Business plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business plan - Essay Example There are several reasons for the prospective success of this venture. The most important factor is that the current Korean market is undergoing a period of transition from analog to HD video and IPTV. Therefore, demand for HD related products will be higher at this time than at any earlier period. Also, we believe that selling items online has its advantages over selling in person; specialists, enthusiasts and well-informed customers can access the products’ specifications and research them easily through corresponding company websites. In the Korean market, there are very few companies which sell audio/video equipment online, and most of these remain financially weak with low market credibility. Since the market lacks a leading enterprise that can supply both goods and services related to professional audio/video equipment, there is presently a great opportunity for DBS and B&H to secure the premier position through demonstrated high quality services and supply abilities. Finally, DBS’ past experience in the TV and radio industries prepares it well for a long-term role in this new endeavor, while its knowledge of Korean markets can facilitate the formation of well trained human resources for product services. Total sales of Korean broadcasting market including non-profit earnings have increased from $7,700,000,000 in 2004 to $8,635,200,000 in 2005. Moreover, in 2006, it increased by 12.6 % ($9,719,900,000) from 2005. In consideration of the above factors, it can be said that the Korean markets for professional audio/video equipment shall expand and the demands of regular consumer will also increase. At this opportune moment, cooperation between B&H and DBS not only bears the promise of vast earnings but holds the potential of spreading out to other developing Asian countries. We are convinced our proposed plan shall prove mutually beneficial and

Main Character Of The Novel Essay Example for Free

Main Character Of The Novel Essay Throughout the book, we see that George Elliot has a distinct pre-occupation and interest with presenting the working class rural community in an authentic light. She writes the book as a social anthropologist, studying the more primitive community of the time. She has a large amount of sympathy towards the poor, although she herself was not a member of the working class. Using the story as a vehicle she aims to expose the plight and indignity of the poor in Victorian England, it was her main motive. Therefore, her focus throughout the book is in fact village life; in this case a fictional village named Raveloe. Focusing on the villagers, their attitudes and their way of life acts as a way of also commenting socially and politically on the injustices they face. Raveloe can easily be regarded as the main character as without it, the narrative following Silas has little significance. The village shapes the narrative, being responsible for most of the major areas of interest in the tale. All the individual characters provide interest and together form the character of the town, from characters such as Dunsey to Dolly. The story begins with a sympathetic description of the honest folk of Raveloe. Our first real source of interest in the novel comes from the villagers hostile reaction to Silas. We are initially told about Silas through the eyes of the villagers. Elliot echoes the villagers process of thought and way of speech throughout the novel, namely at the beginning. The sound of Silas loom is described as questionable and he is said to have a dreadful stare. She is mimicking the mannerisms and phraseology of Raveloe as a whole and its reaction to the unknown. Silas mechanical method of working on the loom is seen as un-natural by the villagers, who can only judge him on their own experiences, centred round farming and agriculture. Due to this unfamiliarity, they see even pitiful attributes as sinister. His bad eyesight is thought of as a stare. This reaction of the village acts just as a reaction of a human character. It is typical of the village to think this way. In this respect then, the village can be regarded as any other character would. It has attributes and a predictable nature. It is these collective attributes of the community that make Raveloe one character, with which Silas relationships revolve. His relationships and connections with the characters of the community provide the most significant points of interest in the novel. Initially, there is the theft of his gold by Dunsey, then his integration into the community with the help of Dolly and later his confrontation with Godfrey over the fate of Eppie. Dolly represents the warmer, caring part of the Raveloe community, opposite to William Dane, the bitter symbol of Silas past. She is described to seek the sadder and more serious elements of life and pasture her mind upon them. Dolly seems to almost gain sustenance from helping those in need, in this case Silas. She helps him with the upbringing of Eppie, offering clothes and her own time. She fulfils her found role in the community. Although she can be seen as the prime example of the villages moral capability, such sentiments are seen universally. When Silas informs the villagers of his lost gold, the villagers group together in order to help him. By entering The Rainbow, Silas enters the hub of the