The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay Example for Free

The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay Dorian Gray is a wealthy and incredibly handsome young Englishman. He meets Basil Hallward, a great, well-known artist during his time at a social gathering. After their meeting, Dorian decides to have his portrait painted by Basil. Basil is greatly taken by the magnificence of Dorian’s physical appearance. As an artist, Basil becomes inspired, to great extent, by Dorian’s seemingly exceptional exquisiteness. Dorian becomes Basil’s â€Å"muse†. This results in Dorian sitting for quite a few portraits by Basil. A friendship also ensues because of their frequent encounters. (Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 2007) Through his portrait sitting sessions with Basil, Dorian Gray meets Lord Henry Wotton. Lord Wotton is a very close friend of Basil’s. He is a nobleman and is quite the intellectual. A very articulate, witty and interesting conversationalist, Dorian Gray is instantly taken by Lord Wotton’s charm. Lord Wotton’s ideas are radical and endeavor to challenge the widely-accepted conservative concepts of truth. Lord Henry Wotton’s thoughts and theories reveal that he is a staunch believer of self indulgence. He is an exponent of the quest for both proper and immoral life experiences. However, his lifestyle reveals the opposite. He takes part in the social activities of London high society but he is careful enough to not involve himself in distasteful conduct. He is eager to take Dorian under his wing and teach him the principles of â€Å"new hedonism†. Basil confides in Lord Wotton that he finds Dorian’s Gray’s physical attributes enchanting and overpowering. (Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 2007) Upon hearing Basil’s confession, Lord Wotton sought to influence Dorian by his ideals. In one of their encounters, Lord Wotton seeing Dorian’s portrait by Basil leaves a distressing message to Dorian that youth and beauty are fleeting. Dorian, the vain person that he is, is greatly trouble by this statement. He agonizes over the preordained fact that his handsomeness, which he considers his best trait is vanishing as each day goes by. Dorian unknowingly puts a curse on his portrait, wishing that he could change places with image in the painting. He hoped that the painting would grow old and he would stay the same, vibrant and youthful. Basil gives Dorian the portrait to calm him down. (Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 2007) Dorian falls in love with Sibyl Vane, a young, poor actress. In spite of her brother, James’ warnings that a relationship with Dorian will not do her any good, she still persisted. She gets engaged with Dorian. One night, the raving Dorian proudly brings Lord Wotton and Basil to the theater to watch Sibyl. As the play unfolded, the two guests openly disapprove of Sibyl’s acting prowess. It is Dorian’s nature to be overly concerned of other peoples’ thoughts about him and his choices that he takes the criticism to heart. His guests try to console him that it does not matter if Sibyl is a good actress or not as long as they love each other but instead of calming down, he asks them to leave. Dorian tells Sibyl about this and the young and promising Sibyl who is swept away by her feelings for Dorian decides to abandon her love for acting for Dorian. In return, Dorian ruthlessly breaks off their relationship. This leaves Sibyl heartbroken and greatly distressed. (Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 2007) Upon returning home, Dorian gazes at his portrait and he observes that the expression on the portrait’s face had changed from a calm expression to a scornful look. Seeing this, he feared that his wish to change places with the image on the portrait had come true and that his transgressions will be documented on the canvas. He decides to reconcile with Sibyl the next day. Unknown to him, Sibyl had taken her own life. The next day, Lord Wotton tells Dorian the news of Sibyl’s suicide. When he first heard of the terrible news, Dorian was distraught. To console Dorian, Lord Wotton advises Dorian to see Sibyl’s death in a different light. Lord Wotton counseled Dorian to treat Sibyl’s death as rather, a creative feat by being the epitome of tragedy and put this misfortune behind him. Simply put, Lord Wotton advised Dorian to consider Sibyl’s death as just another case of life imitating art. Dorian hides his portrait for fear that someone else would see the changes in the portrait. (Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 2007) Given the conduciveness of the situation, Lord Wotton decides to take his â€Å"mentorship† with Dorian further by giving Dorian the ‘yellow book’ containing the exploits of the book’s hedonistic lead character. The book becomes Dorian’s ‘bible’. Dorian’s obsession with the book and hedonism signals the start of his corruption. (Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 2007) After many years, Dorian’s appearance remains the same but his corrupt reputation precedes him by stories of his scandalous deeds and immoral exploits that hound his persona in London’s high society. A direct opposite of his physical appearance, his portrait by Basil had change considerably. The person in the portrait now looks repulsive, unbeknownst