The Duchess Of Malfi By John Webster an Example of the Topic Literature Essays by

The Duchess Of Malfi By John Webster The Duchess of Malfi is a work of genius that has placed John Webster firmly among the best playwrights in literature. It is a tragedy in the tradition of the Elizabethan revenge play but it considerably modifies and enriches that tradition. The central motif is revenge, but the revenge is not taken as a sacred duty but out of selfishness and vindictiveness. The motif for revenge is dishonorable and our sympathies tend to be towards the victim of the revenge rather than with the avengers. Webster was successful in making the revengers, the Cardinal and Duke Ferdinand, look repugnant and detestable, while the traditional revenger was always capable to rouse the admiration and sympathy of the audience. Here we admire the innocence and fortitude of the Duchess, and in proportion hate the two brothers as monsters of inequity. This gives the uniqueness and originality to the play. Need essay sample on "The Duchess Of Malfi By John Webster" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Like most of the other playwrights of his age, Webster too did not invent a story but found the same from a real sequel that was later historied by William Painter in his Palace of Pleasure (1567). The facts of the historical Duchess are as follows: in 1490 she married when she was twelve, and was widowed at the age of twenty. After Antonio Bolonga became her major-domo in 1504, she fell in love with him and secretly married him for which only her maid was a witness. This wedlock was revealed only after the birth of the first child and the arrival of the second caused rumors. When her brothers watched, Antonio took the children leaving her behind pregnant with a third. She was deserted by her household when she confessed about her marriage and after banishment, the Duchess, her children and her maid was taken to Malfi by her brothers and was never heard of again. University Students Often Tell EssayLab professionals: I'm not in the mood to write my paper. But I want to spend time with my girlfriend Professional writers suggest: College Essay Helper Best Website To Buy College Papers College Essay Writing Essays Online In characterization, The Duchess of Malfi is an immense advance over other contemporary plays. The Duchess, the central figure, is a stoical figure who bears misfortune with calm resignation and fortitude. Opposed to her and devout to destroy her are the three Machiavellian figures Duke Ferdinand, the Cardinal and Bosola. But the characters cannot be divided so easily into good or bad. They are beyond the implications of such a division as they are very intricate and puzzlingly complex. The wicked characters have some good in them. That is why Ferdinand goes mad seeing the face of his dead sister; even Bosola is moved and decides to avenge her death. The Duchess is one of the finest creations in Elizabethan drama; no other female character outside Shakespeare surpasses her in vividness and subtlety. Her persecution transforms and her despair renders her personality a lofty and stoic touch. The scene of the play is laid in Italy. The setting to the play is provided by contemporary Italian court life. It is the Italianate Hell. The courts are those of the small independent states into which Italy was divided at the time. They are dominated by dukes and cardinals who are surrounded by their dependents, mistresses and spies. This world when combined with ambition, revenge and lust, motivate deeds of sensational violence. These are usually elaborately planned by those who perpetrate them. Disguise may give the murderer access to his prey; poison may be administered so unobtrusively that none suspects a crime within; the murderer may commence operations by subjecting his victim to an ordeal designed to break the spirit; or he may even try to engineer the victims eternal damnation. There is absolutely no element of surprise in the characters being occasionally haunted, or believed to be haunted, by the ghosts of the perished ones, and that some characters collapse into utter madness. Webster, in this play, shows forth a world that is replete with luxuriousness, deceit, ruthlessness, passion, viciousness and subtleness. Functional imagery adds to the gloomy atmosphere of the play. The most important image that dominates the play can be identified as prison or trap that indicates confinement. In hiring Bosola to spy on their sister, the Cardinal and Ferdinand are setting a trap; and as men trap wild creatures in order to kill them, so the Duchess, if trapped will be killed. The Duchess secret marriage is literally confined within the walls of her chamber, and in this sense as Cardinal says: The marriage night Is the entrance to some prison. The marriage symbolizes a prison in another sense too, for the Duchess, movements and emotions are restricted as those of a prisoner. Physical corruption is suggested by diseases such as leprosy and consumption. There are frequent references to poison and some to magic and witchcraft. Animal imagery is frequent in the play, and is an expression of the degeneration and corruption of man. It suggests the element of bestiality in man. The element of a true story will be enhanced by catchy dialogues. Websters dialogue is undoubtedly dramatic and appropriate. It is light and discontinuous, rapid or deliberate, as the situation demands. The light and the discontinuous line and the occasional, momentary regularity create a style wholly appropriate to a drama of interplay between passion and conscious thought, contrasts of appearance and truth, and inter-relationships of characters who often try to live only for themselves. Webster wished to show a fragmentary and disordered world and at the same time to suggest that there is a fixed order at the back of things. The dramatic dialogue both orders and disorders continuity and disruption. The story of the Duchess of Malfi, the main plot, and the story of Julia, the sub-plot, is skillfully interlinked to form a single whole. First, the same characters figure in the two stories and, second, there are strong parallelisms and contrasts between the sexual behaviors of the two women mentioned. Besides the indomitable skill in plot construction, the dramatist has succeeded in contriving a number of scenes and situations whose effectiveness on the stage can never be questioned. Undoubtedly the play represents the age in which it was born which characterized the publics disillusionment with the human condition, the loss of confidence in mans aspirations and the haunting dread of death. Bibliography Drabble, Margaret. (ed) Duchess of Malfi, The" The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Oxford University Press, 2000. Foakes, R.A., Shakespeare and violence, Cambridge University Press, 2003, pg-9. Fox, Timothy.

