Laws, Crime and Punishment in Great Expectations by...

Laws, Crime and Punishment in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Great Expectations criticises the Victorian judicial and penal system. Through the novel, Charles Dickens displays his point of view of criminality and punishment. This is shown in his portraits of all pieces of such system: the lawyer, the clerk, the judge, the prison authorities and the convicts. In treating the theme of the Victorian system of punishment, Dickens shows his position against prisons, transportation and death penalty. The main character, a little child who has expectations of becoming a gentleman to be of the same social position of the girls he loves, passes from having no interest on criminality and its penalties to be very concerned on the issue. By†¦show more content†¦In this acquisitive society, the only important thing was to make fortune, so people were much terrified of losing it. Because of this, any sort of theft was regarded as a serious crime and laws were made to show people that this offence was harshly punished. At the time when Great Expectations is set, the 1810-20s, there were a great number of offenders, most of whom were convicted of theft. Theft was considered a felony like homicide and was punishable with death. Jails were dark, overcrowded and filthy. All kinds of prisoners were kept together with no separation of men and women, the young and the old, or the sane and the insane. The poor conditions of the Victorian prisons are described in detail by Dickens in Great Expectations. In the 2nd volume of the novel, Pip comes across â€Å"a grim stone building† (163): Newgate Prison. Looking with horror, Pip offers us a portrait of the inside of the prison and criticism on capital punishment: â€Å"As I declined the proposal on the plea of an appointment, he was so good as to take me into a yard and show me where the gallows was kept, and also where people were publicly whipped, and then he showed me the Debtors’ door, out of which culprits came to be hanged: heightening the interest of that dreadful portal by giving me to understand that ‘‘four on ‘em’’ would come out at the door the day after tomorrow at eight in theShow MoreRelatedEssay about Dickens Great Expectations712 Words   |  3 PagesDickens Great Expectations The novel Great Expectations uses the central character, Pip, to depict the ups and downs of a young child on a quest to become not only a man, but a gentleman. Dickens uses a variety of different techniques to create mood, setting, and atmosphere. Charles Dickens grew up in the nineteenth century, when times were hard and punishments were extremely harsh. So harsh you could be imprisoned or even hanged for stealing a loaf of bread. Dickenss Read More Dickens Attitude toward Victorian Customs of Crime and Punishment828 Words   |  4 PagesDickens Attitude toward Victorian Customs of Crime and Punishment During the novel called Great Expectations, Charles Dickens makes it obvious to us how he feels about crime and punishment in the Victorian era. This essay will examine some of the ways he expresses his feelings and makes his attitude clear. The first way that Dickens reveals part of his attitude is by the words and phrases he uses to describe the escaped convict. To show the readers that the man he is describing is anRead MoreVictorian Era Research Paper1048 Words   |  5 PagesDickens Exploits 19th Century Criminal Profiling in Great Expectations In the nineteenth century, the harsh consequences for committing crimes depended on various factors, including social status, appearance, behavior and gender. The law was biased towards those who were both superior in appearance and thoroughly educated. Women were seen as respectable but naà ¯ve rather than murderers. Through his distinction of characters, Dickens shows his interest of profiling in his novel Great ExpectationsRead MoreMagwitch Character Analysis1683 Words   |  7 Pagesseveral appearances similar to this one in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. While he does play a man whose circumstances made him lead a life a crime, Magwitch’s character has much more depth. This profound character in fact can be found in almost all of the other characters within the book, including the main character, Pip. He can be found outside of the novel in the life of Charles Dickens as well. Throughout this novel Great Expectations, Dickens draws parallels between lifesty les and characteristicsRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1669 Words   |  7 PagesCharles Dickens He was one of England s greatest authors of the 1800 s, better known as the Victorian era. The various themes and ideas of that time are perfectly showcased in his many novels and short stories, such as Nicholas Nickelby, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and A Christmas Carol. Much of the inspiration for these works came from the trials and conflicts that he dealt with in his own life. His volumes of fictional writing show the greatRead MoreGreat Expectations: the World of Laws, Crime and Punishment3378 Words   |  14 PagescenterbThe World of Laws, Crime and Punishment in Great Expectations/b/center brGreat Expectations criticises the Victorian judicial