New words and phrases

1. marvel |ˈmärvəl|

verb (marvels, marveling, marveled; chiefly British marvels, marvelling, marvelled) [no object]

be filled with wonder or astonishment: she marveled at Jeffrey's composure | [with direct speech] : “Isn't this an evening,” marveled John.

noun

a wonderful or astonishing person or thing: the marvels of technology | Charlie, you're a marvel!

DERIVATIVES

marveler noun

ORIGIN

Middle English (as a noun): from Old French merveille, from late Latin mirabilia, neuter plural of Latin mirabilis ‘wonderful,’ from mirari ‘wonder at.’

2. painstaking |ˈpānzˌtākiNG|

adjective

done with or employing great care and thoroughness: painstaking attention to detail | he is a gentle, painstaking man.

DERIVATIVES

painstakingness noun

3. tremor |ˈtremər|

noun

an involuntary quivering movement: a disorder that causes tremors and muscle rigidity.

• (also earth tremor) a slight earthquake.

• a sudden feeling of fear or excitement: a tremor of unease.

• a tremble or quaver in a person's voice.

ORIGIN

early 17th century: from Latin tremor, from tremere ‘to tremble.’

4. Phi Beta Kappa |ˌfī ˌbādə ˈkapə|

noun

an honorary society of college and university undergraduates and some graduates to which members are elected on the basis of high academic achievement.

• a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

ORIGIN

from the initial letters of a Greek motto philosophia biou kubernētēs ‘philosophy is the guide to life.’

5. hamper 1 |ˈhampər|

noun

North American a large basket with a lid used for laundry: a laundry hamper.

• a basket with a carrying handle and a hinged lid, used for food, cutlery, and plates on a picnic: a picnic hamper.

ORIGIN

Middle English (denoting any large case or casket): from Anglo-Norman French hanaper ‘case for a goblet,’ from Old French hanap ‘goblet,’ of Germanic origin.

hamper 2 |ˈhampər|

verb [with object]

hinder or impede the movement or progress of: their work is hampered by lack of funds.

nounNautical

necessary but cumbersome equipment on a ship.

ORIGIN

late Middle English (in the sense ‘shackle, entangle, catch’): perhaps related to German hemmen ‘restrain.’

6. stature |ˈstaCHər|

noun

a person's natural height: a man of short stature | she was small in stature.

• importance or reputation gained by ability or achievement: an architect of international stature.

DERIVATIVES

statured adjective [in combination] : a short-statured fourteen-year-old

ORIGIN

Middle English: via Old French from Latin statura, from stare ‘to stand.’ The sense ‘importance’ dates from the mid 19th century.

7. totem |ˈtōdəm|

noun

a natural object or animal believed by a particular society to have spiritual significance and adopted by it as an emblem.

DERIVATIVES

totemic |tōˈtemik| adjective.

totemism |ˈtōdəˌmizəm| noun.

totemist |-mist| noun.

totemistic |ˌtōdəˈmistik| adjective

ORIGIN

mid 18th century: from Ojibwa nindoodem ‘my totem.’

8. amulet |ˈamyələt|

noun

an ornament or small piece of jewelry thought to give protection against evil, danger, or disease.

ORIGIN

late 16th century: from Latin amuletum, of unknown origin.

9. nonplussed |nänˈpləst| (also nonplused)

adjective

1 (of a person) surprised and confused so much that they are unsure how to react: he would be completely nonplussed and embarrassed at the idea.

2 North American informal (of a person) not disconcerted; unperturbed.

usage: In standard use, nonplussed means ‘surprised and confused’: the hostility of the new neighbor's refusal left Mrs. Walker nonplussed. In North American English, a new use has developed in recent years, meaning ‘unperturbed’—more or less the opposite of its traditional meaning: hoping to disguise his confusion, he tried to appear nonplussed. This new use probably arose on the assumption that non- was the normal negative prefix and must therefore have a negative meaning. It is not considered part of standard English.

10. apprehension |ˌaprəˈhenSHən|

noun

1 anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen: he felt sick with apprehension | she had some apprehensions about the filming.

2 understanding; grasp: the pure apprehension of the work of art.

3 the action of arresting someone: they acted with intent to prevent lawful apprehension.

ORIGIN

late Middle English (in the sense ‘learning, acquisition of knowledge’): from late Latin apprehensio(n-), from apprehendere ‘seize, grasp’ (see apprehend) .

11. crucifix |ˈkro͞osəˌfiks|

noun

a representation of a cross with a figure of Jesus Christ on it.

ORIGIN

Middle English: via Old French from ecclesiastical Latin crucifixus, from Latin cruci fixus ‘fixed to a cross.’ Compare with crucify.

12. credential |krəˈden(t)SHəl|

noun (usually credentials)

a qualification, achievement, personal quality, or aspect of a person's background, typically when used to indicate that they are suitable for something: recruitment is based mainly on academic credentials.

