Frankenstein Essays (727 words) - Frankenstein,

Frankenstein FRANKENSTEIN In the story ?Frankenstein,? written by the author Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein decided that wanted to create a being out of people that were already dead. He believed that he could bring people back from the grave. Playing with nature in such a way would make him play the role of God. With Victor Frankenstein feeling that he had no true friends, the only relief he had of expressing his feeling was through letters to Elizabeth. Elizabeth was not Victors' true sister but he loved her very dearly, making sure to always write her when ever he had the chance. Yet, when Victor left something strange came over him. Already being interested in subjects such as natural philosophy and chemistry, he fall upon the question of how to bring someone back to life. He became very involved in this project and worked on it for days on end. The project had to do with defying the laws of nature. Victor believe wholeheartedly that he could bring the dead back to life. He felt that the dead were not ready to die and they were just resting. Victor became so self absorbed into his project that he seem to forget all that was important to him. He even disengaged himself from all the people he loved in his life. People like his father, Elizabeth, and other loved ones. Victor began to write less and less. Yet, it was not until Elizabeth got a discouraged letter from Victor, did his love ones start to wary about him. Though, the letter was full of words, it gave no relief to Elizabeth, because the words meant nothing to her. However, they meant a lot to Victor, because he felt the project in which he was working on was so important to him, in his own delirious world. He felt that with bring people back to life he would not only better man kind, but also establish a name for himself. With this type of attitude, he did not even take into consideration that he might make the world a worse place. This part in the story shows the irony. The irony being that Victor Frankenstein feels he is doing something good for the world, but we later find out just how bad this creation could be. Though Elizabeth wanted to pull Victor away from his project, he was unwilling to leave until it is complete. After Victor found how to bring his creation to life, he also found out just how evil his invention could be. His creation was strong and evil. With the escape of the monster, Victor Frankenstein had to come to realization of what his creation might do and the consequences that Frankenstein, himself would have to deal with. With the murder of his brother weighing the guilt on his shoulders, Frankenstein know he had to do something. So he went looking for the monster. Upon their meeting each other, the monster confessed that when he found out that William as Victor's brother he killed him. He then proceeded to tell him that he killed his brother due to the fact that he was trying to get back at his creator for bringing him to life and allowing him to be an out cast in society. This killing prove to Victor that the monster did not know right from wrong or how to cope with his anger. This aggression made Frankenstein's creation violent. While talking with the monster, the monster demanded from Frankenstein to create a partner that he could be able to live with away for society. At first, agreeing to the demand, but later realized that if his first creation came out to be a killer so could the second one. With this in mind Frankenstein revoked his agreement and decided against creating another monster. Though, knowing that this decision could be dangerous to him and his loved ones. Yet, he had to think of what was truly best for man kind. Bringing the dead to life or saving the lives of the living. Another peace of irony in this story is, just like Victor Frankenstein who had no friends and was different from the rest of society so was the monster. Also, when Frankenstein decided to play God and bring the dead to life, his creation took on the same role when he decided to take away some ones life. All in all,

Blame for the Mad Cow Disease Crisis essays

Blame for the Mad Cow Disease Crisis essays Crisis's breeds finger pointing. When a crisis occurs, one of the first questions that is asked is, where does the blame belong. This happens on a scale from backyard fights with siblings to national crises. It is human nature to want to know where to point the finger. One such national crisis started on March 18th, 1996. On this date it was confirmed that there was a link between BSE, know as mad cow disease, and CJD, a neurological disease in humans. It was finally proven that people could get mad cow disease from eating infected meat. A week later British beef was banned world wide. One study estimates that more than seven hundred thousand BSE-infected cattle have entered the food supply.(Rhodes 219). CJD has such a long incubation period it is impossible to estimate the number of people that will die from this crisis. Now like any other crisis it must be determined where the blame should lie. Does the blame belong to the British government, the farmers, the research ers, or possibly a combination of all? In a CNN piece reporting on the Lord Phillips Report, Analysis: Hope and Blame in Britain, Robin Oakley, CNN Political Editor discussed Lord Phillips inqiury into who was to blame for the BSE crisis. The article begins by discussing the BSE crisis, and the problems that the ministers were faced with. There was concern about the possibility of a national panic, as well as the possibility of having to put down entire beef herds. The actions the British did take cost four billion pounds, and the British were also faced with being banned from exporting beef worldwide. The article then discusses blame. Oakley explains that the inquiry, places some minimal blame on the government saying, ministers paid too much attention to producers,the farmersand not enough attention to the potential risks to consumers, but that the government didnt lie, they just didnt wan...

