The first description of Scrooge emphasises Essay Example for Free

The first description of Scrooge emphasises Essay In his visit from Marley, Scrooge is told that he has a chance and hope of escaping the same terrible fate that he himself has suffered. Marley is covered in chains which represent his greed during his time on earth and he explains to Scrooge that charity, mercy, forbearance and benevolence should have been and now should be his business in order to redeem his selfish past. Marleys visit as the first ghost represents the beginning of Scrooges change of his ways and it shows Scrooge the possibility of his own redemption. The second Ghost to visit Scrooge, the Ghost of Christmas past, takes him back to when he worked as an apprentice for his first employer Fezziwig. Scrooge is able to see a Christmas party held by his kind hearted boss and during this time he forgets the presence of the ghost as he is immersed in the atmosphere created by his generous employer. During the whole party Scrooges Heart and soul were in the scene. However the audience is reminded of Scrooges lack of generosity and greed before Scrooge realises that he has the responsibility to make his hard working employees happy. This is shown when Dickens explains that whilst Scrooge was speaking unconsciously he believed that the party was a great expense for giving happiness and that only with the power of money could Fezziwig make his guests happy. On the second ghosts visit Scrooge also sees himself with his first love Bella and sees that he sacrificed love for money which he now regrets as he realises his own judgment was wrong. At this point in the novel the audience is shown how Scrooge may be beginning to consider the importance of change. Scrooge is then visited by the ghost of Christmas present who shows him the Cratchits family at Christmas. On this visit Scrooge sees that he is partially responsible for the Cratchits familys welfare as he is the employer of Bob and this makes Scrooge realise the importance of sharing his own wealth and giving. Scrooge also realises that the poor make do with the little money they have but are still able to enjoy themselves and be happy. During the third ghosts visit Scrooge begins to show concern about tiny Tims welfare as he can see that the malnourished child is obviously ill and he therefore asks the ghost to tell him with and interest he had never felt before Whether tiny Tim will live. The ghost explains to Scrooge that if he does not change in the future tiny Tim will die and then repeats Scrooges words said about decreasing the surplus population. Upon hearing these words Scrooge is instantly full of remorse and this again shows the audience how Scrooges views on the poorer-nation have changed drastically since the fist three ghosts visits. Scrooges regret is then later doubled as even though he had been a cruel employer Bob thanked him for the familys tiny Christmas feast. After realising the importance of family after seeing how Bob Cratchit spent his Christmas Scrooge visited his nephew Fred and Scrooge who was embarrassed of his previous arrogance was surprised to be greeted by nephew extremely happy to see him. At this point in the novel Scrooge can see that people who should see him as a terrible person were happy to see him ,he therefore enjoys a wonderful party knowing that he is now not alone and he then sees the true value of a family who loves one another. Whilst being visited by the ghost of Christmas present the ghost presents scrooge from the folding of its robe with two children: wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable. Scrooge asks the ghost if they have no refuge and again he is confronted with the words he said about the poor before his ghostly visits which Scrooge now obviously regrets. Dickens includes this as it makes the audience believe Scrooge is now changing for the better to benefit not only him, but the poorer nation as well. Finally Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Christmas yet to come who informs Scrooge that he will die a lonely death with no concern from anyone else unless he changes his views on money and social classes. On hearing this news Scrooge proclaims that he is not the man he was and at this point the reader will also believe this as Scrooges attitude has changed as the visits from ghost progressed. He truly wants to be a different man and change for the better, not just to secure his own fate but also Tiny Tims. At the end of the novel Scrooges attitude towards money and social classes has changed greatly he believes he will live in the past present and future, take nothing for granted and be the kind hearted man that his business partner Jacob Marley wanted him to be. He is now extremely happy with his own situation with money but also willing to help others that are not so well off like his employee Bob Cratchit who he donated the Christmas turkey to as an act of good will and the charity collector.

