's
"" is a nuanced story highlighting the culture clash between the American-raised Das
family and their Indian tour guide Mr. Kapasi. These culture differences are revealed through
several symbols in the story:
(1) Mr. Das camera--Mr. Das sees the world
through his camera lens. He represents the typical American tourist who distances himself from
interacting with the people and the culture by taking pictures. He is callous and insensitive
in taking a picture...
: Or, All for the Best
is a French satirical novel written by(1694€“1778), first published in 1759. In
Candide, Voltaire satirizes the philosophical cult of the theory of
optimism, which was popularized by German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm
Leibniz (1646€“1716).
The most notable and pervasive of the logical fallacies
in Candide is the idea developed by Leibniz and espoused by Doctor Pangloss
throughout the novel that "all is for the best." The logical fallacy is based on the
philosophical premise (wholly unsupported by fact) that everything happens for the best, even
the most horrendous and evil of occurrences, because out of all of the possible worlds in the
universe, God had chosen the one in which people lived at the time as "the best of all
possible worlds."
Another logical fallacy that Doctor Pangloss promotes
is that of false or questionable cause-and-effect.
"It is demonstrable," said he [Pangloss], "that things cannot be
otherwise than as they are; for all being created for an end, all is necessarily for the best
end. Observe, that the nose has been formed to bear spectaclesthus we have spectacles. Legs are
visibly designed for stockingsand we have stockings. Stones were made to be hewn, and to
construct castlestherefore my lord has a magnificent castle; for the greatest baron in the
province ought to be the best lodged. Pigs were made to be eatentherefore we eat pork all the
year round."
Doctor Pangloss falsely concludes that
one thing (noses) necessarily caused another (spectacles), simply because the two things are
associated with one another and therefore seem to form a cause-and-effect
relationship.
This logical fallacy is carried to the extreme in chapter 6,
"How the Portuguese made a Beautiful Auto-da-fe, to prevent any
further Earthquakes."
After the earthquake had
destroyed three-fourths of Lisbon, the sages of that country could think of no means more
effectual to prevent utter ruin than to give the people a beautiful
auto-de-fe; for it had been decided by the University of Coimbra, that the
burning of a few people alive by a slow fire, and with great ceremony, is an infallible secret
to hinder the earth from quaking.
The "logic"
which the Lisbon sages apply to the earthquake problem is the same cause-and-effect fallacy that
Doctor Pangloss applied to noses, legs, stones, and pigs.
Since the the
Lisbon sages believed that the earthquake happened after disbelievers committed sins, they
concluded that disbelievers should be burned to death in order to prevent them from sinning and
thereby prevent the earthquake from happening again.
In this same chapter,
Candide is whipped, and he watches as Doctor Pangloss is hanged.
Candide, terrified, amazed, desperate, all bloody, all palpitating, said to
himself:"If this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the
others?"
Odysseus'
wife, Penelope, has suitors because she is physically attractive and possesses great wealth. In
other words, she is both beautiful and rich.
There is another reason Penelope
has suitors, and it is cultural in nature. The ancient Greeks viewed marriage as both a
necessity and privilege for women. Young women of childbearing age were expected to marry. For
their part, suitors wanted wives who were fertile and who came equipped with adequate
dowries.
Widows were in a more precarious position. Bereft of their husbands,
they were expected to remarry. If they chose to remain single, their sons (as in
) would become their de facto guardians.
So, another reason Penelope has suitors is because she is expected to remarry. At the
beginning of the story, we are told that Penelope has not made her intentions clear to the
suitors. She is still in mourning and is likely in shock. Penelope has been given the news that
Odysseus is dead. However, she has difficulty accepting this. Of course, Odysseus is not really
dead, but Penelope does not know this.
At this point, Penelope has little
appetite for courting. So, her suitors have chosen to take advantage of her reticence on the
matter.
"...heaven has laid sorrows upon me of yet
another kind; for the chiefs from all our islands, Dulichium, Same, and the woodland island of
Zacynthus, as also all the principal men of Ithaca itself, are eating up my house under the
pretext of paying their court to my mother, who will neither point blank say that she will not
marry, nor yet bring matters to an end; so they are making havoc of my estate, and before long
will do so also with myself."
Now, Penelope has not
made her intentions clear for two reasons:
1) She is in mourning and has
little appetite for courtship to any of her thoughtless suitors.
2) She knows
that she is expected to abide by conventional norms to remarry. However, she does not desire
remarriage and has little appetite for the social disapproval that will result from her
decision. So, she is choosing to bide her time. In the meantime, she chooses to accept
Telemachus' authority over her.
In Paulo's
Coelho's , the King of Salem (Melchizedek) tells Santiago the story of a
boy who is told by the "wisest of wisemen" that he must carry oil on a spoon while he
sees the world, and yet not spill the oil.
The message I get from this is
that while there is much to be seen in the world, we must not lose sight of our primary
responsibilities in life. For Santiago (according to the King of Salem), every person has a
responsibility to pursue his or her Personal Legend. Nothing else can be as important. In doing
so, all the things that are significant in life will eventually come to the person who stays
focused anyway. When the boy in the story does not spill the oil, he has missed everything
around him. If the boy is spilling the oil, he is losing sight of his original goal, losing
focus because of the things he sees in the world as he moves about. Soon, his task of carrying
the oil safely has been forgotten, and the oil gonemuch like the loss of an exceptional
opportunity when one is distracted from one's purpose.
"'Well there is only one piece of advice I can give you,' said the wisest of the
wise men. €˜The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never forget the
drops of oil on the spoon'.
The King of Salem is telling
Santiago to see all that he can of the world. (This make sense, for how can Santiago follow
omens or learn the Universal Language, etc., if he does not observe the world around him?)
However, Melchizedek is also reminding Santiago not to be distracted by what he sees so much
that he loses sight of his purpose in life: he must maintain a balance on his
journey.
In
chapter 9, a tropical storm rages over the island, andand his hunters engage in their ritual
dance as heavy rains bombard the beach. During the chaotic ,emerges from the forest, and the
boys mistake him for the beast. Every boy, including , , and , join in the ritual frenzy and
brutally murder Simon. This significant moment signifies the complete loss of
innocence on the island and emphasizes the barbarity of the boys.
Simon is a symbolic Christ figure throughout the novel, and his death reflects Christ's
brutal crucifixion. The fact that the boys have committed such an atrocious, brutal act
signifies their complete descent into savagery. Essentially, Simon's death represents the loss
of civility on the island and the point of no return. After Simon dies, there is no hope for the
few boys who cling to the idea of creating a civilized society on the
island.
booksnake
is anof the Russian Revolution. This means that the events in
Animal Farm are meant to directly represent the events of this
revolution.
When looked at in this way, it becomes clear that Farmer Jones
represents Czar Nicholas II, the head of the old Russian regime, because they are
each...
There is a
difference between opened and closed environments in a management information system. In an open
environment, the various components of an organization will communicate and share information
with each other and possibly with others outside of the organization. This could include sharing
information, ideas, and even resources. In an open system, an organization will take inputs from
within and from outside the organization, and its actions will produce outputs that impact the
internal environment and the environment outside of the organization. An open environment is
more flexible than a closed environment.
In a closed system, there is very
little sharing between the various components of the organization and certainly little to no
interaction with the environment outside of the organization. Each component performs its
functions without communicating its activities to the other components of the organization.
Sometimes, the need for a closed environment exists if the organization is working on developing
a new product, idea, or concept.
The first
thing one would notice if Earth had nowould be an absence of life. The Earth would have no way
to keep warm or cool enough to support life, so the Earth would be barren of all of the life
forms that inhabit it now. Furthermore, there would be no oxygen required to sustain life on
Earth. The sun's rays would also directly hit the planet, covering it in radiation. There would
be no oceans, as all the water would all boil off.
The Earth would also be
pockmarked by asteroids. Each year, hundreds of asteroids burn up in the atmosphere before they
can hit the Earth. Occasionally one makes it through with the potential to cause damage, such as
the one that hit off the Yucatan Peninsula 65 million years ago (which is presumed to have
killed the dinosaurs), but this is rare. Without an atmosphere, the Earth's surface would look
similar to that of the Moon.
Like other planets, Earth may have volcanoes
spewing gasses, but there is no guarantee that they would ever contribute to an atmosphere.
