Saturday, August 31, 2019
British Restoration Era English Literature
London in the age of Goldsmith was entirely different from the London as we know today. Great social, political and economical changes were in the air when Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer was enacted. These changes created a turning point of fortune of many families there by making some impoverished and many others prosper to become one among the middle class families of England. As a result, marriages and love affairs, instead of being the union of two people, the man and woman, both physically and mentally, it became union of money, land and titles.Hence the decreasing of wealth in the rural, old and titled families and an increase in the wealth in newly affluent commercial urban areas brought about various marriages of children from titled families, with those of untitled, cash-rich but land-poor commercial families. This balance is what Goldsmith tries to drive home in his famous play She Stoops to Conquer. Moreover, â€Å"the play also offers three types of marriage. O ne possibility: a loveless, parentally-enforced marriage, as that arranged by Mrs. Hardcastle between Tony and Constance.Another option: marriage for love, but against parental wishes, as seen in Hastings’s plans for eloping with Constance. Finally, the best solution, compromise between parent and child, as in Kate’s marriage with Marlow  a marriage based on affection but also sanctioned by paternal authority. †Schmidt, http://www. answers. com/topic/she-stoops-to-conquer-play-7) Passionate love existed definitely, but it was not directly linked to marriage. Love in those times is well explicated by Goldsmith through his varied characters as represented in the play.To start with, we have Mr. Hardcastle who loves everything that is â€Å"old†, including his wife. He is a loving husband who loves his wife most intensely in spite of the fact that there is a lot of difference in their natures. He is a very home loving person as we see his wife complai ning every now and then that they are not frequenting London to polish up their manners and acquire knowledge of the latest fashions. It is truly because of him that their life goes on uneventfully. He represents the gentle man of the society at that time.His good nature and generosity alone bring the two love stories to a happy end and the mistakes of the night are crowned with merry-making in the morning. Mrs. Hardcastle, greedy, self-centered, with no regard for the feeling, likes and dislikes of others, sees love and marriage only in terms of monetary wealth. She truly represents the attitude of love and money of those times in the so-called aristocratic families. To retain her orphan niece’s (Constance Neville) fortune in the form of jewellery in the family, she tries to get her married with her son, Tony Lumpkin, who is a person who cannot be spoiled more.She does not consider at all, that he is unworthy of his cousin and that he himself dislikes her and wants to marry another woman. Blinded by her greed and her infatuation for her son, she courts Constance on behalf of her son and tries her best to unite them in holy wedlock. The result is that she loses both, the jewellery and her niece. Her portrayal makes explicit the fact that women of her age in those days tended to be cruel mothers who never paid any respect to either the romantic or the ordinary feelings of their children if they did not have a monetary significance.Marlowe represents the well-to-do families of the day who thinks that in order to prove his worth he has to travel long and wide and thus understand more about manhood. He is the kind of man whom ladies in those ages are after. ‘Manhood’ is just in his thoughts not deeds as we see him shy and moody in the company of ladies of higher rank and status. In keeping with the age, for him too marriage is more related to social positions and monetary affairs than love.That is why he rejects Kate when he is still mistaking her for a simple barmaid instead of a lady: â€Å"But to be plain with you, the difference of our birth, fortune and education makes an honourable connection impossible; and I can never harbour a thought of seducing simplicity that trusted in my honour, or bringing ruin upon one whose only fault was being too lovely. †(p. 42). Whatever be his shortcomings, Kate falls in love with him as he satisfies all the demands that women of that age sought in a man. Hence his drawbacks are easily forgotten and even if there is any left, Kate resolves to cure him of that.His character develops in due course of the play and becomes worthy of Kate who has discerned his potential capacity to become a genuine love. No doubt, he represents the typical middle class man who gives equal regard to money, love and good manners. As a foil to him, we have Hastings, a well-dressed young man of considerable physical charms. He is presented as the most romantic and the most impractical man who has led an easy comfortable life like Marlow, but is not at all have a dual character like him. His love for Constance is true, deep and sincere.He loves her only for herself, and no mercenary conditions weigh with him. He presses her to elope with him leaving behind her fortune for his love is not tainted by monetary things. Their love affair can be said as the most straight forward one but we see that too as being conditioned by money. As Mrs. Hardcastle is the keeper of Neville’s jewels, to get back her wealth, Constance should marry the person whom she pleases, unless the person refuses. It is to keep the money in the family itself that she forces her son to marry Constance. But Constance and Hastings proclaim their love several times disregarding the money.During a conversation that both hold, Miss Neville states she would rather marry him once she owns all her jewels so that they can secure their future: â€Å"The instant they (jewels) are put into my possession you shall find me ready to make them and myself yours†. But Hastings exclaims: â€Å"Perish the baubles! Your person is all I desire†(p. 19). Even when the young lady assures that â€Å"in the moment of passion, fortune may be despised, but it ever produces a lasting repentance†Hastings insists on letting their feelings flow: â€Å"Perish fortune.Love and contempt will increase what we possess beyond a monarch’s revenue. Let me prevail†(p. 56). Kate Hardcastle is a lover who rises to the occasion whenever such a situation arises. She is presented as vivacious, young and very inventive. Instead of waiting meekly to make her lover change to a bold person, she takes things into her hands. If she remains inactive, she will lose Marlow. Hence she throws all her false modesty to the wind and decides to win a husband even at the cost of some maidenly modesty and delicacy.She chases and courts instead of being chased and courted. As her foil is presented Constance Nev ille, who is straight forward, sensible and determined. In her pretence of love to Tony to satisfy her aunt, her stooping is moral and not merely social as that of Kate. â€Å"She Stoops to Conquer is a beautifully constructed play where love conquers all, despite the combined efforts of a greedy woman, her inept son and an unfortunate case of ‘pedestalisation of women' in the young male lead! †( Henderson, http://www. cops.org. uk/reviews/she_stoops. htm). Hence in the play we see people loving and marrying for several reasons; for love, for money or just to follow patterns of the existing society. Works Cited: Henderson, Catherine, http://www. cops. org. uk/reviews/she_stoops. htm. Schmidt, Arnold http://www. answers. com/topic/she-stoops-to-conquer-play-7. Jeffares, Harman A. , Goldsmith’s ‘She Stoops to Conquer’, Macmillan Co. Ltd, Great Britain, 1966. Wood R. J. , ‘She Stoops to Conquer’, Coles Publishing Company, Canada, 1968.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Explain Erich Fromm’s twofold meaning of human freedom Essay
Erich Fromm is a German psychologist explored human freedom. He wrote about the two folds of human freedom, which are, the freedom â€Å"from†traditional authorities such as the state and (2) the freedom â€Å"for†actualizing one’s individual destiny. In his work about the Freedom in History, Fromm argues that the people came to understand the real meaning of freedom in the 20th century. They thus fight to defend it. This is because it brings a lot of joy to the people, therefore prompting them to devise ways of maintaining it. Through his work, he tries to explain the main cause leading to the fall of the previous social order. In addition, it has led to the rise of a new generation of independent beings who are fighting for direct high-quality future. This development makes them to have a feeling of not just fulfilling their socioeconomic role in the society, but also contemplating their future Secondly, Fromm tries to explain the way the people are Escaping freedom through his suggestions that people are successively attempting to lessen negative effects although expanded thoughts and behaviors provide them with security. He explains three forms of escaping freedom whereby he suggests that the dictatorial personality contains a sad and masochist element which gains control over the other people. Such control imposes order in the world. The ambiguity of human freedom is especially evident when making important life choices, for example, who we want to be and how we want to live our lives. Fromm holds that although people in advanced societies have been freed from the bonds of preindividualistic society, which gave them both security and limitations, they have not gained freedom in the positive sense of realizing their individual selves. That is, they have not found an outlet for the optimal expression of their intellectual, emotional, and social potential. We have freedom to direct our livesâ€â€from the details of daily life to the more crucial choices such as our careers. Karen Grover Duffy and Eastwood Atwater (2008). Psychology For Living: Adjustment, Growth, and Behavior Today (9 ed. ). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Chemistry Today Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Chemistry Today - Article Example As a result, the article further highlights that the unusual gel ageing experience is achieved from the polymer’s flexibility degree, which is equivalent to the natural body tissue. The watery substance in the hydrogel helps with the repairs of tissues and cells of the ageing persons to restore wrinkled skin units (Draper, McDonald and Adams 2015, n.p). The article is educative since the authors give instances where the characteristics of hydrogel are important considerations when producing gel ageing. The authors also offer other essential applications of the hydrogel such as the absorption and removal of harmful necrotic and fibrotic tissue (Draper, McDonald and Adams 2015, n.p). This implies that the weight and absorbent properties enable the gel to function properly with the ageing skin particles through the removal of the fibrotic tissues. Another vital concept of the article is the author’s articulation of the formation of the hydrogel compound by analyzing the different elements of water and gel. This brings about the absorbent and low molecular nature that provides the unusual gel ageing property unlike the other
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Critical Legal Thinking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Critical Legal Thinking - Assignment Example The small group has the ability to dictate the major corporation as long as the arguments presented are justified under the state laws. Once the small group files suit against the major corporation, it is the duty of the court to see to it that justice is practiced and the claims are fulfilled. Not any other factors, size inclusive, are considered in the enforcement of the law. This makes it very easy for such a small group to dictate how affairs of major corporations should run.As a high-level manager for a shoe manufacturer, I would take note of the fact that any decision I make concerning the business is vital and may bring about highly significant results. Bearing this in mind, I would evaluate keenly the options I have in making specific decisions. To help me in this, I would apply the steps that act as guidance in making good decisions in business. One of the steps states that the decisions should be in terms of the state laws that govern business activities in the specified fi eld. There have been cases in court related to the risk I am almost engaging in is enough evidence on the importance of practicing legal activities in business. There are strong laws that defend women even during international business activities. This is proof that messing around with their role in business could put any organization into great trouble. I would hence find better and safer ways of earning more profits other than violating the law.             Â
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Persecution of Women in the Middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Persecution of Women in the Middle East - Essay Example "Many Christian women live in restricted countries where Christianity is not tolerated--over 200 million Christians in 80 countries worldwide are persecuted because of their faith. Women of the Way is "a program of Open Doors mobilizing women to become strategically involved in strengthening persecuted Christians" and works to educate and minister to these women, whose social situations often prohibit them from receiving Christian materials or speaking out freely about their faith." (Persecuted Women) Women are still considered the weaker sex in the Middle East and they are oppressed day in, day out. Women are primarily oppressed because of their faith in Christianity. Many Christian women have had to bear the brunt of this and many continue to face the consequences of their religious beliefs. It is really sad that these women can't be helped; it is high time to put these women out of their misery. They sink into despair when they are ostracized or persecuted. Some of them are even k illed because of their faith in Christianity, this is unacceptable and something has to be done about this sooner rather than later. Islam is misunderstood by the Muslims and they tend to punish the women, they end up banishing these poor women. They inflict pain upon them and they fail to realize the real values of Islam. Religious belief is the most important reason because of which the women in the Middle East are persecuted. ... This has been a very popular practice in the Middle East; women must be protected at all costs and they must be given much better treatment than what they are receiving. "Under the Islamic Republic of Iran, discrimination and segmentation on the basis of religion and gender have been institutionalized in the constitution, government policies, and state ideology. The system explicitly favors men over women, Muslims over non-Muslims, and Shiite Muslims over other Muslim sects.The constitution and the Shari'a-based penal and civil codes, especially those sections pertaining to family and personal status, legalize the subordination of women, treating them as second-class citizens with unequal rights. Women's rights activists have launched widely publicized equal-rights campaigns that have been successful within the parameters established by the theocracy. However, the overall legal framework remains discriminatory, with the state's theocratic underpinnings consistently negating its progr essive and democratic elements." (Access to Justice) Islam restricts women from wearing revealing clothes and any woman found wearing revealing clothes is often persecuted. These draconian laws are only for women, no such laws exist for men in the Middle East. Women are targeted in the name of Islam; Islam never supports persecution of women. Human beings have started deriving satisfaction by inflicting pain upon other human beings. This practice of persecution goes to reflect the pain inflicting tendencies in place; women get exploited in the name of Islam. They can't go out nor can they attend a school. They remain uneducated and weak, this is a method of exploiting them and this is also a
Monday, August 26, 2019
The Main Difference Between Printed and Electronic Search Research Paper
The Main Difference Between Printed and Electronic Search - Research Paper Example The information about the ASDA supermarket in Yellow pages is brief. It is not categorized and of course, it does not provide information about up-to-date special offers. But it gives a short overview of the company, so the reader at once understands what the company does and where it is situated. There is no structure in publications about ASDA in newspapers, magazines and journals, but that information is always corresponding to the date of the article. All news and articles have a brief mention of company ownership. For example, Private Label Magazine writes: â€Å"ASDA, the Wal-Mart owned UK retailer, has relaunched ‘Meals Made Easy,’ its gourmet ready meals private label range, according to a report by Planet Retail. The range of chilled oven-ready meals has over 70 SKUs. The range features redesigned packaging and has been relaunched with a multibuy pricing promotion.†History of ASDA can be found in Internet encyclopaedia Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a multiling ual, Web-based, free-content encyclopaedia. It is written collaboratively by volunteers, meaning articles can be added or changed by nearly anyone. The project began on January 15, 2001, and is now operated by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. The English-language version of Wikipedia currently has 786,750 articles. According to Wikipedia, the name ASDA is a contraction of Associated Dairies and was founded in 1965 by a group of farmers from Yorkshire. ASDA went through a troubled period in the early 1990s but was then revived under the leadership of Archie Norman, who later became a front bench Conservative MP. He was chairman of the company during the period 1996–99.
