Meno-Plato Essay

Meno begins his quest to have Socrates explain virtue by nature by stating that having beautiful things is to have virtue. â€Å"So I say that virtue is to desire beautiful things and have the power to acquire them† (77b). To help him to understand that this statement is not complete, Socrates inquires about specific characteristics that might comprise having something beautiful. These characteristics include wealth, a position of honor, justice, and the pursuit of happiness. Only in perfect combination to all of these specific characteristics assert â€Å"virtue as a whole† (77a) To desire beautiful things means to secure a good thing for oneself, according to Socrates. Under this explanation, all men desire good things and the men who desire bad things want to attain bad things for some benefit despite the fact that misery is a potential result. Therefore the act of desiring is with the intention of pursuing happiness as a virtue. â€Å"No one then wants what is bad, Meno, unless he wants to be such. For what else is being miserable but to desire bad things and secure them? † (78a). This characteristic of attempting to have happiness through securing good things and having power over them is a component of â€Å"virtue as a whole† (77a). Wealth and positions of power, under Socrates’ definition of â€Å"virtue as a whole† (77a), are only considered to be components of the nature of virtue if they are accomplished through just means. â€Å"It seems then that the acquisition must be accompanied by justice or moderation or piety or some other part of virtue; if it is not, it will not be virtue, even though it provides good things. † (78d-e) this reveals that the intention and process of acquiring good things is important to the nature of virtue as a whole. Without just process wealth nor positions of honor are not attributes of virtue because regardless of their significance as good or beautiful, they cannot be truly appreciated as virtuous without morally righteous intentions. â€Å"Then to provide these goods would not be virtue anymore than not to provide these goods would not to be virtue any more than not to provide them, but apparently whatever is done with justice will be virtue†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (79a) justice and good intention are required to be the basis of any good thing in order for it to be considered truly virtuous. However, in true response to Meno’s search to know the nature of virtue Socrates states that although that virtue as a whole is still under question. In order to understand virtue you must understand each characteristic that makes up virtue. â€Å"†¦that by answering in terms of the parts of virtue you can make its nature clear†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (79e) Virtue is not defined by any one definition, rather it is the characteristics and process of attaining these characteristics that comprises the nature of virtue. Socrates refutes Meno’s assertion that to attain beautiful things is to have virtue. Through this rejection he goes on to examine this differences between wanting good and beautiful things and, attaining bad things under the belief or idea that they are, in some way, good. However, having good things is not enough. These good things must be attained justly otherwise their significance to â€Å"virtue as a whole† (77a) is obsolete. These characteristics of wealth, a position of honor, justice, and the pursuit of happiness are mutually inclusive and together, begin to describe the nature of virtue.

Internet Number Resources

a) ARIN –Provides services related to the technical coordination and management of Internet number resources. Supports the operation of the internet through the management of internet number resources and coordinates the development of policies for the management of IP number resources. They provide services for technical coordination and management of internet number resources in its respective service region. This includes IP address space allocation & ASN allocation, transfer and record maintenance.b) IANA – They are responsible for the allocation of globally unique names and numbers that are used in Internet protocols that are published as rfc documents and for coordinating some of the key elements that keep the internet running smoothly. Allocates and maintains unique codes and numbering systems that are used in the technical standards/protocols that drive the internet. This includes Domain names, number resources and Protocol assignments.c) APNIC – An organ ization that manages the assignment of internet number resources within the Asian continent. Provides number resource allocation and registration services that support the global operation of the Internet. 2. Approximately how many Ipv4 addresses are possible? An IPv4 uses 32 bit IP address and with 32 bits the maximum number of IP addresses is approximately four billion IPv4 addresses 3. Approximately how many IPV6 addresses are possible?An IPv6 uses 128 bit IP address and with 128 bits the maximum number of IP addresses is approximately 48 billion 4. Why do you think the world is running out of Ipv4 addresses? The central pool of IPv4 addresses officially ran dry on Tuesday, February 1, 2011. From now on, all new networks and services in the region must implement IPv6. 5. How long do you think it will take before the Ipv4 addresses are completely exhausted Ipv4 addresses are Exhausted 6.Since Ipv6 is the long-term solution for this issue, why do you think we are still using and as signing IPv4 addresses on the internet? The address pool supports the continual demands and extends its usefulness. Another reason is that IPv4 and IPv6 are not compatible and as a result it will take a huge financial toll in the transition which is considered an impediment. 7. Do you think the possibility exists for some companies to hoard IP addresses and not release them back to ARIN to turn a profit? No because you can’t sell them Internet Number Resources a) ARIN –Provides services related to the technical coordination and management of Internet number resources. Supports the operation of the internet through the management of internet number resources and coordinates the development of policies for the management of IP number resources. They provide services for technical coordination and management of internet number resources in its respective service region. This includes IP address space allocation & ASN allocation, transfer and record maintenance.b) IANA – They are responsible for the allocation of globally unique names and numbers that are used in Internet protocols that are published as rfc documents and for coordinating some of the key elements that keep the internet running smoothly. Allocates and maintains unique codes and numbering systems that are used in the technical standards/protocols that drive the internet. This includes Domain names, number resources and Protocol assignments.c) APNIC – An organ ization that manages the assignment of internet number resources within the Asian continent. Provides number resource allocation and registration services that support the global operation of the Internet. 2. Approximately how many Ipv4 addresses are possible? An IPv4 uses 32 bit IP address and with 32 bits the maximum number of IP addresses is approximately four billion IPv4 addresses 3. Approximately how many IPV6 addresses are possible?An IPv6 uses 128 bit IP address and with 128 bits the maximum number of IP addresses is approximately 48 billion 4. Why do you think the world is running out of Ipv4 addresses? The central pool of IPv4 addresses officially ran dry on Tuesday, February 1, 2011. From now on, all new networks and services in the region must implement IPv6. 5. How long do you think it will take before the Ipv4 addresses are completely exhausted Ipv4 addresses are Exhausted 6.Since Ipv6 is the long-term solution for this issue, why do you think we are still using and as signing IPv4 addresses on the internet? The address pool supports the continual demands and extends its usefulness. Another reason is that IPv4 and IPv6 are not compatible and as a result it will take a huge financial toll in the transition which is considered an impediment. 7. Do you think the possibility exists for some companies to hoard IP addresses and not release them back to ARIN to turn a profit? No because you can’t sell them

