An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley :: Papers

An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley I am going to explore how J.B Priestley expresses his ideas and concerns about society through the characters Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in "An Inspector Calls". Priestley's Ideas and concerns were similar to Dickens's in "A Christmas Carol", they both had concerns that the rich were not looking after the poor and that they were not taking responsibilities for their own effect on those less fortunate. They both stress the idea that the poor should be given a helping hand to get their own money, not just be punished for being poor because that doesn't help. J.B Priestley set the play in 1912 because so much had happen between the period he had set the play and written it (1945), which meant that the audience would be knowledgeable about the time and he could then use dramatic irony very effectively. Dramatic irony is where the audience has knowledge that gives additional meaning to a characters words, Priestley uses this technique with the character Mr Birling to show that he didn't have a clue about what he was talking about like other rich people of the time. Mr Birling says "the Titanicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable" the Titanic sunk on its maiden voyage. As the audience knew this fact, and as the audience will know they realized Mr Birling was wrong so this causes dramatic irony. He also talks about WW1 "just because the Kaiser makes a speech or two, or a few German officers have too much to drink and begin to talk nonsense, you'll hear some people say that war is inevitable. And to that I say - fiddlesticks!" and of cause the war did happened, well two wars happened between 1912 and 1945. Birling also says the workers won't revolt and the labour party will never grow and again he is wrong. The effect of using dramatic irony to make Mr Birling look ignorant even though he is financially successful is to show that even thought some people maybe be rich doesn't mean they now more about

Education for All Essay

Higher Education has left behind the image of an American college population featuring predominantly young men and women from affluent, well connected families. Being a college student myself at age 50, I notice the diversity in student demographics. College represents a new beginning for those who have been affected by the recent economical changes all over the country but mostly in California. The visibility of nontraditional students earning a degree while raising families is commonplace. The availability of financial aid, scholarships, and federal loan programs has opened collegiate doors for students of all income levels and cultural backgrounds. I had many reservations in regards to entering the education arena so many years after graduating high school. I had concerns that I would not be able to pass an entrance exam. In the article â€Å"College Entrance Examination Board† in the Encyclopedia of Education, Second Edition, The College Examination Board is the body that creates the nationally recognized college entrance exam referred to as the Scholastic Assessment Test or SAT which is taken by one million students annually and is required for admission by many four year colleges and universities (372). According to the â€Å"Assessment Requirements† article on the website, California Colleges, most California Community Colleges require a placement assessment test to accurately place students in appropriate classes based on each individual’s level of ability. After taking the placement test for Mt San Jacinto Community College, I was amazed at the simplicity of the test itself. However, my reading and comprehension is still college level and unsurprising to me since I have been out of school since 1979, the test showed that I would require some remedial math and grammar. Since becoming a student in a California college I have become aware of several things. According to the Postsecondary Education Commissions article â€Å"Admission and residency requirements† on the website California Postsecondary Education Commission, by law all California Community Colleges are required to admit any California resident who graduated from high school. In addition, community colleges may admit individuals who have not graduated but are over 18 years old and can benefit from the instruction offered. The Commission article further states California Community Colleges serve 1. million students every year and a California resident may attend any community college campus in the state. According to article â€Å"California High School Exit Examination,† on the website California Department of Education, in California all high school students must pass a test to earn a high school diploma, the test itself is called the CAHSEE. I further investigated this exam, and found another article referring to the CAHSEE called â€Å"Help with the California High School Exit Exam† on the website San Diego County Office of Education. In which the San Diego County Office of Education outlined the components of the CAHSEE exam. I was absolutely amazed. The test covers the curriculum of the courses I was placed in after taking the placement test at Mt San Jacinto Community College. I understand the placement of someone who has been out of school for over 30 years, but what I absolutely do not understand are the amount of students in the same classes as I am who are fresh out of high school. Something is definitely wrong. I have discovered that California Community Colleges are the melting pot for students that didn’t make it in high school and now are taking up space in the largest education system in the state. In fact, with the budget cuts in the State of California affecting class availability in the community colleges, obtaining the necessary classes for every student’s educational goal is challenging. I received an email from Enrollment Services at Mt. San Jacinto Community College, titled â€Å"Policy Changes Effective Summer 2012,† its content disturbed me. Basically, it is limiting the number of times each student can take a class to receive a passing grade. That means that the student can take up to three semesters and receive financial aid, take up desk space, trying to pass a class that before this change, the class could be taken more than three times to achieve a passing grade. This policy was adopted by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to â€Å"ensure that as many students as possible are provided