Teaching and Learning Issues within a Cognitive Context Research Paper

Teaching and Learning Issues within a Cognitive Context - Research Paper Example It can also include delay in language development and inability to start conversations or participate in them properly Restricted and repetitive patterns of interests, thoughts and physical behaviors including making repetitive physical movements such as twisting or hand tapping and getting easily upset when these routines are disrupted. Autism is a major concern in education as approximately half of those suffering from ASD have learning difficulties that vary from one individual to another. Children with this condition may experience problems in understanding or communicating their needs to fellow students and their teachers. They can experience difficulties in understanding some classroom instructions and directions, along with facial and vocal cues of their teachers. Lack of appropriate social interactions my cause challenging behaviors, ostracizing and bullying. Problems with creative or imaginative play inhibit interactions with other students, and this means that most teaching strategies will not be effective. Sensory issues mean that the student may not cope well with noisy surroundings, maintaining eye contact or being touched by others. This incapacity to fully decode the world around them usually makes learning stressful for the student, and teachers commonly report that they find it challenging to satisf y the needs of students with autism. (Dunlap & Fox, 2003) This type of hearing loss interferes with the sound conducting paths of the middle and outer ear. The degree of loss can be minimized by use of hearing aids or through surgery. Individuals with this kind of hearing loss usually speak softly, hear better in noisy environments than individuals with normal hearing, and often experience ringing in their ears (Disability.illinois.edu, 2014) This type of hearing loss interferes with the auditory nerves and the inner

An Analysis of the Evolution of the E-Business in America Essay Example for Free

An Analysis of the Evolution of the E-Business in America Essay Economic transactions have taken a toll of revolutions and evolutions from the most historic barter deals to currency minting to bank-to-bank transactions, and finally, electronic business. Undeniably, the phenomenal effect of information technology to the lives of common man has caught the complexities of all branches of science and economics in a single matrix. Similarly, it has extinguished spatial boundaries in the business arena. Upon the advent of the accessibility of the internet or the World Wide Web to the public in 2004, it has been deemed that e-commerce will shortly follow through. So thus soothsayers and journalists manifest into the world this forecast. Company websites and internet servers sprouted like wild mushrooms here and there, flooding the virtual world with what’s it’s’ people cannot usually find for themselves. A unique gadget which can be found nowhere at a shopping mall is now easy to find at Ebay or Amazon. om, or shopping for clothes can also be done via ordering online, and sending emails or conversing with another entity half an earth away through instant messengers now became a common activity to the technologically savvy. A worldwide acknowledgment of this phenomenon has now slowly shifted every human paradigm there is. This evolutionary way of business ‘anytime-anywhere scheme’ or transacting across the planet in only a matter of seconds has put leverage to the face of business vis-a-vis human technology. E-business or e-commerce, also known as EC, has now penetrated all elements of life, particularly the world of commerce and economics. Today, e-business is now the most preferred way of dealing with and between firms. In the fields of traveling, media, logistics, telecommunication, and manufacturing, as identified by Horsti, Tolonen and Brannback (2003) in their study of five electronic business models, it showed that operating a business backed by ecommerce and proper management of personnel skills and customer relationships is a critical success factor (CSF) and always has a direct correlation to business success. This gives light to the logic as to why bankers and corporations alike have resorted to sending orders and invoices via internet instead of sending messengers or bulky packages to each other and wait for days before the same arrives at each other’s doorstep. On an individual basis, transacting with another online instead of going to a bank and undergoing the tedious process of lining-up and filling out slips and various withdrawal or deposit forms has been the hip. Online credit card transactions has also been the trend nowadays especially to the technologically savvy. As Moslein (2001) would argue, the rise of ecommerce has extinguished traditional boundaries and spatial constraints of conducting business. So what really is it behind e-business and what makes everyone indubitably caught up with this intertwining net of transactions? In this paper, the aforementioned is put to a limelight along with a detailed analysis of the e-business phenomenon. A projection as to how e-business in America will perform in the short-run is also forecasted. Pros and cons of doing e-business as well as important dissections of it are also included herein. The first part of this paper shall serve as a guideline as to how discussion will flow and what models and methods were used in shedding light to the subject matter at hand. It also serves as briefer to the latter portions which delve deeper to the subject matter. The latter portions shall plainly consist of the author’s own views with regard to the topic, however, with sources to buttress proof of claims. The summary and conclusions are second to the last parts before providing a list of references used in this research. Statement of the Issues/Problems The dawning of the internet and the birth of ecommerce in which e-business arose forthwith has also given birth to online corporations and rebirth to traditional enterprises. However, the new age technology has also given birth to various risks and opportunities for misers to tamper with the gifts of technology to the disadvantage of those who are faithful in their dealings. In this regard, the primary thrust of this paper is to analyze the gradual paradigm shift of business in America to the modern e-business taking into consideration the management decisions of enterprises vis-a-vis the costs and risks in engaging into e-business. Further, this paper rests with the issue on how ecommerce evolved to what it is today. Given these matters, the ultimate question this paper aims to answer is: Why do businesses continue to prefer to do e-business despite online security threats and risks? Hypothesis E-business is a response of various industries to the market forces affecting it, and amidst costs and risks, the benefits of e-business to enterprises prove to shape corporate success, help industries maximize benefits and positively affect the entire business industry as a whole. Methodology This paper is a result of a collaboration, compilation, corroboration and interpretation from various sources of information gathered mostly through the internet. Various theories in economics and business management are also used to prove certain stands pertinent to the subject matter. The author has also included newspaper articles and opinions from renowned columnists all of which can also be accessed through the internet. The said sources were streamlined for this purpose of incorporating into this subject matter all indispensable elements of e-business. It is important to highlight that this paper is not to measure e-business per se because of the very volatility and fast speed of growth and advancement of the e-business itself. As stated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), measuring e-business and quantifying the elements of convenience and easy access to information is impossible given the current fast-changing nature of the market (OECD, 1998). Hence, this paper has enumerated the costs and benefits instead and weighed both in the light of the evolution of e-business to the stage. Degree of Reliance of Statistical Data/Literature Search The author has chosen only those sources which are strongly correlated and are very pertinent to e-business. For statistical data, there is an interim degree of reliance from high to medium degree, since statistics were conducted by professional research institutions and quoted from high grade literature. With regard to articles and sources, most of the studies consulted where products of doctorate and master’s degree holders who are expert in this field notwithstanding those who gave garnered distinctions (i. e. Nobel Prize, Pulitzer, etc. in the field of economics. Therefore, there is a high level of reliance on their studies. A Description of the Research Design This paper is purely research based and one which does not involve interpretation of raw statistical data. Due to the broad and constantly changing nature of e-business, a survey of the entire America is implausible. Thus, it is best to resort to data that have been gathered by reliable research institutions concentrating on the same subject matter. The literatures used herein are mostly second-hand ones and are retroactive in its nature such that theories used are identified as paradigms. Despite being cited and further cited in various citations, the theory is not eroded. Thus, citations of the same coming from other citations, or a chain of citations in one citation, are valid. It is also important to note that despite the varying nature of the sources used in this paper, the discussion shall not be deprived of important knowledge as regards the subject matter. Models Followed The paper follows three specific models in economics: the law on supply and demand, the model on cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and the game theory. This is because these three easy-to-understand theories are also the primary considerations of CEOs in choosing management decisions and doing other management strategies. In accordance with the objectives of this paper, various researches shall also be inculcated herein to give various theories and conceptions an equal footing as regards the topic. As a clarification, there are no current researchers who have analyzed the nature of e-business extensively and collaboratively using the aforementioned theories. Therefore, literature reviews are primarily based on historical findings on the evolution of e-business, analyses of various researchers on the nature of economics vis-a-vis ecommerce and not on concurrent ecommerce theories. This is also because majority of ecommerce theories are offspring of the theories on economics. Moreover, ecommerce theories may be relevant to the subject matter but are not directly connected to the topic such that answers to the research questions as aforementioned were more founded by basic economic theories rather than the specialized ecommerce theories on web-hosting and online selling.

