All About the Genre of Character Writing

A brief descriptive sketch of a class or type of person (such as a city slicker, a country bumpkin, or a grumpy old man) rather than of an individual personality. Character-writing became a popular literary form in England following the publication in 1592 of a Latin translation of Theophrastus, an ancient Greek writer of similar sketches. Characters eventually became more individualized and were integrated with the essay and the novel. Also Known As: character sketch Examples of Character Writing The Character of the Man in Black, by Oliver GoldsmithA Definition of a Gentleman, by John Henry NewmanGood Souls, by Dorothy ParkerThe Landlord, by Henry David ThoreauMr. Barlow, by Charles DickensThe Plumber, by Anthony TrollopeThe Satirist, by Robert Louis StevensonStatus Details in Tom Wolfes DescriptionsThree Characters by John EarleThe True Friend, by Joseph Hall Etymology From the Latin (mark, distinctive quality) from the Greek (scratch, engrave) Observations and Examples: The 17th-century character writings reflected the assumptions of the period about the nature of human beings, but they also conditioned the ways in which subsequent authors would for a time treat character...The great strength of the character sketch as a genre was its ability to create a single unified impression of a person, whether as an individual or a type. The succinctness essential for producing this effect carried inherent limitations. Character sketches tended to be reductive. Each of the early forms, for differing reasons, oversimplified the human beings they depicted.(James Engell, Johnson and His Age. Harvard University Press, 1984)Modern Example of a Character: The AnchormanHe graduated from drama school and looked for parts in television. Because he had prognathous jaws like a cowboys and every cilium of his light-brown hair seemed to be nailed into his skull for keeps, he was steered into the news department. At first, like all beginning newscasters, he had to leave th e building...He would stand in front of the building and hold a microphone covered in black styrofoam and recite AP or UPI copy about [an] event. He could do this without skipping a beat, and he maintained his head of hair nearly intact, and soon he did not have to leave the building anymore. He was promoted to the anchor desk of the stations six oclock news broadcast, where he reads the AP and UPI copy from the Teleprompter. Only two things stand in the way of his goal of reaching the network news desk. One is the Anchorwoman, a fireproof blonde who is so aggressive, such a nutcracker, that she terrifies him. His on-air Happy Hour Chitchat with her sounds as if it is being extracted by water torture. The other is the ever-so-imperceptibly widening part in his hair.(Tom Wolfe, Success Stories: The Anchorman. In Our Time, Farrar, 1980)The Theophrastian CharacterTheophrastus (c. 371-287 BC) was a Greek rhetorician and philosopher. Today he is best remembered for what he considered a m inor work, his Characters, a series of sketches originally intended as models for students of rhetoric. The Characters (the word in Greek meant distinctive marks) consists of satires of comic, foolish, or cloddish types. The sketches follow a formula: first a definition of the trait to be illustrated, then a number of situations and responses that dramatically reveal the trait in terms of behavior. For example, After dinner, the waiter brings the check; the stingy man drops his napkin and hides beneath the table until someone else has paid.(Thomas S. Kane and Leonard J. Peters, Writing Prose: Techniques and Purposes, 6th ed. Oxford University Press, 1986)Classic Example of a Character: The Penurious ManThe Penurious man is one who, while the month is current, will come to ones house and ask for a half-obol [a silver coin]. When he is at the table with others he will count how many cups each of them has drunk; and will pour a smaller libation to Artemis than any of the company. Whene ver a person has made a good bargain for him and charges him with it, he will say that it is too dear. When a servant has broken a jug or a plate he will take the value out of his rations; or, if his wife has dropped a three-farthing piece, he is capable of moving the furniture and the sofas and the wardrobes, and of rummaging in the curtains. If he has anything to sell he will dispose of it at such a price that the buyer shall have no profit. He is not likely to let one eat a fig from his garden, or walk through his land, or pick up one of the olives or dates that lie on the ground, and he will inspect his boundaries day by day to see if they remain the same. He is apt, also, to enforce the right of distraining, and to exact compound interest. When he feasts the men of his parish, the cutlets set before them will be small: when he markets, he will come in having bought nothing. And he will forbid his wife to lend salt, or a lamp-wick, or cummin, or verjuice, or meal for sacrifice, or garlands, or cakes; saying that these trifles come to much in the year. Then, in general, it may be noticed that the moneyboxes of the penurious are mouldy, and the keys rusty; that they themselves wear their cloaks scarcely reaching to the thigh; that they anoint themselves from very small oil-flasks; that they have their hair cut close; that they take off their shoes in the middle of the day; and that they are urgent with the fuller to let their cloak have plenty of earth, in order that it may not soon be soiled.(The Characters of Theophrastus, edited and translated by R.C. Jebb. Macmillan, 1870)

