Memory function in Virginia Woolfs To The Lighthouse essays

Memory function in Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse essays The mood of To the Lighthouse is one of nostalgia. The bulk of the novel (section I) takes place before World War I, before the death of Mrs. Ramsey, and before the end of childhood of the Ramsey children. The rest of the novel looks back on those moments of wholeness, innocence, and desire. The novel is heavily overlaid with a sense of memory. Each of the vivid moments of the first section has the feeling of memory in the sense that they seem to have acquired symbolic significance over the years so that they have formed vivid moments defining lives and relationships. Lilly Briscoe, the painter who stayed with the family at the summer home, is a character that focuses largely on her memory of the summer house and Mrs. Ramsey, especially when she returns years later to finish her painting. Lilly Briscoe illustrates the power of memory and symbolism in preserving someone who has passed away. The novel is written in three sections and each serves as a function of memory. The first part is where the memories are formed, the encoding of memory. In the second part a considerable amount of time passes and the memories are put away. The third part is the crucial stage of memory retrieval, when the memories are brought up in the minds of the people who return to the summer home. Part III, "The Lighthouse," resumes the story of the Ramseys, now without Mrs. Ramsey. In the first part of the novel, James Ramsey had asked to go to the lighthouse. His mother had said he could and his father had said he could not because the weather would be too rough to allow the boat to land. The novel ends with James achieving his desire and, along with his sister Cam, reconciling with his father. Part III is also a completion of the narration of Lily Briscoe painting a portrait of Mrs. Ramsey. In the absence of Mrs. Ramsey, she completes this portrait begun ten years ago. For all who return to the summer home the lighthouse is viewed as a symbol of...

History Revisited essays

History Revisited essays There are three strong similarities between the Salem witch-hunts that appear in The Crucible and the exposing of communists by the McCarthy terror. These three similarities are the accusation of innocent people, the power of Danforth and McCarthy, and the fear of individuals in Salem and in the United States. During the Salem witch trials, one could accuse an innocent person of being a witch without any evidence. As a result, if people denied they were witches, then they were executed. If individuals agreed and confessed they were witches, then they would not be hung. Many people compare these witch trials of Salem to the United States in the 1950s. During this time, Joseph McCarthy was a United States Senator. McCarthy was possibly the strongest anti-Communist in the United States congress. Many people during this time were accused of being communists or even sympathizing for them. As a result, if individuals refused to answer certain questions, then they were treated as if they were guilty and were excluded from certain jobs. Danforth and McCarthy were both powerful people of their time. Danforth was the Deputy Governor of Massachusetts. He presided over the witch trials and was just as concerned about maintaining his image as he was about exposing sin. McCarthy was an American politician. He was an incredible person whose mere presence could be overpowering. He held public hearings in which he accused army officials, members of the media, and public figures of being Communists. His charges were never proved and in 1954 the Senate censured him. Due to lack of hard evidence, the hunt for Communists ended abruptly just as the Salem witch trials. McCarthy and Danforth were both overpowering and zealous in their pursuit. The people in Salem, Massachusetts did not feel safe or secure. Fourteen women and five men were hanged. Many people confessed to being witches so they would n ...

General System Theory and The Internet Design Idea Essay - 2

General System Theory and The Internet Design Idea - Essay Example Baran’s idea finally matured under the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA). Internet is designed in such a way that there are no centralized switches. The design is comprised of randomly spread unnamed nodes, which act as switches that route information from one node to another until it reaches its destination. The information to be sent is first divided into message blocks, which are known as packets, and then sent separately. On reaching their destination, the packets are joined again to make the original information. Internet was first used by military researchers but later was adopted by various universities. From there, the idea spread like waves and it came to the most common information network that links people from different regions of the world. Today it is identified by names such as Web or World Net because of its wide network coverage (Sivridis, 2009). Today, Internet is used by doctors, psychologists, religious leaders and all groups of people as the main communication and research tool. According to Marshall (2012), Internet can be described as an unplanned communication network. This is because it doesn’t need any planning. The various people who use the Internet plan and organize themselves into groups of communicators. These groups of people have the freedom to choose the people they want to communicate and interact with. It is argued that internet has broken geographical boundaries and this has resulted in the idea of globalization. Assuming the general system theory perspective, Internet has had both positive and negative impact on the society. Internet acts as the main research centre for all scholars of various disciplines. In terms of politics, issues concerning a country and other countries worldwide are shared through the Internet. This keeps people abreast of current political situation. As Skyttner (2006) remarks, the sector which has benefited much from the Internet is the