Critical Review of Fichtenaus Charlemagne Essay Example

Critical Review of Fichtenaus Charlemagne Essay Example Critical Review of Fichtenaus Charlemagne Essay Critical Review of Fichtenaus Charlemagne Essay Critical Review of Fichtenau’s The Carolingian Empire: The Age of Charlemagne This is an analytical book review of Heinrich Fichtenau’s The Carolingian Empire: The Age of Charlemagne. It will cover the Fichtenau’s writing techniques and sources he used in developing this fascinating book. Thesis: To better understand the significance of Charles the Great, one must first comprehend the unfortunate features challenging Charles during the Carolingian period. This was a quality intention for Fichtenau because historians have struggled with the legend of Charlemagne. It is hard to distinguish his celebrity myths from the factual truth. Content: Fichtenau created an enchanting overview of the social, economic, political, and religious problems that faced Charles the Great. The author tried to remove the legendary side of Charles and reveal his human side. â€Å"No man’s stature is increased by the accumulation of myths, and nothing is detracted from genuine historical greatness by the consideration of a man’s purely human side† (Fichtenau, p. 25). He focuses not only on Charlemagne, but also on the human affairs confronting the people of the Carolingian Empire. Fichtenau also takes an in-depth look at the various classes of people within the empire. He examines the scholars of the empire and their effect on how Charlemagne is portrayed in their works. Although seen as propagandists, Fichtenau commends the scholars for their contributions (Ficthenau, p. 103). Also, he scrutinizes the large, growing gap between the rich and the poor of the empire. The ruling class became overwhelmed with a lust for power and wealth (Fichtenau, p. 112). The author additionally tackles the issue of Christianity in the kingdom. Charles basically forced his subjects into Christianity. This meant they supported Christianity, but not with sincerity (Fichtenau, p. 143). Fichtenau sees the time of peace in the Frankish kingdom as more of a mirage or lull period, as opposed to actual tranquility. He describes the era as successful in comparison to the later generations, but still full inequality (Fichtenau, p. 155). Charlemagne did however bring unity and order to the Frankish kingdom. His leadership and rule would factor into the future development of Europe. Sources: Fichtenau uses mainly primary but also a good share of secondary sources in this book. It was surprising he used any secondary sources because in the preface, the translator points out how great number of secondary sources about Charlemagne have conflicting views (Fichtenau, xi). Writers put their own interpretations within their works. Fichtenau’s repeated use of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica works is an example of his application of primary source material. These compiled manuscripts and other documents hold substantial historical value, which Ficthenau utilizes superbly. One example is when he refers the reader to a poem in the MGH about the blessing of a church. By using more primary sources, Fichtenau establishes more credibility with the reader. The sources are hard proof and not facts from a secondary source that we have no knowledge of. Deciphering the Fichtenau’s usage of secondary sources was hard because my book lists all the footnotes in German. However, I was able to tell that he did consult works by other authors. The citations included some sort of title, author, possibly a publisher, and also a page number. Based on the context, it appears that he only uses secondary sources when discussing broader or sometimes foreign topics. For example, he uses L. Thorndike’s, A History of Magic and Experimental Science when discussing astrology in the kingdom (Fichtenau, p. 151). The basis of Fichtenau’s work is derived mainly from primary sources. This produces a sense of trust and believability in his work. Methodology: As stated above, Fichtenau assembled almost all of his information from the MGH and historical script. The overall structure of The Carolingian Empire is fractured. Fichtenau introduces the empire and Charles the Great in the beginning. He then changes course and discusses the people of the empire. There is no real chronological feel to the writing. He does get back to Charlemagne’s story towards the end of book, but by that point any sense of a timeline of the empire or Charlemagne’s life is lost. Fichtenau puts his own personal inferences into his writing. For example, when covering the topic of how Charlemagne accumulated his wealth, Fichtenau describes his military expeditions as â€Å"wars of aggression. Also, he states that there was â€Å"military, political, and religious motives† behind Charlemagne’s work. There is no script or source to back these claims up and therefore appear to simply by the opinion of the author’s. In J. M. Wallace-Hadrill’s review of the book, he was upset that Peter Munz left out the chapter on the Carolingian Empire after Charlemagne’s death (Wallace-Hadrill). Th is would have changed the structure of the book and added to chronological story. Writing and Graphics: Graphic illustrations are lacking in The Carolingian Empire. The abbot’s house†¦burnt down and the abbot himself was killed by the flames in an attempt to salvage his property† (Ficthtenau, p. 152). This is a great example of a place where the author could have placed a few descriptive or emotional words to help paint a better picture. The only place I found satisfactory description was in the illustration of Charles’s physique. â€Å"†¦a thick, short-set neck, and a protruding paunch† (Fichtenau, p. 26). My favorite was his â€Å"large, vivacious eyes† (Fichtenau, p. 6). It is worth noting however that these were not Fichtenau’s words, but those of the biographer Einhard. It felt as if I was reading a history book as opposed to a novel. Not once was I drawn into any sort of story by Fichtenau’s writing technique. I think t he intended audience for this work was the college-educated public. There is some background information needed to understand the writing, and therefore a person of the general public would not be able to comprehend this work. Fichtenau’s comparison between the Byzantine Empire and the Frankish Empire would not communicate well to some one the general public who had no knowledge of the Byzantians. When Clovis is discussed in the introduction, I was able to understand the reference because I am college-educated and have learned about Clovis (Fichtenau, p. 2-3). The book is not at historian level for the exact same reasons. The conversation and language was not over my head. I was able to follow the author’s points and not get lost in complicated words or explanations. The Carolingian Empire is an appreciable introductory piece to Charlemagne and his empire. It is full of facts and historical references, but falls short when trying to portray the image of the kingdom graphically to the reader. Bibliography Fichtenau, Heinrich. The Carolingian Empire: The Age of Charlemagne. Trans. Peter Munz. Toronto: University of Toronto in Association with the Medieval Academy of America, 2000. Print. Wallace-Hadrill, J. M. Rev. of The Carolingian Empire by Heinrich Fichtenau. The English Historical Review 73 (1958): 342. JSTOR. Web. 3 Nov. 2010.