to many. When news of Dorian’s reputation reaches Basil, he decides to confront Dorian about his behavior. During the confrontation, Dorian shows the now hideous painting and the terrified Basil entreats Dorian to repent. In a fit of rage, Dorian kills Basil. This is followed by other atrocious deeds until one night, Dorian, overcome by fear and guilt tries to destroy his portrait. In his struggle to do so, he collapses on the floor and his servants are baffled to see the dead body of a disfigured, old man, a knife in his heart, in the place of their master. (Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 2007) Homoerotic love This novel is replete with instances that show homoerotic love. Both Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotton are vying for Dorian Gray’s attention. (Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 2007) Basil is instantly won over by Dorian’s physical attributes during their first meeting. He becomes so obsessed over his physical attraction to Dorian that it is expressed in his portraits. Basil was so drawn to Dorian to the point where he said â€Å"as long as I live, the personality of Dorian Gray will dominate me†. Basil is very much concerned over Dorian’s behavior and his reputation. This is very evident in the scene where he confronts Dorian in hopes to get him to repent from his wrongdoings. In the novel, Dorian does not reciprocate Basil’s feelings. (Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 2007) Lord Henry Wotton senses Dorian Gray’s adoration of his sophistication and radical ideals starting from their first meeting. This sparks an attraction where Lord Wotton coached Dorian in the ways of hedonism. (Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 2007) Dorian Gray’s fascination towards the hedonistic ideals of Lord Henry Wotton overshadows his other relationships. His obsession reaches to the point that he is easily influenced by the mere words that Lord Henry Wotton speaks. He is greatly affected when Lord Wotton expresses disapproval in any aspect of his life. One particular case in point is his reaction when Lord Wotton and Basil Hallward openly criticized the acting skill of Sibyl, the woman with whom he was once engaged. Lord Wotton’s twisted stamp of approval became Dorian’s measure of success. Dorian’s idolization of Lord Henry Wotton and the principles of hedonism eventually led to his downfall. (Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 2007) Works Cited Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. (2007, November 6). The Picture of Dorian Gray. Retrieved November 9, 2007, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray#Homoeroticism

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â€Å"ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN GOOD GOVERNANCE† GROUP MEMBERS: -Saba naz (51) - Fizza Farrukh (16) RESEARCH ARTICLE According to Etounge Manguella: â€Å"Good Governance implies presence of rule of law, safeguard of human right, existence of honest government, accountability, transparency, predictability and openness† It is a legitimate, accountable, and effective way of obtaining and using public power and resources in the pursuit of widely-accepted social goals. Good governance has got great significance in our state as the problems of corruption, red tapism and inefficiency crept in the internal structure of our country. Today good governance not only occupies central place in our state but also regarded as crucial element in building nation. Nation cannot flourish in the absence of good governance. It is the need of an hour. Without the presence of good governance, no country can play pivotal role in the orb. It is regarded as the soul of country. Governance is very pertinent in every sphere of life, whether it is house or office, good governance is needed to perform effectively. It also provides strong foundation for the developmental process. Accountability: Accountability is one of the major characterstic of good governance. Lack of accountability has been creating tension since independence. Improper usage of funds, increasing rate of inflation, Pakistan is also under debt trap. It is all happening due to absence of accountability. Corruption can easily be removed with proper channel of accountability. Check and balance is very essential for the maintenance of funds This is the age of living transparently. A visible change has been brought in the culture of all financial players – Finance Ministry an... ...many facets of the State machinery, particularly those that have an interface with the public. v) Lack of credibility – the gap between the intent and the actions – of some institutions in society. vi) Inadequate application of rules, evasion of taxes and failure in getting timely justice. vii) Existence of a significant number of voiceless poor with little opportunities for participating. viii) Deterioration of physical environment in the urban and rural areas The World Bank has recently released a report on governance indicators for the period 1996-2004 covering 209 countries. The report, covering six governance indicators including voice and accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory control, rule of law, and control of corruption, shows that Pakistan’s ratings remain low and have somewhat deteriorated over the period.

