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Cormac McCarthy’s novels present the traditional novelistic theme of good versus evil as a philosophical dilemma that his characters must face in their everyday lives. He explores the existential question of whether or not morality even matters in a world where nihilism exists. McCarthy focuses on nihilism versus morality by placing his characters in a world where the two belief systems must encounter each other, and his novels ultimately determine that nihilism undermines morality. His characters are plagued with facing the question, "Why do good things happen to bad people?" His readers are given the task of delving into the epistemological dilemma of distinguishing good guys from bad guys and realizing that it is often difficult to discern between the two.
This research was undertaken as a systematic attempt to understand the role of gender and learning modality in young adolescents’ mathematical problem solving. The study included review of literature regarding genders’ differences in mathematical abilities and approaches due to brain composition and other factors. Fifty-three seventh grade students in an urban, Central Georgia middle school participated in this study. The VARK learning modality construct was utilized, categorizing students into learning modalities. The findings suggested that genders and learners of dissimilar modalities approach problem solving differently. One implication of this research is that middle grade mathematics teachers should be mindful of students’ gender and learning modality when teaching problem-solving skills in order to deepen students’ conceptual and metacognitive understanding.
This essay highlights the importance of education as it pertains to equality between men and women, looking specifically at education and the role that it plays as asserted by Mary Wollstonecraft in her work, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” (1792) as well as the manipulative means that Wollstonecraft contends women are forced to use in order to compensate for their supposed inferiorities. In order to support Wollstonecraft’s philosophy, I juxtapose Eliza Haywood’s story of Fantomina (1725) and Louisa May Alcott’s “How I Went Out to Service” (1874) to demonstrate that without a complete education, women are 1) unschooled in the ways of the world 2) that in order to compensate for this, they revert to cunning, or manipulation and 3) that this social behaviour can be attributed to not only the gender roles and beliefs associated with a particular culture, but also that this social behaviour is a result of the way that women are portrayed in the literature of that culture.
In order to accomplish the third aspect, I use various works by eighteenth and nineteenth century women writers to demonstrate that the emergence of the female voice was too tentative according to Gilbert and Gubar’s theory on the “anxiety of authorship” and, as a result, how women as writers were not taken as seriously as they should have been, which in turn resulted in a reinforcement of the belief that women had no place in the literary world. Exceptions to this conformity are Lady Mary Wortley Montague with her “Reasons that Induced Dr. Swift to Write a Poem Called ‘The Lady’s Dressing Room’” (1734), as well as Anne Ingram’s “An Epistle to Mr. Pope Occasioned by his Characters of Women” (1736). Their voices lack the anxiety of authorship when compared to other female poets, lending their work the authority and independence that was wanting in many of their contemporaries as well as successors.
This psychobiography examined the question: Did philosopher Albert Camus’ unique childhood experiences influence his philosophical perspective? Multiple volumes of Camus’ philosophical writings, as well as two full length biographies were reviewed and analyzed for this psychobiographical study. (A psychobiography is a biographical analysis of a notable person in history from the vantage point of personality theories such as Erik Erikson’s developmental personality theory and Social Learning Theory). Erik Erikson’s developmental theory of personality, which covers the lifespan from birth to death in terms of critical turning points, was applied to an analysis of Camus’ written work and life choices. A number of Camus’ unique perspectives on human nature, relationships, and the meaning of life are traced back to developmental crises that Camus experienced as a child, youth, and young man. Social Learning Theory is applied to understand how important figures in Camus’ life reinforced attitudes and behaviors. The main findings included that Camus’ response to developmental crises influenced his philosophy of life, relationships, and death.
Contemporary portraiture is heavily reliant on the photograph to produce mementoes and to document likeness. Starting in the 16th century, British portraiture achieved the same purposes through miniatures: small-scale paintings that can be worn around the neck, pinned to clothing, or stowed away secretly. My research during recent travel to England has opened a world of understanding both the technique and unique materials that were mastered to create a new and brilliant style. With sincere study of Queen Elizabeth I’s favorite portrayer Nicholas Hilliard’s prominent method I have produced my own miniatures in tribute to this purposeful art.
The French Revolution marks the beginning of a new attitude referred to as Romanticism. Romanticism emphasizes human emotion and the imagination in opposition to the reason and rigor of Neoclassicism during the late eighteenth-century. Leading the French Romantic art and literary movements were none other than Anne-Louis de Roussy Girodet-Trioson, pupil of Neoclassicist leader Jacques-Louis David, and François-Rene de Chateaubriand, respectively. In 1801, Chateaubriand wrote a Romantic novella, entitled Atala, in which the Christian-Indian maiden commits suicide in fear of breaking her vow of chastity. Girodet depicts the tragic burial scene of Chateaubriand’s novella in his painting, The Funeral of Atala, in 1808. The use of Christian iconography in Girodet’s painting is apparent; however, it is the significance of virginity that ties together pictorial and literary elements of both the sacred and secular worlds.
In this paper I will compare various images of the death of Christ and the Virgin Mary to Girodet’s The Funeral of Atala as well as to other Romantic works of Girodet’s time. I will discuss the various ways in which Native Americans were viewed during this time and their role as the ‘noble savage’ in Romantic works of art and literature, alike. In this paper, I will address the stereotypes within Romantic art and literature, such as the pitiful ‘hero/heroine’. I will discuss the parallels between Chateaubriand’s novella, Atala, with Girodet’s painting of Atala’s burial scene and the significance of these Romantic revolutionaries in the midst of neoclassicism.