Should adults be charged in situations where teenagers are drinking or Essay

Should adults be charged in situations where teenagers are drinking or have been drinking in their presence - Essay Example Many countries around the globe have kept a legal standard where minors are not allowed to gain access to alcohol (as sellers are bound not to sell to the under-aged). These restrictions are dodged by these minors as the under aged tend to acquire alcohol easily through numerous methods. There are many instances within the United States of America that parents of these minors are the providers of alcohol to their own children. This act is done by them to ensure that their children consume alcohol within their house rather than going out and fetching is from some unauthorized bootleggers. Parents in such cases tend to keep their children safe by providing them alcohol within the house so that their children should stay out of trouble by stepping out of their houses and getting involved in some kind of misdemeanor. Such an act is questionable by authorities and usually if such cases are found or caught where parents or any other adults are involved in contributing towards the delinquen cy of a minor, those adults or parents are held responsible both on civil as well as criminal basis. Lack of evidence is always the case where adults or parents escape the charges of supporting minors in acquiring alcohol.

Blood doping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Blood doping - Essay Example f blood doping substances and marked it as illegal in the year 1985 but athletes who employed this technique before this period could not be caught until a few of them like Kaarlo Maaninka admitted that he had opted for blood doping (Fotheringam; Hoyt). Blood doping is an unethical and unlawful act used by athletes for performing better in sports but it needs to be understood that this act has harmful health effects and it also has financial implications. Different ways are used for blood doping. Transfusions form one of the ways which is used for blood doping. Either the blood from the athlete himself is stored and then later transfused or the blood from another person is used for the transfusion. These transfusions are made a short while before the commencement of an event. EPO which is a hormone synthesized that increases the red blood cells in the body is another way used. It is injected by the athletes. All of these methods provide for health risks for the athlete. The common side effect that is promoted by blood doping is the increase in the red blood cells in the blood. This leads to make the blood thick and results in clots being formed. Thus, an increased the risk of cardiovascular attacks and the formation of emboli is seen (Hoyt). EPO has other side effects as well which appear when an individual resorts to using it for a long time. These effects include a reduction in the weight of an individual, sleeplessness, muscle ach e and a heavy head (Reinberg). Transfusions from a donor come with many risks and this can clearly be seen with the example of the cyclist Jesus Manzano in the year 2003. Manzano had a transfusion reaction which put him in a lethal condition. He described his condition by saying, â€Å"I was shivering; I felt colder than if Id been at the North Pole. If theyd put in half a litre, I would have gone home in a box.† Using one’s one transfusion also has its own negative side. Owing to the blood drawn from the athlete, he may suffer from

Mamee Double Decker Went Global Marketing Essay

Mamee Double Decker Went Global Marketing Essay The purpose of this assignment is to analyze and study the marketing case in Malaysia, particularly, a Malaysian company must be chosen and our choice of company is Mamee Double Decker Berhad. Various aspect of study under the subject matter has been considered. This includes the target marketing mix considerations which is the product, pricing, promotion and distribution decision. Target market analysis is also included. In order to analyze the internal and external problem facing the company, we have done a SWOT analysis (strength, weakness, opportunity and threat)This is to highlight and raise several problem or issue facing the company locally or internationally. Market research on comsumer behavior and compettion have also been carried out through a survey questionnaires and the summary or report of the summary have also been done. Mamee Double Decker Went Global Background of the company The company chosen for this case analysis is Mamee Double-Decker Malaysia Berhad.. Mamee was founded in 1971 by Datuk Pan Ching Hin and headquartered in Malacca. Mamee Double Decker is Malaysia food processing, snack and diary product company. It mainly produces and sells instant noodles, snack, confectionery and beverages. Mamee Double Decker not only sells its product locally but had penetrated the international market as well. Today Mamee products are exported all around the world to more than 80 countries and area it serve includes Asia, Middle East, Africa, America, Europe and Oceania. Products produced by mamee are popular and well known to most households especially children. Marketing practice from Islamic perspective When mamee first came into existence its product are only mamee monster noodle snack and double decker snack.. Mamee later had gain recognition from several countries because of its distinct and unique feature of the snack that is square-ish noodle like and the adorable face of monster on its packaging while the double-decker snack , is a flavored snack with a choice of prawns chicken and cheese. The company then goes through a major diversification when it produces carbonated drink under the brand cheers. Mamee instant noodle later was produced. However different instant noodles are provided to cater different countries, For example mamee bihun, express noodles, and mi goreng are only available