Free Essays on The Lottery

The Lottery: Foreshadowing Every June twenty-seventh the villagers in the small town gather in the square for the annual â€Å"lottery†. The children usually arrive first. They play and gather stones in preparation for the drawing. The husbands and fathers are the next to gather. They tell jokes, but â€Å"they smiled rather than laughed.† The men do not seem to be as excited as the children are. When finally the women arrive, the families form into their respective groups and they wait for Mr. Summers- the lottery official- to commence the drawings. There are volunteers to hold "box" from which the â€Å"heads of the families† draw the slips. One-by-one the papers are withdrawn from the customary box by chosen heads of the families. As instructed by Mr. Summers, no one is allowed to view the slips until all the paper pieces have been removed. They are called up in alphabetical order until every family is represented by a slip of paper. Once the drawing has finished they are allowed to look at their paper slips to see who receives entrance into the next round of the lottery. On this day in the story, the one who holds the fateful slip of paper is Bill Hutchinson. With the next round, each of his family members is asked to draw their own piece of paper from the black box. The three children are the first to draw. Little Dave chooses a slip, then Nancy and Bill Jr. is the last of the children. Tessie Hutchinson- Bill’s wife- is the fourth to draw, with Bill being last of the family members to receive his fate. One at a time the pieces of paper are opened to reveal each person’s secret. The crowd voices their relief as the children’s papers show them to be out of prize contention. Bill then opens his slip to find that, he too, will not be able to claim the lottery winnings. Tessie’s paper is opened last, to reveal that she is the winner. She has the â€Å"black dot† on her slip, which had been... Free Essays on The Lottery Free Essays on The Lottery Every society has endless sides to it, which some people may consider certain actions morally wrong while others view them simply as a part of every day life. Shirley Jackson uses many successful techniques to bring her story, The Lottery, to a height of excitement and confusion as the names were drawn to a state of silence or anger when the stones are thrown. Shirley Jackson uses symbolism, diction, and characterization and to show the utmost power ritual has on society. Shirley Jackson implants many examples of symbolism throughout her story The Lottery. She chose them for a purpose or reason in order to pick your mind and make you stop and think about what happened and more importantly why it happened. The first thing mentioned is the date and time of year. June 27th which just happens to be a week after the summer solstice (Windows). It is described as a â€Å"clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day† (Jackson). The setting could not have been a better time of the year for a happily town meeting then a bright, cheerful, yet calm summer day. As the town gathers, a three-legged stool is brought up and placed in front of the entire village and an old black wooden box is placed on it (Jackson). The three-legged stool symbolizes instability most likely among the villagers. A stool with two legs will not stand up, and a stool with four legs is going to be the strongest, so a three-legged stool is right in between, not quite sturdy yet not utterly useless. The black box set on this tipsy stool symbolizes death in most ways (Protas). The box is described as â€Å"black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color†¦[and] made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it† (Jackson). Death is one of the main things in life that is sure to happen at one time or another and having it placed directly in front of the villagers in a old, black, wooden box symbolizes it is going to happen t... Free Essays on The Lottery The damaging effects of blind adherence and religious hypocrisy are just two of the many reoccurring themes mentioned throughout the following literary pieces: â€Å"The Lottery,† â€Å"On The Road,† â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find,† â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† and â€Å"A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings.† This following paper will support its thesis through the interpretations and perspectives of, â€Å"The Lottery,† by Shirley Jackson, shows the damaging effects of blind adherence. In the infamous short story, an unexamined ritual has been taking place longer than living has been alive. This ritual is the stoning of one randomly selected person from town on the 27th of June. This small town continues to enact this ritual though it is considered barbaric in modern times. To understand the present you must know the past. The original purpose of the lottery was to sacrifice to the god of the harvest. â€Å"Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon,† as Old Man Warner said.(Jackson 852) However, the question at hand is, Is the ritual still necessary? According to the introduction to the story, â€Å"The flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.†(Jackson 849) Clearly there is no need for a human sacrifice, it seems that Mother Nature is ensuring a good crop for that year. The harverst god need not be appeased.... Free Essays on The Lottery The Lottery: Foreshadowing Every June twenty-seventh the villagers in the small town gather in the square for the annual â€Å"lottery†. The children usually arrive first. They play and gather stones in preparation for the drawing. The husbands and fathers are the next to gather. They tell jokes, but â€Å"they smiled rather than laughed.† The men do not seem to be as excited as the children are. When finally the women arrive, the families form into their respective groups and they wait for Mr. Summers- the lottery official- to commence the drawings. There are volunteers to hold "box" from which the â€Å"heads of the families† draw the slips. One-by-one the papers are withdrawn from the customary box by chosen heads of the families. As instructed by Mr. Summers, no one is allowed to view the slips until all the paper pieces have been removed. They are called up in alphabetical order until every family is represented by a slip of paper. Once the drawing has finished they are allowed to look at their paper slips to see who receives entrance into the next round of the lottery. On this day in the story, the one who holds the fateful slip of paper is Bill Hutchinson. With the next round, each of his family members is asked to draw their own piece of paper from the black box. The three children are the first to draw. Little Dave chooses a slip, then Nancy and Bill Jr. is the last of the children. Tessie Hutchinson- Bill’s wife- is the fourth to draw, with Bill being last of the family members to receive his fate. One at a time the pieces of paper are opened to reveal each person’s secret. The crowd voices their relief as the children’s papers show them to be out of prize contention. Bill then opens his slip to find that, he too, will not be able to claim the lottery winnings. Tessie’s paper is opened last, to reveal that she is the winner. She has the â€Å"black dot† on her slip, which had been... Free Essays on The Lottery â€Å"The Lottery† For my analysis essay I have chosen to write about on of the characters in the short story â€Å"The Lottery†. â€Å"The Lottery† is a short fictional story by Shirley Jackson. The character I have chosen to write about is Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson. Mrs. Hutchinson stood out for me in this particular story, and I chose to write about her because from the moment she was intro to the story I knew she was going to die. I guess from reading the statement â€Å"I knew she was going to die† you would be thinking that she is a victim in this story. I thought the same thing at first but the more into the story I got the more it became apparent that it was completely the opposite. The more I read the more I tried to understand this small village and all of its traditions. It seems as thought the whole village is a victim to me though, because they loose valuable members of the community each year and they don’t think this is a problem. The character Mrs. Hutchinson sounds like a flat stereotypical female small town villager. The kind you picture in your head when you think about small villages wearing flower dresses and baking apple pies. As the women of the village are being described to the reader, the image of several women standing around wearing the same long flowered dresses with knitted sweaters with different color combinations comes to mind. â€Å"The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters, came after their men folk†. The character is reveled in untimely fashion and by this I do not mean into the story, but she is the only person to arrive late to the village square. When I read that Mrs. Hutchinson was late it reminded me of an old saying that my mother would say to me when I would show up late. â€Å"You are going to be late for you own funeral†. I find this quite ironic for Mrs. Hutchinson for although she doesn’t yet know it she is late for her own funeral. I also find it interesti... Free Essays on The Lottery A Close Encounter with Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson is a story in which the setting sets up the reader to think of positive outcomes. This description of the setting foreshadows exactly the opposite of what is to come. From the beggining Jackson takes great pains to present her short story as a folk story. Slowly, it dawns on us, the terrible outcome of what she describes. The theme learned at the end of the story leads us to think of where the sanity of human beings lies. In addition, the most important conflict is betweeen subject matter and the way the story is told. From the very first sentence of the story, â€Å"The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth......† We are given the feeling of a rural world. Shirley Jackson tells the reader what time of day (10:00) and what time of year (â€Å"summer†) the story takes place. This is important to get the reader to focus on what a typical day it is in a small town. She also describes that â€Å"School was recently over for the summer†, letting the reader infer that the time of year is early summer. The beauty of the day and the brilliance of nature is stressed by â€Å"clear and sunny,with fresh warmth....flowers were blooming profusely and the grass was richly green.