Industrial Revolution Essays

Industrial Revolution Essays Industrial Revolution Essay Industrial Revolution Essay The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing and technology had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of the world. The Industrial Revolution began in the United Kingdom as large deposits of coal and iron were found throughout the land which brought the rise of factories and machines, the idea then subsequently spread throughout the world. It was perhaps one of the greatest moments in human history, as it gave rise to industrialization and the switch from manpower to machine power. It completely revolutionized the world and forever changed the course of humanity. However, many scholars and historians believe that the Industrial Revolutions benefits didnt outweigh the negative impacts it brought upon the world. I for one believe that the benefits brought upon by the Industrial Revolution Justify the negative impacts it had on the world. Without the Industrial Revolution, the world as we know it wouldnt exist. The Industrial Revolution brought about immense economic benefits not only for Great Britain but for all the countries in the world who commenced the process of ndustrialization. It led to a rapid increase in technology, which affected production rates. Since factories were creating goods with machines and little human assistance, everything was being mass produced. Machines made it possible to produce a greater quantity of goods at a faster rate so to satisfy the rules of supply and demand, the prices of goods dropped and many people were able to afford to spend money. Throughout history many have said that imperialism was a bad consequence of the Industrial Revolution, but I believe it happened to boost economic benefits. The impact of this change on society was enormous. The first Industrial Revolution, which began in the 18th century, merged into the Second Industrial Revolution around 1850, when technological and economic progress gained momentum with the development of steam-powered ships, railways, and later in the 19th century with the internal combustion engine and electrical power generation. The period of time covered by the Industrial Revolution varies with different historians. Eric Hobsbawm held that it broke out in Britain in the 1780s and was not fully felt until the 1830s or 1840s, while T. S. Ashton held that it occurred roughly between 1760 and 1830. The Industrial Revolution that occurred in the 19th century was of great importance to the economic future of the United States. Three industrial developments led the way to industrialization in America. Transportation was expanded, electricity was harnessed, and improvements were made to industrial processes. The major difference was the very definition of rural and urban; rural life was based around farming and agriculture while urban was based in cities/towns. Another important difference was that life was much cleaner in the rural areas and rural people actually had a longer ife expectancy than urban ones; the cards later switched once the revolution focused on sanitizing. In urban areas, there are more resources given to the public. Where in rural areas, most people have to go into town to get their resources. Unless much quieter than urban areas because there arent as many people who live in them as people live in urban areas. Most rural slaves had to do hard farm labor, while urban slaves were usually domestics. Rural way of life disappeared mainly because there were more Jobs voluntarily available in the big cities thus, everyone was moving away to the cities. There were major developments and inventions in agriculture, manufacture, and travel that eventually spread throughout Europe and North America. Industry and manufacturing that was once all by hand could now be done by machine. It all started with the textile industry and spread to other products. Factories were built and steam powered machinery increased the manufacture. Enormous amounts of coal had to be burned to make enough steam to power the machines. Increased products meant that more goods needed to be transported, so canals were built, and roads and railways improved. Towards the middle of the 19th entury, steam-powered ships and railways meant progress got faster. Then later in the century, electricity and the development of the internal combustion engine increased the pace at which goods were manufactured and transported. There are plenty of reasons as to why people moved from rural areas to urban areas. Better Job opportunities and salary, and Jobs in rural areas usually require a lot of physical effort, whereas most Jobs in urban areas Just involve sitting behind a desk. People in urban areas are usually payed more than people in rural areas. Also, the luxuries of the urban world attract the people of rural areas. Most rural are agriculture based. An agriculturists needs are pretty simple. They revolve mostly around domestic needs only, whereas urban areas, everything revolves around technology that makes life easier. Large masses of people moving from rural to urban areas, causes an occurrence called, urbanization. Urbanization leads to overpopulation, pollution, and various other problems. Due to urbanization, the boundaries of the urban areas expand into the rural areas. This causes forced urbanization, as people who live in the rural areas are forced into the urban area and the ways of the urban people. Lastly, the standards of living and the standards of education are higher in urban areas. This may also be one of the reasons why people move from urban to rural areas. The effects of all this rapid change on society were enormous. More and more people left the land and went to towns and cities to work in factories. The growth of the towns couldnt keep up with the number of people pouring into them, and so housing was hard to get and people lived in slums in appalling circumstances. The differences between rural to urban life were significant, and we should be very appreciative of what we have now and the history behind it.

