Dickens presentation of the four spirits Essay Example for Free

Dickens presentation of the four spirits Essay In A Christmas Carol four spirits meet Scrooge and they haunt and warn him of how he disregards Christmas and how people look upon him. Dickens uses his own unique writing skills in portraying the spirits, making the appearance relevant to the purpose of the each spirit. The first supernatural being to visit Scrooge is the ghost of Jacob Marley Scrooges deceased working partner. The appearance of this spirit is directly similar to what Marley wore in his first life when he was a slave to money exactly like Scrooge. These same working clothes show how he is still chained down by the burden of money and that his afterlife has been made rather painful by being a slave to work. Marleys ghost is warning Scrooge that if he doesnt change his character, he will too be burdened in his afterlife. The spirit also foretells the appearance of three more ghosts. The chains clasped about his middle and all the different items that are wrought to the chain all symbolize money and greed of the spirit. The cash-boxes and the keys all represent the hiding away of money and keeping the wealth to themselves and not sharing the abundance of money. The imagery of heavy objects such as the padlocks and steel purses show how laden the ghost is with the weight of the money. The ledgers and deeds show the detailed accounts of money and proper ownership and this is a symbol that everything has to be accounted for, no money can pass by the scrutiny of the accountant which is so true to Scrooges life. Apart from being immensely weighted down by his possessions of greed which held back his life, Marley was transparent. This was so obvious that Scrooge could see the two buttons on the back of his coat. This transparency conveys the sense that this person was never a normal human, he was a chilling figure who lacked some human qualities that most usual persons have. This is a ghost which freezes the presence around him with his death cold eyes and his chilling influence, he is cold, like his life. He has no real substance and the only apparent clear images Scrooge can see of this spirit are the symbols of hoarding, selfishness and greed. The Ghost of Christmas Past reveals itself to Scrooge, shortly after the affair with Marley, and the purpose of this ghost is to show Scrooge of the times of his past life which involve his school and family life as well as his relationships with Fan and Belle. The first line of the description portrays excellently the appearance of this unusual spirit: It was a strange figure like a child; yet not so like a child as like an old man. Dickens shows that even though this spirit is a child, representing youth and looking back in to the past, it is strong bodied being able to be firm with Scrooge. This strength, and the indication of the spirit being old, shows that the ghost is wise and experienced, able to lift Scrooge out of the window with considerable ease and make the miser look up and pay attention. The spirit is also strangely attired with stark contrasts in its dress for the spirit has a holly branch in his hand and summer flowers lining the end of its dress. This displays the progression of time and the seasons which in turn reflect the stages of Scrooges past life and the progression of a mans life, which is slowly been clutched by the grasp of money. The spirit also possesses another unusual quality in that a bright clear jet of light springs out from his head as well as having extensive description of the whiteness of its being. This clear whiteness and the jet of light symbolizes the simplicity of what the spirit is showing It is making thing apparently clear to Scrooge. This ghost is not satisfied with a complicated face and bizarre attire for it also changes the form of its being from being now a thing with one arm, now with one leg, now with twenty legs and the changes vary so much that at one point the spirit has no head. This unusual distinction, I feel, represent the change in emotions and I think Dickens is trying to portray the alterations of Scrooges past and of all the feelings and events that changed him in to a tight-fisted businessman. The ghost of Christmas present is a bit simpler to understand for he represents the things and spirit of Christmas. His purpose is to show Scrooge the way people celebrate Christmas at present and to point out the abundance of Christmas joy there is in families, which is alien to Scrooge. The spirit is introduced with a large range of different Christmas foods such as long plum-puddings, mince pies, cherry-cheeked apples and immense twelfth cakes, just to mention a few of the items layering the floor. The abundance and feeling of plenty is conveyed with the magnificent quantities of tangible items on display, with the barrels of oysters and wreaths of sausages. Dickens eloquently describes the food making the reader feel tempted by these appetizing descriptions. All this is completely foreign to Scrooge. He has never seen this type of thing for he never shares his money to make these things happen, therefore this is appropriate so to open Scrooges eyes to the