Learn What a Feature Story Is

Ask most people what a feature story is, and theyll say something soft and puffy, written for the arts or fashion section of a newspaper or website. But the truth is, features can be about any subject, from the fluffiest lifestyle piece to the toughest investigative report. And features arent just found in the back pages of the paper—the ones that focus on things like home dà ©cor and music reviews. In fact, features are found in every section of the paper, from news to business to sports. If you go through a typical newspaper from front to back on any given day, chances are, the majority of stories will be written in a feature-oriented style. The same is true on most news websites. So we know what features arent—but what are they? Feature stories arent defined so much by subject matter as they are by the style in which theyre written. In other words, anything written in a feature-oriented way is a feature story. These are the characteristics that distinguish feature stories from hard news: The Lede A feature lede doesnt have to have the who, what, where, when and why in the very first paragraph, the way a hard-news lede does. Instead, a feature lede can use description or an anecdote to set up the story. A feature lede can also run for several paragraphs instead of just one. Pace Feature stories often employ a more leisurely pace than news stories. Features take the time to tell a story, instead of rushing through it the way news stories often seem to do. Length Taking more time to tell a story means using more space, which is why features are usually, though not always, longer than hard news articles. A Focus on the Human Element If news stories tend to focus on events, then features tend to focus more on people. Features are designed to bring the human element into the picture, which is why many editors call features people stories. So, for example, if a hard news story recounts how a thousand people are being laid off from a local factory, the feature story might focus on just one of those workers, portraying their emotional turmoil—grief, anger, fear—at losing their job. Other Elements of Feature Articles Feature articles also include more of the elements that are used in traditional storytelling—description, scene-setting, quotes, and background information. Both fiction and non-fiction writers often say their aim is to  help readers paint a visual portrait in their minds of whats happening in a story. Thats also the goal of feature writing. Whether its by describing a place or a person, setting a scene, or using colorful quotes, a good feature writer does anything he or she can in order to get readers engaged with the story. An Example: The Man Who Played Violin in the Subway To demonstrate what were talking about, take a look at the first few paragraphs of this April 8, 2007 feature by Washington Post writer Gene Weingarten about a world-class violinist who, as an experiment, played beautiful music in crowded subway stations. Note the expert use of the feature-oriented lede, the leisurely pace and length, and the focus on the human element. He emerged from the metro at the L’Enfant Plaza station and positioned himself against a wall beside a trash basket. By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play. It was 7:51 a.m. on Friday, January 12, the middle of the morning rush hour. In the next 43 minutes, as the violinist performed six classical pieces, 1,097 people passed by. Almost all of them were on the way to work, which meant, for almost all of them, a government job. L’Enfant Plaza is at the nucleus of federal Washington, and these were mostly mid-level bureaucrats with those indeterminate, oddly fungible titles: policy analyst, project manager, budget officer, specialist, facilitator, consultant. Each passerby had a quick choice to make, one familiar to commuters in any urban area where the occasional street performer is part of the cityscape: Do you stop and listen? Do you hurry past with a blend of guilt and irritation, aware of your cupidity but annoyed by the unbidden demand on your time and your wallet? Do you throw in a buck, just to be polite? Does your decision change if he’s really bad? What if he’s really good? Do you have time for beauty? Shouldn’t you? What’s the moral mathematics of the moment? From Gene Weingartens Pearls Before Breakfast: Can one of the nation’s great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? Let’s find out.

Societal Resistance and Control in The Handmaids Tale...