• a document or certificate proving a person's identity or qualifications.

• a letter of introduction given by a government to an ambassador before a new posting.

ORIGIN

late Middle English: from medieval Latin credentialis, from credentia (see credence). The original use was as an adjective in the sense ‘giving credence to, recommending,’ frequently in credential letters or papers, hence credentials (mid 17th century).

13. sloth |slôTHslōTH|

noun

1 reluctance to work or make an effort; laziness:three-toed sloth

three-toed sloth

he should overcome his natural sloth and complacency.

2 a slow-moving tropical American mammal that hangs upside down from the branches of trees using its long limbs and hooked claws.

[Families Bradypodidae (three species of three-toed sloth in genus Bradypus) and Megalonychidae (two species of two-toed sloth in genus Choloepus), order Xenarthra (or Edentata).]

ORIGIN

Old English: from slow + -th2.

14. liaison |ˈlēəˌzänlēˈāzän|

noun

1 communication or cooperation that facilitates a close working relationship between people or organizations: the head porter works in close liaison with the reception office.

• a person who acts as a link to assist communication or cooperation between groups of people: he's our liaison with a number of interested parties.

• a sexual relationship, especially one that is secret and involves unfaithfulness to a partner.

2 the binding or thickening agent of a sauce, often based on egg yolks.

3 Phonetics (in French and other languages) the sounding of a consonant that is normally silent at the end of a word because the next word begins with a vowel.

ORIGIN

mid 17th century (as a culinary term): from French, from lier ‘to bind.’

15. coax 1 |kōks|

verb [with object]

persuade (someone) gradually or by flattery to do something: the trainees were coaxed into doing hard, boring work | “Come on now,” I coaxed.

• (coax something from/out of) use flattery or gradual persuasion to obtain something from: we coaxed money out of my father | figurative : coaxing more speed from the car.

• manipulate (something) carefully into a particular shape or position: her lovely hair had been coaxed into ringlets.

DERIVATIVES

coaxer |ˈkōksər| noun.

coaxingly |ˈkōksiNGlē| adverb

ORIGIN

late 16th century: from obsolete cokes ‘simpleton,’ of unknown origin. The original sense was ‘pet, fondle,’ hence ‘persuade by caresses or flattery,’ the underlying sense being ‘make a simpleton of.’

coax 2 |ˈkōaks| informal

noun

coaxial cable.

adjective

coaxial: coax connectors.

16. cricket 1 |ˈkrikit|

noun

an insect related to the grasshoppers. The male produces a characteristic rhythmical chirping sound.

[Family Gryllidae: many genera and species, including the field cricket and the house cricket.]

ORIGIN

Middle English: from Old French criquet, from criquer ‘to crackle,’ of imitative origin.

cricket 2 |ˈkrikit|

noun

an open-air game played on a large grass field with ball, bats, and two wickets, between teams of eleven players, the object of the game being to score more runs than the opposition.

Cricket is played mainly in Britain and in territories formerly under British rule, including Australia, South Africa, the West Indies, New Zealand, and the Indian subcontinent. The full game with two innings per side can last several days; shorter matches are usual at the amateur level and have become popular at the professional level since the 1960s.

PHRASES

not cricket

British informal a thing contrary to traditional standards of fairness or rectitude.

ORIGIN

late 16th century: of unknown origin.

cricket 3 |ˈkrikit|

noun

a low stool, typically with a rectangular or oval seat and four legs splayed out.

17. consort 1

noun |ˈkänsôrt|

a wife, husband, or companion, in particular the spouse of a reigning monarch.

• a ship sailing in company with another.

verb |kənˈsôrtˈkänˌsôrt| [no object] (consort with)

habitually associate with (someone), typically with the disapproval of others: you chose to consort with the enemy.

• (consort with/to) archaic agree or be in harmony with.

ORIGIN

late Middle English (denoting a companion or colleague): via French from Latin consors ‘sharing, partner,’ from con- ‘together with’ + sors, sort- ‘lot, destiny.’ The verb senses are probably influenced by similar senses (now obsolete) of the verb sort.

consort 2 |ˈkänsôrt|

noun

a small group of musicians performing together, typically playing instrumental music of the Renaissance period: a consort of viols.

ORIGIN

late 16th century: earlier form of concert.

18. thrall |THrôl|

noun literary

the state of being in someone's power or having great power over someone: she was in thrall to her abusive husband.

• historical a slave, servant, or captive.

DERIVATIVES

thralldom |ˈTHrôlˌdəm| (also thraldom) noun

ORIGIN

Old English thrǣl ‘slave,’ from Old Norse thræll .

19. ludicrous |ˈlo͞odəkrəs|

adjective

so foolish, unreasonable, or out of place as to be amusing; ridiculous: it's ludicrous that I have been fined | every night he wore a ludicrous outfit.

