A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations

A brief overview of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. During the night of Christmas Eve Scrooge is visited by 3 ghosts each of which represent a different part of the Christmas Season. The first ghost to visit Scrooge was the ghost of Christmas past, and this ghost took Scrooge to see his childhood and all that he had lost by living his early life with selfish ambition. When the first ghost left Scrooge had a lot to think about but he went back to bed. Here Dickens is showing his readers that changing a way a person thinks takes time and repetition. Scrooge needed another ghost to keep his thought train going. The second ghost was the ghost of Christmas present, this ghost simply showed scrooge all of the joy the people that people had during the Christmas season. However the most important thing that the ghost showed Scrooge was a family that was very poor. This family was very happy and content with their circumstances and it made Scrooge think about how they could be happy with so little, and he could be so miserable with so much.

With the second ghost Dickens is teaching his readers the importance of being content with what one has, without contentment a person will never be happy no matter how much wealth they accumulate. After the second ghost had left Scrooge was very shaken up but it took the visit of the third ghost to make him a true believer in the Christmas spirit. The last ghost was the ghost of Christmas yet to come, and this ghost showed Scrooge what the world would be like if he did not change his ways and help the poor. One very meaningful passage shows Scrooge looking in at the same family he had seen with the second ghost, but the youngest son in the family had died due to lack of medical treatment. Scrooge eventually is shown his own grave and he begins to fear for his life and the lives of his fellow man. A Christmas Carole end with Scrooge giving out gifts on Christmas and promising to help the poor throughout the rest of his life; this is a typical ending for Dickens’s books in which the protagonist is put on the right path and everyone is happy.

Great Expectations

Dickens’s novel Great Expectations originally appeared in the newspaper All Year Round over an eight month period, and it was very popular. Because Great Expectations was written for a paper Dickens wrote it in two chapter installments they kept the reader interested in-between papers while still satisfying their need for resolution at the end of each installment. This novel is sometimes considered semi-autobiographical because in it Dickens draws on many instances from his own life. Great Expectations is the story of an orphan named Pip who traces his life from early childhood to adulthood. Pip goes through 3 stages in his life each with its own expectations. The first are with his humble beginnings with Joe and his visits to old Miss Havisham and Estella. Joe is a hard working man that does his very best to love Pip and teach him about life. However, Pip is not grateful for the life that Joe has given him, and he desires to gain the affections of the lovely Estella who is a pawn of Miss Havisham.

The second stage of Pips life begins when a mysterious benefactor gives Pip a large some of money and he goes to live in London. Pip soaks up the high class life of Londonbut his ingratitude towards Joe continues when Joe sends Pip a letter saying that he wants to visit him in London. After reading this letter Pip is aghast that common Joe would be coming into his life in London. Here Dickens gives the reader a true look at ingratitude, Joe is a very hard working man and he loved Pip with all the love he had, but Pip cannot even begin to return this love by welcoming Joe into his house in London. In the third stage of Pips life he is accounted with the realization that his benefactor is actually a convict. Here Pip must deal with the ugly side of life head on, and he does not fare so well. The book ends with one of Dickens greatest set of incredible circumstances in which many of the characters turn out to be linked to each other through Miss Havisham. In Great Expectations Dickens gives the reader much to think about particularly of gratitude and what it means to be a gentleman. Although Pip had lots of money Dickens makes it clear that it is his actions that define him, and only at the end of the book does Pip begin to understand for himself what it means to be a true gentleman.

Written by John Severin,

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Book Review – Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Possibly, the best English writer in history is Charles Dickens. His book, “Great Expectations”, is one of his best books (and even one of his most popular). It was made into a movie several times with the latest being done in the late 90’s starring Ethan Hawke and Gwenyth Paltrow. The book, “Great Expectations”, is full of surprises, twists, intriguing characters, and memorable theme.

