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Fairy Tales in the modern context Modern Phenomenon custom essays

Modern fairy tales can be written for both – adults and children and can have not only entertaining, but also educative purpose. Nowadays fairytales are considered to be a controversial genre in literature. Some researches state that modern stories can be considered as fairy tales, others insist that can not. Today there are a lot of stories written in a simple and fairy manner oriented to adults. These stories are called “fairytales for grown-up”. They reveal human relations and psychological problems with the help of fairytales. Some authors use fantastic motives in such fairytales, others use them to achieve a comic effect. The example is Jon Scieszka’s The Stinky Cheese Man. The author creates a fairy world where all the main characters know about their function in this story. “Some writers use fairy tale forms for modern issues;[69] this can include using the psychological dramas implicit in the story, as when Robin McKinley retold Donkeyskin as the novel Deerskin, with emphasis on the abusive treatment the father of the tale dealt to his daughter” (Briggs, 181). This is a very popular tendency nowadays.
Some authors develop a genre of fantasy and sometimes it is rather difficult to find a difference between a fantasy story and a fairytale. Fairy tale and fantastic motifs are closely interwoven. Nevertheless, such distinctions exist: fairytale fantasies, as all fantasies, have peculiar set of images, settings and characters. That is why analyzing George MacDonald’s work we can say that The Light Princess, The Wise Woman and The Golden Key are fairytales, while Phantastes and Lilith are fantasies.
It goes without saying that modern social tendencies leave their mark on contemporary literature in general, and modern fairy tales in particular. Some fairy tales have specific social motifs, such as racial or feminist. For example, “other authors may have specific motives, such as multicultural or feminist reevaluations of predominantly Eurocentric masculine-dominated fairy tales, implying critique of older narratives” (Jones, 15). Nowadays there are a lot of fairy tales written from the female point of view. Te bright example can be fairy tale The Bloody Chamber written by Angela Carter or The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch, in which the princess instead of prince rescues the prince. Such kinds of fairy tales are criticized by some critics, but, nevertheless, they become more and more popular. Continue Reading

The destructive contradictions of Falun Gong to the traditional Chinese culture custom essays

In fact, the development and rapid growth of the popularity of Falun Gong, followed by repressions from the part of the Chinese authorities reveal the fact that this movement became really popular and gradually evolved from a religious movement into political one. At the same time, it is necessary to underline that the political contradictions between Falun Gong and the Chinese Communist Party were not the only reasons that led to the repression and defeat of the movement in China. In fact, this movement was quite contradictive in the traditional Chinese perception since it violates the existing norms and traditional Chinese cultural standards. Such a difference of Falun Gong from other movements and from the traditional Chinese culture produced a dubious effect on the development and the future of the movement.
On the one hand, its uniqueness and difference determined the popularity of the movement since it was actually the only alternative to the ideological domination of the Chinese Communist Party and the only mass movement of such a scale in China. On the other hand, such a difference also led to the defeat and ban of Falun Gong followed by repressions targeting at its leaders and followers because the teaching was perceived as hostile by the Chinese authorities and was not supported enough by masses of Chinese people. As a result, the Chinese government through the law enforcement defeated Falun Gong in China.
In such a situation, it is very important to refer to the basic contradictions between Falun Gong and the traditional Chinese culture which lead to the growing popularity and the following destruction of the movement in China. Continue Reading

