Kelly Clarkson - My December free essay sample

Kelly Clarkson My December, 4/5 stars The former American Idol winners third CD is not without controversy. Before its release, record label mogul Clive Davis publicly denounced support of My December, reportedly offering Clarkson an extra million dollars to record new songs. The reason behind Daviss griping is evident: Clarksons new CD severely lacks the catchy pop tunes that dominated her previous chart-topping records. Instead of appealing to the sugary tween market, My December echoes the raw, angry tones of Alanis Morrisettes classic album Jagged Little Pill. While most of the songs are not as radio-friendly as the girl-power beats from her last albums, My December is by no means a flop. On the contrary, Clarkson fans will likely mark it as their favourite of all her releases. Clarksons expressive vocals shine when paired with an edgy rock beat, ranging from raspy shouts to coy, honeyed whispers. We will write a custom essay sample on Kelly Clarkson My December or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Yet it is sometimes My Decembers powerful lyrics that take centre-stage. Clarkson penned the entire album, taking from her own experiences with a cheating boyfriend. Clarkson rips angry passages from her diary for the albums first single, ‘Never Again. â€Å"Never again will I touch you. Never again will I kiss you. Never again will I love you. Never!† she bellows, the depth in her voice hinting at a deep anguish beneath her rage. She later reveals a softer persona in ‘Be Still. â€Å"Foolish one with the smile, you dont have to be brave. Ill gladly climb your walls, if youll meet me halfway,† she sings during one of the albums rare, tender moments. The record itself is a bit of an oddity. Clarksons pop-star status hinders her creditability on rock stations, yet My December is too raw for pop and soft-rock radio. While the record is worthy of praise, it does take a few listens to appreciate Clarksons new, mature style. Whether the public has an attention span long enough to allow My December to grow on them, however, is another matter. Highlights of My December include: ‘Never Again: ‘Never Again puts into song the deep anger felt over a cheating lover. The first single off My December, it debuted at no. 8 on the Billboard Top 100, but received little radio airtime. While not immediately catchy, soon youll find yourself humming and jumping along to the songs heavy rock beat. ‘Sober: The tranquil, almost hypnotic quality of ‘Sober is a significant but welcome change from My Decembers heavy sound. The second release from My December, ‘Sober received virtually no airplay and quickly exited the charts. This is unsurprising, given the songs unusual rhythmic sound. It is a beautiful song, however, and impeccably embodies the essence of quiet December night. ‘Be Still: One of the albums few romantic songs, Clarkson whispers to her lover: â€Å"Be still, I already know.† Yet like the rest of her album, the song is bittersweet, as Kelly sings of a crumbling relationship. Her beautiful voice is fully displayed on this track, gently echoing the clear notes of a bell. ‘Yeah: One of the records standout tracks, ‘Yeah should have been a single. Its catchy, tongue-in-cheek chorus compares to Clarksons Breakaway hit ‘Since You Been Gone, yet with a less over-produced sound. Chivas (hidden track): ‘Chivas is an unlisted track that plays one minute and 25 seconds after My Decembers last song, ‘Irvine. An acoustic song about drowning ones sorrows after a breakup, ‘Chivas is humourous and light-hearted. When Clarkson proudly proclaims to her audience: Its hard not to look, I know. Im amaz-zing-ingg, who are we to argue?