and penal system. Through the novel, Charles Dickens displays his point of view of criminality and punishment. This is shown in his portraits of all pieces of such system: the lawyer, the clerk, the judge, the prison authorities and the convicts. In treating the theme of the Victorian system of punishment, Dickens shows his position against prisons, transportationRead MoreCrime And Criminality In Charles Dickenss Great Expectations1752 Words   |  8 PagesDuring the 19th century, crime and criminality was largely debated upon. Social reformists, poets and writers of this era wrote provocatively about this topic, and many considered crime to be an â€Å"inescapable social problem†. The surge of industrial development across Britain created new problems for Victorian society as the incline of wealth altered the structure of the class system. In addition to this, the lack of a welfare structure resulted in numerous men, wom en and children being exposed toRead MoreEssay on Great Expectations by Charles Dickens2511 Words   |  11 PagesGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens Great Expectations was written by Charles Dickens in 1861. Great Expectations is a coming of age story that revolves around the life of one man Pip. From the time he was seven years old until he was in the mid thirties, Pip shows us the important events in his life that shaped who he became. Along the way, he enquires many different acquaintances and friends that influence him in his decisions and goals in his life. Great ExpectationsRead More Great Expectations: Gods Law Vs. Human Law Essay1164 Words   |  5 Pages Great Expectations: Gods Law vs. Human Law In his book Great Expectations, the problematic nature of moral judgement and justice that stems from a conflict between Gods law and human law is one of several topical themes that Charles Dickens addresses. This paradox regularly surfaces in his treatment of plot and setting, and is more subtlety illustrated in his use of character. To facilitate the readers awareness of such a conflict, the narrator often uses language that has Christian connotationsRead More Oliver Twist Essay1641 Words   |  7 Pages Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist, in 1883, to show the reader things as they really are. He felt that the novel should be a message of social reform. One of its purposes was to promote reform of the abuses in workhouses. In no way does Dickens create a dream world. His imagination puts together a bad place during a bad time; an English workhouse just after the Poor Law Act of 1834 (Scott-Kilvert, 48). In the first chapter of Oliver Twist, Dickens moves from comedy to pathos and from pathos

Effect of Washington Consensus Upon Emerging Market Free Essays

Washington Consensus implemented by emerging markets refers to economic policies created by John Williamson (Hooper, 2002; Rodrik, 2006). It is based on financial liberalization theory of McKinnon and Shaw, which emphasis on freeing financial markets from government intervention. Financial liberalization theory assumed perfect financial markets with perfect information, perfect competition and depends on institution-free analysis (Demetriades, 1999). We will write a custom essay sample on Effect of Washington Consensus Upon Emerging Market or any similar topic only for you Order Now These assumptions are irrelevant in the sense that market, as a whole is imperfect. Despite these deficiencies, emerging countries agree to implement Washington Consensus requested by International Monetary Policy (IMF) and World Bank as part of their loan contracts. According to Washington Consensus, emerging economies facing similar problems with developed markets should be treated with the same tools. Washington Consensus aims to encourage privatization with high level of economic openness. There are many criticisms regarding the policies content of Washington Consensus. Some critics argue that the policies are not being devised in a sequentially correct manner and did not consider emerging markets’ development stage (Hooper, 2002). There are several impacts of the implementation of Washington Consensus upon the emerging capital markets namely worsen economic growth and increase stock market’s volatility. Implementation of the Washington Consensus through financial liberalization has affected economic growth of emerging capital markets. Financial liberalization is developed in the objective of improving economic growth by encouraging saving, investment and capital productivity. Before financial liberalization is introduced, many developing countries encounter financial repression, which is the process where government intervenes in the economy (Demetriades, 1999). In 1960s and 1970s, government intervention was needed to control pegged exchange rates under Bretton-Wood regime. Government controlled the markets by allocating high reserve requirement, interest rates ceiling, and controlling capital, credit as well as exchange rate. These interventions led to disequilibrium in interest rate, for example, interest rates were below equilibrium level (Hooper, 2002). In order to curb the problem, financial liberalization is introduced, for instance, by setting higher interest rates. High interest rates