There would also be no weather patterns or cloud cover. Earth's atmosphere controls much of
Earth's weather, as weather is used to stabilize atmospheric energy.
I think
that love takes on a couple of different forms in the poem. There is the obvious love for the
tree. It has become the symbol that has endured throughout time, even when the people
associated with it has not. There is the love for the playmates that are so closely a part of
the memory of the speaker, presumably the poet, but also for the tree and the shared experiences
of all of them: Speaker, companions, tree, and being in the world are all linked together.
There is a love for the memories that the tree holds that are unable to be produced in the
modern setting.
It is here...
is their
only living child at the time of the play. tells, "She is the hopeful lady of my
earth" (I, ii), meaning that Juliet is his "heir...
Readers should look to the final portions of the chapter titled "Prisoners of Fear" to
find this answer. The answer should not come as a surprise to readers. The Professor's business
was hurt due to public fears that the Professor might be the murderer....
Here are some
examples of things in the news which find parallels in
The belief
behind appeasement was done to avoid another calamity such as the First World War. Leaders such
as Chamberlain of England were convinced that the atrocities of the First World War should be
avoided at all costs. Reeling in from the chaos and undermining of faith, Europe was shattered
in geographic, financial, and emotional terms. All nations felt to a certain extent that the
paradigm with which they viewed the world at the start of the conflict was severely undermined
by it. The policy of appeasement struck at this very essence for it sought to avoid war at all
costs. If this meant dealing with terms articulated by Hitler at the time, it was seen as a
needed sacrifice. At the time, Hitler was not seen as the universal symbol of threatening evil
that he is seen as now. The belief was that containing him was an acceptable risk if it
prevented another entry into widened conflict. Bearing this in mind, it became nearly
impossible to stop him when all leaders realized the existential threat he posed. This would
mean that the policy of appeasement, a hope to avoid war, actually had much to do with a new one
starting.
Any
reading list about women's roles in the 1950s should begin to with two books. The first is
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, and the second is Simone de
Beauvoir's The Second Sex. These two books are commentaries on women's
roles: Friedan's specifically in the 1950s, and The Second Sex ,
actually...
It is very
difficult to define what is essential to Judaism, but across the world and throughout time, some
basic beliefs and practices have remained constant. The Rabbi Maimonides attempted to describe
the thirteen core beliefs of Judaism (
Principles of Jewish Faith), and this is probably still the best resource, though some
of the teachings of Reform Judaism may allow for more of an interpretive approach to the
Principles.
The Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith include the belief in the
Creator, G-d (the "o" is omitted out of respect,) who is uniform, eternal, omniscient,
and unaffected by physical happenings. Further, Judaism is the worship of this one G-d and no
others. G-d speaks to man through prophecy and inspired the writings of
the Talmud and Torah. The Torah is
immutable, though the Reform movement allows for interpretation based on the context, holding
that there is an essence of truth in passages which may appear "out of date." Moses is
believed to be the highest prophet of Judaism. Furthermore, the Jewish faith teaches the
resurrection of the dead and divine reward or retribution for actions during this life. Jewish
people also believe in the coming of the Messianic Era, a time of total harmony with G-d and
Their will.
These are some of the core teachings of Judaism, though as I
have mentioned, there are many more particularities based on the particular sect of Judaism as
well as a person's larger culture.
has
agency, which is a very important feminist value, and one that was notable by its absence in
ancient times. Abandoned by her lover, Jason, and having turned her back on her homeland, Medea
is all alone in the world. Without a man or an extended family network to protect her, Medea
finds herself in a very dangerous situation indeed.
In ancient Greece, one's
identity was defined to a large extent by one's membership of collective entities such as
family, demos, and city-state. Without this membership, people were essentially non-persons,
outcasts from respectable society. That's...
We are given
two isosceles triangles with the same base. We are asked to prove that the line joining the
vertex angles is the bisector of the base.
When asked to do a proof, there
are a few general steps that you can follow.
(1) If you
are not provided with a diagram you should draw one. Note that you do not want your diagram to
be "special" (e.g., do not draw right or equilateral triangles unless that is
given).(2) List the given information and mark your diagram
accordingly.(3) Write down what you are to prove. Make sure you understand
the problem, and you might try to see if you believe the conclusion is true.
(4) Write down any inferences you can get from the diagram or the givens. (I try to use
a different color for information that is given and facts that I have deduced.)
(5) Determine the conditions under which the conclusion is true and ascertain if you
have enough information.
(1) Draw the diagram. Label one
of the isosceles triangles ABC (with A the vertex angle.) Then using BC as the base, draw
another isosceles triangle with D as the vertex. (Note that D could be on either side of BC. If
D is on the same side of BC as A you will have a triangle inside of a triangle. If you place D
on the opposite side, you will have a kite. The proof is the same for both cases so choose one
and note that there is no loss of generality.)
(2) We have AB = AC and DB =
DC, so we mark the diagram accordingly. Since we are asked to prove something about the line
joining the vertices, draw that segment also. (Through two points there is exactly one
line.)
(3) / (4) Label the point of intersection of the line through AD and
BC as E. Assuming we know the isosceles triangle theorem and its converse, we see that `/_ ABC
cong /_ACB, /_DBC cong /_DCB`, and we mark those accordingly.
(5) For AD to
bisect BC we must have BE = EC. This can be shown as these are corresponding segments of
congruent triangles.
One idea for the proof:
a. List the givens.
b. Note that AB = AC, DB = DC by the definition of
isosceles triangles.
c. Note that the base angles of triangles ABC and DBC are
congruent by the isosceles triangle theorem.
d. Since AD = AD (reflexive property), we
have triangle ADB congruent to triangle ADC by SSS.
e. Thus angle BAD is congruent to
angle CAD by CPCTC (corresponding parts of congruent triangles are congruent.)
f. Now
since AE = AE, we also have triangle ABE congruent to triangle ACE by SAS
g. Finally,
BE is congruent to EC by CPCTC.
h. By definition, AD is the bisector of BC.
In Blues Aint
No Mockingbird by , the author uses a flashback in which Granny tells the story of a man on the
brink of committing suicide by jumping off a bridge. She describes how the camera crew records
the actions of the minister, police officers, and the mans woman as they try to save the broken
man. She also explains that the camera operator saves a bit of film just in case the man jumps
because those images will be the money shots. This flashback shows Grannys distain for the men
who come filming the Cains land and belongings forgetting about the human side of the story. The
film crew assumes that Grannys family is poor and may be in need of the information from the
Food Stamp documentary they are filming. They even attempt to have Granny speak to the camera
and offer her information. Although the two situations seem very different, Granny is trying to
explain the similarities. The film crew is making assumptions and trying to grab the money shot
instead of considering the real story, the human reality behind the story. In addition, she is
making the point that in each case the camera operators were delving into private situations
that were none of their business.
A sales
promotion is an activity geared towards increasing revenue. This activity can take a multitude
of forms like: offering discounts, offering a lower finance rate, a two for one sale, a sale
that says buy one at regular price and get the next half off, offering free prizes, or any
number of schemes to bring customers in and entice them to buy your
product.
Theoccurs
when Santiago and the alchemist are captured by Arab tribesmen who accuse them of being spies.
On further questioning, the alchemist tells the Arabs that Santiago is an alchemist who can
destroy the military camp by summoning the wind if he chooses to. The chief demands to see such
a preposterous claim fully demonstrated, and the alchemist asks for three days for Santiago to
accomplish this feat.
Santiago is frantic because he does not know how to
turn himself into the wind. However, in due time, he comes to learn the truth about the wind and
personal miracles. One of the...
According to
Rosh, Daniel's fatal flaw is that he is not ruthless enough. Rosh tells Daniel,
"I've warned you before...there's a soft streak in you. Till
you get rid of it you're no good to the cause."
Rosh
had used Joel as a spy for the cause. Then Joel had been captured, and Daniel and the others are
anxious to get a group together to secure his release. Rosh, however, has no intention of
sending any of his men on a rescue mission. He says,
"On this mountain every man is responsible for himself. That holds for Joel...he
was stupid enough to get caught. You think I can spare eight men - or one man - for
that?"
