Three Men in a Boat Essay Example for Free

Three Men in a Boat Essay British humor is often hard to grasp for Indians, with their references and rambling. But Jerome K. Jeromehits the nail on the head with ‘Three Men In A Boat‘ and brings out British absurdities and traditions in a comic way. This book though meant to be a travelogue of sorts ended up, inexplicable as one of the most loved funny stories of all time. And even after 100+ years since publishing, the jokes remain fresh and witty! It outlines the story of three men – Jerome and his two friends, Harris and George and their dog, a fox terrier called Montmorency on their holiday on the River Thames in Oxford, England as the three men suffer from some weird ailment. So they set themselves off on a trip to cure themselves – a boating trip. Apparently, that was quite common in those times, which is around 1889 when the book was published. The travelogue portion is quite apparent as along the trip, Jerome mentions all the villages and landmarks they pass, such as Hampton Court Palace, Hampton Church, Monkey Island, Magna Carta Island, Marlow etc and the few titbits about the culture in those places. But this, though intended to be the main part of the book was overshadowed by the comic instances that cropped up and the book gave up and now is just a humorous tale. Jerome often digresses and starts off random anecdotes and ponders upon life. From friends to friends-of-friends to historic characters, Jerome’s detours truly know no bounds. He gives up brilliant character sketches of not only Harris and George, but of Montmorency also. From how his Aunt Podger used to take a week long refuge at her mother’s place when Uncle Podger donned the role of a handyman trying to fix â€Å"little† things in the house to how the making of Irish Stew from all the leftovers compelled Montmorency to add his bit by bringing a dead-water rat, each episode will leave you giggling in delight. And the best is that it describes the common frustrations of life that you and I go through. The downside of the book is that the return journey back up the Thames is wrapped up in just one chapter which leaves you slightly hurt and bewildered at the sudden ending. But the wry and sarcastic humour and wit with the misadventures, exaggerations, mad caps, twists and sheer silliness in this P. G Wodehouse-y book leaves you pleasantly happy at the end. Of course, one can’t help but read this book in a proper British accent. Be it in their heads, or out loud. And that would be perfectly fine.

Important Formative Experience That Made Me The Adult I Am Today :: essays research papers

Important Formative Experience I have had many theater-related experiences. Every chapter that I have read in my theater book has allowed me to make a connection to my past experiences with theater performances. I have also seen many plays and could relate to things an audience sees by reading the book. My first theater experience ever is when I was in the Nutcracker. We did a ballet performance for this play. I was very young when I did this, but I remember my instructor always saying that we must make contact with our audience through movements. Since in ballet you can not talk, you have to express the emotions that you are feeling to the audience through movement. This was very difficult. I must say that acting with words is a lot easier than acting through dance. In chapter one of my theater book, I was able to make the connection of "theater" is "work" to my experience of work in a theater with school plays. I know that I did not work as hard as professionals do, but I did work hard. For three months, we practiced everyday except for Saturday and Sunday, from 3:30 to 6:30. I helped with a lot of the choreography, so that made my days even longer and harder. However, this was also an enjoyable work experience for me. While reading the passage, I was able to relate with some of the "theater times" because of my play director. My high school director was very talented in directing plays. He would talk to us as if we were professionals and made us put more into what we were doing. That would be impersonation. When the passage talked about art, I thought of my art teacher who would always design all of the sets and made them look so lifelike. When the passage said that there are more behind the stage workers than on stage workers, I knew that that is very true. We had the front and backlighting, the designing people, who cleared the sets and put on new ones, the directing and the building crews. I was able to relate most of the passage through my own past experiences. Chapter 3 talks about "the actor". I found this chapter very interesting. I found out that actors had to go to college too. I also found it compelling to learn that in the passage on page 76, under the picture, it talks about how playing "ordinary people" in a realistic play is often the biggest challenge for an actor.

