The Character of Mrs. Ramsay in To The Lighthouse Essay -- To The Ligh

The Character of Mrs. Ramsay in To The Lighthouse Virginia Woolf's novel, To The Lighthouse, is full of symbolism that describes the surroundings and the life of Mrs. Ramsay who is the central character. She helps to bring the world out of chaos and darkness with her positive nature and by being the source of light for the other characters. She is also a peacemaker, beautiful, maternal, and almost divine. Mrs. Ramsay's first word in the novel is "yes" which reflects her affirmative and positive nature. Throughout the novel, her character and spirit is connected to light, which is universally a positive symbol. The other characters associate her with light through implied juxtaposition because she brought positive energy to everybody who knew her. An example is Paul who after being told by Mrs. Ramsay that she believed in him felt his situation was turned around in a better way. "He would go to her and say, "I've done it, Mrs. Ramsay; thanks to you." And so turning into the lane... The house was all lit up, and the lights after darkness made his eyes feel full, and he said to himself childishly, as he walked up the drive, Ughts, lights, lights." (p.78) By being the symbol of light, Mrs. Ramsay also brings things from chaos into order. This can be seen with her desire to be organized. The house was always organized such as if she left a brush or comb on a dressing table, she expected it to still be there the next time she looked for it. (p. 136) The characters' world is filled with chaos, examples being that the setting is during WWI and that the lighthouse was being taken over by nature until Mrs. Ramsay put it back into order. The order that she brought with her contrasts to the disorder that came about af... ...ck into stability. Life stand still here, Mrs. Ramsay said. "Mrs. Ramsay! Mrs. Ramsay!" she repeated. She owed it all to her." Another example of Mrs. Ramsay's kindness is when James is on the boat with his father, Mr. Ramsay: "[Mrs. Ramsayl alone spoke the truth; to her alone he could speak it. That was the source of her everlasting attraction for him, perhaps. She was .a person ~ whom one could say what came into one's .head~" (p. 187) She is a person who put others before her. Mrs. Ramsay's character is so divine that it is unreal. She spends most of her time shining the light on for everybody else that she hides her own personal needs to herself. She takes the world out of chaos, but there might have been chaos going on inside of her and nobody knew about it, so they could not help her. Perhaps that was the reason of Mrs. Ramsay's unexpected death.

