Networks and System Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Networks and System Administration - Essay Example Company networks serve to facilitate communication processes in the company and facilitate management processes through the use frameworks such as the company intranet. In addition, connectivity to the internet comes with added advantages through which the company can communicate with the outside world. This implies that the implementation and the configuration of a computer network depend on the needs of that particular organization (Bagad 2009). For example, desktop layout is primarily determined by the office arrangement and the need to host a web site warrants the use of a web server in the overall network infrastructure of the company. This paper provided a description of the computer network implemented and management for Target Company (will call it X Company). 2. Part 1 – Network Evaluation of the business needs is the initial step of the design methodology; focusing on business needs, goals and objectives provides an avenue for the designing of a network that will mak e the business meet its requirements. The steps of the design methodology are outlined below. 2.1 Business requirements For a network design methodology to be effective, it must put into consideration the business needs. Business needs are the key drivers towards the implementation of any project. Understanding the organizational and corporate culture and the business processes of the X Company will play a significant role in determining the effectiveness of the design methodology. The design should be tailored so as to facilitate the realization of the business needs of the company (Barnick 2006). Some of the business needs of the X Company are outlined below. Enhancing employee productivity; the present IT infrastructure at the X Company does maximize on the potential of its employees. Reduction in overhead costs; currently, the company incurs a lot of expenses due to lack of proper communication and network infrastructure. To establish effective management strategies. To enhance customer satisfaction through increased employee productivity and increased efficiency in the execution of business processes. To enhance profitability through increased market share. 2.2 Design requirements The network design requirements are based on the business needs. The network design should facilitate the realization of the business requirements. Specific design standards are implemented basing on the design in accordance with the network and information needs of the X Company. The business needs and technical needs of the network play a significant role in determining the network infrastructure to be implemented (McCabe 2007). The X network rational is designed to achieve the following design requirements: management & security, scalability, performance and availability. 2.3 Analysis of network design The network design of any company cannot be effectively accomplished without proper security design if it is public as well as Intranet. Certifications on audit and certificati ons were written by the company and they are reviewed on regular basis to make sure that at all times only genuine employees with authority are the only ones being allowed to have access to their respective applications at any particular time (Caslow 1998). The first element of the network at X is a

Hinduism And The Sacred Cow Essay Example for Free

Hinduism And The Sacred Cow Essay A look at the various cultures in the world indicates that each community has its unique practices. Most of those cultural practices are divinely inspired. Some traditional tribes for example worship the mountains believing they are the abode of the Gods. Others may revere snakes seeing them as angels sent to guard the earth. Such beliefs are not mere practices but owe their basis to the core of such a community’s origin. For the Hindus, their veneration of cows is well chronicled and has been studied over time. An in-depth analysis reveals interesting aspects of this community and creates a better understanding of why not even the prospects of death can compel starving adherents to slaughter cows for meat. A close analysis of the sanctity of cows in Hinduism reveals that beyond religion, there are economic factors at play that makes cows to be sources of great reverence. A look at Hinduism reveals a religion that has remained adamant to the changes brought forth by the Christianity civilization. It reveals a population that holds unique doctrines and cultural practices that have defied odds, being reinforced year after year and cutting across individuals in all walks of life. It is such uniqueness and resistance that continues to be exhibited today and reinforces the reluctance to embrace the idea that cows could be a source of food as opposed to an object of worship. Though there exist scanty details that link the worship of cows to the Hindu scriptures, the raging belief is that such a belief owes its origin to Hinduism and is considered to be a core element to this belief. The extent of this reverence can be discerned from the religions tensions that have existed over time between Indian Muslims and Hindus, over the latter’s beef eating practices and the Hindus bid to have beef eating banned nationwide . With a religion that has been closely associated with vegetarianism, it is important to examine the roots of Hinduism, its reverence for cows and the ban of cows as a preferred delicacy. A look at Hinduism and its insistence on the banning of cow meet presents an interesting contrast. History reveals â€Å"that cow protection was not always the central fact of Hinduism.† Although Vedic scriptures advocated for vegetarianism, they did not mention the protection of cows. Such practice became prevalent after the inception of Buddhism. Scholarly excerpts on this topic claim that the practice of cow protection was brought by Jainism which strictly forbids meat eating. The highest of the four castes in India, the Brahman, which is seen as the custodian of religions doctrines, did not initially agitate against cow eating in fact as Harris mentions â€Å"the Brahman caste’s religions duties centered not on protecting cows but on slaughtering them† Cow meat in those early times could be distributed to the adherents’ and a means of paying off loyalty. It was also used to signify wealth. It has to be noted however that even then cow meat eating was only restricted to sacrifices. Meat eating was associated with religious rituals and ceremonies after successful battles. Vedic scriptures had provided for specification on the type of animals that could be feasted upon but as Claus et al (2003, 125) observes â€Å"there is little to indicate that cows were worshipped during the Vedic period.