Heart of Darkness Essay Example for Free

Heart of Darkness Essay The mistress was always considered primitive and did not become civilised after being with Kurtz, showing she had strength to stay who she was and not be influenced by the `white man, as many black people were. Her power on Kurtz, however, was far too great and he could not help but be influenced by this wild woman and also by the country, in which she lived. Kurtz was also influenced and changed by the `power of Africa. He could have control over the natives but he would never be able to succumb to the heart of darkness. The mistress, herself was actually a representation of Africa: like the wilderness itself which emphasises her power and compares it to that of her land into which even white men were afraid to venture too deep. When Marlow looked at a map of Africa he described the Congo river as looking like a snake. This again makes the audience relate back to Adam and Eve. A snake which symbolised the devil convinced Eve to tempt Adam. So through this we can see that the mistress received some of her power through a greater source. Her inability to speak makes readers think of her as more animal and primitive but this just adds to her mystery and makes her appear more like Africa and at one with the power in it. the immense wilderness, the colossal body of the fecund and mysterious life seemed to look at her, pensive, as though it had been looking at the image of  its own tenebrous and passionate soul. Emphasising these three characters power, Conrad uses a contrasting character for comparison. This character is Kurtzs `intended who was very much opposite to the other females, in particular Kurtzs `mistress. This woman was a typical Victorian fantasy: This fair hair, this pale visage, this pure brow her forehead, smooth and white her fair hair seemed to catch all the remaining light in a glimmer of gold. She is the type of woman any British man would want. The use of words such as `fair, `white, `smooth and `pure conveys her as being innocent and good and she was never spoken about in a sexual way- she seemed not to have any sexuality- which is a very powerful attribute to have. Someone with these characteristics is usually not very powerful. Also her background: she is British and British women were often marginalised from power or authority due to males values so too would she be- she is no exception to this- more like an example of it. A year after Kurtzs death she still mourned him and tells Marlow: I have survived. This tells readers she finds it hard to like without Kurtz- she is finding it hard to find the power to struggle on. Then when Marlow lies to her about Kurtzs last words- readers are aware that he is does not believe she has enough strength (power) to handle that kind of truth. This lie is made to maintain womens great and saving illusion. For this `powerless woman Marlow wants to help (her/women) to stay in that beautiful world of their own This is contrasted with the other three `powerful women as they were not in that beautiful world of their own. The aunt was almost in a `mans world- finding power from others in high places. The knitting women were represented as being in the `after world having power over peoples lives and guarding the door of Darkness therefore having the power (like the men believed they had over women) of deciding who could come in to their world and who could not. Then there was the mistress: her personality and her `world was the complete opposite to the intended (who was the representation of `powerless). The mistress was considered wild, very sexual and uncivilised, living in an almost `animal world obtaining her power from nature. The typical woman in the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, is represented as not possessing much or any power. This is seen through the eyes of a man therefore women are marginalised. They are excluded from the bulk of the story but when they do make an appearance, the `aunt, the `knitting women and the `mistress all convey some sort of amazing power that is not typical to Marlows views and that men (of those times) do not consider or want women to have. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Joseph Conrad section.

Totalitarianism in Brave New World Essay -- essays research papers

The formative years of the 1900’s, suffered from communism, fascism, and capitalism. The author of the Brave New World, Mr. Aldous Huxley lived in a social order in which he had been exposed to all three of these systems. In the society of the Brave New World, which is set 600 years into the future, individuality is not condoned and the special motto â€Å"Community, Identity, Stability† frames the structure of the Totalitarian Government. The Brave New World â€Å"community† is divided into five castes ranging from the Alphas, who are the most intellectually superior, and ending with the Epsilons who are the most intellectually inferior. â€Å"Identity† is portrayed in the â€Å"Conditioning Center,† where babies are not born but made then separated into the five classes. â€Å"Stability† in this society is insured through limitations placed on the intelligence of each group. The fundamental tenant behind the New World is â€Å"UTILITARIAN TOTALITARIANISM.† The goal of utilitarianism is to make the society happy as a whole and thus more efficient. A Totalitarian Government is kept in the New World by control, conditioning, and a lack of emotion and intelligence. Through science people are not just created, they are conditioned to guarantee the happiness in humanity, â€Å"What man has joined nature, is powerless to put asunder,† shows how much conditioning can change behavior. In his writing, Huxley shows that misinformation starts at birth and can be used against us whenever we are unaware of it. The New World is a blend of capitalism and communism. Capitalism seeks to stimulate trade market to generate a substantial amount of money, which results in economic benefits for the country. The system of rule in the Brave New World has a similar aspect. In it, t... ...der, Adolf Hitler who led under a Fascist rule, controlled everything from religion to politics. â€Å"Fascism is a form of right-wing totalitarianism which emphasizes the subordination of the individual to advance the interests of the state.† The Nazi idea of life was that all â€Å"non-Aryans,† should be scorned, and German unification should be reached. Unification was to be reached in any way possible including terror and loyalty to their autocrat. â€Å"[People constantly requesting government intervention] are casting their problems at society. And, you know, there's no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look after themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after our neighbors.† --Margaret Thatcher September 23, 1937

