Margaret Atwood Essays - Margaret Atwood, Trillium Book Award

Margaret Atwood "There is so much silence between the words..." SOCI 4019 September 29, 1999. An Overview of Works, Styles, and Themes Margaret Atwood has written a great number of novels and other forms of literature. The major press editions are as follows: ~ WORKS~ Poetry ? 1964, The Cirle Game ? 1968, The Animals in That Country ? 1970, The Journals of Susanna Moodie ? 1970, Procedures for Underground ? 1971, Power Politics ? 1974, You are Happy ? 1978, Selected Poems ? 1978, Two-Headed Poems ? 1981, True Stories ? 1984, Interlunar ? 1987, Selected Poems II: Poems Selected and New, 1976-1986 ? 1990, Selected Poems 1966-1975 ? 1995, Morning in the Burned House Short Fiction ? 1977, "Dancing Girls" ? 1983, "Murder in the Dark" ? 1983, "Bluebeard's Egg" ? 1991, "Wilderness Tips" ? 1992, "Good Bones" Novels ? 1969, The Edible Woman 1985, The Handmaid's Tale ? 1972, Surfacing 1988, Cat's Eye ? 1976, Lady Oracle 1993, The Robber Bride ? 1979, Life Before Man 1996, Alias Grace ? 1981, Bodily Harm Children's Books ? 1978, Up in the Tree ? 1980, Anna's Pet ? 1990, For the Birds ? 1995, Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut Non-Fiction ? 1972, Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature ? 1977, Days of the Rebels 1815-1840 ? 1982, Second Words: Selected Critical Prose ? 1995, Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature Edited ? 1982, The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English ? 1986, The Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English ? 1987, The Canlit Foodbook ? 1989, The Best American Short Stories ? 1995, The New Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English ~ STYLE ~ Although many have used Margaret Atwoods style of writing poetry, not one has yet to compete with her words. Typically, Margaret sticks to formal style of poetry, using original text with separated stanzas. Margarets stlye of writing gives an overwhelming effect to the reader; moreover, her style of writing adjusts to the theme of the particular piece. ~ THEMES ~ The essential features of Atwood's fictions and poetry has been described as a search for a personal and national identity. Survival is a central theme throughout her works, as is the quest for self unity. Biography Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa, Ontario, on November 18, 1939. Because her father was a forest entomologist, Atwood spent most of her childhood living in the Canadian Wilderness. During the eight months of each year that her father did insect research in the forest, the Atwood family lived in "a cabin with a wood stove and several kerosene lanterns. There were bears and wolves and moose and loons" ( qtd. in "Author Profile"). While this lifestyle was exciting, she did not have most modern conviences and technology. To entertain herself, Atwood read books. They became her only means for entertainment and escape. "I read them all, even when they weren't supposed to be for children" (qtd. in "Author Profile"). During this childhood of reading, Atwood also began to write. By the age of six, ATwood was writing poems, morality plays, comic books, and an unfinished novel about an ant. Ten years later, Atwood decided that she only wanted to write. She wanted to live a double life; to go places she had not been before; to examine life on earth; to come to know people in ways, and at depths, that were otherwise impossible; to be surprised; and to give something of what she had received. Two years after this life-altering decision, Atwood entered Victoria College at the University of Toronto. She received her bachelor's degree from Victoria College in 1961, and then went on to receive her Master's degree from Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Atwood also received education from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during 1962-63 and 1965-67. Atwood began her career through self-publication. She sold these books for fifty cents each. During this period, Atwood married Graeme Gibson, a fellow writer who was born in London, Ontario, in 1934. Togehter, they have three grown children and two cats. Although Atwood both grew up and resides presently in Canada, she ahs lived in numerous cities throughout the world. The Canadian residences include Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Alliston, and Vancouver. In the United States, Atwood has lived in Boston, Massachusetts, and in Alabama. She has also lived and travelled in England, France, Italy , and Germany. Geographical, Historical, Political and Social Influences With respect to the fact that Atwood was raised, and spent most of her

Application for Fuqua MBA Program †Example Essay

