The Significance of Lily Barts Death free essay sample

You should consider the implications both for the protagonist’s social milieu and for women in general at this point in American history. The significance of Lily Bart’s death. As a writer looking towards the twentieth century Wharton faced the challenge of telling the history of women past the age of thirty. The age of thirty was established as the threshold by nineteenth-century conventions. The conventions of ‘girlhood’ and marriage ability; a psychological observation about the formation of the female identity. Wharton shared Freud’s pessimism about the difficulties of change for women. In his essay ‘femininity’, Sigmund Freud (1933) claimed that women’s psyches and personalities became fixed by the time they reached thirty. 1 The House of Mirth begins in New York’s grandiose gateway that is Grand Central Station; it ends in a dark, shabby hall bedroom. Twenty-nine year old Lily is poised between worlds – a staid old society and unknown new one. We will write a custom essay sample on The Significance of Lily Barts Death or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She slowly descends by class, and dies by suicide. Wharton lightens this melodramatic ending by not quite allowing Lily to actually commit suicide, instead she is portrayed as simply not caring enough about life to count her sleeping drops correctly. 2 Lily Bart is neither the educated, socially conscious or rebellious New Woman. She does not find meaning for her life in solitude and creativity. Her skills and morality are those of the Perfect Lady. She rises to the occasion quite superbly whenever there is a crisis – when her aunt disinherits her, Simon Rosedale rejects her and Bertha Dorset insults her. Her would-be New Man Lawrence Selden is who she turns to for friendship and faith. Selden criticises her for being ‘perfect’ to ‘everyone’; but demands extra moral perfection that can only ultimately be fulfilled by Lily dying. 3 Lily’s story progresses against a paradigm of what was expected of the ‘proper’ young lady. The conventional arrangements for a leisure-class lady were a social debut, followed by courtship, engagement and a wedding. However, the novel opens with ‘tea at a bachelor’s flat’ which at first may ppear quite trivial, yet, it is the start of a fatal sequence. Such things were warned of in etiquette books, even in the new twentieth century. Lawrence Selden assures Lily at the beginning of the novel, ‘Oh, I’m not dangerous’ (p. 6). However, by judging her, behaving intimately then distancing himself and interfering every time she is about to act upon securing her future welfare, he turns out to be quite dangerous. Somewhat indirectly, Selden could ultimately be considered responsible for Lily’s death. Selden does not realise that Lily could have saved her failing reputation by simply disclosing Bertha Dorset’s letters to him. He never does know that she possessed and destroyed them. In Lily’s death he has lost forever the opportunity to learn that she may have sacrificed herself in order to preserve his reputation and his memory of her. 5 We can almost see through Lily’s uniqueness, the lonely quest of ladylike manners in the midst of crudeness and spite; making us feel that she is the last lady in New York, the ‘lone and solitary’ survivor of a bygone age. Wharton decides that Lily cannot survive, that the upper-class lady has to die in order to make way for the modern woman who will work, love and give birth. Lily’s ladylike self-silencing reminds us of her incapability to rise above the evasions that confine her conversations with Selden. In her search for a husband it is, in a sense, an effort to be ‘spoken for’. However, she has the opposite effect and is ‘spoken of’ by men. Although Lily has such a great desire to tell Selden the truth about herself, she is only capable of making hints which he is unable to comprehend. All of her tears, body language and gestures are wasted on him. Even as she is on her deathbed, drifting into unconsciousness, Lily struggles with the effort to speak, ‘she said to herself that there was something she must tell Selden if she could only remember it everything would be well. ’ (p. 283) However, she dies with this word on her lips. 6 Lily lacks self-ownership because of her unmarried status. She cannot fully possess herself – could this be the meaning behind the word that is left unsaid? Could the word she wanted to tell Selden be ‘freedom’? Earlier in the novel when walking with Selden in the park, Lily listens as he defines what ‘success’ means for him, ‘My idea of success, is personal freedom from everything – from money, from poverty from all the material accidents’ (p. 60). It appears that both Lily and Selden were too late in realising that it was in fact this freedom they both desired. The withholding of the word ultimately denies the reader access to Lily’s dying thoughts. However, it is this switch from omniscient narration to free indirect discourse that allows the reader to fill this â€Å"textual space†. Wharton manages to position the novel as psychological realism bordering on modernism. 