Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Community Supervision Is Not A New Concept - 1335 Words
Introduction Adult Probation, also known as community supervision is not a new concept that is occurring in todayââ¬â¢s criminal justice system in the United States. In the year 1841, John Augustus introduces probation in the United States in Boston and later recognized as the ââ¬Å"Father of Probationâ⬠(Petersilia, 1997). John Augustus convinced a judge to release a drunkard into his custody to help the man find a job and become sober. After Augustusââ¬â¢ success in his first case, he began to offer his services to other individuals involved in criminal activity. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, approximately 267,400 Ohio residents were under community supervision at the end of 2013. With a high amount of individuals on probation in Ohio, the question should be asked ââ¬Å"How can adult probation departments around the state of Ohio have the greatest impact on such a large group of individuals?â⬠At Summit County adult probation, this student has observed that most probation officers have caseloads with approximately 120-140 probationers at any one time. Probation officers have a difficult time giving adequate attention to each offender on their caseload. Petersilia stated in her article ââ¬Å"Offenders in large urban areas are often assigned to 100-plus caseloads, in which meetings occur at most once a month,and employment or treatment progress is seldom monitored. As long as no rearrest occurs, offenders can successfully complete probation whether or not conditions have beenShow MoreRelatedProbation Parole And Parole Case1367 Words à |à 6 Pages Approximately 1 in 51 adults in the United States was under community supervision at yearend 2013, the lowest rate observed since 1996 (Herberman Bonczar, 2014, p.1). Probation/parole supervision also known as community supervision, helps individuals (ex-criminals) acclimate back in their community. Probation is used when a judge chooses to let the offender serve his sentence under officer supervision in the community, rather than in prison. It is usually given to individuals that have committedRead MoreFor My Research Paper, I Desired To Learn More About Juvenile1474 Words à |à 6 Pagescrime was as low as homeless ness. However, in 1830, the Maryland adopted the policy of separating juvenile delinquents from adult criminals. The first concept for juvenile services was a house of refuge, however, it took 20 years for this concept to become a physical reality. From 1850 to 1882, Maryland built four more facilities for juveniles. These new ââ¬Å"reform housesâ⬠were governed by private boards and segregated by race and sex. All of the ââ¬Å"housesâ⬠were eventually organized as training schools andRead MorePrison Case Study1224 Words à |à 5 PagesCreating a New Program Dallas County Jail houses inmates that are currently awaiting trial for cases that they have be charged or alleged to have committed. Many of the inmates of the Dallas County jail are eligible for a bond that is previously set by Magistrates/ Judges upon the inmateââ¬â¢s arrest for the alleged offense. The inmates often face the possibility of losing employment and housing as well as possible family crisis as a result of current incarceration. Many of the inmates face the taskRead MoreProbation And Parole And Juvenile Offenders Essay1384 Words à |à 6 Pages Probation and parole were unknown concepts until the early 19th century. Just over one-hundred years old, the emphasis has moved from the offender to concern for the welfare of the community, altogether public safety. Probation and parole accommodates the offender by allowing them to reenter or remain in society, while they serve their sentences. Today, the probation and parole agencies in the United States handle millions and only sixty percent of probationers complete their obligations successfullyRead MoreThe Progression Of Social Work Supervision Essay706 Words à |à 3 Pagessocial work supervision from the onset of the field of social work through today, as follows; â⬠¢ 1890ââ¬â¢s - 1930ââ¬â¢s focused on accountability. â⬠¢ 1920ââ¬â¢s 1930ââ¬â¢s supervision was introduced as a concept in educational programs. â⬠¢ 1945-1990 focused on administrative, education, and support. â⬠¢ Today supervision is focusing on the micro, mezzo and macro domains of practices that have become increasingly complex requiring further research. They researched seven major texts on the topic of supervision in theRead MoreInstructional Leadership : The Implementation Of Strategic Planning Concepts Regarding Quality Instruction Essay1539 Words à |à 7 Pages What is your definition of instructional leadership? Instructional leadership is the implementation of strategic planning concepts regarding quality instruction. Instructional