† This provides the positive outlook and lets the reader relax into what seems a comfortable setting for the story. The description of the people and their actions is very typical. Children play happily, women gossip, and men casually talk about farming. Everyone is coming together for what looks enjoyable, festive, even a celebratory occasion. However, the pleasant description of the setting creates a facade within the story. The setting covers the ritualistic and brutally, violent traditions such as the later stoning of Ms. Hutchinson, who dared to defy tradition. The immediate conflict is the passions of the townspeople who gath... Free Essays on The Lottery â€Å"The Lottery† The story of â€Å"The Lottery† is a story that is filled with a lot of misconceptions and a misunderstood tradition. â€Å"The Lottery† is a story that takes place in a small foreign town on a warm and sunny day, you will see further down in the paper the significance of the weather. This story expresses a lot of controversial ideas and conflicts that make many people think and reevaluate their culture. It also brings us to realize that there are still many cultures that still use barbarous, ignorant, outdated traditions that have no significant meaning. The theme of â€Å"The Lottery† is focused around the relevance of some cultures and their traditions. In this story there are three main focuses that the author focuses on, they were ignorance, symbolism, and irony. One of the most distinct characteristics of this story is the ignorance; it is based around a very ignorant and outdated tradition. One of the more ignorant things that take place in this story is the stoning of a human for a sacrifice. The most ignorant thing in the story of â€Å"The Lottery† is the fact that they want to stop it, but they continue on to do it because of tradition. In some cases like this one tradition is not important enough to sacrifice a human life for something that has nothing to do with what it is being done for. The story of the â€Å"The Lottery† contains a great deal of symbolism there are a lot of simple things in the story that mean more than they appear to. One of the most important things in the story of â€Å"The Lottery† is the box that contains all of the slips of paper for the lottery. This box represents the tradition of the lottery; there is no significant reason for using the box besides tradition. Another example of symbolism in the story of â€Å"The Lottery† is the significance of Old Man Warner. Old Man Warner represents wisdom and the tradition of the lottery. He is the only one in the town who real... Free Essays on The Lottery The story of â€Å"The Lottery† is a story that is filled with Shirley Jackson’s view of her society. â€Å"The Lottery† is a story that takes place in a small foreign town on a warm and sunny day; you will see further down in the paper the significance of the weather. The story was used to express many controversial ideas and conflicts that can make people think about the culture that they are currently living in. Freidman notes that one of the most interesting points of this story is that the village is a typical society that any modern person could live in, â€Å"Jackson’s story portrays an â€Å"average† New England village with â€Å"average† citizens.† This points out that there could be things like this going on around us with out people even thinking that there is something wrong with it. It also brings us to realize that there are still many cultures around us that are barbaric and use outdated traditions. The theme of â€Å"The Lottery† is focused around the traditions that all people have and re-examining where those traditions come from. In this story there are three main focuses that Jackson has, they are ignorance, symbolism, and irony. One of the largest tools that Jackson uses in this story is ignorance; it is based around a very ignorant and outdated tradition. In one of Raglands critiques she states, â€Å"The Lottery is a story of mediaeval customs and how misplaced they are with in modern society.† One of the most rediculous points in the story is when you realize that they are stoning a human for a sacrifice. The most ignorant thing in the story of â€Å"The Lottery† is the fact that everyone in the town wants to stop the stoning, but nobody will do it because it is a tradition. In some cases, especially like this one, tradition is not important enough to sacrifice a human life. â€Å"The underlying current of evil would have to be the actual barbarism inherent of the lottery itself,† Ragland states. Ragla... Free Essays on The Lottery â€Å"The Lottery† Shirley Jackson wrote â€Å"The Lottery† in 1948, not long after the Second World War. The horror of the Holocaust was still fresh in everyone’s minds. Jackson wrote this story to remind everyone that we are not so far from this world of sadistic human sacrifice. She created a town, very much like any American town, with the gathering of the towns people to celebrate some annual event. She wanted to shine a mirror on contemporary society, a reflection of humanity, or rather, inhumanity. One would think that she was protesting against the shallow hypocrites that rule the world. The town sets up this lottery in a very practical way; there were several things that were a part of the ritual that the town allowed to fade from practice. But the town still saw it necessary to stone a citizen to death once a year just because that was the way it was always done. Shirley Jackson wanted the world to try and find another way, to break away from traditions and be more humane human beings. Once the heads of household have drawn, everyone looks at the slip of paper in their hands and at the same time everyone is praying that it is not their family. Once again the family members draw and each one is praying it is not they, at the same time they know that they are about to lose a loved one. Everyone has felt these same feelings. A friend loses her husband or child and we say a little prayer of thanks to what ever power each of us believes in , thank goodness it was not me. When Tessie Hutchinson realizes that her family has been chosen she says, ‘ I tell you it was n’t fair. You didn’t give him time enough to choose. Everybody saw that.†(233) â€Å"The Lottery† makes one feel guilty for desiring one’s own survival. It reminds us to listen to new ideas, especially ideas that break unnecessary traditions. The world should embrace those that live their lives in a fashion that does not reflect society’s idea take les... Free Essays on The Lottery Symbolism The Lottery In Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery,† set in a small fictional town on June 27, the townspeople gather to conduct a lottery. At the end of the drawing, one of the townspeople will be dead. The symbols chosen to use are Old Man Warner, the black box, and the stones. Old Man Warner is the oldest man in the town and he states in the story, â€Å"seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery†; he is the only person to survive the lottery for seventy-seven years. We can look at Old Man Warner as a legend in that town for surviving so many lotteries. He has been in the lottery so long that he can tell how the lottery and the townspeople have changed, from the first time he was in it; he says â€Å"It’s not the way it used to be† and â€Å"People ain’t the way they used to be†. The black box symbolizes ritual and tradition. The ritual is the sacrifice for the crops each year; the townspeople believe that if they do not make this sacrifice there will not be any crops to harvest for this season. The tradition is that this is an ongoing event, which takes place every year in this small town. The townspeople are accustomed to the tradition that has taken place for as long as they have lived there. Also, I think that the tradition may be getting old and worn out because of the condition that the black box is in, and how it travels from house to house each year. The stones symbolize man’s inhumanity to man because this shows how man can take it upon himself to portray God for as simple as belief that is pointless and is only in the mind. The children set the stones aside to be thrown at the one person that wins the dreaded lottery that every one is so anxious to play. The stones also symbolize death because the townspeople would hurdle stones at the lotto’s winner. Further more, in Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery,† there are many symbols in the story.... Free Essays on The Lottery Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery†, raises many questions in the back of a reader’s mind towards the destructive yet blind rituals of mankind. â€Å"The Lottery† clearly expresses Jackson’s feelings concerning mankind’s evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of the short story with the use of symbols and setting. The setting of â€Å"The Lottery† supports the theme. Settings are constructed to help build the mood and foreshadow things to come. In the lottery though, the setting foreshadows exactly the opposite of what is to come. The story begins with a description of a seemingly cheerful environment. Jackson creates a comfortable atmosphere by describing the activities of the residents of the town. She describes children breaking into â€Å"boisterous play and their talk still of th e classroom† (310). Men and women are gathered in the center of the town talking about farming and taxes or into gossip. The date of the story is June twenty-seventh which Helen E. Nebeker states in American Literature, has â€Å"symbolic overtones which alerts us to the season of the summer solstice with all its overtones of ancient ritual† (102). Jackson’s description of the setting supports the theme of the story by showing how mankind is capable of cruel acts regardless of their environment. Symbolism in the story also supports the theme of â€Å"The Lottery†. The very names of the characters in the story are laden with meaning. The names of Summers, Graves, Warner, Delacroix and Hutchinson hint at the true nature of the characters. Mrs. Delacroix’s name means of the cross in Latin; therefore hinting at Tessie’s sacrificial killing. Even tough Mrs. Delacroix seems to be a friend to Mrs. Hutchinson it is she who is shown to pick up the lar gest rock and promotes other people to stone Tessie. Mr. S... Free Essays on The Lottery When I think of a lottery, I picture someone swimming in a pool of money, throwing the bills into the air, just to have the joy of watching them float back down to their side. I thought that’s where this story was going, because that's how the author sets it up. But even before the tragic end to this story, I started to pick up on some unusual things. First of all, I found the town way too skittish and rather uneasy. I know that I would be nervous for a lottery too, but not to the extent where I feel sick over it. That’s the kind of feeling that I got for the town. â€Å"...most of them were quiet, wetting their lips, not looking around.