Motherhood no longer fitting in the schedule Essay Example for Free

Motherhood no longer fitting in the schedule Essay The younger generation of women are more highly educated than ever before and will continue to postpone child bearing until they are certain they have established a stable career and lifestyle. Another cause of this delay is the difficulty of balancing home life with work life. For too many Australians the choice to have children weighs heavily. When many people check their savings account, it is quite rational for them to delay or decide against having children. Unfortunately, increasing numbers of women put off having children and wait for a better time that simply never comes. The average age at which Australian women have their first child is now 29. This is because women come closest to equality with men when they do not have family responsibilities. As more and more women postpone having children, pursue education and improve their employment prospects, those who have their children young, and who have a lower socioeconomic background, tend to fall behind both socially and economically. So many women find themselves stuck. Having a career makes it harder to have children, but having children makes it increasingly necessary to have a career for support. Therefore it is not always women deciding not to have children, but it seems as though the decision has already been made. If women are provided with opportunities equivalent to men but these opportunities are severely limited by having children then women almost have no choice but to restrict the number of children they have. However this is not always the case. There are a small percentage of women who choose not to ever have children. These women want the benefits of stability in community life and financial independence, but at the same time are unwilling to pay the cost of giving up any degree of personal freedom. It may seem selfish, but who wouldnt? A modern womans desire for a successful career is simply a case of choosing luxury apartments and designer shoes over changing nappies. For many women, children do not quite fit in the image of the cosmopolitan lifestyle they wish to lead. They would prefer freedom, fun, independence, time and money rather than responsibility, restrictions, stress, worry, financial struggles and chaos. Ok, maybe in reality it isnt that black and white. Love is the only main advantage of having children but who can guarantee that that will always be the case? Is an uncertain love really worth it? For me, I dont know if Ill ever feel the joy of holding my own baby in my arms. Im sure most women had a similar opinion at one stage. For many women who decide not to ever have children, motherhood is viewed as a burden rather than an experience of personal fulfillment. Another significant factor of the reduction of the birth rate is the breakdown of long term relationships. Most women still want children in marriage, but with divorce rates so high and children being put off until later in life, relationships often end before the kids come along. No matter how happily married, statistically speaking, a woman still faces a greater than 40% chance of ending up a single parent. Many women who would like to have children may possibly not have yet found a suitable partner, further delaying childbirth. Now Australia must face the issue of increasing the birth rate once again. Demographers now realise that the accelerating trend in fertility decline is not a temporary phase but an indication of a long-term change. Most Australian women do want children but find it too difficult to balance family life and work. Conservatives will ask women to give up work to satisfy their notion of what is an ideal life. In my opinion, Australias birth rate is not about telling women to go back in to the kitchen. Promoting a better balance between work and family life, with some flexibility for all employees can be achieved without compromising productivity. The population debate in Australia must start by focusing on the family. A good family policy, particularly a better balance between the demands of work and child bearing responsibilities, will ultimately provide the start of a better future.

The Style of Beowulf Essay -- Epic Beowulf essays

The Style of Beowulf  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Ursula Schaefer in â€Å"Rhetoric and Style† gives an overview of the history of criticism of style:    Examination of the poem’s rhetoric and style started out with investigating common Germanic features. On the other end of the scale, attention was given to a possible Latin influence on the poem’s style. Recently, there have been reconsiderations of authochthonous traditions linked mainly with the analysis of larger narrative patterns (105).    Beowulf ‘s stylistic features will be examined in this essay, along with the perspectives of various literary critics.    T. A. Shippey in â€Å"The World of the Poem† expresses himself on the subject of a point of style in the Old English poem Beowulf: â€Å"The poet reserves the right to say what people are thinking; he does not, however, regard this as ultimately important† (39). It is true that the reader is forced to draw conclusions, from the words and actions of the characters, about the thoughts of the characters. This is one of the many preferences of the author which contribute to the style or â€Å"how† writers say what they say (Abrams 303).    Joan Blomfield in â€Å"The Style and Structure of Beowulf† takes note of two important features of the poem’s style – the irony and the tendency to antithesis:    This tendency to antithesis, frequently verging on paradox, and the constant play of irony are but stylistic manifestations of those movements of the poet’s thought which shape the very stuff of the poem (Blomfield 58).    Antithesis abounds: The poem has a reference to the burning of Heorot included in the description of its first glories, and the prediction of family strife with Ingeld while yet all is well in ... ...oks, 1977.    Donaldson, E. Talbot. â€Å"Old English Prosody and Caedmon’s Hymn.† Beowulf: The Donaldson Translation, edited by Joseph F. Tuso. New York, W.W.Norton and Co.: 1975.    Magoun, Frances P. â€Å"Oral-Formulaic Character of Anglo-Saxon Narrative Poetry.†Ã‚   In TheBeowulf Poet, edited by Donald K. Fry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    Schaefer, Ursula.   â€Å"Rhetoric and Style.† In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uiversity of Nebraska Press, 1997.    Shippey, T.A.. â€Å"The World of the Poem.† In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.    Tharaud, Barry. â€Å"Anglo-Saxon Language and Traditions in Beowulf.† In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press,1998.      

