Morphology Is a Valid Strategy for High School Students Essay Example for Free

Morphology Is a Valid Strategy for High School Students Essay Theoretical Explanation Many researchers have proposed that teaching students word roots unlocks the meanings of unknown words. The majority of words in the English language have origins from Greek and Latin. Ninety percent of English words over one syllable are Latin based, and the remaining 10 percent are Greek based (Rasinski, Padak, Newton, Newton, (2008, p. 11). Just as phonics teaches word families, Greek and Latin roots will help students sound out words and determine the meanings of words (Padak, Newton, Rasinski, and Newton (2008, p. 29). Nagy Anderson, 1984, found morphology played an important role in learning vocabulary by allowing students to make semantic connections between related word families. They concluded, â€Å"The ability to utilize morphological relatedness among words puts a student at a distinct advantage in dealing with unfamiliar words† (p.323). While research supports the teaching of word roots, no formalized instruction in roots exists at my high school. Purpose of my study: Students need vocabulary deciphering strategies in high school. Morphology is a valid strategy for high school students to improve vocabulary. Studies also show an increase in reading comprehension and spelling. Third through sixth grade students performed better on reading and spelling with morphophonemic training than with just training in phonics (Henry 1988, 1989, 1993). In the study, â€Å"Contributions of Morphology Beyond Phonology to Literacy Outcomes of Upper Elementary and Middle-School Students,† Nagy, Abbott, and  Berninger (2006) found â€Å"Results showed that when the shared variance among morphological awareness, phonological working memory, and phonological decoding are controlled statistically, morphological awareness contributes at all grade levels to reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, and spelling† (p. 143). Corson, a British sociologist, even suggests that it is differences in language ability, more than any other observable factor, that affects childrens potential for success in school. He makes the point that learning the Latin and Greek word roots allows children to begin learning the specialist words in contrast to the Anglo-Saxon performance vocabulary. He suggests that some social groups do not learn these special words in their natural environment. (1985, p.28). The purpose of this study is to develop student morphemic awareness and increase their knowledge of the meanings of word roots including prefixes and suffixes. New avenues of learning roots will be explored. The goal is to improve students’ potential to decipher the meaning of new vocabulary. Learning Targets First, students will be able to divide multi syllable words into word parts or morphemes. On Ellen Gagnà ©s level of complexity in human skills, using Discrimination students can identify and separate roots, prefixes, or suffixes in a word. Next, students will learn the meanings of common prefixes, suffixes and roots. Ellen Gagnà © would label Greek and Latin roots Defined Concepts. I hope to show students will be able to determine a word’s meaning based on their knowledge of the words parts. Ellen Gagnà © would label this Higher Order Rules. Students will need to apply their previously learned definitions, to form a new definition of a new word. Area of Focus Roots to be studied will be pulled from various resources including: Stauffer, 1942, identified the fifteen most common prefixes from the 10,000 words in the Thorndike Word Book: ab (from) ,ad (to),be (by),com (with),de (from),en (in),ex (out),in (into), in (not),pre (before), pro (in front of), re (back), sub (under), un (not) (pg. 455). â€Å"Brown (1947) noted that 80% of the English words borrowed from other languages come to us from Latin and Greek and make up approximately 60% of our language. He analyzed Latin and Greek word roots and concluded that 12 Latin and 2 Greek roots, along with 20 of the most frequently used prefixes would generate an estimated 100,000 words (see Table 1)(Henry, 1993).Browns fourteen roots: 1.tent, ten, tin, tain 2.mit,miss, mitt 3.cap,capt, cip,cept , 4. 14. scribe,script 5. sat, stat, sist 6. graph,gram 7. log,logy 8.spect 9. plic,pled, 10.ply11. tens,tend, tent 12.duc,duct 13. pos,pon 14. face,tic, fact Padak, Newton, Rasinski, and Newton (2008) identified a series of level 1, level 2, and level 3 roots for primary, intermediate and middle school students (pgs. 12-15). Their lists includes prefixes, suffixes, and bases (roots) from both Latin and Greek. The Least You Should Know about Vocabulary Building by Glazier, Friend, Knight.  Greek Latin Roots:Keys to Building Vocabulary by Rasinski, Padak, Newton Newton. Past Problems Achieving Learning Targets My school does not teach Latin. Also, vocabulary building is not built into the English standards. Students without previous exposure to word roots, suffixes, and prefixes will not get additional exposure at our high school. The school I teach at draws students from 27 different towns throughout northwestern Connecticut. Students do not come with a consistent core of learned roots. Significance Students need to increase their vocabulary to be able to read and comprehend complex texts. Students that can use context clues and knowledge of word origins to decipher a new words meaning. Students need to interpret vocabulary for standardized tests, when reading their textbooks, and other daily reading. If†¦it is ones goal top promote generalized vocabulary acquisition by equipping readers with strategies that will enhance their independent vocabulary learning, then instruction in morphemic and contextual analysis becomes the preferred approach (Baumann et al. 452). â€Å"The language of school, especially in the upper grades, is often driven by content area texts. Most of the speciality words in math, science, and social studies come from Latin and Greek origin† (Henry, 1993). Research Question I am interested to know if students can increase their ability to define unknown words if they have knowledge of dividing words into morphemes and have learned prefixes, suffixes, and roots. Learning Plan Ideas wiki/notebook flash cards/virtual flashcards/app for I touch/I Pad/I Phone i touch applications Resources Baumann, James F. , Edwards, Elizabeth Carr, Font, George, Tereshinski, Cathleen A. , Kameenui, Edward J., Olejnik, Stephen. (2002). Teaching morphemic and contextual analysis to fifth-grade students. Reading Research Quarterly. 2, 150-176. Baumann, James F., Boland, Eileen M., Edwards, Elizabeth Carr, Olejnik, Stephen, Kameenui, Edward J. (2003). Vocabulary tricks: Effects of instruction in morphology and context on fifth-grade students’ability to derive and infer word meanings. American Educational Research Journal. 40, 447-494. Bromley, Karen. (2007). Nine things every teacher should know about words and vocabulary instruction. Journal of Adolescent Adult Literacy. 7, 528-537. Brunner, Brett L. (2006). Word Empire:A Utilitarian Approach to Word Power Brett L. Brunner, M.A. Star Nemeton Educational Innovations, LLC Bryant, Peter, Hurry, Jane, Nunes, Terezinha, Pretzlik, Ursula (2006). Improving literacy by teaching morphemes. New York, NY: Routledge Carlisle, Joanne F, Stone, Addison C. (2005). Exploring the role of morphemes in word reading. Reading Research Quarterly. 4, 428-449. Fresch, Mary Jo (2007). Word study: Ways to captivate reluctant learners. Adolescent Literacy in Perspective. March, 8-11. Glazier, Teresa Ferster, Knight, Laura, Friend, Carol. (2004). The least you should know about vocabulary building: Word roots. Wadsworth Publishing Green, Tamara M (2008). Greek Latin roots of English. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Haag, E Stern (2003). In search of the benefits of learning Latin. Journal of Educational Psychology 95, 174-178. Henry, Marcia. (1993). Morphological structure: Latin and Greek roots and affixes as upper grade code strategies. Reading and Writing. 2, 227-241. Holmes, Thomas C., Keffer, Ronald L (1995). A computerized method to teach Latin and Greek root words: Effect on verbal SAT Scores. The Journal of Educational Research. 1, 47-50. Langer, Judith A. (2001). Beating the Odds: Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well. American Educational Research Journal 40, 447-494. Menn, Lise, Peters, Ann M, (1993). False starts and filler syllables: Ways to learn grammatical morphemes. Language. 4, 742-777. Nagy, William E., Anderson, Richard C. (1984). How many words are there in printed school English? Reading Research Quarterly. 19, 303-330. Nagy, William, Abbott, Robert D., Berninger, Virginia W. (2006). Contributions of morphology beyond phonology to literacy outcomes of upper elementary and middle-school students. Journal of Educational Psychology 98, 134-147. Newton, Rick M., Newton, Evangeline (2005). A little Latina lot of English. Adolescent Literacy in Perspective. June, 2-7. Otterman, Lois. (1955). The value of teaching prefixes and word-roots. The Journal of Educational Research, 8, 611-616. Padak, Nancy, Newton, Rick M., Newton, Evaneline, Bromley, Karen (2008). Greek and Latin roots: Keys to building vocabulary. HuntingtonBeach, CA: Shell Education. Padak, Nancy, Newton, Evangeline Rasinski, Timothy, Newton, Rick M. (2008). Getting to the root of word study: teaching latin and greek word roots in elementary and middle grades. In Farstrup, Alan E., Samuels, S. Jay, What research has to say about vocabulary instruction (6-31). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Scanlan, Richard, T. (1976). A computer-assisted-instruction course in vocabulary building through Latin and Greek roots. Foreign Language Annals. 6, 579-583. Stauffer, Russell G. (1942). A Study of prefixes in the Thorndike List to establish a list of prefixes that should be taught in the elementary school. The Journal of Educational Research. 6, 453-458.