Book Review of 1491 by Charles C. Mann Essay

With 1491:New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus Charles C. Mann has written an extremely interesting and controversial book. Beginning in 1983 Mann began to become aware that research had indicated the commonly held view of the settling of the Americas was wrong. The commonly held and taught belief that the Americas were inhabited by people who crossed the Bering Sea from Europe about 13,000 years ago was wrong. Allegedly these people lived in small, isolated groups that had little impact on the environment. Instead Mann, with considerable documentation and research by scientists, archeologists and geographers supporting this view, argues that the Americas were inhabited thousands of years earlier, existed in far larger numbers, and had been â€Å"successful at imposing their will on the landscape that in 1492 Columbus set foot in a hemisphere thoroughly marked by humankind† (Mann, 1491, 4). Spurred by what he had seen and read and by the fact that his son was being taught the same thing Mann had been taught in high school thirty years earlier, he wrote a book that â€Å"explores what I [he] believes to be the three main foci of the new findings: Indian demography . . . Indian origins . . . and Indian ecology† (Mann, 1491, x-xi). Mann begins his book by discussing the notion of the â€Å"Noble Savage,† a concept that began in the early sixteenth century. This position is the notion that the indigenous people of the Americas lived an idyllic life prior to the arrival of Columbus or were savage barbarians who did nothing constructive. Mann cites Bartolomà © de Las Casas a conquistador who had visited the Americas who believed â€Å"Indians were natural creatures who dwelt, gentle as cows . . . waiting for millennia—for Christian instruction† (Mann, 1491, 12-14). In essence this view is that of a colonist who came to the Americas looking for signs of the Old World. Since the Native Americans apparently did not have as dramatic an impact on the environment subsequent generations viewed the pre-Colombian people as either innocents or as barbarians. Both accounts showed the prejudice that these people lacked â€Å"agency—they were not actors in their own right, but passive recipients of whatever windfalls or disasters happenstance put in their way† (Mann, 1491, 12). It would be interesting to examine the European migration into the Americas from the point of view of the indigenous people. Mann cites studies that have called into question the notion that Native Americans first arrived in the Americas 13,000 years ago over a land bridge in the Bering Straits and slowly migrated drifted south and east until they populated the Americas. In 1987 people who had supported this view publicly admitted that there is clear evidence of human habitation in Chile more than 12,000 years ago. Consequently it is unlikely that natives would have migrated more than 7,000 miles in less than a millennium leaving people in their wake to form new groups of people who would create their own culture. In addition there is evidence suggesting habitation in Chile more than 20,000 years ago. Further exploration has revealed numerous indications of large civilizations throughout Mesoamerica and South America that had existed and ended well before the sixteen century. According to Mann the current view among scholars is that the Western Hemisphere was â€Å"a thriving, stunningly diverse place, a tumult of languages, trade, and culture, a region where tens of millions of people loved and hated and worshipped as people do everywhere† (Mann, 1491, 26-27). According to a 1999 United Nations estimate, the population of the earth in the beginning of the sixteenth century was about 500 million. Estimates by Dobyns and others indicate that by 1630, between 80 and 100 million Native Americans had been killed by a variety of epidemics including small pox, typhus, and influenza. These numbers suggest that nearly one fifth of the world’s population was killed by disease in the one hundred and fifty years after the arrival of Columbus (Mann, 1491, 94-96). According to Mann in 1491 the Inka (or Inca as it is more commonly spelled) was the largest empire on the planet. It was bigger than China, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and bigger by far than any European state. It extended for more than thirty-two degrees of latitude (the United States has a latitude length of approximately twenty-five degrees of latitude though of course a much wider degree of longitude). The Inka had a goal that was remarkably similar to the Europeans; they want to â€Å"knit the different groups of South America . . . into a single bureaucratic framework under the direct rule of the emperor†(Mann, 1491, 66). They wanted to meld together the people’s religion, economics, and arts. At time they were brutal. They would remove people from their homelands by means of a road system of approximately 25,000 miles, the longest in the world and locate them to live with and work with other people who had also been displaced. They developed a system of accounting that used ropes with knots in a way remarkably similar to the binary mathematics use in today’s computers. Such an extensive and sophisticated government hardly supports the theory of the â€Å"Nobel Savage† living an idyllic life, doing nothing that affected their environment (Mann, 1491, 64-82). Interestingly, among those people who are reluctant to accept such an early arrival of Native Americans are Indian activists who do not wish to push the date of arrival of Native Americans further into the past. Particularly in light of the evidence that supports the notion that large civilizations such as the Incas and Aztecs were not the original inhabitants but had supplanted people that had arrived much earlier. If this were the case, the claim that their land was stolen by European immigrants is considerably weakened since the indigenous people at the time of Columbus were not the first to â€Å"own† the land, just the people who had most recently stolen the lands from the previous populations in the Americas. According to his website Mann is a journalist and writer. He is a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, Science, and Wired. He was written for a wide variety of magazines including: The New York Times Magazine, Forbes ASAP, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post. He has co-authored four other books. Mann’s writing tends to focus on â€Å"the intersection of science, technology, and commerce.