Ethan Frome Essay Example for Free

Ethan Frome Essay Ethan Frome had nothing but sickness and trouble. His life revolves around taking care of one invalid after another, from his father, his mother to his hypochondriac wife and finally ending up as a disfigured and very image of â€Å"ruin of a man†. He failed to achieve any of his ambitions to leave town and become an engineer and did not succeed even in his desire to run away with Mattie Silver. Aside from poverty, the rigid moral character of Ethan prevents him from going against the social conventions in favor of his personal ambitions and fulfillment. Set in New England, in the rural town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, this literary piece was written by Edith Wharton in 1922. The bleak environment of seemingly endless winter aptly sets the tone of the story and the fate of Ethan Frome. A narrator who was forced to stay in Starkfield because of a workers strike was instantly fascinated by Frome’s appearance that looks quite old for a man of fifty-two and disfigured since an accident twenty-four years ago when he first saw him outside of the post office. He went on to find out more about him as he had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story (1). The story of Ethan Frome is a portrayal of a passive and unhappy man who is weighed down by his duty to his wife and his bitter existence as a poor farmer. Ethan had been in Starksfield since his youth when his father died and he had to come home to take care of his ailing mother and their farm. Prior to this event, he was taking a technological course in Worcester but the lack of money prevented him from realizing his dream to become an engineer. He decided to marry Zenobia Pierce or Zeena, his cousin who came to help him care for his mother, after the burial as he was afraid to spend the winter alone. Though Zeena was lively and cheerful at first, she later on fell silent and sickly. He woulf often think that had his mother died in the springtime he would not have thought of offering marriage to Zeena. Her illnesses became her obsession as she would go on a monthly trip to Bettsbridge to see her doctor. For rural towns like Starkfield, people with sickness or complications are common topic for conversations and are â€Å"singled out for a great fate†. Zeena’s illness became her weapon that she uses to take control of the household and of Ethan. Mattie Silver actually came to the Fromes to do the household chores in exchange for the food and shelter as she was also destitute after the death of her parents. Since she was not used to doing housekeeping, Ethan would help her out in doing her chores just so she would not incur the wrath of Zeena. Ethan eventually fell in love with lively and cheerful Mattie who gave Ethan respite from the isolation and loveless match with a sickly and whining woman. The illicit relationship however advances to no more than holding of hands as both Mattie and Ethan are too afraid to defy the forces of social and marital duties. The time came though that Zeena decided to send Mattie away because of a broken red pickle dish that is symbolic in the story of the marriage of Ethan and Zeena. The idea of living apart from each other was unbearable for Mattie and Ethan that upon the suggestion of the former, they went on to take a sleigh ride that would crash them into the big elm tree. The attempted suicide failed leaving Ethan disfigured and Mattie a paralyzed woman. The irony of the story is that in the end Zeena seem to overcome her illness and became the caregiver of the now invalid, whining Mattie and the lame Ethan. The entire life of Ethan Frome had been a series of dreams destroyed because of the circumstances of him being poor and his adherence to social duty. His opportunity to leave town and finish education to eventually become an engineer was hindered when his father died and he has a farm and an ailing mother to take care of. Their farm as he said was â€Å"side-tracked† when the railroads where put up and no more people came to town. He blames this as the cause as to why his mother’s condition deteriorated. It could also mean the lost opportunities for the town and also to him as the place got left behind in the course of development. Ethan was one of the people stuck in Starkfield, a place where most of the smart ones get away(14) as Harmon Gow, the stage driver in the story, aptly puts it. The bleakness that surrounds Starkfield, for one thing, is not an environment that would nurture youth and create a field for dreams to come true. The narrator in the story noted that although he initially felt invigorated by the clear blue skies and shocking white of snow, this was soon followed by long periods of cold and darkness that he begun to understand the deadness of the community (15). In an environment that was neither nurturing nor bountiful, Ethan is further subdued into the tangled web of harshness and scarcity. The Fromes practically had to eke living from what little they could get from their farm for their survival. The connection between the land and the people is symbolic in the story. The environment made life for the townspeople difficult such as when Ethan and another man had to struggle in the sleet just to be able to transport logs. Starkfield is isolation in itself, with the places beyond it seen as a place to â€Å"get away† so as to seek a different fortune or freedom from the drab and coldness of the place. The limitations of the environment coupled with poverty further intensified the lost potentials of Ethan Frome. There was the poignant scene where the narrator accidentally left his biochemistry book in the sleigh and later on sees it in Frome’s hand. Ethan was both fascinated and humbled by the book as he exclaimed, There are things in that book that I didnt know the first word about (18). It shows that Ethan’s curiosity and intellect had very few outlets in that kind of environment. For a fifty-two year old man who found excitement in a book, it is painful to think of what he could have been had he got the chance to explore his potentials. The conflict between personal passion and social convention is another theme portrayed in the story. The character of Zeena and Mattie were so different that the reader would readily understand the choice of Ethan between them. Mattie symbolizes beauty and energy in her ways, in the colors that she uses from the ribbons in her hair to the dish that she illicitly uses whereas Zeena possesses the deathly and sickly qualities in life. The sexual and emotional frustration in the marriage of Zeena and Ethan is symbolized by the unused pickle dish. Though shown as Zeena’s most prized possession, it remains at the topmost of the china closet left and unused. The barren relationship that they have is further portrayed with them not having children and hardly ever sharing a conversation. Ethan fell in love with Mattie and had come to hate Zeena but his strong sense of marital duty prevents