A Guide to Similes vs. Metaphors - Freewrite Store

A Guide to Similes vs. Metaphors - Freewrite Store A picture is worth a thousand words. It’s an old saying that means you can convey a lot of information with a single image.  As a writer, you generally don’t have the benefit of imagery to go along with your words, so instead, you need to find simple and effective ways to paint vivid mental pictures for your readers. Ideally, you want your writing to be richly descriptive without using long-winded explanations. One way to do this is with the use of similes and metaphors. Both are ways of describing something by comparing it to something else, but there’s one subtle difference: A simile is when you say something is like something else. A metaphor is when you say something is something else. The best way to understand each method is to examine some examples. Similes â€Å"All at once he sprang into jerky agitation, like one of those flat wooden figures that are worked by a string.† (from Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad) Remember those toys? Their limbs had joints at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. One pull on the string dangling down from their back would cause their arms and legs to fly in all directions. By applying this mental image to a human body, you can clearly picture the action that Joseph Conrad was describing. â€Å"By this time Scarlett was boiling, ready to rear like a horse at the touch of a strange rough hand on its bridle.† (from Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell) Margaret Mitchell could have said â€Å"Scarlett was very angry,† but by comparing her to an easily-startled horse, she has conveyed the explosive nature of the emotion simmering just under the surface, ready to burst out at the slightest provocation. â€Å"The guinea pigs, awake and nibbling, were making a sound like that of a wet cloth rubbed on glass in window-cleaning.† (from Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis) Anyone who has cleaned a window knows the distinctive noise that comes from the friction of a damp cloth on the glass. This quirky simile makes the sentence much more interesting than if Sinclair Lewis had merely said the guinea pigs were squeaking. â€Å"I had no choice but to hobble like an off-balance giraffe on my one flat, one four-inch heel arrangement.† (from The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger) The use of a giraffe in this simile is perfect because it’s so easy to picture its long, gangly legs, and the way that a baby giraffe struggles to control its limbs when it first gets up after being born. As you can see from these examples, the object that the writer uses as a comparison is something that is easily identifiable to the reader, and that creates a distinct mental image, engaging the reader’s memory and imagination. Metaphors â€Å"Life is a highway.† (from the song by Tom Cochrane)â€Å"Life is a rollercoaster.† (from the song by Ronan Keating) Obviously, life is not actually a highway or a rollercoaster, but both these metaphors convey the fact that life is a long, twisting journey that has highs and lows. Both highways and rollercoasters conjure up images of adventure, excitement, fear, elation, beginnings and destinations. They’re both something that you travel on, and they present you with diverse experiences along the way. For comparison, the movie Forrest Gump contains the famous simile, â€Å"life is like a box of chocolates.† â€Å"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra, and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.† (from Matt Groening, The Big Book of Hell) While comparing love to a snowmobile crash might seem an unusual metaphor, it’s an effective one. It’s suggesting the rush and the exhilaration as you speed across the snow is much like the joyous out-of-control feeling when you fall head over heels for someone. Then, before you know it, the shock of commitment hits and suddenly you feel trapped. â€Å"Mr. Neck storms into class, a bull chasing thirty-three red flags." (from Speak by Laurie Anderson) While Mr. Neck isn’t really a bull, the imagery of him acting like one is highly evocative – wild eyes, flaring nostrils, huffing and puffing, each of his thirty-three students a red flag causing his rage. â€Å"‘Life,’ wrote a friend of mine, ‘is a public performance on the violin, in which you must learn the instrument as you go along.’† (from A Room with a View by E.M. Forster) If you’ve ever listened to a novice violinist, you’re probably familiar with the painful screeching noise that often accompanies their early attempts at music. The violin is notoriously hard to learn and can take many years to master, but the results can be glorious if you put enough work in, which makes it an excellent metaphor for life. â€Å"What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!† (from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare) No, Juliet is not a flaming ball of gas. The sun definitely is – but it’s much more than that. It’s the source of all life. It provides solar energy to feed plants which in turn feed other creatures and create oxygen. It governs the water cycle in our atmosphere. Without the sun, we’d cease to exist. And that’s how Romeo feels about Juliet. She is everything to him, and he cannot survive without her. William Shakespeare could have used a simile and said that Juliet was like the sun, suggesting she was radiant and beautiful, but that would have been much less powerful. How to use similes and metaphors Sophie opened the back door and stepped into the garden. It was hot and humid. Now, let’s use a simile and a metaphor to describe the same event. Simile: Sophie opened the back door and stepped into the garden. It was like walking into a sauna. Metaphor: Sophie opened the back door and stepped outside. The garden was a sauna. Either method works well and is more interesting than just stating it was hot and humid. The simile and metaphor both encourage the reader to recall the feeling of entering a sauna – the oppressive, close, muggy heat that makes sweat trickle down your back without evaporating. When you’re using similes and metaphors, there are a few things you need to avoid: 1. Awkward Comparisons If you say, â€Å"the smell hit me like falling rock†, it sounds awkward because a smell is not a physical object, and because smells don’t drop from the sky. 2. Overused Cliches A lot of similes and metaphors are clichà ©s, and these should be used very sparingly. A few examples: Dead as a dodo Stubborn as a bull Quiet as a mouse Raining cats and dogs The calm before the storm 3. Mixed metaphors A mixed metaphor is where you combine two or more incompatible metaphors, often with ridiculous results. â€Å"Sir, I smell a rat; I see him forming in the air and darkening the sky, but I'll nip him in the bud.