Victorian Language Essay examples -- Victorian Era

Victorian styleThe fact of the matter Nobody speaks at all like the characters in any novel, play or film. Life would be intolerable if they did and novels, plays or films would be intolerable if the characters spoke as state do in life (Abercrombie 1965).So what was the real way of speech?Fiction was generally thought to be an accurate portrayal of reality unbent life (Chapman 1). It was unfavorable if it stressed credulity too far. Therefore, fiction is our main source of information it is our main source to the reality of speech for the Victorians. Greater mobility and involution of communication of the Victorian era brought together regional groups, thus increasing the complexity of the variations in the English language. Consequently, pronunciation evolved as an indicator of social prestige (Chapman 6-8). Two categories of speech developed Standard and Non-Standard speech.Formation of Standard Speech vs. Non-Standard SpeechThe Education Act of 1870 established the school as a run pot for upper and middle sieve children and the speech boundary had to be resolved. Thus a uniform accent (Standard speech) was created and pupils who refused to accept this revolutionary accent or who could not adapt to this new way of speech were severely punished. Peer pressure was also an issue because the new boy would have to adapt to the new form of speech in order for his peers to accept him or to merely avoid bullies (Chapman 12).Non-Standard SpeechThis type of speech was also synonymous with lower class slang, cockney or the way in which the uneducated communicated, specific to the East End (Chapman 19). The infamous cockney was native to the East End, as remains today. cockney dialect allowed spelling and ... ... word affidavit, yet Rogue Riderhood mispronounces it as an Alfred David (Dickens 12). Therefore, language in the Victorian era was important in ranking members of classes and occupations. Language had the potential to assess and reflect upon ones regio nal, educational, occupational and family background.The distinctions in speech amongst three different social ranks are evident in the following draw from an adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskells North and South.Episode 1, Clip 3. http//www.bbc.co.uk/drama/northandsouth/episode1.shtmlWorks CitedChapman, Raymond. Forms of Speech in Victorian Fiction. New York Longman, 1994.Dickens, Charles. Our Mutual Friend. 1865. Introduction and notes Adrian Poole. New York Penguin, 1997.Phillipps, K.C. Language and Class in Victorian England. Ed. David Crystal. New York Basil Blackwell Inc, 1984.

Awakening Vs. Greenleaf :: essays research papers

A strong critique by existentialist writers of modern society is the delegacy in which humans live unexamined, meaningless lives with no true concept of what it is to be an unique individuals. In Kate Chopins novel The Awakening and in Flannery OConnors short story Greenleaf the characters Edna and Mrs. May, respectively, begin almost as common, stock characters living unfulfilled lives. They eventually converge, however, upon an elevated life and death filled with pertly meaning through their struggle with their role as individuals surrounded by other important beings. Jesuit philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1948) believed that humankind follows a certain phylogeny of mind and body. This process involves a beginning (komogenese), a development (biogenese), and then a peak (noogenese) in which humans reach an Omega Point of high being. Though his ideas were actually apply on a much broader scale of humanity over a large timespan, the theory can be applied to the ind ividuals process of human development. Single humans begin as common clones of one another. From this commonality many examine their lives and develop the things inside them that make them uniquely them. This development of the self only can be ended at death when the individual converges upon an Omega Point in which he has an elevated understanding of and meaning for life. The characters Edna from The Awakening and Mrs. May from Greenleaf encounter a similar human development in which an individual is formed with an understanding of life. The path by which they achieve this differ greatly. As the novel The Awakening opens, the reader sees Edna Pontellier as one who might seem to be a happy unify woman living a secure, fulfilled life. It is quickly revealed, though, that she is deeply oppressed by a male dominated society, evident through her marriage to Leonce. Edna lives a controlled life in which there is no outlet for her to develop herself as the individual who she is. Her ma rriage to Leonce was more an act of rebellion from her parents than an act of love for Leonce. She cares for him and is favorable of him, but had no real love for him. Ednas inability to awaken the person inside her is also shown through her role as a mother-woman. She loves and cares for her children a great deal, but does not fit into the Creole mother-society in which other women baby and over protect their children.