The story tells of a coming of age tale of a young boy named Philip Pirrip or simply known as Pip. He wishes and expects to elevate his lot in life since he was raised as an orphan by his sister (who he had clashes with) and her good-natured husband, Joe Gargery. In a strange twist to his life, he helps a convict named Abel Magwitch escape. That convict would one day come to Pip’s aid later in life. Now, to understand Pip, you have to understand his perception of life. He believes to be around wealthy people in order to move up in life. Unfortunately for him, he also looks down upon those who are not as wealthy (which would include himself). Then, Pip is sent to live with a wealthy lady named Miss Havisham (with the emphasis on the Miss). She can be characterized as a disgruntled bride-to-be who was literally left at the altar by her groom. She is an eccentric lady who still lives in the past especially on her intended wedding day. Together with Miss Havisham, there is a young orphan girl named Estella who Pip has a liking towards later in his life.

Unfortunately for Pip, Estella is being raised by Miss Havisham who is teaching Estella to “emotionally hurt all men” which would include Pip. Estella is taught to torment and torture all men by her beauty and reject them all just as Miss Havisham has experienced. Then, there is a secret benefactor in Pip’s life who allows Pip to live and be educated in London. This is an enormous good fortune in Pip’s life. Pip believes that the secret benefactor is Miss Havisham since she is rich (yet eccentric). Pip looks down upon his humble and poor youth. By the way, in a twist of fate, Estella ends up marrying an ill-tempered person named Bentley Drummle who berates Estella. This is karma at its best. As for the benefactor, Pip finds out and is disappointed (at first) that it turns out to be Abel Magwitch the convict he helped out earlier (a reminder of his humble beginnings). Eventually, the convict dies in prison as he awaits for his trial. Pip is in despair and gets physically sick. He almost dies from despair and sickness until another person in his youth saves him. It is Joe Gargery who helped raised Pip when he was a kid. Joe nurses Pip back to health. This is what occurs in the story. Pip’s expectations did not come from his perceptions instead his great expectations and hope came from his humble (yet solid) beginnings. Pip learns that there is more to a person that his lot in life- especially in his life.

The story is a great character study on a youth who learned about people and life as he experienced his expectations from unlikely (yet obvious) sources.

As an author, Pascasio Felisilda recently published the book “Nanay: Lessons from a Mother”. This is a very inspiring book. Its simplicity empowers the message and story about a legacy that is worth living. The book is available through http://www.ebookstand.com/book_details/Nanay_Lessons_from_a_Mother_PAPERBACK_VERSION or through

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The Quest for Love in the Great Gatsby and Great Expectations

When done just right, reading about a character’s pursuit of love is a favorite ingredient in some of the most beloved tales. Generally, we enjoy seeing passionate characters going after something they want. It can really get us going when what they want is seemingly unattainable. Characters in love certainly can go to extremes in their pursuits for the desired companion. We enjoy seeing how far they will go and whether or not they win the love they seek. In the end, are we satisfied if the love is ultimately unrequited? Or must we get our happy ending and see the lovesick character get what he wants?

In The Great Gatsby, the title character, Jay Gatsby, is in love with the elegant and married Daisy Buchanan and has been for a long time. As the jazz standard would say, Gatsby’s “got it bad and that ain’t good.” He is so head over heels in love with Daisy that he has built his entire life around doing what he thinks it will take to win her over: busting into the upper class by making loads of cash. The idea is not so outlandish, it being the 1920s when folks seemed pretty comfortable with choosing friends and lovers based on the size of their bank accounts. Poor Gatsby, coming from a penniless, uneducated background, definitely had his work cut out for him. It does not really seem to matter how Gatsby managed to make all that money and buy that mansion. (He does manage to hide it pretty well.) The fact is he did it. And it worked. With a little nudge and help from Nick, Gatsby gets the girl – sort of. Of course, in the end though, he ultimately loses. Like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s experience watching the American Dream dissolve into The Great Depression, Gatsby and Daisy’s affair is a fleeting moment that ends darkly.