The words control and Gilead, the setting for the novel The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, are interchangeable. Not only is control a pivotal feature of the novel and its plot, it consequently creates the subplots, the characters and the whole world because of its enormity in the Republic of Gilead. Resistance also features heavily, as does its results, mainly represented in the salvagings, particicution and the threat of the colonies. Control dominates all aspects of Gileadian society, from minor, seemingly petty normalities such as the clothes allowed, all the way up to how and who to have sexual relations with. Unimaginable in this day, Atwood represents modern society gone sour, something which is chillingly†¦show more content†¦The most blatent form of control would of course be the punishments given for resistance and the retribution given out for disobeying the state. These, in Gilead, are really rather harsh and such things as homosexuality can resut in death, under the term Gender treachery. This is positively appalling to any civilised person believing in equal rights and death is almost absurd for such a non-crime. It seems that the society has medieval tendencies, which can be expected seeing that its main doctrine is taken from the most ancient book, the Bible. Still obviously this is no excuse for such barbaric acts in a modern society. Salvagings are also a horrible concept used by Atwood. All Handmaids and other women in the society are forced to attend the hangings of fellow women, often arranged on the nooses by their colours so they look pretty. A harsh warning not to step out of line. Also occasionally during the salvagings a rapist or murderer is thrown to the handmaids who rip him apart with their own hands, or feet, or teeth. The unthinkable is thought of for punishments in the Handmaids tale. There is also the threat of the colonies which always has to be contended with by all mischievous people in Gilead. The colonies are contaminated areas containing nuclear waste from numerable nuclear disasters and oil spills during the eighties.Show MoreRelatedPower Struggle In The Handmaids Tale By Margaret Atwood1373 Words   |  6 PagesRenowned playwright William Shakespeare, and contemporary novelist Margaret Atwood both explore power struggle from a feminist perspective. Shakespeare in ‘King Lear’ and Atwood in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ explore varying power struggles and their correlation to gender through their respective texts. Shakespeare and Atwood use the genders of their central characters to focus on power in historical and dystopian settings. Both authors explore religious frameworks, the types of power in a patriarchalRead MoreLiterary Analysis of the Handmaids Tale1863 Words   |  8 Pageswhen one’s daily life, actions, and thoughts are dictated by domineering societal expectations. Oppressive environments such as regimes controlled by a dictatorship and that run off a totalitarian government system strip an individual of their civil rights as a human being in order to gain ultimate control over its citizens. A government such as the Republic of Gilead in Margaret Atwood’s work, The Handmaid’s Tale, controls their citizen’s lives to the extent to where they must learn to suppressRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The Crucible 1598 Words   |  7 Pagesenough against the oppression of Gilead. With the discovery of this secret phrase, there is a subtle shift in Offred’s character; no longer does the society completely control her, for she has discovered something that has slipped past the careful eye of Gilead, and this gives her hope. Offred is given many chances to join the resistance against Gilead, but she is never bold enough to become an active member in the cause, fearing the repercussions of being caught, of crossing the â€Å"invisible line† (194)Read MoreMargaret Atwood s The Handmaid Tale Essay1166 Words   |  5 Pagesamount of power and control of its citizens in order for a society to function properly. However, too much power and control in a society eliminates the freedom of the residents, forbidding them to live an ordinary life. In the dystopian futuristic novel, The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood demonstrates the theme of power and control through an oppressive society called the Republic of Gilead. The government established power and control through the use of the wall, military control, the salvaging, theRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood Essay1124 Words   |  5 Pages An American journalist, Theodore White, once said, â€Å"power in America is control of the means of communication.† This holds true not only for America, but in many environments, including The Gileadean government in Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale. There are two linguistic elements employed throughout the novel which bolster the totalitarian regime of the Gileadean government. The religious terminology and speech and the sexist language and symbols highlight the repression of free speechRead MoreThe Worlds Of The Last Man Essay2207 Words   |  9 PagesIn the worlds of The Last Man by Marry Shelly and A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the lives of the survivors of the apocalypse are thrown into chaos. In The Last Man, the people of England are driven out of their native home by the plague and forced into the desolate wasteland that is Europe. In A Handmaid’s Tale, Gilead society has torn Offred away from her past life and severed all her connections to it. In these troubled times, characters turn to religion either by force o r their own freeRead MoreUse Of Verbal And Symbolic Languages On The Handmaid s Tale2269 Words   |  10 Pagessame cultural tradition. Figurative language is a classification that exists within the complex societal settings and is often integrated that compromise of communication general concepts to specific initiatives. Therefore, in addition to spoken language, coded language can be taken by a given society in order to give both the direct and the indirect messages to the intended people. In The Handmaid’s Tale, the Atwood has chosen the use of verbal and symbolic languages to pass across her experience