DERIVATIVES

ludicrousness noun

ORIGIN

early 17th century (in the sense ‘sportive, intended as a jest’): from Latin ludicrus (probably from ludicrum ‘stage play’) + -ous.

20. divine 1 |dəˈvīn|

adjective (diviner, divinest)

1 of, from, or like God or a god: heroes with divine powers | paintings of shipwrecks being prevented by divine intervention.

• devoted to God; sacred: divine liturgy.

2 informal, dated excellent; delightful: that succulent clementine tasted divine | he had the most divine smile.

noun

1 dated a cleric or theologian.

2 (the Divine) providence or God.

DERIVATIVES

divineness noun

ORIGIN

late Middle English: via Old French from Latin divinus, from divus ‘godlike’ (related to deus ‘god’).

divine 2 |dəˈvīn|

verb [with object]

discover (something) by guesswork or intuition: his brother usually divined his ulterior motives | [with clause] : they had divined that he was a fake.

• have supernatural or magical insight into (future events): frauds who claimed to divine the future in chickens' entrails.

• discover (water) by dowsing.

DERIVATIVES

diviner |dəˈvīnər| noun

ORIGIN

late Middle English: from Old French deviner ‘predict,’ from Latin divinare, from divinus (see divine1) .

Background Information

1. Phi Beta Kappa

The Phi Beta Kappa Society (ΦΒΚ) is the oldest honor society for the liberal arts and sciences in the United States, with 286 active chapters. Widely considered to be the nation's most prestigious honor society, Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences and to induct the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at American colleges and universities. Founded at The College of William and Mary on December 5, 1776, as the first collegiate Greek-letter fraternity, it was among the earliest collegiate fraternal societies and remains the oldest existing American academic honor society. Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ) stands for Φιλοσοφία Βίου Κυβερνήτης or in Latin letters Philosophia Biou Cybernētēs, which means "Love of learning is the guide of life" or "Philosophy is the governor of one's life."

According to Phi Beta Kappa, they have chapters in about 10% of American higher learning institutions, and about 10% of these schools' Arts and Sciences graduates are invited to join the society. Although most students are elected their senior year, many colleges elect a very limited number of extremely select students in their junior year, generally less than 2% of the class. Each chapter sets its own academic standards, but all inductees must have studied the liberal arts and sciences, demonstrated "good moral character", and, usually, earned grades placing them in top tenth of their class. There is a mandatory initiation fee (between US$50 and US$90, as of 2005), which is sometimes covered by the inductee's university.

The symbol of the Phi Beta Kappa Society is a golden key engraved on the obverse with the image of a pointing finger, three stars, and the Greek letters from which the society takes its name. The stars are said today to show the ambition of young pupils and the three distinguishing principles of the Society: friendship, morality, and learning. On the reverse are found the initials "SP" in script, which stand for the Latin words Societas Philosophiae, or "Philosophical Society".

The "key" of Phi Beta Kappa did not begin as a copy of a watchkey. The first insignia was in fact a larger, cut-and-engraved silver medallion, essentially a square of metal with a loop cut integrally with the body of the square from the same sheet of silver, in order to allow for suspension from one or two ribbons worn around the member's neck in the manner in which the older fraternities (and the Freemasonic bodies on which the collegiate societies were in part patterned) wore their own insignia. Later, the size of the medallion was reduced and men took to wearing the insignia on their watch chains as fobs. The post or stem, designed for the winding of pocket-watches, did not appear on fobs until the beginning of the 19th century. The fobs were not even gold at first; the earliest extant 18th-century models were made of silver or pewter, and again it was not until the first quarter of the 19th century that gold largely supplanted the use of silver or pewter. Some notable exceptions did occur, as at Harvard, which until the first decade of the twentieth century continued the use of silver or pewter for some of its keys.

Though several stylistic details have survived since the earliest days—the use of the stars, pointing hand, and Greek letters on the obverse, for example—notable differences exist between older keys and current examples. The name of the recipient was not engraved on the earliest fobs or keys, and was not until the first decade of the nineteenth century. The name of the school from which the fob or key came was also not routinely included on the earliest models, and sometimes the only way to trace a key to a particular school's chapter is by researching the name of the recipient against surviving class records. The number of stars on the obverse has also changed over the years, with never fewer than three, but on some known examples with as many as a dozen (the explanation as to the meaning of the stars in these early cases varies from chapter to chapter). Also, the date of the awarding of the honor is only seen on keys from the second quarter of the nineteenth century onward (some people mistake the date that appears on the fob or key—December 5, 1776—as the date that a particular fob or key was awarded, when in fact it is merely the date of the founding of the society). Only in 1912 was the key made to a uniform standard of size, golden appearance (some are plated), and engraving with the school's name, recipient's name, and date of the award.

