Oliver Goldsmiths Classic Essay on the Man in Black

Best known for his comic play She Stoops to Conquer and the novel The Vicar of Wakefield, Oliver Goldsmith was also one of the most prominent essayists of the 18th century. The Character of the Man in Black (originally published in the Public Ledger) appears in Goldsmiths most popular essay collection, The Citizen of the World. Though Goldsmith said that the Man in Black was modeled on his father, an Anglican curate, more than one critic has observed that the character bears a striking resemblance to the author: In fact, Goldsmith himself seems to have had difficulty reconciling his philosophic opposition to charity with his own tenderness toward the poor--the conservative with the man of feeling. . . . As foolishly luxurious as Goldsmith may have considered [the Man in Blacks] behavior, he apparently found it natural and almost unavoidable for a man of sentiment.(Richard C. Taylor, Goldsmith as Journalist . Associated University Presses, 1993) After reading The Character of the Man in Black, you may find it worthwhile to compare the essay with Goldsmiths A City Night-Piece and with George Orwells Why Are Beggars Despised? Letter 26: The Character of the Man in Black, With Some Instances of His Inconsistent Conduct To the Same. 1 Though fond of many acquaintances, I desire an intimacy only with a few. The Man in Black, whom I have often mentioned, is one whose friendship I could wish to acquire, because he possesses my esteem. His manners, it is true, are tinctured with some strange inconsistencies; and he may be justly termed a humorist in a nation of humorists. Though he is generous even to profusion, he affects to be thought a prodigy of parsimony and prudence; though his conversation be replete with the most sordid and selfish maxims, his heart is dilated with the most unbounded love. I have known him profess himself a man-hater, while his cheek was glowing with compassion; and, while his looks were softened into pity, I have heard him use the language of the most unbounded ill-nature. Some affect humanity and tenderness, others boast of having such dispositions from nature; but he is the only man I ever knew who seemed ashamed of his natural benevolence. He takes as much pains to hide his feelings, as any hypocrite would to conceal his indifference; but on every unguarded moment the mask drops off, and reveals him to the most superficial observer. 2 In one of our late excursions into the country, happening to discourse upon the provision that was made for the poor in England, he seemed amazed how any of his countrymen could be so foolishly weak as to relieve occasional objects of charity, when the laws had made such ample provision for their support. In every parish-house, says he, the poor are supplied with food, clothes, fire, and a bed to lie on; they want no more, I desire no more myself; yet still they seem discontented. I am surprised at the inactivity of our magistrates in not taking up such vagrants, who are only a weight upon the industrious; I am surprised that the people are found to relieve them, when they must be at the same time sensible that it in some measure encourages idleness, extravagance, and imposture. Were I to advise any man for whom I had the least regard, I would caution him by all means not to be imposed upon by their false pretences; let me assure you, sir, they are imposters, every one of them; and rather merit a prison than relief. 3 He was proceeding in this strain earnestly, to dissuade me from an imprudence of which I am seldom guilty, when an old man, who still had about him the remnants of tattered finery, implored our compassion. He assured us that he was no common beggar, but forced into the shameful profession to support a dying wife and five hungry children. Being prepossessed against such falsehoods, his story had not the least influence upon me; but it was quite otherwise with the Man in Black: I could see it visibly operate upon his countenance, and effectually interrupt his harangue. I could easily perceive, that his heart burned to relieve the five starving children, but he seemed ashamed to discover his weakness to me. While he thus hesitated between compassion and pride, I pretended to look another way, and he seized this opportunity of giving the poor petitioner a piece of silver, bidding him at the same time, in order that I should hear, go work for his bread, and not tease passengers with suc h impertinent falsehoods for the future. 4 As he had fancied himself quite unperceived, he continued, as we proceeded, to rail against beggars with as much animosity as before: he threw in some episodes on his own amazing prudence and economy, with his profound skill in discovering impostors; he explained the manner in which he would deal with beggars, were he a magistrate; hinted at enlarging some of the prisons for their reception, and told two stories of ladies that were robbed by beggarmen. He was beginning a third to the same purpose, when a sailor with a wooden leg once more crossed our walks, desiring our pity, and blessing our limbs. I was for going on without taking any notice, but my friend looking wistfully upon the poor petitioner, bid me stop, and he would show me with how much ease he could at any time detect an impostor. 5 He now, therefore, assumed a look of importance, and in an angry tone began to examine the sailor, demanding in what engagement he was thus disabled and rendered unfit for service. The sailor replied in a tone as angrily as he, that he had been an officer on board a private ship of war, and that he had lost his leg abroad, in defence of those who did nothing at home. At this reply, all my friends importance vanished in a moment; he had not a single question more to ask: he now only studied what method he should take to relieve him unobserved. He had, however, no easy part to act, as he was obliged to preserve the appearance of ill-nature before me, and yet relieve himself by relieving the sailor. Casting, therefore, a furious look upon some bundles of chips which the fellow carried in a string at his back, my friend demanded how he sold his matches; but, not waiting for a reply, desired in a surly tone to have a shillings worth. The sailor seemed at first surprised at his demand, b ut soon recollected himself, and presenting his whole bundle, Here master, says he, take all my cargo, and a blessing into the bargain. 6 It is impossible to describe with what an air of triumph my friend marched off with his new purchase: he assured me that he was firmly of opinion that those fellows must have stolen their goods who could thus afford to sell them for half value. He informed me of several different uses to which those chips might be applied; he expatiated largely upon the savings that would result from lighting candles with a match, instead of thrusting them into the fire. He averred, that he would as soon have parted with a tooth as his money to those vagabonds, unless for some valuable consideration. I cannot tell how long this panegyric upon frugality and matches might have continued, had not his attention been called off by another object more distressful than either of the former. A woman in rags, with one child in her arms, and another on her back, was attempting to sing ballads, but with such a mournful voice that it was difficult to determine whether she was singing or crying. A wretch, who i n the deepest distress still aimed at good-humour, was an object my friend was by no means capable of withstanding: his vivacity and his discourse were instantly interrupted; upon this occasion his very dissimulation had forsaken him. Even in my presence he immediately applied his hands to his pockets, in order to relieve her; but guess his confusion, when he found he had already given away all the money he carried about him to former objects. The misery painted in the womans visage was not half so strongly expressed as the agony in his. He continued to search for some time, but to no purpose, till, at length recollecting himself, with a face of ineffable good-nature, as he had no money, he put into her hands his shillings worth of matches.

