Journeys End by RC Sheriff :: English Literature

Journey’s End R.C Sheriff wrote Journey’s end in 1928. The play was written 10 years after the war had finished to let people’s emotions feelings and emotions about the war settle down. The play is set near the end of the war, in 1918, along the western front in France. Sheriff set the whole play in one setting so it is easier to stage, it personalizes it, and it creates a sense of entrapment. The whole play is set in the trenches, which are very confined, damp and cold. They were most likely inhabited by rats and the dugouts most likely smelled. The final scene is set in the dugout, at dawn just before a German attack is expected. At he beginning of the scene â€Å"There is no sound except the distant mutter of the guns.† But later on in the scene â€Å"There comes the faint whistle and thud of falling shells.† Towards the end pf the scene the noise from the shells being dropped intensifies and continues like this until the end of the play. R.C Sheriff uses comedy in the play to lighten the mood and to add relief from the depression of war. The party scene was a scene where everyone forgot about the war and started to lighten up. At the beginning of this scene the audience most likely expects the mood to be unsettled and things to be tense between the characters, this is because of the arguments that happened between the characters the night before. â€Å"Towards dawn, the candles are no longer burning.† Mason is framed in the doorway against the very lights. â€Å"There comes the rasp of a striking match-a tiny flame- and a candle gleams.† Mason the wakes Stanhope up. This depicting the way he is breaking the tension from the previous night’s argument and how he is lightening the mood, be it with a hot cup of tea or with his tactful handling of Hibbert later on. In â€Å"Journey’s End† the lighting is very important because it outlines what kind of mood different parts of the scene are. For example, at the start of Act 3 Scene 3, it is half past five on the morning the attack is expected. The lighting would be very dark, creating a depressing atmosphere. Near the end of the scene, as Raleigh is dying, â€Å"The faint rosy glow of the dawn is deepening to an angry red.† At this point the lights would slowly turn red, representing death, blood and pain. The audience think Hibbert is a coward, mainly because he tried to o home, complaining of neuralgia, when he was fine at the party, and he takes his time over everything he does.