2. Raskolnikov

Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov (Russian: Родиóн Ромáнович Раскóльников; IPA: [rəˈdʲɪˈon rɐˈmanəvʲɪtɕ rɐˈskolʲnʲɪkəf] ( listen)) is the fictional protagonist of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The name Raskolnikov derives from the Russian raskolnik meaning "schismatic" (traditionally referring to a member of the Old Believer movement). The name "Rodion" comes from Greek and indicates an inhabitant of Rhodes.

Raskolnikov is a young ex-law student living in extreme poverty in Saint Petersburg. He lives in a tiny garret which he rents, although due to a lack of funds has been avoiding payment for quite some time. He sleeps on a couch using old clothes as a pillow, and due to lack of money eats very rarely. He is handsome and intelligent, though generally disliked by fellow students. He is devoted to his sister (Avdotya Romanovna Raskolnikova) and his mother (Pulkheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikova).

In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov murders a pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, with an axe, intending to use her money for good causes. He justifies his actions by referring to a theory he has developed of the "great man". Raskolnikov believes that people are divided into the "ordinary" and the "extraordinary": the ordinary are the common rabble, the extraordinary (notably Napoleon) do not have to follow the moral codes that apply to ordinary people since they are meant to be great men. An extraordinary man would not need to think twice about his actions. At the novel's opening, Raskolnikov has been contemplating this theory for months, only speaking of it to his (now deceased) fiancée. However, he is revealed to have written an article expounding his theory in an academic journal, insisting on anonymity through the use of his initials in its byline. Raskolnikov believes himself to be a "great man" and is thus, in his view, "allowed" to commit murder. However, his plan goes wrong; before he is able to make his escape from the pawnbroker Alyona Ivanovna's flat, her meek-tempered half-sister (Lizaveta Ivanovna) arrives and stumbles across the body. Raskolnikov, in a panic, murders the pawnbroker's sister as well, a crime which he consistently contemplates very little in comparison to his musings on the initial murder. The fact of the murders themselves does not particularly torment him; what torments him is the fact that he has not "transgressed", and that he was not able to be the "great man" he had theorized about.

Raskolnikov finds a small purse on Alyona Ivanovna's body, which he hides under a rock outside without checking its contents. His grand failure is that he lacks the conviction he believed to accompany greatness and continues his decline into madness. After confessing to the destitute, pious prostitute Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladova, she guides him towards admitting to the crime, and he confesses to Ilya Petrovich, a police lieutenant with an explosive temper (the book implies the policeman suspected him from the start). Raskolnikov is sentenced to exile in Siberia, accompanied by Sofya Semyonovna, where he begins his mental and spiritual rehabilitation.

3. Stanford-Binet scale

The Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales (or more commonly the Stanford-Binet) is an individually administered intelligence test that was revised from the original Binet-Simon Scale by Lewis M. Terman, a psychologist at Stanford University. The Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scale is now in its fifth edition (SB5) and was released in 2003. It is a cognitive ability and intelligence test that is used to diagnose developmental or intellectual deficiencies in young children. The test measures five weighted factors and consists of both verbal and nonverbal subtests. The five factors being tested are knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, working memory, and fluid reasoning.

The development of the Stanford–Binet initiated the modern field of intelligence testing and was one of the first examples of an adaptive test. The test originated in France, then was revised in the United States. It was initially created by the French psychologist Alfred Binet, who, following the introduction of a law mandating universal education by the French government, began developing a method of identifying "slow" children for their placement in special education programs (rather than removing them to asylums as "sick"). As Binet indicated, case studies might be more detailed and helpful, but the time required to test many people would be excessive. In 1916, at Stanford University, the psychologist Lewis Terman released a revised examination which became known as the "Stanford–Binet test".

4. crucifix

A representation of the cross on which Jesus was crucified, representing the goodness of Christ and God and the power of good over evil. Crosses are used to ward off vampires and demons that are associated with Satan. Much vampire lore insists that the one holding the cross must have faith if it is to work properly as a deterrent. A cross isn't usually powerful enough to kill a vampire or demon on its own, but it can drain them of strength, burn their flesh, and keep them at a safe distance.

Traditionally, vampires fear religious symbols. The sacred objects most commonly used for protection are Christian: water blessed by a priest, the cross or crucifix and the holy Eucharist or “Host,”—a consecrated unleavened bread or wafer meant to represent the body of Jesus Christ. These are key items in any vampire killing kit and have been used to great effect by many a fictional slayer, sometimes to kill but mostly to repel or maim.

5. Rhett Butler & Scarlett O’Hara

Gone with the Wind is a 1939 film about a strong willed woman and a roguish man who carry on a turbulent love affair in the American south during the Civil War and Reconstruction. It is one of the most popular love stories ever written.

Directed by Vict or Fleming. Written by Sidney Howard, based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell.

Quotes

Rhett Butler

With enough courage, you can do without a reputation.