Important Characteristics of the Clinical Instructors in Radiology Research Paper

Important Characteristics of the Clinical Instructors in Radiology - Research Paper Example There have been numerous studies, carried out to examine the characteristics of clinical instructors in nursing and related health programs. These studies have much information that relates to radiography. The article is about behavioral characteristics that clinical instructors should adopt in radiography and which characteristics they should designate. The journal targets clinical instructors to enable them to improve their behavioral characteristics for better clinical experiences. The journal mostly focuses on the behavioral characteristics of clinical instructors, there are numerous challenges encountered in the clinical education. One of the problems is that each student may not be able to spend enough time with the clinical supervisor. This may originate from various causes one of them being that there may not be enough patients for students to gain experience. The importance of identifying these problems is in order not to be restricted into thinking that the clinical instruc tor solely bears the responsibility of student learning experience. The challenges, however, are minor with the clinical instructor playing the leading role in students learning experience. According to Jennett, clinical instructors have a significant effect on the success or failure of a student in the clinic. The instructors supervise, advice, coach and facilitate students in solving problems, decision-making, and critical thinking. They also have the responsibility of providing a learning environment conducive to their students.

Walden pond Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Walden pond - Essay Example s concentration is on the benefits of early awakening and natural experience at the time when the rest of the inhabitants of the village were in deep slumber. Thoreau utilizes the metaphor of awakening to refer to the variances that exist in him and those in town (Thoreau 145). As the piece suggests, the awakening is evidently in symbolism in the day and yearly seasons. The largest consciousness occurs during the morning extending to the spring. Thoreau associations of his experiences to spiritual awakening are evident throughout the story (Thoreau 147). He defies the earlier notions of men in town that certain requirements of the body such as food and shelter are significant to one’s life. His arguments for defying the natural necessities, as were the notions of men relate to nature. He states that the sunrays in some environments are sufficient to provide the desired warmth (Thoreau 147). His notion of riches in men is they are responsible for the decay of man in terms of spirituality. In his daily tasks, Thoreau relates his experience of life to nature. He depicts the ability of man to live in the middle of the usual world when he utilizes a greater segment of his life in the forest. The flora and fauna provide sufficient support and acceptance (Thoreau

Summary of Kants categorical imperative Essay Example for Free

Summary of Kants categorical imperative Essay Immanuel Kants moral theory can be best explained by comparing it to a math equation. Kants moral system will always hold true no matter what the circumstance just like how two plus two will always equal four. According to Kant, our lives should be lived according to maxims that can be willed into universal law (Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, p 303). However the action regarding a moral decision is not judged by the consequences of that action, rather by the motive of that action. Kants the method of moral reasoning starts off by first realizing the principle the rational agent is acting under. To fully understand what this means, a rational agent is to be defined as an entity who is capable of making rational decisions regardless of their natural inclinations. This condition excludes such examples as, animals, infants, and people in a coma from being considered to be a rational agent because they do not show the capacity to reason. After realizing the principle the person is acting under, determine if the reason is morally right. In order to determine if the maxim is ethical and able to be willed into universal law, it must pass three tests: autonomy, respect for humanity, and the kingdom of ends. Autonomy describes the feeling of accomplishment. This can be illustrated as a man who promises his wife that he will take off the weekend from golfing and file their tax reports. By keeping his promise to his wife he not only feels the satisfaction from finishing their tax report but also, more importantly feels good about following through with his promise. Autonomy is important because if the husband breaks his promises and lives his life as a promise breaker then this maxim is clearly self-defeating. The entire maxim of promising to break promises does not pass the test of autonomy therefore could never be passed as a universal law. However, if after passing the autonomy test, then a principle must also respect everyone elses autonomy. In order to respect humanity, make decisions that show an overall concern for rational agents. If by treating them as a rational agent, then the principle will not affect another persons ability rationalize. In order to do this, it is never acceptable to treat a rational being as merely a means (Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, p 307). That is to say, the act of rape treats the rational agent as a means to sexual gratification. The act of rape does not respect the agent as a rational being and