Old and Modern Perodic Table Essay Example for Free

Old and Modern Perodic Table Essay PERIODIC TABLE PERIODIC TABLE Charles Janet developed the periodic table in 1928. How the periodic table is organized: Charles Janet’s periodic table was organized according all elements that had been discovering before 1928 according to the orbital filling. It also structures the electrons in ascending atomic order Describe the information the periodic table contains: DISADVANTAGE: * The periodic table has a rough tarnation from metal to none-metal. DISADVANTAGE: * The periodic table has a rough tarnation from metal to none-metal. ADVANTAGES: * Janet’s periodic table was helpful for writing electrons configurations. * The periodic table was easier to read. * It sectioned off none metal and metal ADVANTAGES: * Janet’s periodic table was helpful for writing electrons configurations. * The periodic table was easier to read. * It sectioned off none metal and metal The periodic table contains all 63 elements that were discovered before 1928 and contains the number in which they are ordered in. Dmitri Mendeleev Dmitri Mendeleev Dmitri developed this periodic table in 1869. How was the periodic table organised? The periodic table is organised by rows of horizontal row of elements in the periodic table. It is also organised by none metal and metal and was arranged in order of atomic mass What does Dmitri’s periodic table contain? Dmitri’s periodic table contained 58 elements and also contained 4 elements  that had not been discovered yet and it contained the atomic mass of the elements. DISADVANTAGES: * When Dmitri put the elements in order of atomic mass, he had trouble getting iodine because iodine was similar properties to chlorine and bromine. But iodine had a low atomic mass. So iodine could not be in his rows. This caused Dmitri to break his own rule; he made for the periodic table. DISADVANTAGES: * When Dmitri put the elements in order of atomic mass, he had trouble getting iodine because iodine was similar properties to chlorine and bromine. But iodine had a low atomic mass. So iodine could not be in his rows. This caused Dmitri to break his own rule; he made for the periodic table. ADVANTAGES: * They were arranged into metal and none metals. ADVANTAGES: * They were arranged into metal and none metals. MODERN PERODIC TABLE MODERN PERODIC TABLE Describe the modern periodic table? The periodic table is made up of 109 elements. Most of the elements were discovered by Dmitri. Most of the periodic table now is based on Dmitri’s work on his periodic table and also Dmitri organized the elements into groups and periods. After Dmitri had trouble in his periodic table and died before he could finish, Herney Mosley solved the problem by changing Dmitri’s rule ( by using atomic mass to organize the table), and changed it to organize the periodic table into Atomic numbers. The Structure of the Modern Periodic Table: The modern periodic table was structures by horizontal rows (periods) by ascending order of atomic number and vertical columns (groups/families) based on similar physical characteristics. This then equalled to the amount  of proton in the atomic nuclease of every element. They were also organised into types of metal Information the periodic table contains: The periodic table contains 109 elements. It contains what type of metal the elements are. The actinide and lanthanide series. http://www.lrcphysics.com/scalar-physics/2009/11/28/square-roots-1st-2nd-orderings-of-the-periodic-table.html http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_disadvantages_of_the_left_step_periodic_table http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=ensite=imghptbm=ischsource=hpbiw=1366bih=650q=charles+janetoq=charles+janetgs_l=img.3..0j0i24l2.22453.25244.0.25656.13.13.0.0.0.0.402.2178.5j3j2j2j1.13.00.01ac.1.17.img.hbUEtP0kwm0#facrc=_imgrc=nhGuSXcRaPUuvM%3A%3B8qwddaOzBhBLeM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fsoc.acad.oise.free.fr%252Fjanet.gif%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fsoc.acad.oise.free.fr%252Fjanet.htm%3B250%3B281 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_PSmsEWEDQ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mendeleevs_1869_periodic_table.png http://www.chemistry.co.nz/mendeleev.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_edexcel/atomic_structure/periodictablerev2.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_edexcel/atomic_structure/periodictablerev2.shtml http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0905215.html