Free Essays on Platos Apology

Plato’s Apology Socrates was a very simple man who did not have many material possessions and spoke in a plain, conversational manner. Acknowledging his own ignorance, he engaged in conversations with people claiming to be experts, usually in ethical matters. By asking simple questions, Socrates gradually revealed that these people were in fact very confused and did not actually know anything about the matters about which they claimed to be an expert. Socrates felt that the quest for wisdom and the instruction of others through dialogue and inquiry were the highest aims in life. He felt that "The unexamined life is not worth living." Plato's Apology is the speech Socrates made at his trial. Socrates was charged with not recognizing the gods recognized by the state and corrupting the youth of Athens. In The Apology, Socrates attempted to defend himself. He spoke in a very simple, uncomplicated manner. He explained that he had no experience with the law and courts and that he wou! ld just use honesty and directness. He also explained that he behaved in the way that he did because of a prophecy by the oracle at Delphi, which claimed that he was the wisest of all men. Recognizing that he was ignorant in most things, Socrates concluded that he must be wiser than other men only in that he knew that he knew nothing. Socrates explained that he considered it his duty to question people in order to expose their false wisdom as ignorance. By doing this, the youth of Athens began to admire him and follow in his ways. However, Socrates received much hatred and anger from the people he embarrassed. He believed that the reason he was put on trial was because he embarrassed many people. Socrates compared himself to a gadfly stinging the lazy horse, which is the Athenian state. Without him, Socrates claimed, the state would drift into a deep sleep, but through his influence it can be awakened. Socrates was found guilty by... Free Essays on Plato's Apology Free Essays on Plato's Apology Plato’s Apology Socrates was a very simple man who did not have many material possessions and spoke in a plain, conversational manner. Acknowledging his own ignorance, he engaged in conversations with people claiming to be experts, usually in ethical matters. By asking simple questions, Socrates gradually revealed that these people were in fact very confused and did not actually know anything about the matters about which they claimed to be an expert. Socrates felt that the quest for wisdom and the instruction of others through dialogue and inquiry were the highest aims in life. He felt that "The unexamined life is not worth living." Plato's Apology is the speech Socrates made at his trial. Socrates was charged with not recognizing the gods recognized by the state and corrupting the youth of Athens. In The Apology, Socrates attempted to defend himself. He spoke in a very simple, uncomplicated manner. He explained that he had no experience with the law and courts and that he wou! ld just use honesty and directness. He also explained that he behaved in the way that he did because of a prophecy by the oracle at Delphi, which claimed that he was the wisest of all men. Recognizing that he was ignorant in most things, Socrates concluded that he must be wiser than other men only in that he knew that he knew nothing. Socrates explained that he considered it his duty to question people in order to expose their false wisdom as ignorance. By doing this, the youth of Athens began to admire him and follow in his ways. However, Socrates received much hatred and anger from the people he embarrassed. He believed that the reason he was put on trial was because he embarrassed many people. Socrates compared himself to a gadfly stinging the lazy horse, which is the Athenian state. Without him, Socrates claimed, the state would drift into a deep sleep, but through his influence it can be awakened. Socrates was found guilty by...

