Summarys on Don Quixote, Othello, Paradise Lost and Popol Vuh Essays

Summarys on Don Quixote, Othello, Paradise Lost and Popol Vuh Essays Summarys on Don Quixote, Othello, Paradise Lost and Popol Vuh Essay Summarys on Don Quixote, Othello, Paradise Lost and Popol Vuh Essay Essay Topic: Don Quixote Book I Paradise Paradise Lost Summarys on Don Quixote, Othello, Paradise Lost and Popol Vuh Fools and tricksters are very closely related and are used simultaneously in poetry and other literary works. A fool can be described as one who is deficient in judgment, sense, or understanding and also can be someone who acts unwisely on a given occasion. A trickster is defined as someone that swindles or plays tricks. Often a trickster is a mischievous or roguish figure in myth or folklore. (Websters Online Dictionary) Fools and trickster are used frequently in poetry and other literary works to portray distinct meanings for characters. In most instances, fools and tricksters derive from evil protagonists. In the following literary works, every attempt will be made to identify the fool, the trickster and the evil characters in each selection and describe why the characters in each are befitting of their respective designation. Miguel De Cervantes Don Quixote is a fool in many respects. His speech is ridiculous, his ideas are hopelessly out of date, and he has lost touch with reality. Yet readers admire him and know immediately he is the hero of the story. All the things which make him a fool, however unbelievable as it may be, add to his heroic appearance and lets the reader know where Quixote is coming from. Along with this, his foolish nature adds a sense of artlessness and purity, very heroic aspects. Is Don Quixote really a fool or is he so innately wise to know that pretending to be a fool is advantageous? The story of Don Quixote is filled with legendary actions. Alonso Quijano, as he is first known, is a man who lives in the village of La Mancha, in Spain. This gentleman was â€Å"close on to fifty, of a robust constitution but with little flesh on his bones and a face that was lean and gaunt. †(Lowall and Mack) He was a man of modest means who resided with his housekeeper who was a middle aged woman, a niece who was twenty, and a man who saddled his horse and performed odd jobs around his place. Quijano loved to hunt but he was â€Å"in the habit of reading books of chivalry with such pleasure and devotion as to lead him to almost wholly to forget the life of a hunter and even the administration of his estate. (Lowall and Mack) He became so infatuated with the books that he read that he â€Å"spent whole nights from sundown to sunup and his days from dawn to dusk in poring over his books, until, finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind. †(Lowall and Mack) He was so immersed in his books that he came to believe that the fictitious things in the novels were real. He set out on a series of ventures, the first being to become a â€Å"knight-errant and roam the world on horseback, in a suite of armor. (Lowall and Mack) He put together an ill-fitted coat of armor and hit the road with an old nag who he named Rosinante. He was dubbed a knight named Don Quixote de La Mancha by an innkeeper who realized he was out of his mind and performed the fictitious ceremony just to get rid of him. The newly knighted Don Quixote sets out on a series of outrageous adventures too numerous to list. He is captured and slips away various times to return to his adventures and finally ends up half dead, stripped and â€Å"stretched out on his old-time bed†. His niece and housekeeper â€Å"scarcely knew what to do, for they were very much afraid that their master and uncle would give them the slip once more, the moment he was a little better, and it turned out just the way they feared it might. †(Lowall and Mack) Such is the life of a wise fool. In Shakespeares, Othello, the reader is presented with the classic battle between the deceitful forces of evil and the innocence of good. It is these forces of evil that ultimately lead to the breakdown of Othello, a Venetian General, well known by the people of Venice as an honorable soldier and a worthy leader. In spite of his elevated status, he is nevertheless easy prey to insecurities because of his age, his life as a soldier, and his race. Othellos breakdown results in the murder of his wife Desdemona. The evil contained within Othello is by no means magical or mythical yet is represented by the character Iago. Iago is cunning, untrustworthy, selfish, and plotting. In speaking to Cassio regarding Desdemona, â€Å"I’ll send her to you presently, and I’ll devise a mean to draw the Moor out of the way, that your converse and business may be more free. He uses these traits to his advantage by slowly planning his own triumph while watching the demise of others. It is this that is Iagos motivation. The ultimate defeat of good by the wrath of evil. Not only is it in his nature of evil that he succeeds, but also in the weaknesses of the others. Iago uses the weaknesses of Othello, specifically in his jealousy and devotion. He explains to Roderigo that he has no respect for Othell o other that what he has to display in order to carry out his revenge. â€Å"I follow him to serve my turn upon him. We cannot all be masters, nor all masters cannot be truly followed. †(Lowall and Mack) Shakespeare’s Othello gives the audience a full measure of evil, mostly in the person of the sinister Iago, whose evil influence penetrates the lives of the victims around him. Milton’s Paradise Lost has been praised as being the greatest English epic of all time. Throughout the poem, Milton hopes to â€Å"justify the ways of God to man†(Lowall and Mack) He gives a realistic depiction of the parents of humanity, Adam and Eve and also tells the story of the most epic battle; the battle between satan and God, or good vs. vil. After a brief description of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden â€Å"Of man’s first disobedience, and the fruit of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste brought death into the world†(Lowall and Mack) the poem joins satan and his followers in hell, where they have just been defeated by God and kicked out of h eaven. Satan briefly considers asking God for forgiveness but just as quickly, he realizes that his confession would not be sincere. Artificer of fraud; and was the first that practiced falsehood under saintly show, deep malice to conceal, couched with revenge. † Unrepentant, satan does not change his ways â€Å"Farewell remorse! All good to me is lost; evil, be thou my good† (Lowall and Mack) This levy of good vs. evil carried on throughout the poem with the interaction of Satan and his fallen angels with God and his son in Heaven. The common representation of sin and evil came from the lead character in the battle against God, which was Satan. His name means enemy of God. He was a former high angel from Heaven named Lucifer, meaning, light bearer. Satan became jealous in Heaven of Gods son and formed an allegiance of angels to battle against God, only for God to cast them out of Heaven into Hell. Milton divided the characters in the epic poem Paradise Lost into two si des, one side under God representing good, and the other side under Satan representing evil and sin. Milton first introduced the reader to the character Satan, the representative of all evil, and his allegiance of fallen angels that aided in his revolt against God. This introduction of Satan first led the reader to believe acts of sin were good, just like Eve felt in the Garden of Eden when she was enticed by Satan to eat the fruit off of the Tree of Knowledge. The later introduction of The Almighty had the reader’s change their feelings toward sin, as the ways of God were introduced to them and these ways were shown to be the way to feel and believe. Popol Vuh is a work of epic poetry that tells the original story of the Maya and Quiche people of Guatemala and their account of the creation story. Originally written in the 16th century, the unknown author gives hints about the sources he uses by referring to the â€Å"council book,† presumably a pre-Columbian screen-fold that served him as a source. † (Lowall and Mack) Popol Vuh’s main characters are often seen as duplicates of one another. â€Å"Yet against this stately patterning, the hero gods appear as light-hearted boys, even as tricksters. † The Plumed Serpent, or creator, also known as â€Å"Heart of Sky, Hurricane, and Newborn Thunderbolt, and Sudden Thunderbolt† (Lowall and Mack) is a good example of how the characters throughout the story are sometimes duplicated, and even tripled. The characters include Hunahpu and Xbalanque, â€Å"being gods, the two of them saw evil in his attempt at self-magnification before the Heart of Sky† (Lowall and Mack) These duplicated characters are the tricksters who represent satan, the serpent, who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The nance, which is the tree of good and evil, and the food for Seven Macaw, which is Adam, and his wife Chimalmat, which is similar in character to Eve. The creation story as depicted by the author, include many similarities that closely relate to the creation story referred to in the book of Genesis. Fools, tricksters, and evil characters have played a large part in history since the beginning of time. There will always be people who act foolishly and there will always be people who are mischievous and play tricks on others. Fools and tricksters have been a significant part of poetry and literary works since their existence. Writers portray a character to be a fool or a trickster to show in greater detail the meaning of the writing and to keep the reader involved in the plot. The two are often used in conjunction with evil characters. The evil character can be a fool or a trickster or can even vacillate back and fourth between the two. Writers use them together to allow the reader to see the dept of the character and how evil the character can be towards others. Such is the case in the literary writings of Don Quixote, Othello, Paradise Lost and Popol Vuh. Lawall, Sarah, and Maynard Mack. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. C. New York: W W Norton Co Inc, 2002. 2675-2731, 2919-2996, 3001-3060, 3076-3092. Print Websters Online Dictionary. Websters Dictionary, 2006. Web. 11 Jul 2010. .