† (attributed to Sir Boyle Roche) â€Å"Yes, you just like to play the cool Will Truman while I'm all the intense crazy one. Well, once the bowling shoe is on the other foot, look who's the good cop and look who's the bad cop.† (Grace Adler from Will Grace) â€Å"'I don't like it. When you open that Pandora's box, you will find it full of Trojan horses.† (Ernest Bevin, Labour Foreign Secretary) 4. Overuse Like all good things, similes and metaphors should be used in moderation. If you’re using several per paragraph, that’s probably too many. Use them conservatively for maximum effect. That's everything you need to know about when to use metaphors vs. similes in your writing.   Do you have a metaphor or simile that you are particularly proud of?   Let us know in the comments below!         About the author: Claire Wilkins is a freelance copywriter and editor from New Zealand. She loves to write about travel, health, home, and proper punctuation. After a career in financial services spanning almost three decades, Claire left the corporate world behind to start Unmistakable - her writing and editing business. She creates website copy, blogs, and newsletters for creative agencies and small businesses, and  specialises  in polishing existing content until it shines. In her spare time, Claire enjoys cloud-spotting, singing in the car and editing video.

final outline PIL Essay

final outline PIL Essay final outline PIL Essay Emily Clarke Public International Law Ludwikowski December 3, 2014 Outline-The Sindhu River Case BACKGROUND FACTS I. What is the Sindhu River and why is it important? The Sindhu River is a vital resource for transportation, food, and drinking water in the South Asian region between the countries Budhistan and Rajadesh. The river is roughly 2,000 miles long and flows into the Indian Ocean. The source of the river starts in Rajadesh and flows into Budhistan where it then empties into the Indian Ocean. The Sindhu River has experienced hardship from drought in the last twenty years. The Sindhu River shrank to roughly half its normal size, which led to the rationing of water for human consumption and agricultural purposes. This is also led to the area surrounding the river to be exposed to desertification in the area of the Rann Sindhu, which divides Rajadesh and Budhistan. In 1950, these two countries met together with United Nations Environmental Programme to decide how to prevent further desertification in the area. The result was the 1950 treaty-â€Å"The Convention on Friendship and Good Neighborly Relations† -which designated the Southern part of Rann Sindu as a border. II. Controversy with Sharing of the Sindhu River On the eve of the meeting, Rajadesh discovered that Budhistan had assigned government work crews in the desertified area where the Sindu River used to be in order to establish gas and drilling sites for commercial development. Rajadesh was outraged because they believed this margin of the Rann of Sindhu constituted the Rajadesh and Budhistan border. At the UNEP meeting, Rajadesh proposed the building of a large dam that would bring new innovation to this area in the form of hydroelectricity and irrigation methods. Budhistan did not agree to this plan, but Rajadesh proceeded to build the dam anyway since the Soviet Union agreed to finance and build the dam in exchange for oil and gas rights in Rajadesh. II. Problems Associated with the Build Dam There were positive and negative effects. A. Positive Effects The positive effects were that irrigation and agriculture greatly expanded into the area of Rajadesh. The land also became fertile and the hydroelectric power supply triggered more industries. On the other side of the border, Budhistan was hit with many undesirable effects from the dam. There received much less water flow, the water was unfit for human consumption and irrigation practices, and the water was contaminated from the pesticides and fertilizers. B. Negative Effects On the other side of the border, Budhistan was hit with many undesirable effects from the dam. They received much less water flow, the water was unfit for human consumption and irrigation practices, and the water was contaminated from the pesticides and fertilizers. The water levels were so contaminated that Budhistan’s annual religious baptismal ceremonies that took place in the river could be postponed. C. GROWING TENSIONS Budhistan threatened to close its ports and waterway of the Sindhu River from Rajadesh unless they returned the water levels to normal flow. Rajadesh in response blamed the Soviet Union for the problems since Soviet Union backed the building of the dam and its engineers built it. Budhistan and Rajadesh have concerns about The reasonable and equitable share utilization of the Sindhu River The pollution from the dam The concerns with freedom of navigation The border and boundaries of Budhistan and Rajadesh as defined by the Sindu River ARGUMENTS I. REASONABLE AND EQUITABLE SHARE UTILIZATION The Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters International Rivers International guideline regulating how rivers and their connected groundwaters that cross the national boundaries may be used. Rules cannot really be enforced. The Berlin Rules on Water Resources is a set of guidelines that is customary applied to water sources when crossing international or national boundaries. It expands the Helsinki Rules.