† Instead, such practices can be traced to what has been referred to as the Upanishadic Era. A number of factors have been identified by Brown (1957) as leading to the start of this practice. These are â€Å"the importance of the cow and its products in Vedic sacrificial ritual, the literal interpretation of figurative uses of the word cow in the Vedas†, the insistence on the sanctity of the Brahman’s cow and the identification of the cow with the mother of the gods . Since then, Hindus have considered cows to be sacred. This can be discerned by looking at the available literature or the description of cows. Hindu religious scholars offer saintly description of cows portraying a reverence which equates them to deities. A look around India reveals that immense care is exercised when handling cows. Hindus pamper them with concern and accord them respect and respect that befits that of a higher being, they even â€Å"try to place them in animal shelters when they become sick or old and can no longer be cared for at home.† Hindu scriptures claim that cows are protected by the gods (Shira Krishna) and hence each and every product that comes from cows is seen as possessing mystic powers. This can even be discerned from the way cow dung, which in the western world is considered as filth, is revered and used in various religious rituals. Cow dung, milk and urine are used to prepare holy liquids for blessing the worshippers. Such perception of animal droppings as possessing mystic power is extended to the village doctors who use it in their trade. In addition, this reverence is also inspired by the Hindus belief in reincarnation. According to Ken reincarnation simply insinuates â€Å"that one’s actions here on earth have a direct bearing on the form one will take in the next life, the highest form being a cow. † This is also referred to as transmigration and the belief that cows are spiritual beings can be used to explain the reluctance of the hunger stricken Hindus to slaughter the animals. The widely held belief is that gods resides in cows and hence anyone who dares slay or mistreat them will reincarnate into a lower being. With cows hence being held in such a high stature among the Hindus and the common belief in their spirituality, they have become a common property with estimates placing their numbers to around 330 millions. This is roughly a cow per homestead. It is a common property even amongst the paupers as no one wants to be left behind from owning such an object of spiritual pleasure. It is hard then for such people to contemplate slaughtering cows even on the blink of death. The cow is seen as an object of providence whose milk flows to quench and nourish the world. Many just watch helplessly as cows die either of hunger or old age and cannot play a role in the hastening of their deaths. Pictures of fattened cows among wizened and emaciated Hindus have been circulated in the west with a purpose probably of belittling one of the religions that has refused to die. The cradle of the matter however remains Hindus out of their religious beliefs would rather die of hunger than slaughter a cow, for this is considered to an act of great abomination. Not all however share the belief that religion alone has helped perpetuate the culture of cow protection. Though the origin of this practice is heavily engendered in the historical rituals conducted in the early times, the economic angle has helped this culture transcend years of western onslaught. To understand this aspect of thinking, it is important to analyze the economic foundation of the Hindus and how it has sustained the practice of cow protection. The economic complacency behind the rearing of cows is by the Hindus may not be easily grasped by western scholars, but the truth of the matter is that cows are seen as the source of livelihood to a community whose income barely allows anything beyond mere existence. India may be the 12th biggest in the world in terms of the GDP closely behind the developed nation but its economic background is characterized by huge inequalities. Agriculture has played a big role in the economy in addition to the manufacturing sector. However, the low productivity in the agricultural sector has been exacerbated by a number of factors key to them the inefficient small scale farming and the unwillingness or the inability to embrace modern methods of farming. The peasant farmers still practice century’s old methods of farming which greatly depends on the monsoon providence. This is a fact that has helped sustain the practice of cow protection. The centrality of agriculture as the backbone of the Indian economy is undeniable; core to this is cow breeding which has become a source of national pride. Unlike in the western nations where majority of the people reside in the urban areas the reverse is the case in India with reliable estimations putting the percentage of Indians living in the rural areas to 75. A further interesting fact about India’s peasantry farming is the use of cattle driven plows instead of tractors as is the case in modern farming. This reluctance probably emanates from the limitations in the size of the pieces of land available to each household making it uneconomical to switch to tractors. An analysis of the situation on the ground for the peasant farmers reveals that the high stature through which cows is unlikely to wane any time soon. This is because there is always a huge demand for traction animals. According to Harris â€Å"there is indeed a shortage rather than a surplus of animals.† The amounts of land that require plowing far outstretch the available traction animals. In addition to cows, oxen are highly valued for farming. This may explain the obsession for cows in the belief that a large number of cows will lead to more oxen. For those that may not exceptionally view cows as being much of spiritual beings, their reliance on farming as the only source of livelihood hence means that one must be preoccupied with the need to preserve and protect cows in the belief that they will keep on multiplying the number of oxen. This hence is a self preservation measure as the death of cows and oxen will hence undeniably mean the end of the small farms. Harris also examines further the issue of oxen and the inexplicable Hindus attachment to cows. A shortage of oxen is likely to result to debts to the farmers as they are likely to turn to renting to cover for the shortfall before the monsoon season is over. Sharing of oxen for example has being an unwise idea as most of the farmers during this period are busy preparing their farms. To avoid this each and every homestead ensures an adequate supply of cows and oxen. India is home to a population that goes beyond 700 million people, as aforementioned, 70% live in the rural areas but that still leaves a sizeable chunk of people scurrying the urban center for jobs. For the 70% portion of the population cows are seen as a source of livelihood that must be protected at all costs, this is because the urban centers offer no respite. As Harris notes, the suffering caused by unemployment and homelessness in India cities is already intolerable and hence any influx towards the urban centers will create an imbalance and outstretch the available resources leading â€Å"to unprecedented upheavals and catastrophes.