Gender Stereotyping In The Media Essay

It has been strongly evident that the media has played a large role in gender stereotyping for decades. Since the very beginning of film, movies and television shows have depicted men and especially women as lower or lesser beings. This â€Å"tradition† of sexism has of course, decreased since the 50’s but still lingers on in many of today’s television programs. In the early 50’s, with television shows such as â€Å"I Dream of Jeanie† and â€Å"I Love Lucy, women were portrayed quite openly as being the server to their husbands, the men. They were considered to be lower than men or in other words of less importance. Many of the shows from this era showed a substantial amount of gender stereotyping. For example, the women were to do what they were told, they were the only ones who cooked and cleaned, and they were the primary caregiver for the children. Of course, things have changed since the 50’s. Women have proven to be powerful and just as competent as men, thus, making it harder for television shows to portray them as lesser individuals. However, although the gender stereotyping has decreased, it is certainly still evident in the media. There are several television shows being broadcasted today that do, in fact, show some form of gender stereotyping, particularly towards women. However, it is less out in the open and blunt than it use to be in the early 50’s and 60’s. One must read between the lines and pay attention to notice the stereotypic behavior being portrayed. While this behavior may be subtle, it does, in fact still exist. There is a very well known show on MTV known as â€Å"The Real World,† which comes on every Wednesday. It is a reality based show which places seven strangers into one house for several weeks where they are to live together for the duration of the program. As many of us know, reality shows are not what they appear to be. The directors and producers of such shows have the ability to crop and edit which specific clips of the film that they want to be premiered. Inevitably, they are able to portray the individuals on their show in any way that they want. For example, they may choose to only show clips of certain individuals where they are crying, fighting, or as â€Å"The Real World† often does, being promiscuous. This is a vital key in how this show can stereotype a specific gender. In episode three of the new and current season of â€Å"The Real World,† it can be concluded that women are overall depicted as foolish, whiney, selfish, rude, childish, and promiscuous. The men of the serious, however, are showed in a softer, lighter side. They are portrayed as caring individuals who would rather stay away from most of the women and stray from any drama or arguments going on inside of the house. In one segment of the show, two of the women of the house are running around the house screaming and yelling, playing a game which appears to be cowboys and Indians. The next scene shows the men of the house calmly sitting outside having adult conversations. This is clearly in effort to make the females look childish. In another segment of the show, the women are basically all fighting with one another while the men sit quietly in the background. One of the females sarcastically asks another cast member if it is fun living with a bunch of girls. The other cast member quickly responds with a no. It should be understood that not everything that the women in the house on this show have done have been childish or in anyway degrading. It is impossible to fit everything that has been recorded of these people when producing the show. So, everything that viewers are allowed to see has been carefully selected for various reasons such as higher ratings. The more dramatic events that happen, the more likely it will be for the show to attract audiences. However, why is it that there are no dramatic sequences shown where the men are degrading themselves? In conclusion, gender stereotyping in the media, although lessened since the 50’s, does still exist on television programs today. Whether women are portrayed as inferior to men or simply more ignorant or immature, the fact is that gender stereotyping is an all too sad reality in the world that we live in today. Perhaps one day we can come to an understanding that all men AND women and created equally. Works Cited www. mtv. com www. realworld. com www. people. unt. edu/jw0109/misc/stereotype. htm

Definition of Victorian

The adjective Victorian is used to described something from the period of the reign of Britain’s Queen Victoria. And, as Victoria was on the throne for more than 60 years, from 1837 to 1901, the term is also used to describe things from the 19th century in general. The word is used to describe a wide variety of items, such as Victorian authors or Victorian architecture or even Victorian clothing and fashion. But in its most common usage the word is used to describe social attitudes, implying an emphasis on moral rigidity, priggishness, and prudery. Queen Victoria herself was often perceived as being overly serious and possessing little or no sense of humor. This was due in part to her having been widowed at a relatively young age. The loss of her husband, Prince Albert, was devastating, and for the rest of her life she wore black mourning clothes. Surprising Victorian Attitudes The concept of the Victorian era as repressive is true to some extent, of course. Society at the time was much more formal. But many advances were made during Victorian times, especially in the fields of industry and technology. And a number of societal reforms also took place. One sign of great technological progress would be the enormous technology show held in London, the Great Exhibition of 1851. Queen Victorias husband, Prince Albert, organized it, and Queen Victoria herself visited the displays of new inventions in the Crystal Palace on numerous occasions. And social reformers were also a factor in Victorian life. Florence Nightingale became a British hero by introducing her reforms to the nursing profession. And the novelist Charles Dickens created plots highlighting problems in British society. Dickens had gotten disgusted with the plight of the working poor in Britain during the period of industrialization. And his classic holiday tale, A Christmas Carol, was written specifically as a protest against the treatment of workers by an increasingly greedy upper class. A Victorian Empire The Victorian Era was a peak time for the British Empire, and the concept of Victorians being repressive is more true in dealings internationally. For instance, a bloody uprising by native troops in India, the Sepoy Mutiny, was brutally put down. And in Britains closest colony in the 19th century, Ireland, periodic rebellions were put down. The British also fought in many other places, including two wars in Afghanistan. Despite troubles in many places, the British Empire held together during Victorias reign. And when she celebrated her 60th anniversary on the throne in 1897, troops from across the empire paraded during the massive celebrations in London. The Meaning of Victorian Perhaps the most precise definition of the word Victorian would restrict it purely to the years of the late 1830s to the beginning of the 20th century. But, as it was a period of so much happening, the word has taken on many connotations, which vary from the notion of repression in society to great progress in technology. And as the Victorian Era was profoundly interesting, perhaps that is inevitable.