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Does physical location impact collaboration between groups Essay
Does physical location impact collaboration between groups - Essay Example People from one PC could connect to any other who is in any part of the world with one of the medium called as Net Meeting which is provided by the Microsoft. CMC (Computer mediated Communications) which is in short for communications takes place between people through supported media which can either be audio/video conferencing, emails, chat rooms etc. In a global scale this technology helps organizations to gain competitive advantage as they respond to the customers needs quickly. There have been a number of researchers that has been going on to make a break through in this particular area. Usually, GSS (Group Support Systems), and groupware represent trends in practical collaboration that have fulfilled the demands. A large number of people who have been using the internet as a tool for communication, over the last few decades have faced a significant change and have been a considerable growth as well. A speculation is been carried out whether having to attend a meeting in person is as important as it is in the virtual world in a group. The issues that are occurring when 2 different technologies communicate with each other are emphasized here. Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and GroupWare are the 2 technologies, with the help of these technologies; people can work as virtual groups from any part of the world which makes it convenient. There is a certain improvement of the results when these technologies are implemented and the decisions are made real quickly. The relevance of the present work lies in the fact that the scarce amount of literature on similar topics does not represent the scope of the problem and the real impact of the groupware in the fulfilling of the common tasks by virtual groups should be subjected to close consideration and research. The core idea of the work is whether the physical location (or, better, co-location) if the groups influences their performance in the fulfillment of the common tasks, and how the effects differ between co-locative groups and those which simply use groupware in their collaboration. For the aims of the present work it is necessary to look at the process of the performance of virtual groups in the use of the groupware for the fulfillment of the common tasks. It is also necessary to use the AST as the basis for the present research, as this theory allows deeper understanding of the processes which take place among the members of the virtual group at the time they us groupware for the fulfillment of the common task. It is necessary to define the changes which occur to each of the four decision-outcomes criteria for the better understanding of the impact of groupware. The data acquired through the work will be analyzed through comparison between the co-locative group and the one locating in different parts of the world but using groupware for the fulfillment of similar tasks. Adaptive Structuration Theory In management science, Adaptive Structuration describes the theory which was described by Anthony Giddens, which was further expanded and modelled by DeSanctis and Poole. The social and Intrapersonal affects that use technology on groups is emphasized here. Giddens rejects the extreme positions in the agency-structure debate, positioning in the process that human action, while institutionally constrained,
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Research Methodology (different forms of participant observation) Essay
Research Methodology (different forms of participant observation) - Essay Example This is not to say that quantitative methods are not used in overt operations. However, during a covert operation mostly quantitative methods are used as qualitative method demands the direct and conscious involvement of the participants during a test. (Banerjee, 2005) One of the primary ways in which overt methodology is defined is in terms of its difference from the so-called 'pure sciences' such as physics, chemistry, biology etc. Its use of theory and methodology is, therefore, closely related to this distinction. Academics of marketing often emphasize what too many of us are utterly obvious, that there is no certainty in the study of marketing sciences. This is because marketing not only deals with fiscal variables but also it deals with humanity, which is inherently transient. Taking this element of transience into consideration marketing scientists has to use not just quantitative but also qualitative methods of study. (Fletcher, 2005) A Qualitative method of study differs from the usual quantitative methods (used in the study of pure sciences) in the sense that it tends to be far more subjective. This is in sharp contrast to the methods used in pure sciences which are exclusively objective. The research methods for marketing are a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods. ... ms of such data and not in terms of the terminology used in ordinary sciences this broader outlook is far more applicable in the study of social sciences. In keeping with the methodology employed in marketing researches the theories too are formulated and used keeping in mind that they aren't necessarily applicable to all conditions. Be it psychology, history, political science or economics human events are most likely to influence the rules which define the basic theories of a marketing subject. Success in the field of marketing researches can therefore be achieved if and only if it is understood that the subject has no space or opportunity for water-tight methodologies or theories. (Berkowitz, 2004) It can always be stated that Qualitative research is a process that includes interpretative paradigm under the measures of theoretical assumptions and the entire approach is based on sustainability that is depended on people's experience in terms of communication. It can also be mentioned that the total approach is based on the fact that reality is created on the social formulations. It can also be mentioned that the basic target of qualitative research is instrumented towards social context under normal circumstances where it would be possible to interpret, decode and describe the significances of a phenomenon. The entire process is operational under the parameter of interpretative paradigm that can minimize illusion and share subjectivity under contextualization, authenticity and complexity of the investigation. (Rigby, 2005) The basic advantages of qualitative measures are multifold. Firstly, it presents a completely realistic approach that the statistical analysis and numerical data used in research based on quantitative research cannot provide. Another advantage of
Economics of electronics commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Economics of electronics commerce - Essay Example Traditional cost accounting is structure-oriented whereas ABC is process-oriented (Emblemsvag, 2006). 2a. Operating leverage is the highest in e-commerce companies. E-commerce companies have very low variable costs but high initial up-front development cost. For example, Amazon.com initially had a fixed up-front development cost of over $60 million but no per transaction cost (Economics of Electronics Commerce, n.d.). Operating leverage is the lowest in merchandizing companies. Such companies mainly engage in the buying and selling of goods. Their fixed costs include mainly storage and selling costs. A higher proportion of their costs is variable costs such as packaging of goods and transportation costs. In between, service companies have a higher proportion of fixed costs and hence higher operating leverage than manufacturing companies. Service companies, such as hair salons, incur a fixed amount of rent, staff salary, and facility and equipment cost regardless of whether there are any customers. Variable costs, such as shampoo, are a very low proportion. Manufacturing companies ha ve a lower operating leverage than service companies and e-commerce companies but higher operating leverage than merchandizing companies. Their fixed costs include land, equipment, machinery, plants, and facilities.
Friday, August 23, 2019
The live concert Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
The live concert - Essay Example I love going to the symphony due to the fact that the music has more quality than any other type of live music I have ever attended. The magic Flute,†Mozart’s timeless comic opera is all about young love which features some of the composer’s most wonderful music. Some critics argue that some parts of the show are really silly, but the fact is Mozart wrote really fun comic music that’s filled with the infectious enthusiasm of two teenagers who are in love for the first time. The part I enjoyed most was when the magic flute was being played, because it was intense where the artist showed all his energy and passion in order to bring Pamina, a character in the comedy, to him in process charming even the wild animals to him. The Arizona symphony orchestra is a vital part of community resource that plays a role in uniting performers and audiences through their passion for music. It’s also acknowledged through presenting world premieres, seldom performed t reasures and classical gems. Founded in 1979, it holds an important place in the world of symphonic music. In the concert the band had a cast of more than 100 students, 40 to 50 actors/ singers, a dozen dancers and another 40 musicians in the pit. The band is under the leadership of Music Director, Dr. Thomas Cockrell, one of the most experienced conductors of his generation. The band performs at the Crowder hall, where people from all walks of life come to enjoy the symphony through art, comedy and live music presentation.