Chinese and American Cultures Essay -- Culture Cultural Tan Jen Essays

Chinese and American Cultures Chinese-Americans authors Amy Tan and Gish Jen have both grappled with the idea of mixed identity in America. For them, a generational problem develops over time, and cultural displacement occurs as family lines expand. While this is not the problem in and of itself, indeed, it is natural for current culture to gain foothold over distant culture, it serves as the backdrop for the disorientation that occurs between generations. In their novels, Tan and Jen pinpoint the cause of this unbalance in the active dismissal of Chinese mothers by their Chinese-American children. In The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan calls close attention to the idea of unrealization and forgetfulness. Through these two factors, Tan attempts to explain displacement on the pasts of both mothers and daughters. The daughters, we find, are lost and wandering, and the mothers themselves seem paralyzed by secret pasts of pain and sacrifice. For them, the past is a tenuous, ghostly thing that goes undigested for some time. For many of them, it is not ever talked about. The death of Suyuan Woo is attributed to this: â€Å" ‘ She had a new idea in her head,’ said my father. ‘But before it could come out of her mouth, the thought grew too big and burst. It must have been a very bad idea.’ â€Å"The doctor said she died of a cerebral aneurysm. And her friends at the Joy Luck Club said she died just like a rabbit: quickly and with unfinished business left behind† (Tan 19). Suyuan had a secret that she had kept from her daughter, Jing-Mei her entire life: two sisters that had been left behind while she fled from China. While it cannot be said that this was what caused her to have an aneurysm, the symbolism of having unfinished business, and ... ...er granddaughter eating the Chinese side. Addie in â€Å"Just Wait† is withdrawn from her entire family because she simply does not fit in and is placed, with a weak struggle, in the same category as her unwell brother. Duncan in â€Å"Duncan in China† cannot accept the China he visits because he only has images of the regal past in his head. Both novel and short story collection reflect the fear of a past being unexplored and left behind. They express deep concern about a lost generation of Chinese-Americans and look desperately for the ignored, shut out past as a result. Works Cited: Jen, Gish. Who’s Irish? New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1999. Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1989. Xu, Ben. â€Å"Memory and the Ethnic Self; Reading Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club† in Memory, Narrative, and Identity: New Essays in Ethnic American Literatures. 261-77.