village community, beginning the process of his integration. After seeing the authenticity and depth of Silas grief, any former rumours disappear as the villagers begin to relate him to themselves, seeming anxious to help. The event acts as a rare source of excitement, as the villagers become incapable of distinguishing reality from imagination, fabricating information concerning a pedlar with ear-rings. However this all represents a symptomatic characteristic of the village a concern to help others. The villagers reaction concerning the pedlar, is an indication of another key characteristic of Raveloe a belief in superstition. Although the villagers provide lengthy descriptions of this so called thief, we know that no such character even exists. It is an example of how, in such close cut communities, little matters, true or false, can be embellished, escalating into common belief, leading to the creation of new superstitions. Silas is initially associated with the devil and spirit worship. These suspicions are only heightened by his apparent skill with herbal remedies, his strange cataleptic fits, as well as his past home, Northard, where wizards, magic and folklore were associated. However his evident massive bereavement following the loss of his gold dispels any former rumours. Much of this superstition originates from the villagers discussions in the Rainbow, an important focus of the novel. This can be seen in the tale of Cliffs Holiday, a well known rehearsed tale. Mr Macey, the apparent head of this specific social community, describes how a tailor, known as Cliff, had tried to ride the tailor out of his son, attempting rising up the class system by making a gentleman out of his son. The story however ends with the son dying, and Cliff following him soon after. The story entails much superstition, mentioning old Harry, a euphemism for the devil, suggesting this unnatural desire to climb the class system was responsible for the death of the boy. The villagers, opposite to Cliff, are in fact very accepting of what they have been given. They feel content with what God has given them. Their pre-occupation is not to rise out of poverty but to merely co-operate with each other in order to make it bearable. This is seen in Dollys clear desire to help anyone in need, or at least to do the best she can. None of the villagers seem to complain about their conditions. They support Silas and each other. Another example of this is in Aarons desire to help Silas later on in the novel with his garden. He has no qualms about working in his spare time, he sees it as simply a decent thing to do. These sentiments would largely be a result of his mother, Dolly, and the way she brought him up. The meetings in the Rainbow are an important aspect of the social nature of Raveloe. Like going to Church, it is a social function. This religious aspect of Raveloe is alien to Silas due to his origins of the non-conformist Lantern Yard. He knows nothing of churches, only chapels. This complete lack of knowledge somewhat isolates him from the community; he does not go to church. However Dolly, is adamant that Eppie shall be brought up in the Raveloe faith and at the same time, introduces Silas back into religion. Both the working class are present in such functions as well as the gentry. The gentry are represented by the Cass family. The squire sees himself above the other members of the community, only becoming involved with them at festive, social occasions, such as the new-year party at the Red House. They are differentiated from the poor and, unlike Dolly, Mr Macey or any other members of the lower class community, represent little more than themselves. The Cass family are one of the villagers topics of discussion. They perceptively see the faults of the upper class just as they see faults in the lower classes. They take a specific disliking to Dunstan, due to his lack of respect of anyone, especially those below him. Godfrey is also seen as weak, Mr Macey describing him as a slack baked pie, commenting on his moral flaws. The primitive but nevertheless logical philosophy of, those who do well are rewarded while those who dont suffer, is apparently proven in both cases. Dunstan ends up dying due his greed, while, although it is unknown to them, because of his rejection of Eppie, Godfrey is seemingly punished by Nancy being unable to conceive. Silas innocence on the other hand, is eventually rewarded. He is blessed with Eppie, who changes his life. These conclusions follow the villagers moral code, maintaining justice. Categorically speaking, the village has a variety of overall attributes and a predictable nature so therefore can be described as a character. Furthermore, being the main focus of the novel, we can go on to suggest it is the main character. We are more aware of the values and nature of Raveloe as a whole than any specific character even Silas. All the main events of the novel are shaped by the village. Each personality of each character represents a different aspect of the village as a whole. These individual characters amount to create one, main character which dictates the narrative and plot of the novel. Elliots concentration on her depictions of the village, indicate that she desired it to be the main focus. Obviously Silas is important, however, it is the events that unfold around him in Raveloe that really influence the direction of the novel.