The Nuiances of Essay Topics for Fce

The Nuiances of Essay Topics for Fce Essay Topics for Fce Secrets That No One Else Knows About In the speaking section, you have to be confident of what you speak. Very often it becomes hard to choose a single topic either on account of the many ideas in the student's head, or due to their complete absence. Students should select a compelling topic to impress the audience together with their teachers. Sum up the primary points and main arguments that you're going to support or refute. There's no point memorising large swathes of content in terrific detail since the question is only going to wind up asking for a certain section of the syllabus. It is normal for a friend or relative to ask you something about the location where you live, while saying that they'll be visiting soon. To summarise, it's a fantastic chance to go abroad to study but it is necessary to have a superior teacher and to be focussed on learning or you might waste your time, and a fortune. There are a few typical rules for IELTS Examiners that they need to follow everywhere. So here is a terrific solution for this issue. A toefl template is essentially a pre organized set of words and phrases that you may use in nearly any toefl writing response. Essay Topics for Fce Features The introduction is key once you compose an essay for the reason that it provides the audience a glimpse into the matter, and of fers the writer with a chance to state the thesis of the general essay. When it is argumentative or informative essays, one must develop a topic that may grab the interest of the reader very quickly and this isn't such an easy job. You might also compose a narrative essay to talk about your story about traditional or internet learning. By obeying the above-given hints you will readily attain an impactful argumentative essay. Any article for FCE is usually an extremely personal bit of writing, so you're able to speak in the very first person as much as you like. Make a decision as to what information to put in each individual paragraph Think about who you're writing to and use a proper manner of language Try to use a wide selection of complex language Read this explanation of the way to compose an article for FCE Writing part 2. In the initial one, you need to compose an essay. You should plan your essay the moment you get the topic. An off topic essay is not going to be evaluated. Unlike in different essays, writing narrative essays enable the writer to use a very first person point of view as it is based on personal experiences. The duration of the essay and the intricacy of the question vary based on the exam, but the basic skills are the exact same. Work on your vocabulary If your purpose is to be at the peak of your game and compose a winning academic essay, then you have to put forward your ideas clearly. Regardless of what business topic you're writing about, following a simple guideline while making your composition will make it possible for you to come up with a part of work that's well structured, informative and intriguing. For this reason, you should have a suitable understanding about the object, event or occasion that you could be defining in the definition essays. The elements of your topic will establish the subparagraphs of the chief body. Although the span of the topic will mostly depend on the duration of an essay you're going to write, it is is still highly recommended to choose one specific question and adhere to it in your work. Also you must be genuinely interested to find out more regarding this issue. Deciding on a topic is a critical issue that partly estimates final success of the job.