Gattaca Essay free essay sample

Gattaca Essay Gattaca is a futuristic movie that addresses the possible issues of genetic discrimination and the problems that occur in a scientifically enhanced world. The movie gives many example of genetic discrimination as it follows the life of the main character Vincent, a genetically disabled person or invalid. As apposed to a genetically perfect, valid. The more prominent issues brought up involving invalids include finding suitable early child care and obtaining jobs in preferred industries. Both these matters have convincing positive and negative arguments that will be summarised below. Genetic discrimination takes place in many different areas throughout the movie but begins at the child care centre Vincent’s mother and father try to enrol him in. They are unable to sign him up as he was diagnosed at birth with numerous possible genetic disorders that the child care centres insurance would not cover for. This leads to other problems such as the parents having to educate him at home from an early age which could possibly develop other concerns. We will write a custom essay sample on Gattaca Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His social skills would be severely undeveloped due to lack of socialisation with other children his age. With his parents teaching him Vincent may not have been able to gain the highest possible level of education that the child care centre would have otherwise been able to provide. He would then begin his higher education lacking in the skills other valid students in his year already possessed. On the other hand without invalid students attending child care centres the educators are able to give more attention to the valid students that are more likely to succeed and progress towards a productive future in the work force. If an invalid student is permitted to attend a child care centre the safety of that child and the others attending is severely compromised. If a supervisor was constantly worried about the safety of the invalid child their attention would not be evenly distributed between the other students which could cause other dangerous situations. All throughout his life Vincent dreamed of going into space but because he was an invalid it was an almost unattainable dream. The only way he was able to obtain his goal was to take the identity of a valid. By doing this and accumulating enough knowledge to pass as a valid he became an astronaut and with some difficulties made it into space. If he had not been able to take a valid’s identity Vincent would have suffered as he would not have achieved his full potential in contributing to society. The most significant problem with being an invalid in the work force is that the higher paid jobs are unavailable because of their status so they have to make do with a lower paid job where they may be exploited and forced to work with minimal pay due to their increasing need for money. There are however many advantages for the employers. They are more likely to know who to hire and how productive that employee will be. This reduces the likelihood of fired employees and employing more people for a job that could be accomplished by only one valid. As well as this if an applying employee wants the position enough they will keep striving to be better than the rest and this will in turn force the standard higher in the work force which can only be seen as a benefit. In conclusion there are many arguments for and against genetic discrimination. Discrimination aids almost everyone who isn’t being discriminated against. For example the child care workers are able to reduce their numbers to concentrate on individual needs and reduce their insurance costs, where as employees are able to reduce the number of employees which therefore reduces their expenses. Unfortunately the invalids being discriminated against do not get an adequate early education and often miss out on well paid jobs in the industries they take an interest in. In some cases discrimination does work because the majority of people are valid’s and they are getting the benefits while the invalids strive to achieve their maximum potentials in a world of genetic perfection. Word Count: 688 words