Film analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Film analysis - Essay Example Yet sometimes, rarely, like an Aquarius where all the planets form a line, every aspect of a film that could possibly go wrong does, and goes terribly wrong. Such was the case in Plan 9 from Outer Space, a film widely regarded as the worst film ever produced. Nearly every aspect of this film has some kind of problem with it, something that is almost miraculous in film making. I would argue that one of the worst offenders in this film was set design. The fact is, the sets look cheap. This is probably because they were cheap, as the film had a budget of only $60,000, which even in its era was not enough to make a high quality movie. But when dealing with black and white, texture is one of the only things that matter, and nearly every set that was supposed to be something spectacular (like a spaceship or a cockpit) had an incredibly flat look. It made it look like the set was made out of clay, or painted wood, but certainly not metal or any of the materials that would have actually been present. In contrast to the sets, I would argue that the costumes were actually a relative high point in the film. They were far from good, but they were not as obtrusively bad as other elements of the film. Part of this was because many of the costumes were just street clothes or army uniforms and that kind of thing, and are easy to make not distracting. Some of the costumes were terrible, but on the whole, the costumes were better than most other aspects of the film. Lighting was poorly done in an obtrusive way, sometimes being overly dark, other times overly light, and sometimes making it look like a staged play, with several spot lights on each subject. This is simply lazy and unacceptable regardless of budget or era. Acting was not terrible, but it was far from good. It was generally not believable, but in such a campy film believability is not necessary. The acting was over the top, but this was not a massive problem. The dialogue, however, was. From the opening scene through the rest of the movie, it was simply obtrusive and awful, and did not sound in any way natural. Furthermore, there were frequent continuity errors. The narration was one of the worst offenders, oscillating between mind numbing exposition and supposedly shocking reveals, such as â€Å"at the funeral of the old man, unknown to his mourners, his DEAD WIFE was watching!† (Plan 9). In other instances, the speakers fell into a question answer pattern that, while common in high-school screen plays, has no place on the silver screen. This was especially apparent in one exchange between grave diggers in the cemetery. Many of the aspects of the film described so far are simply bad execution. These are poor choices, made again and again. No one of them is absolutely ridiculous, but taken as a whole they certainly make a ridiculous package. Some of the editing done in post, however, was simply foolish. This film contains clips of another film, a vampire film that Wood had been working o n before it was canceled and the star died. While Wood clearly struggled to make them fit this film, even twisting the plot of an outer-space action film to be based heavily in a cemetery, these individual scenes still stand out horribly from the rest of the action. No film maker in their right mind would ever choose to insert unrelated clips into the narrative and try to pass it off as having a

Attraction and mating Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Attraction and mating - Essay Example Some of the most fundamental issues examined within biological sciences relate to the core concepts of attraction and mating. In general terms mating is understood as the coming together of two opposite sex organisms into a form of copulation that results in reproduction. Attraction is broadly understood as the process wherein these individual creates attract the opposite sex organism that they will copulate with in the act of mating. While these are broad understandings of this terminology, there is also a large amount of scientific research that goes into understanding these elements in terms of the differences and specific elements within species. This essay considers these elements from a variety of perspectives in order to come to a greater understanding of their key elements. In terms of attraction there are a number of broad issues that scientists have identified as key concepts within this field of understanding. One of the primary elements of attraction that has been identif ied is the idea of symmetry. Symmetry is the scientifically research construct wherein animals are more drawn to the symmetrical nature of other animals’ faces and bodies. The theoretical understanding behind this concept is that strong symmetry demonstrates that individuals have demonstrated the ability to go through the development process in a strong fashion and as a result are healthy and demonstrate fertility for mating. A biologist at the University of Mexico stated, "It makes sense to use symmetry variation in mate choice," said evolutionary biologist Randy Thornhill of the University of New Mexico" If you choose a perfectly symmetrical partner and reproduce with them, your offspring will have a better chance of being symmetric and able to deal with perturbations" (Carey 2007). Research has been conducted that has demonstrated that individuals with more symmetrical faces are perceived as more