in Malaysia as it suits the mlaysian taste, while these products are not made for the overseas market. The company had produced mamee oriental noodles for outside market. Marketing Mix Consideration Decission made by the company regarding to the price, promotion and distribution are the marketing mix consideration in making a decision. . Product decision. Initially, mamee mainly focus in producing snacks, but it had diversify its product in producing beverages such as soft drinks, cultured drinks and recently the new products by mamee a juice under the brand Rio Fiesta a healthier options for drinks produced by mamee. All product produced by mamee comply to the standards required. The company had obtained Hazzard Analysis and Crtical Control Poiint (HACCP) certificate. This obtainment of this certificate means that mamee had adhered to food safety from raw material production, procurement and handling, manufacturing, distribution and the consumption of the finished product. From Islamic point of view, mamee had free from gharar or uncertainty by providing adequate products description and specification of all its product. This includes complete labeling and nutritios information, ingredient used and its expiry date. At the same time other products evolve in the market under mamee double decker are nutrigen, is acultured drink for children. Mister Potato was out of the market later after that, Now, Mister Potato had officially become the global snack partner with Manchester United. Latest product by Mamee double decker is corntoz, corntoz is a crunchy snack came with different flavours and shapes. The main concern under this food processing, beverages and diary product industry is about the whether the product are halal (permitted). Since this company mainly sell their products in Malaysia and in other Muslim countries, therefore mamee double decker product must be certified halal. As reported in Malaysia Halal Directory Mamee double decker had obtained the halal certificate for all of their products. Their products are free from additives made from animal sources that are forbidden in Islamic Law. Stabilizers, Emulsion and colouring used in their production process are deemed as halal. Promotional Activities Mamee Double Decker, like many other companies in this competitive environment are driven to adapt an aggressive promotional strategies in order to gain market share.Mamee Douible Decker had use various promotional tools including advertising and sales promotion to capture the market. As reported in The Star newspaper July 17 2002, Rm40 million was allocated solely for promotional activities in Malaysia. On the same year, mamee had made an aggressive advertising in Myanmar and china to create brand awareness to familiarize their products in these markets. Recently, mamee had become an official snack partner with Manchaster United. This joint-venture is important as it aims to boost its market share in Asia. One of the interesting activities that has been carried out through this partnership was The Ultimate Manchester United Experience contest. Lucky winners had been treated to a trip to Manchester united to meet their favourite football players. Mamee had also use Malaysia local celebrities, such as Mawi, Felix and Amalyea as ambassadors for mamee sllrpp products in Malaysia. In the recent festive season hari raya, Malaysia celebrity Shahizi sam was featured in mamee sllrrp advertistment and they had conduct a mamee kusayang contest. This shows that mamee double decker had made several aggressive promotion activities throughout the years. Its promotional activities adhere to the basic Islamic principle of business and mamee had ensure its product reach the target market in all around the world. Any promotional activities to stimulate the demand from consumers are permissible as long as it does not exaggerating or breaching the Islmaic principle. Activities like free samples, cash rebates, joint promotion and contest conducted by mamee are therefore deemd permissible. Pricing Decission Pricing of mamee product are reasonable and affordable for the interest of all.This pricing strategy enables it to capture the market share of various market segments. For example in Malaysia, mamee monster snack only cost 30cents and mamee Double decker snack cost only RM2.50. Mamee had made no price discrimination for all of its product. The company Charge same price for same good irrespective of different markets. Therefor mamee pricing strategy is considered fair(Adil) and just. Distribution The distribution channels of mamee food and beverages in Malaysia consist of three stages (producer,retailer,consumer). Mamee which is the producer will sell its products in bulks to retailers (Giants, Tesco,etc) , and eventually retailers will sell it to the consumers. In international level, the distribution are being done through appointed subsidiaries. Mamee has favourable acess to distribution networks in Malaysia. Mamee Double Decker has 13 distribution centres and have about 150 vans for deliveries to about 1000 point of sales. Mamee Double Decker currently has five manufacturing facilities in Malaysia and one in Myanmar. Mamee double decker have centralized marketing and distribution system while mamee have assigned an export manager in each manufacturing subsidiary. . There are three companies under Mamee Double Decker responsible in producing each of their respective lines and products for example snack food and chilled products (KMM), instant noodles (PP) and beverages (MDDB). Target Market Analysis Target Market Mamee Double Decker (M) Berhad is good in quality and unique brand which targeted to all group of people according to the product offered. As the company began with a single product and consistently grown to 50 products, targeted people become more. The product that already household names, for example, Mamee Monster, Mamee Instant and slurp, and Mamee