Hemingway in Nature Essay Example for Free

Hemingway in Nature Essay The great respect Ernest Hemingway has for nature is manifested as an important character in his works. Although Hemingway cut down his prose to the minimum necessary to convey the action of his characters, he carefully advanced the theme of nature. Hemingway describes trees, leaves and needles, water, rain and bodies of water, rocks, wind and breezes and animals as part of the theme of nature. In so deliberately including the nature theme in his work, Hemingway elevates it as more than a part of the setting of the action to a point that nature plays a role or a character in the action. Hemingway expresses important concepts and ideas in his writing in a deliberate manner. Within the structure of his sentences and paragraphs, he shapes the concept he is emphasizing by repeating it and using description to highlight it: He lay on the brown, pine-needled floor of the forest, his chin on his folded arms, and high overhead the wind blew in the tops of the pine trees. (Hemingway 1)  Here, the concept of a pine tree is emphasized through its placement both at the beginning and the end of a single, short sentence and the fruit of the tree, the needles, are emphasized to a greater degree by description as the brown, pine-needled floor. Hemingway makes clear that pine tree is thought of both as a living evergreen tree, i.e., green in color, as well as a tree that sheds its needles to create a brown blanket of cover on the floor of the forest. Also, the pine trees are not simple and unmoving objects. The pine trees have acted to cover the floor with needles, and they sway, having been blown by the wind. The character then is not alone in a woods, but rather he is among the pine trees who are moving and acting in the scene as the character does. Hemingway takes the emphasizing to a whole another literal level as he characterizes the interaction between the rain drops and rain and the tree and branches: â€Å"The trees were dripping in the rain. It was cold and the drops hung to the branches.† (Hemingway 1) Repetition is an obvious means by which Hemingway adds impact to the role that nature plays in his work: He was sorry for the birds, especially the small delicate dark terns that were always flying and looking and almost never finding, and he thought, the birds have a harder life than we do except for the robber birds and the heavy strong ones. (Hemingway 29) Hemingway does not simply state the characters idea that he feels sorry for a bird. Instead in this excerpt, Hemingway repeats birds, the type of birds, and the action of the birds over and over: birds, terns, flying, birds, robber birds and heavy strong ones. In this way, Hemingway adds focus to what the character is saying, he feels sorrow toward a particular type of bird, a vulnerable or delicate one, one with a harder life. Even beyond this, Hemingway implies that certain other birds are not worthy of sorrow; the robber birds who are heavy and strong are worthy of contempt. Through the repetition of the word bird or the bird-like descriptions, Hemingway expands his characters feelings and provides greater depth to what is stated. In this way, what is stated is given greater meaning, and the character also is given greater depth. Hemingway could state things in single manner, and in that one manner only. However, his writing style is to repeat an important theme. In this way, there is a certain point to be proven and he makes it clear by underscoring it by repetition. In the excerpt below, Hemingway addresses a snowstorm: In a snowstorm it always seemed, for a time, as if there were no enemies. In a snowstorm the wind would blow a gale; but it blew a white cleanness and the air was full of a driving whiteness and all things were changed and when the wind stopped there would be the stillness. This was a big storm and he might as well enjoy it. It was ruining everything, but you might as well enjoy it. (Hemingway 71) Here, the snowstorm, and other words such as â€Å"blow†, â€Å"blew†, â€Å"gale†, â€Å"cleanness†, â€Å"whiteness†, â€Å"stillness†, and again, â€Å"storm† all are variations on the meaning of what a snowstorm is and what it represents. It leaves a mental picture almost palpable, with the feel, the look and the sound of this aspect of nature. In addition to sentence placement, rich description and repetition, Hemingway personifies nature by giving to it human characteristics. In the following except, the rain is given a personality:  It turned cold that night and the next day it was raining. Coming home from Ospedale Maggiore it rained very hard and I was wet when I came in. Up in my room, the rain was coming down heavily outside on the balcony, and wind blew it against the glass doors. (Hemingway 142) In the three sentences above, Hemingway restates three times that it is raining and then finally emphasizes that the rain is blowing against the glass doors. The rain is shown to be insistent. The rain is not satisfied only to make the character wet while he is outside in the rain, but also the rain tries to barge into the characters room by blowing against the doors. In this way, Hemingway is not content to describe that it is raining, or even that it is raining hard. Instead, he uses imagery of a person prying against a door like a robber to convey that the rain has a purpose or a goal to achieve. Hemingway takes something as simple as the movement of a weed and beautifully plays it up to be something so much more: Just before it was dark, as they passed a great island of Sargasso weed that heaved and swung in the light sea as though the ocean were making love with something under a yellow blanket. (Hemingway 72) Personifying nature is giving it qualities of humans or portraying an aspect of nature to be doing an action that humans tend to do, Hemingway includes this aspect of writing in many of his works. In the above passage, Hemingway manifests the weeds â€Å"making love† in a certain movement. Nature is beautiful and was one of Hemingway’s great loves, yet he was not to sugar coat things. When something was mediocre, he brought it into the light: It stormed all that day. The wind drove down the rain and everywhere there was standing water and mud. The plaster of the broken houses was gray and wet. (Hemingway 174) Just as humans have both good and bad qualities, Hemingway illustrates that nature can mimic just the same. It would be a very great fate to find a paragraph of Hemingway’s that has nothing to do with nature. He carefully articulates each sentence and it has vast meaning. There may be question as to why he includes some; â€Å"‘Fish, he said, ‘I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.’