the opportunity to access a postsecondary education†. There is a gap between exiting high school and entering community college. There are Adult Education Centers in every community and these schools should be utilized for those students who don’t have college level reading comprehension skills. There should be a referral source and a retesting arrangement for students that cannot read. This has been the most frustrating element of returning to college. The students that for whatever reason did not finish high school and do not have adequate reading comprehension skills should not take up space in the higher education arena. A bridge needs to be created to assist these individuals to integrate them into college. The assessment placement test places students below 10th grade reading and comprehension abilities in remedial courses. Community colleges are providing classes that are not college level, which takes away classroom availability for students moving towards a degree, or certificate program. Class availability is a twofold problem, the number of student trying to enroll in college that don’t have the college level skills and the students enrolling in college trying to obtain their undergraduate courses to transfer to a four year college or university. The remedial classes I took my first semester back to college did not count towards my college units needed for a degree. However, it was difficult to register for these classes due to the infrequent availability and the number of students trying to register for these same courses. There is a huge benefit to the student taking these classes. Not only does it improve reading comprehension and math skills, but it teaches note taking and encourages better study habits. Ultimately these two things are greatly important to being successful in college. Using the community Adult Education Centers for Basic English, math or English as a Second language is part of the solution. The next would be to change the community college entrance â€Å"Accuplacer Test† to a more sophisticated â€Å"Entrance Exam† geared towards college level ability. Not only would this make more class rooms available at the community college level but increased class availability for the type of classes meeting the specific needs of the student. In the article by David Olson â€Å"Education is key theme of Riverside White House summit† from The Press-Enterprise, the percentage breakdown of persons with a bachelor’s degree is 13 percent Hispanic, 31 percent white and 50 percent are Asians (A1+). Olsen further states that nearly half the Inland area’s residents and 60 percent of its school children are Hispanic and lag far behind their classmates in educational achievement (A1+). This is greatly attributed to the language barrier. English as a second language does not carry college degree units. I believe that students who need this type of instruction could receive it just as well in an Adult Education setting. According to the article by Joanna Lin, â€Å"Expanding access to education,† in The Press-Enterprise, the Riverside Unified School District, introduced a state wide ballot initiative that would give students unrestricted access to publicly funded courses (A1+). This initiative would not limit the access to the courses by Zip code. The courses are known as the A-G requirements, required by California State University and University of California for admission. Having access to these undergraduate courses through the Riverside Virtual School is another solution for the overcrowding at community colleges. Lin further states that access to these courses could be through the student’s high school or through any publicly funded school. The type of classes could be online, classroom based or a blended model of both (A1+). According to the article â€Å"Budget Cuts Affect California Community Colleges† on the website Purpose of Education, a state budget cut is affecting more than 21,000 college students in California. Students that would have enrolled in a California State College are now seeking undergraduate courses at the community college level. Due to the overcrowding in the community colleges this student population is having a difficult time accessing their classes. According to Lin’s article in The Press-Enterprise, the Riverside Virtual School would assist in making undergraduate courses available. Lin further states this initiative calls on the State of California to modify its school financing to funding based on courses completed rather than on average attendance allowing multiple institutions to split funding for the same student (A+). It is my belief that in trying to help students whose educational ability is less than the criteria necessary to achieve success in community college, the Department of Education is denying the caliber of students who have the ability to achieve a degree and give back to society in the fashion that supports higher education. Utilizing Adult Schools is a solution for this problem. Every person has a right to education; California law regarding the right to everyone over 18 years of age can enroll in a community college and receive an education is a proactive and positive contribution to the betterment of society as a whole. My argument lies within the parameters of the assessment process. I believe that all students entering community college should have college level reading comprehension and basic math skills. If a student is not able to read at college level then the student should be referred to the Adult Education Center in his or her community to receive remedial instruction and then referred back to the college for re-assessment testing. This process would allow a greater availability of classes to students that already possess these skills and reduce the overcrowding as well as the financial strain on California Community Colleges as a whole. Those students that are serious about furthering their education will do whatever it takes to accomplish their goal. The demographic of the country is changing, along with it the need of the Department of Education to rise to the challenge. Education is mandatory for success for anyone. It is my belief that with the types of alternate education for undergraduate courses outlined in Lin’s article â€Å"Expanding access to education† and utilizing the community Adult Education Centers for remedial education, any student would be able to successfully obtain a degree. Not only obtain a degree but be able to do it in a more expedited fashion, which would benefit society as a whole.