Second Foundation 1. Two Men and the Mule

THE MULE – It was after the fall of the First Foundation that the constructive aspects of the Mule's regime took shape. After the definite break-up at the first Galactic Empire, it was he who first presented history with a unified volume at space truly imperial in scope. The earlier commercial empire at the fallen Foundation had been diverse and loosely knit, despite the impalpable backing at the predictions of psycho-history. It was not to be compared with the tightly controlled ‘Union of Worlds' under the Mule, comprising as it did, one-tenth the volume of the Galaxy and one-fifteenth of its population. Particularly during the era of the so-called Search†¦ Encyclopedia Galactica [1] There is much more that the Encyclopedia has to say on the subject of the Mule and his Empire but almost all of it is not germane to the issue at immediate hand, and most of it is considerably too dry for our purposes in any case. Mainly, the article concerns itself at this point with the economic conditions that led to the rise of the â€Å"First Citizen of the Union† – the Mule's official title – and with the economic consequences thereof. If, at any time, the writer of the article is mildly astonished at the colossal haste with which the Mule rose from nothing to vast dominion in five years, he conceals it. If he is further surprised at the sudden cessation of expansion in favor of a five-year consolidation of territory, he hides the fact. We therefore abandon the Encyclopedia and continue on our own path for our own purposes and take up the history of the Great Interregnum – between the First and Second Galactic Empires – at the end of that five years of consolidation. Politically, the Union is quiet. Economically, it is prosperous. Few would care to exchange the peace of the Mule's steady grip for the chaos that had preceded, On the worlds that five years previously had known the Foundation, there might be a nostalgic regret, but no more. The Foundation's leaders were dead, where useless; and Converted, where useful. And of the Converted, the most useful was Han Pritcher, now lieutenant general. In the days of the Foundation, Han Pritcher had been a captain and a member of the underground Democratic Opposition. When the Foundation fell to the Mule without a fight, Pritcher fought the Mule. Until, that is, he was Converted. The Conversion was not the ordinary one brought on by the power of superior reason. Han Pritcher know that well enough. He had been changed because the Mule was a mutant with mental powers quite capable of adjusting the conditions of ordinary humans to suit himself. But that satisfied him completely. That was as it should be. The very contentment with the Conversion was a prime symptom of it, but Han Pritcher was no longer even curious about the matter. And now that he was returning from his fifth major expedition into the boundlessness of the Galaxy outside the Union, it was with something approaching artless joy that the veteran spaceman and Intelligence agent considered his approaching audience with the â€Å"First Citizen.† His hard face, gouged out of a dark, grainless wood that did not seem to be capable of smiling without cracking, didn't show it – but the outward indications were unnecessary. The Mule could see the emotions within, down to the smallest, much as an ordinary man could see the twitch of an eyebrow. Pritcher left his air car at the old vice-regal hangars and entered the palace grounds on foot as was required. He walked one mile along the arrowed highway – which was empty and silent. Pritcher knew that over the square miles of Palace grounds, there was not one guard, not one soldier, not one armed man. The Mule had need of no protection. The Mule was his own best, all-powerful protector. Pritcher's footsteps beat softly in his own cars, as the palace reared its gleaming, incredibly light and incredibly strong metallic walls before him in the daring, overblown, near-hectic arches that characterized the architecture of the Late Empire. It brooded strongly over the empty grounds, over the crowded city on the horizon. Within the palace was that one man – by himself – on whose inhuman mental attributes depended the new aristocracy, and the whole structure of the Union. The huge, smooth door swung massively open at the general's approach, and he entered. He stepped on to the wide, sweeping ramp that moved upward under him. He rose swiftly in the noiseless elevator. He stood before the small plain door of the Mule's own room in the highest glitter of the palace spires. It opened- Bail Channis was young, and Bail Channis was Unconverted. That is, in plainer language, his emotional make-up had been unadjusted by the Mule. It remained exactly as it had been formed by the original shape of its heredity and the subsequent modifications of his environment. And that satisfied him, too. At not quite thirty, he was in marvelously good odor in the capital. He was handsome and quick-witted – therefore successful in society. He was intelligent and self-possessed – therefore successful with the Mule. And he was thoroughly pleased at both successes. And now, for the first time, the Mule had summoned him to personal audience. His legs carried him down the long, glittering highway that led tautly to the sponge-aluminum spires that had been once the residence of the viceroy of Kalgan, who ruled under the old emperors; and that had been later the residence of the independent Princes of Kalgan, who ruled in their own name; and that was now the residence of the First Citizen of the Union, who ruled over an empire of his own. Channis hummed softly to himself. He did not doubt what this was all about. The Second Foundation, naturally! That all-embracing bogey, the mere consideration of which had thrown the Mule back from his policy of limitless expansion into static caution. The official term was – â€Å"consolidation.† Now there were rumors – you couldn't stop rumors. The Mule was to begin the offensive once more. The Mule had discovered the whereabouts of the Second Foundation, and would attack The Mule had come to an agreement with the Second Foundation and divided the Galaxy. The Mule had decided the Second Foundation did not exist and would take over all the Galaxy. No use listing all the varieties one heard in the anterooms. It was not even the first time such rumors had circulated. But now they seemed to have more body in them, and all the free, expansive Souls Who** thrived on war, military adventure, and political chaos and withered in times of stability and stagnant peace were joyful. Bail Channis was one of these. He did not fear the mysterious Second Foundation. For that matter, he did not fear the Mule, and boasted of it. Some, perhaps, who disapproved of one at once so young and so well-off, waited darkly for the reckoning with the gay ladies' man who employed his wit openly at the expense of the Mule's physical appearance and sequestered life. None dared join him and few dared laugh, but when nothing happened to him, his reputation rose accordingly. Channis was improvising words to the tune he was humming. Nonsense words with the recurrent refrain: â€Å"Second Foundation threatens the Nation and all of Creation.† He was at the palace. The huge, smooth door swung massively open at his approach and he entered. He stepped on to the wide, sweeping ramp that moved upward under him. He rose swiftly in the noiseless elevator. He stood before the small plain door of the Mule's own room in the highest glitter of the palace spires. It opened- The man who had no name other than the Mule, and no title other than First Citizen looked out through the one-way transparency of the wall to the light and lofty city on the horizon. In the darkening twilight, the stars were emerging, and not one but owed allegiance to him. He smiled with fleeting bitterness at the thought. The allegiance they owed was to a personality few had ever seen. He was not a man to look at, the Mule – not a man to look at without derision. Not more than one hundred and twenty pounds was stretched out into his five-foot-eight length. His limbs were bony stalks that jutted out of his scrawniness in graceless angularity. And his thin face was nearly drowned out in the prominence of a fleshy beak that thrust three inches outward. Only his eyes played false with the general farce that was the Mule. In their softness – a strange softness for the Galaxy's greatest conqueror – sadness was never entirely subdued. In the city was to be found all the gaiety of a luxurious capital on a luxurious world. He might have established his capital on the Foundation, the strongest of his now-conquered enemies, but it was far out on the very rim of the Galaxy. Kalgan, more centrally located, with a long tradition as aristocracy's playground, suited him better – strategically. But in its traditional gaiety, enhanced by unheard-of prosperity, he found no peace. They feared him and obeyed him and, perhaps, even respected him – from a goodly distance. But who could look at him without contempt? Only those he had Converted. And of what value was their artificial loyalty? It lacked flavor. He might have adopted titles, and enforced ritual and invented elaborations, but even that would have changed nothing. Better – or at least, no worse – to be simply the First Citizen – and to hide himself. There was a sudden surge of rebellion within him – strong and brutal. Not a portion of the Galaxy must be denied him, For five years he had remained silent and buried here on Kalgan because of the eternal, misty, space-ridden menace of the unseen, unheard, unknown Second Foundation. He was thirty-two. Not old – but he felt old. His body, whatever its mutant mental powers, was physically weak. Every star! Every star he could see – and every star he couldnt see. It must all be his! Revenge on all. On a humanity of which he wasn't a part. On a Galaxy in which he didn't fit. The cool, overhead warning light flickered. He could follow the progress of the man who had entered the palace, and simultaneously, as though his mutant sense had been enhanced and sensitized in the lonely twilight, he felt the wash of emotional content touch the fibers of his brain. He recognized the identity without an effort. It was Pritcher. Captain Pritcher of the one-time Foundation. The Captain Pritcher who had been ignored and passed over by the bureaucrats of that decaying government. The Captain Pritcher whose job as petty spy he had wiped out and whom he had lifted from its slime. The Captain Pritcher whom he had made first colonel and then general; whose scope of activity he had made Galaxywide. The now-General Pritcher who was, iron rebel though he began, completely loyal. And yet with all that, not loyal because of benefits gained, not loyal out of gratitude, not loyal as a fair return – but loyal only through the artifice of Conversion. The Mule was conscious of that strong unalterable surface layer of loyalty and love that colored every swirl and eddy of the emotionality of Han Pritcher – the layer he had himself implanted five years before. Far underneath there were the original traces of stubborn individuality, impatience of rule, idealism – but even he, himself, could scarcely detect them any longer. The door behind him opened, and he turned. The transparency of the wall faded to opacity, and the purple evening light gave way to the whitely blazing glow of atomic power. Han Pritcher took the seat indicated. There was neither bowing, nor kneeling nor the use of honorifics in private audiences with the Mule. The Mule was merely â€Å"First Citizen.† He was addressed as â€Å"sir.† You sat in his presence, and you could turn your back on him if it so happened that you did. To Han Pritcher this was all evidence of the sure and confident power of the man. He was warmly satisfied with it. The Mule said: â€Å"Your final report reached me yesterday. I can't deny that I find it somewhat depressing, Pritcher.† The general's eyebrows closed upon each other: â€Å"Yes, I imagine so – but I don't see to what other conclusions I could have come. There just isn't any Second Foundation, sir.† Arid the Mule considered and then slowly shook his head, as he had done many a time before: â€Å"There's the evidence of Ebling Mis. There is always the evidence of Ebling Mis.† It was not a new story. Pritcher said without qualification: â€Å"Mis may have been the greatest psychologist of the Foundation, but he was a baby compared to Hari Seldon. At the time he was investigating Seldon's works, he was under the artificial stimulation of your own brain control. You may have pushed him too far. He might have been wrong. Sir, he must have been wrong.† The Mule sighed, his lugubrious face thrust forward on its thin stalk of a neck. â€Å"If only he had lived another minute. He was on the point of telling me where the Second Foundation was. He knew, I'm telling you. I need not have retreated. I need not have waited and waited. So much time lost. Five years gone for nothing.† Pritcher could not have been censorious over the weak longing of his ruler; his controlled mental make-up forbade that. He was disturbed instead; vaguely uneasy. He said: â€Å"But what alternative explanation can there possibly be, sir? Five times I've gone out. You yourself have plotted the routes. And I've left no asteroid unturned. It was three hundred years ago that Hari Seldon of the old Empire supposedly established two Foundations to act as nuclei of a new Empire to replace the dying old one. One hundred years after Seldon, the First Foundation – the one we know so well – was known through all the Periphery. One hundred fifty years after Seldon – at the time of the last battle with the old Empire – it was known throughout the Galaxy. And now it's three hundred years – and where should this mysterious Second be? In no eddy of the Galactic stream has it been heard of.† â€Å"Ebling Mis said it kept itself secret. Only secrecy can turn its weakness to strength.† â€Å"Secrecy as deep as this is past possibility without nonexistence as well.† The Mule looked up, large eyes sharp and wary. â€Å"No. It does exist.† A bony finger pointed sharply. â€Å"There is going to be a slight change in tactics.† Pritcher frowned. â€Å"You plan to leave yourself? I would scarcely advise it.† â€Å"No, of course not. You will have to go out once again – one last time. But with another in joint command.† There was a silence, and Pritcher's voice was hard, â€Å"Who, Sir?† â€Å"There's a young man here in Kalgan. Bail Channis.† â€Å"I've never heard of him, Sir.† â€Å"No, I imagine not. But he's got an agile mind, he's ambitious – and he's not Converted.† Pritcher's long jaw trembled for a bare instant, â€Å"I fail to see the advantage in that.† â€Å"There is one, Pritcher. You're a resourceful and experienced man. You have given me good service. But you are Converted. Your motivation is simply an enforced and helpless loyalty to myself. When you lost your native motivations, you lost something, some subtle drive, that I cannot possibly replace.† â€Å"I don't feel that, Sir,† said Pritcher grimly. â€Å"I recall myself quite well as I was in the days when I was an enemy of yours. I feel none the inferior.† â€Å"Naturally not,† and the Mule's mouth twitched into a smile. â€Å"Your judgment in this matter is scarcely objective. This Channis, now, is ambitious – for himself. He is completely trustworthy – out of no loyalty but to himself. He knows that it is on my coattails that he rides and he would do anything to increase my power that the ride might be long and far and that the destination might be glorious. If he goes with you, there is just that added push behind his seeking – that push for himself.' â€Å"Then,† said Pritcher. still insistent, â€Å"why not remove my own Conversion, if you think that will improve me. I can scarcely be mistrusted, now.† â€Å"That never, Pritcher. While you are within arm's reach, or blaster reach, of myself, you will remain firmly held in Conversion. If I were to release you this minute, I would be dead the next.† The general's nostrils flared. â€Å"I am hurt that you should think so.† â€Å"I don't mean to hurt you, but it is impossible for you to realize what your feelings would be if free to form themselves along the lines of your natural motivation. The human mind resents control. The ordinary human hypnotist cannot hypnotize a person against his will for that reason. I can, because I'm not a hypnotist, and, believe me, Pritcher, the resentment that you cannot show and do not even know you possess is something I wouldn't want to face.† Pritcher's head bowed. Futility wrenched him and left him gray and haggard inside. He said with an effort, â€Å"But how can you trust this man. I mean, completely – as you can trust me in my Conversion.† â€Å"Well, I suppose I can't entirely. That is why you must go with him. You see, Pritcher,† and the Mule buried himself in the large armchair against the soft back of which he looked like an angularly animated toothpick, â€Å"if he should stumble on the Second Foundation – if it should occur to him that an arrangement with them might be more profitable than with me – You understand?† A profoundly satisfied light blazed in Pritcher's eyes. â€Å"That is better, Sir.† â€Å"Exactly. But remember, he must have a free rein as far as possible.† â€Å"Certainly.† â€Å"And†¦ uh†¦ Pritcher. The young man is handsome, pleasant and extremely charming. Don't let him fool you. He's a dangerous and unscrupulous character. Don't get in his way unless you're prepared to meet him properly. That's all.† The Mule was alone again. He let the lights die and the wall before him kicked to transparency again. The sky was purple now, and the city was a smudge of light on the horizon. What was it all for? And if he were the master of all there was – what then? Would it really stop men like Pritcher. from being straight and tall, self-confident, strong? Would Bail Channis lose his looks? Would he himself be other than he was? He cursed his doubts. What was he really after? The cool, overhead warning light flickered. He could follow the progress of the man who had entered the palace and, almost against his will, he felt the soft wash of emotional content touch the fibers of his brain. He recognized the identity without an effort. It was Channis. Here the Mule saw no uniformity, but the primitive diversity of a strong mind, untouched and unmolded except by the manifold disorganizations of the Universe. It writhed in floods and waves. There was caution on the surface, a thin, smoothing effect, but with touches of cynical ribaldry in the hidden eddies of it. And underneath there was the strong flow of self-interest and self-love, with a gush of cruel humor here and there, and a deep, still pool of ambition underlying all. The Mule felt that he could reach out and dam the current, wrench the pool from its basin and turn it in another course, dry up one flow and begin another. But what of it? If he could bend Channis' curly head in the profoundest adoration, would that change his own grotesquerie that made him shun the day and love the night, that made him a recluse inside an empire that was unconditionally big? The door behind him opened, and he turned. The transparency of the wall faded to opacity, and the darkness gave way to the whitely blazing artifice of atomic power. Bail Channis sat down lightly and said: â€Å"This is a not-quite-unexpected honor, sir.† The Mule rubbed his proboscis with all four fingers at once and sounded a bit irritable in his response. â€Å"Why so, young man?† â€Å"A hunch, I suppose. Unless I want to admit that I've been listening to rumors.† â€Å"Rumors? Which one of the several dozen varieties are you referring to?† â€Å"Those that say a renewal of the Galactic Offensive is being planned. It is a hope with me that such is true and that I might play an appropriate part.† â€Å"Then you think there is a Second Foundation?† â€Å"Why not? It would make things so much more interesting.† â€Å"And you find interest in it as well?† â€Å"Certainly. In the very mystery of it! What better subject could you find for conjecture? The newspaper supplements are full of nothing else lately – which is probably significant. The Cosmos had one of its feature writers compose a weirdie about a world consisting of beings of pure mind – the Second Foundation, you see – who had developed mental force to energies large enough to compete with any known to physical science. Spaceships could be blasted light-years away, planets could be turned out of their orbits-â€Å" â€Å"Interesting. Yes. But do you have any notions on the subject? Do you subscribe to this mind-power notion?' â€Å"Galaxy, no! Do you think creatures like that would stay on their own planet? No, sir. I think the Second Foundation remains hidden because it is weaker than we think.† â€Å"In that case, I can explain myself very easily. How would you like to head an expedition to locate the Second Foundation?† For a moment Channis seemed caught up by the sudden rush of events at just a little greater speed than he was prepared for. His tongue had apparently skidded to a halt in a lengthening silence. The Mule said dryly: â€Å"Well?† Channis corrugated his forehead. â€Å"Certainly. But where am I to go? Have you any information available?† â€Å"General Pritcher will be with you-â€Å" â€Å"Then I'm not to head it?† â€Å"Judge for yourself when I'm done. Listen, you're not of the Foundation. You're a native of Kalgan, aren't you? Yes. Well, then, your knowledge of the Seldon plan may be vague. When the first Galactic Empire was falling, Hari Seldon and a group of psychohistorians, analyzing the future course of history by mathematical tools no longer available in these degenerate times, set up two Foundations, one at each end of the Galaxy, in such a way that the economic and sociological forces that were slowly evolving, would make them serve as foci for the Second Empire. Hari Seldon planned on a thousand years to accomplish that – and it would have taken thirty thousand without the Foundations. But he couldn't count on me. I am a mutant and I am unpredictable by psychohistory which can only deal with the average reactions of numbers. Do you understand?† â€Å"Perfectly, sir. But how does that involve me?' â€Å"You'll understand shortly. I intend to unite the Galaxy now – and reach Seldon's thousand-year goal in three hundred. One Foundation – the world of physical scientists – is still flourishing, under me. Under the prosperity and order of the Union, the atomic weapons they have developed are capable of dealing with anything in the Galaxy – except perhaps the Second Foundation. So I must know more about it. General Pritcher is of the definite opinion that it does not exist at all. I know otherwise.† Channis said delicately: â€Å"How do you know, sir?† And the Mule's words were suddenly liquid indignation: â€Å"Because minds under my control have been interfered with. Delicately! Subtly! But not so subtly that I couldn't notice. And these interferences are increasing, and hitting valuable men at important times. Do you wonder now that a certain discretion has kept me motionless these years? â€Å"That is your importance. General Pritcher is the best man left me, so he is no longer safe. Of course, he does not know that. But you are Unconverted and therefore not instantly detectable as a Mule's man. You may fool the Second Foundation longer than one of my own men would – perhaps just sufficiently longer. Do you understand?† â€Å"Um-m-m. Yes. But pardon me, sir, if I question you. How are these men of yours disturbed, so that I might detect change in General Pritcher, in case any occurs. Are they Unconverted again? Do they become disloyal?† â€Å"No. I told you it was subtle. It's more disturbing than that, because its harder to detect and sometimes I have to wait before acting, uncertain whether a key man is being normally erratic or has been tampered with. Their loyalty is left intact, but initiative and ingenuity are rubbed out. I'm left with a perfectly normal person, apparently, but one completely useless. In the last year, six have been so treated. Six of my best.† A corner of his mouth lifted. â€Å"They're in charge of training bases now – and my most earnest wishes go with them that no emergencies come up for them to decide upon.† â€Å"Suppose, sir†¦ suppose it were not the Second Foundation. What if it were another, such as yourself – another mutant?† â€Å"The planning is too careful, too long range. A single man would be in a greater hurry. No, it is a world, and you are to be my weapon against it.† Channis' eyes shone as he said: â€Å"I'm delighted at the chance.† But the Mule caught the sudden emotional upwelling. He said: â€Å"Yes, apparently it occurs to you, that you will perform a unique service, worthy of a unique reward – perhaps even that of being my successor. Quite so. But there are unique punishments, too, you know. My emotional gymnastics are not confined to the creation of loyalty alone.† And the little smile on his thin lips was grim, as Channis leaped out of his seat in horror. For just an instant, just one, flashing instant, Channis had felt the pang of an overwhelming grief close over him. It had slammed down with a physical pain that had blackened his mind unbearably, and then lifted. Now nothing was left but the strong wash of anger. The Mule said: â€Å"Anger won't help†¦ yes, you're covering it up now, aren't you? But I can see it. So just remember – that sort of business can be made more intense and kept up. I've killed men by emotional control, and there's no death crueler.† He paused: â€Å"That's all!† The Mule was alone again. He let the lights die and the wall before him kicked to transparency again. The sky was black, and the rising body of the Galactic Lens was spreading its bespanglement across the velvet depths of space. All that haze of nebula was a mass of stars so numerous that they melted one into the other and left nothing but a cloud of light. And all to be his- And now but one last arrangement to make, and he could sleep. First Interlude The Executive Council of the Second Foundation was in session. To us they are merely voices. Neither the exact scene of the meeting nor the identity of those present are essential at the point. Nor, strictly speaking, can we even consider an exact reproduction of any part of the session – unless we wish to sacrifice completely even the minimum comprehensibility we have a right to expect. We deal here with psychologists – and not merely psychologists. Let us say, rather, scientists with a psychological orientation. That is, men whose fundamental conception of scientific philosophy is pointed in an entirely different direction from all of the orientations we know. The â€Å"psychology† of scientists brought up among the axioms deduced from the observational habits of physical science has only the vaguest relationship to PSYCHOLOGY. Which is about as far as I can go in explaining color to a blind man – with myself as blind as the audience. The point being made is that the minds assembled understood thoroughly the workings of each other, not only by general theory but by the specific application over a long period of these theories to particular individuals. Speech as known to us was unnecessary. A fragment of a sentence amounted almost to long-winded redundancy. A gesture, a grunt, the curve of a facial line – even a significantly timed pause yielded informational juice. The liberty is taken, therefore, of freely translating a small portion of the conference into the extremely specific word-combinations necessary to minds oriented from childhood to a physical science philosophy, even at the risk of losing the more delicate nuances. There was one â€Å"voice† predominant, and that belonged to the individual known simply as the First Speaker. He said: â€Å"It is apparently quite definite now as to what stopped the Mule in his first mad rush. I can't say that the matter reflects credit upon†¦ well, upon the organization of the situation. Apparently, he almost located us, by means of the artificially heightened brain-energy of what they call a ‘psychologist' on the First Foundation. This psychologist was killed just before he could communicate his discovery to the Mule. The events leading to that killing were completely fortuitous for all calculations below Phase Three. Suppose you take over.† It was the Fifth Speaker who was indicated by an inflection of the voice. He said, in grim nuances: â€Å"It is certain that the situation was mishandled. We are, of course, highly vulnerable under mass attack, particularly an attack led by such a mental phenomenon as the Mule. Shortly after he first achieved Galactic eminence with the conquest of the First Foundation, half a year after to be exact, he was on Trantor. Within another half year he would have been here and the odds would have been stupendously against us – 96.3 plus or minus 0.05% to be exact. We have spent considerable time analyzing the forces that stopped him. We know, of course, what was driving him on so in the first place. The internal ramifications of his physical deformity and mental uniqueness are obvious to all of us. However, it was only through penetration to Phase Three that we could determine – after the fact – tbe possibility of his anomalous action in the presence of another human b eing who had an honest affection for him. â€Å"And since such an anomalous action would depend upon the presence of such another human being at the appropriate time, to that extent the whole affair was fortuitous. Our agents are certain that it was a girl that killed the Mule's psychologist – a girl for whom the Mule felt trust out of sentiment, and whom he, therefore, did not control mentally – simply because she liked him. â€Å"Since that event – and for those who want the details, a mathematical treatment of the subject has been drawn up for the Central Library – which warned us, we have held the Mule off by unorthodox methods with which we daily risk SeIdon's entire scheme of history. That is all.† The First Speaker paused an instant to allow the individuals assembled to absorb the full implications. He said: â€Å"The situation is then highly unstable. With Seldon's original scheme bent to the fracture point – and I must emphasize that we have blundered badly in this whole matter, in our horrible lack of foresight – we are faced with an irreversible breakdown of the Plan. Time is passing us by. I think there is only one solution left us – and even that is risky. â€Å"We must allow the Mule to find us – in a sense.† Another pause, in which he gathered the reactions, then: â€Å"I repeat – in a sense!†