snacks, are targeted to people whose age is from 6 to 30 years old. In addition, students also being targeted because most of the time they need snacks and drinks while studying to get away the stress especially female students. They always need something to chew and eat during study time or after lecture. The second group of people that Mamee Double Decker (M) Berhad will target is people with healthy lifestyle. This is in line with the recent product addition that is Nutrigen Cultured Milk Drink. Geographically, the company will focus on every area that has grocery shop, petrol station or shopping complex. Moreover, people from lower income to higher income will be targeted as well because of the reasonable price and within their budget. From the family structure perspective, a mother with atleast 5 childrens, usually will buy more groceries and household products. Children love to have snacks like Potato Chips, Potato Crisps and Cheer Beverage because the products are very convenient and it comes with different taste based on their preferences. Furthermore, the company targeted people who like to spend their spare time with picnic and party. It is very clear that the size of the companys target market is very large and high. Everyone may be used and consume the product offered because it comes with varieties of food, snacks, beverages, instant noodles and to name a few. SWOT analysis Strength One of the strength pose by Mamee Double Decker (M) Berhad is as reported in recent mamee double decker (M) Berhad annual report, the company had experienced 57.3% growth of profit before tax from 9.6 million. Mamee Double Decker(M) Berhad strength also lies in its ability to expand their business network by penetrating into new exports market. This is proved to be true as mamee experienced a growth of 6.2% in 2002 in its effort to venture to new exports market. The second strength of mamee is it has a good reputation among customers, since has become part of the choice made by household largely in Malaysia, mamee so far had not fail to impress its consumers all over the world by providing a tip-top service from the process of production to distribution, we can see that mamee products reach consumer easily as it is easily available in store from a small grocery store to large super markets. The third strength of mamee double decker is we can say that it has a quite strong brand name as according to their annual report, mamee had won several awards locally and internationally. The two local awards that mamee has honoured to receive are first, the chief minister awards for Promising local Company Awards in recognition of Mamee Double Decker Berhad (M) to local industries and the second award is by Malaysian Manufacturer packaging Council of Malaysia, given to one of Mamee Double Decker (M) Berhad product, that is Nutrigen Liteyo. Internationally, mamee had also been rewarded internationally recognized ISO 9002 togethe riwth China Awards Certificates. Weakness This includes the internal and external problem of Mamee Double Decker (M) berhad. The external problem pose by this company is as reported in the star newspapers 2007, mamee has not yet succeed in gaining a market share in China as there is a negative growth in Mamee double decker operation in China particularly,Mamee Double-Decker Food(Suzhou)Co. Ltd, demand for Mamee in China is low, thus generating low sales and revenue and consequently the company had incurred higher loss. however the company did not loose hope and have confidence in its China operation and Mmaee had appointed a consultant to resolve this issue. The second external problem face by Mamee is high dependency of raw material from Europe as such when there is a rise in Euro against USD the mamee double-decker earnings is affected since some of mamee products ingredients such as Mister potatao crips are imported from Europe, ,thus when the price of raw material increases, this gives pressure to its profit margin. In order to overcome this problem, mamee needs to do more reaseach and development to reduce its dependency from outside. One internal problem in mamee double decker lies in its small number of manufacturing facilities, considering that mamee products are marketed all over the world, with only five manufacturing facilities , limited production can be made per day. If mamee want to extend its product line, it will be restricted as there is a limited space for production. Oppurtunity Since now consumer are becoming more health conscious, one opportunity for mamee double decker is to come up with a product that is more healthy as it will give customer a more options for healthy good food. Mamee double decker plans to obtain health food supplier in an effort to expands its product line.Mamee had identified several suppliers and the company plans to negotiates with this suppliers in providing health supplies of food Threat As customer becoming more educated and conscious about the food they consume, consumer tend to compare prices and quality of products with other brands. Currently in market there are various brands and product they offered similar to Mamee double decker. Thus, the threat of mamee double decker is the competitors in market like for example, Munchys, nestle, unilever foods. Mamee do not only pose an internal threat, external threat in terms of competitors in china is also obvious. Mamee face a greater threat and especially in Shanghai, this is due to the complexity of market in China in addition to variety of snack food products produced by them. IN Shanghai, mamee had to face competitors that have a greater market share like. REPORT ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR FOR MAMEE DOUBLE-DECKER In order to evaluate the consumers preferences on Mamee Double-Decker products, a survey has been conducted within a population of 100 respondents and 30 out 100 were taken as a sample to this research. There