Perfume by Patrick Suskind Analysis

Perfume by Patrick Suskind Analysis The novel Perfume by Patrick Suskind explores deep into raw human emotions, such as love, hate, and death. By doing so, the novel purposes a universal question that supports numerous themes in the novel. The universal question: are human beings ever extremely detached and cruelly inhuman? is examined throughout the novel with many themes such as the importance of childhood, the hatred for humanity, and the power of scent. With these themes in mind, the question is further analyzed and answered. Madame Gaillard, who was brain-damaged by a blow from her father in her childhood, is entirely incapable of emotion. She is also unable to smell anything, so Grenouilles lack of personal scent does not bother her. Thus she raised him for years, and with her as a role model, Grenouille did not have much chance to be capable of normal human emotions such as having concern for other human beings. Already hampered by the horrors of his birth, his strange fascination with his sense of smell, and his regrettable looks, he was not cared for with any kind of love or affection. This is explained when a past wet nurse says This baby makes my flesh creep because it doesn`t smell the way children ought to smell, (Suskind 11). His basic needs were taken care of (as if he were a domestic animal), and Madame Gaillard gave him away as an apprentice to Grimal because the parish stopped paying for his room and board. Therefore, Grenouille was never taught that he was a valuable human being, and theref ore his psychotic tendencies were magnified. Grimal the tanner also treats Grenouille no better than a domestic animal. The tanner locks Grenouille in a closet to make sure that he doesnt run away. While Grimal does not actively try to hurt Grenouille, he does not treat him much like a human being either. This is shown when Suskind narrates the following By evening his clothes were dripping wet and his skin was cold and swollen. After one year of an existence more animal than human, he contracted anthrax, (Suskind 31). The tanner also seems to feel no regret over how he treats Grenouille. This is shown when Suskind explains He was no longer locked in at bed time. His food was more adequate. Grimal no longer kept him as just any animal, but as a useful house pet, (Suskind 32). In consequence to the fact that Grenouille was not treated as a human being, he began to become less attached to society. When Baldini is willing to take him off of Grimals hands (for a good price), Grimal coul dn`t wait to get rid of Grenouille and send him off to Baldini. Baldini treats Grenouille only as a source for perfume invention, and he feels extremely uncomfortable in the presence of the young man, yet he is too concerned with appearances to treat Grenouille cruelly when Suskind states Baldini was shocked of the magnificent scent, and realized he had to be firm on Grenouille in order to get full results, (Suskind 85). All of these factors diffidently contribute to a persons personality when they reach adulthood. Grenouille as an adult progressively becomes extremely detached from society because of his neglected childhood. As a result of the characters: Madame Gaillard, Grimal, and Baldini, the protagonist Grenouille forced upon characteristics by how they treated Grenouille during the course of the novel. Due to these characteristics, they allowed the protagonist to become a very detached and inhuman individual. In addition, these characters also nurtured the protagonist to have hatred for humanity, which is another rising theme in the text. Grenouilles hatred of humanity, while not surprising (considering his upbringing and early adulthood), is so complete that he retreats to the farthest point he can to get away from the smell of human beings. This takes the form of a seven-year hermitage on the top of a volcano in the Massif Centrale in what amounts to solitary confinement. This is shown when Suskind clarifies He had withdrawn from society for his own personal pleasure, only to be near to himself, (Suskind 123). He retreats so far into himself that the only thing that matters to him is his own very pathological fantasy life. To call this a hatred of humanity is an understatement; Grenouille tries to be the only person in his world. Once Grenouille has concocted his ultimate scent, which is the scent that inspires love from all other human beings, Grenouille finds that he has no use for this love. It doesnt fulfill him. Since he has no more places to explore Grenouille is ready to die the author describes He had experi enced that life once and it had proved unliveable, (Suskind 251). Nothing in this world other than the pursuit of scent has any attraction for him; no human being holds any interest or love for him (or he for any of them other than scents to collect), so he decides to die. Thus substantiates that the character Grenouille is a perfect example of a human that has become detached from society and inhuman. His final rejection of humanity and life goes beyond a hatred for human beings and extends to himself. Grenouille is perchance the perfect pessimist. This novel takes as a premise that scent controls a large portion of human behaviour, usually on an unconscious level. It is important to note this evidence, for the entire internal plot turns on this idea. It is not only his supernatural sense of smell that is the focus of Grenouilles life, but the idea that humans scents are integral to their humanity. Grenouille is subhuman, both in his own mind and, at least unconsciously, in the minds of others because he has no personal odour. When he discovers this personal characteristic in his hideout in the Massif Centrale, he is shocked and somewhat horrified Suskind clarifies Grenouille needed a long time to believe what he was smelling, (Suskind 121). He has never met another human being with no smell; that he cannot smell himself, despite his marvellous nose, seems monstrous to himdemonstrating why he seems monstrous to everyone else. This shows a factor as little as scent can have a huge role in whether or not a person will be disconne cted from society. Grenouille suffered inflictions with his lack of scent, and has contributed to the protagonists downfall. Grenouilles collapse occurred when the character decided that there was nothing more to live for. In June 1766, Grenouille arrives in the city of Paris. Grenouille goes to the Cimitià ¨re des Innocents and waits for nightfall. A ruffian-looking group gathered around a small bomb fire; they are mostly murderers and criminals. Grenouille comes to their bomb fire and immediately covers himself with the entire contents of the bottle of the exquisite perfume. In short order the mob surrounds Grenouille, tears him to pieces, and eats him alive. The cannibals feel incredibly happy, if a bit embarrassed, when Suskind explains For the first time they had done something out of love (Suskind 255). In any case, Suskinds novel Perfume is much more than a spine-chilling tale of a murderer. It is visibly shown that Perfume goes further into the subject of humanity by exploring the universal question: are human beings ever this detached and cruelly inhuman? In Addition, the novel explores this concept with the many themes depicted in the novel such as the search for acceptance, the hatred for humanity, and the sovereignty of scent. Through these themes and the knowledge from the novel, perfume explains that human beings can, in fact be detached form society and very inhuman, and can be clearly shown through the character of Grenouille.