Air pollution economic case for enviromental regulation

IntroductionEconomic development and prosperity takes place, several times, coupled with contamination of the urban environment. This situation is defined in economics as an externality, which is an effect from one activity which has consequences for another activity but is not reflected in market prices. When these consequences are the generation of external costs they are defined as negatives. This is the particular case of air pollution. For example, â€Å"Pollution represents an external cost because damages associated with it are borne by society as a whole and are not reflected in market transactions.†(Koomey and Krause, 1997)  Despite the fact that stricter controls were put into practice in the last years, and the observed reductions in pollution, air pollution remains as a common concern among countries.Externalities correctionsThere are four major measurable examples to correct this problem which are: Property Rights, Regulation, Taxes and subsidies, Marketable Per mits.  Although it works in few cases, small groups, if property rights are correctly defined it may avoid the problem, e.g. if a firm owns the right to clean air and can charge people for using it.  Air pollution regulations were strengthened by enactment of the Air Quality Act in 1967, which introduced a regional approach to air pollution control; and has been has been increasing in the last years, E.g., limits on vehicle emissions, controls on allowable factory emissions, smoking bans. The problem on this measure is that does not encourage change in technology uses or new technology developments.Taxes and subsidies, for example differential taxes on carbon emissions, has the benefit that the company that produces contamination â€Å"pays†, thus encouraging technology change and being more efficient.  At last, marketable permits are a number of permits issued according to a total limit of output pollution. They may be auctioned to the highest bidder, going to companie s that can not reduce pollution easily. The Clean Air Act is a well-known example of the application of the marketable permits technique.ConclusionControlling air pollution is a difficult task, plenty of trade-off decisions. Many measures have been taken to stop the problem, but many of them have proven to be inefficient. It seems that taxes and subsidies are the best measures but this might be introduced slowly into the market, thus giving time to firms to adjust their production methods. Hence is that marketable permits are a validate instrument to go together with taxes in the meanwhile.ReferencesNorberg, Johan. â€Å"In Defense of Global Capitalism†. Publisher: Cato Institute. Place of Publication: Washington, DC. Publication Year: 2003. Page Number: 229.Cherni, Judith A. â€Å"Economic Growth versus the Environment: The Politics of Wealth, Health and Air Pollution†. Publisher: Palgrave. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 2002. Page Number: 1.Colls, Jeremy. â€Å"Air Pollution†. Publisher: Spon Press. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 2002. Page Number: 21.Arya, S. Pal. â€Å"Air Pollution, Meteorology and Dispersion†. Publisher: Oxford University Press. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 1999. Page Number: 15.Koomey, Jonathan and Krause, Florentin. â€Å"Introduction to Environmental Externality Costs†. Year: 1997. Published in the CRC Handbook on Energy Efficiency. Energy Analysis Program. Applied Science Division. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.   