were 17 male and 15 female involved in this sample. A set of 22 questions were asked during the survey session which majority of the respondents came from different background and the survey were conducted online. Before the surveys were taken in place, a short description of the company was given so that the respondents somehow know what they would be expecting during the session. Questions were separated into three parts started with the personal background information then likert scale questions which evaluate their decision making in making purchases and the last part of the questionnaire cover their own given answer accordingly. Result follow suits right after the research conducted was done. Majority of the respondents were Malays which covers 91percent of the total sample taken. This is explained by the major ethnic in Malaysia is Malay followed by Chinese with 6percent and others 3percent. As for income level, most of the respondents categorized as middle class earners because their income level is range between RM1001 to RM3000 with 47percent are in this group while the remaining 44percent belongs to lower income earner like students and jobless teenagers. Within this sample, most of the respondents are in their bachelor degree staying in urban area and living single life which eventually led them to such consumption with the ration of 63:84:97 for all categories. 84percent of these respondents also admit that they enjoyed eating snack food and beverages with a typical consumption of 1 to 2 packs a day. Why this happening is because during the earlier age like teenagers in university, they are prone to having a quick and light food as on the go. This somehow explained the viability of the result. When it comes to factors to decision making questions, the result was significantly expected. Almost all the respondents agreed that they are very cautious in choosing their favourite snack foods and beverages because this factor has to do with their taste buds. While pricing became the second factor that influenced the decision making; 35percent agreed that price do play a vital role in their purchasing power. Morever, 55percent of the respondents were also somewhat agreed that Mamee Double-Decker do became their preferred brand and offer wide range of products under one roof with their given competitive pricing on the products compared to other brands. So most likely consumers can easily make decision in making purchases and less confusion. Unfortunately, Mamee Double-Decker wasnt still at the par in offering good taste for their products because only 47percent out of the total respondents were somewhat agree with the companys taste performance but the remaining disagree with it. However, 41percent of the respondents agreed that Mamee products are reachable in the market which eases them in making purchases. Majority of the respondents bought Mister Potatoes and Mamee Monster snack which are two of the most popular snack foods from Mamee Double-Decker and they usually bought it at convenience stores like 7-eleven and hypermarkets like Tesco. As for substitution for Mamee brand, they usually go for Jack n Jill brand and Nestle which are two of the top snack foods and beverages producers in the world. Thus this is threat for Mamee Double-Decker because of the stiff competition from these giant producers. Mamee Double-Decker should improve their products taste and perhaps packaging in order to stay competitive in the market despite having cheaper price strategy. In a nutshell, Mamee Double-Decker is a proud home-grown snack foods and beverages producer that went global. However, Mamee Double-Decker cannot be relied truly on domestic markets with their currents products either domestic market or international market, instead they should keep doing product development program in order to come out with new line of foods and beverages that suits the preference of the consumers worldwide. REPORT ON COMPETITION FOR MAMEE DOUBLE-DECKER A survey has been conducted in order to evaluate the competition for Mamee Double-Decker products. Mamee-Double Decker (M) Bhd, which has made a name for itself with its snacks and confectionery products. A survey with a population of 50 was targeted and a sample of 30 was chosen for this research. Respondent consiste of 16 males and 14 females.The survey was a close ended survey requiring customers to answer a multiple chouce question with a 5 asnwer options. A set of 15 questions have been asked regarding their brand preferences. Mamee Double Decker have various competitors on market for example, Munchys, Nestle, Unilver Food. Under this company they too had offered various consumer or food products for example, maggi, a brand for instant noodle.Mamee to had rival branding for their beverages particularly cultured drink, for example, nutrigen cultured drink are competing against other various brands like yakult, vitagen and solivite. In a brief summary, 40% of respondents are quite loyal and repeat buyer for mamee products while 60% of them are somewhat in a middle as they also have other preferences and branding in buying consumer goods products. Based on the survey conducted, consumer prefers brand yakult and vitagen more compared to nutrigen which come from Mamee products. This is believe due to the reason that yakult are better in terms of quality as they contain probiotics . On the other hand their champions products like Mamee Monster, Mamee Noodles, Mister Potato, Double Decker and Nicolet Swiss Herb Candy are more preferred by consumers. In a survey, 65% od consumers prefer more of these products because of it tastes and the prices are affordable as compared to other products such as Pringles, Indo Mee, Maggi and etc. However, the remaining percentage of 35% do prefer other snacks brands like Pringles,Lays, Doritos as they may have perceive this brand are better in quality and tastier compared to mamee products. .

