Escape from Reality: A Comparative Study of Bleak House and Little Dorrit

During the later period of his career, Charles Dickens wrote Bleak House (1853) and Little Dorrit (1857). Both of these novels share a common theme: those who face life squarely, though scarred, survive while those who try to escape do not. In developing this theme Dickens uses parallel types of major characters. The motherly concern for others exhibited by Esther Summerson is repeated in Amy Dorrit. The irresponsibility of Richard Carstone reappears in William Dorrit. Finally, the protective concern of John Jarndyce reoccurs in Arthur Clennam. Dickens develops these characters in five basic ways: the narrator, either omniscient or first-person, often describes the character\u27s past, background, and appearance; what the character chooses to say or do contributes to the reader\u27s perception of the character; other characters reveal their judgments of a character through their remarks; and finally, Dickens contrasts the behavior or attitudes of one character against another. With the exception of Arthur Clennam, Dickens is more successful with the characters of Bleak House than with those of Little Dorrit. Esther Summerson is more fully developed than Amy Dorrit. While Dickens develops Esther as good and dutiful, he avoids creating a flat character by showing Esther\u27s frailties, her vanity and her potential for emotion, and by revealing her growing self-awareness. Amy Dorrit, however, remains too dutiful and passive throughout the novel, making her a one-dimensional character. Dickens\u27s characterization of Richard Carstone allows the reader to see him as a victim of society whereas the reader more readily condemns William Dorrit for his own weakness. Richard\u27s immaturity can be traced to Chancery and his education, making him less culpable. William, however, though his early imprisonment wins him some sympathy from the reader, remains foolish even after his release from prison, causing his own destruction. Likewise, though Arthur Clennam and John Jarndyce are both guardian/protector figures, Arthur is a more fully realized character than Jarndyce. Jarndyce is characterized almost exclusively in light of his role as a benevolent guardian. Though his slight eccentricity lends him some human quality, he remains a flat character. Arthur, on the other hand, also embodies benevolence and virtue, but along with those qualities, the reader also sees him mature during the novel and becomes involved in his development. The success of Bleak House and Little Dorrit does not depend entirely upon the success of these characters. However, their development combines with the plot, imagery, and other elements to make Dickens\u27s novels classics

Escape from Reality: A Comparative Study of Bleak House and Little Dorrit

During the later period of his career, Charles Dickens wrote Bleak House (1853) and Little Dorrit (1857). Both of these novels share a common theme: those who face life squarely, though scarred, survive while those who try to escape do not. In developing this theme Dickens uses parallel types of major characters. The motherly concern for others exhibited by Esther Summerson is repeated in Amy Dorrit. The irresponsibility of Richard Carstone reappears in William Dorrit. Finally, the protective concern of John Jarndyce reoccurs in Arthur Clennam. Dickens develops these characters in five basic ways: the narrator, either omniscient or first-person, often describes the character\u27s past, background, and appearance; what the character chooses to say or do contributes to the reader\u27s perception of the character; other characters reveal their judgments of a character through their remarks; and finally, Dickens contrasts the behavior or attitudes of one character against another. With the exception of Arthur Clennam, Dickens is more successful with the characters of Bleak House than with those of Little Dorrit. Esther Summerson is more fully developed than Amy Dorrit. While Dickens develops Esther as good and dutiful, he avoids creating a flat character by showing Esther\u27s frailties, her vanity and her potential for emotion, and by revealing her growing self-awareness. Amy Dorrit, however, remains too dutiful and passive throughout the novel, making her a one-dimensional character. Dickens\u27s characterization of Richard Carstone allows the reader to see him as a victim of society whereas the reader more readily condemns William Dorrit for his own weakness. Richard\u27s immaturity can be traced to Chancery and his education, making him less culpable. William, however, though his early imprisonment wins him some sympathy from the reader, remains foolish even after his release from prison, causing his own destruction. Likewise, though Arthur Clennam and John Jarndyce are both guardian/protector figures, Arthur is a more fully realized character than Jarndyce. Jarndyce is characterized almost exclusively in light of his role as a benevolent guardian. Though his slight eccentricity lends him some human quality, he remains a flat character. Arthur, on the other hand, also embodies benevolence and virtue, but along with those qualities, the reader also sees him mature during the novel and becomes involved in his development. The success of Bleak House and Little Dorrit does not depend entirely upon the success of these characters. However, their development combines with the plot, imagery, and other elements to make Dickens\u27s novels classics

It Takes a Village to Manage the 21st Century Reference Department

Reference services at Oregon State University\u27s Valley Library have undergone several reorganizations in response to institutional changes, shifting service needs and patron demands. Part of this history includes training for and functioning in team-based management. We have now evolved to a management model that utilizes workgroups and an advisory and coordinating council to assist in running the department. We find this model provides flexibility, sharing of the workload and professional development opportunities, all of which are essential in today\u27s tumultuous reference environment. We will describe the functioning, potential hazards and multiple advantages of this model