him from deciding to be with Mattie. He acts with uncertainty and frustration under the looming shadow of his obligation to Zeena that it created a conflict in him. Ethan is also hesitant to leave his sickly wife for he believes that if he went away it would leave Zeena alone and penniless. Even in the moment when Zeena went away, her presence was greatly felt in imagined visions and in the symbol of the cat. Conventionally, the society upholds marriage as a sacred bond and is, in fact, at the apex of the set social orders. A man and woman are joined in marriage; it is protected by the norms of the society to keep the union intact. The critical eyes of the society is so that it could even permeate walls of intimate moments like the evening that Ethan and Mattie spent together when Zeena went away from the town to see a doctor. Their excitement though withered when the cat broke the dish and the looming figure of Zeena in their minds. Zeena’s absence bear more weight that her presence that conversation became impossible. The circumstance does not allow them to attempt to recreate a fantasy of life together, spending an evening as a husband and wife would. Their passion was shrouded by guilt and the unseen eyes of the society that both of them felt in the situation. As Ethan noted in the warm lamplit room, with all its ancient implications of conformity and order, she (Mattie) seemed infinitely farther away from him and more unapproachable (54). Conformity and order in the living room reminded Ethan that it belongs to Zeena and Ethan and could never be Mattie and Ethan. And when Ethan crossed the line when showed the slightest act of passion by kissing a piece of cloth that she was sewing, Mattie was spurred into retreating, scared of the repercussions with the transgression made. Poverty also limited the illicit lovers from taking serious step in pursuing an adulterous affair. Mattie, for one, was in a very precarious condition being dependent on the Fromes for her daily sustenance. Having nowhere else to go, she is also afraid of going into that kind of relationship with Ethan that could take away the refuge that she now has. Ethan, on the other hand, his duty to his wife and even to the Hales prevents him from acting on the situation like the loan that he planned to take from the Hale in able to elope with Mattie. Ethan did not only sacrifice his chance on love but he also sacrificed his ambitions just so he can fulfill his social duties. He had to give up his dream to move out of Starkfield and of becoming an engineer to care for his father, his mother and the farm. And upon the death of his mother, he end up in frustrated desire to fulfill his dreams for he was trapped in a marriage with a sickly wife whom he cannot bear to leave because of her condition. Though a sympathetic character, Ethan Frome can be also frustrating because of his lack determination to change the course of his life. He allows circumstances to take over him and did not decidedly pursue his interests and ambitions. Like the epitaph of the original Ethan Frome in the graveyard with his wife Endurance, he endures rather than act on his fate in pursuit of happiness and fulfillment. In his relationship with Mattie, instead of finding the courage to address his dilemma he opted for suicide with his lover, which he did not even decide on but took on upon the suggestion of Mattie. This was his only bold decision in the entire novel but this too ended up as a failure leaving him ruined and destined to live his entire life with an invalid lover and a controlling wife. Though Ethan is a sensitive and decent person he lacks emotional strength and determination. Instead of mustering enough courage to defy conventions, he chose not to take decisions and face the consequences of it, The deadened vitality of Ethan Frome from the decades of frustrations and his inability to rise up beyond the circumstances had left him in a situation where is â€Å"not much difference between the Fromes up at the farm and the Fromes down in the graveyard†.

Climate change Essay Example for Free

Climate change Essay In this era of industrialization there is no doubt that countries are developing in terms of resources and technology but there are repercussions as well. Scientists are of the view that human activities are contributing to not only a rise in world temperatures but also to the extreme climatic occurrences. Such climatic induced natural disasters have displaced many people from the shelter of their homes, have turned fertile lands into barren parts and have caused a depletion of fresh water resources (China tells rich nations to pay up on climate change, 2008). â€Å"It is predicted that the average global temperature will rise from between 1. 5 and 5 degrees Celsius over the next 100 years leading to a rise in sea level by one meter or more along with other disastrous climatic changes† (Climate Change: Economic Sense and Non-sense of Carbon Mitigation Policies, 2002). But the world today is so engrossed in reaching the top most position amongst industrialized countries that there is absolute ignorance about the causes of climatic disasters. Although there are people who believe that the drastic temperature increase over the last 100 years is a natural phenomenon, but the wide majority of the scientists argue that human activities are the root cause. â€Å"When it was realized that the radical climatic changes are an important issue and need to be tackled, the first milestone was launched in 2005, termed as the Kyoto protocol which aimed at reducing the gas emissions from industrialized countries† (Pettifor, 2008). But the main problem regarding this protocol is that some of the world’s biggest current and future polluters are not a signatory to this agreement as a result of which this protocol is unlikely to have any impact on the climatic changes (Climate Change, 2008). Population growth in such countries is allowing for the set up of more industries which will eventually accelerate the problem on hand. If technologies which cause less pollution and are comparatively cheaper are created and adopted then even countries which are not committed to the climatic change improvement will adopt them for their own economic self interest. Such technologies can be implemented in electricity production and transportation because these are the two factors which contribute to environmental pollution in all developing countries. In many countries carbon free alternatives have already been implemented for energy production and transport purposes and the added costs have been considered to be meager when compared to the benefits. Emission trading is a phenomenon that allows for the achievement of pollution reduction at reduced costs whereby a country which is able to meet its target of reducing emissions sells its pollution permit to another country which is unable to meet the target set (Howden, 2007). Policies are required both in developing and the developed