leadership warrants the utilization of essential materials and resources, composing effective goals and objectives, and evaluating teacher performance in relations to quality instruction. Guiding and supporting educators with the intention of generating effecting learning environments drives instructional leadership. MoreRead MoreEssay on History of Corrections1749 Words à |à 7 Pagesthey could reflect on their past miss-deedsâ⬠¦and be reformed,â⬠(Clear, Cole, Reisig). The American penitentiary and its new concept was observed and adopted by other foreign countries. The Pennsylvania system of the penitentiary was based on inmate isolation so that they could ponder their past behavioral choices. In this system the inmates were confined to labor on their own. In New York they had a different system, known as the Auburn system. This system differed from the Pennsylvania system becauseRead MoreProbation Parole : Probation And Parole1541 Words à |à 7 Pagessociety accept this program and the people? Is probation/parole effective and why. How the probation and parole system is governed and how effective is it? Probation vs Parole differ in regard to the period during which an offender is placed under supervision. Is probation effective and why. When an individual is supervised as an alternative to imprisonment it is known as probation. The probation process is less expensive then providing years of care with in the prison. The system benefits not justRead MoreProbation : Probation And Parole1544 Words à |à 7 Pagessociety accept this program and the people? Is probation/parole effective and why. How the probation and parole system is governed and how effective is it? Probation v s Parole differs in regard to the period during which an offender is placed under supervision. Is probation effective and why. When an individual is supervised as an alternative to imprisonment, it is known as probation. The probation process is less expensive than providing years of care within the prison. The system has benefited notRead MoreParole Is The Release Of A Convicted Offender1230 Words à |à 5 Pagesthe law, which suspends the convicted offenderââ¬â¢s sentence for a period of time and releases the offender back into the community under specific conditions (Alarid Del Carmen, 2012). The start of probation can be linked to Englandââ¬â¢s criminal law. During Henry VIIIââ¬â¢s time, harsh sanctions were placed on adults and children for violations of the law that were sometimes minor (New York City Government, 2015). The upper class members of the society eventually became dissatisfied with the harsh punishments
Monday, December 23, 2019
Cultural Competence Within The Healthcare World Essay
Cultural competence can be used as a strategy to improve quality healthcare and help in getting over racial and ethnic disparities. It is only one solution to reducing racial/ethnic disparities in the healthcare systems. With that said many health care facilities are taking part in cultural competence. Although in this topic we are dealing with healthcare, cultural competence can be utilized within most businesses such as retail, the military and other government related jobs (Harris, 2011) as well as the food industry. With that said, Cultural competence has become a popular strategy within the healthcare world. Before I begin to explain how I would incorporate Cultural Competence into my work environment, I feel as though I must first explain what Cultural Competence is. Cultural Competence is when you bring employees together of various cultural backgrounds as well as those that have different values, beliefs, Attitudes and behaviors to form a system that helps them work together effectively (Ingram, 2012). Cultural Competency is very important in any work environment because it opens up communication between co-workers in conversations so that they can work together without barriers. When health providers and workers can come together to help each other better understand patients and their different beliefs as well as value them it helps in serving each patients unique needs (Campinha-Bacote, 2011). Some of the patient that may fall under cultural competency are thoseShow MoreRelatedDiversity in Healthcare1335 Words à |à 6 PagesDiversity in Healthcare Have you ever been to the doctor and dont quite understand what the provider is telling you, or are you a healthcare worker and you dont understand your patients? Should the healthcare provider get diversity training or should they maybe learn new languages? More than ever before, healthcare professionals are subjected to dealing with a number of immense and different cultural diversities. While diversity is often a term used to refer specifically to cultural differencesRead MoreCultural Competence and the Disabled876 Words à |à 4 Pages We are born into our