Application for Fuqua MBA Program – Example Essay Free Online Research Papers Application for Fuqua MBA Program Example Essay 1. Please discuss your previous professional experiences, your long-term career goals and the role the MBA will play in those plans. Why are you interested in The Fuqua School of Business and what do you hope your contribution will be to an MBA environment? (Limit 4 pages) My long-term aspiration is to manage a Venture Incubator company that brings up an enterprise and concurrently supports the fund investment and management consulting of the Venture Company. It is extremely difficult for any firm to be recognized in the market in the beginning. In particular, in the case of a newly born firm, it is inevitable that they fall behind on the marketing, settling vision, and performing strategy. If we can find such companies and provide them with the fund and management consulting at the same time, we will be able to create value worth no less than hundreds of times greater than the amount of investment. We will be able to recognize some purpose as an incubator in the sense that we raise a desirable company. My objective, as mentioned above, stems from working experience for 3 and a half years as an expert in terms of credits and one year of working experience as a consultant. In order to become an expert in credit, especially a loan officer, I entered the KRW 19 billion (approximately USD 16 million) asset-scale of the biggest professional organization for long-term credit, the Korea Long-Term Credit Bank upon graduating from the university in 1995. I became well aware of the concept on the management of risk on the assets as well as the management of risk on credits through 6 months of on-the-job training on the risk management from Assets Liabilities while developing the Banks management system. Afterwards, as a loan officer, I was in charge of around 30 deals of credits for the big and small companies. All I learned from 18 months of experience was the assessment of the potential value of the firm simply by its number of financial affairs could commit a considerable mistake. Among t he 16 times of new credit loan cases I had handled, 2 cases were left delinquent by the time I quitted working at the end of year 1998. The lesson that I learned at that time was that if I had viewed the firms in terms of assessment from diverse angles such as vision and performance strategy of the company, the driving force of management strategy, and the active organization structure, I would have been able to prevent the bad loan. The opportunity to change my career into a consultant also came from this experience. From the beginning of 1999, I changed my career to a consultant of the strategic consulting group in a local consulting firm called the ABL. It was done for the purpose of actually going inside the firm, and being able to study the vision and strategy as well as broaden the understanding on the firms. Although 1-year period was relatively short, I was able to participate in 4 projects including the outsourcing project for SK Telecom, organization-restructuring project for Kookmin Bank. During that period of time, I learned to raise the success of our team through bench marking, method of setting up vision and strategy, method of establishing a scenario and the assistance of our team. In addition, I realized from the colleagues, especially those who had achieved the MBA, that their knowledge on management and consulting skills are far better than mine. From then on, my desire to study in full scale on management, which is necessary for a consultant, began to grow rapidly. A business school is very significant to me for three major reasons. First, I can learn the managerial knowledge and skill through advanced course of studies on management and various practical experiences. Secondly, it provides the chance to mutually interchange with superior men of ability. Thirdly, the MBA degree can build confidence to the prospective clients upon performing as the Project Manager and being in possession of the MBA degree will be much help on the fund forming for venture investments. The primary reason why I choose Duke is the strong point in terms of environment. I would rather explore my overseas studies in a typical American small and medium-sized city than a metropolis such as New York, which is full of immigrants. Among top 10 business schools, Duke is the only one to my taste in this perspective. I would like to spend two years being engrossed in academic fulfillment in an academic atmosphere in Duke located in the center of ?esearch Triangle?where the largest number of scholars with doctoral degree may live throughout the United States. The second reason is that Duke is located in the vicinity of Washington D.C in which my wife wants to pursue her goal in museum studies. If my wife comes to study at George Washington University, I would choose between Duke University and University of North Carolina in order to spend the weekend with my wife. For this reason, I apply for the MBA schools within 4 hours of driving from Washington D.C. The third reason is that I evaluate Duke located in the research triangle park- the so-called ?merica? next Silicon Valley?provide the best course in the field of entrepreneurship for new ventures. In particular, the only courses of Duke managing venture and growth mentored study program with entrepreneurship for venture capitalists will serve up essential knowledge on the establishment of venture capital company, which is my long term aspiration. During the period of time in Duke, I would like to share my business know-how, which is necessary to establish the venture