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Visualizzazione dei post da giugno, 2021

Dubliners by J.Joyce (riferimento a 'Eveline' e 'The dead')

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“Dubliners” is a collection of fifteen short stories written by James Joyce in which the author analyses the failure of self-realisation of inhabitants of Dublin in biographical and in psychological ways. The novel was originally turned down by publishers because they considered it immoral for its portrait of the Irish city. Joyce treats in “Dubliners” the paralysis of will in four stages: childhood, youth, maturity and public life. The paralysis of will is the courage and self-knowledge that leads ordinary men and women to accept the limitations imposed by the social context they live in. In “Dubliners” the style is both realistic - to the degree of perfectly recreating characters and idioms of contemporary Dublin - and symbolic – giving the common object unforeseen depth and a new meaning in order to show a new view of reality. Joyce defines this effect “epiphany” which indicates that moment when a simple fact suddenly explodes with meaning and makes a person realise his / her condi
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Technology: advantages and disadvantages

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  We live in an era of strong technological development where everything is connected and every action we make lasts one second. Technology was born with the advent of Internet and, as other important innovations, has its strengths and weaknesses. Technology has had a big impact on society: it has created new work opportunities and has improved the work efficiency connecting millions and millions of people around the world using devices and online services. We can communicate in real time with our friends and relatives by sending sms, multimedia files and more other. New technologies are constantly being developed for medical sector, where research is making great progress, and simplify surgical procedures, brain and hearth analysis. Thanks to technology, some very poor and backward countries could improve their economy through the globalization of markets. However, there are some disadvantages about technology such as digital divide. It is more expensive and keeping up with the latest
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The generational gap

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Older people are said to be a much better leader ... aren't they?  The generational gap is an old phenomenon which dates back to 3000 b.C. and is grown up with the advent of Internet and new technologies.  This generational conflict is based on disagreement between young people and old people about habits and customs, ideas, traditions, opportunities, vision of progress, world and political, economic and social management of a country. In fact, older people have a conservative vision about the world, which is based on social and cultural prejudices and limits. In order to keep your ideas and their place in society, they often opposed to generational progres, claiming that new generations are inexperienced and rebel against the traditional value system. Instead of older people, young people are free by social and cultural prejudices and limits, they are open-minded and support progress and its transformations. However, they think everything belongs to the older people appears as for
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The British Empire

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During 19th century the relationship between England and Ireland deteriorated due to the potato blight of 1845. Since the Irish economy and people's diet were based on potatoes, when the crops failed, emigration to the USA or to England was the only alternative to starvation. A movement for Irish independence began, led by Charles Parnell, who convinced Prime Minister Gladstone to present the Irish Home Rule Bill in the Houses of Parliament (1886), but it was twice rejected. Britain assumed an important political and military role during Crimean War, due to a dispute between Turkey and Russia over their border. Florence Nightingale, an Englishwoman, went to Crimea to organize hospitals and to relieve soldiers' sufferings; her work had a great influence on the foundation of the Red Cross in Geneva. Empire building and Propaganda During the reign of Queen Victoria the British Empire expanded in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Indian sub-continent and the Caribbean. Austral
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Victorian kingdom: an age of industry and reforms

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Queen Victoria came to the throne during a difficult political and economical period. The Reform Bill of 1832 satisfied the middle-class but not the working class who endured very poor conditions. The largest workers' movement was that of the Chartists, so called because they drew up a People's Charter asking for the extension of the right to vote to the working class. So, in 1867 a Second Reform Bill guaranteed the right to vote to town workers, excluded miners and agricultural workers. These were finally granted franchise (i.e., the right to vote in an election) with a third Reform Bill (1884) by which suffrage was extended to all male workers. The change from the traditional policy of protectionism to the free trade was an important commercial reform. In this period, the Great International Exhibition of London opened by Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, displayed the wonders of industry and science in order to show England as a lively country, the world's
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Il fu Mattia Pascal di Luigi Pirandello