The Creation of Writing

Mr.. Orwell uses symbolism in his book as a place holder for tying In other thing In the book, which would be irony and relevancy. Mr.. Orwell deals with the Idea of truth. On page 81 of 1984, it states, â€Å"Stones are hard, water is wet, objects unsupported fall toward the earth's center†¦.. Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. † Orwell explains that truth exists especially when it Is right in front of you. In the article, Truth and freedom In Rowel's 1984, David Dawn, the author, says â€Å"..Truth is the way our statements correspond with the world. This really Justifies why truth in Rowel's book is so important. Truth is one of the reasons why Winston tries to stay sane throughout the book. Orwell also symbolizes objects In the way they are portrayed. One of the other characters, Julia, was a symbol of being a rebel with a cause, and gluing you more than what meets the eye. On page 31 of 1984, it says â€Å"†¦ Thought Police could all be swept into nothingness by a single splendid movement of the arm. That too was a gesture belonging to the ancient time.This really gives you the proof that Cilia's odd Is precious and meaner something to Winston In the article, Dissent, Assent, and the body of Nineteen-eighty four, Naomi Jacobs writes the importance of Cilia's body.. It states, â€Å"To imagine the removal of clothing, and the revelation of the hidden body as having such political power†¦ † This tells you that Orwell does a tremendous Job with focusing on one object and having It mean multiple things. Orwell Is an excellent writer because he uses symbolism as a focus point for his book in telling this story. Orwell also stresses the importance of relevancy our modern world.

Analysis of Paranoia by Shirley Jackson.

Shirley Jackson is an American author most remembered for her chilling and controversial short story The Lottery, about a violent undercurrent in a small American town. Paranoia was first published in the August 5, 2013, issue of The New Yorker, long after the authors death in 1965. Jacksons children found the story in her papers in the Library of Congress. If you missed the story on the newsstand, it is available for free on The New Yorkers website. And of course, you can very likely find a copy at your local library. Plot Mr. Halloran Beresford, a businessman in New York, leaves his office quite pleased with himself for remembering his wifes birthday. He stops to buy chocolates on the way home and plans to take his wife to dinner and a show. But his commute home becomes fraught with panic and danger as he realizes someone is stalking him. No matter where he turns, the stalker is there. In the end, he does make it home, but after a brief moment of relief, the reader realizes Mr. Beresford still might not be safe after all. Real or Imagined? Your opinion of this story will depend almost entirely on what you make of the title, Paranoia. On first reading, I felt the title seemed to dismiss Mr. Beresfords troubles as nothing but a fantasy. I also felt it over-explained the story and left no room for interpretation. But on further reflection, I realized I hadnt given Jackson enough credit. Shes not offering any easy answers. Almost every frightening incident in the story can be explained as both a real threat and an imagined one, which creates a constant sense of uncertainty. For example, when an unusually aggressive shopkeeper tries to block Mr. Beresfords exit from his store, its hard to say whether hes up to something sinister or just wants to make a sale. When a bus driver refuses to stop at the appropriate stops, instead just saying, Report me, he could be plotting against Mr. Beresford, or he could simply be lousy at his job. The story leaves the reader on the fence about whether Mr. Beresfords paranoia is justified, thus leaving the reader — rather poetically — a bit paranoid herself. Some Historical Context According to Jacksons son, Laurence Jackson Hyman, in an interview with The New Yorker, the story was most likely written in the early 1940s, during World War II. So there would have been a constant sense of danger and distrust in the air, both in relation to foreign countries and in relation to the U.S. governments attempts to uncover espionage at home. This sense of distrust is obvious as Mr. Beresford scans the other passengers on the bus, looking for someone who might help him. He sees a man who looks as though he might be a foreigner. Foreigner, Mr. Beresford thought, while he looked at the man, foreigner, foreign plot, spies. Better not rely on any foreigner †¦ In a completely different vein, its hard not to read Jacksons story without thinking of Sloan Wilsons 1955 novel about conformity, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, which was later made into a movie starring Gregory Peck. Jackson writes: There were twenty small-size gray suits like Mr. Beresfords on every New York block, fifty men still clean-shaven and pressed after a day in an air-cooled office, a hundred small men, perhaps, pleased with themselves for remembering their wives birthdays. Though the stalker is distinguished by a small mustache (as opposed to the standard clean-shaven faces that surround Mr. Beresford) and a light hat (which must have been unusual enough to grab Mr. Beresfords attention), Mr. Beresford rarely seems to get a clear view of him after the initial sighting. This raises the possibility that Mr. Beresford is not seeing the same man over and over, but rather different men all dressed similarly. Though Mr. Beresford seems happy with his life, I think it would be possible to develop an interpretation of this story in which it is the sameness all around him that is what actually unnerves him. Entertainment Value Lest I wring all the life out of this story by over-analyzing it, let me finish by saying that no matter how you interpret the story, it is a heart-pumping, mind-bending, terrific read. If you believe Mr. Beresford is being stalked, youll fear his stalker — and in fact, like Mr. Beresford, youll fear everybody else, too. If you believe the stalking is all in Mr. Beresfords head, youll fear whatever misguided action hes about to take in response to the perceived stalking.