† (Hemingway 54). A man is speaking to a fish, he is well aware that the fish will not respond, but it’s the meaning of taking the time to include him telling the fish that he will have to kill him, assumedly for food. Hemingway addresses nature so as to emphasize its importance to his works. Nature is not simply a part of the setting of scenes by Hemingway in his works. Various depictions of nature are written in a manner that create a tension between nature and the characters. The fact that Hemingway is so careful to emphasize nature in his writing style cannot be viewed as accidental or sentimental. Hemingways work as a whole is remarkable for the reason that it is so precise and cut down to a bare minimum: A.J. Verdelle, what do you think {Hemingways] most positive legacy for American writing has been? A.J. Verdelle: Well, actually, I think that Hemingway changed American writing. I think that he lived in a time at the edge of the florid 19th century, long writing. And he made it spare. He made it new. He made it vigorous. He made it fresh. And I appreciate him a great deal for that. (Verdelle Web.) For his writing which is otherwise spare, Hemingway devotes much energy to making the appearances of nature in his work memorable and active.  Some may wonder why Hemingway chooses to write in such a spare manner, yet not one bit bland: Its really up to you how much you want to read into the pine needles. Regardless of whether they have any larger meaning, Hemingways use of the same image at the beginning and end of the book – not just pine needles, but Robert Jordan lying on them – gives the novel nice  bookends, and a nifty little sense of  circularity†¦ Reading a little more into it, its likely that the pine needles on the ground are meant to be the singular image for the land of Spain itself, for Spanish earth, which Robert Jordan loves. (Siminoff Web) Mr. Siminoff proves an excellent point about the pine needles, however, there are pine needles in France, Michigan, and Austria all places that Hemingway was familiar with and set other stories. So, isn’t the larger point about pine needles that Hemingway connects the action of his characters to nature? The immediacy or vividness of nature in Hemingways work comes from the precise and planned way in which Hemingway writes, giving great meaning in a condensed form to that which he places in a scene: Physical nature is nowhere rendered with greater vividness than in his work†¦The meadows, forests, lakes, and trout streams of America, and the arid, sculpturesque mountains of Spain, appear with astonishing immediacy, an immediacy not dependent upon  descriptive flourishes. (Bloom Web). Bloom studied many great American authors, thus making his knowledge of literature is pronounced. Hemingway wrote solely about the things that he knew, nature depriving itself from all the places he ever went or travelled. The accounts of criticism on the unique writing style of Hemingway are vast and numerous. One common thread between them all is that Hemingway put himself into each piece of literature that he wrote, each reflecting his life in a way: It seems fair to say that Hemingway never really understood himself. His well-publicized front of bravado and he-man feats masked a nature that was somehow empty. What comes through in the huge volume of letters edited by Carlos Baker is the portrait of a man utterly deluded about the extent and sources of his pain, a malicious bully whose exploits served to fill up a life in which something love, empathy, genuine  interest in others was missing. (Atlas Web). While harshly critical of Hemingway, there is a point to be made. They say it is best to write about the things you know, Hemingway did just this. Atlas believed his writing became mainstream and lost its freshness. He argued that Hemingway was missing something from his writing. However, this is only one account. Ernest Hemingway was a man among men. He was the true embodiment of a â€Å"jack of all trades.† All the nature, hunting, fishing, and war tales that he wrote were a part of him. These things were his life and all that he knew. Nature is evidentially manifested in Hemingway’s works through sentences placement, the repetition of a single element in nature, rich description, and by being given human characteristics parts of nature. Upon reading Hemingway novel or short story, immediately bound to a vivid perspective of nature the reader is and that is a true gift. Works Cited: Atlas, James. â€Å"Papa Lives† The Atlantic.com Atlantic Monthly Group. 31 Mar. 2011. Web. 31 Mar. 2011 Bloom, Harold. Blooms How to Write about Ernest Hemingway. New York: Infobase, 2009. Print. Bloom, Harold, ed. Bloom on Ernest Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway, Blooms Major Short Story Writers. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. Blooms Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54SID=5iPin= BMSSEH01SingleRecord=True (accessed February 3, 2011). Hemingway, Ernest. Farewell to Arms. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1929. Print. Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1952. Print. Hemingway, Ernest. Up in Michigan. The Short Stories. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1953. 81-87. Print  Reflections on Hemingway. Pbs.org. Joe Stoppard. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/ernest-hemingway/reflections-on-ernest-hemingway/629/. Siminoff, David. From Whom the Bell Tolls. Shmoop. Web. 31 Mar. 2011.  http://www.shmoop.com/for-whom-the-bell-tolls/.

