Evaluate Stevenson’s depiction of the murder of Sir Danvers Carew Essay

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the novel â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.† The novel is set in the society of Victorian London and was written in 1886. The story tells of a middle-class respectable man, who’s profession as a scientist one day leads him to experiment with a potion in his laboratory. He does this due to the fact that he is living in a society where he is seen to be highly respectable and where individuals have only one personality, i.e. being good. This potion goes wrong, resulting in a personality splitting into two opposite directions, one being evil and the other being good, causing horrific situations and terrible events like murders. The scene in which Carew is murdered is a very important scene as it is a turning point in the novel. It is the first major crime that Hyde has committed, and so it makes the reader wonder whether the mystery is finally going to be revealed as he has committed a serious crime and there is no way that he can escape. In this scene, Stevenson utilizes a range of different devices and techniques to add efficacy to the scene and the novel. The scene starts off with a strong first sentence. Stevenson uses the first sentence to grab the reader’s attention and to make them want to read on and know what is actually going to happen that is so momentous. The reader gets the idea of momentous because Stevenson uses the words â€Å"London was startled,† this emphasises that this â€Å"crime of singular ferocity,† effected the whole of London, not just one or two people. Another purpose of this first sentence is to prepare the reader for what they are going to read next. This is efficacious as using words like â€Å"rendered† and â€Å"high position of the victim,† makes the reader feel that we know that something really really horrendous and dreadful is about to happen, which makes the reader want to definitely read on. The reader is also made to notice another one of Stevenson’s techniques as he helps the reader to see things from the house-maid’s point of view and through her eyes. The reader is able to become aware that the maid is looking out of the window, the maid is feeling very warm and affectionate as she is looking at Carew. The reader gets this impression as her exact words are â€Å"aged and beautiful† and â€Å"polite,† and â€Å"gentlemen.† But suddenly then comes in a totally opposite appearanced man, which after a few seconds of thought she realises is Hyde, who she has a â€Å"dislike† for. Also the reader had seen him step on the little girl earlier. The maid’s emotions then change from being calm to being nervous as she goes on to describe the scene and the devastating murder. The reader can see the change as Stevenson has moved from using words like â€Å"romantically,† to words like â€Å"flame of anger† and â€Å"fury.† The reader can feel these emotions which shows the start and the end of the scene being totally opposite to each other as it started off calm then gradually changed to nervousness and then finally into a lot of shock and terror; ending in the maid fainting, making the reader share the maid’s emotions and taking into consideration the shock the maid has suffered. The description of the murder is very clear and vivid. The way Stevenson has described the homicide, the reader is able to imagine and picture the ghastly killing. Stevenson uses strong and solid language to describe the details of the crime, for example the words â€Å"clubbed† and â€Å"flame of anger,† are used to indicate the anger inside Hyde. The reader is also made to notice that the murder was very vicious and ferocious, the words in the scene that implies this are â€Å"brandishing,† â€Å"trampling† and â€Å"underfoot.† There is also another contrast in the way Stevenson describes the meeting and then the murder. When Carew and Hyde first meet, Carew was speaking in a â€Å"polite† way and Hyde â€Å"answered never a word,† which gives the reader the perception that things were quiet and not much communication was going on. But then there is a huge transformation, and the air is full of anger and aggression, this makes the scene effective as the two contrasts are very different, making the reader question why. The first sentence prepares the reader for what has just happened in a diminutive way as we know that something significant is going to happen, but at the same time the reader is also stunned as they did not think that the event would be this massive and horrifying and are a little shocked. Stevenson describes both Carew and Hyde in different ways, as Carew has calm words and Hyde has angry and aggressive words. For example Carew is described as â€Å"beautiful,† â€Å"aged,† â€Å"innocent,† â€Å"polite,† â€Å"gentleman,† and has â€Å"old world kindness,† whereas Hyde is described as â€Å"ape-like,† â€Å"mad,† â€Å"frenzied,† â€Å"rude,† â€Å"disliked,† and also has a â€Å"ill-contained patience.† The way these two characters are described is effective because the reader can clearly see the contrast in the two personalities and can also visualize the way they are described by someone else i.e. being the maid. This is also another very powerful technique by Stevenson because the reader can see that Hyde is a total monster, so the murder was unreasonable and unjust as Carew was totally irreproachable and there was no legitimate reason for killing him. This technique is really suc cessful as it adds mystery to Hyde and makes the reader presume that Hyde is a bit unstable as he murdered a totally innocent mind, making the reader want to read on until the strange mystery is finally revealed. In this scene, Stevenson also uses symbolism helps to augment the scene. Carew was an MP, so his job was to try to keep the law intact and also maintain the standards and the strict and scrupulous rules of Victorian Society, which highlights the fact that he symbolizes the actual Victorian Society. Hyde was in a very negative state of mind and was very angry because at that time Jekyll was refusing and telling himself not to take the potion, which obviously affected Hyde. Therefore Hyde was actually angry at the rules of society. In addition, Hyde could have chosen to kill anyone but he chose someone who represented society and maintained the rules of society. As a result of murdering Carew and â€Å"shattering his bones,† Hyde was actually destroying society. Also this brought about the idea of id, ego and superego, which were written by Freud late on in 1900. The reader gets the picture of Carew being the superego or the conscience. Jekyll was the ego, the one that was reasoning and holding back and finally leaving Hyde with id, being the instinct, the one who does not think of the consequences of its actions. All these are symbolizing the three layers of personality. So, by killing the superego, the id was making the superego, the conscience quiet and totally silent so that it would not have been influencing the ego and also the id. This is also a bit like the story of Jack the Ripper. This symbolism is vital in the importance of the scene, as it gives the reader a new perspective of the murder; this also makes it very effective and makes the reader want to read further on. At the time of the Victorian Society, there were many new theories and ideas. For example Charles Darwin came up with the theory of evolution, which influences Stevenson as he describes Hyde as â€Å"ape-like.† Also there was a lot of interest in science. Stevenson was influenced by many people, and has used some of these theories and ideas in his novel. There was also a lot of contradiction in Victorian Society. People like Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens wrote novels based on the two sides to Victorian Society, i.e. the rich and the veneer of respectability compared to the poor and the criminals. This novel was also based on the theory of the â€Å"Doppelganger.† This extract of the novel adds a major turning point, which shows the reader what Hyde is like and how the society did not accept him. Stevenson wrote this scene very well as he describes the murder successfully and it has different contrasts in it making the reader want to read it and leaving them totally stunned throughout the whole scene. The novel â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,† was very successful as it has been around for many years and is still being enjoyed today and will be for many years yet to come.