† In comparison to the developed nations where agriculture is carried out in large scale, India’s agricultural sector can only be regarded as cottage and has exhibited the reluctance to embrace modernism; this extends too to the farm inputs. Westerners long ago neglected the idea that animal droppings could be used to nourish the lands and instead have resorted to organic inputs. This is not the case in India where farmers rely on manure for farming in addition to other uses. To Hindus, economic profitability of a cow is not a factor, what matters is such a cow continues to meet the purposes that it has been set out for. This explains why even barren cows are still valued despite the urgent need for milk. This is because the economic viability of a cow is not only measured through the quantity of the milk that it produces but also its other products such as cow dung that bear agricultural, cultural and spiritual purposes. The aspects of cow worship aside, cows in India are not viewed from an angle similar to that of the western world. The benefits accrued too the Hindus are not only limited to milk, in fact they are rarely kept for milk; water buffalos are reared instead. Harris agrees with this noting that â€Å"the ox is the Indian peasant’s tractor, thresher and family car combined; the cow is the factory that produces the ox. † It is important to explore the importance if cow dung to add to the spiritual importance that had been mentioned before. Where western nations do not have a current experience with cow dung as a source of heat, Hindus prefer it for a variety of reasons. To the Indian women, cow dung is not only a representation of simplicity and an experience of spiritual pleasures but it is also seen â€Å"as a superior cooking fuel because it is finely adjusted to their domestic routines. † Indeed economic importance of cow dung to the lower caste Hindus cannot be over-emphasized. It is used in all manner of places and there are people that make a living out of it. In addition to being used as a floor finishing providing a smooth surface, it supports households that make a living by collecting the animal droppings in the urban centers. To understand how feasible this is, it is important to look at the nature of the existing public policies in regard to cows. It is hence worthy noting that due to the revered status of cows, they have been allowed freedom of movement that can only be equated to that of human beings. In fact they are a major cause of traffic snarl ups in some of the urban centers in India. Their droppings hence have to be collected by the street sweepers. The huge demand placed by the house wives for cow dung makes it a feasible economic commodity.

Urban Development in Beijing

Urban Development in Beijing Since China’s emergence as one of the greatest economic engines of the world, Beijing has seen a meteoric rise as one of the economic, political, social and cultural centers of the East Asian sector. Not only is Beijing the capital of China, and the seat of power of the Communist regime, it is also home to one of the largest and most dense populations on the planet. With almost 15 million residences residing in the city it is the 24th largest city in the world and fourth in density. While Beijing has always held a position of importance as the residence of Chinese emperors and past political regimes, it has taken on numerous new responsibilities and roles as part of the globalized world. The growth of this region and specifically the shift within China’s furious economic growth has resulted in the escalation of urban development within Beijing. Beijing has had to become a â€Å"modern city† almost overnight, while still capturing the history and culture of Chinaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s past. Stuck between two worlds, Beijing faces a unique challenge in its urban development. The following analysis will pursue an understanding of Beijing’s urban development strategies as well as the motivations behind them. Beijing has become a hub of urban infrastructure and development. Every aspect of the city has been transformed in the past decade. By 2003, Beijing’s overall infrastructure has reached a total fixed investment of 26.06 billion dollars, and continues to grow at more than 15 percent per annum (CDB, 2005). The city is beginning to develop complicated networks of transportation, communication, ventilation, sewage, etc. Before a detailed analysis of the actual implementation of urban development and its problems, an understanding of the underlying reasons behind Beijing’s reasons for rapid urban development must be reached. There are three key factors that are currently fueling Beijing’s rapid growth towards becoming an ultra mod ern urban center. One of the primary reasons for the break neck speed of growth in Beijing has been the explosive population growth that has been occurring. Despite strong measures in place such as the â€Å"Five Year Plan† and the â€Å"One Child Policy†, Beijing has continued to experience strong growth due to both its urban population and underground migratory movements. Beijing grew from 13 million in 2000 to almost 15 million by 2005, growth is projected to increase to 18 million by 2010 (Beijing Review, 2005). These growth figures furthermore do not reflect accurately the current number of migrant workers living Beijing illegally. Analysts have projected the actual population of Beijing to be more than 17 million when counting all illegal and undocumented individuals living within the city (Beijing Review, 2005). Beyond local residence, there also has been a growth in immigration to Beijing as a result of its emergence as an international hub. Immigration per year has increased by over 25 percent since 2000, especially from other WTO nations (CDB, 2005). This population crunch is one of the motivating factors behind the need for urban development and infrastructural development. Another catalyst for urban development has been the shifting economic situation within Beijing. As a result of globalization and heavy industrialization, the standard of living and general economic circumstance of Beijing residences have increased dramatically. In 2005, Beijing’s nominal GDP grew to 84 billion USD, a yearly growth