Theories of First and Second Language Acquisition

There are various theories that have been put forward to describe first and second language acquisition. This paper outlines similarities and difference between first and second language acquisition. Additionally key theoretical points on second language acquisition have been identified. Finally, an explanation of how I intend to use my understanding of language acquisition theory to inform my teaching practice will also be included. Similarities of First and Second Language Acquisition Rod Elis (1984) examined the concept of developmental sequences.Studies have revealed that both first and second language learners follow a pattern of development, which is mainly followed despite exceptions. Elis outlined three developmental stages: the silent period, formulaic speech, and structural and semantic simplification. Both L1 and L2 learners go through the silent stage. In this stage, children acquiring a first language will go through a period of listening to the language that they are be ing exposed to. This period is used to discover what language is. Second language learners usually opt to remain silent for a period when immediate production is not required of them.The usefulness of the silent stage in second language acquisition is not agreed upon by researchers. Gibbons (1985 , as cited by Ellis, 1994)argues that this is a stage of incomprehension while Krashen (1982) argues that it builds competence in learners via listening. The second stage identified is formulaic speech. It is defined as expressions which are learnt as â€Å"unanalyzable wholes and employed on particular occasions (Lyons, 1968, cited in Ellis, 1994).According Krashen (1982), these expression can have the form of whole utterances learned as memorized chunks (e. g.  I don’t know) and partially unanalyzed utterances with one or more slots (e. g. Where are the______? ). The expressions can also consist of entire scripts such as greetings (Ellis, 1994). In the third stage, the first and second language learners apply structural and semantic simplifications to their language. For instance, they may omit articles and other grammatical forms as is the case with structural simplifications. Semantic simplifications take the form of omitting content words (e. g. nouns). These simplifications occur because learners may not have yet acquired the necessary linguistic forms.Another reason is that they are unable to access linguistic forms during production. In both first and second language acquisition there are particular structures that are acquired in a set order. Research shows that a learner’s first language has an effect on acquistional sequences which either slows their development or modifies it (McLaughlin, 1987). Individual variation in how individuals acquire language (such as communication strategies) may mask acquisitional sequences for certain constructions (Mclaughlin, 1987).Based on the morpheme studies in L2 acquisition, Krashen (1982) put forward th e Natural Order Hypothesis which claims that the rules of language are acquired in a predictable order. This acquisition order is not determined by simplicity or the order of rules taught in the class. It seems that there exists an order of acquisition in both first and second language acquisition. In both first and second language acquisition, learners may over generalize vocabulary or rules, using them in contexts broader than those in which they should be used.For instance, a child may say ‘eated’ instead of saying ‘ate’ for past tense of ‘eat’, and same thing may happen in second language acquisition an adult may say ‘holded’ instead of ‘held’ for the past tense of ‘hold’. Differences between First and Second Language Acquisition Nearly everyone acquires a first language but this is not the case with second languages. Acquiring a first language happens naturally, while acquiring a second language often requires conscious effort on the part of the learner.Another difference between first and second language learning relates to input, specifically the quality and quantity of input. According to the connectionist model the language learning process depends on the input frequency and regularity. Second language learners may have limited exposure to the target language that may be restricted to a couple hours a day where as first language learners are immersed in the language consistently. In first language acquisition, the basis for learning is universal grammar alone (Chomsky, 1968 as cited by Murray & Christison, 2006).In second language acquisition, knowledge of the first language serves as the basis for learning a second language. As a result of this, there may be both positive and negative transfer between the first and second language in second language learning. Key theoretical points that inform second language acquisition Various theories have been used to study the acquisit ion of a second language. These theories have strengths and shortcomings in their explanations of how second languages are acquired. I will attempt to highlight a few key points made by some of these theories.The behaviourism theory assumes that a person learns a second language by transferring habits formed in first language acquisition. These habits may sometimes interfere with the new ones needed to acquire a second language or the habits can be transferred to aid second language acquisition. However, further research has found that the influence of the learner’s first language may be more than a transferral of habits but involves a process of identifying points of similarity, assessing the evidence in support of a particular feature and reflecting on the feature’s relevance to the target language (Lightbown & Spada,2006).This theory is believed not to provide adequate explanations about how second language are acquired. However, there is value in the notion that an individual’s first language has an effect on second language acquisition efforts. The innatist’s perspective put forth the concept of Universal Grammar (UG). According to White (2000) Universal Grammar offers the best perspective to understand the acquisition of a second language. The concept of UG supports the belief that individuals have an innate language competence that is not taught to them formally.This competence is altered by the acquisition of a first language. This results in the need for second language learners to get direct information about what is not grammatically acceptable in the second language (Lightbown &Spada, 2006). Otherwise learners may assume that some first language structures are also present in the second language when they are not. This perspective encourages investigation into learners’ language competence and gaining an understanding of what learners know about the language rather than how they use it.The monitor model offers a c ouple valid points about second language acquisition. This model proposes that second language acquisition follows a predictable sequence. It also suggests that second language acquisition will occur when learners are exposed to language that is comprehensible and that contains the level of language already known along with language that is just a step beyond that level. There also different psychological theories that offer explanations for second language acquisition.Researchers who subscribe to the information processing model see second language acquisition as the construction of knowledge that can be called on automatically for speaking and understanding (Lightbown &Spada, 2006). Learners will have to use cognitive resources to process any aspect of the language that they are attempting to understand or produce. The connectionism perspective claims that learners gradually build up their knowledge of language through exposure to countless instances of linguistic features that th ey eventually hear (Lightbown & Spada,2006).When learners hear language features in specific situational or linguistic context constantly, they develop a network of connections between these elements. There are many other theories that are used to explain second language acquisition. After considering these theories, it is apparent that there is no one theory that adequately explains how individuals acquire second language. Using language acquisition theory in ESL practiceIt is apparent that there is no one theory that fully explains how language is acquired, so as an instructor, I have to consider the aspects of language acquisition that different theories have in common. I would then use these to inform my practice. For instance, it has been established that a learner’s first language affects their second language learning efforts. So as an instructor, it is my responsibility to identify the features of the first language that are interfering with the student’s secon d language learning as well as provide the student with the necessary material overcome that obstacle.I also understand that adult language learners do not acquire second languages as quickly as children. The Critical Period Hypothesis supports this claim. With this knowledge, I know that I will have to be patient with my adult students. I also know that there are stages of acquisition that they have to go through even if it is at a slow rate. So my intention is to use the information that has been established in my practice. I also have to be open minded as well be willing to make adjustments for individuals who are operating outside of the norm.

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