Free Will An Illusion - 1324 Words

Jenna Santos PHL 150 Dr. Caery Evangelist 23 April 2015 Free Will: an Illusion Casual determinism put simply, is the theory that all things happen for a particular reason and everything is predetermined. It is the idea all the events in one’s life can be explained, and each event has a particular reason for being. If everything is predetermined, then this therefore suggests that the future is fixed which further suggests that we can possibly predict the behavior of things. The theory of determinism ultimately suggests that we don’t the capacity to have free will because all future events are destined to occur, and furthermore we do not posses the knowledge to figure out whether it can be proved true or false (Hoefer). There has been three positions that have developed concerning the theory of causal determinism: hard determinist, compatibilist or soft determinist, and compatibilist. In this essay I will explain why I think the strongest position of the free will debate is that of the hard determinists and clarify the object ion that moral responsibility goes out the door if we don’t have free will by addressing the two big misconceptions that are associated with determinists: first that determinism is an ethical system, and secondly that contrary to common belief determinists do believe in the concept of cause and effect. I will also begin by explaining my position and why I believe that the position of the indeterminist does not hold water as an argument and the thirdShow MoreRelatedDoes Free Will Exist Or Is It All An Illusion?905 Words   |  4 PagesDoes free will exist or is it all an illusion? This question has always bothered people since the ancient time and now it bothers us more than ever. The increase of humankind comprehension in subjects like physics, neuroscience, social science and more; made this question unfathomable. Great minds like Sir Isaac Newton concluded that everything like the motion of planets, stars and the universe, our decisions are all predetermined. On the other hand, Quantum physic proposes the opposite; some scientistRead MoreEssay On Mans Search For Meaning1561 Words   |  7 Pagesprominent quote in the bible comes from John 8:13 and states, â€Å"The truth will set you free†. According to this, knowing the truth will free one from the â€Å"prison† of falsehood, and yet the truth is often accompanied by some form of suffering. Knowing the truth will free someone from the lie they are living, but it may not be a life they wish to be freed from. In difficult situations, people often rely on illusion and live in denial as a way to survive, due to the truth being too difficult to acceptRead MoreBaron dHolbach and William James on Free Will and Determinism1192 Words   |  5 PagesBaron dHolbach and William James on Free Will and Determinism 3. Discuss the issue between Baron dHolbach and William James on free will and determinism? Before we can discuss the issue between Baron dHolbach and William James we have to know the definitions of the items the issue is about. Free will according to the Encarta encyclopedia is The power or ability of the human mind to choose a course of action or make a decision without being subject to restraints imposed by antecedentRead MoreEssay on Hedda Gabler1077 Words   |  5 PagesTesman, a possible baby, and being forced to spend time with Judge Brack. Henrik Isben’s â€Å"Hedda Gabler† resolves the thematic issue of social constraints through Hedda’s beautiful illusion that acts of freedom and courage do exist. Hedda’s beautiful illusion lives through the life of Eilert Là ¸vborg. He represents free will, courage and allows her to have a glimpse â€Å"of a world that she is forbidden to know anything about† (265). 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That being because America is going through the Great Depression and it’s very difficult to make a living or even have food on a plate. However, in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the American Dream is shown as both an illusion and a reality. ThisRead MoreThe Correlation Between Conscious Choices And Action1271 Words   |  6 Pagesto this, he also proposed that although our decisions may not be our own, because of our intricate processing systems, we are able to pick between several options and suppress those from the subconscious we do not desire to fulfill. 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Read MoreThe Known World1092 Words   |  5 PagesControl is an interesting thing for it comes in many different disguises; it can be masked as power, as freedom - but these are merely illusions. People believe that they are truly free when they have control [p3] over others and are the ones in the powerful positions (positions of power). They strive for control and power in their lives hoping that it will offer them salvation and freedom and in return make life easier and give them an upper hand. However, freedom [p4] is unobtainableRead MoreThe View On Free Will1264 Words   |  6 PagesAvalon Singer 29 September 2014 Topic 1: What I Believe is the Correct View on Free Will We are raised to believe that we are the makers of our own destiny. Every decision we make is our own, and we are free citizens in every sense of the word. Although this thought is comforting, I do not consider it to be true. I think that free will is an illusion. The idea of free will is what keeps us sane and motivates us in our lives, but is not what controls our lives. I presume that our world is

The Slaveowner´s Point of View in the Narrative of the...