Female genital Mutilation in Sudan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Female genital Mutilation in Sudan - Essay Example Focus is also drawn on the different ways through which the government of Sudan, different international agencies, local non-governmental organizations, and civil groups are working to stop this oppressive practice. Communities that practice FGM perform it in varying ways. The World Health Organization has developed three major categories of FGM. There is Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3. Type 1 female circumcision is referred to as clitoridectomy. This mainly involves the removal of the tip of the prepuce, with or without excision of part or the entire clitoris. In Type 2, there is the removal of the clitoris together with part or all of the labia minora. Type 3 female circumcision is also called infibulation. This involves the removal of most or all of the female genitalia. In this type, there is also the stitching of the vaginal opening, where only a small opening is allowed for urine and menstrual flow (Islam & Uddin 2001, p. 72). Type 3 is considered the most severe form of FGM. In Su dan, there are different names that are used to refer to each of the three types of female circumcision. Type 1 is referred to as â€Å"Sunna.† This involves the removal of the tip of the prepuce. ... For instance, some of the Muslim Sudanese hold that female circumcision is supported by Islam. On the other hand, the Muslim theologians in Sudan believe that there is no provision for FGM in the Koran (Islam & Uddin 2001, p. 73). Nonetheless, Turshen (2000, p. 145) notes that FGM is linked to Islam, even though not all Muslim countries uphold it. With regard to the prevalence of female circumcision in Sudan, the findings of Sudan Demographic and Health Survey (SDHS) of 1989 -1990 show that 89% of the ever-married women have undergone some form of FGM. The Northern part of Sudan ranks high, with approximately 99% of the ever-married women having undergone circumcision (Landinfo 2008, p. 6). In 2001, Islam and Uddin conducted a study in Sudan to determine the prevalence of female circumcision in the region. Their study focused on Haj-Yousif and Shendi, which are in the North, as well as Juba, in the South. Nonetheless, in this paper, the focus is not on South Sudan. The study of Islam and Uddin (2001, p. 74) revealed that female circumcision is highly prevalent in Sudan. 100% of the respondents in Shendi, and 87% of respondents in Haj-Yousif had undergone circumcision. The most prevalent form of female circumcision was found to be the Pharaonic circumcision, which is the most severe form. In Sudan, the process of female circumcision is performed by lay practitioners. These have little or no knowledge on the female anatomy, or medicine. The conditions under which female circumcision takes place in Sudan are below the hygiene standards. Furthermore, no anaesthesia is performed on the females before circumcision, and there is no sterilizing of the instruments used to perform female circumcision (Landinfo 2008, p. 9). A major reason why

Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho - Movie Review Example Suspense is always characteristic of a Hitchcock movie. Though he started with horror genre, Hitchcock was able to transform his work into a different kind of style, and that could have transformed into a genre itself. In TV and in films, the plot, the music and scoring are typical of Hitchcock. A woman unrobes, steps into the bathtub, draws the shower curtain closed, and turns on the shower. As she is showering, the door opens, a shadowy figure slowly approaches, and a hand swiftly throws open the curtain. A shadowy figure of a woman appears from behind the curtain, raises her hand with a large bread knife and stabs the naked woman several times. She screams but the attack is relentless. The scene is intensified by a searing background music of a violin that seems to slash and scream. The woman lays lifeless, half of her body hanging on the tub. What's so peculiar and popular - and controversial - in this shower scene in Psycho These days thrillers or mystery/suspense movies employ this kind of gory scene, in fact modern thrillers apply a more intense and horrifying scene that one can say they are more violent blood-soaked scenes than the original Hitchcock Psycho movie. Here, Hitchcock committed many firsts in movie viewing in the 60's. Janet Leigh, or Marion Crane in the movie, flushing the toilet is believed to be the first such shot shown in American cinema, and with her showing her nipple, was also a no-no at that time. Out of this film and the succeeding Hitchcock classic, the guy initiated, albeit unknowingly, his own brand of horror - the mystery and suspense genre. Psycho defines the beginning of Mystery and Suspense Genre Hitchcock has very shrewdly interwoven crime, sex and suspense, also blending the real and the unreal in fascinating proportions and punctuating this with several quick, grisly and unnerving surprises. It is clear that the story has an unsolved crime, or a serial killing is still uncovered. But why was Psycho popularly known - and advertised - as a horror film This was the beginning, in fact, of the mystery genre and Hitchcock was one of those who made it happen. Hitchcock is known for his horror movies, but in Psycho, horrifying as it is, the genre that we can and must refer to is Mystery/Suspense. During the first showing of the movie, Hitchcock again attempted another first in American cinema appreciation. The movie was to be seen at the very beginning, so as not to anticipate the suspense. Psycho is not an ordinary police story, although this can be regarded as a police story because murder is being committed - or a series of murder - and the perpetrator continues to commit such murder. After the first killing, another one, the private investigator is himself killed. It could not be positively identified who was the perpetrator of the murder, but at first it was insinuated in the scenes that the "mother" of Norman Bates, the manager of Bates Hotel, was the murderer. Some scenes shown were that of Norman arguing with his mother, although the figure of the 'mother' was shown with

Methodology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Methodology - Essay Example The policymakers may be getting substantial level of influence from the media, and we need to have a specific idea about it in order to make relevant decisions. The study will have an explorative nature, and it will set tone for future research on the subject matter. I will take a riskier road in this area of my work because governmental officials do not receive the notable level of attention regarding their political views. However, they are the ideal target population for my study because they play significant role in terms of conducting an election so they are extremely prone to experience high level of influences from the modern sources of information. Secondly, I am choosing those Baby-Boomers who are involved in the electoral process of the country as my target population, and I will survey relevant forbearers of Generation Y as well. Both of the previous generations are having notable roles in the due electoral process of their country (OShaughnessy & Stadler, 2012). They remain loyal to their traditional political affiliations, but Generation X is different because they need change and development, and if the current leadership does not cause substantial level of socioeconomic growth then, the youth will not hesitate to overthrow the gov ernment by using proper electoral means so they do not support traditional values in the democratic system (Walts, 2010). The study does not consider the Next Generation as target population because they do not have enough seniority to influence the elections in the country. In my viewpoint, there is a possibility to observe great degree of influence of media on the minds of policymakers because they are consistently integrating technology into the electoral process, and I intend to discover it through my work. The fundamental research technique applied in the course of the planned study will be surveys. I will visit

The First Principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The First Principles - Essay Example By stating different people in trade, I. e butcher, brewer, and baker, smith was expressing principles of division of labor and specialization in trade. All the mentioned personnel’s play a role in production that ends up satisfying the consumers’ needs of their products. Smith was sensitive of the mutual gains expected by both the producer and the consumer. He expresses the gains obtained by both parties when he considered that the produces has own interest in the trade that lead them to produce their products regardless of who will purchase their goods. This in return helps in solving the consumers’ needs of supply. The consumer on the other hand has little regard to whom produced the product, to them availability of supplies take centre of interest. Thus, both the producer and the consumer benefit in the end. The producer is at will to produce their products based on their area of interest. This is influenced by the advantages one gets from trade rather than on what the other person does. The producer thus enjoys freedom of trade even in the congested market since they do not produce out of compassion but out of gains obtained from

