The Importance of Setting in Jack Londons To Build a Fire and Kate Chopins The Storm Essay Example

The Importance of Setting in Jack Londons To Build a Fire and Kate Chopins The Storm Paper A good writer’s depiction of setting positions the reader right into the story. In To Build a Fire by Jack London, the setting plays a significant role throughout the entire short story. London uses certain techniques to establish the atmosphere of the story. By introducing his readers to the setting, prepares them for a tone that is depressed and  frightening. Isolated by the hostile environment of the Yukon in sub-freeing temperatures, a man falls victim to the unrelenting and unforgiving power of nature, London shows us how the main character of the story is completely unaware of his surroundings. The only world the man is truly accustomed to is his own. Never being exposed to such a harsh climate draws one to conclude that the environment is the determining factor of his survival, as well as his dogs too. Anything that the man and his dog come into contact with creates an anticipation for disaster in the story. In Kate Chopins’ â€Å"The Storm,† the setting in this story creates the perfect environment for an adulterous affair. Chopin not only creates the perfect setting but also uses the setting as a symbol of the affair. The presence of the storm is not merely coincidental. It is the driving force behind the story and the affair. As the storm begins, climaxes and ends so does the affair and the story. From the opening we see that Chopin intends to use the storm to move the story forward. Jack Londons â€Å"To Build A Fire,† takes place on a trail in the Yukon. This setting is vital to the story because nature, the cold and the snow become the main character’s worst enemy. The first two paragraphs are devoted to the storys setting and forthcoming action. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Setting in Jack Londons To Build a Fire and Kate Chopins The Storm specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Setting in Jack Londons To Build a Fire and Kate Chopins The Storm specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Setting in Jack Londons To Build a Fire and Kate Chopins The Storm specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It is clear that it is mid-winter in the Arctic during a cold snap, that the man is traveling alone, and that he is about to veer from the established route to his destination (the main trail along the Yukon) to take a seldom used but shorter trail across country. The day is clear, but at this latitude and season the sun remains below the horizon, and thus there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark. The man, however, did not worry about the absence of the sun, since he knows that it will reappear in a few days. But, we realize almost immediately, the man has only a superficial knowledge of the Arctic. As he stands on a bank of the Yukon about to plunge into an almost absolute wilderness, he has little or no understanding either of his immense isolation relative to his surroundings or of the extreme danger posed by the cold snap. But all of this, London comments at the beginning of the third paragraph, The mysterious, far-reaching hair-line trail, the absence of sun from the sky, the tremendous cold, and the strangeness and weirdness of it all, made no impression on the man. Thus, the man also knows, in addition to the fact the sun will reappear, that it is fifty degrees below zero, but he does not know the meaning of this fact, it portends death for anyone who makes himself vulnerable to its ability to kill. Fifty degrees below zero was to him just precisely fifty degrees below zero. That there should be anything more to it than that was a thought that never entered his head.   During hi s journey, the man gets his feet wet as he falls through the ice into the water of a hot spring. Because of the severity of the cold, the man’s life depends upon his ability to adapt to his surroundings. After one, half-successful fire-starting endeavor, and several other pitiful attempts, the hopelessness of the man’s lone struggle against the hostile environment of the Yukon begins to become apparent, and the man at last â€Å"grows calm and decides to meet death with dignity. † Setting is important to this story, without it, the reader would not learn of the common ignorant human behavior when it comes to survival in an indifferent environment. The setting does not regard the man as important and is unconcerned with his suffering and death. Chopin uses setting to not only influence the reader’s senses, but also, to illustrate the actions and feelings of her characters, to thrust the reader into the sense of being in the storm that is baring down on her characters. This story takes place in a small town located in Louisiana, At Friedheimers store, but the most important setting is Calixta and Bobinots home, when Bobinot is not there. The home itself isnt described that much: it has a Small front gallery†¦ dining room, the sitting room, the general utility room, and a bedroom that holds a white, monumental bed and looked dim and mysterious. The story begins with Bobinot and Bibi inside the local store. As they attempt to leave they notice storm clouds approaching the town. Deciding to wait out the storm, they remain inside. Meanwhile, Calixta is at home sewing and unaware of the storm. Soon realizing the storm is approaching, she begins frantically running about the house closing windows and doors and retrieving clothes left on the porch. Setting in this story is the catalyst to the passion that occurs between Alcee and Calixta. The storm occurs just as Alcee rides by. The storm forces Alcee and Calixta into the house. Chopin describes the lovers’ passion within the storm, â€Å"They did not heed the crashing torrents, and