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass depicts his life as a plantation slave, offering misinformed northern Christians and reformers in-depth accounts of the physical and emotional cruelties of slavery. As Douglass recounts his relationship and interactions with the harsh Mr. Covey, he disputes the basis on which southern slaveowners defended slavery. Douglass dispels their claims of encompassing a Christian duty to civilize blacks who they deemed naturally inferior by proving how they actively worked to keep slaves from assimilating and contributing to society. Southern slaveowners claimed that they were upholding their Christian duty by engaging in slavery, rescuing slaves from a life of struggle and†¦show more content†¦Covey underscores how slaveowners’ defense of slavery with religion was something said and not done. In fact, Douglass even asserts that slaves have a solid faith and the â€Å"help† of their white masters is not needed and even detrimental. As opposed to Mr. Covey’s false Christianity, Douglass attributes slaves to having true Christianity, evidencing this by his own great ability to sing versus his master’s poor singing. Mr. Covey was â€Å"a very poor singer himself, the duty of raising the hymn generally came upon [Douglass]† (82). Douglass’ ability to sing the hymnals represent his strong grasp on Christianity, whereas Mr. Covey’s poor singing portrays his hypocrisy and distance from the faith. Contrary to the plantation myth, Mr. Covey, the slaveowner is dependent on Douglass, his slave. This role reversal emphasizes the how the South’s claim to be carrying out a Christian duty was flawed. Southern slaveowners argue that they are helping slaves conform to society, but Douglass dispels this paternalistic myth by emphasizing how he was sent to to Mr. Covey to be made into a brute. Due to the restrictions Mr. Covey puts on Douglass, â€Å"beh old a man [is] transformed into a brute!† (83). Douglass moves through his transformation very quickly, as if writing a recipe; it is a very straightforward way of telling an emotional process. Douglass tells his readers to â€Å"behold† as ifShow MoreRelatedBlack Slaves And The Slave Owners2438 Words   |  10 Pageswhich White theorists portrayed as completely passive element, in fact, played an active role in the life of the region. The family was perhaps the most important social institution created by slaves. And this despite the fact that the official legislation marriages between slaves to invalidate. But do black wife treated them very seriously, creating a strong monogamous family. As a rule, the slaveowners encouraged such unions, because, on the one hand, they contribute to peace and order in the farmsRead MoreBibliographic Essay on African American History6221 Words   |  25 PagesAmerican Experience: An Historiographical and Bibliographical Guide (Westport: Greenwood Press, 2001); and Randall M. Miller and John David Smith, eds., Dictionary of Afro- American Slavery (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1988), provide informative narratives along with expansive bibliographies. General texts covering major historical events with attention to chronology include John Hope Franklin and Alfred A. Moss, Jr., From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans (Boston: McGraw

Domestic Violence And The Long Run - 951 Words

In what ways does domestic violence affect not only women but children in the long run? Domestic violence is defined as violent or aggressive behavior, usually abuse involving a spouse. Domestic violence is a very dangerous act and has been occurring for decades. In most cases the abusers are men and the victims are women, being physically and emotionally abused. Physical abuse is an intentional act of causing injury to one, in other words â€Å"putting your hands on someone†. Emotional abuse is the act of verbal assault, humiliating one ,and tearing one’s self-esteem down .Sadly in a lot of cases that I have research a child is involved, or the couple has a child who witnessed the abuse occur. Children who have witnessed abuse or experienced it go through a lot. In all of the cases the child is witnessing a parent usually the victim, being abused by their spouse (boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, etc.), who watched or was once abused as a child so they think it’s normal. The book titled â€Å"Damage, children† explains how about 90 percent of the time the abusers are men who† suffer from a drug problem or was once abused as a child†. Continually elaborating into great detail about how† 15.5 million â€Å"children witness domestic violence, whether they see it or its being illustrated on them, now I’m not talking about a regular old slap or a pop to the backside but a brutal unnecessary assault. Witnessing domestic violence as a child affects the mind, these children are likely to deal withShow MoreRelatedThe Pros And Cons Of Domestic Violence794 Words   |  4 PagesDomestic violence happens every day and it includes people of all races, ethnicities, color, religions, rich or poor, old or young, man or woman and physical and mental disabilities. Domestic violence happens to anyone regardless of where you live, work and how smart you are; these do not matter to the person committing the acts of violence against you. 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ManyRead MoreThe Effects of Domestic Violence on Children1540 Words   |  7 PagesThe Effects of Domestic Violence on Children Trudy Root Kaplan University CM107-11 Children are negatively impacted by the surrounding of domestic violence in multiple ways, in which need to be identified. The audience that needs to be aware of domestic abuse’s effects on children is adults that care for children; such as pediatricians, teachers, counselors, and parents. The issue that needs to be addressed is the negative effects on children involved in a domestic violence situation. ManyRead MoreDomestic Violence Against Men and Women1449 Words   |  6 PagesDomestic Violence against Men and Women Sandra Marable Kaplan University CM-220 Professor Freiteg May 20, 2013 Whenever the thought of domestic violence comes to mind, more than often the visual picture is a women or a child. However, there is another side that has been ignored because it is pushed under the rug. 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The Secret Circle The Initiation Chapter Six Free Essays