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Il romanzo Il fu Mattia Pascal (1903)   è stato scritto da Luigi Pirandello durante uno dei periodi più difficili della sua vita: dal punto di vista economico, assiste ad una frana che provoca un'alluvione in una delle zolfare sulle quali il padre aveva investito l'intero capitale; dal punto di vista familiare, è costretto a far curare la moglie in una clinica psichiatrica poiché la rovina economica le ha provocato gravi squilibri psichici. Il romanzo tratta in 18 capitoli la vicenda paradossale di un uomo che smarrisce la propria identità. Tale vicenda è raccontata dal protagonista Mattia Pascal in prima persona e retrospettivamente. Dopo le premesse teoriche dei primi due capitoli, a partire dal terzo Mattia inizia il racconto, ripercorrendo in ordine cronologico le tappe della vicenda: la vita al paese d'origine (Miragno), la fuga, la nuova esistenza di Adriano Meis, il finto suicidio, il ritorno a Miragno e la nuova condizione di individuo senza identità. I temi fondam
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Mai '68

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On désigne le période Mai '68 un ensemble des mouvements et manifestations survenus en France, en mai - juin 1968. Ces événements constituent une période et une césure marquantes de l’histoire contemporaine françaises, caractérisés par une vaste révolte spontanée, de nature à la fois culturelle, sociale et politique, dirigée contre la société traditionnelle, le capitalisme, l’impérialisme et, plus immédiatement, contre le pouvoir gaulliste en place. Les événements de ’68 sont les mouvements sociales plus important dans l’histoire du XXe siècle en France. Dans le cours des événements la contestation des étudiants s’est unie avec les revendications ouvrières. On devise Mai ’68 en trois période : une période étudiant, une sociale et une politique. L’origine culturelle de Mai ’68 sont les suivantes : l’augmentation de l’urbanisation, l’augmentation de la qualité et l’accès à l’éducation supérieur et universitaire à tous. Les années '60 sont les années de l’affirmation de jeunes com
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Literature and music: "The Rime of the Ancient mariner" written by S.T. Coleridge and sounded by Iron Maiden

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   Introduction Poetry and music have always been connected to each other, especially between Romantic poetry and Rock 'n' roll music. Inspired by values of French Revolution, Romantic poets wanted to change the world and poetic canons with their works. They are defined cursed poets because of their ideas and subversive lifestyle, from drugs taking to the cult of Satan as the perfect rebel. During 19th-century, poetry became the primary vehicle to express a personal response, within oneself, to the great contemporary events. The concept of poetry is exemplified in the second edition of Lyrical Ballads  written by William Wordsworth and Samuel T. Coleridge , which contains the most important works of these two poets (respectively Preface, considered Manifesto of Romantic poetry, and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ). The relationship between Rock 'n' roll and Romantic imagination does not only concern lyrical and poetical features, but even aesthetic and cultural aspect
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The traditional fragmentation of time in philosophy and literature: Henri Bergson and Virginia Woolf

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Henri Bergson (1859–1941) is, together with Maine de Biran, one of the greatest representatives of a philosophical French movement called Spiritualism . Spiritualism opposes materialism and positivism, i.e., the metaphysical attitude of scientists who systematically put religion and spirituality aside. Spiritualism is inspired by the philosophy of Augustine, Descartes, Pascal, focusing on ethical problems. In the essay Matter and Memory (1896), the philosopher has a deep interest in human cognitive power and in the role of memory and memories. According to French philosopher, memories are distinguished in pure memories, which are accumulated by consciousness in our memory, and in memory-images, which are articulated by perception into a series of representations. In this way, when we observe something, we activate a series of images and consequent actions that depend on our previous experiences. Another key element of Bergson's thought is the theory of élan vital , developed in h
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Anthony Burgess's novel 1985: a continuum of 1984

