Imaginative Freedom of Birches :: Robert Frost Birches Essays

Imaginative Freedom of Birches        Ã‚  Ã‚   In "Birches" (Mountain Interval, 1916) Frost begins to probe the power of his redemptive imagination as it moves from its playful phase toward the brink of dangerous transcendence. The movement into transcendence is a movement into a realm of radical imaginative freedom where (because redemption has succeeded too well) all possibilities of engagement with the common realities of experience are dissolved. In its moderation, a redemptive consciousness motivates union between selves as we have seen in "The Generations of Men," or in any number of Frost's love poems. But in its extreme forms, redemptive consciousness can become self-defeating as it presses the imaginative man into deepest isolation. "Birches" begins by evoking its core image against the background of a darkly wooded landscape: When I see birches bend to left and right Across the lines of straighter darker trees, I like to think some boy's been swinging them. But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay As ice storms do. The pliable, malleable quality of the birch tree captures the poet's attention and kicks off his meditation. Perhaps young boys don't bend birches down to stay, but swing them they do and thus bend them momentarily. Those "straighter, darker trees," like the trees of "Into My Own" that "scarcely show the breeze," stand ominously free from human manipulation, menacing in their irresponsiveness to acts of the will. The malleability of the birches is not total, however, and the poet is forced to admit this fact into the presence of his desire, like it or not. The ultimate shape of mature birch trees is the work of objective natural force, not human activity. Yet after conceding the boundaries of imagination's subjective world, the poet seems not to have constricted himself but to have been released.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Often you must have seen them Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning After a rain. They click upon themselves As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. Soon the sun's warmth makes them shed crystal shells Shattering and avalanching on the snow crust-- Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen. Fascinated as he is by the show of loveliness before him, and admiring as be is of nature as it performs the potter's art, cracking and crazing the enamel of ice coating on the birch trees, it is not finally the thing itself (the ice-coated trees) that interests the poet but the strange association be is tempted to make: "You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.