â€Å"Well, there’s Jeffrey†¦Ã¢â‚¬  the strawberry blond said. â€Å"Already begun,† Faye said, smiling. â€Å"I work fast, Suzan. We will write a custom essay sample on The Secret Circle: The Initiation Chapter Six or any similar topic only for you Order Now † Suzan laughed. When she did, her extraordinary chest jiggled in a way that made Cassie certain she wasn’t wearing anything underneath her apricot-colored sweater. â€Å"I still don’t see the point of Jeffrey Lovejoy,† the biker girl said, scowling. â€Å"You don’t see the point of any guy, Deborah; that’s your problem,† said Suzan. â€Å"And your problem is that you can’t see the point of anything else,† Deborah retorted. â€Å"But Jeffrey’s worse than most. He’s got more teeth than brain cells.† â€Å"It isn’t his teeth I’m interested in,† said Faye thoughtfully. â€Å"Who are you going to start with, Suzan?† â€Å"Oh, I don’t know. It’s so hard to decide. There’s Mark Flemming and Brant Hegerwood and David Downey – he’s in my remedial English class, and he’s developed this killer body over the summer. And then there’s always Nick†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Deborah hooted. â€Å"Our Nick? The only way he’d look at you is if you had four wheels and a clutch.† â€Å"And besides, he’s taken,† Faye said, and her smile reminded Cassie of a crouching jungle cat. â€Å"You just said you wanted Jeffrey – â€Å" â€Å"They both have their uses. Get this straight, Suzan. Nick and I have an†¦ arrangement. So you just back off and pick yourself a nice outsider, all right?† There was a moment of tension, and then the strawberry blond shrugged. â€Å"Okay, I’ll take David Downey. I didn’t really want Nick anyway. He’s an iguana.† Deborah looked up. â€Å"He’s my cousin!† â€Å"He’s still an iguana. He kissed me at the junior prom, and it was like kissing a reptile.† â€Å"Can we get back to business?† Faye said. â€Å"Who’s on the hate list?† â€Å"Sally Waltman,† Suzan said immediately. â€Å"She already thinks because she’s class president she can stand up to us, and if you take Jeffrey, she’s going to be really mad.† â€Å"Sally†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Fay mused. â€Å"Yes, we’ll have to come up with something truly special for dear old Sally†¦ What’s wrong, Deborah?† Deborah had stiffened, looking up the hill toward the school entrance. â€Å"Intruder alert,† she said. â€Å"In fact, it looks like a whole delegation.† Cassie had seen it too, a group of guys and girls coming through the main entrance down the hill. She felt a surge of hope. Maybe while Faye and the other two were occupied with them, she herself could slip away unnoticed. Heart beating quickly, she watched the new group approach. A broad-shouldered boy in front, who seemed to be the leader, spoke up. â€Å"Look, Faye, the cafeteria’s crowded. So we’re going to eat out here – okay?† His voice started out belligerent, but it wavered toward the end, becoming more of a question than a statement. Faye looked up at him without haste, then smiled her slow, beautiful smile. â€Å"No,† she said, briefly and sweetly. â€Å"It isn’t okay.† Then she turned back to her lunch. â€Å"How come?† the boy burst out, still trying to sound tough. â€Å"You didn’t stop us last year.† â€Å"Last year,† Faye said, â€Å"we were only juniors. This year we’re seniors – and we’re wicked. As wicked as we wanna be.† Deborah and Suzan smiled. Frustrated, Cassie shifted her weight. So far there had never been a moment when all three of the girls were looking away. Come on, turn around, she thought pleadingly. The group of guys and girls went on standing there for a minute or two, exchanging angry glances. But finally they turned and walked back toward the school building – all except one. â€Å"Uh, Faye? Did you mean I had to go too?† she said. She was a pretty, flushed girl, and young. Probably a sophomore, Cassie guessed. Cassie expected her to get packed off like the others, but to her surprise Faye raised her eyebrows and then patted the landing invitingly. â€Å"Why, Kori,† she said, â€Å"of course you can stay. We just imagined you’d be eating in the cafeteria with the Princess of Purity and the rest of the goody-goodies.† Kori sat down. â€Å"Too much goodness can get boring,† she said. Faye tilted her head and smiled. â€Å"And there I thought you were a namby-pamby little Puritan. Silly me,† she said. â€Å"Well, you know you’re always welcome here. You’re almost one of us, aren’t you?† Kori ducked her head. â€Å"I’ll be fifteen in two weeks.† â€Å"There, you see,† Faye said to the others. â€Å"She’s almost eligible. Now what were we talking about? That new slasher movie, wasn’t it?† â€Å"That’s right,† Deborah said, showing her teeth. â€Å"The one where the guy chops people up and makes them into condiments at his salad bar.† Suzan was unwrapping a Twinkie. â€Å"Oh, Deborah, don’t. You’re making me sick.† â€Å"Well, you make me sick with those things,† Deborah said. â€Å"You never stop eating them. That’s what those are, you know,† she told Kori, pointing at Suzan’s chest. â€Å"Two giant Twinkies. If Hostess went out of business, she’d be wearing a double A.† Faye laughed her sleepy, throaty laugh, and even Suzan giggled. Kori was smiling too, but looking uncomfortable. â€Å"Kori! We’re not embarrassing you, are we?† Faye exclaimed, opening her golden eyes wide. â€Å"Don’t be silly. I don’t embarrass easily,† Kori said. â€Å"Well, with brothers like yours, I should think not. Still,† Faye went on, â€Å"you seem so young, you know; almost†¦ virginal. But that’s probably just a false impression, right?† Kori was blushing now. All three senior girls were looking at her with insinuating smiles. â€Å"Well, sure – I mean, it is a false impression – I’m not all that young – † Kori swallowed, looking confused. â€Å"I went out with Jimmy Clark all last summer,† she ended defensively. â€Å"Why don’t you tell us all about it?† Faye murmured. Kori looked more confused. â€Å"I – well – I think I’d better get going. I’ve got gym next period, and I have to get all the way over to E-wing. I’ll see you guys.† She got up quickly and disappeared. â€Å"Strange, she left her lunch,† Faye mused, frowning gently. â€Å"Oh, well.† She extracted a package of cupcakes from Kori’s lunch sack and tossed them to Suzan, who giggled. Deborah, though, was frowning. â€Å"That was stupid, Faye. We’re going to need her later – like in two weeks. One empty space, one candidate, you know?† â€Å"True,† Faye said. â€Å"Oh, well, I’ll make it up to her. Don’t worry; when the time comes, she’ll be on our side.† â€Å"I suppose we’d better get moving too,† Suzan said, and behind her rock, Cassie shut her eyes in relief. â€Å"I’ve got to climb all the way to the third floor for algebra.† â€Å"Which could take hours,† Deborah said maliciously. â€Å"But don’t strain yourself just yet. There’s more company coming.† Faye sighed in exasperation, without turning. â€Å"Who now?. What do we have to do to get a little peace around here?† â€Å"It’s Madame Class President herself. Sally. And there’s steam coming out of her ears.† Faye’s expression of annoyance vanished, dissolving into something more beautiful and infinitely more dangerous. Still sitting with her back to the school, she smiled and worked her long, red-tipped fingers like a cat exercising its claws. â€Å"And I thought today was going to be boring,† she murmured, clucking her tongue. â€Å"It just shows you can never tell. Well, hetto, Sally,† she said aloud, standing and turning in one smooth motion. â€Å"What a lovely surprise. How was your summer?† â€Å"Save it, Faye,† said the girl who’d just marched down the steps. She was a good head shorter than Faye, and slighter of build, but her arms and legs had a wiry look and her fists were clenched as if she were prepared to do physical battle. â€Å"I didn’t come out here to chat.† â€Å"But we haven’t had a good talk in so long†¦ Did you do something to your hair? It’s so – interesting.† Cassie looked at Sally’s hair. It had a rusty cast to it, and looked frizzled and overpermed. As the girl raised a defensive hand to her head Cassie could almost have giggled – if it all hadn’t been so horrible. â€Å"I didn’t come to talk about my hair, either!† snapped Sally. She had a strident voice that was climbing higher with every sentence. â€Å"I came to talk about Jeffrey. You leave him alone!† Faye smiled, very slowly. â€Å"Why?† she murmured, and in contrast to Sally’s voice hers seemed even lower and more sensual. â€Å"Afraid of what he’ll do if you’re not there to hold his hand?† â€Å"He’s not interested in you!