† This quote makes me pictures a mob of people standing around the black box and Mr. Summers. All of them trying not to make eye contact, staring at their shoes, praying they get to live another year. I went back over this story and read it twice, the second time I highlighted all of the things that I found unusual or interesting. If you look at my paper, almost half of every page is highlighted. Something I noticed was that the women would refer to their husbands as their ‘old man’. I wasn’t quite sure why they did that, but then I thought about the entire story. These people have been growing up in this village for probably their whole lives and each year they take the chance, live or die. If these are grown men in their thirties, forties and fifties, that's quite a long time if there’s a chance that you maybe picked to die in the next year. Old Man Warner was only 77 years old and he was the oldest man in the village. That isn’t even close to what people normally live too. When you’ve got this lottery going on, of course it’s amazing for someone to live 77 years and never get picked especially if there are only 300 people in the town. At first I thought that this town and all of the other towns that participate in the lottery had no real value for life. But ... Free Essays on The Lottery The Lottery In "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to make us aware of the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. The story starts off on a beautiful summer day in a small town. The author describes the day as very excited but strikes a contrast between the atmosphere of the town and the atmosphere of the people gathered in the square. The atmosphere is serious, where the children are "gathered around quietly." (335) The black box is the central theme or idea in the story. It symbolizes at first some type of mystery, but as we read the ending we realize that it is synonymous with death. Someone's fate lies in an dull object, the black box. We do not always enjoy change, even if it might prove beneficial to us. The box is symbolic of our dislike of change; it is old and splintered (337) showing that we cling to what is familiar rather than change and it also symbolizes the traditions of the community. No one in the little town questions the origin of the black bo x, but accepts it as part of their lives. The lottery itself is symbolic of the absurdity of the human consciousness between compassion on one hand and the thirst for violence and cruelty on the other. An example of this is when the children are enjoying a break from school, (335) playing and being children, and suddenly they are being joined by rational adults in stoning a mother to death. It appears that tradition has blinded these people in an irrational way, making them unable to think of a reason why this possibly should not be happening. When forced with the possibility of death, human nature in all its complexity, comes down to one instinctive urge, that of survival. When Tessie was in no danger she was gossiping with the other ladies and even encouraged her husband to go and pick a piece of paper. (338) When Tessie wins the lottery; she pleads for another chance and screams for mercy. She demands that her daughters take their chances a... Free Essays on The Lottery The most common problem with adaptation between literature and film versions is that many of the books many significant assets are lost within the story as a mundane detail. Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery written in 1948 was a very well written piece of work that was very dependent on its characters to set the tone of the story. The director of the film version of The Lottery, filmed in the nineteen sixties, also used the characters to place the overall tone of the film. The director of the film, however, accomplished an astounding feat of keeping the integrity of the literature intact, and furthermore, adding additional life to the characters. The use of facial gestures, body movements, and voices added a life to Shirley Jackson’s story that did not speak falsely of the work, but made the overall situation more true to life. For example, in Jackson’s version of the story she presents Tessie, a wife and seemingly very pleasant woman. â€Å"I almost forgot what day it was† (Jackson 461). As the reader it is unclear as to Tessie’s indications of her comment. One could assume that the character is being sincere in her speaking, but just the same the reader can be lead to assume that Tessie was merely joking around and is very eager about the events that are about to take place. The director of the movie, however, took this scene from the short story and visualized and vocalized the importance of this characters moment with speech and facial gestures. Tessie enters the scene and says, â€Å"I almost forgot what day it was† (Movie). The visualization of Tessie speaking shows that she is vibrantly smiling and looking forward to playing the lottery. The visual interpretation is more efficient because this scene is critical to show an important development in Tessie’s character portrayed later in the story. Tessie’s character change is very important to the story because it shows her true feeling towards the lottery, and ... Free Essays on The Lottery Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† is a rebellious attempt to persuade America that our traditions are being carried on by thoughtless, ignorant men. Jackson tried to symbolize men as being the carriers of death and the women as the martyrs. Jackson places the setting of the story in a very peaceful, small town. She described the day as, â€Å"...clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green (Pg. 83-84).† This gives the reader a sense that everything is perfect in the â€Å"everybody knows everybody† type of town. It’s the typical American town. It’s essentially ideal. The man that she tries to portray as the ignorant man the most is Old Man Warner. Warner has been around the small town for quite some time. He holds firm in his idea that tradition should be strictly followed and never forgotten. Jackson forces the reader to only look at the fact that Warner is just a stubborn, narrowminded man. He criticizes other towns for dropping the lottery, saying that the citizens are â€Å"....a pack of crazy fools (Pg. 87).† Old Man Warner isn’t even happy with the way that the lottery is being run at the present time. He says, â€Å"It’s not the way it used to be, people aren’t the way they used to be (Pg. 87).† Even though the town is carrying on with the brutal tradition in a more modern approach, he still isn’t satisfied. This still doesn’t stop him from proceeding with the stoning. To the reader, he is nothing more than a stubborn man.Jackson doesn’t stop at Warner. There are many other men in th e story with names that have symbolic meaning towards death and doom. Mr. Graves is a prime example of a male citizen in the town with a bit of authority. He is one of the two men that arrange and proceed with the ceremony. His name, Graves, screams death and darkness. The name itself gives the reader a bit of an unconscious thought that Graves... Free Essays on The Lottery â€Å"The Lottery† begins happily â€Å"clear and sunny, with (the) fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green† (255). The grass is describe as â€Å"richly green† and that â€Å"the flowers were blooming profusely† (255). These descriptions of the surroundings give the reader a nice feeling and nothing wrong with this unique town. It also pulls the unwary reader into a comfortable position by making the reader feel as if its going to be a story with a pleasant plot and happy ending. Since when one thinks ‘Lottery’ one thinks ‘lots of money’, but the reader is in store for an unexpected surprise full of changing setting, symbolism, tradition, and terrible acts. The setting in the beginning of â€Å"The Lottery† creates peacefulness and tranquility; it creates an image in the mind of a typical town on a normal summer day and what time of the year the story takes place. The villagers are a seemingly ordinary people in an ordinary American town. Pleasant, friendly, and simple, the men talk about â€Å"tractors and taxes† (255) while the boys run around piling up stones. The time of day is obviously set in the morning and the time of year is early summer. There is also mention that school has just recently let out for summer break, which of course allows the children to run around at that time of day. The location of the town square is put into perspective, â€Å"between the post office and the bank† (255). This picture for the reader shows what a small town this is, since everything is in the center or near the center of the town square. This is a key point because the town square is the location for the remaining part of the story. The town square is an important location for the setting since the ending of the story takes place here. The comfortable atmosphere remains while the residents of the town are introduced. First the children are described as assembling an... Free Essays on The Lottery The lottery begins happily: clear and sunny, with [the] fresh warmth of a full- summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green" (Jackson 1948: 674). Such a beginning lures the unwary reader into a comfortable lull. The villagers are ordinary people in an ordinary town. Pleasant, friendly and simple, the men talk about ,,tractors and taxes"(ebd.) while the boys run around piling up stones. It begins as the perfect day to be alive. The setting set forth by Shirley Jackson in the beginning of ,,The Lottery" creates a mood of peacefulness and tranquillity. This setting creates an image in the mind of the reader of a typical town on a normal summer day. With the very first words Jackson begins to establish her plot`s environment. To begin, she tells the reader what time of day and what time of year the story takes place. This is important to get the reader to focus on what a typical day it is in this small town. The time of day is set in the morning and the time of year is early summer. She also mentions that school has just recently let out for summer break, which of course allows the children to run around at that time of day. The town is one of any normal rural community. Furthermore, she describes the grass as ,,richly green" and that ,,the flowers were blooming profusely"(ebd.). These descriptions of the surroundings give the reader a serene felling about the town. Also, this makes the reader feel comfortable about it as if there was nothing wrong in this quaint town. Jackson puts in perspective the location of the square ,,between the post office and the bank" (ebd.). This visualizes for the reader what a small town this is, since everything seems to be centralized at or near the town square. This is also key in that the town square is the location for the remaining part of the story. The town square is an important location for the setting since the ending of the story will take place there. ...