Pip, of Great Expectations, has no easy task in setting his sights on Estella. The girl is way out of his league. The Victorian class system was even more rigid than America in the 1920s and poor Pip, the broke-as-a-joke orphan, seems to be fighting a losing battle. We stick with Pip and cheer him on as he tries and tries to reinvent himself. Pip gets lucky with some unexpected cash and is able to pursue becoming a “gentleman.” The ending, as we know it, shows Pip and Estella finally ending up together. It is not a wedding or a pregnancy like a romantic blockbuster movie, but we are left feeling hopeful. The original ending that Charles Dickens wrote did not end so happily. Pip and Estella do not end up together and actually never see each other again. The ending we all know, where Pip and Estella end up together, is certainly more satisfying and less depressing. Is there something we see in Pip’s love for Estella that we don’t see in Gatsby’s for Daisy? Why are we okay with Gatsby losing everything in the end? Is it more fulfilling to see him dead than to see him ultimately live without Daisy? Is a satisfying love story really more about our main character and his pursuit and less about the actual ending?

Paul Thomson is an avid reader of English Literature. His areas of expertise include The Great Gatsby, Great Expectations and The Great Depression. In his spare time, he loves to participate in online literature forums and promote reading for youth.

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The Allegory of Social Mobility in The Great Gatsby and The 1920s

If F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby had been written as a raise-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps-story, starting off with a young boy hell-bent on moving on up in the world, we would have a story that read more like Charles Dickson’s Great Expectations.

Of course, both are great classic novels that brilliantly explore themes of class, ambition, wealth and good old love-the unrequited, wrong-side-of-the-tracks love, the best kind, really. And of course, Gatsby and Pip do share some similarities. Both come from poor, humble beginnings and have an eager drive to rise up in the social world, an ambition mostly motivated by the love for a girl from a higher class. Now, isn’t that always the way with these boy-meets-girl stories?

However, Gatsby is no Pip, and The Great Gatsby is certainly no Great Expectations Spoiler alert: By the time we meet Gatsby in the novel, he has already been dead for a while. No, it is not The Sixth Sense sort of thing. Instead, narrator Nick Carraway’s purpose in telling this story is to admonish high society for its cold cruelty and to ponder the downsides of the mythical American Dream-all told through a post-mortem of the final weeks leading up to Gatsby’s death. More importantly, Gatsby and his demise is held up as a counterpoint to the American Dream. Sure, one can achieve higher social aspirations through some intense elbow grease, but not likely without some illegal conduct or some hefty consequences.

Social and class mobility, the novel implies, comes at a cost. You can take the man out of the poverty but you can never take the poverty out of the man-not even with lavish parties or a closet full of Italian-made silk shirts in every color. Yep, even pink. Gatsby was definitely GQ material.

Gatsby’s-or should we say Gatz’s?-cost was his life. He did achieve the rags-to-riches story (albeit illegally), the social clout, and a shiny new identity to boot. Yet, he did not get the girl and ended up isolated and alone with hardly anyone at his funeral. He was a victim of a still extremely stratified society, Carraway tells us. Gatsby still could not escape his lower socio-economic past, even if he covered it up with an entire new one that included a fabricated Cambridge education.

Another spoiler alert: the fact he was murdered by a lowly auto mechanic, after taking the fall for his true love Daisy who was behind the wheel during a fatal hit-and-run that killed the auto mechanic’s wife (and coincidentally Daisy’s husband’s mistress), is symbolic enough that the past catches up with you. Daytime TV soap operas have nothing on this novel. Yet, we digress. The point is that social mobility is not a full-proof possibility, even if you sever your proverbial roots and cover your tracks.