† â€Å"Is that what he told you? Hmm. He seemed very interested this morning. He’s taking me out Saturday night.† â€Å"Because you’re making him.† â€Å"Making him? Are you suggesting a big boy like Jeffrey can’t say no when he wants to?† Faye shook her head. â€Å"And why isn’t he here now to speak for himself? I’ll tell you something, Sally,† she added, her voice dropping confidentially. â€Å"He didn’t fight hard this morning. He didn’t fight hard at all.† Sally’s hand drew back as if she wanted to hit the bigger girl, but she didn’t. â€Å"You think you can do anything, Faye – you and the rest of the Club! Well, it’s time somebody showed you that you can’t. There are more of us – lots more – and we’re getting tired of being pushed around. It’s time somebody took a stand.† â€Å"Is that what you’re planning to do?† Faye said pleasantly. Sally had been circling her like a bulldog looking for an opening, and now the wiry girl had ended on the edge of the landing with her back to the steps leading down. â€Å"Yes!† Sally cried defiantly. â€Å"Funny,† murmured Faye, â€Å"because it’s going to be hard to do that flat on your back.† With the last words she flicked her long red fingernails in Sally’s face. She never actually touched Sally’s skin. Cassie, who had been watching intently, desperately waiting for an opportunity to flee, felt sure of that. But it was as if something hit Sally. Something invisible. And heavy. The wiry girl’s entire body jerked back and she tried frantically to regain her footing on the edge of the landing. Arms flailing, she teetered for an endless instant and then fell backward. Cassie could never remember what happened then. One minute she was behind her rock, crouching and safe, and the next she had flung herself out across the falling girl’s path, knocking her sideways onto the grass. For a heartbeat Cassie thought they were both going to roll all the way down the hill, but somehow or other they didn’t. They ended up in a heap, with Cassie underneath. â€Å"Let go! You ripped my shirt,† a strident voice exclaimed, and an unkind fist planted itself in Cassie’s midriff as Sally pushed herself to her feet. Cassie stared up at her, open-mouthed. Talk about gratitude†¦ â€Å"And as for you, Faye Chamberlain – you tried to kill me! But you’ll get yours, you wait and see!† â€Å"I’ll get yours too, Sally,† Faye promised, smiling, but the sleepiness in her smile wasn’t genuine anymore. She looked as if underneath she were grinding her teeth. â€Å"You just wait,† Sally repeated vehemently. â€Å"Someday they may find you at the bottom of those stairs with a broken neck.† With that, she marched to the landing and up the steps, bringing her foot down on each as if she were stamping on Faye’s face. She didn’t even look back or acknowledge Cassie’s existence. Cassie slowly got up and glanced down the long, winding flight of stairs that led to the foot of the hill. She couldn’t have done anything differently, she realized. Sally would have been lucky to break nothing more than her neck before she reached bottom. But now†¦ She turned to face the three senior girls above her. They were still standing with careless, unstudied elegance, but underneath their easy demeanor was violence. Cassie saw it in the sullen darkness of Deborah’s eyes, and in the spiteful curve of Suzan’s lips. But most of all she saw it in Faye. It occurred to her, quite incidentally, that these were probably the three most beautiful girls she’d ever seen. It wasn’t just that each had perfect skin, free of the slightest trace of teenage blemishes. It wasn’t their gorgeous hair: Deborah’s dark disordered curls, Faye’s pitch-black mane, and Suzan’s cloud of reddish gold. It wasn’t even the way they set each other off, each one’s distinctive type enhancing the others’ instead of detracting from them. It was something else, something that came from within. A kind of confidence and self-possession that no girl at sixteen or seventeen should have. An inner strength, an energy. A power. It terrified her. â€Å"Well, now, what do we have here?† Faye said in a throaty voice. â€Å"A spy? Or a little white mouse?† Run, Cassie thought. But her legs wouldn’t move. â€Å"I saw her this morning,† Deborah said. â€Å"She was hanging out in front of the bike rack, staring at me.† â€Å"Oh, I’ve seen her before that, Debby,† Faye replied. â€Å"I saw her last week at Number Twelve. She’s a neighbor.† â€Å"You mean she’s – † Suzan broke off. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Whatever else she is, she’s dead meat now,† Deborah said. Her petite face was twisted in a scowl. â€Å"Let’s not be hasty,† Faye murmured. â€Å"Even mice may have their uses. By the way, how long were you hiding there?† There was only one answer to this, and Cassie fought not to say it. This was no time to come up with a devastatingly witty remark. But at last she gave in, because it was the truth, and because she couldn’t think of anything else. â€Å"Long enough,† she said, and shut her eyes in misery. Faye descended slowly to stand in front of her. â€Å"Do you always spy on other people’s private conversations?† â€Å"I was here before you came,† Cassie said, with as much spirit as she could manage. If only Faye would stop staring at her like that. Those honey-colored eyes seemed to glow with an eerie, supernatural light. It was focused on Cassie like a laser beam, draining away her will, causing the strength to flow out of her. It was as if Faye wanted her to do something – or wanted something from her. It made her feel so disoriented – so off balance and weak†¦ And then she felt a sudden surge of strength that seemed to come up from her feet. Or, rather, from the ground beneath them, from the red New England granite that she’d felt buzzing with life earlier. It steadied her, sweeping up and straightening her spine, so that she lifted her chin and looked into those golden eyes without flinching. â€Å"I was here first,† she said defiantly. â€Å"Very good,† murmured Faye, and there was an odd look in her eyes. Then she turned her head. â€Å"Anything interesting in her backpack?† Cassie saw, to her outrage, that Deborah was going through her backpack, throwing things out one by one. â€Å"Not much,† the biker said, tossing it on the ground so the rest of its contents scattered down the hillside. â€Å"All right.† Faye was smiling again, a particularly unpleasant smile that made her red lips look cruel. â€Å"I think you were right the first time, Deborah. She’s dead meat.† She looked at Cassie. â€Å"You’re new here, so you probably don’t understand what kind of mistake you’ve made. And I don’t have time to stand here and tell you. But you’ll find out. You’ll find out – Cassie.† She reached out and caught Cassie’s chin with long, red-tipped fingers. Cassie wanted to pull away, but her muscles were locked. She felt the strength in those fingers and the hardness of the long, slightly curving nails. Like talons, she thought. The talons of a bird of prey. For the first time she noticed that the red stone Fay wore at her throat had a star in it, like a star sapphire. It winked in the sunlight, and Cassie found she couldn’t take her eyes off it. Laughing suddenly, Faye released her. â€Å"Come on,† she said to the other two girls. The three of them turned and went up the steps. The air exploded from Cassie’s lungs as if she were a balloon that had just been pricked. She was shaking inside. That had been†¦ That had been absolutely†¦ Get a grip on yourself! She’s only a teenage gang leader, she told herself. At least the mystery of the Club is solved. They’re a gang. You’ve heard of gangs before, even if you never went to a school with one. As long as you leave them alone and don’t cross them from now on, you’ll be okay. But the reassurance rang hollow in her mind. Faye’s last words had sounded like a threat. But a threat of what? When Cassie got back to the house that afternoon, her mother didn’t seem to be downstairs. Finally, as she wandered from room to room calling, her grandmother appeared on the staircase. The look on her face made Cassie’s stomach lurch. â€Å"What’s wrong? Where’s Mom?