The Work Of Suzanne M. Mcdowell - 1153 Words

A teacher who keeps on teaching is a gift that keeps on giving. Retired high school teacher Suzanne M. McDowell was selfless by nature as most educators are. Even after leaving her desk job as an economics and business teacher, she continued to enlighten minds and uplift souls. Bold, beautiful, and beloved Suzan taught more than how to be successful in business but also successful in life. The lessons she taught whether of love or taxes, generosity or inflation, stay with those privileged enough to have met her. At age thirteen, I became one of those lucky souls. Suzanne and her husband Jerry were downgrading from their large two story house to a modest duplex. Restrained by failing hips and an oxygen tank, a single story home was safer†¦show more content†¦We spent the time shopping, packing, and talking. She told me stories of her old school: cantankerous students who got a particularly rewarding attitude check; times her students were able to cajole her out of homework as signments; and instances where they would some to her for advice and guidance. Listening to her reminisce, I was touched by her affection for her students. She had a monstrous bin full of cards, photos, albums, yearbooks, and newspaper clippings all from previous students. Suzanne still remember them all like it was just yesterday that they entered her classroom. By the end of the day, it felt like we had known eachother for years. When the tasks we had set out to accomplish for that day were done, she drove me home. As I was opening the door, she handed me a twenty dollar bill. â€Å"Thank you, but this is way too much. It was only a few hours of work, and you don’t even need to pay me! I enjoyed it,† I said shaking my head and handing her the money back. Suzanne pursed her lips and refused to take it back. â€Å"Oh honey, it was a pleasure. I insist,† she replied, but after I caviled at her a little more she said, â€Å"Dear, I have had cancer three times, a bone marrow transplant, and two husbands. I value people much more than money. Take the darn cash and don’t make me pull the ‘cancer card’ again.† She ended with a smile which made us both bust up in giggle. I bid her farewell and pocketed the money making sure to