Social Constructivism and the Cold War

Social Constructivism and the Cold War Introduction This essay will answer the question on how the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has changed its operations to tackle with the changing world landscape, especially after the end of the Cold War, by holding the concept from Constructivism (Social Constructivism) as a key theoretical framework. Generally, Constructivism is a social theory which is concerned about the relationship and process between agents and structures (Barnett, 2008; Jackson Sorensen, 2007). Therefore, the essay will argue that, in response to the shifts in world politics, the UNSC (noted as an actor) accordingly has changed its operations by constructing norms or so called, international norms, (noted as a structure), in collaboration with other actors, as preconditions in order to be legitimizing and supportive tools for any changing operations. To develop my argument, the essay will be structured into three sections. Firstly, the background of the question, the snapshot of the shifts in world politics and t he main objective of UNSC including its operations will be provided briefly in the first section as a platform for the analytical section. In the second part, the ideas of Constructivism which will be taken into account for the explanation of how the UNSC has changed its tasks, especially with the Finnemore and Sikkinks concept of the life-cycle of norms (1998, pp. 894-905), will be elaborated here. The third section will follow up by using the case study of humanitarian intervention as one of the UNSCs contemporary operations to demonstrate the insights provided by the Constructivists framework. The Shifts in World Politics and the UNSCs Operations When or which period can be defined as a turning point of the shifts in world politics is the first question I have to address in order to make the argument clearer in terms of period of time. To do so in this essay, I will take opinions of many political scientists (Taylor Curtis, 2008; Weiss Daws, 2007) who have commonly spotted the turning point of the changes in world politics to the end of the Cold War. Then, what are the changes of the UNSCs operations correlating with the changes in world politics will be explained in a snapshot here. After the end of the World War II, the United Nations (UN) and The UNSC were established in 1945. The UNSC was reinvented not only to solve the problems of the League of Nations Council but also intentionally to maintain international peace and security as the main responsibility (Taylor Curtis, 2008, p. 315). That is the goal the UNSC has not changed until nowadays even though its operations have changed significantly after the end of the Cold War. During the Cold War period, which Realists had seen as the bipolar system, the world addressed themselves to issues and problems regarding with state-centric notion. The role of sovereignty and the principle of self-determination had been actively mobilized throughout the world. Therefore, most of issues and operations of the UNSC at that time totally related to those ideas. The operation about decolonization and inter-state conflicts are explicit examples. Cameron R. Hume (2004, p. 607) also reiterated that the era of decolonization was coincident with the Cold War. Additionally, the Cold War thwarted the functioning of the UNSC, especially with the vetoes of the two majors (Taylor Curtis, 2008, p. 319). The veto game between the US and the USSR produced an inefficiency of the UNSCs function particularly on the use of force in relevant to Chapter VII (Ibid.). There were a few cases that the Council passed the resolution to call up the use of force and the first one has to wait until 1966 in the case of Rhodesia (Boyd, 1971, p. 223). These are the situation in brief before the end of the Cold War. After the end of the Cold War, world politics has shifted precisely out of the state-centric debates and issues as stated. It is the beginning of the decrease of the role of state sovereignty in many ways. As same as Weiss Daws (2007), they concluded that even there is no refusal about the sacred of borders in international relations but their importance is less than in 1945. Reversely, the world stage has welcomed some trends ignoring to the notion of state sovereignty, which also affected to the role of the UNSC and its operations. According to Hume (2004, pp. 609-610), there are three important trends in the world politics that have been changing the work of the UNSC since the early 1990s. Firstly, regarding the type of conflict, there was a shift from the inter-state conflicts to intra-state conflicts, and leading to the problem of failing states. The second trend is the more regional initiatives and cooperation and their role to resolve conflicts within particular regions. And the last one is the arrival of transnational issues such as environmental issues, climate change, and terrorism. In the aspect of the UN Secretary-Generals High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, there are six categories of the new emerging threats in world affairs: the economics and social threats such as poverty and climate change; inter-state conflict; intra-state conflict such as civil war; nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological weapons; terrorism; and transnational organized crime (The Secretary-Generals High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, 2004). From all above mentioned changes, it can be conceptualized into one grand trend emerging after the collapse of the Cold War. It is the individual consciousness or so-called, the humanitarian impulse, (Weiss, The Humanitarian Impulse, 2004). In accordance to Weiss (2004, pp. 48-49) and David M. Malone (Security Council, 2007), the dominance of the humanitarian impulse has changed the decision-making p rocess of the UNSC since the end of the Cold War. Also, the range of its operations has to take increasingly the relevance of humanitarian values and individual consciousness into account. To be specific, it appears that human rights are no longer likely to disappear from the Councils radar screen anytime soon (Weschler, 2004, p. 67). To sum up, it is the shift of world politics from state-centric notion to individual consciousness or humanitarian notion. Consequently, the UNSC must change