the roar of the elements made her laugh as she lay in his arms. Even as the storm was intense, as was the lovers’ passion so as the storm begins to tire itself out so do the lovers. The growl of the thunder was distant and passing away. The rain beat softly on the shingles, inviting them to drowsiness and sleep. As the storm ends and the land is renewed, The rain was over and the sun was turning the glistening green world into a place of gems,† so it seems is the characters’ relationships. The setting of this story seems to act as a catalyst for these two individuals to look back at their past together and to relive it. Alcee and Calixta are not only trapped in the house during the storm, they almost seem forced into the bedroom, pushed into each others arms and then onto the bed. The storm almost seems to have more of a presence than the house. The storm is taking place during the important sexualized scene, keeping Alcee and Calixta within the house, and Bobinot and Bibi outside of it. When the storm dissipates, Alcee and Calixta must go their separate ways, seemingly much richer for their encounter. When Bobinot reenters his own home, he has no idea of the torrid encounter that just happened there. The storm serves as a plot device. Had Calixtas husband and son not been caught in a storm, Alcee and she would not have been able to have their torrid affair in Calixtas home (and in her and her husbands bed, no less). Every storm creeps upon us, hits a luminous climax, and then fades away into nothingness. Chopin accurately depicts the way that a storm can happen in a person s life. She uses symbolism to depict the feelings of the relationships, which are as unpredictable as that of this raging storm. The setting in this story creates the perfect environment for an adulterous affair. No matter what type of literature is being read, setting always plays a key element in producing the desired effect. Jack Londons short story To Build A Fire,† and Kate Chopins â€Å"The Storm,† provide excellent examples of this. In Londons’ story, The setting is one of the northernmost most areas of the earth, the Yukon. This setting brings a sense of harsh reality and an idea of how fragile the human body is to the piece. The Storm by Kate Chopin revolves around a setting that is both exciting and enticing. Chopins portrayal of the storms setting reinforces the plots main thematic elements through descriptive imagery that coincides with the characters emotions throughout the story. The characters in this story, Alcee and Calixta, each make their own best of the situation as the storm hits. The storm is described as a violent one, with thrashing winds and blinding rain. The cracking of the thunder is frightening to Calixta, and jump-starts an emotional reunion between her and Alcee. Without these settings, the purpose of the stories in itself are demolished. As well, no events in the stories may have even happened. The Importance of Setting in Jack Londons To Build a Fire and Kate Chopins The Storm Essay Example The Importance of Setting in Jack Londons To Build a Fire and Kate Chopins The Storm Paper A good writer’s depiction of setting positions the reader right into the story. In To Build a Fire by Jack London, the setting plays a significant role throughout the entire short story. London uses certain techniques to establish the atmosphere of the story. By introducing his readers to the setting, prepares them for a tone that is depressed and  frightening. Isolated by the hostile environment of the Yukon in sub-freeing temperatures, a man falls victim to the unrelenting and unforgiving power of nature, London shows us how the main character of the story is completely unaware of his surroundings. The only world the man is truly accustomed to is his own. Never being exposed to such a harsh climate draws one to conclude that the environment is the determining factor of his survival, as well as his dogs too. Anything that the man and his dog come into contact with creates an anticipation for disaster in the story. In Kate Chopins’ â€Å"The Storm,† the setting in this story creates the perfect environment for an adulterous affair. Chopin not only creates the perfect setting but also uses the setting as a symbol of the affair. The presence of the storm is not merely coincidental. It is the driving force behind the story and the affair. As the storm begins, climaxes and ends so does the affair and the story. From the opening we see that Chopin intends to use the storm to move the story forward. Jack Londons â€Å"To Build A Fire,† takes place on a trail in the Yukon. This setting is vital to the story because nature, the cold and the snow become the main character’s worst enemy. The first two paragraphs are devoted to the storys setting and forthcoming action. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Setting in Jack Londons To Build a Fire and Kate Chopins The Storm specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Setting in Jack Londons To Build a Fire and Kate Chopins The Storm specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Setting in Jack Londons To Build a Fire and Kate Chopins The Storm specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It is clear that it is mid-winter in the Arctic during a cold snap, that the man is traveling alone, and that he is about to veer from the established route to his destination (the main trail along the Yukon) to take a seldom used but shorter trail across country. The day is clear, but at this latitude and season the sun remains below the horizon, and thus there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark. The man, however, did not worry about the absence of the sun, since he knows that it will reappear in a few days. But, we realize almost immediately, the man has only a superficial knowledge of the Arctic. As he stands on a bank of the Yukon about to plunge into an almost absolute wilderness, he has little or no understanding either of his immense isolation relative to his surroundings or of the extreme danger posed by the cold snap. But all of this, London comments at the beginning of the third paragraph, The mysterious, far-reaching hair-line trail, the absence of sun from the sky, the tremendous cold, and the strangeness and weirdness of it all, made no impression on the man. Thus, the man also knows, in addition to the fact the sun will reappear, that it is fifty degrees below zero, but he does not know the meaning of this fact, it portends death for anyone who makes himself vulnerable to its ability to kill. Fifty degrees below zero was to him just precisely fifty degrees below zero. That there should be anything more to it than that was a thought that never entered his head.   