† â€Å"She’s upstairs, in her room. She hasn’t been feeling very well. Now, there’s no need for you to get worried†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Cassie hurried up the creaking old steps to the green room. Her mother was lying in a grand four-poster bed. Her eyes were shut, her face pale and lightly perspiring. â€Å"Mom?† The large black eyes opened. Her mother swallowed and smiled painfully. â€Å"Just a touch of the flu, I think,† she said, and her voice was weak and distant, a voice to go with the pallor of her face. â€Å"I’ll be fine in a day or two, sweetheart. How was school?† Cassie’s better nature battled with her desire to spread her own misery around as much as possible. Her mother took a little breath and shut her eyes as if the light hurt her. Better nature won. Cassie dug her nails into her palms and spoke evenly. â€Å"Oh, fine,† she said. â€Å"Did you meet anyone interesting?† â€Å"Oh, you could say that.† She didn’t want to worry her grandmother, either. But during dinner, when her grand-mother asked why she was so quiet, the words just seemed to come out by themselves. â€Å"There was this girl at school – her name’s Faye, and she’s awful. A female Attila the Hun. And on my very first day I ended up making her hate me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She told the whole story. At the end of it, her grandmother looked into the fireplace as if preoccupied. â€Å"It will get better, Cassie,† she said. But what if it doesn’t? Cassie thought. â€Å"Oh, I’m sure it will,† she said. Then her grandmother did something surprising. She looked around as if somebody might be listening and then leaned forward. â€Å"No, I mean that, Cassie. I know. You see, you have – a special advantage. Something very special†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her voice dropped to a whisper. Cassie leaned forward in turn. â€Å"What?† Her grandmother opened her mouth, then her eyes shifted away. There was a pop from the fire, and she got up to poke the wood there. â€Å"Grandma, what?† â€Å"You’ll find out.† Cassie felt a shock. It was the second time today she’d heard those words. â€Å"Grandma – â€Å" â€Å"You’ve got good sense, for one thing,† her grandmother said, a new, brisk tone in her voice. â€Å"And two good legs, for another. Here, take this broth up to your mother. She hasn’t eaten anything all day.† That night, Cassie couldn’t sleep. Either her dread kept her awake so that she noticed more of the creaking, rattling, old-house sounds than she had before, or there were more of the sounds to notice. She didn’t know which, and it didn’t matter: she kept falling asleep and then jerking back to awareness. Every so often she reached under her pillow to touch the chalcedony piece. If only she could really sleep†¦ so she could dream about him†¦ She sat bolt upright in bed. Then she got up, bare feet pattering on the hardwood floor, and went over to unzip her backpack. She took the things she’d re-collected from the hillside out one by one, pencil by pencil, book by book. At last she looked at the array on the bedspread. She was right. She hadn’t noticed it at the time; she’d been too worried about Faye’s threat. But the poem she’d written that morning and then crumpled up in anger was missing. How to cite The Secret Circle: The Initiation Chapter Six, Essay examples

Titanic Essay Thesis Example For Students

Titanic Essay Thesis TITANICThis paper will be about the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic. Some people call this sinking the greatest maritime disaster. It wasnt just the fact that the ship sank, but also all the different circumstances that caused this ship to sink and take so many lives. In the time period of 1900s-1915s many things happened. One major disaster was the sinking of the Titanic. The information will be gathered from the library, a documentary film, the Internet and personal books. From these resources the paper will explain about how the Titanic sank, some of the people who were on the ship and how it was found after over 70 years at the bottom of the Atlantic. People who read this paper should learn about the history of the Titanic. The Titanic was originally designed to have three funnels, but four were used to make it look better. The fourth funnel was actually just an air vent. The main dining room was supposed to have a large dome but it was changed to a normal ceiling. The staircase was enlarged so it fanned out at the landing of each deck, as well as adding a large glass dome above it. Also, two extra elevators were added making a total of four. She was the most beautiful ship afloat. No ship will ever resemble her class and luxury. (R.M.S Internet)The R.M.S. Titanic was believed to be unsinkable. Bruce Ismay was the White Star Line chairman on the Titanic; he told the captain that the ship was unsinkable because the ship could have any four watertight compartments damaged and still stay afloat. He also believed that anything big enough to sink this ship, could be seen from miles away and be avoided. Mr. Ismay said, Not even god himself could sink this ship. (Titanic Internet)Originally the plan called fo r 64 lifeboats but only 20 lifeboats were used. There were 14 wood lifeboats that could hold 65 people each. Two woodcutters that could hold 40 people each and four collapsible boats that could hold 40 people each. These lifeboats would only be able to hold about half of the passengers in an emergency. ( Internet)Knowing the lifeboats would only be able to hold about half of the passengers, crewmembers still only filled some of the boats with less then 30 people. These boats were half EMPTY; many of the boats were launched this way and caused many more people to lose their lives that night. ( Internet)It was believed that the other 44 lifeboats were taken off to make more room. At that time there was no rule on how many lifeboats were needed on a ship. After the sinking, there were rules made on how many lifeboats a certain ship would have to carry. (Internet)About four years before the Titanic was even a thought, an author wrote about a huge ship, exactly like the Titanic. He wrote that on the ships maiden voyage it struck an iceberg and sank, killing thousands of people. The name of this ship that the author wrote about was called the Titan. Many people think that the Titanic was doomed before it even set sail for New York City. As the Titanic moved through the harbor, a huge displacement of water caused the steamer New York to snap its mooring lines and the New York began to slide towards the Titanic but tugboats moved the ship away before any damage could be done. On the way to Cherbourg, France, there was a fire in boiler room number 5. All these things happened before the ship picked up any passengers. (R.M.S.Internet)There were three classes of people aboard the