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Thank you gentleman for saving my life !!!
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Among the highlights is "Feathertop" an eccentric piece about a witch whose magic pipe gives life to her scarecrow. "The Prophetic Pictures," allegedly based on a true incident, is an intriguing yarn of a painter whose portrait accurately predicted his subject's forthcoming madness. "The Gray Champion," a patriotic tale, must have been a hit with Hawthorne's good friends President and Mrs. Franklin Pierce. A recurring theme through Hawthorne's works is the individual's perpetual battle with character flaws-a motif that makes them suitable to our modern age and indeed timeless. Many of the allegorical elements including the notorious "A," Hawthorne immortalized in "The Scarlet Letter" are scattered throughout these works.
The proem by Newton Arvin offers an interesting biographical summary of the author's life. Much has been written about Nathaniel Hawthorne-unquestionably one of America's finest and most beloved authors, and there is little I can add to voluminous evaluations. However, to anyone interested in building his or her vocabulary, Hawthorne's writing offers a cyclopean lagniappe to dulcify sesquipedalian pursuits. For me that aspect was as beneficial as the enjoyable vignettes.
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Hawthorne, like Poe, uses graphic and surreal imagery, sometimes repetitively, to set a mood and draw a picture. His characters and scenes are alive and psychological consistent with his tales, and he manages to wring a moral out of nearly every page.
Heavy-handed? Yes, but he aims to state a message, and he states it clearly: The moral nature must never be sacrificed for intellectual pursuits (Ethan Brand). In a world of cheap commercialism and mindless brain fodder, at least Hawthorne has something to say.
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The conclusion of the book involves death and hidden riches and suspicions and redemption. The symbols throughout--the house, the chimney, the elm tree, the chickens, etc.--manage to reveal their purposes in due time. In a satisfactory manner, Hawthorne contrasts the insidious nature of religious hypocrisy with the virtues of honesty and gentle love. The horrors of the Pyncheons' past fade away in the light of Phoebe's commitment and care. Her time in the house brings life to all within...all except one.
Hawthorne could've encapsulated this tale in one of his short stories. He could've sliced away words with meticulous demand. Instead, he allows us to know and care for the people in his story. Some readers, granted, will find it difficult to care and will call it a waste of their time; sure, it takes a little effort. But, just as Phoebe and Hepzibah display sacrificial love, a reader who's willing to give the time might find worthwhile rewards by the book's end.
If you're already a fan, you'll enjoy it. I certainly did. If it seems too long, try some of his short works and work up your appetite for these heartier courses. This is rich stuff.
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Several generations of Pyncheons come and go, and the family decays and whithers until it can boast only four remaining members, two of which are old and frail. But one, a Judge Pyncheon, rotten under his trim exterior, is up to unsurfaced mischief.
The story tends to move slowly (much of the meat of the plot is not encountered until nearly half-way through!), but every word bears weight. Hawthorne weaves his story in such a way that every moment spent getting to know the characters is crucial. Neither is the slow development boring: far from it! Relax, enjoy the pace, and allow yourself to feast on Hawthorne's brilliant prose. As Henry James once stated, "The House of Seven Gables" is "the closest approach we are likely to have to the Great American Novel."
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Even if you don't agree with her, you will still have the freedom to use your own rational mind to challenge or discard anything that she says. Anyone who approaches Rand with an open mind, however, will have to admit that she had an uncanny understanding of how the value that each individual places on his own life impacts the course of history and the progress of man. She clearly describes how the cult of self-sacrifice is a logical and immoral progression from mysticism and how the resulting psychological, political and economic processes undermine individual liberty, man's pursuit of happiness, the general quality of life for all men, and the advancement of civilization.
The selfless and self-sacrificing among you can take comfort in the fact that when Rand's vision of laizzez-faire capitalism and individual freedom is finally realized (reason always wins in the end), you will still have compete and total freedom to live irrational, mystical, irresponsible lives. No one will have the right to prevent you from sacrificing your own life, mind or values to any person, state, religion, or collectivist ideals. No one will force you to achieve your full potential as a human being. It will still be your life and you will have complete freedom to sacrifice your own value in the service of lesser values.