When Rosh coldly refuses to consider his
entreaties to send some men to save Joel, Daniel's eyes are opened. He sees Rosh, whom he had
once idolized, as the cold-blooded, egocentric killer that he is. What Rosh calls "a soft
streak" in Daniel is really a sense of loyalty and humanity, which is essential in a leader
and which Rosh lacks completely. Although Rosh says that Daniel's "softness" and
sensitivity is a fatal flaw, in reality it is a strength. The fact that Rosh lacks this trait is
ironically the fatal flaw in himself (Chapter 18).
There
are many small conflicts in , but the main conflict involves the struggle
for survival, a struggle which is shared by most living things.could not survive by
himself.looks after him. So George's struggle for survival is twice as hard as it is for most
men. They nearly got killed in Weed. They ate their late three cans of beans the night before
they show up for work at the ranch. They nearly don't get the jobs they came all this way for
because they make a bad impression on the boss. He could easily tell them he didn't want them.
They make a bad impression because they arrive late, and the boss becomes suspicious of George
because he does all the talking for Lennie. But they manage to get jobs that will provide the
bare minimum for survival. They get bunks to sleep in, a roof over their heads, and food. There
is no security and they have to work long hours in the hot sun lifting 100-pound sacks of barley
onto wagons. When the barley is all harvested, chances are that they will get laid off. Why
should the owner keep providing bed and board if there is nothing for them to do? They will have
to hit the road again. And they will be competing with thousands of other homeless, desperate
men who need food and shelter.
A couple of the other characters are worse off
than George. Candy has only one hand, and he is getting old. Crooks has a broken body and the
added handicap of being black. What kind of job could he find if they laid him off at this
place? Both Candy and Crooks are living in dread of losing their jobs. There was very little
assistance available for the destitute in those days. Steinbeck made this more dramatic when he
wrote his masterpiece, . Hordes of men, women, and children came to
California hoping to find work picking fruit. The children were going hungry, and there was
nothing their parents could do for them. If they could get temporary jobs picking fruit, they
had to work hard for very little pay. And they usually had to buy food from a company store
which charged exorbitant prices.
Some of the men in Of Mice and
Men were young and strong, but they could see their futures in men like Crooks and
Candy. When they could no longer lift hundred-pound sacks and keep at it all day, they would be
summarily discharged. There were always younger men to replace them. So the conflict might be
described as one of man against man.
A struggle for
existence naturally follows from the high rate at which all organic beings tend to increase.
There is no exception to the rule that every organic being naturally increases at so high a
rate, that if not destroyed, the earth would soon be covered by the progeny of a single
pair.
Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species
The condition of man . . . is a condition of war of everyone against
everyone.
Thomas Hobbes
After Henry considered suicide, his wife,
Jane, pointed out that he still had his life and his mind, two incredible gifts which he could
use to discover and achieve a purpose in life. Henry began by designing a laser pointer which he
could wear on his head and use to activate electrical switches. A couple of years later, he
started a collaboration with robotics laboratories at Menlo Park and professors at Georgia Tech
and Brown University to create technological solutions to fill in the capabilities he now
lacked.
Henry decided that his new purpose in life was to design and create
these solutions for himself and others. He and Jane worked with the robotics experts and
computer scientists to identify everyday functions which a disabled person would be restricted
from performing but which a robot might be able to handle. The list began with scratching and
shaving, both of which Henry was able to do within a fairly short time by using a combination of
his head-pointer and a computer. Later, he was able to add various other tasks, which culminated
in the ability to fly a drone, which he demonstrated in a TED talk. Having overcome his
disabilities through technology, he aims to help others do the same at the same time as changing
the public perception of disabled people.
In the
of "," the unreliable narrator lays down some things he
feels readers should know about the story and himself as a person. He says that he has been
known since childhood for the "docility and humanity of [his] disposition" and has in
fact been teased by peers for how tender-hearted he is. He also loves animals and he and his
wife have had many, but none that he loved more than his black cat Pluto.
Now
the events of the rising action start to unfold. The narrator
begins drinking too much, causing him to inflict violence on his wife and pets. Eventually he
even hurts his beloved Pluto. At one point the narrator grabs Pluto, thinking the cat has been
avoiding him, and Pluto bites his hand in fear. The narrator takes a penknife and cuts out one
of Pluto's eyes, then hangs him in the neighbor's garden.
This is where the
story is harder to plot, as it could be said to have two climaxes. In
one, there is a fire in the narrator's house the night after he kills Pluto. He
loses everything, and the only wall left standing has the image of a hanged cat on it.
More rising action events happen: the narrator and his wife get a
new cat, who is missing an eye and has markings that look like a gallows on its breast. The cat
is very affectionate, which the narrator comes to despise, feeling that the cat has some sort of
revenge plot.
In climax two, the narrator nearly
trips on the cat one day and tries to kill it with an ax. His wife prevents him, so he kills her
instead.
During the events of the falling
action, the narrator buries his wife in the cellar walls. The cat has vanished,
which pleases the narrator. Eventually the police come and search the house.
At the resolution of the story, the man's crimes are
reveal. Leading the police through their search of the house, he raps on the wall where his wife
is buried with his cane (through guilt? or ?). Immediately there is a scream and, when they tear
down the wall, the police discover the wife's body and the black cat, alive. The narrator is
hauled off to jail, where he writes this story, the night before he is set to be
executed.
To me,
the biggestfor any artist, including musicians, is the compromise he must make between
satisfying himself and satisfying his public (audience, fans). A true musician plays out of
love for the music and because he has something he wants to communicate; to market and sell what
he truly loves may or may not be possible. This is the dance which so many young artists have to
do in order to gain their success; once they have a loyal following, though, they often want to
get back to "serious music" and lose some or many of those fans. Look at all the teen
sensations who eventually wanted to grow up, but their fans were resistant to the idea and they
just faded away. A musical artist never wants to compromise, which is why they spend so many
years going virtually unnoticed as they play in small venues for minimal crowds until some
breakthrough moment. They don't need to compromise, as they come to the game fully formed, so
to speak. The rest are destined to live a life of compromise, it seems to me; and creativity,
which should be the hallmark of a musician, gets lost in the scramble for fame and
fortune.
Since you use
the word conquer, I assume that you are asking about the actual military conquests of various
European countries, not the peaceful (though coerced) absorption of places like Austria and
Czechoslovakia. The German Army conquered Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Denmark,
and Norway all within the first few months of the war. It then conquered much of the Soviet
Union in the early days of Operation Barbarossa in the summer of 1941.
There
were a number of reasons why it was able to do so. Let us look at three of them.
First, the French and the British had not been prepared to fight a war. Therefore,
they were not really able to do anything to prevent Germany from taking countries like Poland
and Norway. They simply did not have the necessary military power ready to go when these
invasions occurred.
Second, some of these countries were simply too small to
put up any kind of a serious resistance to German invasions. Even in the best of times, a
country like Belgium or Denmark would never be able to resist a major power like Germany for
very long at all.
Third, the German military had developed its new tactic of
blitzkrieg. This was a new development in offensive tactics. It combined mechanization of as
many units as possible (for fast movement) with close coordination between tanks, foot soldiers,
and air support. The armies of France and England were not ready for such tactics, which is why
even France fell as fast as it did.
These are the main reasons for Germany's
ability to conquer so much so quickly.
To answer this
question, take a look at the conversation between the ghost of Jacob Marley and Scrooge in Stave
One. According to Jacob, his visit to Scrooge has a key purpose:
"I am here to-night to warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping
my fate."
In other words, Marley hopes that he can
prevent Scrooge from having to endure the same fate in the afterlife. For Marley, life after
death has been very hard. Because of his endless pursuit of money, for example, Marley must wear
a chain around his body for the rest of eternity. This chain is "forged" from the
symbols of his greed: padlocks, purses, and keys. If Scrooge continues to be a greedy miser,
only interested in the success of his business, Marley is certain that he will also have to wear
a chain.
Marley's warning, therefore, is that Scrooge must focus less on
materialistic matters and instead begin to care about those around him. If he does not, he will
spend the rest of eternity paying for it.
After
Germany surrendered in 1945, endingin Europe, the Allies, including the U.S., France, England
and the Soviet Union, demanded Japan's unconditional surrender. The Japanese refused, meaning
the Allies would have to invade the Japanese mainland, ensuring a bloody and expensive campaign
to take the territory step by step.
In the meantime, by the end of July,
1945, the U.S. had finished work on two atomic bombs, one uranium based and one plutonium based.