A Yes-and-No Answer About Hyphenating Phrases

A Yes-and-No Answer About Hyphenating Phrases A Yes-and-No Answer About Hyphenating Phrases A Yes-and-No Answer About Hyphenating Phrases By Mark Nichol When it comes to following grammatical rules by example, the field is a minefield, because many publishers and publications can’t even seem to get it right, and writers must resort to hunting down the correct usage in a style guide or a writing handbook. Take, for instance, phrases of several words in which hyphenation seems to be called for. Is it â€Å"word of mouth,† or â€Å"word-of-mouth†? Do you write â€Å"on the spot,† or â€Å"on-the-spot†? The quick-and-easy answer is, for these and most other apparent word chains, break those chains: No hyphens are necessary unless the phrase precedes a noun: â€Å"I rely on word-of-mouth communication†; â€Å"She made an on-the-spot assessment.† But the game changes for a special class of phrase that, for lack of standard nomenclature, we can call anatomical association: When your dorsal side is opposite someone else’s, you’re standing back-to-back, and when you confront someone, you go head-to-head. This type of phrase is sometimes hyphenated in adverbial form (used in conjunction with a verb) as well as in adjectival form (preceding or following a noun): â€Å"He produced back-to-back hits throughout the decade.† â€Å"She hoped to a avoid a head-to-head confrontation.† Unfortunately, though, even that classification is inconsistent: When you line up among a row of people to your left and right, you’re positioned side by side, not side-by-side. (Though you still hyphenate the adjectival form you stand in a side-by-side formation.) You can live a hand-to-mouth existence, but you’re living hand to mouth, not hand-to-mouth. Some similar phrases, such as â€Å"head to toe† or â€Å"hand in hand,† aren’t even in the dictionary, so the same rule applies; leave open in adverbial form, and hyphenate as an adjective. (Phrasal adjectives usually remain open after a noun, but these aren’t conducive to that syntax anyway.) This maddening inconsistency leaves us where we started: When in doubt, look it up. And what about even longer word strings? You can write that someone has a devil-may-care attitude, and that someone has a not-in-my-backyard mentality, but where do you draw the line and stop drawing that little line we call a hyphen? What if someone has a do-unto-others-before-someone-does-unto-you approach to life? Many such phrases are enclosed in quotation marks rather than hyphenated, which is reasonable for something that would conceivably be uttered and doesn’t play havoc with narrow columns of type (as it may very well have done here). But phrases of manageable length like â€Å"not in my backyard,† even though they’re hypothetical statements, should remain in phrasal-adjective mode. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a US Business LetterHow to Punctuate Descriptions of ColorsDouble Possessive

Economics of crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economics of crime - Essay Example This can lead to more crimes. Soros, G. (2010). â€Å"Why I Support Legal Marijuana: We should invest in effective education rather than ineffective arrest and incarceration.† Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303467004575574450703567656 Svrakic, D.M. (2012). Legalization, Decriminalization & Medicinal Use of Cannabis: A Scientific and Public Health Perspective. Missouri Medicine 90 109:2. Retrieved from: http://www.msma.org/docs/communications/momed/Medicinal_Use_Cannabis.pdf Morris R.G., TenEyck M., Barnes J.C., Kovandzic TV (2014) The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Crime: Evidence from State Panel Data, 1990-2006. PLoS ONE 9(3): e92816. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0092816. Retrieved from: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0092816 d. Both qualitative and quantitative data would be required for conducting this particular research. Qualitative data will involve the views of the people towards this topical subject. Interviews can be conducted in order to obtain first hand information about the perceptions of different people pertaining to the use of marijuana in different circumstances. Secondary sources such as published literature including peer reviewed journals would be used for this particular task. Newspapers containing information related to the topic would also be used. Official data from different organizations and governmental departments related to this subject area would also be used for the purposes of conducting this research. Quantitative data can be obtained through the use of questionnaires in order to establish the number of the people who support the idea of legalizing marijuana and those against it. The number of selected participants will represent the whole population. e. The likely difficulties to be encountered in

Find Natalie Merchants song Gold Rush Brides. Listen to it. Enjoy it Assignment

Find Natalie Merchants song Gold Rush Brides. Listen to it. Enjoy it. Read the Lyrics - Assignment Example The point that the song makes in the line is that the Old American West offered many opportunities, but the opportunities came at a very hefty price. The song emphasizes a very complex reality in which the Wild West people lived. A condition fraught with tragedy, hardship, and risk. In such situations, there were no happy endings but people still continued to press on through sheer grit. According to Barman, 2007, the dominant cultural understanding of the Wild West portrays the vision of a land that lent itself to settlements and a simple context of Indians versus cowboys. It shows that Americans Westerns reduced all their plots line to line. The West was for all purposes and intent an uncivilized wilderness that lacked the amenities and the comfort of the civilized East. As the song lyrics put it, the women in the West suffered through childbirth, the death of their husbands, yellow fever, and even madness. Despite the land out West being free, women had to pay for it with their

Ancient Egypt Essay Example for Free

Ancient Egypt Essay Ancient Egypt was a civilization that emerged in eastern North Africa, and was centered along the banks of the lower part of the Nile River. Beginning around 3100 B. C. , this dynamic civilization would exist for over 3,000 years, only ending with its fall to the Roman Empire. Yet, during its existence, ancient Egypt developed a rich history, as well as a rich culture that greatly influenced the rest of the ancient world and the modern world. Ancient Egyptian culture encompassed many things, but the most important was the spiritual aspect. Ancient Egyptians had no separate word to describe what modern society now calls religion, mainly because their spirituality was an integral part of their life. Therefore, it was believed that Egypt was part of a â€Å"universal cosmic scheme†, and on Earth, it was the responsibility of the pharaoh to maintain stability within that cosmic scheme (19). Another aspect of this cosmic scheme was the multitude of gods that ancient Egyptians worshipped. All the gods were associated with either heavenly bodies or natural forces. However, two groups of gods came to have particular importance. They were the sun gods and the land gods, and considering the fact that nature played such a vital role in the survival of ancient Egypt, it makes perfect sense that these groups would take precedence over the rest of the gods. The sun god commanded the greatest respect and devotion of all the gods because it was the sun that served as the source of life. He also had the ability to take on different forms and names. Thus, he was worshiped in human form as Atum, and in half man-half falcon form as Re (19). Land gods included Osiris, Isis, and Horus, all of whom represented some particular aspect of nature, as well as aspects of the afterlife. Such was the case with Osiris, who represented resurrection and judgment of the dead. The next main aspect of ancient Egyptian culture was its architecture. As proven from the ruins that exist today, ancient Egyptian rulers built large-scale monuments to demonstrate their power and strength, both militarily and politically. Yet, of all the architecture that remains from this civilization, it is the pyramids that still evoke awe in all. Built during the Old Kingdom period, the pyramids were often part of a large complex that was dedicated to the dead. The complex would include not only the pyramid for the burial of the pharaoh, but also smaller pyramids for his family, and rectangular structures called mastabas for his noble officials. Within these pyramids, everything that one needed for the afterlife was there. This was done because it was believed by ancient Egyptians that humans had two bodies: a physical one and a spiritual one, called the ka. The items placed in the pyramid with the physically dead pharaoh were meant to his ka to live on in the afterlife as it had in its earthly life (20-21). Naturally, pyramids cannot be talked about without referring to the process of mummification, which can be considered to be part of the spiritual aspect of ancient Egyptian life. A 70-day long process, mummification involved emptying the dead body of its internal organs, of which the lungs, liver, stomach, intestines, and heart were placed into special jars to be buried alongside the body. The body was then covered in salt, to draw out all the water from the body. Once this was done, the body was then filled with spices and wrapped in layers of linen that had been soaked with resin. The final step was the placing of a mask over the head of the mummy, and then its burial. Through this process, the pharaoh, his family, and his officials were all preserved, with the ultimate goal being they would reunite again in the afterworld (21). The final main aspect of ancient Egyptian culture was its art and writing. Egyptian art was largely functional, often being commissioned by kings and nobles for use in the temples and tombs of Egypt. With regard to the temples, wall paintings and statues of the gods and the pharaohs were meant for spiritual purposes only, in that they played integral roles in the performance of various rituals done by the temple priests. With regard to the tombs, wall paintings and statues were meant to aid the deceased along into the afterworld, serving as a type of guide for the person (21). Egyptian art was also extremely formulaic, meaning artists and sculptors had to follow a strict set of rules regarding proportions for the form and presentation of their works. As a result, Egyptian art had a distinctive appearance that would span the entire existence of ancient Egyptian civilization. One particular characteristic was the technique implemented by artists and sculptors alike, in which profile, semi-profile, and frontal views of the human body were combined to represent the whole image of the body accurately (21). Egyptian writing emerged during the first two dynasties, but did not have a name until given one by the Greeks, who called it hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics, meaning ‘priest carvings’ or sacred writings, were signs that depicted objects. Eventually, they were simplified into two scripts to make them easier to write, but were never developed into an actual alphabet. Initially carved into stone tablets, but the more simplified versions were written on papyrus. As a result, most of the Egyptian literature that exists today is either on stone tablets or papyrus rolls (22) As previously stated, ancient Egyptian culture was quite unique and vibrant. It was also greatly influential, as various aspects of it were adopted by other civilizations. Ancient Egypt served as an early example of how great a culture and civilization could be, and those that followed after it would not have been as successful were it not for the existence of ancient Egypt. Source: Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. Belmont: Thomson-Wadsworth, 2006.