company, with follow students by participating in the entrepreneurship and venture capital club. The most crucial thing that I can contribute to Duke is my experience in and knowledge on internet business and venture company in Korea. Korea is one of top 10 nations in the world in terms of internet business and emerges as the experimental arena for the venture company, which is expected to belong to top 5 telecommunication countries by the year 2010. One of the themes that I want to make research is the detailed report on strategic investment with reference to the status of and the prospect for investment in 100 representative venture companies out of the main telecommunication nations in Asia including ROK, Taiwan, and Singapore. Given the opportunity, I would like to make a specific study group related to the theme of research along with professors and fellow students. I hope Duke will be recognized as one of the most prestigious business schools as far as Asian venture company is concerned thanks to my research in the long term. 2. Tell us about the most challenging team experience you have had to date. What role did you play? What factors made it a challenge for you? How did you and the group address these issues? What did you learn? (Limit 2 pages) 3. a) Discuss a personal failure that had an impact on your professional practices or management style. Why do you consider the situation a failure? How did you resolve the situation? Did it change your professional outlook? If so, how? (Limit 1 page) During my first year at Asset Liability Management Team of Korea Long Term Credit Bank, I went through a significant failure that made the schedule of my team unnecessarily delayed. It occurred in the middle stage of my first project, which was to build up the risk management system for the bank. Within the project, I was responsible for performing benchmarking JP Morgan? ?AR (Value At Risk)?system. At the case team meeting where I was supposed to present my work, I had only prepared the results of how VAR system works without my analysis and interpretative thoughts on the results. Thus, I was not able to answer important questions raised by my team members with reference to the results. Since the answers were critical for the progress of their work, they had to wait for me to formulate my thoughts and have a discussion with them at our next meeting. At last, with the help of one of the colleagues in my team, I was able to finish interpretative analysis of the benchmarking three day s later, which eventually brought about an unnecessary delay. I created this situation because I was not fully ready to be a pro-active and creative in terms of idea. Being raised in Korea where responsibilities are categorically assigned by position, I was not fully set to execute the task without permission of my supervisors when key decisions were required. Although I was commended as the best worker in military service, I was nothing but a performer who accomplished tasks in an efficient manner. I was not trained to plan and accomplish an assignment for myself. Through this failure, I recognized that ? good worker?in an intellectual organization requires vigorous self-planning and self-training. In the wake of this failure, my first priority in any project is placed to accept full responsibility for the task at hand, self ?plan and accomplish as much as possible, and develop answers to any contingent questions. I want to change myself from an executor to a leader. I strongly believe that my early failures in my career have encouraged me to be a better consultant, manager and leader. Thank you. Research Papers on Application for Fuqua MBA Program EssayLifes What IfsThe Project Managment Office SystemTwilight of the UAWAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalOpen Architechture a white paperThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UsePersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductDefinition of Export Quotas

American Involvment in World War I Essay Example for Free

American Involvment in World War I Essay This investigation assesses American involvement in World War I before military intervention, and how this led to military intervention. In order to assess these causes, one must examine America’s involvement in the war before combat, the events that launched America’s military intervention in the war, American sentiments about the war before military intervention, and Woodrow Wilson’s actions before the war. Two sources used in the essay, America’s Great War: World War One and the American Experience by Robert H.   Ziegler and Woodrow Wilson’s speech to congress on April 2nd, 1917 are evaluated for their origins, values, purposes and limitations. The investigation does not asses the pre-war situations of any countries but the United States, and does not asses American military involvement during the First World War Summary Of Evidence Prior to 1917, America was already deeply involved in the First World War, though they did not have troops fighting in the trenches overseas. First, American involvement in the war was purely as a producer and creditor to the Allied Powers. The war, while catastrophic for the countries involved in its atrophied trench battles, provided America with an astronomical boost to its economy, from 2 billion dollars in exported materials in 1913 to nearly 6 billion dollars in exports in 1916. This economic boom was mainly brought on by Britain’s dependency on American foodstuffs and manufactured goods.. The economic ties between America and Britain tightened with public subscription loans. By 1917, Britain had borrowed 2. 