Rhett Butler once again makes an amazing point, no matter what people say, a reputation is not necessarily everything. If you’re willing to stand for something even if your reputation is ruined, you’ll still be successful.

Rhett Butler is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.

In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, the home of John Wilkes and his son Ashley and daughters Honey and India Wilkes. The novel describes Rhett as "a visitor from Charleston"; a black sheep, who was expelled from West Point and is not received by any family with reputation in the whole of Charleston, and perhaps all of South Carolina.

On her way back to Aunt Pittypat's Scarlett meets Frank Kennedy, her sister Suellen's beau. Learning that Frank has done very well for himself, she plies him with affection, falsely tells him that Suellen is tired of waiting and plans to marry someone else, and finally secures a marriage proposal from him, which she accepts. Scarlett is shocked when she sees Rhett while she is running Frank's store, free from the Yankees and amused that she has rushed into yet another marriage with a man she does not love, much less the fact that she stole him right out from under her sister's nose.

Frank Kennedy is killed during a Ku Klux Klan raid on the shanty town after Scarlett is attacked. Rhett saves Ashley Wilkes and several others by alibiing them to the Yankee captain, a man with whom he has played cards on several occasions.

Scarlett accepts only for Rhett's money. In the novel, Rhett's fortune is estimated at $500,000 ($8,178,409 as of 2016) Rhett secretly hopes that Scarlett will eventually return the love he's had since the day he saw her at Twelve Oaks. Her continuing affection for Ashley Wilkes becomes a problem for the couple, however.

He knows that Scarlett could never be happy with Ashley and when she discovers that, he does not want to be around when she throws her obsession onto him.

Katie Scarlett O'Hara is a fictional character and the main protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name. She also is the main character in the 1970 musical Scarlett and the 1991 book Scarlett, a sequel to Gone with the Wind that was written by Alexandra Ripley and adapted for a television mini-series in 1994. During early drafts of the original novel, Mitchell referred to her heroine as "Pansy", and did not decide on the name "Scarlett" until just before the novel went to print.

O'Hara is the oldest living child of Gerald and Ellen O'Hara. She was born in 1845 on her family's plantation Tara in Georgia. She was named Katie Scarlett, after her father's mother, but is always called Scarlett, except by her father, who refers to her as "Katie Scarlett." She is from a Catholic family of Irish and French ancestry, and a descendent of an aristocratic Savannah family on her mother's side (the Robillards). O'Hara has black hair, green eyes, and pale skin. She is famous for her fashionably small waist.[4] Scarlett has two younger sisters, Susan Elinor ("Suellen") O'Hara and Caroline Irene ("Carreen") O'Hara, and three little brothers who died in infancy. Her baby brothers are buried in the family burying ground at Tara, and each was named Gerald O'Hara, Jr.

6. Eden

The Garden of Eden (Hebrew גַּן עֵדֶן, Gan ʿEḏen) or often Paradise is the biblical "garden of God", described most notably in the Book of Genesis chapters 2 and 3, and also in the Book of Ezekiel. The "garden of God", not called Eden, is mentioned in Genesis 13, and the "trees of the garden" are mentioned in Ezekiel 31. The Book of Zechariah and the Book of Psalms also refer to trees and water in relation to the temple without explicitly mentioning Eden.

Traditionally, the favored derivation of the name "Eden" was from the Akkadian edinnu, derived from a Sumerian word meaning "plain" or "steppe". Eden is now believed to be more closely related to an Aramaic root word meaning "fruitful, well-watered." The Hebrew term is translated "pleasure" in Sarah's secret saying in Genesis 18:12.

Much like records of the great flood, creation story and confusion of languages, the story of Eden echoes the Mesopotamian myth of a king, as a primordial man, who is placed in a divine garden to guard the tree of life. In the Hebrew Bible, Adam and Eve are depicted as walking around the Garden of Eden naked due to their innocence. Eden and its rivers may signify the real Jerusalem, the Temple of Solomon, or the Promised Land. It may also represent the divine garden on Zion, and the mountain of God, which was also Jerusalem. The imagery of the Garden, with its serpent and cherubs, has been compared to the images of the Solomonic Temple with its copper serpent (the nehushtan) and guardian cherubs.

7. Appointment in Samara

Appointment In Samarra, published in 1934, is the first novel by American writer John O'Hara (1905 – 1970). It concerns the self-destruction and suicide of the fictional character Julian English, a wealthy car dealer who was once a member of the social elite of Gibbsville (O'Hara's fictionalized version of Pottsville, Pennsylvania). The book created controversy due to O'Hara's inclusion of sexual content.

In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Appointment in Samarra 22nd on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

The novel describes how, over the course of three days, Julian English destroys himself with a series of impulsive acts, culminating in suicide. O'Hara never gives any obvious cause or explanation for his behavior, which is apparently predestined by his character. Facts about Julian gradually emerge throughout the novel. He is about thirty years old. He is college-educated, owns a well-established Cadillac dealership, and within the Gibbsville community belongs to the prestigious "Lantenengo Street crowd."