Fault Creep of Active Faults - Overview

Fault Creep of Active Faults - Overview Fault creep is the name for the slow, constant slippage that can occur on some active faults without there being an earthquake. When people learn about it, they often wonder if fault creep can defuse future earthquakes, or make them smaller. The answer is probably not, and this article explains why. Terms of Creep In geology, creep is used to describe any movement that involves a steady, gradual change in shape. Soil creep is the name for the gentlest form of landsliding. Deformation creep takes place within mineral grains as rocks become warped and folded. Fault creep, also called aseismic creep, happens at the Earths surface on a small fraction of faults. Creeping behavior happens on all kinds of faults, but its most obvious and easiest to visualize on strike-slip faults, which are vertical cracks whose opposite sides move sideways with respect to each other. Presumably, it happens on the enormous subduction-related faults that give rise to the largest earthquakes, but we cant measure those underwater movements well enough yet to tell. The movement of creep, measured in millimeters per year, is slow and constant and ultimately arises from plate tectonics. Tectonic movements exert a force (stress) on the rocks, which respond with a change in shape (strain). Strain and Force on Faults Fault creep arises from the differences in strain behavior at different depths on a fault. Down deep, the rocks on a fault are so hot and soft that the fault faces simply stretch past each other like taffy. That is, the rocks undergo ductile strain, which constantly relieves most of the tectonic stress. Above the ductile zone, rocks change from ductile to brittle. In the brittle zone, stress builds up as the rocks deform elastically, just as if they were giant blocks of rubber. While this is happening, the sides of the fault are locked together. Earthquakes happen when brittle rocks release that elastic strain and snap back to their relaxed, unstrained state. (If you understand earthquakes as elastic strain release in brittle rocks, you have the mind of a geophysicist.) The next ingredient in this picture is the second force that holds the fault locked: pressure generated by the weight of the rocks. The greater this lithostatic pressure, the more strain that the fault can accumulate. Creep in a Nutshell Now we can make sense of fault creep: it happens near the surface where lithostatic pressure is low enough that the fault is not locked. Depending on the balance between locked and unlocked zones, the speed of creep can vary. Careful studies of fault creep, then, can give us hints of where locked zones lie below. From that, we may gain clues about how tectonic strain is building up along a fault, and maybe even win some insight into what kind of earthquakes may be coming. Measuring creep is an intricate art because it occurs near the surface. The many strike-slip faults of California include several that are creeping. These include the Hayward fault in the east side of San Francisco Bay, the Calaveras fault just to the south, the creeping segment of the San Andreas fault in central California, and part of the Garlock fault in southern California. (However, creeping faults are generally rare.) Measurements are made by repeated surveys along lines of permanent marks, which may be as simple as a row of nails in a street pavement or as elaborate as creepmeters emplaced in tunnels. At most locations, creep surges whenever moisture from storms penetrates into the soil in California that means the winter rainy season. Creep's Effect on Earthquakes On the Hayward fault, creep rates are no greater than a few millimeters per year. Even the maximum is just a fraction of the total tectonic movement, and the shallow zones that creep would never collect much strain energy in the first place. Creeping zones there are overwhelmingly outweighed by the size of the locked zone. So if an earthquake that might be expected around every 200 years, on average, occurs a few years later because creep relieves a bit of strain, no one could tell. The creeping segment of the San Andreas fault is unusual. No large earthquakes have ever been recorded on it. Its a part of the fault, about 150 kilometers long, that creeps at around 28 millimeters per year and appears to have only small locked zones if any. Why is a scientific puzzle. Researchers are looking at other factors that may be lubricating the fault here. One factor may be the presence of abundant clay or serpentinite rock along the fault zone. Another factor may be underground water trapped in sediment pores. And just to make things a little more complex, it may be that creep is a temporary thing, limited in time to the early part of the earthquake cycle. Although researchers have long thought that the creeping section may stop large ruptures from spreading across it, recent studies have cast that into doubt. The SAFOD drilling project succeeded in sampling the rock right on the San Andreas fault in its creeping section, at a depth of almost 3 kilometers. When the cores were first unveiled, the presence of serpentinite was obvious. But in the lab, high-pressure tests of the core material showed that it was very weak because of the presence of a clay mineral called saponite. Saponite forms where serpentinite meets and reacts with ordinary sedimentary rocks. Clay is very effective at trapping pore water. So, as often happens in Earth science, everyone seems to be right.

Neurotheology in Review (Brain & Heart) part 2 Essay

Neurotheology in Review (Brain & Heart) part 2 - Essay Example An attempt to understand these mechanisms, ultimately calls for basic understanding of the mechanisms about how different systems work in our body. Physiology is the study of vital processes of living organisms, particularly at the level of organs and organ systems and at the level of the organism as a whole. Physiological processes, in turn, are dependent on anatomical and biochemical factors and constitute the physical basis of behavior (Abram et al., 2007). But with the existing knowledge, it is difficult to explain, as Eiser (2005) has pointed out how out of the structure and function or anatomy and physiology, a novel psychological entity representing the individual arise (Eiser, 2005). Questions keep coming on this hitherto unexplored area of the science. What people think, what they say, what they do, what they feel, and why they think, say, act, and feel in these ways are plainly of the greatest interest to all of us. The interface between psychology, religion, and spirituality has been of great interest to scholars for a century (Tartaro, Luecken, and Gunn, 2005). Taking into account that religious consciousness arises out of functional aspects of brain, it is not irrational to assume that the origin of such consciousness is from an emotion, and there must be a harmonious mechanism occurring in our body that leads to such emotions, hence physiologic effect out of some anatomic structures (Saver and Rabin, 1997). Are the sayings, "my heartfelt love", "from the core of my heart" and so on and so forth, just the sayings, or there exists some relationship in reality between the mind and the heart, or emotion and physiologic function. The anatomically determined theory of emotion or consciousness indicates emotion is like other somesth etic or special senses (McEachrane, 2009) similar to pain, temperature, and vision, emotional experience was accorded a thalamic nucleus and thalamocortical cortical relay (Compton, 2003). As