rate of 11.1%, and its GDP per capita also grew by 8.1 percent. The combination of available technology and influx of wealth has meant that residence of Beijing are demanding higher quality of life, increases in standards and a general improvement in overall welfare of their city. The result has been both a public and private response to economic changes within Beijing by an expanding urban infrastructure as well as private investment in real estate development. At the same time, the government has realized the need to modernize the city to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), for this purpose they have begun reinventing business districts and co nstructing immense building projects to modernize the city (CDB, 2005). The combination of Beijing as the pride of China, its economic center, and socio-economic mobility has become one of the push catalysts for urban development. A final reason for urban development, especially in the past two years has been Beijing’s impending 2008 Summer Olympics. Termed by the Chinese government as the â€Å"coming out party† of the Chinese juggernaut, the city has moved at a fervent pace to construct new additions to stadiums, upgrades and renovations as well as providing the infrastructure, residential, and tourism needs of future visitors. The projected cost of the Beijing Olympics will exceed 54 billion Yuan, or more than 6 billion USD (Beijing Review, 2005). Beijing has taken on numerous urban development projects in order to improve their city before the Olympics begin. A new subway transportation system is being built uniquely for the Olympics, and transportation channels su ch as road improvements, highways and numerous other changes have been enacted as a result. New building and housing projects, including the construction of stadiums, hotels, and other accommodations from both public and private investments have transformed the city. The result of the impending Olympics is that it has led to a dramatic shift in the urban development strategy of Beijing. Beijing’s urban development infrastructure has expanded tremendously in the past two decades. Beijing is divided into circular zones separated by â€Å"rings†, as the city expands more rings are built around the original center of the city, Tiananmen Square. At the inception of the People’s Republic, Beijing only had two such rings, the limits of its urban sprawl extended to the 2nd Ring Road. With the expansion of business, population and economic necessity, Beijing has now extended itself beyond a fifth ring, and is currently constructing a sixth ring. In less than two decades, the scope of this city has increased by more than eight hundred percent. Much of the former countryside and rural regions have been annexed by the city and turned into urban sprawl. Former farmlands have been converted into industrial centers, electronic hubs and business districts. Beijing has had to construct specific regions for the expansion of foreign businesses, the demands for incubation zones for Intel, IBM, Microsoft and other software and hardware giants have forced Beijing to construct a separate business sector away from its central city. The inevitable result of this expansion is that Beijing has been confronted with a myriad of problems including very poor traffic control, air pollution and the destruction of traditional and cultural landmarks. In order to confront this problem, Beijing has decided to stop infrastructural expansion in concentric rings and instead expand within circular bands outside of the city center. In order to combat the growing population and need to expand, Beijing has begun a policy of organized infrastructural improvement. It has committed over 20 billion USD to improving the interconnectivity of its road networks and expanding highways around the city. Beijing development officials have cited two specific goals for improvi ng traffic, air quality and general congestions. Beijing will develop a state of the art public transportation system as well as expand its current system of roads and highways. It has also expanded the development of their 15 billion USD airport system on the outskirts of Beijing. The purpose of expanding their transportation infrastructure is to allow construction to accommodate growth to occur both vertically and horizontally (Lillian, 2007). Beijing wishes to follow an urban development much like Shanghai, Shenzhen and many other Western cities. The hope is that the city can divide itself into zones with vertical growth to limit city sprawl and increase centralization of institutional districts. For this purpose, Beijing has already begun building an incredible robust subway system. The Beijing government has invested 8 billion USD to the development of its subway infrastructure, adding ten different traffic lines crossing throughout the city (Tang, 2006). In an effort to vastly improve their public transportation, Beijing has even conceded to private investment to commission and build their transportation system. The combination of construction, transportation expansion, and general growth has also lead to a challenging urban energy situation. Growth in population has outpaced projections on water, electricity and natural gas usage. Current water treatment plants are already working at over capacity with the anticipation of seeing almost 2.5 million more temporary residents within the city for the 2008 Olympics (Tang, 2006). Development plans to mitigate problem has been to pioneer a state of the art water treatment facility and system on the outskirts of Beijing along the Shanxi Province. Water will be brought from over 180 kilometers away through an underground pipeline and carefully processed before going into the city (Tang, 2006). This will alleviate the pressure of current water processing centers. In addition, Beijing is currently investing in sewage transportation networks that run along the infrastructure of this system, specifically linking it to the expansion of the city sprawl. Ur ban development in Beijing has raised numerous problems for the Beijing municipality, its government and populace. Air quality in Beijing is ranked as one of the five worst in the world (Tang, 2006). During the summer months, the majority of residence has to wear protective masks to prevent debris and air pollution to harm their lungs. The rise in population and the lack of a strong traffic control system has meant that air pollution has increased by more than 10 percent per annum. An attempt to solve this problem through road expansion and public transportation has been only marginally successful. Beijing is expected to have to halt the majority of traffic for up to two weeks in order to clear the air pollution for the Beijing Olympics. In addition, the massive urban