What makes this “Roaring Twenties” novel the quintessential allegorical tale of excess and downfall that has come to epitomize the American 1920s is something that happened four years after the book 1925 publication: the stock market crash of ’29. If Fitzgerald had been an economist rather than a novelist, perhaps The Great Depression may have never happened. He seemed to know what kind of ruin that the extravagance typified by Gatsby heading to. Gatsby, with his unbridled affluence and social ascension, has come to be our tragic hero of 1920s decadence and boom. That is something Charles Dickens did not do, giving Pip not one, but two tidy endings that each serve him justice over Estella, the woman who had snubbed him. Both Fitzgerald and Dickens have similar thematic fascinations, but the timing changes everything.

Paul Thomson is an avid reader of English Literature. His areas of expertise include Great Gatsby, 1920s, and American Poetry. In his spare time, he loves to participate in online literature forums and promote reading for youth.

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Lifestyles of the Fabulously Rich and Dissatisfied in the Great Gatsby

As America’s most famous novel about the Roaring Twenties, The Great Gatsby helped create an image of the 1920’s as a ten-year party ranking high in the list of eras to visit given time-traveling capabilities. The decade is now synonymous with fringed flappers, bobbed hair, and glamorous bootleggers, thanks in part to Fitzgerald’s detailed, albeit inebriated, eyewitness accounts. But don’t let all the booze cloud your thinking; as Fitzgerald tells it, people in the twenties were quite the unhappy bunch.

Just take a look at our narrator, Nick Carraway. Nick presents himself as a neutral observer, but as the story progresses, his dear-diary-style criticisms reveal how little he respects everyone around him (except Gatsby, of course). Fed up with “the whole damn bunch of them,” he eventually dumps his girlfriend, packs up, and heads west to escape the wild party scene. To be fair, however, Nick might not be the best litmus test for happiness, considering the mad showdown he witnesses at the end of the novel. Let’s have a gander at the other main characters in The Great Gatsby – before the ships, “borne back ceaselessly into the past,” really hit the fan.

At the top of the social totem pole are Tom and Daisy Buchanan. From an outsider’s perspective, the two are living the American Dream: they’re a rich, good-looking, respected couple with a dream house and a bouncing baby girl. Incidentally, they also have an abusive, joyless relationships perpetuated by a serious cycle of dependency.

Tom’s the kind of guy who can’t be bothered to show up to the birth of his own kid but refuses to give up having a wife – whom he cheats on, by the way. On the other side of this winning combination is Daisy, the kind of woman who could have any man she wanted but lacks the self-respect to apply that to anyone worth having. When Daisy turns Gatsby down and Tom throws him to the wolves, we pretty much decide that the two deserve each other.

Jordan Baker seems to be the only person in society’s upper crust who isn’t concerned with keeping up appearances. She’s worldly and hard to fool, which contrasts sharply with Tom and Daisy’s need to deceive themselves and others. Recognizing the game that’s being played doesn’t mean Jordan’s above it, however; it just makes her cynical, dishonest, and bored. So much for the truth setting you free.

Since living at the top obviously doesn’t make you happy, let’s look at the theme of dissatisfaction in Great Gatsby among characters at “working class” end of the spectrum. George and Myrtle Wilson’s relationship can be described as a mirror image the dynamic between Tom and Daisy. George is a smart, hardworking guy who genuinely cares for his wife. His reward? Myrtle sleeps around with Tom because George is too poor and effeminate for her taste. Yeah. Nothing says “real man” like an adulterer who beats you up. And since the relationship ends in a gruesome manslaughter-murder-suicide, there’s isn’t a whole lot of suspense in the maybe-life-will-pick-up-some-day department.

This leaves just one character to consider: Jay Gatsby, the Man Himself. Is Gatsby happy? A more appropriate description of the guy might be “optimistic.” Or better yet, “he’s got hope up the wazoo.” The problem with optimism, though, is that, rather than qualifying as happiness, it anticipates future happiness. Or, in Gatsby’s case, future happiness that depends on recapturing past happiness that was interrupted by the present state of everyone being miserable.