attractive by members of the opposite sex. The exact numbers of sexual partne rs vary between men and women, with research indicating symmetry being a more important part of a man’s composition than a woman’s. Another central element of attraction is body shape. In these regards, the waist to hip ratio, or the WHR as it has been referred is one of the primary aspects in these regards. Scientists have even measured the waist to hip ratio that has been shown to be the most effective in attractive members of the opposite sex; in these regards, it has been demonstrated that a waist to hip ratio of .7 is the most effective ratio in which to attract members of the opposite sex. In terms of men, there is what is referred to as the Adonis index. This feature considers that women are most attracted to broad shoulders and a V-neck body shape wherein from the torso to the pelvis a V neck tapers of through muscle and skeletal structure. In addition to this element men are also judged by their waist to hip ratio. In these regards, the most effective waist to hip ratio for men is slightly larger than that of women. For men the ideal ratio is between .8 and 1.0. While there are a number of elements that scientists have attempted to discern in the waist to hip ratio’s relation to attractiveness, research has focused on a few specific points. One of the primary determinants is the belief that the waist to hip ratio functions to allow potential partners know if the individual will have enough energy to be able to care for their offspring. For women, this involves a complex interaction between estrogen and fat deposits that send signals to the opposite sex as to if they will have the proper energy necessary for reproduction and offspring care. For men, this relation is between testosterone and fat deposits. It’s been demonstrated that individuals residing in this ideal waist to hip ratio face less challenges with diseases, such as cardiovascular and other such complications; women in this range have also been demonstrated to ha ve an easier time during pregnancy. There also exists elements of related to attraction and

Philosopy on education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Philosopy on education - Assignment Example In addition, personal analysis has indicated that due to different technological advancements, there has been a change in the methodology of education, and unfortunately, education and learning now stands in distinction with each other. In other words, societies are focusing primarily on acquisition of education, and not on the significance of learning, as degrees hold higher importance, whereas, individuals having the notion of learning without degrees usually do not acquire any respectable place in the society. In the result, there is now a wave of conflict between the notions of education and learning due to inclusion of huge technological advancements in this field; however, there is an urgent need of standardization on international level that will enable the human race to ensure survival of actual philosophy of education while resisting impact of the technology. In brief, one should accept and appreciate such change in the philosophy of education that is altering with the time, and thus, is in bond with the nature and

Determination of Ksp of Copper(II) Iodate by E.M.F. Measurement Essay Example for Free

Determination of Ksp of Copper(II) Iodate by E.M.F. Measurement Essay Introduction: Copper(II) iodate(V) ionizes weakly in water: Cu(IO3)2 + aq Cu2+(aq) + 2IO3-(aq) For a saturated solution of copper(II) iodate(V), concentration of IO3- ions doubles that of the Cu2+ (aq) ions, and Ksp of Cu(IO3)2(s) can be calculated by determining the concentration of Cu2+(aq) ion of a saturated Cu(IO3)2(aq). The e.m.f. of a galvanic cell consisting of a Zn(s)/Zn2+(aq) half-cell and another half-cell containing a copper strip in contact with a saturated solution of Cu(IO3)2(aq) is measured by a commercial DMM. Concentration of Cu2+(aq) is determined with reference to the EO values of the Zn(s)/Zn2+(aq) and the Cu(s)/Cu2+(aq) couples as well as the Nernst equation for a metal/metal ion half-cell: where n is the number of electrons transferred in the reduction process. ? Zn Zn2+ + 2e- Cu2+ + 2e- Cu ? n=2 For the Zn(s)/Zn2+(aq) half-cell, = -0.76V For the Cu(s)/Cu2+(aq) half-cell, Ecell = ER EL = {(+0.34) + 0.0295 log [Cu2+(aq)]} {(-0.76)} = (1.10) + 0.0295 log [Cu2+(aq)] When the voltage of the cell system is measured, the concentration of Cu2+ can be determined by the above equation. Therefore, the solubility product can be calculated by the above principle. Purposes: To determine the solubility product of copper(II) iodate(V) at room temperature and pressure by e.m.f. measurement. Apparatus and Reagents Used: Apparatus used: Well-plate; Plastic pipettes; Copper wire electrode; Zinc plate electrode; Digital multimeter (DMM); Connecting wires with crocodile clips; Filter paper strip, and Sand paper à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 Reagents used: 1M ZnSO4(aq); 0.3M KIO3(aq); 0.15M CuSO4(aq), and Saturated KNO3(aq) Chemical Reactions Involved: The equation of dissolution of copper(II) iodate(V): Cu(IO3)2(s) + aq Cu2+(aq) + 2IO3-(aq) The equation of redox reaction between Zn and Cu2+: Cu2+(aq) + Zn(s)Zn2+(aq) + Cu(s) Procedures: 1. 50 drops of 1M ZnSO4(aq) were placed into a well of the well-plate; 2. 