Antigone Right V. Right Essay

A famous German philosopher named Hegel claimed, â€Å"At the heart of the Greek tragedy is the spectacle of right vs. right.† The central idea of the tragedies was not about who was right and wrong, because those two would be effortless to separate from each other, but on who was considered the most right, which would many times be difficult to tell apart. Throughout the tragic play, Antigone, written by the ancient Greek playwright, Sophocles, Antigone was proven to be the most right. This can be verified since Antigone decided to follow the gods’ law over Creon’s law, and the punishment that she received from Creon was far too unreasonable. Antigone does what is ethical by pursuing what would be right in accordance to the gods, not in accordance to Creon. Creon believed that Polyneices did not deserve to be buried. Before Antigone is sent to dies, she tells Creon, â€Å"You will remember / What things I suffer, and at what’s men’s hands / Because I would not transgress the laws of heaven† (4.78-80). When it comes to order of importance, the gods should be more valued, because they always will know what is right for the people. Those who follow the gods’ rules more often will most likely make the better decision. As Aristotle once said, â€Å"†¦human reason is the most godlike part of human nature, a life guided by human reason is superior to any other.† Eventually, even Creon himself comes to the realization that he was wrong when he says, â€Å"The laws of the gods are mighty, and a man must serve them / To the last day of his life!† (5.108-109) The gods are a powerful force, and if more people are meant to follow them. Honoring the gods is something significant, especially during ancient Greece. Even though Antigone did make the decision of breaking Creon’s laws, her punishment was not at all fair. Even if one were to say that Antigone did the wrong thing, it is hard to argue that the penalty should not have been as brutal. When discussing this situation with his father, Haemon informs Creon of his thoughts, â€Å"They say no woman has ever, so unreasonably / Dies so shameful a death for a generous act† (3.63-64). Antigone wanted to do what was best for Polyneices, to make sure that his death will be as much of an honor as the one of his own brother. And for doing for what she, as well as many other citizens, thought was the most proper thing to do, she was unfairly sentenced to death. Antigone, also before leaving for her punishment, speaks of Creon, â€Å"But if the guilt / Lies upon Creon who judged me, then I pray / May his punishment equal my own† (4.68-70). She knows that she made the most moral decision, so the real punishment will eventually go who have misjudged her, Creon in this case. This did come true, when Creon’s life when turned into a catastrophe when his son and wife, Haemon and Eurydice, both committed suicide after admitting that they could not possibly live with someone who was so cruel to someone who was innocent. It was a law unreasonable, so it deserved to have been broken. While it is true that anarchy comes from many citizens deciding to rebel against the law, the law that Antigone broke was worthy of breaking. Creon tried to reason his punishment by saying, â€Å"If I permit my own family to rebel / How shall I earn the world’s obedience?† (3.30-31) It is true that Creon and his family should abide to the laws in order to set an example for his state, but not a law as unjust as that one. There should be exceptions to certain laws, if there is proof that it was the most ethical choice. He also tried to make this decision seem rational by stating, â€Å"Of all the people in this city, only she / Has had contempt for my was and broken it† (3.24-25). Actually, Creon is incorrect with making this statement. Many citizens have said that they don’t believe in Creon’s decision, but are too afraid of being punished if they choose to stand up for Antigone. Considering the fact that Creon is meant to be a representation of the people he is leading, he should not have been so ignorant to everyone else, and let Antigone free. In this battle of right vs. right, Antigone was shown to be the most justified. All in all, Antigone had made the most reasonable choices, in comparison to Creon. Not only had she chose the gods over Creon, she also suffered an undeserved punishment. Nowadays, we come across sever right vs. right situations, and sometimes it is hard to tell what the better decision is. Learning to separate these from early on will help others make the best choice when problems become more difficult. Human nature has a harder time making the distinction, so it is important to realize the difference when we have problems that require this amount of thought.