How does the academic study of problem solving and thinking relate to Essay

How does the academic study of problem solving and thinking relate to everyday life - Essay Example Along with maturation, people obtain substantial competence that enables them to solve common problems encountered daily. (Holyoak 1995, p. 267) However, Anderson (1993, p. 39) explains, not everything requiring solution, like routine activities, is indeed problems. For example, summing-up a three-month electric bill, though requires solution is not a problem because one simply has to compute it either manually or electronically, but how to pay the bill with practically nothing left in one’s pocket is surely a problem. The difference here lies on the immediate availability of achieving the task. Computing the bill could be easily achieved with the simple knowledge of addition or much easier the use of calculator, but where to find the money to pay the bill not to be cut off power presents a problem, as there is no immediate solution to it. Hence a problem is determined by the gap between the present state and the target goal wherein the means to solve the gap is not immediatel y evident (Schwarz & Skurnik 2003, p. 267). Problem solving begins with problem identification (Rudd 2005, p. 11). Generally defined as the activity by which the goal of eliminating the gap is undertaken without certainty of success (Tallman, Leik, Gray, & Stafford, 1993, cited in Nelson, Brice & Gunby 2010, p.74), problem solving which could be correct or erroneous differs for every individual, because individual experiences and task demands, which problem solving entails, vary (Martinez 1998, p. 605). Similarly, the difficulty of solving problems differs in degree depending on the nature of the problem. Some could be easy; others could be truly hard or could never be solved at all. (Joswiak 2004, p. 19) ‘The relative ease of solving a problem will depend on how successful the solver has been in representing crucial elements of the task environment in his problem space’ (Simon, 1978, p. 276). The more exposed a person to varied task of compelling nature, the greater is the chance of that person to handle problems of similar/related nature. For example, an ex-marine has the greater chance of surviving a physical assault than a language teacher who has yet to experience physical violence. Moreover, problem solving has two aspects: The answer that which solve the problem, and the solution procedure by which way the answer is known (Robertson 2001, p. 6). With a variety of problems that people come across everyday solutions also vary by which Robertson (2001, pp. 6-11) says problems can also be categorised. One, what knowledge does the problem require – would it be â€Å"knowledge-lean† or â€Å"knowledge-rich† problems (p. 7)? For example, household maintenance though complex requires simple management, whereas ensuring national security is far more complicated that it requires expertise. Steif, Lobue, Kara, & Fay (2010, p. 135) suggest that the ability to determine fitted conceptual knowledge in order to solve a problem is cons idered a metacognitive skill. This according to Greeno (1978, p. 62) is learnable. Although, Gagne (1979) clarifies that what can be learned in problem solving are its specific aspects, cited as: "rules of syntax and mathematics," "knowledge about particular objects and events," "specific cognitive strategies" (cited in Mayer 1987, p. 111). Two, what is the nature of the goal? Is it technical, routine, domestic, political,

