Distinctly Visual Essay Essay Example for Free

Distinctly Visual Essay Essay Explore the ways the distinctly visual is viewed through experience of others Distinctly visual images are viewed through experiences of others, which are significant in developing portraits of the environment and relationships. Henry Lawson’s ‘Loaded Dog’ and ‘Drovers Wife’, produce distinctly visual images through the experience of characters relationships with each other and their ability to survive in the harsh Australian environment. Similarly, John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ looks at the environment, as a way to develop the relationship between characters and as a result creating a distinctly visual image for the audience In the prescribed text ‘Loaded Dog’, Lawson, develops visuals through the use of larrikin behavior in the Australian environment. The emptiness and often-hopeful feelings in the outback are shown through low modality ‘supposed to exist in the vicinity’, representing the hardships experienced in the Australian outback. Lawson creates vibrant visuals, enabling the reader to understand the vivid sounds in the outback. The use of onomatopoeia ‘the live fuse†¦ hissing and fluttering’, creates a distinct visual, and highlights the rich and exciting nature the Australian environment has to offer. Lawson signifies how experiences in the Australian outback, can create larrikin relationship between characters in the text. Tommy the dog, is seen as the troublemaker throughout the text and through the use of anthropomorphism ‘he took life, the world, his two legged mates, and his own instinct as a huge joke’, the reader is able to understand how relationships are developed through the experiences in the gold mining environment. Tommy’s ‘fun-loving nature’ is reflected upon his ‘two legged mates’, who develop humor in the text, in order to create distinctly visual images. Through repetition ‘Run Andy run!’ and vernacular ‘Don’t foller us’, the reader can develop a visual of the men running around in a panicked frenzy, allowing their experiences to create a vivid portrait. The jokey nature between the men allow the reader to develop a distinct visual of the men as ‘larrikins’, and their relationship as fun and friendly. The rhetorical question ‘how’s the fishing going Da-a-ve?’, enables Lawson to  highlight the fact the men create distinct relationships between each other, which led to a comedy of errors, allowing the reader to understand their experiences in the harsh Australian outback. Lawson has demonstrated distinctly visual images, through the detailed and realistic description of people and the environm ent, allowing the reader to depict images in the Australian outback. In the prescribed text ‘Drovers Wife’, Lawson demonstrates that experiences of the isolated and harsh environment creates a relationship with the surrounding Australian outback, create distinctly visual images for the reader. Images are created of her fighting a bush fire, presenting a further challenge for the drover’s wife to conquer in the harsh environment. Lawson demonstrates this through alliteration ‘grass grow’, creating a distinctly visual image, through the experience of the formidable Australian outback. Through colour imagery ‘ big black yellow eyed dog of all breeds’, the reader is able to understand the rough and tough, characteristics that enable the dog to survive in the outback. This colour imagery draws attention to the hard relationship between the dog and the family, and the experiences that enable the dog to protect the family. The Dog creates a distinctly visual image to the reader as Lawson highlights the tight bond between the family and the dog, and the effort they all make to protect each other. This is demonstrated through the simile ‘Tommy, who worked like a little hero’, creating a heroic characteristic that helps the family survive in the unforgiving environment. The relationship between the mother and the kids is shown through the vernacular ‘blast me if I do’, highlighting the empathy the son has for his mother and the distinctly visual bond that has developed. The cruel environment takes its toll on the drover’s wife and her experiences create distinctly visual images. Short syntax ‘she cried then’ demonstrates the relationship between her and the environment and how at times, it gets the better of her, creating a portrait of sorrow. The symbol of the ‘young lady’s journal’, stresses the Drover’s Wife and her ability to leave her womanhood in the past, in order to confront the formidable Australian outback, creating a visual that demonstrates her experiences formed from her relationships in the environment. Lawson creates a text that develops distinctly visual images, through experiences of the drover’s wife  surviving in the unkind environment. In the prescribed text ‘Of Mice and Men’, John Steinbeck creates a distinctive relationship with the characters and uses vivid images to create a backdrop to the environment. Through the clarity of the environment, the reader is able to understand that the environment, determines the moods and relationships of the characters. The simile ‘flies shot like rushing stars’ and