Calculate Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand (Calculus)

Calculate Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand (Calculus) Suppose youre given the following question: Demand is Q 3000 - 4P 5ln(P), where P is the price for good Q, and P is the price of the competitors good. What is the cross-price elasticity of demand when our price is $5 and our competitor is charging $10? We saw that we can calculate any elasticity by the formula: Elasticity of Z with respect to Y (dZ / dY)*(Y/Z) In the case of cross-price elasticity of demand, we are interested in the elasticity of quantity demand with respect to the other firms price P. Thus we can use the following equation: Cross-price elasticity of demand (dQ / dP)*(P/Q) In order to use this equation, we must have quantity alone on the left-hand side, and the right-hand side be some function of the other firms price. That is the case in our demand equation of Q 3000 - 4P 5ln(P). Thus we differentiate with respect to P and get: dQ/dP 5/P So we substitute dQ/dP 5/P and Q 3000 - 4P 5ln(P) into our cross-price elasticity of demand equation: Cross-price elasticity of demand (dQ / dP)*(P/Q)Cross-price elasticity of demand (5/P)*(P/(3000 -4P 5ln(P))) Were interested in finding what the cross-price elasticity of demand is at P 5 and P 10, so we substitute these into our cross-price elasticity of demand equation: Cross-price elasticity of demand (5/P)*(P/(3000 -4P 5ln(P)))Cross-price elasticity of demand (5/10)*(5/(3000 - 20 5ln(10)))Cross-price elasticity of demand 0.5 * (5 / 3000 - 20 11.51)Cross-price elasticity of demand: 0.5 * (5 / 2991.51)Cross-price elasticity of demand: 0.5 * 0.00167Cross-price elasticity of demand: 0.5 * 0.000835 Thus our cross-price elasticity of demand is 0.000835. Since it is greater than 0, we say that goods are substitutes. Other Price Elasticity Equations Using Calculus To Calculate Price Elasticity of DemandUsing Calculus To Calculate Income Elasticity of DemandUsing Calculus To Calculate Price Elasticity of Supply