† He is a three time National Magazine Award finalist and has received numerous awards from the American Bar Association, the American Institute of Physics, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Margaret Sanger Foundation. Mann’s credentials indicate that he is a well qualified writer and does careful research. Mann’s writing has a liberal edge to it that often seeks to correct common perceptions about the topics he chooses to write about: in this case the life of Native Americans before the arrival of Columbus. 1491 is a well-written, well-organized book. Mann provides a survey of research since the early 1950s when the â€Å"Noble Savage† theory of Native Americans was first popularized. Although Mann clearly has a position he wants to convey, he provides a fair presentation of other positions and explains why he believes the â€Å"Noble Savage† theory does not account for many discoveries and recent research. He writes in a very readable style without the many subordinate clauses and circumlocutions professional scholars are often given to. A nice feature of the book is the inclusion of maps and pictures located throughout the book instead of placing the maps on the flyleaf and having the pictures grouped together in the middle. Consequently, the impact of the pictures and maps is greater because they are pertinent to the nearby text. Mann provides ample endnotes both citation and explanatory notes that add to the authenticity of the text. The bibliography is comprehensive and lists use of a variety of scholarly journals from such disciplines as anthropology, geography, history and archeology among others. Mann’s writing is convincing. He provides considerable recently discovered information that contradicts the Noble Savage theory. It is apparent that people have lived throughout the Americas for a much longer time than the 13,000 years conventionally taught. Although future research and advanced technology will likely reveal new details and correct other errors, it is clear to that the indigenous people existed in much more sophisticated societies and in much larger numbers that has been believed. Works Cited Mann, Charles C. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005 Mann, Charles C. â€Å"Charles C. Mann.† Charles Mann.org. 16 March 2007 .   

The Benefits of Full Inclusion of All Students with...

Advantages of Inclusion for Disabled Children There are many advantages for children with disabilities, to be placed in a regular classroom setting. First of all, children are spared the effects of being separate and segregated. Sometimes, segregated education can provide negative effects, such as labeling (Wolery, M. and Wilbers, J., 1994). Labeling of a disabled child can be held over their head throughout their education. Also, being separated can make other children have negative attitudes towards them due to them being separated so drastically. Another advantage of inclusion is the disabled child has a competent model to follow. This way the disabled child can learn new adaptive skills. They get the opportunity to learn how†¦show more content†¦They must help to establish realistic goals for them to work towards and present a positive self-image by stressing their strengths. They need to know how, where and when to use the accommodation’s given to them and be willing to take risks without the accommo dations at times. This way they can develop personal qualities. They are responsible to use their social skills properly and to try and develop test-taking strategies, as well as time-management and note taking strategies. The student is one of the main parts in a team of educators that will help get him/her through their many years of schooling. Advantages of Inclusion for Non-Disabled Children The child without disabilities is given many advantages as well, having a disabled child in his/her classroom. For example, they are given the chance to see a more realistic view of a child with a disability and the chance to learn more about them (Wolery, M. and Wilbers, J.,1994). I have seen first hand, that this builds character for the child without a disability. I interned in a fifth grade classroom during my senior year, working with a little boy who had autism. A girl, named Charley helped him through his fifth grade year, when an aid was not available and she did it out of the goodness of her heart. She told me that it helped her to grow as a person and that she felt good about what she did. Also, that she realized that disabled children were â€Å"just like her, just aShow MoreRelatedInclusion Has Been A Major Topic Between Educators And1576 Words   |  7 PagesInclusion has been a major topic between educators and parents of special needs children for years. Many b elieve that it would a good idea to educate general education children in the same classroom along with special needs children, including those with multiple disabilities. 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