Language transfer

Language transfer Introduction The title of this research article has caught my attention because it talks about language transfer which is an area I am always interested in knowing more about it. Also, being an ESL teacher, it is definitely beneficial for me to study this article as it specifically investigates the cross-language and writing system transfer between Chinese and English. This paper consists of two main parts. Part one is a description of the article itself. The background and details of the research will be summarized and presented here. Part two is a critique of the article. Various parts of the research will be analyzed and, hopefully, modifications and suggestions can be made to better the research design and generate ideas for further investigation into this topic. Part One: The article itself Contextualization According to the introduction made by Wang, Perfetti, Liu (2005), various studies conducted in the 1990s have tried to investigate whether there is a relationship between learning to read and the orthography and phonology of a language. As cited in Wang et al. (2005), certain studies (Adams, 1990; Perfetti, 1992; Treiman, 1993) have said that learning to read is actually learning to match the phonological form with the orthographic form of the language. This has also been claimed as language-specific, i.e. subject to the nature and writing system of the language (Chen Tzeng, 1992; Feldman, 1987; Frith, Wimmer, Landerl, 1998; Goswami, Gombert, Barrera, 1998; Leong Tamaoka, 1998; Perfetti, 1999; as cited in Wang et al., 2005). However, recent studies (Cisero Royer, 1995; Durgunoglu, Nagy, Hancin-Bhatt, 1993; Durgunoglu, 2002; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have found that cross-language transfer of phonological skills does take place when one is learning to read two alphabetic languages, like Spanish and English. These findings have aroused the researchers (Wang et al., 2005) interest in investigating whether there is cross-language and writing system transfer when one is learning to read Chinese and English, i.e. acquiring biliteracy. Background in the Literature To prepare for their in-depth research on the topic, Wang et al. (2005) have conducted a literature review focusing on the following three aspects: (i)The orthography and phonology of Chinese A number of studies (Perfetti, 1999; Perfetti, Zhang, Berent, 1992; Defrancis, 1989; Mattingly, 1992; Perfetti, Liu, Tan, 2005; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have been reviewed by Wang et al. (2005) in order to produce the following general overview of the Chinese orthography. It has been found that Chinese is a nonalphabetic writing system, in which the basic unit is the character. Each character consists of basic strokes, which can be combined to form one or more component radicals. A character which is composed of two or more component radicals is called a compound character. The structure of the component radicals in these compound characters are usually left-right or top-bottom. Wang et al. (2005) have also reviewed certain studies (Hanely, Tzeng, Huang, 1999; Taylor Taylor, 1995; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) so as to offer a clear introduction of the Chinese phonology. It is now being summarized below. The basic speech unit of Mandarin Chinese is the syllable which is made up of the onset and the rime. Very often, the onset is a single consonant while the rime is composed of vowels. As a result, the number of syllables in Mandarin Chinese is pretty small (i.e. around 400) whereas the number of homophones is quite large. Fortunately, the use of the four tones in Mandarin Chinese (i.e. 1. high level; 2. high-rising; 3. falling-rising; 4. high-falling) have successfully reduced the large number of homophones. Yet, one should note that the tones are not shown in written Chinese, i.e. they are not part of the written characters. Thus, they will not help learners distinguish the characters. (ii)Different cognitive demands involved in learning to read the Chinese and English writing systems According to Wang et al. (2005), there are three main contrasts between the two target language and writing systems. Contrasts Chinese English Grapheme mapping principle syllabic morphemes phonemes Graphic form and special layout nonlinear linear Tonal feature tonal nontonal **This table is a simplified version of Table 1 (Wang et al., 2005, p. 69) As suggested by Wang et al. (2005), these contrastive differences are bound to cause differences in learning to read these two languages. First, studies (Byrne Fielding-Barnsley, 1995; Hulme et al., 2002; Lundburg, Frost, Peterson, 1988; Muter, Hulme, Snowling, Taylor, 1998; Huang Hanley, 1994; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have discovered that childrens ability to read English can be predicted by their skills in processing the phonemes (i.e. the small phonological units) and phonological awareness. On the contrary, studies about Chinese reading (Perfetti et al., 2005; Taft, Zhu, Peng, 1999; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have found that the phonological and meaning information can only be activated after the orthographic representation has been recognized. Then, Wang et al. (2005) have concluded that graphemic information and visual skills are essential for learning how to read Chinese. Despite these previous studies, Wang et al. (2005) have mentioned that recent studies (Ho Bryant, 1997; Hu Catts, 1998; McBride-Chang Ho, 2000; Shu, Anderson, Wu, 2000; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have indicated that phonological information and early phonological skills such as rhyme processing do play a part in Chinese reading acquisition. (iii)Cross-language transfer in bilingual and biliteracy acquisition Wang et al. (2005) have obtained two key findings about cross-language transfer through reviewing numerous studies (Durgunoglu et al., 1993; Cisero Royer, 1995; Ganschow Sparks, 1995; Comeau, Cormier, Grandmaison, Lacroix, 1999; DAngiulli, Siegel, Serra, 2001; Geva Siegel, 2000; as cited in Wang et al., 2005). First, Wang et al. (2005) have found that a clear phonological relationship exists between two alphabetic languages such as Spanish-English, French-English, English-French, English-Italian, etc. This means the phonological skills of one language are highly related to those of the other language. Second, Wang et al. (2005) have discovered that phonological skills of one language can help with the word reading skills of the other language. Yet, Wang et al. (2005) have failed to figure out whether there is such cross-language transfer existing in Chinese and English as there is little research done in this area and the two language systems are contrastive in nature. Besides that, certain studies (Wydell Butterworth, 1999; Liow Poon, 1998; Liow, 1999; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have tried to argue that there is dissociation or even a negative transfer from the nonalphabetic first language (L1, Chinese) to the alphabetic second language (L2, English). Nevertheless, Wang et al. (2005) have finally justified their research topic by saying that these previous studies have failed to test the cross-language and writing system transfer as they did not investigate the phonological and orthographic processing skills of the learners L1 and L2. Research Hypotheses Wang et al. (2005) have hypothesized that ‘bilingual reading acquisition is a joint function of shared phonological skills and writing system specific skills (p. 72). They have particularly predicted that ‘sensitivity in English and in Chinese to onset and rime, common linguistic units in both languages, will be correlated and ‘Pinyin reading skills will