celebration of Christmas. The actual spirit is huge, happy and incredibly relaxed which is shown by his easy state upon which Scrooge finds him. This peaceful, kind and generous spirit holds Plentys horn which is a sign of abundance and a richness of possessions and atmosphere. He is full of Christmas spirit and he knows what it is like to have a good time and a laugh, he is only haunting Scrooge with good things he has not seen before. The spirit is radiant, full of light for it pours on to Scrooge, he cannot escape the joyous plentiful atmosphere. He cant run away for the light is so strong it grasps him. The spirit is kind to Scrooge yet he is not passive telling Scrooge in a firm manner to look upon his wide, inviting eyes. The ghost has clothes of a simple nature with a simple green robe bordered with white fur. This shows just how relaxed and unpretentious the spirit is, he is even bare-breasted showing that he just wants to present himself as he is with no false attachments even his feet are found without covering. The holly wreath which is seen on the spirit, is a symbol. Jesus once wore a similar wreath and he was peaceful and kind, just like the spirit who is compared to the son of God for they are both cheerful and immensely unconstrained. The ultimate peace of the spirit is displayed when Scrooge notices that in his scabbard there lay no sword but a hole of air polluted by the aging rust. The spirit is a provider, feeding his immense family of 1,800 well, with the full stuffing of Christmas spirit and all the joyous aspects this brings with it. This open hearted spirit is showing the true meaning of Christmas to Scrooge who has only ever lived for money seeing Christmas as a wasted day. There is a very stark difference between the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come for the spirit which foresees the future is firstly described as moving slowly, gravely, silently. This is more a haunting spirit, he is meant to be scary and menacing and he certainly is introduced in this fashion for he is to show the grim tales of Scrooges future which are not pleasant. The overwhelming fear in Scrooge is seen, in that he quickly bends down on one knee and the atmosphere disperses in to one of gloom and mystery. There is definite sense of fear for the words convey ghostly imagery such as shrouded which is a dark word in that it is often associated with a funeral or a burial. The deep, piercingly solemn appearance of a hand is all Scrooge needs to fill him with ultimate fear for the ghost is incredibly hard to distinguish and the outstretched hand is all one can see. This mysterious invisibility makes the ghost even more harrowing for there is only one hand which brings about this dark and undistinguished presence, the ghost is a shape which is horribly not complete. As well as not being able to see all the parts of the ghoul, the spirit does not even talk which makes him even more fearful for it is impossible for Scrooge to communicate to this haunting phantom. Scrooge is desperate for the ghoul to utter a word but Dickens purposely does not let the figure talk for it adds to his mysterious and chilling demeanor. This spirit is one which people dread, it is of an appearance of a phantom which chills the surrounding air which others choke on in fear. The description continues, with Dickens using metaphorical speech to describe the ghoul: but a spectral hand and one great heap of black. The effect of the metaphor is once more of absolute fear and terror. The description ends with Scrooge requesting speech from the ghoul but it is not going to respond which rounds off the passage with a feeling of fear. Dickens shows skill in describing these ghosts so relevantly to what there immediate purpose is. Each ghost has its own specific meaning and Dickens presents this effectively giving each spirit a unique appearance which tells a story with a true moral which still applies today. Dickens is a storyteller with unique gifts and this is shown in these descriptions of the four spirits.

My Teaching Philosophy Essay -- Education Teaching Philosophy

My Teaching Philosophy I believe that education extends far beyond the classroom walls, and involves many more people than students and teachers. People should be learning wherever they go, and should continue learning long after they’ve graduated from high school or college. Education isn’t something that can be quantified with tests or report cards, but is instead something that people carry with them. It’s a survival pack for life, and some people are better equipped in certain areas than in others. People with a solid education are prepared for nearly anything, as they will be able to provide for their own physical, emotional, and aesthetic needs. That being said, I also believe that a crucial part of education does occur within school during the formative years of a person’s life. Regardless of whether a child is fortunate enough to come from an encouraging and loving home, it is the job of the school to provide emotional support as well as intellectual knowledge. â€Å"The school,† of course, is an abstract term which actually means the teachers and administrators. I...