assonance ‘the deep green of the Salinas River’, demonstrates where the ventures of the men will take place, and the descriptive language creates a distinctly visual image through the experience of the men. Steinbeck identifies the environment as a warm and peaceful setting through the visual imagery ‘the sycamore leaves whispered in a little night breeze’. These vivid images create a way to understand the natural beauty of the environment, which is significant in that the environment produces different experiences for the characters and therefore creating a distin ctly visual image. Steinbeck uses light and darkness to create symbolism. ‘The two men glanced up, for the rectangle door of sunshine was cut off. A girl was standing there’. The reader is able to visualize the light as hope and dreams, and Curley’s wife, symbolizing the cut off of these dreams. These experiences create distinctly visual images. The relationship between characters Lennie and George demonstrates that experiences of the men in the rugged environment shape the visual images. Zoomorphism ‘Lennie dabbled his paw in the water’ and characterization ‘the first man was small and quick dark of face with restless eyes’, shows the comparison between the men, and how their different characteristics enables a friendship between the men. One predominantly the leader, and the other the follower. The relationship of how the men interact with each other is demonstrated through vernacular ‘they said we was here when we wasn’t’, enables the reader to understand and visualize their experiences. In the related text ‘Loaded Dog’ and ‘Drovers Wife’, Henry Lawson highlights the importance of relationships in surviving in the harsh Australian bush. Through the relationships in the bush, the reader can understand how the characters experiences create distinctly visual images. Similarly in John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’, the environment determines the experiences  that the characters face, which further develops their relationship creating a distinctly visual image.

Buddhism :: essays research papers

Buddhism is a strict religion with restrictions that determines how a follower of the religion must live life. Buddhism is a large part of culture and society in south- eastern Asian countries. In the western hemisphere, there are simply not enough Buddhists to have a large impact on western society. A Buddhists ultimate goal is to reach their state of nirvana. To reach this state, their life is guided by firm presets. Buddhists believe that their lives they are living now were shaped in a previous life. Therefore Buddhists have to reach their own Karma. In order to reach their own karma, a Buddhist must follow the noble eightfold path. These are right views, right aims, right speech, right conduct, right living, self-control, right- mindedness and right meditation. This backbone to the religion is one of the reasons many people can’t follow it. One of the hardest principles for most Americans to follow would be self- control. The Buddhists meaning of self- control is meditation, yoga, deprive the body of sleep, have no contact with corrupted minds and control your diet. Considering that nearly 2/3 of all Americans are overweight, this would be a hard principle to follow. Another principle Americans would have following is, right conduct. Most people can’t be pure in behavior. This means no drinking or doing drugs, no looking at pornographic magazines etc. a lot of people in the united states will also have trouble telling the truth all the time. It’s hard to find a completely honest person now- a- days. The hardest principle for Americans to follow would be right meditation. Meditation requires willingness to suspend all thought, desires and attachments, and remain quiet. In meditation the material world that we live in is seen as a distraction that robs people of their

A MANAGER’S GUIDE TO GOVERNMENT IN THE MARKET PLACE Essay

A MANAGER’S GUIDE TO GOVERNMENT IN THE MARKET PLACE TABLE OF CONTENTS I.INTRODUCTION II.MARKET FAILURE A.MARKET POWER B.EXTERNALITIES C.PUBLIC GOODS D.INCOMPLETE INFORMATION III.RENT SEEKING IV.GOVERNMENT POLICY A.QUOTAS B.TARIFFS V.CONCLUSION I.INTRODUCTION According to Mr. Michael Bay, author of the Book, â€Å"Managerial Economics and Business Strategy†, they have treated the market as a place where firms and consumers come together to trade goods and services with no intervention from government. But as you are aware, rules and regulations that are passed and enforced by government enter into almost every decision firms and consumers make. As a manager, it is important to understand the regulations passed by government, why such regulations have been passed, and how they affect optimal managerial decisions. We will begin by examining four reasons why free markets may fail to provide the socially efficient quantities of goods: (1) market power, (2) externalities, (3) public goods, and (4) incomplete information. The book analysis includes an overview of government policies designed to alleviate these â€Å"market failures† and an explanation of how the policies affect managerial decisions. The power of politicians to  institute policies