Hip-Hop/Real Rap

Nayeli Munoz 01/15/13 Rap Most people are unfortunately misled as to what is rap music. Many people seem to have only heard commercial rap; commercial rap is â€Å"gangster rap†. Most of the commercial rap songs talk about getting money, gang banging, and some kind of explicit love or sex. Two examples of commercial rappers are â€Å"50 Cent† and â€Å"Soulja Boy†. True rappers have some kind of poetic flow. Real rap has a deep and meaningful topic, it is like poetry but with more emotion. â€Å"Tupac† and â€Å"Snoop Dogg† are two great examples of real rappers.A positive influence that rap has on today's youth is that it shows us what is going on in the real world; however, rap music can influence youth to be very violent. Another negative about rap is that it is very degrading towards young women. Through their music rap artist show a realistic picture of what is going on around them and how hard it was growing up in poverty. An example of this i s when â€Å"Tupac†, a famous rapper, in his song â€Å"Thug Mansion† says â€Å"picture me inside the misery of poverty, no man alive has ever witness struggles I survived†.Later on in the same song he continues with â€Å"seen the politicians ban us, they'd rather see us locked in chains, please explain why they cant stand us†. This song is reflects the issues of discrimination toward African American by the government. Rap has opened our eyes to show us the circumstances of poverty, drug use, violence, and how easy they can access guns. Rapper â€Å"Too Short† raps about the importance of staying in school and getting a good job.Rap influences youth to be very violent; in â€Å"Big Pun† song â€Å"Brave in the heart† he says, † I'm from where the guns love to introduce they self. Reduce your health little bulletproofs get felt. The street's a trip; either you deep or you sleep with the fish†. This song tries to tell us that we need to use violence in order to survive, this influences youth to believing that they do have to use violence and therefore they start being violent. Some rappers include new drugs that have not been very popular in their lyrics and when youth listen to it they get urious about the drug and want to learn about it and try it. Violent lyrics can influence youth to start fights or even kill people for what they want. Women in rap videos are usually degraded. Very often young women are laid out as sex tools or sex slaves. They are displayed with not much clothes on and they use their bodies to acquire material objects. Young women are exposed to these abominable videos and it can affect their health, their self-esteem can lower and they may think of themselves as useless and worthless.Research shows that many of the young women who listen and watch rap think that they cannot be successful without using their bodies. It is clear that rap can extremely influence today's youth bot h positive and negative ways; however, the negative effects are much larger than the positive effects. It is up to us to decide if rap is going to affect us in a positive or in a negative way. Bibliography: Sid Kirchheimer,(March 3, 2010). Does rap put teens at risk. WebMD. (Online)

Commentaire †Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy Essay

Thomas Hardy described the novel in his preface as dramatizing â€Å"a deadly war between flesh and spirit†. This quasi reference to St Paul’s conception of human dualism goes far towards explaining the nature of Jude’s tragedy. This dualism appears also in the book. Jude The Obscure is the last of Thomas Hardy’s novels published in 1895: its critical reception was so negative that Hardy resolved never to write another novel. The passage under analysis is situated towards the beginning of the novel, at the arrival of Jude at Christminster (the fictional name of Oxford). He found a job at a stonesman’s to make a living while studying by himself to try and achieve his dream. Indeed, Jude’s first concern is a job, though his working is to be done only as a way of supporting himself until he can enter the university. Our commentary will fall into two parts. First we will study the isolation of Jude, and the opposition between Jude’s world and the world of his enthusiasm that is to say the world of Oxford students. Then, we will study the omnipresence of spirituality that contrasts with the materiality in the text. As we have said before, this novel is the last novel of Thomas Hardy. This novel recounts the painful process of his disillusionment and his final destruction at the hands of an oppressive society, which refuses to acknowledge his desire. Even if this extract does not seem so sombre, and presents a real hope, we can notice that the theme of the contrast or the opposition exists all the text long. Thus it is interesting to underline that play of opposition which appears quite characteristic of the novel as it is implied by the sentence of Thomas Hardy that we have quoted in the introduction where he describes his book as â€Å"a deadly war between flesh and spirit†. In a strikingly similar vein, Hardy tells also that the † ‘grimy’ features of the story go to show the contrast between the ideal life a man wished to lead, and the squalid real life he was fated to lead.