Climate Change Mitigation Strategies: UNFCCC and India

Climate Change Mitigation Strategies: UNFCCC and India From UNFCCC Goals to India Abstract: Climate Change has the potential to alter the ability of the earths physical and biological systems to provide goods and services essential for sustainable development. Recognition of Climate Change as a significant global environmental challenge has a recent origin. International efforts to address the climate change formally began only a decade ago with the adoption of United Nations Framework Convention to Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992. India is a party to UNFCCC and the government of India attaches great importance to climate change issue. India is a vast country covering 3.28 million Km2 with diverse surface features and supports 16.2 percent of the global human population. Endowed with varied soils, climate, biodiversity and ecological regimes, under diverse natural conditions and over a billion people speaking different languages, following different religions and living in rural and urban areas, India is an example for a complex yet successful democratic system. Decentralization of powers through local government, to benefit the grass root level is another significant feature of Indian Government. The 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, 1992, of the Constitution of India have endowed vast powers to local governments at rural and urban levels respectively. Indias commitments to mitigate climate change are reflected in the essence of these two acts and the working and powers given to the local government. This paper explains and brings to picture how climate change mitigation strategies are filtered in Indian System right from the UNFCCC goals to The Government of India and further to smaller levels of local governments. The paper will explain the hierarchy and working of Indian governance system and highlights the climate change initiatives within this system. The paper will also analyze the constraints and gaps in the institutional setup at local level, which, if rectified, would give more successful results in Climate Change Mitigation Mission of the Government of India. Introduction: Over a decade ago most countries joined an international treaty- The United Nations Convention on Climate Change so as to consider the impacts of climate change and to work for adaptation and mitigation initiatives for secure future and sustainable development. The convention, commonly known as the UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994. The ultimate objective of The convention is stabilizing green house gas emissions at a lower level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate systems. Under the convention the governments- Gather and share information on greenhouse gas emissions, national policies and best practices Launch national strategies for addressing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to expected impacts, including the provision of financial and technological support to developing countries. Cooperate in preparing the adaptation to the impacts of climate change. In 1997, the Kyoto protocol came into being, which shared the conventions objectives, principles and institutions and also significantly strengthened the convention by committing the parties to individual and specially; â€Å"legally binding targets† to limit or reduce climate change. The text of the Kyoto Protocol was adopted unanimously in 1997; and it entered into force on 16 February 2005. India is signatory to various multilateral environmental agreements, including The Montreal Protocol, The convention on Biological diversity, the United nations Convention to combat desertification ,including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) .Government of India attaches great importance to climate change issues. Eradication of poverty, avoiding risks to food production, and sustainable development are three principles embedded in the Convention. At present, information provided in the Indias Initial National Communication to the UNFCCC is in terms of guidelines prescribed for Parties not included in Annex I to the UNFCCC and the inventory is prepared for the base year 1994. India is a vast country. It covers 3.28 million km2 of area having diverse surface features. Also, it occupies only 2.4 percent of the worlds geographical area, but supports 16.2 per cent of the global human population. The country is endowed with varied soils, climate, biodiversity and ecological regimes. â€Å"Under such diverse natural conditions, over a billion people speaking different languages, following different religions and living in rural and urban areas, live in harmony under a democratic system†( India NATCOM,2004). Climate Change Negotiations Global warming issue became a part of the international agenda in 1988. The climate issue, initiated by the small island nation Malta, came up at the UN General Assembly in December 1988, as part of a discussion on the common heritage of mankind. The resolution set up a preparatory committee to work towards an international agreement. The concern for global warming particularly by the industrialized countries geared up since then and climate politics came into being and were refined with a series of international conferences and formal negotiations that followed. The momentum culminated in the signing of a Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) and opened for signatures at the Rio Earth Summit in June, 1992. The FCCC aims at stabilization of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations, in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Subsequently, the parties to the FCCC adopted the Kyoto Protocol in December, 1997. However, the developing nations see the Protocol as burdened with loopholes because of the fact that it emphasizes on the economic concerns, rather than ecological or social justice. The main area of dispute between the developed countries and the developing countries lies in the sectors pertaining to equity and sustainability. However, the operational details of the Kyoto Protocol have now been finalised after intensive deliberations at Marrakech, on November 10, 2001, which was participated by 171 countries . The protocol has been guided by Article 3.0 of the FCCC, and marks the first global attempt to place legally binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions from developed countries. The Protocol calls for 5.2% reduction from their 1990 level of GHG emissions by the developed countries during the period 2008-2012. It also specifies the amount each country must contribute toward meeting the reduction goal. Nations with the highest CO2 emissions like the United States, Japan and most European nations are expected to reduce emissions by a range of 6 to 8 per cent. By 2005, all industrialized nations that ratify the accord must also show demonstrable progress toward fulfilling their respective commitments under the Protocol. Some issues that add to the complexity of the Kyoto Protocol: Considerations for baseline and its effects The target of 5.2% reduction beyond 1990 level in the commitment period 2008-2012, were dependent on 1990 emissions. This meant that if a country which had high emissions in 1990 and had reduced them between 1990 and thereafter, then it could actually increase its emission once again, or only stabilize these, and not carry out any reductions. As an example one can analyse the case of Australia. In 1990, as much as 30 percent of the emissions were from deforestation, which eventually became a blessing for the country for, instead of penalizing for creating the problem in the first place, Australia has been able to use its emission to its advantage, by winning the right to count any improvement from its 1990 level as its national credit. And as its deforestation rate has been controlled, it actually can increase its emission above and beyond the figure of 8 percent it is expected to reduce. On the other hand, USA and Japan were lobbying hard to change the date of baseline from 1990 to 1995. The reason for this lies in the fact that both the countries have made a significant increase in carbon emissions between 1990 and 1995. Flexible mechanisms The Kyoto Protocol includes three mechanisms Art.6 (Joint Implementation), Art.12 (Clean Development Mechanism) and Art.17 (Emissions Trading), These mechanisms are meant to pave an explicit way for developed countries to meet their Kyoto targets easily. The cheapest and the most attractive option for meeting the emission targets of the North (i.e developed countries-Annexe I) being the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) that will be operated on the project basis invested in the South (i.e under developed countries). This implies that, as global warming is bound to be unsolved even by the end of this century, the South would have to pay a heavy price in future once they have reached a high level of energy efficiency through means like CDM. For by then the cost of carbon cutting will be very high even for the developing countries, which would eventually have to do the carbon cutting on their own. The next issue comes on the question of energy-efficient technology, which the North wishes to push to the South through CDM. As technology up-gradation is a continuous process, hence what is the most efficient technology at the time of implementation of the CDM project, may be obsolete within few years that follows. Principle of equity: the Kyoto Protocol does not define the rights and responsibilities of all nations within a reasonable frame. So long as the world remains within a carbon based energy economy, equitable sharing of the atmosphere shall remain a critical issue, especially for poor developing countries who need a maximum space for their future economic growth. The Kyoto reduction, by itself, is inadequate to achieve a stabilization of climate change by 2100. A continual and larger reduction, similar to that stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol for the 2008-2012 period, will be needed in the future in order to begin to stabilize long-term greenhouse gas emissions. Even if stabilization of greenhouse gases is achieved, global warming will still continue for several decades and sea levels will continue to rise for several centuries. This is because Even if the emissions from the developed countries were reduced to zero in the near future, the current trends of growing emissions from developing countries alone could force the atmospheric concentration to exceed stabilization levels of 550 ppm ( Parivesh, CPCB,2006). Thus, participation of all countries, including the developing countries such as India, is essential for a successful worldwide effort to arrest the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. India and Climate Change- The Threats and Vulnerability Climate Change is a major global environmental problem and an important issue because of diverse impacts not only ecological, but economic, social, political and physical in nature and content. It is a matter of great concern especially for developing countries like India who have limited capacity to develop and adopt strategies to reduce their vulnerability to changes in climate. Global, national and local level measures are need of the hour to combat the adverse impacts of climate change induced damages. â€Å"India being a developing country has low capacity to withstand the adverse impacts of climate change due to high dependence of majority of population on climate sensitive sectors as the agriculture, forestry and fisheries†,( Shukla, et.al, 2003). This is coupled with poor infrastructure facilities, weak institutional mechanisms and lack of financial resources. This is the reason why we are seriously concerned with the possible impacts of climate change. The possible impacts of climate change are mentioned below: Water stress and reduction in the availability of fresh water due to potential decline in rainfall. Threats to agriculture and food security, since agriculture is monsoon dependent and rain dependent agriculture dominates in many states. Shifts in area and boundary of different forest types and threats to biodiversity with adverse implications for forest-dependent communities. Adverse impact on natural ecosystems, such as wetlands, mangroves, grasslands and mountain ecosystems. Adverse impact of sea-level rise on coastal agriculture and settlements. Impact on human health due to the increase in vector and water-borne diseases, such as malaria. Increased energy requirements and impact on climate-sensitive industry and infrastructure. One of the various reasons for vulnerability of India depends on its typical and diverse climatic conditions. India is subject to a wide range of variation in climatic conditions from the freezing Himalayan winters in the north to the tropical climate of the southern peninsula, from the damp, rainy climate in the north-east to the arid Great Indian Desert in the north-west, and from the marine climates of its vast coastline and islands to the dry continental climate in the interior. The Indian summer monsoon is the most important feature in dictating meteorology of the Indian subcontinent and, hence, its economy. Almost all regions of the country receive entire annual rainfall during the summer monsoon (also called the SW monsoon), while some parts of the south-eastern states also receive rainfall during early winter from the north-east monsoon. Therefore, India could be more at risks than many other countries from changes in temperature and sea level. Models predict an average increase in temperature in India from 2.3 to 4.8  °C for the bench mark