correlate with English word reading, since the two systems share the alphabetic principle (p. 72). However, Wang et al. (2005) have estimated that orthographic skills ‘are writing system and script specific skills (p. 72). Details of the Research (i)Research design The design of this research is mainly quantitative in nature. A number of experimental tasks were completed by the participants in order to obtain data in objective ways. (ii)Setting Participants As reported by Wang et al. (2005), the forty-six participants came from the Washington, DC area and they were Chinese immigrant children consisting of 24 boys and 22 girls with the mean age of 8 years and 2 months (SD = 9.1 months). All of them learned Chinese as their first language and had developed normal English proficiency. They attended English classes in public schools and weekend Chinese schools in which the Pinyin systems and a simplified version of Chinese characters were taught and used. It should be noted that forty-two of them spoke both Mandarin Chinese and English at home while the other four only spoke Mandarin Chinese at home. (iii)Methodology Referring to the description given by Wang et al. (2005), the participants were tested in two 30-minute sessions in which they had to complete a set of Chinese or English experimental tasks in each session in a language laboratory. The list below has summarized the various experimental tasks adopted by Wang et al. (2005). Chinese experimental tasks Focus Reference Phonological tasks onset, rime, and tone matching Participants ability to manipulate and distinguish between the phonological units in spoken Chinese characters. Wang et al., 2005, p. 72-74 Orthographic choice task Participants sensitivity to the legality of the radical position and form. Character naming Participants familiarity with the characters. Pinyin naming Participants ability to match letters with sounds in Pinyin. English experimental tasks Focus Reference Phonological tasks onset and rime matching Participants ability to manipulate and distinguish between the phonological units in spoken English words. Wang et al., 2005, p. 74-76 Phonological task -phoneme deletion Not given Orthographic choice task Participants sensitivity to various orthographic patterns in English. Real word naming Not given Pseudoword naming Not given According to Wang et al. (2005), there was also a nonverbal skill test which was used to test the participants nonverbal ability. (iv)Analytic procedures As mentioned by Wang et al. (2005) in the presentation of the research results, several measures were adopted to analyze the quantitative data collected from those experimental tasks. First, means and standard deviations were used to show the participants performance in the Chinese and English language and reading tasks. Second, the bivariate Pearson correlations were used to measure the correlations Chinese and English tasks. Third, the stepwise regression analyses were adopted to find out the best predictors for Chinese and English reading. Finally, the hierarchical regression analyses were used to explore (a) whether Chinese phonological and orthographic processing would affect English word reading; and (b) whether English phonological and orthographic processing would affect Chinese character reading. (v)Results With the help of the bivariate Pearson correlations, Wang et al. (2005) found that there was a significant correlation between the Chinese onset matching skill and English onset and rime matching skill. Moreover, another significant correlation was found between Chinese orthographic choice and Chinese character naming. Furthermore, Pinyin was found highly correlated with the pseudoword reading in English whereas the English phoneme deletion task was also found highly correlated with English real word and pseudoword naming. Last but not least, Chinese tone was found correlated with character reading as well. Through the stepwise regression analyses, Wang et al. (2005) found Chinese orthographic processing to be the best predictor for Chinese character reading while the phoneme deletion skill was the best predictor for English real word and pseudoword reading. Consequently, by using the hierarchical regression analyses, Wang et al. (2005) found that only Chinese tone processing skill, but not orthographic skill, could affect English pseudoword reading. They could not find any cross-language influence of the English tasks on Chinese character reading. (vi)Discussion Wang et al. (2005) have concluded that the findings of this research do support their hypothesis. Specifically, Wang et al. (2005) have discussed the three significant findings (i.e. the significant correlations between Chinese onset, English onset, and rime matching skills; the significant influence of Chinese tone processing skill on English pseudoword reading; and the significant correlation between Pinyin and English pseudoword reading) and derived the implication that phonological awareness and skills are not language-specific but shared between Chinese and English reading when bilingual reading acquisition is taking place. Besides that, based on Wang et al. (2005), the finding of orthographic skills being unable to affect English reading skills has also supported the hypothesis proposed by Wang et al. (2005). This has been explained by Wang et al. (2005) who has cited a study (Liu Perfetti, 2003; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) to show that the orthographic skills of Chinese and English are language-specific as Chinese reading requires the use of both the left and right occipital brain areas while English reading mainly involves the use of the left occipital brain area. Part Two: The Critique Assessment of the Researchs Internal Validity Based on my analysis, this research done by Wang et al. (2005) is considered to be a good research which has demonstrated a high level of internal validity. The following is a detailed critique of the various parts of the research. (i)High correspondence between the research hypotheses and the findings As reflected from the previous session, the findings generated from this research are highly related to the research hypotheses established beforehand. Actually, they have successfully confirmed the hypotheses, proving that there is a certain degree of cross-language transfer in Chinese-English biliteracy acquisition. (ii)In-depth literature review Wang et al. (2005) have done a detailed and in-depth literature review on Chinese phonology and orthography, and previous studies related to the cross-language transfer in bilingual and biliteracy acquisition. This certainly helps lay down a good foundation for the later data analysis and discussion. However, it may be better if Wang et al. (2005) can provide the audience with a more comprehensive literature review by describing the English phonology and orthography in greater detail. In this way, the audience can have a clearer picture of the phonology and orthography of these two language systems. This can then enhance the audiences understanding of the research findings. (iii)Well-constructed and clear research hypotheses The research hypotheses of this study are well-constructed with clear predictions made about the relationship among the variables mentioned. This can certainly help increase the internal validity as this has given clear directions for the development of research design, measurement tools and analytic procedures. (iv)A well-selected group of participants The participants are well-selected with little variation in their background and learning profile. It is very wise for Wang et al. (2005) to study bilingual children as this can minimize the dominance of L1 over L2, which might affect the findings of the research. Moreover, the sample