A Street Car Named Desire Free Essays

Blanche arrives in the New Jersey apartment that is owned by the Kowalskis – in particular, her sister Stella and his brother in law, Stanley. Armed with her striking features, poise and seeming forceful characters, Blanche can immediately relay what her character is all about – power, feminism, liberalism, and absurdity. In general, she serves as the epitome of a new-age woman who has led her life badly. We will write a custom essay sample on A Street Car Named Desire or any similar topic only for you Order Now Her arrival immediately relegates the persona of her pregnant career-less sister, Stella, as a submissive, dependent, and traditional woman. With regards to first impressions, while Blanche can be viewed with envy, antagonism, or admiration, one can only offer sympathy and frustration to Stella. As for Stanley, he is pretty much the male counterpart of Blanche. He is the embodiment of brutality, abuse, responsibility, sensuality, and excessive power which often exists in many patriarchal societies. Like me, any person who has respect for women would surely hate what he does to Stella. Being ignorant of the truth behind the real life of Blanche, Mitch, like Stella, is another pitiful character. b. Discuss the presence of reality illusion in the play. How is it represented? The sense of reality is presented as a matter of conflict and question not only in the story’s plot but also through its characters. To start with, Blanche lived her life masked by the illusion she creates in order to free herself from the dreadful results of her wrong doings. Stella also lived in an illusion where she regarded domestic abuse as a typical fraction of Stanley’s love for her. Mitch also fell into a whirlwind of illusions that Blanche created. Basically, Stanley is probably the only character who is in touch with reality. The play started with an illusion that Blanche created and the quest for reality is the plot. In the end however, the submission of Blanche to illusion or madness became her reality. c. Do you think Blanche is crazy? Explain. Blanche was already at the brink of insanity prior to her brutal encounter with Stanley. Throughout the story, we can observe that Blanche has carefully crafted her own fantasy world through the characters that she tried to portray – as a distressed damsel, southern belle or the good school teacher. The way in which she tries to conceal her secrets and the lack of malicious intent to actually manipulate other people just demonstrated her inability to interact with others in a sane manner. d. Blanche’s first husband was homosexual (as was Tennessee Williams). Discuss the depiction of homosexuality in the play. Although heterosexual men like Stanley were unfairly portrayed as brutal, one can say that homosexuals were not depicted reasonably in the play as well. Homosexuality was portrayed through Allen Grey, the poet late husband Blanche. His disgust to himself and his guilt which prompted him to commit suicide proved that homosexuality was demonstrated as something that is devastating, disturbing, and self-destructing. For both Blanche and Allen, the effect was extensively disastrous as one died while the other resulted to rebellious madness. e. Is there any villain in the play? If there is, who is it? Explain. To a certain extent, both Blanche and Stanley can be treated as villains. Blanche struggled to ruin the seemingly â€Å"harmonious† life of Stella and Stanley. On the other hand, Stanley abuses her wife and also succeeds in crushing Blanche’s fantasies. f. Do you think Stanley actually harmed Blanche? Do you think she deserved it? The play implies that Stanley has raped Blanche. Regardless of any circumstance, there is no righteous justification for raping a woman. No matter how hideous one’s character may be, no one deserves to be raped. How to cite A Street Car Named Desire, Papers A Street Car Named Desire Free Essays A Streetcar Named Desire – Final Assessment 1 . The title A Streetcar Named Desire holds both literal and figurative meaning. Blanche DuBois takes an actual streetcar named â€Å"Desire† to transport her to the home of her sister. We will write a custom essay sample on A Street Car Named Desire or any similar topic only for you Order Now Blanche is literally brought to the home of the Kowalski’s by â€Å"Desire,† but she is also brought there by her very own desire. Blanche’s sexual intimacies held with many men has ruined her reputation and driven her out of her home town. Blanche is longing and wishing to start her life over in the town of Elysian Fields with her sister Stella. She feels that everyone in this town will accept her because they are unaware of her secrets and terrible reputation. Blanche is confident in keeping her past a secret and portraying herself to be such a respected and lady-like woman. 2. Blanche DuBois in this novel could be best described as a tragic hero. She is very capable of great deeds but is destined to fail due to such circumstances beyond her own control and fatal flaws. Blanche throughout the play is very fragile and delicate after the tragic death of her husband leaving her with the biggest flaw of desire. Blanche after the tragic death of her husband is in great search for a man who will fulfill her desire however, she seems to never get enough. Blanche held many intimacies ruining her reputation and soon left her home town to go live with her sister Stella in Elysian Fields. Blanche trying to portray herself as a respectable lady slowly reveals her secrets without any intentions. Blanche during her stay in New Orleans is in search of respect, love, and care returning to the traditional wants and needs of a woman during her youth time period. Blanche is not used to the way of life in the world during present time. Vanity soon falls into a fantasy that settles in her mind as delusion. Her vanity gets in the way of her love life, leads her to tell lies and believe them, and ultimately leads to her rape carried out by Stanley and resulting in her biggest fall yet. How to cite A Street Car Named Desire, Papers