7 billion dollars from American creditors. Historian Paul Koistinen wrote â€Å"Without American supplies, Britain could not continue the war; without American financing of almost 10$ million a day †¦ Britain would exhaust its reserves of gold and securities by March 1917. Its dependence was total. Cutting back procurement . . . would produce disaster in England† Originally, America did nothing but reap the reward of â€Å"neutrality†. When Americas turned their eyes to the stage of war in Europe, they were truly terrified. One Chicago newspaper joked â€Å"A hearty vote of thanks to Columbus for having discovered America†. This sentiment was echoed by many American citizens, who showed pride in President Woodrow Wilson’s decision to declare America a neutral state in the war. Americans thoughts on the war lied in their bloodlines, as a majority of Americans were descendants from either Allied or Central Powers nations. Most Americans, early in the war at least, didn’t understand the war or why it was being fought, and were glad that America wasn’t involved. However, these robust Anti-Involvement sentiments began to fade after May 7 1915, the day of the Lusitania crisis. German U-Boats torpedoed and sunk a passenger liner in British waters, killing nearly 1,200 civilians, including 128 American citizens. The murder of these innocents set off the first widespread pro war feelings in Americans. This outrage was justified, but was also heightened by yellow journalism that demonized Germans as barbarians and deranged killers. President Woodrow Wilson, taking note of this event and the outrage it caused, warned the Germans that any further violation of American rights would result in â€Å"Strict Accountability† for these actions. This, as well as the bloody war dragging on in Europe, brought up the question of military preparedness in the United States. By 1916, pro-preparedness sentiment was widespread, as 135,000 supporters of expanding the military marched on New York City’s 5th Avenue, for 12 hours. In Chicago, 130,000 telephone operators moved in the shape of an American flag, goose-stepping down State Street. In the election of 1916, Woodrow Wilson ran against Charles E. Hughes, who was backed by Theodore Roosevelt, former president and staunch Allied Powers supporter, as well as an advocate for military preparedness. Woodrow Wilson won the election by only about 600,000 popular votes. However, these sentiments were met with an equally strong anti-militarism force, saying that in a chaotic world, America must be a beacon and resist entrance into war, and resist building an enormous military. Strong anti-militaristic sentiments began to fade when British intelligence officers intercepted a telegram sent from Foreign Secretary of the German Empire Arthur Zimmermann to the German ambassador of Mexico, Heinrich von Eckardt. This infamous proposal, known as the Zimmermann note, proposed that Mexico wage war against the United States. Throughout America’s neutrality in World War 1, President Wilson had acted as a mediator, but with tension building to a terminal level and with the Zimmermann note, Wilson was forced to ask congress to bolster America’s military forces on April 2nd 1917. Later in the same year, America sent its first military forces oversees Evaluation Of Sources Robert H Zieger: America’s Great War: World War One and the American Experience Origins- (2000) Zieger is a respected labor historian Purpose- Provides an in-depth look at American involvement in the war. Value- The economic statistics and quotations from various primary and secondary sources allow the reader to evaluate the validity of the claims Zieger makes. Limitations- does not provide any new opinions or claims Woodrow Wilson, April 2nd 1917 to congress to persuade congress to bring the United States Origin- German hostile actions towards the United States Purpose- Persuade congress to declare war on Germany and the Central Powers Value- clearly outlined Wilson’s reason’s for entering war Limitations- doesn’t explain the underlying causes of military intervention or pressure from big business to declare war for entry  Analysis America’s involvement in World War One began with producing vital weapons and foodstuffs for the Allied Powers, as well as economically supporting the Allied nation’s governments. Throughout the war, the German Empire repeatedly acted belligerently towards the neutral United States, sinking passenger lines, killing Amer ican civilians. Tension with Germany also rose after the proposal to Mexico asking the Mexican army to wage war on the United States. These belligerent German acts, however, would not have held as much effect as they did if American political opinions had not been shifted by the German actions, the economic pressure of