During hi s journey, the man gets his feet wet as he falls through the ice into the water of a hot spring. Because of the severity of the cold, the man’s life depends upon his ability to adapt to his surroundings. After one, half-successful fire-starting endeavor, and several other pitiful attempts, the hopelessness of the man’s lone struggle against the hostile environment of the Yukon begins to become apparent, and the man at last â€Å"grows calm and decides to meet death with dignity. † Setting is important to this story, without it, the reader would not learn of the common ignorant human behavior when it comes to survival in an indifferent environment. The setting does not regard the man as important and is unconcerned with his suffering and death. Chopin uses setting to not only influence the reader’s senses, but also, to illustrate the actions and feelings of her characters, to thrust the reader into the sense of being in the storm that is baring down on her characters. This story takes place in a small town located in Louisiana, At Friedheimers store, but the most important setting is Calixta and Bobinots home, when Bobinot is not there. The home itself isnt described that much: it has a Small front gallery†¦ dining room, the sitting room, the general utility room, and a bedroom that holds a white, monumental bed and looked dim and mysterious. The story begins with Bobinot and Bibi inside the local store. As they attempt to leave they notice storm clouds approaching the town. Deciding to wait out the storm, they remain inside. Meanwhile, Calixta is at home sewing and unaware of the storm. Soon realizing the storm is approaching, she begins frantically running about the house closing windows and doors and retrieving clothes left on the porch. Setting in this story is the catalyst to the passion that occurs between Alcee and Calixta. The storm occurs just as Alcee rides by. The storm forces Alcee and Calixta into the house. Chopin describes the lovers’ passion within the storm, â€Å"They did not heed the crashing torrents, and the roar of the elements made her laugh as she lay in his arms. Even as the storm was intense, as was the lovers’ passion so as the storm begins to tire itself out so do the lovers. The growl of the thunder was distant and passing away. The rain beat softly on the shingles, inviting them to drowsiness and sleep. As the storm ends and the land is renewed, The rain was over and the sun was turning the glistening green world into a place of gems,† so it seems is the characters’ relationships. The setting of this story seems to act as a catalyst for these two individuals to look back at their past together and to relive it. Alcee and Calixta are not only trapped in the house during the storm, they almost seem forced into the bedroom, pushed into each others arms and then onto the bed. The storm almost seems to have more of a presence than the house. The storm is taking place during the important sexualized scene, keeping Alcee and Calixta within the house, and Bobinot and Bibi outside of it. When the storm dissipates, Alcee and Calixta must go their separate ways, seemingly much richer for their encounter. When Bobinot reenters his own home, he has no idea of the torrid encounter that just happened there. The storm serves as a plot device. Had Calixtas husband and son not been caught in a storm, Alcee and she would not have been able to have their torrid affair in Calixtas home (and in her and her husbands bed, no less). Every storm creeps upon us, hits a luminous climax, and then fades away into nothingness. Chopin accurately depicts the way that a storm can happen in a person s life. She uses symbolism to depict the feelings of the relationships, which are as unpredictable as that of this raging storm. The setting in this story creates the perfect environment for an adulterous affair. No matter what type of literature is being read, setting always plays a key element in producing the desired effect. Jack Londons short story To Build A Fire,† and Kate Chopins â€Å"The Storm,† provide excellent examples of this. In Londons’ story, The setting is one of the northernmost most areas of the earth, the Yukon. This setting brings a sense of harsh reality and an idea of how fragile the human body is to the piece. The Storm by Kate Chopin revolves around a setting that is both exciting and enticing. Chopins portrayal of the storms setting reinforces the plots main thematic elements through descriptive imagery that coincides with the characters emotions throughout the story. The characters in this story, Alcee and Calixta, each make their own best of the situation as the storm hits. The storm is described as a violent one, with thrashing winds and blinding rain. The cracking of the thunder is frightening to Calixta, and jump-starts an emotional reunion between her and Alcee. Without these settings, the purpose of the stories in itself are demolished. As well, no events in the stories may have even happened.