development plans of the city have required significant man power. This has led to an even greater influx of undocumented migrant workers. Illegal immigration and residence within Beijing has caused a further taxing of overworked sewage and water treatment plants as well as inhumane living conditions within the area. Millions of illegal residents flow in and out of the city looking for low end labor. Since they are basically unmonitored and unnoticed, their treatment is oftentimes cruel and abusive while receiving minimal compensation. Corruption is another major concern as a result of urban development, numerous officials have been investigated and prosecuted for receiving monetary incentive to give out lucrative government contracts, but with so much growth it is hard for the government to monitor all aspects of government. The most important and enduring problem however is the destruction of the rural countryside and culturally important regions. Beijing’s growth has already consumed thousands of hectares of farmland in the surrounding areas. Destruction of historically significant sites such as the protective rim of the Great Wall has become major concerns as the city continues to expand (Lillian, 2007). Numerous monasteries, cultural centers, traditional gardens, etc. have been destroyed as a result of urban development plans. Solutions to these problems are not immediately evident. Beijing’s current strategy follows the national one of â€Å"expansion first, reform later† (Lillian, 2007). As a result, pollution, environment damage, cultural deteriorates have almost all become secondary to the monumental growth of the nation’s economy and industry. Beijing has attempted to take some steps to prevent the further spread of urban development problems however. Their current road projects will reduce traffic congestions and it plans to limit the number of vehicles allowed within city limits once construction of public transportation has completed construction. Beijing already claims to have reduced air pollution by 1.9 percent in the past year and will continue to pursu e a policy of pollution reduction in the future. The establishment of immigration registration centers, and increase of police monitoring of migrant labor are positive steps towards documenting all migrant workers and ensuring that they meet basic standards of living (Tang, 2006). Already, a massive part of the current living standards reform centers on providing housing for migrant laborers within the Beijing area and specifically creating a worker’s code to formalize the process of hiring and caring for migrant laborers. In addition, Beijing has established a special commission to investigate and identify cultural and traditional regions, parks, buildings, etc. for special government protection and reconstruction. This project has already restored over fifty parks within the Beijing area as well as maintaining the famous Summer Palace. Restoration projects of Beijing’s most famous relics such as the Forbidden City has been in effect since 2005, and will prepare Beijing for the tourism boom of the 2008 Olympics. Urba n development in Beijing has at times appeared sporadic and organic in nature. The population boom combined with the increased importance of the city as an international economic, political and social center has made its development inevitable and at times chaotic. Not only has Beijing urban expansion taking place horizontally and vertically, it has encompassed every level of its development at an infrastructural level. The construction of business and economic zones and incubators along with expansion of residence areas have increased the city limits eight fold. This has been accompanied by transportation infrastructure improvements, water treatment and waste disposal systems, and the improvement of the general urban conditions of all individuals within Beijing. The problems that Beijing faces with urban development are numerous; many of them are inevitable problems of expansion. However, Beijing has taken many positive steps to cautiously approach expansion and development in orde r to limit mistakes and encourage healthy growth. By the 2008 Olympics, Beijing will be one of the most modern cities in the world, by then its urban development will rival that of any western capital and become a stalwart of the East Asian region. Bibliography: Beijing CBD. (2005). CBD Planning and Urban Development of Beijing. Available: CBD Planning and Urban Development of Beijing. Last accessed 21 July 2007. NA. (2005). Beijing History. Available: http://www.beijingeguide.com/history.php. Last accessed 21 July 2007. NA. (2007). Thousand Cities, One Face the â€Å"third round of havoc†. Available: http://www.beijingnewspeak.com/category/urban-development/. Last accessed 21 July 2007. TANG YUANKAI. (2006). Slaking an Olympic Thirst. Available: http://www.bjreview.com.cn/lianghui/txt/2006-12/12/content_57437.htm. Last accessed 21 July 2007. Lillian M. Li (2007). Beijing : From Imperial Capital to Olympic City. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. all. Beijing Municipal Urban Construction Comprehensive Development Office (1994). Residential Construction in Beijing. Beijing: China Constructional Industry Press. all.

The Effects of Colonization on the Native Americans Essay examples --

The Effects of Colonization on the Native Americans Native Americans had inherited the land now called America and eventually their lives were destroyed due to European Colonization. When the Europeans arrived and settled, they changed the Native American way of life for the worst. These changes were caused by a number of factors including disease, loss of land, attempts to export religion, and laws, which violated Native American culture. Native Americans never came in contact with diseases that developed in the Old World because they were separated from Asia, Africa, and Europe when ocean levels rose following the end of the last Ice Age. Diseases like smallpox, measles, pneumonia, influenza, and malaria were unknown to the Native Americans until the Europeans brought these diseases over time to them. This triggered the largest population decline in all recorded history. Fifty percent of the Native American population had died of disease within twenty years. Soon after, Native Americans began to question their religion and doubted the ability of shamen to heal. This was the first step towards the destruction of Native cultures. The Native Americans had never experienced anything like these deadly diseases before and they came to believe that Europeans had the power to kill or give life. Many Native groups, because they were nomadic, didn't see land as belonging to one person. The idea that someone could come in, claim a piece of land and ban them f...