close ties to the Allied nations, or social pressure brought along by shifting political attitudes. These all contributed to tensions growing regarding American military involvement I World War One President Woodrow Wilson was a stalwart proponent of American neutrality in the First World War for the almost all of the war, but the American political climate at the time forced his hand.. He was able to win this election because most voters at the time had pro-neutrality sentiments. However, Wilson took into account his slim margin of victory, and the Republican’s yearning for a prepared military. These yearnings were brought on mainly by the Lusitania sinking. A major proponent for intervention, the previously mentioned Theodore Roosevelt, denounced these acts of the German Empire as acts of piracy. Roosevelt’s popularity made these statements extremely well heard. This shift in public opinion helped force President Wilson’s hand. America’s involvement in World War One before it entry in combat was extremely vital, producing millions of dollars’ worth of material for Britain and France, as well as financing the war through small loans. This dependency was built by J. P Morgan, who traded nearly 3 billion dollars’ worth of goods with the allied powers. By 1917, America had invested 2. 7 billion dollars in Britain alone. Historian Paul Koistinen’s quote regarding British dependency on American trade shows how deeply entrenched America was with the war’s affairs pre involvement. These statistics show that the allied powers were completely dependent on American economic support American corporations had an immense amount of wealth in the war, and if they Allied powers lost the war, all of their investments would be worth nothing, because the countries that had been responsible for repaying these debts would no longer exist. The war was taking a detrimental toll on the populations of the warring nations, and the war was almost completely atrophied. It was only a matter of time before one side lost, and it was essential to American business that it was the Allied Powers. Had the allied powers lost to the central powers, American financers would have lost 2. 7 billion dollars as a whole, 2. 7 billion dollars that were needed to give to American business, 2. 7 billion dollars that banks needed to stay in business. Throughout pre-involvement America, as early as the dawn of the war, so called â€Å"hyphenated Americans†, had opinions on what side of the war to support, dependent on their country of origin. German-Americans, the largest ethnic group at the time , supported what they thought of as their motherland, Germany, therefore supported the Central Powers. The second largest ethnic group, Irish-Americans, saw Great Britain as an oppressor, therefore were also supporters of the central powers. However, most Americans at the time were still pro-neutrality. A Chicago newspaper, expressing thanks to Columbus, wrote an article on the blessing of the Atlantic Ocean. This was a popular sentiment at the time, and many Americans were proud of Wilson’s decision to be neutral. After the sinking of American ocean liner Lusitania the support of neutrality began to fade. Before the Lusitania disaster, however, 92 ships had been sunken by aggressive German action. None of these attacks had gained as much publicity, partially due to the fact that the previous sinking’s hadn’t been as destructive. But this was also due to the fact that the Lusitania sinking was grabbed onto by yellow journalists. â€Å"The blood of these murdered victims cries for vengeance. If that cry is unheard, the people of the United States will always bear upon them the stigma of the greatest humiliation ever put upon a nation. Writes a reporter from the Toronto Telegram. President Wilson demanded that German U-Boats stop sinking civilian liners, and if they continued to do so, they would be met with military retaliation. This didn’t stop Germans from sinking boats, and Wilson’s failure to take action against them infuriated Americans. Observing the protests in American cities at the time, one can judge that huge masses of people were strongly in favo r of interventionism. The process of the American military joining the Allied Powers seemed inevitable from the start of the war, but still took hostile action and over reaction to spark military involvement. America’s pre-war economic ties to Europe and America’s reliance on trade with these nations during the war made America’s involvement with these nations too deep to let them lose the war, therefore forcing combat. Woodrow Wilson’s strong stance on neutrality couldn’t stand up to the enormous pressure he faced from the people of the United States. American Involvment in World War I. (2016, Sep 14). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Desire2learn (D2L) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Desire2learn (D2L) - Essay Example Review existing reports for corresponding areas or interview the appropriate personnel to determine if a report still justifies the reporting needs. The team will organize the effort of identifying future reporting requirement after the analysis is concluded. The team will also determine the best reporting tool(s) for the institutions needs. The objective of Systems Education/Training is to provide the appropriate training to enable the implementation teams to understand features, functions, processes and setups so that these personnel can design the future management solution. During the configuration stage, the solution is implemented in the testing environment as per the solution design documents. Baseline applications are set up, working rules are established, data inserting rules are defined, and test data is entered. In the development stages different tests are conducted. Results are matched with the expected ones. The system configuration phase includes the drafting of policies, procedures, and user manuals since testing will judge the reliability and functionality of the entire application. The data migration process is one of the most difficult implementation tasks and it is a critical step towards the successful implementation. For successful execution of the migration task the institution will. The main objective of an end-user training program is to facilitate the institution to transfer information about the new system in a way that is easily understood and quickly absorbed by the target groups. The Team Leader will develop training guides and will be responsible for conducting the training. During the deployment processes, the applications are set up and configured in the production mode, software changes are migrated into production environment, and full converted data sets are loaded. Institution is ready to use the newly installed Learning Management System, Desire2Learn (Reiss,

Australian Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Australian Globalization - Essay Example Global movement of ideas, people and commodities increases significantly during the 19th century. Development of new transportation forms like railroads and steam ships, and telecommunication infrastructure enabled rapid rates in global interchange (Robertson, 1992). During the twentieth century, airlines, road vehicle and intermodal transport ensured faster transportation. Also by 2010, electronic communication like the internet and mobile phones connected millions of people worldwide (Robertson, 1992). The globalization has led to significant effects in Australia; in terms of transport, communication, business and governance (Stephenson, 1994). This research paper explains both the negative and the positive influencers that the globalization process has had on the; political, social cultural, economic and environmental systems of Australia. In reference to Australia, the globalization process is vital to the future economy, because of Australia’s economic, political and socio-cultural open nature open natures. Globalization is not a single issue, but describes the factors that change an economy like Australia’s into an economy identified with increased mobility of capital, investments, labor and trade. During the last 50 years, Australia has embraced this phenomenon, and therefore received benefits in the financial and trade sectors of the economy. These benefits led to related disadvantages and costs, especially to the organizations that cannot catch up with the incr easing globalization process (Hopkins, 2004).

Structure in Hamlet Essay -- GCSE English Literature Coursework

Structure in Hamlet    In Shakespeare’s tragic drama Hamlet, what is the structure? Is it a two-part construction of Rising Action and then Falling Action? Is it a three-part construction? Or four parts? This essay will answer these questions and others related to structure.    A.C. Bradley in Shakespearean Tragedy analyzes the structure of Shakespearean tragedy:    As a Shakespearean tragedy represents a conflict which terminates in a catastrophe, any such tragedy may roughly be divided into three parts. The first of these sets forth or expounds the situation, or state of affairs, out of which the conflict arises; and it may, therefore, be called the Exposition. The second deals with the definite beginning, the growth and the vicissitudes of the conflict. It forms accordingly the bulk of the play, comprising the Second, Third and Fourth Acts, and usually a part of the First and a part of the Fifth. The final section of the tragedy shows the issue of the conflict in a catastrophe. (52)    Thus the first step of the structure of Hamlet involves the presentation of a conflict-generating situation. Marchette Chute in â€Å"The Story Told in Hamlet† describes the beginning of the Exposition of the drama: The story opens in the cold and dark of a winter night in Denmark, while the guard is being changed on the battlements of the royal castle of Elsinore. For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father. A young man named Horatio, who is a school friend of Hamlet, has been told of the apparition and cannot believe it, and one of the officers has... ...ive but Earnest Young Aristocrat.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: University of Delaware Press , 1992.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. â€Å"Hamlet: A Man Who Thinks Before He Acts.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar. N. p.: Pocket Books, 1958.