ethnicity, race, gender, and culture. They are a part of who we are when we enter this world. One of the few diversities that may be acquired later on in our lives is disability. All of us, regardless of where we come from, what we believe, or who we are, can be afflicted with some form of disability in our life time through disease, accident, or other conditions that render us incapable of caring for ourselves in the s ame way that was possible before. This knowledge createsRead MoreCultural Competency For A Successful Profession1414 Words à |à 6 PagesCULTURAL COMPETENCY IN NURSING For a successful profession, cultural competence should be put into consideration to create an environment that favors better communication. Since migration of people across the globe has increased, it has resulted to a population that is ethnically diverse. Nurses must therefore interact with a diversified community, hence the need to learn about their culture. When involved in a work team, the following disciplines should be considered: valuing diversity, having theRead MoreDiversity Also Increases Adaptability Due To A Diverse1499 Words à |à 6 Pagesexciting job environment where people share ideas, cultural issues. Even though diversity provides some benefits, it also poses some disadvantages to the business. Diversity creates communication barrier because of language misunderstanding. Also, people differ in negotiation skills, and decision making approaches. In a diverse workforce, this is problematic. Workplace teams can function inefficiently due to diversity because people different cultural approaches, hence, do not agree on one solutionRead MoreHealth Care Practices And Its Impact On An Individual s Health Essay1567 Words à |à 7 Pagesstereotypes and resulting discrimination can extend into other areas of life, such as receiving or delivering health care. Healthcare practices and regard for healthcare employees vary across the different cultures. Patients differ due to various aspects. These differences constitute of patient illness, personality, socioeconomic class or education, however the most endless variation is cultural. Race, religion, language, education, ethnicity and economic status are the essence of culture that has a significantRead MoreCulture Competence Essay1348 Words à |à 6 Pages Culture in a general sense is patterns, behaviors, beliefs, values, customs and life ways that have been passed on from person to person, generation to generation, within a family and group of people. This group of people with the same thoughts about products of human work will also share implicit or explicit patterns of their world view and decision making. There are different cultures all around us. The primary characteristics of culture are the obvious things that meet the eye such as; nationalityRead MoreCultural Competency and Cultural Humility in Nursing Practice1545 Words à |à 7 PagesCultural Competency and Cultural Humility in Nursing Practice Lisa Watson UMASS Boston Online Professional Issues in Nursing NU 360 Ms. Carol Moran November 08, 2012 Abstract You may not like how the Presidential election turned out, but the victory of the Democrats was won partly by focusing on going after the Hispanic vote. The Hispanic population who voted for President Obama put him over the top to win. Hispanics identified with Obama. Somehow, he made a connection with thisRead MoreDiversity and Cultural Competence in Family Therapy Essay1050 Words à |à 5 Pages Diversity and Cultural Competence in Family Therapy A therapist will face problems, issues and client troubles everyday. The professional must understand how their client relates to the world around them. These feelings and ideas affect how the client sees the problem and how they respond to their situation. Their actions, in turn, have bearing on individual thoughts, needs, and emotions. The therapist must be aware of the clients history, values, and culture in order to provideRead MoreThe Effects Of Culture On Health Care1642 Words à |à 7 PagesConsequently, it is essential that health care organizations improve its cultural competency. Overall, the increased diversity in the population and the documented health care disparities have made cultural competency essential in order, to ensure that every patient receives quality health care services (Haynes, 2016). The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of culture on health care. Define the Role of Cultural Awareness in the Management of Health Care Culture is the integrated patternsRead MoreThe Definition Of Culture As A Social State Of Being Among Others941 Words à |à 4 PagesIn every walk of life we are faced with individuals who present to us in a unique way, that we may not fully understand or comprehend who they truly believe they are. We are faced with people who come from diverse cultural backgrounds that ne may unintentionally stereotype at times. The word culture has for many centuriesââ¬â¢ been defined and redefined with no consensus on the actual meaning of the word. But there are ideologies that all definitionââ¬â¢s share that are: culture is a set of values and beliefs