Basic principles and beliefs of Falun Gong custom essays

Obviously, the ban of Falun Gong was determined by the growing popularity of the movement in China but it was also obvious that the teaching was quite different from the traditional views of Chinese people. This is actually why Falun Gong became a kind of alternative to the dominating Communist Party which is considered to be the only political force that can control the ideology in the country and, which, in a way, remains devoted to the traditional Chinese culture and Chinese traditions. In such a situation, it is extremely important to understand the reasons and causes of such unparalleled popularity of the movement which is relatively young since it had been officially founded in 1992.
In order to answer this question, it is necessary to refer to the basic beliefs and principles of Falun Gong since it is due to the ideological component the movement has managed to attract millions of Chinese people who joined Falun Gong and became the devoted adepts of this teaching. In this respect, it is primarily necessary to refer to the essence of the Fanul Gong teaching.
In fact, it is possible to refer to the official Falun Gong sources, such as the official website of the movement, which gives the following description and explanation of the movement: “Falun Dafa is a practice that has brought better health and inner peace to millions around the world. We call it a cultivation practice: cultivation refers to the improvement of one’s heart and mind through a careful study of universal principles based on truthfulness, benevolence, and forbearance; “practice” means doing exercises and meditation to energize the body” (FalunDafa.org). Continue Reading

The origin and development of Falun Gong custom essays

Basically, Falun Gong is a new political and philosophic movement which appeared officially in the early 1990s, namely in 1992, when the founder of the movement Li Hongzhi introduced his teaching to the public. In fact, the teaching was not an absolutely new, instead it was based on the traditional Buddhist beliefs typical to Asia at large and China in particular. This is why it is possible to estimate that Li Hongzhi modified the traditional Buddhist beliefs and adapted them to the new conditions of life and to his own perception of the world. It should be said that Li Hongzhi interpreted and modified Buddhism in his own way and attempted to spread his ideas in the form of the new teaching, Falun Gong, which gradually transformed into the political movement.
At the same time, it is necessary to point out that the basis of Falun Gong was not purely Buddhist. On analyzing the origin of the movement and its basic ideas and beliefs, it is possible to trace the presence of ideas from other popular Asian and Chinese philosophies such as Taoism, Confucianism, and even from traditional Chinese folklore. What is more important, there are even some elements of Western New Age movements, which were traditionally strange for China and not very popular in this country, if not to say that the attitude of the authorities and the local population to the Western trends was hostile. Continue Reading

Falun Gong Political Movement and How and Why It Is Seen as a Threat to Chinese Culture custom essays

Falun Gong is one of the latest political and philosophical movement based on ideas of Buddhism. In spite of the fact that the ideology of Falun Gong appeared in the end of the 20th century, by the end of 1990s the movement was banned in China that caused numerous protests of the world community and civil rights organization. Nevertheless, the political authorities of China remained persistent in their attitude to Falun Gong and did not allow the movement to reincarnate its active existence, though clandestine forms of this teaching still may be found in different parts of China. The fact that this political and philosophic movement was forbidden in China is quite noteworthy since the Chinese Communist Party traditionally tended to the domination and constantly oppressed any other political movements but in the case of the ban of Falun Gong the reasons of Chinese authorities were not only political. It should be said that it was argued that the real motive of the Chinese Communist Party was not the political fear but the fear of the destructive effect of this movement on minds of ordinary Chinese people and on the traditional Chinese culture at large. In such a situation, it is really important to understand the real reasons of the Chinese Communist Party that forced Chinese authorities to ban Falun Gong and analyze the origin, development and basic ideas and beliefs of this movement which are supposed to be destructive for the traditional Chinese culture.

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Family secrets in “The Fall of the House of Usher” custom essays

“The Fall of the House of Usher” is one of the works written by Edgar Allan Poe, which strikes the reader by its tension and secrets that the story of the Usher family, or to put it more precisely its remnants, conceals.
In fact, this is the story of the House of Usher where the main characters Roderick and Madeline Usher live. The narrator of the story is invited to the Usher house and is practically shocked by the house and even more by Roderick who has changed dramatically since their childhood when they were bosom friend of Roderick. The friend observes that inside the house there is “an air of stern, deep, and irredeemable gloom, which hung over and pervaded all” (Poe 38). This gloominess is typical for the hosts of the house to the extent that the guest cannot remark the change that occurred to Roderick: “Surely, a man had never before so terribly altered, in so brief a period, as had Roderick Usher” he had a “cadaverousness of complexion; an eye large, liquid, and luminous; lips very pallid… made up altogether a countenance not easily to be forgotten” (Poe 59). Continue Reading