7 Lily is repeatedly defeated. The aunt who should be there to rescue her disinherits her; her friend Bertha Dorset should be there for her, yet she throws her out in order to protect her own reputation; the man who should have faith in her, cannot trust her long enough to overcome his own emotional meticulousness. We see Lily being taken from the heights to her death in an unrelenting fall. 8 Lily realises that her status as a lady does not exempt her from the sufferings of womanhood. We see this in her awareness of her own body as its ornamental features begin to weaken, her luxuriant hair begins to thin, her glowing features will become ‘dull and colourless’ in the millinery workshop (p. 247). Her hands are at first described as ‘polished as a bit of old ivory’ (p. 7). Yet, in her altercation with Gus Trenor, Lily becomes aware that these lovely hands are also ‘helpless’ and ‘useless’ (p. 30). She realises that her hands are now that of a working woman, ungraceful and clumsy. 9 Lily lives in a society so insistently materialistic and self-serving that it carelessly destroys what is most beautiful and blameless within it. Lily is a heroine who is competent at making decisions and dealing with the consequences, yet, at the same time defenceless against an array of internal and external forces that constrict choice. Wharton conveys the source of Lily’s troubles not only in her personality, but also in the society that produced her. This society discourages women like Lily from becoming independent identities, instead making them out to be nothing more than aesthetic objects. We see this in Lily’s performance in the tableau vivant scene. The scene underlines Lily’s creative potential but proves to be more problematic than victorious. She attracts the attention of Selden but at the same time she excites the aggressive sexual hunger of Gus Trenor, who later tries to gain sexual favours as repayment for the load she accepted from him. 10 The shifts in Lily’s personal fortunes parallel disruptions in society as shifting values and behaviours form new patterns of social inclusion and exclusion. After the Civil War, urbanisation, industrialisation and commercialisation – along with the arrival of new moneyed industrialists and entrepreneurs – Old New York’s social demography became altered. Lily struggles to settle in such an adjusted social landscape in which her assets – beauty and status – can not compete with her escalating social and financial debts. Without any funds or wealthy husband it is inevitable that Lily can only descend the social ladder whilst the newly wealthy, can only climb. 11 In her meeting with Nettie Struther Lily sees herself emulated in her and her baby – Nettie’s accomplishments seem beyond any she had imagined for herself. Lily gives in to the desire for physical connection by holding her baby (p. 276). The scene of Lily on her deathbed hallucinating about holding the baby can be seen as both sentimental and regressive, or even as a sign of Lily’s retreat in to the safety of infantilism. Moreover, the hallucination could speak for Lily’s stimulated sense of loving solidarity and community. We see how far Lily has come even in her death. She is an honestly awakened woman; she recognises her own position in the community of women workers. Her enlightenment is slow and distressing, ‘It was as though a great blaze of electric light had been turned on in her head She had not imagined that such a multiplication of wakefulness was possible: her whole past was re-enacting itself at a hundred different points of consciousness’ (p. 82). 12 It is women like Nettie who represent the new working women of the future, women with independent needs to survive. The fact that Nettie’s baby is a girl may signify that the future not only rests with a woman like Nettie, but more so in the new hope for the future for her baby. When Lily returns to her lonely room, she realises with ‘intense clearness’ her separation from the ‘solidarity of life’ from true association with others, that she is ‘mere spin-drift of the whirling surface of existence’ p. 279). Lily is strong enough to face deep realisation about her individuality, yet exhausted by what she has been through, she shrinks from ‘the glare of thought as instinctively as eyes contract in a blaze of light – darkness, darkness was what she must have at any cost. ’ (p. 282). Chloral brings Lily passiveness; it dulls and then eliminates the truth she has reached about her separate identity and connections she has never attained with others. As a sense of ‘complete subjugation’ comes over her, Lily loses what Claire Kahane refers to as the â€Å"tenuous and fundamentally ambivalent struggle for a separate identity, the struggle with the maternal self that figures ‘the forces of life and death’†. 