Sociology Investigation Essay Example for Free

Sociology Investigation Essay With the use of covert participant observation and study of secondary data, I will be analyzing and investigation the question â€Å"Why do girls do better at school than boys? † I will come to a conclusion on whether this question is correct and if it is true or not, then explaining the reasons why they do better or why they do not. Hypothesis – We believe that girls do better in school and this is because most girls can multi task and think about their future much more than boys who are trying to â€Å"live in the moment†. Boys are also socialized into being violent and being slightly rebellious so will not concentrate enough in lessons. Girls are however socialized to be respectable and get a good job to help the family and also to be sensible so they can raise children. Finally I feel girls generally can be distracted one day for many reasons but keep quiet and everyone knows not to annoy them, but on the other hand boys if they get distracted tend to disturb everyone around them. Why do girls do better than Investigation Discussion of Secondary Data – In some research it highlights how boys by the age of eight are meant to have adopted these boys by the age of eight are meant to have adopted these perceptions and that from that age the perceptions and that from that age the gap between intelligence is visible. They saw that boys could become products of self-fulfilling prophecy. The research also shows that boys lag behind girls in nearly all subjects at A-level and GCSE. Girls from reception to year 5 said that girls were cleverer, performed better and more focused and respectful. Boys in reception, yr1 and yr2 had an equal split between boys and girls and in yr3 they all said girls were better showing as they get older the gap is bigger and more visible to see. Adults that also believe girls do better the research showed. In a separate investigation two groups we held both full of boys, the first was told that girls performed better than girls and the second were not. The first group performed significantly worse than the second. This could show how their poor performance could be because of low expectations of teachers. Stats – 25. 5% of entries by girls were A/A* compared with 19. 5% for boys. The gap narrows at A-level, with 27. 6% of entries which are girls were awarded A/A* compared with 26. 1%. Method – I am going to use covert participant observation to investigate my hypothesis. This will involve watching a lesson and recording notes on how behavior and attention differ between boys and girls. I will make sure that no one knows I’m doing this so they don’t change their behavior to make them look better or alter what they would do because they know they are being watched. It important to control these to make accurate results are noted down. I will then record my results in a need and structure paragraph using qualitative analysis. I am also going to do a survey asking an equal amount of boys and girls from a range of years asking if they think boys or girls do better in school. This will be good to do as a comparison could be made between my results and secondary data. The pros of this method are that we can easily compare secondary data and also with the survey being quantitative we can make a graph and with the qualitative data we can make a clear and detailed conclusion. The cons are when asking the survey it may be hard to get real opinions as boys may say boys do better in school because of their â€Å"honor† but really they believe girls do better. Ethical issues – Some issues I might face with this investigation is the use of covert participant observation because some people may feel they are being involved with something they don’t want to be involved with and that we are going behind their back as we have not asked them to be involved. They may not feel comfortable with being involved and we have to think about and respect that. Finally if we are watching teacher they may not feel that it appropriate for us to watch them and make notes as they are our elders and they may believe we are judging them. Pilot Study – I made my first pilot study in the first lesson of planning. Something I noticed were that the group behind us of all girls was planning and mind mapping ideas about how they could go about their investigation and started writing the norms. However the group of boys at the back we getting distracted said they would do it after the holiday and were clearly bored so tried to practice the covert participant observation method but were laughing and not doing it properly by as they were laughing and we knew they were watching us In turn automatically changing our behavior towards them. Evaluation of pilot study – From the pilot study we see that our hypothesis was correct and girls are more focused which maybe a reason why they have been shown to do better in school than boys. The study also highlighted how if you are caught using covert participant observation then people will change their behavior distracting them as well from their work also confirming my ideas about how boys distract everyone around them when they are bored. Presentation of results – Notes: * Girls seemed to settle in a lot quicker than boys. * More boys got more penalties than girls * Boys asking for pens and equipment Couples of boys and girls work better than two boys sitting together * Boys seen to distract a lot of people around then and the whole class are disturbed and the teacher had to stop * Boys are always the once making funny comments and trying to be the jokers * Some boys got a bad result in the end of term test they seem to just be fine with it and even use it as something to laugh about, also some girls do that and on one hand they may have struggled and then they get help but on the other they do sometimes use it as an excuse maybe just because they didn’t revise or concentrate in lessons Conclusion and discussion of results – My results strongly collaborate my hypothesis as they indicate that boys’ behavior is a lot worse than those of girls and this I feel is directly related to the lower grades on average that girls get. My results also show how boys have been socialized into being the class clowns and that to be popular they have to make rude or annoying comments that people laugh at. This highlights the idea about some boys just thinking about the current time and not there future, whereas on the other hand girls are thinking about their future. On the whole my results did collaborate with my hypothesis and from the results I got I feel girls are more focused and doing this investigation opened my eyes up to this fact and how boys do seem to be a lot less bothered and this in turn affects their school in terms of grades and results they receive at the end of their schooling lives. Evaluation of method – I used covert participant observation to gather qualitative information, this gave me detailed results that a structured conclusion would be made from. There were no problems with the use of the covert participant observation method and at the end I also spoke to some people and told them they had been filmed, they seemed fine about it but I was weary that some people may have not liked being watched and that is understandable so I was careful. The use of the survey allowed me to compare data that was gathered in research and the results we found out. Although next time I feel I could have asked a wider range of people and also a wider range of ages because students can often lie to make their sex or the opposite sex seem better and have biases because of one reason or another.

Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Introduction Hamlet It is important to note that Hamlet itself is a transformation, of form as well as ideas, which is based upon other transformations. Indeed the metatheme of Hamlet is transformation (whereas Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is about the inability to effect transformation or change). Tom McAlindon, in an article entitled What is a Shakespearean Tragedy, draws our attention to the fact that Hamlet, like Shakespeares other tragedies, has an intense focus on the phenomenon of change: change is not just one of worldly fortunes; it is above all else interpersonal, moral, and psychological change. An essential part of the heros experience is the horrified discovery that the world he knows and values, the people he loves and trusts, are changing or have changed utterly. He feels cheated and betrayed to the very heart of loss. (p.6) Shakespeare was writing in the tradition of Revenge Tragedy, sometimes referred to as Theatre of the Blood. Elizabethan and Jacobean versions of revenge tragedy borrowed heavily from the tragedies of Seneca (4 BC-65 AD), a Roman dramatist whose tragedies were published in 1581. Seneca, in turn, based his tragedies on Greek mythology and he appeared to have been influenced by Aristotle (384-322 BC). Students should acquaint themselves with the features of these tragedies. Shakespeare borrowed, and indeed transformed his tragedies from the classical form in a number of ways, such as the inclusion of comic elements (comic relief, satire, mocking, parody etc), the common man character and showing on stage acts of violent passion. Shakespeare also appears to have borrowed quite extensively from a contemporary of his, Thomas Kyd (1558-1594) whose revenge tragedy The Spanish Tragedy was not only enormously popular but very influential to all in the Elizabethan and Jacobean drama industry. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Stoppard has written three, what some would refer to as irreverent, transformations of Shakespeares tragedies: Doggs Hamlet, Cahoots Macbeth and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. This enterprise is quite audacious as he is not just transforming plays but modern classics. When asked why he chose Hamlet he responded: [Hamlet] is the most famous play in any language, it is part of a sort of common mythology. Stoppard also writes in a tradition; in his case the tradition of the Theatre of the Absurd. The literary term Theatre of the Absurd was coined by the critic Martin Esslin and refers to tendencies in drama to portray life as meaningless and absurd which emerged in Paris in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Absurdist Theatre itself can be seen as a transformation of Dadaism and Surrealism, two early twentieth century aesthetic philosophies which focused on a sense of bewilderment at the violence, depravity, and hopelessness they believed endemic to the human condition in the twentieth century. By challenging conventional theatre and traditional views The Theatre of the Absurd attempted to shock the audience into questioning its own values and assumptions. The drama portrayed was not meant to be regarded in the same terms as realist drama but rather as a drama of ideas. Dramatic features often included meaningless exchanges due to a distrust of language as a means of communication, a por trayal of life as meaningless through a lack of dramatic suspense, abstracted and minimalist settings, comic treatment of traditional themes and a blurring of reality and fiction. There is often a sense of playfulness at times drawing attention to their own artifice. There is also a close link with existentialism. Existentialism is a philosophical movement that explores the question of existence and how it is defined, particularly in a world in which meaning appears to have disappeared. The terrible events of the two World Wars accelerated the waning of religious faith which had started with the Enlightenment. There was a general mood of disillusionment with so called civilized values. The absurd plays of dramatists such as Ionesco, Genet, Beckett and Pinter all depict humanity as bewildered and anxious in the face of a loss of meaning. Stoppard uses Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead as a vehicle to express these ideas and draws upon what is probably Shakespeares most existential work, Hamlet. Hamlets famous To be or not to be speech is the intertextual echo that resounds throughout Stoppards play. Stoppard has also appropriated Becketts influential absurdist play Waiting for Godot. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern mirror the predicament of Vladimir and Estragon, two lost souls waiting for something to happen. They are stranded between modernity and postmodernity. They long for the security of a grand narrative to make sense of their lives but can only engage in futile speculation about the meaning of it all. They are on the verge of a breakthrough to an acceptance of their postmodern condition of fragmentation, but dont quite make it. Stoppards transformation of Hamlet can be seen as a formalized 20th century statement regarding the nature of truth: it is contingent, contextual and ultimately unknowable. This, of course, is Rosencrantz and Guildensterns dilemma; they are trapped in limbo between knowing and not knowing. Stoppard has been criticized for omitting certain scenes (e.g. III, ii and iii) which portray Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in a light other than two bewildered innocents. However it should be remembered Stoppard is interested in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as victims. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is his creation. He has taken an idea from Hamlet and developed it dramatically. What he is not interested in is critiquing Hamlet. Students should make lists of the scenes in Hamlet which have been incorporated into Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and write down what has been added and what has been changed. Then you should consider how these contribute to Stoppards purpose. Context Hamlet The flourishing of Revenge Tragedy in Shakespeares time was fuelled by the enormous changes taking place in Elizabethan and Jacobean society. His was an age characterized by turmoil and uncertainty. The division of the church in England divided the people into Catholics and Protestants. Religious doubt, albeit carefully disguised, was becoming more prevalent. The consequent unrest and suspicion often resulted in surveillance and betrayal in personal relations as well as in the broader social and political sphere. Assassination attempts on Elizabeth and James resulted in cruel and brutal retaliations. There was also the ever present threat of foreign invasion to add to the feelings of insecurity. Medieval feudalism was in decline, but it was dying a defiant death; the aristocracy resorted to harsh measures to shore up its authority and maintain the hierarchical order which had served it so well. Hamlet dramatically reflects this challenge to tradition, the political instability of his society and the religious questioning. Medieval-renaissance-modern; feudalism-sceptism-humanism-individualism; old world moral absolutes-new world rational scepticism; religious certainties-inner doubt and psychological probing. Humanism and notion of identity. Hamlet asks the modern questions, who am I? and what am I doing here? Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Stoppard began writing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead in 1964 and it was first performed in 1966 at the Edinburgh Fringe Theatre. The 20th century, and more specifically the late 20th century, was a time of change and turmoil. The sixties was characterized by an irreverent mood born out of a period of rebellion and challenge to existing structures and beliefs. In all areas of social activity Stoppards society (which is mainly first world, capitalist, democratic and relatively affluent) was undergoing transformation. Many characterize this historical period as the turn on, tune in, drop out generation because of its experimentation with drugs, alternative lifestyles and sexually promiscuous attitudes. Others characterize the sixties as a decade of student political protest. They cite the anti-Vietnam campaigns, nuclear disarmament protests and the Paris student riots as important landmarks in the politicization of young people. The British popular culture scene included television comedy in the form of Monty Pythons Flying Circus and Englands first soap opera Coronation Street, the pop music explosion kick started by the Beatles, stage musicals such as Oliver, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat a nd Jesus Christ Superstar. The mood of questioning, rebellion and playfulness can be seen in the way that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead travesties Hamlet; the tragedians, serious in their treatment of Death and holding a mirror up to life in Hamlet are now reduced to comedians and potential pornographers in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. The treatment of death has also undergone a transformation from the profound to the comic, from high tragedy to slapstick comedy. 20th Century despair-nihilism-death of god-existentialism and the notion of identity-swinging sixties-optimism and disillusionment-modernism-postmodernism-Theatre of the Absurd-nonheroic-Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ask the modern questions, who am I? and what am I doing here? Ideas/Themes Change * Consistency and inconsistency * Tradition and progress Hamlet is about change and transition whereas Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is about the inability to effect transformation or change. Where Hamlet undergoes a transformation in perspective and acts to influence events, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are seen as impotent little men unable to influence events. Death * What is death? * What is it to die? Throughout literature there is a strong connection between truth and death. The quest for meaning is seen in terms of killing and death. The tragedians offer yet another view: they see death as the climax of great tragedy. Identity The humanist model (see Liberal Humanist reading below) sees Hamlet as epitomizing the human condition. It takes for granted a universalism of human nature and identity which transcends time and place. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have no fixed identities. Stoppard is exploring the 20th century notion of existentialism which is essentially concerned with the problem of self identity. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as representatives of the human condition, have no control over their fate and are the victims of arbitrary circumstances. They have no past and no future and only exist through other peoples definitions of them, and are unable to accept the lack of guidance and fashion their own future out of the here and now. Their existential position is echoed throughout the play as they continually try to find an explanation for their existence. In the same way that Hamlet functions as a metaphor for the human condition so do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern represent modern humanitys existential despair. Providence, fate, destiny The notions of free will and determinism are central to both plays. Hamlet has the free will to act but is thwarted by his belief system. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern represent the idea that our lives are predetermined because even though we do have choices in life, we do not have enough information to choose intelligently. Existentialism, religion and the meaning of life Shakespeares England was very religious. The Christian church was an active participant in all areas of social and political life. Hamlet too operates in this Christian context and all events in the play should be regarded in this light; indeed religious belief is often a instigator or inhibitor of dramatic action. The 20th century is often referred to as the century that killed God. In Western society there has been a decline in the number of Christians and of the significance of the church in everyday life. Stoppard evokes the mood of 20th century despair through his appropriation of the philosophical movement called existentialism. By dramatizing the loss of centers resulting in a despairing desire to know and to believe, Stoppard is commenting on the nature of 20th century existence. Appearance and reality, illusion and truth The player in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead says, truth is only that which is taken to be true. Its the currency of living. There may be nothing behind it, but it doesnt make any difference so long as it is honored. One acts on assumptions. Consider the concept of truth as it is dramatically realized in Hamlet. Examine how both plays use things such as imagery, symbols, clothing, the play-within-a-play device, role-playing and language to set up mirrors for reality through which to challenge our notions of illusion and truth. Appearance and reality is a dominant theme in Hamlet and Elizabethan audiences would understand that there is a truth behind the disguise. Rational reason and scientific rationalism Rational reason was the basis of Humanism and was the working philosophy of Shakespeares time. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern attempt to discover patterns and purposes in their existence by use of scientific logic. Theatre as a metaphor for life (and the nature of art) There are several examples in both plays where the boundaries between the actors and the audience are erased. Shakespeare and Stoppard employ metatheatre in order to comment on the analogy between drama and life: both construct realities. Hamlet is a theatrical play. It is about acting and, like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is full of theatrical references. Theatrical terminology and imagery abounds, characters act or attempt to act, characters are instructed and instruct others in the art of acting, there are plays within plays and the audience are reminded that it are not only watching a play but that it might be the actors in someone elses play! Both playwrights cleverly use structure and form to draw our attention to the nature of truth and reality. Stoppard himself is acting upon Shakespeares text. Form Hamlet The genre-Tragedy-Revenge Tragedy-Aristotle-Seneca-Elizabethan/Jacobean-Shakespeare Structure-stagecraft-dramatic techniques (ghost, soliloquy, play within a play)-language-imagery-setting Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead The genre, Theatre of the Absurd, modern and postmodern characteristics (pastiche, irony, parody, word games, vaudeville, burlesque, self reflexivity, absence of a frame of reference) Intertextuality (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T S Eliot and Waiting for Godot, a play by Samuel Beckett about impotence and despair, view of life as hopeless). Prufrock and Godot are both examples of modernist texts where the romantic tragic hero is regarded as a myth. We have the anti-hero or ordinary person on centre stage cut adrift in a drama over which he or she has no control, aimless and looking for direction and speculating about the meaning of it all. Modernism is characterized by nostalgia for the certainty, faith and authority of the past. Thus there is a tone of lament, pessimism and despair. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is modernist in this sense but there are aspects of postmodernism, e.g. the philosophizing, speculating and agonizing by Hamlet over grand issues (such as meaning of life, death and religion) is treated in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead as farce through the modes of satire, irony, burlesque and parody. Stoppards use of Hamlet is in some ways a postmodern gesture. By appropriating such an iconic text as Hamlet and presenting it from the perspective of peripheral characters and then playing upon them for his own purposes, Stoppard demonstrates that the human experience cannot be fully understood by focusing on the dominant narrative. The depiction of reality as a game or spectacle, the destabilization of identity and the inability of language to offer security of meaning are further pointers to the postmodern condition of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. They are indeed bewildered innocents cast adrift in a disinterested and dispassionate universe. The questioning and dismantling of the individual authorial self conclusively marks the text as a postmodern inquiry into how meaning is constructed. Remember that the vital difference between modernism and postmodernism is that the former laments fragmentation and the latter celebrates it. So be cautious in referring to RG as a postmodern text. It is a modernist text that has some postmodernist characteristics. The intense seriousness of the modernists is diluted by the humor and parody of the postmodernists. Language Hamlet The role of language in Hamlet is to create meaning. It is the utterance of the paragon of animals. It is a sublime human achievement, and indeed Shakespeares language has been valued throughout the centuries as the pinnacle of linguistic artistry. Language in Hamlet expresses beauty, truth and reason as well as being a tool of deception and manipulation. It therefore has transcendent meaning which when analyzed will reveal truth. Traditional criticism, based as it is on Liberal Humanist values, focuses on a universal humanity which can be understood through a close analysis of language and form. In Hamlet we find Shakespeares full repertoire of language skills: verse, prose, formal, colloquial, dialogue, soliloquies, aside, puns, irony, parody, a range of imagery, etc. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Stoppards language on the other hand expresses the ambiguous nature of truth. There is no underlying fixed meaning in words. The lack of control over their lives is mirrored in the fragmentation of Rosencrantz and Guildensterns language and their persistent use of question. The language games that Rosencrantz and Guildensterns engage in owes an intertextual debt to the influential 20th century philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein. Stoppard has appropriated one of Wittgensteins theories of language which essentially states that language cannot express a universal truth. Language resembles moves in a game and outside of the game has no meaning whatsoever. This notion of language having no transcendent value is another point of difference between the two plays. Stoppard also reveals his range of verbal artistry. His play is rich in the playful use of clichÃÆ'Â ©, black humour, irony, puns, burlesque, cultural reference, etc. His use of colloquial and clichÃÆ'Â ©d language to state humankinds existential dilemma serves to undermine the value traditionally attached to Shakespeares elevated poetry. The numinous authority of Shakespeares language is thus deflated. Notwithstanding all this, we should never lose sight of the fact that Stoppard is a playwright and his intention is to entertain us. Stoppards style, especially his humor, wit and comedic timing, is the means by which the bleakness of Rosencrantz and Guildensterns (and by analogy our own) predicament is made palatable through the medium of drama. Readings The audience response to both texts is determined by values, culture and context. Remember, our course this semester has focused on a study of the language of texts, consideration of purposes and audiences, and analysis of the content, values and attitudes conveyed through a range of readings. With that in mind, you need to understand the following critical approaches and acquaint yourselves with the theoretical principles underpinning each of the approaches. * Traditional Criticism which is based upon a Liberal Humanist approach. * Modern Criticism which is based upon a Post-structuralist and New Historicist approach. The essential difference between the two approaches is that the first tends to focus on character and the universality of the human condition and the latter emphasizes the influence of context and the application of theory to the process of reading.

Essay --

In the past, only the physical aspects of cancer were recognized. An individual’s body was only treated and the person within that body went unnoticed. Cancer, which was commonly known as the â€Å"C word†, was considered a death sentence. The patient was often not told the diagnosis as family and physicians felt that the patient was unable to handle this diagnosis. In early years there was a stigma to having cancer and people did not talk about it. In the late 70s, psychiatrist Limmie Holland was the first health care professional that began speaking about the human side of cancer. She began the initial permanent psychiatric service in a cancer research hospital in 1977 and this produced the field psycho-oncology. However people were often confused as to what psychiatrists were doing with cancer patients and they frequently questioned it. Even today, there is confusion about the need for psycho-oncology services in the medical community and occasionally even resistance from patients(Inman, 2010). When one is diagnosed with cancer, it is ego shattering. The secure, predictable place where one felt in control is no more - their world as they once knew it no longer exists. The changes they go through can be extremely challenging. Cancer influences every aspect of life: one’s body, mind, spirit; family; friends; job; relationship with God and future. The diagnosis often leaves them feeling physically, mentally, emotionally and cognitively out of control. Physically, treatment can produce exhaustion, pain, and irritability. Emotionally, feelings may become intense at times. Cognitive changes involve patients having difficulty with memory and concentration. The emotions one goes through may continue after treatment finishes. There are no... ...onjunction with the parent’s over-protectiveness. Social Effects Children with cancer may experience some social effects due to the illness. School-going children with cancer have limited time available for normal activities as they are preoccupied with hospitalizations, treatments, laboratory tests and radiology scans. They are also limited in terms of the types of activities they can engage in as they become easily fatigued, have limited mobility and have a higher risk of injury than other children. Some of the social effects of cancer and its treatment include feelings of being overwhelmed, anxiety, depression, fear, frustration, and a poor self concept (Spinelli, 2004). Psychological Effects Children with cancer may also experience psychological side effects such as social isolation, peer rejection, tendency to withdrawal and embarrassment (Spinelli, 2004).