Changing a behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Changing a behavior - Essay Example I kept track of my daily progress through a data tracking sheet which I will provide with the paper. Motivation My goal falls in upper-level needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. My wish to change my behavior is my social need and self-esteem need, which are the psychological needs that come up in the hierarchy when the low-level needs are satisfied. The only counter-motive that made it difficult for me to accomplish my goal was the lack of comfort in my life. As I already stated, my life has been very hard and I had to struggle a lot to get at this point in life. This hardship made me doubtful about my future and thus I became afraid of many things. This counter-motive falls in the category of safety (comfort) needs in Maslow’s hierarchy. I felt extrinsically motivated to change this behavior because the appreciation I was expecting to get from my peers and others after my changed behavior was enough to motivate me to achieve my goal. My motives did contribute toward t he outcome because communicating with people is always fruitful in the development of speech skills. Also, facing the danger reduces the fear that one feels while encountering dangerous situations. In this way, my motives were good enough to contribute toward a positive outcome. Learning I set my email and other passwords on the words that could remind me of my goals. For example, I changed my email password to â€Å"don’t_be_afraid†, so whenever I logged in, my mind accepted this fact that I had to come out my timidity. I decided to pick a debatable topic once a week and make an appointment with a friend to come and discuss the topic with me. I made a plan to look into the mirror for continuous 10 minutes daily and tell myself that I am a confident person. All these methods proved very helpful to me in the accomplishment of my goals and brought out the long-lost confidence from within me. Emotions, Barriers and Social Support I felt very much motivated to change my be havior. I made a resolution that I had to change this behavior at all costs, and I felt pleasure in my decision. I felt as if I was valuing myself. This feeling filled such energy inside me that I wanted to do more and more to become confident. I found myself emotionally strong enough to keep myself going. It was a nice surprise to me. The only barrier that made it difficult for me to accomplish my goal was the lack of social support. Since I live alone, I am far away from my family and friends, and their support was much needed during this whole process. I was expecting this barrier but to overcome it, I arranged to keep myself busy with my friends and decided to stay in group rather than being alone all the time. Thus, I enlisted some of my colleagues to help me during the process and this was very helpful. Conclusion I am proud to state that I did accomplish my goal to much extent. Although at some points, I felt that it was all useless, but when I started feeling a positive chan ge within me, I decided to continue the process, and in the end it proved to be very fruitful. I feel very delighted at this change because I am getting very much appreciated among my peers. Now, I am able to lead a group. I can speak in front of crowd and deliver a speech. I feel confident enough to tell someone about his mistakes and how to correct them. My self-esteem has risen. Now, I am not shy of giving presentations and delivering speeches. In the future, I plan to

SWOT Analysis of Lesson Plans Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

SWOT Analysis of Lesson Plans - Assignment Example An immediate awareness of the shortcomings of anyone’s teaching can be achieved by the kind of review of actual lessons â€Å"after the fact† engaged in above. This is certainly a worthwhile and effective process, in line with the thinking of numerous writers in the field. A reflective, innovative approach is necessary (Hattie, 2003). Central to the practice of my teaching is a need to make decisions regarding the precise and exact intention of particular lessons. While I do believe that I want to achieve an inclusive, diversity-embracing classroom experience for students, the exact aims and outcomes of my lessons are sometimes not clear to the students, and perhaps not even to me. A clear and communicative statement of what we hope to achieve is necessary in every lesson and I will be sure to formulate this exactly in future lessons. I am of the opinion that it is essential to respect the originating cultures and identities of the ESL students I teach (see: Ashman, 2009, and others). Sometimes I do not achieve this ideal as the content I work with covers only the Australian experience – I believe this is so because I am concentrating on ensuring that my students become comfortable and familiar with their adopted culture. This is not a bad thing, but I do aim to provide more opportunities for students to share their cultures and identities with one another in class, while not neglecting the improvement of their knowledge and familiarity with Australian contexts. Tied to the opinion above is the idea that the content we are working with should be accessible to the students, and interesting to them within their experience. If they are able to connect the content we are dealing with to prior learning and earlier experiences and knowledge, I am certain their progress will be more effective (Davis, Sumara, & Luce-Kapler, 2008). My personal relationship with students and my interactions with them do, I believe, reflect mutual respect, and my acknowledgement and appreciation for their cultures, but it is also true that I could incorporate this attitude into the actual practice of my teaching, in line with UNESCO (2001) guidelines. It is difficult for me to release some control of assessment in the classroom: my instinct is to want to measure and grade student achievement myself exclusively. Yet, on the occasions when I do ask students to assist one another, and even to point out one another’s errors, they do manage to do so effectively. The incorporation of peer teaching is relatively simple for me; the incorporation of peer assessment is something I will have to work on. Black and Dylan (2001) encourage a highly interactive, dynamic assessment environment, which I would like to emulate. Timing is something which I also have to concentrate on. There have been occasions when the work I assigned to one group of student – for example the Beginner students – was complete long before I had finished with the other group of more advanced students. A focus on getting to know the learning pace and the learning style of each of my students is something I aspire to. Individualised learning is something a successful teacher must be able to come to grips with (Hattie, 2003). When students are paired up, and work together, or are given sufficient reading, with dictionary work tied to it, I find that there is enough time to get to each student, and to deal with differing ability groups effectively. This is, though, not always easy to predict.