25 drops of 0.3M KIO3(aq) were placed into an empty well next to the well containing the 1M ZnSO4(aq), by using a clean Jumbo pipette; 3. The plastic pipette used in step(2) was cleaned. By using the same plastic pipette, 25 drops of 0.15M CuSO4(aq) were added and stirred well with a micro-stirrer or toothpick. 5 minutes were waited to attain equilibrium; 4. The two wells were connected by a strip of filter paper moistened with saturated KNO3(aq); 5. A clean homemade copper wire electrode and a clean zinc plate electrode were placed into the well containing the pale blue suspension and the well containing the 1M ZnSO4(aq) respectively; 6. The prepared galvanic cell was connected to a DMM. The steady voltage developed was recorded. Observations: When the galvanic cell completed in step(5) was connected to the DMM, a steady voltage was developed. Data and results: Temperature of the aqueous solution = 26? E.m.f. of the cell formed by Zn(s)/Zn2+(aq, 1M) and Cu(s)/Cu(aq, saturated) = 0.997V Discussions: 1. The expression of the Ksp of copper(II) iodate(V) = [Cu2+(aq)]eqm [IO3-]2eqm 2. By the equation evaluated in the introduction, Ecell = (1.10) + 0.0295 log [Cu2+(aq)] = 0.997V 0.0295 log[Cu2+(aq)] = -0.103 log[Cu2+(aq)] = -3.492 ? [Cu2+(aq)]eqm = 3.225 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10-3 moldm-3 Concentration of Cu2+(aq) in the saturated pale blue suspension = 3.225 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10-3 moldm-3 3. By the equation of dissolution of copper(II) iodate(V), Cu(IO3)2(s) + aq Cu2+(aq) + 2IO3-(aq) [Cu2+(aq)] : [IO3-(aq)] = 1 : 2 ?[IO3-(aq)]eqm = 2 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 3.225 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10-3 = 6.450 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10-3 moldm-3 Concentration of IO3-(aq) in the saturated pale blue suspension = 6.450 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10-3 moldm-3 4. The value for Ksp of Cu(IO3)2 = [Cu2+(aq)]eqm [IO3-]2eqm = (3.225 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10-3) à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (6.450 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10-3)2 = 1.34 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10-10 mol3dm-9 5. From the data of the Faculty of Chemistry and Technology, University of Split, the literature value of Ksp of Cu(IO3)2 is 6.94 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10-8 mol3dm-9 [1]. Obviously, the literature value was much larger than the experimental value. The discrepancy came from several reasons: 1 The experimental temperature was 26?, which was different from the expected room temperature 25?. As temperature is the main factor of Ksp, the discrepancy of Ksp was caused by the difference of temperature; 2 The low quality of copper and zinc electrode may affected the e.m.f. taken from the DMM, so the Ksp result was also affected; 3 The concentration of solutions prepared may be different with the expected value. The e.m.f. given out may not equal to the theoretical values, so the Ksp obtained may be different. Conclusion: By the e.m.f. method, the solubility product of copper(II) iodate(V) at room temperature and pressure was determined. Ksp for = 1.34 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10-10 mol3dm-9 Reference: [1] : Solubility Product Constants, Faculty of Chemistry and Technology, University of Split http://www.ktf-split.hr/periodni/en/abc/kpt.html

Karl Marx Continuation Of The Enlightenment Sociology Essay

Karl Marx Continuation Of The Enlightenment Sociology Essay Karl Marx is regarded as one of the classics of sociology. His social thought, considered one of the most important social theories, was a humanistic theory, concentrated on the condition of society and a place of individual in social structure. Marx is known as one of the greatest ideologists of the nineteen century. His political theory was revolutionary. As a sociologist though, he is regarded to be a great heir of Enlightenment  [1]  , using and developing key concepts of the eighteen century thinkers. This paper is aimed to discuss Karl Marx theory in comparison to the Enlightenment philosophy. I will try to answer a question: to what extend Marx work inherited from the Enlightenment thinkers? In order to that I will discuss the key concepts of the Enlightenment that were further developed in Marxs works. In the following part of the paper I will compare the ideas of the eighteen century thinkers with Marx theory, in regard to notions of progress, social structure, religion, science, materialism, state and individualism. Social development, progress and social change The theory of social development and progress was the key concept of the Enlightenment  [2]  . The experience of Renaissance recovery from the dark ages, rediscovery of antique philosophy, the expansion of colonialism and exploration of non-European cultures, violated established order and lead to expansion of new ideas doubting tradition. The Enlightenment recognized that human history changes and that societies experience material and mental, moral or philosophical progress. It became clear, that modernity is just another stage of development, that does not lead the end of history, but might be as well a beginning of some better, new society. Eighteen century thinkers considered reason as the leading force of change, believing, that human knowledge and consciousness may develop linearly. Since the Enlightenment was an age of science and reason, philosophers tend to classify