many of its operations accordingly to tackle this main shift which particularly by taking into account the notion of humanitarianism. However, my argument is to answer the question of how its operations has changed by applying the Constructivists ideas which logically can be applied and generalized to those of many changing operations. Therefore, I firstly will ignore the question of what those changing operations look like, when and where the changing occurs. Secondly, I will focus only on the UNSCs operation on the use of force, not all its operations. Lastly, I will use humanitarian intervention, as one of the operation on the use of force, to be my case study because it is emerged directly in response to humanitarian impulse (Weiss, The Humanitarian Impulse, 2004). Theoretical Framework: Constructivism and the Life-Cycle of Norms This section will provide a brief general concept of Constructivism and the Life-Cycle of Norms as a theoretical framework of the essay. Constructivism is the school of thought that has been recently put in place more significantly in describing the international relations since the beginning of the 1980s or almost the end of the Cold War (Jackson Sorensen, 2007, p. 162). Broadly, constructivism is a social theory dealt with the relationship between actors/agents and structures. According to Michael Barnett (2008, p. 162), Constructivism in the context of international relations commonly concerns with how ideas define the international structure; how this structure shapes the identities, interests, and foreign policies of states; and how state and non-state actors reproduce or transform that structure. International structure is seen as a group of thought and ideas, including a set of norms, which has been constituted by the process of intersubjective awareness among actors at speci fic time and place (Jackson Sorensen, 2007). Together with, Constructivism emphasized on the process of understanding things or actions and assigning meaning to them (Ibid.). Besides, Constructivists also mentioned about the concept of social construction of reality which is the operation to produce social facts such as norms. Social facts will be constructed by human agreement and at the same time will provide the legitimization of those facts like some universal norms such as jus in bello (Barnett, Social Constructivism, 2008). Then, these social facts can also constrain and shape the behavior of actors. Noticeably, the main characteristic of Constructivism is a cyclical process. This is similar to Finnemore and Sikkinks (1998) concept of the Life-Cycle of Norm which is a theoretical tool to explain in the later section how the UNSC has changed its operation as argued before. This concept explained how norm as a structure is institutionalised or internationalized before diffusing and constraining actors behaviour which reversely can affect to the status of such norm in terms of reproducing, reforming or even constructing new norm. This cycle consists of three stages; norm emergence, norm cascade and norm internalization. In order to make clearer understanding of this concept in conjunction with the argument, I will give details of each stage in parallel with the case study of humanitarian intervention in the last following section. Case Study: Humanitarian Intervention However, before taking the concept of the Life-Cycle of Norm in hand to explain and analyze how the UNSC has changed its operations by using the case study of humanitarian intervention, the very brief background of the UNSCs operations on the use of force should be described here. In reference to UN Charter, there are only two legally-accepted categories for the use of force as an operation of the UNSC; self-defence and authorization by the UNSC relating to Chapter VII (Roberts, 2004). Nevertheless, after the end of the Cold War, there are two more emerging doctrines of the use of force which importantly differ from the two traditional and legal ones. Both debated doctrines are humanitarian intervention and preemtive measures against emerging threats. These two new doctrines not only were seen as the challenge to principles of state sovereignty and non-intervention in Article 2(4) of the UN Chater (Ibid.) but also unavoidably as pending-to-be new operations of the UNSC. Later on, I w ill apply the concept of the Life-Cycle of Norm in details to explain the process that the UNSC constructs a norm as a precondition in order to legitimize humanitarian interventionas as as its new operation. Now, bringing back the Life-Cycle of Norm concept, the first stage, Norm emergence, is the stage that the norm entrepreneurs try to convince flock of actors to welcome their new norms until reaching the critical or tipping point (Finnemore Sikkink, 1998). Normally, at the first period, there will be a nature of competition between norms including the old and the other new ones. The entrepreneurs can be state, non-state actor, individual or international organizations and they need launching platforms to start promoting their norms which usually are international organizations (Finnemore Sikkink, 1998). At this point, according to Finnemore (Finnemore M. , 1993), she reiterated that international organizations are able to be tools to promote and diseminate emerging norms. Besides, in terms of methods, the entrepreneurs will use many ways such as speeches, conferences, and advertisements to promote the new way of thinking about and understanding issues or new norms. Considering the c ase of humanitarian intervention which has been brought into the focus of world community since the end of the Cold War, we can see the process of norm emergence from the following details. In terms of the constellation of emerging norms, there were many competing meaning and debates about humanitarian intervention in the UNSC and outsides like Joanna Weschler (2004, p. 66) mentioned that the attitude of the UNSC regarding to humanitarian intervention has been spasmodic which is covered with series of progress and decline. For instance, as identified by Ramesh Thakur (2007, p. 388), humanitarian Intervention is the use of military force on the territory of a state without its consent with the goal of protecting innocent victims of large-scale atrocities. On the contrary, humanitarian Intervention has been criticized by the Realists as a