The underground man Essay Example for Free

The underground man Essay The underground man is amusing and thought-provoking. His assertion that his intelligence is the reason for his isolation must have some truth; that he should be so socially inept at his age is probably explained by his acute sensitivity, but it is interesting to think that it might also have been his isolation that has led to his extreme sensitivity. Since he is situated outside of the normal social structure, he is able to make observations that â€Å"normal† persons could not. He is like an ugly man who cannot bear to show his ugliness to the world, yet one who also desires intensely to become part of it. This is a maddening aspect of his character. For all his intelligence, he is remarkably stupid for refusing to understand. He states that it is his choice to live in isolation because he suffers from acute consciousness, but despite all this it is obvious that he desires to have a â€Å"normal† life. However, the predominant feeling that I had from reading the story is frustration. Most frustrating is that he does not even try to resolve his problems. This attitude of his is exemplified when he says: â€Å"Ha! you may object sarcastically, this way youll soon find pleasure in a toothache. Well, Id answer, theres pleasure in a toothache too. (p. 99) His greatest â€Å"toothache† here is his alienation and isolation from â€Å"normal† society. I, as I suspect almost everyone, have had feelings of alienation and isolation that, during the time of their occurrence, I could only have described as profound; although looking back these feelings become easier to rationalize and to see the cause of. But he insists in the fact that he is always rational, and that his intelligence is superior and furthermore correct. He knows that he is negative and destructive towards himself and others, but he makes no effort to resolve this. He seems disillusioned, but he is actually a pitiful victim of self-deception, attaching the wrong sort of â€Å"superiority† to his miserable intelligence, and believing himself superior to everyone else. When he says: â€Å"You know, ladies and gentlemen, probably the only reason why I think Im an intelligent man is that in all my life Ive never managed to start or finish anything† (p. 104), he means that only the stupid can be so sure of themselves; this is one thing that is irritating and frustrating about him. His intelligence has rendered him immobile because he is aware of all the uncertainty inherent in nature, and he will not believe that he has a full understanding of reasons, as the stupid man does. He finds comfort in justifying his plight by asserting that he is intelligent But in his portrayal of his â€Å"misadventures† in the second part of the story, I felt a distasteful sort of sympathy. One almost feels elated on his behalf, in the instance when he is almost joyous that he would at last have an â€Å"encounter with reality†: So this is reality, I mumbled, dashing downstairs, finally Ive met it head on. † (p. 159) At last a decisive event will happen in his life, one over which his excessive rationalizing has no effect. He hides from from life, and he feels alive only by being destructive. But in him one finds a sort of friend who will probably understand your every ill emotion because he has experienced it all, but who will also probably scorn you and make you feel foolish. His intelligence has allowed him – or perhaps has forced him – to live a life of constant rationalizing, thus robbing him of he ability to relate to the â€Å"lower† level of ordinary human life. But he is also subject to pride despite his intelligence. I could almost sympathize with what happened when he â€Å"did make a friend once, but I was already a tyrant at heart and wanted to be the absolute ruler of his mind. I wanted to instill in him contempt for all those around us; I demanded that he break with his world† (p. 147). I have had my share of instances of a vague sense of contempt for everyone, but I am far from rejecting society as he has. His rejection of society has led to society rejecting him, and this has robbed him of tangible experiences and made him desperate.

Thomas Pynchon in TV Land: The Televisual Culture in Vineland :: TV Television Cultural Essays