Regi Babamusta Essays - Chemistry, Matter, Inorganic Solvents

Regi Babamusta Intro to Met. S. Nasse Acid Rain Acid rain is not only an issue for us here in the states, but in areas all over the world. Unfortunately, many do not even know what acid rain is. It's simple really. When fossil fuels burn, they release chemicals into the atmosphere, and those chemicals mix with the moisture in the atmosphere, which results in rain, snow, sleet, hail etc. with a higher acidity level than previously seen. Those fossil fuels are; coal, oil and natural gasses. Acid deposition is a more proper/scientific name than acid rain due to the fact acid can fall to the floor as any form of water. It can additionally integrate with dry debris and fall to the ground. Whenever dry debris is mixed in with the acidic chemicals it's better known as dry deposition, in comparison to acid coming down in the form of any moisture known as moist deposition. Not all people, but environmentally conscious people have been aware of air pollution since the times of the Ancient Romans. Just because they knew of the issue does not mean they did anything to help, or solve it. Up until the twentieth century people had turned their backs to the rising issue of air pollution including air pollution's most dangerous outcome, acid rain. Acid rain, over time is extremely harmful to ecosystems all over the globe and is one of the biggest problems we face today. Yet, not enough attempts have been made to begin the process of correcting this problem. The way acid rain forms in the atmosphere is essentially by the burning of an excessive amount of fossil fuels from places like factories and power plants worldwide. As per a study done by needtoknow.nas.edu, "The United States gets 81% of its total energy from, oil, coal, and natural gas, all of which are fossil fuels. We depend on those fossil fuels to heat our homes, run our vehicles, power industry and manufacturing, and provide us with electricity". To illustrate, when the biggest culprits of acid rain are burned they release gasses such as, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, etc. Everyone has seen the huge power plant chimneys dumping tons and tons of gas into the sky, the approximate amount being 21.3 billion tons. Once released, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with other components in the atmosphere like water vapor, and sunlight to produce the acids found in acid rain.There is a 14-point scale which is used to measure PH levels in liquids, 7 being neu tral and anything less than 7 is acidic. While anything more than 7 is alkaline. For example, battery acid measures at about 1 on the scale (depending on the manufacturer) while table vinegar is at 2-2.4 acidity. Conventional rain is between 5 and 6 acidity; acid rain is somewhere between 2 and 5.5. According to Insidermonkey, "The country with the worst cases of acid rain levels is China". The United States comes in a modest second place. Since acid is extremely corrosive and the levels worldwide are on the rise, many of the things we take for granted are prone to being damaged. Rivers, lakes, reservoirs, infrastructure, buildings, monuments, and animal life. Over time, acid rain affects almost everything it touches from our homes in the states to trees in the Amazon Forest When acid rain occurs, the acidity levels in major bodies of water aren't immediately affected. Unless it's pouring acid rain every other day the water dilutes the acid in the rain, otherwise all bodies of water would be highly acidic requiring neutralizers to get it back to base ph levels. During the spring months although rare, something called, "acid shock" can occur. Snow build up containing acid melts. Once the snow has melted, the acid runoff pours into the ground and neighboring bodies of water. Since the bodies of water are essentially being shocked with high acid levels, small organisms like algae begin to die off. Which causes a kind of deadly chain reaction. As the algae slowly die off, the organisms that consume the algae could possibly die of starvation. The chain reaction could go on or quite some time until many organisms

3 Cases of Missing Words and Phrases

3 Cases of Missing Words and Phrases 3 Cases of Missing Words and Phrases 3 Cases of Missing Words and Phrases By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, the absence of inadvertently omitted words and phrases leads to sentences that, though comprehensible, do not really say what they set out to communicate. Discussion after each example explains the problem, and revisions offer solutions. 1. The Voice mentor and Maroon 5 front man seemed to phone it in early on during the concert. In this sentence, the writer is under the mistaken impression that an article that is part of a composition title can serve double duty as an article integral to the syntax of the sentence in which the title is located. Replace the title with any other phrase that does not begin with the to see the problem. In this case, because the person in question is identified with phrases referencing two entertainment enterprises in which he is involved, simply insert an article at the head of the sentence and transpose the two phrases: â€Å"The Maroon 5 front man and The Voice mentor seemed to phone it in early on during the concert.† When this solution is not available because only one identifying phrase is employed, recast the sentence otherwise: â€Å"Levine, one of the mentors on The Voice, seemed to phone it in early on during the concert.† This revision is not as concise, but it has the advantage that it, unlike the original version, is syntactically sound. 2. We have observed systems at sites that often do not require any user authentication to interact with the physical environment and utilize unsupported and unpatched system software. It is initially unclear to the reader whether the phrase â€Å"utilize unsupported and unpatched system software† is parallel with the phrase â€Å"interact with the physical environment† or with the larger phrase that begins with require and ends with environment. Because the latter choice is the correct one, that should be repeated before the phrase beginning with utilize to match that phrase with the one beginning with require: â€Å"We have observed systems at sites that often do not require any user authentication to interact with the physical environment and that utilize unsupported and unpatched system software.† 3. Mobile app usage rates are flat but are now higher than ATMs. Here, mobile app usage rates are erroneously compared with ATMs; the comparison is between mobile app usage rates and ATM usage rates, and the sentence should explicitly state this, if only with a pronoun phrase in place of specifically parallel wording: â€Å"Mobile app usage rates are flat but are now higher than those for ATMs.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Words with More Than One SpellingHow to Pronounce MobileHow to Address Your Elders, Your Doctor, Young Children... and Your CEO