doubling of carbon dioxide scenario (Lonergan, World Bank Technical Paper No.402, 1998). Temperatures would rise more in Northern India than in Southern India. In the North Indian Ocean, under a doubling, the average number of tropical disturbance days could increase from 17 to 29 a year (Haarsma et.al Climate Dynamics, Vol.8, 1993); while, without protection, approximately 7 million people would be displaced, and 5,760 Km2 of land and 4,200 Km of road would be lost (Asthana, JNU, New Delhi, 1993). Further, in the Indian context, climate change could represent an additional stress on the ecological and socioeconomic system that are already facing tremendous pressure due to rapid urbanization, industrialization and economic development. Options for Mitigation â€Å"The ability to adapt to climate change depends on the level of income and technology, as well as the capacity of the system of governance and existing institutions to cope with change. The ability to mitigate GHG emissions depends on industrial structure (the mix of industrial activities), social structure (including, e.g., the distance people must travel to work or to engage in recreational activities), the nature of governance (especially the effectiveness of government policy), and the availability and cost of alternatives. In short, what is feasible at the national level depends significantly on what can be done at the subnational, local, and various sectoral levels†(Climate Change 2001: Working group III: Mitigation; IPCC,2001).The challenges of climate change mitigation involve diverse issues economic, political, social and environmental. Governance is one of the prime issues in mitigation of climate change impacts. A structured governance system is the only tool through which any policy framework or initiative can be achieved. The importance or role of governance in mitigation thus can be described through its three pillars: Organizational Structure- Through governance the qualities of organization participation, transparency and accountability can be achieved in the mitigation exercise at all levels.. Financial Mobilization- This involves ensuring financial commitment globally, at national levels and also at local levels of the government Legal Framework- It ensures empowerment, enforcement and compliance of mitigative strategies and supporting environmental laws. As the National GHG inventory for India shows, the major increase in GHG emissions over the next 20 years would be related to energy consumption. As India has abundant coal deposits, it is beyond doubt that coal will be the dominant source of energy. Therefore, energy efficiency measures in this sector remain our prime concern. Power generation in India is expected to reach a peak demand of 176 GW by 2012, and the total energy requirement will be 1058 billion units (Parivesh, Central Pollution Control Board, 2006). This is why; increasing the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency in the form of low carbon options are the two main measures that can greatly reduce GHG emissions. We will now simultaneously specify what scientific mitigation tools for climate change are available for various sectors and the corresponding governance measures to actually target the process of mitigation. The energy sector: Fiscal incentives and taxes, voluntary emission reductions, green rating, and capacity building etc. Another area of importance is the transmission and distribution losses, which is energy loss. There is considerable scope of reducing losses, meant to translate into a large mitigation potential. Two major categories of Barriers hinder adoption of electricity conservation and demand management in India. a) Macro-level barrier At the level of governance system; either policy induced or due to lack of appropriate policies and; b) Micro-level barriers related to the consumers and the economic environment they face.This can be equated to lack of awareness about possible alternatives on the part of the consumers and lack of awareness drives on the part of the government. The forestry sector: IPCC Second Assessment Report categorizes three broad options for abatement viz. Conservation management: This strategy attempts to conserve the existing carbon storage capacity of forests by halting or slowing down forests deforestation and forests degradation. Storage management : This strategy attempts to increase carbon strategy in woody vegetation and soil in existing degraded forests, as well as to create new carbon sinks in areas where forests do not exists or have been cleared. These may be achieved by promoting natural regeneration, reforestation on deforested lands, aforrestation of non-forest lands and agro-forestry on crop and pastureland. Substitution management: This strategy attempts involves the replacement of fossil fuels by renewable fuel wood or other biomass products. Here, governance plays an important role based on it a capacity to generate and bring about changes in the management of forests and augmentation of use of renewable products. The agriculture sector: Methane emissions from rice cultivation remain the major contributor of GHG emissions. Other sources being enteric fermentation, manure management, agricultural soils etc. Abatement strategy in this sector in India can be achieved given the scientific expertise available in India, but require gearing up by proper governmental intervention at the level of ministry of agriculture, as far as policy initiatives are concern, and through local governments for implementation and monitoring. The industrial sector: As the national inventory of GHG shows, major contribution came from energy intensive sectors like iron steel, fertilizer, cement, aluminium, paper pulp etc. A few option available for energy efficient options in power, industrial and domestic sector are given as follows: Source: Teri, New Delhi. These can be supported by further subsidizing use of energy efficient options and where required made mandatory by the government under the periphery of the existing environmental laws of the country. Mitigation through sinks: Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by a number of processes that operate on different time scales, and is subsequently transferred to reservoirs or sinks. The Kyoto Protocol through its Ariticle 3.3 allows afforestation as a sink to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Further, Article 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol states that additional human induced activities in the agricultural soils and LULUCF categories may be added to the three mechanisms (Joint implementation, Clean Development mechanism and Emission trading) subject to certain conditions. In India, forestry is dominated by government based institutions. These institutions need new insight so that they can effectively incorporate mitigation policies and measures in their resource management activities. According to the central Pollution Control Board, India has been persistently implementing one of the largest reforestation programs in the tropics with over one million hectares planted annually. Nearly half of this reforestation is on degraded forests and village common land. It is estimated that the carbon uptake in forests, degraded forests, and plantations is estimated to offset the gross carbon emissions from the forests sector. Carbon dioxide emissions in India are projected to increase from no-net emissions in 1990 to 77 million tonnes by 2020( Parivesh, CPCB,2006). Barriers to mitigation: Greenhouse gas mitigation measures are compounded by several barriers inherent to the process of development. In India, inequitable distribution of income and wealth forms a core feature of barriers to effective implementation of any type of intervention in India, leave apart climate change. Available instruments to limit domestic GHG emissions can be categorized into market based instruments, regulatory instruments, and voluntary agreements. For the developing countries, however, domestic structural reforms and policies on trade liberalization and liberalization of energy markets act as barriers to GHG reduction. These policies coupled with macroeconomics, market oriented reforms, set the framework in which more specific climate policies would be implemented. The IPCC Special Report on technology Transfer (IPCC, 2000) identifies various important barriers that could impede environmental technology transfer, such as: lack of data, information, and knowledge, especially on emerging technologies; inadequate vision about the understanding of local needs and demands; high transaction costs and poor macro economic conditions; insufficient human and institutional capabilities; inappropriate technology adopted and Poor legal institutions and framework. These hold good for the overall barriers of mitigation in Indian Context also. In terms of governance and its intervention, technology transfer can be traded off with some of our own indigenous technologies. This will ensure equitable exchange and also promote indigenous Indian Science. National Policy for Climate Change Mitigation We, as present generation have inherited this environment and atmosphere from our ancestors. Further the consequences of climate change will be faced by our children in the future. And so it can be said that climate change is an inherently different and irreversible problem as compared to other environmental problems. Also, the assumption that prior experience of problems like air pollution has failed at many levels as a good model upon which policy decisions on climate can be based. Options to mitigate climate change include actual emission reductions carbon dioxide sequestration and investments in developing technologies that will make future reductions affordable and easily available since cheap relative to their current costs. Since the inception of UNFCC in 1992, the Govt. of India has been an active participant in the climate charge negotiations. India being a party to the UNFCC was the 38th country to ratify it on November 01, 1993. The Ministry of Environment Forests is the nodal Ministry for all environment related activities in the country and is the nodal Ministry for co-coordinating the climate charge policy as well. The working group on the FCCC was constituted to oversee the implementation of obligations under the FCCC and to act as a consultative mechanism in the Govt. for impacts to policy formulation on climate change. To enlarge the feedback mechanism the Govt. of India has constituted an Advisory group on climate charge under the chairmanship of the Minister of Environment Forests. Development of National Guidelines Policy Options for reducing GHG Emissions The national guidelines or framework for monitoring GHG emissions and policy options for reducing GHG should emphasize not only on issues associated with climate change but also include the following: Emission Forecasting Setting goals Policy criteria Policy evaluation Organizational and political issues Climate change and GHG emission and sequestration may include many sectors of society and extend far into the future. Furthermore, policy measures to address GHGs overlap with many other public policy objectives, however in a complimentary way. Policy formulations involve: Understanding the issues at hand, Having a broad vision of the range of actions that governments can take to address those issues, Selecting from within this the approaches that offer the most potential far achieving multiple public goals. More importantly, the policy formulation process must respond to local circumstances and must address institutional, fiscal, political, and other constraints. The Govt. of India has nevertheless addressed a large number of local and regional environmental issues in its developmental strategy that are complementary to the climate change issue. Institutional Arrangements So Far For Climate Change Related Strategies In Area of Research The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Ministry of Science and Technology (MST), Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Ministry of Water Resources (MWR), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Ministry of Non Conventional Energy (MNES), Ministry of Defence (MoD), Ministry of Health and Family welfare (MoHFW), are the main ministries of the Government of India which promote and undertake climate and climate change-related research in the country. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is also am important agency involved in working of this area and is under the direct governance of the Prime Minister.It supports all the above agencies with satellite-based passive remote sensing. The MoEF, MST, MHRD and MOA operate under the umbrella of many premier national research laboratories and universities. The most prominent being the 40 laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), an autonomous body under the MST; and the vast network of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under the MOA. The CSIR is the national RD organization which provides scientific and industrial research for Indias economic growth and human welfare. It has a countrywide network of 40 laboratories and 80 field centers. The ICAR network includes institutes, bureaus, national research centers, The Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the MST coordinates advanced climatic and weather research and data collection over the Indian landmass. There are three premier institutions under DST that are solely dedicated to atmospheric science viz. the IMD, the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (NCMRWF) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). Apart from the Indian initiatives, climate change research promoted by international organizations like the World Climate Research Program (WCRP), International Geosphere Biosphere Programme (IGBP), International Human Dimension Program (IHDP) and DIVERSITAS are being strongly supported by various Indian agencies like Indian Climate Research Program (ICRP) under DST, National Committee- International Geosphere Biosphere Programme (NC-IGBP) constituted by Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and Geosphere-Biosphere Program (GBP) of ISRO. Agencies like CSIR, also provides infra-structural and financial support to carry out research in the area of global change In Area of Development The single most important feature of our post-colonial experience is that the people of India have conclusively demonstrated their ability to forge a united nation despite its diversity, and to pursue development within the framework of a functioning, vibrant and pluralistic democracy. In this process, the democratic institutions have put down firm roots, which continue to gain strength and spread. A planned approach to development has been the central process of the Indian democracy, as reflected in the national five-year plans, state plans,departmental annual plans, and perspective plans of various ministries of the central and state governments. For the last five and a half decades, the guiding objectives of the Indian planning process have been sustained economic growth, poverty alleviation, food, health, education and shelter for all, containing population growth, employment generation, self-reliance, peoples participation in planning and programme implementation, and infrastruc ture development. The National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and Development, 1992, provides the basis for the integration of environmental considerations in the policies of various sectors. It aims at the achievement of sustainable lifestyles and the proper management and conservation of resources. The Policy Statement for Abatement of Pollution, 1992, stresses the prevention of pollution at the source, based on the ‘polluter pays principle. It encourages the use of the most appropriate technical solutions, particularly for the protection of heavily polluted areas and river stretches. The Forest Policy, 1988, highlights environmental protection through preservation and restoration of the ecological balance. The policy seeks to substantially increase the forest cover in the country through afforestation programmes. This environmental framework aims to take cognizance of the longer-term environmental perspective related to industrialization, power generation, transportation, mining, agriculture, irrigation and other such economic activities, as well as to address parallel concerns related to public health and safety. The statutory framework for the environment includes the Indian Forest Act, 1927, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Other enactments include the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, the National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995, and the National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997. The courts have also elaborated on the concepts relating to sustainable development, and the ‘polluter pays and ‘precautionary principles. In India, matters of public interest, particularly pertaining to the environment, are articulated effectively through a vigilant media, an active NGO community, and very importantly, through the judicial process which has recognized the citizens right to a clean environment as a component of the right to li

Automatic Robot Forklift Essay -- Robotics

Robotic Forklift Background Our final project is a semi-automatic Robotic Forklift, which will receive directions of where to go from a remote control and be autonomous from then on. The robotic forklift system is designed for use by companies dealing with medium to large sized inventories, including warehouses and storage facilities. Companies with large inventories in warehouses need to be able to quickly and easily transport these goods within the warehouse without concerning human operators with the monotonous task of operating forklifts. Storage companies have a similar need; they must take in and store large inventories while also being able to quickly and easily access these items on demand. The use of human operators can be costly and wasteful. By eliminating human operators companies are able to lower labor costs and increase efficiency. Human factory employees need to be paid and given benefits like health insurance and paid vacation time. Since robots don’t need breaks and vacations! and are not paid, they are able to operate with more speed than humans in the long run and at lower costs. The first mass storage in human history was the granary, usually a large building used to store threshed grain or animal feed in pottery containers, and often situated off the ground to keep the stores away from water. The earliest known granary was found in the Jordan River Valley, and was estimated to have been constructed around 9500 B.C.E. ("Granary", Wikipedia) Buildings used for storage have greatly evolved in both form and functionality in the time since then, but for the most part, they have always been stocked and managed by human beings, albeit with the help of lifting devices such as the forklift. Only ... ...dvantage, these wholesale stores could also use the forklift to restock the shelves. Resources/Works Cited: "Introduction to robots and android humanoids".11/24/2005. 7/24/2006. Raithel,Tom . "Robots Replace forklift drivers.". CourierPress. 5/14/2005. accessed through: Robot Gossip drivers.html>.7/24/2006 "Automated Warehousing" 7/24/2006 â€Å"Bertello S.p.A† 7/24/2006 Corecon. â€Å"Robotic Forklifts for Industry† 7/24/2006 & 8/3/2006 â€Å"Granary†7/24/2006 â€Å"Warehouse†7/24/2006

Division of Labor Essay -- essays research papers

Marx's View of the Division of Labor The Division of Labor is a subject which has fascinated social scientists for millennia. Before the advent of modern times, philosophers and theologians concerned themselves with the implications of the idea. Plato saw as the ultimate form of society a community in which social functions would be rigidly separated and maintained; society would be divided into definite functional groups: warriors, artisans, unskilled laborers, rulers. St. Paul, in his first letter to the church at Corinth, went so far as to describe the universal Church in terms of a body: there are hands, feet, eyes, and all are under the head, Christ. Anyone who intends to deal seriously with the study of society must grapple with the question of the division of labor. Karl Marx was no exception. Marx was more than a mere economist. He was a social scientist in the full meaning of the phrase. The heart of his system was based on the idea of human production. Mankind, Marx asserted, is a totally autonomous species - being, and as such man is the sole creator of the world in which he finds himself. A man cannot be defined apart from his labor: "As individuals express their life, so they are. What they are, therefore, coincides with their production, both with what they produce and with how they produce."1 The very fact that man rationally organizes production is what distinguishes him from the animal kingdom, according to Marx. The concept of production was a kind of intellectual "Archimedean point" for Marx. Every sphere of human life must be interpreted in terms of this single idea: "Religion, family, state, law, science, art, etc., are only particular modes of production, and fall under its general law."2 Given this total reliance on the concept of human labor, it is quite understandable why the division of labor played such an important role in the overall Marxian framework. Property vs. Labor Marx had a vision of a perfect human society. In this sense, Martin Buber was absolutely correct in including a chapter on Marx in his Paths in Utopia. Marx believed in the existence of a society which preceded recorded human history. In this world, men experienced no sense of alienation because there was no alienated production. Somehow (and here Marx was never very clear) men fell into patterns of alienated production, and fr... ...of Revolution (Nutley, New Jersey: Craig Press, 1968), p. 112. 7 German Ideology, pp. 44-45. 8 Critique of the Gotha Program (1875), in Marx-Engels Selected Works, II, p. 24. This is one of the few places in which Marx presented some picture of the post-Revolutionary world. 9 Ibid. 10 Ludwig Yon Mises, Socialism (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, [1922] 1951), p. 164. 11 Maurice Cornforth, Marxism and the Linguistic Philosophy (New York: International Publishers, 1965), p. 327. 12 German Ideology, p. 84. 13 Murray N. Rothbard, "Left and Right: The Prospects for Liberty," Left and Right, 1 (1965), p. 8. 14 "On the Jewish Question," (1843-44), in T. B. Bottomore, Karl Marx: Early Writings (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964), pp. 34-40. 15 G. D. H. Cole, The Meaning of Marxism (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, [1948] 1964), p. 249. 16 Leon Trotsky, The Revolution Betrayed (1936), quoted by F. A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom (University of Chicago Press, 1944), p. 119. 17 Mises, Socialism, pp. 60-62. Reprinted with permission from The Freeman, a publication of The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc., January 1969, Vol. 19, No. 1.

Christopher Columbus :: Christopher Columbus Essays

Christopher Columbus is the most well known explorer by most school age children. When children are young, teachers tell them that Columbus was a very good person, a hero even. To be politically correct though, Christopher Columbus brought death and destruction with him to the Americas. He stole, killed, and tortured the natives. Christopher Columbus was not a true explorer, but he was a conqueror of people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Christopher Columbus set out on his voyage (August 3rd, 1492) to find a new route to the Indies there was no way that he could know that it would turn out the way it did. When he landed at the Caribbean Islands (October 12th, 1492), the people there were scared, but still friendly toward him. This next quote is from Columbus’ journal: â€Å"As I saw that they were very friendly to us, and perceived that they could be much more easily converted to our holy faith by gentle means than by force, Weapons they have none, nor are acquainted with them, for I showed them swords which they grasped by the blades, and cut themselves through ignorance, But they seemed on the whole to me, to be a very poor people. They all go completely naked, even the women. I was very attentive to them, and strove to learn if they had any gold. Seeing some of them with little bits of this metal hanging at their noses† As you can see it was very easy for Columbus to take the m over and treat them badly because they had no protection. That is a good example to show how cruel Columbus could act toward people he knew couldn’t fight back. This is one proof of Christopher Columbus being a conqueror.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the movie we watched in class, it told us how Columbus was just out to get gold and riches. He ordered the natives to proclaim him governor of the lands. Since he was governor he made a law that said the natives had to bring him one bag of gold dust every three months. If they did not give him this gold (simply because their wasn’t that much gold on the islands) he would order to have their hands cut off, and they would bleed to death. If they escaped, then he would hunt them down with dogs. Christopher Columbus also ordered his men to hang and burn some natives that wouldn’t do exactly as he told them.

Business Environment Hnd