† There is a play of opposition and parallelism that exists in this extract that presents contrast also. The first opposition that can be noted is the opposition between Jude and the others. Indeed, there is a real separation  between Jude and what he calls â€Å"his inmates† on line 11 or his â€Å"happy young contemporaries†. That is also obvious with the use of the pronoun. All the text long, and mostly in the first part of the text – when the narrator describes Christminster and the students – we can see appearing two different groups as clearly underlined on line 25: â€Å"Whatever they were to him, he to them was not on the spot at all; and yet he had fancied he would be close to their lives by coming there†. This sentence permits really distinguish the opposition between those to entity. This idea of separation exists in all the text, with different symbol of separation. Thus we can say that even if the â€Å"Christminster ‘sentiment’ (†¦) ate further and further into him†, Jude is clearly not in the Christminster ‘way of life’. This situation of exclusion is described implicitly, by the narrator, as quite unfair, when he underlines for instance that â€Å"he probably knew more about those buildings materially, artistically and historically, than any one of their inmates. We could perceive this remark and all the text as an implicit criticism of the fixed class boundaries that exist in the Victorian society. Indeed, we know that Jude has a real willpower of being â€Å"someone†. He left his life in the country town to come into the big city in the hope of succeeding in life. But that society seems quite close as described by Hardy. That is probably why the narrator and Hardy himself insist on the separation of Jude, his isolation and even a sort of imprisonment. He is all alone, in a big city, living apar t and a lot of elements in the text can induce this idea. Firstly let’s notice the â€Å"echoes of his own footsteps†. Echoe occurs most of the time in big and empty spaces, thus using the world ‘echoe’ the narrator wanted to show the isolation of Jude. The adjectives â€Å"impish† and the comparison with â€Å"blows of mallet† are also relevant is that respect. The character appears then, at first sight, isolated, alone with some kind of harsh condition. The evocation of the â€Å"wall† is stronger in that respect. The wall is the symbol of separation, division and exclusion; and here this symbol is used several time as on line 10 â€Å"Only a wall divided him from those happy young contemporaries† or on line 14 â€Å"Only a wall – but what a wall!† showing us the real feeling of exclusion of Jude. This image is reinforced by the metaphor of the â€Å"gates† saying that: â€Å"For the present he was outside the gates of everything, colleges included†. Otherwise the gates can refer to heaven, as we will see later. This division appears also in the  room itself, showing that it exists two worlds: â€Å"rigged up a curtains on a rope across the middle, to make a double chamber out of one†. As we have said, there is a gap between Jude and the rest of Christminster; it is also suggested with the world ‘antipodes’ used on line 21. Nevertheless, it seems that Jude look like ‘their inmates’. The narrator on line 11 underlines it when he says ‘he shared a common mental life’ or on line 20 â€Å"they seemed oftentimes (†¦) to be particularly akin to his own thoughts†. The difference is then more a difference of wages, and not of cleverness or aspirations, we can thus see an implicit criticism of the system by Hardy: they are equal but separate, and they don’t have the same chance to succeed in life, and this opposition drawn by Hardy permits to understand that. The picture painted of the education system is very bleak for the common man, who can study day and night, but will never walk through those great doors of learning. There is a dichotomy between manual work and intellectual work: the young workman in a white blouse vs. the young students. Jude seems to want to realize a synthesis of those two worlds as underlined on line 38: â€Å"He was young and strong, or he never could have executed with such zest the undertakings to which he now applied himself, since they involved reading most of the time after working all the day†. Indeed this text not only presents this division between two worlds but also sort of hope concerning the future. The way of writing of Hardy permits us to understand Jude’s enthusiasm and his faith in future, and permits then to comprehend the mind of Jude: the landscapes of this extract is both Christminster and Jude’s mind: Christminster changes and evolves in Jude eye’s. . Even if Jude The obscure is Hardy’s most sombre novel, here, it is the beginning of the novel and faith and hope are still allowed. This hope appears on line 28 â€Å"But the future lay ahead after all (†¦)†. Desire and enthusiasm are perceptible in the text and particularly in the last paragraph. However the last sentence permits to understand that the future will be more difficult than he probably thinks: â€Å"His desire absorbed him and left no part of him to weigh its practicability†. And Christminster will not be probably the city he was expected. Indeed, this text is situated toward the beginning of the novel when Jude has just arrived at Christminster. In  that respect, he is still full of hope, and enthusiasm even if we can see that he realises â€Å"how far from the object of that enthusiasm he really was†. But it is more a dream than anything else: indeed, Christminster’s phantasmal allure, glimpsed by Jude from the top of his ladder, becomes after his arrival in the city the sinister phantasm of feeling himself disembodied and different. This idea could be illustrated by the description of the Cathedral in the text with the insistence of the size (grandeur ) of it on line 59 : â€Å"Tall tower, tall belfry windows and tall pinnacles†. The anaphora permits to show the discrepancy between Jude, alone and the big city, bigger than his country town where everything is closed for the moment. But as we have said, there is still hope, and the reference to the Cathedral permits to underline another aspect of this extract, which is faith and spirituality as implied by the use of the word â€Å"faith† on line 61. In Hardy’s book, Bible is omnipresent. The text is full of biblical allusion, so much that The Ecclesiasts are a privileged intertext. We can say that God is everywhere, and this extract presents us a lot of references to spirituality that contrasts with materiality of his life conditions. The use of Biblical analogy separates it from all the others novels of Hardy. In it Hardy traces the odyssey of Jude, showing that at important turning points in his life Biblical references serve as guideposts marking his direction. Christminster is tinted with spirituality and so does the extract under study. Firstly, we can point out the name of the city because even if Hardy refers to