countries to finance the regime of saving the planet. These policies include certain incentives and subsidies for the innovator who adopts the carbon free technologies in his production plant , taxes and charges enforced on those who fail to follow the reduced emission target and also government regulations that allow remove the barrier to entry for new entrants willing to adopt the lower carbon alternatives. In January 2007 the EU set out proposals for a global agreement on saving the planet from further climatic deterioration (Climate Change: Economic Sense and Non-sense of Carbon Mitigation Policies, 2002). Two key targets to be met by 2020 were set which included a 20% reduction in energy consumption and use of renewable energy resources to be increased by 20%. The EU countries also committed to cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions by 30% given that other developed countries also commit to reductions in gas emissions under a global agreement (Climate Change, 2008). It is the rich countries that need to be pressurized to take steps in the mitigation of climatic changes and provide finance for the poorer countries that may be reluctant to cut down on emissions since it would have adverse affects on their economy (Climate Change, 2008). In spite of the current economic turmoil which the entire world is facing, the U. S has promised to provide subsidies to the car industry to help them develop green cars which will help in creating a cleaner and less polluted environment. This step taken by the U. S motivated the EU member states to do the same. Similarly the German government is thinking of offering tax incentives to the general public to install energy efficient heating systems in their homes and to purchase the carbon free, environmentally friendly green cars. And the list goes not stop here, governments of different countries are thinking of providing subsidies to industries to produce green appliances, green airplanes, efficient lighting equipment, and better insulation and so on (Howden, 2007). To implement all this money is required which is expected to come from private investors. In the future years it is predicted that a vast portion of government spending will be directed towards saving the environment from climatic changes (Pettifor, 2008). China, one of the most enthusiastic country in dealing with the climatic change crisis has emphasized on the need for rich nations to contribute 1% of their GDP to help poorer nations counter the effects of the drastic climatic changes, to enable them to adopt the ‘green technologies’ and to simply assist them in tackling disasters like earthquakes, floods, heat waves and droughts (China tells rich nations to pay up on climate change, 2008). A main human activity which is adding to global warming is deforestation which has been occurring worldwide at a large scale. Carbon emissions caused by deforestation cause far more damage then either factories or cars do. Countries are implementing strict regulations regarding deforestation and have imposed penalties on those indulging in this act on lands where it is prohibited. No new technology is required it is just the enforcement policies, political will and incentives that need to be provided to government and individuals alike to make them realize the importance of forests to the environment. But poorer nations are unwilling to cut down on deforestation since it means compromising on their source of income and ultimately compromising on their economy. Forestry experts and policy makers have held meetings in Germany to try and put deforestation on top of the agenda of UN for dealing with climatic changes but Papua New Guinea, one of the world’s poorest nations refused to co-operate when it declared that it can’t cut down on deforestation unless it was offered financial incentives to do so. Natural forestation acts as a thermostat for the earth generating much needed rainfall and stabilizing the amount of harmful gases in the environment yet governments are ignorant or rather choose to stay unaware of this fact and are focusing more on implementing economic policies , encouraging bio-fuel subsidies and carbon capture schemes to tackle the problem of climatic changes (Summary for Policy Makers, 2007). For domestic users of energy, education and training programs need to be implemented to break down the reluctance of adopting environmentally friendly products and to help in creating a carbon free environment. For industries as well staff training, rewards system, awareness programs can reduce energy consumption considerably and reduce the green house gases emissions (Pettifor, 2008). There are certain economic policies which can be implemented to achieve the desired effects like taxes and charges on industries emitting carbon toxicants above a certain given level can be imposed which will induce them to eventually cut down on polluting the environment. Voluntary agreements between the governments and industries as well as between developing countries like the Kyoto protocol can accelerate the adoption of technological advances and cause considerable emission reductions (Climate Change: Economic Sense and Non-sense of Carbon Mitigation Policies, 2002). But on the other hand it needs to be kept in mind that although harsh regulations and standards and tax impositions may have the desired effect in the industrial sector but when it comes to domestic households, who are also a major contributor to environment emissions due to car usage and domestic heating, we need to think out of the box and come up with more feasible and practical solutions Individuals need to be convinced of the need to adopt technology and embrace ‘green appliances’ and for that the main motivation is the monetary incentive. Majority of the global population is not an early adopter of technology and for their sake it needs to be kept in mind that they will look for reduced costs rather than being termed the most techno-savvy person of the year (Pettifor, 2008). People need to be educated rather than forced into adopting renewable energy resources. Same goes for the industrial sector of the rich nations though harsher methods to cut down on their emissions can be applied as well by the government. It is the poorer nations that show the maximum reluctance and are unwilling to co-operate in the regime to save the earth from further climatic destruction. These nations are more concerned about their economy since already they are far behind the rich nations and on top of that the international bodies impose restrictions on them to cut down on emissions which eventually mean a restraint on their business operations (Summary for Policy Makers, 2007). The short term efforts that are being done to save the world from global warming and ozone depletion are basically a waste of resources and money since they tend to have little effect. It would be wiser to spend more yet come up with long term viable solutions which promise an improvement in the climatic conditions. Those who are worried that the cost of saving the world from climatic changes need to realize that the atmosphere cannot determine if the reduced carbon emission has come from an expensive decision or a cheap choice because it can only feel if the emissions have reduced or not. Works Cited 1. China tells rich nations to pay up on climate change. (2008, November). Retrieved November 9, 2008, from NewScientist. com: http://environment. newscientist. com/article/dn15148-china-tells-rich-nations-to-pay-up-on-climate-change. html? DCMP=ILC-hmtsnsref=news1_head_dn15148 2. Climate Change. (2008). Retrieved November 6, 2008, from EUROPA Commission: http://ec. europa. eu/environment/climat/home_en. htm 3. Climate Change: Economic Sense and Non-sense of Carbon Mitigation Policies. (2002). Centre for Economic Performance , 2. 