necessity in ending the threat of vampirism. Works Cited Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Ed. Glennis Byron. Ontario: Broadview Literary P, 2000 Kline, Salli J. The Degeneration of Women: Bram Stoker’s Dracula as Allegorical Criticism of the Fin de Siecle. Rheinbach-Merzbach: CMZ-Verlag, 1992

Implications of Development in the Environment Essay

This paper deals with the implications due to the development in Northern Canada. The effects of these developments in the environment and people are included in this paper. Also, the groups that are established to eliminate or rather reduce the pollutants emitted in the atmosphere due to these developments and their goals are stated in this paper. Northern Canada is the northernmost region of Canada which can also be called as far north that may refer to the Canadian Arctic’ the portion of Canada which is near to the north of Arctic circle. Canada is known as the largest supplier of crude oil and refined products to the United States. Different explorations are conducted to find oil wells and processed into useful products. Other industrial activities are done to add up into the economic development being raised in Northern Canada. These industrial activities are mineral extraction and processing, forest products and hydroelectric generation. Hence, these developments are the major factors that contribute in destructing the rich land of northern Canada. According to an article these industrial development continued to contaminate the soil in Canada. This contamination leads to denude the land and places that are ecologically significant in Canada’s flora and fauna. Moreover, different test methods are conducted to evaluate this contaminated soils thus, this test methods shows the toxicity of the land. Oil refineries play the foremost destruction of ecosystem. Refining oil leaves a bitumen deposit in soils. Bitumen deposits include extra heavy oils or tar sands and oil sands. Large amount of these sands are can be in Canada. These are dense and viscous form of petroleum which is naturally occurring mixtures of sand and clay. Most of these sands are can be seen in the arctic region of Canada. Accordingly, like all non-renewable resource developments projects, operations related to this mining event have a great impact in polluting the environment. The water used in the separation during the separation process is not dispose properly nor recycled by the processing plant. A large volume of water used in producing synthetic crude oil ends up in ponds. These ponds are connected to Athabasca River which is one of the largest rivers in Canada. Consequently, aside from water pollution, air is also abused in processing crude oil. Most of the petroleum is being burned this action emit carbon dioxide as well as other air pollutant. Of course the huge amount present in the air is carbon dioxide. Aside from this the other pollutants specified are carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, ozone, particulate matter and sulphur dioxide. These gases are highly toxic in humans it is a major treat in our health based on different studies as well as in our environment. These are the main cause of global warming that we are experiencing right now. Also, hydrogen sulfide and mercury are found to be present in burning fossil fuels and refining oil. Hydrogen sulfide is a gas that naturally occurs in crude petroleum and natural gas. As for mercury, it is associated in burning fuels. Furthermore, lands are also not safe in refining oil because oil sands are used to produce barrels of oil. This oil sands are mined which means that to be able to mine these sands clearing of trees is must be done. Removing of topsoil, sand, clay and gravel that is present in top of the oil must also be done. Climate change bound to be the major effect of these developments. As I have said earlier gases with high toxicity are emitted in land, water and air. These gases are named to be as green house gases which are huge in Canada, thus, making the environment clearly denuded. Effects of these developments vary from agricultural, forestry, infrastructure, industry, transportation, water resources, marine ecosystem and terrestrial ecosystem. Since soils are widely affected a lot of aspects with regards to soil greatly suffered. Soils and climate conditions in the North of Canada are now unfavorable to agricultural production. Somehow, hope has its chance for in some areas in Yukon have been seen that there is a moderate capability in terms of agriculture but this takes a long term of cultivation and longer growing seasons may increased the risk of greenhouse production. Moreover, this production is limited due to soil condition. Forestry is also greatly affected. This deals with the hunting and gathering of people. Although forestry is a small contributor in their economy, it plays an important role for them because there is an interest in the growth of this part. Due to extreme heat that we are all experiencing forest fires particularly in Yukon has been emerging in the past few years. This event is expected to continue if developments do not prioritize our environment also. Excessive heat also triggers the stability of transportation and infrastructures in Northern Canada. In some areas, permafrost melt increase the risk of landslides that can cause unwanted damages. It also threatens the water supply, foundation of old buildings and waste disposal infrastructure. Since it is in the Arctic region, it was quite icy there therefore permafrost melting may cause the buckling of pipes and storage tanks that are used in water and sewage. Roads also rely on the ground stability. Transportation in most areas in north relies in this stability. Warmer winters made transporting goods to the communities more difficult because ice roads are freezing later then suddenly melts earlier during spring. Accordingly, this problem will increase if the temperature continues to rise. Economic Impacts are also inter related in climate change, this phenomena has a deep impact in the commercial and industrial activity of Northern Canada. This unfavorable change in