Lincoln and Johnson vs. the Radicals Essay Example for Free

Lincoln and Johnson vs. the Radicals Essay The Civil War, which lasted up until 1865, was the bloodiest battle that this Nation had ever faced. Making it even sadder was the fact that this Nation was divided, North against South, and brothers were killing brothers, fathers killing sons. It was indeed a tough time for President Lincoln who was sworn into office in 1861. He needed to end the war and figure out a way to bring peace and rebuild the Nation. In order to end the war he devised a plan to free all slaves in the eye’s of the government, and on the first day of the year in 1863 he announced his â€Å"Emancipation Proclamation,† declaring all slaves owned under the Confederacy to be now free men. The Confederacy was beginning to crumble; Southern cities were destroyed and the Southern economy was in ruins. Lincoln now focused his attention on the idea of Reconstruction, and reuniting those Southern States back into the Union. It would not be easy for Lincoln, however, as he faced far different ideas than his, proposed by the Radical Republicans, led by Pennsylvania Representative Thaddeus Stevens and Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner. Despite being the Republican nomination for President, Lincoln was far more conservative than those Republicans taking the majority of seats in Congress. In December of 1863, before the war had officially come to a close, Lincoln began to devise his Reconstruction plan, which at the time was considered to be very lenient by those of the Union. His plan was very compassionate toward white southerners, except for major leaders of the Confederacy. He needed those Confederate Army generals and high-ranking officers to take an oath of loyalty to the Union, and verbally accept the Nation’s abolition of slavery. Lincoln’s plan was to institute new state governments in the South, under control of those southerners who had not aided to Confederacy. Lincoln also had the idea of granting voting rights to those freed African Americans who were educated, owned land, or had participated in the fighting for the Union. Under Lincoln’s plan, three southern states (Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee) acknowledged the abolition of slavery, formed new Union-loyal governments, and were ready to be readmitted completely into the Union. The Radical Republicans were not pleased to the slightest with Lincoln’s plan. They demanded much harsher penalties for seceding the Union, and they refused to seat the representatives from those three states, reconstructed under Lincoln’s plan. Because they were so displeased with Lincoln’s leniency, they pushed what is known as the Wade-Davis bill through Congress in 1864. This bill instituted a temporary governor, from the North, to each of those 11 Confederate states. When the majority of men residing in those states had pledged their allegiance to the Union, the governor was to hold a â€Å"constitutional convention,† where only men who had never fought against the Union could elect delegates to represent them in Congress. Once this was accomplished, the new state governments had to acknowledge the total abolition of slavery, disenfranchise Confederate leaders, and pay off all of their war debts, mainly owed to England. After all of this, and only after all of this, could those southern states be readmitted into the Union. Dissatisfied with the Radicals bill, Lincoln overrode their authority with a â€Å"pocket veto.† As you would assume, the Radicals were utterly outraged with Lincoln’s actions, and demanded that Lincoln accept some of their ideas proposed by the Wade-Davis Bill. Unfortunately, we will never know how the President would have negotiated terms with those Radical Republicans. On the night of April 14th, 1865, Lincoln was shot from behind while watching a play with his wife, and died early the next morning. Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s vice President, became the Nations new President shortly after the assassination. Johnson, who was originally a democrat, was now faced with the issue of Reconstruction, and like Lincoln, took a more moderate approach. While Congress was out of session in the summer following his launch into Presidency, Johnson quickly began to â€Å"R estore† (as he like to call it) those southern states back into the Union. His plan was very much like the Wade-Davis Bill in which he instituted a temporary governor to those southern states and had the governor allow qualified voters to elect delegates to represent them in Congress. When Congress came back into session in December, they began almost immediately to refuse seats to those elected delegates. Even though Johnson’s intentions were very similar to their Wade-Davis Bill, those Radicals were angered by the fact that most southerners still wished for slavery even though they took an oath against it. Many Confederate generals being voted in as Representatives in Congress also angered the Radicals. So they shot Johnson’s plan down, plain and simple. The Radicals began to gain more and more power in Congress due to several factors. First, Black Codes began to arise in southern states which authorized sate officials to apprehend unemployed blacks for vagrancy, and hire them out to mostly plantation owners in order to pay off their vagranc y fines. This angered many northerners as is basically violated southern states oaths of African American freedom. This caused Congress to pass the first Civil Rights Act, which gave the federal government the right to intervene in state affairs if blacks were not given appropriate rights. Johnson vetoed this bill but was easily overridden by the all-powerful Radical Congress. Next, Congress devised the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. It stated that all people born or naturalized in United States territory are considered citizens, and penalties would arise for states that denied the right to vote to any male citizens. It also stated that former Confederate officials were prohibited from holding any state or federal position unless they were pardoned for their treasonous Civil War crimes by two-thirds of Congress. Any state that ratified this 14th Amendment would be readmitted into the Union. Tennessee was the only state to ratify and be readmitted right away. Finally, those ten states that were still outstanding from the Union were divided into five different â€Å"military districts.† A military commander was assigned to each district and was responsible for registering citizens to vote (black males, and those whites who had not bore arms against the Union). Voters had to elect government bodies who would write their new state constitution, and have it passed by Congress. And finally, after all that, the state had to ratify the 14th Amendment. All but Virginia, Texas and Mississippi had reunited with the Union by 1868 and finally by 1870 those last 3 states were reunited only after ratifying 15th Amendment in addition to the 14th one. Alas, the Union was rejoined, blacks now had their freedom and right to vote, and peace was beginning to take presence. When we look at the similarities proposed by Lincoln and Johnson, we see that both men were in favor of leniency for those southern states. Lincoln only felt it was necessary for Confederate leaders to take an oath of loyalty as opposed to the Congressional decision that Confederate leaders needed to be pardoned by two-thirds of Congress (Which would likely never happen as Radicals held so much power in Congress) in order to take part in state or federal legislature. It is clear that Johnson also opposed this idea, and leaned toward Lincoln’s plan, in the way he vetoed Congress vigorously. This similarity in ideas between Lincoln and Johnson is also a major difference between the presidents and Congress’s final decision. Unfortunately for Johnson (and Lincoln), and the rest of the moderate northerners, his veto was no match for Congress. A key similarity between the presidents and Congress though, was the issue of African American rights. The final Congressional plan involved a federal Civil Rights Act and two new Constitutional Amendments, in order to protect the rights of African Americans. Lincoln obviously believed in equality when he delivered his Emancipation Proclamation, and stated that educated, land-owning, or allied blacks should be given the right to vote. And based on Congresses final decision, I would say the majority of people from the south who were qualified to vote on the new state governors were probably African Americans. In conclusion, when comparing the presidential Reconstruction plans, with those actually put into play by Congress, the main difference falls within the idea of leniency vs. anger. The presidents wanted the whole ordeal over and the states rejoined, whereas the Radicals wanted revenge on the South for seceding. As to which ideas would have worked better? It is very hard to say. All that can be said is that eventually, the Radicals gained too much power in Congress for the presidents to handle, and ultimately an all-powerful republican Congress overruled their ideas. Bibliography(EZbib.com) Brinkley, Alan. Reconstruction and the New South. The Unfinished Nation. 6th ed. Vol. 2. New York [u.a.: McGraw-Hill, 2000. 369-83. Print. 35b. Radical Reconstruction. Radical Reconstruction [ushistory.org]. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. Time Line of The Civil War, 1865. Time Line of The Civil War. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013.