Thursday, August 22, 2019
“Cousin Kate†and “The Seduction†Essay Example for Free
â€Å"Cousin Kate†and â€Å"The Seduction†Essay Both poems are written by female poets, who express their love by exploring physical and emotional aspects. Both poets imply that men are motivated by the physical side of love while women treasure the emotional side. The female characters in each poem to begin with are naà ¯ve, innocent and vulnerable. However each being mistreated left them both experienced before their time. The Seduction is set in the mid 1970’s when a teenage girl is at a party and is lured by a sleazy boy. Cousin Kate is about a young maiden who is taken advantage of by a lord ho then leaves her for her cousin Kate. Both are left with an experience and a child. The poems were written in very different periods and reflect love and marriage in different social manors through time. ‘Cousin Kate’ was written in the Victorian reign around the 1870s. Love and marriage in the 1870s was very different to present time, as the Victorian citizen’s approach and mind-set was to expect women to provide children especially sons to become an heir, ‘Your father would give lands for one, To wear his coronet.’ This shows that the father would be willing to pay a lot of money (land) to have a grandson. Birth out of marriage was considered wrong; ‘The neighbors call you good and pure, Call me an outcast thing’. Society saw Kate as a good person and a good marriage that they accepted into the community. Whilst they considered the cottage maiden as an outcast for having a child out of wedlock. They were also perceived to have a duty to marry and obey their husband; in the bible it says St.Paul in Ephesians 5:22: ‘Wives, be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body. As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.†’ Similarly in the Seduction although much more recent, societies view of birth outside marriage especially among teenage pregnancy is still frowned upon. ‘And better, now to turn away, move away, fade away, Than to have the neighbors whisper that ‘you always looked the type.’ The Seduction reflects a more modern attitude to love, where people frequently meet at social gatherings.’ She met him at the party and danced with him all night’. This shows that relationships can be started without knowing each other, when you are drinking. The poem also shows that men and women are now perceived as equal, in that both men and women are at the party and both are drinking alcohol. Messages of love have been interlinked with the environment to help you portray their attitudes towards one another. The setting in the Seduction has been created by using imagery and personification which helps the reader to envisage the scene. ‘Far from the blind windows of the tower blocks.’ This could imply that no one is there to see what could happen or that no one cares. An industrial dock yard is not a nice place to be and most probably not many people go there. ‘Towards the frightening scum on the water’, because this setting is so unromantic it implies that the sleazy boy is only after one thing. ‘She chattered on, and stared at the water, The Mersey, green as a septic wound.’ Here the author has used a simile to help explain nervousness of the girl. These words are effective because it emphasizes her innocents, although it seems to be dark and ery. The opening of ‘Cousin Kate’ tells us that she is just a simple country girl working to live. ‘I was a cottage maiden Hardened by sun and air, Contented with my cottage mates,’. Having this opening shows the emphasis of her innocents and it gives us a small idea of who she is. The author Christina Rossetti has pieced together a small picture of what her life was like but tells you enough for you to finish the scene in you mind. This all changes when later on it contrasts with the mention of her cousin Kate and the new lords. Both poets have used the environment help them create an image and an atmosphere which when added to the dramatic monologue is very effective. Also it transfers the feelings and emotions from the character to the reader. The poets have both used a range of techniques to help present the atmosphere and attitude to love. The atmosphere at the beginning of ‘The Seduction’ is quieting down after leaving a party with a random person who has got her drunk. It slowly turns into a dark and depressing mood but the girl is excited, naà ¯ve and unaware. The poet has used words like ‘she giggled’ and ‘he muttered’. This is successful as it shows the contrast between the innocent girl and the sinister boy. At the end of the poem the atmosphere has changed to a despaired attitude this shows how the poets view has changed. The emphasis of the change is described using poetic techniques like Connotation, Imagery, Oxymoron’s and alliteration. ‘And a bag filled with shimmering, sweet paint thinner.’ This implies that the boy was going off to get high when he is meant to be at school, I have chosen this quote also as an example of imagery and alliteration. Similarly the beginning of ‘Cousin Kate’ is peaceful, illustrated though words such as ‘contended’, ‘care’ and ‘flaxen’. However later on in the poem the narrators’ feelings are mixed; ‘Even so I sit and howl in the dust’ shows that she does feel sorrow and the reader can empathise with her. Also the poet has used dust to create a sad atmosphere. Whereas she perceives her cousin as wealthy and happy; ‘You sit in gold and sing’. This gives contrast from poor and rich, sorrow and joy. The narrator is also angry with the lord, ‘I would have spit in his face’. This illustrates her anger towards him, which creates tension and increases the reader’s knowledge of the narrator. Another way the poets express their attitudes to love and marriage is through the relationships between men and women. ‘Cousin Kate’ suggests the role of the men in the Victorian society were much more superior to women as they are the ‘hunters and gatherers’. By this I mean that the men are the leaders and are loved by women and the women should do as they are told. Conversely the male in the poem is not seen as likeable character, ‘He lured me to his palace home’. The word ‘lured’ projects an image of an ungentlemanly character which has falsely persuaded the victim. This is effective as he treats her as she is an object; ‘He changed me like a glove’. Equally ‘The Seduction’ the male character is perceived as someone who is not a pleasant person and a bad influence, ‘He spat into the river’. This is valuable as it illustrates how shocking and uncouth the boy is. Eileen McAuley has used verbs to convey the actions of the characters in ‘The Seduction’; for example the girl’s movements are submissive toward the strong minded boy. Although the same as ‘Cousin Kate’ the women in that period of time are meant to be submissive to their ‘master’. Consequently both poems are exploring the role of women in relationships and despite the fact that there is over a hundred years between the poems they both seem to be implying that society still criticise young mothers. Although the men are described as sleazy and sinister, this could be a miss conception as these may be the views from a women perspective. These descriptions of the male characters are portrayed as a stereotypical chauvinist male and could be offensive from a mans point of view. Finally the two poets have used the structure to help represent the theme of love. Both poems are written in stanzas and each tells another part of the story. ‘Cousin Kate’ is set out in a very traditional manner which help you to grasp the thoughts and emotions of the narrator. It repeats certain words in the first person like ‘I’, ‘he’ and ‘you’ this is done to show the difference between the characters but mostly cousin Kate and the narrator because ‘Kate’ has stolen the narrators ‘man’ (father); also because of the style it has created the piece of writing to be a dramatic monologue. Similarly ‘The Seduction’ also uses a lot of repetition of words in the third person like ‘she’ and ‘he’ this helps to show that it is a narrative. The poem is almost split into two sections; the fir half concentrates on the build up to when she discovers that she is pregnant and the second half only talks about if only it had not happened; also the first half is showing her innocents forming into an experience. This is successful because she is a young girl who still day dreams and wishes to be out with her friends; ‘Day trips to Blackpool, jumping all the rides?’ McAuley has also used a rhetorical question as if to say should she be out with her friends or does she get what she is deserved; but then it carries on to question what does the girl deserve? I believe that there is a subliminal message beyond the words and technical styles of writing, in both poems which can be related to the present time. The most obvious one is not to be naive and fall for boys tricks. However boy tricks are not always bad and good things may come of it. I consider the most successful technique is not a poetic technique, but more the structure the poets have written them in because it creates the mood, the speed and most of all in my eyes the tension and suspense.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
The Differences Between The English Colonies History Essay
The Differences Between The English Colonies History Essay In the 17th and 18th century, many English people sought after religious freedom and riches, so they migrated to North America, where they established different colonies to create better lives for themselves. Some colonies faced many struggles, while others were better off. British colonies differed from each other by the types of settlers, intent for the colonies, environment, and indigenous people encountered. Between the late 16th and early 17th century, Englands population grew twice its size due to the new nourishing American crops. With more people, came the higher demand for food and clothes, thus creating high inflation (Norton et al. 2-3a). There were also not enough jobs or land for the newly increased population. According to Norton et al., Steady streams of the landless and homeless filled the streets and highways. With that said, the rich did not like how things were going and said that Britain was way too crowded. They believed that better opportunities awaited them in America. Everyone thought that there was plenty of land available for the taking in America as well (Norton et al. 2-3a). With these recent economic changes, came a religious transformation. The English reformation started when Henry VIII wasnt granted a divorce by the Pope. He decided to leave the Roman Catholic Church to create the Church of England. He originally did this so he could get a divorce from his wife because she gave birth to a daughter instead of a son. He wanted a King to rule after him, not a Queen (Norton 2-3b). The Church of England Robinson 2 collected a lot of taxes, which upset many of the other Christian religions (Norton 2-3d). These would include the Puritans, Separatists, and Presbyterians. The Church soon tried to conform the people of England. No one wanted to be prosecuted for their different religious beliefs so they fled to America for religious freedom (Norton 2-3d). The settlers that came to the Southern colonies were wealthy, merchants, and gentry (Hollitz 17). The southern colonies included Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The people in the South were mostly Anglican or Catholic, but unlike the settlers in the middle and northern colonies, the southern colonists were not that interested in converting the Natives to Christianity; they were focused on making a profit (Hagen, trexxpublishing.wordpress.com). Some of the northern colonies were Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. The North was colonized by the Puritans. The Puritans were a group of radical English Protestants that wanted to purify the Church of England. They also wanted to be able to practice their religion freely without people trying to convert them, so they moved to America, specifically to the North. At first, the middle colonies were called New Netherlands because they were originally founded by the Dutch, but the British took over in the early 18th century. The middle colonies consisted of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. After the British crown took over New Netherlands, it was founded by the Quakers. The Quakers believed that there should be equality for all. They were originally in the North with the Puritans, but soon colonized in the middle region because they faced scrutiny over their religious views (Hagen Robinson 3 trexxpublishing.wordpress.com). Some of their views were the total opposite of the Puritans, and they were beaten and unfairly treated because of this (Hagen trexxpublishing.wordpress.com). After being founded by the Quakers, many people of other religions such as the Lutherans, Jews, Catholics, Baptists, Orthodox, Calvinists, and Presbyterians joined in the colonization process (The Middle Colonies). The middle colonies became a melting pot and took on different qualities of the northern and southern regions. At first the colonists in the South were mainly attracted to finding gold, but that ended fairly quickly. The