4. Howden, D. (2007, May 14). Deforestation: The hidden cause of global warming. Retrieved November 8, 2008, from The Independent: http://www. independent. co. uk/environment/climate-change/deforestation-the-hidden-cause-of-global-warming-448734. html 5. Pettifor, A. (2008, October 28). Beyond the triple crisis: a green new deal. Retrieved November 7, 2008, from http://www. opendemocracy. net/article/beyond-the-triple-crisis-a-green-new-deal 6. Summary for Policy Makers. (2007, May 5). Retrieved November 5, 2008, from http://www. globalpolicy. org/socecon/envronmt/climate/2007/0504ipccthree. pdf

Introduction to Crime and Punishment

Introduction to Crime and Punishment Theories were developed to help to explain and understand certain events, behaviors and/or situations. Over the years, sociologists have created these theories in hopes of explaining why things happen in society. For instance, social conflict theories try to explain why society creates conflict due to inequalities that are present in everyday life. In Karl Marx and Engels, economic determinism, economic activity shapes and defines all political, cultural, social and technological aspects of society. It proposes that laws and norms are made in the interest of powerful members of society. This conflict theory proposes three propositions. The first proposition explains that the more inequality the more conflict. The second explains that those who receive less needed resources question the legitimacy of social order, and the third proposition says that those who are getting fewer resources will organize and expose conflict to the public. Marx and Engel saw that unjust exploitation of one social class and social solidarity could be regained if we overthrown capitalism. In the interactional theory, developed by Terrence Thornberry, suggests that delinquent behavior is a result of a relationship between an individual, peer groups, social structures, weakened bonds and learning environment. This theory is broken into three different stages in a life course. The first stage is delinquent behaviors are developed during childhood, primarily because of a dysfunctional family, school failure and association with delinquent peers. The second stage is during mid-adolescence where they are no longer influenced by family, but their peers. The third stage is during adulthood where their delinquent behaviors are shaped by their place in society and his or her own family. According to Durkheim, Punishment is an expression of social solidarity. He believed that punishment serves positive functions in society. There are three parties that help enact punishment. The controller is the person that administers the act, the controlled is the person being punished, the one who committed the crime, and the onlookers which is the general public. Durkheim saw punishment as a moral education. Punishment is an essential part of moral order in society and it helps limit the spread of deviance and disobedience. The two theories that I found interesting were Marx and Engels economic determinism and Durkheims punishment as a moral education. I agree with Marxs idea of the inequality of power in society and how it influences deviant behavior among people who cant get the resources that they need in society. When an individual seem to not have the resources, they go about getting it another way. This relates back to Robert Mertons strain theory that focused on the emphasis of the American Dream. Those who cant obtain it, find other ways, such as stealing or selling drugs. The conflict theory explains that inequality causes more conflict. Those who receive less needed resources would organize and come forth to open it up to the public. Capitalism is considered the root of conflict because it is taken to be the source of unjust inequality. I agree that we should overthrow capitalism and form a just social solidarity, like communism, as Marx and Engel suggests. This way everyone is on the same lev el of social class and has the opportunity of receiving the same resources needed in society. In Durkheims, punishment as a moral education, I agree that punishment is essential for social order. For most children, when they are born they are taught morally right from wrong, such things like, stealing, lying or fighting. This is reinforced with punishment that can range from time-outs to physical beatings. As a result it ensures that whenever the child has an urge to do something wrong, they know the consequences. Personally, for as long as I can remember I have always been reprimanded by my parents whenever I did something I knew I wasnt suppose to. So as a result at any time I felt like misbehaving I would avoid it so that I wouldnt get punished for it. The same idea relates to when an individual thinks about committing a crime, they know that punishment will be a result of that. Like many other theories they arent concrete. They are developed to make sense of why and how certain things happen in society, but there are some criticisms that can be made about them. Durkheim says that punishment is a positive function in society. It reinforces social solidarity and strengthen common values. Although I agree, I question whether he believes punishment of criminals has more of a positive function than reforming criminals? I do believe that some criminals deserve to punished for their actions, but I also believe that developing systems or policies where we can help an individual, that has committed crime, become a better person in society. There are circumstances where an individual had to commit a crime not because they wanted to but because they had to. For instance, a mother that is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her family, steals food from the grocery store because she has no money. In a technical sense she has committed a crime of stealing, but I m sure if she had the money she wouldnt steal. Instead of punishing her by putting her into a correctional institution, why not help her find a job where she can have steady income. This way she is able to provide for her family and we dont have to separate her from her kids.

