How important are bonds and promises in The Merchant of Venice Essays

How important are bonds and promises in The Merchant of Venice Essays How important are bonds and promises in The Merchant of Venice Essay How important are bonds and promises in The Merchant of Venice Essay Essay Topic: Merchant Of Venice Play The theme of bonds and promises referred to in the above question plays a key role in the The Merchant of Venice. It is play concerning the conflict and the legal bond between Antonio and Shylock as the main focus. Antonio, the merchant of Venice, is a generous man who promises to pay Shylock the money borrowed by his fellow friend Bassanio or else allow Shylock to cut off a pound of his flesh. Shylock, the moneylender, is despised because of his greed and also because he is a Jew. He is Antonios rival, and when the money he lent to Bassanio is not repaid he demands the pound of flesh that Antonio promised as a forfeit. This promise is written in a legally binding bond to which Shylock has every right to claim. We will now examine the outcomes from the promises in more detail. In Act 1 Scene 1 we meet Antonios closest friend, Bassanio, who he admits spending a great deal of money and tries to seek even more so that he can visit Portia, a rich heiress that he is in love with. We discover that there is friendship, loyalty, and trust between Antonio and Bassanio as they converse with one another: My purse, my person, my extremest means, Lie all unlockd to your occasions. This tells us that Bassanio is able to confide in Antonio, showing a stable friendship. In this extract Antonio seems to be the dominant figure out of the two. However as we read on, we discover that there is a shift in power: Then do but say to me what I should do That in your knowledge may by me be done, And I am prest unto it: therefore speak. This proves significant to the bond they have between them as it also shows that they have a balanced relationship. It is also effective in terms of informing the audience that their friendship is impenetrable. Further into The Merchant of Venice the conflict between Antonio and Shylock becomes evident. This plays an important role in the exchange of money as Antonio mentions that it is better to lend money to an enemy rather than a friend. As there will be no compassion to the enemy if the money cannot be repaid: But lend it rather to thine enemy; Who if he break, thou mayst with better face Exact the penalty. This initiates Shylocks idea for the penalty of a pound of Antonios flesh, to which it will be written in the physical, law-enforcing bond: Your single bond; and, in a merry sport Be nominated for an equal pound Of your fair flesh Shakespeare uses humorous language to portray this idea which ironically contrasts to the uneasy atmosphere for Antonio. It proves effective as the audience is unsure of whether Shylock meant for the idea of the penalty of the pound of flesh seriously or not. Either way Antonio agrees and seals this contract making it an unbreakable bond: Yes. Shylock, I will seal unto this bond As a general principle, Antonio neither lends nor borrows but in this case he makes an exception for Bassanio. This shows that Antonio is prepared to break one of his principles for him: Yet to supply the ripe wants of my friend, Ill break a custom. Again we see Bassanios loyalty as he refuses to allow Antonio to agree to this dangerous want from Shylock: You shall not seal to such for me: Ill rather dwell in my necessity. Subsequently Antonio and Bassanios bond is fortified showing the importance of relationships in The Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare has used the repetition of friendship and loyalty to emphasise the bond that the two friends have, proving its significance to the themes of bonds and promises. Not only is this platonic bonds between Antonio and Bassanio, there is also a father and daughter bond between Portia and her long gone father. Portia, a rich heiress that Bassanio has fallen in love with, has no choice about who she can marry. Before her father died, he left her his will being that her future husband would need to pass a series of riddles in order to gain her hand in marriage. Even though she does not agree with this system she is loyal to him and obeys his will, verifying the strong bond they have between the two: But this reasoning is not in the fashion to choose me a husband so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father. This bond is further reinforced when Bassanio arrives to challenge the riddles. Portia seems anxious and tries to persuade him to wait a few days before making his decision as she is in desperation for him to make the correct choice. However she withdraws herself from telling him the correct casket which shows significance to the theme of bonds as she still holds great respect for her father: I could tech you How to chose right, but then I am forsworn; As he chooses the correct casket the, bonds and the audience senses promises that are to be made within their marriage. This is important to above question as the theme of love is interlocked with the theme of bonds. Not only is there is idea of exchanges in their spiritual bond, but their love is also expressed symbolically by a ring: I give them with this ring; Which when you part from, lose, or give away, Let it presage the ruin of your love, And be my vantage to exclaim you. From this, the audience can deduce that bond between Bassanio and Portia has some sort of physicality to it. This plays an important role in promises within the marriage as it is a tradition to have the exchange of rings, thus reinforcing the theme of bonds and promises in The Merchant of Venice. However this ring doesnt necessarily prove their true love to one another as later in the play Bassanio gives the ring away to a lawyer. To Bassanios unawareness, the lawyer is a disguised Portia. Portia tests Bassanios loyalty to her and asks for the ring as a thank you gift. Bassanio is reluctant to grant this want so Portia leaves; knowing that Bassanio has done right. Through when he has left the scene, Antonio gains success in persuading Bassanio to bestow the ring to the lawyer and Bassanio ruches off to do so. Even though Bassanio has broken this physical bond, the spiritual bond between him and his wife hasnt disappeared. He later confesses to Portia that he has given away the ring and explains why. Bassanio then asks for forgiveness to regain her trust: Pardon this fault, and by my soul I swear I never more will break an oath with thee The effect of this is that it shows the audience and themselves that the bond between them is reinforced and of great importance. It is a key role not only to the theme of bonds and promises but also to the theme of love. The other love theme that links in with the theme of bonds and promises is when Jessica elopes with Lorenzo. This shows that Jessica has chosen to break the relationship she had with Shylock for the relationship that she has for Lorenzo. The idea is significant in The Merchant of Venice as it may give an extension to the idea of how living with Shylock may have been like: Our house is hell This contrasts with the bond of loyalty between Portia and her father. Most importantly there is the bond in which Antonio has agreed to. This can be classed as the main focus in the play. In the trial scene of The Merchant of Venice, Shylock heavily demands this penalty that Antonio has agreed to. It is seen that the Duke has sympathy for Antonio using a demanding tone to try and persuade Shylock to discharge the bond, however he is unsuccessful and Shylock is unmoved: And by our holy Sabbath have I sworn To have the due and forfeit of my bond: Because of this contract, Shylocks stubbornness and strong-will surfaces, thus emphasising the importance of bonds in this play. Not only do we see Shylock in possession of these characteristics but one can also see that he is a smart man as he admits that his want for the bond is irrational and emotional: just as some people hate cats, or the sound of bagpipes. He cleverly justifies his this by using the following examples: Some, that are mad if they behold a cat; And others, when the bagpipe sings Master of passion, sways it to the mood Of what it likes, or loathes. The theme of this bond may be compared to a catalyst in a reaction as it seems to increase the pace of tension and suspense for the audience. It has also enabled Shylock to put through his opinions and to allow the people in the courtroom to acknowledge. Further on in the scene we see his demands for his bond, Antonios pound of flesh, becoming stronger and more dominant: I would have my bond. Again one can see the knowledge that Shylock possesses as he describes that if this contract is dismissed or changed, the legal system in Venice will take a sudden downfall and also many more exceptions would have to be made if this one is to be made as well: Is dearly bought; tis mine and I will have it. If you deny me, fie upon your law! Again we see the strong demand of Shylock as he is confident that he should get his bond. Shakespeare has heavily concentrated on this aspect of the bond that the audience is drawn in closer to the story as they are held in suspense. Not only do we see the legal bond in this scene but the bond between Antonio and Bassanio. The loyalty that Bassanio has for Antonio is great as he offers to pay Shylock double the amount that was lent, and even allow the latter to have his own flesh and blood: The Jew shall have my flesh, blood, bones, and all, Again this can be related back to the idea of bonds and promises as it shows that a physical bond doesnt have to exist in order to show the strength of a relationship. As the trial scene continues Portia, disguised as a lawyer, has enabled herself to go by a strategy where the contract for Antonios pound of flesh can be discharged. And in the end, is was not Antonio who lost, but it was Shylock as he was forced to surrender his money and be forced to convert into a Christian. This harsh result could be said to have come from the story line concerning the bond. This devastating point for Shylock may have kept the audience keen, and as a result it shows that the importance of bonds and promises play a key role in The Merchant of Venice.