Causes of Low Birth Rates

Causes of Low Birth Rates Childless or Childfree? Actress Katherine Hepburn said, â€Å"If motherhood doesn’t interest you then don’t do it!† She didn’t, along with opera singer Maria Callas, Queen Elizabeth I, and Oscar winning actress Helen Mirren , recently portraying Queen Elizabeth II. Melissa Dear, of the Family Planning Association, was recently quoted as saying that the falling birth rate was partly a reflection of the failure to provide women with adequate support. That may be so, but perhaps it is simpler than that. Perhaps more women want to have fun rather than have a baby. Not that babies can’t be fun some of the time, but really, what would you choose: worrying about ear infections, and wondering how to replace the front tyres on the car when you need to buy a miniature pair of winter boots which cost more than the ones you saw in your own size at Clarkes; or wondering about what to wear to your dinner party and where to go on holiday this year? In the past women reaching their thirties with no sign of a child would automatically be at the receiving end of thick streams of sympathy for their plight. After all, don’t all women have a deep maternal drive, this instinct, this burning desire to procreate? To experience for the best part of a year, haemorrhoids, backache and the raging hormones of pregnancy followed by the undeniably painful effort required to pass an infant the size of a melon through an opening better suited to something four inches in diameter. Then there’s the post pregnancy weight gain, possible occasional urine incontinence that means avoiding sneezing or coughing in public, and in private, your love life goes down the pan. Population forecasts suggest that of those women who are of childbearing age now, one in five may never have children. Some proportion of that will be due to infertility, but there will also be those women who make the choice not to have children. Some people might think this is an abnormal decision based on an immature worldview. There will still be the knowing nods and, â€Å"You’ll change your mind later!† â€Å"You are not truly a woman until you have given birth to a child.† Dr C Hakim, senior research fellow at the LSE said that researchers had been unable to account for the growing number of childfree women, finding no parallel with infertility statistics. Her research showed that there are rising numbers of women choosing not to have children. The childless woman is not necessarily bewailing her fate. Dr Hakim points out that around 10% of women reach the age of 45 with no children. She says: The whole idea of the childfree lifestyle is beginning to be recognised by the media. Private feelings are being legitimised and people are beginning to feel that they are not being deviant in some way. That â€Å"deviant† behaviour was addressed in a Radio 4 Woman’s Hour Phone-In, with women discussing problems in the workplace as childfree employees. You might think that it’s the mothers that have all the problems, considering they are the ones who have to work flexi hours, coming in late after the school run and having to rush off at the end of the school day. They are tied to school holidays, and are at the mercy of childminders in term time. However, the childfree women phoning in were generally quite resentful of the fact that they could not take advantage of later mornings as they had to cover the time the mums were not there. Victoria, a nurse, said, â€Å"I have covered for maternity leave, Christmas and all the other times that working mothers assumed was their right to be at home. I don’t get any tax relief or benefits for not having children, and I would like a little recognition now and then.† 20% of the adult female population in Britain are childfree, and Sarah from Leatherhead felt that she was treated as â€Å"a less useful citizen, despite holding down a demanding job† because she had no children. She said she was made to feel inferior and less important than the women with children, despite the fact that she often worked longer hours and seldom took time off. Why would childfree women would want to go on holiday in the summer with all those child-filled families? Surely the whole point is not to be around children? Apparently not. Childfree women do not necessarily dislike children; it is simply parenthood they are rejecting, and being a parent certainly is linked with disrupted lives and financial insecurity. Those women who do decide to have children are having them later. In 2005 the average age at which women had their first child was 27.3 years, with the highest rate of fertility being in their early 30s. Despite the rise in teenage pregnancies which alters the average, bringing it down, this is still a rise of almost 4 years since the 1970s. Clearly women are choosing to stay childfree for longer, concentrating on careers or travel, or just organising their lives before giving up their independence. Even then, it’s not all plain sailing! Julia Roberts, 39, actress and mother of 2-year-old twins reportedly said â€Å"I didn’t realise that I would get no sleep at all. I am so sleep deprived I can’t even stand, I have to sit down all the time.† Could it be that some women who have children are ever so slightly jealous of their carefree childfree sisters? Bibliography Dear, Melissa. (2002) Birth rate at all time low http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2570503.stm accessed 19 April 2007 Hakim, Dr C (2004) Family-friendly policies are unlikely to influence the voluntary childless http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/pressAndInformationOffice/newsAndEvents/archives/2004/Family_FriendlyPR.htm accessed 19 April 2007 Hepburn, Katherine. http://cheerfullychildless.com/CheeryQuotations.htm accessed 19 April 2007 Murphy, J (Unknown) re Julia Roberts Childcare tips from celebrity mums http://www.gomamatoday.com/modernmama/parenting/celebchildcaretips/?MemID=11 accessed 19 April 2007 National Statistics, (2006) http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/PopTrends126.pdf accessed 19 April 2007 Swann, C (2001) Famous people without children http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/childfree_by_choice/58081 accessed 19 April 2007 Woman’s Hour (2005) Childfree Women http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2005_13_wed_01.shtml accessed 19 April 2007