Titanic. The Upper class, mostly rich, business owners, aboard the ship just to say they were on the maiden voyage. The Middle class, the people who could not afford the Upper class tickets. They were mostly small to medium business owners who were on vacation just to say they were on the Titani c, then there was the Third class passengers. These were immigrants who were coming to America for a better life. These passengers most likely used all the money they had to get a ticket to a better country. These people were treated like nobodies; they were given small rooms, poor food service and were not aloud where the Upper class passengers were. Bruce Imslay said, The richest and most prominent people are on this ship. Because of this attitude, the Third class passengers were not allowed to get into the lifeboats until it was too late and the boats were filled, so most of the Third class passengers died. (Titanic Internet)The Titanic received many ice warnings from several other ships. Believing that the ship was unsinkable, most of the warnings were ignored and many of them did not even make it to the bridge to inform the captain. Thinking the Titanic was unsinkable, Bruce Ismay told Captain Smith to raise the speed of the Titanic so that they could break the record for cross ing the Atlantic. (Internet)The date was April 14,1912. There was no moon, brisk wind, and practically no waves at all. This made it very hard to spot icebergs. Usually you can see the waves hitting the berg but there were no waves. There was no moon to help light the icebergs. In a captain view, it was the worst conditions possible for a ship to be steaming through an ice field. (R.M.S. Internet)It was about 11:30 P.M. when the look out first spotted a dark object in the distance. Realizing it was an iceberg he immediately called the bridge and said, Iceberg right ahead! The Officer in charge tried to turn the ship and slow it down but it was too late. The ship struck the iceberg on the port side. The iceberg made many small punctures in the steel across a large amount of the ship. Contrary to what people thought, the iceberg did not make a gashing hole in the ship, but instead made many small punctures in the steel across a large amount of the ship. (Titanic Internet)When news tra veled about the iceberg, not many people thought anything of it. Most people just continued on as if nothing happened. People did not realize that the ship was going to sink and there was nothing they could do about it. People also did not realize that there were not enough lifeboats for them to get into and that meant death. The water was below freezing; the human body could only stay in this water for about 10 minutes before hypothermia sets in and then death. (Ballard How 710)Thomas Andrews came running to the bridge with the plans to the Titanic. He threw the Titanics plan on the table and told Captain Smith that five watertight compartments have been damaged. Andrews said, She can stay afloat with any four compartments breached, but not five, not five. The Titanic will flounder. (697)How long does she have? asked Captain Smith. An hour, two at most. Responded Thomas Andrews. The Titanic began to sink by the bow. All the water was rushing into the front of the ship and made the stern go in the air. People were falling off the boat, things were breaking and the ship just kept rising, until the pressure was too much and the ship finally broke into two. The bow sank slowly into the Atlantic Ocean and disappeared. The stern settled back into the water and for a few minutes floated, until it also began to sink. It a few minutes the stern of the Titanic was vertical with the water. Then as the air slowly escaped from the hull and it slide into the ocean and rested more them 12,500 feet below sea level in the Atlantic Ocean. (Ballard Long 712)In 1985, a joint French-American expedition under Dr. Robert Ballard found the wreck of the Titanic. After over 73 years lying at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, Robert Ballard was the first person to see the R.M.S. Titanic since the doomed night in April 1912. He had these comments on his first look at this ship. I cannot believe my eyes. From the abyss two and a half miles beneath the sea, the bow of a great vessel emerg es in ghostly detail. It was my lifelong dream to find the Titanic. But I must admit, I am a bit sad we found her. We now know her true fate and it is now a petty one. She is no longer the beautiful lady she once was. ( 702)Some of the major reasons that Titanic sank were the mistakes that people made, bad luck, and the steel. Robert Ballard notes, The steel was too brittle and shattered on impact. To make todays steel this brittle the water temperature would have to be -60 degrees to -70 degrees. If there were enough lifeboats, less people would have died, the ship would have still sank but far less lives would have been lost. If the steel was not so brittle and bend instead of fracturing, it could have stayed afloat. If the conditions werent how they were, then they could have seen the iceberg earlier and avoided it. There are a lot of ifs in this story of the Titanic. Maybe if just one factor had gone differently this could have been avoided. If they had taken the ice warnings an d slowed down or if instead of avoiding the iceberg altogether, if the captain had thought about it, he would had realized that she could have hit the berg straight on, broken maybe one or two compartments, but she still would have been able to crawl back to port. So many things could have prevented this horrible disaster but they didnt and we should remember the people who lost their lives that fateful night in April. (Ballard How 699)The Titanic is a final resting place for thousands of souls. Some people think that they should raise the Titanic so that they could explore it and study it. I think they should leave it where it is, out of respect at least. People lost their lives on this ship and deserve a place to spend their time. Not only will they disrespect the dead, but also by raising the ship, they will disrupt everything. Once the steel hits the oxygen, it will begin to corrode. After awhile, there will be no Titanic left at all and just so they could study it. The Titanic surely should never be raised, it is a cemetery to all those who lost their lives that nite.(Ballard Long 708)WORKS CITEDBallard, Robert D. How We Found Titanic. National Geographic (December 1985): 696-718. .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87 , .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87 .postImageUrl , .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87 , .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87:hover , .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87:visited , .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87:active { border:0!important; } .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87:active , .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87 .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u4e7ffbc2ad9e691daeea674a9fcf3e87:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Emilie Carles: A life of her own EssayBallard, Robert D. A Long Last Look at Titanic. National Geographic(December 1989): 698-727. R.M.S. Titanicthe story told. Internet. http://www.titanic.cc/titanic.htm. (4 Feb. 2001). The Titanic Tragedy. Internet. http://www.angelfire.com/ct/titanickateleo/page11.html. (4 Feb. 2001).