Marketing is a process used to satisfy and consider what products or services are needed by the consumers. There are many alternative definitions of marketing such as the charted institution of marketing â€Å"Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably†. The American Marketing Association believe that â€Å"Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organization goals†.Philip Kotlerinterprets that marketing is ‘satisfying needs and wants through an exchange process the common interest in all three definitions is fulfilling customer needs and providing benefits The small business enterprise that I have chosen to discuss is called ‘Hair Today ‘this is a professional hair salon that is situated in the heart of Kentish town for over 30 ye ars. Hair today has a total of 20 employees, including hairstylists, hair washers and administration staff, including a cashier.The salon offers many services such as styling hair, men haircuts, colouring, perming. The marketing process consists of four elements Situation Analysis, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Mix Decisions and Implementation ; Control. Situation analysis is when through an analysis the company finds the customer needs but in order to do this the company must recognise its own potential and the environment in which it is managing.Situation analysis should look at all the factors of the company such as the past where the company is now and where it should be in future. This analysis provides problems there are frameworks which help the situation analysis such as SWOT and PEST analysis. SWOT analysis refers to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing a business The marketing strategy is to ensure the target market is being pursued. The strategy con sists of segmentation, targeting and positioning the product within the target market.Marketing Mix Decisions at this stage detailed decisions are being made such as the development of the specific product, designing and producing the first pieces of the product and also pricing decisions Implementation and Control is the final stage of the marketing process the results of the marketing progress should be monitored when the market changes the market mix can also change to adapt to the consumer needs as time goes on a new product can even be produced although this is the last tage of the marketing process changes will always occur to satisfy different consumer needs Companies continue to exist by achieving their long-term goals. Market orientation helps to achieve the business goals and objectives a business which adopts market orientation thinks that it’s most important resource are its customers. The benefits of adopting market orientation for ‘Hair Today’ is th at through market research the hair salon will have a strong understanding of the needs of the customer.Customer feedback is vital to the company companies tend to be too involved with the product that they forget about the general customer satisfaction for example hair salons have a wide variety of market reach and also a great deal of competition. The costs of adopting marketing orientation for ‘Hair Today’ would be the high costs for the market research this the constant internal change as needs of the customers are met. Macro environment are the outside uncontrollable factors that may affect a managers decisions this can have an effect on the company the PESTEL model framework is used.Political factors such as government policies and the economy also new laws on small businesses Political factors can have a huge effect on many areas for business like education and the quality of health care. The hairdressing industry is having difficulties recruiting although some g overnment funding policy has helped it has a vacancy rate of 20% also the government increased the taxes for businesses this has had a huge effect. Economic factors influences marketing research such as interest rates also the changes in the economic growth and exchange rates.All businesses go through an economical ups and downs in an economic boom all businesses will benefit although if can go down and businesses can lose out. Currently hair treatment products are not considered a necessity more of a luxury so this market is dependent on how strong the economy is. Cheap credit and interest rates benefited the hair industry in the past. Social factor refers to behaviour patterns and lifestyles. Changes in consumer behaviour can also have an effect on changes in fashion . Currently we have an ageing population. Social change gives companies a understanding for the future market situation. Hair Today’ will have to keep up with the latest fashion and styles which may vary betwee n ages. . Technological changes are the amount of new technology that is increasing electronic communications has made it easier to distribute information. Hair salons must keep up with the new trends and technology as this helps develop the company and make them more successful Employees will research the newest technologies in the market do some experiments use models try new haircuts if the experiments turn out to be a success it will apply to salon.Micro environment are factors which are internal this affects the business performance such as customers, competition, suppliers, public, employees and stakeholders. If a company decided to move to a public ownership they list their business in the stock market so the public can invest in the company although share holder relationships must be professionally managed to succeed long term goals. Identifying the stake holders Potential stakeholders at ‘Hair Today’ Your boss | Shareholders | Government |Senior executives | Al liance partners | Trades associations | Your co-workers | Suppliers | The press | Your team | Lenders | Interest groups | Customers | Analysts | The public | Prospective customers | Future recruits | The community | Your family | | | Some stake holders are more interested and involved than others to narrow down the people a power/interest grid is used. The grid shows that the people that have the high power and are more interested in my company these are the people who I will engage with and make great efforts to satisfy.Corporate culture determines how the employees and higher management interact these transactions occur over time. ‘ Hair Today’ has an employee friendly corporate culture it is shown by the company’s dress code, flexible working shifts , employee benefits such as employee discounts the treatment of the clients and overall client satisfaction. Porters five forces was first introduced by Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School in 1979 the five forces are a framework to help businesses determine the rivalry intensity and industry profitability of a market.The five forces consists of threat of mew entrants to a market, the power of buyer, the power of the suppliers, the threat of substitute products and the competitive rivalry between already existing companies as shown in the diagram below. Segmentation is the process where larger markets are broken down to smaller segments this will make it easier to understands the wants and needs of the customers the overall outcome would be creating a marketing mix that is suited or the customers in the target segment. The four main factors of segmentation are behavioural, demographic, psychographic and geographical.Geographical segmentation is segmented by country, city or neighbourhood. Age, family size, income, occupation, education, ethnicity and religion can all be segmented demographically. Lifestyle, interests refers psychographic segmentation. Behaviour segmentation refers to customers buying behaviour, product mix also frequency of purchase the best form of segmentation is using all four factors as they all are very helpful. Hair salons have a wide variety of customers to attract therefore segmentation is very vital for this business to succeed in the future.The two products or services that Hair today will provide a bridal service to attract female customers where they will be pampered and receive a makeover the target market for this service is female aged 20-35 with a balanced income also the other product I will be proposing hair is extensions this will attract the teenage customers and women. The marketing strategy I have chosen for Hair Today is concentrated strategy focussing mainly on only one segment this can be positive for the salon because the business will have more knowledge on the particular segment.Females aged 13-19 there are many teenagers in this area which the salon is situated this is due to the schools in the area. Hair Today belie ve that the target segment will benefit from the service of hair extensions as this is a growing fashion although there can be a lot of competition which leads to Threat of intense segment rivalry. New salons may decide to open up this refers to the threat of new entrance also there are many products already provided in the market that teenagers can use themselves so the salon is not needed this is known as threat of substitute product.The threat of growing bargaining power of buyers is very important because the higher the charges the more likely the customers are to move to a cheaper salon. Buyer behaviour is attitudes of the customers and how often they purchase. Buying behaviour involves the process in which a customer finds a product studies the product and makes an overall decision on whether the product meets the customer’s needs and wants.The main types of buyer behaviour are consumer and industry two types of buying behaviours are   impulses purchases refers to whe n a purchase is made with no plan this purchase is associated with items of lower prices. Extensive decision making these are products which are higher priced such as TV and cars when customers research as much as they can they may also ask family and friends for advice or read reviews this decision making takes up a lot of time because the customer is purchasing a product that is high priced Buyer behaviour stimulus response modelBuyer behaviour is essential because it makes you understand what your customer. Market research and producing surveys will help you find the customers’ needs and requirements. Social media sites are the most popular process in business marketing this allows customers to interact online and new products can get instant feedback. Many businesses introduce discounts to maintain loyal and consistent customers. Companies determine how much customers spend the products which are being sold and judging on how often customers are spending helps introduce a pricing policy for ‘Hair Today'.Hair extensions portray varied opinions some customers keep up with new trends and may want a different look however other members of the  community might find it doesn’t fit their customer needs. Hair today will start this positioning process by advertising on the internet and offering hair treatment for all types of hair also free samples of exclusive hair products. The hair industry are forever striving to keep up their image and keep their product current a change in positioning can attract new target market. References Assael, H. , Reed, P. nd Patton, M. (1995) Marketing: Principles and Strategy Harcourt-Brace, Sydney Business study guide edexcel marketing principles pp. 479-659 Habia (standard information solutions) Skills Foresight for the Hair and Beauty Sector 2007 http://www. habia. org/uploads/Skills_Foresight_2007_v. 4_-_2. 07. 07_Final. pd Lamb, W. , Hair, J. , McDaniel, C. (1998), Marketing, (4th), South-Western College P ublishing, Cincinatti. Kotler, P. , Armstrong, G. , Brown, L. , Chandler, S. A. (1998), Marketing, (4th), Prentice Hall, Sydney www. businessdictionary. com

The Moon and Sixpence Summary

THE MOON AND SIXPENCE Topic: The theme revealed in the novel â€Å"The  moon and sixpence† Outline: I. Summary about  writer  and the  novel â€Å"  The moon and  sixpence† II. Two  themes  revealed  in  the  novel  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The  moon  and  sixpence† 1. The revolt of an individual against the well- established conventions of  Ã‚  bourgeois society 2. No rooms  for trivial and  ordinary  pleasures of  life  in  Great Art III. Conclusion Summary about the writer and the novel â€Å"  The moon and sixpence† 1. William  Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) W. S.Maugham is famous English writer, well-known as a novelist, playwright and shortstory writer. In his writings he kept to the principles of Realism, but his method of writing was also influenced by Naturalism, Neo-romanticism and Modernism. W. S. Maugham was born in Paris where his father worked as solicitor for the English Embassy. At the age of 10, Maugham was orpha ned and sent to England to live with his uncle, thevicar of Whitstable. Before becoming a writer he was educated at King's School, Canterbury, and Heidelberg University, Maugham then studied six years medicine in  London.William worked in a hospital of Saint Thomas, which placed in a poor block of London the experience  found its  reflection in  the 1st novel. During World War, Maugham volunteered for the Red Cross, and was stationed in France for a period. There he met Gerald Haxton (1892-1944), an American, who became his companion. Disguising himself as a reporter, Maugham served as an espionage agent for British Secret Intelligence Service in Russia in 1916-17, but his stuttering and  poor health hindered his career in this field. In 1917 he married Syrie Barnardo, an interior  decorator; they were ivorced in 1927-8. On his  return from Russia, he spent a  year in a sanatoriumin Scotland. Maugham then set off with Haxton on a series of travels to eastern Asia, th e Pacific Islands, and Mexico. In many novels the surroundings also are international. Maugham's most famous story such as â€Å"Ashenden: or the British agent ’’Maugham died in Nice, a small French town from pneumonia on December 16, 1965. During the war, Maugham's best-known novel, Of Human Bondage(1915) was published. This wasfollowed by another successful book,The Moon and Sixpence(1919).Maugham also developed areputation as a fine short-story writer, one story,Rain, which appeared in The Trembling of a  Leaf  (1921), was also turned into a successful feature film. Popular plays written by Maugham include The Circle(1921),East of Sue(1922), The Constant Wife1926) and the anti-war play,For Services Rendered   (1932). In his later years  Maugham wrote his autobiography,Summing Up (1938) and works of fiction  such as The Razor's Edge (1945),Catalina (1948) and Quartet   (1949). After the 1930s Maugham's reputation abroad was greater than in England.Maugha m once said,†Most people cannot see anything, but I can se what is in front of my nose with extreme clearness;the greatest writers can see through a brick wall. My vision is not so penetrating. † His literaryexperiences Maugham collected in The Summing Up, which has been used as a guidebook for  creative writing. William Somerset Maugham died in 1965 in a small French town from  pneumonia. â€Å"I have never pretended to be anything but a story teller. It has amused me to tell stories and I  have told a great many.It is a misfortune for me that the telling of a story just for the sake of the  story is not an activity that is in favor with theintelligentsia. In  endeavor  to  bear  my  misfortunes  with  fortitude. † (from  Creatures  of  Circumstance, 1947) The novel â€Å"The  moon and sixpence† Charles Strickland, a good, dull, holiest,  