Methane as a Greenhouse Gas

Methane is a major constituent of natural gas, but its chemical and physical characteristics also make it a powerful greenhouse gas and worrisome contributor to global climate change. Methane A methane molecule, CH4, is made of a central carbon atom surrounded by four hydrogens. Methane is a colorless gas usually formed in one of two ways: Biogenic methane is produced by microorganisms breaking down certain types of sugars in conditions where oxygen is absent. This biologically-produced methane can be released to the atmosphere immediately upon being produced, or it can be accumulated in wet sediment only to be released later.Thermogenic methane was formed when organic matter was buried deeply under geological layers and over millions of years, and then broken down by pressure and high temperatures. This type of methane is the primary constituent of natural gas, making up 70 to 90% of it. Propane is a common by-product found in natural gas. Biogenic and thermogenic methane may have different origins but they have the same properties, making them both effective greenhouse gases. Methane as a Greenhouse Gas Methane, along with carbon dioxide and other molecules, contributes significantly to the greenhouse effect. Reflected energy from the sun  in the form of longer-wavelength infrared radiation excites methane molecules instead of traveling out into space. This warms up the atmosphere, enough that methane contributes to about 20% of the warming due to greenhouse gases, second in importance behind carbon dioxide. Due to the chemical bonds within its molecule  methane is much more efficient at absorbing heat than carbon dioxide (as much as 86 times more), making it a very potent greenhouse gas. Fortunately, methane can only last about 10 to 12 years in the atmosphere before it gets oxidized and turns into water and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide lasts for centuries. An Upward Trend According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the amount of methane in the atmosphere has multiplied since the industrial revolution, growing from an estimated 722 parts per billion (ppb) in 1750 to 1834 ppb in 2015. Emissions from many developed parts of the world have now appeared to have leveled off, however. Fossil Fuels Once Again to Blame In the United States,  methane emissions come primarily from the fossil fuel industry. Methane is not released when we burn fossil fuels, as carbon dioxide does, but rather during the extraction, processing, and distribution of fossil fuels. Methane leaks out of natural gas wellheads, at processing plants, out of faulty pipeline valves, and even in the distribution network bringing natural gas to homes and businesses. Once there, methane continues to leak out of gas meters and gas-powered appliances like heaters and stoves. Some accidents occur during the handling of natural gas  resulting in the release of large amounts of gas. In 2015 very high volumes of methane were released from a storage facility in California. The Porter Ranch leak lasted for months, emitting almost 100,000 tons of methane into the atmosphere. Agriculture: Worse Than Fossil Fuels? The second-largest source of methane emissions in the United States is agriculture. When evaluated globally, agricultural activities actually rank first. Remember those microorganisms that produce biogenic methane in conditions where oxygen is lacking? Herbivorous livestock guts are full of them. Cows, sheep, goats, even camels have methanogenic bacteria in their stomach to help digest plant material, which means they collectively pass very large quantities of methane gas. And it is not a minor issue, as a full 22% of methane emissions in the United States are estimated to come from livestock. Another agricultural source of methane is the production of rice. Rice paddies contain methane-producing microorganisms as well, and the soggy fields release about 1.5% of global methane emissions. As the human population grows and with it the need to grow food, and as temperatures rise with climate change, it is expected that methane emissions from rice fields will continue to increase. Adjusting rice-growing practices can help alleviate the problem: temporarily drawing down water mid-season, for example, makes a big difference but for many farmers, the local  irrigation network cannot accommodate the change. From Waste to Greenhouse Gas Organic matter decomposing deep inside a landfill produces methane, which is normally vented out and released into the atmosphere. It’s an important enough problem that landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions in the United States, according to the EPA. Fortunately, an increasing number of facilities capture  the gas and route it to a plant that uses a boiler to produce electricity with that waste gas. Methane Coming From the Cold As Arctic regions warm up quickly  methane is released even in the absence of direct human activity. The Arctic tundra, along with its numerous wetlands and lakes, contains large amounts of peat-like dead vegetation locked in ice and permafrost. As those layers of peat thaw, microorganism activity picks up and methane is released. In a troublesome feedback loop the more methane there is in the atmosphere, the warmer it gets, and more methane is released from the thawing permafrost. To add to the uncertainty, another worrying phenomenon has the potential to further disrupt our climates very rapidly. Under Arctic soils and deep in oceans large concentrations of methane exist entrapped in an ice-like mesh made of water. The resulting structure is called a clathrate, or methane hydrate. Large deposits of clathrate can be destabilized by changing currents, underwater landslides, earthquakes, and warming temperatures. The sudden collapse of large methane clathrate deposits, for whatever reason, would release lots of methane into the atmosphere and cause rapid warming. Reducing Our Methane Emissions As a consumer, the most effective way to lower methane emissions is by reducing our fossil fuel energy needs. Additional efforts include choosing a diet low in red meat to reduce the demand for methane-producing cattle and composting to reduce the amount of organic waste sent to landfills where it would produce methane.