Religion, Femininity and Love in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre

Religion, Femininity and Love in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre Free Online Research Papers I. FRANKNESS AND TRUTH FROM A MAIN CHARACTER â€Å"Miss Eyre is rather a brazen miss,† wrote one reader, referring to the passionate main character of Charlotte Bronte’s most famous novel. Indeed, the novel received unfavorable reviews from its early critics for going against deeply entrenched codes of conduct and femininity. Jane’s outbursts of emotion, her then-radical assertion of the woman’s right to go beyond roles assigned by custom and her rejection of borders imposed by class caused controversy. In fact, Elizabeth Rigby calls Jane â€Å"unchristian,† saying that Jane Eyre couldn’t have been written by a female. She ultimately says that even if the book was penned by a woman, it was penned by one â€Å"who has, for some sufficient reason, long forfeited the society of her own sex.† (Weisser, p. xiv) This nonconformity, however, is what renders the novel an accurate picture of the life and times of its main character. Jane Eyre can be compared to a view through an unclouded lens: the character speaks without regard for the conventions of the day; therefore, we are given an uninhibited view of the character and an honest, unrestrained response to the issues during her time. Moreover, while Jane Eyre is classified as historical fiction today, it fell under the category of contemporary realist fiction during the time of its publication. Its author drew characters and plot elements from her own life, thus it can be treated as a reliable account of England during Bronte’s time, despite its fictionalization. Bronte was wary of theatrical productions of her novel because she feared they would misrepresent her work, and in a way she was right. Most productions selectively emphasized the Gothic and Romantic elements of the novel at the expense of its views on religion and the condition of women (Weisser, p. xii), which are noteworthy as well. Jane Eyre’s passages on women and religion actually need more emphasis, given that much of the controversy surrounding the novel stems from the Bronte’s brand of Christianity and proto-feminism. II. RELIGION, HUMAN FEELINGS AND HUMAN DESIRES Readers are given three pictures of religion in Jane Eyre. First, we are given the brand of religion from Brocklehurst, which Jane deems too hypocritical and consequently rejects. The hypocrisy is painted through the contrasting appearances of Brocklehurst’s family and the students of Lowood. There is a scene where Brocklehurst orders that the curls of a Lowood student be cut. Because Brocklehurst espouses the Evangelical view that Christianity requires the purging of pride, he subjects Lowood students to these kinds of humiliation and deprivation. Note, however, that Brocklehurst practices his evangelism on Lowood students while his own family takes on a gay, luxurious appearance. This hypocrisy justifies the novel’s rejection of the nineteenth century Evangelical movement. Second, Helen Burns’ brand of religion is one that forgives all wrongs in the name of Christianity. Jane rejects this, because she cannot train herself wholeheartedly for martyrdom like Helen’s, even if she admires Helen for it. The fact that Helen dies very young implies that her passivity is not suited for the trials that a person will face throughout the course of life. Third, we are given the brand of religion of St. John Rivers, which casts the Christian in the role of saviour to the heathens and deliverer of God’s word to new flocks. Jane rejects this as well, because this type of religion seeks glory (which Jane does not desire) and forces her to curb her feelings and passions. Like Helen’s brand of religion, this forces her to deny her nature. But while Jane rejects all three models of religion, she does not reject God or morality. This is exemplified by Bertha, one of Jane’s foils. Bertha responds to conflict in ways that Jane cannot. For example, Bertha succumbs to her desires and feelings, as evidenced by her promiscuity and alcoholism. Meanwhile, Jane denies her desires and feelings when she refuses to commit adultery by marrying Rochester while his first wife exists, because God forbids adultery. Jane rejects the models of religion from Brocklehurst, Helen and St. John, but eventually she discovers her own brand of Christianity: one that is not oppressive and hypocritical like Brocklehurst’s and not unnatural like Helen’s and St. John’s. It obeys God while allowing Jane her earthly pleasures and emotional desires. Bronte’s views on religion were a reflection of how the events of the era filtered into her writing. During the parliamentary debates in 1829 regarding the Catholic question, the English debated on whether or not Catholics should be granted political rights equal to those of Protestants (Center for Research on Social Organization, p.1). These debates imply that there is the question of which religion – Protestantism or Roman Catholicism – deserve supremacy over England. Bronte may be espousing her own brand of morality in answer to these debates. Since Jane’s religion was not specified, and the reader only has her brand of morality to judge, Bronte could be saying that a person should not be judged according to one’s label (Catholic or Protestant), but should be judged instead by how one answers the call to be upright. Does the person’s response break laws of the Bible? Does the person’s response strike a balance between moral duty and practicability? Or is the response too hypocritical? The pictures of religion throughout Jane Eyre tackle these questions to a great extent. III. LOVE AND SOCIAL CLASS IN THE VICTORIAN PERIOD Jane Eyre is deeply critical of the social hierarchy in England during the Victorian period. Jane lashes out against class prejudice in certain parts of the novel, the most famous of which is her declaration of love for Rochester: Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! I have as much soul as you and full as much a heart! . I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities nor even of mortal flesh; it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood equal at God’s feet, equal – as we are! (Bronte, p. 294) Moreover, Jane does not adhere to the value system of the Victorian period. Rochester’s crowd (Blanche and her peers) are superior to Jane based on the Victorian social hierarchy, which puts a premium on income. In this light, Blanche and Rochester should marry, and Jane should not dream of a union