“A Good Man Is Hard to Find” – Selfish Grandmother

Grandparents are the parents of one’s own parent. Grandparents spoil and care for you whenever your parents are not. In some situations, grandmothers are more involved with the grandchildren than any family member. In â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†, the main characters is the Grandmother and her son, Bailey. The son’s family goes on a family vacation to Florida. The grandmother tags along after she insisted not to ride along. She didn’t want to be left alone at home and wanted to keep the kids company on the ride to Florida.Throughout the whole story, the family experienced certain events that the grandmother is to blame for the family’s fate and tragic ending. She told stories to the children about the old days and compared it to present day in the story. Also she insisted to make a couple stops and gestures that could have been avoided if she did not come on the trip. â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is an ironic title for this short st ory by Flannery O’Conner. The southern Gothic writer wrote about the things she observed in Georgia. Her stories were far from the normal because her ending fates of the characters were dramatically disastrous.Clearly stated, the grandmother is to blame for the family’s fate because of the unexpected effort to stop at the plantation house, the cat a board the car ride, and recognizing the Misfit and his fellows. Bailey and his family resided in Georgia. The road trip was expected to be a success, but made a tragic turn at the end. They left Atlanta with the grandmother, Bailey, his two children, June Star and John Wesley, and the mother of the children with the youngest child in her arms. The grandmother sat in the middle of the back seat with John Wesley and June Star on either side of her.Bailey and the children's mother and the baby sat in front. Their planned vacation to Florida had an additional unplanned member in the car. Pitty Sing, grandma’s cat, was th e uninvited member, who sat on the grandmother’s lap in the back seat. The grandchildren listened to the grandmother’s childhood stories of Tennessee as they focus on their comic books. Halfway to Florida they made their first stop at The Tower and decided to eat dinner. After dinner, Bailey and his family continued their journey to Florida. As they drove off, the grandmother continued telling her stories.She started one childhood story about a plantation that she spent most time at a young age. The kids got interested in her story because she spoke about the house having a secret panel where silver was hidden. The kids were excited and wanted to know more. The grandmother noticed a plantation with very similar features like the one she visited a lot. Her announcement of recognition made the kids beg. â€Å"The baby began to scream and John Wesley kicked the back of the seat so hard that his father could feel the blows in his kidney† (O’Conner, 1080).As s tated above, the screams of excitement and curiosity of the children and the convincing grandmother persuaded Bailey to turn around and go down the dirt road where the entrance of the house with the secret panel stood. The grandmother finally convinced her son to go up the dirt road because she kept describing the rush of joy to see the house with the secret panel was nearby. The grandmother’s insistence to stop at the plantation house by driving down a road off the highway is one supporting fact proving that slowly all the events caused by the grandmother will be the reason for the family’s fate.On the quiet road, everyone kept to themselves all the excited as they watched the trees pass by. Bailey asked, â€Å"how further more†, and the grandmother replied, â€Å"Not much further. † The grandmother thought to herself as she remembered that this plantation house they were driving to be actually in Tennessee and not in Georgia. Instantly, â€Å"the thoug ht was so embarrassing that she turned red in the face and her eyes dilated and her feet jumped up upsetting the valise in the corner. The instant valise moved the basket under it rose up Pitty Sing, the cat, sprang onto Bailey’s shoulder†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (O’Conner, 1081).After she realized this drive down the road was unnecessary and held it in because she knew Bailey and the children would be upset. Driving over a long hill, she rendered to what would actually be on the other side of the hill. Since the plantation house didn’t exist. When Pitty Sing jumped onto Bailey, he was so surprised and lost control of the car. The car with the whole family flipped twice then landed in the ditch off to the side of the road after the big hill. Again the grandmother is responsible for another event the family has experienced.The cat jumped on Bailey causing the car to crash. This could have been prevented if she would have left Pitty Sing at home like Bailey requested because he did not want the cat with them on the family vacation or if she could have stayed home since she did not want to go to Florida, but Tennessee instead. But then again, the grandmother seemed it was alright and nothing would be wrong with bringing the cat. Moments after the chaos of the accident had settled; Bailey spotted a car coming from the end of the road. The car approached the family and parked near the car and the family.Three individuals came out the car and looked into the ditch onto the family. The whole family was in pain and hurt from the car flipping. They screamed for help as the three walked down to them. The grandmother noticed that one of the individuals was someone she knows or saw before. She realized and spoke out loud that all three men were convicts that have escaped from prison and were driving down to Florida to hide out. The leader of the trio was the Misfit. He told the grandmother that the best thing she could have done was stay quiet.The two accomplice s of the Misfit took Bailey and his son, John Wesley, into the woods. Soon after the mother, the baby, and June Star were walked into the woods. Gunshots went off in the woods. â€Å"The Misfit's statements and actions take to a much more blatant extreme that which is hinted at by the grandmother's behavior†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Owens). Leaving the grandmother alone and last to kill by Misfit since the other two men were in the forest. She kept reminding him how good of a man he was to stop and help them. She exclaimed to Misfit, â€Å"You’ve got good blood!I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people! Pray! Jesus ought not to shoot a lady. I’ll give you all the money I’ve got! † (O’Conner, 1086). Misfit had enough of her yapping and shot her dead with three gunshots to the chest as she lay in the ditch. â€Å"In her final moment, the Grandmother reaches out and touches the Misfit, whispering ‘You're one of my own chil dren! ’. The Misfit's final commentary on the grandmother is that ‘she would of been a good woman . . . if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life’† (Overview: Wilson).The family’s fate ended with them being murdered by the Misfit and his companions. The grandmother could be perfectly blamed for this whole event because if she would have stayed home, left the cat behind, and not recognize the Misfit. The tragic and sad finale was the final situation that the grandmother will ever put the family into ever again. The â€Å"good man† the grandmother claimed the Misfit was and his two friends are murderers. Throughout the story the ironic title is connected to all three situations the grandmother placed the family in causing their ending fate of death. She is selfish and pushy; in fact, her desire to see a house from her childhood results in the family's death at the end of the story† (Overview: Wilson). Clearly stat ed, the grandmother is to blame for the family’s fate because of the unexpected effort to stop at the plantation house, the cat aboard the car ride, and recognizing the Misfit and his fellows. Persuasion was a key part that played by the grandmother throughout the short story of O’Conner. The moral of the story helps the reader realize that it is â€Å"hard to find a good man†. ? Works CitedO'Conner, Flannery. â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find. † Literature and Ourselves. 6th ed. New York: Pearson, 2009. 1075-087. Print. â€Å"Overview: ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find'. † Short Stories for Students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1997. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 24 Sep. 2012. Owens, Mitchell. â€Å"The Function of Signature in ‘A Good Is Hard to Find. ‘. † Studies in Short Fiction 33. 1 (Winter 1996): 101-106. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 61. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resour ces from Gale. Web. 24 Sep. 2012.

