Age of Innocence :: essays papers

Age of Innocence Chapter One Summary: The play opens at the opera. Newland Archer enters his opera box and looks out across the theater to see his girlfriend, May Welland, touch the lilies he had given her. While dreaming of their future together, his thoughts are interrupted by gasps from the gentlemen sitting with him. They are whispering about a fashionably dressed woman who has just sat down in the box with May. Sillerton Jackson gasps, "I did not think they would have tried it on," which means, he can ¹t believe the Mingotts would allow the woman to come and sit in their box at the Opera. Analysis: This is a book about the conventions of "Old New York", New York City in the 1870 ¹s. Wharton loves contrasting the old against the new. She begins these contrasts in the very first paragraph. Here she describes the new Opera theater that is going to be erected in the "remote" forties. We can assume that the forties have been built up since then and people reading her book in the 1920 ¹s (when it was published) would enjoy hearing about how New York has changed. Along these lines, there is also a description of the old people versus the "new people, whom NY was beginning to dread and yet be drawn to." Also important in this first chapter is Wharton ¹s discussion of fashionability and propriety. We can tell from the way that Newland Archer, Lawrence Lefferts and Mr. Silverton Jackson are introduced (all are so concerned with what is "moral" and "the thing") that Wharton will spend a lot of time in the novel discussing and perhaps critiquing these concepts in the book. Of note, as well, is the great attention to detail that Wharton has. The way she describes clothing and interior decoration with much detail has led many to dub this book a "costume novel". We will have to see for ourselves if the book develops beyond being a "bodice ripper" sort of book. May Welland will be one of the most important characters in the book. She is holding Lillies of the Valley. In the 1870 ¹s the lily of the valley was the flower of chastity and of the names Cynthia and Diana. Later in the book, May is often compared to Diana, the Greek goddess of the hunt.

India and women Essay

INDIA and WOMEN Women empowerment is a moot subject. At earlier times, women got unprejudiced status with men. But the post-Vedic time was a difficult period when many were treated as slaves, a commodity earned by the man, a mode of produce kids. From the early twentieth century (national movement) their statuses have been slowly and gradually undergone changes. In this regard, we may mention the name of the English people. After then, independence of India, the constitutional makers and national leaders strongly emphasized on equal social position of women with men. Today, we have seen the women occupying the respectable positions in all walks of the sphere. Yet, they are not absolutely free from discrimination and harassment of the society. A few number of women have been able to establish their potentialities. Therefore, each and every one should be careful to promote the status of women. Women constitute approximately 50% of the world’s population, but India has shown disproportionate sex ratio whereby female’s population has been comparatively less than that of males. As far as their social status is concerned, they are not treated as equal to men in all the places. In the Western societies, the women have got equal right and status with men in all walks of life. But gender disabilities and discriminations are found in India even today. The paradoxical situation is such that, she is sometimes portrayed as a Goddess and at other times merely as slave. It is now that the women in India enjoy a solitary status of equality with the men as per constitutional and legal provision. But the Indian women have come a long way to achieve the present positions. First, gender inequality in India can be traced back to the historic days of the sacred Sanskrit poem, Mahabharata, when Draupadi was put on the dice by her husband as a commodity. History is a witness that women were made to dance both in private and public places to please the men. Secondly, in Indian society, a female was always dependent on male members of the family until a few years ago. Thirdly, a female was not allowed to speak in a loud voice in the presence of elder members of her in-laws or move around without covering her head and in some cases, the face in the presence of other elder or male members of the family. In the family, every faults had gone to her and responsible. Fourth, as a widow her dependence on the male members of the family increased but that was better than performing ‘sati’ where the widow  was burned alive during the cremation of her dead husband. In many social activities, she was not permitted to meet with other members of the family. A woman whether a widow or not had very little share in political, social and economic life of the society and had to vote for the party the family supports, even if she had her views against it. The early twenty century was rise of the National Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi who was in favor of removing all the chains tied to a woman. At the same time, Raja Ram Mohan Rai, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar and various other social reformers laid stress on women’s education, prevention of child marriage, withdrawals of evil practice of sati, removal of polygamy etc. The National Movement and various reform moveme nts paved the way for their liberations from the social evils and religious taboos. After independence of India, the constitution makers and the national leaders recognized the equal social position of women with men. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 has determined the age for marriage, provided for monogamy and guardianship of the mother and permitted the dissolution of marriage under specific circumstances. Under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, an unmarried women, widow or divorce of sound mind can also take child in adoption. Similarly, the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 says that any person who gives, takes, or abets the giving or taking of dowry shall be punished with imprisonment, or fine or with both. The Constitution of India guarantees equality of sexes and in fact grants special favors to women. These can be found in three articles of the constitution. Article 14 says that the government shall not deny to any person equality before law or equal protection of the law. Article 15 declares that government shall not discriminate against any citizen on the ground of sex. Article 15 (3) makes a special provision enabling the state to make affirmative discriminations in favor of women . Article 42 directs the state to make provision for ensuring just and human conditions of work and maternity relief. Above all, the constitution regards a fundamental duty on every citizen through Articles 15 (A), (E) to renounce the practices derogatory to the dignity of women. The concept of empowerment flows from the power. It is vesting where it does not exist or exist inadequately. Empowerment of women would mean equipping women to be economically independent, self-reliant, have positive esteem to enable them to face any difficult situation and they should be able to participate in development  activities. The empowered women should be able to participate in the process of decision making. The government of India has ratified various international conventions and human rights instruments committing to secure equal rights to women. These are CEDAW (1993), the Mexico Plan of Action (1975), the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies (!985), the Beijing Declaration as well as the platform for Action (1995) and other such instruments. The year of 2001 was observed as the year of women’s empowerment. During the year, a landmark document has been adopted, ‘ the National Policy for the empowerment of women.’ For the beneficiaries of the women, the government has been adopted different schemes and programs i.e. the National Credit Fund for Women (1993) , Food and Nutrition Board (FNB), Information and Mass Education (IMF) etc. But is all this actually working is what everyone wants to know. Are women actually empowered ? Or is all this only in papers and even in the 21st century women fear leaving their houses alone? Do they fear wearing clothes they want to wear ? Well I feel that the answer to this is a big YES. In the 21st century, where India is an emerging super power the women are not confident that they will return home safely. But why is it so? Some say that because ‘boys are boys’ and they can do whatever they want to or maybe because the kind of clothes a woman wears instigates men to look at her with those greedy eyes and lay their dirty hands on her? Well NO ! Did that women in a burqa who was raped while going back home in her own car provoke anybody? Or the 5 year old girl who was studying in school provoke her teacher? But boys will be boys who make mistakes. For once forget about the boys, they will defend themselves but when the head of the Mahila Vibhaag (women’s association) says that the mistake lies in the girls, don’t you believe it? I don’t. I think it is time for every girl to take a stand for herself and for every other girl in this world because it is not just India where women are not treated equally, a study conducted in the US in 2012 says that about 14% of women who were fired from their jobs was because the boss wanted something more than a normal boss and employ relationship. Also a study conducted in London in 1998 says that about 33% of divorces happen because the man is not willing to let the wife go out for a job or to pick up the kids because she might just have an affair. It’s also time for every parent stop telling their daughters to wear longer dresses and tell their sons to respect girls  because nobody should be judged by the way they dress. It is said that if a man is educated he will earn bread for the entire family but if a woman is educated then she will make sure that the entire family is educated. To sum up, women empowerment cannot be possible unless women come with and help to self-empower themselves. There is a need to formulate reducing feminized poverty, promoting education of women, and prevention and elimination of violence against women.