Thomas Pynchon in TV Land: The Televisual Culture in Vineland Mark Robberds’ 1995 Article "The New Historicist Creepers of Vineland" is an insightful look into how Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel fits the new historicist criteria of Michel Foucault, Stephen Greenblatt, and other new historicists. He convincingly argues for the "vinelike" characteristics of the novel, and shows how it is "genealogical in structure and archeological in content" (Robberds 238). What Robberds means is that Vineland is a complex narrative with more characters than a three-part miniseries. The book, which opens in 1984, is set as much in the sixties as in the eighties. After meeting each character, we are treated to their history and interaction with other characters over the previous fifteen to fifty years, in some cases tracing back to their parents and grandparents. All this personal and cultural history fits into Robberds’ definition of Foucault’s new historicism nicely, but Robberds seems so eager to fit Vineland into this box that he mis ses one of the true pleasures of reading Pynchon. Robberds writes that Greenblatt and others treat texts as "‘cultural artifacts’ with no intrinsic aesthetic value, but as microcosms of cultural and institutional patterns" (Robberds 238-9). He expands on this idea in a section of his article called "Cultural Artifacts: A Televisual Guide to Vineland:" Vineland does not seem to provide an avenue for directly mimetic passage from text to reality, unless one intends to read all mention of popular culture in the text as essentially parodic. The text neither applauds nor parodies the televisual but presents it instead as "cultural artefact." (244) This position is contradicted by the text, in which Pynchon parodies television to no end. Robberds supports his statement by quoting characters saying, "It was like being on Wheel of Fortune" (Pynchon 12), but he doesn’t mention passages like "†¦Twi-Nite Theatre, which tonight featured John Ritter in The Bryant Gumbel Story†¦" (Pynchon 355). Television is more than just "cultural artefact" in Vineland; it is a medium for Pynchon to parody and over which to pass judgement. J. A. Cuddon’s A Dictionary of Literary Terms defines parody as: The imitative use of words, style, attitude, tone, and ideas of an author in such a way as to make them ridiculous. This is usually achieved by exaggerating certain traits, using more or less the same technique as the cartoon caricaturist. In fact, a kind of satirical mimicry.

The benefits of immigration

Diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, leprosy and others that haven't been present for a long time, but that doesn't mean that are extinct or completed eradicated. Page 5 United States is facing one of the biggest problems in history, and it is terrorism. After the incident of September 1 1, 2001 the nation is fearful in some way of immigrants, because as the article said, three of the four pilots were in the country illegally. I understand the magnitude of that event, but not every illegal resident is a terrorist.Another point is that in the last years many of the terrorist that have been rrested are legal residents and have been born in the United States. So, they have to understand that they have the thread inside the country and try to manage the situation and stopped accusing the illegal immigrants of been the cause of terrorisms. They also forget that many legal immigrants are part of the Armed Forces and they are willing to serve and protect the country, even it means losing th eir life in combat. What really happen is that most of the people thought that terrorism is equal to illegal residents, and that isn't true.The person who least you expect could e a terrorist and it doesn't mean he or she is an illegal immigrant. According with the article: â€Å"†¦ we simply cannot round up and ship some 12+ million illegal aliens back to their home countries. Even if we could, children of illegal aliens who are born in the United States are, by commonly held interpretation of current law, American citizens†. It also said: â€Å"it would not be Just to punish the children for the sins of the parents so even children who were not born in the United States but have lived in the US most of their lives are, by default, Americans, at least in name†.I am totally agree with the two statements and think that it is a way to show a little respect to those who are illegally in the country. It is true that illegal immigration does have its disadvantages: gre ater poverty, increase in crimes, lower unskilled wage; education costs, and a few others. However, the positive benefits Page 6 of immigration outweigh the disadvantages in many ways. So, let us welcome the benefits that immigration provides to the nation. Let be open mind and accept the fact that United States is a big melting pot and each one has something to give to the nation.

Parenting Is An Adventure By Discovering Blake - 950 Words

Parenting is an Adventure We were so excited to start our family! When we brought home our beautiful, healthy, baby boy that sunny day in August, we had no idea that he was anything else other than perfect. As we watched him build with blocks we wondered, will he be an architect? While he worked his little wooden puzzles, we relished in the thought that he could be the scientist who discovers the cure for cancer! There are many different parents and parenting styles; however, there are three creeds for every good parent to follow: hope, optimism, and determination. Discovering Blake has autism made us reevaluate our parenting style, but in no way diminished our hopes and dreams for his future. Blake has grown to enjoy social interactions more as he has gotten older. We were determined to make social interactions a source of joy for our son, instead of a source of anxiety. When Blake was a young child, he would not interact with peers; instead he would participate in parallel play. At times it would seem that he had a time limit with social interaction and would become agitated if it continued beyond the point he was willing to participate. To help counter some of these tendencies, beyond his normal therapy visits, we took him to as many social gatherings as we could. Offering him the opportunity to practice his social skills was the best thing we could do to help him. As he has gotten older Blake tolerates social interaction for much longer periods of time and initiatesShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesUniversity Anne Berthelot, University of Texas at El Paso David Bess, Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaii Bruce Bikle, California State University, Sacramento xxx Richard Blackburn, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill Weldon Blake, Bethune-Cookman College Carl Blencke, University of Central Florida Michael Bochenek, Elmhurst College Alicia Boisnier, State University of New York William H. Bommer, Cleveland State University Bryan Bonner, University of Utah Jessica Bradley, Clemson