plain man who is  a conventional stockbroker. He is  probably a worthy member of so ciety, a good husband and father, an honest broker, but he abandoned his wife and two nice looking and healthy children, a boy and a girl. A supposition is putforth: Charles walks out upon his wife to  run after some woman.A friend of Strickland is sent to Paris to find out who the woman is and if possible to  persuade him to come back to his wife. After a long talk with Strickland, the man understands that the real reason that inspires him to run away is not woman. He decided to be a painter. Living in Paris,  Strickland  comes into  contact with  a  Dutch  painter, Dirk  Strove . Strove  is presented  as an antipode to Strickland. Strove is a kind hearted man but a bad painter. He is the first to discover the real talent of Strickland. When Strickland falls seriously ill, it is Strove who comes to help.Strove  persuades his wife to let him bring the  artist home to look after him. To  his surprise, his wife falls inlove with Strickland who she holds in disgust. Later his wife, a housemaid rescued by Strove, kills herself by drinking acid after Strickland leaves her. What Strickland wants from Blanche is not sexual relation but the nude picture of her beautiful figure. Leaving France for Tahiti, Strickland is in search of a world of his own. In Tahiti, he marries a native girl Ata and he  has about three years of happiness. He has two children. Strickland contracts leprosy and later becomes blind.He wants to leave the family but Ata doesn’t let him do it. His eyesight gets worse but he continues painting. Ata couldn’t go to the town and buy canvases; he uses the walls of his house. Strickland gets rid of some strong irresistible obsession imprisoning his soul with the help of those paintings. He has achieved what he longs for  on this land. He has painted his masterpiece. Knowing that he is going to die, he makes his wife  promise to burn down his masterpiece after his death in fear that it will be contaminated by the commercial world of money.Two themes  revealed in the  novel â€Å"The moon and sixpence† 1. The revolt of an  individual against the well- established conventions of bourgeois society In many of his stories, Maugham reveals to us the unhappy life and the revolt against the set social order. The  Moon and Sixpence was  written  in this  line. It  is a  story of the  conflict between the artist and the conventional society based on the life of a painter. The revolt of an individual against the well-established conventions of bourgeois society was shown in the following two aspects: 1. 1. Money worship societyThe bourgeois society with its vices such as: snobbishness money worship, pretense, self-interest†¦made their profit of the frailties of mankind. To them, money was a useful tool to dominate both economics and politics. Money also helped the bourgeois maintain their regal life and it connected the members in family, on the other hand, husban d had obligated to support his wife and children for whole his life. Therefore, the last generations of the bourgeois forced the young generation to continue their domination. It was mentioned in the conversation betweenStrickland and his friend. I rather wanted to be a  painter when I was a boy, but  my father made me go into  business because he said there was no money in art†. In this society, art was non-profitable. Therefore, it must be looked down upon. In their  Ã‚  point of view, art was nothing more than just a job to earn money. They did not see the beautiful things that art brings. When Strickland decided to follow in his father's footsteps, his dream and aspiration were hidden on the bottom of his heart. After working hard for ages, he became a  prosperous stockbroker. He is probably a worthy member of society.However, there is in streets of the poor  quarters a thronging vitality which excites the blood and prepares the soul for  the unexpected. It w as actually happened in Paris, because Strickland gave up the luxury life and got acquainted with hard life just only wanted to fulfill a long-cherished dream. He had to give up his dream to follow his father’s wishes. â€Å"I want to paint. †Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’ve got to paint. † The brief answer expressed his willingness to get out of ideology ties which were imposed  by his father. And his hand and mind would express his big dream by painting masterpieces. I couldn’t get what I wanted in  London. Perhaps I can here. †Ã¢â‚¬Å"I tell you I’ve got to paint. † The author said that â€Å"I seemed to feel in him some vehement power that was struggling  within him, it  gave me the sensation of  something very strong, overmastering, that held  him† And Strickland cannot have a comfortable life any more. â€Å"I haven’t any money. I’ve got  about a  hundred pounds. † We could probably see it  through St rickland’s appearance when he came to Paris. â€Å"Sitting there in his old Norfolk jacket and his unnourished bowler, his trousers were baggy, ishands were not clean; and his face, with the red stubble of the unshaved chin, the little eyes, and  the large, aggressive nose, was  uncouth and coarse. † 1. 2 Family and social responsibilities Painting is not only a ‘dreamy moon’ of Strickland but also of many progressive people in  bourgeois society. According to bourgeois concepts, all the men have to be responsible for hisfamily and children. He’s forced to have a strong connection with what is considered to belong tohim. Strickland’s life is tied tightly down to family’s contract. However, all that sort of thingsmeans nothing at all to  him.He doesn’t let those reasons impact on  his way chasing his passion any longer. It can be obviously proved through the conversation between two men, Strickland and the author, in ch apter II of the  novel. ‘Hang it all, one can’t leave a  woman without a bob. ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœWhy not? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœHow is she going to live? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœI’ve supported her for seventeen years. Why shouldn’t she support herself for  a change? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœLet her try. ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœDon’t you care for  her anymore? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœNot a bit’   When Strickland talks about his children, his attitude is revealed to be heartlessly scornful. ‘They’ve had a good many years of comfort. It’s much more than the majority of children have. Dirk Stroeve was one of those unlucky persons whose most sincere emotions are ridiculous. † On the nature of art â€Å"Why should you think that beauty, which is the most precious thing in the world, lies like a stone on the beach for the careless passer-by to pick up idly? Beauty is something wonderful and strange that the artist fashions out of the ch aos of the world in the torment of his soul. And when he has made it, it is not given to all to know it. To recognize it you must repeat the adventure of the artist. It is a melody he sings to you, and to hear it again in your own heart you want knowledge and sensitiveness and imagination. Besides, somebody will look after them. When it comes to the point, the Mac Andrews will pay for  their schooling. ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœI like them all right when they were kids, but now they’ve growing up I haven’t got any particular  Ã‚  feeling for them. ’     He totally gives up on his own family, children and thinks  that they could live by themselves without his care. Even if they can’t make arrangement for their life, his relatives might come to help. Strickland also doesn’t mind what  people loathe and despise him. ‘Everyone will think you a  perfect swine. ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœLet them. ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœWon’t it mean anything to you that people loathe and despise you?   Ã¢â‚¬ËœNo’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœYou don’t care if  people think you an utter  black-guard? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœNot a damn. ’  Ã‚  He really doesn’t care any longer. ‘You won’t go back to your wife? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœNever’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœYou don’t care if she and your children have to beg their bread? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœNot a damn. ’     He does everything: abandoned wife and children; left his successful career behind just  because he totally hates that gloomy  society and its old  customs. Only by a short conversation between two men, the author already describes the strongly reactive mind of Strickland, a man who dares to stand up and fight over the old customs of that  boring society and bourgeois.Regarding to Strickland’s point of view, his escape is the only decision; it’s also the solution to release his imprisoning mind. He doesn’t regret or be ash amed of  what he’s done. He accepts the eyes of society because he doesn’t care. Actually, it’s never ever  meant anything to him. The only thing that he really cares is  his mind right now freely to follow anddo everything he ever dreams of in his own ‘dreamy moon’. 2. No rooms for trivial  and ordinary pleasures of life in  Great Art 2. 1  Sacrifice everything to be an artist. At the beginning, the stockbroker Strickland had a stable life with happy family.However,when he started to chase his path as an artist, he had to experience a poor situation. Moreover, he was  willing  to  get  rid  of  everything  to  be  an  artist. Great art  don’t depend  on age  as long  as you have real passion. Even though at the age of fortyâ€Å"the chances are a million to one†, Stricklandstill wants to be a  painter. â€Å"I can learn quicker than I could when I was eighteen†, said he. He wanted to be a painter when he was a boy but his father didn’t allow him. His father  consumed that there was money in art. Therefore, he had to give up his passion for such a long time. However,  his fire for art wasn’t  stamped  out.And this  was  the perfect  time  for him to implement his dream again. On  his way chasing that dream, he had to  sacrifice everything. He  passed by the material and the sensual to fulfill spiritual needs. He got rid of a happy family with acomfortable life to go to Paris  and lived in destitute life there Although he knew that his family needed him and they had to suffer difficulties in life without him, he didn’t intend to change his mind and he accepted to be considered as a selfish man. He understood that his action weren’t highly appreciated; however, he still wanted to pursue art in his own way.Strickland accepted to live in a bad condition, without money, job, food and at last he found a Shelter at a hot el. Afterward, despite the fact that he got a serious disease and became  blinded; he still  tried to  fulfill  his masterpiece  on the  walls of his  house. During the  first daysstaying in Paris, he only found a cheap hotel to live. He appeared with such a miserable, untidy image. â€Å"He sat there in his old Norfolk jacket and his unnourished bowler, his trousers werebaggy, his hands were not clean; and his face, with the red stubble of the unshaved chin, the littleeyes, and the large, aggressive nose, was uncouth and coarse.His mouth was large; his lips wereheavy and sensual. †He desired to paint. He repeated his speech many times when answering his friend. â€Å"I want to paint. †Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’ve got to paint†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I tell you I  have to paint†. 2. 2. Strickland protects Beauty and Art. Art is very  pure. It can not be  measured by the value of money or sexual relation. Stricklandstruggled to abandon his appetence for art. â₠¬Å"Let me tell you. I imagine that for months the matter never comes into your head, and you’re ableto persuade yourself that you’ve finished with it for good and all.You rejoice in your freedom, and  Ã‚  you feel that at last you can call your soul your own. You seem to walk with your head among the  stars. And then, all of a sudden you can’t stand it any more, and you notice that all the time your  Ã‚  feet have been walking in the mud. And you want to roll yourself in it. And you find some woman,coarse and low and vulgar, some beastly creature in whom all the horror of sex is blatant, and you  fall upon her like a wild  animal. You drink till you’re blind with rage. † He assumed that as an artist he shouldn’t have trivial fun such as desire of  women.For Strickland, woman is like an invisible rope tightening his life. It is very hard to escape from  them. Therefore,  he  tried  to  avoid  it. He  was  willing  to  give  her  up  as  well  as  his unsatisfactory painting. He did everything to be a true artist even though it made him become acruel man. Finally, he achieved what he wanted. He created a masterpiece. It was worth what he’d spent. He devoted all his life to pursue art. As an artist, he didn’t care about fame or wealth. He  painted pictures only to satisfy his love to art. He never sold his pictures to get money.He did not toaccept his masterpiece to be contaminated by the commercial world of money. His dream was very  beautiful III. Conclusion Based on the life of Paul Gauguin, â€Å"The Moon and Sixpence†is W. Somerset Maugham'sode to the powerful forces behind creative genius. Charles Strickland is a staid banker, a man of  wealth and privilege. He is also a man possessed of an unquenchable desire to create art. As Strickland pursues his artistic vision, he leaves London for Paris and Tahiti, and in his quest makes sacrifices that lea ve the lives of those closest to him in  tatters.Through Maugham's sympathetic eye Strickland's tortured and cruel soul becomes a  symbol of the blessing and  the curse of transcendent artistic genius, and the cost in human’s lives it sometimes demands. Topic 2: Impression of  characteristic THE ANALYSIS  OF STRICKLAND CHARACTER 1. Strickland as an ordinary man 1. 