Evaluation Essay -- Essays Papers

Evaluation I believe that my writing has grown a lot with in this first semester of college. I was the type of person in college that would write a paper, and not review it, and still turn it in. I would usually receive good grades, but that was on the high school level. Those types of under-developed papers do not receive good grades in college. On a paper that I may have turned in to one of my high school teachers would have got me a B, yet if I turn around and use that same paper now, I would receive no more than a D. That is what I believe should happen at this level in the game. You as an individual must recognize your own mistakes, and correct them on your own. In high school many of my teacher’s would grade a paper, return it with marks on which we should impro...

A Comparison of Migrant Workers in The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and

Migrant Workers in The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   John Steinbeck wrote about what surrounded him. At the time he was writing, the nineteen-thirties, a great depression was plaguing the United States. Many people were out of work. Many farmers were losing their farms and homes. An extreme drought had also wrecked the farms of the Midwest and made them into what is now referred to as the "dust bowl". It was a terrible time to be poor, and most were. People died of malnutrition every day. In California, where Steinbeck resided, migrant workers dominated the workforce. Thousands traveled from all around to pick fruit in the farms of the Salinas Valley for minuscule wages. Thousands more could not find suitable Many people theorize why the depression happened. Speculation in the stock market was one reason. The dust bowl also multiplied the depression's effects. The depression did happen to coincide with another event though. It happened soon after the last frontier vanished from the United States. There was no longer free land for the taking. The long held American dream was no longer simple and cheap to achieve. Many Americans simply wanted their own plot to take and set up their lives, but the depression made this an impossibility. Steinbeck wrote about this class of people. Throughout his writing he uses many minor themes and biblical references to get his point across, but the ubiquitous theme is the story of the poor, depression era migrant worker simply trying to retain dignity, achieve the ever important American dream of owning their own plot of land, and end the depravity that is the life of a migrant worker. Characters in Steinbeck's writing always have dreams. Many of the cha... ...h-Allusions." 2001: 3pp. Online. 22 March 2003. www.123helpme/2690.html Groene, Horst. "The Dispossessed Farmer." Bloom 23-24."Of Mice and Men-Lonely Characters." 2001: 3pp. Online. 22 March 2003. www.essay bank.co.uk/free_coursework/1148.html "Of Mice and Men and Migrant Workers." 2001: 3pp. Online. 22 March 2003. www.123helpme/1105.html Parini, Jay. "The Masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath." 2002: 3pp. Online. 6 March 2003. http://web4.infotrac.galegroup.com/81433&dyn=9tar_fmt?sw_aep=unio58461 Railton, Stephen. "The Joads and Their Oppressors." Bloom 31. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2002. -. Of Mice and Men. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2002. Visser, Nicholas. "Audience and Closure in The Grapes of Wrath." 1994: 13pp. Online. http://web4.infotrac.galegroup.com/0136&dyn=45tar_fmt?sw_aep=unio58461   

Huckleberry Finn :: essays research papers

Mark Twain’s book Huckleberry Finn is an enjoyable book to read. Mark Twain is an excellent writer, and makes the book humorous, and attention catching, at the same time, it is teaching about important issues or slavery and educating on unhappy family situations. Huckleberry Finn is a classic. One of the first ways in which it is a classic is how it addresses issues of society. It shows the differences between classes, between the blacks and the whites. It shows Jim’s struggle for freedom, and the little white boy who doesn’t know anything better than to help him. While all of the white culture is looking down on blacks, one white person, not knowing the seriousness of what he is doing, is willing to help Jim gain his freedom.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another way that this book is obviously a classic is how the people in it and their troubles are open to the readers. Huck himself seems to have his share of problems. In the beginning of this book, he is living with two older ladies, he doesn’t enjoy that, and the reader becomes well aware of that. One of the other problems that he has is with his father. His father is just using him for the money that he has and beats him regularly, and then kidnaps him, just for spite, not because he loves him, and one of the other problems that he has is trying to free Jim and to do what he feels is right. Jim has his own share of problems, and they are also open to the reader, because that is what the book is mostly about, freeing Jim and all the situations that take place during that. In this book, most of the characters’ problems are open to the reader, because without them, the book would have very little twists and turns of plot.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A way that this book shows that it is a classic is that the work is original. This is very true. Mark Twain has his own writing style. It is unlike any other. Twain is a good storyteller, and appears to enjoy that. His storytelling style is different from others in that he attacks difficult issues through his stories. He writes about slavery and freedom from a neutral vantage point. Most of the other writers of his day and age wouldn’t dare to discuss touchy topics like that, yet Twain chose to do that, and he did it well.