When the Japanese refused to surrender, President Truman authorized the use of these bombs. On
August 6, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, destroying the city and killing about
100,000, half on the first day. On August 9, when the Japanese had still not surrendered, the
U.S. dropped a second bomb, this one plutonium based, on the city of Nagasaki. This led to
between 39,000-80,000 deaths. While...
In the
famous adventure novel by , Professor Lidenbrock and his nephew Axel
discover a message left by explorer Arne Saknussemm in the pages of an ancient Icelandic saga.
It tells of a passageway to the center of the Earth through the crater of a volcano in Iceland.
They follow this path along with a guide named Hans and eventually discover many awesome wonders
such as a vast underground sea, prehistoric creatures, strange plants, and even human-like
giants. They are finally ejected through the vent of a volcano onto Stromboli, an island in
Italy.
In order to appreciate the numerous themes of Journey to the
Center of the Earth, it is important to understand its historical context. The novel
was published in 1864, and the events in it take place in 1863. At that time, much of the Earth
was still being explored and discovered. Additionally, it was a time of scientific inquiry when
many educated people had a thirst for new knowledge and new ideas. Charles Darwin's
groundbreaking book On the Origin of Species had only been published a few
years previously.
Some of the main themes in the novel include the value of
exploration and the thrill of discovery. Professor Lidenbrock does not hesitate to embark on his
quest once he has deciphered the message, and the new worlds that the explorers see for the
first time offer them great delight.
Related to the themes of exploration and
discovery are the themes of courage and perseverance. The hardy explorers continue to advance
toward their goal despite the many dangers that they encounter. This brings us to another theme
of survival. When the explorers are faced with one life-threatening difficulty after another,
they must cope with these problems in order to survive. This is related to the theme of man
versus natureat least supposed nature as it is presented in the novel.
Picking up on other
comments made above, in a sense, it is possible to argue that fundamentalism isn't actually
about religion at all, but it is about being right and a state of arrogance, that, as #9 points
out, is very closely linked to control. Religious fundamentalism is all about an unshakeable
view of the world that people can have absolute faith in. Anything that doesn't "fit"
this mould or view of the world can be conveniently rejected, attacked or ignored. Thus,
arguably, religious fundamentalism is a very limiting approach to adopt as it allows adherents
to ignore bits of reality...
Big
Brother manipulates the population of Oceania by cultivating a hysterical environment, in which
everyone is under surveillance and is constantly overwhelmed with pro-government propaganda.
Throughout the nation of Oceania, massive posters of Big Brother's face serve as a reminder that
the citizens are constantly being watched by government agents, which cultivates anof tension,
anxiety, and fear. Telescreens are also placed in every citizen's home, through which the
government can keep them under surveillance and spread propaganda at will. In regards to
propaganda, Big Brother uses Emmanuel Goldstein as a scapegoat and requires every Party member
to attend a daily Two Minutes Hate period in order to release their negative emotions towards
Big Brother's enemies.
Big Brother alters historical records to make it seem
like the Party is always in the right, and he is also engaged in a continual world war to use up
valuable...
Your question is not
actually as straightforward as it would first appear, because the richly symbolic nature of this
tale opens its rather abrupt ending to a number of different interpretations. Ostensibly, the
ending occurs when the French army invades Toledo and the narrator is saved from tumbling into
the deadly pit at the very last moment by General Lasalle, who catches him just as he is about
to fall. Note how the final paragraph of this incredible story describes this
incident:
There was a discordant hum of human voices!
There was a loud blast as of many trumpets! There was a harsh grating as of a thousand thunders!
The fiery walls rushed back! An outstretched arm caught my own as I fell, fainting, into the
abyss. It was that of General Lasalle. The French army had entered Toledo. The Inquisition was
in the hands of its enemies.
However, if we examine theof
this final paragraph carefully, it is clear that Poe could be suggesting the narrator's fall
into the interestingly-named "abyss" represents man's fall into hell and therefore,
that General Lasalle could symbolically represent Jesus Christ and his act of salvation for
mankind. This is suggested by the reference to the sound of trumpets, which is richly symbolic
of the end times as expressed in the Book of Revelation in the Bible.
The
ending scene of carries with it one of the most brutally cynical and
fatally hopeless messages about the nature of man ever put to paper. It signifies
that mankind may be doomed to be stuck in the same cycle of oppression and revolution for as
long as men are given power. After a long and miserable struggle from first
establishing their own sovereignty over themselves, the animals find that they are not in a more
preferable position than the one they started in. In fact, due to some deaths in the ranks of
their comrades, they may be worse off than if they had never opted for revolution in the first
place.
Indeed, this seems to be a subtly made distinction. Farmer Jones was,
at the very least, only negligent and lazy in regard to his keeping of the farm.
The rule of the pigs, in hindsight, seems noticeably more exploitative and
iron-fisted. It can be easy to think that this was some master plan on the part of the pigs all
along; however, it's more likely thatwas trying to convey a narrative of a corrupting power, and
that the pigs did truly have good intentions from the start.
The pigs began
as revolutionaries, steadfastly clinging to the teachings of . They truly believed that they
could create a utopia where the division of labor and wealth was completely equal. However,
oncegot a taste of worship from a populace and the sense of importance and paranoia it brings
with it, he began to see enemies everywhere, even among the animals he had promised to fight
for. He began to see his closest comrade, , as a usurper bent on taking his power from him,
something that had become more precious than his opinion in the eyes of the animals. Ironically,
the opinions of these animals are the only things that give him power in the first place, as he
himself proves by overthrowing Jones at the start of the book.
Through his
mouthpiece, , Napoleon makes one amendment to his original Utopian vision at a time. These are
decisions that, taken on their own, seem rational enough. When the end result of all of them are
placed side by side with the original vision, however, it is as clear of a difference between
utopia and dystopia, socialist paradise and totalitarian wasteland. This all works together to
signify the uncomfortable truth that Orwell meant to convey: no matter how honorable,
no matter how well intentioned, revolutionaries who win and become leaders quickly fall into the
same habits and evils of their previous oppressors once power corrupts them.
After Mrs.
Whatsit, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Who show the children the "Dark Thing" covering the
Earth, this leads to a discussion of evil. The children are distressed about the evil on Earth,
and Meg asks if the "Dark Thing" has just arrived there.
Mrs.
Whatsit explains that evil has been on the planet for a long time, but she also offers hope. She
tells the children that many people have fought and continue to fight the darkness of ignorance
and violence. These include Jesus, but the fighters in the grand and "exciting" battle
between good and evil also include Pasteur and Gandhi. Pasteur used science and reason for the
good purpose of fighting disease, and Gandhi used his philosophy of...
The very fact that the
text is not specific about 's fate in this excellent novel gives testament to the way that Big
Brother has been able to warp and manipulate and ultimately control the memory of his citizens.
Winston is only left with fleeting memories, vague impressions and imprecise recollections of
his father, mother and baby sister that often surface in his subconscious, as they do at the
beginning of Chapter Three, when Winston wakes up from a dream of his mother. Note how these
memories are presented:
He must, he thought, have been ten
or eleven years old when his mother had disappeared. She was a tall, statuesque, rather silent
woman with slow movements and magnificent fair hair. His father he remembered more vaguely as
dark and thin, dressed always in neat dark clothes (Winston remembered especially the very thin
soles of his father's shoes) and wearing spectacles. The two of them must evidently have been
swallowed up in one of the first great purges of the fifties.
Winston is only left with fragments that he tries to piece together, however the one
overwhelming certainty that he has is that his family died so that he might live. Precisely how
this happened he is unsure of, but this is the message that comes through from his
subconscious.
Meg is
having a hard time at school. First, she is accused by her teachers of being a poor student. As
a result, she is dropped to the lowest section in her grade.
When she tries
to roughhouse during lunch, one of the girls tells her she is acting like a baby.
As she is walking home from school, some of her male school...
At the
start of chapter 4, Meg tessers for the first time. She finds this an extremely uncomfortable
and disconcerting experience. This is compounded by the lack of warning she received from Mrs.
Which. All of a sudden, Meg finds herself gone. By moving through space and time, Meg briefly
loses all connection to the physical world. All of a sudden, she is alone; she has lost her
connection to Calvin and Charles Wallace, and she can't even feel her own body or use any of her
senses.
