An Analysis of Thomas Hardys The Mayor of Casterbridge Essay -- essay

An Analysis of The Mayor of Casterbridge The plot of The Mayor of Casterbridge, by Thomas Hardy, can often be confusing and difficult to follow. The pages of this novel are filled with sex, scandal, and alcohol, but it provides for a very interesting and unique story. It all begins one day in the large Wessex village of Weydon-Priors. Michael Henchard, a young hay-trusser looking for work, enters the village with his wife and infant daughter. What follows next, is certainly a little out of the ordinary, and this book provides and interesting plot, that is sure to brighten up any boring day. Michael Henchard, looking for something to drink, enters into a tent where an old woman is selling furmity, a liquid pudding made of boiled wheat, eggs, sugar, and spices. Henchard consumes too many bowls of furmity spiked with rum. Feeling trapped by his marriage and under the influence, Henchard threatens to auction his family. The auction begins as a kind of cruel joke, but Susan Henchard in anger retaliates by leaving with a sailor who makes the highest bid. Henchard regrets his decision the next day, but he is unable to find his family. Exactly eighteen years pass. Susan and her daughter Elizabeth-Jane come back to the fair, seeking news about Henchard. The sailor has been lost at sea, and Susan is returning to her "rightful" husband. At the infamous furmity tent, they learn Henchard has moved to Casterbridge, where he has become a prosperous grain merchant and even mayor. When Henchard learns that his family has returned, he is determined to right his old wrong. He devises a plan for courting and marrying Susan again, and for adopting her daughter. A young Scotsman named Donald Farfrae enters Casterbridge on the same day as Susan and Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard takes an instant liking to the total stranger and convinces Farfrae to stay on in Casterbridge as his right-hand man. Henchard even tells Farfrae the two greatest secrets of his life: the sale of his wife and the affair he has had with a Jersey woman, Lucetta. Henchard is confused as to how to make good on his bad acts. Henchard remarries Susan, who dies soon afterward, leaving behind a letter to be opened on Elizabeth-Jane's wedding day. Henchard read... ... Henchard appears at Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae's wedding to deliver a present. Elizabeth-Jane spurns him, and Henchard sees that Newson has taken over as father of the bride--a role Henchard can never play. He leaves Casterbridge broken-hearted. A few days later, Elizabeth-Jane discovers Henchard's present, a bird in a cage. The unattended bird has died of starvation. Touched, she and Farfrae go in search of Henchard. Too late, they learn he has just died in the hovel where he had been living with the humblest of his former employees. The young couple read Henchard's pitiful will, in which Henchard asks that no one remember him. As one can see, to often scandal can end in tragedy, as in the case of poor Michael Henchard. He lived a risky life, and paid for his mistakes in the end. The Mayor of Casterbridge proves to be an interesting novel, that provides everything modern day critics hope to keep out of the hands of children. The book proved to be at times, quite exegesis, but the plot is presented well, and the settings described beautifully. Thomas Hardy creates a masterpiece in describing the rise and fall of one Michael Henchard.

According to Abraham Lincoln Essay

According to Abraham Lincoln, â€Å"Your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other thing† (Mills 3). I was inspired by this quote that speaks of success, which I will describe as a golden star that everyone wants to reach. This quote is similar to most of the leadership quotes because it speaks of ways to reach success, but, this quote is special in a way that it could be related to the self-fulfilling prophecy. Simply put, the main road to success is the â€Å"will to succeed. † I’m sure each of us has experienced actually failing a task whenever our mind is embedded with the phrase: â€Å"I can’t do this! † If you believe that you will be successful in any endeavor you want to take, then, you have taken the first step to becoming a person who is the â€Å"king or queen of success. † I myself have noticed that whenever I put into mind that I will â€Å"win,† the outcome turns out to be truly positive. This essay can help readers realize that their goals can be achieved by first believing in themselves. If a person always expects that he/she will succeed in something specific, then his/her expectations will most probably turn into a reality as what the so-called â€Å"self-fulfilling prophecy† suggests. Rosenthal, in his book: â€Å"Experimenter Effects in Behavioral Research,† said: â€Å"Events tend to turn out as one has hypothesized, not because of some great insight but because one behaves in a manner to achieve this outcome. † Believing in this theory would mean that we would have to love ourselves more, believe that we have what it takes to win in this â€Å"game† called life, and, at the same time, because of our mind set, act in such a way that enables us to achieve our dreams. Bear in Mind: Success is in your hands, just believe! Belief, however, is the first step to success. The confidence and passion to go where no man has traveled and the will and perseverance to stay that course are the next steps on the road to success. It is easy to claim the belief in success but it is a totally different matter to take concrete actions to prove that resolve. Many people have claimed to have the utmost confidence in succeeding in life but there are only a few who can say that they have really succeeded in life. The reason for this is that without action nothing will result. As the rule of Isaac Newton on action and reaction dictates, â€Å"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. † This means that one must take definite steps in life in order to even be considered as a success in life (Mills 3). As the world continues to change and becomes more and more challenging and competitive, it becomes imperative for anyone looking for a successful life to not only have the drive to succeed but also the training and expertise to do so (Mills 3). While it has been said by Rosenthal that love for one’s self is the most important thing, there are other factors that one has to seriously consider in order to become successful in life. Once one has realized what one wants to do in life, the next step lies in realizing that dream. There is only so much that one can realize by dreaming without taking definite action. The thing that sets successful people apart from everyone else is the fact that these people have lived the dream. They were not simply content to dream and believe in themselves. These people have failed and still continued to believe in themselves. They did not falter when the whole world did not believe in them. The thing that counted the most for them was that they believed and they did something about that belief. The â€Å"will to succeed† and the â€Å"will to begin† are the two most important rules for success in the world today. Everyone can have the â€Å"will to succeed† but not everyone has the â€Å"will to begin. † To be a winner in life, one has to have the will and the act. One cannot achieve anything without both of these traits. Works Cited: Mills, Dawson A. â€Å"Continuing Education Offerings Abound. † The Virginian-Pilot [Virginia] 28 January 1996:3. Rosenthal, Robert. Experimenter Effects in Behavioral Research. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1966.

The First Strength Of The Apple Inc. Essay - 1133 Words

660 The first strength of the Apple Inc. company is the financial position. The Apple Inc. developed to number one company in the globe and conquered the capital market. Yoffie and Penelop, 2012, states that Apple Inc. holds a solid financial located with a total assets of $162.90 billion. He also claimed that the Apple Inc. is the company that holds biggest trade out hand up to $116 billion. The Apple Inc. are financially strong enough to invest more in research and development to retain their outstanding position and their net revenue of 46%. The second strength of the Apple Inc. company is the separated products. The Apple Inc.’s personal computer operating structure is well secured. It were built free from viruses and hackers which tend to attack the Windows programming of Microsoft. Besides that, the Apple Inc.’s products are structured to address the interest about consumer’s ways of life which make the realistic framework and create of Apple’s products better than their competitor’s products in a similar market sector. Meanwhile, the Apple Inc. company holds the upper class sophisticated software products which is diverse from the other competitors. Each Apple Inc.’s products are produced from high quality products, such as aluminum, which consolidated with unique designs. These elements in their unlimited cluster of products make customers to sense that they have an expensive and glamourous product when they carry any Apple Inc. product. Weaknesses The first weaknessShow MoreRelatedApple Computer, Inc Case Study 141554 Words   |  7 PagesApple Computer, Inc case study 14 Apple has created a unique and powerful reputation and product line that continues to be innovative and fresh to the consumer for the last 30 plus years. 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