Alternative Sentencing: Money Well Spent Essay -- Criminal Justice

Florida is losing the war on drugs though financial attrition. The economic impact of substance abuse in Florida is estimated to be roughly 6% of the state’s gross domestic product (Miami 20). One contributor is the myopic view by a judicial system that chooses to impose harsh criminal penalties, including incarceration, on non-violent offenders with minor possession charges. Increasing budgetary constraints, leading to fewer available resources, contrast harshly with the rapidly growing substance abuse. In 2009, statewide drug convictions increased by 5.9%, while state and federal funding towards alternative-sentencing programs decreased by 5.8% (Families 3; National Center). Currently Florida has more than 20,000 inmates in prison and an additional 60,000 in jail for assorted drug charges, a large portion for crimes involving minor possession or simple purchasing (Families 2). The fiscally intelligent response to non-violent offenders charged with minor possession is not the judicial system’s traditional approach, but rather utilizing alternative-sentencing programs such as drug court. In 1982, as a result of pressure to avoid federal sanctions, Florida enacted mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenders (TASC 4). Within 18 months, as thousands of offenders were charged with simple purchasing or possession of controlled substances, federal and state courts were quickly overwhelmed. The growing number of incarcerated drug offenders tripled over the next decade causing prisons and jails to suffer from overcrowding (National TASC 6). With federal and state budgets stretched dangerously thin, Florida legislature quickly passed state statutes allowing judges to discharge simple purchase and possession charges after th... ... 03 April 2012. Florida. Executive Office of the Governor. Directory of DCF Funded Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Programs. Tallahassee: Executive Office of the Governor, 2009. Print. Florida. Supreme Court Task Force on Treatment-Based Drug Courts. Report on Florida’s Drug Courts. Tallahassee: Office of the State Courts Administrator, 2009. Print. Miami Behavioral Health Center. The Annual Economic Impact of Alcohol and Drug Use in Florida. Miami: Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association, 2009. Print. National Center for State Courts. â€Å"Budget Resource Center.† www.ncsconline.org. National Center for State Courts, n.d. Web. 03 April 2012 National TASC. Considering Public Safety: The TASC Abilities. Alexandria: Office of Justice, Programs, n.d. Print. TASC. Clinical Case Management Model. Washington D.C. N.p. n.p. 2011. Print.

Abercrombie & Fitch Essay -- History Background Essays

Abercrombie & Fitch In America today, there are many different clothing stores. There are stores setting images for all ages, and styles. The majority of the upper-class stores are setting the American image for the young adult population. Many of the advertisements for these stores are somewhat similar. I have spent the last year and a half working in a clothing store called, â€Å"Abercrombie and Fitch†. Seeing this store change and grow with its image of vintage American clothing, I have found many rhetorical issues. Within this essay I will be discussing the many rhetorical issues of the clothing company â€Å"Abercrombie and Fitch†. Abercrombie and Fitch, a clothing company, that advertises, to the American young adult population, was founded in 1892 by two men; David T. Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch. David T. Abercrombie was born in Baltimore and was a former inventor and taper. Ezra Fitch was a successful lawyer. David convinced Ezra to become his partner in 1892, when the company was founded. By 1904 Abercrombie was the largest outdoor equipment and clothing store in the US. Today A&F is one of the biggest clothing companies, selling the â€Å"all-American† vintage look. When Abercrombie advertises a new season, the company goes all out. Whether it is fall, winter, spring or summer, the advertisements are all promoting the same things. These advertisements are full of either slim or buff young adults, modeling the A&F clothing line. Posters of models are hung all around the store. Abercrombie catalogs are made available to purchase in the store, and there is also the option to receive the catalog in the mail. The shopping bags even have these characteristic models on them. Not only do these magazines, pos... ...son. I realize that when advertising clothes for a company that a company want the image to look good and appealing. I think that A&F has so many problems with their company, because of the people they use as their models. Not just anyone can model for A&F. The standards are very high, which makes becoming an Abercrombie model challenging. I really don’t have a problem with the way A&F advertises their company, but I can see where some people might think that it is wrong. Abercrombie is setting this image of what the look should be for the men and women wearing the clothing. A&F is mainly trying to sell to the young adult era, not the teeny bobber era. Using beautiful people, to set the â€Å"all American† vintage image, season after season is something that is part of the A&F Company. It sets a fun and comfortable look for the young men and women of America today.