Personal Transformation in Times of Dilemma Free Essays

Many wonder what causes one to undergo a change of psyche. It happens in times of struggle and dilemma, when the line between right and wrong is skewed. Yet the cause of one to go against what they previously valued is as unique as the situation itself. We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Transformation in Times of Dilemma or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the story Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, these transformations are seen in characters of all backgrounds. Their Jump from one end of the ideological spectrum to the other is what the story aims to spotlight. Many are put in situations of constant stress and conflict, which seem to bring out a more unfamiliar disposition. This instability brings the possibility of the characters being psychopathic, more prominently seen in the character Jekyll. When faced with moral and ethical dilemma, the characters of Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde experience abnormal personal transformation due to distress and psychopathic episodes. These dilemmas push characters like the restrained and reasonable Jekyll to become beast-like Hyde. Constantly faced with the moral limits of his ambition, Jekyll transformed into a man with none of his prior values. The most prominent personal transformation in the story was faced by Jekyll. Beginning as a man of order, the pursuit of his twisted medical experimentations drove him to become an altered being. The altered being was Hyde, a man without the restraints and gentleman-like qualities that defined Jekyll. Stevenson’s aim was to â€Å"attempt to describe the nature of an anomaly,† (Rosner. ) Whether the King 2 change Jekyll experienced is capable in all people, or Just a special few, is the question the Stevenson raised. The story featured a wide array of characters to show the many forms of transformation that people can face. Characters were given ersonalities and ideologies that were applicable to all people of the Victorian era. Utterson, an â€Å"austere† and honest man, along with Jekyll, represent the conservative side of the moral spectrum. The two men are focused and ethically restrained. While men like them were commonplace in the Victorian era, the generally straitlaced culture would also take a toll on the mind. Although he was a Lawyer, Utterson found that his ambitions were subdued by societal and personal restraints. He however remained on his original path, up until he became a close friend of Jekyll. Jekyll epresents what could be called â€Å"moral insanity,† (Rosner. ) Moral insanity is defined as â€Å"a morbid perversion of the natural feelings, affections, inclinations, temper, habits, moral dispositions, and natural impulses, without any remarkable disorder or defect of the intellect or knowing and reasoning faculties,† (Rosner. ) While initially Jekyll may not fit this description, as he continues down his dark path it becomes ever more prevalent. Moral insanity represents Hyde in Jekyll. Hyde embodies man’s farthest reach from order and restraint; he attacks the innocent on impulse, and uides his life with beast-like aptitude. This savage nature does not abide well with the culture in which ne lives, as his primal ambitions are quelled by society . This side of Jekyll represents the terminal end of ambition, and the wild control it has over those who feed on it. The three main characters of the story each represent distinct dispositions: strong restraint, King 3 strong ambition, and one that is torn between the two. The restrained Utterson is conflicted with the dullness of his everyday life and his ambition to pursue the curious life of Dr. Jekyll. He sees the dark temptations that wait for him along that path, which makes him cautious. Hyde represents the burning ambition within Jekyll. Though his intellect remains, it cannot save him from the â€Å"moral weakness† that Hyde originates from. Hyde seeks to take over his other half by tempting it with wild ambition and exorbitance. From the extremes of the two previous characters, Jekyll’s struggle in emphasized. The stressful dual-life that he lives causes him to drift farther away from the norms of society. The less in touch he got with society, the more he began to pursue his dark experimentations. Hyde gained strength the more this happened, which led to an increase in psychopathic episodes from Jekyll. It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man†¦ ‘ was radically both. I had learned to dwell with separation of these elements. If each, I told myself, could be housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable,† (pg. 123. ) Jekyll recalls his history and struggles with the duality of man. He has seen men transformed by the weights of life, which in turn has spurred one of his own. Throughout the story, Jekyll distances himself farther and farther from societal norms. The self-inflicted alienation, combined with his Hyde personality, make him a psychopath. As his transformation into Hyde continues, so does his psychopathic symptoms. One of Jekyll’s more prominent psychopathic events is when he brutally clubbed to death Sir Danvers Carew. Sir Carew was a member of Parliament and a client of Utterson. Jekyll had no connection with the man. Hyde, â€Å"having no moral or social mores that need be followed,† (Sing, King 4 Chakrabarti,) impulsively bludgeons the man then flees. This impetuous act brings to light a ferocious quality looming within Jekyll. He attempts to defend himself, saying â€Å"l cannot say I care what becomes of Hyde. I am quite done with him. I was thinking of my own character,† (pg. 53. ) While Jekyll may believe that the heinous acts Hyde commits distances the two, it actually strengthens their bond. Both Poole and Mr. Guest begin to realize that Jekyll is covering up Hyde’s tracks, which makes Utterson increasingly distraught over his friend. Such a psychotic event brings about a transformation within Jekyll, by not only feeding Hyde’s influence, but getting himself urther entwined with his other self. Jekyll’s transformation takes place as he alienates himself from society in order to find salvation from his condition. Throughout the story, Lanyon recalls Jekyll’s pursuit of â€Å"scientific heresies,† (pg 35. ) Though it was clear that Hyde’s influence was increasing, Jekyll was able to maintain the desire to remain Jekyll. Sadly, that desire contributed to his utter transformation. Focusing on his eccentric studies, he was under constant stress from Hyde and Society. The distress he suffered from caused his mind to weaken. Lanyon saw the consequences ot Jekyll’s research, stating: â€Å"He began to go wrong, wrong in his mind,† (pg. 21 . ) The point at which he went â€Å"wrong† from was the untainted Jekyll, whom Lanyon was proud to be acquainted with. What drove the two apart was their personal involvement in the sciences, as Jekyll has much more of a cause to persevere than Lanyon. Now alone, Jekyll let the sciences overwhelm and define the direction of his life. In his letter to Lanyon at the end of the story, Jekyll describes himself living under a â€Å"blackness of distress,† (pg. 107,) to which Lanyon came to the conclusion that his â€Å"colleague was insane,† (pg 107. ) Jekyll truly crumbled under the weight of his scientific salvation. Not only did it leave him weak enough for Hyde to take over his mind, but it also King 5 contributed to his psychopathic tendencies. Jekyll’s dilemma tested the boundaries of scientific ambition and one’s morals. He showed how those guided by logic and reason can still succumb to ferocious ambition. Stevenson carefully crafted each character of the story to show different ideological standpoints’ reaction to the same dilemma. Jekyll’s psychopathic episodes rought about further transformation into Hyde, as well as increased the overall severity of his psychopathy. He was battling the influence of Hyde while also trying to find a cure for his condition. He was â€Å"different in mental and physical attributes† that were â€Å"constantly at war with each other,† (Sing, Chakrabarti. ) Personal transformation was evident in this story, with distress and psychopathic episodes clearly being the cause. Whether or not such transformation is capable in everyone, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde shows that duality is strengthened by distress and psychopathy. How to cite Personal Transformation in Times of Dilemma, Essays