13 Throughout the novel we see that Lily never actually owns anything, apart from a diminishing supply of personal adornments. She always lives in borrowed spaces, and dies of ‘isolation’. Even Lily’s own room is a space that is owned, furnished and maintained by others. 14 Lily has class without money and thus manners without the social position connected to them. It seems Lily is the only person with true class, everyone who has money has no manners. The result is devastating; Lily has to die among the people who disregard manners, and thus herself. 15 Lily’s end is as ambiguous as her beginning, with its double binds and sterile ideals. On one level her death serves to condemn a legal and social order that refuses women the â€Å"inviolable personalities† possessed by men. The fragmentation that accompanies Lily’s death implies that the â€Å"real Lily Bart† may be nothing more than a fiction – a version of â€Å"personality† from which both the heroine and Wharton seek shelter. 6 One could see Lily’s death as a complete surrender, yielding to be nothing more than beautiful; she dies untouched, symbolically, as the flower whose name she bears. It is the wealth and status that Lily has so passionately desired which finally destroy her. She has not only become a victim of her society but an icon, symbolic of its essential cruelty and contradictions.

3 Tips for Writing Your Williams College Supplement

3 Tips for Writing Your Williams College Supplement SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Williams is among the most selective colleges in the country, with an acceptance rate of 15 percent. As part of your Williams application, you’ll need to respond to the Williams writing supplement. In this article, we’ll cover the three questions that make up the Williams writing supplement, offer suggestions for what to write about in your essay, and give you tips for crafting the best essay possible. The Williams Writing Supplement There are three different questions on the Williams writing supplement. You need to respond to one of them as part of your application. 1. At Williams we believe that bringing together students and professors in small groups produces extraordinary academic outcomes. Our distinctive Oxford-style tutorial classes- in which two students are guided by a professor in deep exploration of a single topic- are a prime example. Each week the students take turns developing independent work- an essay, a problem set, a piece of art- and critiquing their partner’s work. Focused on close reading, writing and oral defense of ideas, more than 60 tutorials a year are offered across the curriculum, with titles like Aesthetic Outrage, Financial Crises: Causes and Cures, and Genome Sciences: At the Cutting Edge. Imagine yourself in a tutorial at Williams. Of anyone in the world, whom would you choose to be your partner in the class, and why? 2. Each Sunday night, in a tradition called Storytime, students, faculty and staff gather to hear a fellow community member relate a brief story from their life (and to munch on the storyteller’s favorite homemade cookies). What story would you share? What lessons have you drawn from that story, and how would those lessons inform your time at Williams? 3. Every first-year student at Williams lives in an Entry- a thoughtfully constructed microcosm of the student community that’s a defining part of the Williams experience. From the moment they arrive, students find themselves in what’s likely the most diverse collection of backgrounds, perspectives and interests they’ve ever encountered. What might differentiate you from the 19 other first-year students in an entry? What perspective(s) would you add to the conversation with your peers? Each question has the same instructions: respond to the prompt in 300 words or fewer. Writing the Williams writing supplement is optional, so you can choose whether you want to answer a question or not. Should I Write an Essay for the Williams Writing Supplement? When you’re working on your Williams College application, you might notice that the Williams Writing Supplement is entirely optional. So should you write an essay? Or skip it altogether? It would be a huge mistake to not write the Williams College supplement. While the instructions do say optional, the statement isn’t really optional. Choosing not to write an essay will make you look like you don’t care that much about being accepted to Williams. Along the same lines, your Williams writing supplement is a great way to show the admissions committee aspects of your personality that aren’t highlighted in the rest of your application. Take that opportunity! Show the admissions committee why you belong on Williams’ campus. What Should I Write About in My Williams College Supplement? Let’s take a look at each of the Williams College supplement questions and discuss