1 Strickland is irresponsible inconsiderate toward his wife Strickland used be a good husband to his wife. Actually, he owns a happy family and goodeconomic condition. For many people, Strickland is good businessman and has good status insociety.However, he suddenly abandoned his wife and  went another place. Strickland leaved his wife and children behind without a word. His leaving makes her very miserable and she had asuspicion that he run  away with other women. His wife- Army is a pleasant hospital woman. Strickland can’t find any reasons which belong to Arm to leave her. When Army sends him many letters to persuade him to come back, Strickland doesn’t read any letters from her. It  meansthat he doesn’t concern anything related to his wife. When making conservation with friend sent to persuade him, Strickland expresses a coollyattitude to his wife. I can not describe the extraordinary callousness with which he made this reply†Although Strickland acknowledged his action, he still  does like that. Has she deserved that you should treat her like that? NoThen, isn’t it monstrous to leave her in  this fashion after seventeen years of married life withouta fault to find with her  Monstrous†Abandoning wonderful wife is faulty. However, letting a woman without a bob is more pitiless. He also knows before that his wife and children will have to suffer difficulties in life withouthim. But he still leaves them to  pursue his aim. Hang it all, one can’t leave a woman without a  bobWhy not? Don’t you care for her any more? N ot a bit†Strickland does not try thinking whether a weak woman can live without support from man;especially she has to nurse two children. They don’t know what they should do in order to support their life and what will wait for them in the future. He supposed that he no longer haveany responsibility to his family and all things that he  did before be enough. 1. 2 Strickland is irresponsible selfish father Strickland does not want to take any responsibility to his children. His children are very youngand innocent.They have never done any harm to  Strickland. â€Å"Damn it all. There are your children to think of. They’ve never done you any harm. They didnot ask to be bought in to the world. If you chuck everything like this, they’ll be thrown on thestreet. They have had a good many years of comfort. It’s much more than the majority of childrenhave. Besides, somebody will look after them. When it comes to the point, the Mac Andrewswill pay for t heir schooling†. How can children live without support from their father? He did not care about his children anymore, even though they could be thrown out in the street. Read also:  Moon By Chaim PotokFor many people, rearing children isvery holly duty and happiness. For children, father is the material and spiritual favor. It is very  poor for children when he entrusts them to the care of  Mac Andrews. Especially, Strickland thought that he did not have any special feeling to  his children. For many men, children are always very special and take really important part in their emotional life. Strickland only had special feeling to his children when they were small. When they grow  up, heno longer loves them. It seems that the nature of a father in Strickland has disappeared. He  became an unemotional father. 1. Strickland is ungrateful to his friend Dirk Strove is a very kind- hearted person. Dirk Strove is the person who recognizes the talentof Strickland and helps him everything in bad days. When Strickland falls seriously ill, it isStrove who comes to help. Strove persuades his wife to let him bring the artist home to look  after. St rickland must have gratitude all the things that Strove had done for him. On the other  hand, Strickland has an adulterous affair with his best friend’s wife. Moreover, Strickland justwants to take use of her body for  the nude picture and causes the death of Strove. 2. Strickland  as an  artist . 1 Strickland is a  really passionate painter .He compares his passion to paint is like the desire to breath. He abandoned his wife andchildren to pursuit his dream of painting. He gives up a happy life to go strange place to learn painting. He gets divorced with his wife without any reasons and lets his children alone to devotefor art. â€Å"I have got to paint† is repeated four times in conservation with the friend. It means thatthe desire to paint is full  of in his head all the  time. When family’s friend is sent to persuade Strickland, he used all the tactics and arguments tochange Strickland’s decision.However, Strickland still expresses a con sistent attitude to allarguments. Strickland believes that his wife could take care of herself and also is ready to  provide all necessary background for her to divorce. His children can grow without his support. Strickland reckons that it is the high time for him to realize his dream. For Strickland, painting is the air of life, an interest. The painting is all. He does not concernabout all the worst things people can think about him. â€Å"Everyone will think you are perfect swineLet themWon’t it mean anything to you to  know that people loath and despise you?No†Short answers contain a terrible determination. It seems that the art  is the only meaningful thingto him now. The passion of painting is covering all his body and  will. Behind the dull appearance, Strickland has the true passion to art. Strickland- a man with old  Norfolk jacket, unnourished bowler, his trouser was bagging, his hand were not clean, his facewith red stubble of the  unsaved chin, little eye, the large aggressive nose, his mount large and hislip were heavy and sensual. On the surface, he was not born for art. The rude and sensualappearance is completely contrary to deep passion on art and artist soul.The narrator feels  powerful desire to paint in his voice and vehement power. There is strong struggle between willand passion inside this man. Strickland decides to leave all his family and material values, loveand lust behind to scarify for art. Strickland accepts a poor life to devote for art and passion. From a prosperous stockbroker,Strickland became a poor man for only reason of being a painter. He  can live in cheap hotel withabout hundred pounds to learn painting. When coming Tahiti, Strickland marries with a nativegirl and lives in forest far away from town. They live in misery. When there was no food to behad, he seemed capable†. It seems that he â€Å"lived a life wholly of the spirit† . All the materialvalues do not have any meaning t o him. He wants to spend the rest of the life painting. He couldsuffer the poorest conditions to draw. Strickland decides to paint at the age of 40. â€Å"Do you think it is likely that a man will do any good when he starts at your age? Most people  begin painting when they were eighteen. I can learn quicker than I could when I  was eighteen†. The age is one of the most important barriers for Strickland to overcome. People mainly paintwhen they were eighteen.In spite of acknowledging this, Strickland still decides to paint by allmeans. In fact, there is no limitation of age in art. However, Strickland must have had the trulystrong desire to art because it is very difficult and unusual for people to start learning painting atthis age. Strickland had dream of painting when he was very small. At his time, the values of  man are measured in terms of money. His father said that there was no money in art and obligedhim to do business. Obeying his father’s speech, Stric kland became a prosperous stockbroker. He owns a happy family and good social status.Strickland does not satisfy with the current life. He feels the life is so boring and not meaningful. After 40 years, the dream of childhood stillobsesses him and wins other things. It seems that the man is cut for painting. At the age of 40,after many years of empty soul, he realizes clearly what he wants, what is important to his life. Panting is the job which he really wishes to do and  succeed. 2. 2 Strickland understands the rotten society and he is very brave man who sacrifices for the real art   When Strickland abandons his wife and spends all the rest of life for painting, many peoplewould think he is not usual.His action is different from the normal people in society. In the  bourgeois society, money is highly appreciated and most of people live for money. They supposethat there is no money in art and artists are not highly evaluated in social order. In contrary,Strickland can give up everything to pursue art. Strickland wishes to paint because of true  passion, but not for money. He never sold a single picture and he was never satisfied with whathe had done. In the end, Strickland obliged his wife to burn all his picture and house so that allhis products are not survived for commercial purpose.He has the great art concept and is acourageous man who devotes everything to art. With the endowed talent and passion, Strickland creates the wonderful pictures which containthe great content and perfect beauty. Strickland can go anywhere to find inspiration for his  picture. He decides to move from London to Paris, after that he came to Tahiti and live in aforest. Strickland is in search of a world of his own. When he contracts leprosy, he still draws. As he becomes blind, he continues painting until he died. Strickland is worth to  be great and realartist. 3. Conclusion For Strickland’s family, he is a bad father and husband.In term of the normal concepts in the society, Strickland is considered to be a selfish person who can abandon all important things to  pursue his own passion. Strickland is a real artist  and brave man in bourgeois society. He abandons all the normal thingsincluding family, money, social status, moral values to sacrifice for the real art. With deep enthusiasms, Strickland creates the great product and paints until his the last breaths. Hesupposes that the true art should not be contaminated by the commercial world of money. He isthe typical artist who can scarify for the  real art in the bourgeois society. Some comments:This is a fictionalized account of the life of artist Paul Gaugin. It's the best fictionalized biography I've ever read. From the moment I learned he's left his wife and children to the death of his mistress, I've been captivated by this intense personality. I'm reminded of Steve Jobs, a heartless man obsessed by work, by a vision. But the most interesting thing so far is the art itself. Th e narrator, a writer, admits that the first time he sees â€Å"Charles Strickland's† paintings, he's disappointed. The oranges are swollen and lopsided. He doesn't have the craftsmanship of the old masters. (And no wonder. He's only been painting for five years. Yet he says to himself, it's because it's a new style. This is key. Would anything ever make it in art if it weren't new? It goes through a couple of stages. Total rejection, then wild acclaim. The narrator is disappointed in himself for not recognizing genius. Only later, after he's seen these works in museums, acclaimed by others, is he able to recognize the hand of a master. It brings to mind Tom Wolfe's â€Å"The Painted Word. † Nothing is art until a story makes it so. And yet†¦ A major character in â€Å"The Moon and Sixpence† is a hackneyed artist who has great technical skill yet paints for the vulgar masses, making a comfortable living.He sees the genius of Gaugin (or in this case â€Å"Ch arles Strickland†) as no one does. He tries to get dealers to take the works though Strickland is uninterested in selling them. This character is the polar opposite of Strickland. He thinks only of others. If it weren't for him, Strickland would have died. Yet he gets no respect. He's other-directed in a world where the inner-directed rule. Yet he's a great judge of art. I can't help concluding that nearly every new style offers something, however turned off we may be initially. But I still prefer representational work to most modern art. The Right TimeThere are some books that walk into your life at an opportune time. I'm talking about the books that send a pleasant shiver down your spine laden with â€Å"Man, this is meant to be! † as you flip through its pages cursorily. Or those that upon completion, demand an exclamation from every book-reading fibre of your body to the effect of â€Å"There couldn't have been a better time for me to have read this book! † N ow, I come from deferred-gratification stock. So books like these, you don't read immediately,. You let them sit there on your table for a while. You bask in the warm expectant glow of a life-altering read.You glance at the book as you make your way to office, take pleasure in the fact that it'll be right there on your table when you open the front-door wearily, waiting to be opened, caressed, reveled in. And when that moment of reckoning arrives, you don't stop, you plunge yourself straight into the book, white-hot passionate. The Moon and Sixpence was just that kind of a book for me. I had just completed (and thoroughly enjoyed) a course on Modern Art in college and could rattle off the names of Impressionist painters faster than I could the Indian cricket team.I was particularly intrigued by Paul Gauguin, a French Post-Impressionist painter, after reading one of his disturbingly direct quotes. â€Å"Civilization is what makes me sick†, he proclaimed, and huddled