To Kill a Mockingbird – Dill Harris Character Sketch

Charles Baker Harris, who is commonly referred to as Dill, is a little boy in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird and plays the role of a cardboard character. Dill is sincere friends with Scout and Jem and spends his summers with Aunt Rachel. Dill represents the naivety and innocence of childhood and is a very intriguing character. Dill appears to be younger than his actual age. In the beginning of the novel, Dill had a short stature and appeared to be four years of age, when in actuality, wassix years of age. â€Å"How old are you,’ asked Jem, ‘four and a half (Lee, Page 7)? ’† â€Å"‘Goin’ on seven (Lee, Page 7). † â€Å"‘Scout yonder’s been readin’ ever since she was born and she ain’t even started school yet. You look puny for goin’ on seven (Lee, Page 7). ’† The quotes from the novel are from a conversation between Jem and Dill when they met. Jem initially assumes that Dill is four and a half years because of his youthful appearance and petite body. Dill corrects Jem, stating that he is actually six years of age and is turning seven. Dill says in the last quote that he is quite small for his age. The quotes prove that Dill has a youthful appearance, small stature and appears younger than what he actually is. Dill also has white hair and a pair of blue eyes. â€Å"†¦ his hair was snow white and stuck to his head like duckfluff; he was a year my senior but I towered over him. As he told us the old take his blue eyes would lighten and darken†¦ (Lee, Page 8). † The quote from the novel is from the time when Scout is describing Dill’s hair and eyes. The quote is proof that Dill has white hair and blues eyes because this quote states that Dill’s hair was white with a duckfluff texture. The quote is also proof that Dill has blue eyes because the quote mentioned that Dill has a pair of blue eyes. Dill is of Caucasian race, given the fact that Dill has blue eyes. People of the Caucasian race are the only ones who can possess blue eyes. A positive trait that Dill possesses is his gift for storytelling and whimsical imagination. Dill would always make up peculiar stories about his life and share them with Scout and Jem. â€Å"Refreshed by food, Dill recited this narrative: having been bound in chains and left to die in the basement (there were basements in Meridian) by his new father, who disliked him, and secretly kept alive on a raw field peas by a passing farmer who heard his ries for help, Dill worked himself free by pulling the chains from the wall. Still in wrist monocles, he wandered two miles out of the Meridian where he discovered a small animal show and was immediately engaged to wash the camel. He traveled with the show all over Mississippi until his infallible sense of direction told him he was in Abbot Country, Alabama, just across the river from Maycomb. He walked the rest of the way (Lee, Page 140). † Another positive character trait that Dill possesses is his developed empathy for people. Dill desires fair treatment of every human being, regardless of race. â€Å"‘It was just something I couldn’t stand. ’ Dill said (Lee, Page 198). † â€Å"‘Dill, that’s his job. Why, if we didn’t have prosecutors—well we couldn’t have defense attorneys, I reckon (Lee, Page 199). ’† â€Å"Dill exhaled patiently. ‘I know all that, Scout. It was the way he said it made me sick, plain sick (Lee, Page 199). ’† â€Å"‘He’s supposed to act that way, Dill, he was cross—(Lee, Page 199)’. † â€Å"‘He didn’t act that way when—‘(Lee, Page 199). â€Å"‘Dill, those were his own witnesses (Lee, Page 199). ’† â€Å"‘Well, Mr. Finch didn’t act that way to Mayella and old man Ewell when he cross-examined them. The way that man called him ‘boy’ all the time an’ sneered at him, an’ looked ar ound at the jury every time he answered—(Lee, Page 