that affect the allocation of resources in markets provides those adversely affected with an incentive to engage in lobbying activities. The book will illustrate the underlying reasons for these types of rent-seeking activities. The book will examine how these activities can lead politicians to impose restrictions such as quotas and tariffs in markets affected by international trade. LEARNING OBJECTIVES †¢Identify four sources of market failure †¢Explain why market power reduces social welfare, and identify two types of government policies aimed at reducing deadweight loss. †¢Show why externalities can lead competitive markets to provide socially inefficient quantities of goods and services; explain how government policies, such as the Clean Air Act, can improve resource allocation. †¢Show why competitive markets fail to provide socially efficient levels of public goods; explain how the government can mitigate these inefficiencies. †¢Explain why incomplete information compromises the efficiency of markets, and identify five government policies aimed at mitigating these problems. †¢Explain why government attempts to solve market failures can lead to additional inefficiencies because of â€Å"rent-seeking† activities. †¢Show how government policies in international markets, such as quotas and tariffs, impact the prices and quantities of domestic goods and services. II.MARKET FAILURE Market failure is a concept within economic theory describing when the allocation of goods and services by a free market is not efficient. That is, there exists another conceivable outcome where a market participant may be made better-off without making someone else worse-off. Market failures can be viewed as scenarios where individuals’ pursuit of pure self-interest leads to results that are not efficient – that can be improved upon from the societal point-of-view. The existence of a market failure is often used as a justification for government intervention in a particular market. Economists, especially microeconomists, are often concerned with the causes of correction. Such analysis plays an important role in many types of public  policy decisions and studies. However, some types of government policy interventions, such as taxes, subsidies, bailouts, wage and price controls, and regulations, including attempts to correct market failure, may also lead to an inefficient allocation of resources, sometimes called government failure. HOW IT WORKS / EXAMPLE: Under free market conditions, prices are determined almost exclusively by the forces of supply and demand. Any shift in one of these results in a price change that signals a corresponding shift in the other. Then, the prices return to an equilibrium level. A market failure results when prices cannot achieve equilibrium because of market distortions (for example, minimum wage requirements or price limits on specific goods and services) that restrict economic output. In the other words, government regulations implemented to promote social wellbeing inevitably result in a degree of market failure. MARKET POWER Market power is the ability of a form to profitably raise the market price of a good or service over marginal cost. In perfectly competitive markets, market participants have no market power. A firm with total market power can raise prices without losing any customers to competitors. Market participants that have market power are therefore sometimes referred to as â€Å"price makers†, while those without are sometimes called â€Å"price takers†. Significant market power is when prices exceed marginal cost and long run average cost, so the firm makes economic profits. HOW IT WORKS / EXAMPLE: The macroeconomics concept of perfect competition assumes that no one producer can set a price for the whole market. Among companies that produce similar goods and services, all have varying levels of market power, but none are sufficient to effect a sustainable price change. In other words, all producers must compete based on a collective market price. A monopoly is the best example of a company with substantial market power. With little or no competition, a monopoly can, for example, raise market prices by reducing its level of output. ï  ®Market power is the ability of a firm to set P > MC. ï  ®Firms with market power produce socially inefficient output levels. ïÆ'ËœToo little output ïÆ'ËœPrice exceeds MC ïÆ'ËœDeadweight loss ïÆ'ËœDollar value of society’s welfare loss ANTITRUST POLICY An antitrust policy is designed to affect competition. The general goal behind such a policy is to keep markets open and competitive. These regulations are used by different governments around the world although the laws often vary. Broadly speaking, antitrust law seek to wrong competitor businesses from anti competitive practices. The goals of antitrust policy is to (1) To eliminate deadweight loss of monopoly and promote social welfare and (2) Make it illegal for managers to pursue strategies that foster monopoly power. PRICE REGULATIONS Government oversight or direct government control over the price charged in a market, especially by a firm with market control. Price regulation is most commonly used for public utilities characterized