The big change will be that you will no longer be permitted to force other men to sacrifice their own rational, life-sustaining, self-interest to your own. That is the virtue of your fellow man's selfishness. You will not be able to destroy him or deprive him of his liberty. You will no longer have the "right" to place liens on the success of others, or to force individuals to give up objective reality for subjective or collective delusions. Irrational, angry mobs will no longer have the "right" to enslave rational individuals and force them to sacrifice themselves to what is not rational and of their own choosing. You will not be entitled to legally force the efficient, intelligent producers to support the inefficient, the mediocre, or the parasites, be they rich or poor. All men will be free to use their own rational minds to seek their own values and happiness as long as it doesn't deprive others of individual liberty. All men will be free to learn and create, and trade freely with whomever they choose, which by default elevates the status of all men.
Rand's hyperbole sometimes made me laugh, but this book clearly articulated so many of my own perceptions and thoughts. It also made me see possibilities I never imagined before. This book and Rand's other writings are a must-read for anybody interested in the real meaning of liberty. Everything she talks about in this book is happening all around me.
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Rand is often provocative, and mention of her/and or her philosophy can create instant dichotomies. I will not, in this review, critique the ideational content of her work. I offer this review with some "objective", pardon the pun, criticism.
1. This work offers a concise, fairly complete philosophy (which you may or may not agree with), from the essential and foundational steps, to their eventual results in daily life. This complete-package approach is an interesting window into her philosophy. Several issues could have been explored in more detail surely, but this collection of essays acts primarily to spark thinking on behalf of the reader.
2. Her philosophy is a shocking alternative to the present implicity accepted norms in society. Her counter-arguments to both traditional and contemporary systems of ethics are interesting and worth consideration, even if you eventually endeavour to refute them.
3. This work presents profound ideas in rather straightforward text. Topics include: ethics metaphysics politics values comments on contemporary trends in philosophy comments on ethical relativism
4. This work provides some insight into the breadth and depth which simple assumptions may have on daily life. Rands ideas, and those she illustrates for purposes of refutation, are extrapolated from basic intellectual concepts to day-to-day effects on human life. This concept-to-consequence style of writing offers a holistic perspective that can easily be applied to the work of other philosophers. For this reason I suggest this book to students of philosophy to gain a perspective of the impact of philosophical ideas.
5. Finally, this is perhaps the most succinct and most accessible of Rand's works, and a reading of it should allow sufficient insight into the body of her thought to understand her stance on several issues. If you are looking for a 'summary of Rand', this is the book I would suggest.
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This collection of essays is the primary source in which Rand makes her case for this ethic. Her presentation is indeed flawed; as one reviewer notes, she doesn't make sufficient allowance for human beings to be directly motivated by concern for one another. But making the adjustments necessary to include benevolence doesn't alter the overall ethical outlook much; it just allows the good of other people to be a value legitimately sought for its own sake by rational agents. The standard of value is still "life," and the contention that there are no conflicts of interest among fully rational people still stands.
So it needs a little work, and I'm not entirely persuaded that the result should still be called "egoism" (I personally prefer the term "rational eudaimonism"). But remember the book's subtitle: Rand was trying to offer a _new_ concept of egoism. Both her supporters and her detractors need to keep this fact in mind, or they will charge her with having said things she didn't.
She does not, as one reviewer says, "leav[e] no room for argument" or "achieve . . . absolute certainty with no contradiction." But that means merely that one must read her critically and carefully, just as one would any other author. So ignore the inflated claims of her most ardent "followers" and think for yourself; her die-hard supporters are not worried that you'll catch _her_ in a mistake, but merely that you'll find out that _they've_ wasted their lives serving as dogmatic, "individualistic" mouthpieces for an imperfect spokesperson.
Readers should also dig out a copy of Brand Blanshard's _Reason And Goodness_, which may be the single best volume ever written on ethics. (Or see the section on "ethics" in _The Philosophy Of Brand Blanshard_.) Blanshard's ethical thought presents a much sounder overview of the issues involved, and his clear-sighted "rational temper" makes a nice contrast to Rand's rather badgering tone.
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The first thing you will notice when you start reading this book is the words used. This book will certainly drain your mind, and force you to look up many words they used in Nathaniel Hawthorne's time, but are not used today. The work pays off though with a good story.
