French Literature in the Age of Reason :: European Europe History

French Literature in the Age of Reason The Age of Reason, or the Enlightenment, was a period in France during the 1700's following the classical age. Within this time, philosophers placed the emphasis on reason as the best method for learning. It explored issues in education, law philosophy, and politics. It attacked tyranny, social injustice, superstition, and ignorance. This time produced advances in such areas as anatomy, astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, and physics. These were the ideals taken up for both the American and French revolutions. A significant amount of the literature produced was philosophical, and written by important thinkers such as Voltaire, Denis Diderot, and Jean Jacques Rousseau. Of the above, Voltaire was the most well-known literary figure of the time. He fought against intolerance and bigotry, and worked to promote rationalism through his literary skills. His most famous work is the novel Candide (1759). As well, Voltaire wrote tragedies influenced by the works of William Shakespeare. Through his many works on European and world history, he helped develop the principles of historical writing for modern times. Denis Diderot is most famously known for editing one of the great intellectual achievements of the Enlightenment, the French Encylopà ©die (1751-1772). The Encylopà ©die is a collection of articles written by many writers in several fields. The purpose of the book was to try and rationally explain recent scientific discoveries while attacking religous authority, economic inequality, and abuses of justice. In his novel The New Heloise (1761), Jean Jacques Rousseau suggested changes in French society, and in Emile (1762) put forward the idea of change in education. The autobiography Confessions (published in 1782 and 1789 after his death) helped to create the modern works that provoke self-analysis. Rousseau, with his sensitivity to nature, brought a more lyrical and meditative sensation back to French literature. An example of this can be found in Reveries of the Solitary Stroller (1782). There are several other major writers and works that helped contribute to the literary expression during the Age of Reason. There was Montesquieu, who wrote wittingly about social critisism in Persian Letters (1721). The well-known satirical novel Gil Blas (1715-1735) written by Alain Renà © Lesage.

Child Labour Should Be Banned Essay

For many of us it is hard to imagine what it would be like growing up, having to work from the age of five and not being able to go to school. ‘Child Labour’ is defined by the United States Department of Labour (DOL) as ‘the employment of boys and girls when they are too young to work for hire; or when they are employed at jobs unsuitable or unsafe for children of their ages’ It is not something we are too familiar with ourselves, living in a wealthy country, but the fact is that there are many Third World countries out there where the economy and living conditions are so bad that children have to work in unsuitable and unsafe situations. There are certain charities that help, but that it is. Not enough is being done to stop child labour. It is very wrong and should be banned thought out the world and looked at as a disgrace. Figures from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) show that 218 million children aged between five and seventeen are involved in child labour worldwide. That means globally one in six children work. This is an extremely large number. Around 150 million of the 218 million are involved in what is know as ‘worst forms’ of child labour, which include work such as forced labour, slavery and sexual exploitation. Many are forced to work without access to the toilet or drinking facilities – this is against human rights. Child labour of course is different through out the world. Financial it may be necessary for a family to send their children to work to then be able to get food. Sometimes it can even be a situation of life and death if a child in a family does not work. Other times it may be in the families’ ethic work where the children have to help. Either way, it is not good enough. Children should not have to work.