could never be willed into a moral universal law. However if a principle was able to pass the first two conditions, then it is necessary to subject it to the kingdom of ends test. The kingdom of ends is composed of a group of rational agents all with different objectives in life. The importance of having different objectives in life insures that all perspectives and backgrounds have been covered. These agents have been given the responsibility of creating a free society. A free society entails laws that every rational agent in that society would agree upon. If the principle is not a measure that the kingdom of ends would enact, then the principle, by Kants definition, is immoral. Let us analyze the principle of apathy. Living an apathetic life does indeed pass the test of autonomy and by showing indifference to other rational agents it also passes the test of humanity. However, apathy would not pass the kingdom of ends, as no rational being would accept such a maxim. As a result, an apathetic life could not be passed as universal law. As an example, we will refer back to the persecution of Jews during World War II. Say a man is hiding a Jew in his house and the Gestapo comes knocking on door. However, as the Gestapo questions the man of the whereabouts of the Jew, the man cannot lie and say that no one is hiding within his house, but at the same time, if he were to tell the truth he would be indirectly bringing harm upon himself and the Jew. The man should question the Gestapo about what they plan on doing to the Jew once they have located him. According to Kant, consequences have no relevance, although if all possible consequences were known, then it would be permissible to lightly take them into account. Since telling the truth by giving the Gestapo the whereabouts of the Jew would bring direct harm, it is permissible to lie. The maxim would be to never lie unless the truth results direct or indirect harm. This maxim respects autonomy and human nature and would be pass the kingdom of ends test and thus can be willed into universal moral law. Now take the case of Harry and Sally, according to Kantian moral reasoning, should Sally seduce Harry? If Sally were to seduce Harry by taking him back to her place and having sex with him, she would be using him as a means to her ends. By Sally using Harry simply as a means to achieve her ends, that moral decision is breaking a fundamental Kantian principle. Using people as only a means is never acceptable. The difference between Sally seducing Harry into sex and Sally having consensual sex with Harry is the difference of deception and coercion. According to Mappes, deception and coercion are the methods for sexually using someone (Mappes, Sexual Morality, p. 166). The whole idea is based off the respect for an individual person to voluntarily make their own decisions. By deceiving someone, it is clearly misleading a person to make a decision that they would not have made, had it been on their own regard. However the objection can be made that Sally should do what ultimately brings her pleasure. Using Utilitarian morality, something that results in the greater pleasure, or avoidance of harm, of the populations involved is morally correct. Even though Harry is somewhat apprehensive of the whole casual sex idea, he is not defiant or strongly against it. It can even be reasoned that Harry might even enjoy himself once him and Sally are having sex. And also, casual sex is perfectly okay if there is no lying, deceiving, or exploiting (Elliston, In Defense of Promiscuity, p. 170). I believe Ellistons definition of deceiving is different that Kants definition. Kant covers all and any type of deception as immoral. Elliston agrees that deception is indeed immoral, but his definition of deception would be a man telling a woman he does not have herpes when indeed he does. As long as sex is consensual, there is no harm. Sally would only be seducing Harry back to her house under, say, the premise to watch a movie, however when the actual act of intercourse happens, Harry is not being deceived at all. Even with the arguments above, Sally would ultimately be using Harry simply as a means to achieve her ends of sexual pleasure. By using Kantian morality, Sally should not pressure Harry to going home with her nor should she try to seduce him. Kant reasons that human beings have been given this gift of free will to act as the dividing line between humans and animals. Animals are considered animals because they lack the ability to rationalize. What then, is the ultimate value and purpose of having a free will? If the point of having a free will was to seek pleasure and avoid harm, then we are nothing more than animals and have wasted this ability to reason. Instead, humans have free will so they could follow moral law. Therefore, follow moral law even in situations where social laws or natural inclinations could conflict. By following Kants moral reasoning, what we do in our lives is right not only because we ourselves believe it to be right but also since we have willed it to become universal law, it could not possibly be wrong. The maxims that we base our lives on are intrinsically good because we are able to will it into universal law. Therefore, moral decisions made using Kants ideas can be applied universally. Kants ideas show respect for humanity and peoples decisions are not made for selfish pleasure seeking reasons by treating people as a means, but rather they are made based on universal morals and by treating everybody as an rational agent. By following Kants moral reasoning a rational agent will be able to make the right decision when faced with any type of moral dilemma.

