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Essay about Is Thérèse Raquin a Naturalist Novel

Is Thà ©rà ¨se Raquin a Naturalist novel? Émile Zola is often considered the chief literary theorist of the Naturalist movement and so one would assume that his creative offspring, including the novel Thà ©rà ¨se Raquin, would display the traits of the genre. Zola may be responsible for many of the conventions that one would associate with Naturalism and so naturally you could extend this logic to argue that his work defines the genre. To the modern reader, Thà ©rà ¨se Raquin appears anything but naturalistic with a dramatic, fast moving plot that boasts murder, adultery and revenge that almost becomes synthetic in places. However, for the sake of this essay, I must decide upon a firm definition for Naturalism, in its correct historical context, in†¦show more content†¦Controversy may be viewed as another defining characteristic of the Naturalistic genre and if we are to consider Thà ©rà ¨se Raquin in its correct historical context (1867), it is not difficult to understand why it caused much scandal due to Zola’s honest and uncompromising exploration of the darkest aspects of human existence. One critic, Louis Ulbach, wrote in Le Figaro in January 1868 that the novel was â€Å"a pool of mud and blood† and was a perfect example of â€Å"the utter filth that is contemporary literature†. It is the disposition of the Naturalist writer that assumes an amoral attitude to the plot and acts somewhat as a voyeur rather than a judge. Personally I view Franà §ois, the same cat over which many critics and scholars speculate as to whether it is the cat in Manet’s portrait Olympia, as somewhat of a metaphor for the Naturalist author. Franà §ois is present in many of the most climatic and socking scenes, most notably the passionate scene of Camille’s murder, and remains detached but also demands some sort of presence so much so that Laurent becomes frightened and wants to â€Å"kill the beast† as he remarks how â€Å"human† it looks. The fact that Laurent almost personifies the cat may suggest that animal and man are alike in the very basic sense of instinct. I think that the Naturalist author assumes a similar stance to this cat as he remains a quiet and unbiased thirdShow MoreRelatedNaturalism Literary Period2601 Words   |  11 PagesNaturalist writing portrays individuality within a character allowing one to obtain humanistic themes from these literary works. Naturalists utilize mundane monotonous lives and reveal the heroine within, when all (environment, opportunities, intuition) seems out of control. This type of literature was found relatable during the rapid urbanization and naturalization after the Civil War, where many in bustling developing cities suffered from poverty and its poorly prevented consequences. The American

Prison Essay free essay sample

TaxState prison vs. Private prison Compared to a state prison, private prisons are privately funded, owned and operated by individuals or stockholders. Therefore many of our tax dollars are poured into these facilities, so we must sometimes overlook these costs for that of the safety and security of the public. In the 1980s the War on Drugs caused a burgeoning prison population and increased use of incarceration, prison overcrowding and rising costs became increasingly problematic for local, state, and federal governments. To remedy the problem of prison overcrowding, rising incarceration rates, constraints on increased government funding to provide more prison space. The concept of prison privatization came about in the early 1980s as a policy. Thus the birth of the private prison took place, helping to relieve the stress at the state prisons, by allowing them to send their overflow of inmates to the smaller private facilities. Industry –funded studies often include that states can save money by using private prisons. We will write a custom essay sample on Prison Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, state-funded studies have found that private prisons keep only low-cost inmates and send others back to state-run prisons; as a result they really aren’t saving too much money if some of these inmates are still going back to the state facilities. The transportation of these inmates back and forth between the facilities ends up costing the state facilities more money, which is what they are trying to save in the first place. Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) was the first private prison business to emerge and establish itself publicly in 1984- it was awarded a contract to take over a facility in Hamilton County, Tennessee. It marked the very first time that any government in the country had contracted out the complete operation of a jail to private operator. So from this, the private prison business began to take off, as the need for more housing for the overcrowded state prisons arose. Most of the cost savings comes at the expense of the security. Those employed by these prisons are put through training; however, the state employee receives more extensive and continual training. While some of the private facilities are getting violent inmates who are reclassified as lower risk inmates, the private prison officers were not properly trained for handling the more violent inmates. The private prison had inadequate patrols and prisoner movement, excessive false alarms, a lax culture, and inconsistencies in visitor screening procedures. Some studies show that training and lower staff levels at the private prisons may lead to increases in incidents of violence and escapes. The study also found that assaults on guards by inmates were 49 percent more frequent in private prisons than in government –run prisons and that assaults on fellow inmates were 65 percent more frequent in private prisons. Because of the increase in escapes, assaults on guards by inmates and assaults on inmates by fellow inmates, it caused the government to take a closer look at how the private prisons were being run as well as their standards. Funding for the private prisons come from investors who use venture capital to build these prisons and, like a hotel, they lease their beds to the state in a profit-making endeavor. While the state prisons are government funded, the majority have to count on taxpayer votes in order to build new prison and recently the voters are saying no, that is when private prisons go up. Correctional Corporations has amassed a large political influence through many government ties, lobbying power as well as campaign contributions while attempting to convert the discourse of justice into the language of the marketplace. In this way, they accuse government agencies as having a monopoly on corrections, espouse the need to downsize and cut through red tape. They claim that they can run prisons more efficiently and cheaper, doing a better job and saving the taxpayers money. Even using every known method of reduction, the monthly cost of a prison that houses 2,000 inmates still runs well over $1. 5 million. Since every cost cutting exercises have been tried, used, and exhausted, the only way the private company can still reduce costs is to cut services. Hiring practices are then lowered and the training substandard in some cases. In theory, using a private prison is supposed to cost less and save the American taxpayer money. In reality, the cost is far more and everyone is suffering for it. Private prisons are most commonly funded by community and statewide taxes. Both prisons have their share of ethical issues. While state prisons may seem to be run more efficiently and handled properly,- state prisons were found sending their higher level offenders to lower security prisons (private) in order to cut corners from housing these offenders and having extra security to care for them. The state of California uses private prisons because of the overcrowding and also the fact that they aren’t in compliance with the basic standards of care for inmates. The largest single cost feature in prison is medical. It comprises fully 1/3 of the total budget. As a result medical care in these prisons suffers greatly. Since we cannot deny medical care to an incarcerated person, the lawsuits that have resulted from this far exceed the amounts saved by contracting out to a private prison. Other ethical issues are raised by private â€Å"profiteers†; there are potential abuses of the bidding process, as in any situations where the government contracts with a company for services or products. Money may change hands to ensure that one organization receives the contract, companies may make informal agreements to â€Å"rig† the bids, and other potentially corrupt practices may go on. Legal as well as ethical issues abound when private and state motives are mixed. During the building phase, private prisons may cut corners and construct buildings without meeting proper standards for safety, therefore putting the staff and inmates in danger. Managing the institution also raises the possibility that a private prison will attempt to maximize profits by ignoring minimum standards of health and safety and will, if necessary to this end, bribe inspectors or monitors to overlook the deficiencies. Private prisons argue that some state prisons subject them to endless and picayune rules and continually audit them to the point that it appears that state prison officials are trying to find noncompliance in order to cancel contracts. There is probably some truth that some correction department officials are not happy to have legislators approve the use of private prisons and want to see them fail. While Private Prisons have served as a faster solution to prison overcrowding during times of rapid growth in the correctional population, the state prisons will remain. Although our tax dollars continue to go toward these institutions, we must sometimes overlook these costs, for that of the security and safety of the public.