Delegate thru Management Essay -- essays research papers

Hours in a Day Sometimes I think my boss wished there were 48hrs in a day, he’d be able to get a lot more work done. He may not get those extra hours in a day but he can get the equivalent through delegation. He effectively plugs into expertise of his people to assist him in completing the task on hand, thus multiplying his efforts. There is more to delegation than just giving members of a staff tasking, delegation is a subpart of the four functions of management. Delegation thru Planning Begin in the military I know a quite a bit about delegation. It starts from the first day you begin basic training. Most of the times, delegation is done in a professional way. Because of shortages in the Coast Guard sometimes managers are forced to do the jobs of junior people, until they get a junior person. Although it’s a relief to receive the assistance lots of managers find them selves holding on to work that should be passed to a subordinate. For many managers, the path to more effective delegation begins with reexamining two basic assumptions about their roles. First, many managers continue to assume that it's faster and more efficient to take on employees' work vs. teaching them how to handle it on their own. This can become frustrating for both manager, and employee. In a case like this an effective manger will plan specific times in order to incorporate needed skills with present skills, so that employee will become an asset to the unit. Delegate thru Organization Letting go o...

Vocational Education and Training Essay -- essays research papers

THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN VOCATIONAL ASPECTS TO SCHOOLING IN AUSTRALIA. HOWEVER, IN RECENT TIMES THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASED EMPHASIS ON THIS ASPECT OF SCHOOLING WITHIN BOTH THE GENERAL CURRICULUM AND THOSE AREAS THAT HAVE A PARTICULAR VOCATIONAL FLAVOUR. IN WHAT WAYS DOES THIS EMPHASIS PROVIDE A BROADER OR NARROWER CONCEPTION OF EDUCTION FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS? YOUR RESPONSE NEEDS TO REFER TO: (I) THE AIMS OF THE ‘NEW VOCATIONALISM’ AND HOW IT IS CURRENTLY BEING MANIFESTED IN SECONDARY SCHOOLING; (II) HOW EQUALITY OF OUTCOMES FOR ALL SENIOR STUDENTS CAN BE MANAGED AT AT TIME OF HIGH STUDENT RETENTION IN THE POST-COMPULSORY YEARS AND (III) A CRITIQUE OF THE CURRENT VET IN SCHOOLS POLICY. Aims and Origins of New Vocationalism What is vocational education? That depends on the period in history and whom you ask. There is probably no greater bone of contention or confusion among educators. Vocational education or educating students to fulfil their vocation or calling in life is such a broad definition. Traditionally it has been seen as an education for those not taking up tertiary studies, for those who instead undertake hands on training before entering the world of work. If this then is the definition, entry to some of the most highly regarded professions, is through vocational education. Take for example the doctor, teacher or the architect. In each of these cases the undergraduate student must undertake some form of on the job training and examination in order to receive their registration. This then changes the focus of vocational education. No longer can we look from the traditional view that it is for tradespeople, or blue-collar workers. We must then take a more encompassing view that it is necessary element of education for all students, to give them the grounding to deal with the challenges of the work force, regardless of the esteem the work they will ultimately do is held in. Vocational Education is certainly not a new phenomenon. It has existed in some form or another in Australia schools since formal education began (Skilbeck et al, 1994). Vocational education has always been at the whim of the financial and political climate. In a boom, there is a surge in popularity in order to meet the skills shortages, in an economic crisis it is seen as the best â€Å"way out† (Keating, 1998). Since the industrial revolution there have been calls from industry for edu... ...e outside world. That education should reflect the world it prepares students to live in, and not simply focus on the facts so that students reach set academic levels. Not all students have talent in all areas, and new vocationalism is a way of tailoring education to better suit the changing needs of our students as they enter the unknown world of this new millennium. References ANTA web site, 2000. http://www.anta.gov.au/abc/VETinSchools.htm Frost, M. 2000. Releasing the Genie: The Impact of VET in Schools on Education. Curriculum Perspectives 20:1 (pp45-50). Downloaded from web site: http://www.vetnetwork.org.au/resources/papers/acapaper.html Keating, J. 1998. Australian Training Reform: Implications for Schools (Revised Edition). Curriculum Corporation, Melbourne, Victoria. Pollard, A., Puvris, J. & Walford, G. 1988. Education Training & the New Vocationalism: Experience and Policy. Open University Press, Milton Keynes. Robinson, C. & Kenyan, R. 1998. The Market for Vocational Education & Training. NCVER, Leabrook, SA. Skilbeck, M. Connell, H. Lowe, N. & Tait, K. 1994. The Vocational Quest: New Directions in Education and Training. Routledge, London.