as natural monopolies. If allowed to maximize profit restrained, the price charged would exceed marginal cost and production would be inefficient. However, because such firms, as public utilities, produce output that is deemed essential or critical for the public, government steps in to regulate or control the price. The two most common methods of price regulation are marginal-cost pricing and average-cost pricing. Graphical presentation of Marginal-Cost Pricing: EXTERNALITIES An externalities is a cost or benefit which results from an activity or transaction and which results from an activity or transaction and which affects an otherwise uninvolved party who did not choose to incur that cost or benefit. For example, manufacturing activities which cause air pollution impose health and clean-up costs on the whole society, while the neighbors  of an individual who chooses to fire-proof his home may benefit from a reduced risk of a fire spreading to their own house. If external cost exist, such pollution, the producer may choose to produce more of the product than would be produced if he were required to pay all associated environmental costs. If there are external benefits, such as in public safety, less of the good may be produced than would be the case if the producer were to receive payment for the external benefits to others. For the purpose of these statements, overall cost and benefit to society is defined as the sum of the imputed monetary value of benefits and costs to all parties involved. Thus, it is said that, for good with externalities, unregulated market prices do not reflect the full social costs or benefit of the transaction. Government regulations may induce the socially efficient level of output by forcing firms to internalize pollution costs. Example of this is the Clean Air Act of 1970. EXAMPLES OF EXTERNALITIES A negative externality is an action of a product on consumers that imposes a negative effect on a third party; it is â€Å"social cost†. ïÆ'ËœAir pollution – from burning fossil fuels causes damages to crops, (historic) buildings and public health. ïÆ'ËœAnthropogenic climate change – is attributed to greenhouse gas emissions from burning oil, gas and coal. ïÆ'ËœWater pollution – by industries that adds effluent which harms, animals and human. ïÆ'ËœNoise pollution – which may be is mentally and psychologically disruptive. ïÆ'ËœSystem risk – describe the risks to the overall economy arising from the risks which the banking system takes. Socially Efficient Equilibrium: Internal and External Costs PUBLIC GOODS In economics, a public good is a good that is both non-excludable and non-rivalrous in that individuals cannot be effectively excluded from use and where use by one individual does not reduce availability to others.[1] Examples of public goods include fresh air, knowledge, lighthouses, national defense, flood control systems and street lighting. Public goods that are available everywhere are sometimes referred to as global public goods. Many public goods may at times be subject to excessive use resulting in  negative externalities affecting all users; for example air pollution and traffic congestion. Public goods problems are often closely related to the â€Å"free-rider† problem, in which people not paying for the good may continue to access it, or the tragedy of the commons, where consumption of a shared resource by individuals acting in their individual and immediate self-interest diminishes or even destroys the original resource. Thus, the good may be under-produced, overused or degraded.[2] Public goods may also become subject to restrictions on access and may then be considered to be club goods or private goods; exclusion mechanisms include copyright, patents, congestion pricing, and pay television. Uncoordinated markets driven by self-interested parties may be unable to provide these goods. There is a good deal of debate and literature on how to measure the significance of public goods problems in an economy, and to identify the best remedies. Graphical presentation of Public Goods: ïÆ'ËœNonrival: A good which when consumed by one person does not preclude other people from also consuming the good. †¢Example: Radio signals, national defense ïÆ'ËœNonexclusionary: No one is excluded from consuming the good once it is provided. †¢Example: Clean air ïÆ'˜â€Å"Free Rider† Problem – Individuals have little incentive to buy a public good because of their nonrival & nonexclusionary nature. Public goods provide a very important example of market failure, in which market-like behavior of individual gain-seeking does not produce efficient results. The production of public goods results in positive externalities which are not remunerated. If private organizations don’t reap all the benefits of a public good which they have produced, their incentives to produce it voluntarily might be insufficient. Consumers can take advantage of public goods without contributing sufficiently to their creation. This is called the free rider problem, or occasionally, the â€Å"easy rider problem† (because consumers’ contributions will be small but non-zero). If too many consumers decide to ‘free-ride’, private costs exceed private benefits