Chatelperronian Transition to Upper Paleolithic

Chatelperronian Transition to Upper Paleolithic The Chà ¢telperronian period refers to one of five stone tool industries identified within the Upper Paleolithic period of Europe (ca 45,000-20,000 years ago). Once thought the earliest of the five industries, the Chà ¢telperronian is today recognized as roughly coeval with or perhaps somewhat later than the Aurignacian period: both are associated with the Middle Paleolithic to Upper Paleolithic transition, ca. 45,000-33,000 years ago. During that transition, the last Neanderthals in Europe died out, the result of a not-necessarily-peaceful cultural transition of European ownership from the long-established Neanderthal residents to the new influx of early modern humans from Africa. When first described and defined in the early twentieth century, the Chà ¢telperronian was believed to be the work of early modern humans (then called Cro Magnon), who, it was thought had descended directly from Neanderthals. The split between Middle and Upper Paleolithic is a distinct one, with great advances in the range of stone tool types and also with raw materialsthe Upper Paleolithic period has tools and objects made of bone, teeth, ivory and antler, none of which was seen in the Middle Paleolithic. The change is technology is today associated with the entrance of early modern humans from Africa into Europe. The discovery of Neanderthals at Saint Cesaire (aka La Roche a Pierrot) and Grotte du Renne (aka Arcy-sur-Cure) in direct association with Chà ¢telperronian artifacts, led to the original debates: who made the Chà ¢telperronian tools? Chà ¢telperronian Toolkit Chà ¢telperronian stone industries are a blend of earlier tool types from the Middle Paleolithic Mousterian and Upper Paleolithic Aurignacian style tool types. These include denticulates, distinctive side scrapers (called racloir chà ¢telperronien) and endscrapers. One characteristic stone tool found on Chà ¢telperronian sites are backed blades, tools made on flint chips which have been shaped with abrupt retouch. Chà ¢telperronian blades were made from a large, thick flake or block that were prepared in advance, in distinct comparison to later Aurignacian stone tool kits which were based on more extensively worked prismatic cores. Although the lithic materials at Chà ¢telperronian sites often include stone tools similar to the earlier Mousterian occupations, in some sites, an extensive collection of tools were produced on ivory, shell, and bone: these types of tools are not found in Mousterian sites at all. Important bone collections have been found at three sites in France: Grotte du Renne at Arcy sur-Cure, Saint Cesaire and Quinà §ay. At Grotte du Renne, the bone tools included awls, bi-conical points, tubes made of bird bones and pendants, and sawed ungulate antlers and picks. Some personal ornaments have been found at these sites, some of which are stained with red ochre: all of these are evidence of what archaeologists call modern human behaviors or behavioral complexity.​ The stone tools led to the assumption of cultural continuity, with some scholars well into the 1990s arguing that humans in Europe had evolved from Neanderthals. Subsequent archaeological and DNA research has overwhelmingly indicated that early modern humans in fact evolved in Africa, and then migrated into Europe and mixed with the Neanderthal natives. The parallel discoveries of bone tools and other behavioral modernity at Chatelperronian and Aurignacian sites, not to mention radiocarbon dating evidence has led to a realignment of the early Upper Paleolithic sequence. How They Learned That The major mystery of the Chà ¢telperronianassuming that it does indeed represent Neanderthals, and there certainly seems to be ample proof of thatis how did they acquire new technologies just at the point when the new African immigrants arrived in Europe? When and how that happenedwhen the African emigrants turned up in Europe and when and how the Europeans learned to make bone tools and backed scrapersis a matter for some debate. Did the Neanderthals imitate or learn from or borrow from the Africans when they began using sophisticated stone and bone tools; or were they innovators, who happened to learn the technique about the same time? Archaeological evidence at sites such as Kostenki in Russia and Grotta del Cavallo in Italy has pushed back the arrival of early modern humans to about 45,000 years ago. They used a sophisticated tool kit, complete with bone and antler tools and personal decorative objects, called collectively Aurignacian. Evidence is also strong that Neanderthals first appeared in Europe about 800,000 years ago, and they relied on primarily stone tools; but about 40,000 years ago, they may have adopted or invented bone and antler tools and personal decorative items. Whether that was separate invention or borrowing remains to be determined. Sources Bar-Yosef O, and Bordes J-G. 2010. Who were the makers of the Chà ¢telperronian culture? Journal of Human Evolution 59(5):586-593.Coolidge FL, and Wynn T. 2004. A cognitive and neurophysical perspective on the Chatelperronian. Journal of Archaeological Research 60(4):55-73.Discamps E, Jaubert J, and Bachellerie F. 2011. Human choices and environmental constraints: deciphering the variability of large game procurement from Mousterian to Aurignacian times (MIS 5-3) in southwestern France. Quaternary Science Reviews 30(19-20):2755-2775.