realization that the colonists had to be able to support themselves in order to survive eventually kicked in (Searle helium.com). People of the South were looking to make a profit, and according to Searle, they did find rice, tobacco, and cotton to be profitable exports. The most popular of the three at the time was tobacco. For the colonists that owned big plantations, life was easy, but for those that didnt own that much land, life was horrible (Searle helium.com). The owners of the plantations made a lot of money off of their slaves and tobacco, while the small land owners had a hard time staying alive (Searle helium.com). The South was focused on harvesting, which was different than the North. The Puritans in the northern colonies were mainly focused on religion. Their whole lives revolved around their religion. According to Norton et al., many devoted themselves to self- examination and Bible study, and families often prayed together each day under the guidance of the husband and father. If you didnt practice religion the same as the Puritans, you were looked down upon and sometimes even beaten. Even though the Puritans primary focus was religion, Robinson 4 they did trade and manufacture goods (Hagen trexx.wordpress.com). Some of these goods included ships, fish, and lumber. The Quakers came to the middle region to escape the scrutiny they received in the North. They were excepting of others, which was good because they middle colonies were filled with many different religions. Everyone tolerated each other because no one was in control of the others (The Middle Colonies). At first, most of the focus was put on religion. Later, the settlers became interested in profit, like the south. The middle region produced goods such as wheat, corn, and tobacco. Whatever was produced in each region was largely dependent upon their environments. In the South, the climate was much hotter and had richer soil, leading to their incredible farming abilities. In the North, the soil was unfit for agriculture, which is why their economy was based on their industrial business. The middle region was a mixture of both the North and the South because it had rich soil for farming, but also traded and created goods (Economic Differences Between the Northern Southern Colonies). Even though the South was flourishing with the tobacco business, the colonists had a hostile relationship with the indigenous people there. When the colonists first came to the south, they encountered the Powhatans, and then later they met the Algonquians. The Powhatans and the colonists agreed to a peace treaty (Hollitz 17). In return the Powhatans wanted items that would make them more advanced than the neighboring tribes (Hollitz 17). The relationships that the southern settlers had with Powhatans started off okay, but soon grew bad. According to Hollitz, the fragile relationship soon foundered on mutual mistrust. The trust between the two Robinson 5 faltered because neither was able to rule over the other, thus leading to the colonists kidnapping the chiefs daughter, Pocahontas. With the Algonquians, the exchange between the southern colonists and them were hostile because of cultural differences. For instance, Native men didnt do agricultural work, while English men did. Even their views on property ownership were seen as a major problem. The English thought that they were superior to the Algonquians, so they constantly showed disrespect towards them (Hollitz 18). In the North, the colonists initially had a very peaceful relationship with the Natives. When the settlers came across the Pokanets, they signed a peace treaty. The natives provided the colonists with food in return for certain items (Norton et al. 2-6d). The Pokanets helped keep the colonists in the North alive. In the middle region, the colonists had a relatively peaceful relationship with Iroquois. The Quakers thought that it was imperative to have a good relationship with Natives (The Middle Colonies). In conclusion, there were many differences between the British colonies based on which region they were in. As the colonies develop over time, the many differences between them may prevent the colonists from coming together in a united front to fight a common cause. If everyone has views that clash, then how can they agree on anything? When conflict comes in to play, the colonists will have to put their contrasting ideas on the backburner and fight for their independence. Robinson 6
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
The Global Journey In The Sin Dejar Huella Media Essay
The Global Journey In The Sin Dejar Huella Media Essay Sin dejar huella (Without Leaving a Trace, 2000) is a film written and directed by Marà a Novaro. It is based on a journey undertaken by two female fugitives Ana and Aurelia travelling along the back roads of Mexico from Ciudad Juà ¡rez to Cancà ºn. Sin dejar huella is similar to Novaros other film productions: it is structured around a physical, objective journey and Novaro makes clear allusions and references to the melodramatic themes of motherhood, female friendship and invisible male figures in contemporary Mexico. Sin dejar huella belongs to the niche genre of the womens road movie and has triggered comparisons with Ridley Scotts tragicomic feminist road movie Thelma and Louise (1991). Cohan and Hark outline the road movie as representing a questà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦for a better life, a new social order, or fulfilment. [1] However, the journey across Mexico in Novaros feature film transcends the conventional spiritual quest of finding yourself and Bildungsroman as associated with this movie genre. It differentiates itself from the melodramatic undertones of her earlier film productions and the lightheartedness of Scotts 1991 feature specifically through the interplay of amalgamating elements from the cultures of different regions [2] the local and global influences and behaviour in Mexico through which Novaro addresses her socio-political concerns of poverty, social neglect, globalisation and the pace of modernity. In this respect, certain parallels can be drawn between Sin dejar huella and Dennis Hoppers Easy Rider (1969) in which, as one critic points out: The search for America undertaken by Captain America and his sidekick Billy is not geographical, it is literally a quest to find out where Americas head is at. The people and places represented in that quest are evocative of different states of consciousness co-existing unpeacefully in this country and all over the world. Each stop on the road is an encounter with a different awareness of what is real and what is of value. Novaro uses the velocity of the high speed chase in the narrative to ignite the film from within, effectively creating a momentum through which she engages the audience and, similar to Hoppers 1969 feature, enters an incisive discourse to find out exactly where Mexicos head is at. This essay is an attempt to investigate Sin dejar huella within the context of the glocal [3] ; focusing on the mise en scà ¨ne and the characterisation of the protagonists, I will consider how aspects of the local, regional and global or the micro-meso-macro are pooled together to generate an image of contemporary Mexico. More specifically, I will analyse the changing roles of Ana and Aurelia and the development of camaraderie between the two initially polarised characters as they progress through their journey: I will attempt to draw a correlation between the local and global influences they confront and are forced to adapt to, in particular from their positions as women living on the margins of Mexican society, and how this leads to a level of co-dependency and a drive for the formation of their relationship, representative of a creation of a new identity in Mexico. Firstly, it is significant to consider the influences and reasons for Novaros interplay with the local and global in Sin dejar huella, and how they enable the film to explore aspects of globalisation in Mexico. Mexicos entry into NAFTA [4] in 1994 and President Salinas de Gortaris free-market policies led to a fall in national film production and distribution. Subsequently, agreements and alliances were established between Spanish and Mexican production companies in the late 1990s with the aim to fortalecer los lazos de coloboracià ³n [5] to locally produce films and television programmes (where it would have been cheaper) and extend their reach beyond the national, and towards regional and global markets. The preconditions of these agreements were to incorporate Mexicans and Spaniards at the level of both cast and crew, generally in proportion to the percentage of funding offered by each country [6] essentially an obligatory interplay and exchange between the lo cal and the global. Sin dejar huella was part of this new wave of transnational cinema production: it was co-produced by Mexicos AltaVista Films and Spains Tornasol Films, and Aitana Sà ¡nchez-Gijà ³n a widely recognised Spanish-Italian and Hollywood film actress [7] was cast as the female co-protagonist in the film. The representation of distinct upbringings and ways of life in Spain and Mexico are underlined through the mise-en-scà ¨ne, characterisation, and the cooperation between the two protagonists in Sin dejar huella, which relate to the idea that the interplay between the local and the global stems from the preconditioned film production requirements and transnational influences. From the outset of the narrative, the costume and the dià ¡logos humorà sticos [8] between Ana and Aurelia draw immediate attention to their differing local and global consumer attitudes: Ana wears luxury Western designer accessories, such as high-heeled sandals, a Longines watch and Gucci sunglasses which are emphasised in repeated medium frame talking head shots. Aurelia, conversely, wears cowboy boots relating to the traditional outfit of the Mexican vaquero and has neither heard of these global brands, nor recognises their monetary value: she comically mistakes Gucci for Fuchi and exchanges the Long ines watch for only enough money to buy a telephone call-card. As the narrative progresses, it is significant to note that the women share and barter their clothes and accessories. The economic and information exchange between Spain and Mexico and the establishment of friendly ties between the two countries in the film production, and also represented in the on-screen local-global trade could in fact be a constructive and encouraging image of Mexicos entry into global economic activity. However, although the incorporation of Sà ¡nchez-Gijà ³n was a mere compliance with the conditions of co-producing, and the economic activity in the narrative representative of a progressive image of the Mexico-Spain film alliance, a close cinematographic analysis of the maturity of Ana and Aurelias relationship, and the shifting image of what it means to be a Mexican woman would reveal that the interplay between the local and the global transcends these practical factors. The doll is a widely recognised and iconic symbol of the feminine ideal; it is a beautifully constructed, motionless object that is subject to gaze and adoration. In the opening ten minutes of Sin dejar huella both Ana and Aurelia break away from this anachronistic and illusory symbols of Mexican femininity in the physical destruction of doll figurines: for Ana it is a ceramic figure of dama de Kolpecà ©, una tejedora, figura de Jaina del periodo clasico maya [9] she was exporting as a replica Mayan artefact to the Museum of Denver, Colorado; for Aurelia it is the bride figurine from her wedding cake and under which she had stashed cocaine for her narcotraficante boyfriend. Despite the physical exterior of the figurines a bride and a weaver it is the interior of the figurines are the sources of their corruption that have led them to embark on this quest the drugs and the forgery what the women have to resort to/ the realities of life as a woman in Mexico despite the education and (what appears to be) a stable marriage life on the margins is and are the factors that have driven them to embark on this quest to find out that what is actually contained within the dolls (for Ana it is a Mexican peso and in Aurelia ´s case, drugs), Destruction of what the doll represents and evocative of their search to find a new alternative definition of femininity in contemporary Mexico, albeit perhaps a broken and less defined image. This journey away from the expectations of womanhood that they have essentially been forced to conform to by default is exemplified in the road sign No hay retorno since there is effectively no turning back; Ana and Aurelia had to break this image, showing almost a progressive image and a development. Before the women have even met each other in the narrative they are united The physical destruction of the dolls as the towards achieving their liberation is representative of the journey these women will undertake as they continue through the journey across Mexico This dichotomy the two women face between subserving the image and breaking away to achieving exactly what they want, serves as a vehicle towards the formation of their friendship and an establishment of their co-dependency. In every scene in which their friendship is