legitimization of new interventionist norms of Western states and for serving their benefits from the intervention (Chandler, 2004). Also, some of t raditional security analysts may argue about the intervention, especially in Bosnia and Kosovo, since the end of the Cold War that such actions were aimed to protect the credibility of NATO and its presence in Europe. However, in the eyes of Constructivists, it is the ignorance of the occurance of humanitarian value as a constructed interest of actors like states (Glanville, 2006, p. 163). Moreover, according to the report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS), invented by Canadian Government, it proposed another competing idea which is called, the responsibility to protect, into the discussion in The UN and the UNSC and now has been accepted by the General Assembly during the 2005 World Summit (Glanville, 2006). Then, in terms of who are norm entreprenours and their strategies, the key entreprenour for promote the issue of humanitarian intervention are international organizations like the UNSC itself and the UN. Alike the ICISS concluded that the most suitable organ to authorize intervention in the case of immense human rights violations is the UNSC (Weschler, 2004, p. 66). However, there are not only the UNSC as an organizations in the construction of norm but also individuals, states, public and media which has been collaboratively promoting humanitarian intervention to be constructed as a new norm. Individually, the role of the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) is a good instance. The first UNSG after the end of the Cold War, Boutros Boutros-Ghali and his work, Agenda for Peace, written in early 1992, are examples supporting a more role of the UNSC and the UNSG in coping with armed conflict and humanitarian crisis (Weschler, 2004, p. 63). Together with, in the General Assembly on September 20, 1999, the next UNSG Kofi Annan urged international community to support the principle that massive and structured violations of human rights should not be allowed to occur and ignited the issue of humanitarian intervention (Weschler, 2004, p. 65). The state-actors which have been always supporting this norm in the UNSC are explicitly the US and the UK. Regarding to the role of public and media, in the early 1990s, it is the climax of their enthusiam for humanitarian issues. They have used a number of their sources, platforms and instruments to provide fruitful debates about not only the international right for humanitarian intervention but also the need to do it (Malone, Conclusion, 2004, p. 627). Briefly, it is clear with these empirical evidence that the norm of humanitarian intervention has emerged by the interactive process between diverse actors, with the leading of the UNSC itself. Continually, the second stage is Norm cascade. This stage there will be norm leaders who promoted their norms until gaining the most support and acceptance from other actors. The leaders will try to make other actors to adopt and imitate those norms through a process of socialization (Finnemore Sikkink, 1998). Also, the leaders or actors who are capable of socializing still can be state, non-state and international organizations. In this stage, the norm leader which is still the UNSC will try to mobilize intersubjective beliefs of the concept of humanitarian intervention among other actors by the process of socialization in order to gain human agreement; then, the idea of humanitarian intervention will be agreed to be a social fact, norm or so-called a structure. On the other hand, international organization, like the UNSC, also serves to legitimize the emerging international norms (Barnett Finnemore, 2007). So, when humanitarian intervention is constructed as a social fact, it also means that it is one of legitimized norms as well. However, at present, the UNSCs construction of humanitarian intervention to be a norm is still in this process because some are still not agree to this idea. For example, in the case of Somalia and Haiti, its legality seems to be supported by most states but in the case of Kosovo 1999, it was criticized by many states (Roberts, 2004, p. 147). Also, it can be seen from debates suc h as about the Iraq War 2003. Likewise, Adam Roberts (Roberts, 2004, p. 146) mentioned radically that all attempts since the early 1990s to legitimize humanitarian intervention have failed. In the third stage which is called, Norm internalization, norms will be automatically adopted by actors and have a quality of taken-for-granted. It is no debate on those institutionalized norms anymore and such norms will be powerful and cannot be ignored (Finnemore Sikkink, 1998). In the last stage, the UNSC will be a key player in the process of trasmitting and diffusing the norm of humanitarian intervention, if it passes the second stage in the future. Last but not least, after the third stage, the constituted norm of humanitarian intervention will legitimize the use of force with reference to humanitarian intervention and can constrain the behavior of actors like states. It is similar to what Thakur (2004) has said that the international organization can be the hub for the interplay between changing norms and constraining states behaviour. Nontheless, actors behavior and their interaction will affect cyclically to the constructed norms and restart the process from the first stag e. Conclusion Since the end of the Cold War, the traditional state-centric theme of world politics has been gradually replaced by humanitarian value and individual consciousness. The UNSC, consequently, has to change its operations to control and manage the challenges coming from that shift in world affairs. In order to make such changes accomplished, the UNSC will have to meet preconditions by inventing, promoting, cascading and internalizing international norms to legitimize those changes in its operation. Like Luke Glanville (2006, p. 162) said about humanitarian intervention that the refusal to acknowledge the role of norms will make scholar cannot explain the increment of the cases relating to humanitarian intervention after the end of the Cold War. More importantly, this process of creating norms, according to Barnett Finnemore (2007), has to incorporate the role of states, non-state actors, individuals and media in order to provide more effectiveness.