Brazilian Culture Essay -- Cultural Identity Essays

By living in the United States of America, most of us are daily witnesses to the differences of cultures. From European to Mexican to Swedish cultures, you name it, Americans see it all, hear it all, and even taste it all. But we don’t always get a close look into other cultures—sometimes they just cross our paths. However, it is still important for us to learn about be knowledgeable about other cultures. Once such culture that has much to be learned from is the culture in Brazil. Brazilian culture is perhaps one of the most interesting cultures to learn about because it is so rich and diverse. Brazil alone is separated into five different regions which all encompass different customs and cultural aspects. (10) The following is an account of many aspects of the Brazilian culture and sources to help you learn more about the marvelous Brazil. Applicable National Standards for Geography Through this study of Brazilian culture the reader will be able to use the National Standard, "Knows and understands that culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of places and experience." Through historical accounts, statistical facts, and cultural information the reader will gain his own perception of Brazil and the experiences one can have there. The differences discussed will also help him to, "Knows and understand the complexity of the earth’s cultural mosaic." As Americans it is so important for us to understand others differences and to accept them as additions and benefits to our society. By learning about another nation and its roots the reader will understand how wide our differences stretch and how much they bring us together. Brazil at a Glance (6) Full Country Name: Federal Republic of Brazil ... ... 2005) (4) "History." The History of Brazilian Carnival. http://www.unikey.com.br (Apr 6, 2005) (5) Information Services of the Brazilian Embassy. "Brazil in Brief." Brazilian Embassy. 1998. http://brasil.emb.nw.dc.us/bzeduind.htm (Apr 14, 2005) (6) Lonely Planet Publications. "Destination Brazil." Lonelyplanet on-line. 1998. http://lonelyplanet.com/dest/sam/bra.htm (8 Apr 2005) (7) Morales, Walter. "Enjoy This Virtual Trip to Brazil." The Wonders of Brazil. 1998. http://psg.com~walter/brasil.html (Apr 15, 2005) (8) Paulo, S. "Revelry Rules the Jolly Season." Net Estado. 1998. http://estado.com.br/edicao/especial/carnaval/canabre.html (Apr 4, 2005) (9) Thomson, Shelia. "Maria Brazil." 1998. http://maria-brazil.org/ (Apr 14, 2005) (10) "Map of Brazil." http://www.usbrazil.com/mapbr.htm (Apr 15, 2005)