199)’. † â€Å"‘Well, Dill, after all he’s just a Negro (Lee, Page 199)’. † â€Å"‘I don’t care one speck. It ain’t right, somehow it aint right to do ‘em that way. Hasn’t anybody got any business talkin’ like that—it just makes me sick (Lee, Page 199)’. The quotes from the novel are from a conversation between Dill and Scout after watching the trial of Tom Robinson for a while (Tom Robinson was a black man who was accused of sexually assaulting a white woman and was put on trial, despite the lack of evidence of the rape. The trial is unfair to Tom because the trial took place during the time when racism was prominent in the southern United States. The prosecutors and judges treated Tom disrespectfully and unfairly in the trial because he was black). In the conversation, it was shown that Dill was upset by the unfairness of the trial and the cruelty of the people towards Tom Robinson because he was black. Scout tries to comfort Dill, but Dill was far too upset by the injustice. In the last quote, Dill says to Scout that Tom shouldn’t be treated with disrespect because he was a Negro. The prejudice and unfairness of the trial reveals Dill’s empathy and desire for equal and respectful treatment of everyone, regardless if they’re black or white. This scenario in the novel causes Dill’s character to mature, such that he gains strong moral values like Atticus (Atticus is Scout’s father who is defending Tom Robinson and believes that black people should be treated equally and with respect, despite the fact that most of Maycomb’s citizens were racist). A trait of Dill’s that needs improvement is his naivety and his tendency to jump to conclusions without discussing his problems to anyone. Dill shows his naivety in the novel by running away from his parents because he believed that his parents didn’t love or care about him. Dill’s voice went on steadily in the darkness: ‘the thing is, what I’m trying to say is—they do get on a lot bettwe without me, I can’t help them any. They ain’t mean. They buy me everything I want, but it’s now-you’ve-got-it-go-play-with-it (Lee, Page 143)’. † The quote from the novel is from when Dill was e xplaining to Scout about why he ran away from his parents. Dill explains that he doesn’t feel loved by his parents because all his parents just do is give Dill material possessions to keep him occupied, instead spending time with him. What Dill really desires is not toys, but his parent’s time. Dill’s parents obviously love and care for Dill, but Dill is naive as to assume that his parents don’t. Instead of Dill discussing his situation with his parents or asking to spend time with him, Dill, with his naive mind, runs away from his parents. The fact that Dill ran away from his parents is proof that he is naive. â€Å"Jem gave a reasonable description of Boo: Boo was about sex-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time (Lee, Page 13). † â€Å"‘Let’s try to make him come out,’ said Dill. ‘I’d like to see what he looks like (Lee, Page 13). ’† â€Å"Our first raid came to pass only because Dill bet Jem The Gray Ghost against two Tom Swifts that Jem wouldn’t get any farther than the Radley gate. In all his life, Jem had never declined a dare. Jem thought about it for three days. I suppose he loved honor more than hid head for Dill wore him down easily (Lee, Page 13). † â€Å"‘You’re scared,’ Dill said, the first day (Lee, Page 13). † â€Å"‘Ain’t scared, just respectful,’ said Jem (Lee, Page 13). † â€Å"But Dill got him the third day, when he told Jem that folks in Meridian certainly weren’t as afraid as the folks in Maycomb, that he’d never seen such scary folks as the ones in Maycomb. That was enough to make Jem march to the corner, where he stopped and leaned against the light-pole, watching the gate hanging crazily on its homemade hinge (Lee, Page 13). †