size is big enough for making generalizations. And, the number of male participants is similar to that of the female participants. This can help reduce the gender influence on the findings. (v)Carefully-designed measurement tools Obviously, the large number of Chinese and English experimental tasks and methods for data analysis are carefully designed and chosen. As shown from the results, the Chinese and English tasks are highly correlated, indicating a high level of internal validity. Nevertheless, it is thought that the tasks are cognitively or mentally too demanding for the young participants. This is because they are required to process a number of tasks and a large amount of information and instructions within a short period of time. (vi)Variable overlooked gender difference According to Skaalvik Rankin (1994), girls have been found to be more motivated to study language than boys. One may then wonder if this gender difference would affect the level of cross-language transfer in bilingual reading acquisition. Since Wang et al. (2005) have recruited a similar amount of boys and girls as participants, they may also take a look at the influence of this variable. Assessment of the Researchs External Validity Although this research enjoys a high level of internal validity, its external validity is relatively low and limited. The reasons are as follows: (i)Findings are limited to learners with a similar background or learning profile As mentioned in the above, the background (e.g. age and family background) and learning profile of the selected participants are more or less the same due to the careful selection done by Wang et al. (2005) to avoid the research findings being affected by the individual differences among the participants. As a consequence, the research findings derived from this specific group of participants can only be applied to learners with a similar background and learning profile. (ii)Findings may not be able to make generalizations in the actual learning context In this research, Wang et al. (2005) have conducted all the Chinese and English experimental tasks in a language laboratory in a bid to minimize the influence of the numerous factors which may affect the participants cross-language transfer in the actual learning context. For instance, in the real learning context, learners cross-language transfer in the process of language acquisition can be affected by their learning environment, teachers teaching methodologies, peer influence, learning materials, etc. Hence, the research findings derived from tasks conducted in the language laboratory which keeps the other factors constant may not be able to contribute to making generalizations in the actual learning context. (iii)Few implications can be derived for language learning and teaching Few implications can be generated from this research for language learning and teaching as the findings can only be applied to a specific type of learners (i.e. bilingual Chinese-English learners with a particular background and learning profile). Besides that, the experimental tasks conducted are all at word level and this definitely does not resemble the actual reading acquisition in language learning, which is usually at sentence level or discourse level. Suggested Modifications for the Research With reference to my analysis shown in the above, certain modifications can be made in the different parts of the research mentioned below. (i)Literature Review It is suggested that Wang et al. (2005) may also give the audience an introduction on the English phonology and orthography instead of simply describing English as an alphabetic, nontonal language with phonemes as the smallest basic speech units in the language. This is because this introduction can help to make this research more complete as the audience are then allowed to make a clearer comparison between the two target language systems and better understand the findings obtained from this research. (ii)Measurement tools As mentioned previously, the Chinese and English experimental tasks can be cognitively or mentally too demanding for the young participants as they need to process a lot of information and instructions within a short time. Therefore, it is suggested that Wang et al. (2005) may either simplify the content and instructions of the tasks or lengthen the period of time given to participants for completing the tasks. In this way, the influence of frustration and fatigue on participants performance in the tasks can be avoided. (iii)Discussion For the discussion part, it is recommended that Wang et al. (2005) can also analyze the data collected and see if there is any influence of gender difference on the cross-language transfer between Chinese and English reading acquisition. By doing so, significant implications may be derived and this will in turn provide useful implications for language learning and teaching in the real learning context. Suggestions for an Extension Study After having studied this research and its findings, it is believed that further research can be done in the following areas in order to derive more implications for language learning. (i)Chinese and English reading at sentence level or discourse level Referring to what mentioned beforehand, this research done by Wang et al. (2005) focuses on Chinese and English reading acquisition at word level only as all the experimental tasks are designed at word level. However, it is a well-known fact that learning to read may proceed to sentence level or discourse level. Thus, it is definitely worth investigating whether cross-language transfer still occurs when Chinese and English reading acquisition is done at sentence level or discourse level. (ii)Bilingual children whose first language is English Since bilingual reading acquisition is the main focus of this research, it is believed that similar research can also be done to study bilingual Chinese-English children whose first language is English and see if similar findings about the cross-language transfer can be generated. In this way, the findings generated may help confirm the findings produced by Wang et al. (2005) and enhance the external validity of the study done by Wang et al. (2005). (iii)Children with dyslexia or other language learning problems Likewise, will there be any changes to the present findings of the research conducted by Wang et al. (2005) if the bilingual participants suffer from dyslexia or other language learning problems? It is thought to be a good idea to further research on this group of participants. Hopefully, useful implications can be derived to help enhance the learning effectiveness for this group of learners. (iv)Reading fluency and comprehension As mentioned in the above, research on bilingual reading acquisition should not be limited to word-level as reading occurs more often at sentence level or discourse level. In addition, reading acquisition should not be limited to phonological and orthographic skills of individual words only. Actually, reading fluency and comprehension are two important aspects in reading acquisition. So, it is worth researching on these two aspects and figure out if there is any cross-language transfer in these areas of Chinese and English language learning. Conclusion Critiquing a research article is indeed a challenging but thought-provoking task to me. Through working on this assignment, I have learned about how a quantitative research can be conducted in the area of language acquisition, and gradually developed a better set of critical analysis skills when writing the critique. I would surely bear in mind the research and analytical skills that I have learned from the study of Wang et al. (2005) and put them into use when I am given a chance to conduct a research on my own.