Role Of The Women Of Hamlet English Literature Essay

Role Of The Women Of Hamlet English Literature Essay The women of William Shakespeares Hamlet appear to be frail, passive figures used as pawns and dying prematurely after the mistreatment of men. However, there is more to Gertrude and Ophelia than meets the eye. Even though Hamlet is certainly not a play based on women, both female characters are more active than their vices and virtues previously lead us to believe. A closer inspection reveals that the true roles these female characters took on had purpose; these women were not as passive as they seem at first glance. Our first perception of Gertrude is  influenced by Hamlets response to learning she has married her brother-in-law after he has murdered her husband.  Hamlet shows anger and disillusionment toward her, believing that she should remain loyal to the memory of his father the king. Yet, there is no evidence that she knows of the murder Claudius has committed. It appears she has allowed herself to be seduced by Claudius, but once again there is no evidence of whether the seduction has taken place before the death of King Hamlet or afterwards. Gertrude finds herself in a position where she is conflicted by the roles different men wish her to play. She feels somewhat guilty about her sons disappointment in her, but feels that she can do nothing about the situation due to her relationship with Claudius. Claudius also has expectations of her, including his wish that she disregard Hamlet and remain loyal only to him. It could be said Gertrude is so fickle she lacks virtue, however, in Act II, scene IV, she shows motherly concern for Hamlets welfare and makes plans to speak with him in her chamber.   After Hamlet accuses her of lust, she does not make excuses for herself; she openly  admits her shortcoming.   What redeems Gertrude is her final act of loyalty to her son.   In the final act, when Claudius pours the poisoned wine, Gertrude claims thirst while reaching for the goblet.   Claudius warns her not to drink; nevertheless, she does, knowing it was poured for Hamlet, and as she dies, she tells  her son  that the drink is poison for him.   In her sacrifice of herself for her son, there is redemption for Gertrudes lust, immaturity, and fickleness.   She has now shown, not passivity, but strength and loyalty. The role of Ophelia is presented as a gentle, loyal, obedient, and young woman who is meant to be the love of Hamlets life, even though he rarely thinks of her or considers her in his plans. Most of the time Hamlet just appears to be cruel to her, as if he is just using her as a pawn, as is so when Ophelia tells her father that Hamlet appears to her to be looking and acting like a crazy man. It seems very likely he is just using Ophelia as part of his plot to get the word out that he is insane. Ophelia is an example of a perfect daughter who obeys her father without argument. Even when she is asked to reject Hamlet whom she believes is the love of her life, she responds subserviently that she will obey, and meets with Hamlet to deceive him. Polonius also uses his daughter for his own reasons, which in this case, is to spy on Hamlet. This actually becomes a turning point in the play. Hamlet reveals his complicated feelings for Ophelia as well as the depth by which he is hurt and betrayed by her. As Ophelia tries to return his gifts his feelings become evident. Hamlet becomes defensive refusing to accept the return, and responds with, I never gave you aught. He then continues to express his anger and disgust with women and humanity as he tells her, Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? This hurts Ophelia mentally as well as physically since he has thrown her around a bit and she expresses this with her own thoughts. Oh, what a noble mind is here oerthrown. The courtiers, soldiers, scholars, eye, tongue, sword; The expectancy and rose of the fair state, The glass of fashion and the mold of form, The observed of all observers, quite, quite down! And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, That sucked the honey of his music vows, Now see that noble and most sovereign reason, Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh; That unmatchd form and feature of blown youth Blasted with ecstasy: O, woe is me, To have seen what I have seen, see what I see! Basically, Ophelia is saying, Wow, he seemed like such a wonderful guy; before his words to me were so sweet and I let myself fall for him, and now hes gone totally gone around the bend.   Ophelias perfection also becomes her downfall, unfortunately she has no voice nor does she seem to have any obvious heroine qualities; and one thing of interest that comes to mind is her lack of desire to defend herself. Even with all this being said, Ophelias life and death have a profound influence on some of the most important characters in the play, including Hamlet. Her own madness has importance in the play. It gives Ophelia the freedom to do and say what she could not before. She passes out flowers to the court and gives columbine and fennel to Claudius, this is a jab at the king since these flowers were representative of ingratitude and infidelity at the time. This is where she loses her innocence, and this loss of innocence finishes with her eventual suicide. At the time, suicide was a sin against God and people that committed suicide were not allowed a proper funeral. Ophelias innocence is somewhat preserved by allowing her a funeral even though her death was at her own hand. Looking closely, Ophelias role appears to be a precursor for Shakespeare to foreshadow future events. In her opening scene, her brother and father warn her to stop seeing Hamlet. This warning could be said to foretell her future conflict with Hamlet. At the beginning of Act II, when Ophelia rejects Hamlets advances he goes off-the-wall, there are two ways to interpret the scene, one possibility being that after Hamlet warns Horatio and Marcellus that he will put an antic disposition on he acts crazy when meeting with Ophelia to get the word out there that he is mad. Another possibility is that Hamlet was genuinely distraught by Ophelias recent rejection. Anyway you look at it these scenes with Ophelia seem to foreshadow things to come. We begin to realize also that Ophelia is not as passive of a character as originally thought. She is obviously a tool for Shakespeare, but also for Hamlet and Polonius, as the plot thickens around her. After Ophelias death Hamlet is reminded of his deep feelings for her, which had been hidden due to his obsession with vengeance and his lack of trust in women. Ophelias death also deepens Laertes need for vengeance. He already has much reason to kill Hamlet, since Hamlet had murdered his father and driven his sister mad, but Opherlias suicide is that last little push over the edge; that drives and justifies Laertes revenge. As it turns out Ophelia is the common factor that brings together Hamlet and Laertes. She is the reason for their irrational actions, and in a twist of fate, the being that brings them great emotional turmoil. None of this has she done intentionally, yet she becomes her own play within a play. Our focus on Hamlet and his sufferings are set aside, as Ophelias story shocks us when she suddenly breaks, is driven mad, and then commits suicide. To one that simply reads the play and thinks nothing more about it, these women may seem trivial. However, those taking the time to think about Gertrude and Ophelia are rewarded with the knowledge that each of these characters is woven into a role that affects and motivates a main character. They are the characters that passive, as they may seem, actually spur the men in the play to further advance the plays central action. Clearly the roles Gertrude and Ophelia take on are a contribution to the terrible events that occur in Hamlet, making for a perfect dramatic tragedy. Work CitedShakespeare, William. Hamlet, Literature and Its Writers: A Compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 4th ed. Ed. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2007 1252-1354.