Slowly, Meg's physical state comes back. She can gradually feel her
limbs, hear sounds, and see again. It takes a little while longer before she is able to move or
react to anything. This worries Charles Wallace immensely as he struggles to get any reaction
from Meg's inert body. Eventually, Meg comes around and finds herself and her companions in a
strange new world.
The narrator does not describe exactly what is involved in
tessering, but it appears to involve bending space and time in order to travel great distances
in a moment. Such a method of travel, Meg finds, is very uncomfortable and
strange.
Other points
of significance include:
Moses is markedly absent. Moses (as the name
suggests and as you discover later in hearing about a place called SugarCandy Mountain)
represents religion. Faith has been removed from this set of ideas about to be shared.
Benjamin the donkey is introduced as old and cynical and enters as one of the last.
This is important because of what he represents. He has likely seen ideas come and go and get
repeated in life, they are just...
Once a
uniquely form of Islamic art emerged, one of its most defining
characteristics was surfaces that were
completely covered in decoration. There are four different
types of decorations found in Islamic art: "calligraphy,
vegetal patterns, geometric patterns, and figural representation" (The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History,
Islamic Art").
Calligraphy is
essentially a form of beautiful, embellished writing. Writing became essential to the Islamic
culture because the Prophet Muhammed's revelations eventually needed to be recorded in what
became called the Koran. Plus, most Muslims could not read; therefore, decorative writing became
essential in making the words of the prophet meaningful to all (Heilbrunn Timeline of
Art History,
in...
In Stave 3, we meet the second Spirit: the
Ghost of Christmas Present. This Spirit is tasked with teaching Scrooge about the effects of his
actions in the present moment. The Spirit is described as a "jolly giant" with a
"glowing torch" that resembled a"Plentys horn" or modern-day cornucopia.
Essentially, Scrooge sees a very large human with a lantern shaped like a horn. When the Spirit
appears, it's sitting upon a massive throne of goodies ranging from meats to mince pies to
assorted fruits. It's a sight to be seen!
The Ghost of Christmas Present wore
a "simple green robe" that had a rim of white fur running down the edges. The robe,
loosely fastened with an empty sheath, revealed the Spirit's bare chest. Its feet matched his
chest, for the Spirit wore nothing upon them. The robe is the only covering on the Spirit's
body. On its head, it wore a wreath made of holly that had icicles sporadically placed
throughout the crown. The wreath sat atop its long, dark brown curls.
The
Spirit spoke with a jovial voice creating exuberant energy. Its eyes, glimmering with joy, were
"clear and kind." Even though this Spirit seemed pleasant and welcoming, Scrooge was
terrified to look in its eyes for he knew it was going to be a long and arduous
interaction.
Racism
exists. It always has and always will. The levels may change or it may be expressed more or less
openly but it is certainly there.
One thing you may want to address is
"reverse racism." That term drives me absolutely crazy! There is no such thing. If you
have an issue with another race, then it's racism. Racism is not determined by the person or
race being addressed. It's kind of like being sorta pregnant. ;)
Trading
blocs respond to certain specific problems raised by globalization. The first problem they
address is that globalization does not necessarily involve free markets or balanced trade. A
global trade organization such as the WTO has limited ability to solve such problems, and its
sheer size can limit its ability to achieve consensus. Trade blocs such as NAFTA can create
limited trade agreements that facilitate limited trade in goods and services without requiring
global agreement. They can also address the global imbalance of small, poor countries having
less leverage in...
Rosseau
believed that government should be designed to govern according to what he called the general
will.
[Political] institutions should serve the community
of citizens and not the most powerful social minority €¦ [and] the governments mission €¦ is not
to amass state power and wealth for itself. (arcade.stanford.edu)
In other words, the government really does exist for the people. The government is
supposed to protect the people and not get rich off of them.
#2 identifies the many
issues that could be discussed in answer to this question. It is clear that from an external
perspective, Dee can be regarded as a hero because she, in spite of her poor roots, has made
something of herself in the world and gained social standing. You could argue that Maggie has
not been able to do this - she has opted for a very different life from her sister and clearly
is very shy and withdrawn compared to Dee. Therefore, you could argue that she is not a hero.
However, #2 gives us an interesting interpretation of how she might be regarded a hero. Key to
note, however, is that in Mama's eyes, it is Maggie who is the hero for not abandoning her
heritage and roots in the way that her sister has.
was a Romantic poet.
Based upon this, his poetry tended to revolve around the importance nature and
imagination.
One could argue that, in the poem, Blake questioned nature and
its role in the world. For the Romantics, nature was very important. Theof nature was used to
allow readers to also question life and the things around them.
In
"," Blake (as the writer) questions
thecreation
of the tiger based solely upon the fact that he finds it hardto believe that the same hand
(God's hand) created the lamb.
Given that, one can only
assume that Blake is the speaker in the poem based upon the fact that he wrote the poem. The
poem contains open-ended questions which force the reader to consider the answers.
Unfortunately, for the reader, the questions are unanswerable. Therefore, given that Blake is
wanting the reader to consider the creation of the "tyger," one could easily assume
that Blake, himself, is the speaker.
's
reference to the significance of the colour green with regard to the Dutch reads:
" ... I became aware of the old island here that flowered once
for Dutch sailors eyesa fresh, green breast of the new
world."
The Dutch who are mentioned
here were immigrants who ventured into the New World to find a better life. They had undertaken
a long and arduous journey at great risk in order rebuild their lives, start anew. As such then,
the word has great symbolic significance: it is a symbol for a fresh start, afor
something new and untarnished, it is an image of hope.
uses this symbol to signify Gatsby's hope - his dream for a new life
with . Just as the Dutch aspired to a fresh start, does Jay wish for a new
beginning with Daisy. The light represents all that he longs for ,
and his most profound and...
There are
a number of different morals one could derive from "." It's just one of the reasons
why it's such a fascinating story. First of all, and perhaps most obviously, the story teaches
us that material things cannot bring happiness. Wearing what she thinks is a valuable necklace,
Mathilde feels like the belle of the Education Ministry ball. But her happiness doesn't last for
very long, and indeed her shallowness and obsession with material objects leads to great
unhappiness. "All that glitters is not gold" is an appropriate description both of the
fake necklace and the high society life that Mathilde briefly tastes and to which she
desperately aspires.
Related to the first point is the theme of class
snobbery. Mathilde acts like she has noble blood coursing through her veins, despite her lower
middle-class status. And it's Mathilde's desire for social climbing that ultimately leads to her
undoing. The moral appears to be that class is something you're born with, not something to
which you can, or should, aspire. Wanting so badly to be a member of a supposedly higher social
class means that you're trying to be something and someone you're not. This doesn't necessarily
mean that people shouldn't try to improve their position in life; but what it does mean is that
they should remain true to themselves, instead of engaging in fantasies and delusions, imagining
themselves to be different than they really are.
You can't
really say that Verne's " " shows a theme related to power and corruptionthe nearest
the novel gets to that would be Professor Lindenbrock's scientific obsession to prove his theory
true. Lindenbrock risks his own personal safety, as well as that of his nephew Alex and
their...
The word
"creed" comes from the Latin word "credo" which means
"Ibelieve."
You can find what Marthaler means by
"interrogatory" and"declarative" creeds very early in the book -- in the
Introduction onpage 5, for example.
In the book, Marthaler gives examples of
interrogatory creeds. These are in the form of questions to the person. This is the sort of
thing that is asked of adults during a baptism ceremony in the Catholic Church.
Marthaler says that the Church then moved towards having declarative creeds like the
Nicene Creed. In these, the people simply state their beliefs rather than being
asked.
In order
to properly account for all the funds and transactions made during a prepaid transaction, you
have to account for credits and debits after both the first payment and the subsequent delivery
of the goods.
First and foremost, you would write down the debit (or funds
received) towards the cash account for a total of $25,000. Next, there is a credit in the column
for inventory deliverables for the same amount. This accounts for the payment made and the fact
that you have yet to deliver the product.
After the delivery, you register a
debit of $25,000 towards Inventory deliverables to zero...