Free Hamlet Essays: Thoughts on Hamlet :: The Tragedy of Hamlet Essays

Final Thoughts on The Tragedy of Hamlet In light of the biographical information that was recently presented in class, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark has the potential to take on new meaning. Instead of just being a play that takes a closer look at honor, revenge and suicide, Hamlet turns into a canvas that gave Edward DeVere the opportunity to express himself without exposing himself at the same time. Assuming that the role of Hamlet was based on DeVere, the query that plagues my mind is: DeVere or not DeVere? That is the question, indeed. As discussed in class, there are similarities between the character of Hamlet and DeVere, including: loss of a father at an early age, a quick re-marriage by the mother, being interested in the theatre and the pirate attack, just to name a few. Something we did not discuss in class was the ending of the play and how that might correspond with DeVere's current anonymity when it comes to the works of Shakespeare. During the final scene in Hamlet, Prince Hamlet finds himself mortally wounded just after he has finally gotten his revenge on his uncle. As he dies, Hamlet asks Horatio to tell his story (V.ii.338-339). Horatio knows everything that has transpired since the beginning of the play, so he would be able to tell the Danes about how Hamlet figured out the horrible treason that had occurred with the foul death of his father, etc. In essence, Horatio's story would give Hamlet honor and seal his memory in the hearts of the Danish people (and possibly others) forever for his noble works. The rest of Hamlet is so autobiographical that it does not make sense for the final scene to not represent something in DeVere's life. I think that DeVere wrote this scene as a will or instructions on how he wanted his dramatic works to be handled when he died. Once dead, he would have no need to fear persecution by the Tudor family, so his name could finally be associated with all of the plays and sonnets that he had been writing secretly. Essentially, his talent would be praised, and his legend would live on in the hearts of all who saw his dramatic works.

Nature vs. Nurture Essay

ABSTRACT The subject of nature versus nurture is addressed. Both nature and nurture have strong effects on how humans learn and are able to learn. Observations of three children discuss how nature has caused conditions that hinder development as well as how human intervention has enabled these children to grow despite their conditions. Nature and nurture have negative aspects that may or may not be improved to foster development. Nature and nurture interact in human development. Keywords: Nature, nurture, Piaget, cochlear implant, epilepsy, Erikson, Gilligan, Vygotksy, Kohlberg, Outliers. NATURE VERSUS NURTURE Nature? Nurture? Both? Theorists have struggled for more than a century with which variable has the greater effect on human learning. When we refer to ‘nature’ in learning we are discussing the biological elements of human learning and intelligence, such as, chromosomes and DNA, the biology of the brain, and diseases, syndromes or conditions that the individual may be born with or develop in their lifespan (Society for Neuroscience, 2012) The theoretical framework of â€Å"Genetic Epistemology† of Jean Piaget was based on his ‘naturalistic’ research of children. Piaget was most concerned with how knowledge developed in children. His theory advocated 4 stages of development: sensorimotor, preoperational stage, concrete operations, and formal operations, which he assigned to different age groups (Genetic Epistemology, n.d.) to explain when and how human cognitive development occurs. I have observed natural effects in several children in my life and have seen how nature has affected their learning. Mikaela and CJ are the children of our dear friends. It is theorized that Mikaela may either have lost her hearing shortly after birth or was born without hearing (Sorenson and Sievert, personal discussion and observation, 2004). CJ was born with hearing but has lost nearly all hearing in one ear and needs a hearing aid in the other ear (Sorenson and Sievert, personal discussion, 2006). When Mikaela was diagnosed around 2 years of age, she was fitted with cochlear implants (Sorenson, personal discussion, 2004). CJ was fitted with one cochlear implant around 5 years old (Sorenson, personal discussion 2008). Mikaela struggled to overcome the lack of aural stimulation and verbal acquisition. She will still sign now at age 13 when she wants to communicate quickly. Her speech is very monotonic even after speech therapy (Sievert, observation, May 2014). CJ learned to read very quickly and would amuse himself on early Saturday mornings with watching WWII history and reading the captions so as to not wake the family (Sorenson, personal communication, 2009). They adapted and created schemas to bridge the challenge. My grandson Micah was diagnosed with epilepsy in April 2013 at 13 months of age. The seizure activity and the use of medications affected his brain activity to nearly wipe out every developmental milestone (Sievert, observation and interaction, May 2013). MRI results showed areas of the brain had atrophied. His physical and occupational therapists have retrained his neural pathways and he is now a normal 27 month old (Sievert, observation and interaction, 2014). All of these children were able to overcome natural challenges with interventions. ADD/ADHD (WebMD.com, 2014) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (CDC.gov, 2014) are both natural in their origin and are being studied now to find interventions that enable these individuals to become empowered learners in classroom learning environments (Jensen, 2005). The term ‘nurture’ refers to the effects of interaction in the development of the individual and can range from human interaction with caregivers, peers, and society, to environment and technological devices (UCSB.edu, 2001). Vygotsky, Erikson, Kohlberg and Gilligan would be theorists who tend  to place more emphasis on how environment shapes the cognitive and moral development of the individual. Lev Vygotksy claimed that all learning was shaped by the interactions of the child with society and culture as well as how language developed (McLeod, 2007). Language acquisition was seen as very important in cognitive development, especially in developing private speech. Erikson saw cognitive development as a lifelong activity with 8 psychosocial stages, each having a crisis that called for resolution in the individual in relationship to the society (McLeod, 2008). Both Kohlberg and Gilligan based their moral reasoning models on how children learn in relationship to the society around them plus possible societal roles placed on boys or girls (Nucci, 2014). Nurture led to Mikaela, CJ, and Micah overcoming obstacles of nature with the assistance of other humans either creating new tools to overcome hearing loss (NIDCD, 2013) or have humans developing therapies that retrain the brain (Sheikh, 2012). Lack of nurture can include poor or inadequate food and shelter, lack of sensory stimulation, technology used as a ‘babysitter’, or a lack of interaction between parent and child (Harris, 1998). I have also observed too much nurture in my school. Parents may do this by constant monitoring of homework and grades, helping too much with work, overscheduling activities for students, intensive requests for special treatment, or by requesting more homework (Dawson, Clarke, Bredehoft, 2006). The story of Chris Langan in Outliers (2008) is a classic example of how a lack of nurture can set up a chain of failure for an incredibly intelligent man. It is clear that neither nature nor nurture is the decisive factor in human cognition or moral development. We know more than ever about how the brain functions and how the brain must be well treated to make the most of what is available (Jensen, 2005). Physical and mental conditions can determine just how much growth potential is in a human being. New therapies and technologies are constantly in development, trial, and implementation. Proper nurture in a societal and cultural environment has proven necessary for every individual. Nature and nurture need to be skillfully blended to ensure every child is empowered to attain their full potential (Jensen, 2005). REFERENCES: Society for Neuroscience. (2012). Brain facts: A primer on the brain and nervous system. Retrieved May 19, 2014, from BrainFacts.org: http://cup.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/courses/20144043208/resources/week1/w1%20brain_facts_2012.pdf Genetic epistemology (Jean Piaget). (n.d.). Retrieved on May 29, 2014 from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/genetic-epistemology.html. WebMD.com. (2014). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Causes of ADHD. Retrieved on June 14, 2014 from http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adhd-causes. Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the brain in mind. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. UCSB.edu. (2001). Nature and nurture. Retrieved on June 14, 2014 from http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/faculty/baldwin/classes/soc142/n&n.html McLeod, S. A. (2007). Lev vygotsky. Retrieved on June 2, 2014 from http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html. McLeod, S. A. (2008). Erik erikson. Retrieved on May 29, 2014 from http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html. Nucci, L. (2014). Moral development and education: An overview. Retrieved on June 5, 2014 from http://www.moraledk12.org/#!combined-theories/c3q9. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (2013). Cochlear implants. Retrieved on June 14, 2014 from https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/coch.aspx Sheikh, S. (2012). Epilepsy: Definition, prevention and the role of occupational therapy. Retrieved on June 14, 2014 from http://www.slideshare.net/betrayer1990/occupational-therapy-for-epilepsy-an-overview Harris, J.R. (1998). The nurture assumption: Why children turn out the way they do. Retrieved on June 14, 2014 from http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/harris-nurture.html. Dawson, C. and Clarke, J. and Bredehoft, D. (2006). Overnurturing: Too much of a good thing (When helping stops being helpful). Retrieved from http://www.educarer.com/oi-nurturing.htm Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. New York, NY: Back Bay Books.