and the  incentive to provide the good or service through the market disappears. The market thus fails to provide a good or service for which there is a need. The free rider problem depends on a conception of the human being as homo economicus: purely rational and also purely selfish—extremely individualistic, considering only those benefits and costs that directly affect him or her. Public goods give such a person an incentive to be a free rider. For example, consider national defense, a standard example of a pure public good. Suppose homo economicus thinks about exerting some extra effort to defend the nation. The benefits to the individual of this effort would be very low, since the benefits would be distributed among all of the millions of other people in the country. There is also a very high possibility that he or she could get injured or killed during the course of his or her military service. INCOMPLETE INFORMATION For markets to function efficiently, participants must have reasonably good information about things such as prices, quality, available technologies, and the risks associated with working in certain jobs or consuming certain products. When participants in the market have incomplete information about such things, the result will be inefficiencies in input usage and in firms’ output. †¢Participants in a market that have incomplete information about prices, quality, technology, or risks may be inefficient. †¢The Government serves as a provider of information to combat the inefficiencies caused by incomplete and/or asymmetric information. Government Policies Designed to Mitigate Incomplete Information †¢OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) – the regulations are carried out by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). One of the more severe causes of market failure is asymmetric information, a situation where some market participants have better information than others †¢SEC (Security and Exchange Commission) †¢Certification – Another policy government uses to disseminate information and reduce asymmetric information is the certification of skills and/or authenticity. The purpose of certification is to centralize the cost of gathering information. †¢Truth in lending – Regulation Z and TLSA require that all creditors comply with the act. A creditor is defined as anyone who loans money subject to a finance charge, where the money is to be paid back in four or more installments. A creditor must also be the person to whom the original obligation is payable. TLSA has some exemptions regarding the types of loans covered, the most notable being business, agricultural, and commercial loans. †¢Truth in advertising – This advantage may give firms an incentive to make false claims about the merits of their products to capitalize on consumers’ lack of information. †¢Contract enforcement – Another way government solves the problems of asymmetric information is through contract enforcement. For example, suppose your boss â€Å"promised† you payment for labor services at the end of the month. After you have worked for a month, your boss refuses to pay you—in effect gaining a month’s worth of your labor for free. III.RENT SEEKING Rent seeking is an attempt to obtain economic rent by manipulating the social or political environment in which economic activities occur, rather than by creating new wealth. A simple definition of rent seeking is spending resources in order to gain by increasing one’s share of existing wealth, instead of trying to create wealth. †¢Government policies will generally benefit some parties at the expense of others. †¢Lobbyists spend large sums of money in an attempt to affect these policies. †¢This process is known as rent-seeking. An Example: Seeking Monopoly Rights †¢Firm’s monetary incentive to lobby for monopoly rights: A †¢Consumers’ monetary incentive to lobby against monopoly: A+B. †¢Firm’s incentive is smaller than consumers’ incentives. †¢But, consumers’ incentives are spread among many different individuals. †¢As a result, firms often succeed in their lobbying efforts. IV.GOVERNMENT POLICY Sometimes rent seeking manifests itself in the form of government involvement in international markets. Such policies usually take the form of tariffs or quotas that are designed to benefit specific firms and workers at the expense of others. In this section, we will examine how government tariff and quota policies affect managerial decisions. QUOTA ïÆ'ËœLimit on the number of units of a product that a foreign competitor can bring into the country. ïÆ'ËœReduces competition, thus resulting in higher prices, lower consumer surplus, and higher profits for domestic firms. TARIFF ïÆ'ËœLump sum tariff: a fixed fee paid by foreign firms to enter the domestic market. ïÆ'ËœExcise tariff: a per unit fee on each imported product. †¢Causes a shift in the MC curve by the amount of the tariff which in turn decreases the supply of all foreign firms. V.CONCLUSION ïÆ'ËœMarket power, externalities, public goods, and incomplete information create a potential role for government in the marketplace. ïÆ'ËœGovernment’s presence creates rent-seeking incentives, which may undermine its ability to improve matters.