Irony in Guy de Maupassant’s “The Jewelry”” Essay

Introduction â€Å"Expect the unexpected,† is something that I heard many times. We should follow this rule while reading different genres of writing, because writers use irony to keep readers’ attention, and make their works more interesting. This research paper deals with one of Guy de Maupassant’s short story â€Å"The Jewelry† and with his virtuous ability to use irony in it. It is sometimes said that we live in an age of irony. Because nowadays even politicians in their speeches use ironical device, in order to catch attention of society. Barry Brummet (expert in Techniques of Close Reading) in one of his speech mentioned that â€Å"Irony is a kind of winking at each other, as we all understand the game of meaning reversal that is being played.† The story was first published in Maupassant’s short-story collection â€Å"Contes du jour et de la nuit† in 1885. Since that time people have been reading it, and it won popularity among them. So it has a lot of interesting opinions and analysis which were made by famous critics and writers like Leo Tolstoy. Maupassant is considered one of the finest short story writers of all time and a champion of the realist approach to writing. â€Å"The Jewelry† is interesting to read because it contains irony. Irony has always been fascinating object to study, and it is widely known and popular  to use in modern time as in literature so in speech. It is splendid story; despite of being short it has deep sense and contains interesting topics to discuss. In â€Å"The Jewelry† reader can see what ironical games life can play with us and to what conclusion it can lead us. Chapter I Irony The Greek etymology of the word irony, ÃŽ µÃŽ ¯Ã Ãâ€°ÃŽ ½ÃŽ µÃŽ ¯ÃŽ ± (eironeia), means feigned ignorance (a technique often used by the Greek philosopher Socrates), and from ÃŽ µÃŽ ¯Ã Ãâ€°ÃŽ ½ (eiron), the one who makes a question pretending to be naive, and ÃŽ µÃŽ ¯Ã ÃŽ µÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ½ is also a verb radical of the Greek â€Å"to speak†. The verb ÃŽ µÃŽ ¯Ã ÃŽ µÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ½ (eirein) itself is probably from the Proto-Indo-European root *wer- say. Irony is a stylistic device in which the contextual evaluative meaning of a word is directly opposite to its dictionary meaning. There are very many cases which we regard as irony, intuitively feeling the alteration of the evaluation, but unable to put our finger on the exact word in whose meaning we can see the contradiction between what is said and what is implied. The effect of irony in such cases is created by a number of statements, by the whole text. Many examples of irony are supplied by D. Defoe, J. Swift and many others. Types of irony There are 3 main types of irony: 1. Verbal Irony: This occurs when a character says one thing but suggests or intends the opposite. For instance in Julius Caesar, Mark Antony says â€Å"and Brutus is an honorable man,† when he really means that Brutus is dishonorable because he has betrayed Caesar. It is very similar to sarcasm, although sarcasm is rough and direct while verbal irony is implied. 2. Dramatic Irony: This is the contrast between what the character thinks to be true and what the readers know to be true. Dramatic irony occurs when the meaning intended by a character’s words or actions is opposite of the true situation. Further, the character cannot see or understand the contrast, but the audience can. For example, in Othello, dramatic irony occurs when Othello refers to Iago as â€Å"honest Iago.† Unknown to Othello, Iago is a villain who deceives him into thinking that his wife has been unfaithful. For this, Othello unjustly kills his wife, believing the whole time in Iago’s honesty. Note the difference in examples for verbal and dramatic  irony: Antony calls Brutus â€Å"honorable† and knows he is not honorable, while Othello calls Iago â€Å"honest† and does not know of Iago’s deception. 3. Situational Irony: It is the contrast between what happens and what was expected or what would seem to be more appropriate to happen. This type of irony appears from the events and circumstances of a story. When we see situational irony, we might think circumstances are unfair or unfortunate – for example, if a greedy millionaire buys a lottery ticket and wins additional millions. Irony in literature Here I wanted to list several examples from literature, by means of which, we could understand what irony is more clearly. Firs examples are from â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† by William Shakespeare. I have chosen them, because this story is widely known across the globe. â€Å"Two households, both alike in dignity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The opening line of Shakespeare’s play leads the reader to believe that both Capulet and Montague families are worthy of respect that they are given in Verona. As the story progresses, we realize that neither household is dignified. In fact, several of their actions are unworthy of their place in society. Another irony in Romeo and Juliet is that the reader remains aware of the fact that Juliet takes a sleeping portion to simulate death, and at the end of the day, when Romeo kills himself after thinking that Juliet is dead, the reader is astonished by the tragic irony. Next examples come from short stories, which I was supposed to read on my first years in university. The Casque of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe: In this story, the reader is conscious from the very beginning that Montressor is planning the murder of Fortunato, but Fortunato remains unaware of this and he considers Montressor his friend. It is very ironic how foolish people could be. Fortunato forgot about his past relationship with Montressor, and it led him to fatality. The Necklace, Guy de Maupassant: The protagonist Madame Loise, in order to look good, borrows jewelry from a prosperous friend and then loses it. With her husband she replaces the  jewels but the replacement effects on their financial conditions. Years later, when she meets the same friend again, she learns that the jewels she replaced with real gemstones was mere imitation jewelry. Conclusion to the Chapter I Generally, Irony is the difference between what someone does or says in relation to what is understood about what is done or said. Often there is a bit of confusion over what is ironic and what is simply accidental. The two ideas can be easily confused, but there is however, a very distinct difference between what is ironic and what is simply good or bad luck. Irony has several different types and it appears not only in literature, but in ordinary life also. It is a contradiction between appearance and reality. Irony is a widely known method of explaining something, and is popular to use as in writing and in everyday life so in media. It points on how many different people don’t pay attention to what is happening around them, and how many ironic games our fate can play with us. It is not only when we don’t mention, but it can happen every day and any time with anyone. Chapter II. â€Å"The Jewelry† by Guy de Maupassant Plot summary The