John Steinbecks “The Chrysanthemums” Essay -- Steinbeck Chrysanthemum

John Steinbeck's â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" shows the true feelings of the main character, Elisa Allen, through the use of setting and her interactions with other characters in the story. By way of vivid descriptions, Elisa's feelings of dissatisfaction over the lack of excitement in her life are portrayed. Her role as a mere housewife and then the subsequent change to feelings of a self-assured woman are clearly seen. These inner feelings are most apparent with the portrayal of Elisa working in the garden with the chrysanthemums, the conversation she has with the man passing through, and finally, when she and her husband are going out to dinner. Steinbeck's strong and somewhat manly description of Elisa while working in the garden, gives the distinct impression that she is not as weak as a stereotypical housewife would be. He writes that "Her face was lean and strong and her eyes were as clear as water. Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man's black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clodhopper shoes, a figured print dress almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron with four big pockets to hold the snips, the trowel and scratcher, the seeds and the knife she worked with." As evidenced by this excerpt you can see that she has covered up her hair with a "man's hat" and has thrown an apron over her dress in attempts to cover up her femininity. This apron also takes on a similar role as a man's tool belt as he works the land. This initial description lends to the notion that Elisa wants to be stronger as a woman, to stand beyond the stereotype of a housewife. Other phrases used by Steinbeck fu rther the above points. The author mentions that her face was "handsome," her work with the scissors was "over-powerful," and her fingers "destroyed such pests." This description shows an inner strength that Elisa possesses; yet she is unable to bring this out. She also hints to the reader that she would like to take on more masculine responsibilities after her husband Henry comments on the size and beauty of her chrysanthemums. He says that he wishes she'd work out in the orchard and "raise some apples that big." She reacts to this by saying "Maybe I could do it too. I've got a gift with things, all right. My mother had it. She could stick anything in the ground and make it grow.† All of these de... ...sion of Steinbeck's short story, Steinbeck has her fall right back into the rut she so despised. She comes back to reality and "turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly-like an old woman."   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elisa’s inner feelings are most apparent with the portrayal of her working in the garden, the conversation she has with the â€Å"Fixer-Guy†, and finally, when she and her husband are going out to dinner. Steinbeck offers an array of different details concerning the character of Elisa Allen. The main detail being that she is a strong woman on the inside although she seems to struggle in showing it throughout the story. Because of the "Pot Fixer," she is able to act, although for a short time, like that strong woman. Steinbeck unfortunately brings Elisa full-circle, back to where she started. She notices on the way to dinner her chrysanthemum sprouts at the roadside. This, along with her husband’s hesitation to allow her curiosity, puts her back where she started, canceling her emergence. One must ask after reading this short story if Elisa will continue this discontented lifestyle. Or will she be able to blossom beautifully for good, as do her chrysanthemums?