Japans Untouchables The Burakumin

Burakumin is a polite term for the outcasts from the four-tiered Japanese feudal social system. Burakumin literally means simply people of the village. In this context, however, the village in question is the separate community of outcasts, who traditionally lived in a restricted neighborhood, a sort of ghetto. Thus, the entire modern phrase is hisabetsu burakumin - people of the discriminated (against) community.  Burakumin are not members of an ethnic or religious minority - they are a socioeconomic minority within the larger Japanese ethnic group. Outcast Groups A buraku (singular) would be a member of one of the specific outcast groups—the eta, or defiled ones/filthy commoners, who performed work that was considered impure in Buddhist or Shinto beliefs, and the hinin, or non-humans, including ex-convicts, beggars, prostitutes, street-sweepers, acrobats and other entertainers. Interestingly, an ordinary commoner could also fall into the eta category through certain unclean acts, such as committing incest or having sexual relations with an animal. Most eta, however, were born into that status. Their families performed tasks that were so distasteful that they were considered permanently sullied - tasks such as butchering animals, preparing the dead for burial, executing condemned criminals, or tanning hides. This Japanese definition is strikingly similar to that of the dalits or untouchables in the Hindu caste tradition of India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Hinin were often born into that status as well, although it could also arise from circumstances during their lives. For example, the daughter of a farming family might take work as a prostitute in hard times, thus moving from the second-highest caste to a position completely below the four castes in a single instant. Unlike eta, who were trapped in their caste, hinin could be adopted by a family from one of the commoner classes (farmers, artisans or merchants), and could thus join a higher status group. In other words, eta status was permanent, but hinin status was not necessarily. History of the Burakumin In the late 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi implemented a rigid caste system in Japan. Subjects fell into one of the four hereditary castes - samurai, farmer, artisan, merchant - or became degraded people below the caste system. These degraded people were the first eta. The eta did not marry people from other status levels, and in some cases jealously guarded their privileges to perform certain types of work such as scavenging the carcasses of dead farm animals or begging in particular sections of a city. During the Tokugawa shogunate, although their social status was extremely lowly, some eta leaders became wealthy and influential thanks to their monopoly on distasteful jobs. After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the new government headed by the Meiji Emperor decided to level the social hierarchy. It abolished the four-tiered social system, and beginning in 1871, registered both eta and hinin people as new commoners. Of course, in designating them as new commoners, the official records still distinguished the former outcasts from their neighbors; other kinds of commoners rioted to express their disgust at being grouped together with the outcasts. The outcasts were given the new, less derogatory name of burakumin. More than a century after burakumin status was officially abolished, the descendants of burakumin ancestors still face discrimination and sometimes even social ostracization. Even today, people who live in areas of Tokyo or Kyoto that were once the eta ghettos can have trouble finding a job or a marriage partner because of the association with defilement. Sources: Chikara Abe, Impurity and Death: A Japanese Perspective, Boca Raton: Universal Publishers, 2003.Miki Y. Ishikida, Living Together: Minority People and Disadvantaged Groups in Japan, Bloomington:iUniverse, 2005.