Hybrid Cars Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hybrid Cars - Research Paper Example Global warming has taken the better part of environmentalists. Anderson, in his publication, argues that the introduction of hybrid automobiles had a weighty significance to the environment (Anderson, & Anderson, 2010, p. 37). The first advantage attached to the introduction of this technology is that the automobiles pose less threat to global warming due to their low carbon dioxide emissions. This helps in conserving the future and reliable environment. Researchers suggest that the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by automobiles is proportional to the fuel energy they consume. Therefore, hybrid vehicles with low fuel consumption emit low amounts of the green house gases, thus, reducing threat to the ozone layer. For instance, the Toyota Prius hybrid from the United States reduces tailpipe emissions by up to 90% and green house gas emissions by around 50% (Hilgenkamp, 2005, p. 122). Scholarly research clearly depicts that the hybrid automobiles burn far less gas per mile compared to that of convectional cars. In addition, a number of harmful smog pollutants emitted by the hybrid cars are half compared to the traditional gasoline powered automobiles. This, thus, makes the hybrid automobiles more efficient to use. Due to the strong urge of improving mileage especially in the United States, they have encouraged people to use hybrid cars. This has resulted in the production of more and luxurious automobiles, which rely on low amounts of fuel.Low fuel consumption motivates individuals and states to poses automobiles. Petite MPG (miles per gallon) improvements on incompetent automobiles saves a large amount of fuel over a given remoteness of driving since the greater the MPG, the lower the amount of carbon dioxide produced when traveling a fixed number of miles. A clear example is portrayed by the Nissan Altima hybrid, which gets 35 mpg in the city and 23 mpg on the highway whereas the convectional car gets 33 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway. Ultimately, th e MPG of a hybrid car is higher due to consumption of low fuel amounts as compared to the MPG of a convectional car, which is low due to high fuel consumption resulting to subsequent high carbon dioxide emissions (Stellet et. Al, 2011, p. 3). Arguably, hybrid automobiles consume less amounts of fuel thus reducing the need of foreign oil. The technology being outdated by the introduction of hybrid automobiles is known for high fuel consumption. In fact, statistic collected by U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Eugenie Grandet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Eugenie Grandet - Essay Example Both women are stubborn, Eugenie in catering to Charles, and Eugnie in her marketing. The two also share a simple modesty: Eugenie expects no reward when she pays all of Charles's creditors, even as she grieves at her loss of his love; when Eugnie saves the children from the bull, she "n'en tira aucun orgueil, ne se dourant meme pas qu'elle eut rien fait d'heroique" (17). While both show a certain strength of character, they also have a vulnerable side which allows others to exploit them. Eugenie and Eugnie both persist in seeing only the good in others: Eugenie first defies her father, then softens toward him, even as his avarice becomes more and more extreme. Eugnie's respect for Mme Aubain, "qui cependant n'etait pas une personne agreable", never flags. Upon embracing her mistress for the first time, Eugnie "la cherit avec un devouement bestial et une veneration religieuse" (49); it is the narrator's more realistic appraisal of the gesture that deflates Eugnie's optimism in the re ader's eyes. In short, both heroines are fundamentally and profoundly good and this goodness, perhaps the most important aspect of their "coeurs simples," only increases as their stories unfold. When Eugnie reads Charles's letter to Annette, she finds in it what she herself has put in: "For young women who get a religious upbringing and who are innocent and pure, everything is love as soon as they step in the enchanted regions of love. They walk surrounded by the celestial light that their soul projects and that fall like rays on their lover; they color him with the fires of their own feeling and lend him their most beautiful thoughts". The association between Eugenie and Eugnie that emerges in the mind of the reader is confirmed by the conclusions of the two works, particularly by the emphasis in Eugenie Grandet on the contrasting fate of her character towards Charles. Not only does her character towards Charles become Eugenie's soul mate, but more important, she literally changes functions, escaping the destiny of a servant. While her character towards Charles ultimately appears to have overcome all obstacles and found happiness, Eugenie, like Eugnie, continues to suffer. The initial bond that seemed to link her character towards Charles and Eugnie is thus weakened in the reader's eyes, and that between Eugenie and Eugnie strengthened. It is important to recognize, however, that Eugenie's suffering is itself proof that she feels and understands much more than her character towards Charles; indeed, her character towards Charles's prosperity is superficial. The fact that the narrator focuses on her character towards Charles at this critical point in the novel only underlines the irony of the swift change in fortune that the servant experiences, and deepens our appreciation of Eugenie's psychological transformation. Although both Eugenie and Eugnie face a future that seems bleak in comparison to that of her character towards Charles, it is perhaps not entirely pessimistic. We are reminded at the end of Eugenie Grandet of the heroine's lack of formal education, but also that her inherent goodness, the most important aspect of her simplicity, assures her of a place in heaven. The fact that she has

Feasibility Report on Employment Research Paper

Feasibility Report on Employment - Research Paper Example A list is shown below for these two recommended sources in correct MLA style format: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor. Occupational Outlook Handbook. 2010-11 Edition. Web. 22 Jan. 2011. . Malandro, Loretta. â€Å"Discover your Leadership Blind Spots.† Bloomberg-Businessweek Online. 01 Sept. 2009. Web. 21 Jan. 2011. . Step 5 (Answering the Research Questions): A. What are the job responsibilities of a management executive in the oil and gas industry? The responsibilities of management executives are much broader than an engineer's as they now have to deal with a variety of problems. Managers also need to take a broader and longer perspective of the business compared to the narrower scope of the engineer's job. For example, management executives not only need to know management theories but also those in finance, production, marketing, sales, promotions and even public or community relations. B. Are there opportunities for professional growth within this fie ld of expertise? Big multinational companies are in the oil exploration industry and they spend a lot on hiring the best executives they can find and pamper them with generous perks and bonuses. In addition, countries like India and China which are rapidly industrializing their economies are in a mad search for new oil sources like those in Africa, Latin America and Central Europe. C. How vulnerable is the industry to external global economic factors like recessions? Although the oil... Feasibility Report on Employment The action I am contemplating or proposing to do will be an upward movement in the corporate ladder. I am exploring various opportunities that will leverage technical expertise to a higher level or rank within the firm I am working with right now and see whether I qualify. In my industry, there is a strong professional career progression with corresponding financial increases in remuneration, perks, benefits and fringe packages (like travel, vacations, medical and health insurance plans, education, etc.) and it is certainly worth exploring this probability. This report tries to examine and assess the expected changes based on the following criteria as bases: educational attainment, work experience, demand and availability of this job, preponderance and types of employers, the nature of the working environment, location of the jobs available, salary ranges and fringe benefit packages offered to management executives. For my employment research feasibility study report, I utilized the two recommended sources which are the Web site of the government's Bureau of Labor Standards where I looked specifically at the site's Occupational Outlook Handbook for most of the information used in this paper and the second source is a related on-line article entitled â€Å"Discover your Leadership Blind Spots† by Ms. Loretta Malandro, PhD from the digital version of Business Week. Both sources are inter-related and highly relevant to the report I am doing on career prospects.

Banks Deal with Documents and Not with Goods, Services or Performance Essay

Banks Deal with Documents and Not with Goods, Services or Performance to Which the Documents May Relate' (UCP 600, Article 5) - Essay Example Further risks are the economic climate in both the importing and exporting countries and the political stability of the countries, which affects the sale transaction and the degree of trust and confidence of each party in the other. As a result, banking regulations serve to lower or alleviate the risks that banks are exposed to and any disruptions and interruptions emanating from adverse economic and banking conditions. Additionally, banking regulations reduce the criminal risks to which banks are exposed, not to mention promoting and ensuring the confidentiality of banks.4 To reduce risks in international sales, in terms of the payment issue, the seller and buyer usually agree to settle through letters of credit. This essay seeks to explore Article 5 of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP 600) 2007, which reads as follows: â€Å"Banks deal with documents and not with goods, services or performance to which the documents may relate†. In fact, this Art icle is usually explored in regard to the letters of credit principles. Thereby, in the first part of this essay, the concept of letters of credit in the light of the UCP 600 will be revealed. Subsequently to that, the principles of letters of credit, which are autonomous and conform to strict compliance, will be discussed in the light of relevant cases. Finally, the way that fraud affects letters of credit will be examined in the light of relevant cases. 1. Letter of Credit and the UCP The importance of letters of credit to the current commercial society is evidenced by the many rules established to regulate and control its usage. These rules are called the Uniform Customs and Practice of Documentary Credits (UCP), which were created by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).5 Several commentators tend to accept this unification, such as Royston Goode, who describes it as â€Å"the most successful harmonizing measure in the history of international commerce†.6 In fact, the first version of these rules was drafted by the ICC in 1929. The rules were revised many times until the last version, UCP 600, was issued in 2007 and came into force on 1 July, 2007.7 Even though the UCP 600 regulates letters of credit, the legal status of these rules will not be considered binding until they are incorporated into the two parties’ contract, as it is mentioned in Article 1 of the UCP 600.8 Letters of credit, which are also known as documentary credit or banker’s commercial credit, is defined in Article 2 of the UCP 600 as â€Å"any arrangement, however named or described, that is irrevocable and thereby constitutes a definite undertaking of the issuing bank to honour a complying presentation†. According to this definition, a letter of credit has two characteristics. First, it is an irrevocable credit, which means that it cannot be amended or cancelled when it has already been communicated to the seller; under the previous UCP 500, credits co uld be

