Tensions Between Different Kinds Of Justice In Dickens Work - Literature Essay Samples

I have the honour to attend Court regularly. With my documents. I expect a judgment. Shortly. On the Day of Judgment. Bleak House.In a novel so acutely dedicated to exposing the real and actual misery of its characters, very little of it arises from the literal application of the frequent bouts of disease alone. Certainly disease and apocalyptic imagery is present Esthers smallpox disfigurement, Joes fatal pestilential illness, Caddys child, born deaf and mute, Miss Flites Day of Judgment, Krooks combustion, Tom-all-Alones revenge, Richard Carstones untimely death literally from heartbreak and exhaustion, and Sir Leicester Dedlocks metaphorical floodgates and actual stroke but this endless string of tragedy tends to terminate rather than augur the larger metaphorical illness that afflicts all characters alike, regardless of social status or economic strength. In a society unseasoned with the ways of a quick and efficient justice system, and in the novels complicated plot with its dozens of characters enveloped by adultery, blackmail, murder, and plenty of fog and mud that characterise the turgid moral atmosphere, the Court of Chancery becomes the largest disburser of illness, disease and death. From its opening sentences, this institution of justice is linked with the symbols of obfuscation fog and mud: Never can there come a fog too thick, never can there come mud and mire too deep, to assort with the groping and floundering condition which this High Court of Chancery, most pestilent of hoary sinners, holds, this day But the Court is not just blind and inefficient towards serving the cause of justice. Its work is much more sinister: This is the Court of Chancery which gives to monied might, the means of abundantly wearying out the right; which so exhausts finances, patience, courage, hope; so overthrows the brain and breaks the heart; that there is not an honourable man among its practitioners who would not give-the warning, Suffer any wrong that can be d one you, rather than come here!' Evidently, the corrupt and life-destroying Court of Chancery has little interest in justice and more in making business for itself. There is no other principle distinctly, certainly, and consistently maintained through all its narrow turnings. That Jarndyce and Jarndyce bears a close phonetic resemblance with the disconcertingly panoptic term John Doe is perhaps not mere co-incidence, but in fact a hint that Jarndyces interminable imbroglio in the courts of justice can easily develop into a situation fatally affecting just about anyone, right from the Gridleys to the Dedlocks. It certainly did have whole generations being born into it, while others were dying out of it. As pernicious as the severest of maladies, lawyers and the legal system are depicted as physical embodiments of parasitic diseases that, like Gridleys and Richards death prove, consume all that comes within their path. Tulkinghorn is portrayed as a dark, cold object and like a machine who jealously guards aristocratic family secrets and has become rich administering marriage settlements and wills. Mr. Vholes looks at Richard predatorily, as if he were making a lingering meal of him with his eyes as well as with his professional appetite. In a general way, says George, I object to the breed. This inhuman parasitism extends out through society to characters like the Smallweeds whose God was Compound Interest. [Their patriarch] lived for it, married it, died of it, and who are also variously described as animals of prey such as a money-getting species of spider, who spun webs to catch unwary flies. The link between lawyers of Chancery and the Smallweeds as social parasites is rendered exact by the analogy of lawyers [who] lie like maggots in nuts and Mr. Smallweeds grandfather who valued only grubs and never bred a single butterfly.It is revealed that the notorious slum, Tom-all-Alones, a ruinous placea swarm of misery [where] decay is far advanced is also a proper ty in Chancery, part of the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case, and indeed the narrator claims the suit itself had laid the street waste. Thus, the heart of the Jarndyce case, which is the heart of Chancery is Tom-all-Alones, a site of decay, misery, and disease. The third-person narrator skillfully links these three worlds through plot and complex language early on and continues to intensify these connections throughout the work. The Dedlock mystery and the Chancery case each suck in and consume the unaware or the unwilling, and expand until they affect not only the lives of the major parties or the voluntary snoopers, but of bystanders like Jo, Snagsby, George and Boythorn. Esthers childhood and her mothers marriage are passed in bleak houses; Jo lives among the crumbling tenements that are themselves part of the legacy of the house of Jarndyce; the curtains of the chaotic Jellyby lodgings are pinned up with forks; and the legal, judicial and political system each seem locked into its own bizarre routines of circular repetition. Miss Flite, Gridley and Richard form the inner circle of this pervasive system of disease, decay and death that demonstrates the human waste and suffering generated by the Court. But Jo is also a victim of both Chancery and of the society at large. Of these four, only Miss Flite is still alive at the novels dÃÆ'Â ©nouement, her insanity provides an ironic protection from the greater insanity of Chancery. But her collection of caged birds (to which she later adds the two wards of