Academic Success Factors: Distance Education versus Traditional

Academic settings of distance education courses are distinct from traditional college settings due to its high-tech delivery and facilitating needs of its students. The success rates of each learning arena varies by tempering degrees; distance education students must rely on self-discipline and excellent time management skills while traditional students can use their classes for corresponding reasons. Developing skills for success in distance education and traditional learning environments are up to the students’ abilities to focus on their course work. In turn, the use of college text material, technology, and self-management is essential in varying degrees between each student. Distance and traditional students are required to read course textbooks because textbooks bridge the gap between the learner and the learning experience (Cavanaugh, 2005, p.1). Books remain the number one resource for all students because students must engage in in-depth discussions to sort through materials (Adventist Distance Education Consortium, 2002, p. 4). Implementing technology support such as visual or audio delivery increases distance education learners’ experience (Cavanaugh, 2005, p.1). At the same time, traditional students are experiencing a change in course delivery as well. For example, traditional universities offer online supplement materials for their students- quizzes, email, and video tutorials (ADEC, 2002, p.8). These additions require students to use self-motivation as their learning tools, but this is not the same as distance education learners. Distance learners are responsible for persistence and greater self-discipline because they are not required to physically walk or â€Å"go† to class (Cavanaugh, 2006, p.2). This allotted time is used for other demands such as work, family, or study time. Distance learners are in a state of freedom with boundaries that enable them to learn on their own. Traditional learners are placed in their learning environment that may trigger their motivation to learn, but distance learners must use their resources since their learning environment consists of technology (ADEC, 2002, p.8). Class participation rates are higher in distance education courses because the students have more time to develop well-rounded arguments for instructor’s assignments (Cavanaugh, 2005 p.3). On the other hand, traditional students are required to answer in-class questions at that moment – this triggers some self-consciousness among students (ADEC, 2002, p.8). Distance learners have an advantage over traditional students because of this, but they must seize the opportunity to gather information and articulate in with use of technology (Cavanaugh, 2005, p.3). Traditional students’ ability to physically present their work allows instructors to notice their student’s development over the course. Instructors of distance learners must gather hard data due to the non-facing circumstances. By this, student’s assessments and growth is found through their work (Cavanaugh, 2005, p.4). In conclusion, the success of distance and traditional learners is ultimately the student’s responsibility. Both learners must seize opportunities presented by their facilities to adapt their skills to the situation for greater understanding of their material (Cavanaugh, 2005, p.4).    This is very important that facilities have the appropriate resources available for both students. The distance learner and traditional learner utilize the information given to them; e.g. delivery methods are very important in offering the student adequate support in their academic endeavors (Cavanaugh, 2005, p.4). As stated before, distance education students must use optimal self-management skills for successful results while traditional students must focus attend courses physically for their success. Reference Cites Adventist Distance Education Consortium. (2002) Distance Education Success Guide. Retrieved September 16, 2006 Cavanaugh, C. (2005). Distance Education Success Factors (pp. 1-4). USA: University of North Florida.         