About role of the United Nations in the changing World Essay

Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations†. Those are words from Preamble of Charter of the United Nations. The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and came into existence on 24 October 1945. The Statute of the International Court of Justice is an integral part of the Charter. The day is now celebrated each year around the world as United Nations Day. The purpose of the United Nations is to bring all nations of the world together to work for peace and development, based on the principles of justice, human dignity and the well-being of all people. It affords the opportunity for countries to balance global interdependence and national interests when addressing international problems. There are currently 191 Members of the United Nations. See more: Satirical essay about drugs They meet in the General Assembly, which is the closest thing to a world parliament. Each country, large or small, rich or poor, has a single vote; however, none of the decisions taken by the Assembly are binding. Nevertheless, the Assembly’s decisions become resolutions that carry the weight of world government opinion. The United Nations Headquarters is in New York City but the land and buildings are international territory. The United Nations has its own flag, its own post office and its own postage stamps. Six official languages are used at the United Nations – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The UN European Headquarters is in the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. It has offices in Vienna, Austria and Economic Commissions in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Amman in Jordan, Bangkok in Thailand and Santiago in Chile. The senior officer of the United Nations Secretariat is the Secretary-General. The Aims of the United Nations: *To keep peace throughout the world. *To develop friendly relations between nations. *To work together to help people live better lives. * to eliminate poverty, disease and illiteracy in the world. * to stop environmental destruction. * to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms. *To be a centre for helping nations achieve these aims. The Principles of the United Nations: *All Member States have sovereign equality. *All Member States must obey the Charter. *Countries must try to settle their differences by peaceful means. *Countries must avoid using force or threatening to use force. *The UN may not interfere in the domestic affairs of any country. All countries should try to assist the United Nations. Now some information about the UN system: The basic structure of the United Nations is outlined in an organizational chart. What the structure does not show is that decision-making within the UN system is not as easy as in many other organizations. The UN is not an independent, homogeneous organization; it is made up of states, so actions by the UN depend on the will of Member States, to accept, fund or carry them out. Especially in matters of peace-keeping and international politics, it requires a complex, often slow, process of consensus-building that must take into account national sovereignty as well as global needs. The Specialized Agencies, while part of the UN system, are separate, autonomous intergovernmental organizations which work with the UN and with each other. The agencies carry out work relating to specific fields such as trade, communications, air and maritime transport, agriculture and development. Although they have more autonomy, their work within a country or between countries is always carried out in partnership with those countries. They also depend on funds from Member States to achieve their goals. Recently, international conferences organized by the UN have gained significance. UN conferences have been held since the 1960s, but with the Conference on Environment and Development, known as the Earth Summit, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, they turned into real fora for deciding on national and international policy regarding issues that affect everyone such as the environment, human rights and economic development. Since the Earth Summit, UN conferences have turned into forums in which non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can voice their concerns alongside those of governments. Such conferences focus world attention on these issues and place them squarely on the global agenda. Yet, once the international agreements produced by these conferences are signed, it is still up to each individual country to carry them out. With the moral weight of international conferences and the pressures of media and NGOs, Member States are more likely to endorse the agreements and put them into effect. I also would like to ad some basic information about structure and budget, to make brief of UN more visible. The six principal organs of the United Nations are the: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice and Secretariat. The United Nations family, however, is much larger, encompassing 15 agencies and several programmes and bodies. When it comes to a budget, the budget for the two years 2000-2001 was $2,535 million. The main source of funds is the contributions of Member States, which are assessed on a scale approved by the General Assembly. The fundamental criterion on which the scale of assessments is based is the capacity of  countries to pay. This is determined by considering their relative shares of total gross national product, adjusted to take into account a number of factors, including their per capita incomes. In addition, countries are assessed for the costs of peacekeeping operations. What is the role of the UN nations in the changing World? I already gave some simply answers at the beginning of this assignment. I will try to answer this question in depth in the following part of my work. The UN has been effective, even indispensable, in post-conflict development in Mozambique, Guatemala, Afghanistan, the Balkans and elsewhere. It also has guided and monitored political change (democracy and governance) in Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor and Georgia. The UN has been involved in the conflict in Abkhazia since Georgian forces stormed the Abkhaz parliament in Sukhumi in August 1992, triggering a war that remains unresolved today. In 1993, the UN and the CSCE (Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe) agreed that the international lead on the conflict in Abkhazia should be taken by the UN. In the same year the UN, faced with urgent requests from the government of Georgia to deploy a peacekeeping force to Abkhazia, decided to establish an observer mission for Georgia (UNOMIG) to monitor implementation of the July ceasefire agreement between the two sides which had been mediated and guaranteed by the Russian Federation. The decision to send an observer force rather than a fully fledged peacekeeping force reflected the desire of the Russian Federation to take the lead in the management of conflict in the ‘former Soviet space’, and the unwillingness of the other permanent members of the Security Council to challenge Russian prerogatives. There was also a general concern that the peacekeeping apparatus of the UN was overloaded, and disagreement among the parties as to what the mandate of a more substantial force would be. The UN Secretary-General also designated Swiss diplomat Eduard Brunner as Special Envoy for the conflict. He served until 1997 when Liviu Bota, a Romanian diplomat, was appointed Special Representative (SRSG) for the Abkhaz conflict. Both were responsible for the mediation of a process of negotiation leading to a political settlement of  the conflict. Bota has had a more or less permanent presence in the conflict zone, whereas