Shmoop is an online study guide for The Great Gatsby, the character of Jay Gatsby and many more. Its content is written by Ph.D. and Masters students from top universities, like Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and Yale who have also taught at the high school and college levels. Teachers and students should feel confident to cite Shmoop.

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Elizabeth Taylor’s Christie’s Auction Breaks Jewelry Sales Records

One of the most talked about topics in the jewelry world was the recent Christie’s auction of Elizabeth Taylor’s famed jewelry collection. Titled “The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor,” the auction took place Tuesday, December 13 and Wednesday, December 14 at Christie’s Rockefeller Center headquarters in New York City.

The auction not only set Christie’s records, it turned out to be the most valuable auction in history. The first night’s auction brought in a surprising $115.9 million, but the second night shattered records at $21.3 million. The combined total added up to almost $137.2 million – almost three times what Christie’s estimated the sale would bring.

According to a Christie’s representative, the atmosphere at the auction was electric from start to finish with collectors from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and America chasing each individual jewel with a tenacity never seen before.

Christie’s also reported that the grand total made “The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor” the most valuable private collection of jewelry ever offered at auction, as well the most valuable jewelry sale in auction history. Taylor’s auction broke additional world records, including the price achieved for a pearl jewel, the per carat price for a colorless diamond, the price for an Indian jewel and a ruby per carat.

The sum will be funneled into the Elizabeth Taylor Trust and added to Taylor’s estate already estimated at $600 million to $1 billion. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

A New York Night to Remember

Elizabeth Taylor, star of classic films including “Giant,” “National Velvet,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Cleopatra” died in Los Angeles in March at age 79, leaving behind a jewelry collection valued as high as $150 million. Taylor was known for her intense love and extensive knowledge of jewelry, and her vast collection included pieces from Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Chopard. Christie’s offered 80 lots, and all were sold during the eight-hour sale. Only one item sold for its auction estimate, but most pieces sold for prices 10 times their high estimate. The longest and most intense bidding was for the Richard Burton wedding rings, the last lot of the two-day sale.

Some Twinkly Highlights of the Sale

• A Pearl Named La Peregrina. A pearl, diamond and ruby necklace known as “La Peregrina” set the world record by selling for $11,842,500. Christie’s had estimated between $2 million to $3 million. The necklace was purchased by Richard Burton at auction for $37,000 and given as a gift to Taylor in1969.

• An $8 Million Diamond Ring. A 33.19-carat diamond ring also given to Taylor by Richard Burton sold for $8,818,500.The ring was estimated by Christie’s to sell between $2.5 and $3.5 million.

• A Diamond Necklace from Michael Jackson. A diamond bracelet given to Taylor by Michael Jackson sold for $194,500. It’s estimated sale price was $30,000 to $50,000.

Taylor’s Art to Auction in February

Elizabeth Taylor’s collection of Impressionist and Modernist art will go on sale at Christie’s in London.

When you bring in a piece of jewelry or other item to Empire, that property is appraised by a professional jeweler. If you choose to take a loan out or “pawn it” instead of sell it, the item becomes collateral against the loan, and you receive cash against that collateral.

For more information on getting a loan on your specific gold, jewelry or other item, go to our selling section.

Have a question for us? Call us today at (516) 520-5252 or visit http://www.empirepawnofnassau.com for more information.

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How Elizabeth Taylor Can Teach you about Saving Money even now

Sadly, Elizabeth Taylor has died after living an incredible life. She was an amazing actress, business woman, and overall incredible person. It is amazing what we can learn from Elizabeth Taylor when it comes to saving money. I have found that the lives of amazing people can often teach us about the day-to-day things that matter to our lives.

Elizabeth Taylor is no exception. I believe that her life and her accomplishments can help us succeed in our lives.