Thoughts :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The strange thing that happened to Tolstoy was that he was overcome with perplexity and an arrest of life. He said it was if he didn’t know how to live or what to do. Eventually they went away but then those moments came back oftener and oftener. The arrests of life always appeared in the question: Why? Well, and Then. I think that the perplexity Tolstoy is evoking in the phrase, â€Å"Why? Well, and Then?† deals with his thoughts about life and death. The why part deals why he should do anything in life. He talks about his son’s education and why he should be involved with it. If he can’t think of why he should be involved with it he cannot be a part of it. I think the well has to do with when he finally figures out why he is doing something he needs to find the best way to do it. The then is when Tolstoy does something; he needs to know what is going to happen when he is done. Tolstoy says without answering these questions he could not live.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tolstoy feels like someone has played a mean trick on him by creating him. He believed that someone is having fun looking down upon Tolstoy and his life. Tolstoy felt this way because he couldn’t think of one single act in his whole life that meant anything to him or anybody. He thought that all of his accomplishments would be forgotten. He thought his life was a big deception. Tolstoy also believed that he had learned, developed and fully grown in his body and mind. He knew that the, potentially, best part of his live was in front of him and he thought there was nothing in life for him now and there never would be. Tolstoy believes that the â€Å"cruel truth† of life is that most people see the bad in things and forget about the good. In the Eastern story about the traveler, the man is absolutely going to die. If he should fall down the well a dragon will eat him. If he climbs out of the well the infuriated beast will kill him. He is hanging by a branch that two mice are nibbling away at. He knows he is going to die. Then he sees some drops of honey on the leaves of a bush. He licks the honey off the branch and it gives him no pleasure.

Public Morality Essay

Public morality is often referred to as moral and ethical standards that are enforced in a society, by the law, the police, or social pressure, and applied to public life, to the content of the media and to conduct in public places. Public morality usually involves the regulation of sexual matters, which include prostitution and homosexuality, but it also addresses the issues of nudity, pornography, the acceptability of cohabitation before marriage, and the protection of children (Wikpedia, 2006). It has been suggested by some that there is a growing occurrence of over criminalization in the United States, that our police, prosecutorial, and judicial time, personnel and resources are being preoccupied with an overload in attempts to regulate public morality. The question has been asked as to just how far our government-sanctioned view of morality should intrude into the private lives of its citizens. If we think about history and what is taking place and has taken place not only in the United States but in other countries as well, it is easy to determine that there is not a phenomenon of over criminalization in this country and that, in fact, the exact opposite may be occurring. Government officials both write and enforce the laws of our society. As a consequence government, and those who comprise it, not only intones their own set their own morals and ethics but they are put into the position of judging those of others. But it is fair to ask whether or not true justice is inherent in this process. To address that question, it is first important to realize that justice is more than just law; justice is the product of morals and ethics (Kropotkin, 1923). Three philosophical outlines in particular can be used to demonstrate this correlation. Plato provides perhaps the most enlightening view of the concept of justice. Indeed, his writings serve as the basis for many of the later philosophers which would follow in his footsteps (Dantzig, 1955). In The Republic he gives us the basis of the existence of our modern-day government and the role of that government in ensuring justice. Through his wide-ranging discussion of the ideas of ethics and morality, however, we are able to establish that government is a man-made organization which enforces the desires of the majority, or at least the most influential, for the most part. Under this philosophical framework, therefore, government might not actually ensure justice but only the desires and wishes of the most powerful segment of our society. We can use either ancient or contemporary examples as to the successes and failures of government in providing justice. Given the various scandals and situations which have evolved over the history of the United States alone, the need for our governmental structure cannot be debated. It is our government which determines our actions and reactions. Nor is it debatable, however, that governmental structure, despite all of its attention to the concepts of ethics and morality, sometimes fails. There are numerous instances of such failures of course but there are also many instances of success. Government, therefore, is an integral if not perfect component of ensuring justice for our actions and deeds. John Stewart Mill and Immanuel Kant offer additional guidance on the concept of justice. Although seemingly contradictory, both Kants famous categorical imperative of reason and Mills concept of utilitarianism provide considerable insight to the inherent strengths and weaknesses of our concept of justice. While Kant approaches ethics from the standpoint that appropriate behavior is the result of social determination and that some thing such as right and wrong are simply principles which are inherent in human nature, Mill holds that terms such as good and right are defined on the basis of which behavior provides the greatest benefit to the largest number of people. Kant proposes instead that there is a categorical imperative in reason. All three of these philosophic views are important in understanding the role of the U. S. government in contemporary times. They prompt us to ask whether moral issues are an appropriate venue for governmental intervention. Should our government intrude on our personal behavior when that behavior does not compromise the welfare of others? The answer is that the sum total of our behavior does indeed impact others. That is true even when we are considering such highly controversial issues as sexual choice and reproductive rights. The problem with our government today is that it is backing off of the moral judgments around which it once revolved. It is not that our government is becoming more intrusive from a moral perspective. Indeed it is becoming less intrusive. If we look to other countries for guidance in regard to the appropriate role of the government in morality we can gain a better perspective of what is wrong with our own system. Japan, for example, is one of the most densely populated nations on the earth yet their crime rate is phenomenally low in comparison to other equally developed countries (Wertheimer and Adams, 1994). In fact, although Japan’s population density is approximately thirty times the density which exists in the United States, Japan maintains one of the earth’s lowest crime rates (Wertheimer and Adams, 1994). Its homicides are less than one-fifth of the homicides which occur in the U. S. , U. S. rapes are twenty-two times the number of rapes in Japan, and armed robberies in the U. S. are 114 times that of Japan (Wertheimer and Adams, 1994). Since ancient times the Japanese criminal justice system has placed an emphasis on traditional morality which simply has not been a component of the American system during any point in our history (Cooke, 1991). Although no penal codes existed during earlier Japanese history, there was enforcement of the moral code (Cooke, 1991). That same enforcement continues today both as a result of specific governmental intervention but also, and perhaps more importantly, as a result of societal concentration on acceptable moral behavior. In the U. S. , in comparison, we have backed off this concentration. We prefer to avoid the outcry of the few who are in favor of such moral transgressions as prostitution, gambling, and pornography at the risk of the majority. While we may consider such activities as personal choice, in reality, those choices affect not just the individual making the choice but society as a whole. References Cooke, Melinda W. (1991, Jan 1). Japan: Chapter 7E. The Criminal Justice System. Countries of the World. Dantzig, Tobias. (1955). The Bequest of the Greeks. Charles Scribner and Sons, New York. Kropotkin, P. (1923). Ethics, Origin and Development. New York: The Dial Press. Wertheimer, Linda and Noah Adams. (1994, Aug 18). Japanese and American Crime and Culture Compared. All Things Considered (NPR). Wikipedia. (2006). Definition of Public Morality. Retrieved April 22, 2006, from: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/publicmorality.