weather could require costly upgrades and redesigning of dams structures in mining industry. This can also hinder explorations of oil well which is somehow good and bad. Good, because it means that there will be a reduction in greenhouse gases emitted in the atmosphere. It is bad, because as I stated a while ago oil exploration and refineries is the major factor in economic abundance of Canada. In addition, water resources are also significant in North Canada. The hydrology of North Canada is at risk because an increase in temperature will also increased the possibility of melting of snow and ice. Peat lands may dry out because of increased evaporation and plant transpiration. This climate change may affect hydropower generation in the Yukon. Effect is uncertain; increasing amount of water runoff may boost the capacity of hydropower, while possible heavy storms may reduce its potential. Also, due to the problems arise together with the developments. Thickness of sea ice is also in line with the devastating threats that these developments brought up. Du to climate change extent and thickness of sea ice are expected to reduce in many areas of the arctic. The victims here are those animals that are dependent or those who are living in these areas. These animals include polar bears, walrus and seals. However it may be an advantage as it becomes open water. But it was very unfortunate to those animals. Thus, this is important to all that are included in marine ecosystem because their entire food chain relies on the abundance of plankton and other microorganisms. If the thickness and distribution of sea ice are affected this will be a vast tragedy in the whole marine food chain. Terrestrial ecosystems are also not safe in these changes. Species composition varies as the temperature continues to warm or suddenly change. Due to this extreme heat, parasites and other insect bone disease continue to promulgate in the land infecting the animals that leads to declination of animal population. In addition, since northern Canada is near arctic region warming the region is not a good sign for those animals that are herbivores. Most of the plants are suddenly dying due unwanted climate change, so an herbivore animal will look for their food in other place making them move in other places where they can get their food. As a result those carnivorous animals follow them because they are their prey. This is not a good sign for a country because they will not able to preserve their wildlife. For birds, it is somehow a good sign for them because they can decrease their chick mortality thus; this may decrease the foraging ability of migrating birds. I suppose these changes in marine ecosystem, terrestrial ecosystem, etc mostly affect the traditional lifestyle of Canadians especially those who are in north. It greatly affects their hunting and gathering practices and threatened their long existing traditions. Uneven increased of temperature makes the animals leave and find a more comfortable habitat. Numbers of these animals in particular fishes and plants species greatly affect those people that rely on these; the indigenous people. These probably leads to their traditional way of living such as hunting and harvesting moreover, those traditional foods they eat or sell might be lost now. These changes however are being taken care of different agencies of the government of Northern Canada and other civilian groups that are concern in preserving our environment. Based on an article, several test methods are used to monitor the toxicity of soil in North Canada. They examine the soils to assess or detect the toxic wastes present in that soil. And they identify them individually. These several tests are done for them to develop a better risk assessment plan to punish those polluters and to maintain the rich resources of Canada. Industry sectors are also mandated to provide effective remediation methods at contaminated areas and to monitor every progress that complies with environmental policies. Arctic Council Action Plan to Eliminate Pollution of the Arctic (ACAP) and Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) are two of the leading bodies that protect the environment. Their goal is to reduce emissions of pollutants present in the environment and they encourage Arctic governments to make preventive actions that relates in reducing pollutants that are released by processing plants. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna is also one the concern of the citizens of northern Canada. This deals with the conservation of Arctic ecosystems and habitats. Its goal is to maintain and enhanced the integrity of ecosystem in the Arctic and to avoid the degradation and fragmentation of habitats. The scope of their goal is not just only the flora and fauna of the Arctic thus, they include the physical environment and the socio economic environment of those people who live there. Another is the Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) Group. This group deals with as they were called, prevention, preparedness and response to environmental emergencies in the Arctic caused by human activities. And the last group would be Protection of Arctic Marine Environment (PAME). This group deals with the protection of Arctic marine environment. It is directed to respond to emerging knowledge of the Arctic marine environment, determine the adequacy of regional or international commitments and promote their implementation and facilitate program and cooperation and support communication, reporting and outreach both within and outside the Arctic Council. Somehow this leads to only one thing, government and industry sector are required to create a strong array in creating methods that appraise the risks that could lead to massive destruction of our environment. Reference Biological Methods Section and S&T Liaison Protecting. Canada’s Boreal Forests and Northern Ecosystems: Developing Biological Methods to Assess and Preserve Canada’s Soil Environments of the North. Retrieved: July 5, 2010. From: http://www. ec. gc. ca/scitech/default. asp? lang=En&n=4B40916E- 1&xsl=privateArticles2,viewfull&po=3AB28EB3