It tells the tale of what happens after an adulterous affair between a young women (Hester Prynne) and a preacher (Dimmesdale) in Boston's Puritan society. Chillingsworth (Hester's husband), a scholar from England, comes into the story when Hester is being punished in front of the town. He makes it his mission to find who did this with his wife.
The story turns out to show what guilt and revenge can do to people. Chillingsworth and Dimmesdale are both affected by their obsession. Both men allow their obsession to put both pysical and mental pain on them. The effects can be seen in their actions and how they deteriate.
This is a story you will long remember. Do yourself a favor though, have a dictionary close by. I warn you: Do not expect an easy read.
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Hester, practically abandoned by her husband is left to take care of herself in a lonely new world. She is flesh and bone with desires and passions like any other human being. Hester commits adultery and is found out by a cruel, judging community. She must wear a Scarlet A on the front of her dress; A for Adultery. Hester refuses to give the name of her lover Dimmesdale so he goes free and untouched by the damning society, but must face the tortures of his own conscience.
Hester is humiliated and must suffer the consequences for her actions but she is not a broken woman. She stands, brave.
Dimmesdale comes through in the end and admits his role in the dangerous game. Hawthorne takes the readers on a spinning ride to get to this point. Read it and know the exact ending for yourself. I recommend it; highly.
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The opening chapter "Custom House" seemed irrelevant to the rest of the novel the first time I read the book. It was not until a couple of years later I found it not true when I re-read the novel. I do have to admit that Hawthrone's writing style can drag at times, the once-seemed boring opening chapter significantly set the mood for the rest of the novel.
"Custom House" does not seem to be an integral part of the story; yet the passage in which Hawthrone tells of having discovered, in the Salem Custom House, the faded scarlet A and the parchment foolscap sheets containing the facts which he says he used as the basis for this novel. The two landmarks mentioned at the beginning: prison and cemetry, point to the central themes of punishment and death, which will be combined in the climax of the novel. Prison might symbolize how Hester Prynne, who wore that scarlet A on the bodice, was forever locked in by her sin.
This entire tale is filled with symbolisms. The prison is described as "the black flower of the civilized society". The tombstone at the end of the book implies that crime and punishment may well bring about the death of such civilized life. The most popular and conspicuous symbol that is well sustained throughtout the book is the scalet A that is worn by Hester Prynne. Initially it is a red cloth letter which is a literal symbol of the sin of adultery. But the author makes the symbol A much more richly symbolic throughout the rest of the tale. The scaffold is not only a symbol of the stern Puritan code, but also a symbol for the open acknowledgment of personal sin. Night and day are symbols for concealment and openness. The sun symbolizes happiness and freedom of guilt. The list goes on and on....
Arthur Dimmensdale, Roger Chillingworth, Hester Prynne, and Pearl themselves, are symbols as well. They reflect certain view of sins and effects on humans and society. The book might take strength and effort to read; but it's not quite a bad read.
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A must for romantics and anyone who enjoys a bit of a philosophical challenge!
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The time is 1807 and Napoleon has been checked but not defeated at Eylau. Only Csar Alexander of Russia is able to stand against Napoleon and Drinkwater is sent to the Baltic to provide encouragement/assistance to the Russians. However, Alexander may be tiring of his fight against Napoleon and Drinkwater must be sure that he doesn't enrich a potential enemy. A mission to find out the status of the combatants is in order. Along the way Drinkwater has to deal with his irascible First Lieutenant Sam Rogers who is descending into alcoholism.
Drinkwater is now in his 40s and suffering from his wounds. Series regulars Mr. Q. and Tregembo are back. Tregembo is now described as an old man although his age before was never specifically mentioned. I had the impression that Tregembo was a few years older than Drinkwater but he seems to have reached old age in one novel.
Much of Baltic Mission takes place on land so it doesn't have the same level of naval action that other novels in the series have although the rousing conclusion is in keeping with earlier series entries. This one is more cloak and dagger with continued gothic elements and suspense. While Baltic Mission doesn't have the same intensity as Eye of the Fleet or sense of grand tragedy as 1805 it's still an entertaining read and perhaps a bit of a change of pace. To this point there have been no bad entries in the series and given Woodman's writing ability I doubt there will be.