The World Doesn’t Need Religion :: Free Argumentative Essays

The World Doesn’t Need Religion Religion has screwed us up for a long time and we'd be better off without it. By "us" I mean Americans living in the 21st century. Without religions we would have fewer labels separating us from each other and we wouldn't hate Jews or Catholics or Muslims. If we didn't have religions, we wouldn't have to convert anyone or "save" anyone. If we didn't have religions, people could no longer get caught up in the fine lines of religious rightousness or be trapped in a double-standard morality. And most importantly, we would be truly free of religious engendered guilt that never quite goes away. In America, people are less tolerant than before and words like Jew, Muslim, and Christian set us off and make us mad because we connect these labels with violence and war. We are planning to attack the "axis of evil" and in giving Iraq this label, we assume a moral duty on our part and the devil on theirs. There is no simple answer to the problems in the Middle East which are daily getting more and more out of control. But adding quasi-religious labels pushes us farther apart and increases the tension and opposition on all sides. I grew up in a Catholic family and went to Catholic grade school and high school and I don't regret it. It was an interesting experience and surely formed a great part of my character. But looking back, I see that the system of organized religion is rigged and the deck is stacked more in favor of the church than it is in favor of the faithful. Consider for a moment the Christian need to convert and save people, two more activities that could be done away with if we didn't have religion. Converting more followers keeps the organized religion afloat and promising salvation is the hook that gets people's attention. No one knows what happens after death. But some religions offer a promise of heaven or hell and, like children, we willing believe in this fantastic fairy tale. On another note, the church introduces us to the concept of guilt and tells us we are guilty even before we are born. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Nontheless, if we find God, or Jesus, or convert, or confess before we die, we're saved.

College Admissions Essays: An Influential Person or Event :: College Admissions Essays

An influential Person/event It seemed like it would make her die, just speaking it. So I didn't tell anyone, not even my best friends. At school I would slip into a fantastical dreamland, nobody there knew that I should be troubled, pensive. I put on my best front and paraded around the school halls with some sort of smile plastered on my face. At lunchtime I'd stare at my food thinking that my friends should know. I thought of a million different ways to tell them. Each time that I came close to telling them, I would think about their potential reactions. There would be the normal lunchtime banter going on, complaints about the ranch dressing, and I would blurt out, "Hey guys, my mom has breast cancer." The whole cafeteria would turn silent and the plastic forks would drop from their hands, making a sad little clinking noise. Then I would stare at my food mentally kicking myself for having opened my mouth. I chose to say nothing. I remember very clearly the day that I went to go sit with her while she got her chemotherapy. I only did this once because it was too hard for me. I walked down an overly-lit sterile hallway trailing behind my dad. When we reached her room I wished that I could just keep walking, pretend I hadn't seen her. I went in and sat down. Her shirt was partially unbuttoned so that the IV could be inserted into the porto-cath surgically implanted under her collarbone. She was hooked up to three different kinds of poisons, and one normal IV. There were some knitting things spread across her lap and the ever present bag of lemon drops was faithfully at her side. Her head was laid back in the chair, she was tired. She and my dad tried to involve me in some nice chit-chat, I met and shook hands with the doctors and nurses, "It's nice to meet you Dr. McCoy." Yeah right. They complimented her on what a beautiful daughter she had. I blushed, smiled politely then excused myself to the bathroom. I wiped away my forming tears and gave myself a mental pep talk to be cheery. As long as I didn't look at her tired eyes I was OK. Half an hour later, she was done and we got to go home. College Admissions Essays: An Influential Person or Event :: College Admissions Essays An influential Person/event It seemed like it would make her die, just speaking it. So I didn't tell anyone, not even my best friends. At school I would slip into a fantastical dreamland, nobody there knew that I should be troubled, pensive. I put on my best front and paraded around the school halls with some sort of smile plastered on my face. At lunchtime I'd stare at my food thinking that my friends should know. I thought of a million different ways to tell them. Each time that I came close to telling them, I would think about their potential reactions. There would be the normal lunchtime banter going on, complaints about the ranch dressing, and I would blurt out, "Hey guys, my mom has breast cancer." The whole cafeteria would turn silent and the plastic forks would drop from their hands, making a sad little clinking noise. Then I would stare at my food mentally kicking myself for having opened my mouth. I chose to say nothing. I remember very clearly the day that I went to go sit with her while she got her chemotherapy. I only did this once because it was too hard for me. I walked down an overly-lit sterile hallway trailing behind my dad. When we reached her room I wished that I could just keep walking, pretend I hadn't seen her. I went in and sat down. Her shirt was partially unbuttoned so that the IV could be inserted into the porto-cath surgically implanted under her collarbone. She was hooked up to three different kinds of poisons, and one normal IV. There were some knitting things spread across her lap and the ever present bag of lemon drops was faithfully at her side. Her head was laid back in the chair, she was tired. She and my dad tried to involve me in some nice chit-chat, I met and shook hands with the doctors and nurses, "It's nice to meet you Dr. McCoy." Yeah right. They complimented her on what a beautiful daughter she had. I blushed, smiled politely then excused myself to the bathroom. I wiped away my forming tears and gave myself a mental pep talk to be cheery. As long as I didn't look at her tired eyes I was OK. Half an hour later, she was done and we got to go home.