Free Essays on Contracts

Contracts are promises that the law will enforce. The law provides remedies if a promise is breached or recognizes the performance of a promise as a duty. Contracts arise when a duty does or may come into existence, because of a promise made by one of the parties. To be legally binding as a contract, a promise must be exchanged for adequate consideration. Adequate consideration is a benefit or detriment which a party receives which reasonably and fairly induces them to make the promise/contract . For example, promises that are purely gifts are not considered enforceable because the personal satisfaction the grantor of the promise may receive from the act of giving is normally not considered adequate consideration. Certain promises that are not considered contracts may, in limited circumstances, be enforced if one party has relied to his detriment on the assurances of the other party. Contracts are mainly governed by state statutory and common (judge-made) law and private law. Privat e law principally includes the terms of the agreement between the parties who are exchanging promises. This private law may override many of the rules otherwise established by state law. Statutory law may require some contracts be put in writing and executed with particular formalities. Otherwise, the parties may enter into a binding agreement without signing a formal written document. Most of the principles of the common law of contracts are outlined in the Restatement Second of The Law of Contracts published by the American Law Institute.... Free Essays on Contracts Free Essays on Contracts Contracts are promises that the law will enforce. The law provides remedies if a promise is breached or recognizes the performance of a promise as a duty. Contracts arise when a duty does or may come into existence, because of a promise made by one of the parties. To be legally binding as a contract, a promise must be exchanged for adequate consideration. Adequate consideration is a benefit or detriment which a party receives which reasonably and fairly induces them to make the promise/contract . For example, promises that are purely gifts are not considered enforceable because the personal satisfaction the grantor of the promise may receive from the act of giving is normally not considered adequate consideration. Certain promises that are not considered contracts may, in limited circumstances, be enforced if one party has relied to his detriment on the assurances of the other party. Contracts are mainly governed by state statutory and common (judge-made) law and private law. Privat e law principally includes the terms of the agreement between the parties who are exchanging promises. This private law may override many of the rules otherwise established by state law. Statutory law may require some contracts be put in writing and executed with particular formalities. Otherwise, the parties may enter into a binding agreement without signing a formal written document. Most of the principles of the common law of contracts are outlined in the Restatement Second of The Law of Contracts published by the American Law Institute....