Saturday, December 14, 2019
I Am Legend Analasys Essay Free Essays
The movie I Am legend is a science fiction about Robert Neville (Will Smith), who is a military scientist and the lone survivor of a biochemical disease which was supposed to cure cancer 3 years previous. His only companion is his dog Samantha, several mannequins scattered around the city that he talks to, several animals that escaped from the zoo, and the victims of the plague brought about by the cancer cure gone rouge. Robert spends his days scavenging homes for supplies and waiting on the docks of the naval base for any survivors who are reached by his radio broadcast. We will write a custom essay sample on I Am Legend Analasys Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, his nights are spent hiding his trace and keeping a video log of his scientific research of a possible cure, tested on rats. Dr. Neville himself is immune to the airborne strain of the virus. During key parts of the movie Neville is haunted by flashbacks of his family who died while trying to evacuate the city. He is severely outnumbered and quickly running out of time. In the opening scene, a television news report between a news anchor and another woman who says the cancer treatment trials have had 100 percent success rate the news reporter responds with ââ¬Å"So Doctor, you have created a cure for cancer havenââ¬â¢t you? a slight smile from the woman, ââ¬Å"Yes, Yes we have. â⬠The camera blacks out and goes to several scenes of a destroyed New York City with a pre-recorded message of Neville himself ââ¬Å"My name is Robert Neville. I am a survivor living in New York City. I am broadcasting on all AM frequencies. I will be at the South Street Seaport every day at mid-day, when the sun is highest in the sky. If you are out thereâ⬠¦ if anyone is out thereâ⬠¦ I can provide food, I can provide shelter, and I can provide security. If thereââ¬â¢s anybody out thereâ⬠¦ nybodyâ⬠¦ please. You are not alone. â⬠During this sequence, the camera angle goes over the city in a top-down view to show the empty cars, destroyed buildings, some covered in battered and ripped quarantine plastic. During the course of the movie, the viewer discovers exactly how alone Robert is. He has prerecorded television news from years past, when he is bored he goes to the local movie rental store. There he has a friend named Fred, and a secret crush who he is too afraid to talk to. Both are mannequins. His dog Samantha is a German shepherd handed to him by his daughter Harley as their helicopter was taking off before it was brought down by an explosion cause by a crashing helicopter into the bridge. Robert always has Sam by his side except when she runs into an abandoned building while chasing a deer. Neville panics and runs in after her. They discover a colony of diseased and Robert decides to set a trap for one. Taking a vial of his own blood, he smashes it over the trap and waits. Once he catches one he is surprised that one infected exposes himself to sunlight just to roar and pant at Robert. All the while his skin begins smoking and he goes back inside. Back at his house he does his pre-dusk ritual of covering his scent with rubbing alcohol and shutting the metal shutters on the windows. He sedates the diseased and proceeds to inject her with the most recent possible strain of cure from his menagerie of lab rats. She begins to have slowed heart rate and she looks better, and then dies. He gives up hope and returns her to her previous self of infection. She is then kept in a sealed room on a stretcher. The next day as he is driving through the city he sees a mannequin the he left at the video store. Obviously mannequins cannot move and possibly the loneliness has gotten to his mind but he begins yelling at it. ââ¬Å"Fred, if youââ¬â¢re real you tell me now! â⬠with no response he begins shooting it and falls into a trap laid out by the infected leader that roared at him before. Three infected dogs run out of a building but are stopped by the last ray of sunlight. Roberts leg is crippled from the trap and canââ¬â¢t make it to his car. The dogs run to them and go after Robert but Sam stops one and gets bitten. Robert goes home with Sam and injects her with the potential drug that didnââ¬â¢t work on the infected girl. The serum fails and Sam turns. Robert has no choice but to kill her. This moment seems to be the most memorable in the entire movie for anyone who watches it. Most people also seem to come close to tears or at least become depressed. The viewer becomes