Sophocles Suggests - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1066 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/05/28 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Antigone Essay Did you like this example? All over the world, different cultures integrate the belief that everything on the plant, or if nothing else at least peoples lives, are predestined by natural or paranormal forces. That there are objective and enlightened beings which initiate everything that develops in nature, and that these beings are known as gods. The philosopher Sophocles to some extent believed that everything on the planet is fated and no one has control over what happens. Sophocles shows us that although every character has a different perspective on the same situation, and they react accordingly, they cannot change their destiny. By promoting the idea of fate and destiny, Sophocles suggests that everything in the world is predestined and no one has control over what happens. He hints at the idea that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable. Your prayers are done. Man cannot flatter Fate, And punishments must come(251). Through this phrase, Sophocles provides insight on the idea that humans cannot flatter or change fate no matter how intensive our efforts are. He shows that we cannot fight against the relentless laws of fate. At best we may discover what our fate is, but even then, we can only surrender. Destiny directs the person who follows voluntarily, and those who resist are pulled along by force, and this is reiterated throughout the play. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Sophocles Suggests" essay for you Create order Each time a character obtains some knowledge concerning their future, they take steps to evade that destiny, and those same steps end up leading them right back to that destined path. Sophocles reveals, that the knowledge of our destiny affects the actions we take, and this, in turn, solidifies our fates even more. Another example of how Sophocles reveals that everything in the world is predestined is through Tiresias A corpse for a corpse the price, and flesh for flesh, one of your own begotten(239). With this, Tiresias essentially tells Creon that he will pay the price for Antigoners death with his own sonrs life. Ultimately this prophecy also ends up getting fulfilled. This further illuminates the idea that everything is predetermined. Sophocles is showing us just how powerful our destiny is and that no matter what we do avoid it, we will have to face it eventually. This idea that everything is predetermined and that our timeline is already set is quite a new concept for us in the modern era and brings up many questions. Does knowing our destiny give us purpose or does it limit and restrict us? People are not constrained by destiny, rather by the learning and understanding of their destiny. Sophocles shows that although fate was thought of as something baffling and absolutely perplexing, people desired to discern its intentions by turning to the oracles. Through these oracles, Sophocles brings in different prophecies, and the knowledge of these prophecies sparks the characters to take action in different ways. By showing Antigone the fate of her brothers, Sophocles ignites a spark that carries throughout the play. Antigone believes that she still needs to bury her brother because it is an offense to the Gods to leave a family member unburied. Antigoners fate was sealed as she decided to bury her brother and face the consequences. When Ismene realizes that Antigone is serious about burying Polyneices she says You frighten me Antigone simply replies Do not fear for me.(194) At this point Antigone makes it clear that she is doing what she must, to follow the fate that has been decided by the Gods. She is not going to fight this fate. She knows that following the fate and laws of the Gods is more important than following the laws of man. Because Antigone knew her fate and that it would ultimately lead to imprisonment or death, she gave in and let it consume her by committing suicide. After learning our destiny we tend to only see one path or course of action and this causes us to forget about the other paths in life. We then focus on how or how not to follow that one path. Once we know our fate, it is only human nature to either embrace it or try to avoid it, but sometimes our ego can prevent us from doing either or them. Sophocles shows us that human nature and ego are the reasons why we cannot change our destinies. At the point when Creon visits the prophet Tiresias, he comes to pass on a notice, not an unavoidable destiny. He expresses that Creon has settled on an awful decision, however that he can still recover. To err is human, true, and only he is damned who having sinned will not repent, will not repair(237). With this Sophocles gave Creon more of a choice for this situation and Creon is shown to have control over what occurs, while Oedipus never had a choice, his fate was sealed. Creon had a sizable ego, however, until he passed the point of no return and he was caught in the grasp of a horrible destiny that he could not escape. Sophocles shows us, that humans cannot change their destinies because of their nature as humans coupled with substantial egors. He also shows that Creonrs ego is so vast that even after Tiresias warned him, he thought that only he was right and went on to besmirch the reputation or Tiresias. He went as far as to call all prophets, a money-grubbing race and still a crook(238/239). This solidifies Sophocles point to a large extent and shows how egotistic people can be, and because of this, we cannot change our destinies. Sophocles suggests that the average human cannot get past his/her ego and this causes us to be prisoners of fate. Sophocles draws attention to the concept that people cannot alter their destinies because everything is already determined and because of human nature. It is of paramount importance that we understand why Sophocles brings in the concept of fate and destiny in his plays. Sophocles is a widely studied philosopher and his ideas are what shape our perception of Greek civilization, so if we understand what he believed in, then that in turn provides us with insight on what the Greek people as a whole believed. This use of fate as destiny to explain events in the play and in real life provide us with a better understanding of the play and the Ancient Greek civilization as well.