developed the fundamental human needs are brought to the forefront, despite the local-global differences that surround them: When Aurelia witnesses Ana drinking water from a public fountain, Aurelia is shocked and offers to buy her bottled water. It is ironic in their reversal of attitudes and financial situations: Ana is the more globalised traveller, yet is faced with a situation in which she cannot pay for a basic human requirement, Aurelia, a woman who has grown up working in the sweat-shops of Northern Mexico ironically is aware of the problems of drinking tap-water. It is at this moment that a level of dependency arises from Ana onto Aurelia. This dependency that emerges is particularly significant in reference to Aurelia ´s mocking comment in the car Loz ezpaà ±olez hablan azà , emphasising the lisp common in Spanish speech, which draws attention to their global differences. This dependency is transformed into a friendship between the two women as witnessed at the Playa Paraà so where a sign embedded in the sand which reads Sà ³lo se encuentran amigos aquà is focussed on and the women subsequently bathe in the sea water. Their physical immersion into the water perhaps could be inferred as a religious imagery of soul cleansing or baptism or the two women united by the water, a vital ingredient for life, and an element that is necessary for all regardless of their race or nationality. This visual imagery is significant in Novaro ´s interplay between the local and the global because the sea is the factor that connects the local and the global, national and international altogether not solely in a conceptual manner but also geographically. This concept of the connection between nations through water (*) is represented in the scene that motivates Aurelia to embark on the journey itself in which she watches a man (like Ana and Aurelia) take of his clothes and cross a river to El Paso, Texas. The notion of water as an immersing factor in representing the ability to cross / traverse across onto a new, better world is also what differentiates the women when confronted by borders each women reacts differently as a result of their upbringing and where they essentially originate from. Ana, as a  ´globe-trotter, having lived, worked and loved in many countries confronts borders as a means of surviving financially she trades false Mayan artefacts to the Museum of Denver, America. Aurelia, conversely, views borders as a liberating factor: a chance to improve her lifestyle and provide her children with the opportunity for a better life. The relationships with men are significant factors that differentiate the women Ana ´s characterisation as a femme fatale as emphasised by the mise-en-scene in her dress is chased by a lecherous cop, Mendizabal : he smells her hair and almost fetishises his search for her, and in fact his hunt for her is like him wanting a foreign woman as a trophy to hang up. Ana is somewhat feared by men as a result of her education and her dress. Their relationship with men Ana and Mendizabel goes beyond the femme fatale as her costume would suggest she does not want to use her beauty, charm or sexual allure to ensnare Mendizabel She does however torture her lover denying confirmation of her affection and driving him to the point of obsession and exhaustion so that he is incapable of making rational decisions it ultimately leads to his death he is killed by the wrong person She is in fact feared by Mendizabal Aurelia and BILLY AND JUANITO even her sexual relationship is with a 19year old boy Her relationship with men is reflected on to youth of mexico perhaps a progressive image of Mexico? Education of Juanito Sex scene he goes for her breasts nurturing mother Aurelia is the madre coraje will risk anything for her children using the traditional methods of education, good-schooling ensuring change, Juanito holds strong morals Heralclio Chuc progressive image of Mexico heading towards globalisation and a romanticised image of the past vs. the irony of the indigenous culture still existing within the forces of global.. Margins of society left out and the irony that they have tore-create their roots/ portray themselves as existing in the past attempt to regenerate their history (illegally) In an interview with Fernando Brenner, Novaro stated that: Querà a mostrar un Mà ©xico muy contrastante: el sur y el norte. Y dos mujeres muy diferentes. Ademà ¡s una de ellas tenà a que tener mà ¡s capacidad para ver a Mà ©xico, precisamente por no ser mexicana. Ése fue mi punto de partida, y una sensacià ³n que tengo no me siento mexicana en la zona Yucatà ¡n, como le pasa a muchos mexicanos, pues estamos en la regià ³n maya. Y sea que esa vivencia, la de ser una extranjera en mi patria, convive con mi encanto por estar en mi paà s. Foreign influence in Mexico Road movie genre inexorably transcultural The movement in the movie itself parallels this shifting image of Mexico Last paragraph the image of a changing mexico isnt negative a progressive image of the change and that the foreign influence isnt always going to be negative However, despite the fast-pace change of modernity/ global influence, there is still a level of humanity this doesnt change Ana steals the money but brings it back, mariachi band at the end she remembers Survival basic human needs they converge in this respect because they both rely on each other/ are dependent on each other food, drinking, sleep
Monday, August 19, 2019
Taxidermy in Victorian England :: Victorian Era
Taxidermy in Victorian England: The â€Å"Bone Articulators†â€Å"Taxidermy†is Such a Funny Word! The word â€Å"taxidermy†has its roots in Greek, and it means â€Å"to arrange skin†(Historical Review of Taxidermy 1). The text from which I found most of my material (A Historical Review of Taxidermy) stated that taxidermy could have meant many things in ancient times, such as preserving mummies, or even leather working (arranging of animal skins) but by the time it reached England it was known quite solely as the arrangement of animal skins to represent life (1). A Compressed History Taxidermy was then not the art that we know today. In its earliest days (18th century) birds were especially difficult to reproduce. After the long and tedious procedures, specimens were often unrecognizable. This changed with the ideas of a Frenchman named Becoeur (1718-1777). He was the first man to use a paste containing arsenic to preserve bird skins and his methods reaped amazing results. You could actually tell that the specimens were birds. Becoeur never published his recipe during his life so that he might protect his business, but in 1820 a French taxidermist named Louis Dufresne (1752-1832) did. This was a landmark in the history of taxidermy, for it allowed many people to be able to create life-like specimens very similar to Becoeur‘s (3). The British read Dufresne’s books, and thus much of their taxidermy mimicked the French styles for a time. However, new styles and methods of preservation began to appear, such as the non-poisonous preservative formulae developed by Rowland Ward (1848-1912) and Montague Brown (1837-1923) in the mid to late 19 th century (4). For the first half of the 19 th century, taxidermy was still trying to become established. The difficulty owed much to the fact that the art was still being perfected. Most specimens from this period were rather stiff and un-lifelike in appearance. The idea of creativity combined with taxidermy had not yet taken flight, but this changed with the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. This show exhibited some of the first â€Å"creative†â€Å"taxidermical†(coined by me) works of art; the particular works created by John Hancock of Newcastle especially grabbed the attention of the judges. Hancock’s works, such as his tableaux of a falcon grappling with a heron, were â€Å" unsurpassed at the time for their quality and realism†(5). A judge commented that they â€Å"... will go far towards raising the art of taxidermy to a level with other arts which have hitherto held higher pretensions†(5).
Sunday, August 18, 2019
the prince :: essays research papers
- Navigate Here - Context --- Chapters 1-2 Chapter 3 Chapters 4-7 Chapters 8-10 Chapters 11-15 Chapters 16-19 Chapters 20-23 Chapters 24-26 --- Study Questions Further Reading 2 Dedication, Chapters 1-2 Summary The Prince is a gift from Machiavelli to the Magnificent Lorenzo, son of Piero de' Medici, offered as "proof of [the author's] devotion." Machiavelli writes that it is the most precious thing he has to offer. The book consists of "the knowledge of the actions of great men, acquired by long experience of modern affairs, and a continued study of ancient history," which Machiavelli indicates he has studied for a long period of time. Although the book is "unworthy" of the Magnificent Lorenzo, the author hopes he will accept it. After all, the book offers its reader, in a concise form, learning which has taken its author many years of study and much personal danger. Machiavelli emphasizes that the book is short and direct, and written without without resort to "pompous phrases" or "embellishment." Its strengths are that it goes to "the truth of the matter" and addresses an important subject. He does not wish to seem presumptuous by daring to discuss the affairs of a prince, but, he suggests, just as only a prince, from his vantage point above the people, can understand them, only one of the people can truly understand the prince. He hopes that his Magnificence will see in the work his hope for the prince's future greatness, which has been promised by "fortune" and his "great qualities." And if his Magnificence will lower his gaze, he will discover how undeservedly Machiavelli has had to suffer misfortune. Chapter 1: "How Many Kinds of Principalities There Are and the Way They Are Acquired" There are two kinds of states or governments: republics and principalities. There are also two kinds of principalities: "hereditary" and "new." Further, "new" principalities are either "entirely new" or a territory annexed to "the hereditary state of the prince who acquires them." Annexed principalities can be put under the rule of a prince, or set up as "free states." New principalities can be won by using another state's military, by the conqueror's own military, by luck, or by personal courage and ability. Chapter 2: "On Hereditary Principalities" Machiavelli indicates that this book will not be about republics, which he has discussed in a previous work. Hereditary states are easier to hold onto than new states, since, barring the appearance of an extraordinary force, if the prince is not stupid, he will hold onto power by doing what his predecessor did. the prince :: essays research papers - Navigate Here - Context --- Chapters 1-2 Chapter 3 Chapters 4-7 Chapters 8-10 Chapters 11-15 Chapters 16-19 Chapters 20-23 Chapters 24-26 --- Study Questions Further Reading 2 Dedication, Chapters 1-2 Summary The Prince is a gift from Machiavelli to the Magnificent Lorenzo, son of Piero de' Medici, offered as "proof of [the author's] devotion." Machiavelli writes that it is the most precious thing he has to offer. The book consists of "the knowledge of the actions of great men, acquired by long experience of modern affairs, and a continued study of ancient history," which Machiavelli indicates he has studied for a long period of time. Although the book is "unworthy" of the Magnificent Lorenzo, the author hopes he will accept it. After all, the book offers its reader, in a concise form, learning which has taken its author many years of study and much personal danger. Machiavelli emphasizes that the book is short and direct, and written without without resort to "pompous phrases" or "embellishment." Its strengths are that it goes to "the truth of the matter" and addresses an important subject. He does not wish to seem presumptuous by daring to discuss the affairs of a prince, but, he suggests, just as only a prince, from his vantage point above the people, can understand them, only one of the people can truly understand the prince. He hopes that his Magnificence will see in the work his hope for the prince's future greatness, which has been promised by "fortune" and his "great qualities." And if his Magnificence will lower his gaze, he will discover how undeservedly Machiavelli has had to suffer misfortune. Chapter 1: "How Many Kinds of Principalities There Are and the Way They Are Acquired" There are two kinds of states or governments: republics and principalities. There are also two kinds of principalities: "hereditary" and "new." Further, "new" principalities are either "entirely new" or a territory annexed to "the hereditary state of the prince who acquires them." Annexed principalities can be put under the rule of a prince, or set up as "free states." New principalities can be won by using another state's military, by the conqueror's own military, by luck, or by personal courage and ability. Chapter 2: "On Hereditary Principalities" Machiavelli indicates that this book will not be about republics, which he has discussed in a previous work. Hereditary states are easier to hold onto than new states, since, barring the appearance of an extraordinary force, if the prince is not stupid, he will hold onto power by doing what his predecessor did.