's character
traits are: Ambitious, daring, challenging, God complex, intelligent. He questions nature the
way that he questions authority, and everything surrounding him. He is highly intelligent,
caring, and actually a good person, but it was his ambition and God complex which ultimately
drove him to ruin.
is equally intelligent, and also questions his
surroundings, authority, and in existence. However, as he discovers the reality of his life, he
grows angry, vengeful, and hateful. He is a creature which educates itself, and tries his best
to fit into society, but knows that this task is nearly impossible, and so his anger rages
on.
Martin Carter
(1927-1997) was a poet of mixed European, East Indian, and African descent who lived in British
Guyana, a country in S. America that was a colony of Great Britain until 1966. Many of his
poems deal with themes of politics, resistance, and protest against colonialism (see first link
below).
"This is the dark time, my love" fits into this category of
poem.
The narrator of the poem seems to be a man who is addressing his
"love"; whether this person is his...
Laurie's
mother in theshort story, " ," is undergoing a change in her mothering skills as her
son simultaneously changes from cute little boy to misbehaving young terror. Laurie's mother
willingly believes everything he has to say even...
In 's
, Meg Murry (the ) struggles with her "unfeminine" personality
and awkward appearance--not to mention her unorthodox approach to her schoolwork, which makes
her teachers believe that she is "slow." Meg feels inadequate in comparison to her
beautiful and capable scientist mother and her genius little brother, Charles.
After meeting Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, Meg learns of the reality of
"tessering" (or time traveling) and is taken to the planet where the guides
originated. There, Meg learns about the Black Thing, the evil forces which cover planets and
disturb the minds and actions of people. It becomes rapidly apparent that the world around Meg
is not what she thought it was; even her personal beliefs are unraveled by the new knowledge
that her father (who disappeared many years before) is actually alive on another planet and in
need of rescuing.
Throughout the book, Meg is determined to rid herself of
her faults, but she realizes something critical about herself when Mrs. Whatsit gives her her
own faults as a "gift." Acknowledging her faults instead of running from them is an
incredible act of empowerment. She is able to use one of her largest faults--her temper--in
order to get angry rather than fearful when fighting off the forces of evil.
As for others: Meg learns that she is capable of loving them and being loved by them.
She is strengthened by the love of Charles and her budding romance with Calvin. This is a
remarkable discovery for a girl who has otherwise felt alienated and ostracized by those around
her.
is sent to the knackers to be slaughtered. It is ironic because it was
one of the abusesaccused humans of perpetrating against animals.
Old Major sells the animals on a dream of equality and opportunity. In his vision, no
animals will ever be held hostage to humans. Animals will work together to create anof
cooperation and comfort.
It does not take long for the dream to sour. As
soon as the animals kick the humans off the farm, the pigs take charge. From that point on,
they slowly gain more and more power at the expense of the other animals.
One
of the promises made to the animals is that once they were too old to work, they would be able
to retire. Humans would have killed them, but inthey would be blessed...
The older
waiter, like the old man who drinks alone at the cafe until late into the night, suffers from a
condition far more profound than physical insomnia. His is a condition of the spirit. He lives
each day enduring an overwhelming sense of loneliness and isolation. He finds no meaning in his
own life or in life itself. Like the old man with whom he identifies so...
At first, the boys,
under the direction of , attempt to light a fire as a signal to passing ships. Here is the
description of their attempt from Chapter 2:
"On one side the air was cool, but on the other the fire thrust out a savage arm
of heat that crinkled hair on the instant. Boys who felt the evening wind on their damp faces
paused to enjoy the freshness of it and then found they were exhausted. They flung themselves
down in the shadows that lay among the shattered rocks. The beard of flame diminished quickly;
then the pile fell inwards with a soft, cindery sound, and sent a great tree of sparks upwards
that leaned away and drifted downwind. The boys lay, panting like dogs."
Their attempt to keep the fire going and to generate smoke is
fruitless, as they find it's impossible to keep the fire burning at that level of intensity.
They are quickly exhausted from the effort, but they try to keep the fire going in the
increasingly vain hope of rescue.
notices that the fire has burnt out of
control. The author describes the raging fire in the following way:
"Smoke was rising here and there among the creepers
that festooned the dead or dying trees. As they watched, a flash of fire appeared at the root of
one wisp, and then the smoke thickened. Small flames stirred at the trunk of a tree and crawled
away through leaves and brushwood, dividing and increasing. One patch touched a tree trunk and
scrambled up like a bright squirrel. The smoke increased, sifted, rolled outwards. The squirrel
leapt on the wings of the wind and clung to another standing tree, eating downwards. Beneath the
dark canopy of leaves and smoke the fire laid hold on the forest and began to gnaw. Acres of
black and yellow smoke rolled steadily toward the sea. At the sight of the flames and the
irresistible course of the fire, the boys broke into shrill, excited cheering."
The fire at first seems to rally the boys to action, but, as Piggy
notes, the fire is out of control and is consuming all their firewood. They have spent
themselves with the first effort to try to be rescued, and their misspent energies do not bode
well for their chances at rescue.
Ralph continues to try to keep the fire
burning, even asand his followers branch off into a rival band of hunters. Ralph tells the
little boys who still follow him:
"'The fire's the
most important thing. Without the fire we can't be rescued. I'd like to put on war-paint and be
a savage. But we must keep the fire burning. The fire's the most important thing on the island,
because, because--'He paused again and the silence became full of doubt and wonder. Piggy
whispered urgently. 'Rescue.'"
Notably, Ralph can't
even remember the reason he is keeping the fire burning, and the boys eventually let the fire
burn out when a ship is passing. Ralph says, "If I blow the conch and they don't come back;
then we've had it. We shan't keep the fire going. We'll be like animals. We'll never be
rescued." The fire and the conch are the boys' connection to rescue and to civilization.
When the fire burns out, it's a symbol that they no longer care about being rescued and have
descended into brutality and chaos.
Just
about every public amenity you can think of was segregated under the notorious Jim Crow laws.
Schools, restaurants, water fountainsthey were all used to separate people on racial grounds.
There weren't separate buses for different races, as it would've been a hit to bus companies'
profits, but buses were still segregated in that African Americans were confined to specific
areas at the back. Rosa Parks famously defied segregation on buses by refusing to get up and
move from her seat at the front to make way for white passengers.
It was the
same with lunch counters. Certain lunch counters were reserved for white patrons, while African
Americans were expected to eat elsewhere. Segregated lunch counters in places such as
Birmingham, Alabama became the focus of the civil rights movement. Activists would sit down in
whites-only areas and stage protests until they were forcibly removed by the police. The
protesters were campaigning against not only the separate provision of facilities but the fact
that facilities for African Americans were either decidedly inferior or, in the case of
segregated buses, led to their being treated as second-class citizens.
Greek
's central characteristic is following a noble character who experiences a change in fortunes
due to a fatal flaw. This character is essentially good at heart, but their fatal flaw is what
causes their misfortune. This misfortune and the character's reaction to it is what creates the
tragedy.
In ,is the tragic hero. He is shown to be a
good man and a good king. He cares enough about his parents (or who he thinks are his parents)
that he leaves home when hears the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother.
He loves his wife and children, and he is...
Pride, also
called , is the cause of 's downfall. On a human level, it is pride that causes Oedipus to
unknowingly kill his father, Laius, on the road to Thebes. His sense of pridehis sense that
Laius should move aside for him and not vice versadrives Oedipus to get angry enough to murder
the man who will not let him pass. Much later, as the play opens andreturns from the oracle with
the news that someone's sin has caused the plague in Thebes, Oedipus has too much pride (hubris)
to imagine it could possibly be him.
This human pride is connected to a much
more fatal form of pride, according to the Greek worldview. Oedipus has the pride to think he
can beat what the gods have foreordained. That is a terrible sin. When he learns, while living
in Corinth with the people he thinks are his parents, that he was fated at birth to murder his
father and marry his mother, he believes he can make his own fate. He heads out from Corinth,
believing that he has escaped from the...
In
, there are different kinds of sight and blindness present throughout the
cast.
is literally blind, yet he is the only character who "sees"
the truth. He knows whois and chides him for his arrogance when the king gets angry about being
told the truth.
is willfully blind. She begins to suspect the truth of
Oedipus's identity the more he pries into the past, but she still tries to live in blissful
ignorance. She begs Oedipus not to go further with his investigation, but he declines. Once she
can no longer avoid the truth, she commits suicide rather than deal with...