Jarndyce), symbolizing the victims of Chancery, and her many prescient comments serve as omens of Richard fate. And her concern with the Great Seal suggests that in this society true justice may only be had in the after-life. (I expect a judgment. Shortly. On the Day of Judgment. I have discovered that the sixth seal mentioned in the Revelations is the Great Seal. It has been open a long time!) The same is true of Gridley who indignantly rails against the system of Chancery and vows I will accuse the individual workers of that system against me, face to face, before the great eternal bar. Yet Gridleys impotent rage only hastens his death. The deadening effects of the injustice that infects Bleak House society can be seen most vividly in the portrayals of various key characters. The descriptions of Krook and his Rag and Bottle Shop are meant to function as a grim moral parallel with the Lord Chancellor and Chancery. Mr. Krook attests, I have so many old parchments and papers in my stock. And I have a liking for rust and must and cobwebsAnd I cant bear to part with anything once I lay hold of or to alter anything, or to have any sweeping, nor scouring, nor cleaningthats why Ive got the ill name of Chancery. I go to see mybrother pretty well every day, when he sits in the InnTheres no great odds betwixt us. We both grub on in a muddle. Krooks shop, in its filth and horror, exemplifies in a concrete, physical way the true moral nature of the Cour t, in the same way that the sheer abundance of neglected children in Bleak House exemplifies the undependable relationship that the Court, as a legal guardian of society, shares with its own wards, the inhabitants of that society.Esthers orphan-hood (occurring twice over), and the abandonment of parental responsibility is but a microcosm of the wider, institutional abandonment of social responsibility. In different ways, Jo, Esther, Charley, Richard, and Ada are abandoned children. Mrs. Jellyby, Mrs. Pardiggle, Harold Skimpole, and even Mr. Turveydrop also abandon their children in a sense. Thus, while Esthers story is that of an absent or lost parent, the central problem is the absence of justice in Chancery. Broken families, neglectful parents, and the loss of love, nurturance, and security reflect the chaos, disorder, and disease in society in the domestic sphere. Or, as Andrew Sanders puts it, Dickens allows us to appreciate that an avoidance of due responsibility, in whatever s phere men and women act, is a threat to the well-being of society, and a general symptom of a general moral and social decay And since the Court of Chancery serves as guardian for Richard and Ada, it too can be viewed as a bad parent. Indeed, since Chancery is responsible for the ruin of Tom-all-Alones, and Jo was bred by the ruined shelters, Jo can also be considered a ward of Chancery. The overall impression that emerges from Esthers personal interaction with children and the victims of Chancery is that there are overwhelming private consequences for public injustice that extends and causes damage all the way through society to the most helpless. Indeed the damage to individual lives engendered by social conditions extends to the next generation. Caddy and Prince Turveydrops child is deaf and dumb, and Ada and Richards child will be raised without a father. This connection between (in)justice and its impact on the lives of the characters of Bleak House is manifest: The system whic h destroys families is run by people who belong to unhappy families themselves: the system reproduces itself by means of the miseries it creates (Hawthorn)The links established between these various public spheres can best be understood through the symbolic significance of Chancery as representative of the entire society. After all, a Chancery suit is, as Sir Leicester reflects, a slow, expensive, British, constitutional kind of thing. Likewise Mr. Kenge declares of Chancery, This is a great systemand would you wish a great country to have a little system? Now, really, really! Yet the very nature of Chancery, its methods and its effects is to stifle, bemuse, and consume all who come in contact with it. The lawyers of Chancery work exclusively in their own self-interest and the Court is simply a socially condoned form of parasitism as is graphically confirmed by the eventual lot of the Jarndyce estate, which is eaten up in costs (Daleski). Just as a biological parasite eventually wea kens and destroys its host, the parasitic corruption of a national institution eventually weakens and destroys the rest of society. Thus, the primary symbol of justice in Bleak House and Chancery and its effect on the society is that of disease resulting from moral corruption and social parasitism with death looming not far behind. As Jeremy Hawthorn writes, Disease is such a powerful symbol for Dickens in Bleak House because it involves different kinds of expressive connections: it arises from specific, concrete and material living conditions, living-conditions which are themselves the cause of particular social realities, and it also links the poor with those rich who wish to disclaim any relationship with or responsibility for them. In effect, the prevalent social and physical disease created and spread by Chancery is none other than an outgrowth from the warped justice it provides. -X-Bibliography:Daleski, H.M. Bleak House. In Critical Essays on Charles Dickens Bleak House, 19 89.Galloway, Shirley. Bleak House: Public and Private Worlds, 1997.Hawthorn, Jeremy. Bleak House, 1987.Roberts, Doreen. Bleak HouseSanders, Andrew. Charles Dickens: Resurrectionist. 1982.