Essay about The Things they Carried Symbolism - 772 Words

The Things They Carried: Essay Prompt Two Tim O’Brien writes about both the physical objects they carry as well as their emotional burdens. The objects that these soldiers carry serve as a symbolism for what they are carrying in their hearts and minds. The soldiers carry items varying from pantyhose, medicine, tanning oil, and pictures. Jimmy Cross is an inexperienced sophomore in college, he signs up for the Reserve Officers Training Camp because his friends are doing the course. Jimmy Cross doesn’t want anything to do with the war or anything to do with being a leader. The item that Jimmy Cross carries with him are pictures of his classmate named Martha. The pictures of Martha symbolizes many things for Jimmy Cross. He is absolutely†¦show more content†¦This can be true for a lot of fictional stories, while writing this type of literature an author must have previous background information or experiences to create a story. Tim O’Brien wrote a compellin g novel that kept you in awe about whether or not the story could be a true experience or if it’s just a crazy story he devised. O’Brien casts doubt on the veracity of the story to let you experience what the war felt like for him. When him and his fellow soldiers would sit around the campfire telling stories some where obviously made up for entertainment while others actually were authentic. This is how you have to view the book as like you are there with the troops listening to these war stories and deciding for yourself whether or not you believe them. The underlying theme isn’t really the vietnam war in itself, its the act of storytelling. One example of when the author causes us to be unsure of the truth is when he talks about the vietnamese man he killed. Then we find out that it wasn’t O’Briens fault from Kiowa to leave us in an even more confused state. He wrote this because he wanted to describe to us that even if he didn’t kill the man, it felt like he was responsible, because in a way he felt like the mysterious man was him. This particular event increases our understanding of the story because this is what it felt like to be in the war. You would blame yourself for the death of a fellow soldier or imagine your own self dead. The element ofShow MoreRelatedSymbolism In The Things They Carried1368 Words   |  6 Pages The Things They Carried Lorraine Fonger South University Composition III/Literature ENG1300 Colette Morrow October 29, 2017 The Things They Carried How many â€Å"things† do you carry with you every day? Everybody carries things that symbolize who they are or where they are from. Those things may be heavy, light, or even things that you cannot see. In the short story â€Å"The Things They Carried† by Tim O’Brien, he introduces a lot of symbolism in every object mentioned, many of them you can seeRead MoreSymbolism in The Things They Carried Essay1104 Words   |  5 PagesA. Park The Things They Carried The symbols in Tim O’Brien’s â€Å"The Things They Carried† are essential to understanding the soldiers and their lives during the Vietnam War. At the opening of the story, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross would dig into his foxhole and read the letters while imagining romance with Martha; however, at the end of the story after the death of Ted Lavender, he â€Å"crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters† (402). The inner feelings of Cross would be mistakenlyRead MoreSymbolism In Tim OBriens The Things They Carried1969 Words   |  8 Pagesstory â€Å"The Things They Carried† (pg. 433), the story follows Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his command during the Vietnam War. Lieutenant Cross constantly spends most of his time fantasizing about a girl named Martha, who he has an unrequited crush on. However after witnessing the death of one of his soldiers, while he was preoccupied thinking about Martha, Cross feels guilty and realizes that he needs to focus on leading his command. I believe that O’Brien’s â€Å"The Things They Carried† use imageryRead MoreSymbolism in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried Essays978 Words   |  4 Pagesexperience in Vietnam, â€Å"The Things They Carried† is a short story that introduces the reader to the experiences of soldiers away at war. O’Brien uses potent metaphors with a third person narrator to shape each character. In doing so, the reader is able to sympathize with the internal and external struggles the men endure. These symbolic comparisons often give even the smallest details great literary weight, due to their dual meanings. The symbolism in â€Å"The Things They Carried† guides the reader throughRead MoreSymbolism in Tim O Briens quot;The Things They Carriedquot;605 Words   |  3 PagesSymbolism In The Things They Carried In Tim OBriens story The Things They Carried we see how OBrien uses symbolism in order to indirectly give us a message and help us to connect to what the soldiers are thinking and feeling. During a war soldiers tend to take with them items from home kind of as a security blanket. The items they normally take with them tend to reveal certain characteristics of their personality. Henry Dobbins is the guy who loves to eat so he made sure he took someRead MoreHeroism In Tim OBriens The Things They Carried1684 Words   |  7 Pageswar. A more realistic rendition of war is seen in Tim O’Brien’s short story, The Things They Carried. Throughout the story, O’Brien uses metafictional characters to portray the physical and emotional burdens carried by American soldiers who were forced to conform to societal expectations upon being drafted for the Vietnam War. The literary elements O’Brien uses throughout the story to convey this theme are symbolism, imagery, tone, and inner conflict of the protagonist. The Vietnam War, which lastedRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien865 Words   |  4 Pageswho enter here.† Dante Alighieri. Hope is an anodyne. In times of war many soldiers require a buffer to alleviate the pain of witnessing the horrors of the war zone reality. This may manifest as emotional baggage, a reoccurring theme in â€Å"The Things They Carried† by Tim O’Brien. Emotional baggage transcends the physical weight it manifests that was in the soldier’s packs. Emotional baggage can manifest as something intangible, like an obsession, or take on physical weight and mass, like something thatRead MoreEssay about Literary Techniques in The Things They Carried1276 Words   |  6 PagesIn The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien uses many such techniques to provide more depth to his book. Four literary techniques used by Tim O’Brien are symbolism, pathetic fallacy, irony, and juxtaposition. One literary technique prominent in The Things They Carried, particularly in the story by the same name, is symbolism. Throughout this story, O’Brien mentions all the things that the soldiers carry with them, both physical and emotional. However, the physical items that the men carried is moreRead MoreThe Things They Carried by Tim OBrien1154 Words   |  5 PagesThe novel The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien begins by Mr. OBrien describing his dramatical events that happened during the middle of his Vietnam experience while he was fighting in the war. Mr. OBrien received his draft notice in the month of June in the year of 1968. When he received this notice Mr. OBrien had feelings of confusion, and that drove him to go north to the Canadian border, and it had him contemplating if he wanted to cross it or not because he does not want to be forced toRead MoreSymbolism In The Tell Tale Heart And The Tell Tale Heart987 Words   |  4 Pages How does the symbolism affect the meaning of a written piece, does it make it more or less important? Symbolism is used to represent ideas; that may imply deeper, hidden meaning than what the text directly states. Symbolism can be used in different ways throughout different books; for example, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart†, by Edgar Allen Poe and â€Å"Once upon a Time†, by Nadine Gordimer, contain a variety of symbolism that have the possibility of having two or more meanings. The problem with this is identifying