To add on
to some of the suggestions in the earlier post citing Douglass's narrative, consider also the
damaging psychological effects that the institution of slavery had on people. When Douglass
makes his initial attempt to escape with a group of other slaves from his plantation, the
authorities are notified and the plan is botched. Slaves suffered from extreme fear, and
Douglass explores various manifestations of fear throughout his narrative.
Whenandduel,tries to
break it up. He steps between the two fighters, and "Tybalt stabs
Mercutio" under Romeo's arm (according to stage direction). Whenhelps Mercutio
to leave the stage, Romeo says of him;
This gentleman, 's
near ally,
My very friend, hath got this mortal hurt
In my behalf. My
reputation stained
With Tybalt's slanderTybalt that an hour
Hath been my
cousin! O sweet ,
Thy beauty hath made me effeminate
And in my temper softened
valor's steel. (3.1.114€“120)
Romeo is aware that Tybalt
was really coming after him, and Mercutio received his mortal injury while fighting to defend
Romeo's honor. Mercutio felt that Tybalt was speaking disrespectfully to and about Romeo, and so
he stepped in to fight Tybalt when Romeo continued to refuse. Now, Romeo seems to feel
responsible for Mercutio's death, and this sense of guilt and responsibility likely helps to
compel him to fight back.
When Romeo sees Tybalt again, he says of him,
"Alive in triumph, and Mercutio slain!" (3.1.127). He cannot allow Tybalt to remain
living while his friend Mercutio is dead. He says to his enemy:
Mercutio's soul
Is but a little way above our heads,
Staying for
thine to keep him company.
Either thou or I, or both, must go with him.
(3.1.131€“134)
Because Romeo and Tybalt are responsible
for the death of Mercutio, Romeo says that one of their souls must accompany his to the next
life.
is generally
considered the quintessential collectivist. That is, he believed that the
common good of the whole of society must always and everywhere outweigh the rights of
individuals to make their own choices.
Rousseau began by arguing that the
characteristic feature of human beings that gives us our advantage over other animals is our
capacity for cooperation. This is entirely accurate; moreover, it's something I wish more people
(including some biologists) better understood. Humans are smarter than other animals, but not
that much smarter---our great success is due to our unmatched capacity for
cooperation.
However, Rousseau believed that human beings were free and happy
before the dawn of civilization, which has largely only brought us misery. This is clearly
false; human standard of living has dramatically improved by any measure since the dawn of
civilization. Health is the easiest to keep track of, but other measures such as economic
prosperity and self-reported happiness also show an upward trend.
Based on
his belief that cooperation is the key to the common good, Rousseau argued for a restructuring
of society where the government would be democratic but extremely powerful, where almost every
aspect of our lives would be shaped by the government forcing us to act toward the common good.
He believed in an absolute majority rule by which the state even held the power over life and
death by majority vote.
This is not as extreme as it may at first sound, as
we do in fact have capital punishment in many democratic countries and military forces in nearly
all of them. We do in that sense grant majority vote control over life and death.
Still, I think most people would object to Rousseau's extreme form of collectivism.
While I think most people would agree that the common good does matter, and people cannot simply
be allowed to do whatever they want even to the point of rape and murder, nonetheless most
people believe that individuals deserve to have a certain amount of individual freedom to pursue
their own desires and interests without interference from the rest of society. We are in this
sense all both collectivists and individualists, or else something in
between the two. The question is really where to find the balance---how can we achieve peace and
harmony while also preserving personal liberty?
An algebraic
method to find the range.
`x^2>=0=>`
`x^2-5>=-5=>`
`y>=-5`
Hence the range
is `[-5,oo)`
One
strength of the Roman Republic that eventually helped it grow into an empire was its military
structure. The Roman militia operated on a sense of duty and honor that made soldiers loyal to
their deaths. It was highly organized and featured comparably advanced technology that allowed
Rome to win many battles and wars. The larger the Roman Republic grew, the more adept their army
became at capturing new lands and integrating them into the Republic.
A
weakness was the almost constant corruption in the political structure. Although the Republic
operated with elected officials, many of these officials had bought themselves into office
through bribery. This bribery continued once they were elected, as many officials voted based on
who gave them the most money. This also led to an imbalance in representation, as the majority
of officials were wealthy upper-class Romans.
occurs
continually in this novel. Three examples of it are Syme's vaporization, 's grimness
whenandvisit him in his flat, and the mention of the men who frequent The Chestnut Tree
Cafe.
Winston, thinking about Syme's inevitable fate, ruminates on the
cafe:
There was no law, not even an unwritten law, against
frequenting the Chestnut Tree Cafe, yet the place was somehow ill-omened. The old, discredited
leaders of the Party had been used to gather there before they were finally purged.
Syme frequents the cafe, which, along with his intellectual
curiosity and passion for his dictionary work, foreshadows his disappearance. Syme is too
intelligent and freethinking to survive long in Oceania. However, Syme's visits to the cafe, as
well as the discredited party leaders, also foreshadow Winston's visits to
the cafe after he is released from prison at the end of the novel. Winston remembers having
actually seen the old rebels there, and what he says about them is a...
The
importance of the last stanza is made evident by the tense shift. The action changes from verbs
like "Swung," "tossed" and "shrieked" to "is sitting."
This decent into chaos for the poem's speaker has become something that is happening, not
happened.
This tense shift makes the poem more frightening in that, up to
the last stanza, the entire narrative seemed something that had happened long before, perhaps
around the time the speaker lost his loved one named "." But when the speaker shifts
to present tense, it's clear that this personal chaos will not end. With this last stanza, Poe
makes sure the reader knows that this ongoing hopelessness is more frightening than a creepy
tale about a bird who seems supernatural.
In addition, the stanza includes
some intensethat suggests the speaker's life is chaos. The raven has "eyes all the seeming
of a demon's" and the light from outside casts an eerie "shadow on the floor."
Then the speaker compares himself to this shadow. He sees his "soul from out that shadow
that lies floating on the floor."
Overall, Poe constructs the poem in a
way that the last stanza serves as a shock. He uses the tense shift and some intense imagery to
show that personal chaos is more frightening than a creepy story.
The value of
`dy/dx` has to be determined given that `tan(x-y) = y/(2+x^2)`
Using implicit
differentiation.
`sec^2(x - y)*(1 - dy/dx) =...
Barbara
Ladd and Deborah N. Cohn apply postcolonial criticism to Faulkner by examining his
"contradictory treatment of Native Americans" (Hamblin, Faulkner in the
Twenty-First Century ). A similar approach might be used for "A Rose for
Emily" through an examination of his contradictory...
1. Following 's
comment about it being a sin to kill a mockingbird, there are several motifs regarding
mockingbirds found throughout the novel. After Tom Robinson is wrongly convicted, he is sent to
Enfield Prison Farm, where he attempts to escape. Unfortunately, Tom is shot dead during his
escape, and Mr. B. B. Underwood compares his death to the "senseless slaughter of
songbirds." Tom Robinson is a symbolic mockingbird because he is harmless and defenseless
and only brings joy to the world.
2. In ,andwalk
to the Maycomb school to participate in the Halloween festivities. As they walk past 's home,
Scout mentions,
"High above us in the darkness a
solitary mocker poured out his repertoire in blissful unawareness of whose tree he sat in,
plunging from the shrill kee, kee of the sunflower bird to the irascible qua-ack of a bluejay,
to the sad lament of Poor Will, Poor Will, Poor Will" (Lee, 258).
This specific mockingbird motif foreshadows Bob Ewell's attack on
the innocent, vulnerable children as they are walking home.
3. The final mockingbird motif takes place at the end
ofwhen Scout metaphorically applies her father's lesson to Boo Radley. When Sheriff Tate says
that it would be a sin to inform the community about Boo's heroics, Scout tells her
father,
"Well, itd be sort of like shootin€˜ a
mockingbird, wouldnt it?" (Lee, 281).
One of the
great things about the short story "" is the wayreveals the society that is
"truly equal". He shows the dark side of this desire that sits in the hearts of people
everywhere. The story illustrates how a society might be manipulated even if the wishes of
equality where realized. The question of whether or not it would be desirable to have a truly
class society or...
did indeed
want to comment on Communism with his allegorical. The society that the
animals set up is analogous to the beginnings of the Russian Revolution. The ideas that
everybody should share equally in the wealth created by their collective labor is at the heart
of Marx's ideology.