emotionally invested and hopes Robert finds a cure and Sam has always been there right by his side, it seems almost like counter logic for moviegoers to see the sidekick die. Robert flies into a depression fuel rage. Everything he has loved has been taken by this virus None of his serums have worked, and he is, as far as he knows, the last un infected alive. He takes his land rover to the docks and begins running over infected on a suicidal mission. He is overpowered but is saved by a woman who is searching for the survivorââ¬â¢s colony. She also has a son. They all go back to Robertsââ¬â¢s house. She does not follow his strict trace removal and the hoard of infected find them. They fall back to the sealed room finding that the infected girl has been cured. Robert takes a vial of her blood and has the woman and son hide on a bunker in the wall till dawn. Robert sacrifices himself knowing they will not stop until they are dead. The ending scene is a voiceover of the woman as she walks up to the colony handing them the vial. While itââ¬â¢s unlikely that the recipients of such biotech drugs would turn into raging night creatures that are afraid of sunlight, the truth is actually far scarier. The TGN1412 drug trial, in this drug trial, which tested an experimental arthritis drug on patients, things went terribly wrong: After being injected with the anti-inflammatory drug TGN1412, patients began tearing their shirts off, screaming that their heads were going to explode. One patientââ¬â¢s head swelled to triple its normal size, and patients were passing out, vomiting, or screaming in sheer terror. Within minutes after the injections, patients were suffering from severe breathing attacks, convulsions and excruciating pain. As a relative to one of the victims explained: ââ¬Å"He was completely lifeless, like a shell. He canââ¬â¢t even move his eyelids. This machine is pumping out his lungs and his face is puffed out like The Elephant Man. â⬠This is real life, not science fiction. And yet it sounds a lot like some of the side effects of the viral injection imagined in I Am Legend. While the movie was science fiction, the truth is, modern medicine is quite capable of making a mistake that unleashes a deadly virus and devastates humankind. Sources Cited: DVD video. ââ¬Å"I Am Legend Burbank, CA : Warner Home Video, [2008] I Am Legend Critique. Anti Essays. Retrieved March 18, 2013, from the World Wide Web: http://www. antiessays. com/free-essays/308801. html Interview/journal. New England Journal of Medicine. ââ¬Å"Cytokine Storm in a Phase 1 Trial of the Anti-CD28 Monoclonal Antibody TGN1412. â⬠August 14, 2006. How to cite I Am Legend Analasys Essay, Essays
Friday, December 6, 2019
The Moonstone Dual Narratives free essay sample
Kendra Lynch English 1302 Ms. Olsen 15 March 2011 The Moonstone Wilkie Collinsââ¬â¢s famous detective novel, The Moonstone (1868), takes place in the 1840s during the high-Victorian imperialist age, a time in which the British experienced a long period of contentment and prosperity. During this time, a strong sense of anti-feminism seemed to thrive in British society. Despite this fact, Wilkie Collins did not hesitate to make the women in his novel central characters that have a great influence on the plot. Collinsââ¬â¢s effort to balance the plot and characterization in his novel was a great success. The characters in The Moonstone are more than just fictional characters, as they portray various social and religious messages and scores of Collinsââ¬â¢s personal ideas. The plot of The Moonstone is stimulated by secrecy, and its story line is further complicated by the suppressed voices of women in the story. Wilkie Collinsââ¬â¢s unique narration, complicated social messages, and intricate symbolism are all separate features of the novel that make it outstanding. The novel begins with a prologue called ââ¬Å"The Storming of Seringapatam (1799): (Extracted from a Family Paper)â⬠(Collins 5), when the British are currently raiding the palace of General Baird. An English adventurer named John Herncastle obtained possession of a magnificent, yellow diamond that was sacred to the Hindus. In his last breath, one of the Brahmin men opened his mouth and spoke in his indigenous language saying ââ¬Å"The Moonstone will have its vengeance yet on you and yours! â⬠(Collins 6-7). After the prologue, the novel advances to fifty years later. Herncastle willed the marvelous diamond to his niece, Rachel Verinder, who is soon to receive the diamond as a gift for her eighteenth birthday from her cousin, Franklin Blake. ââ¬Å"Herncastleââ¬â¢s gift of the diamond to Rachel was not a gift of love but a ââ¬Ëgiftââ¬â¢ of a curse and vengeanceâ⬠(Grinstein 134). On the night of Rachelââ¬â¢s party, the diamond was stolen out of her room with no signs of how it may have vanished. This mysterious event