The Constitution and Slavery Issue custom essays

Despite the fact that the United States of America was initially proclaimed as country of liberty and equal opportunities through the centuries, such shameful things as slavery and segregation were accepted in this country. America is a rather young country. Its written history is only a few hundred years old. It is still sometimes called “The New World”. At the same time the United States of America is the only country in the history that could make a great leap from slavery to democracy.
The Articles of Confederation, which were used as the main law of the United States until the middle of the 1780s proved to be ineffective and it soon became clear that article needed to be revised. The process was initiated by James Madison and inspired by George Washington. In summer of 1787 Madison sent a call to Congress with the request to revise the Articles of Confederation. The special commission, created for this purpose, very soon decided not to revise the old Articles but created a completely new document, which later became the main law of the country. The Project of Constitution was made in Philadelphia by the prominent politicians and scientists. It was adopted on September, 17, 1787. It was adopted by the Constitution Convention in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania and later ratified by the representatives of several states. Continue Reading

Father/Son Relationship custom essays

Usually, the problem of father and son relationship has importance. It can be said that “Mnahood” by John Wain, provides a typical conflict that exists between fathers and sons, which perfectly reflects the conflict between father’s expectations and son’s inclinations and interests. This short story is focused on the deep conflict that exists between the father and the son, the main characters of the work. The father, having a lot of expectations in relations to his son, attempts to realize his ideas and expectations in his own son in the areas where he, himself, has failed.
In fact, “Manhood” is a very important story from the perspective of the study of father and son relationship. The main characters of the story are the father, Mr. Willison, and his son, Rob. The role of mother, being relatively important, seems to be secondary. Her main function is to reveal problems in relationship between the father and the son. She reveals personal problems of Mr. Willison, such as low self-esteem. For instance, in their conversation, Mrs. Willison attempts to convince her husband that he is normal: Continue Reading

The Conflict between Society’s View on Women and the Female Characters in “A Rose for Emily” custom essays

William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a short story about the life of South America at the beginning of the 20th century, which illustrates an attitude to women during the period described. The author gives interesting outlook of the social structure of the society of the time described. In this short story Faulkner manages to express the sprit of changes, which influence the lives of his characters. Society, described in this short story, differs from the one we face today. Deprived of basic rights and freedoms, women of those times were physically and emotionally subdued to men. The study of gender relations, women’s position at that time and importance of social influence of these relations became the main idea of Faulkner’s writing.
Gender relation is one of the main themes of a short story “A Rose for Emily” written by Faulkner. The story is written in a form of third-person narration and, what is notable, there is no one definite narrator. Third person narration and multiple people, who tell the story, is a special device used by the author. “The men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old man-servant – a combined gardener and cook – had seen in at least ten years” (Faulkner 55). It helps him to pass the point of view of town folks to his readers. The readers get not only an opinion of one separate person, but a combined idea of what people think of the town described. Continue Reading

Fernand Point as a representative of cuisine nouvelle custom essays

Speaking about Fernand Point, it is primarily necessary to point out that this famous restaurateur and cook is considered to be the father of the French cuisine of the 20th century. To put it more precisely, he was one of the first cooks who started the new trend in French cuisine moving from traditional style of cooking to a new, quite different one. In fact, Fernand Point has changed not only the style but even major approaches to cooking and dishes that he created and his innovations turned to be so influential that the trends started by this restaurateur still persists and are quite popular even in the modern French cuisine and especially in the top French restaurants.
At the beginning, it should be said that Farnand Point was really a very successful restaurateur and outstanding cook because he managed to gain the national recognition and popularity. Such achievements of the restaurateur are really striking taking into consideration that he lived and worked not in Paris or other large city of France, where traditionally the best specialists and connoisseurs of French cuisine work, but, instead, he worked in a small town of Vienne situated Northward from Lyon. Naturally, he had little chances to get the public acclaim and naturally it was practically unthinkable that a restaurateur from province could become popular and well-known nationwide. Continue Reading