But Orwell had more than that in mind. Marxism was
already well known by the time he was writing Animal Farm in the 1930's.
Nobody needed to have communism explained to them at that time. Orwell's goal was to show how
the pursuit of an ideal can be derailed by power-hungry individuals. The way...
There were
some significant changes in the countries fighting inin 1917 and in 1918. In 1917, the United
States entered World War I. The United States was upset with German actions, especially with the
German resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare. This action violated the American right as
a neutral nation to trade with other countries during the war. The Americans were also not
pleased that Germany tried to get Mexico to attack the United States, which was revealed in the
Zimmermann Telegram. The entrance of the United States was a huge boost for the Allies. The
Allies were struggling in their fight against the Central Powers. When the United States entered
the war, it brought fresh, rested troops to help the Allies fight. The United States was also
able to bring needed supplies and equipment to help the Allies in the war effort. It is fair to
say that the American entrance into the war was the decisive factor in the Allied
victory.
In 1918, Russia left the war. The Russian people were unhappy with
the rule of Czar Nicholas II, especially with the extreme poverty many people faced. There also
was discontent over the losses the Russian military experienced in the war. As a result, the
Russian Revolution began leading to a new government assuming power. With the signing of the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Russians stopped fighting in the war. This was a huge concern for
the Allies because the Germans no longer had to fight a two-front war. Germany could move more
of its troops to the western front, making it more difficult for the Allies to win the
war.
Although
both the United States and ancient Athens are described as democracies, the systems of
government are quite different.
Since the advent of women's suffrage in the
early 20th century, all citizens of the US over 18 who have not committed felonies are able to
vote. In Athens, women, slaves, metics (resident aliens), and those who did not have Athenian
grandparents could not...
I'm
assuming the rest of that question is "correct" or "accurate". This is a
highly subjective question that really connects to your own value system or prejudices. As for
myself, I agree with . The exchange between the siblings is as follows:
You know something, Scout? I've got it all figured out, now. I've
thought aboutit a lot lately and I've got it figured out. There's four kinds of folks in
theworld. There's the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there's the kindlike the
Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at thedump, and the
Negroes.
is attempting to understand the prejudice he
sees surrounding him. His division of people into four groups accounts for the hatred and
discrimination he witnesses everyday. When Scout replies "Naw, Jem, I think there's just
one kind of folks. Folks," she is revealing her own understanding of the world around her.
she is not attempting to understand prejudice; she is accepting that it exists. this allows her
to see that all people are one, no matter their background. But Jem doesn't agree:
"That's what I thought, too," he said at last, "when
I was your age. If there'sjust one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If
they're allalike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? Scout, I think
I'mbeginning to understand something. I think I'm beginning to understand why BooRadley's stayed
shut up in the house all this time . . . it's because he wantsto stay inside."
Jem is worried by Scout response, because it basically means that
there's no logical reason for discrimination based on race or class. This contrasts with his
view of the world as a logical place. That is why he is so upset at the end of Tom's trial:
Logically, Tom should be found not guilty. Jem is very sensitive to how people treat each other,
& his connection toshows that he understands more every day.
The finale
of the novel is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, wrapping up all the
threads that were loose throughout the novel, centering on Enzo (the dog) and his family. Enzo
passes away at the close of the novel, believing he will be reborn into a human. Having loved
racing his entire life, the ending alludes to the idea that he was, in fact, reincarnated, as a
young boy whose name is Enzo approaches Danny and wishes to be a race car driver.
Danny's wife, Eve, passes away, leaving Danny and his daughter, Zoe, to move to Italy
and start their life over. Eve's parents had been suing for custody of Zoe following Eve's
death, but have decided to drop the lawsuit. Danny accepts a spur-of-the-moment job offer from
Luca to be a test driver for Formula One cars in Italy, and it is there that he takes his
daughter and meets the young Enzo.
A rope is a
multi-purpose item that is used to connect, to bind, to kill, or to save. At one point in the
novel, Dana creates a bag with items that she can use to make her life better when she is
transported back in time. She ties this bag to her body with a rope. This is to
make...
A
perfectly competitive firm operates within a structure that is defined by five criteria: a) the
sale of products that are identical to their competition b) the inability of firms to control
market price c) the ownership of a relatively small market share by each firm d) complete
transparency regarding products and prices and e) freedom of entry and exit. A perfectly
competitive firm would be characterized as a "price taker" due to its inability to
influence market price. In a perfectly competitive market, the price of the products are fixed
since each firm is producing just enough to stay in...
Your
question suggests that this is something that has been covered in a textbook or in a lecture and
that you are expected to produce four reasons in particular, those covered in your course.
However, as a general matter, you are likely to get different answers from different people. I
can offer five reasons that I consider the most important reasons we study literature, which are
that it allows us to move out of ourselves, that it allows us to look within ourselves, that it
makes us empathetic, that it gives us common ground with other educated people, and that it is
pleasurable in and of itself.
You will hear English teachers tell you that
literature is a window upon the world, and this is so true. allows us to visit different times,
different places, and different peoples. Without it, all we would know about is a very limited
piece of life. When I read The Kite Runner, I learn about Afghani culture,
the trials and tribulations the country has experienced, and what it is like to be an immigrant.
When I read Reading Lolita in Tehran, I learn about still another culture,
and I learn about how women and intellectualism are repressed in some other countries. When I
read Huckleberry Finn, I am able to go back over a hundred years in the
history of my own country, to learn about what life was like then in times of slavery and before
this country was tamed. Who would want to deny themselves these wonderful windows onto the world
out there?
You may also hear that reading literature is like a mirror.
What is meant by this is that it allows you to look at yourself. As we read, we notice how
characters may be like us or not. We notice how situations might be similar to those we have
experienced. This has the effect of making us examine ourselves critically. What would we do in
such a situation? Would we act as particular character would act? Sometimes, in my book group,
this is the sort of discussion we have, and different people have different opinions about what
is right or wrong, but the book we are discussing seems to make us focus upon ourselves, a way
of asking if we measure up, if we are of good or bad character. Enders Game
seems to be a mirror for readers, who think about what their own moral characters are.
Similarly, The Giver tends to make people examine themselves, to ask if
they are really thinking for themselves or allowing others to force them into conformity. So, as
we read, we are holding up a mirror to examine ourselves.
Having these
windows and mirrors makes us more empathetic people. We are now able to have some insight into
how other people live, how other people feel, how circumstances force people to make difficult
choices that are not perfect. We are able to understand how someone can do everything right and
still have a poor outcome because of circumstances beyond control. We can look deeply within
ourselves and ask whether or not we are judgmental of others in a a way that is not very
attractive. All of this encourages us to understand the feelings and motivations of those around
us, which is what empathy really is. There have been studies done that have concluded that
those who read literature are more empathetic than those who do not. And in order to get along
in a diverse world, the most useful kind of emotional intelligence is probably
empathy.
As you move along in the world, you will find that many educated
people have read the same literature. This gives you a common ground upon which to
communicate. Often when I meet strangers, we end up talking about the books we have read, and
it is remarkable how many of the same literary works we have in common. This gives us a common
frame of reference, a common vocabulary, and common literary allusions. Literature is the stuff
of civilization, and when we read it, we become part of a tribe of civilized people. That is a
membership I cherish.
Last, but not least, reading literature is one of
life's great pleasures. It is as pleasurable as a good meal or a walk in the park on a beautiful
day. When I deserve a reward after a great deal of hard work, I often reward myself with
reading. A book is a wonderful companion, not to replace people, but still a wonderful
experience in and of itself. Even if all the previous reasons did not exist, I would still be a
reader, just for the pleasure of it!
dealt
with inequality at the formal, rather than substantive level. So although it allowed African
Americans to vote for the first time and hold public office, it did little or nothing to deal
with the underlying problems that had given rise to their subjection in the first place. Though
advocates of Reconstruction were committed to formal equality, in keeping with virtually all
white Americans at the time, they did not believe in substantive equality between the races. The
general attitude that prevailed was that African Americans were racially inferior, and although
they should enjoy legal and political equality, it was held they were not entitled to anything
more than that. This attitude strongly influenced the enforcement of Reconstruction measuresor
rather, the lack of it.
Supporters of Reconstruction seriously
underestimated how much sustained political energy was required to make it work. As time went
on, such energy inevitably waned. Most Americans, both North...