what you could write about in each. At Williams we believe that bringing together students and professors in small groups produces extraordinary academic outcomes. Our distinctive Oxford-style tutorial classes- in which two students are guided by a professor in deep exploration of a single topic- are a prime example. Each week the students take turns developing independent work- an essay, a problem set, a piece of art- and critiquing their partner’s work. Focused on close reading, writing and oral defense of ideas, more than 60 tutorials a year are offered across the curriculum, with titles like Aesthetic Outrage, Financial Crises: Causes and Cures, and Genome Sciences: At the Cutting Edge. Imagine yourself in a tutorial at Williams. Of anyone in the world, whom would you choose to be your partner in the class, and why? While it may seem like there are endless ways to answer this question, there are really only two real options: you can pick someone you know personally or you can pick someone you’ve never met, but have always wanted to. Whichever direction you go in, you should make sure to have a specific reason for choosing that person. If you pick someone you know personally, you can use this essay as an opportunity to talk about experiences you’ve had that have greatly affected you. You could, for instance, choose someone you met on a service trip who taught you about hard work or the director of a musical that you participated in that taught you a lot about self confidence. In either of these examples, you’ll be able to talk not only about the influential figure, but about an important part of your life (the service trip or the musical). If you decide to go the celebrity or famous person route, you should make sure to have a real reason why you want to meet that person - a reason that reflects how they influence you. Love isn’t the same as influence - you can love a celebrity but that doesn’t mean they’ve had a huge impact on your life. It’s fine to pick Chrissy Teigen, but only if you talk about how you’d really like her help dissecting a tutorial on social media. If you’re struggling to pick a person, it can be helpful to come up with a tutorial topic that you’d like to participate in first. Having parameters like class topic can be useful for giving you ideas for how to answer the question. Each Sunday night, in a tradition called Storytime, students, faculty and staff gather to hear a fellow community member relate a brief story from their life (and to munch on the storyteller’s favorite homemade cookies). What story would you share? What lessons have you drawn from that story, and how would those lessons inform your time at Williams? While this prompt talks a Williams-specific tradition, Storytime, the question itself is a common one in admissions essays: sharing about a time when you learned an important lesson. To master this prompt, you need to pick a specific experience. It doesn’t need to be earth-shattering or impressive, but it does need to have real significance in your life. You should pick an authentic experience that you actually had - don’t make something up or exaggerate to try to seem more important. Your essay should have a clear narrative arc with a beginning, middle, and end. Make sure to include your takeaways and reflections in the end of the response. Every first-year student at Williams lives in an Entry- a thoughtfully constructed microcosm of the student community that’s a defining part of the Williams experience. From the moment they arrive, students find themselves in what’s likely the most diverse collection of backgrounds, perspectives and interests they’ve ever encountered. What might differentiate you from the 19 other first-year students in an entry? What perspective(s) would you add to the conversation with your peers? This Williams College supplement prompt gives you an opportunity to share more about what makes you unique. Don’t fall into the trap, though, of sharing too much! Pick one specific trait or identity to talk about. You don’t need to talk about every single thing you’ve ever done or liked. In your essay, be sure to talk about how the trait or identity you chose has affected your perspective. Maybe being introverted has let you observe more about other people. Maybe being a member of the LGBTQ+ community has taught you about the importance of respecting others’ differences. Whatever you choose, make sure to fully flesh out how and why that trait has affected your perspective and why that perspective would be valuable to the Williams community. Tips for Writing a Strong Williams College Supplement Essay Writing a strong Williams College supplement essay isn’t just about picking the right prompt to answer. You need to make sure your essay is the best possible example of your work in order to wow the admissions committee. Follow these three tips for writing an amazing Williams supplement essay. #1: Be Authentic The point