Definition and Examples of Euphemistic Language

Definition and Examples of Euphemistic Language Euphemism is the substitution of an inoffensive expression (such as passed away) for one considered offensively explicit (died or dropped dead). Contrast with dysphemism. Adjective: euphemistic. In his Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms (2007), R.W. Holder notes that in speech or writing we use euphemism for dealing with taboo or sensitive subjects. It is therefore the language of evasion, hypocrisy, prudery, and deceit. According to Ruth Wajnryb, Euphemisms have a short shelf life- once the stigma of the original catches up to them, the battery that runs the euphemistic device goes flat. The only way forward is to invent a new euphemism (Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language, 2005). Etymology: From the Greek, use of good words Commentary Examples:  Pre-owned for used or second-hand; enhanced interrogation for torture; industrial action for strike; misspoke for lie; tactical withdrawal for retreat; revenue augmentation for raising taxes; wind for belch or fart; convenience fee for surcharge; courtesy reminder for bill; unlawful combatant for prisoner of warUnfortunately for the CIA, enhanced interrogation turned out to be a translation of the same euphemism used by the Gestapo: verschrfte Vernehmung. (Scott Horton, Company Men. Harpers, April 2015 Dan Foreman: Guys, I feel very terrible about what Im about to say. But Im afraid youre both being let go.Lou: Let go? What does that mean?Dan Foreman: It means youre being fired, Louie. (In Good Company, 2004 Mr. Prince: Well see you when you get back from image enhancement camp.Martin Prince: Spare me your euphemisms! Its fat camp, for Daddys chubby little secret. (Kamp Krusty, The Simpsons, 1992) Paul Kersey: Youve got a prime figure. You really have, you know.Joanna Ke rsey: Thats a euphemism for fat. (Death Wish, 1974) The reconstruction of New Orleans has become a euphemism for the destruction of the citys cultural and historic heritage. (Ghali Hassan, 2006The more syllables a euphemism has, the further divorced from reality it is. (George CarlinWardrobe malfunction. (Justin Timberlakes description of his tearing of Janet Jacksons costume during a half-time performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII)Americans continually euphemize; they can never call anything by its name. You never invade anybody, you commit an incursion. (Gore Vidal, quoted in the Transatlantic Review, Spring 1975) Dont Panic The economic classification  recession was actually invented in 1937 when the economy was back in the toilet but FDR didnt want to call it a depression. And the description depression first surfaced during the Hoover administration, a substitute for a more vivid but disconcerting term of art: panic.(Anna Quindlen, Summertime Blues. Newsweek, July 7/14, 2008) Testing for Euphemisms In selecting euphemistic words and phrases I have accepted [Henry] Fowlers definition: Euphemism means the use of a mild or vague or periphrastic expression as a substitute for blunt precision or disagreeable use (Modern English Usage, 1957). A second test is that the euphemistic word or phrase once meant, or prima facie still means, something else. If that were not so, it would be no more than a synonym. (R.W. Holder, Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms. Oxford University Press, 2007) Steven Pinker and Joseph Wood Krutch on the Euphemism Treadmill - Linguists are familiar with the phenomenon, which may be called the euphemism treadmill. People invent new words for emotionally charged referents, but soon the euphemism becomes tainted by association, and a new word must be found, which soon acquires its own connotations, and so on. Water closet becomes toilet (originally a term for any kind of body care, as in toilet kit and toilet water), which becomes bathroom, which becomes restroom, which becomes lavatory. Undertaker changes to mortician, which changes to funeral director...The euphemism treadmill shows that concepts, not words, are primary in peoples minds. Give a concept a new name, and the name becomes colored by the concept; the concept does not become freshened by the name, at least not for long. Names for minorities will continue to change as long as people have negative attitudes toward them. We will know that we have achieved mutual respect when the names stay put. (Steven Pinker, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial o f Human Nature. Viking Penguin, 2002)- Any euphemism ceases to be euphemistic after a time and the true meaning begins to show through. Its a losing game, but we keep on trying. (Joseph Wood Krutch, If You Dont Mind My Saying So, 1964) Euphemisms, Dysphemisms, and Orthophemisms During the Cold War of 1946-89, NATO had a deterrent (euphemism) against the Russian threat (dysphemism). In the mid 1980s the USSR claimed to have been invited (euphemism) into Afghanistan; the Americans claimed that the Russians were aggressors (dysphemism) there. We get invited in; they are aggressors; the orthophemism is take military action in a foreign land. (Keith Allen and Kate Burridge, Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2006) Euphemisms During the Victorian Era In the mid-19th century, the human form and its functions were so taboo that any words even hinting that people had bodies were banished from polite discourse. It became impossible to mention legsyou had to use limb, or even better, lower extremity. You couldnt ask for the breast of a chicken, but instead had to request the bosom, or make a choice between white and dark meat. Nor could you talk about trousers. There were numerous euphemisms instead, including inexpressibles, indescribables, unmentionables, inexplicables and continuations. Charles Dickens made fun of this extreme delicacy in Oliver Twist, when Giles the butler describes how he got out of bed and drew on a pair of . . .. Ladies present, Mr. Giles, warns another character. (Melissa Mohr, By Gods Nails: Careful How You Curse. The Wall Street Journal, April 20-21, 2013) In Defense of Euphemisms Euphemisms are not, as many young people think, useless verbiage for that which can and should be said bluntly; they are like secret agents on a delicate mission, they must airily pass by a stinking mess with barely so much as a nod of the head, make their point of constructive criticism and continue on in calm forbearance. Euphemisms are unpleasant truths wearing diplomatic cologne. (Quentin Crisp, Manners from Heaven, 1984) Transforming Schools During one of many anti-austerity protests last summer, more than 1,000 people rallied to oppose Philadelphias plans to transform schools, a pleasant euphemism generally meaning school closures and mass layoffs. (Allison Kilkenny, The Fight for Phillys Schools. The Nation, February 18, 2013) Crazy Crazy (and hence crazed and cracked) originally meant cracked, flawed, damaged (cp. crazy paving) and was applicable to all manner of illness; but it has now narrowed to mental illness. It captures the stereotypical mental patient as someone flawed, deficient (cf. mentally deficient), and is the basis for many euphemistic expressions for madness: crack-brained, scatter-brained, shatter-brained; head case, nutcase, bonkers, wacko, wacky; falling to pieces; have a (nervous) breakdown; unhinged; having a screw/tile/slate loose; one brick short of a load, not a full load; not playing with a full deck, three cards short of a full deck; one sandwich short of a picnic; two bob short of a quid, not the full quid; his elevator doesnt go to the top floor; a shingle short; and perhaps hes lost his marbles. (Keith Allen and Kate Burridge, Euphemism and Dysphemism: Language Used as a Shield and Weapon. Oxford University Press, 1991) The Lighter Side of Euphemisms Dr. House: Im busy.Thirteen: We need you to . . .Dr. House: Actually, as you can see, Im not busy. Its just a euphemism for get the hell out of here.(Dying Changes Everything, House, M.D.)Dr. House: Who were you going to kill in Bolivia? My old housekeeper?Dr. Terzi: We dont kill anyone.Dr. House: Im sorrywho were you going to marginalize?(Whatever It Takes, House, M.D.) Further Reading Visual EuphemismWhy Do We Use Euphemisms?Biased LanguageBowdlerismCacophemismFifty Reasons Youll Never Be Told, Youre FiredGenteelismGeorge Carlins Essential DrivelGrawlixHow to Flatter an Audience With Euphemisms, Dysphemisms, and  DistinctioIndirectnessMinced OathNever Say Die: Euphemisms for DeathOrthophemismParadiastolePejorative LanguageRestauranteseSoft LanguageTaboo LanguageTitle InflationTop 20 Figures of SpeechUnder the Flapdoodle Tree: Doublespeak, Soft Language, and GobbledygookVerbosityWhat Are Weasel Words?