Narrator’s Use of Language and Memory in Faulkner’s The Unvanquished :: Faulkner’s The Unvanquished Essays

Narrator’s Use of Language and Memory in Faulkner’s The Unvanquished In the Unvanquished, a version of southern masculinity is developed through the narrator using dialect and the device, or should I say vice of memory. Fairly early in the novel, the reflective standpoint of the narrator becomes obvious, and a certain sense of â€Å"retelling† the story, not just telling it as it happened, prevails. This use of memory is not necessarily selective but it does show the processing of perceptions of the narrator’s childhood. As readers, we first get the sense that we are hearing the story from a much older Bayard when he drops comments like â€Å"I was just twelve then; I didn’t know triumph; I didn’t even know the word† (Unvanquished 5). If he was just twelve then, he could be just fifteen or sixteen when retelling this story, assuming the grandiosity that adolescence creates, leading to such thoughts as â€Å"I was just a kid then.† However, the second part of the statement reveals a much older and wiser voice, the voice of someone who has had time to think out such abstractions as triumph and failure. Furthermore, the almost obsessive description of the father in the first part of the novel seems like the narrator comes to terms, much later in life, with how he viewed his father as a man. â€Å"He was not big† (9) is repeated twice on the same page. He was short enough to have his sabre scrape the steps while ascending (10), yet he appeared large and in command, especially when on his horse (13). The shape and size of a man being an important part in defining masculinity, I think Baynard grappled with his father’s physical presence as well as his tenuous position as a leader in the Confederate Army. Other telling moments are on page 66 when Baynard postulates what a child can accept as true in such incredible situations and on page 95 with his declarations on the universality of war. (Possibly he is an old man now and has lived to see other wars.) Upon realizing the distance between the setting of the story and age of its narrator, the reader is forced to consider how memory and life itself have affected the storytelling. Another way to contemplate the development of masculinity, one that calls upon the southern gentleman to be well educated and verbose, is the use of dialect in the story.

“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austin Essay

Contrast and compare the two marriage proposals made to Elizabeth Bennet in the novel: Mr Collins’ proposal to Elizabeth and Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth Jane Austen lived in a mercenary world and this is reflected in her novel. In â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† no secret is made of the need to marry for money. Jane Austen reflects different types of marriage in her novel. There is mercenary marriage, brought about solely for economic reasons. Such would have been the marriage between Mr Collins and Elizabeth. Mr Collins’ proposal was fuelled by his own economic motives, desire to please the aristocratic Lady Catherine and by Mrs Bennet’s economic fears that Elizabeth will inherit little money when her father dies: not real feelings or any aspect of love. Contrasting this is the ideal marriage. Marriages ‘rationally founded,’ based on, ‘excellent understanding,’ and, ‘general similarity of feeling and taste,’ (Chapter 55) Such is the marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth. Although Elizabeth refused Darcy’s first proposal, it was ultimately made because of true emotional fee lings, respect and admiration for Elizabeth. The main reason for Mr Collins’ selection of a wife in Elizabeth is economic convenience. Her farther’s house is entailed to him. By marrying Mr Collins, Elizabeth’s family will not be left without a home. Many aspects of Mr Collins’s proposal reflect his lack of feeling. The first being how the proposal comes about. He comes to Hertfordshire, ‘with the design of selecting a wife,’ and he ironically feels that his choosing one from Longbourn was, ‘disinterested on his own part,’ due to the estate being entailed to him. Any lady form Longbourn will suffice. Elizabeth was not even his first choice, but Jane was believed to be soon united with Mr Bingley. He admits to Elizabeth that the house is a motive for his choice, proving that his proposal is dominated by economic convenience not love. His proposal was far from a spontaneous act of love. It was planned and his choice designed with Mrs Bennet. Elizabeth was clearly aware of his intentions, and tries desperately to avoid being put in a position where they can come out. However once forced to by her mother, Elizabeth wishes  to, ‘get it over as soon and quietly as possible.’ Elizabeth obviously does not have feelings for Mr Collins and takes no pleasure in his proposal. There is a sense that Mr Collins talking through a set of words throughout his proposal. He addresses Mrs Bennet with great formality, it gives a sense that he has pre-designed his address to her. Mr Collins is following the rules, saying what he is supposed to say; not what he feels. His whole proposal to Elizabeth gives a sense of an order of service, with a script that could be applied to any character. The speech is very impersonal. Mr Collins talks of, ‘young ladies,’ ‘your sex.’ There is exceedingly little mention of Elizabeth’s character or Mr Collins’s admiration for it. It feels as though Mr Collins could apply his speech to anybody, and later does with Charlotte. The content of Mr Collins’s dialogue throughout his proposal is very explicit in its lack of feeling. He begins by stating his reasons for marriage. His first reason it that he feels he should, ‘Sick Equation the example of matrimony.’ he believes marriage will add to his happiness, and Lady Catherine told him, ‘ Mr Collins, you must marry. A clergyman like you must marry.’ Mr Collins wants a good little wife to use as a tool to improve his public image. He talks of how a marriage will please him. He does not talk bout how the union between him and Elizabeth will bring him great happiness. It does not matter who his bride is, as all he wants is a wife, to improve his status and please Lady Catherine; he does not have to have feelings for her. It could be said that Mr Collins’s greatest incentive to marry is to please Lady Catherine. He is being forced into a proposal by another woman, not true feelings. Although there is a mention of his feelings, Mr Collins talks of how,’ the violence,; of his affections would overlook the downside to marrying Elizabeth . Not how violently he respects and admires her. Darcy’s proposal is a complete contrast in its emotional conflict. The whole proposal is much more dynamic and there are clearly strong emotions and feelings involved. Darcy immediately tells Elizabeth he loves her. Wards are used such as, ‘and agitated manner,’ ‘the color rose,’ ‘became pale with anger,’ ‘painfully greater,’ these clearly demonstrate dynamic, strong feelings. They illustrate the greater depth of feeling felt throughout  Darcy’s proposal than in that of Mr Collins’. Mr Collins’ proposal was mainly fueled by the great convenience in Elizabeth marrying Mr Collins. However Darcy’s proposal is very far from convenient. Although technically in the same class, Darcy is viewed to be much above Elizabeth in society and a marriage between them would not be viewed as idea. Mr Collins is following the rules in his proposal; talking to Mrs Bennet, saying what he is supposed to and attempting to please Lady Catherine. In contrast Darcy is compelled by his feelings to break the rules, by not doing what society expects of him. Mr Collins’ proposal was greatly fueled by Lady Catherine and his desire to improve his standing in society. However Darcy is fueled by his feelings to go against society and potentially decrease his social standing. Darcy’s true love for Elizabeth overcomes all the sociable reasons for not marrying E. Darcy is a very strong character, however he struggled, ‘in vain,’ to overcome his feelings. Darcy’s feelings managed to overcome him. Showing their strength and power. Their proposals act as a great insight into the character of Mr Collins and Darcy. Mr Collins’ proposal greatly shows what is important to him. The thing of greatest importance to him, seems to be money and connections. His public persona is very important, he was to marry to improve it and please Lady Catherine. Mr Collins sees money and high connections with people such as Lady Catherine as reasons for happiness and why Elizabeth should marry him. He does not appear to realize that not everyone is as materialistic as him. Mr Collins is driven into his proposal by economic reasons and Lady Catherine, which seem more important to him than love. The importance of high standing people such as Lady Catherine to Mr Collins is also very apparent in his proposal. He is clearly obsessed by her high social status. He wants to marry because Lady Catherine tells him, ‘A clergyman like you must marry.’ He allows her to choose what type of woman he should marry, a woman, ‘active and useful, not brought up high, but able to make a small income go a good way.’ Lady Catherine tells Mr Collins to choose a woman with these characters, not just for Mr Collins’ sake but for her own. Mr Collins allows another woman’s wishes to dominate his choice in  a wife. Perhaps Lady Catherine’s feelings are more important to him than his own or his potential wife. One of the greatest things Mr Collins can offer seems to be Lady Catherine. He says to Elizabeth, ‘ I do not reckon the notice and kindness of Lady Catherine as among the least of the advantages in my power to offer.’ This again demonstrates Mr Collins’ lack of recognition of the fact that not every one feels high connection and money to be the greatest importance in life. As well as money and connections Mr Collins’ believes Lady Catherine to be more important than love. Mr Collins’ personality traits are also portrayed very well in his proposals. He is unmoved by Elizabeth’s refusal and continually refuses to accept it. His first reaction is to dismiss the refusal, ‘with a formal wave of the hand. He believes, ‘ it is usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept.’ He then goes on to say, ; give me leave to flatter myself,; theat he believes Elizabeth’s refusal, ‘ is merely words of course.’ he clearly has an extremely high opinions and an over confidence in himself and his situation in life; he simply cannot believe why anyone would not wish to be a part of that. Despite great efforts from Elizabeth to convince him otherwise, Mr Collins still leaves his encounter iwth Elizabeth, believing, ‘ his proposals will not fail of being acceptable.; it is greatly apparent that Mr Collins is too conceited to accept Elizabeth’s strong refusal. He is deluded enough to believe himself and Lady Catherine as irresistible to Elizabeth, and will not believe it when she manages to revisit them. He goes as far as too view the refusal as encouragement. There are further aspects of his proposal exposing Mr Collins’ character. He explains his second reason for marrying as being to ‘ add very greatly to my happiness.’ This add to the partial of him as selfish and self obsessed. He does not make any secret of his motives for marrying as being Lady Catherine and the convenience of a marriage between him and a lady from Longbourn. He is again too deluded to see that saying this would not impress Elizabeth and says, ‘I flatter myself it will not sink me in your esteem.’ There is a sense that he has such a high opinion of himself, he feels that it does not matter what he says, Elizabeth will want to marry him. He is even deluded  enough to believe Elizabeth should be grateful for his proposal he speaks to Elizabeth with great contempt and fails to realize that this may displease her; not encourage her to marry him. He tells Elizabeth that her, ‘ with and vivacity,’ will be, ‘ tempered with the silence and respect which her rank will inevitably excite,’ when talking about Lady Cather. Implying that Elizabeth should be extremely intimidated by someone such as Lady Cather. He later goes on to denigrate Elizabeth by telling her, ‘ Your portion is unhappily so small that it will in all likelihood undo the effects of your loveliness and amiable qualifications.; he is clearly too deluded and foolish to realize insults are not the way to a woman’s heart. Much of Darcy’ character is also revealed in his proposal. He is clearly not used to feeling the way that he feels. He first, ‘sat down for a few moments,’ then ‘walked about the room.’ He is seemingly unaware of how to deal with this situation. He came toward Elizabeth, ‘in an agitated manner.’ Darcy is far form his usual character of cool composure. He has clearly been moved by visible feelings; unlike Mr Collins. Darcy shows that money and status are important to him as well. He says, ‘In vain I have struggled; and ‘in spite of all his endeavors,; Darcy cannot overcome his feelings and must express them to E. Unlike Mr Collins Darcy talks of his great affections for Elizabeth. However just as Mr Collins Darcy also talks of money and connections. His speech is described as being, ‘ not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride.; although money and status are undoubtedly very important to Darcy, unlike Mr Collins, he proves that love and happiness are more important to him. Darcy is portrayed as being very honest. He gives Elizabeth the full story of his affections; the good and the bad. He makes not attempt to deny his actions in trying to separate Mr Bingly from Elizabeth’s sister, even though he must be aware that it will damage Elizabeth’s opinion of him. The fact that Darcy is willing to give Elizabeth the full story, reflects the openness and extent of Darcy’s feelings for Elizabeth. Darcy is much more realistic and down to earth than Mr Collins. He is not too  deluded to realize that the insults of Elizabeth’s family will damage her pride and upset her. However Darcy respects Elizabeth, and feels it better to give her the full story. Darcy is not too conceited to hear Elizabeth’s refusal. He accepts it and is clearly moved by it. His, ‘ complexion became pale with anger,’ and he struggles, ‘ for the appearance of composure.’ He stops Elizabeth and, ‘hastily left the room.’ Despite his higher status than Mr Collins, Darcy is not too self absorbed as to not believe Elizabeth’s rejection as being real. Darcy his giving everything to E. He gives her the full story. He shows her all his feelings; and vulnerably puts his entire self out on the line. By exposing himself so openly, he wants the great gift of love and happiness. However Mr Collins’ proposal in comparison is very superficial. He is not searching for lover or a joyous union between man and wife, but selfishly, and improved social standing for himself. As well as contrasts some similarities can be found between eh two proposals. Both Mr Collins and Darcy assume a positive outcome to their proposal and an acceptance of their offer. It is apparent that Mr Collins is so ceratin of acceptance, as he is os greatly conceited and believes that what he can offer will be unavoidably tempting to Elizabeth; she will not be able to refuse. However there is a sense that Darcy’s assumption is based on other reasons. It feels as though, Darcy’s feelings are so strong and have been so overpowering that he has not thought of refusal. Perhaps he feels that it would not be possible for him to feel so strongly for her, if Elizabeth did not feel the same. Although he assumes acceptance, when Darcy is faced with refusal he accepts it very quickly, unlike Mr Collins. In their proposals both Mr Collins and Darcy inflict pain on Elizabeth’s pride by reminding her of her vulnerable social situation. Mr Collins is willing to over look Elizabeth’s poor fortune. Darcy has been forced by his true love to overcome his question about Elizabeth’s social standing. Mr Collins sees economic reasons, his high connections, his ability to improve, Elizabeth’s social standing, and his opportunity to improve his social status by obtaining a wife, as reasons for marriage, not the opportunity of  love and happiness. Darcy however does not try to use his ability to improve Elizabeth’s economic situation as reasons for her accepting his hand. Darcy sees the questionable economic and social situation as a reason for not marrying Elizabeth . In contrast to Mr Collins he sees the potential for love and happiness as the fuel for marriage, not money. It is because of this that he is able to overcome his pride and propose. We can also obtain many aspects of Elizabeth’s character, from her behavior during and reaction to the two different proposals. Elizabeth is clearly very sensible. When Mr Collins presses for time alone with Elizabeth she immediately knows what is going on, and tries desperately to avoid it. Unlike maybe some of her younger sisters she is not naive, and does not simply desire for male company. Elizabeth later goes on to asset the sense of her character, by responding to Mr Collins’ ridiculous assumptions that Elizabeth’s refusals is just part of a game that many young women play, by saying, ‘I do assure you that I am not one of those young ladies, (if such young ladies that are) who are so daring as to risk there happiness on the chance of being asked a second time.’ Elizabeth is clearly too sensible to play such games. She is not so stupid as to risk true love and happiness, and maybe too sensible to see how anyone could be so insensible as to do so . As well as sensible Elizabeth comes across as very civil and level headed. She does not cause a scene, does not loudly refuse Mr Collins and revoke his insults. In stead she wishes to finish the ordeal as quickly and, ‘as quietly as possible.’ At first Mr Collins’ declaration of his love makes Elizabeth, ‘so near laughing that she could not use the short pause he allowed in any attempt to stop him farther.’ this reflects Elizabeth’s light spirited character and good sense of humor. Despite Mr Collins’ constant disbelieve of the reality of Elizabeth’s refusal, Elizabeth still remains calm and civil. She does not appear as ill-tempered and is perhaps sensible enough to realize that becoming upset and excited will not help the situation. She attempts to blame her refusal on herself and lack of ability to please Lady Catherine. She says to Mr Collins. ‘ were your friend Lady Catherine to know me, I am persuaded she would find me in every respect ill qualified.’ She does not personally insult Mr Collins, but instead attempts  to find excuse for her denying his proposal. This again reflects her civil character. It seems as though Elizabeth does not like insulting confrontations with people. She is desperate to leave her encounter with Mr Collins under good conditions. However Mr Collins continues to persist in his proposal. Despite attempts to remain civil, as Mr Collins continues to reuses the reality of her refusal Elizabeth becomes more agitated. She cries to Mr Collins, ‘with some warmth, your puzzle me exceedingly,’ Elizabeth is seemingly too sensible for such foolishness and silly games; and they clearly agitate her. However instead of insults, Elizabeth reverts to her trade mark irony as she becomes more angry. It is a reflection on her good nature a strength that she remains so calm during such an infuriating ordeal. Elizabeth’s connection in intellect and sense with her father is revealed at the end of the proposal. Elizabeth acknowledges that she will not be able to convince Mr Collins and immediately thinks of her father. Sh knows that his character is just as sensible as her own, and unlike her mother, her father will not make her marry such an obsurd man. Many of the aspect of Elizabeth’s character are also revealed in Darcy’s proposal. As with Mr Collins Elizabeth did not want to see Md. However this is due to her dislike of his character; not even her sense could foresee this proposal. After Darcy beings his proposal, he views Elizabeth’s silence as, ‘sufficient encouragement,’ to continue. This agin reflects Elizabeth’s strength of character. She is clearly recognized by Darcy as a woman with strong mind and opinions. Elizabeth ‘was at first sorry for the pain he was to receive.’ This shows that Elizabeth is a compassionate character. Although she deeply dislikes Darcy; she is not so spiteful as to wish to inflict any pain on him. Elizabeth evidently feels much more emotion throughout Darcy’s proposals. Phrases are used such as, ‘color rose into her cheeks,’ ‘she was roused to resentments,’ ‘she lost all compassion in anger.’ However despite heightened emotions, Elizabeth still tries to remain patients and composed. It is clear  the Elizabeth feels much more for Darcy. She is much more personal in her responses to him. She Darcy, ‘I have never desired you good opinion.’ She makes no secret of her dislike for him. She informs Darcy that it is not only his proposal on which her, ‘dislike was founded.’ Elizabeth is clearly very passionate about Darcy, even if she does not like him. She is insulted by him, and cannot remains so civil as with Mr Collins. She cannot brush away Darcy’s insults as she can with Mr Collins. This is all because she feels for Darcy and does not for Mr Collins. Elizabeth clearly cares deeply for her family, as she particularly struggles for composure, after Darcy confirms his actions causing hurt to Elizabeth’s sister Jane. As well as the creditable aspects of her character, Elizabeth’s greatest fault is also displayed. Her fault being prejudice. She bases her deep, deep dislike of Darcy, on the opinions she formed of him after their first meeting. In her final dialogue of Darcy’s proposal Elizabeth says, ‘from the first moment I may almost say, of my acquaintance with you, your manners impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain. Because of this opinion Elizabeth automatically believes Wickham’s story. The believe of his story, inflated Elizabeth’s bad opinion of Darcy, and greatly fueled her dislike. Elizabeth does not even think to consider her view of Darcy may be incorrect. She does not hesitate in firing her insults at him and shows great prejudice towards him. Elizabeth does not acknowledge the feelings of either of the men proposing to her. She knows she will not make Mr Collins happy. Elizabeth believes that after Darcy has exposed his love to Elizabeth he, ‘can have little difficulty in overcoming it.’ Elizabeth appears completely ignorant to the stir she has cause in d. The reflects her modesty. She does not have an over inflated image of herself and is too sensible to feel that men should always fall in love with her. Throughout both proposals, despite being annoyed, angered and hurt, Elizabeth always tries to retains her composure. Although this is a merit to her strength of character, it could also be interpreted in a different way. Perhaps Elizabeth tries to remains calm because she cares aobut what others  think of her. She does not want to be viewed as ill-tempered or hot headed. Instead as the civil sensible character, that she is. I feel the greatest tribute to Elizabeth’s strength of character, is her refusal of both proposals. She proves herself to be, much wiser and much more confident than Charlotte Lucas, who accept Mr Collins’ proposal. Elizabeth will not just marry for convince and the safe entail of Longbourn. Elizabeth shows that she is too strong to be swayed into acceptance, by a rich husband and a lavish existence. Unlike Mr Collins, Mrs Bennet and Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth proves that love and happiness are the most important thing to her, not economy and status; love will be the only reason why she will marry. Typically, Mrs Bennet is reflected very badly in her attempt of match making. In discussion with Mr Collins, Mrs Bennett assumes that Elizabeth will accept Mr Collins’ proposals. This shows that both feel money and connections are suitable reasons for accepting a marriage. The both assume that Elizabeth also views status as more important than love. Mrs Bennett does not think to consider the feelings of her daughter. She overlooks Elizabeth’s discomfort and vexation, and continues to pressure Elizabeth into time alone with Mr Collins. This implies that to Mrs Bennett improved social connections, the secure knowledge that her house will remain in her family, are more important than the feelings of her family. This is later supported by Mrs Bennett’s reaction to Elizabeth’s refusal. She refuses to talk to Elizabeth