To What Extent Has the Roberts Court Witnessed a Revival...

To what extent has the Roberts Court witnessed a revival of conservative activism? Judicial Activism: An approach to the law where the judiciary feel less constrained by precedents and interpret the law with the aim of pursuing social change. Evidence would be if the court overturned past decisions, legislation or executive actions in order to promote conservative or liberal objectives. | In the 1950s the Warren Court were seen to follow a liberal agenda and be judicially active. With a liberal and activist majority on the court the Warren Court expanded civil rights, civil liberties, judicial power, and the federal power in dramatic ways. Warren Court Cases | 1954 Brown vs the Board | Based on 14th Amendment- ended segregation†¦show more content†¦There has been a big increase in the number of unanimous decisions i.e. 9-0, and the liberals and conservative has been unted in upholding first amendment rights-(Riley vs California 9-0 that police require warrants to saech cell phones) (Mcullen vs Coakley 9-0 buffer zone around abortion clinics are unconstitutional) but on the more contentious cases the 5-4 split showed a political divide Kennedy was appointed as a conservative but has become the key ‘swing’ justice- in Hall vs Florida he sided with the liberals in rejecting Florida’s strict IQ cut-off to decide if mentally disabled people could be executed. Conclusion: The Supreme court are divided politically and the court is more conservative than in the Warren/Burger era, ( since 1969 when Nixon became president there have been 16 appointments to the court 12 by Republican Presidents and 4 by Democrat Presidents),but while the court has developed a conservative view on election contributions and guns the main precedents of the Warren/ Burger era remain intact because being conservative is not the same as being a judicialShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesthe Contributors †¢ 343 _ IN TR OD UC TIO N Michael Adas B y any of the customary measures we deploy to demarcate historical epochs, the twentieth century does not appear to be a very coherent unit. The beginnings and ends of what we choose to call centuries are almost invariably years of little significance. But there is little agreement over when the twentieth century c.e. arrived, and there were several points both before the year 2000 (the collapse of the Soviet UnionRead MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 Pagesblack consciousness that has been part of the Jamaican experience for years. The truth is that there has always been a committed Jamaican counter- culture that celebrates and sees redemption in Africa and rejects the European values that have oppressed a society. But prior to the advent of popular culture and especially the music recording business in the late twentieth century, its apparatus of cultural formation was controlled fully by the elite who, to a large extent, ran the educational apparatusRead MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 Pageseconomic, social, and political churning, how will these driving factors be influenced by the brutally competitive global economy in which organizations do not have any particular geographic identity or travel under any particular national passport? What will be the effect of the rapid gyrations in markets that emphasize the difficulties that accounting practices face in determining true performance costs and that forecasting programs confront in establishing the economic determinants of corporate