The Renaissance Art Period - About.com Art History

The Renaissance Art Period - About.com Art History We all know what the Renaissance was, correct? Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, and company created some fabulous paintings and sculptures that we continue to marvel over many centuries later and so on and so forth. (Hope you are nodding your head right now and thinking Yes, yes - please get on with it!) While these were vitally important artists, and their collective work is what usually comes to mind when one hears the word Renaissance, as so often happens in life things arent quite that simple. The Renaissance (a word which literally means born anew) is a name weve given to a period in Western history during which the arts - so important in Classic cultures - were revived. The arts had quite a difficult time remaining important during the Middle Ages, given all of the territorial struggles that were occurring throughout Europe. People living then had enough to do merely figuring out how to stay in the good graces of whoever was ruling them, while the rulers were preoccupied with maintaining or expanding control. With the large exception of the Roman Catholic Church, no one had much time or thought left over to devote toward the luxury of art. It will come as no surprise, then, to hear that the Renaissance had no clear-cut beginning date, started first in those areas which had the highest relative levels of political stability and spread, not like wildfire, but in a series of different phases which occurred between the years c. 1150 and c. 1600. What were the different phases of the Renaissance? In the interest of time, lets break this topic down into four broad categories. The Pre- (or Proto-) Renaissance began in a northern enclave of present-day Italy sometime around 1150 or so. It didnt, at least initially, represent a wild divergence from any other Medieval art. What made the Proto-Renaissance important was that the area in which it began was stable enough to allow explorations in art to develop. Fifteenth-century Italian Art, often (and not incorrectly) referred to as the Early Renaissance, generally means artistic goings-on in the Republic of Florence between the years 1417 and 1494. (This doesnt mean nothing happened prior to 1417, by the way. The Proto-Renaissance explorations had spread to include artists throughout northern Italy.) Florence was the spot, for a number of factors, that the Renaissance period really caught hold and stuck. Sixteenth-century Italian Art is a category which contains three separate topics. What we now call the High Renaissance was a relatively brief period which lasted from roughly 1495 to 1527. (This is the little window of time referred to when one speaks of Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael.) The Late Renaissance took place between 1527 and 1600 (again, this is a rough time table) and included the artistic school known as Mannerism. Additionally, The Renaissance thrived in Venice, an area so unique (and supremely disinterested with Mannerism) that an artistic school has been named in its honor. Northern European Renaissance The Renaissance in Northern Europe struggled to come into being, mostly due to the stranglehold Gothic art maintained for centuries and the fact that this geographical region was slower to gain political stability than was northern Italy. Nonetheless, the Renaissance did occur here, beginning around the middle of the fourteenth century and lasting until the Baroque movement (c. 1600). Now lets explore these Renaissances to get an idea of which artists did what (and why we still care), as well as learning the new techniques, mediums and terms that came from each. You can follow any of the hyperlinked words (theyre blue and are  underlined) in this article to go to the part of the Renaissance that interests you most.

Personal Statment Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Statment - Personal Statement Example This served as the turning point of my career path. After finishing my military services, I started working at Paldo advertisement firm with a view to learn fundamental company systems and organization. During my off-work hours, I did home trading in the stock market, and I rapidly became attracted to the stock market. This was primarily because the stock market showed me how people think, move and how the economy performs on a daily basis. The stock market has an intricate relationship with the sale of products and services, and this further appealed to me and sparked my interest (Arco 56). However, I encountered immense difficulties in chart reading exercises, which pushed me to study it in the US. My greatest strength lies in my ability to decipher information on the stock market reports, as well as think rationally in light of such information. I am also pleased with my academic achievements, as well as my professional work experiences. Between May and December 2006, I attended Samyook University in Seoul, South Korea where I studied leisure sports and physical education. This education proved worthwhile during my stint at the military. I served in the military service as an ai r force between January of 2007 and March 2009. During this time, I worked under the specialty Military Police and VIP escort security where I served dignitaries such as the Korean president, former US president George W. Bush and prime ministers from many countries. After completing my military services, I joined Paldo advertising firm where I obtained immense experience in business operations and behavior. My interest in business grew while working at Paldo advertising. In order to enhance by business understanding, I decided to travel to the US for further studies. Therefore, between March 2010 and November 2010, I studied English through the English as a