A Journey by Colm Toibin

†A Journey† by Colm Toibin Changes is a part of every normal human life, but sometimes it doesn’t change in a direction we like. When it happens that life doesn’t working out the way we hope, it’s a natural thing that we start looking back on our past. In wonder of the things we did wrong, but also just to remember a time that felt brighter and happier. A Journey by Colm Tobin is a story that deals with a reflection about the past, and how it has affected the present. In A Journey the reflection happens in flashbacks, that the story’s main character Mary is getting on her journey from a hospital to her home.On this hospital she has picked her son who has suffered and still suffers from a deep depression. On the same time has her husband, named Seamus, just had another stroke, and is very ill. â€Å"Now Seamus was lying upstairs in that same house. The whole right side of his body was paralyzed. That scene Mary could picture more sharply than 6 0 anything. Even when she read the newspaper to him, Seamus did not seem interested. [1]† Much interests isn’t she getting from her depressed son as well, he doesn’t want to sit with her in the front seat in the car and does specifically ask her to not ask any question during their journey.Mary is therefore a lonely woman, who has to deal with a troubled present alone. A naturally reaction is to seek comfort in a brighter time in her past. She think a lot about happy memories with Seamus, her father and her son. At the same time it’s clear that she is looking back to find some kind of explanation of her misery at the same time. She can’t really find these explanations though, because she is afraid of facing what have caused the changes that have been inn he life.That we see in this quote about her son’s doctor: â€Å"He did not seem ready to answer any direct questions so Mary had asked none†. That is what she is trying to convince her self, but the truth is probably that she is afraid of the answers he might give her. A Journey is a story about life, and how we handle the change of directions we sometimes have to make on that journey. Therefore are changes a major theme. Mary has a hard time facing the problems that the changes means, and seek comfort in the comforting past. The changes Mary has a hard time ealing with is involving his family, and what she can do with them and how she has to be. That makes family-relation, by my opinion, to another important theme in the story. The way she is reflecting about changes, which she does implicit without she admits it, is through flashbacks. The story starts up in a flashback and they are well used all the way to the end. The using of flashbacks gives an improved knowledge about the head characters. In A Journey it is used to give us readers an insight in Mary and her family’s past, and therefore gives a hint of how the situation became how it did.They have a c lear contrast to the present in where the story takes place, and it creates a situation where the reader feels a sense of understanding as though he/she knows the past tense and the change and development of the different characters represented in the story. Concretely is the flashback a tool to illustrate Mary’s almost desperate attempt to maintain things how it were, before it all changed. That’s why there’s a lot of flashback to memories with her father before he died, her husband before he got sick and her son before his mood got dark and depressed.It’s also a tool to tell us about the background for her relationship with her son, be telling us why she has such a hard time connecting with him, and understand how he feels. â€Å"It was, she knew, an ill- ness, but it did not seem like one. It seemed to her like something David would not give up, a special dark gift he had been offered. Something which comforted him and which he had accepted. † T he flashbacks are used to tell us about all what’s behind immediate plot. The title of the short story refers to more than its literal journey from the hospital to home.It refers to the development with Mary’s way of dealing with things. In the very short journey from hospital to the house I’ll interpret that Mary develops, because she through the flashbacks sense the changes and by that she becomes more focused on the present and the time to come. This statement is supported by a quotation fro, the end of the story. †It was time, she thought, to let the grey appear†. Literally, she talks about stop coloring her hair blond. Figuratively, it means that she needs to face the problems and let nature do its work. She can’t hide the reality from herself anymore. ———————– [1]

Teachers Assessment of Writing in English Essay - 1751 Words

The most difficult aspect of being an English teacher, for me, is assessing my students’ writing. I can remember, so clearly, the day my cooperating teacher handed me a student’s writing and said, â€Å"Read this and give it a grade.† After reading it, I felt an overwhelming and uncomfortable power shadow over me. I didn’t know the rules of assessment. What was I supposed to be looking for anyway? I was able to realize immediately that there is a definite difference between knowing how to write an essay and knowing how to assess one. When I was asked what I finally came up with as a grade, I told her the student earned a â€Å"B.† She agreed and I remember thinking to myself that maybe my task wasn’t as difficult as I had thought moments before.†¦show more content†¦As teachers, we rely on our learned knowledge, our experience in the subject area and on rubrics to serve as our guides in this process. With the help of these guides, however, it is possible to assess writing fairly. Some may ask, â€Å"Why do we have to assess writing at all? Since there is no correct or right answer, then what is the purpose of it?† These loaded questions are surrounded by much controversy among teachers. Our educational system has standards that exist for necessary reasons. The standards that are established for our students extend far beyond the classroom walls. Throughout our lives, they constantly guide us. For example, people have to live up to certain standards everyday in order to hold a career and be successful in that field. Furthermore, in sports, for instance, athletes are continually held to high standards in order to be the best at what they do. Assessment is everywhere. There are standards in education, as well as in other aspects of life, that have a purpose for existing. We live in a competitive world all around. It is the students with the highest grades who are accepted into top-notch universities. Is this wrong or unfair? Likewise, it is the strongest and most consistent athletes that will move on to the professional arena. Although some may find this an unfair practice, we can not deny our students the fact that this is the process that makes our world go round. Should theShow MoreRelatedStandardized Testing and Curriculum Standards Essay1188 Words   |  5 Pagescannot be said that all assessments are unnecessary and academically limiting for students. If teachers are to know their students’ strengths and weaknesses, they must formulate a way in which to assess their knowledge. In order to create a curriculum adherent to the most specific needs of a teacher’s class, assessment must play a role when devising the course of action for the academics taught. This does not mean that all standardized testing is an accurate form of assessment. If most standardizedRead MoreThe Role Of State Standards On The Classroom1734 Words   |  7 Pagesteachers? 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