can be seen as the turning point in the novel, as it causes the plot to accelerate and continue on in a whirlwind of false accusations, passionate emotions, several unforeseen eaths, and major trust issues between family members, including the servants of the house. The narration of The Moonstone is a very unique feature of the novel as it is told through the perspective of eleven different narrators. Collinsââ¬â¢s use of multiple narrators ââ¬Å"wrenches authority away from an individual first-person narrator or an ill-defined but omnipresent omniscient narratorâ⬠(Free 342). Because the story is told through various points of view, the reader is able to better understand Collinsââ¬â¢s intricate plot by following the story through the eyes and minds of all his characters. Patrick Brantlinger notes how the plot unravels ââ¬Å"through the gradual discovery of knowledge, until at the end what detective and reader know coincides with what the secretive or somehow remiss narrator-author has presumably known all alongâ⬠(Gruner 226). The reader only knows what the characters themselves knew about the events at the time they experienced them; this essentially puts them in a detective position. Not only does Collins keep his readers guessing, but he also uses his characters to present social messages to his readers throughout the story. Ian Duncan states that ââ¬Å"the characterological scheme expresses a historical and cultural crisis of national dimensionsâ⬠(Duncan 300). In most Victorian novels, servants exist as background characters, and nothing more. Contrarily, several of the main characters of The Moonstone are servants who not only play significant roles in the story, but also discuss their social positions. Rosanna Spearman and Gabriel Betteredge are two examples of servants who frequently speak up and make various comments about social class. Betteredge is a very stubborn, prejudiced man who does not trust any man other than a white Englishman. He believes that he is nothing more than the average man, and he feels that the rich have more ââ¬Å"luxuriesâ⬠than members of the working class: People in high life have all the luxuries to themselvesââ¬âamong others, the luxury of indulging their feelings. People in low life have no such privilege. Necessity, which spares our betters, has no pity on us. We learn to put our feelings back into ourselves, and to jog on with our duties as patiently as may be. I dont complain of thisââ¬âI only notice it (Collins 166). In other words, when a tragedy such as Rosannaââ¬â¢s suicide occurs, servants must force a smile on their faces and continue on with their tasks while the rich are allowed to grieve and mourn as long as they feel necessary. Rosannaââ¬â¢s suicide ââ¬Å"shows how members of the working class are invisible to those they serveâ⬠(Heller 249). The only thing standing between Blake and Rosanna is her working-class status. Before taking her own life, Rosanna leaves a letter for Blake in which she describes her emotional pain and his apathy. After Rosannaââ¬â¢s voice is finally heard through her letter, it becomes clear that she could not communicate directly with Franklin due her to position in society and her femininity. The Moonstone contains not only social messages dealing with society and class, but also social messages related to religious issues of the time. Wilkie Collins succeeds in mirroring the Victorian society through his diverse characters, as most English people in this era were searching for a moral truth to put their faith in. Religion is significant in most of the charactersââ¬â¢ lives; however, it plays a different role for each of them. In the first scene, three Brahmin men illustrate Hindu mythology to the reader. The introduction of Orientalism creates an atmosphere of theology and suspense which hinders English society rather than Indian society. Betteredge feels that the ââ¬Å"devilish Indian diamondâ⬠(Roy 660) has invaded the sanctity of the English home. Ezra Jennings is a physician who bases his faith on medicine and scientific reasoning. Lady Verinder and her daughter, Rachel, are both affiliated with the Church of England. Despite the fact that they are both Christian, Miss Clack habitually tells them that they must convert to her form of Christianity or they will go to hell. Miss Clack, along with Godfrey Ablewhite who also verbalizes his religion, is a complete hypocrite. As she preaches to the reader, she exclaims, ââ¬Å"Oh, my young friends and fellow-sinners Let your faith be as your stockings, and your stockings as your faith. Both ever spotless, and both ready to put on at a moments notice! â⬠(Collins 203). In other words, she implies that her devout faith is nothing more than a front that she can ââ¬Å"put onâ⬠and take off. Lastly, unlike most Victorian novels, The Moonstone contains female characters