Thursday, March 19, 2020

Kipling vs. Woolf essays

Kipling vs. Woolf essays Rudyard Kipling and Virginia Woolf, although both English writers, write from completely different perspectives and with completely different intentions. Kiplings book Kim does not tackle any specific social issues, but instead uses fiction to promote general themes of tolerance and the importance of education. Woolf, on the other hand, has the specific intention of showing the inferior role that women are forced to play in society and the effect that this role has on the aspiring female writer. She uses fiction to combat female inferiority and to prove that women can write just as well as men. Both Kipling and Woolf used fiction to describe the society in which they lived: Kipling wrote about India under British control and influence, and Woolf wrote about England during a time of male dominance and the suppression of female creativity. Overall, Kipling gives a more effective picture of society because he gives a more general depiction (while maintaining accuracy), he includes different perspectives of the society, and he places a larger emphasis on the importance and power of knowledge. Kiplings story starts out on the poor streets of an Indian city, where the reader encounters a wide range of personalities. As the book progresses, Kim comes in to contact with almost every different social class present in India. He sleeps in the stable of a horse trader, in the dorms of an English boarding school, in the house of a wealthy Indian widow, and even in a Hindu temple. Kipling does an excellent job of describing society on a large scale instead of focusing on a specific group, allowing the reader to gain a general understanding of different social groups and how they interact. Woolf, on the other hand, focuses on societys elite, the small percentage of English men and women who can afford a college education. She believes that one of the pre-requisites to becoming a writer is having money. To have ...

Monday, March 2, 2020

Oxford English Dictionary to go online only (probably) - Emphasis

Oxford English Dictionary to go online only (probably) Oxford English Dictionary to go online only (probably) The next edition of The Oxford English Dictionary probably wont appear in print, according to the Oxford University Press (OUP), the dictionarys owner. Instead, it is likely that the third edition will be accessible only electronically. OED3 wont be ready for at least another decade, and the decision is not yet final. But when asked if it would appear in print, OUP Chief Executive Nigel Portwood said, I dont think so [] The print dictionary market is just disappearing. No surprise that this is down to the increasingly ubiquitous presence of the internet and the latest alternative ways to read and access information. The second edition of the reference guide considered the worlds most definitive work on the language was published in 20 volumes in 1989. Its also been available online (by subscription) for over ten years, where it receives two million hits a month. It seems inevitable that new technology like the iPad will revolutionise our reading habits, but how happy are we all about it? Are those of us sentimental about the feel of paper between our fingers just holding on to a fast-receding past? Simon Winchester, author of The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, has come reluctantly round to that way of thinking. Until six months ago I was clinging to the idea that printed books would likely last forever he said. Since the arrival of the iPad I am now wholly convinced otherwise. And even bibliophiles like him are naturally evolving past pages. I have two complete OEDs, but never consult them I use the online OED five or six times daily. So it looks like the end of the printed word could indeed be nigh. Is it time, then, for techno-sceptics to stop wringing their hands over the demise of books in order to embrace this paperless future?