Most Intriguing Person I Have Met Essay

Introduction God is omnipresent and omnipotent. His representatives are Angels whose food is only fasting. They fly in the air as they take themselves very light. God and His angels could send only leaders, messengers, prophets to earth to proclaim about the goodness of God and to enable humanity to bear a fruitful life by following virtues and characteristics of God. He was disappointed, when it did not return expected results. God was on the look out for permanent person who is faithful, honest and trustworthy and who represent His kind-of on earth. God finally found â€Å"mothers† as his carnation, who would be kind, forbearing and have enough fortitude to transform hearts, minds and to spread the gospel of god’s goodness on earth. My mother was the most influential and inspirational person in my life until she passed away on February 28, 2004. Her life was extraordinarily courageous, hard working and self-reliant who lived a life in extreme hardships and confronted lachrymose situations. Read more: Essay the person I admire is my mother Mothers But Jesus turning to them said, â€Å"Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.   Jesus at the time of carrying cross was experiencing great pain and agony. Even so, his heart moved when he saw women weeping for him. He felt that children should be the greatest priority in a woman’s life. Women who are the pillars of family, have the ability to transform lives through prayers. Prayer without penitence is a mere waste. Penitence brings tears and tears bring blessings from Heaven to families. This is exactly what Jesus meant by saying the above. Hard work â€Å"Hard work pays† is what she believed all through. Her single income, was insufficient to make both ends meet. Her financial planning, domestic chores, and struggle is absolutely inspiring, who had to question herself for every challenge she encountered and find answer all by herself alone. A unique life, while giving smiles outside, inside of her heart, there were volcanic pressures of all kinds and sizzles in life. My mother as a single parent, single income, executed hard work in rearing her children by providing good education, teaching life skills, settling the lives with good spouse and cherished the happiness with two daughters, two son-in-laws and four grand children. Spoke like a lioness with strangers and guarded her children like a hen that covered and protected her chickens under storms and strong winds. As a child I admired her initiativeness, courage and indispensable attitude. Amidst of huge loss in life, she sought happiness in devotion, gardening, social work and her grand children. Nobody could seize away her smiles and happiness even in the midst of life’s biggest storms. She prepared herself for every day. Her accostic approach to life was to see the positive side of life and never to look back. Her famous quote to me was â€Å"see the page, turn the page and do the work†. Long time before, she predicted that I would become a writer one day, which absolutely became true. Her absence now, declares â€Å"mothers are always right† and it is good for sons and daughters to carry the legacy of goodness of mothers to further generations, to spread a network of humility. After all, children should reflect with the moralistic features of parents. Courage In my childhood, her wake-me up rhyme was â€Å"cocks crow in the morning, to tell us to rise, for he who lies late, will never be wise. For early to bed and early to rise, makes a man, healthy, wealthy and wise.† She taught good things to her children and worked as a dedicated, determined and devoted mother. Bold and courageous even in trial period and solved the problems all by herself. She was deprived of all the happiness as a wife, she was entitled to, as any other woman. A Son who was expected to shoulder and strengthen his mother, in the absence of husband, suffered from a chronic illness for two decades, and at last passed away leaving her in great agony and depressment. Her energies, finances, effort to make her son survive, in order to just retain his presence on life’s long stage, were simply washed away with the passage of time. She survived this loss and tried to rebuild her life again, through her two daughters. Self-reliance & Self-less sharing Her another famous quote was â€Å"the works performed early in the morning in due diligence and early born children will take you to a land of success†. Situations make people strong, confident and courageous. She administered great respect for her sisters, brothers, friends and relatives and earned good name as â€Å"courageous and hard working† person. She respected, cared and helped all those she can in her employment. â€Å"Cut the coat according to the cloth† is what she believed in. Absolute and careful money management in providing needs for her children and without incurring any debts, all the hard-earned money, she saved for her children. After her retirement from government service, I expected a little rest and happiness to come her way as old age demands. She was attacked from a stroke and suffered for three years on bed in her final stage of battle in life. This made me to groan within, as to why good people are often chosen as silent sufferers and how things slip out of hand. A person who has passed through too many extreme situations in life, underwent much more struggle even in the last days of her life. Truly her passing way made me a whole new person to realize, that often good things are to be preserved and the teachings of mother can never be ignored. Conclusion â€Å"When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman behold thy son!†   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Then he saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home† Mother Mary, loved Jesus as her dear son. On crucifixion of Jesus, she was standing near the cross, in great tears. Jesus too was worried about his mother. He chose his dear disciple, to take care of Mother Mary. Jesus, discharged the duty as a dear son, which is a promising characteristic feature of Jesus, amidst of great suffering. Good mothers are very few, who sacrifice their lives and take pain to walk an ‘extra mile’ each time, for others sake. Hard working, courageous, self-less and sacrificial mother is an extraordinary mother whose character is entirely divine and philosophical. Such lives are blessed and those generations of children often build an ethical and moralistic society. My mother’s life was lead by God’s presence at every phase of her life and she did the best than any other ordinary mother could have done as better than what is received by her children, through her sincere and honest efforts. On her memorial service, the following lines were written by me: You have hatched our lives Leveled our wings. Just as birds fly with confidence We lead our lives to this day. Your unproclaimed good deeds speaks to us Although, you are away from us. Help us to day and tomorrow. May the Almighty bestow His presence To your near and dear offering Comfort and peace forever. Bid adieu Mother, ***