The Melancholy Hussar: The way Thomas Hardy might have thought about the story.
(539 words)
As a fatalist, Thomas Hardy presents human beings as largely unable to escape the forces of destiny. In his fictional world, chance, circumstance, and forces beyond individual control frequently determine the course of human lives. Consequently, personal desire and individual effort offer only limited power to alter one’s circumstances; indeed, attempts to resist or overcome fate often become the very means through which individuals are defeated.
In this story, fate brings Matthäus, a German Hussar, and Phyllis together, although each arrives at their meeting through circumstances beyond their control. Matthäus is brought into Phyllis’s world through the movements of the army, while Phyllis’s isolation is a consequence of her father’s reclusive way of life. Both characters are, moreover, emotionally deprived before their meeting: Matthäus is homesick and separated from his homeland, while Phyllis has been deprived of meaningful friendship and companionship. Their apparently accidental encounter can therefore be interpreted as the culmination of a series of circumstances that Hardy has subtly constructed as preparations for their meeting.
The single decisive action they undertake together—their attempt to escape—ultimately turns against them with devastating consequences. Here again, Hardy presents fate as determining the course of events. Phyllis is fated to overhear Humphrey Gould, and her upbringing and sense of propriety compel her to behave in accordance with what she believes to be proper conduct. As a result, she misinterprets Humphrey’s presence and believes that he has returned to be with her. Matthäus, meanwhile, is subject to an equally cruel accident of circumstance: in attempting to escape, he rows towards Jersey and thereby misses France. Their actions are therefore not simply expressions of personal choice; they are continually constrained and redirected by circumstances that neither character fully understands.
Ultimately, their hopes are destroyed and both characters are psychologically broken by the consequences of events. Matthäus willingly submits to execution, while Phyllis, gradually becoming conscious of her tragic mistake and of the role her absence played in Matthäus’s capture, is left to live out the remainder of her life in solitude and mourning. Her suffering is particularly poignant because her actions were motivated not by malice, but by the social expectations and moral assumptions that have shaped her behaviour.
Hardy concludes the story with a final and deeply ironic image: in death, Matthäus and Phyllis are at last united in the grave. The physical proximity denied to them in life is achieved only after their hopes, love, and individual futures have been destroyed. The ending therefore reinforces Hardy’s fatalistic vision, in which the characters can achieve fulfilment only when it is too late for that fulfilment to have any meaning in their lives.
This interpretation suggests that Hardy’s central concern is not simply the power of fate, but the tragic interaction between fate, chance, social convention, and individual desire. The characters make choices, but their choices are repeatedly shaped—and ultimately overwhelmed—by circumstances beyond their control. At the same time, however, the story invites a more nuanced question: to what extent are Matthäus and Phyllis genuinely victims of fate, and to what extent do their own personalities, assumptions, and decisions contribute to their tragedy? How we answer that question may significantly affect the way we understand Hardy’s characters and the story as a whole.
Homo loquens
(540 words)
Homo sapiens describes a species capable of thought, while homo loquens is used to describe a species capable of speech. Humans are unique in their ability to communicate through complex speech and language. Animal calls represent a much more limited form of vocal communication. Animals are also capable of making facial expressions, using hand movements, and communicating through touch, just as humans do. However, what distinguishes us from other animals is our use of language. The basis of chimpanzee society is grooming, or cleaning one another, whereas human society is largely based on speech and language. The development of vocal communication in human beings has been a long process, dating as far back as five to eight million years ago.
Language is primarily vocal, although it can also be written. Even today, many people remain illiterate and therefore rely primarily on spoken language. Speech is often closely connected to other forms of non-verbal behaviour. While speaking, body language can play an important role in communication. Non-verbal communication, including gestures, has a language of its own. Gestures that are acceptable in some cultures may be offensive or inappropriate in others.