and order possessed knowledge. That lead to a few theories of historical stages development of societies that arranged historical periods in progressive order  [3]  . Marx inherited from the Enlightenment that linear and deterministic perspective on development of societies, building his theory on the idea of progress. In his works he wrote about successive stages of development of societies: primitive society, feudalism, capitalism (bourgeois formation), socialism and communism. He abandoned the concept of reason as the leading force of progress, though. For Marx the key force of development was ownership and mode of production emerging from it. HeEach of the stages presented different social relations, policies, politics and consciousness all of which resulting from economic relations. The mode of production representing each of historical formation of society was regarded as a base, and resulted in different superstructures culture, religion and politics. Every stage of history was more complex than another and lead to the next one. For Marx it meant that the history of all societies is inevitable and must lead through the same phases. The Enlightenments attachment to the notion of progressive development of societies lead to the ideas of future utopia final, goal stage of social evolution. It was a very optimistic concept of history, beginning in dark, oppressive periods of the past, through ambiguous and chaotic modernity, leading to some enlighten, better and just future. Such utopian vision was described by Condorcet, for whom future society would prevail tyranny by changing tradition and superstition into reason  [4]  . Delany wrote of the Enlightenment as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦characterized by a certain utopianism, which was a reflection of the belief in the promises of modernity to bring about freedom. Unlike earlier social thought, it displayed a great belief in the power of human action to shape the future  [5]  . The same was true for Marx, who saw communism as the perfect and most of all just, social system. For Marx the end stage of human history communism represented the most desired and final pha se of human development. As Sideman wrote: Marx never gave up his Enlightenment faith in the coming of a new era  [6]  . But contrary to the Enlightenment philosophers, for Marx, the utopia was not to be obtained through evolution and development of reason, but through revolution of working class. The idea of revolution was not present in eighteen century before the experience of French revolution. Though it is sad, that the Enlightenment prepared the ground for the revolt in France, works of eighteen century thinkers did not appeal to force or violent change. Marx shared the romantic vision of revolution with socialist thinkers and activists supporting French strife. Moreover, unlike his eighteen century ancestors, Marx sought emancipation in proletariat the working class of modernity. The Enlightenment was an age of intellectuals, giving special role to philosophers in the process of development of society  [7]  . In eighteen century thought, reason had the emancipatory force. Marx violent vision of revolution did not reserved place for intellectuals, though Marx was one of them. Social structure The Enlightenment was a period of a great expansion of egalitarian theories. The idea of natural laws developed and notion of equality had spread. Eighteen century philosophers attempted to find and describe origins of social order as well as discover best social conditions to maintain and expand individual freedom. Especially the latter freedom, understood as unconstrained development and expansion of reason was an important issue in the theory of state and governance. The Enlightenment cherished the idea of liberated individual in the society free from state, church and other collective forms of organizations. To reconcile the concepts of state and freedom, the idea of civil society was developed. Individuals became citizens residents of a state that had their natural, internal rights, individuals who through that civil rights gained freedom. Though human beings were not equal, especially because of different kinds and sizes of ownership, they had the potential of equality inte rnalized through their natural, inalienable rights. For Marx idea of equality was a goal of the development of societies. Contemporary social structure was far from egalitarian one. To describe social structure Marx used a concept of class as sets of people or parts of society that differ by the effective control over the means of production and property ownership  [8]  . The class designated people who lived in similar conditions. For bourgeois stage of development social structure was basically dichotomous, consisting of two classes owners (capitalists) and workers. Since individuals within one class shared alike economic positions they also shared the same interests. Individuals from different classes, on the other hand, remained in permanent conflict as they interests were opposite. For in Marx theory class structure is a structure of permanent class-conflict. As E.C. Cuff and others expressed it: Since the inequality between the owning class and the labouring class is not simply an economic one, narrowly defined, but involv es a social relationship of power and control, the difference of interest between these classes refers to freedom and further: The conflict of interest between owning and labouring classes is, then, a conflict over power and freedom.  [9]  Once again Marx theory rejected peaceful and optimistic assumptions of the Enlightenment. Ideologies and religion The end of the Middle Ages ended the era of gods laws and theological explanation of social order. The Enlightenment separated religion from politics. Eighteen century brought to life the concept of public private spheres. Religion became private matter of citizens. Gods rights no longer decided on political questions and social relations. Secular society was based on secular rules. The Enlightenment believed in reason and science, and through them sought emancipation from religion and superstition. Social change required that cultural traditions be weakened to allow for new ideas and attitudes favoring social progress  [10]  . Religion and tradition constrained social change and overruled the utopian vision of future. It does not mean that the Enlightenment was a truly secular era. Rejection of religion covered only public, political sphere. None of the great philosophers of the period Becon, Diderot, Locke postulated atheism  [11]  . The issue was to separate religion fr om science, theology from logical reasoning. Religion intruded cognition, so had to be abandoned in the sphere of knowledge. Marx also shared with the Enlightenment the concept of secular society, though he brought the idea of secularization further. For Marx every ideology and meta-narration of society, in every stage of its development, was a product of current economic relations, and so was religion. Religion internalized rules, regulations and prohibitions served justification of the conditions of production and hence, the justification of exploitation. In this sense religion was a mechanism of oppression. It was no longer a private issue, but a political one, that justified bourgeois order. As in the eighteen century religion obstructed change, but this time, though, it was not suppose to be withdraw from public life, but destroyed absolutely. That is why, according to Marx, emancipation not only required rejection of theological order of the world, but also complete rejection of religion. Once again this emancipation required revolution dramatic and sudden change of economic conditions that would change social relations, including execution of religion. The role of science The Enlightenment was the era of development of sciences. A great expand of sciences such as mathematics, medicine, natural sciences changed the view of modern philosophers on the world and human kind. Science revealed mystery of existence and the order of nature. That is why science became one of the ways to obtain individual freedom. Eighteen century philosophers presumed that one day science will lead to discovery of logical, rational order of human and societal relations. For Marx science also had an important role in revealing the rules of organization of society. Marx knew that in order to change, it is necessary to understand the social forces institutions, cultural traditions, social groups  [12]  . In Marx theory science held the explanatory role by revealing the real nature of social order, gave information about social classes, modes of production and rules of historical development. According to Marx, science should be based on rational assumptions and logical laws, it should reject common sense and superstitions. When discussing the role of science in Marx theory, his contribution to scientific methods is worth mention. The Enlightenment admired achievements of modern mathematics and physicists, especially those of Newton. Philosophers were dreaming of finding scientific method, similar to methods used in physics and mathematics, to investigate and describe social world. Modern thinkers presumed that since the complex world of nature can be characterized through clear rules and patterns of numbers, the same can be done with human environment. Marx sought different path of inquiry. His scientific method characterized as historicism  [13]  postulated investigation on every social phenomena in their historical context. Marx claimed that all individuals and their actions are embedded in broader setting, since none human being exists separated from his environment. Moreover he posed the question of a researcher as a social actor, entangled in social reality beside investigated objects. Marx claimed that scientist shares common consciousness to the same degree as all other members of society. True scientific method required from the researcher detachment from false, superstition knowledge embedded on the surface of social life  [14]  . Here again Marx expressed belief in reason and logic, similarly to his eighteen century ancestors. Economic perspective Though Marx theory shares materialistic perspective, he was not the one to introduce economic interpretation of social life. Adam Smith, Adam Ferguson and others eighteen century thinkers saw the leading role of economy in social life. Those early economists wrote about dehumanization of work and disintegration of society through modern specialization of production and technical development of the production process  [15]  . Industrial revolution of eighteen century brought to light new phenomena that were not overlooked by present-day thinkers. Negative effects of industrialization, demographic explosion and urbanization were thoroughly discussed by that time. As we can see, the importance of material conditions for