off to Tah iti to escape Europe and â€Å"all that is artificial and conventional†, leaving behind a wife and five children to fend for themselves, never to make contact with them again. This struck me as the ultimate expression of individuality, a resounding slap to the judgmental face of conservative society, an escapist act of repugnant selfishness that could only be justified by immeasurable artistic talent, genius, some may call it.My imagination was tickled beyond measure and when I discovered there was a novel by W. Somerset Maugham (the author of The Razor's Edge no less! ) based on Gauguin, my joy knew no bounds. I was in the correct frame of mind to read about the life of a stockbroker who gave up on the trivial pleasures of bourgeois life for the penury and hard life of an aspiring painter without considering him ridiculous or vain. Supplied with the appropriate proportions of awe that is due to a genius protagonist, I began reading the book. I have to admit I expected a whol e lot from it.I had a voyeuristic curiosity to delve into the head of a certified genius. I was even more curious to see how Maugham had executed it. At the same time, I was hoping that the book would raise and answer important questions concerning the nature of art and about what drives an artist to madness and greatness. The Book The book's title is taken from a review of Of Human Bondage in which the novel's protagonist, Philip Carey, is described as  Ã¢â‚¬Å"so busy yearning for the moon that he never saw the sixpence at his feet. † I admired Maugham's narrative voice.In his inimitable style, he flits in and out of the characters' life as the stolid, immovable writer who is a mere observer, and nothing more. His narrator defies Heisenberg's uncertainty principle as in observing his characters, he doesn't change their lives or nature one bit. He has a mild disdain for the ordinary life of a householder and relishes his independence. â€Å"I pictured their lives, troubled by no untoward adventure, honest, decent, and, by reason of these two upstanding, pleasant children, so obviously destined to carry on the normal traditions of their race and station, not without significance.They would grow old insensibly; they would see their son and daughter come to years of reason, marry in due course – the one a peretty girl, future mother of healthy children; the other a handsome, manly fellow, obviously a soldier; and at last, prosperous in their dignified retirement, beloved by their descendants, after a happy, not unuseful life, in the fullness of their age they would sink into the grave. That must be the story of innumerable couples, and the patter of life it offers has a homely grace.It reminds you of a placid rivulet, meandering smoothly through green pastures and shaded by pleasant trees, till at last it falls into the vasty sea; but the sea is so calm, so silent, so indifferent, that you are troubled suddenly by a vague uneasiness. Perhaps it is only a kink in my nature, strong in me even in those days, that I felt in such an existence, the share of the great majority, something amiss. I recognized its social value. I saw its ordered happiness, but a fever in my blood asked for a wilder course. There seemed to me something alarming in such easy delights.In my heart was a desire to live more dangerously. I was not unprepared for jagged rocks and treacherous shoals if I could only have change – change and the excitement of the unforeseen. † In Maugham's hands, Gauguin becomes Charles Strickland, an unassuming British stockbroker, with a secret unquenchable lust for beauty that he is willing to take to the end of the world, first to Paris and then to remote Tahiti. He is cold, selfish and uncompromising in this quest for beauty. â€Å"The passion that held Strickland was a passion to create beauty. It gave him no peace. It urged him hither and thither.He was eternally a pilgrim, haunted by a divine nostalgia, an d the demon within him was ruthless. There are men whose desire for truth is so great that to attain it they will shatter the very foundation of their world. Of such was Strickland, only beauty with him took the place of truth. I could only feel for him a profound compassion. † However words such as these serve to romanticize Strickland's actions which at first glance, remain despicable. (view spoiler)Maugham paints him as a rogue loner, an unfathomable apparition, compelled to inhuman acts by the divine tyranny of art. He lived more poorly than an artisan. He worked harder. He cared nothing for those things which with most people make life gracious and beautiful. He was indifferent to money. He cared nothing about fame. You cannot praise him because he resisted the temptation to make any of those compromises with the world which most of us yield to. He had no such temptation. It never entered his head that compromise was possible. He lived in Paris more lonely than an anchori te in the deserts of Thebes. He asked nothing from his fellows except that they should leave him alone.He was single-hearted in his aim, and to pursue it he was willing to sacrifice not only himself – many can do that – but others. He had a vision. Strickland was an odious man, but I still think he was a great one. † In these beautiful words he describes Strickland's strange homelessness and suggests a reason for his subsequent escape to Tahiti. â€Å"I have an idea that some men are born out of their due place. Accident has cast them amid strange surroundings, but they have always a nostalgia for a home they know not.They are strangers in their birthplace, and the leafy lanes they have known from childhood or the populous streets in which they have played, remain but a place of passage. They may spend their whole lives aliens among their kindred and remain aloof among the only scenes they have ever known. Perhaps it is this sense of strangeness that sends men f ar and wide in the search for something permanent, to which they may attach themselves. Perhaps some deep-rooted atavism urges the wanderer back to lands which his ancestors left in the dim beginnings of history. Sometimes a man hits upon a place to which he mysteriously feels he belongs.Here is the home he sought, and he will settle amid scnes that he has never seen before, among men he has never known, as though they were familiar to him from his birth. Here at last he finds rest. † By the end of the book, Maugham's narrator somewhat loses his grip over the reader and I could picture him in my mind floundering around the island of Tahiti, interviewing the people who came in contact with Strickland, trying to piece together a story. He finds himself in the â€Å"position of the biologist, who has to figure out from a bone, not only a creature's body, but also its habits. The reader is promised the ineffable, a study of genius and is only delivered an admission of its elusive nature. Also the tone of the novel tends to get slightly misogynistic in places. But I suppose that is more a failing of the protagonist rather than the author. As compensation, Maugham offers delicious crisp cookies of wisdom throughout. In simple lyrical language, he penetrates to the core of the human condition and offers invaluable advice to the aspiring writer, the hopeful lover and the wannabe genius.For its unpretentious, sympathetic and humane portrayal of a deeply flawed protagonist, its quotable quotes and its ironic humour, this book shall rank as my one of my favourite books on the life and development of an artist in search of the unknowable. My Master Maugham I strongly believe that the adjectives one throws around are a barometer of one's sensitivity or at the minimum, one's desire to be accurate. Both of these qualities are indispensable to the aspiring writer because honestly, what is there to writing exceptfresh verbs, evocative adjectives, searing honesty and an unbounded imagination.Also, that it's easier said than done. In this context, there are moments when I feel utterly stupid and unimaginative. My inner monologues resemble the chatter of teenage girls in their lack of content and use of worn-out adjectives. I mean, awesome and amazing, like seriously? Bleeuurghh!! During such exasperating times, my inner world aches to devour a mouthful of good-looking words in the Queen's English. I head to my dusty book-closet and roughly displace its contents until I find a book either by one of the barons of British literature, a W. Somerset Maugham/PG Wodehouse or a laid-back satire along the lines of Yes Minister.The book usually serves its purpose admirably. It manages to extract me from my predicament by either making me split my sides laughing or by drowning me in a stream of sentences so beautifully constructed that I completely forget my insecurities and start shaking my head ponderously at the writer's virtuosity instead. Coming to the to pic of the writer himself, W. Somerset Maugham is one of my favourite writers in the English language. Being an aspiring writer who's yet to find his voice myself, his novels never fail to stab me with a hopeful optimism. My premature belief, that I can write well, is reinforced when I read Maugham.He never intimidates me or bores me, commonplace sins many writers will have to go to confession for. While reading his prose, he possesses the singular ability of making the difficult art of writing seem pretty doable. This, I've realized with the passing of time, is due to one simple reason. It is because W. Somerset Maugham never shows off! Never! Never does he ramble pointlessly. Never does he merely graze the point instead of hitting it fair and square because he was too busy fooling around with the language. Never! He hits bulls eye with eloquence and a kind of frugal, flowing lyricism.There is always a single-minded purpose behind his writings. It is to spin a mighty good yarn by g etting the point across without making his readers consult a dictionary. He even propounds profundity in a manner that typically makes me re-read the paragraph(and underline it) to admire the economy and ease with which the thought was expressed in words. I find the writing styles of Hemingway and Maugham similar in form, but while Hemingway's writing is austere to the point of being skeletal, Maugham clothes his words until they can be considered passably pretty.For his remarkable abilities, Maugham's opinions about his own writing were always modest. He believed he stood  Ã¢â‚¬Å"in the very first row of the second-raters. †Ã‚  Asked about his method of writing, he simplified it to a matter of keen observation and honest reproduction. â€Å"†Most people cannot see anything,†Ã‚  he once said,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"but I can see what is in front of my nose with extreme clearness; the greatest writers can see through a brick wall. My vision is not so penetrating. † My f avourite excerpts Advice to aspiring writers I forget who it was that recommended men for their soul's good to do each day two things they disliked: it was a wise man, and it is a precept that I have followed scrupulously; for every day I have got up and I have gone to bed. But there is in my nature a strain of asceticism, and I have subjected my flesh each week to a more severe mortification. I have never failed to read the Literary Supplement of The Times. It is a salutary discipline to consider the vast number of books that are written, the fair hopes with which their authors see them published, and the fate which awaits them.What chance is there that any book will make its way among that multitude? And the successful books are but the successes of a season. Heaven knows what pains the author has been at, what bitter experiences he has endured and what heartache suffered, to give some chance reader a few hours relaxation or to while away the tedium of a journey. And if I may judg e from the reviews, many of these book are well and carefully written; much thought has gone to their composition; to some even has been given the anxious labour of a lifetime.The moral I draw is that the writer should seek his reward in the pleasure of his work and in release from the burden of his thoughts; and indifferent to aught else, care nothing for praise or censure, failure or success. † â€Å"Until long habit has blunted the sensibility, there is something disconcerting to the writer in the instinct which causes him to take an interest in the singularities of human nature so absorbing that his moral sense is powerless against it.He recognizes in himself an artistic satisfaction in the contemplation of evil which a little startles him but sincerity forces him to confess that the disapproval he feels for certain actions is not nearly so strong as his curiosity in their reasons. The writer is more concerned to know than to judge. † On the ironic humour of life â €Å"Dirk Stroeve was one of those unlucky persons whose most sincere emotions are ridiculous. † On the nature of art â€Å"Why should you think that beauty, which is the most precious thing in the world, lies like a stone on the beach for the careless passer-by to pick up idly?Beauty is something wonderful and strange that the artist fashions out of the chaos of the world in the torment of his soul. And when he has made it, it is not given to all to know it. To recognize it you must repeat the adventure of the artist. It is a melody he sings to you, and to hear it again in your own heart you want knowledge and sensitiveness and imagination. † B? kh? n kh? ? nha c? a chu c? a minh va ? tru? ng, chang trai Maugham b? t d? u phat tri? n m? t cai tai kheo dua ra nh? ng nh? n xet gay t? n thuong cho nh? ng ngu? i ma c? u khong ua. Cai tai nay doi khi du? c ph? n anh trong cac nhan v? t van h? c c? a Maugham