story of â€Å"The Jewelry† takes place in Paris. It tells us about Monsieur Lantin, who worked as a chief clerk at the office of Minister of Interior. Story begins with M. Lantin’s falling in love with young virtuous girl(whose name will never be told) and their marriage. The story tells how they happily lived together during several years of their marriage. We can see that Lantins’ wife enjoys going to theatres and loves fake jewelry. She was the best housewife man can ever imagine, and she provided her home with everything. One cold winter evening she came back home from opera freezing and coughing, and after 8 days she died because of inflammation of the lungs. Mr. Lantin loved her very much, so he saved things staying as they were while she was alive. His life completely changed, he couldn’t rule his accounts and soon got into depts. One day he decided to cell one of his wife’s fake jewelries in order to have some money for food. When he went to the jeweler he learned that his wife’s jewelry wasn’t fake. Mr. Lantin was shocked, while she was alive, they didn’t have so much money to buy such  kind of expensive jewelries, so, she had deceived him with somebody. After learning that all of her â€Å"fake† jewelries were not fake, he decide to sell them, after that he decides that he is reach enough and quits his job. He was very happy and pleased with it, so he visits expensive restaurants, orders expensive meals, and boasts to everybody that he is rich, but, he is telling different amounts of money to everybody. After that he marries another girl. They didn’t live happy and loving life together as with the first wife. ii.ii Analysis of the story This story takes place in Paris, which is in France. As it is the general place of setting, there are also specific ones. For instance, in the beginning M. Lantin meets his future wife at a reception at the house of the second head of his department. After we see places like their house, theater, jeweler shops and so on. However, setting doesn’t play major role in â€Å"The Jewelry†, so author doesn’t pay much attention on displaying it. Two main characters of â€Å"The Jewelry† are Monsieur Lantin and his first wife. These two characters are very important for this story, because all of actions in it are connected with them. M. Lantin is a middle class man, who desperately loves his wife, and thinks that she loves him too, because they had very warm relations. Think like unfaithfulness of his wife wouldn’t even come to his mind, and when he learns this fact, he understands that everything is not as it seems to be. In my opinion Lantin is boastful person, and he likes to exaggerate. Maybe because of this characteristic feature, he looked to his family life as if it was ideal. His wife, whose name remains unknown to reader, is professional liar, who is arrogant and narcissistic, even though we don’t see it with unaided eye. I came to this conclusion because in the story it is said that â€Å"Happy the man who wins her love! He could not find a better wife.† Everybody thought that she was a perfect woman, who was able to make happy her man. In fact she could, but, because of hearing these words she became proud of herself, and inside she came to conclusion that she might deserve better man or better life. We don’t know what type of man she was dating with, but it is obvious that she could hide her feelings easily, so, she had two faces. One was how she was acting during staying at home with her husband, and the second is outside of  it. While she was near her husband, she was the most caring wife, tender and kid. She was also very smart, because she ruled household perfectly, but, with the help of her lover’s finances. I can say that her place was on the stage of the theater, because wife of M. Lantin was a perfect actress! The theme of â€Å"The Jewelry† by Guy de Maupassant is that life can be full of irony. Each of the ironies shown in â€Å"The Jewelry† reveal how people keep secrets from one another or themselves, and reveals how they ignore a situation that upsets them if they are com pensated enough. That compensation in this story is money. In this story, Guy de Maupassant as a main literary form of writing uses ironical style. â€Å"The Jewelry† is full of irony from the beginning. It awaked several feeling in me. First, I felt happy, that M. Lantin got married and was living pretty good life, but, I wondered why didn’t he also took a part in house holding or even look in what sphere and what amount of money was spent by his wife. I wasn’t surprised when it turned out that Lantins’ wife had a lover, because he wasn’t paying much attention on her, go out and have fun. It is possible that because of these reasons she was tired of that routine and wanted to try something new. Her lover may have paid more attention to het or shown his love more clearly. ii.iii Irony in â€Å"The Jewelry† The plot of â€Å"The Jewelry† moved from one irony to another. The first couple of paragraphs show how respectable M. Lantin’s wife was supposed to be. But even this early in the story, the author states that â€Å"The young girl seemed to be the very ideal of that pure good woman to whom every young man dreams of entrusting his future.† That â€Å"†¦seemed to be†¦Ã¢â‚¬  lets the reader know that the young girl was not chased woman as everybody took her for. This indicates that the girl was hiding something, although what that something was we didn’t find out until she died. The second irony which we come across in this story, is the fact that they â€Å"†¦seemed to live in luxury†, but in fact they didn’t just simply seem they really did. Unknown to M. Lantin, his wages were being supplemented by his wife’s lovers. They were paying for his good food, fine wine and luxuriously furnished house. I suppose if he had open ed his eyes, and looked through the household expenditures, he would  have learned that the money was coming from somewhere other than his salary. At that point M. Lantin was being fooled by his own self as well as by his wife. But anyway, during that time he was happy! After that comes our third irony. If M. Lantin hadn’t stopped going to the theatre with his wife, then probably another man wouldn’t have had an opportunity to flirt with her, and become her lover. Her attention would have been on her husband or on the stage, not on another man. In every other way, other than the theatre and her jewelry, M. Lantin’s wife devoted herself to him. We can understand it in lines â€Å"It would be impossible to conceive of any attention, tenderness, playful caress which she did not lavish upon her husband†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I think she loved her husband. And then of course, there is irony of the jewelry itself: the fact that the jewelry was real, while she had been acting like it was imitation of it. Even so far as to let the light catch the crystal, and say, â€Å"Now, look at them – see how well the work was done. You would swear it was real jewelry.†, when he would revile her for wearing the fake jewelry instead of being â€Å"adorned with one’s natural beauty and grace.