Brunner was only delegated to visit intermittently. Russia’s special status in this process was recognized in its designation as ‘facilitator’ of the talks. In the early years of negotiation matters were not helped by the passive attitude taken by the Special Envoy to mediation of the conflict. The UN’s failure to take a more engaged approach was one factor among several contributing to the obvious lack of movement towards a political settlement in 1994-96. The fact that the more proactive approach adopted by Liviu Bota has also not produced a settlement would suggest, however, that the extent of UN activism is not the determining factor in conflict resolution. While the first personnel of UNOMIG were being deployed, the ceasefire collapsed and hostilities resumed. The UN Security Council condemned the renewal of conflict and associated displacement of population and demanded that the parties cease fighting. They also decided to extend the mandate of UNOMIG pending clarification of the situation. Traditionally, the UN has had a similar approach to its work since its conception in 1947. Gradually it became more and more involved; adding different organelles, agencies, and addressing more issues that weren’t necessarily new as it grew in size and scope. The International Court of Justice, the Economic and Social Council, and agencies like the International Maritime Organization were created to solve problems in these areas. It grew out of the General Assembly and the Security Council; to an organization with thousands of employees worldwide doing hundreds of completely different things. To put it simply, and to generalize, it has gotten bigger, and more involved. The Secretary General NOW has the ability to change the way a leader runs his country, make two warring countries sign a peace treaty, and even route money through areas in the world that would have never gotten any before. The Secretary has assumed power or the power of influence, he or she does not have any written or given power, Still however, this clearly shows how much more the UN has gotten involved and grown, even more like the feared â€Å"world government† that it vows to never become. It is a little misleading to speak of the role of the UN. The UN is nearly  powerless as an abstract entity or even as a representative of the world’s nations. It can act, instead, only insofar as it is given authorization by the great powers, which means primarily the United States. The UN has no standing peacekeeping force and thus is dependent on finding countries willing to contribute troops for any particular mission. The organization suffers as well from an extreme shortage of funds because of the continual U.S. refusal to pay its dues. Any peacekeepers sent to East Timor will probably not be a UN force because the U.S. Congress has required that there be a 15-day delay before the U.S. government can approve any UN peacekeeping operation and has forbidden Washington from paying its authorized share of the costs of any such operation. U.S. influence is greatest in the Security Council, but some organs of the UN, such as the General Assembly or bodies dealing with economic and social issues have had a Third World majority ever since the era of decolonization. Accordingly, U.S. policy has been to undermine and marginalize the UN. The United Nations should have an important role in world affairs, but U.S. policy and the policies of other leading states, severely limit the international organization. From the point of view of U.S. policymakers, however, there is one crucial role played by the UN: it serves as a convenient scapegoat when something goes wrong. For example, the current catastrophe in East Timor is directly attributable to the refusal of the United States and other Western powers to deter the atrocities there over a period of a quarter century, yet the UN will probably take the blame. So as we can see, we can look for the subject of my assignment from the different point of view. Another UN’s role: The Asian crisis, has become a global crisis, was by no means a purely financial matter. It had disastrous consequences for millions of people in their everyday lives. Moreover, it was the poor who are hardest hit. In Indonesia, almost 15,000 workers lost their jobs in 1998. And poverty came with its usual sorry retinue: hunger, social unrest, violence, abuse of human rights. The least developed countries, the ones least able to influence world priorities and policies, were penalized. So the human dimension was at the heart of the response (including debt relief)to this  first major crisis of globalization. Of course, the role of the seven major industrial powers, and of the world’s finance ministers and central bankers, remained crucial. But they could not undertake this task alone. All parts of the international system came together. President Clinton has suggested wide-ranging discussions on the new world â€Å"financial architecture.† Some would say that this was none of the U.N.’s business. There are other international bodies, more specialized and perhaps more competent to deal with economic problems: the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, the Bank for International Settlements. But the U.N. is the one truly global institution we all belong to. It must have a seat at the table. Economic and financial strategies will succeed only if they are applied within a clear political framework. That framework will command much wider support if, through the U.N., all affected countries have played a part in working it out. Over the long term, globalization will be positive. It draws us closer together and enables us to produce more efficiently, to control our environment, to improve our quality of life. But such benefits are not felt equally by all. For many people, â€Å"long term† is too far off to be meaningful. Millions on this planet still live in isolation, on the margins of the world economy. Millions more are experiencing globalization not as a great new opportunity but as a profoundly disruptive force that attacks both their material living standards and their culture. Some of those who had benefited most from open markets and capital flows were feeling the greatest pain. The temptation to retreat into nationalism or populism is strong. But, fortunately, in most developing countries, those false solutions are being rejected. Each country’s crisis has its own local features and causes. Each country has to address its own specific problems and shortcomings. But many countries need help, for these are not just financial or macro-economic problems. They have grave social and political consequences, and some of their causes are to be found in political and social systems. The U.N. has a responsibility, as the universal institution, to insist on the need for worldwide solutions based on rules that are fair to all. It is the UN job to ensure that nations do not react to crisis by turning their backs on universal values. In such crises, the UN must come together to find solutions based on the founding  principles which all their member states have in common: those of the U.N. Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In particular, the UN has a special responsibility to speak up for the victims or potential victims. The UN cannot forget the countries in Africa and elsewhere whose debt burdens the crisis has made even more unsustainable. Debt relief is often resisted on grounds of â€Å"moral hazard,† that it rewards the reckless and penalizes the prudent. But were not the lenders often just as reckless and irresponsible as the borrowers? Can it really be moral for them to insist on full interest and full repayment if the result is that children not yet born when the debts were contracted are denied even a subsistence diet or an elementary education? Many nations feel their interests are ignored or neglected in specialized economic bodies, where the strongest voices, for quite understandable reasons, tend to be those of countries which have already achieved economic success. But the U.N. provides a forum for informed debate among all those affected by the crisis. It has to represent all stakeholders in the global economy. The U.N. must play its part in the search for solutions that preserve the benefits of globalization while protecting those who have suffered or who have been left out. UN has kept women’s issues and interests on the agenda of change when they risked being set aside for a â€Å"later† that would never come in Afghanistan, Kosovo and East Timor. It has protected children in conflict and in post-conflict stress. The UN is bringing justice post-conflict to the repressed through ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia), ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda), and the nascent Sierra Leone court. In each case, the role and the centrality of the UN have been different. The United Nations is an organization that has always been based on respect for nation’s sovereignties, peace, and judicial cooperation regarding topics which are salient to the current time period. As the entire world moves further into the â€Å"technological age†, and with the turn of the century coming (which is really only symbolic of a new era), new issues are bound to develop. The world will gradually change, and the UN ne eds to address these needs by evaluating its current state along with what it can do to change for the better. The increasingly global economy, the European Community, and the development of the sagging Asian market (with  the rest of the world in a recession also) show action needs to be taken economically. Hostility remains in the Middle East, human rights are being violated every day around the globe, and people everywhere are disgruntled with their current governmental situation. How will the UN curb nuclear terrorism, help the homeless and uneducated, and still maintain and outside role in political matters? Or should they maintain an outside role? These are merely a few of the hundreds of issues addressing the world today, and the UN must prepare for the coming decade with open minded foresight. As Secretary General Kofi A. Annan said, every conflict is different, every post-conflict is different, and each model of intervention by the international community is different. In Iraq, we have an immediate post-conflict humanitarian and reconstruction challenge in front of us. It is in eve ryone’s interests, especially in the Iraqi people’s interest, to ensure that Iraq becomes an economically functional, politically stable and self-governing state that is respectful of the rule of law, of democratic principles and of international norms. The coalition nations currently controlling Iraqi territory have distinct responsibilities as occupying powers to maintain public order and safety, to protect civilians and to provide essential services. The wider international community, especially the United Nations, also have indispensable roles to play. While systems are in place for humanitarian assistance, a framework is needed to facilitate greater engagement and support in the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq. The United Nations has extensive expertise that can and should be brought to bear. The UN and its agencies have been heavily involved in Iraq since the first Gulf War, and have an in-depth understanding of the circumstances, and the challenges. The UN is fully engaged through its agencies and has resources on the ground in Iraq, providing much-needed assistance to the Iraqi people. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the WFP (World Food Programme)- they all know Iraq. Countries need to build on the strength of the engagement of these and other UN agencies in Iraq, and determine how best they can make further use of this experience and expertise. In Iraq, as in all post-conflict situations, common over-arching goals must be to meet the needs of the people, and to support them in their course towards stability, recovery and reconstruction. After Kosovo, many thought NATO would become let say â€Å"Globocop† that the G-8 would supplant the Security Council, that the UN would be sidelined. But, in fact, the UN picked up the pieces in Kosovo, mandated the intervention in East Timor and has helped Afghanistan put itself back together. What about issues that should to be addressed in a Resolution? As for what should be addressed, there almost are more topics than one is able to think about. Should there be more staff running relief efforts in Zaire? Is the International Court of Justice really necessary, or is it wasting money and time that could be spent on other things. Analyzing this, you could say that since nations only sue each other, and no real action is taken, and the courts have no real power to enforce anything, what is the use? Possibly the funding used for this could go towards building schools in Africa. This may seem fairly ludicrous, but one needs to have the foresight to see these things, and there i s only a certain amount of money around for things like this. Possibly the UN relief troops should be allowed to use loaded weapons and fire at hostile parties, for their own safety and to help curb violence more. Maybe the Secretary General should be stripped of all his power, and put all diplomacy matters in the hands of the General Assembly or Security Council. The Secretary could have increased power that would force nations to comply with his decisions. A UN that is much like a world government could possibly work as long as there was representatives from every nation. Because the world is more complex, if the UN was simplified it might make things smoother. Instead of having an agency for every little issue, such as the ACC Sub-Committee on Nutrition, or the UN office for Outer Space affairs. Are these REALLY necessary? They may be, but it is the decision of the delegates. The UN’s image with â€Å"Security Council† and a Court System might look bad to some conservative minded citizens of a nation. Economically, are the proper funds being allocated to areas and agencies in need? Should a worldwide mandatory educational requirement be put into effect? What exactly is the most pressing area right now that needs the fiscal help the UN can offer? Again, in the past 50 years help has been going to the same places, while the Secretariat grew larger and larger, and the entire UN gradually began becoming a complex political bureaucracy, and began to focus less on its original mission as stated in the charter, to  promote peaceful relations between the nations of the world. This doesn’t seem to be working anymore, possibly because the current UN is obsolete. In summation, United Nations reform is a daunting task. As a member of UN, Poland should remember to use foresight, think of what kind of world we will live in next century, what new things will happen, and how the UN should evolve to meet these needs with vigor. The UN is still only an organization, not a government, and it is based itself on precedent. That is, actions of the past determine future decisions. If precedent is broken, we should remember what has been built for all of us for the past 51 years. Bibliography: www.alertnet.org www.globalpolicy.org www.undp.org www.globalissues.com/Geopolitics/EastTimor www.un.org/ www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/chapter1.html United Nations: 50 Years of Peace and War, University of California Press, John Taylor, Phd. 1998 United Nations Published Charter The History of The United Nations, Paladin Press, Jonathon Kingsley. 1994