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section 10 Essay

In Hume’s 1748 publication: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding , Section 10 is titled Of Miracles. This section is an extended argument against the veracity of miracles. In response to Hume, Richard Price published Four Dissertations in 1768. In Dissertation IV, The Importance of Christianity, the Nature of Historical Evidence and Miracles, Price outlines a Bayesian argument against Hume’s conclusions that miracles cannot ever occur. My thesis is that Price’s Bayesian argument, arguably the first use of Bayes’ Theorem to challenge another published argument fails. It fails on three fronts: it mischaracterizes Hume’s argument as non-conditional; it improperly employs a Bayesian model test case of newspaper reporting; and it does not consider the effects of the preliminary seeding of probabilities for its Bayesian model of miracles. 1.0 Hume’s Argument Against Miracles Hume’s argument is multi-faceted but most commentators (Millican, Earman) agree that the key summary occurs in paragraph 13. The plain consequence is (and ‘tis a general maxim worthy of our attention) â€Å"That no testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous, than the fact, which it endeavours to establish†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (E 10.13) This first quote establishes a simple probability model of a miracle occurring (Miracle Happening: MH) given a true testimony about that event (True Testimony: TT) and Hume argues that it must be greaterShow MoreRelatedWhat Is The Problem Of Freewill?1495 Words   |  6 Pagesprovides us with a compelling argument for determinism. Though a libertarian, Richard Taylor justifies the stance that humans assume universal causation without realising. In â€Å"Freedom and Determinism† in Metaphysics, he gives the example of a person who hears a sudden noise and instantly tries to find the cause. 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Rapex is a weapon for woman against rape Free Essays

Rapex is a weapon for woman against rape. It is a diaphragm with teeth which bites when something touches it that is not supposed to, such as a penis. This is both painful and will make the rape stop immediately. We will write a custom essay sample on Rapex is a weapon for woman against rape or any similar topic only for you Order Now It also has to be removed surgically thus it is much easier to identify the rapist. In this essay I will explain and discuss the facts and uses for Rapex, the medical concerns for Rapex and the ethical and safety issues. In South Africa there are 119 people per 100,000 that are raped every year. This is probably 9 times as much because the number that was previously mentioned is only the reported rapes. You could also say that there is 50,000 rapes per year in South Africa. This is again about 4 times as many because rapes of children and acquaintances are never reported. This is an alarmingly high number and measures needed to be made. One of these measures was the Rapex anti rape device. Rapex also prevents pregnancy and the infection of sexually transmitted diseases. This is another important function of Rapex because South Africa has the most people in the world which are infected by HIV/AIDS. 1 of nine people in South Africa are infected with the virus. This scientific development has lead to many discussions of ethical issues such as if Rapex would be used for revenge by an angry wife or girlfriend or that it might cause the men to act violently towards the women and hurt them or even kill them. Rapex is made of latex and polyurethane which is held firm by shafts of sharp barbs. When the man penetrates the hooks are fastened into the tip of the man’s erected penis and the Rapex has to be surgically removed after that. Rapex is much like a diaphragm thus it should not stay inside the vagina for more than 24 hours. You should wear it when you know you are in danger of being raped such as walking a long distance or when you are somewhere were there are a minimal amount of people and a rapist can easily be attacked. You should also not wear it when you have you are menstruating. The reason that the men rape women in South Africa is that the men feel superior to them and women don’t really count in society. They are suppressed by men and don’t have the sufficient means to protect themselves. The reason for men raping children is that there is a smaller chance of sexually transmitted diseases. The man suffers from pain but no permanent injuries are inflicted. The woman may however suffer from violence from the man as a result to the pain the man is having. This could even result in death. Rapex is not as helpful by preventing rape because the man still has to penetrate for the Rapex to have an effect. This still causes the woman to be raped but she stops it immediately and she doesn’t get pregnant or get a sexually transmitted disease. She does however get a chance to get the man back. In my opinion it is more a weapon for revenge than for self protection. The defense mechanism, Rapex, should be this hard. At least for the time being to scare men and do reduce the amount of rapes taking place. Also, the men that do rape will be identified. The punishment for raping in South Africa is very low at the moment and if the Rapex I going to be used the punishment should also go up. There should also be a punishment for women that use it as a weapon for attack and not as self defense. The 3 main religions in South Africa are Zion Christian, Pentecostal/Charismatic and Catholic. None of these religions encourage rape and so the religious and cultural issues of the Rapex have no impact on this in my opinion. If they choose to rape, against their religion then they can also suffer from this. To conclude I believe I think that the Rapex is a good idea to stop rape, pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. However, there is a big chance that it will be misused and that the men will get angry and kill the women. Therefore, I don’t think Rapex should be produced in large amounts but I think the whole educational system, civil law system and the society needs to change when it comes to its look on women. Women need to get a better education allowing them to work and became more equal to men. The civil law system needs to change its punishments of rape and the society needs to change in the way that men except woman as their equal. Rapex is only a temporary solution to the problem of rape and instead of investing money in something short term I believe you can better invest it in something that will stay long term such as a change in society and the role of women within that society. How to cite Rapex is a weapon for woman against rape, Papers