West African Theater Essay

African theatre is influenced by African dramatic traditions and Western theatre. The influence of Western styles originates from European presence, European education , and the artists training outside of Africa. The magnitude of foreign influence varies from country to country. This influence slowed the development of African theatre in Zimbabwe. For example, productions continued to exemplify Western theatre. The Afrocentricity in West Africa in the 1960s was a reaction to the oppression of French Directors. They left a mark on production styles. Examples of such oppression can be seen in the Daniel Surano Theatre in Senegal. This is where the productions of Aimà © Cà ©saire can be seen. The productions of Bernard Dadià © reflect French comic traditions and Jean Pliya is one the many of playwrights focused on the European historical events. The writing of Western playwrights has resulted in a literary style that appeals to a sophisticated and rare audience to which dance and mu sic productions have a minor role in the theatrical arts. Village theatre in Africa is based on the tried and true traditions of music, song, dance, and drama. This produced a fertile foundation for the development of urban contemporary theatrics. Theatric entrepreneurs built upon the traditional village storytelling and borrowed production styles from the European productions performed in West African urban areas in the 20s and ’30s. Concert productions traveled in Togo and Ghana. During the 50s the Ghanaian â€Å"Trios† appeared with Bob Cole and his company performing for audiences in Accra with hilarious dramatizations of the local events. The first professional theatres in Nigeria were produced by the local  actor-managers. The three most successful were Kola Ogunmola, Duro Ladipa, and Hubert Ogunde. They were all Yoruba and started work as teachers by making plays based on the Bible stories in African churches. Ogunde’s first production was The Garden of Eden (1944) in the Church of the Lord. Then in 1945 he mad e a satire called Strike and Hunger. It was based on the clash between Nigerian workers and the European bosses. Ogunde’s success had allowed him to create the Ogunde concert party. It had a style similar to the British concert parties of the time. They performed domestic comedies and political satires between the opening and the closing with interjections of song and dance unrelated to the plot. The popularity Nigerian independence in 1960 brought an explosion of productions in the urban arts focused on new African forms and the disapproval of European influences. This resulted in an imaginative presence in literary and popular theatre that was to be influential throughout Africa. Yoruba Opera companies, also known as traveling theatres, had hit the road. Ladipo produced spectacular productions based on themes from Yoruba mythology and history. His series on the kingdom of Oyo was published in 1964 as Three Yoruba Productions (Oba Koso [â€Å"The King Did Not Hang†], Oba Moro [â€Å"The King of Ghosts†], and Oba Waja [â€Å"The King Is Dead†]), had the power and mythology similar to a traditional Greek tradegy. Kola Ogunmola created comedies portraying himself as the amazing actor and mime. He modified the techniques of Ogunde by replacing the saxophones with the Yoruba drum. He wrote strictly structured lines without destroying the gentility of the social satires. His most commonly seen production is Ife Owo (1950; Love of Money). His greatest success was with Omuti Apa Kini (1963). Although Ogunmola and Ladipo died in the 70s, their legacy lived on as decorated trucks transported Yoruba Opera companies to one-night performances in towns and villages. The Yoruba musical drama Obaluaye (1970) was composed by Akin Euba and it had an impact on the work of literary playwrights such as Ola Rotimi. and Wole Soyinka. Ola and Wole spent many years as university playwrights/directors and their ability to stage their own works led them to have a strong theatric skill set. Wole Soyinka was a brilliant critic and satirist who was the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 86 was regarded as Africa’s best writer. His art reflects the difficulties facing an African playwright writing in English. He moved from naturalistic treatment of his subjects to the Yoruba view of subjects. His early satires The Trials of Brother Jero (1960) and  Lion and the Jewel (1963) are popular with all English-speaking audiences. However the philosophical and verbal complexities in his later works are aimed at the select few. Death and the King’s Horseman (1975) and The Strong Breed (1963) are focused on the impact of cultural conflict. On the other hand, Soyinka’s political satires, such as Kongi’s Harvest (1965), are both raw and entertainment focused. A Dance of the Forests (1963) and The Road (1965) described the complicated dramatic paradoxes of African life through the Yoruba myths. Secondly, Soyinka criticized the myth of th e glorious African past by rejecting the African concept that the revival of African culture has to come from African cultural heritage to be made for and performed to celebrate the Nigerian independence of October 1960. His drama became pessimistic after the civil war in Nigeria. This can be seen in Madmen and Specialists (1970). He also used past historical events and new versions of old productions to create new productions. His rendition of the Bacchae of Euripides was observed by many in the National Theatre of London in 1973. The Opera Wonyosi was a version of The Beggar’s Opera that was seen in the University of Ife in 1977. Ola Rotimi created theatrical English imbedded with African proverbs and idioms. His style of directing made good use of active movement and resulted in enthusiastic responses from universities and popular audiences. Rotimi was best at historical tragedies such as Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (1971) and Kurunmi (1969) which dealt with the Yoruba wars. He also had a knack for satire. An example would be Our Husband Is Gone Mad Again (1966). In the field of directing, Soyinka and Rotimi both made imaginative use of dance and music. Intercultural exchange had strange results in Ghana. In the 60s Saka  Acquaye’s The Lost Fisherman is a musical based on the â€Å"highlife† and it was a popular success. Another success story was Efua Sutherland’s traveling theatre which produced productions based on the village storytelling and local village themes. Her productions in English used the Greek models. Ama Ata Aidoo was the most famous Ghanaian playwright in the post 60s period. The Dilemma of a Ghost (1964) showed the complicated cultural conflict occurring Ghanaian village when a young adult returned from his studies abroad and he brought his new African American wife along with him. Anowa (1970) is a play that deals with the role of Africa in the slave trade and the servant like treatment of women. Commonly, Hausa drama has a strong appeal and originates from the dramatic style of the old storytelling. It is centered on social problems. It is especially focused on the stories involving the Hausa family and its complications with polygamy. This idea has been contreversial in many productions such as Tabarmar Kunya (1969; â€Å"Matter of Shame†) by Dauda Kano and Adamu dan Gogo. Some productions satirize the uneducated people’s dependence on Muslim scholars. An example would be Umaru Balarme Ahmed’s Buleke (1970) and it shows characters who lead the hectic modern lifestyle and continued to hold onto the roots of the old country. The productions are commonly performed in schools and frequently broadcasted on television and radio. Kabbada is an important Ethiopian playwright who created the historically based production Hannibal and it was performed in Dakar, Senegal, in 1966. The most remarkable work of Mangistu LammÄ  is the play Yalaccha Gabbiccha (â€Å" Marriage of Unequals†) and it deals with social inequality. It was performed for the first time in the Addis Ababa in 1964. It is a production showing a family going through a transition from the ways of the old country to the soulless reality of city life. Somali theatre had been firmly grounded since the 50s and is very popular. Many have yet to be published to the mass public. Shabeelnagood (Leopard Among the Women) was written by Xasan Sheikh Mumin and it is a production about a heartless trickster who marries naà ¯ve and young women. It was originally published in Somali and translated to English in 1974. It had its first performance in Mogadishu in 1968 and it also had radio  serialization along with a successful tour. Somali theatre has been compared to the theatre of the Elizabethan era in England because of its unique combination of popular culture and sophisticated art and its capacity to generate interest for a large demographic section of the 20th century population. Personal Analysis Upon analyzing the information it is understood that the European empires injected their artistic theology into West African theater resulting in an entertaining composite style. In some ways this was a positive change for the artists in African theater; it was this change that created a modern African style with the ability to deliver traditional storytelling to a broader audience. Bibliography 1.Abiodun, Rowland, Henry John. Drewal, and John Pemberton. The Yoruba Artist: New Theoretical Perspectives on African Arts. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1994. 9 Sept. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. 2. Ann Wynne, Elizabeth Gunner, and Peggy Harper Jr. â€Å"African Theatre (art).† Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. 3.Ogunba, Oyin, and Abiola Irele. Theatre in Africa. Ibadan, Nigeria: Ibadan UP, 1978. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.

