The Incredible Journey of Moll Flanders Essay examples -- Moll Flander

The Incredible Journey of Moll Flanders      Ã‚   Abandoned by her mother at the age of six months Moll Flanders does not have any of the requirements expected for her life journey to be a very good one. Her first memory is that of "wandering among a crew of those people they call gypsies, or Egyptians;" (9). But already as a child of about eight or ten she is aware of herself as an individual ready to shape her own life: "...for alas! all I understood by being a gentlewoman was to be able to work for myself, and get enough to keep me without that terrible bugbear going to service..." (13).    Moll ´s first very frightening experience is that of being "cast off the ship" when she is turned out of doors to the wide world before reaching the age we call lawful. She is very ironic when she says: "Now I was a poor gentlewoman indeed..." (18). At this time, when individualism was beginning to be seen as something worth aimimg at, Moll is aware that for a woman life is much more limited than for a man. This novel, written as an autobiography, was composed by a man, but I think he has managed well to convey to us a woman ´s experiences and thoughts. Moll wants to shape her own life, but she does not always reach her goal. As a young woman she is seduced by a man who does not keep his promise to marry her, and then she marries his brother and lives in a marriage that is not at all a happy one.    When left a widow, she keeps thinking of the next step, of her next station in life. As it is very difficult for a woman in this society to live alone, she is "...resolved to be married or nothing, and to be well married or not at all." (65). She has a very strong notion that a woman should not be kept for a mistress if she has mon... ... Moll ´s life journey could very well have ended with her being executed, but she is lucky enough to be sentenced to transportation. The novel The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders takes us again to Virginia, where Moll and her Lancashire husband start a new life as planters. She meets her son ( a very moving event), and she inherits a farm from her mother. When we leave Moll and her husband they are living a quiet life in England, "...where we resolve to spend the remainder of our years in sincere penitence for the wicked lives we have lived." (376). To a modern reader Moll seems to be a "survivor" in a society not yet prepared or able to care for all its members. She tries, and ultimately manages, to be the captain of a ship, that is not easily steered.    Work Cited: Defoe, Daniel. Moll Flanders. Penguin Popular Classics, 1994.   

Hitler vs. Napoleon

Historians have noted the similarities between Napoleon and Hitler for years.   Both were charismatic dictators who established regimes in times of war and had ambitions of European domination.   Both were enormously successful but short-lived in their enterprises.   For these and other reasons, Napoleon is easily comparable to Hitler.   This essay will explore this comparability in terms of their national achievements, conquests, nationalism, origins, legacy and military/political maneuvers. Though now popularly viewed as a despot, Napoleon, like Hitler, contributed many positive elements to his native country.   He codified French law, particularly the Civil Code, replacing the Ancient Regime’s 360 local codes.   He also implemented lycees, secondary schools that were meant to instruct future leaders of France.   Hitler, by comparison, instigated in Germany one of the largest booms in civil advancement and industrial expansion the country has ever witnessed.   Like Napoleon, military growth accounted for much of the economical improvement. Napoleon’s strategy of conquest is also very similar to Hitler’s.   Both had aims to one day bring all of Europe under their control, and just as Napoleon abandoned campaigns in Britain and ended his career in the Russian wastes, so too did Hitler.   Napoleon attacked Russia from an almost impregnable position of advantage in 1812, assaulting a country that posed no overt threat.   Hitler did the same in 1941.   It is possible both were suffering from the hubris, or excessive pride, of their successes. Whatever the case, Napoleon was definitely known for his nationalistic pride of Corsica (and France), much like Hitler for his German heritage.   The Bonapartists saw themselves as inheritors of the French revolution, and Napoleon’s efforts to expand the empire were tireless.   He forbade his conquered countries from expressing their own national heritage, which may have later led to a rise in nationalism in those territories.   Most notable of these territories was Germany, whose nationalistic rise Hitler augmented to preclude the inclusion of Jews or any non-Ango ethnicities. Both Napoleon and Hitler came from relatively humble origins.   Napoleon was born in Corsica, a possession of France.   The son of a moderately successful attorney, Napoleon received a fair education but carried an Italian accent that would set him apart from the higher tiers of French society.   He began his military career as an artillery officer, not considered a desirable command at the time.   Hitler, similarly, was not wealthy in his youth.   He lived a bohemian life on minimal wages, never completed his high school education, and scratched by a living as a failing artist.   But like Napoleon, Hitler would transcend his unspectacular origins, leaving behind a considerable mark on their cultures and the world. Napoleon’s legacy is evident in his Code, his invention of the modern military conscript, and his innovations on warfare.   Under Napoleon, corps took the place of divisions as the largest military unit, cavalry increased in importance, battles became more decisive with broader attack fronts, and armies focused on the annihilation of enemy armies as opposed to out-maneuvering them.   He is thought to have spread the Revolutionary philosophy throughout Europe, manifested in the nation states that rose in Italy and Germany. His Napoleonic Code, however, is the innovation for which even Napoleon knew he would be most known.   Hitler’s contributions are, by contrast, negative.   He is responsible for taking anti-Semitism to a national scale, implementing the Nazi Party (which still exists today in various forms), and propagating fascism and intolerance as natural products of his military and political strategy. Indeed, Napoleon was very similar to Hitler in regard to political/military strategy, as well.   Both leaders used aggressive strategies in the acquisition of land and both suppressed revolts of the peoples their regimes oppressed.   Napoleon was known for his efforts to put down a major Haitian slave revolt and, in 1801 France, to re-establish slavery after its post-Revolution ban. Likewise, Hitler is notorious for his persecution of the Jews, his anti-Semitic tirades that won him enormous favor among vast demographics of the German population, and his supreme execution of suppression and extermination, the Holocaust.   While their strategies show similarity, Napoleon’s do not equal Hitler’s in terms of sheer ferocity and nationalistic fervor.   

How to Make Crystal Clear Ice Cubes

While you are making glow in the dark ice, why not make some clear ice? There is a trick to making clear ice cubes, but it isnt complicated and doesnt require an expensive restaurant ice machine. You need pure water and you need to control how it cools. The ice maker in a typical home freezer has a water filter, but usually produces opaque ice. This is because the water doesnt cool at the right rate to produce clear ice or else there is a lot of air in the water. Clear ice is easily made using bottled water that had been purified using reverse osmosis  or  distillation, but you can make clear ice from tap water. To do this, boil the water to remove most of the dissolved air. Ideally you want to boil the water, let it cool, then reboil again. But, you should be able to get good results just boiling the water once. Let the water cool slightly to minimize the risk of getting burned and then pour it into an ice cube tray and put it in the freezer. So,  you can make clear ice by boiling and freezing filtered water, but the cooling rate is also important. If the ice freezes too slowly the result is milky on the bottom and clear on top. Unfortunately, you dont have a lot of control over the freezers cooling rate. You can play with the starting temperature of the water until you get the results you desire. What can you do with clear ice? One thing you can do is to use it as a magnifying glass. In a pinch, you can use an ice lens to start a fire. Also, unless you like the taste of quinine, clear ice tastes a lot better in drinks than glowing ice.