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne - 1037 Words

Thomas Hobbs and John Locke have two very opposing viewpoints on human nature. Locke believes that human nature is innately good; Hobbs thinks that human nature knows right from wrong, but is naturally evil and that no man is entirely â€Å"good†. Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of the classic novel The Scarlet Letter, believes that every man is innately good and Hawthorne shows that everyone has a natural good side by Hester’s complex character, Chillingworth’s actions and Dimmesdale’s selfless personality. At the beginning of the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is labeled as the â€Å"bad guy†. The townspeople demand the other adulterer’s name, but Hester denies this revelation. She does not reveal it because she knows that the information will†¦show more content†¦However, Hester does not see Pearl as a burden, but yet a blessing. She cares for Pearl with all the love in her heart. â€Å"Her own dress was of the coarsest materials a nd the most somber hue; with only that one ornament,—the scarlet letter,—which it was her doom to wear. The childs attire, on the other hand, was distinguished by a fanciful, or, we may rather say, a fantastic ingenuity, which served, indeed, to heighten the airy charm that early began to develop itself in the little girl.†(Hawthorne 57). Hester’s wardrobe is downgraded so that Pearls can prosper, human nature enables Hester to become selfless for Pearl. Hester was seen as the antagonist during the opening chapters of the book, but as more light is shown on the character, it is seen that Hawthorne’s view of the natural good emulates through Hester. Likewise, Roger Chillingworth’s character is described in many ways. He is called a rat, a snake, deceitful and lastly, but most profoundly the Devil. Even though he presents himself in this manner, deep down he is a good person. After the betrayal that he suffered by Hester, readers assume that Roger was enraged. However, Roger wasn’t angry, he felt sorry for Hester. ‘â€Å"We have wronged each other,’ answered he. ‘Mine was the first wrong, when I betrayed thy budding youth into a false and unnatural relation with my decay. Therefore, as a man who has not thought and philosophized in vain, I seek no vengeance, plot noShow MoreRelatedThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1242 Words   |  5 PagesLYS PAUL Modern Literature Ms. Gordon The Scarlet Letter The scarlet letter is book written by Nathaniel Hawthorne who is known as one the most studied writers because of his use of allegory and symbolism. He was born on July 4, 1804 in the family of Nathaniel, his father, and Elizabeth Clark Hathorne his mother. Nathaniel added â€Å"W† to his name to distance himself from the side of the family. His father Nathaniel, was a sea captain, and died in 1808 with a yellow fever while at sea. That was aRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne960 Words   |  4 Pages3H 13 August 2014 The novel, The Scarlet Letter, was written by the author Nathaniel Hawthorne and was published in 1850 (1). It is a story about the Puritan settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, set around 1650 (2). The story is written in the third person with the narrator being the author. The common thread that runs through this novel is Hawthorne’s apparent understanding of the beliefs and culture of the Puritans in America at that time. But Hawthorne is writing about events in a societyRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne919 Words   |  4 Pagessymbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†. Symbolism is when an object is used in place of a different object. Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most symbolic writers in all of American history. In â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†, the letter â€Å"A† is used to symbolize a variety of different concepts. The three major symbolistic ideas that the letter â€Å"A† represents in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Scarlet Letter† are; shame, guilt, and ability. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†, the firstRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1397 Words   |  6 PagesFebruary 2016 The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 which is based on the time frame of the Puritans, a religious group who arrived in Massachusetts in the 1630’s. The Puritans were in a religious period that was known for the strict social norms in which lead to the intolerance of different lifestyles. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the puritan’s strict lifestyles to relate to the universal issues among us. The time frame of the puritans resulted in Hawthorne eventually thinkingRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne999 Words   |  4 Pages Nathaniel Hawthorne is the author of the prodigious book entitled The Scarlet Letter. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits adultery with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Her husband, Roger Chillingworth, soon finds out about the incident after it becomes clear that she is pregnant. The whole town finds out and Hester is tried and punished. Meanwhile, Roger Chillingworth goes out then on a mission to get revenge by becoming a doctor and misprescribing Dimmesdale. He does this to torture DimmesdaleRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1517 Words   |  7 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne composes Pearl as a powerful character even though she is not the main one. Her actions not only represent what she is as a person, but what other characters are and what their actions are. Hawthorne makes Pearl the character that helps readers understand what the other characters are. She fits perfectly into every scene she is mentioned in because of the way her identity and personality is. Pearl grows throughout the book, which in the end, help the readers better understandRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne1488 Words   |  6 Pages In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, the main character, Hester Prynne, is a true contemporary of the modern era, being cast into 17th century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts. The Scarlet Letter is a revolutionary novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne examining the ugliness, complexity, and strength of the human spirit and character that shares new ideas about independence and the struggles women faced in 17th century America. Throughout the novel, Hester’s refusal to remove the scarlet letterRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1319 Words   |  6 PagesPrynne and Arthur Dimmesdale are subject to this very notion in Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter. Hester simply accepted that what she had done was wrong, whereas Dimmesdale, being a man of high regard, did not want to accept the reality of what he did. Similar to Hester and Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth allows his emotions to influence his life; however, his influence came as the result of hi s anger. Throughout the book, Hawthorne documents how Dimmesdale and Hester s different ways of dealingRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1714 Words   |  7 PagesSome two hundred years following the course of events in the infamous and rigid Puritan Massachusetts Colony in the 1600s, Nathaniel Hawthorne, descendant of a Puritan magistrate, in the 19th century, published The Scarlet Letter. Wherein such work, Hawthorne offered a social critique against 17th Massachusetts through the use of complex and dynamic characters and literary Romanticism to shed light on said society’s inherent contradiction to natural order and natural law. In his conclusive statementsRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne1172 Words   |  5 Pagesfreedom, peace, and introspection. However, until the last century, the wilderness was often regarded with fear and resentment. Written long before John Muir and the conservation movement, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was well ahead of its time for its depiction of wilderness. In The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale leaves the beaten path and seeks refuge in the forest. There, he gains the strength and willpower to throw off seven years of hopelessness and take his fate into his own hands