Hemp - Miracle Plant :: essays research papers

Is there a single plant that could possibly save the world? Because of its vigor and adaptability, it was amongst the first plants to be cultivated by humans and has been used and grown by many cultures for thousands of years. Yet, today people are fined, even jailed for growing this plant because it is illegal. Lawmakers fail to see that this sole plant probably has more uses than any other material on earth.The entire plant can be utilized for over 25,000 applications. To begin, the seed is nature's perfect food. It can be ground into a meal or can be sprouted and used like other beans and seeds. In addition to the oil from the seeds have the highest percentage of essential fatty acids and the lowest percentage of saturated fats. It is also a complete source of protein and can be served as a meal in itself. Second, byproducts from the plant are an excellent source building material. It has 4 times the cellular fiber than trees, making it perfect for pressed board, particle board and concrete framework. It is longer lasting and more flexible than currently used materials. In comparison, trees take 20 years to mature while this plant only takes 4 months. Correspondingly, 1 acre of this plant produces as much as 4 acres of trees. Third, paper that is made from this plant is stronger, more water-resistant than wood pulp, is less likely to tear and is 7 times more recyclable than wood. It also uses a fraction of the dangerous chemicals used in processing wood pulp. Fiber is a fourth use. A cloth made from this plant is softer and warmer than cotton and is 6 times as strong. In addition to, the cloth is much more resistant to weathering and wear. Moving on to the fifth use, medically, a derivative of this plant has recently been proven to relieve nausea in AIDS and cancer therapy. It has been used with success in treating glaucoma, asthma, epilepsy, mood disorders, and arthritis. It increases appetite, promotes sleep and relaxation, and relieves stress and migraines. Most importantly, fossil fuels could stay in the ground. The plant produces far more and safer chemical compounds suitable for conversion to methane than any other plant. This renewable fuel contains no sulfur and while growing helps remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere via photosynthesis. For thousands of years, all good paints and varnishes were made from an oil from the plant.

Human Rights and Social Justice

Human Rights and Social Justice Integrated Paper Vicki MacWhinnie-Ilundain Fordham University Viewpoint and Concepts that Best Clarify the Dilemmas in Hugo’s Case Hugo’s story highlights the value conflicts that social workers face in every-day practice. The policies that dictate the funding, the scope of services, and the eligibility for the services that Hugo may need in order to actualize his basic human rights were developed within a system that continues to practice within the Rawlsian theory of social justice frame work. Therefore, these government policies tend to support the concept that people are only entitled to their â€Å"fair and due share† of services and/or access to resources if they are working to enhance the good of the over all society (Banerjee, 2005, p. 13). In Hugo’s case, there are psychological, cultural and physical factors that may impact his ability to maintain gainful employment. These individual aspects of Hugo’s life situation are not taken into consideration in determining how long he can receive supports, or what types of supports he receives. The state-funded financial benefits that Hugo requires in order to have his very, basic needs met; such as food, clothing and shelter, have a five-year limit. Because there is no consideration to human rights behind the 5-year limit, Hugo has unmet human rights. This creates a value conflict for Hugo’s social worker, who is working within a system that has Rawlsian infused policies; yet, is mandated by the National Social Work Code of Ethics to promote social justice in a manner that respects the unique strengths and dignity of the individual (NASW, 2008). You can read also  Justice System Position Paper The social worker working from a human rights-based perspective; where according to Ife (2008) â€Å"there is a obligation on every member of society to respect and support people’s rights†, will address Hugo’s unmet needs that stem from this 5-year limit policy as unfulfilled rights rather than assessing them as needs for which Hugo may or may not qualify to receive services (p. 113). Adding to the complexity and value conflict of the social worker’s role is the need for the social worker to partner with Hugo to identify not only his assets; but to also identify the barriers he faces. The social worker can develop a more in-depth understanding of Hugo’s barriers by exploring the levels of oppression Hugo experiences and his positionalty vis-a-vis all the systems and individuals he interacts with