Cooking up concept maps

Concept maps allow students to visually work through an idea for potentially useful search terms. A common roadblock students experience in the research process is identifying central concepts in their research questions and devising useful ways to reframe search terms. Concept mapping is one instructional strategy that can be used to help students better identify the central concepts in their research questions and expand on other ways these concepts are articulated in the literature

Whipping up the “Why Paper”: Inquiry into diverse perspectives

Students are introduced to various databases that provide access to alternative perspectives and to an advanced organizer designed to foster critical evaluation of sources. In a Valuing Cultural Diversity course, required for all undergraduate education majors, students are asked to write a Why paper to investigate and understand alternative perspectives, looking particularly at the perspectives of a cultural group different from their own

New avenues for integrating information literacy into the curriculum

A generally understood mission of library instruction programs is to promote information literacy (IL) and critical thinking across the curriculum. The majority of programmatic IL collaborations with higher education core curricula are found in introductory composition or communication courses. Other more unconventional avenues offer potentially more effective ways to teach students the basic IL concepts and skills. At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), conversations with College of Education faculty helped librarians identify a strategic and unique point of entry for IL instruction. Using the ADDIE model as a conceptual framework, librarians and an instructional designer met with the course coordinators for the Valuing Cultural Diversity course to collaboratively develop tools and assignments that deconstruct and scaffold the research process for students. The systematic approach for identifying this course, developing the partnership, creating the assessment tools, and refining instruction and assignments based on our findings will be discussed

Help-seeking by problem gamblers, friends and families: a focus on gender and cultural groups

This project was commissioned by the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission (GRC) to examine the issue of helpseeking by gamblers, friends and families in the ACT with a focus on cultural and gender issues.This report was commisioned by ACT Gambling and Racing Commissio

The Development and Implementation of ALIGN: A Multidimensional Program Designed to Enhance the Success of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Graduate Students in Communication Sciences and Disorders

The critical lack of racially and ethnically diverse healthcare professionals in the field of Communication Sciences & Disorders (CSD) in contrast to the increasing diversity of the U.S. population may contribute to healthcare disparities and negatively impact healthcare outcomes. It is therefore imperative for transformational programs and practices to be enacted to substantially increase the number of CSD professionals representing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). As training institutions that graduate and contribute to the certification of CSD professionals, universities are fundamental for contributing to this change. Numerous barriers have been identified that limit the number of underrepresented minority students who matriculate in and graduate from speech-language pathology and audiology graduate programs. At Syracuse University, a group of academic and clinical CSD faculty developed a program to specifically address these barriers: the Academic Skill Building and Networking (ALIGN) program. ALIGN implements a multifaceted approach toward facilitating the success of CSD BIPOC graduate students through the integration of academic and professional skill building, peer mentoring and networking, and professional mentoring and networking into the program curriculum. This study described the rationale and development of the ALIGN program, and reported quantitative and qualitative survey results to determine the preliminary effects of this program on an inaugural cohort of ALIGN participants. Overall, quantitative and qualitative data indicated that ALIGN had a substantial, positive impact on academic skills relative to study habits, understanding difficult course concepts, and general learning, and provided crucial support and connection opportunities with fellow BIPOC students

Unconventional avenues to integrating information literacy into the curriculum

Library instruction programs continue to seek meaningful ways to infuse information literacy into both general education and discipline-specific course sequences. At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), targeted conversations with College of Education faculty helped librarians identify a strategic and unique point of entry with a multicultural twist

AN EVALUATION OF THREE AREAS FOR POTENTIAL POPULATONS OF WHOOPING CRANES

Sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) populations were evaluated on the Seney NWR, Michigan, the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, and in southcentral Florida to evaluate their suitability to support introduced whooping cranes (G. americana). This paper compares data collected at these sites and additional data collected in northcentral Florida. The length of the egg-laying period varied from 4.5 months in central Florida to 1 month at Seney, but egg-laying ceased at all sites from mid-May to early June. Mean clutch sizes were similar 0.7-1.9). Renesting ranged from 79% in northcentral Florida to \u3c=5% at Seney. These dates and values are consistent with nesting successes that ranged from 48% in northcentral Florida to 80% at Seney. Average annual recruitment, 12.3 juveniles/lOa adults, was highest on the Kissimmee Prairie in southcentral Florida. Average annual horne range size for the non-migratory populations were 1 km2 on the Okefenokee and 6.6 km2 on the Kissimmee. Nesting season horne range sizes ranged from 0.5 km2 on the Okefenokee to 1.8 km2 at Seney. All candidate populations successfully satisfied most of the guidelines for potential whooping crane populations as established by the Whooping Crane Recovery Team. Once reintroduction techniques have been refined, any or all of the study sites have the capacity to accommodate a flock of whooping cranes commensurate with Whooping Crane Recovery Team recommendations