Views of Three Greats Authors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Views of Three Greats Authors - Essay Example Could this law be violated if the United States officials discharging their official duties abroad pay some money in support of any religion? The author of this article feels that if such activities are carried outside the United States then the constitution has not been undermined. However, he noted that the policymakers should caution the diplomats from mixing diplomacy and the religion (Los Angeles Times, 2009). Notably, the faith initiatives based on foreign relation emerged to question the numerous USAID expenditures that were executed by Bush administration that including $325,000 was used in rehabilitating four mosques in Iraq, Fallujah, the site of major United States 2004 military operations (Los Angeles Times, 2009). Furthermore, the use of instructional materials that included bible references in anti-AIDS programs especially in Africa were they were used to encourage sexual abstinence demanded answers. Though the actions were not right according to the author of this arti cle, some United States agencies insisted that the rehabilitation of the mosque in Iraq was part of the reconstruction of war scar as per the Iraq constitution. The case of the religious references particularly the pro-abstinence materials the united states claimed to have stopped to be â€Å"religiously infused† programs after the Department of Justice had expressed legal qualms. According to the author, the responses to these concerns make the public uncertain whether the wall of separation between the state and the church had long gone (Los Angeles Times, 2009). Therefore, such practices suggest that both practical and constitutional considerations do not exist. On the contrary, according to the article, the government officials cannot be held to task over their boarder religion interactions since the United States’ Supreme Court has never ruled an amendment that established a clause baring the diplomats from indulging into religion activities outside the United Sta tes’ boarders (Los Angeles Times, 2009). In 1991, the federal court of appeal did not conclude but gave some exceptions that if the government has a compelling reason to give aid to a religious institution, it can do so. According to the author, it is a blessing to united states that it has a constitution that prohibits the establishment of religion that the supreme court has clarified as not only creating a state church but also the state subsidizing for any religion within the united states (Los Angeles Times, 2009). He further argues that the foreign policy should allow Washington to assist and provide aids to the religious institutions in foreign countries especially those that are in dire need if the same. Most of the activities that the state assists these churches are more sensible just like state relationship with some of the religious leaders (Los Angeles Times, 2009). However, it would be unwise if Washington would use such aids to source dire tensions within some I slamic countries. Subsequently, diplomacy cannot be conducted behind Jeffersion’s wall in the world that religion is inseparable from politics. â€Å"Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention† This theory is developed and forwarded by Thomas Friedman in the book The World Is Flat. The theory stipulates thatâ€Å"No two countries that are both part of a major global supply chain like Dell’s, will ever fight a war against each other as long as they are both part of the same global supply chai

Does nationalism need to be based on ethnic myths of descent Essay

Does nationalism need to be based on ethnic myths of descent - Essay Example Historical process of nationalism will indicate that the nationalism as a process started in the Europe during 19th Century.(Anthony,1993). On a larger scale it attempts to provide the criterion for the creation or ownership of the legitimacy of power over a State by people having certain characteristics. This doctrine therefore indicates that the societies in the world are divided based on the nations each having their own distinctive characteristics and as such the only form of legitimate government can only arise if national self government is imposed over the State. Thus nationalism is necessarily considered as a political ideology which advocates the case of controlling the State by a nation. Since State derives the legitimate obediences it is therefore argued that to wield the control over the population and achieve political legitimacy it is critical that the power must be relocated to a nation to govern the State. (Featherstone,1990) French Revolution is considered as the starting point from where the emergence of strong nationalistic sentiments started to emerge and dominate the political scene of the countries. At this point, it was clearly established that the only sovereign is the nation with the sole power of making laws to its citizens therefore the individuals must show the loyalty to the nation. French Revolution is critical in the sense that it was the turning point to break away the barriers that separated the various regions of the country and united them as a one nation based on single language and culture.