Biography of Democritus, Greek Philosopher

Democritus of Abdera (ca. 460–361) was a pre-socratic Greek philosopher who traveled widely as a youth and developed a philosophy and some rather forward-looking ideas about how the universe worked. He was a bitter rival of both Plato and Aristotle.   Key Takeaways: Democritus Known For: Greek philosopher of Atomism, the Laughing Philosopher  Born: 460 BCE, Abdera, ThraceParents: Hegesistratus (or Damasippus or Athenocritus)Died: 361, AthensEducation: Self-educatedPublished Works: Little World-Order, at least 70 other works which are not extantNotable Quote: Life in a foreign land teaches self-sufficiency, for bread and a mattress of straw are the sweetest cures for hunger and fatigue. Early Life   Democritus was born about 460 BCE at Abdera in Thrace, the son of a wealthy, well-connected man named Hegesistratus (or Damasippus or Athenocritus—sources vary.) His father had large enough parcels of land that he was said to be able to house the Persian king Xerxes formidable army in 480 when he was on his way to conquer Greece.   When his father died, Democritus took his inheritance and spent it traveling to distant lands, slaking his nearly endless thirst for knowledge. He traveled over much of Asia, studied geometry in Egypt, went to the Red Sea and Persia regions to learn from the Chaldeans, and may have visited Ethiopia.  Ã‚   After returning home, he traveled widely in Greece, meeting many of the Greek philosophers and becoming friends with other pre-socratic thinkers such as Leucippus (died 370 BCE), Hippocrates (460–377 BCE), and Anaxagoras (510–428 BCE). Although none of his dozens of essays on everything from mathematics to ethics to music to natural science have survived to the present day, pieces and second-hand reports of his work are convincing evidence. Engraving from a bust in the Museum at the Vatican of the Greek philosopher Democritus.   Time Life Pictures / Getty Images The Epicurean   Democritus was known as the Laughing Philosopher, in part because he enjoyed life and followed an epicurean lifestyle. He was a cheerful teacher and writer of many things—he wrote in a strong Ionic dialect and style that the orator Cicero (106–43 BCE) admired. His writing was often favorably compared to Plato (428–347 BCE), which did not please Plato. In his underlying ethical nature, he believed that a life worth living was a life enjoyed and that many people crave a long life but dont enjoy it because all the pleasure is overshadowed by a fear of death. Atomism   Along with the philosopher Leucippus, Democritus is credited with founding the ancient theory of atomism. These philosophers were trying to form a way to explain how changes in the world are generated—where does life arise and how?   Democritus and Leucippus maintained that the entire universe is made up of atoms and voids. Atoms, they said, are elementary particles that are indestructible, homogeneous in quality, and move around in the spaces between them. Atoms are infinitely variable in their shape and size, and everything that exists is made up of clusters of atoms. All creation or genesis results from the coming together of atoms, their colliding and clustering, and all decay results from the clusters eventually breaking apart. To Democritus and Leucippus, everything from the sun and the moon to the soul are made up of atoms. Visible objects are clusters of atoms in different shapes, arrangements, and positions. The clusters act on each other, said Democritus, by pressure or impact from a series of external forces, such as a magnet on iron, or light on the eye.   Democritus and Heraclitus. Oil on canvas by Giuseppe Maria Crespi, called Lo Spagnuolo (1665-1747). Toulouse, musee des Augustins. adoc-photos / Getty Images Perception   Democritus was supremely interested in how perception occurs, in such a world with atoms in it, and he concluded that visible images are created by the peeling off of layers from objects. The human eye is an organ that can perceive such layers, and communicate information to the individual.  To explore his notions of perceptions, Democritus is said to have dissected animals and was accused (apparently falsely) of doing the same to humans. He also felt that different taste sensations were the product of differently shaped atoms: some atoms tear the tongue creating a bitter taste, while others are smooth and create sweetness.   However, the knowledge gained from perception is imperfect, he believed, and to gain true knowledge, one must use the intellect to avoid false impressions from the outer world and discover a causality and meaning. The processes of thought, said Democritus and Leucippus, is also a result of those atomistic impacts. Death and Legacy Democritus is said to have lived a very long life—some sources say he was 109 when he died in Athens. He died in poverty and blindness but was highly esteemed. The historian Diogenes Laertius (180–240 CE) wrote a biography of Democritus, although only fragments survive today. Diogenes listed 70 works by Democritus, none of which made it to the present, but there are multitudes of revealing excerpts, and one fragment relating to atomism called the Little World Order, a companion to Leucippus World Order. Sources and Further Reading Berryman, Sylvia. Democritus. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Zalta, Edward N. Stanford, CA: Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2016.  Chitwood, Ava. Death by Philosophy: The Biographical Tradition in the Life and Death of the Archaic Philosophers Empedocles, Heraclitus, and Democritus. Ann Arbor: Michigan University Press, 2004.  Luthy, Christoph. The Fourfold Democritus on the Stage of Early Modern Science. Isis 91.3 (2000): 443–79.Rudolph, Kelli. Democritus Ophthalmology. The Classical Quarterly 62.2 (2012): 496–501.Smith, William, and G.E. Marindon, eds. Democritus. A Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology, and Geography. London: John Murray, 1904.Stewart, Zeph. Democritus and the Cynics. Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 63 (1958): 179–91.Warren, J. I. Democritus, the Epicureans, Death, and Dying. The Classical Quarterly 52.1 (2002): 193–206.