for what she has done. This probes that Mrs Bennett attaches a greater value to status, than to love and enjoyment of her family. There is a sense that she wishes to be the boss. Whatever she tells her children to do is right and must be done. However she does not have the wit or intellect to command such control. Instead, just as a child, she sulks when her authority is not followed. Elizabeth maintenance of a civil manner throughout the proposals, shows that she is more sociably acceptable than her mother. Despite Mrs Bennett’s constant attempts to improve her social standing. One of the Jane Austen’s greatest tricks, is her ability to adapt her script  to influence the reader into feeling what she wants them to feel. This is very apparent in the two proposals. For Mr Collins’ proposals, Jane Austen includes the full dialogue of his declaration. This has great effect. By including the full script of Mr Collins’ dialogue it enhances the effect that Mr Collins is talking through a script. You get the full flavor of his pre-designed speech; and the extent of his lack of feeling. Jane Austen uses the opposiet tactic achieving an opposite effect for Darcy’s proposal. She does not write the full dialogue of Darcy’s proposal. Instead she depicts the events in a narrative form. This helps to maintain the reader like towards d. Elizabeth’s fault is prejudice and Darcy’ is pride. Due to his nature and the society hie lives in Darcy will inevitably damage Elizabeth’s pride with insults towards her status. However these are not included in the dialogue. So the reader comes to respect Darcy for telling a true story of his love; but without disliking him for rude conceited remarks, as with Mr Collins. There is a further effect form the authorial comments. The ending to Mr Collins’ proposal, leaves a definite finality to the situation. Although Mr Collins leaves convinced they will marry, Elizabeth knows otherwise. She will apply to her father, who will make no doubt of the fact that Elizabeth does not wish to accept Mr Collins’s proposals. Elizabeth does not reflect on his proposal; and there is no question that she does not feel for Mr Collins. However with Darcy it is different. Elizabeth is definitely moved by his proposal. She ‘sat down and cried for half and hour.’ She considered her meeting with Darcy, ‘in very agitated reflections until the sound of Lady Catherine’s carriage.’ There is no sense of finality to Darcy’s proposal or Elizabeth’s feelings. As the reader is aware that Elizabeth’s passionate hatred is founded on prejudice, you cannot help but wonder that if she were to over come her fault, her pass ion towards Darcy might change. It is clear through the proposals that women did not always have a very high standing. For some women were simply interchangeable. For example when Mr Collins finds that Jane is taken he immediately move his marital interests to Elizabeth. It appears that women did not always have a high enough  standing to even choose their partner in marriage. Some women were forced into marriage not by love or choice, but by family and the pressure to increase or maintain a social reputation. For example Mrs Bennett attempts to force Elizabeth into marrying Mr Collins.. It is not all women who have Elizabeth’s strength of character not to be pushed, for example Charlotte did not. It appears that women could sometimes be the victim of emotional blackmail. For example Mr Collins tires to convince Elizabeth to marry him by telling her that it is unlikely any one else will offer, as her, ‘portion is unhappily so small.’ Mr Collins’ proposal also suggests that what women said in reply to a proposal did not always matter. Mr Collins finally resigns himself to saying that even if Elizabeth continues to refuse, her mother will ensure a marriage. However Darcy’s proposal contradicts this. Darcy takes note and respects Elizabeth’s refusal. He make no attempts to bribe or pressure her as he realises she does not love him. Both proposals reflect the great importance of money and class when it comes to marriage. Mr Collins’ proposal was fueled by economic and social reasons. It appears that to some these are substantial enough reasons for marriage. Mr Collins tells, ‘your portions is unhappily so small that it will in all likelihood undo the effects of your loveliness and amiable qualifications.’ This implies that many would feel, class many would feel, class, money and connections to be more important than admiration of the other, when in search of a bride. Even Darcy who feels genuine love for Elizabeth, must mention money. In the society of the time, money and class are such important issues that Darcy cannot let them escape when proposing. Although it is revealed that money is very important when it comes to marriage, it is also apparent that true gentlemen such a Mr Darcy will not befall to snobbery, they can overcome economic situations, because they have the correct moral unde rstand to know that love is most important.

Henri Matisse: “The Window”, France 1916 Essay

Matisse is considered one of the most influential painters of the 20th century, and one of the leading Modernists. Known for his use of vibrant colors and simple forms, Matisse helped to usher in a new approach to art. He believed that the artist must be guided by instinct and intuition. Although he began his craft later in life than most artists, Matisse continued to create and innovate well into his eighties. The Window, 1916, is a very pretty piece of work. Henri Matisse uses jagged, thick, curved, heavy, graceful, vertical, diagonal, and straight lines to portray this painting. With the perfect use of these lines, Henri Matisse created many shapes to piece this amazing painting together: circles, squares, curved, soft-edged, and hard-edged shapes. As a result of his lines and shapes, he gives the painting a smooth, soft, and dull texture which is a very nice combination in this painting. The painting contains a bit of asymmetry, which is when each side of the painting is a little different but looks relatively the same. At first sight of the painting your eye will focus on the focal point, which is a reddish orange table in the middle of the picture. In the painting, apart from the table, you can see a room with a blue and black chair, a rug, and a window. Through the window you can see the green of a garden and a black tree trunk, there is also a basket of forget-me-nots on the table. This gives the painting a very shallow space feeling, which is when you cannot see very far past the main object. On this painting the table with flowers, the chair, and the rug which they are sitting on have the most detail and, in my opinion, it looks very lonely. The artist uses a mix of dark blue shading and beams of light coming through the window to express emotion. The name of this piece of art â€Å"The Window† does not, but at the same time does, in my opinion, represent its true meaning for two reasons. First, when I think of a window I think of happiness and breezes, but the painting looks lonely. Second, the reason which makes me believe the name actually does represent the meaning of the painting, the painting looks inviting at first because of the bright light from the window that makes soothing colors on the ground. With these two opposite feelings, the meaning of the name  compared to the painting is very confusing. I was drawn to this painting because of the bright light coming through the window, which gave it a unique look from all of the other paintings around it. This painting will stand out in a crowd, because of its interesting look of a mix of dark and light colors. Even though the painting is, at first sight, bright and cheery, when you look at it for a while and interpret the meaning it has a lonely look but is still very satisfying to view. Matisse’s desire to reproduce the world accurately in a harmonious two-dimensional painting is shown perfectly in his painting The Window. The window is truly a one of a kind piece of art work that will be admired for many years. Matisse had made this painting very open to interpretation. The Window is an excellent example of emotionalism and I like this piece of art work and would recommend it to many people.