Eating Style Essay Example for Free

Eating Style Essay Since the time people lived on earth, most of them had the wildest dream of having a good life in a wonderful world close to utopia. What is utopia? Why do people like it? Utopia, which means a perfect world, community or society, is a book which describes a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The island is said to be without war, law, poverty, and misery, and the people of the island have equality among themselves, pacifism, and happiness. In The Ohlone Way, a book written by Malcolm Margolin in 1978, he described the appearance of San Francisco Bay Area about 6000 years ago. Ohlone, who is the first human who migrated from Asia many centuries ago, settled and inhabited the richest natural wildlife refuge in North America. There were only over 10, 000 people who were said to be muscular and vigorous; they divided themselves into 40 different tribelets. Each tribelet has its own chief, language and rules. These 10,000 people were called Indians, whose lives were peaceful and happy, like those people who lived in Utopia. During the Stone Age, peoples eating style was very simple. Their source of food all came from the natural world such as acorns, insects, beers, rabbit, fish, and most animals. In comparison with the modern societys eating style, their eating style was better for the ecosystem in many ways. Ohlone described that during the Stone Age, wildlife and forests were extremely rich and consisted of countless natural resources that provided ample and regular food for the Indians. Beside the other food sources, acorns were the most important and basic meal for the Indians the whole year round. â€Å"Boy climbed the trees to shake the branches, men knocked the acorns down with long sticks, and everywhere there were people stooping and picking over the acorns on the ground† (Margolin, 1978, p. 42). An incalculable amount of oak trees stood and spread around the hills and valleys. In the bay area, trees such as black oaks and tanbark oaks grew. Trees grew many sweet and big acorns because of the rich soil and great weather. When all the acorns mellowed from the trees, the Indians would get together to pick up the acorns as much as they could. When picking the acorns, an Indian family would gather 1000 to 2000 pounds of acorns to produce sufficient supply of food for the whole year. They used acorns to make many kinds of food such as a soup, porridge, bread that were delicious and healthy. The acorn harvest, which was the biggest event of the year, was highly anticipated of by Indians. They did not adopt agriculture as their food source because of the richness of other resources. Moreover, under their ancient eating culture, the Indians accepted most animals as their food except those animals related to their religion. â€Å"They ate insects, lizards, snakes, moles, mice, gophers, ground squirrels, wood rats, quail, doves. Song birds, rabbits, raccoons, foxes, deer, elk, antelopes-indeed, the wildest conceivable variety of both small and large game† (Margolin, 1978, p. 24). Their ingestion of insects was surprising since it is a digusting thing among modern people. However, Indians enjoyed eating insects which consisted of the richest proteins. Insects such as grasshoppers were described as their common food and the yellow jacket grub was their favorite food. They were not fussy eaters for they eat whatever they catch. Their eating habit did not harm the ecosystem and it preserved the natural world. In addition, during the Stone Age, animals were easy to see and hunt because a lot of different animals lived in the Bay Area. They did not hide in hiding places. â€Å"It is impossible to estimate how many thousands of bears might have lived in the Bay Area at the time of the Ohlones† (Margolin, 1978, p. 7). Besides the bears, there were many other animals, both large and small, who lived in the Bay Area. In hunting different kinds of large animals, Indians used a variety of hunting skills bears, deers, elks, or antelopes. Indian hunters were very proud of themselves whenever they succeeded in hunting a large animal, which they brought back to their tribelet to be shared within their group. The animals skin was given to the hunters wife for her to make a beautiful cloth. When everybody got their share of meat, some of the meat left were hung to dry for later use. Then, bones were used as tools such as awls, wedges, or tule saws. No part of the animal was wasted. Furthermore, rabbits were also countless in the Bay Area, so they were commonly hunted by Indians. â€Å"Rabbits (jackrabbits, cottontails, and brush rabbits) were an Ohlone mainstay, and were caught in great numbers† (Margolin, 1978, p. 25). In hunting rabbits, Indians used their sticks, snares, slings, and bows and arrows . They greatly enjoyed the tastiness of rabbit meat. Rabbits spread around and were not scared of humans, so at times, Indians caught rabbits using their bare hands. After catching rabbits, they used the rabbits skin to make blankets or clothes and they used rabbits meat for food. The sea was also an important source of food for the Indians. In the Bay Area, water was abundant and contained a variety of seafoods. â€Å"From so much water the Ohlones gathered an immense harvest of fish and waterfowl† (Margolin, 1978, p. 36). During the summer, they would use nets, harpoons, weirs and so on to fish salmon, sturgeon, and mussels. During the fall and spring, they would use nets or decoys to collect ducks and geese. And during the winter, they would go to beaches to collect shellfish, clams, oysters, abalones. The shellfish was available the whole year. Living in the Bay Area, Ohlone had rich natural resources, which were good enough for their life. They did not need to grow plants or domestic animals for use in their family. What they only needed was to collect food from nature. On the other hand, one should look upon the modern society. Due to the expanding production of industrial agriculture today, people eat a lot of toxic foods containing chemical substances from pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides. Subsequently, the nutrients needed by plants were absorbed by wild grass. Farmers growing various kinds of plants use methods to shorten the growth period of vegetables and crops. This process reduces the food prices but it harms the body and environment. Also, during crop plantation, farmers clear the land through burning. A large amount of carbon dioxide goes into the air, causing pollution. This process contributes to global warming that can drastically change the worlds climate. The environment is being damaged more and more as time passes by. Another matter to consider is the farm industry. People who are involved in this industry keep animals such as pigs, cows and chickens confined. There is not enough space for animals to move. Animals live, eat, defecate and sleep in that tiny space for life. At times, these animal were not taken care of properly. There are some instances when these animals bring diseases to humans due to their waste products being drained in bodies of water and their breeding places which are not properly cleaned. Though animal foods were developed to make them more healthy, its sole purpose is for food processing. When comparison is made between the two mentioned period of society, it can be said that people from the Stone Age illustrate a more environment-friendly way of living and eating, while modern people should be more concern in the environment and their eating styles. People have to utilize natural resources more such as solar power, wind power, biomass energy, and geothermal energy. If this is not done, many lives might be destroyed when nature strikes back, for example, many cities nearby oceans would be flooded because of the melting of the poles. The next generations would suffer the consequences of the modern worlds actions and they would have less space to use. References Margolin,M. (1978) The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area. Berkeley, Ca: Heyday Books.