Free Essays on The Cello

The Cello The violoncello, also known by it’s shortened name â€Å"cello† is a low-pitched stringed musical instrument of the violin family, that is held between the performers knees. It is really a bass violin played in an upright position. It has four strings tuned C G d a (C=two C’s below middle C; a-the A below middle C). The tuning pegs at the Peg box are used for tuning the Cello, but for real accuracy, the fine tuners are used. The f hole is used to increase the resonance of the Cellos body, thus making the sound produced louder. The four cello strings are thicker than those of the violin, and are better suited that way to give the cello its unique sound. Rubbing the bowstrings over the cello strings, both in left and right directions, plays the cello. Its range extends over more than four octaves. It is mostly used in string quartets and orchestras. The cello measures about 4 feet long and about 1  ½ feet across its widest part. It is supported by an endpi n. The endpin is a stick that is usually made of metal. It holds up the cello so one can play more comfortably. The cello is thought to have originated in northern Italy in the 1530’s. It was first used as a supporting bass instrument. The interest in the cello grew and in the late 1600’s, composers began writing music for the cello. The cello became prominent in chamber music groups and symphony orchestras in the 1700’s and 1800’s. The cello has come a long way from its starting point. It was made because composers were yearning for a lower toned instrument in their music. The love for the cello sound was immediate and appreciation for the instrument grew quickly. Especially the royal families from the 16th century, they loved the cello and many players started to evolve Weston 2 because of this. Composers also loved the cello. Composers such as Bach and Beethoven gave cello players a challenge in the music they composed for the instr... Free Essays on The Cello Free Essays on The Cello The Cello The violoncello, also known by it’s shortened name â€Å"cello† is a low-pitched stringed musical instrument of the violin family, that is held between the performers knees. It is really a bass violin played in an upright position. It has four strings tuned C G d a (C=two C’s below middle C; a-the A below middle C). The tuning pegs at the Peg box are used for tuning the Cello, but for real accuracy, the fine tuners are used. The f hole is used to increase the resonance of the Cellos body, thus making the sound produced louder. The four cello strings are thicker than those of the violin, and are better suited that way to give the cello its unique sound. Rubbing the bowstrings over the cello strings, both in left and right directions, plays the cello. Its range extends over more than four octaves. It is mostly used in string quartets and orchestras. The cello measures about 4 feet long and about 1  ½ feet across its widest part. It is supported by an endpi n. The endpin is a stick that is usually made of metal. It holds up the cello so one can play more comfortably. The cello is thought to have originated in northern Italy in the 1530’s. It was first used as a supporting bass instrument. The interest in the cello grew and in the late 1600’s, composers began writing music for the cello. The cello became prominent in chamber music groups and symphony orchestras in the 1700’s and 1800’s. The cello has come a long way from its starting point. It was made because composers were yearning for a lower toned instrument in their music. The love for the cello sound was immediate and appreciation for the instrument grew quickly. Especially the royal families from the 16th century, they loved the cello and many players started to evolve Weston 2 because of this. Composers also loved the cello. Composers such as Bach and Beethoven gave cello players a challenge in the music they composed for the instr...

Academic Success in a K-12 classroom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Academic Success in a K-12 classroom - Essay Example to continue their education even after they have qualified the â€Å"continuing professional development.† Teachers may acquire a lesson plan to facilitate and help the student learning and prepare them for their future life. In short, it is the teacher who molds the personality of his/her students. (Oxford, Pergamon 1985) A teacher has an important and a significant role in facilitating the students in order to ensure their achievement goals and targets. Helping the students to achieve their long-term and short-term goals is an eloquent and rewarding responsibility. Goal setting is a process that actuates a student to stay focused and to prevent them from spending time on distractions. Once the students develop the manner of setting short-term goals they can more easily follow the path of achieving the life they wish to lead. I, in my class, implemented a few strategies which ensured that all the students achieved the objectives. I did so by making the students understand the term â€Å"critical thinking†, because to achieve different goals and objectives, critical thinking is an important factor to be acquired by the students. I implemented several critical reading strategies which would help the students to learn accordingly. This is to show the students how to implement critical reading str ategies. Similarly I also made the students practice critical thinking techniques in their homework so that they could learn from the lectures that were being delivered. Moreover I also had them to contemplate as to how the process of critical reading would affect their own learning and facilitate them in the future projects. Some students seem eager and ardent about learning, but many require their instructors and teachers to motivate and actuate them. A few strategies that I usually brought into practice to encourage the academically weak students to flourish revolved around increasing their self esteem. I provided these students with positive feedback to animate and

Are the Internal E-mails The Bast Way of Communication within Research Paper

Are the Internal E-mails The Bast Way of Communication within Organization - Research Paper Example The use of internal e-mails as a communication tool in modern organizations is explored in this paper. The benefits and disadvantages of internal e-mails are critically discussed using also examples of organizations that use the specific tool of internal communication. Moreover, alternative internal communication systems are suggested, at the level that they have fewer disadvantages compared to internal e-mails. It is proved that despite their gradual replacement by other internal communication systems, internal e-mails are still used for internal communication purposes by firms in various industries; the limited risks related to the use of these internal communication tools, as analyzed below, seem to be the key reason for their expansion in organizations globally. 2. Internal e-mails in modern organizations 2.1 Benefits of internal e-mails Internal e-mails have been extensively used in modern organizations for supporting internal communication. The role of internal e-mails as a too l of internal communication can be made clear only if the context of internal communication is explained. ... A similar issue is highlighted in the study of Griffin and Moorhead (2011). According to the above researchers, employees in all organizations are likely to prefer systems of internal communication that are easy to be managed; internal e-mail is considered as a favorite tool of communication for most employees since their guidelines in terms of use are quite simple even for employees who do not have experience in IT systems (Griffin and Moorhead 2011). Another important benefit of internal e-mails has been the following one: internal e-mails, as also e-mails in general, can be used for exchanging files of various formats (Kline 2011). The specific feature of internal e-mails is particularly important, especially in large firms. Saving time and money has been also used as reasons for supporting the use of e-mails as internal communication tools (Kline 2011). More specifically, through the e-mail employees can send or accept documents that are critical in certain organizational tasks; if another means was used for developing this activity, then the cost would be significant, especially if a courier service would be used instead of fax (Kline 2011). Moreover, using the e-mail an employee need not exit from his office for retrieving documents or information required in the tasks assigned to him; he can use the internal e-mail for communicating with a colleague in regard to this material (Kline 2011). In this way, time is saved for working on the organizational tasks, a fact that increases employee performance.