Body Image and the “Double Bind” Essay Example for Free

Body Image and the â€Å"Double Bind† Essay Society and mass media has always been in charge of creating and setting standards and categorizations by which America and the rest of the world is supposed to live by and live up to. In this country, image is of the utmost importance, and who we presume to be is more important than who we actually are. How we view ourselves, and how we think we should look like is largely affected by society in its creation of the â€Å"ideal† men and women. But it is mostly women, who appear to be on the receiving end of such â€Å"ideal† standards which society imposes on the rest of us on a daily basis, through magazines, television shows, commercial ads, and practically the whole of mass media. I talked to my friend, Seunghye Lee, regarding this issue, and her answers provided a significant but alarming insight on the effect mass media has on women of every race and culture, and the unfortunate success which the said system apparently has on influencing womens standards regarding self image and body issues. Seunghye Lee, as evident from her name, is Korean. After graduating from elementary school in Korea, she left for the United States, and has since been studying in this country. She is now twenty years old, majoring in biology, with a minor in psychology. But Seunghye is considering shifting to chemistry because she believes the field requires a greater amount of logical thinking, as opposed to plain memorization, which, from experience, she believes is what biology is limiting her to. Despite the length of time she has been staying in America, and how she appears very American, Seunghye understands a lot about her roots and the Korean culture. I met her at the main library for interview, and appearing relatively tall, healthy, as well as cheerful and with a sunny and optimistic view and disposition, I did not think she would be affected by the oppressive standards of media, nor would she feel bad about her body. I was wrong. When asked how she feels about her body, Seunghye replies, â€Å"I feel like I need to lose a little bit of weight because since I entered college, I gained some weight. People say that I am pretty tall, and I look healthy. † She confesses to feeling more conscious of her body when she turns to fashion magazines like Cosmopolitan, and admits wanting to hit the gym more often when she looks at images of beautiful and skinny girls on the magazine. But since shes entered college, shes had fewer times in which she needed to look at magazines anymore. Like probably most adolescents and women of her age, Seunghye feels that she needs to lose weight, even when peeople tell her that she has a relatively normal and healthy body. Her idea of happiness, where her physical features, and wher body is concerned, is â€Å"losing a few pounds† and â€Å"having a toned body. † But unlike others, she believes in exercise, work-outs, and hitting the gym, as a healthier means of losing weight, as opposed to starving oneself to death by not eating. When asked ultimately, if women today feel pressured, and if she feel pressured regarding her body image, Seunghye relates, â€Å"Yes, yes it affects me. Im pressured to not look fat. † Despite such statement, she admits, â€Å"I do not want to be too skinny, but I want to be fit and toned. It would be nice to have a body like Angelina Jolie. † It is clear from Seunghyes response, and by the way the rest of adolescent women across America choose to dress, or behave, and regard themselves, that body issues and image affects all involved. Mass media unfortunately exploits this particular weakness which most, if not, all of us are prone to falling trap into. Women are torn in the â€Å"double bind,† between standards set by society which dictates we should be â€Å"sexy† and â€Å"feminine† by wearing the type of clothes designers choose to put on models and celebrities, and in conventional standards which asks that we should also appear â€Å"chaste† and â€Å"virginal. † How we should regard and relate to our body should not be affected by the crassness of images and ideas being peddled by media. There exists a struggle and a need to break free from these standards, stereotypes, and maybe even cliches, regarding our body images. We need to create our own standards and not let media, society, or any system force feed ideologies regarding how we should act and who we are to become: for our sake, and for the benefit of all involved.

Harlem Renaissance Art Style and History

Harlem Renaissance Art Style and History The legacy of the Harlem Renaissance is that it redefined how America and the world, viewed the African-American population. The migration of Southern Blacks to the North changed the image of the African-American from rural, undereducated peasants to one of urban, cosmopolitan sophistication. This new identity led to a greater social consciousness; African-Americans became players on the world stage, expanding intellectual and social contacts internationally. Some common themes represented during the Harlem Renaissance were the influence of the experience of slavery and emerging African-American folk traditions on black identity, the effects of institutional racism, the dilemmas inherent in performing and writing for elite white audiences, and the question of how to convey the experience of modern black life in the urban North. Characterizing the Harlem Renaissance was an overt racial pride that came to be represented in the idea of the New Negro, who through intellect and production of literature, art, and music could challenge the pervading racism and stereotypes to promote progressive or socialist politics, and racial and social integration. The creation of art and literature would serve to uplift the race. New Negro is a term popularized during the Harlem Renaissance implying a more outspoken advocacy of dignity and a refusal to submit quietly to the practices and laws of Jim Crow racial segregation. The term New Negro was made popular by Alain LeRoy Locke. It is my intent to show how Carl Van Vechten, James Van Der Zee, and James Latimer Allen interpret and display the New Negro in their work of portraitures. As white families moved from cities to suburbs, the advent of World War I created a shortage of labor in northern cities. African Americans began to migrate north from their southern rural homes. During the 1920s, 1.5 million African Americans migrated north in hope of employment and relief from tthe prejudice that oppressed them so severely in the South. Van Vechtens many portraits of African-American performers, writers, and musicians taken in New York City reflect his interest in African Americans and the arts. They also reflect the growing presence of African Americans in northern cities resulting from the mass migration of the 1920s. More than this, these portraits also document the impact of this migration in popularizing African-American artistic movements such as jazz, the blues, and the Harlem Renaissance. I am certain that my first interest in making [these] photographs was documentary and probably my latest interest in making them is documentary too . . . I wanted to show young people of all races how many distinguished Negroes there were in this world . . . he adds that the process of making photographic portraits is a magical act. Bessie Smiths notorious private life contributed to glamorizing the self-destructive behavior often associated with jazz, blues, and rock performers of the present day. Smiths excessive drinking, violent temper (and physical strength), and predatory sexual life involving both men and women were boundary breaking, even by the standards of free-living musicians of the Roaring Twenties. A number of Smiths recordings in her later career were frankly pornographic, reflected both her loss of stature as an artist and her first-hand experience in reckless and often abusive relationships. All of this is important to keep in mind while analyzing this piece. We see the subject, Smith looking up and back at a bust of an African statue. While she is physically looking in a backward motion it can also be interpreted as a metaphor for l ooking into ones own past and heritage. With Smiths dicey past and morally grey activities Van Vechten portrays her as a beautiful female specimen who is in adoration of her African roots. Van Vechten place Smith below the statue which forces her to look up in its direction which is historically pious in stance. She is in veneration of her ancestors; she has them to thank for her present success as a performer. The portraits taken by James Latimer Allen were of many men and women who created the Harlem Renaissance exhibit with a purposeful uniformity. Men dressed in a dapper manner in suits and ties, women in their Sunday best. Through this formal statement Allen was underscoring the emergence of what a local magazine, The Survey Graphic, in 1925 had called the New Negro. Harlem photographer James Allens portrait of graphic artist James Lesesne Wells shows his subject intensely engaged with a drinking cup from Central Africa. Wells gazes down on the face carved on the vessel as if communing with an ancestor. The entire notion of this photo is very contrived. It is a bit of a strain to believe that Wells has a deep connection much less a full understanding of his ancestral past. The fact is the New Negros was a group that had never known slavery. Therefore they were comfortable with the idea of succeeding in all realms of culture and in any profession. Whether Wells understands or appreciate s the artifact if it is even authentic doesnt matter. What is really important is his presence and brooding manner. He seems to be engulfed within his own thoughts. His meditative state gives the viewer the idea that this Black man is able to think on a high level proving his intelligence and all around competence within society. His is very neatly put together; though no real emphasis is put on his attire we can still tell that he is not poor. Wells is looking down at the cup, a contrast to the image of Smith who is looking upward at her African fetishe. In comparison, these two images are similar in that they both are looking to their past and pieces of African art which serve as an affirmation of their heritage and identity. In contrast, Wells is putting himself above and beyond his ties to slavery; he is asserting himself into the image of the New Negro. Wells may reject the European ideas of primitivism because he himself is an artist who is very influenced by European woodcuts and their makers. Alain Locke happens to be one of his biggest supporters which may also feed into his self assured and confident nature that he is about to portray. Aesthetically the composition is lacking. Our eyes are guided diagonally to the cup so that we too may contemplate and feel the magic that lies within the cup. As contrived as the pictorial space and composition is, it certainly promotes the values of the New Negro. A lot of scholars and critics agree that James Van Der Zee documented the truth and he was very creative and realistic in doing so. They feel he used photography to document Black America by creating a vision of success and naturalness. Through his artwork he wanted to show that life for African Americans in Harlem could be better and will be better. He wanted them to have a better, wealthier image showing that they too can be successful he took pictures of them either looking strong, happy, or dominant. Van Der Zee had the ability to construct his compositions so they were visually interesting and coherent. They have an aesthetic dimension that is independent of whatever they depict. Experts explain that the best photographers do the unexpected; they do not just focus on the fantasized world but the real world also Van Der Zee did both. He provided an image for African Americans showing success and showing what they face in everyday life by creating a natural look so they fit in. Wo rks by Van Der Zee are artistic as well as technically proficient. His work was in high demand, due in part to his experimentation and skill in double exposures and in retouching negatives of children. A theme that reoccurs in his photographs is the emergent black middle class, which he captured using traditional techniques in often idealistic images. Negatives were retouched to show glamour and an aura of perfection. This affected the likeness of the person photographed, but he felt each photo should transcend the subject. His carefully posed family portraits reveal that the family unit was an important aspect of Van Der Zees life. He photographed the people of Harlem for more than six decades, depicting the life of one of the most celebrated black communities in the world. By providing elaborate costumes, props, and backdrops, in combination with creative double exposures, expert retouching, and airbrushing, Van Der Zee became renowned for the quality of his portraits. Van Der Zee actively worked to manipulate an image through careful composition, use of multiple negatives, retouching, dramatic lighting, and skillfully painted backdrops and props. It is tempting to compare his multi-layered images to photomontage created in the 1920s and 1930s. However, Van Der Zee was familiar with neither the avant-garde photographic practices in Europe nor the modernist photography by Alfred Stieglitz. Although he gained fame for his portrayal of African-American celebrities who passed through Harlem, Van Der Zee made his daily living by taking thousands of photographs of Harlems residents, including family groups, weddings, athletic teams, and social clubs. In this portrait, Wedding Day, Harlem, Van Der Zee was creating an unusual but realistic message. The most important concepts of the portrait are the facial expressions on the bride and grooms face. The bride is looking at the camera while the groom is looking at her. Her face has a serious structure, showing that she is dominant, as her body is positioned slanted position but her posture is straight. The groom is admiring her and being a gentleman. The painted backdrop of the fireplace and a superimposed image of a little girl who is playing with a newly available black baby doll all speak of the couples dream of a middle class status. The architecture of the columns and the ornate chair are visual tropes that have been used throughout history in such other wedding portraits such as the Arnolfini portrait. A domestic family life, and black pride are the ideas all fall into line with the New Negro movement these are all concepts that Van Der Zee puts into action in his portraits. These works portray the peoples of African descent in a positive light in normal, human situations. Historically and continually, peoples of African descent are often portrayed negatively in the various media, and many mainstream photographers working in areas such as Harlem, have historically highlighted squalid conditions, social problems, or exoticism. Such Western interest in tribal artifacts grew from the colonization of Africa by Europeans, whose takeover of the continent is documented through a colored map. By 1900, few major artists were untouched by the fascination with African and Oceanic primitive art. Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and others were drawn to the styles and motifs from these non-Western cultures as a way to challenge traditional aesthetic ideas. They saw western styles as stagnant and irrelevant to modern society. Unfortunately, part of the expectation of African-American artists of this time period was to relate to and produce images that correlated with tri bal artifacts. While Europeans understood African objects through the lens of colonialism, Americans viewed them as representing the legacy of slavery and segregation. Racial biases resulted in the negative perception of African art which persists to this day. But since the Harlem Renaissance is remembered as a fleeting golden age; a contemporary viewer cannot help but read evanescence into these portraits. Van Der Zee, Allen, and Van Vechten did their part to promote African-Americans in a light that they deserve even if they may not have monetarily deserved the title. All humans deserve the right to dream and have the same goals despite racial barriers. It is my belief that these artists truly upheld the image of the New Negro while also continually trying to move forward with that idea and their own artwork. Carl Van Vechten, Portrait of Bessie Smith James Van Der Zee, Future Expectations (Wedding Day)1926 James Latimer Allen, Portrait of James Lesesne Wells, c. 1930.