A Comaprison of the Millers Tale and Merchants Tale Essay -- compari

Comparing Miller's Tale and Merchant's Tale Alison in the Miller's Tale and May of the Merchant's Tale are similar in several ways. Both are young women who have married men much older than themselves. They both become involved with young, manipulative men. They also conspire to and do cuckold their husbands. This is not what marriage is about and it is demonstrated in both tales. What makes the Miller's Tale bawdy comedy and the Merchant's tale bitter satire is in the characterization. In the Miller's tale we are giving stereotyped characters. The principals are cardboard cut-outs sent into farcical motion. The Merchant's Tale gives us much more background and detail of the character's lives. The reader is more involved and can feel their situations. Here we will focus on the two women of each tale and how they demonstrate this difference. Alison is described as young and wild. She is like an animal: " Thereto she koude skippe and make game/ As any kyde or calf folwynge his dame" (I. 3259-60). We know that she would be willing to go along with any idea as long as it is "fun". We can see her childish immaturity in the scenes where she lets Absalom "kiss" her. We do not learn the details of her marriage such as her feeling toward John, her husband. We simply know that it is a mis-matched marriage with a large age gap between them. May is not described in much detail compared to Alison. She is simply young, meek and beautiful. The disgusting details of her marriage though are clearly shown. January makes speeches about his desire to consummate his marriage and loathingly promises to take his time. We are with May when the real horror she feels at having to sleep with January is describe... ...In response she acts impertinent and insulted: "'This thank have I for I have maad yow see/ Allas,' quod she, 'that evere I was so kinde!'" (IV. 2388-89). How ridiculous and awful that January believes her explanation. Therefore we can see while both stories have similar elements, the Miller's Tale is straight comedy. The reader is not shown the emotions of the characters. Alison is not a fully developed character. She is and stays what she was described as in the beginning of the tale: an eighteen year old wild girl. The tale is more a parody on courtly love. In contrast, in the Merchant's Tale the reader is shown the disgusting details of January's motives and subsequent marriage. May's character is more fleshed out, the assaults against her explicitly shown. We may feel sorry for the carpenter but January never gets our sympathy.

Macbeth

At the start of the play, Macbeth was portrayed as a heroic and courageous man. He created this image for himself by fighting long and hard in the King of Scotland’s battle. The King of Scotland (along with all his people) was very impressed with Macbeth. He was rewarded for his efforts, being presented with the title of the Thane of Cawdor. After the battle, he and Banquo were out riding when they bumped into a group of incredibly strange women that had a strange aura of power about them (the witches). It was here that Macbeth was confronted with the prophecy that someday he would become King of Scotland. There were many reasons Macbeth could become King without murdering anyone – the current king could die, renounce his throne and appoint Macbeth as King, or Macbeth could overthrow him. Macbeth did indeed think for a while that he could become King without murdering anyone. â€Å"If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me without stir. † There were a lot of reasons why Macbeth was reluctant to murder King Duncan. For a start, he was a good King. He had been treating Macbeth very well, showering him with praise and rewards. The King wasn’t the only one who thought highly of Macbeth. The people of Scotland also held him in high regard. If he killed or tried to kill the King and got caught, his reputation would be gone. The final reason he had for not murdering King Duncan was that he was his host, and he should be protecting not endangering him. These reasons were all forgotten when Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, convinced him to murder King Duncan. She told him straight out that he ‘wasn’t a real man’ if he didn’t do this. She was involved in the murders both by convincing Macbeth and by drugging the men who stood guard in front of the King’s sleeping chambers. King Duncan’s sons feared that after their father was murdered, they would be next. They were very wary of everyone, and wanted to leave the castle as soon as possible. Banquo strongly suspected Macbeth was involved in the murder. He had also heard the witches’ prophecy, and he feared that Macbeth had ‘played foully’ to make the prophecy come true. Meanwhile, Macbeth was shocked by what he did. He wondered whether in killing King Duncan he had not made the position available to himself, but to others. The prophecy played heavily on his mind, and he wondered whether he had now made the Crown available to children that are not his, namely Banquo’s. Macbeth decided to kill Banquo and his son Fleance for more than one reason. The major reason was the prophecy predicted that Banquo’s children would become kings. By killing Banquo and his son, he would be able to prevent Banquo from having more children and stop Fleance himself from becoming King. The other more minor reason was that Macbeth thought that Banquo was suspicious of him, and he was worried that Banquo would tell someone or act on his suspicions. Macbeth didn’t tell Lady Macbeth about what he was planning to do because he thought his wife would think that it would upset their plans. The appearance of Banquo’s ghost made Macbeth very scared and worried, it definitely made him appear incredibly disturbed to all the people around him. Macbeth then decided to go to the witches. He had become caught up in events and felt he had lost control of the situation. He desperately wanted to know what was going to happen next. This did help him a bit, or so he thought, because he knew more about what was going on. This was due to three new prophecies made by the witches – ‘Beware Macduff’, ‘No fear until Birnam Wood come to Dunsinane Hill’ and finally ‘No man of woman born can harm you. After hearing these prophecies, Macbeth felt much more confident. He scoffed at the idea that a wood could climb a hill, and after hearing that ‘no man of woman born can harm you’, the only thing he felt threatened by was Macduff. Since he was a threat, Macbeth wanted to kill Macduff (just like everyone else who had been a threat to him). But he couldn’t get to Macduff, so instead he killed everyone that Macduff loved and destroyed everything that he cherished. As expected, this had a very negative affect on Macduff. Macduff most likely would’ve preferred to have been killed himself. Lady Macbeth at the end of the play was very different from the composed lady at the start. Her guilty conscience had gotten to her, and by the end of the play she was a guilty, stuttering mess. She began admitting to some of the terrible deeds she had done. Finally she just couldn’t take it anymore, and committed suicide. Macbeth kept on going because he thought that the prophecies would protect him. He figures he’s killed so many people he might as well keep going. Finally, he didn’t want to look weak in front of everyone and he wanted to keep his honour. The witches were the starting point and basis for all the murders Macbeth committed. No matter who he killed, it could always be linked back to the witches and their prophecies. They were the ones who first put the idea into his head about becoming King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth also played a major part in him becoming a murderer. When he was undecided about whether he was going to kill King Duncan, she urged him on until he finally made the decision to kill him. This first murder resulted in all subsequent deaths. Nevertheless, Macbeth wasn’t forced to kill anybody. He has to take some responsibility for his actions. If he was not so egotistical and keen to hold power, the witches prophecies would not have has such an effect on him. Macbeth was obviously responsible for all the murders, and Lady Macbeth played her part in them too, but I think the people most responsible for the murders were actually the witches. Before he met them, Macbeth led a perfectly normal life, free of any thoughts of treason or murder. But when he met the witches they planted all sorts of thoughts into his head via the prophecies. He wouldn’t have thought of being King of Scotland, let alone killing the current King, if he hadn’t heard the prophecy about him being King. He wouldn’t have killed Banquo and attempted to kill his son if the witches hadn’t told him that Banquo’s children would one day be kings. Macbeth wouldn’t have ordered that Macduff’s family be killed and his household destroyed if the witches had not told him to beware Macduff. Therefore I think I can safely say that the witches were the ones who were most at fault for the murders, and for the downfall of Macbeth.