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Anthony Burgess is considered one of the most important writers of 20th century, whose most famous dystopian novels are A Clockwork Orange , The Wanting Seed  and Nineteen Eighty-Five . 1985  is divided into two sections, a narrative and a nonfiction, which, recalling Orwell's novel 1984 , deals with a dystopian universe now in ruins and governed by trade unions. The protagonist Bev Jones does not share the ideology and discipline imposed by the Unions. He witnesses the death of his wife, who is burned alive in a hospital during a firefighters strike; his wife's last words are: "Don’t let them go unpunished". Bev, thus, begins a lonely and desperate struggle, in the name of freedom of choice between good and evil, right and wrong, will and convenience. He is not a wishful character, but a citizen against violent crowd, language made not to say and demeaning life. Persecuted by trade unionism, which fights for false freedom, and by disorder as an instrument of ruthl
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La bottega del caffè

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La bottega del caffè è una delle commedie più importanti di Carlo Goldoni e si articola in tre atti. Trama Essa è ambientata a Venezia durante il carnevale. Il caffettiere Ridolfo è particolarmente coinvolto nella sorte del giovane mercante di stoffe Eugenio, il quale ha subìto molte perdite giocando a carte con Flaminio, un giovane torinese che si spaccia per un nobile. La moglie di Eugenio, Vittoria, cerca invano di far ravvedere il marito. Intanto, arriva a Venezia la moglie di Flaminio, Placida, che, travestita da pellegrina, ignora la nuova identità assunta dal marito. Don Marzio, un nobile napoletano in decadenza ed usuraio, frappone numerosi ostacoli al desiderio delle due donne di ricondurre i mariti sulla retta via; anzi, egli trova il modo di allontanare le due donne e di indurre Eugenio e Flaminio a festeggiare il carnevale insieme alla ballerina Lisaura, la quale, ignorando che Flaminio fosse sposato, spera di sposarlo. I raggiri di don Marzio e del biscazziere Pandolfo tro
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Il doping nel ciclismo

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Nessuno di noi dimenticherà quel sabato 5 giugno 1999, giorno in cui è stata annunciata a Madonna di Campiglio la notizia shock dell’esclusione di Marco Pantani, definito il “Pirata”, da un Giro d'Italia che si avviava a vincere. È stato un colpo troppo duro non solo per il ciclista, ma anche per le tante persone che si erano appassionate al ciclismo grazie a quel ragazzo romagnolo che, quando si alzava sui pedali in salita, diventava imprendibile. Quando il gioco si faceva duro, ecco che spuntava il "Pirata" con quel mix di fatica e forza di volontà che mandava in estasi i tifosi che ne apprezzavano anche l'estrema semplicità. L'atleta romagnolo, capace di rimettersi in sella dopo un grave incidente (era stato investito da un'auto in allenamento), aveva centrato nel 1998 l'accoppiata Giro D'Italia -Tour de France, entrando così nell'Olimpo dei più forti ciclisti di sempre. Nella stagione successiva, Pantani sembrava aver messo le premesse per un b
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Le innovazioni tecnico-scientifiche e i loro limiti

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Il periodo storico che va dal 1870 fino allo scoppio della Seconda guerra mondiale è caratterizzato da numerose scoperte scientifiche e dalla costruzione di svariate innovazioni tecnologiche che migliorarono gradualmente le condizioni di vita dell'intera umanità. Oggi si guarda la televisione, si usa il cellulare per telefonare e mandare messaggi, si visita il web, si utilizza il computer, si assumono gli antibiotici, si sfrutta l'energia ricavata dalla fissione dell'atomo, ecc... Le innovazioni tecnico-scientifiche più importanti nate in quel periodo storico sono difficili da individuare in quanto, nonostante le numerose critiche ed insidie, sono state portatrici di progresso e miglioramento della quotidianità tanto da ritenerle indispensabili. Alcuni esempi possono essere la penicillina, il DNA (acido desossiribonucleico), il telefono, la lavatrice ed il frigorifero. La penicillina è il primo antibiotico scoperto da Alexander Fleming; a quel tempo Fleming  aveva scoper
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