Two Theories Of Youth Crime Criminology Essay

Two Theories Of Youth Crime Criminology Essay This essay will discuss three theories, the differential association theory, the labelling theory and the rationale choice theory. The theories will discussed and how they can explain crime will also be discussed, and then a comparison of the theories will be given in order to identify their strengths and weaknesses in explaining youth crime. Theories within criminology try to explain why and how crime occurs. This is done through examining various facts that are related to the individuals criminal behaviour and the crime they commit. There are a wide range of theories which can be used to explain the causes of crime and deviant behaviour from youths. The first theory is the differential association theory by Edwin Sutherland (1947). He developed the differential association theory in order to explain how youths engage in acts of criminal behaviour. This theory defines criminal behaviour as learnt behaviour which is acquired through social contact with other individuals (Hopkins Burke, 2009:104). This theory explains how individuals learn how to engage in criminal behaviour through their attitudes, drive and motive behind the criminal act. An individual is most likely to be involved in criminal behaviour if they spend numerous amount of time with a person who has a criminal background and believes that breaking the law is acceptable. Furthermore Sutherland (1974) identifies nine main factors that can be used to explain why a person engages in criminal behaviour. This essay will now explain the nine factors in detail. The first factor that Sutherland believes is the reason as to why an individual engages in criminal behaviour is because the behaviour is learned. Hopkins Burke (2009) Believes that the actions of an individual are influenced by the people they associate with. It is believed that because the individual main association is with their family, as that is whom they have grown up and live with, so therefore the individual social values and norms are formulated from them. Sutherland also stated that learned behaviour is not invented, nor is it inherited The skills and techniques required for an individual to engage criminal activity are not automatically obtained from birth, or through association with criminals, instead they are acquired through a process of learning (Hopkins Burke, 2009:106). The second principle refutes the idea that criminal behaviour is learned through the individual witnessing deviant or criminal behaviour. Instead this believes that criminality is learned behaviour though interaction with others in the process of communication. Children are accustomed to the norms of society at a very young age, they are taught the roles of both a people around them. They also learn these roles by observing the male or female characteristics relating to the specific gender. For example an individual may learn about deviant behaviour through communicating with the person who is committing the deviant behaviour. The third principle states that individuals commit crime because they are influenced by the behaviour of intimate people such as family members and close friends. Methods of communication from television and or media are less effective in influencing the individual (Hopkins Burke, 2009:106). The fourth factor from Sutherlands theory is that learning criminal behaviour involves learning specific techniques, drives, motives and rationalization. Having a primary group of people around does not necessarily mean that the individual will engage in crime, but it does mean that they have the resources into the criminal rationale. For example being around a person who is has been convicted of sexual offence, may give the individual knowledge into how to engage in the same crime, but the individual may choose not to engage in that crime because they know from their socialization of societal norms that a sexual offence is unacceptable (Hopkins Burke, 2009:106). The fifth factor can be noticed when considering cultures form the United Kingdom and the United States. Both countries have various cultures within them and each culture has different perceptions as to what is favourable and unfavourable within society and this can cause a cultural conflict. This principle believes that the specific direction of motives and drives is learned from definitions of legal codes such as favourable and unfavourable. (Newburn, 2007: 194) The most important principle within the differential association theory is the sixth principle, which is when individuals associate themselves with people that engage in criminal behaviour and believe it is acceptable. This principles states that an individual becomes delinquent only when definitions favourable to violation of law exceed definitions unfavourable to violation of law (Newburn, 2007: 194).The seventh principle stares that differential associations may vary in frequency, duration priority and intensity. The eighth principle believes that the process of learning criminal behaviour by association with criminal and anti-criminal patterns involves all the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning (Newburn, 2007: 194). The final principle states that while criminal behaviour is an expression of needs and values, it is not explained by those needs and values since non criminal behaviour is an expression of the same needs and values. For example if two individuals where both motivated by a need to gain money and respect, but one person engage in criminal behaviour in order to get the money and respect. Whereas the other person engaged in conforming behaviour. So therefore the need for money and respect cannot be used as an explanation for an individual to commit crime (Newburn, 2009: 194). The second theory that will be discussed is labelling theory. This theory claims that deviance and conformity does not emerge from the individuals actions, but rather from how others respond to the actions. Marcionis and Plummer (2005) state that labelling theory highlights social response to crime and deviance. The main academics in this theory were Becker and Lemert. Lemert (1951) first established the view of deviant, and later developed by Becker (1963). Labelling theory has become a dominant theory in the explanation of deviance. This theory is created by the assumption that deviant behaviour is solely based on the violation of norms within society, but also by any behaviour which is defined as labelled or deviant. Deviance is not viewed as the act that the individual engages in, instead it is based on the response other individuals give to the act. Becker (1963) believed that deviance is created through social groups because they make rules which create deviance, and then they apply those rules to particular individuals labelling them as deviant. He also stated that deviance is not the act that the individual commits, but the consequences of the application of others by rules and sanctions to an offender. And the deviant one is whom the label has successfully been applied to. Deviance has been distinguished into primary and secondary deviance by Lemert (1951). Lemert described primary deviance as diminutive reactions from others that have little effect on an individuals self-concept and secondary deviance is described as people pushing the deviant individual out of the social circle, which can therefore cause the individual to seek the company of people who condone deviant behaviour. He further argued that instead of viewing crime as a leading to control, it may be more productive to view crime as something with control agencies structured. Secondary deviance leads Goffman (1963) to define deviant career. Goffman (1963) stated that people who acquire a stigma which is a powerful negative label which changes a persons self-concept and social identity. The individuals is la Criminal prosecution is one way in which the individual is labelled in a negative, rather than in a positive way. It is believed that stigmatizing people can often lead to retrospective labelling, which is the understanding of an individuals past with the present deviance. Lement believes that retrospective labelling distorts an individuals life in a prejudicial way guided by stigma and this is an unfair thing to do. Stigmatizing young people may actually lead them into a deviant career (Hopkins Burke, 2008:172) Howard Becker (1963) claimed that social groups create deviance by labelling individuals as outsiders. Through an application of infraction constitute deviance. Furthermore labelling theorys approach to deviance mainly concentrates on the social reaction to a deviant act committed by an individual as well as the interaction process that leads up to the labelling. This theory therefor suggests that too much attention has been given to criminals by academics because criminology views criminals as types of people and also to the insufficient attention to the collection of social control responses. This therefore means that the police, law, media and public association help shape crime. This is supported by the conflict theory which shows how deviance reflects on inequalities and power. This approach may also signify that the cause of crime may be linked to inequalities of race, class and gender. The conflict theory links deviance to the power of norms and the imagery of the rich and pow erful, which the law society supports. The notion of secondary deviance, stigma and deviant career all demonstrate how individuals can include the label of deviance into a lasting self-concept. Becker (1963) believes that labelling is a practical act that has made politicians aware of which rules to enforce and what behaviour they should regard as deviant. The effects upon an individual being publically labelled deviant have been examined by Becker (1963) he believes that a label is an unbiased onion, which contains an evaluation of the individual to whom it is applied. The labelling theory will be a master label in term of captivating over all other statuses the individuals are under. For example if an individual is labelled as a rapist it will be difficult for the individual to overlook these labels and see themselves in positive roles such a parent, friend, worker and neighbour. Other people will view that individual and respond to them according to the label; also they will assume that the individual has the negative characteristics associated with the label. Eventually the individual will view themselves in that label because their self-concept is derived from the responses of others. This can then produce a self-fulfilling prophecy where the deviant becomes the controlling one. The third theory that will be discussed is the strain theory. Unlike the differential association and labelling, this theory believes that social structures within society can influence individuals to commit crimes. Merton (1938) suggests that there are two types of important elements of social structure; these elements are the cultural goals, the function of the goals and interests. The third theory that will be discussed is the strain theory. Unlike the differential association and labelling, this theory believes that social structures within society can influence individuals to commit crimes. Merton (1938) suggests that there are two types of important elements of social structure; these elements are the cultural goals, the function of the goals and interests. Merton (1938) explains the occurrence of crime and deviance using five responses to strain. The first path is Conformity; this path suggests that individuals could alleviate the strain by changing their cultural goals and by withdrawing allegiance to the institutionalised means. The second path is Retreatism; Merton considered this path to be the least common adaption. Retreats are those who rejected cultural goals and its institutionalised means. Individuals who normally take this path are considered not to be part of society (Hopkins Burke, 2008: 120). The third path is the Ritualism, these individuals are not particularly successful in attaining their conventional goal, but they emphasise on the means that obscure their judgements on the desirability of appreciating the goals. The fourth path is Innovation; this path suggests that when an individual finds that an obstacle inhibits their ability to achieve the cultural goals, the individuals will use other means rather than institutional means (Hopkins Burke, 2008: 121). The final path is Rebellion, Merton believes rebellious people are those who simply reject but also which to change the existing social system and its goals. Rebels reject socially a pproved means and the goals of their society. (Hopkins Burke, 2008:122). Strain theory can cause negative feelings from the outside environment. These feelings include fear, defeat and despair; the most applicable feeling that can occur is anger. Agnew (1992) emphasised that when they become angry, individuals tend to blame their negative relationships and circumstances on others (Agnew, 1992: 59). An individual is incited with anger, low inhibitions and they begin to create a desire for revenge (Agnew, 1992: 60). Agnew stated that individuals who are subjected to repetitive strain are more likely to engage in delinquent and criminal acts, this is due to the fact that the individual becomes aggressive because they are unable to cope and the negative strain may become too much for them (Agnew, 1992: 61). Overall all three theories give a good explanation of youth crime. The similarity between these theories is they all aim to give a detailed explanation as to why individuals engage in crime and deviance. Differential association theory believes that all behaviour is learned and so therefore deviant behaviour is also learned. This theory focuses on key variables such as the age of the learner, the intensity of contact with the deviant person whom they learn from and the amount of good and bad social contacts they have in their lives. Whereas the labelling theory explains deviance as a social process where individuals are able to define others as deviant. This theory emphasises on the fact that deviance is relative and the individual only becomes deviant when they are labelled. Alongside this strain theory explains deviance as the outcome of social strains within the way society is structured. Not all theories give a good explanation for tackling youth crime, the labelling theory states that the label is the route of criminal behaviour; this is not a good explanation because there is a reason an individual becomes a burglar, not because they have been labelled as one. The individual is aware that their actions are deviant and that they are breaking the law. Some academics believe that there should be more research into the labelling theory and why individuals engage in criminal behaviour. The left realist have stated that the idea of avoiding labelling in order to avoid deviance is unrealistic. Also Aker (1994) criticised the labelling theory for claiming that deviants are normal individuals who have been labelled. However the labelling theory fails to explain why some individuals are labelled and some are not. Another criticism of the labelling theory is that it is possible to reject the label. Becker (1963) claimed that once an individual is labelled and accepts the devi ant behaviour, all their other qualities become irrelevant and the label becomes their master status. However there are examples that show it is possible to reject the label. This example comes from Reiss (1961) study on young male prostitutes. Although the males engage in homosexual behaviour they regard this behaviour as work and still maintain their straight image despite working as prostitutes. This study shows that the labelling theory is open to negotiation as some individuals reject the label. Differential association theory and the strain theory can be used to tackle youth crime. The differential association accepts that criminal behaviour is evident across all social classes, and that criminal attitudes and behaviour is learned through interaction with influential groups. In order to tackle youth crime the government will need to introduce organizations that aim at using positive role models to encourage young individuals who do not have positive role models in their lives. By doing so individuals can learn positive behaviour instead of deviant behaviour from people who engage in unacceptable behaviour. The differential theory has been criticised in Glueck (1956) article on Theory and fact in Criminology. Glueck stated that it is difficult to measure the duration, priority, frequency and intensity of an individuals association, so therefore this makes it impossible to predict and measure how the differential associations result in the learning of criminal behaviour. It c ould be argued that the individual did not learn criminal behaviour from an intimate social group, because the duration, frequency, priority and intensity was not sufficient. Glueck (1956) argued that if there is no sufficiency then the theory is not falsifiable which therefore males it defective. Finally the strain theory can be used to tackle youth crime because it explains the strains with society that may influence individuals to engage in criminal activity. This theory can enable the government to improve the social structure within society, for example providing more employment and better education opportunities. Strain theory has been criticised by Cohen (1955) who stated that the theory can be accounted for some but not all deviant behaviour. Cohen also criticised Mertons theory of strain for being too individualistic in describing the adaptations to strain.