O'Hara biographer Frank MacShane writes "The excessiveness of Julian's suicide is what makes Appointment in Samarra so much a part of its time. Julian doesn't belong to Fitzgerald's Jazz Age; he is ten years younger and belongs to what came to be called the hangover generation, the young people who grew up accustomed to the good life without having to earn it. This is the generation that had so little to defend itself with when the depression came in 1929."

8. Jordan Baker

Jordan Baker – Daisy Buchanan's long-time friend with "autumn-leaf yellow" hair, a firm athletic body, and an aloof attitude. She is Nick Carraway's girlfriend for most of the novel and an amateur golfer with a slightly shady reputation and a penchant for untruthfulness. Fitzgerald told Maxwell Perkins that Jordan was based on the golfer Edith Cummings, a friend of Ginevra King. Her name is a play on the two popular automobile brands, the Jordan Motor Car Company and the Baker Motor Vehicle, alluding to Jordan's "fast" reputation and the freedom now presented to Americans, especially women, in the 1920s.

In Chapter 1, Jordan meets Nick through Tom and Daisy, who she is staying with. She tells Nick that Tom has “some woman in New York” and shushes him so she can listen to Tom and Daisy’s argument, revealing herself as a gossip (1.100).

In Chapter 3, she runs into Nick again at Gatsby’s party. She is also called to speak with Gatsby, and he tells her about his past with Daisy and how he hopes to meet her again through Nick, Daisy’s cousin.

In Chapter 4, Jordan tells Nick about Daisy and Gatsby’s history and gets him to help arrange their meeting, igniting Daisy and Gatsby’s affair.

In Chapter 7, Jordan is invited to the lunch party along with Nick, Tom, Gatsby, and Daisy, when Gatsby hopes to have Daisy to confront Tom. The group ends up going to New York City. Jordan rides up with Tom and Nick in Gatsby’s yellow car. They stop at the Wilson’s garage, and Myrtle sees the trio and takes Jordan to be Tom’s wife. Later than night, she drives back with Nick and Tom, but this time in Tom’s blue coupe. They come across the scene of Myrtle’s death: she has been run over by the yellow car.

Despite witnessing this awful scene, she seems surprised Nick doesn’t want to come into the Buchanans’ afterward for tea. The next day, she calls Nick at work, telling him she’s moved out of the Buchanans’ house and wants to see him, but they end up arguing over the phone and breaking up.

Finally, in Chapter 9, Nick seeks her out to more formally break things off, and she tells him she’s engaged.

Jordan cheats at tennis and carries on her life without caring what other people think of her. She lacks the blatant hypocrisy that people like Tom and Daisy comes to so easily. Jordan likes Nick's authenticity. She thinks he has a solid personality as opposed to the vacuous hypocrisy of the filthy rich.

9. Chinese Gordon

Major General Charles George Gordon CB (28 January 1833 – 26 January 1885), also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British Army officer and administrator.

He saw action in the Crimean War as an officer in the British Army. But he made his military reputation in China, where he was placed in command of the "Ever Victorious Army," a force of Chinese soldiers led by European officers. In the early 1860s, Gordon and his men were instrumental in putting down the Taiping Rebellion, regularly defeating much larger forces. For these accomplishments, he was given the nickname "Chinese Gordon" and honours from both the Emperor of China and the British.

He entered the service of the Khedive of Egypt in 1873 (with British government approval) and later became the Governor-General of the Sudan, where he did much to suppress revolts and the slave trade. Exhausted, he resigned and returned to Europe in 1880.

A serious revolt then broke out in the Sudan, led by a Muslim religious leader and self-proclaimed Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad. In early 1884 Gordon had been sent to Khartoum with instructions to secure the evacuation of loyal soldiers and civilians and to depart with them. However, after evacuating about 2,500 British civilians, in defiance of those instructions, he retained a smaller group of soldiers and non-military men. In the buildup to battle, the two leaders corresponded, each attempting to convert the other to his faith, but neither would accede. Besieged by the Mahdi's forces, Gordon organized a citywide defence lasting almost a year that gained him the admiration of the British public, but not of the government, which had wished him not to become entrenched. Only when public pressure to act had become irresistible did the government, with reluctance, send a relief force. It arrived two days after the city had fallen and Gordon had been killed.

10. Cathy Earnshaw

Cathy Earnshaw is a fictional character and the female protagonist of the novel Wuthering Heights written by Emily Brontë.