Tone of voice is also an important aspect of communication. Most of us can relate to the familiar example of a mother calling her child. When the mother first calls the child, her voice may be calm and normal. However, as the child continues to play and ignores her, the mother’s tone of voice may change, often becoming more forceful and with greater emphasis placed on each syllable of the child’s name.
Language has two different layers. Smaller units, such as letters and sounds, may have little or no meaning on their own. However, these units can be combined to form meaningful words. For example, the letters s, t, o, and p can be combined to form the word “stop.” This system of combining smaller, meaningless units to create meaningful words is a distinctive feature of human language.
Another feature of the English language is stress. By shifting the stress placed on a word, its pronunciation and meaning can change. For example, “wind” can be pronounced differently depending on its meaning.
Another feature of language is redundancy. One advantage of redundancy is that it makes speech easier to understand, even when some sounds or words are unclear or misheard.
Language is not determined entirely by our genes. A person who grows up speaking Spanish will generally learn Spanish as a child because they are exposed to it in their environment. For example, if a baby born in Peru were adopted and moved to Thailand, the child would most likely grow up speaking Thai rather than Spanish. According to Noam Chomsky, often referred to as the “Godfather of Linguistics,” some of our language abilities may have a genetic basis.
Language is thought to have emerged in modern humans approximately 100,000 years ago and subsequently spread throughout the world.
Linguists primarily focus on the structure and development of existing languages, while paying less attention to the precise origins of language itself. Nevertheless, the study of linguistic evolution provides valuable insight into human development. As one perspective suggests, studying linguistic evolution is “a good way to appreciate what has made our species so remarkable.”
Does a picture speak a thousand words? My challenge in Dubai!
So, after my last photos and being a “budding photographer”, I thought I would try to get some interesting photos that were a little different as I strolled around Dubai albeit for short periods due to the immense heat. I popped back into the mall to get a drink quite quickly. These were created on my phone, so some of the quality was lost I feel, but hopefully, they get people creating thoughts and questions.
A solid concrete block that sits in the desert sun is maybe there for life. It’s strong and relatively immovable. Is it a metaphor for ‘Long Lies 4 Longevity’? I am always thinking of those pictures that get the students talking. I am using my iPad in my class, and some of these pics will look good mirrored onto the screen. The test is to see what the students think. Do they recognise Dubai Mall? They can not miss the 829.8 m high Burj Khalifa towering over the Dubai skyline. When was it built and is it still the highest structure in the world?
The ironic twist in “The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion”
(859 words)
In the following essay, I will be explaining the way the tragedy of The Melancholy Hussar story works and how an ironic ‘twist’ contributes. Phyllis Grove, who is the female main character, is treated oppressively by her father. She needs a way out of the Wessex Downs where she lives in a secluded world in their ‘small, dilapidated, half-farm half manor house’. The story tells of her struggle for love and which man is right for her. The story, we are told is an injustice on Phyllis’ memory.
Phyllis is portrayed as a girl brought up in the country to a father who has lost his business through his own fault. The picture the reader develops is of a father frustrated with himself. Beyond the seclusion of Phyllis, lays the seclusion of her father and his darkness. He takes out his troubles on her. He does not seem to have a wife which leads the reader to think that he wants Phyllis to be at his beck and call. This corresponds with her feeling shy. Phyllis is a girl with her whole life in front of her, and her father is making her unhappy through his annoyance of life.
It is not surprising that Phyliss is unexpectedly asked to be married. Phyllis is unromantically pursued by Humphrey Gould, an unreliable-looking bachelor of 30 from Bath. It is her father’s wish for her to marry this man who is within her father’s perceived social level. The reader feels that Phyllis is looking for a reason to get away from her circumstances. Phyllis was willing to leave her father as she felt little love towards him. She disliked the way he behaved towards her. It also may be the case someone showed attention to her for once. Mr. Gould flattered this lonely woman, telling stories of himself to be a fashionable man although he is ‘poor as a crow’. Mr. Gould actually shows no regard to this person he has just asked to marry him. Making an excuse for his ‘pecuniary’ condition, he has left her in the lurch. At home, Phyllis is with her father, this man has come from nowhere asks her to marry her. This woman with nothing really happening in her life is left thinking of happiness that Mr. Gould cannot really deliver.