Observations in All Our Kin Essay -- Carol Stack
Carol Stack finds herself in a curious place as a young white woman venturing into a black neighborhood in hopes of alleviating negative stereotypes and bringing illumination into a semiosphere that is altogether ignored or even despised. While she defined her purpose as the attempt to â€Å"illustrate the collective adaptations to poverty of men, women, and children within the social-cultural network of the black urban family†(28), her methods are not merely those of an outside observer spouting back information, but truly that of an actively engaged participant. Staying true to the guidelines of participant observation studies, Stack did not attempt to isolate or manipulate the culture she saw, and instead of donning the lab coat, as it were, and playing the role of the experimenting scientist, or simply sneaking in, Stack was very human in her interactions and dealings, participating as actively as possible in peoples’ real lives in The Flats. (Hedrick). Twenty years ago, Stack sought to explain why the impoverished area was not subject to conventional judgment and evaluation by describing the primary differences between that society, and the more affluent culture that defines the standards. To say, for example, that the average black household is unstructured would be a misstatement. On the contrary, these households are elaborately structured, but in a more fluid manner than the conventional home. Typically, these subcultures are negatively defined – or judged by what they are not. Through this lens, The Flats appears to be a disheveled mess of rats scurrying for the next scrap of food. Walking into this situation, Stack had to prove the notion that â€Å"distinctively negative features attributed to poor families, that they are fat... ...their lifestyles or values, but merely funnel greater sums of money into bottomless, self-destructing pits†(23). If this is true, then certainly the American Dream wins out for virtue. Indeed, throwing money at a problem absolutely does not make it go away – but when families are legitimately struggling to make ends meet and goods are scarce, when they’ve established these complex chains of organized networks and trades, and when they can empathize with others in their situation and see the big picture beyond their own, one is left to wonder why Stack’s voice hasn’t been heard more widely, and why the residents of The Flats are still left to fight against the current in their own comparatively competent culture of exchange, and networks of all their kin. Stack, Carol B. All Our Kin : Strategies for Survival in a Black Community. New York: Basic Books, 1983.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Florida Football Players: Are They Students Athletes? Essay
Many schools look to create the number one colligate football team in their division. From The University of Alabama, The University of Louisiana, and even here, at The University of Florida, each program strives to develop something great by recruiting players to fill holes on the team, or simply make an overall impact. However, the individual’s academic performance is sometimes over looked based on the fact that they are able to catch a ball and run. Student athletes should not only be able to perform on the field and bring money into the institution, but they should also be capable of performing in the classroom. The University of Florida over emphasizes athletics and monetary benefits, thus causing most players to suffer academically. Florida football players are true athletes. Each athlete is expected to perform at their highest ability on game day. It’s no secret that most division one athletes are at the top of their recruiting class, and are usually the best tha t high school football has to offer. The recruiting process is based on the hope of delivery and a win on gameday. The University of Florida gained three number one football recruits in the 2013 season including Vernon Hargreaves III. Now looking forward to 2015, Florida has set its sights on Byron Cowart, the number one player in the nation according to ESPN. Most programs look for the best of the best, and invest in players that have the ability to play on the professional level. The University of Florida is well known for its award winning program, and their ability to produce professional players. They have succeeded in developing some of the most prominent players in the NFL to include Heisman-Trophy winner Tim Tebow and NFL Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood. The university has invested time and money into each of these individuals in hopes that they will perform on game day and continue to prove that they were the best decision for the program throughout their career. Florida football players are of great benefit to the university. Every game costs. For example, this season alone, The University of Florida had to pay for a game that wasn’t even played. The university had to dish out almost one million dollars to The University of Idaho just for showing up and leaving. College football is a deeply loved sport that carries a large price tag. If an athlete is not delivering on the field, they are quickly pulled out so that they can reevaluate their strategy to win the game. Each athlete must deliver every game to ensure that money keeps flowing not only into the program, but into the school itself. The success of a colligate football program is based on the number of national titles the school holds, and their rankings in their division. Florida alone has won eight SEC championships, and three national titles, making them a dominant factor in the SEC. They have also been ranked the number one seed several times throughout the programs history. Gator football brings a lot of money to the institution and is an important part of the university. Florida football players however, carry a low emphasis on academics. At the University of Florida, and other big name institutions, academic exceptions are usually made on the behalf of each player during the admissions process. For example, here at the University of Florida, most football players scored 346 points lower on the SAT, than the regular students at the institution. This is equivalent to the gap between students at The University of Georgia versus those at Harvard University. Majority of players also had lower GPA’s of around 2.8 versus the student population of a 4.0 or higher coming out of high school. The University of Florida also does not possess a high graduation rate of their football players, specifically African-Americans. Florida only graduates about forty-nine percent of their football players each year, compared to the overall graduation rate of the institution at eighty-nine percent. This goes to show that Florida football players are being held to a higher standard as an athlete versus that of a student. Many do receive a tutor, for help with classes; unfortunately the tutors only do enough to see that the player remains eligible, rather than helping them excel as a student. According to many coaches, â€Å"it is the price of winning†. To develop the most competitive program in a division one sport, many institutions are devoted to the flexibility of admissions and grade forgiveness, for athletes. However, when did compromising an individual’s future become socially acceptable? As stated before, The University of Florida places a stronger emphasis on athle tics rather than education when it comes to athletes. The school may be a desired look for most athletes, but is it really beneficial for them? Colligate football players here at The University of Florida are usually considered to be all around great players. Many are able to deliver on game day and often have a chance at going pro. The Gator football team brings in the most money out of every sport at the university. Therefore, they have earned much respect on the field and are one of the universities greatest assets. However, football players at The University of Florida are athlete students, not student athletes. The importance of academics is not stressed enough to the football players. There are some players who meet the university GPA and test score requirements, but a vast majority tend to fall short†¦ really short. Rather than challenging each athlete intellectually, the University of Florida ensures that all the athletes’ energy is geared towards sports. College is the foundation to the rest of a person’s life. Many apply to the University of Florida that are more than qualified to attend but are denied. Could this be an effect of a football team stacked with unfit applicants? This issue brings a deep concern to many and raises a question of fairness. We as a country have deemed it sociably acceptable to make exceptions for athletes out of our own greed to win and make money. We are not helping these athletes by passing them through classes just so they can play on game day. This is a hindrance and must be corrected. Whether it be through a program directed at colligate athletes to ensure their college success, or doing what is right and not admitting them at all as if they were a normal student, something needs to be done. The individual athletes overall future should be the most important aspect, and not creating a competitive program that brings in money. By continuing to admit these students and pass them through classes, we are not preparing them for their future careers, and therefore as a school system, we failed them. The price of winning is actually the price of failure.
Friday, August 16, 2019
Examine the role of the witches in Macbeth Essay
King James I succeeded Queen Elizabeth I on the throne of England in 1603. He was a member of the Stuart dynasty and was already the King of Scotland. This meant he united the two kingdoms, ending incessant warring between the two nations. James hoped to end the period of religious turmoil that had engulfed England for the previous century. The people in 17th Century England were very superstitious and witchcraft was the object of fevered fascination. In 1604 a law was passed that said anyone convicted of witchcraft should be executed. King James I was as fascinated by witches as his subjects, and in 1590 he personally interrogated a group of witches who had plotted to kill him. Misogyny and a strong belief that morality was being upheld fuelled society’s hatred of witches. World Order was an important factor of seventeenth century life. World Order was a system in which God was at the top of the chain, followed by the King or Queen, then humans, birds, animals and fish. They believed that the King had been directly chosen by God and therefore did not have to answer to parliament. The human section of the Order was split into subdivisions of classes. It was believed that each person was born into their social status and ambition to rise above their position was considered unacceptable and was punishable by political means or by fate. The audience would immediately realise that once Macbeth had murdered the King, he would have to die, as he had disturbed God’s natural order. The first scene of Macbeth prepares the audience for the entrance of the witches with the use of pathetic fallacy. This is used to dramatic effect, with thunder, lightning and rain applied to create a feeling of chaos. The scene being set in a desolate place reinforces this idea, with the setting making it seem like the events that will unfold will be of an ominous nature. The words the witches use support the idea of chaos and disturbance. The word ‘hurly-burly’ is used to show the turmoil at the time, with the area being ravaged by battle. Another phrase used to show disturbance is ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’. This phrase makes the audience wonder how anything fair can possibly be foul, thus creating confusion. There are many indicators that the ‘three weird sisters’ are witches. These include the use of the number three, the familiars and the language of the sisters. The number three is a number often believed to be magical, and throughout the play Shakespeare frequently uses this number throughout the play. All three of the sisters have familiars, demons who take the form of creatures to aid witches with their evil craft. This is shown when the witches say ‘I come Graymalkin’, ‘Paddock calls’ and ‘Anon’. Some of the sisters say things that can be interpreted as being related to witchcraft, including ‘that will be ere the set of sun’. This relates to witchcraft, as traditionally it was believed that witches performed magic at sunset. In Act I Scene 1, the Captain tells the story of Macbeth being a brave and noble man who is valiant and trustworthy. He gives an account of a battle that has just taken place and tells the king of Macbeth’s role in it. As the man telling the story holds the rank of Captain, trust is established between him and the audience. The use of words such as ‘carved’, ‘unseamed’ and ‘steel’ have connotations of murder and butchery, showing Macbeth’s bloodthirstiness in battle. The Captain also uses the phrase ‘or memorise another Golgotha’. This compares Macbeth’s fighting as being as bloody and savage as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This is a huge comparison, as Christ is a holy figure. I think that this shows Macbeth fights with such passion it could be almost a religion. A semantic field of ‘warfare and battle’ supports this scene, with lexis including ‘choke’; ‘rebel’; ‘galloglasses’; ‘smoked’; ‘over-charged’; ‘bloody’; ‘execution’; ‘carved’; ‘battlements’; ‘cannons’ and ‘wounds’. I think the words ‘choke’ and ‘over-charged’ are strong words, as they both show the zeal and ferocity Macbeth fought with. There is a large contrast between the way the witches and the Captain portray Macbeth. This creates an ambivalent presentation