Summary Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary - Case Study Example The research question of whether rules and regulations regarding ban on text messages while driving is of immense importance because text messaging has become a part and parcel of everyone’s life and people fail to avoid sending as well as receiving text messages while they are driving and this has resulted in an increase in the number of road accidents. The research is even important because ban on texting while driving can assist in lowering the rate of accidents caused due to texting while driving. The research is even helpful as it can assist policy makers in ensuring that bans are more effective (Abouk 189). The research question is quite hard to address because there are certain limitations of obtaining the data specifically in the area of kinds of bans and how drivers respond to these bans. One of the limitations experienced by the study was that there was a lack of rules and regulations that ban text messaging or there was a lack of rules and regulations that ban calling while driving. Due to this estimates were used in the study instead of real data which might hamper the credibility of the study (Abouk 186). In order to address the question, the researchers use data regarding implementation of bans on texting while driving and how these bans have impacted or changed driver’s behavior of texting while driving and they even use data regarding the intensity of the bans and how the level of intensity impacts the driver’s texting behaviors. The intensity of the ban was categorized as either weak or strong and the intensity was measured in accordance to the target population of the ban (Abouk 183). The researchers even try to answer the research questions by testing the impact of a particular law at different points in time. The researchers identified that accidents that are categorized as fatal or deadly are more likely to be reduced if the laws that restrict texting while driving

Community Population Health Issues Research Paper

Community Population Health Issues - Research Paper Example These include, alcohol related deaths, wide spread health disorders, chronic diseases, alcohol related road accidents, domestic violence, reduced productivity in the community, deteriorating levels of education, and social disorder. In addition, the treads of alcohol consumption is also a demerit arising from this health issue in my community. Sadly, these alcohol related demerits spread over to the family and relatives of the alcoholic. As such, the alcohol-drinking problem equally propagates marital problems, cases of child abuse, and criminal activities as people seek to satisfy their addiction. Notable, is the fact that the few women who take alcohol while pregnant manifest adverse effects creating health and social disorder in my community. As such, alcoholism is the top public health issue in my community and warrants quick address. Nevertheless, it is disputable that alcoholism sprung in my community due to lack, quality, and access of health care. Indeed, the habit to indulge in alcohol is usually a personal decision among the adults or the effect of peer pressure among the youths. However, we lack enough well-established health and rehabilitation centers to address this problem. Indeed, there is little community awareness on the effects of alcoholism in my community and everybody is a witness to the prevalence of this problem. As such, various agencies can assist in addressing this issue. They may include the government through relevant agencies, non-governmental organizations that deal with drug and substance abuse campaigns, the police, the traffic department, counselors, and rehabilitation centers. These agencies and discipline forces can achieve this by undertaking a community mobilization initiative to create awareness on alcoholism and its adverse effects (National Center for Biotechnology Information Web). To curb alcohol drinking among students and other teens, the

Review on The Pursuit of Happyness Essay Example for Free

Review on The Pursuit of Happyness Essay The Pursuit of Happyness is a very moving film about a man and his quest for a better life. It is an inspiring case study of how many of the elements of happiness work together from relationships, to poverty, to positive mental attitude and determination. The movie is based on the true story of Chris Gardener, a struggling entrepreneur in 1980s San Francisco, with one driving ambition- to be a good father to his son. He tries to improve the family financial situation by purchasing and selling medical equipment, but the investment does not work out and the family sinks further into poverty. He sees his chance to make good after admiring a sports car on the street in the business district, where all the people seem happy. The car owner tells Chris he is a stock broker and anyone who is good with numbers and with people can be successful as a stock broker- even without a college degree. Chris uses his people skills and demonstrates the value of good relationships to get a chance at an internship where he must compete with 20 other candidates for 6 months for one paid position. His wife leaves him, he loses his apartment, bank accounts, credit cards, and has to spend time in jail, but all through it he is dedicated to keeping his son and pursuing his dream. The title, Pursuit of Happyness spelled with a y,comes from some graffiti at the daycare center and is also a reference to an essay written by a biracial man in the US shortly after the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson. The movie is beautifully acted by Will Smith and well written. It shows how people without money are often victimized and bullied by those who do have money and power. Yet Chris Gardener repeatedly demonstrates the importance of good relationships even with people who treat him badly. He shows the importance of knowing his strengths and using them, even in unconventional ways. His optimism turns into dogged determination as he demonstrates incredible persistence and creativity in his pursuit of happiness. The realism and emotional punch of the Christopher Gardner story makes this a moving and inspiring drama. Whether you are inspired to be grateful for your own circumstances or by the value of grace and determination, this movie is sure to show you something about happiness- its importance and how to get it. The Pursuit of Happyness teaches us a lot about the importance of virtues and strengths in our happy lives.