Personal account Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal account - Essay Example r diversion from an existing stream of study will mean a turning point in life, because the career and the prospective life is normally based on the fruitfulness of the change we adopt in the final stages of education. Just like anyone else, I also have something to tell about the turning point that came into my life, and I would like to describe the same thing in this essay. I was pursuing my studies in medical sciences as a disciplined student. There were reasons for my self -imposed discipline; and first of it was due to my scholastic merit that I got admission in the university. Secondly, my parents were so ambitious about my becoming a doctor. Each day I woke to incomplete portions of academics as anyone else, but the lapses occurring in my studies were thought-provoking, and I used to feel guilty of scoring less. I realized that I was gradually becoming weak to compensate the huge expectations set on me by parents. The transformation of my attitudes towards doctors started taking place on one of those days. It was the beginning of a summer that we were assigned community visits as part of our curriculum. We were divided into groups of five students headed by a doctor. The work was visiting homes of people living in remote villages for observing symptoms of epidemics and creating awareness about the precautions for a few imminent seasonal diseases. I had already prepared to practice the theoretical knowledge and the experimental approaches set for the visit. In books, we were always taught to see human beings as patients and subjects of our case study. The village welcomed us with a series of sights which touched my heart. Children were clad in rags, and old people were almost naked for the essential pieces of clothes they had were too small for them. Young men and women seemed too weak to carry on their daily work. I found it was never possible to compare the living standards of urban people with those of their counterparts in the villages. It was always

MGM D1 Health Care and The Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MGM D1 Health Care and The Law - Essay Example Some of the things that cause suffering of the poor in healthcare services include racism and discrimination, denial of the minority groups in accessing healthcare services, and failure by the government to enroll the minority and the poor in the social healthcare programs (Kant & Rushefsky, 2006). In the US, according to the commissioner of civil rights, although there is existence of civil rights legislation that addresses the issues of healthcare discrimination of the minority and the poor, the reality is that these laws are not followed accordingly (Kant & Rushefsky, 2006). About 38 million Americans are not insured for healthcare services and have very limited financial means of accessing the healthcare services; a biggest proportion of this figure represents the poor (Kant & Rushefsky, 2006). In March 2010, president Obama signed legislation to refurbish the nation’s healthcare system which would guarantee access to medical insurance for all Americans (Shear, 2012). The law aims at extending insurance to over 30 million people, first and foremost by expanding Medicaid and availing federal subsidies to lower and middle-income earners. However, the bill is faced by enormous challenges after republicans appealed against it (Shear, 2012). Some of the challenges facing the law include tougher oversight of health insurers, protection of workers with pre existing conditions and expansion of coverage to one million young adults (Shear, 2012). However, the Obama administration retaliated that it would not unify essential health benefits and that each state should specify the benefits within broad categories. It can be argued that the legal challenges might be reasonable to some extent, although they seem to be politically instigated by republicans, something that would jeopardize its applications. All in all, these challenges are seen to be for the greater benefit of most Americans. All what needs to be done is for all the stakeholders to