of a college essay is for the admissions committee to have the chance to get to know you beyond your test scores, grades, and honors. Your admissions essays are your opportunity to make yourself come alive for the essay readers and to present yourself as a fully fleshed out person. You should, then, make sure that the person you’re presenting in your college essays is yourself. Don’t try to emulate what you think the committee wants to hear or try to act like someone you’re not. If you lie or exaggerate, your essay will come across as insincere, which will diminish its effectiveness. Stick to telling real stories about the person you really are, not who you think Williams wants you to be. #2: Play With Form The Williams College supplement essays leave a lot of room open for creative expression - use that! You don’t need to stick to a five paragraph essay structure here. You can play with the length and style of your sentences - you could even dabble in poetry if that makes sense! Whichever form you pick, make sure it fits with the story you’re trying to tell and how you want to express yourself. #3: Proofread and Polish Your Essay Your Williams essay should be the strongest example of your work possible. Before you turn in your application, make sure to edit and proofread your essays. Your work should be free of spelling and grammar errors. Make sure to run your essays through a spelling and grammar check before you submit. It’s a good idea to have someone else read your Williams College supplement essay, too. You can seek a second opinion on your work from a parent, teacher, or friend. Ask them whether your work represents you as a student and person. Have them check and make sure you haven’t missed any small writing errors. Having a second opinion will help your work be the best it possibly can be. Final Thoughts While the Williams College supplement says it’s optional, it’s not really! You should answer the essay as part of your application. When writing your Williams College supplement response, DO: Be authentic and true to yourself. Tell stories that are meaningful to your identity and experience. DON’T: Lie or exaggerate to seem more important. Forget to proofread or polish your essay. What’s Next? Wondering how to ace the Common Application? No problem! We’ve got you covered with tips and tricks to make your application stand out from the crowd. Starting your essay is often the hardest part.If you're unsure where to begin, check out this guide to starting a college essay perfectly, and don't be afraid to just dive right in! If you're applying to Williams College, you're likely applying to other colleges on the East Coast, too. Check out our expert guides to the Duke essay, the Tufts essays, and the Harvard essay. Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now:

Risk Assessment and Management Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Risk Assessment and Management Plan - Essay Example People suffering physical disabilities as well as having psychiatric problems are among the main sufferers of domestic violence. Furthermore, children are also directly or indirectly influenced by domestic violence (Iowa State University of Science and Technology, 2011). In accordance with the case, Janice, who is the mother of two and a half year child Sam was observed to be suffering from a problem of mental health i.e. bipolar disorder. Janice was least caring about the nutrition as well as the medical needs of Sam. Subsequently, Sam was removed from the care of Janice. After three months when Janice’s condition stabilised through medication, Sam’s care was restored to Janice. Moreover, for two years Janice and her partner Doug was together as well as had another child named Jessie but there were various incidents of domestic violence among them. Due to the stoppage of medication, Janice’s conditions worsened which led to further extreme violence among them. However, the partners were majorly concerned about their children. Domestic violence worker is required to support Janice in order to protect her goals and facilitate her to be able to take care of her children. The Mental Health Service is concerned about Janice and her children as she missed her two group support meeting consecutively. Moreover, it was observed in the last meeting that Janice was asking for money from other members of the group. The Police had approached o the Department of Child Safety in order to discuss about this family in the SCAN (Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect) meeting. The meeting was organised as they were concerned about the safety of children. The disability service provider and Child Health Clinic were concerned about the health of Evelyn and Jessie respectively. The Educational or School Counsellor was concerned about Sam who was negatively impacted by the acts of domestic violence, results of which were seen in his behavioural aspects towards the other