There were certain things that Elizabeth Taylor did that set her apart from the rest. Her beauty was one of the most telling aspects of her appeal but there was more. Here is a quick list of things that we can learn:

1. Beauty – Her beauty was amazing. People came from around the world just to catch a glimpse of her. Men would clamor just for a string of her hair. Every picture and every photo op I ever saw of Elizabeth Taylor was right on. She made sure she always was always on her game. Her hair, makeup, clothing, etc. was pristine. We can learn from this. Are you leaving and going through your day putting that much attention to your savings? Is your Savings Account Beautiful to you? Are you taking pride in it (managing it)? Are you always making it look better and better? Ask these questions everyday.

2. Don’t succeed, try again – Elizabeth Taylor was married 8 times to 7 husbands. Talk about not making it work. But, the thing she did do was try try again. For those of us who are married or have been married, can you imagine being married 8 times? That seems crazy to me. But, for you and I, it is safe to say that we can learn to try again even when we have tried many times before. I think one of the hardest things about saving is to continually do it even when you feel like there isn’t an end. Those are the times to keep trying and keep starting over again. The lesson here, when you fail at savings, try try again.

3. Be an All-star – Elizabeth Taylor was the ultimate all-star. The way she carried herself was always full of confidence. When she was done with one project, she went on to another. And the next project she did, was bigger and better than the one before. She made sure she always did more than she had already done. That is what you and I need to do with our savings. Don’t try to just save the minimum everyday. Try to save more and more. Tomorrow, put extra money in your savings account and be crazy. Doing something that scares you (It is not like your money is gone). I would warn against putting the money into a CD or instrument that you can’t get to. But give it a shot. Try to one up yourself and put more money in your savings than before.

4. Be Consistent – After all these years, and even after her death, Elizabeth Taylor’s perfume line ‘White Diamonds’ is still number one. Talk about a long run. She stuck with White Diamonds for a long time. She was known for it. An institution. That is what we need to become. A savings institution. The day in day out act of saving is the road to success. My advice is to save a little each day. I spoke about savings being an everyday thing like beauty was for Elizabeth Taylor. It constantly needs to be in the front of your mind. Everyday put some money in the savings account literally. Make sure you go to the bank and make a deposit. If you don’t have a savings account, get a piggy bank or put the money in a sock drawer. Whatever it is, make sure you are doing it every day for the rest of your life. Don’t worry, the longer you do it, the easier it gets and you forget about it.

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you would like more information on Saving Money visit thefirefinder.com. Elizabeth Taylor was an amazing person, actress, business woman, wife, and mother. She will be missed.

Cheers!

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Elizabeth Taylor and her Diamonds

There was some sad news this week with the death of legend Elizabeth Taylor. She was a phenomenal actress, a generous human being, and an all around talent. She was beautiful, admired by so many for decades and decades. At the height of her fame, there was truly no one like Elizabeth Taylor. She won two Academy Awards and had her hand in many a humanitarian cause. Her life was both interesting and complex, topped off by numerous loves. One of her greatest love affairs of all was with diamonds.

Elizabeth Taylor was famous for her beautiful diamond collection. Probably the most famous diamond was the one presented to her by Richard Burton back in 1968. It’s an incredible 33.19 carat Asscher cut Krupp diamond. It was purchased by Burton to give to his one true love, Elizabeth Taylor. Even after their split, Taylor wore the ring proudly.

Perhaps even more famous than the Asscher cut diamond is the diamond known simply as the Taylor-Burton diamond. It’s a pear-shaped diamond, weighing an enormous 69.42 carats, and was carved from a diamond weighing more than 240 carats. Harry Winston first purchased the diamond and cleaved it into some incredible diamond pieces, including the Taylor Burton diamond.

In the fall of 1969, the diamond, originally owned by a woman named Harriet Annenberg Ames who lived in London, was up for auction. The bidding finally stopped at just over $1 million. Burton, who was desperate to buy the diamond for Taylor, was outbid, but he was determined to get the stone. He began negotiating with the owner, a man named Robert Kenmore, and eventually bought the diamond for Elizabeth Taylor. She wore the gorgeous stone for Princess Grace’s 40th birthday in Monaco.

When Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton divorced, the world-famous diamond was being prepared to be sold with the proceeds going to a Botswana hospital. The diamond was eventually purchased in the summer of 1979 by a New York jeweler. The jeweler, Henry Lambert, purchased the diamond for an incredible $5 million.

Today, the current owner, Robert Mouawad, decided to change the diamond a bit. The diamond was cut smaller down to 68.09 carats and the girdle was changed slightly. It’s a shame that the beautiful diamond was altered, but when it was worn by Elizabeth Taylor, it was the stunning centerpiece in a necklace, surrounded by smaller cut pear-shaped diamonds.

Elizabeth Taylor was an amazing woman, who lived a truly remarkable life. She was a woman who personified beauty and class, and this was done magnificently with her love of diamonds.

Sarah Harris is the marketing manager for Adiamor Diamond Engagement Rings. Adiamor offers a large selection of engagement ring settings, loose diamonds, and other fine diamond jewelry at affordable prices.

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Most Memorable Elizabeth Taylor Quotes On Love And Life

Who would forget Elizabeth Taylor? The talented Hollywood actress who captivated as by her beauty and elegance. She started her acting career when she was twelve. She starred in a number of Hollywood’s finest films, which include Cleopatra, The Sandpiper, Doctor Faustus, The Taming of the Shrew and so much more. Aside from her many notable films, she is also a known social activist. Elizabeth Taylor helped found the American Foundation for AIDS Research. She also started the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation or ETAF, after her dear friend Rock Hudson died of the dreadful disease. Taylor passed away in 2011 at the age of 79 because of congestive heart failure.

As a passionate actress, activist and mother, she left several inspiring quotes to live by. Following are some of them.

“When they reach a certain age some men are afraid to grow up. It seems the older the men get, the younger their new wives get”.

Perhaps, Taylor saw that many aged men marry women who are the same old as their kids. Conceivably, Taylor feels that men do that because they cannot face the fact that they are getting old. Younger wives make them feel young and alive.

“I’m a survivor – a living example of what people can go through and survive”.

Taylor did survived many things. She went through divorce seven times. She went through divorce twice with Richard Burton. She was hospitalized more than 70 times and went through 20 major operations.

“I’ve been through it all, baby, I’m mother courage”.

When you survive so many things in life, you will learn to be courageous. That is what Taylor learned from so many trials and adversities that she went through in life. Yes, she made mistakes and decisions she might have regretted. Nevertheless, she learned. She became wiser and more secure.

“It is strange that the years teach us patience; that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting”.

This is true. As you will notice, men during their prime are very busy. They value their time as if time is equivalent of money. They hate idle time and they especially do not like waiting. As men grow older, men become less active. They have more time to spend. They have greater capacity to wait for others who are too busy to make time for them.

“When people say, ‘She’s got everything’, I’ve got one answer – I haven’t had tomorrow”.

Life is a cycle. No man can live a thousand years or more. No one can boldly say that I got everything because it is not true. No man can confidently say if he or she is still alive tomorrow. Perhaps, you are too busy making money for your retirement that you are spending less time with your loved ones. Therefore, live one day at a time. It is okay to plan but do not live at the future. Live at the present.

“It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance”.

As mentioned, Taylor is very active in her Aids Foundation. She sees that many people die of AIDS because they are unaware of the symptoms, the causative factors and the possible treatments. She believed that educating people of AIDS could help in reducing the number of mortality.

Elizabeth Taylor is indeed a woman of confidence, power and glamour. Aside from her inspiring films that she has left behind, her courageous words would remain a lifetime for all the readers and movie enthusiasts out there.

Seeking for famous Elizabeth Taylor quotes? Go to the links and see inspiring quotations and sayings from this famous celeb.