were aimed to encourage savings, which will attract investment through borrowing and thus improved economic growth. Unfortunately, financial liberalization did not result in greater savings instead high interest rate can destroy reformation in real sector (Hooper, 2002). In addition, financial liberalization exacerbates economic growth in the sense that ratio of reserves to foreign denominated short-term indebtedness had declined substantially (Stiglitz, 2000). Washington Consensus suggests emerging capital markets to deregulate their economies in order to achieve economic growth. However, lack of comprehensive regulation has led to Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. Moreover, dampen economic growth during Asian Financial Crisis came from maturity and currency mismatch. For example, long-term investment in local currency financed short-term liabilities in dollars. Besides, Washington Consensus did not emphasis on capital flow structure in liberalizing capital flows. Many emerging capital markets destabilized due to high level of capital flows. In Latin America (1980), economic crisis was a result of cash flow structuring problem with the increase in portfolio equity to replace portfolio debt. Asian Financial Crisis 1997 has been deteriorated due to regular flows of money between financial markets. This term hot money will flow from countries with low return to countries with the highest interest rates as banks attempt to get highest return as possible. These flows can affect balance of payments if exchange rates in the total is high (Hooper, 2002). Thus, Washington Consensus worsens economic growth of emerging capital markets. Volatility of stock markets is also affected by the implementation of Washington Consensus. Financial liberalization lead emerging capital markets to more volatility. This is because financial liberalization encourages deregulation, and liquidity, which are the components enhancing volatility. It also goes for taxation as lower taxes lead to volatility. Since liberalize markets usually have lower market concentration, volatility will also increase (Hooper, 1998). Moreover, increasing portfolio equity flows increasing volatility of stock markets (Hooper, 2002). These situations reduce the attractiveness of investing in emerging stock markets (Stiglitz, 2000). Besides, stock markets’ volatility will be exasperated when there is no sufficient accounting disclosure since investors are not able to make informed judgment about the firm. However, financial liberalization did not improve accounting disclosure and structure of governance (Hooper, 2002). There is negative relationship between quality of accounting system and volatility of stock market. Poor accounting system lead to higher market volatility. Moreover, Washington Consensus policy of deregulation has also intensified volatility of stock market (Hooper, 1998; Hooper, 1998). In addition, financial liberalization increased volatility of stock markets with changes in outside country. Since, emerging markets seemed risky, investors are discouraged to invest in the markets. Thus, results in large capital outflows (Stiqlitz, 2000). However, in the long run, volatility of emerging stock markets is improving as they liberalize. International investors find investing in emerging markets are profitable since their risk-return of overall portfolio improved. Investing in emerging stock market lead to diversification of risk, as there is low correlation with other markets (Hooper, 1998). Despite that, implementation of Washington Consensus in emerging capital markets lead to volatile stock market especially in the short-term cycle. There are several ways for IMF and World Bank to conduct policy in developing countries. One of the ways is IMF and World Bank have to make sure that Washington Consensus policies are implemented in correct sequencing manner (Hooper, 2002). For example, financial sector should be reformed after regulatory and bank supervision are restructured and after real sector has been reformed. IMF and World Bank should also encourage developing countries to review and comprehend their regulation system since deregulation can harm economic growth (Hopper, 2002). Furthermore, fortifying securities and accounting regulation help reduce volatility (Hooper, 1998) by implementing framework and policies like fiscal policy, which represent the countries stock markets’ volatility. Besides, IMF and World Bank should bequest emerging countries to be more transparent in accounting disclosure and adopt good governance structure. For example, companies with poor governance are required to pay high return to investors. To reduce the premium, corporation should lessen information asymmetry by increasing accounting disclosure. Thus, cost of equity is lowered since investors are more aware about the firms’ cash flow. Moreover, accounting disclosure overcomes capital flows problem while clear securities framework helps lower volatility. Accounting disclosure should improve so that firms are abled to be monitored and controlled by government (Hooper, 2002). In addition, higher interest rates in emerging capital markets leads to adverse selection and moral hazard problem. Adverse selection normally