Music and Adolescent Behavior - Free Essay Example

Music is everywhere. Whether it be on the radio in your car, at work, or even through headphones on your own personal device, music is a constant in our society and is a huge part of the entertainment industry. It is hard to deny that music is an influential part of human life and can impact the emotions a person may feel. When a person is happy, they may listen to happy songs. When they are sad, they may listen to sad songs. There are songs about love and romance, songs about heartbreak and revenge on an ex-lover. But it seems that the most prevalent themes in todays music is that of a degrading sexual nature, as well as the recreational use of drugs and alcohol. As mainstream music lyrics become more and more explicit in content, there is some evidence that exposure to these themes may have a negative effect on the sexual behavior of adolescents, as well as the normalization of drug use and overall reckless behavior on young adults. Over the years, rap music has become increasingly explicit in nature. Studies show that from 2001-2011, approximately 74% of the Billboards top 25 rap music hits made reference to sex, sexual expectations, and/or sexual relationships. (Johnson,et al) This study concluded that there are three themes to rap music. The most prevalent theme is that Its really about sex or nothing at all. In other words, sex is the only goal of male to female interaction. The second theme found being that substances are used as the precursor/enhancer, meaning that alcohol and/or drugs are used in abundance for the goal of sex. The third theme is performance, parts and brand, plainly put, this means that expectations for a females participation in sexual activity is based entirely on their visual characteristic and non-verbal behavior; like flirting or dancing. (Johnson, et al) For impressionable young adults, it is concerning that they are being exposed to such negative and unrealistic impressions of sexu al communication and consent; maybe without fully comprehending the message being sent. It is not just the music and lyrics alone that are sending inappropriate messages towards adolescents. With platforms like MTV and YouTube, we are now able to not just listen to music, but to watch it. Even a song that can be censored enough to be played on local radio stations can have an accompanying music video that is anything but appropriate. For example, the song Taste by the artist Tyga (featuring Offset) often plays on the local radio stations. This song can be censored enough to be played on the radio, however, the music video could never be deemed appropriate under any circumstances. A child could potentially hear the song and enjoy it, do a quick search on YouTube, and soon they will be viewing a music video that depicts a lot of sexual content as well as drug use. So how exactly could this kind of material potentially affect the behavior of a developing young adult? In 2003, a study was published where 522 single African American females from the ages fourteen to eighteen were enrolled in a study. The study was to determine if the exposure to rap music videos played any part in predicting the occurrence of health risk behaviors and sexually transmitted diseases over a twelve-month follow- up. The median hours of exposure to rap music videos were twelve to fourteen hours a week. (Wingwood, et al) Of those enrolled, 92.2% of the participants completed the twelve-month follow-up assessment. It was determined that 37.6% of the participants contracted a new sexually transmitted disease, 4.8% hit a teacher, 12.1% had been arrested, 14.8% had sexual intercourse with someone other than their partner, 44.2% reported using drugs, and 44.4% had used alcohol. (Wingwood, et al) It would be insensitive to the culture of rap to label the entire genre of music as bad and harmful; because it is not just rap music that has the potential to influence negative behaviors in adolescents. A college study was done that shows the correlation between sensation-seeking behavior and the genre of music one may enjoy. Sensation-seeking is defined as The seeking of varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations and experiences, and the willingness to take physical, social, legal, and financial risks for the sake of such experiences. (Zuckerman, p. 27) To put it simply, someone with a higher level on the sensation-seeking scale would be more likely to make risky or harmful decisions, like having unprotected sex or using drugs. The study concluded that participants who enjoyed heavy metal, punk, and reggae music rated higher on the sensation-seeking scale than those who did not listen to that type of music. (Weisskirch and Murphy) There is not enough evidence to assume that preference of music causes sensation-seeking tendencies, but it is common knowledge