Moral reasoning Essay

Moral reasoning is individual or collective practical reasoning about what, morally, one ought to do. For present purpose, we may understand issues about what is right or wrong, virtuous or vicious, as raising moral question. When we are faced with moral questions in daily life, just as when we are faced with child-rearing questions, sometimes we act impulsively or instinctively and sometimes we pause to reason about what we ought to do. Much of our reasoning comes about through are position on an issue and how are principle effects that issue. Reasoning, so understood is an intrinsically normative concept. An important implication of this is that any empirical data that shows that we consistently think in a given odd way about morality can be taken in one or two contrasting lights: it can be taken to show that, since ‘this is what we do’ this is how our moral reasoning is. Alternatively, it can be taken to show that, in the relevant range of cases, we fail to think responsibly, and hence fail to engage in moral reasoning. And empirical data does not settle this kind of normative question for us. Therefore does morality require each person to reason in the same way, on the basis of the same fundamental considerations? In an idea world, people would do the right thing simply because it is right. In the world in which we live, morality is more complex. People often disagree about what is right. Even when a consensus on moral values is reached, many find that they do not consistently live up to a moral standard. One reason for this is that most people place a high value on their own welfare. They may have moral ideals and commitments, but concern about personal well being is a powerful motivating factor. It is more powerful for some than it is for others, but few can claim to be indifferent to it. Any significant gap between the demands of ethics and the urging of self-interest, narrowly defined, creates incentive problems for individuals and for societies wishing to maintain high ethical standards. The problems arise on two levels. At the first level are the direct incentive problems or opportunism and desperation. Problems of opportunism arise when individuals willingly violate ethical norms in order to pursue opportunities for private gain. I believe an example of this is, ‘George W Bush and the invasion of Iraq’. The world was told that Suddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, but to this day their have been no weapons of mass destruction shown to the world, rather George W Bush has gain notoriety as the president that went on to save the people of Iraq from a dictator. When analyzing this further could it be said that President Bush was concerned about is duty to protect the innocent people of Iraq or was it an opportunity to look good in the eyes of the world. What were the underlying principles. The fact that there was supposed to be the weapons of mass destruction has now faded in to obscurity. Did he yield to temptation. Or where there other principles at work. Secondly problems of desperation arise when individuals violate ethical norms to avoid loss or hardship. Even if we grant that most people place some intrinsic value on doing the right thing as they see it, sometimes the risk or the temptation is just too great. Too often we are presented with evidence from our daily lives, from news stories, and from academic research, that well-educated, apparently normal individuals can be tempted or pressured into compromising ethical standards. How then does this relate to the so-called real world? Human nature is not simple or uniformed, most people are not self centered, people often care about others. Nagel states â€Å"there’s one general argument against hurting other people which can be given to anybody who understands English (or any other language), and which seems to show that he has some reason to care about others, even if in the end his selfish motives are so strong that he persists in treating other people badly anyway†. Most people have some benevolent motivations and ethical commitments. Individuals have sympathy for the pains of others and take pleasure in others’ well being. However, this care does not typically extend to all of humankind, but only to a referent group (Hirschlieifer, 1982). The size and nature of that group varies significantly from person to person. The care also varies in intensity, depending on such things as the closeness of the relationship  with the other person, In addition to this passive care for others; people care about how they affect others. They generally do not want to cause harm, and do want to cause pleasure or satisfaction. Therefore in conclusion if most people have a benevolent motive to do the right thing in society and take pleasure in making society a happier place this would have to mean that society would need to be consistent in the way it treats people. There would be no impartiality or objectivity, all reasoning would be done from a top-down position. We would all then walk around with happy faces saying hello to all we meet, there would be no fighting anymore there would be no wars, there would be punishments that is across the board and not consider other factor into play. Fortunately society is not consistent in its moral and ethical day to day practice the fact that as individual human beings we are guided in varies situations by varies events that caused the situation, this becomes a bottom-up reasoning were we are in turn guided by other judgements which lead us to constantly re-evaluating our moral ground. References Nagal, T., What Does It All Mean? A very short introduction to Philosophy: Oxford University Press, 1987 Hirschleifer, J., Evolutionary Models: Cooperation versus Conflict Strategies, JAI Press, Greenwich 1982

Jane Eyre by Emily Bronte - 747 Words

... what mystery, that broke out, now in fire and now in blood, at the deadest hours of the night? What creature was it, that masked an ordinary womans face and shape, uttered the voice, now of a mocking demon, and anon of a carrion-seeking bird of prey? (Brontà « 221). A brief synopsis of Charlotte Brontà «s novel, Jane Eyre, is present in this short quote, which describes the mystery that is present within the novel. As well as its gothic sensation, romance is present as well, giving the novel its feminine characteristics. Foreshadowing is a main aspect which helps prolong the suspense in the novel. The element of foreshadowing helps the reader foresee the upcoming events in the novel. These gothic elements create a mysterious plot within the novel, which escalates during the climax. Novels in the Gothic Romance genre include many mysterious events, as well as a twisted love story. Jane Eyre is classified as a Gothic Romance due to its gloomy setting, elements of mystery and susp ense, and supernatural components. In like manner, Jane Eyre contained a gloomy setting that follows throughout the novel. The first main indication of Jane Eyre being a Gothic Romance was when Jane was living at Gateshead Hall. When Jane was sent to the red room, imagery was presented which links the room to the idea of death. . . .. it was in this chamber he breathed his last; . . . and, since that day, a sense of dreary consecration had guarded it from frequent intrusion (Brontà « 8). Having aShow MoreRelatedGothic Elements of Jane Eyre by Emily Bronte Essay2208 Words   |  9 PagesGothic Elements of Jane Eyre by Emily Bronte The term Gothic was popularly used in the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century and came to mean wild or barbaric. 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