What Is the .htaccess File in WordPress Plus How to Use It

You can accomplish a lot in WordPress without ever leaving your dashboard. If you want to get the most out of your website, however, it pays to learn about what’s happening behind the scenes. A vital first step in that process is understanding how to use the .htaccess file in WordPress.Your WordPress site relies on several important ‘core files’ to do its job, and the .htaccess file is one of them. While by default it only performs a few tasks related to your site’s permalinks, it can be added to and customized to carry out all sorts of useful functions like redirecting visitors to your site or beefing up your sites security.In this post, we’re going to introduce you to the .htaccess file and explain what it’s all about. Then, youll learn how to find the .htaccess file in WordPress, as well as some of the helpful things you can do with it. The .htaccess file is a configuration file for the Apache web server (which is what most WordPress hosts use).  In other words, it contains rules that give your website’s server various instructions. Just about every WordPress site has an .htaccess file, located in the ‘root’ or central directory. It’s a hidden file (which is why the filename begins with a period), and has no extension.By default, the .htaccess file in WordPress handles one major task:It controls how your site’s permalinks are displayed. If you make a change to your permalink structure, therefore, the .htaccess file updates with new instructions for the server. In fact, sometimes the .htaccess file isn’t actually created on your site until the first time you customize your permalinks.On many sites, this is all the .htaccess file ever does. However, you can also use it to make various tweaks to your site’s functionality. For example, you can set up 301 redirects in the .htaccess file. You can also use it to tighten security, such as by restricting access to your site and other core files.Additionally, some plugins will add their own rules to your  .htaccess file to help the plugin function. This is especially common with caching or security plugins.If this seems a little abstract, don’t worry. You won’t need to understand all the technical details in order to find and make changes to the .htaccess file in WordPress.How to locate and edit the .htaccess file in WordPressBefore we go any further, we need to discuss a few safety measures. It’s important to understand that making changes to your site’s files directly can be risky. If you aren’t careful, you can end up breaking factors that control your sites key functionality, or even bring down your site altogether.There are a few ways to mitigate these risks:Back up your site before editing any of its files. This way, you can quickly reverse unintentional changes and mistakes.Use a staging site to test your edits before performing them on your live site. On a stagi ng site, you’re free to experiment without any worries.Download the  .htaccess file to your local computer before making any edits. That way, if you specifically break something in your  .htaccess  file, you just need to upload the original copy to fix the issue.To access the.htaccess file in WordPress, youll need to make a direct connection to your website through File Transfer Protocol (FTP). You’ll need an FTP client, such as FileZilla, and some FTP credentials from your web host. If you aren’t sure how to do this, our beginner’s guide to FTP will walk you through the process.Once FileZilla is connected to your site, you’ll see a window that looks like this:Check out the top-right quadrant. You should see a folder named after your site’s domain – this is the root directory. Select this folder, and check out the list of folders and files located immediately below it:The .htaccess file should be listed here, usually as one of t he first entries. To open it:Right-click on itSelect View/Edit to open the file in your computers default text editorYou can now make whatever changes you like to the file using your text editor. Once youre done:Save the fileClose the fileA window will pop up asking if you want to upload the new, edited version of your .htaccess file to the server. Select Yes, and your changes will take effect immediately.If you can’t find the .htaccess file in your root folder, it may not exist yet. You can prompt WordPress to generate one by visiting Settings Permalinks in your dashboard, and clicking on the Save Changes button (you don’t actually have to pick a different structure):When you re-open FileZilla and navigate to your websites root folder, the .htaccess file should now be there.What you can do with the .htaccess file in WordPressNow that you know where to find the .htaccess file in WordPress and how to edit it, you may be wondering what changes you can actually make. The re are a lot of things you can do with this file – too many to cover in one post. However, well look at a few examples to get you started.First, let’s talk about redirects. If you move a page or post – or your entire website – you’ll need to automatically direct users who visit the old URL to the new location. This requires setting up a 301 redirect, and is something you can do with the .htaccess file in WordPress.To redirect a single page, you can add this line to the bottom of your .htaccess file:Redirect 301 /oldpage.html http://www.yoursite.com/newpage.htmlReplace /oldpage.html with the pages old permalink, and the following URL with the new link to the page. You can add a new line for each page you’d like to redirect.You can also use similar snippets to redirect your entire website. Or, you can use a snippet to send all traffic to the secure HTTPS version of your site (if you have an SSL certificate  ).You can also use the .htaccess f ile to make a lot of security-related changes to your site. For example, you can add this code to deny unauthorized users access to several important core files:FilesMatch "^.*(error_log|wp-config\.php|php.ini|\.[hH][tT][aApP].*)$" Order deny,allow Deny from all /FilesMatchTo learn more about using the .htaccess file to improve security, you can check out the WordPress Codex entry on the subject. Just remember to back up your site and use a staging environment when trying out any changes!ConclusionLearning to work directly with your website’s files is an important step in your journey to becoming a WordPress expert. The .htaccess file is a good place to start, since it’s a relatively simple file that can nonetheless be used for wide variety of applications.Before you make any changes to the .htaccess file in WordPress, be sure to back up your site and use a staging environment just in case. Then, you can use FTP to access your site, find the .htaccess file, and edit it . Once you know how to do that, you can simply look up the code required to add whatever functionality you require.Do you have any questions about what you can do with the .htaccess file in WordPress? Let us know in the comments section below! Learn what the .htaccess file is in #WordPress. Plus some cool things you can do with it