† At that time she might have been mocking at her husband, thinking how stupid he was. After her death, M. Lantin found out that his wife’s entire jewelry was real. The jewelry that the wife’s lovers gave her paid for their luxurious life. After he realized he could get rich by selling all â€Å"fake† jewelry, M. Lantin forgot all about his wife’s affairs, and deceived himself that everything will be okay as long as he became rich. Six months after his wife’s death, he married again to a good virtuous woman which made his life miserable. Conclusion to Chapter II In conclusion, the story emphasized that looks can be deceiving and that sometimes we are blind to what really is going on. We can question if being happy by dishonest values is worth the financial gains or if the unhappiness from honest values is worth the pain. As we see â€Å"The Jewelry† is a little complicated story, and everybody has its own point of view on it. As it is ironical story, and there are people who may not understand it. In fact, I even feel sorry for M. Lantin, because even after his wife’s death, he deceives himself as if he were happy. Nowadays many people may face this problem, and no one is insured from this. Conclusion During writing of this research paper, I learned more about irony, its types and its usage in language. There are very many cases, though, which we regard as irony, intuitively feeling the reversal of the evaluation, but unable to put our finger on the exact word in whose meaning we can trace the contradiction between the said and the implied. The effect of irony in such cases is created by a number of statements, by the whole of the text. Ironies are easy to find in our daily activities; whether in statement, situation, or unexpected event. The simplest irony of our lives is that we feel happier having fun and not worrying about what we are doing or who we are doing it with. At that time ironical situations might occur. Guy de Maupassant was a great French short-story writer. He became famous around the world by the help of his great works. In other words, we can call him â€Å"father of modern short-story writers†. As I read responses of people about his works, they admired him, because his stories contain the face of our everyday life and problems. He points to our negligent treatment for our lives. Maupassant’s stories was popular nowadays is they were in 19th century. The story, which is discussed in this research paper, â€Å"The Jewelry†, points out how unaware we can be of things that happen around us. So we can call it realistic story. I think it would be suitable to finish my research paper by this quote: â€Å"The simplest of women are wonderful liars who can extricate themselves from the most difficult dilemmas with a skill bordering on genius† Guy de Maupassant Bibliography 1.Edgar Allan Poe, â€Å"The Casque of Amontillado†, The Norton Introduction to Literature 8th edition 2.Guy de Maupassant, â€Å"Original short stories†, translated by Albert M. C. McMASTER and others, Plymouth edition, South Australia 5005 3.Guy De Maupassant, â€Å"The Jewelry.† The Norton Introduction to Literature. 9th edition 4.Short Story Criticism, Gale Cengage, 2004 5.William Shakespeare, â€Å"Romeo and Juliet†, Foreign Language Publishing House, Moscow, 1951 6.William Shakespeare, â€Å"The tragedy of Othello†, Foreign Language Publishing House, Moscow 1963 7.http://article.ranez.ru 8.http://en.wikipedia.org 9.http://schoolworkhelper.net 10.http://www.slideshare.net

Free Essays on Personal Happiness

Everyone's goal in life has and always will be the pursuit of personal happiness. In fact, the United States constitution guarantees its citizens this right. The downfall of this fact is that not every person achieves this goal. Through certain works of literature such as Ethan Frome, Madame Bovary, and The Bet, this idea will be shown. One great example of an individual searching for happiness in his life is in the story of Ethan Frome. Ethan is the type of person who needs companionship and direct love to be happy. Even though companionship makes him feel secure, in this partnership he desperately needs a strong base backed by interaction with the one he loves. At a young age Ethan found what he thought was a woman who would make him happy. Her name was Zeena and she was seemingly pleasant, but her desires would prove not to be satisfied in a life spent with Ethan. As years went by she lost interest in him and her attitude around him kept him from being happy. Ethan soon meets Mattie,a younger, more attractive woman than Zeena. He becomes attached to Mattie and gains deep feelings for her, but his conscience tells him leaving Zeena would be wrong. Due to his good morals and his unwillingness to abandon Zeena, he is trapped in an unhappy life that seems to keep cornering him. Some people pursue happiness in a temporary love that will eventually fade and leave the two involved miserable. Ethan looked for happiness in a relationship that was exciting for awhile, but had the tendencies of losing its flavor. In the story Madame Bovary, Emma and her husband, Charles, conflict in their marriage. Emma needed someone to keep her excited and to fit all her needs. Charles was to relaxed to endure all the exotic fantasies she wanted to experience in her life. Aside from Ethan, Emma did not practice morals and she did not... Free Essays on Personal Happiness Free Essays on Personal Happiness Everyone's goal in life has and always will be the pursuit of personal happiness. In fact, the United States constitution guarantees its citizens this right. The downfall of this fact is that not every person achieves this goal. Through certain works of literature such as Ethan Frome, Madame Bovary, and The Bet, this idea will be shown. One great example of an individual searching for happiness in his life is in the story of Ethan Frome. Ethan is the type of person who needs companionship and direct love to be happy. Even though companionship makes him feel secure, in this partnership he desperately needs a strong base backed by interaction with the one he loves. At a young age Ethan found what he thought was a woman who would make him happy. Her name was Zeena and she was seemingly pleasant, but her desires would prove not to be satisfied in a life spent with Ethan. As years went by she lost interest in him and her attitude around him kept him from being happy. Ethan soon meets Mattie,a younger, more attractive woman than Zeena. He becomes attached to Mattie and gains deep feelings for her, but his conscience tells him leaving Zeena would be wrong. Due to his good morals and his unwillingness to abandon Zeena, he is trapped in an unhappy life that seems to keep cornering him. Some people pursue happiness in a temporary love that will eventually fade and leave the two involved miserable. Ethan looked for happiness in a relationship that was exciting for awhile, but had the tendencies of losing its flavor. In the story Madame Bovary, Emma and her husband, Charles, conflict in their marriage. Emma needed someone to keep her excited and to fit all her needs. Charles was to relaxed to endure all the exotic fantasies she wanted to experience in her life. Aside from Ethan, Emma did not practice morals and she did not...