that people tend to listen to music that they can relate to. Therefore, one could assume that those who do rate higher on the sensation-seeking scale enjoy music that may push boundaries; and it may be possible to believe that music containing violent or sexual themes, or lyrics that contain a positive outlook on the use of drugs, could enhance the already reckless tendencies of an individual. Music is very powerful and can make us feel the emotions an artist intended us to feel, consequently, if an artist is singing lyrics that are aggressive or violent the listener may feel more aggressive and violent. This could be a problem if the listener has violent tendencies or rates higher on the sensation-seeking scale. Musicians need to be more aware of their influence on listeners, kids look up to their favorite artists and may adopt the qualities they see them have. For decades, musical artists have been dying from the very thing they have built their musical career on, the use of drugs. There may be a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to how drugs are perceived through music. Recently, the rap artist Mac Miller passed away from an accidental overdose of cocaine and fentanyl. Last year, the artist Lil Peep overdosed on Xanax and fentanyl as well. Although it is heart wrenching that so many musicians are dying due to a drug overdose, their unfortunate deaths could possibly bring more awareness to the stigma surrounding drug addiction in music; and hopefully the adolescents who look up to these artists can see how much they have struggled with addiction and how it has affected their lives. It is widely known that adolescents are impressionable by nature; they want to fit in with the environment around them. Drugs like Ecstasy, Molly, and Marijuana, to name a few, are often prevalent at music festivals or raves. In 2005, a study was done at an Australian music festival that investigated the correlation between musical genres and drug use. The study suggests that illicit drugs are used more commonly at this music festival compared to the corresponding age groups in the general population of Australia. (Lim, et al p. 440) It is possible to conclude that because drugs are known to be common at music festivals and raves, there is a normalization surrounding the use of illicit drugs. When a young adult is surrounded by their friends and peers who are partaking in the use of drugs, they may feel pressure to join in, which could potentially be the reason drug use is so common at festivals and raves in the first place; it is like a vicious circle of peer pressure. Some readers may argue that sheltering adolescents from the world around them is not beneficial to their understanding of things like sex and the use of drugs. However, what we are doing now is not beneficial to their understanding either. We do not teach children sexual education in schools until around the fifth or sixth grade. By this time, they have already been exposed to the concept of sex through music and music videos. Essentially, referring back to the three themes of rap music already discussed, what they are learning about sex before we even introduce them to it could potentially be harmful to their understanding of sexual communication and consent. We dont teach kids about drugs and the negative effects they may cause until the fifth or sixth grade at least either. Through music, they may conclude that using drugs is normal or even makes you cool, before we can teach them that drugs tear families and lives apart, or that some drugs can potentially be fatal. With that bein g said, it could possibly be more harmful to let children listen to music with such explicit content without teaching them about sex and drugs first; than it would be to closely monitor the music they are listening to, or the music videos they are watching. Music has many benefits. It is a great art that has the potential to bring people together or get someone through a hard time in their life. But like all things, there are negatives to certain types of music. Although there is not enough research done yet to determine exactly how much music influences behavior in adolescents, there is enough to conclude that it does. The explicit content in music should be more regulated, but it is hard to control the music an adolescent can listen to when they can find it on the internet at any time. With that being said, parents should be more aware of what their child is listening to or viewing. If a parent does make the choice to let their child listen to music containing explicit content, that is obviously their decision as a parent, but they should make sure that their child already has an understanding of sexual education and the consequences using drugs may have; so the derogatory remarks and normalization of drugs in music doesnt teach them the wrong impression.