with Rochester. But Jane believes that intellectual equality and kindred spirits – and not income or any other arbitrary Victorian standard – should be the basis for a union. Thus she says of Blanche and Rochester: â€Å"I would scorn at such a union† (Bronte, p. 294). However, the novel ends with Jane not actually being able to defy limits imposed by class. She gets an inheritance. Meanwhile, Rochester’s wealth is diminished because Thornfield burns to the ground, and he loses an eye and a limb. They do not get married while they are from different classes in society. They both had to move (Jane up the ladder of income, Rochester down the ladder of income and social status) to be able to marry. This may be because Bronte’s ideas were too radical for the time, and to write about a union that defied all the conventions of society may not come off as believable at all. Or Bronte may have changed their positions in society to offer readers the possibility of a marriage with tangible indications of equality. Furthermore, it is acknowledged in the novel that marriage – an expected state for a female to go into – can be a relationship between equals, despite the fact that women were generally thought of as inferior to men during the Victorian period. As Jane says: â€Å"I am my husbands life as fully as he is mine. . . . To be together is for us is to be at once as free as in solitude, as gay as in company. . . . We are precisely suited in character† (Bronte, p. 525); this not only establishes that a woman can marry not only for social mobility; she can marry because she found someone who suits her well. it also reinforces the belief that compatibility in intellect and character – and not income or social class – should be the basis for a good match. IV. FEMININITY AND FREEDOM Jane’s assertion that a woman’s horizons should be broadened is not to be misinterpreted as a denunciation of the Victorian values of service and domesticity. Note that the novel begins in girlhood and ends with Jane’s marriage and motherhood, following the Victorian trajectory of the female’s life based on her purpose (Weisser, p.xxv). Bronte has been cast as a proto-feminist, because she created female protagonists that do not charm men to secure their futures. But she does not push for the woman’s complete autonomy in Jane Eyre. In fact, marriage and domesticity are also presented in the novel as a reward for Jane’s morality. She simply says that women should be allowed to deviate if they wish from the roles and duties imposed by custom. This is evident when Jane says: Women are supposed to be very calm generally; but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded of their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing the piano and embroidering bags. (Bronte, p. 123) Freedom in the novel is not limited to the freedom endorsed by feminism today. Jane also seeks the kind of freedom that will fulfil her need for autonomy while still allowing her to fulfil the need to belong. She is presented different forms of freedom throughout the novel. First, Rochester offers her the freedom to liberate her passions when he offers to make her his mistress. She rejects this, because to liberate her passions in such a way would mean enslavement to her feelings. Afterwards, St. John offers her the freedom to exercise her talents to the fullest by becoming a missionary. She rejects this as well, because this would mean enslavement to Grace through the obliteration of Nature, because she could not give rein to her passions. There is also the presence of Diana and Mary: two women who are unmarried and therefore unsubjugated by any male. Jane appreciates the self-sufficiency of Diana and Mary, but she does not conform to their kind of freedom as well, because it cannot give her emotional sustenance. V. CONCLUSION Jane Eyre is the story of a young woman’s quest for emotional and spiritual fulfilment. While it has been called unchristian, unfeminine and the like, it remains a favorite both in and out of the academic reading lists. (Weisser, p.xiii)This endurance of Jane Eyre may be attributed to the same reasons why it has met disapproval: Jane’s intensity of feeling, her attempt to strike a balance between her moral obligations and earthly pleasures, her unabashed declaration that she is equal to Rochester despite their differences in wealth. These propose a middle ground for all the conflicting elements in life: Nature vs. Grace, Passion vs. Reason and Love vs. Autonomy. This middle ground makes Jane a believable and relatable character and allows the novel to retain popular success despite the passage of time and the evolution of tastes. Moreover, the issues tackled in the novel remain relevant to the present time. First, there is still the question of how to practice the Christian faith. At present, Christians are still divided into labels: Catholic, Protestant and many others. The pictures of religion in the novel serve as points for reflection for people exploring their Christianity. Second, the novel discusses women’s place in society, an issue that has not yet been resolved. Bronte issued her declaration of women’s rights in 1847, but women’s rights still have a long way to go in the context of the present, and Jane’s struggles can still effectively mirror the struggles of women at present. This does not include only the broadening of the roles that women are supposed to take on, but also the power play between man and women in love. Jane Eyre may have been written hundreds of years ago, but its endurance is proof of its value. It is fortunate that despite the fact that women and women writers were not taken as seriously as men during the Victorian period, Bronte pursued her dream to write. If not, we would be deprived of a deeply valuable account of life during the Victorian period, and we would be deprived of great insights without the voice of Jane. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Barnes and Noble Classics, 2003. Weisser, Susan Ostrov. Introduction. Jane Eyre. New York: Barnes and Noble Classics, 2003. Center for Research on Social Organization. â€Å"British Catholic Emancipation, Prototype of Reform?† Online. Internet. December 1980. Available URL: http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50994/1/220.pdf Research Papers on Religion, Femininity and Love in Charlotte Bronte's Jane EyreBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andStandardized TestingMind TravelAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeWhere Wild and West Meet19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