Culture Dominated by Males in Literature Essay -- Literary Analysis

How is the protagonist’s relationship with his/her mother the source of their alienation? ‘All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother’ -Abraham Lincoln.’1 Alienation: a withdrawing or separation of a person, or a person’s affections from an object or position of former attachment2. Alienation is a key theme present in Woman at Point Zero3 and The Metamorphosis4 by Nawaal El Saadawi and Franz Kafka respectively which is accentuated by both authors to describe what the protagonists go through. With the use of diction, imagery, contrast and symbolism, it is seen how the absence of mother in the protagonist’s life in the two books contributes greatly to their alienation. Gregor Samsa, from The Metamorphosis was the sole bread earner of his family, and was brought up in a society where men took charge. When he undergoes his metamorphosis, he cannot stand the fact that his family has to work and he ‘toyed with the idea that next time the door was opened, he would take the family’s affairs in hand’ (111). These thoughts suggest how much Gregor disliked the fact that ‘his mother had to do the cooking’ (96). The connotation of the word ‘toyed’ creates an image of how Mrs. Samsa was unable to act. Gregor’s desire for domination at this point in the novel begins to emerge, as he searches for his new place in the family, which symbolizes his attitude as he is executed from his bread earning position. However, at this point Gregor is unable to do anything and is left contemplating about it. Nawaal El Saadawi shows us how Firdaus, from Woman At Point Zero never shared a normal relationship with her mother in the little time that she lived with her. Firdaus first notices her mother’s disregard when she trie... ... from their mothers decreases as the novel goes on. It is ironic that a figure such as that of a mother who is supposed to shower her children with abundant love under all circumstances shuns away from her children when they need her the most. Nawaal El Saadawi and Franz Kafka portray their characters as people who share unusual bonds with their mothers and how this contributes greatly to their progressing alienation throughout the book. WORKS CITED: 1. "Mom Quotations - Quotations." BellaOnline -- The Voice of Women. Web. 03 Mar. 2010. http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art9484.asp 2. Webster’s All-In-One Dictionary and Thesaurus, 2008 Edition. Print 3. SaÊ »dÄ wÄ «, NawÄ l. Woman at Point Zero. London: Zed, 1983. Print 4. Kafka, Franz, and Malcolm Pasley. Metamorphosis and Other Stories: Works Published during Kafka's Lifetime. London: Penguin, 2000. Print