occurs when interest rates are high as borrowers invest in extremely risky investment without lenders’ knowledge. While moral hazard arises when borrowers invest in projects they had not agreed to. This can lead to increase in cost of borrowing for other borrowers. Thus, encouraging accounting disclosure helps to reduce adverse selection and moral hazard. For example, Thailand and South-East Asian faced moral hazard due to deficient accounting disclosure and comprehensive regulation (Hooper, 2002). Besides, transparent information helps heal economic growth through effective resource allocation (Stiglitz, 2000). IMF and World Bank should also emphasis on binding constraints on economic growth by finding ways to correct the constraints. It is important for an economy to use the appropriate tools in reducing the constraints. For instance, reforming financial intermediaries will not improve investment with poor property rights. Thus, binding constraints have to be evaluated (Stiglitz, 1998). In conclusion, implementing Washington Consensus in emerging capital markets is not efficient. It deteriorated economic growth of many developing countries; for instance, East Asian and Latin America were in bad financial crisis. Moreover, the liberalization process also affects stock market of emerging countries by exacerbating stock markets’ volatility. Thus, International Monetary Fund and World Bank have to play their role by setting up efficient policies in order to curb problems arise from the implementation of Washington Consensus as well as improving the economy of emerging countries. REFERENCE LISTS * Demetriades, P 1999, ‘Financial liberalization: the experience of developing countries’, Eastern Economic Journal, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 441-457. Hooper, V 1998, ‘Volatility and openness of emerging stock markets: some empirical evidence’, Emerging Capital Markets: Financial and Investment Issues, pp. 35-45. * Hooper, V 2002, ‘The Washington Consensus and Emerging Economies’, pp. 1-14. * Rodrik, D 2006, ‘Goodbye Washington Consensus, hello Washington Confusion’, pp. 1-28. * Stiglitz, J 1998, ‘More instruments and broader goals: moving toward the Post–Washington Consensus’, pp. 1-46. * Stiglitz, JE 2000, ‘Capital market liberalization, economic growth, and instability’, World Development, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 1075-1086. How to cite Effect of Washington Consensus Upon Emerging Market, Essay examples

Crim 101 Notes free essay sample

What is criminology? A social science studying crime and related phenomenon such as law making, criminal behavior, victimization and punishment Discipline of criminology is a recent development Most ideas and concepts we now have about crime and criminals emerged over last 2 or 3 centuries Modern criminology is multi-disciplinary (inter-disciplinary) Influenced by sociology, psychology, and biology The fascination with crime Crime is popular topic for newspapers, TV shows , books and movies There is little relationship between crime news and actual amount of crimes Media focus primarily on violent crimes, even though such crimes forms only smart part of all criminal activity Appears as though police solve more crimes and arrest more cirminals than they do in reality The appeal of crime stories and crime news Crime related stories are often dramatic and lurid Deal with moral questions of good vs evil Criminals appear in stories as insane or dangerous psychopaths Stories happen in short time span- between newscasts or newspaper editions Easy for the public to understand Felson’s 10 fallacies about crime Book 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Crim 101 Notes or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page the dramatic Fallacy o keep ratings high, media seek strange/violent incidents to report/create dramas around murder makes up less than 1% of all crime, yet from watching TV or reading the papers, it seems like a commonplace events seems that most murders are well-planned, grisly affairs, or they happen solely by random chance in fact, most murders start as arguments that escalate into violence most crimes are relatively minor property crimes Actus Reus: a real event, in which somebody has committed or failed to commit an act b. Men Rea: criminal intent; you must have the intent to commit the act c. No legal defense or justification d. Must be contrary to a provision of criminal law Crime as normative violation pictures Mala in Se Mala in se: â€Å"something bad or evil in itself† Laws that criminalize acts most societies and cultures agree are inherently wrong, e. g. , murder and incest Mala Prohibita Mala prohibita: something that is deemed to be wrong or criminal only because it is prohibited Acts where there might be considerable disagreement from society to society re: their legality Concensus vs. conflicy * consensus| * conflict| * Society as a functional organism| * Society and social transformation rooted in social conflict| * Norms/expectations based on shared values/interests| * Society not organic or natural. But forced upon us| * Those who are different (e. g. ,criminals) are deemed to be abnormal| * Society/laws based on values and interests of those with the power|