that are skillfully developed and unconventional. Many critics believe that Collins was genuinely feminist for his time and that he had a great interest in contemporary social issues of his time. Gender stereotypes are asserted by different characters throughout the novel, but the majority of them get repudiated. Collins gives his female characters a solid, sharp presence, unlike all the other delineations of literary heroines of his time period. In fact, the women lay such significant roles that ââ¬Å"â⬠¦the plot of The Moonstone is complicated by the silence of women,â⬠as they ââ¬Å"conceal their own motivations and what they know of othersââ¬â¢ in order to protect secrets of their own, thus complicating and ultimately doubling the plotâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (Gruner 225). Another essential element of the plot is the use of symbols throughout the novel. The first and most important symbol that Coll ins introduces is, of course, the Moonstone. The diamond is described as a beautiful, yellow gem that is sacred to the Hindu people. It is a symbol of what most humans tend to spend their lives striving forââ¬âbeauty and power. The Moonstoneââ¬â¢s history is also quite dangerous, as it can easily return and infect the present. The idea that an evil past may return quickly becomes a recurring theme throughout the novel. The Moonstone ââ¬Å"is directly responsible for Godfreyââ¬â¢s death, and indirectly for Rosannaââ¬â¢s and Lady Verinderââ¬â¢s. It separates Rachel and Franklin. It baffles the law and the police. It destroys the peace of the household. In short, the diamond is dark despite its brightnessâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (Lonoff 212). Many critics have discovered how the diamond also symbolizes Rachelââ¬â¢s virginity. Rachelââ¬â¢s purity is accentuated in the text when she is referred to as a ââ¬Å"lily on its stemâ⬠(Collins 157). The diamond is given to Rachel Verinder on her eighteenth birthday, an age when a girl can truly be seen as a woman. During that same day, the diamond was stolen from her in the middle of the night and Rachel seemed to experience an enigmatic change. ââ¬Å"The novel coyly plays upon the sexual metaphor of a precious, stolen gem, keeping its own secret from the reader as to whether Rachelââ¬â¢s virginity has been stolen along with the Moonstoneâ⬠(Blumberg 175). Collins continues to develop this symbol by taking it to a further level, focusing on the more complex themes of premarital sex and defloration. At one point in the story, Godfrey Ablewhite was planning to cut the diamond into small pieces and pawn them because the diamond would be worth more if it were cut into smaller stones. ââ¬Å"Rachel and her (uncut) diamond are both more valued in a capitalist economy for their potential than for themselvesâ⬠(Gruner 230). In other words, once a woman loses her virginity, she is no longer exchange value for men, which essentially makes her less valuable to society. The repetition of the Shivering Sands symbolizes a place of comfort for some of the characters, but for others, the Sands are frightening. Rosanna admits that she is fascinated by the Sands as she says ââ¬Å"Isnââ¬â¢t it wonderful? Isnââ¬â¢t it terrible? I have seen it dozens of times, and itââ¬â¢s always new to me as if I had never seen it before! â⬠(Collins 30). For Rosanna, the Shivering Sands are a place of disclosure and comfort where she can go to hide. Unlike Rosanna, Franklin Blake feels threatened by the Sands. Being at the site of Rosannaââ¬â¢s death causes Franklin to feel susceptible to ââ¬Å"the threat that this female sexuality poses to his masculine identityâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (Heller 253). Immediately after Blake sets foot on the quicksand, ââ¬Å"his nerves are shaken, as if he were a neurasthenic woman, but he confesses to overpowering the fear at the moment he penetrates the quicksandâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (Heller 253). At first glance, the Shivering Sands appears to be nothing more than an area of quicksand; however, it is that and much more to several of the characters in the story, especially Rosanna Spearman. The Moonstone may appear to be another ordinary mystery novel of the Victorian era; however, Collinsââ¬â¢s complex plot consists of various twists and unexpected turns that keep his readers guessing. Many critics would strongly agree that ââ¬Å"The Moonstone isâ⬠¦Wilkie Collinsââ¬â¢ most remarkable performance. In this, above all his books, he achieved precisely what he set out to do, and moreââ¬âfor it is unlikely that he intended to produce the archetype of a new branch of English fictionâ⬠(Robinson 218). http://www. jstor. org/stable/469430 http://www.proquest.com/products-services/pqdtglobal.html
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