Analyse the presentation of Jane in Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’ Essay

How is Jane presented in Charlotte Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s ‘Jane Eyre’? Charlotte Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ presents Jane in three different sections of her life that run through from childhood at her aunt’s house to her adult life at Thornfield. The presentation of Jane’s personality and looks is shown both through her own narration as well as the dialogue between the characters. The first section of Jane’s life is at Gateshead, her aunt’s house, and she is presented as a child who is ‘but ten’ and who is plain enough to be described as ‘a little toad’ by one of the house servants. After her parents’ untimely death Jane was forced to live with relatives, which she did not mind until her uncle died too. After that she was treated with contempt by her aunt and cousins Eliza and Georgiana and her cousin John was a bully, he ‘struck suddenly and strongly’. The unkindness Jane experiences causes her to have a burning sense of injustice from that point and it begins with her fighting back against John by calling him a ‘wicked and cruel boy’. Her aunt’s contempt for Jane however, may be because she refuses to ingratiate herself to her aunts wishes, which could be construed as Jane possibly being proud; Mrs Reed says that Jane should ‘acquire a more sociable and childlike disposition. A more attractive and sprightly manner’ but Jane feels she should be accepted for who she is and not to have to play up to her aunt’s wishes, no matter what the consequences. As a result her aunt feels she is a child with a ‘tendency to deceit’ and tends to punish her for it. Jane is shown to be a very literary child; she takes comfort in reading or looking at books and she uses language like ‘ships becalmed on a torpid sea’ which for a ten year old, even at that time, is rather impressive. Though it must be taken into account that by the time Jane tells the story she is probably in her thirties or forties and so the language may not be exactly that which the ten year old Jane would have actually used. The books she reads feed her already vibrant imagination which lead her to believe that things like a light flashing past the window was ‘a herald of some coming vision from another world’, that the blood she could hear rushing through her ears was ‘the rushing of wings’ and she felt that ‘something neared me’. Had her imagination not been quite so vivid she could probably have thought it through and seen that there was a rational explanation for these phenomenon, for Jane seems to have good judgement. She certainly seems to have a talent of being able to analyse people’s character’s well. While Jane is in the red room she is thinking over why she is so poorly treated although she had done nothing wrong and the reader sees her analyse each of her cousins: Eliza is ‘headstrong and selfish’ and Georgiana has ‘a spoiled temper, a very acrid spite, a captious and insolent carriage’. This is an analysis the reader may feel inclined to agree with because that is how the cousins have been portrayed from the start however it is worth remembering that as Jane is the narrator there may be a certain bias against them. The next section in which Jane is presented is during her time at Lowood Institution particularly the first few months of her stay there. Jane is presented as still having a burning sense of injustice as she sees some of things that happen to girls who are ‘punished’ and from the reader’s perspective one can see why. The girls are unfairly punished and usually for things that are not even their fault, as was the plight of Julia Severn, whose ‘hair curls naturally’ was ordered to have her hair ‘cut off’. Jane having been ‘wrongly accused’ when she was called a ‘liar’, had curled up on the floor and her ‘tears watered the boards’. Jane could not take being accused falsely due to all the trouble it caused her at her aunt’s house and so she keeps grudges against that do wrongly accuse her. Though it may have been seen previously in the section at Gateshead, the reader sees it more clearly during her times at Lowood that Jane could be considered stubborn. There are many times when Helen Burns tries to change Jane’s mind about things that have mostly to do with religion. The first time the reader sees this is when Helen tells Jane that ‘if all the world hated you’ but ‘your own conscience approved you’ then she would not be ‘without friends’, but Jane determinedly states ‘I know I should think well of myself; but that is not enough: if others don’t love me, I would rather die than live’. This also shows a dependant need, in Jane, to be liked by all she meets and a very melodramatic side to her that the reader rarely sees. The last important way the Jane is presented in in this section is as a very bright and hard working girl. On her first day she had ‘reached the head of my class’ and she tells the reader that she ‘toiled hard’ and ‘in a few weeks I was promoted to a higher class: in less than two months I was allowed to commence French and drawing’. This shows that Jane enjoys school and is willing to work hard to improve and become the best she can be. The third section in which Jane is presented commences eight years later when she accepts the job of becoming a governess at Thornfield Hall. As the reader has seen before, Charlotte Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ seems to determined to emphasise the fact that Jane is a plain girl as she explain to her employer Mr. Rochester when she tells him that she is his ‘plain, Quakerish governess’. She is also presented as being a very respectful and polite employee of Mr. Rochester as she always calls him ‘sir’, even when they are engaged, and she seems to take some sort of joy in it as she has rarely been able to respect many people as she feels respect must be earned. She also has enough respect for him to tell him the truth to any question he asks her, even if it were not something one would usually ask at the time, and is wonderfully shown when she tells that ‘wherever you are is my home – my only home’. This was a very forward statement but Jane felt that Mr Rochester ought to know it so she told him. During the time in which Rochester has the party of guests at Thornfield and they are playing Charades, Jane is shown as having the concept of self worth. She sees these fine women and how they act but does not become jealous of their wealth or beauty. Instead she felt a sort of pity for them because though Blanche Ingram ‘was very showy’ she ‘was not genuine’, ‘she had a fine person’ ‘but her mind was poor’, ‘she was not good; she was not original’ and there are many more ways in which Jane describes Blanche Ingram. Jane feels that because of all this ‘Miss Ingram was a mark beneath jealousy: she was too inferior to excite the feeling.’ This not only states that she has self worth and does not feel that she should put herself down by thinking of Miss Ingram because of Blanche’s less than lovely qualities, it also shows a sense of pride in Jane. She feels proud to be who she is and would not want to be like Blanche Ingram if it meant not being very intellectual. Jane is presented as a passionate girl through the entire story and we see it again in this section. Just before Rochester proposes to Jane, he talks to her about her leaving to go to Ireland for a new governess situation, but Jane feels like her heart is breaking at the thought of leaving him. In a passionate burst, she declares ‘Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? – You think wrong!’ but she does not stop there. She goes on to tell Rochester in an abstract way that she loves him by saying ‘And if God had gifted me with some beauty, and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you’. Her passionate nature, most likely, came from her want to be treated as an equal, and though she is no social equal to Mr Rochester she feel that she is his equal in intellect and feels down trodden when she is not treated as such. In the same passionate outburst as shown above she also exclaims ‘it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God’s feet, equal – as we are!’ This shows her need to be treated as an equal by the one she loves. Jane is presented as a girl who grows up being passionate about being treated equally and having a burning sense of injustice when people are wrongly accused or punished without cause. She is described as being a plain girl her whole life who is very smart, literary, hard working and imaginative. This is shown through the narration as well as through the dialogue between character.