human individual and collective life was not the Marx invention, though he also observed that technology destroys social relations. According to him, innovations, machines and devices used in the process of production serve the dominant class for exploitation of workers  [16]  . Nevertheless, with his materialistic view on society, Marx went further with the idea, claiming that: the reproduction of material life precedes the production of culture  [17]  . For Marx material conditions of existence were the basis for all other characteristics of life. In this concept, living conditions determined social structure, policies, rules and morality. Marx showed that certain social conditions shape certain forms of consciousness. That was a great contribution of Marx thought to social sciences. Since Marx, social scientists began research on the role of material conditions on human thoughts, believes and attitudes, giving a star t to many disciplines of social sciences, as sociology of thought, sociology of knowledge or sociology of religion  [18]  . Moreover, since then, social scientists considered development process and ownership relations of societies as some of the most important criteria of social studies analysis. The concept of state Eighteen century philosophy was critical towards the old order or regime. The Enlightenment developed several state theories  [19]  , all connected with the concept of social contract. Hobbes, claimed that the states are made on the basis of common agreement in which citizens give their rights to absolute power. John Locke postulated conception of liberal state based on tolerance, private ownership and freedom of economic action. In this conception it was not the absolute ruler but society that hold the power. Kannt, on the other hand, proposed peaceful republican regime of federation of states. Finally Rousseau wrote about egalitarian regime of equal chances, conditions and rights of citizens. All the eighteen century concepts of authority were positive ones, assuming rationality of power and universality of interests. Marx concept of the state was not the optimistic one. In his works state power had class character  [20]  . Regime authority served class interest of dominant group of society capitalists, through organized violence towards the suppressed class. There was no possibility to gain freedom through or within the state. Unlike the eighteen century theories, Marx project of desirable future assumed abolishment of the bureaucratic, oppressive, class regime. Decomposition of the state should be accomplished through a proletariat revolution that would lead to class-free society of common owners. Individualism and collective action In earlier philosophy, the status of human being in society was constant and determined, not by human himself, but by external forces the world order, gods will, some kind of justice and internal sense of social existence. Enlightenment and especially the French revolution, brought the idea of civil society and civil rights  [21]  . The Enlightenment claimed that all human beings share some common characteristics that are independent of external, historical or natural conditions. It was the kind of individualism, that claimed that human nature in general have some common qualities inherited from the state of nature. That is what makes society egalitarian differences between human status in society are merely secondary, in a sense that all (male) human beings are equal and share the same civic rights. Emancipation in this context was a political emancipation of citizens from feudal, traditional relations. Marx connected human position in social structure with material conditions and idea of work and ownership. For him the idea of society was not based on the idea of civil rights, but on the idea of economic relations between different social groups classes. It was dichotomous vision of society made of workers and capitalists the owners of means of production. Emancipation was possible not on the basis of civil rights, but on the basis of changing economic relations. This was a revolutionary perspective, leading to turnover of social order. Unlike the Enlightenment, Marx did not perceived emancipation and concept of freedom in individual actions. He clearly rejected individualism both in terms of individual social actions and as the method of inference about human conditions. Marx claimed that every individual is rooted in his collective history and society, and his consciousness, as well as beliefs, goals and needs are shaped through that heritage. That is why not only analysis of human conditions, but also the projected change of social relations, has to take into consideration collective baggage and collective effort. Conclusions As we can see, Marx benefited much from the Enlightenment philosophy, though we have to keep in mind, that issues presented in this paper are merely examples of eighteen century tradition in Marx thought. Marx indeed was a child of the Enlightenment in a sense, that he took form that tradition in different ways, sometimes directly, sometimes developing further ideas and sometimes criticizing and negating the eighteen century thought. This heritage however seems somehow natural, since we cannot abandon of our history and are always influenced by previous discourses. What we have to remember about is, that eighteen century tradition does not exhaust Marx thought but merely enriches and embeds it in historical context.