Nettles by Vernon Scannell Essay

The poem ‘Nettles’ by Vernon Scannell revolves around a father’s perspective on an accident involving his son, through which the poet explores a father-son relationship, wherein the father tries to protect his son from the various difficulties in life. However, despite his efforts to shield his son from these problems, they will be a constant threat in life. The boy here is a metaphor for the army, with the nettles being an extended metaphor of recurring war. The combined effect of these metaphors throws light on the difficulties in life. The poet has crafted a title which aptly uses symbolism to depict the nettles as evil. A cursory reading of the poem portrays the protective instinct of a father for his beloved son, whom he tries to protect against all troubles in life. A reference into the author’s life tells us about his own involvement with army life, which is conveyed interestingly in the poem. There is an alternating rhyme scheme present throughout t he poem. Enjambment is used to help make the poem sound like a story. The poem has a single stanza which shall be divided into, for analysis, four stanzas consisting of four lines each. The first stanza revolves around a description of the poet’s son falling into the bed of nettles in a garden. The poet aptly uses the wordâ€Å"bed†, a term often associated with comfort that ironically the nettles cannot provide. The â€Å"green spears†, a metaphor for the flower stalks, show his discontent with the latter, therefore portraying them as a weapon of destruction. A spear is a weapon of war and killing, inducing war and blood imagery. The poet’s interesting word choice in the description of the nettle bed as a â€Å"regiment of spite† portrays them as an enemy. The phrase â€Å"regiment of spite†, coming from archaic vocabulary, is used in the juxtaposition of the nettle bed with an opposing army in a state of war. Moreover, the poet paints the setting of the regiment as being behind the shed. This creates an illusion of a hidden enemy, ready to pounce on his innocent son. The close-knit father-son relationship is shown by the persona’s hatred towards the nettle bed, which hurts his beloved son. The father is willing to do anything to protect his son and despises his son’s enemies and ill wishers. This stanza talks about the father’s protectiveness of his son from the numerous troubles in the latter’s life, inducing the readers to be warm towards this beautiful relationship. The second stanza revolves around the son’s reaction to being hurt by the ‘green spears’. By effective use of word choice, the poet describes the son asâ€Å"the boy†, highlighting the transition in language from a more personal â€Å"my son†. The poet uses visual imagery to conjure vivid images of his son with â€Å"white blisters beaded on his tender skin†. The words ‘white’ and ‘tender’ portray the sonâ₠¬â„¢s innocence and purity. Moreover, the word â€Å"beaded† is used to depict the enormous amount of blisters and how his son’s sufferings were deep. The father speaks about comforting his son in the next line through the word â€Å"soothing†. The pain is being described as ‘raw’, to draw a contrast between the son’s innocence and tenderness, and the nettles’ ability to hurt. The father is afraid that the son’s memories will leave him scars, which may remain with him forever. However, as shown in the end of the stanza, the son’s terrible memory is washed away. The son has moved on from the incident, but the sense of pain still lingers. The father-son relationship is shown to be one of immense love with the father protecting and consoling his son. The third stanza, more literal in meaning, revolves around the narrator’s reaction to his son’s injuries. In the first line, the poet removes his billhook and prepares to destroy the nettles. Through the second line, the poet is shown to be destroying the nettles. By apt use of word choice, the poet describes his ‘fury’, highlighting his anger towards the nettles for trying to harm his son. By the action of destro ying the nettles in this stanza, the poet juxtaposes destruction of enemies and protection of loved ones, throwing light on the persona’s love towards his son. The poet uses personification by describing the nettles with the human quality of being ‘fierce’. This makes them seem like the enemy’s army which has been destroyed by the father. The poet ends the stanza using an enjambment to possibly show the continued struggles in his son’s life, leading the readers to connect emotionally to the father’s devotion to his son’s happiness. The final stanza revolves around the nettles retorting to the father’s attacks. In the first line, the father is shown to give the nettles a funeral. This shows the father ending the troubles caused by the nettles. With effective choice of words, the poet describes how the ’sun’ and ‘rain’, representative of nature and its power, finally help the nettles grow. The word ‘recruits’ shows the enemy army was returning and regrouping. Furthermore, the word ‘tall’ depicts the nettles being stronger and healthier than before and their readiness for the battle. The final line states that the son would be hurt by the nettles soon and again. While problems won’t wane with time, despite all of the father’s efforts, the son will have to find a way to learn to adapt to the renewed struggles in his life. On a concluding note, while an individual may have multiple protectors, the lesson of independence is fundamental to life. Hurdles must be encountered and tackled to emerge with strength and power. One of the most interesting poetic devices used is the metaphor of war, drawing upon the battles in a person’s life. In â€Å"Nettles†, Vernon Scannell expresses how the son must eventually stand up on his feet, despite the father’s attempt to protect him though his life.