A Parental Ode to My Son Poem Analysis Essay Example For Students

A Parental Ode to My Son Poem Analysis Essay The poem ‘Aparental Ode to My Son’ tells us of the poet’s son who is 3 years and five months. The poem is split into 6 stanzas, with around 10 lines in each stanza. The poet uses irregular rhyme throughout it. The tone of the poem is cheerful and happy as the poet is talking about his son.  The poem tells us how about his son, by using words like ‘happy elf’, ‘feather-light’, ‘light’ ‘elfin John’ tells us that the child is very small and delicate. The poem tells us that the child is very playful and adventurous by using phrases like ‘Fit playfellow for Fays, by moonlight pale’ the poet is trying to say that his son is a fit playmate for a fairy or elf as they seem to be adventurous and cheerful. The last part ‘by moonlight pale’ could mean that his son is bursting with energy and can play all day till night time when the moon is out.  The poem also suggests that the poet’s son is mischievous but also innocent by using phrases like ‘Thou imp of mirth and joy!’ which suggests the writer is saying his son is a mischievous child of laughter and joy. The phrase ‘untouched by sorrow and unsoiled by sin’ suggests that the child is innocent and has no sin as it is only a small child. ‘Thou cherub but of earth’ also tells us that the child is innocent and sweet. The poem also uses phrases ‘That dog will bite him if he pulls its tail!’ ‘He’ll break the mirror with that skipping-rope!’ ‘He’ll have that jug off, with another shove!’ ‘He’s got a knife!’ and ‘He’s got the scissors, snipping at your gown’ to show that the child is young and playing innocently unaware of the harm that it could cause.  The poem also tells us that the child is a very happy and joyful child by using phrases like ‘happy, happy elf!’, as elves are happy, ‘Thou merry, laughing sprite!’ laughter is a sign of happiness and ‘In harmless sport and mirth’ which is also laughter. The poet uses poetic devices like enjambment ‘From every blossom in the world that blows- Singing in Youth’s Elysium ever sunny’ tells us that the child lives in ideal happiness and perfect bliss it also shows the excitement moving from one line to the next. A metaphor is used: ‘Thou happy, happy elf!’ the poet is comparing the child to an elf as they are cheerful and small which creates the effect of you thinking of images in your head. The simile ‘Light as the singing bird that wings the air’ also creates the image in your head of how a bird flies smoothly which looks effortless and weightless. The poet also uses ambiguity with the phrase ‘No storms, no clouds, in thy blue sky foreseeing’ as what it means is that the child is not troubled but always happy, the use of phrases like this will get you thinking about the different possibilities that it could mean. Another simile is ‘Balmy, and breathing music like the south’ which creates the images of calmness, and another simile is ‘Fresh as the morn, and brilliant as its star’ makes you think that the stars in the morning aren’t that bright so this could also be an allusion. Pathetic fallacy is used in the last stanza ‘Bold as the hawk, yet gentle as the dove’ which emphasises the mood and emotion of the poem.