Relationship between irritable bowel syndrome and stress Research Paper

Relationship between irritable bowel syndrome and stress - Research Paper Example It is known that the specific alterations in the body caused from stress directly impact the brain and the nervous system, which links to the gastrointestinal system and causes complexities with the digestive system. The examination of whether stress causes IBS and to which extent can then lead to more holistic methods of helping individuals that are suffering from IBS. Irritable Bowel Syndrome, also known as IBS, is one of the most common non – infectious gastrointestinal disorders (Pelissier, Danzter, Canini, 2010, 653). The problems associated with this create cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhea, all which can create abnormalities in the system (Mayer et al, 2001, p 280). The complexities of IBS are not only associated with the physical discomfort and abnormalities that are in the system. There are also difficulties that are related to the stress levels which individuals carry, all which are directly associated with IBS. It is known that different types of stress affect the triggering effects and the way in which IBS functions. Stress factors include physiological, psychological and physical stressors that occur. These are also associated with emotional motor systems, including automatic, neuroendocrine, attentional and pain modulatory responses (Mayer et al, 2001, p 280). Examining the ways in which IBS links to stress as well as how it is affected with different circuits can then create a deeper understanding of how to treat the main causes associated with IBS and stress. The conditions that are associated with IBS create various levels of reactions among those suffering from the disorder. Understanding how these conditions affect the human body as well as what is associated with the main complexities can provide insight into how this changes the rest of the system. The system and the gastrointestinal area of the body are connected to various systems in the body, which triggers IBS. The conditions and