Friedrich A. Hayeks Individualism and Economic Order Summary Essay

Friedrich A. Hayeks Individualism and Economic Order Summary - Essay Example The themes used by the writer indeed became the central ideas around which the entire book, which is actually made up of a collection of writings was written. Four of these basic ideas are summarized below. Facts and Fallacies of Individualism The economist holds a basic idea that individualism, and for that matter social order is neither a fact nor a fallacy but that it is both a true and false. First, the economist writes to associate individualism more to be a social order whereby regardless of the fact that people are expected to behave and react in a certain individualistic manner to meet their economic needs of life, they are at the same time obliged to act according to the larger interest of society. From this perspective, the economist goes on further to give vivid reasons why individualism and for that matter, the social order could be considered to be false. The explanation given is that â€Å"in social matters, one does not adhere to fixed principles but decides each ques tion "on its merits"; that one is generally guided by expediency† (Hayek, 1996, p. 1). Invariably, the writer is implying that no individual would be robotic to economic principles even when those principles deny him food on his table. This is what makes individualism true because people function economically according to the dictates of their conditions. On the other hand, there is a justification given as to why individualism and economic order could be true. With this, the economist explains that â€Å"principles, have a way of asserting themselves even if they are not explicitly recognized but are only implied in particular decisions (Hayek, 1996, p. 1).† In other words, even if a person defies the provisions of economic principles, the core values of these principles remain a fact and thus true. The use of Knowledge in Society In the second theme and basic knowledge explicitly outlined by the economist, he visits the availability of knowledge and the use of it ther eof in modern society. Whiles doing this, the economist related economies to social science by making the assertion that the provisions that make social existence possible form the basis of rational economic order (Gabby, 2005). To this, the economist emphasizes the point that what society really needs to manage its rational economic order is logic. By logic, the economist talks of using common sense presented at the individual stage of getting things worked out for a person. A clear sense, therefore, an endorsement is made by the writer of individualism as a fact by raising the point of logic. The economist further throws light on the fact that the logic needed to make things work out for individual entities within society comes about as a result of making use of available information, and thus knowledge.

Grate Expectations Essay Example for Free

Grate Expectations Essay Dickens creates an atmosphere setting in order to engage the interest of the reader at the beginning of the novel. Dickens used to serialise his novels. The story opens in an impressive way when he introduces us to pip in the graveyard because most of his familys bodies are burred there. This makes the reader feel scared, frightened and we start to emphasise with pip at the beginning of the novel because we now feel sorry for him because his parents are dead. Owing to this parents death he lives with his older sister Ms Joe Gargery and his brother in law Joe Gargery the blacksmith, pip sister is really mean to pip and his brother in law treats pip like his younger son. In the 19th century, infant mortality rates were higher. The infant mortality rate is the number of children per year out of every thousand alive that die before they reach the age of one or more specifically, under the age of five. This made us aware at the beginning of chapter 1 when Pip described the graves of his brothers. This might surprise the modern reader but Dickens did not comment on it because such death of very young children in his day was very common. The tension is increased in the novel as there is an escaped convict who will soon meet Pip, which is emphasised by the emotions on Pips face, held tighter to the tombstone on which he had put me; party, to keep myself upon it; partly, to keep my self from crying this shows Pips emotion. When we continued to read, we will get to know that Pip went to the graveyard because of his parents and five brothers. Also before the conversation between the convict and Pip, Dickens continued to describe the scenery negatively, talking of the low leaden line to describe the river. This brings feelings heaviness and being trapped. The wind was rushing finishes a third paragraph, with yet another idea of bleak weather, making Pip hear things and scaring him. This makes the reader more frightened for Pip and also the way he described the weather makes the reader know that it wasnt close to the end of the day and also danger was lurking about. Pip continues to describe the two black things that seemed to be standing upright and he talks about a gibbet where they hang people. The above-mentioned talk of graveyards plus the gibbet makes the audience know everything seem very sad and also both are associated with death. The audience gets further engaged because again we start to feel sympathy for the boy who seems so helpless and needy. On the other hand, the novel Great Expectations is actually being told by Pip himself, both as a child, and as an adult looking back at when he was younger. This is very effective and successful language by Dickens, as it gives us an adult opinion and perspective of a childs life. At this point, the audience will know that the narrator dickens is a mature on, because he talks about his childish conclusions of his family by looking at the inscription on their gravestones and how his young tongue could only make out the name Pip from his full name. From the inscription, I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was dotted and ill. Also in the story, Pip described himself in third person like he was looking back on a distant memory. The readers too start to reminisce about their past and if they are older they can identify with the language used by the older Pip. How Charles Dickens describes the bundle of shivers made Pip seem very small, vulnerable and easily exposed to attack. The convict made a very dramatic entrance into the story. This is because we hear the man before we see him. Also his entrance was much as a shock to the reader as to Pip. This creates tension because it shows that the convict has discovered that Pip is hiding in the graveyard very near him. The man started talking to Pip with an angry voice by saying, keep still you little devil or I will cut your throat, dialect of Magwitch. The way and manner the man talked to Pip frightened him. The conversation between Pip and the convict was very short and choppy. The man introduces a lot of commands into his conversation. One typical example of his command in their conversation was when he said, Keep quiet. This shows the audience that something was going to happen to Pip. Also, the reader now begins to form ideas about the convict. We now see him as heartless, a no good person and extremely evil to speak to a child in the manner. In the novel, the convict turned Pip upside down and gnawed bread from his pocket like a lion on its prey. When the convict turned Pip upside down, the young Pip saw the world in a new way. Here Dickens uses humour to engage the reader. The situation is humours because of the revelation of how children can respond differently to adults in a negative situation. Also, when the convict wanted to eat Pips cheeks, the older Pip looked back and admits impartially that; he did have fat cheeks as a child. This also shows the audience Pip was a humorous person who uses things he can identify with to make comparison. This also tells us that the convict was extremely fat and huge or just hungry. Dickens gives the audience a very detailed and precise description of what the man looks like, he looks scruffy to pip but dickens doesnt describe him as scruffy, he was having dishevelled broken shoes, he was with no hat, he was having a rag tied around his head, he was soaked in water, covered in mud and he was with a manacle on one leg. A manacle is an old English word for handcuff or a long big metal chain. The manacle on one of his legs will also let the audience know that he was a prisoner. Also the fact that he was with no hat shows the audience that he has no respect according to the 19th century manners.