Though her husband, to be, sends her letters Phyllis says she does not love him in the truest sense. This leads the reader to believe that Phyllis was asking him to get her out of her poor situation. The reader can see how Phyllis’ concentration is quickly turned to the one of the York Hussars. Phyllis sits on the wall outside her house ‘listlessly surveying the pasture’. Her attention was drawn to a ‘solitary figure’. Thus, Phyllis begins an unusual but earnest courtship with Matthäus Tina who is one of the York Hussars, the King’s German Legion. They communicate. There is an effect on her consciousness as Matthäus’ face ‘haunted’ her mind. The reader almost thinks Phyllis is waiting for another man to come along and take her away. There is a contrast between this man and Mr. Gould. Phyllis again is enlightened by the stories of another man; his stories of Germany. Matthäus is her romantic hero. There is no feeling that Phyllis ever thinks of the unpleasant side of leaving her home, and of what might await her. The only thought is for her present relationship with her father that is ‘irksome and painful’.
The tragedy for Phyllis is that she does not know which way to turn. Phyllis does not realise every option she chooses will let her down. Phyllis still believes in her marriage to Gould rather than her love for Matthäus. However, Mr. Gould has a dastardly secret he had married someone else. There is an insensitivity from Mr. Gould towards her feelings. This poor girl has seen a way out of her situation has to hear her husband, to be, telling her he is with another woman. Phyllis goes to her garden for solace just like she was when she saw Matthäus. Phyllis looks over the wall and sees two coffins and a band playing “march of the dead”. A procession of soldiers goes by accompanied by two priests. Matthäus and his friends Christoph were to be executed for desertion. Matthäus and another reached the shores of Jersey, not France. The irony is that Phyllis believed that she could get away from her father. Her dreams of getting away are dashed. Maybe, if Matthäus had been less honorable and Phyllis more daring, their future would have taken a better turn.
Though Phyllis did not leave her house, there could be thought that she might have not got on well being away from her father if she had left and stuck to a country ways. However, she was willing to try. Ironically, Phyllis found out too late. Humphrey Gould planned to set Phyllis free but he had fallen in love with another woman. Matthäus Tina was executed for desertion. Phyllis was destined to be alone and lonely. She was to lead a lonely life of spinsterhood. Phyllis Grove was in a social condition that she had to follow, through lack of choice.
Task Analysis / Educational Objectives 
(1062 words)
Professionals in the teaching field have two main questions concerned with their educational practices: What to teach and how to teach it. Organizing for instruction provides the information that allows the teacher to determine what to teach. It is their analysis of their instruction and tasks involved that contribute to comprehensible education. This means that there are educational objectives that outline what will be learnt and what the students should be able to do at the end of the period of study. With respect to this I will, in this essay, outline what is contributed into this discipline and reflect from what I noticed from an initial assessment of my teaching.
To begin with, I realized that education for each student has to be more than being in just being in school. It is being an active student in life. This means that students become natural learners and recognize not only their role in the learning world, but also the world as a whole. They can gain knowledge in the classroom but how do they apply it outside the classroom. This means that through education, within my objectives, there should be provisions for each individual with opportunities to develop abilities, so that each student is able to demonstrate that he or she can do a specific task to a reasonable standard. However, I must recognize that there are different types of objectives. They can be developed into separate areas. Three such areas exist. Each of the three areas or domains are of human functioning. There is the affective domain which involves feelings, the psychomotor area includes coordination and other physical skills. The cognitive domain includes those activities directly associated with doing academically relevant work. With these three domains each objective shows prominence as observable actions that are what I want to observe after having broadly educated the students.