How Thomas Hardy portrays women in his stories Essay

The three stories all have very social, historical and cultural impacts on the women of the time. â€Å"The Withered Arm†, is about a woman’s, struggle to cure her withered arm and the jealousy felt by Rhoda who had been used by the farmer in the past and had born his child. Gertrude’s fear of loosing her husband and her superstition make her carry out actions that result in her death. The next story, â€Å"The Distracted Preacher†, is about an independent woman called Lizzy and the choice she has to make. She is involved in smuggling and the head of the gang but is offered a different life by Minister Stockdale, who asks her to marry him and leave. She decides to stay but gets caught and suffers for some years till he returns and offers again to marry him, this time she accepts but only because of circumstances. The third story, â€Å"The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion†, is about a shy, naive middle class woman called Phyllis and her fight between her conscience, her fathers desire and her true love. She chooses her conscience and in the end loses everything. The Withered Arm has two main female roles: Rhoda Brooks and Gertrude Lodge. They both have very different backgrounds; Rhoda is the poor working class woman while Gertrude is the pretty upper middle class women. Rhoda has to work for her son and herself just to eat; she has no husband and so is an outcast from society and has to keep herself to herself. Because of this she has no male role model for her son. Rhoda is a â€Å"thin, fading women of thirty†, which emphasises how hard she works and how tiring her life is. In comparison Gertrude is the typical married middle class woman, with lots of time on her hands. She is youthful and pretty, â€Å"soft and evanescent†, which is why Farmer Lodge married her. Rhoda has a very wicked side, which shows itself when Gertrude arrives in town. She becomes jealous and wants to know all about the well-awaited new wife. She becomes obsessed with her and makes her son find out about Gertrude and follow her, â€Å"Then do you go to Holmstoke church to-morrow: she’s sure to be there†. This jealousy links in with the superstition of that time when Rhoda’s dream about Gertrude having a withered arm comes true. At that time everyone believed each village had it’s own witch. The witch could curse victims and make limbs wither or in extreme cases fall off. From this we can see how worried Rhoda would have been, believing she was a witch, â€Å"that I exercise malignant power against my own will? † This illustrates that Rhoda feel sympathetic for Gertrude and responsible for her arm. She fears what she might do to her and what may happen if she is a witch. Even though she has this evil side, you see that she does contain some sympathetic qualities. For example Rhoda recognises the â€Å"gruesome fascination† which leads her to find Gertrude but she is unwilling to tell her where to find Conjuror Trendle for fear that she will lose Gertrude’s friendship. Hardy shows Rhoda’s point of view throughout the story so you feel sympathetic especially when we find the dead boy is her son. She is very independent and strong so in the end wants nothing to do with Farmer Lodge and the fling therefore refuses his sympathy vote and doesn’t accept his money. Gertrude starts by being very kind and loving, she gives Rhoda’s son some shoes and befriends Rhoda and creates a close relationship with her. Rhoda appears concerned; particularly about Gertrude’s imagined rejection by her husband. Her personality changes for the worst when her arm becomes withered. Gertrude relies on Rhoda for a concerned understanding of the growing separation between herself and her husband, who â€Å"knows the disfigurement is there. † The choice of the word â€Å"disfigurement† reveals his attitude to appearances. Social attitudes demanded that middle class women were beautiful and attractive. She turns vain and selfish, obsessed by her arm and the need to find a cure, â€Å"Her determination received a fillip. † She finds a treatable cure for the arm after trying so many. She’s now determined to try this one even though it involves such indignity. This is all too much for Gertrude when she finds out who the boy is in reality Rhoda’s son. She isn’t so vain and determined, she is actually very shocked and started to feel sympathy for the victim and in end the superstition and shock kills her. In the Distracted Preacher the main female role is Lizzy Newbury a middle class, strong-minded, character who, â€Å"was none the less independent†. This emphasises how Lizzy is able to lead her village in successful smuggling. She’s an attractive, local girl who can take on an immense job for a women in those times but Lizzy does it as well as any man could. Lizzy is a widower and looks after her mother, as well as the customers of her Lodge, where Mr Stockdale goes to stay. She values her job and sees nothing wrong with smuggling, â€Å"If a king who is nothing to us sends his people to steal out property, we have the right to steal it back†. This illustrates how Lizzy doesn’t care whether people think her smuggling is wrong she has reason to do it and she lives off the money and the adventure. The smuggling is tradition: â€Å"My father did it, and so did my grandfather, and almost everybody in Nether-Moynton lives by it, and life would be so dull if it wasn’t for that, that I should not care to live at all†. This shows that Lizzy is no ordinary woman she sticks with what she wants and doesn’t look up to men as a higher being besides she’s a decisive woman and gets her way. She needs to carry on even though her romance with Stockdale gets in the way because he doesn’t agree with it, so Lizzy uses vigorous but absurd arguments to justify her actions. To begin with Lizzy doesn’t want to go away with Stockdale and marrying him, â€Å"It is too much to ask. My whole life ha’ been passed in this way. † She needs to stay in Nether-Moynton where the adventure is and not do what normal females do. Later we see Lizzy’s resolve deteriorates; she needs Stockdale because the money earnt from smuggling runs out. After all her talk about needing smuggling and it being fine to do it, she says it wrong, â€Å"I own that we were wrong, said she. But I have suffered for it: I am very poor now,† Lizzy wants Stockdale now she is poor and worthless and Stockdale offers to take her away from her poverty. Lizzy gives in and takes this offer, then settles down to the married life she once hated the thought of living because of its lack of adventure and predictability. This ending is problematic as Lizzy changed