Comparative Political Systems France Germany Politics Essay

Comparative Political Systems France Germany Politics Essay France is a democratic republic with a parliamentary founded on the principle of the division of powers: executive, legislative and judiciary. The Federal Republic of Germany has a democratic constitution and its constitution was elaborated in 1949 with the great West powers help such as the United States, Great Britain and France. Their parliamentary and democratic constitution is based on the Constitution of the United States and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789. But Germany is a federal country and differs with France by its original organization. Firstly, what is a federal state? In fact, it is like an association of different states where the central power coordinates several departments. However, each state itself has significant autonomy. Each federated state has its own government, its own deputy chambers. After the First World War, the Weimar Republic also had a federal system. The only period without federalism was under the third Reich with Hitler in 1949. The notion of native country is very strong in every German speaking country. Indeed, the native country is more important than the nation. In addition of being a federal country, German political system is very structured. The executive power is in the hands of the President, the chancellor and the Là ¤nder. The president is not elected by the universal suffrage and in fact, has just a representative role. The president is elected for a term of five years, not more than two terms by a federal assembly which is constituted by deputies of the Bundestag, the federal dieting and by the Landtage delegates. Moreover, during the French-German summits, we can see two public figures on stage; on the one hand is the German chancellor and on the other hand is the French president. Thus in France, unlike in Germany, the President is the most important figure. The French presidential election proceeds like the legislative elections. There is then a second round if none of the candidates obtains the majority in the first round. The candidature to the presidential election obliged the candidates to obtain 500 signatures of elected people, whether they are Deputies or local Counselor. The French President appoints the Prime minister who appoints the government. The President leads the ministers council. The President approves or refuses to promulgate new laws or to appoint the public officials. He is the head of the national protection and has the highest power to decide to use the French nuclear or not. He is also the head of the foreign affairs, one of his most important representative roles. He can dissolve the National Assembly after consulting the Prime Minister who is the head of the National Assembly and the Senate. The German chancellor, or prime minister, is in charge of the Federal Government, is appointed by the Parliament and finally forms the Government. The Là ¤nders are elected by the universal suffrage, have their own parliament and their local government. The French Prime Minister, appointed by the President, can recruit the ministers he wants and suggests them to the president. The prime minister exerts a strong power on the Assembly and leads the French government. The German legislative power is the federal parliament which is constituted by two chambers: the Bundestag or the deputy chamber which is elected by the universal suffrage for four years and the Bundesrat which represents each Là ¤nder. The members of the Bundesrat are appointed by their local government. The Bundestag votes the laws, elects the federal chancellor and controls the government. Half of their deputies are directly elected by a simple majority, the other half are locally elected and have to have at least 5 five per cent in the party they are in to be represented. The Bundestag has 656 seats. The Bundesrat represents the sixteen federal Là ¤nder and is composed of sixty nine delegates appointed by the local government. Each Là ¤nder is represented by three to six delegates who can only express their opinion in a whole. When the Bundestag and the Bundesrat disagree, an arbitration committee is formed with members of these two chambers. The French fifth Republic is a democratic and parliamentary regime. It is bicameral with the presence of the National Assembly and the Senate. Both of them form the Congress. The Senate represents regions and villages and is composed of 422 members called senators. Their term of office is very long because it lasts nine years. One third of the senators are reelected every three years. They are indirectly elected by the senator delegates. The senate discusses the laws which have been voted by the National Assembly and approves or refuses them. The senate tends to be conservative and this can explain the left parties toughness with their members than with the right parties. Unlike Germany, France is a totally centralized country where the central power is in Paris. Doubtlessly, the