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A Person called Elizabeth Taylor

Born in 1932 Taylor became an international star at the age of 14 when she started in MGM’s National Velvet (1944). Following the success of that film she became one of the biggest and busiest child stars who successfully managed to make a smooth transition post childhood. By the time she made Giant (1956) with the iconic James Dean and Rock Hudson, Taylor was considered to be one of the most glamorous actress’ in the world.

Taylor notched up her second Academy Award nomination for her brilliant portrayal of Maggie Pollitt in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). Based on a Tennessee Williams play the film featured Paul Newman as the impotent washed out athlete Brick whose father is dying of cancer and is worried sick about Brick’s childless marriage.

Maggie persuades Brick to give up drinking while enticing him and taunting him about his dead friend at the same. Taylor’s Maggie has a mesmerizing effect thanks to the ease with which she portrays the numerous shades which at times make you wonder perhaps you are watching different women at the same time.

Taylor matched steps with the legendary Katherine Hepburn in Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) where she plays a girl who witnesses the horrible death of her cousin and goes insane. Taylor got yet another Oscar nomination but it’d be her flawless performance in Butterfield 8 the following year that finally got her the coveted Award. Butterfield 8 saw Taylor play a posh call-girl whose need for respect is much stronger than her indecent lifestyle.

In spite of some towering performances and many great films Cleopatra ended up becoming the most important film of Elizabeth Taylor’s life. She became the highest paid actress with Cleopatra when she got the paid 10 million dollars for a film that was originally budgeted at $2 million! The film ended up costing $40 million and was a financial loss even though it was 1963 top grossing film! Cleopatra is also remembered for the Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton romance that brewed on the sets and culminated in her fifth marriage. Her next few films didn’t really set things on fire till she teamed up with Burton again for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). Directed by Mike Nichols, this seminal classic arguably features two of the greatest on-screen performances ever and got Taylor her second Oscar. The tale of an aging and bitter aging whose use a younger visiting couple to vent out their anguish towards each other has Burton and Taylor so naturally into each other that one feels it’s not a film anymore. An excellent cinematic experience no matter how times one revisits, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a treat to watch thanks to the two different acting styles of Burton, an actor who was acknowledged but never really revered as much as he should have, and Taylor, an actor who never really lost out to the star she became, work together so seamlessly.

After Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? the only Elizabeth Taylor film that stands out is John Houston’s Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967). Based on Carson McCuller’s novel this strange film is a mix of exceptional wit and tragedy. Taylor plays an unhinged Army wife to Marlon Brando’s impotent and closet homosexual Army Major both of whom are trapped in a very personal emotional cage.

Taylor puts in a very natural performance as the wife of a sexually repressed officer; she humiliates him in front of everyone, has a rollicking affair with a fellow officer and rarely lets an opportunity to ridicule him escape her.

Like Gloria Swanson’s Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard Taylor remained big all though her life, it’s the pictures that got small. When the films got smaller Taylor moved on to bigger things.

Before she famously held Michael Jackson’s hand during a public appearance as the loyal friend of someone whom everyone was ready to fry, she had held another friend’s hand for a bigger cause. When most shied away from the archetypal all American ‘reel’ Rock Hudson when he became a ‘real’ homosexual person dying of AIDS, Taylor stood by him publicly and championed the cause of AIDS much before it became fashionable. Before she died she Taylor led a campaign for the American Foundation for AIDS Research which has raised more than $200 million till date.

Yes, Dame Elizabeth Taylor married eight times, twice to the same man; yes, she was the friend whose hands Michael Jackson held when Oprah Winfrey interviewed him; yes, she was the most glamorous Cleopatra ever but there is much more to Dame Elizabeth Taylor that being the crazy woman of many marriages for in a life she led… these things don’t really matter.

I am a Delhi-based author who writes for Buzzintown.com as part of Buzz Bureau team, while I also wear the hat of a documentary film maker. To know more about Bollywood updates gossip or to read latest movie reviews please visit Buzzintown.com

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