The Life of Abagail Williams essays

The Life of Abagail Williams essays Hi, my name is Abagail Williams. You have probably heard of me from the Salem Witch Trials. I was twelve years old when the out break of witchcraft terrified the residents living in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Hundreds of people were accused, the majority forced to deteriorate in jail while their cases were studied and considered for trial. Accused witches were forced to confess to witchcraft, under the fear that if they did not, they would be executed. The trials were usually brutal and unfair with the doctrine, the charged were guilty before proven innocent, and the only option for their survival was to confess and name their charge. In reality, there never were any real witches in Salem, it all began with the lies and stories I told. You might ask yourself Why did this travesty of justice occur? Salem was the prime spot for an event of this capacity. The unfortunate combination of economic conditions, congregational strife, teenage boredom, and personal jealousies account for the spiraling accusations, trials, and executions that occurred in the spring and summer of 1692. The Salem Witch Trials was a dark time in American History. Neighbors became suspicious of one another. The testimonies of myself and other children put many to death. Many were brutally tortured until they confessed or died. It all started when Tituba, a slave of my uncles began secretly to tell the local girls (including Betty and myself) stories about evil curses and mysterious voodoo from her homeland. My cousin Betty, and I became restless. Betty complained of a burning fever, dashed noisily about the house, contorted of pain, and dove under furniture. I, however, was afflicted in a completely different method: I went into trance like states from which I could not (or would not) be awakened and went into fits that closely resembled epileptic seizures. ...