in society. Hugo is experiencing oppression at a structural level as a result of his position as an immigrant from Haiti who has experience trauma. Hugo has psychological and physical impairments as the result of past trauma, he is of an ethic background that is not part of the privileged class in the United States, and he was born outside the United States. These characteristics, which Hugo inherited through birth and via traumatic life experiences, tend to lead to discrimination in the United States. As a result of systematic discrimination, Hugo belongs to a subordinate group in the society and is oppressed by the dominant group. Mullaly (2010) explains that this â€Å"web of oppression †¦occurs for the most part because of the sanctioned ways that social institutions, laws, social policies, and social practices all work together to benefit the dominant group at the expense of subordinate groups† (p. 197). Challenges in Social Work Practice as a Result of a Paradigm Shift In this process of identifying assets and barriers, the social worker may face further value conflicts that impact their ability to empower Hugo to claim his human rights: The social worker has a moral and professional obligation to help Hugo advocate for his human rights. This will include supporting Hugo’s desire to participate in a lawsuit against the US government, who created the 5-year limit on public financial support. In Hugo’s circumstance, the legal mandate that limits the total amount of years he can access funding is impeding Hugo’s right to food, shelter, substance abuse treatment, psychological care, and safety. As an employee of a state funded program, the social worker is not allowed to ignore this mandate or seek to undermine it in any way. The social worker is faced with the challenge of partnering with Hugo to support his quest to actualize his human rights while working within a legal mandate that restricts Hugo’s access to the resources he requires in order to claim his human rights. The social worker is also challenged to reframe the way they conceptualize their interventions with Hugo. By choosing a rights-based approach, the ocial worker’s dialogue regarding Hugo’s rights will not only have a more global tone, but it will require the social worker to use additional skills to engage Hugo in a discussion that empowers Hugo to define his rights. Ife (2008) asserts that this type of social work practice has the potential to do more than just address an individual’s minimum needs but allows for social work to be transformative by building a society â€Å"hel d together by mutual respect for human rights of all citizens and based on notions of interdependence, mutual support and collective well-being† (p. 13). The challenge for the social worker is to elevate discussions and practice beyond working just with the individual case by engaging in dialogues and actions that â€Å"link their profession to economic, political and social aims of society as a whole† (Riechert, 2007, p. 31). The social worker faces many challenges when making a paradigm shift from a needs-based approach of social work to an elevated practice that focuses on human rights. The needs-based approach, where the provider identifies or diagnoses the â€Å"client’s† needs into narrow categories, and then provides a focused â€Å"intervention†, is deeply ingrained in the traditional models of practice. For example, the medical model is still widely accepted as best practice and is often used in social service programs and agencies. When taking the human rights approach, the social worker will reframe Hugo’s experience so that his rights are identified first, then used to re-conceptualize the needs that have to be met in order to actualize his rights. The social worker also faces the challenge of advocating for Hugo to receive services that support his right-based needs in systems with competing values. The rights-based approach conflicts with agency practices at a mezzo level, such as the use a medical treatment model that may not be culturally sensitive or focused on Hugo’s rights. The social worker may also experience conflicts of values on a macro level when advocating for funding for Hugo’s services. The state and/or federal government, who provide funding for the social services, may place a value on providing the least amount of services for minimum cost to tax payers rather than on Hugo’s unmet rights. On a micro level, the social worker may experience difficulties building rapport with Hugo because of their differences in gender, ethic background, power, education, and socio-economic status. Level’s and Dimensions of Hugo’s Well Being The Universal Declaration of Human Rights established global principles of human rights that set the precedence that all people have the right to an â€Å"a standard of living adequate for their health and well being; including food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability†¦ or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control† (United Nations, 1994). Hugo’s social worker can discuss Hugo’s well being in a human rights framework by exploring the domains of wellbeing that impact Hugo’s daily life. The social worker and Hugo may need to establish a language to use as they talk about Hugo’s life experiences, if they are going to successfully switch from a needs-based paradigm to a rights-based paradigm. The social worker can use the seven domains of wellbeing to help deconstruct the needs-based thinking and language that has been the context for the â€Å"interventions† Hugo has received from social services in the past. Discussions using the domains of wellbeing may include: education, mental health, physical health, political and legal, cultural, and spiritual. After reaching the 5-year limit for public financial benefits, Hugo does not have access the resources required to provide food, shelter and clothing. Hugo’s metal and physical functioning has been impacted after experiencing a series of traumas, limiting Hugo’s access to education and employment. Hugo experiences multiple levels of oppression and discrimination which he may have internalized making it difficult for him â€Å"to recognize his abilities, cope with normal stresses of life, work productively and make a contribution to his community† (World Health Organization, 1999). Hugo has experienced physical traumas that have impacted his physical capabilities. As an immigrant in the United States Hugo does not have fair or equal access to legal support or protection by laws. The discrimination that Hugo experiences also impacts Hugo’s ability to be seen as a valued member of the society his is living in. The social worker can support Hugo by exploring all aspects of Hugo’s well being so he can discover how to start to advocate for his rights that are encompassed by each of these life domains Plan of Engagement, Empowerment and Participation After further exploring various aspects of Hugo’s well being, that would also include Hugo’s assets or strengths, the social worker and Hugo may want to develop a plan of action to guide their work together. Hugo identified immediately that he wanted to access to the group who is collecting data for a lawsuit against the US government. Although it may be considered a conflict of interest for the agency that employs the social worker to be involved with the lawsuit against the state, the social worker can connect Hugo to the group so that he can work directly with them. The social worker could also met with her supervisor and/or agency director to discuss what networks or committees the agency attends in the community. Often these groups hold more power than a single social worker or agency and work directly with governmental agencies to make recommendations or to advocate for policy changes that best serve the interest in their communities. By using these approaches, the social worker is assessing her own positionality in her agency and community so that she can best support the requests of Hugo, without disrupting the relationship she has with her employer. The social worker can also start researching what resources are available in the community that can address the barriers that Hugo is experiencing while trying to claim all of his human rights. Once a comprehensive list of services and or resources is developed, the social worker and discuss each of these resources with Hugo to get his feedback about what he thinks might be useful to him. The social worker would provide information about the advantages and risks and/or disadvantages to using any of the resources so that Hugo could make an informed decision. If there is a resource that Hugo is interested in utilizing but does not quite meet the criteria or does not have the funds to access, the social worker can work with the agency and funding sources to see if there are alternative ways for him to access the resource. Even if Hugo does not get immediate access to the resource, the social worker has left a path of documentation and advocacy that can be used to work towards access to these types of resources in the future. Over time, the social worker can build a strong relationship built from trust and mutual respect with Hugo. In order to do that the social worker will need to understand how her positionality relates to Hugo’s and how that impacts Hugo interactions with the social worker and visa versa. It appears as though Hugo has used multiple community services in the past, yet he still has not actualized his rights. The social-worker can explore with Hugo what services were helpful to him in the past and what aspects of the services became barriers to him changing his over-all well being. If the social worker finds with the services in their community are; for example, not compatible with Hugo’s cultural beliefs, then the social worker can work in the community to advocate for changes how services are provided. Other agencies may be open