Death And The Maiden - Film Vs Essay -- essays research papers

The Polanski film Death and the Maiden is a wonderful and intelligent interpretation of Ariel Dorfman’s human rights problem play. Polanski has produced, in this film, an exceptional piece of direction, in which his own personal, emotional input is evident. The main theme of the play is an extremely personal one for both playwright (and scriptwriter) and director. Both Dorfman and Polanski have had to face and flee the horrors of dictatorship and human rights violations: Dorfman in Chile, under General Augusto Pinochet, and Polanski in Poland under the Nazis. But despite this similarity in past experience, significant differences exist between the original play and the film. Apart from the specific techniques of lighting and composition, whose possibilities are greatly widened in the medium of film, we see differences in both the different emphases and implied viewpoints on the various themes that the play touches on and, perhaps more importantly, the way the characters are por trayed. While the old concept of “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger'; is present in both the play and the film (particularly in the characterisation of Paulina), it is much more prevalent in the movie. We can see Paulina’s strength from the start. As she strides confidently around the house and violently tears off a piece of chicken, the suggestion that she is unsuited to the domestic position which she has obviously been forced into by the side effects of her traumatic experience need not be made any clearer. Although possessing remarkable strength in both texts, the movie shows a much stronger, almost completely masculine Paulina. This Paulina has been almost entirely defeminized by her ordeal, physically, symbolised by the scarred breast and her desire to “adopt'; a child, which also serves as a glimpse of the vulnerable element of womanhood in her character that still remains. Throughout the bout of verbal jousting that goes on in the opening scene Paul ina is able to hold her ground much more firmly than she appears to do in the play. In Polanski’s version of the scene she actually manages to use her domestic role to gain power in the argument, fiercely flinging the dinner in the bin. Weaver’s powerful acting conveys the unmistakable tension associated with an incredible amount of suppressed anger. I... ...0;'; For all the rage contained in the film (significantly more than the play), and its portrayal of Paulina, there is a certain helplessness to the film, and a disturbing truth in its unresolved ending. One might argue that Polanski – in making Roberto give an overall much more genuine confession at the end of the film than Dorfman provides in the play – is falling into the Hollywood trap of offering a simple resolution to its many moral conflicts and thus making it accessible to a wider audience. I believe this circumstance serves a very important purpose, emphasized by its juxtaposition with the very last scene. It underlines this important impotence in the film’s ending: the fact that despite her having faced her demons Paulina has been permanently changed by her ordeal. And although she may have “…reclaimed [her] Schubert…'; in that she can now sit in a concert hall and listen to the music, the music will never be able to tell her the same things again. And even if Roberto is not there in person (as he is in the final scene) he will always exist as a vague presence, a “phantasmagorical'; shadow on her soul.

Reality and Fiction in Virginia Woolf’s “to the Lighthouse” Essay

Reality and fiction in Virginia Woolf’s â€Å"To the Lighthouse† I have chosen this subject because I found very interesting debate, and the author is one of the greatest writers of all times. His works is large and full, his characters are contoured such that it fascinate you. Victorian period also is one of the most famous, with most changes produced in English literature To the Lighthouse is a 1927 novel by Virginia Woolf. A landmark novel of high modernism, the text, which centres on the Ramsays and their visits to the Isle of Skye in Scotland between 1910 and 1920, skillfully manipulates temporal and psychological elements. In To the Lighthouse ,one of her most experimental works, the passage of time, for example, is modulated by the consciousness of the characters rather than by the clock. The events of a single afternoon constitute over half the book, while the events of the following ten years are compressed into a few dozen pages. Many readers of To the Lighthouse, especially those who are not versed in the traditions of modernist fiction, find the novel strange and difficult. Its language is dense and the structure amorphous. Compared with the plot-driven Victorian novels that came before it, To the Lighthouse seems to have little in the way of action. Indeed, almost all of the events take place in the characters’ minds. Although To the Lighthouse is a radical departure from the nineteenth-century novel, it is, like its more traditional counterparts, intimately interested in developing characters and advancing both plot and themes. Woolf’s experimentation has much to do with the time in which she lived: the turn of the century was marked by bold scientific developments. To the Lighthouse exemplifies Woolf’s style and many of her concerns as a novelist. With its characters based on her own parents and siblings, it is certainly her most autobiographical fictional statement, and in the characters of Mr. Ramsay, Mrs. Ramsay, and Lily Briscoe, Woolf offers some of her most penetrating explorations of the workings of the human consciousness as it perceives and analyzes, feels