of Macbeth, allowing the audience to interpret Macbeth’s character in different ways. As a result of this, Macbeth’s entrance to the play is delayed until the third scene to allow the witches and the Captain to speak. The contradictory ideas about Macbeth that are spoken create tension, as the audience waits to see the true nature of Macbeth. A witch speaks before Macbeth’s arrival in Act I Scene 3, the line ‘A drum, a drum, Macbeth doth come’. This line has a strong aural quality, and the rhyming of ‘drum’ and ‘come’ creates a sound like a heartbeat, or a drum signifying war. This creates uncertainty in the audience’s mind, and prepares them for an ominous scene. Throughout the first scene of the play the witches are presented to the audience as puzzling creatures, possibly closer akin to Satan than humans. Their characters seem uncertain and their strange speech patterns are an enigma. They speak many contradictions including ‘when the battle’s lost and won’ and ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’. These contradictions could possibly be affiliated to world order, and the 17th Century audience may interpret the witches’ speech as a disturbance of that. The second appearance of the witches gives an insight into the power of the witches. The first witch tells the others about a woman who insulted her and how she would take her revenge upon the woman’s husband. The woman’s husband was the captain of a ship and the witch says ‘in a sieve I’ll thither sail’ and ‘I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do’. One of the skills witches were credited with was the ability to sail in sieves and the use of this and the way in which ‘I’ll do’ is repeated three times, suggests some form of incantation will be used upon the sailor. The other witches offer to ‘give a wind’, allowing her to create a storm at the ship’s location. This shows that while the witches cannot directly control people, they do have control over the environment and they can use this to change the circumstances of people. What the witches plan to do with the captain is very alike what happens to Macbeth in the future. â€Å"Sleep shall neither night nor day†is similar to Macbeth after murdering Duncan, where he is plagued by nightmares and cannot sleep. This links Macbeth to the witches and shows his evil nature. When Macbeth meets the witches he is greeted with the witches saying ‘hail to thee, Thane of Glamis’, ‘hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor’ and ‘All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter’. The three lines indicate the three states of being: past, present and future. ‘Glamis’ shows the past tense, as Macbeth has been Thane of Glamis for a significant amount of time and he is aware of his position. ‘Cawdor’ represents the present, as unbeknown to him, Duncan has just stripped the previous Thane of Cawdor of his title, and will issue it to Macbeth. The final greeting is a prophecy, and it tells Macbeth that he will become King of England. The close repetition of the phrase gives the parallelism a strong rhythmic value, creating a sound that is similar to a spell or incantation. This reminds the audience that the prophecy has come from the mouths of evil, and so cannot be pure. After hearing these prophecies Macbeth responds by physically jolting. Banquo saying ‘why do you start and seem to fear’ shows this. There are three possible explanations for him jumping. Either Macbeth jumps in fear of the witches, jumps because he knows Duncan must die, or because the idea of murdering the king was already in his mind. In my opinion the reason Shakespeare put Banquo’s line into the play was to make the audience wonder if Macbeth had already thought about killing Duncan and claiming the throne. After the prophecies are given, Macbeth also orders the witches to tell him more. Imperative verbs are used to show his commands. These include ‘stay’ and ‘speak’. These show Macbeth wants to know more and show his military commanding background. It appears that he is used to having his orders carried out. Ross – a herald of King Duncan – then gives the news that Macbeth is Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth responds by saying ‘The Thane of Cawdor lives. Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?’ This is part of a set of ‘clothes’ images throughout the play. This series of images supports the theme of the play, assuming a false identity and assuming someone else place. Clothing is used because Macbeth appears to be hiding his true nature behind the valiant robes of kingship. The set of images is effective because clothing can suggest concealment and disguise. After being assured of his position as Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth edges into a soliloquy. This is a dramatic technique and shows a character’s innermost thoughts. The phrase ‘if ill, why hath it given me earnest of success?’ is spoken by Macbeth, and shows how he cannot understand how the prophecies can possibly be evil when they have given him success. This shows he fully believes the witches and so means he will be likely to commit the murder of the king. A series of images from the stage is in this soliloquy with words such as ‘prologues’; ‘act’ and ‘imperial theme’. Another one of William Shakespeare’s plays, ‘As You Like It’ has a similar theme and a character in it says ‘All the world’s a stage and the characters merely players. They have their exits and their entrances.’ This displays world order, and it can be seen that each person has a part to play and must not step out of his or her role. By killing Duncan, Macbeth will step out of his role and cause chaos. I also think this can be related to Macbeth, as the witches have carefully orchestrated his life and have great control over his destiny. This is very much alike to the lines or acts in a play, while his exit will be his fate. At the end of the soliloquy there is also another clothes image, when Banquo says ‘look how our partner’s rapt’. This is a pun, as Macbeth is ‘spellbound’ but also metaphorically ‘wrapped’ in the clothes of another man – the king. The language of Macbeth’s letter to his wife shows that he has chosen to believe the witches prophesies. The letter opens with the phrase ‘They met me in the day of success’. This shows that all the experiences he had that day were successful, the battle and the encounter with the witches. The phrase ‘they have more in them than mortal knowledge’ shows that he fully believes they have magical powers, and that he trusts they will be beneficial to his cause. He says he ‘burned in desire to question them further’, showing the audience his desperate need to know more information. The phrase ‘fate and metaphysical aid doth seem’ is used by Lady Macbeth in her response to Macbeth’s letter. This phrase is significant as it shows her readiness to ally herself with evil and the magic of the witches. It also shows that she believes fate has placed the supernatural witches in their paths and they would be wrong to side against them. Lady Macbeth has a large soliloquy in Act I Scene 5. A soliloquy is where an actor turns to the audience and speaks directly to them, as if the character were daydreaming. The actor speaks the truth – as their character perceives it to be – to the audience. This technique is used to great dramatic effect by Shakespeare. In her soliloquy her deadly intent is revealed. The words ‘I feel now the future in the instant’ spoken by Lady Macbeth are very significant. They show that she believes their future will be decided by their actions regarding the king. I think that at this point she knows what must be done for her husband to become King. Lady Macbeth graphically indicates her decision to bring about the death of King Duncan by saying ‘O never shall sun that morrow see’. This shows that when the king goes to sleep, he shall never see daylight again: his fate is inevitable. ‘Sun’ is used as an image because the sun is a symbolic representation of monarchy. Also, in world order, kings where the highest placed creature, just as the sun is the most important thing in the sky. When Macbeth rejoins his wife, they speak of their plans to kill Duncan. She advises Macbeth to ‘look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t’. This means she wants Macbeth to look honest and friendly on the outside, yet on the inside, be as venomous as a vicious serpent and murder the king. The audience at the time would make a link between this and the Gunpowder Plot. The medals awarded during the plot to commemorate James’ escape featured a flower intertwined with a snake. As this had only recently happened in Shakespeare’s time, the audience would immediately recognise the connection. In Act I Scene 6, Duncan visits Macbeth’s castle. At the scene’s start, Duncan remarks upon how agreeable the castle is, with phrases such as ‘hath a pleasant seat’ and ‘recommends itself’ displaying his thoughts. This is ironic, as the castle looks like ‘th’innocent flower’ but is really ‘the serpent under’t’, as the king finds out. Lady Macbeth uses many euphemisms for murder in her soliloquy. Examples of these are ‘provided for’, ‘great business’ and ‘dispatch’. The use of euphemism shows that she does not want to explicitly state her murderous intentions clearly. A reason for this could be that she is afraid of being overheard and accused of treason. However, I think the main reason is that if she clearly said ‘murder’ the situation would seem more ‘real’ and she would see the extent of the crime. I believe she is still unsure herself about the gravity of the situation. The euphemisms all have double meanings, and these could be seen as a type of test for Macbeth to see how he would react to the suggestions. ‘Provided for’ could mean to be fed or to be killed. The ‘great business’ could be seen to be the feasting or the murder that would mean greatness for the Macbeths. The word ‘dispatch’ could mean welcom ing the guest, or the murder. In Act I Scene 7 Macbeth has a soliloquy that shows his indecisive state of mind. There are many words which show doubt, including ‘if’ and ‘but’, displaying how he is considering his actions and is not fully committed to the cause. This is supported by the language of thought, including ‘but how’, ‘if’ and ‘could’. Macbeth shows he is aware of just how immoral the murder would be, with the lines ‘he’s here in double trust: first, as I am his kinsman and his subject†¦ then as his host’. Here Macbeth lists his reasons why he should not kill Duncan, as he is his subject, his host and is even related to him. Through the soliloquy Macbeth shows that he understands there will be consequences for murder. ‘Might be the be-all and the end-all – here’ is a line spoken that shows the murder will not be the end of his troubled time; it will be the beginning of an even more distressing s tate. He recognises that consequences will occur to whoever carries out the action and shows it through the phrase ‘bloody instructions which being taught, return to plague th’inventor’. Macbeth also says to himself that Duncan has been a good king and that ‘his virtues will plead like angels’. At the end of the soliloquy an extended metaphor of horsemanship develops. This includes words such as ‘spur’; ‘prick’; ‘vaulting’; ‘o’erleaps’ and ‘falls’. This is prefigures Macbeth’s life, as his ‘vaulting ambition’ is all he has to ‘spur him on’, and it will eventually reach too high (the position of king) and ‘o’erleap’. He will then ‘fall’ and will receive the consequences of his actions. The image of horsemanship was used to remind the audience of Macbeth’s strict militaristic background. Macbeth’s soliloquy shows a huge difference in character between himself and his wife. While his wife immediately resolves that they must kill the king, Macbeth thinks about the consequences. This shows Macbeth does have a conscience and I think this causes the audience to feel sympathetic to his plight. Macbeth has a second soliloquy in Act II Scene 1. Here his intensified fragile state of mind is shown to the audience. Macbeth sees an apparition of a floating dagger, shown through the phrase ‘is this a dagger which I see before me’. This shows that his mind is so focused upon the murder of Duncan, it is seeing weapons everywhere he turns. Phrases such as ‘a dagger of the mind†¦ proceeding from the heat-oppressà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½d brain’, show the mental strain Macbeth is under. A semantic field of the ‘supernatural’ underpins this soliloquy, with words including: ‘witchcraft’; ‘Hecate’; ‘murder’; ‘sentinel’; ‘wolf’; ‘stealthy’; ‘ghost’ and ‘fear’. I think that ‘Hecate’ is a particularly powerful word to use as Hecate was traditionally thought to be the goddess of witchcraft. At the beginning of the soliloquy Macbeth is using euphemisms for murder, like ‘the bloody business’. However, towards the end of the soliloquy, the language has developed and now includes words like ‘murder’ and ‘horror’. This shows that Macbeth has now fully made his decision and accepts what he must do. The soliloquy ends with a rhyming couplet, reminiscent of the witches. By using the language of the witches on Macbeth, Shakespeare has identified Macbeth closely with them. This creates the impression that the soliloquy ends with him making his own spell that will mean the death of Duncan. The two soliloquies depict the way in which the witches have effected Macbeth. They have given him advice and he has taken it in the way that he believed was correct. The witches have only influenced him, they have not directly told him what to do. I think Shakespeare has used these soliloquies to give the audience an insight into the mind of a murderer. As this was a 17th Century production, psychology and other studies into the mind had not been begun. This would