Religion and Morality Essay

Morality as dependant on religion The idea of whether morality and religion are linked or not was first looked upon by Plato, where in his Euthyphro Dilemma he asks, ‘Is what is pious loved by the Gods because it is pious, or is something pious because it is loved?’ In other words he is questioning whether things are good because God commands them to be, or does God command them because they are good? I will first examine the view followed by theists today, that things are good because God loves them and that religion and morality are linked. There are a number of ways which you can establish a possible link between religion and morality, the first being heteronomously. Heteronomy is the view that morality depends on religious belief, or things derived from religion. The rules in heteronomous societies are from religious authority so will obviously be linked to religion, however a non-religious person is still capable of being heteronomous as they live and abide by the culture’s laws therefore adopting a morality based on religion. To a certain extent it is hard to deny aspects of heteronomy, since words like ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are shaped by religion. It would be hard to present an ethical theory free from these terms. A theonomous link can also be made, where morality and religion depend on one source (for example, in Western cultures God) who is the fundamental designer of what is moral. Unlike Heteronomy, Theonomy does not require a religious authority as it is to do with the individual’s personal belief in the aforementioned source. The Natural Law theory developed by Aquinas is considered theonomous, in which an uncaused cause is the creative source for all. We can access God directly in this theory by fulfilling our purposes in life set by Him at our creation. The view that things are good through God’s command is directly illustrated in The Divine Command Theory, the common theory adopted by believers in the God of Classical Theism. According to Emil Brunner (1947), ‘The Good consists in always doing what God wills at any particular moment’, as it essentially impossible for God to command an evil act. If nothing was commanded or forbidden by God then there would be no wrong or right and arguably, there would be chaos. The DCT can be seen to provide a strong foundation for a stable necessary morality to be built upon as well as personal reasons to abide by it. For example, taken from the views of Kant (although not directly aimed at the DCT) the belief in the existence of an afterlife gives us incentive to live a moral life, which we otherwise may not be able to force ourselves to do. The presence of such an afterlife, and the fear of punishment make it rational (According to William Craig) to go against your own self-interest for the benefit of others, as self-sacrificial acts are looked upon well by God. This provides more answers to the question ‘Why be Moral?’ The DCT can be accessed through the Decalogue in the Bible (Exodus 20, old Testament), which provides a set of ten absolute, deontological commands by God. Also through the New Testament in Jesus’ ‘Sermon on the Mount’ where he makes laws much more situationalist with teachings such as ‘Love your neighbour’, which are flexible and apply to many situations. Finally, many theists argue that it does not make sense for morals to exist in a non-moral universe as there is nowhere they originate from, they don’t fit into a natural universe. They do however fit into a theistic universe where they were created by a moral creator (i.e God), it is then easy to see why they exist. This is supported by philosophers such as John Newman who states that feelings of responsibility and guilt point to God, and by D.I Trethowan, who suggests that an awareness of obligation is an awareness of God. Aii) Morality as independent from Religion A belief in morality as being totally independant from God is an autonomous belief, and there are many arguments in compliance with Autonomy, very much to do with the idea of free-will. If we really are to act with personal freedom of choice then we cannot act out of fear of God’s punishment, it totally voids the notion of free-will; and if God is omniscient and omnipotent he would know what decisions we are to make anyway and he would have the ability to stop us making the wrong ones. James Rachels concludes that no being like God can exist who requires us to abandon our moral autonomy is worth worshipping. There are theories in concurrence with Autonomy which allow still for a good, firm morality without dependency on religion such as Utilitarianism (greatest good for greatest number) so it can be said that religion is unnecessary There are many autonomous arguments against the DCT, beginning with the fact that God himself is not bound by any moral law. This would mean that God’s Ten Commandments could easily have been totally the opposite to what they are, encouraging acts like murder and we would still consider them to be good as God is the epitemy of good. This worrying problem was recognized by philosophers such as G.W Leibniz, who decreed, ‘Why praise him for what he has done, if he would be equally as praiseworthy if he had done the contrary?’ There is belief that if God had commanded acts such as murder, people still would not do them as we through our intuition feel they are intrinsically wrong. Another difficulty with the DCT lies in the many different interpretations which can be drawn from God. The existence of lots of different religions all with equal claim to God makes it very complicated as we cannot tell which one is right. Also, if morality depends on God then surely it would be impossible for an atheist to live a moral life, but this is obviously untrue as so many atheists do live morally. Further criticisms of the DCT stem from its assumption that God is omnibenevolent, a claim which is not easy to comprehend for the atheist because of the undeniable existence of evil. Lastly, many people argue that religion is itself immoral, as it is through religion that the most part of suicide bomb attacks, and other horrific acts are carried out. Examples could be drawn from the events in America involving the Twin Towers, or more recently the teacher in Sudan who is imprisoned for allowing a teddy to be named after the prophet Muhammad. If not for religion, these arguably ridiculous acts would never be justifiable. Hume said on the subject, ‘the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous. Richard Dawkins in ‘The God Delusion’, clearly advocates the theory that religion is immoral when he discusses the story of Lot. This ‘righteous’ man is to be saved from the destruction of Soddom and Gomorrah because he is the most worthy man, however he offers his daughters for gang rape. According to Dawkins this emphasizes the serious disrespect for women in an intensely religious culture. B) To what extent is one of these claims more convincing than the other Going back to the basics of the Divine Command Theory, there are 613 commands in the Bible which were originally in effect, but are not now because they are ‘outdated’, and theists argue that an omniscient God used them knowing they would be relevant for different times. These theists fail, however to a provide a logical explanation for why there is nothing in the Bible which can be related to biological advances such as cloning, an omniscient God should be capable of filling in these gaps in moral law. Furthermore, as Dawkins relevantly points out – how can someone decide that parts of the Bible are now irrelevant, this is just picking and choosing which parts are in your best interest to follow. This suggests that the Bible and therefore the DCT does not in fact provide a stable foundation for morality as there are numerous conclusions to be drawn from ‘relevant’ parts. It must also be taken into consideration that the Bible is not in its original form, through hundreds of years it has been composed and revised so (as put forward by Dawkins again) does it not seem strange that we base our whole morality on such a distorted teaching. Another feature of the DCT, is that everyone will be judged by God, punished for their sins, often in the form of natural disasters. People could say that the recent tsunami and Hurricane Katrina incidents were a form of punishment, but as Dawkins once again highlights, why did this have to happen? It is hard to believe that everyone who died in these disasters was evil, so why could our omnipotent God of Classical Theism not just strike down the individuals without causing so much collateral damage. Moreover, this persuasively further argues the immoral messages religion can be seen to give. Often, it is argued that the set in stone rules of the DCT inspire people to live a moral life out of the incentive of making it to heaven, and avoiding hell. This may be true, but does it not tarnish the goodness of an act when it is done out of selfish reason? Does it then make that act immoral? Yes it does, so it can then be said that the DCT again fails to provide a stable, reasonable basis for morality. These set in stone rules are also cause for discussion, as they are obviously inarguable to a Divine Command Theorist. To them, consequentialist views such as killing someone to save a greater number would undisputedly be wrong. Even if our intuition is what is telling us that defying a command is right, the believer in DCT would say it is our intuition at fault; They do, however fail to take into consideration that by their own decrees intuition is given to us by God to live morally, so why would we intuitively want to go against God? Dawkins’ arguments suggest that religion is responsible for the most part of evil in the world and his descriptions of people like terrorists as e.g. ‘Not psychotic; they are religious idealists who, by their own lights, are rational’ certainly make sense. However he makes it seem that no religious person has the capacity to do good, which can easily be refuted at the mere mention of the names Mother Theresa, or Martin Luther King. He also unsurprisingly doesn’t mention the likes of atheist like Stalin who birthed communism in Russia. Despite this, the majority of Dawkins views and the massive flaws in the DCT show the latter statement in the initial question (‘Is something good because God commands it, or does God command something because it is good?’) to be the most convincing of the two. Although the DCT offers a way for humanity to be good, religion itself harbors too many inconsistencies to base everything we stand for on.