Kudo vs. Kudos

Kudo vs. Kudos Kudo vs. Kudos Kudo vs. Kudos By Maeve Maddox Some English speakers use the word kudo as the singular of kudos. What makes this usage problematic is the fact that kudos is already singular. Kudos is a Greek word meaning â€Å"glory, fame, renown.† It entered the language as student slang back when undergraduates were still required to study Greek at the university. Presumably the early users knew that it was a singular noun. The earliest OED citation for the use of the back-formation kudo is dated 1941. The OED marks the use of singular kudo as â€Å"erroneous,† but Merriam-Webster provides kudo with its own entry, taking care to defend its position in doing so: Some commentators hold that since kudos is a singular word it cannot be used as a plural and that the word kudo is impossible. But kudo does exist M-W’s assertion that kudo â€Å"does exist† makes me think of the comment made by Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944) about her excruciating efforts at singing opera: â€Å"People may say I cant sing, but no one can ever say I didnt sing. Inarguably, kudo is a word. Modern English is filled with words that began as errors only to become perfectly acceptable standard words. For example, our words newt and apron are the result of confusion over the indefinite article. What we now call â€Å"a newt† used to be â€Å"an ewt,† but the n of the article became attached to the noun. Conversely, what we call â€Å"an apron† started out as â€Å"a napron.† In Chaucer’s day, what we call a pea was called a pease. The plural was pesen. By the 1600s, pease was viewed as a word that, like sheep, could be either singular or plural. Before the end of the 17th century, pease had become pea in the singular and peas in the plural. That the older form persisted for a time is indicated by the nursery song â€Å"Pease Porridge Hot,† which dates from about 1765. M-W cites pea in its defense of singular kudo. Here are some examples of singular kudo on the web: That deserves a big KUDO! (agricultural site) Riverfront venue kudo deserved (Mankato Free Press) That deserves an even bigger KUDO. (product testimonial) How can I give a kudo to a great comment? (Myspace FAQ) In a way, kudo is like pea; both are back-formations. But the changes in pease and pesen occurred at a time when other number changes were taking place. English speakers once formed the plural of hose as hosen and tree as treen. I can think of only two nouns that have kept the -en plural: child/children, ox/oxen. We still use the plural brethren in a spiritual sense, but the regular plural of brother is brothers. It seems to me that kudo belongs with jocular back-formations like kempt from unkempt and gruntled from disgruntled. In these days of universal education and easy access to reference materials, using kudo seriously doesn’t seem any more acceptable than rendering the word as these writers have: Jane Hamsher deserves Kudo’s (political blogger) Director Brown reported the FB Dept deserves a BIG KUDO’s. (minutes of a public meeting) Kudo’s from clients (category on a technology site) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:What is Dative Case?List of 50 Compliments and Nice Things to Say!

Austin Community College Enrollment Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Austin Community College Enrollment - Term Paper Example With unemployment still at record high levels (Baker and Hassett), many job hunters go back to study postsecondary education in order to gain advantage over other applicants. Moreover, because greater educational attainment is related with higher salaries and lower unemployment rates, the Department of Labor believes that promoting degree attainment will be beneficial for the country’s economy (DeAngelo et al. 3). However, it is important to note that there is an ongoing debate whether college education is truly a wise investment for those who are seeking to earn more. For example, a 2011 New York Times article says that the sour economy has affected everyone, many students in postsecondary schooling have decided to postpone their education, while there are even more whose careers have gone astray (Rampell). The story is pretty common. These days one would hear of a chemistry major tending a bar, or perhaps someone with a major in History manning the cashier at Wal-Mart. Even college graduates, those who were supposedly most protected from the economic recession (thanks to the massive student aids offered by the government) have a very bleak outlook. Studies have shown that 17% of college graduates work in restaurants and bars while median salary has decreased between 2009 and 2010. As the country’s economic outlook is far from improving, and the cost of education is increasing, this is an issue worth exploring. The aim of this project is to determine what factors affect the college enrollment in the United States. This study utilizes a time-series analysis with observations from 1969 to 2009 included. Data on education was taken from the National Center for Education Statistics while employment data was taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data for income was derived from the calculations of the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The model (less constant and coefficients) for this analysis is: COLLEGE ENROLL = GRAD + AVG_ INCOME+%UNEMP The result or dependent variable, COL_ENROLL includes the total number of first-time freshmen who enrolled from the fall of 1969 to fall of 2009. It is calculated using the number of bachelor degrees conferred by higher education institutions, and expected post-graduation experiences (with unemployment and disposable income as proxy variables). GRAD, the first independent variable, represents the total number of bachelor’s degrees conferred by degree granting institutions. This data is compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics and it is vital because it shows how many students were retained by the school. Lesser number of bachelor’s degree holder can be used as an indicator of an institution’s quality of education (DeAngelo et al.). Moreover, low retention rates can mean that tuition fees are too high for students, and financial assistance is unavailable. The importance of utilizing GRAD is that low completion rates mean that there are more unskilled worker s in the labor force, which in turn can cause loss of efficiency and increased cost for training for hiring firms. AVG_INCOME is the disposable personal income received by all types of employees in the United States. It is seasonally adjusted at annual rates and indexed at 2005 dollars. This data has been utilizes because income has been a significant incentive for workers to become part or to remain part of the workforce. Moreover, the

English research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

English research paper - Essay Example The California Supreme Court is scheduled to decide early next year whether or not to invalidate the state’s ban of gay marriage which voters approved via Proposition 22 in 2000. This paper will more closely examine the benefits denied gay couples in most states as well as the political, legal, moral and societal implications involved with the issue. As people are becoming better informed about the issue, more are accepting, if not the lifestyle, the right for gays to be married. The argument proposed by the opponents of gay marriage is that the U.S. Constitution guarantees a republican form of government in which elected officials are intended to set social policy for the nation. Legislators do this by representing their constituent’s moral views when drafting laws. Because the Constitution bars the intertwining of state and religion, the only method of ensuring that moral and ethical codes are enforced throughout society is through acts of legislation. When courts determine morality issues, they counteract legislation meant to protect the moral fabric of society and break down the constitutionally guaranteed separation of powers within the government. â€Å"When judges erode the power of the people’s representatives to set society’s moral compass, they likewise undercut the authority of parents, schools, and other community groups to set the standards they would like to see their children and fellow citizens live by. Indeed, it is a f rontal assault on community values writ large† (Raul, 2003). The government was originally formed as an entity meant to champion the rights of the individual whether they are on the majority or minority side of public opinion. Laws that were enacted in the South disallowed the marriage between black and white people but were struck down by the Supreme Court. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act followed the tenets of the Constitution by prohibiting this type of discrimination.