her attitudes totally. This ending was also added for the readers. The story was published each week in a magazine. Hardy wrote the ending to please the audience and give them an ending most women would of taken. There is an alternative ending to this story that isn’t so problematic. This is that Lizzy would have married Owlett a member of the smuggling gang and immigrated to America. The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion has one main female role, that of Phyllis Grove an attractive middle class young lady. She is very quiet, keeps herself to herself and just likes to blend into society. She was a woman who lived her whole life without going further than the nearest market. The only family she has is her father so she has no female role model to guide her through life, this has made her very inexperienced in relationships, â€Å"though it is probable that she lost her heart to Matthaus before she is herself aware. † She never realised she was in love with Matthaus; she had never felt love before so never knew what this feeling was. She values her father’s opinion greatly and her father doesn’t like what’s going on between Matthaus and herself. He considers the soldiers merely â€Å"foreign fellows† who flatter young girls with â€Å"unmeaning attentions†. Phyllis finds Matthaus â€Å"refined and well-educated. † He is loving towards her, concerned about her loneliness, he does not put too much pressure on her to escape and marry him. She becomes very conscience stricken between the two men; will she go with her father’s choice (Humphrey) or her romance Matthaus? She decided the best thing to do was to conform to society and her father and marry Humphrey, â€Å"She would stay at home, and marry him, and suffer. † This shows that she is doing this for her father it wouldn’t be love but she could live with it for her families and the moneys sake. Later we see that Phyllis has a problem as Humphrey wants to marry another woman, Belle, and Matthaus and a friend gets shot for desertion. Poor Phyllis has now been torn from fighting between two men to being alone again. We see Phyllis’s life if effected by this, â€Å"while she lived she used to keep their mounds neat,† meaning Matthaus grave. This shows Phyllis’s love for Matthaus still carried on when he died and this tragedy deeply affected her. In the three stories I have read the four female characters all have similarities and differences. Gertrude is similar to all three characters. She is similar to Rhoda because they both believe in superstition and worry about what is happening to them due to it. Through the story we feel sympathy for them: for Gertrude with her withered arm and death and Rhoda for being a single parent and so an outcast and for when she sees Gertrude with her arm on her dead sons neck. The sympathy vote changes throughout the story between Rhoda and Gertrude. Gertrude is like Lizzy because they are both attractive, strong-minded women. Gertrude is different to Lizzy aswell as like her because Gertrude conforms to men’s expectations but Lizzy is independent and only relies on Stockdale at the end. Phyllis is probably most like Gertrude as they are both very traditional women characters for their times. They are weak women who become victims of men and the social influences of their time. Phyllis becomes a heart broken girl due to her fianci messing her around and her actual love being shot. Gertrude becomes obsessed and vain because her husband is disgusted by the fault with her arm and starts to love her less for it. Phyllis has a rich fianci and Gertrude has a rich husband. Lizzy is similar to Rhoda too because they are both strong-willed, independent women that can cope by themselves without men by their sides. This means Lizzy and Rhoda are both very different to Phyllis because she is timid and shy, she can be manipulated easily unlike Lizzy and Rhoda who manipulate other people. Phyllis’s character is very dependent as she does as she is told, conforming to society’s expectations. If things had gone to plan then her life would be totally taken care of without her lifting a finger, when we know Lizzy chose to be independent and Rhoda had to be independent to look after her family. In my view, I admire Lizzy because she is very outgoing and a leader, which shows women to be able to lead men in this world and she can still be attractive and feminine. She seems to put men in their places by refusing Stockdale’s offer of marriage instead of being a stereotypical woman of that time married, at home cooking, cleaning and looking after the children. She speaks her mind when she wants to stay because smuggling gives her adventure and when she tells Stockdale there nothing wrong with smuggling. This is why I like the alternative ending that Hardy mentions in his footnote when she goes to America because she doesn’t need the sympathy for being poor she stays strong and independent. Even though at the end I felt sorry for Rhoda because of her son, I was never fond of her character. She seemed evil throughout the story as if she had other secrets not yet revealed. Her character was very sneaky, holding things back from Gertrude when she was untruthful. I think Rhoda is to blame for all Gertrude’s problems: she placed the curse and took Gertrude to Conjuror Trendle and she paid the price of that horrendous sight. This all made me very sympathetic towards Gertrude and I know how if feels to be superficially stereotyped. She never did anything to Rhoda and died as a consequence to Rhoda’s jealousy. I also sympathise with Phyllis because men ruined her life, her life was ruined by the society’s strict rules at that time to do the right thing and marry for position and money, and the shooting for desertion of her true love. Men have a great impact on women and can make our lives fun, yet some men make our lives more misery than fun. In my opinion Hardy portrays women with respect, he makes them strong and independent, manly in a sense. In the early 1800s women all had their places in the world, which was in the home. Hardy brought these women out of their world and into the beginning of our not so sexist England today. Men and Society had the main impact on women of this era; I believe this is why Hardy’s stories were loved in this age. Women could read them and think that they had a greater role in this era and they were more intelligent than men thought. I also believe men should have read these books to see how independent and important women are to this world. It was very important for women of this era to get their thoughts and strengths across to the world, so they could begin to live as equals to men.