mean the audience would be enthralled by what would have been revolutionary viewing. Act II Scene 4 takes place outside of Macbeth’s castle and is a conversation between Ross – a thane – and an old man. Though this scene takes place after the murder of Duncan, the two characters discussing the night do not yet know anything about his death. It is important that the man speaking is old, as this means he has lived for a long time among the feuding Scottish warlords. This creates an impression of knowledge, and that the old man would have seen many unusual things. Pathetic fallacy is used, with the phrase ‘dark night strangles the travelling lamp’ signifying an eclipse. I think an eclipse has been used for the night’s weather, as it is highly unusual and would have been considered to be supernatural. This would have given the night an eerie atmosphere. The old man begins the scene by saying ‘this sore night hath trifled former knowings’. This shows that while the man is very old, he cannot remember a night as strange as this. A bank of images relating to the stage is found, including ‘act’ and ‘stage’. These relate to the previous stage images, found in Act I Scene 3. The images link to world order and the way in which everybody has a part to play that they cannot change. By murdering Duncan, Macbeth has stepped out of his role and his upset the balance of world order. ‘A falcon tow’ring in her pride of place was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed’. The falcon is top of the food chain, and this is metaphorical for a lesser animal (Macbeth) killing something that belongs at the top of world order (Duncan). The horses have turned cannibalistic and are eating each other: ‘turned wild in nature, broke their stalls†¦ they eat each other’. This shows just how disturbed the order of the world is, yet it is also metaphorical for Macbeth killing his own kind. The use of language such as ‘entomb’, ‘strange’ and ‘unnatural’ show the precarious state the world is now in, with Duncan dead. Act IV Scene 1 begins with the three witches casting a spell in preparation for their meeting with Macbeth. Pathetic fallacy is once again used, with thunder giving the audience the impression the spell will be destructive. The chant shows many of the prejudices of the time. The witches put many parts of creatures that were considered inferior to the majority into the cauldron. These inferior creatures are: ‘frog’; ‘bat’; ‘dog’; ‘adder’; ‘blind-worm’; ‘lizard’ and ‘howlet’. All of the animals mentioned are creatures of the night, and so were considered very rudimentary forms of life. After more chanting, the witches begin to put in parts of other items associated with death. The mythical ‘dragon’, the predatory ‘wolf’, the evil ‘witches’ mummy’ and the poisonous ‘hemlock’ are all placed into the pot. This adds to the feeling of death and evil. Society’s prejudices come to the forefront of the chant with body parts of non-Christians being added to the pot: ‘liver of blaspheming Jew’, ‘nose of Turk’ and ‘Tartar’s lips’. As Jews, Turks and Tartars were not Christian, the audience would have feared them as they were foreign and their cultures were unknown to them. There is a semantic field of ‘poison’ in the incantation, and the lexis included are: ‘poisoned’; ‘entrails’; ‘toad’; ‘sweltered’; ‘venom’; ‘sleeping’; ‘boil’ and ‘bubble’. These were all added by Shakespeare to make the witches’ concoction appear to be very deadly. Towards the end of the spell, the finger of a ‘birth-strangled babe, ditch delivered by a drab’. A ‘drab’ was a prostitute and the child would have been killed at birth, as an illegitimate child would bring shame upon the family. As it was strangled at birth, the child is unblessed and so would never enter Heaven. This is ‘familiar magic’ and works through association. This could prefigure Macbeth’s murder of Macduff’s children. The magic number three is also used, when the witches say ‘thrice’ towards the start of the spell. The rhymes and rhythm of the words help to reinforce the idea of a deadly spell. The spell has a heavy aural quality, and this meant the audience could feel a part of the play. Rhyming couplets are used throughout the spell, helping to make it seem like a chant. An example of a rhyming couplet is ‘Ditch delivered by a drab, make the gruel thick and slab’. This phrase also has many labials in it, helping to create a sense of evil and decay. Shakespeare also employs onomatopoeia in Macbeth. This helps to reinforce the tension and make an aural sound of a spell. Examples of onomatopoeia are ‘double’, ‘trouble’ and ‘bubble’. There is a language link between this and Act I Scene 2 where the captain describes Macbeth as having ‘doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe’. This helps to tie Macbeth to the witches. I think that Macbeth returns to the witches because he wants to know his future. He has been tortured by the spirit of Banquo whom he has had killed and he fears for his sanity. Macbeth goes to the witches to seek assurances that he will not be dethroned in the future. I think he is looking for a future, as his guilt seems to tell him he will not have a pleasant one. The fact that he comes to the witches for reassurance shows that he has chosen to fully believe them and he trusts them. By consulting them, he is trying to change his own fate. This could further upset the order of the world. Macbeth greets the witches in the following way: ‘How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags! What is’t you do?’ ‘Black’ and ‘secret’ connote concealment and this links to the clothes images that run throughout the play. The use of the phrase ‘midnight hags’ shows that Macbeth understands the power of the witches and that they have just created a spell. Midnight is the witching hour, and this can be cross referenced to Act I Scene 1 where the witches say ‘that will be ere the set of sun’. A witch responds by saying ‘a deed without a name’. This is in keeping with the earlier euphemisms for murder. When Macbeth speaks to the witches he instantly commands them by saying ‘I conjure you’. This is a play on words, as the witches have the ability to conjure things and because he is commanding them. Imperative verbs are once again used, showing that he is used to having his orders carried out. Examples of imperatives are ‘answer’ and ‘speak’. Macbeth is prepared to take the world to the edge of destruction to get the answers he seeks. ‘Castles topple’ and ‘pyramids do slope their heads to their foundations’ shows he does not care about the destruction he causes in his quest. He ends by saying ‘even till destruction sicken’. I believe this would be said with finality, showing how deeply he will pursue his aims. A semantic field of ‘chaos’ underpins this whole section, with words like: ‘winds’; ‘yeasty waves’; ‘confound’; ‘swallow’; ‘lodged’; ‘blown down’; ‘topple’; ‘slope’; ‘tumble’ and ‘destruction’. Semantics are used here to show just how much Macbeth has already disturbed world order by murdering Duncan. The witches create three apparitions that give Macbeth a prophecy each. The first apparition is of an ‘armed head’ and it tells Macbeth:’Beware Macduff, Beware the Thane of Fife’. Macbeth’s immediate response is ‘thou has harped my fear alright’, meaning he has confirmed what he thought. Towards the end of the scene, he says he will act on his first impulse and do what his first instincts say: ‘The very firstlings of my heart shall be, the firstlings of my hand’. After hearing Macduff has fled Scotland, Macbeth turns into a blind rage and orders his men to ‘give to th’edge o’th’sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line’. The second apparition is of a ‘bloody child’ and tells Macbeth: ‘Laugh to scorn the power of men, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth’. This greatly pleases Macbeth and gives him more security. Although he is reassured, he still makes an oath that he will kill Macduff. I think he does this for extra reassurance in light of the first apparition. The bloody child prefigures the decision Macbeth will make to kill Macduff’s children. The third apparition is of a ‘child crowned, with a tree in his hand’. The child tells Macbeth: ‘Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him’. Macbeth responds by saying no one can make the trees move at their will. This shows that he dismisses the prophecy and does not take into consideration the possibilities of how this could occur. Macbeth’s confidence has improved greatly after hearing these prophecies and he confidently asks the third apparition ‘shall Banquo’s issue ever reign in this kingdom?’ By asking the question, Macbeth shows he is still intrigued by the original prophecy of the witches which said Banquo’s descendants will be monarchs. The witches then tell him ‘seek to know no more’. This annoys Macbeth and he childishly says ‘deny me this, and an eternal curse fall on you’, showing his arrogance. After he does this, the witches summon another apparition, this time eight kings with Banquo following behind. Macbeth realises the answer to his question about Banquo’s heirs when he says: ‘Now I see ’tis true, for the blood-boltered Banquo smiles upon me, and points at them for his’. Macbeth’s reactions to all the prophecies show his precarious state of mind. Throughout Act IV Scene 1 he lapses into bravado, attempting to show he is confident when in actual fact he is very nervous and afraid. Two examples of bravado used are ‘call ’em, let me see ’em’ and ‘had I three ears, I’d hear thee’. Although he is nervous and fearful of his future, Macbeth still feels superior to the witches. This is shown through phrases such as ‘tell me’ and ‘filthy hags’. Macbeth misses the significance of the third prophecy, where the obvious interpretation of the trees being camouflage is overlooked. This shows that he is no longer thinking like a soldier, and rather a desperate man. The apparition showing Banquo’s heirs is believed to have political significance. The eight king bears a glass (mirror) and it is thought that it would have been pointed at King James I, watched the play. As it was facing James, the audience would have seen the kings face while the line, ‘some I see, that two-fold balls and treble sceptres carry’ was spoken. These represent the two orbs James I carried at his two coronations in Scotland and England, as well as the three kingdoms he now ruled: Scotland, England and Ireland. I think this was put into the play to try and support James. When he came to power, he promised better things for both Catholics and Protestants. However, he seemed not to fulfill these promises in the way that the people wanted and the Gunpowder Plot challenged his rule. I think that Shakespeare put this section in Macbeth to try and show James had a legitimate claim to the throne as he was descended from ancient royalty. In the scene, Macbeth’s assistant is called Seyton. This could possibly be pronounced ‘Satan’, adding to the impression of Macbeth’s growing evil. I think the use of an assistant called Seyton makes it sound as though Macbeth now has his own familiar, the Devil himself. Towards the end of the scene, the doctor tells Macbeth that Lady Macbeth is suffering from a mental ailment. Macbeth’s immediate response is to order the doctor to ‘cure her of that’. The next few lines of the play detail Macbeth asking if the doctor cannot cure ‘a mind diseased’. However, I believe the audience would see the question as Macbeth asking for help himself, as the anxiety and sorrow he describes is what he himself is suffering from. The question is reinforced by a semantic field of ‘cleaning’, with words such as: ‘minister’; ‘pluck’; ‘raze’; ‘antidote’ and ‘cleanse’. I think this shows just how badly Macbeth wants his mental state to be cured. When the doctor says patients must cure themselves, he responds by angrily saying ‘throw physic to the dogs’. This shows his precarious mental state. Act V Scene 8 details the battle between Macbeth and Macduff outside Dunsinane Castle. The scene begins with Macbeth saying he wants to become the great soldier that he once was, and will not commit suicide. The line ‘why should I play the Roman fool and fie on mine own sword?’ shows this. Macbeth tells Macduff that he has avoided him for the entirety of the battle, but his ‘soul is too much charged with blood’. This means he has seen so much death he no longer cares about who he faces. As he is facing Macduff, Macbeth boasts that no naturally born man can kill him. This makes Macduff reveal his own Caesarean birth. Hearing this, Macbeth almost physically collapses. The mental stress and the fake promise of glory from the witches suddenly leave Macbeth, and he is free to sadly muse about his shortcomings. ‘And be these juggling fiends no more believed That palter with us in a double sense, That keep the word of promise to our ear And break it to our hope.’ This section shows how Macbeth now views the witches and their prophecies. The first line shows how he no longer believes the witches. The use of the phrase ‘juggling fiends’ represents his view that the witches have been ‘juggling’ with fate, emotion and people’s lives. ‘That palter with us in a double sense’ means Macbeth now accepts that the witches’ prophecies could have been interpreted in different ways and he made the wrong choices. ‘That keep the word of promise to our ear’ shows how they misled him by speaking of future greatness, but then ‘break it to our hope’. Despite realising that Macduff will kill him, Macbeth decides to die fighting, in an attempt to reclaim some of his lost honour. Another reason for his decision to die fighting is the fact that he cannot bear the thought of being subservient to Malcolm after being in a position of power all his life.
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