and interacts. The Transience of Life and Work Mr. Ramsay and Mrs. Ramsay take completely different approaches to life: he relies on his intellect, while she depends on her emotions. But they share the knowledge that the world around them is transient—that nothing lasts forever. Mr. Ramsay reflects that even the most enduring of reputations, such as Shakespeare’s, are doomed to eventual oblivion. This realization accounts for the bitter aspect of his character. Frustrated by the inevitable demise of his own body of work and envious of the few geniuses who will outlast him, he plots to found a school of philosophy that argues that the world is designed for the average, unadorned man, for the â€Å"liftman in the Tube† rather than for the rare immortal writer. The Subjective Nature of Reality Toward the end of the novel, Lily reflects that in order to see Mrs. Ramsay clearly—to understand her character completely—she would need at least fifty pairs of eyes; only then would she be privy to every possible angle and nuance. The truth, according to this assertion, rests in the accumulation of different, even opposing vantage points. Woolf’s technique in structuring the story mirrors Lily’s assertion. She is committed to creating a sense of the world that not only depends upon the private perceptions of her characters but is also nothing more than the accumulation of those perceptions. To try to reimagine the story as told from a single character’s perspective or—in the tradition of the Victorian novelists—from the author’s perspective is to realize the radical scope and difficulty of Woolf’s project. The Lighthouse Lying across the bay and meaning something different and intimately personal to each character, the lighthouse is at once inaccessible, illuminating, and infinitely interpretable. As the destination from which the novel takes its title, the lighthouse suggests that the destinations that seem surest are most unobtainable. Just as Mr. Ramsay is certain of his wife’s love for him and aims to hear her speak words to that end in â€Å"The Window,† Mrs. Ramsay finds these words impossible to say. These failed attempts to arrive at some sort of solid ground, like Lily’s first try at painting Mrs. Ramsay or Mrs. Ramsay’s attempt to see Paul and Minta married, result only in more attempts, further excursions rather than rest. The lighthouse stands as a potent symbol of this lack of attainability. James arrives only to realize that it is not at all the mist-shrouded destination of his childhood. Instead, he is made to reconcile two competing and contradictory images of the tower—how it appeared to him when he was a boy and how it appears to him now that he is a man. He decides that both of these images contribute to the essence of the lighthouse—that nothing is ever only one thing—a sentiment that echoes the novel’s determination to arrive at truth through varied and contradictory vantage points. The Sea References to the sea appear throughout the novel. Broadly, the ever-changing, ever-moving waves parallel the constant forward movement of time and the changes it brings. Woolf describes the sea lovingly and beautifully, but her most evocative depictions of it point to its violence. As a force that brings destruction, has the power to decimate islands, and, as Mr. Ramsay reflects, â€Å"eats away the ground we stand on,† the sea is a powerful reminder of the impermanence and delicacy of human life and accomplishments. Subjective Reality The omniscient narrator remained the standard explicative figure in fiction through the end of the nineteenth century, providing an informed and objective account of the characters and the plot. The turn of the 20th century, however, witnessed innovations in writing that aimed at reflecting a more truthful account of the subjective nature of experience. Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse is the triumphant product of this innovation, creating a reality that is completely constructed by the collection of the multiple subjective interiorities of its characters and presented in a stream-of-consciousness format. Woolf creates a fictional world in which no objective, omniscient narrator is present. There is a proliferation of accounts of the inner processes of the characters, while there is a scarcity of expositional information, expressing Woolf’s perspective on the thoughts and reflections that comprise the world of the Ramsays. Time is an essential component of experience and reality and, in many ways, the novel is about the passage of time. However, as for reality, Woolf does not represent time in a traditional way. Rather than a steady and unchanging rhythm, time here is a forward motion that both accelerates and collapses. In â€Å"The Window† and â€Å"The Lighthouse,† time is conveyed only through the consciousness of the various characters, and moments last for pages as the reader is invited into the subjective experiences of many different realities. Indeed, â€Å"The Window† takes place over the course of a single afternoon that is expanded by Woolf’s method, and â€Å"The Lighthouse† seems almost directly connected to the first section, despite the fact that ten years have actually elapsed. However, in â€Å"Time Passes,† ten years are greatly compacted into a matter of pages, and the changes in the lives of the Ramsays and their home seem to flash by like scenes viewed from the window of a moving train. This unsteady temporal rhythm brilliantly conveys the broader sense of instability and change that the characters strive to comprehend, and it captures the fleeting nature of a reality that exists only within and as a collection of the various subjective experiences of reality.