to expanding how they provide services to include all members in their community. The social worker can accomplish these strategies by adopting the capability approach. Nussbaum (2007) describes the capability approach as â€Å"a species of a human rights approach. It makes clear, how- ever, that the pertinent goal is to make people able to function in a variety of areas of central importance. †(p. 21) By empowering Hugo to further develop his cognitive, physical and social skills, the social worker can provide opportunities for Hugo to attain his identified rights-based needs. The social worker encourages capability building by advocating that Hugo receive services that will build specific skills, not just treat a diagnosis. Over time, Hugo can learn to identify and articulate his rights, reframe them into needs and demand services that allow him to claim his rights. In doing so, Hugo will request services that have the components that he recognizes as necessary for his well-being. References Banerjee, M. M. (2005). Social Work, Rawlsian Social Justice, and Social Development. Social Development issues, 27(1), 7-24 Ife, J. (2008). Human Rights and Social Work Towards Rights-Based Practice (2nd ed. ). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Mullaly, B. (2010). Challenging Oppression and Confronting Privilege (2nd ed. ) New York, NY: Oxford University Press. NASW. (2008). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Work. Retrieved from http://www. socialworkers. org/pubs/code/code. asp Nussbaum, M. (2007). Human Rights and Human Capabilities. Harvard Human Rights Journal, 20(1) 21-24 Reichert, E. (2007). Challenges in Human Rights A Social Work Perspective. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. United Nations. (1994). Human rights and social work: A manual for schools of social work and social work profession. Geneva: United Nations Center for Human Rights. Retrieved from http://www. ohchr. org/Documents/Publications/training1en. pdf.

The success of A Tale of Two Cities

The art of historical fiction requires from its creator the scrupulosity of selection. This relates to the selection of theme, characters and their roles, pace of narration and time sequence supported by the language embodied into certain literary devices to make a story unique and popular through centuries. This requirement is perfectly achieved by Charles Dickens in his novel A Tale of Two Cities.The success of A Tale of Two Cities can be attributed to Dickens's artful setting of a touching human story against the background of the world-shaking events of the French Revolution, and to the themes related with these events. Among these themes, one of the most important is the theme of sacrifice, as the way to self-fulfillment.An accompanying are the themes of retribution and human loyalty – kind and sympathetic in the case of the Manettes, father and daughter, and Miss Pross; appalling though understandable in the case of Madame Defarge, who can never forget what the Evrà ©mo ndes did to her family. Another theme is the resemblances and parallels Dickens wants us to see between London and Paris. The two cities represent opposed mindsets that are personified by contrasting female characters.Dickens refers first to the London carts and coaches, in which â€Å"pale travellers set out continually on a violent passage into the other world† from the criminal court and prison of Old Bailey (Dickens, ii 2). Later, before he depicts the mob in Paris, he gives us a London crowd, which â€Å"in those times stopped at nothing, and was a monster much dreade† (Dickens, ii 14).Dickens’s most memorable characters tend to be the eccentrics, the droll fellows. In A Tale of Two Cities there are few of these: Miss Pross and Jerry Cruncher are the two most notable. As a contrast to them there is the pushing Stryver; he is not really entertaining.The rest of Dickens’s characters do not hold much of the reader's interest. Thus, Sydney Carton, Charle s Darnay, Lucie Manette, the good Doctor Manette, and Jarvis Lorry all seem relatively normal people, who in other circumstances would not be very interesting.The same might even be true of the Defarges, husband and wife. Had they not had a revolution to fight, their lives might have been routine, and not worth investigating. But in this novel, the driving force is an impersonal one. Its impact on character is felt most strongly when we consider the two principal antagonists: Sydney Carton and Madame Defarge.Sydney Carton is a case of a spoiled man who has somehow lost his nerve and his self-respect and bitterly knows it. He gets the chance to do a noble thing and, in doing it, redeems his wasted life. But, had there been no such opportunity, we must suspect that he would have gone on in his downward track, drinking more and enjoying it less, and at some point being cast off by the now affluent Stryver – the man who has used him to his own great benefit – when he needs him no longer.