Transformation and Mixture in Moby-Dick :: Moby Dick Melville

Classroom discussions of Moby-Dick often result in a heightened awareness of Melville’s depictions of duality in nature; for example, the contrasting sky and sea respectively represent heaven and hell and the foul-smelling whale in Chapter 92 produces a fragrant and valuable substance called ambergris. But interpreting Melville’s Moby-Dick only as an exercise in duality limits the scope of this complex novel. Melville’s contemporary, Margaret Fuller, also seems aware of the confining notion of duality and states in Woman in the Nineteenth Century: Male and female represent the two sides of the great radical dualism. But, in fact, they are perpetually passing into one another. Fluid hardens into solid, solid rushes to fluid. There is no wholly masculine man, no purely feminine woman†¦Nature provides exceptions to every rule (Fuller 293-4). Fuller explains that duality is a limiting and artificial concept, especially when used to describe nature. Transformation and mixture are concepts that more accurately characterize both nature and the writings of Fuller and Melville. Multiple perspectives are ideal for these authors, as is evident in Melville’s multifaceted Ishmael. At the end of the novel only Ishmael survives because he is able to view life and nature in an all-encompassing fashion. Melville is preoccupied with coffins in this novel, exploring the connection that this object has to nature -- an object that is made from nature (wood) and holds another part of nature (a body) after a natural progression has taken place (death). Melville seems fascinated by this odd and frequent custom of humankind of burying bodies inside a wooden box. Even seamen who remain unattached to land, such as Queequeg, desire such a ‘burial’ at sea. This coffin motif begins within the first few lines of Chapter 1, "Loomings," when Ishmael thinks of funerals: Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral procession I meet†¦ (Melville 3). This statement in the beginning of the novel introduces the reader to the coffin imagery that Melville uses throughout Moby-Dick and serves as the metaphor for transformative mixture throughout this paper. In Chapter 110, "Queequeg in his Coffin," Chapter 126, "The Life-Buoy," and the Epilogue, Melville explores many different and interesting representations of Queequeg’s coffin. Queequeg’s coffin cannot be defined only in terms of duality – it is not simply just a coffin and a life-buoy.

Lady Macbeth, Macbeths Lady-Villain :: Macbeth essays

Macbeth's Lady-Villain    William Shakespeare's moving tragedy Macbeth presents a leading lady who is not the usual sort of woman, but rather a contradiction of the typical woman. Let us consider her character in this essay.    In "Memoranda: Remarks on the Character of Lady Macbeth," Sarah Siddons comments on the Lady's cold manner:    [Macbeth] announces the King's approach; and she, insensible it should seem to all the perils which he has encountered in battle, and to all the happiness of his safe return to her, -- for not one kind word of greeting or congratulations does she offer, -- is so entirely swallowed up by the horrible design, which has probably been suggested to her by his letters, as to have forgotten both the one and the other. It is very remarkable that Macbeth is frequent in expressions of tenderness to his wife, while she never betrays one symptom of affection towards him, till, in the fiery furnace of affliction, her iron heart is melted down to softness. (56)    Fanny Kemble in "Lady Macbeth" depicts the character of Macbeth's wife:    Lady Macbeth, even in her sleep, has no qualms of conscience; her remorse takes none of the tenderer forms akin to repentance, nor the weaker ones allied to fear, from the pursuit of which the tortured soul, seeking where to hide itself, not seldom escapes into the boundless wilderness of madness. A very able article, published some years ago in the National Review, on the character of Lady Macbeth, insists much upon an opinion that she died of remorse, as some palliation of her crimes, and mitigation of our detestation of them. That she died of wickedness would be, I think, a juster verdict. Remorse is consciousness of guilt . . . and that I think Lady Macbeth never had; though the unrecognized pressure of her great guilt killed her. (116-17)    Clark and Wright in their Introduction to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare interpret the character of Lady Macbeth:    Lady Macbeth is of a finer and more delicate nature. Having fixed her eye upon the end - the attainment for her husband of Duncan's crown - she accepts the inevitable means; she nerves herself for the terrible night's work by artificial stimulants; yet she cannot strike the sleeping king who resembles her father. Having sustained her weaker husband, her own strength gives way; and in sleep, when her will cannot control her thoughts, she is piteously afflicted by the memory of one stain of blood upon her little hand.