Bleak House Commentary Essay

The following is an analysis of a passage from Charles Dickens’ novel, Bleak House, in which a bleak and dreary atmosphere is conveyed. The first thing that is mentioned by the narrator in the first paragraph of the passage is mud, and this plays a significant part in the depiction of a filthy, dirty environment. The beginning line, ‘As much mud in the streets†¦and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill’ uses hyperbole to suggest that the streets are so muddy that it’s almost like the beginning of the world, and it wouldn’t be strange to see a dinosaur roaming around because of that. Also, the line ‘Dogs, undistinguishable in mire. Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers’ is an exaggeration of how the streets are so dirty that one cannot tell the different between the mud and the dogs, and even horses are up to their eyes in it. This shows us just how much mud and grime there is, and how dirty everything is. Another aspect in this passage is the dreariness and the bleak environment. This is expressed in the line ‘Foot-passengers, jostling one another’s umbrellas, in a general infection of ill temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if this day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Firstly, the line ‘jostling one another’s umbrellas’ suggests that the place is so overcrowded and uncomfortable that people are all bumping into each other, and that their ‘ill temper’ is spread like a disease every time they come into contact, and it stirs in us a sense of claustrophobia because the people are all packed together. This adds to the implication that it’s a miserable and unpleasant place to be. Also, the fact that the foot-passengers are using umbrellas suggests that it is or has been raining, strengthening the general feeling of gloominess. Furthermore, the fact that the part of the line ‘†¦slipping and sliding since the day broke (if this day ever broke)’ is written in parenthesis suggests the sarcastic voice of the narrator, that he is mocking the foot-passenger’s ill temper and derisively commenting on the cold and depressing atmosphere, and this in turn reinforces that very fact. The use of sibilance in ‘slipping and sliding’ further increases the effect of the dismal environment. The following line, ‘Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snowflakes – gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun’ is very effective in expressing how unpleasant the place is. The fact that the smoke is ‘lowering’ down, instead of drifting upwards as it normally does, implies that the atmosphere is so oppressive that even smoke can’t escape and is being pushed down. In addition, there is a personification of the soot and snow, as they have ‘gone into mourning’ for the ‘death of the sun’. This could be an implication that the place is so gloomy and polluted that you can no longer see the sun, and that is why it has ‘died’, and is also why everything is black. This effectively intensifies the feeling of despair and dreariness that is hanging over the city, and the bleakness of the environment. The second paragraph of this passage concentrates mainly on fog and how it has been personified into a shadowy demon from which there is no escape. The first line of the second paragraph begins with ‘Fog everywhere’, and this alone is a very abrupt, aggressive statement that makes us feel, once again, slightly claustrophobic, as though there is fog pressing in all around us and that there is no escape from it. Subsequently, the lines ‘Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the firesides,’ and ‘Fog cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of his shivering little ‘prentice boy on deck’ are examples of how the fog is personified, and made to seem sinister, omnipresent, like an oppressor that takes pleasure in attacking weak, vulnerable people like ‘ancient Greenwich pensioners’ and the ‘shivering little ‘prentice boy’. Another very effectual line is ‘Chance people on the bridges peeping over the parapets into a nether sky of fog, with fog all round them, as if they were up in a balloon, and hanging in the misty clouds’. The use of the verb ‘peeping’ is very interesting because it means the people are looking quickly or secretly over the bridges, and it creates a sense of nervousness and apprehension, as though the people are frightened of the fog, thus making the fog seem all the more threatening. In addition to this, the use of ‘parapets’ may not be just a reference to the sides of the bridge, as it also makes us think of castles, and so people peeping over parapets makes it seem as though they are under siege or under attack from an army of fog, which goes back to the allusion that the fog attacks weak or vulnerable people. Furthermore, the last part of the line, ‘as if they were up in a balloon, and hanging in the misty clouds’ conveys a sense of helplessness, because when you’re in a balloon you have very limited control, and this has been used as a metaphor to suggest how the people have no control over the fog and that they are trapped by it. Once again, this creates the feeling of claustrophobia and makes it seem overwhelming as there is so much fog and there’s no way out. The structure of these this passage is very interesting to note. The first paragraph is almost conversational, as though the narrator is describing to us the many events of the day, while the second paragraph suddenly switches to more somber, grave narrative of the fog, and this affects us and makes us feel uneasy of the fog. This is also partly because the passage is written in the present, and so it involves us, makes us feel as if we are there in the dreary environment. Additionally, the elongated syntax of the sentences mirrors the long, miserable day and the never-ending fog, and this intensifies the gloomy feeling we get from it. In conclusion, this passage from Bleak House uses many different techniques such as personification, hyperbole and tone of voice to effectively express the dirty and gloomy environment and the general feeling of misery and despair.