Is Fashion Trivial?

Is Fashion Trivial? Malcolm Barnyard's book ‘Fashion as Communication' (Bernard, 1996) addresses the argument that fashion is trivial and is used to communicate and challenge issues. One of the topics which is discussed in this book is the topic of whether fashion is trivial' this was questioned by Elizabeth Wilson who said that â€Å"the idea that fashion and clothing are trivial pursuits is Just one popular prejudice† (Wilson, 1992). In her book she quoted a letter that was in the Guardian newspaper, which stated, â€Å"fashion s trivial and ridiculous and serious minds need not be detained by it† (Wilson, 1992).In Sharon Stellar article she says, â€Å"As civilized human beings, clothing is a requirement in order to be decent and presentable to the public. † (Sharon Stellar, August 2007) She argues that clothing does more to our body than Just covers us. â€Å"It has to ability to accentuate your figure, minimize your flaws, give you the image of either professionalism or slovenliness, convey your individuality, and make you feel your best. Sharon Stellar, August 2007) What Stellar is saying is that clothes or fashion isn't only there to Just conceal us but it is there to express ourselves, show outsiders our personality and to most importantly to feel good. However Anneal Frostier argues that without a doubt fashion is trivial, she states her own opinion that â€Å"Fashion seems to me the most ludicrous and, frankly, disgraceful thing – the whole â€Å"out with the old† thing and the waste appeals me. † (Daily Mail 2008) In a sense she is right, why should we throw away clothes after t goes out of season?Surely we buy clothes because we love the way the look or feel on us. However I do not agree with her that fashion is â€Å"ludicrous† and â€Å"disgraceful† Everything that we wear, whether it is a E top from Primary or a El 50 dress from Marc Jacobs, was designed for a reason. Many women, espe cially those in professional positions, see themselves as having no interaction with the fashion industry as they do not follow the latest trends. Nonetheless every item of clothing that they pick up and buy links them to the fashion industry.Somebody has designed the fabric, color and style specifically for that person, and that isn't something that should be ignored. If these people state that they don't follow fashion and think what they wear has nothing to do with the fashion industry, then they should be walking around naked. Personally I do not feel that fashion is trivial. Yes sometimes it can be annoying when we spend EYE on the latest cashmere cardiac, then two weeks later its already out of trend. But fashion like Elizabeth Wilson states is a way of communicating with the est. of the world; it shows others our personality and individuality.

Difference Between Recession and Depression

There is an old joke among economists that states: A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job. The difference between the two terms is not very well understood for one simple reason: There is not a universally agreed upon definition. If you ask 100 different economists to define the terms recession and depression, you would get at least 100 different answers. That said, the following discussion summarizes both terms and explains the differences between them in a way that almost all economists could agree with. The Newspaper Definition of Recession The standard newspaper definition of a recession is a decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two or more consecutive quarters. This definition is unpopular with most economists for two main reasons. First, this definition does not take into consideration changes in other variables. For example, this definition ignores any changes in the unemployment rate or consumer confidence. Second, by using quarterly data this definition makes it difficult to pinpoint when a recession begins or ends. This means that a recession that lasts ten months or less may go undetected. The BCDC Definition of Recession The Business Cycle Dating Committee at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) provides a better way to find out if there is a recession is taking place. This committee determines the amount of business activity in the economy by looking at things like employment, industrial production, real income and wholesale-retail sales. They define a recession as the time when business activity has reached its peak and starts to fall until the time when business activity bottoms out. When the business activity starts to rise again it is called an expansionary period. By this definition, the average recession lasts about a year. Depression Before the Great Depression of the  1930s,  any downturn in  economic  activity was referred to as a depression. The term recession was developed in this period to differentiate periods like the 1930s from smaller economic declines that occurred in 1910 and 1913. This leads to the simple definition of a depression as a recession that lasts longer and has a larger decline in business activity. The Difference Between Recession and Depression So how can we tell the difference between a recession and a depression? A good rule of thumb for determining the difference between a recession and a depression is to look at the changes in GNP. A depression is any economic downturn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent. A recession is an  economic downturn  that is less severe. By this yardstick, the last depression in the United States was from May 1937 to June 1938, where real GDP declined by 18.2 percent. If we use this method then the  Great Depression  of the 1930s can be seen as two separate events: an incredibly severe depression lasting from August 1929 to March 1933 where real GDP declined by almost 33 percent, a period of recovery, then another less severe depression of 1937-38. The United States hasn’t had anything even close to a depression in the post-war period. The worst recession in the last 60 years was from November 1973 to March 1975, where real GDP fell by 4.9 percent. Countries such as Finland and Indonesia have suffered depressions in recent memory using this definition.