Oxford, he gives to the city a fictional name that is â€Å"Christminster†, mixing Christ, which is the title, also treated as a name, given to Jesus of Nazareth and â€Å"minster† which is a large or important church, typically one of cathedral status in the north of England that was built as part of a monastery. So, it is a double reference to religion and spirituality. Then there are a lot of references in the text itself, and the place of Christminster seems impregnate with religion and spirituality, which are two notions not exactly similar. Indeed, religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, spirit; and spirituality is relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or  physical things. In those definitions, we can then clearly see that spirituality is opposed to materiality, which seems also the case on that extract. Spirituality or religion appears first throughout the abundant lexical field: â€Å"haunted† on line 1, â€Å"cloisters† (l.1), â€Å"God†, â€Å"Cathedral†, â€Å"Belfry†, etc. More of that, Hardy plays with the meaning of some words; firstly, with the meaning of the world enthusiasm. As we have said before, Jude’s enthusiasm is one of the major stakes of the extract. It could be understand as the intense and eager enjoyment or interest, which is probably the case. But not only, enthusiasm has also an archaic and religious meaning: indeed, enthusiasm is a religious fervour supposedly resulting directly from divine inspiration, typically involving speaking in tongues and wild, uncoordinated movements of the body. This religious could also cast a different light of the expression â€Å"Christminster ‘sentiment’†. This sentiment could also be a religious feeling, a spiritual fervour that pervades Jude. God is thus present in the text, and Jude is not an atheist as underlined on line 30: â€Å"So he thanked God for his health and strength, and took courage†. The world courage is also relevant in that respect. Courage is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. But In both Catholicism and Anglicanism, courage is also one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. With the gift of fortitude/courage, we overcome our fear and are willing to take risks as a follower of Jesus Christ. A person with courage is willing to stand up for what is right in the sight of God, even if it means accepting rejection, verbal abuse, or physical harm. The gift of courage allows people the firmness of mind that is required both in doing good and in enduring evil. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are thus wisdom, understanding, wonder and awe, right judgement, knowledge, courage, and reverence. And it seems that Jude possesses some of them, just like â€Å"knowledge, wisdom or understanding† as implied in the text, or at least that is what let us hear Thomas Hardy in some sentences as on line 29 â€Å"If he could only be so fortunate as to get into employment he would put with the inevitable† which shows the â€Å"understanding† of Jude for instance. It is also obvious on the end of the extract with the quotation of The Ecclesiasts â€Å"For wisdom is a defence and money is a defence; but the Excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it†. We can see that God, spirituality and religion are everywhere in Jude’s life  and in this extract. But this quotation of the Ecclesiast permits also to cast a light on a major opposition in the text between that spirituality and the materiality. Indeed, Jude seems in a state of imprisonment also because of his lack of money. He is met with obstacles time after time, mainly due to his social station as a common stonemason. This lack of money is thus a real obstacle as underlined one line 49 â€Å"Having been deeply encumbered by marrying, getting a cottage and buying the furniture†. That sentence permits to see that those things of life are limited the freedom and the development of his mind. That is why there is real opposition between spirituality and materiality. In the same way poverty seems contradictory to wealth of mind: â€Å"After buying a book or two he could not even afford himself a fire†. Thomas Hardy gives details about the price of the lamp, in order to insist on this problem of money. Money problem seems to be an obstacle to think well as implied on the beginning of the text when the narrator says â€Å"men who had nothing to do from morning till night but to read, mark, learn and inwardly diges t†. The real difference between Jude and his inmates is that, they don’t have to preoccupy about money, they are totally free of materialist preoccupations and thus, they only have to think, learn and understand. Their mind is not hobbled by money questions. Throughout this opposition, we can maybe perceive the denunciation of the author. Jude’s cousin Sue Bridehead describes his situation very succinctly few chapters later: â€Å"You are one of the very men Christminster was intended for when the colleges were founded; a man with a passion for learning, but no money, or opportunities, or friends. But you were elbowed off the pavement by the millionaires’ sons.† The image of the ogee dome can also be relevant in that respect. Indeed, the ogee dome is the dome of Tom Tower in Christ Church, and it was at one time the signal for all the Oxford College to lock their gates. We find back the image of the gates that could also by a symbol of the Gates of Heaven. But here again, they are closes, and locked showing how vain and difficult it is to try to penetrate in it. Thomas Hardy touches on several socially relevant and subversive themes in Jude The Obscure: education, social ranks, and religion. Those themes appear  in the extract under analysis. This one is particularly interesting because of Hardy’s craftsmanship. He uses a subtle play of opposition and parallelism that convey a peculiar atmosphere and permits to understand Jude’s feelings and situation. He seems thus alone torn between his desire of knowledge and his social condition, but also between spirituality and some kind of materiality inherent to his condition.