Cathy Earnshaw is the younger sibling of Hindley, and is born and raised at Wuthering Heights. She becomes the foster sister of the orphan, Heathcliff, at the age of six, and the two become close companions. They are separated when Hindley becomes jealous of his father's affection towards Heathcliff and reduces him to servant-boy status after the death of Mr Earnshaw, who took Heathcliff in as a Liverpool foundling. Cathy and Heathcliff's strong characters do not part them; rather, they get into a great deal of mischief together, most notably while spying at Thrushcross Grange, the fancy home of the wealthy Linton family. When a dog from the Grange attacks Cathy at her intrusion, the Lintons aid her by keeping her at the Grange for five weeks. This visit allows Cathy to turn into a lady quite unlike the rude, wild, childish girl she has been with Heathcliff, and allows her to form intimate relationships with Edgar and Isabella Linton, the two children residing at the Grange, although her (and Heathcliff's) initial impression of them was contemptuous. Cathy's change is visible on her return to the Heights at Christmas time. Heathcliff, although hurt by this, remains devoted to her, forming one part of a love triangle that includes Edgar Linton, who quickly becomes a despised rival.

Cathy is said in the book to be pretty, with, as Nelly says, "the bonniest eye" and "the sweetest smile." She has long locks of "beautiful" brown hair, as Heathcliff describes it, but it is her eyes that can be seen in many characters in the novel. The dark brown "Earnshaw eyes" belong not only to Cathy, but also to her brother Hindley, and her nephew Hareton. Her daughter, Catherine Linton, inherits only two things from the mother, as we are told by Nelly: those peculiar eyes and an expression that makes her seem "haughty".

Cathy is wilful, wild, passionate, mischievous and, as a child, spoiled. As may be seen by the markedness of her change after her five-week stay at Thrushcross Grange, she is anything but a lady during her time on the moors with Heathcliff. Nelly claims that she "didn't love" Cathy, perhaps because of the girl's waywardness throughout the book. During her fatal illness, Nelly notes that Catherine is very frail, and has "a bloodless lip", an image which serves to augment the Gothic undertones of her final days; nevertheless, Nelly describes her in death as divine: "no angel in heaven looked as beautiful as her", and her countenance resembled "perfect peace".

Cathy delivers many of the lines which have become synonymous with the work, such as her renowned declaration of love for Heathcliff —

My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees — my love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath — a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff — he's always, always in my mind — not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself — but as my own being — so, don't talk of our separation again — it is impracticable.

— and the famous ghostly utterance "Let me in your window - I'm so cold!", was later used by Kate Bush in her 1978 hit "Wuthering Heights". The entertainment world, indeed, has been so intrigued by the love between Catherine and Heathcliff that many film adaptations of the novel, particularly the 1939 version with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, cover only half of the story, ending with Catherine's death rather than telling the story of the younger Cathy, Hareton and Linton Heathcliff. Thematically, Catherine is also central to the issues of gender conflict, class division and violence in Wuthering Heights, as well as to the antitheses of good and evil, and reality and fantasy, which pervade the novel.

11. Francesca da Rimini

Daughter of Guido I da Polenta of Ravenna, Francesca was wedded in or around 1275 to the brave, yet crippled Giovanni Malatesta (also called Gianciotto; "Giovanni the Lame"), son of Malatesta da Verucchio, lord of Rimini. The marriage was a political one; Guido had been at war with the Malatesta family, and the marriage of his daughter to Giovanni was a way to solidify the peace that had been negotiated between the Malatesta and the Polenta families. While in Rimini, she fell in love with Giovanni’s younger (and still hale) brother, Paolo. Though Paolo too was married, they managed to carry on an affair for some ten years, until Giovanni ultimately surprised them in Francesca’s bedroom sometime between 1283 and 1286, killing them both.

In the years following Dante's portrayal of Francesca, legends about Francesca began to crop up. Chief among them was one put forth by poet Giovanni Boccaccio in his commentary on The Divine Comedy, Esposizioni sopra la Comedia di Dante; he stated that Francesca had been tricked into marrying Giovanni through the use of Paolo as a proxy. Guido, fearing that Francesca would never agree to marry the crippled Giovanni, had supposedly sent for the much more handsome Paolo in Giovanni's stead. It wasn't until the morning after the wedding that Francesca discovered the deception. This version of events, however, is very likely a fabrication. It would have been nearly impossible for Francesca not to know who both Giovanni and Paolo were, and to whom Paolo was already married, given the dealings the brothers had had with Ravenna and Francesca's family. Also, Boccaccio was born in 1313, some 27 years after Francesca’s death, and while many Dante commentators after Boccaccio echoed his version of events, none before him mentioned anything similar.

In the 19th century, the story of Paolo and Francesca inspired numerous theatrical, operatic and symphonic adaptations.

“Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta are punished together in hell for their adultery: Francesca was married to Paolo's brother, Gianciotto ("Crippled John"). Francesca's shade tells Dante that her husband is destined for punishment in Caina--the infernal realm of familial betrayal named after Cain, who killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4:8)--for murdering her and Paolo. Francesca was the aunt of Guido Novello da Polenta, Dante's host in Ravenna during the last years of the poet's life (1318-21). She was married (c. 1275) for political reasons to Gianciotto of the powerful Malatesta family, rulers of Rimini. Dante may have actually met Paolo in Florence (where Paolo was capitano del popolo--a political role assigned to citizens of other cities--in 1282), not long before he and Francesca were killed by Gianciotto.

“Although no version of Francesca's story is known to exist before Dante, Giovanni Boccaccio--a generation or two after Dante--provides a "historical" account of the events behind Francesca's presentation that would not be out of place among the sensational novellas of his prose masterpiece, The Decameron. Even if there is more fiction than fact in Boccaccio's account, it certainly helps explain Dante-character's emotional response to Francesca's story by presenting her in a sympathetic light. Francesca,according to Boccaccio, was blatantly tricked into marrying Gianciotto, who was disfigured and uncouth, when the handsome and elegant Paolo was sent in his brother's place to settle the nuptial contract. Angered at finding herself wed the following day to Gianciotto, Francesca made no attempt to restrain her affections for Paolo and the two in fact soon became lovers. Informed of this liaison, Gianciotto one day caught them together in

Francesca's bedroom (unaware that Paolo got stuck in his attempt to escape down a ladder, she let Gianciotto in the room); when Gianciotto lunged at Paolo with a sword, Francesca stepped between the two men and was killed instead, much to the dismay of her husband, who then promptly finished off Paolo as well. Francesca and Paolo, Boccaccio concludes, were buried--accompanied by many tears--in a single tomb.

“Francesca's eloquent description of the power of love (Inf. 5.100-7),

emphasized through the use of anaphora, bears much the same meaning and style as the love poetry once admired by Dante and of which he himself produced many fine examples.”

12. Anne Sullivan

Johanna Mansfield Sullivan Macy (April 14, 1866 – October 20, 1936), better known as Anne Sullivan, was an American teacher, best known for being the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller. At the age of five, she contracted trachoma, a highly contagious eye disease, which left her blind and without reading or writing skills. She received her education as a student of the Perkins School for the Blind where upon graduation she became a teacher to Keller when she was 20.

The summer following Sullivan's graduation, the director of the Perkins Institution, Michael Anagnos, was contacted by Arthur Keller, who was in search of a teacher for his 7-year-old blind and deaf daughter, Helen. Anagnos immediately recommended Sullivan for this position and she began her work on March 3, 1887 at the Kellers' home in Tuscumbia, Alabama. As soon as she arrived there, she argued with Helen's parents about the Civil War and over the fact that they used to own slaves. However she also quickly connected with Helen. It was the beginning of a 49-year relationship: Sullivan evolved from teacher to governess and finally to companion and friend.

Sullivan's curriculum involved a strict schedule with constant introduction of new vocabulary words; however, Sullivan quickly changed her teachings after seeing they did not suit Keller. Instead, she began to teach her vocabulary based on her own interests, where she spelled each word out into Keller's palm; within six months this method proved to be working when Keller had learned 575 words, some multiplication tables, as well as the Braille system. Sullivan strongly encouraged Helen's parents to send her to the Perkins School where she could have an appropriate education. When they agreed, Sullivan took Keller to Boston in 1888 and stayed with her there. Sullivan continued to teach her bright protégée, who soon became famous for her remarkable progress. With the help of Anagnos, Keller became a public symbol for the school, helping to increase its funding and donations and making it the most famous and sought-after school for the blind in the country. However, an accusation of plagiarism against Keller greatly upset Sullivan: she left and never returned, but did remain influential to the school. Sullivan remained a close companion to Keller and continued to assist in her education, which ultimately included a degree from Radcliffe College.

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What I have learnt

Frankly speaking, this is a super difficult essay which i spent four days to read. However, i'm still not quite understand the meaning. 

In my common sense, self-respect is something to do with moral. I used to think that people who are selfish, who just wonders instead of work, who makes money of cheating, who prefers to have relationship with married man and who sell their bodies, are without self-respect. This article proves me wrong. This article presents the deeper definitions of self-respect to me. And this article explained how the self-respect is discovered by oneself.

Self-respect is not the compliments one gains from others. It neither has anything to do with good manners, clean hair or proved competence, nor the self-deception, approval from others or reputation. The people with courage can live without them. Instead, self-respect concerns a separate peace and a private reconciliation. People with self-respect have the courage of their own mistakes. It's toughness. And it is a character that they are willing to accept the risk, to invest something of themselves and to accept responsibilities of their own lives. 

Self-respect is a discipline that can be developed, trained and coaxed forth. It's a virtual to know who were are and what we are.  Self-respect is the ability to discriminate, to love and to remain indifferent. Self-respect frees us from the expectations of others and gives us back to ourselves.