different regions exist but hardly have autonomy because decisions are taken in Paris. This can be explained by the wishes of all the kings of France since Hugues Capet in 987, later followed by Louis XIV who all wanted to attract aristocratic people in order to watch them closely. The French revolution and then the emperor Napoleon had just strengthened the French centralization. Despite many clashes in France, French people are more patriotic than German people. French people feel that they are the heirs of a long cultural and state tradition. They feel that they belong to an entity, the nation which is for them something stable, immutable, or even endless. The French communist PCF (parti communiste franà §ais) party was the second most powerful party in the West after the Italian communist party. During these last three decades, the French communist party has always had the dissenting role. Despite their high affinity with the working class, they are left out of the national government. Their role is almost only local where there is a high amount of working people. The extremist FN (Front National) party like the National Front has always been led by one man named Jean-Marie Le Pen who is the heir of a tradition which is the extreme right. Their supporters and the extreme left have in common the basic dissatisfaction of their present governing political party. Like the leftist, the extreme right hates the ruling and political class which are for them part of the general conspiracy against people. This party dream of a fundamental change of the society. Unlike the extreme right party which is anti-individualistic and anti-Semitic, the extreme left is individualistic and anarchistic. Their ideal is a hierarchical society, strictly ordered and disciplined. This party is hardly happy because they think that their country is gnawed by virus which is composed of Jewish people, crooked politicians, selfish intellectuals, homosexuals, immigrant workers, and sick people from the HIVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Jean-Marie Le Pen supports the idea of xenophobia which is widespread in France because some French people are overwhelmed by a swarthy immigrants and colored peoples wave. The feeling of their powerlessness caused by this immigration is growing more and more because all these hated people have the French nationality. Jean-Marie Le Pen and his supporters want to modify the French nationality regulation, making it restrictive. The oldest and one of the greatest parties in Germany is the SPD which is a social democrat party. This party was founded before the Second World War. The CDU party was founded in 1945 after the Second World War for the socialist reorganization of the society. This party thinks that the Marxist socialism is the best way to come to the Christian ideals. This party is like the PSU party, they are both communist. The FDP is a liberal politic German party founded in 1948. This party defends the basic freedom and free trades. This party is nowadays the third party of the Bundestag by their seats number which has 96 deputy seats. It is also present in five out of sixteen Là ¤nder. It is the party of the executive people, the high and middle class. The FDP has governed for 42 years in total and is now still governing after ten years of opposition. To conclude, these two countries have slightly different political systems but they are both one of the worlds power. The Federal Republic of Germany is the most populated country in the European Union with about 80 million inhabitants since the reunification of Germany in 1990. Moreover it is the third economic power after the United States and Japan. Thus, it is an important part of the European Union like France with their economic power. France is historically one of the firmest supporters of European Integration and this has benefited French industrialization significantly.

Dealing with Loss in Killing the Bear Essay -- Minty Killing the Bear

Dealing with Loss in Killing the Bear Often things that we experience as children have lasting affects on us that creep up when we least expect them. In Judith Minty's story "Killing the Bear", a woman finds herself in just such a situation. She finally deals with something that happened to her as a young child that she probably never even realized was bothering her. In this story the central character painfully comes to grips with a major loss of security from her childhood. Throughout "Killing the Bear" the author flips back and forth from the story at hand and seemingly only loosely related anecdotes about the main character and bears. One of the first of these side stories is about the woman's childhood. It talks about something that happens to most children, the loss of an object of security. The girl is attached to a stuffed bear and her mother takes it away "for three months" (12). She is told that when the time is over if she has stopped sucking her thumb, she can have the toy back. When the time passes, however, the child discovers...