Confirmation bias - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1132 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Confirmation Bias Confirmation (or confirmatory) bias is the tendency to specifically look for or give greater importance to information that is consistent with ones prior beliefs. This sort of selective thinking causes one to ignore or undervalue any alternative thought or belief irrespective of evidence otherwise. An illustration of Confirmation bias- Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Confirmation bias" essay for you Create order A very real manifestation of this tendency can be observed in the virtual world. For instance, investors are increasingly turning to message boards or virtual communities to search, clarify, and exchange information before making investment decisions. The volume of discussion on such portals is so intense that it has become possible to sense stock sentiments from here. These message boards have been shown to provide more accurate and timely information than forecasts by analysts. The reason so many investors even turn to these online communities is to gain an unbiased evaluation of the market conditions, a third-party opinion on something they might not have comprehensive information about, and the 360 degree view of the situation that can help in formulating a successful investment strategy. What in turn happens is that psychological biases, especially in such uncertain and noisy environments, affect the processing of information through these portals leading to short-sighted or impaired decision making. It can be debated that investment-related message boards and communities do not necessarily benefit potential investors by helping them make unbiased and informed decisions, primarily because investors search for specific information on these portals that align with what they already believe. Thus, the investor interprets the information as a confirmation of his earlier beliefs, leading to overconfidence and undue optimism in said strategy and may lead to the investor making rash and irrational decisions. This may ultimately result in lower returns on investment. Group behavior encouraging confirmation biases- A theory suggested by Barber and Odean says that the illusion of control over the outcome of a chance event, the illusion of greater knowledge- assumed to be intuitive or insightful, and self-attribution biases are what cause investors to be exceedingly overconfident against better judgment. In the online world, there is more than enough information to go around. Individuals exhibit very strong opinions about the stocks they are rooting for and backed with substantial data, their opinions create the illusion of all-encompassing knowledge. Excess information is known to cloud judgment and cause investors to give greater weightage to subjective opinions as compared to objective evaluations by a disinterested entity. Specific to online communities, the reason investors consider their peers opinions important is because these communities are formed when like-minded people with similar interests come together for social interactions. Hence investors are inclined to feel a bond towards the rest of the contributors on the forum. Another explanation for this behavior can be based on cognitive dissonance theory, due to which investors try to reduce dissonances between their prior beliefs and the beliefs of the group as they are perceived. As per the cognitive dissonance theory, if any investor observes that the opinion he held before referring to the group, is different from a lot of the ideas shared on the group, he will try to minimize dissonance by deliberately giving greater importance to those opinions that match his beliefs and by over-scrutinizing and eventually discarding any theories otherwise. Overall, it will seem like all the opinions that matter in the group, are exactly in line with what the investor had believed in the first place. This defeats the entire purpose of seeking an objective overview of the situation. Characteristics of confirmation bias and the investors prone to it- Confirmation bias is shown to be proportional to the strength of the investors belief in their chosen stock position. More the investors conviction about his stock position, the greater is the motivation to selectively process widespread information to suit their requirements. These investors eventually get overconfident of their own competence while trading. This has been observed in such instances whereby investors trade frequently and in turn make mistakes often. Overall, they tend to have lower returns on their investments. Investors who are prone to confirmation biases are overly optimistic about their planned future and consequently have higher expectations from their investment performance. This optimism allows them to ignore red herrings and make obvious mistakes in spite of having prior experience. Factors affecting decision-making- Perceived Knowledge- The investor may perceive certain information as sufficient knowledge to aid decision-making. This perceived knowledge may be a lot more than what the investor actually knows. For example the investor may feel like he has insights and data points, which are not too apparent to everyone else, which support his decision to invest in a stock. Hence every nay-sayer who theorizes otherwise can be safely ignored, since the investor believes that he has more information than they do. Someone with low perceived knowledge would never have to confidence to discard another alternate opinion so easily. Trading Experience- It can be safely assumed that inexperience contributes greatly to overconfidence. Someone with years of investment experience will have learnt the hard way about misreading market signals and will have a more realistic view of their own competence in trading. Someone with relatively less experience to go by will tend to get swayed easily by popular opinion and will be more likely to make rash decisions based on perceived knowledge. Thus overconfidence will tend to reduce with age and experience. Investment amount- According to the theory of cognitive dissonance, the magnitude of dissonance increases when the stakes are high i.e. there are personal consequences to the decision being made. If an individual truly believes in a stocks position and invests a huge amount of money in it, then he stands to lose a lot if the decision proves to be a mistake. Knowing this, he will subconsciously ignore any opinions which deride his decision, thus encouraging a strong confirmation bias. Any opinion that supports his decision automatically justifies the extent of his investment. Inference- Investment performance is influenced by the frequency of trading, trading frequency and investment expectations are affected by the individuals confirmation bias, and the extent of confirmation bias is motivated by the strength of the individuals beliefs about a stock. When decision-makers process information, they tend to discount evidences that misalign with their original thought process, while emphasizing the ones that confirm it. The individuals attempt to reduce cognitive dissonance by distorting available information in favor of the alternative they previously chose to contend with. The need for investors to reduce cognitive dissonance between perceived opinions causes confirmation bias among investors while seeking information in discussion groups. They would overestimate their precision with respect to decision making and underestimate any gaps in information, and thus be prone to excessive trading and other investment mistakes.