Gay Marriage Should Be Legal - 1019 Words

In Defense of Gay Marriage Right now our country is still dealing with one of the bigger social issues that plagues our society. People will argue for and against it in many different ways, whether it be right or wrong. The issue at hand is whether gay marriage should be legal or illegal. There are arguments on both sides of the spectrum, but at the end of the day gay marriage should be legal in all 50 states. Marriage is a right and freedom that should not be denied to any one person because of sexual orientation. In the last 3 years, the legalization of gay marriage has spiked. As of right now, according to gaymarriage.procon.org, there are currently 37 states that have legalized gay marriage. Since 2012, 31 states have legalized it. The first one to do it, though, was Massachusetts way back in 2003. I then took five more years before Connecticut would become the second state to legalize. But of the 13 states that have yet to legalize it, eight of those states legalized it, then ha d it overturned and now face an appeals process to sort out the matter. The other 5 states have ceased to do anything to change the law. As time progresses, more and more people are supporting gay marriage. According to the Pew Research Center, over 54% of Americans are in support of gay marriage. If you look even as far back as 1996, only 27% of people supported it. If you break it down into how each generation views it, 68% of Millennials are in favor of it. Compare that to the SilentShow MoreRelatedGay Marriage Should Be Legal1205 Words   |  5 PagesHoward Sociology 1301-93431 Gay Marriage Getting married is something that most people do when they find love, which it is an important event in their life. The GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) community now get the legal right of same-sex marriage, which they have fought for throughout the years; on the other hand, some opponents of same-sex marriage have called for a constitutional change towards it. Although there w ere some countries that allowed gay marriage before the United StatesRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal1159 Words   |  5 PagesAmendment, which puts a ban on gay marriage. This amendment entitles to equal rights to the gay community, ending toleration of discrimination in jobs, rights protecting gays from hate crimes,rights allowing advancement in government. However, the concept of gay marriage is still not considered a right the American people should extend to homosexuals. II. The vast majority of opponents believe marriage should be between one woman and one man, meaning marriage should be between members of the oppositeRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal1574 Words   |  7 Pagesequal rights. 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How Valid Is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis free essay sample

The debate on whether ‘language is the dress of thought’ originates in ancient Greece when Aristotle discussed the possibility that the thinking pattern influences to a certain degree the evolution of language (He, 2011: 1). The concept that language is ‘merely a reflection of thought and the objective world’ (He, 2011: 1) was re-examined several times throughout history; the conclusions drawn give us a new interpretation of language determinism. This essay will examine the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of language relativity and it will attempt to define the concept as well as to establish whether it was a turning point for reconsidering the correlation between culture, thought and language. While taking into consideration the contribution of Sapir and Whorf in highlighting the significance of the language in the process of understanding one’s ‘kaleidoscopic diversity of different worldviews ’(He, 2011: 1), the essay will also question the validity of the theory examining different tests and experiments conducted in this field. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis conceptualizes the idea that one’s thoughts and behaviour are dictated by his language. This theory can be broken down into two associated principles (The Linguist List, n. y) The first principle, linguistic determinism, sustains that way we see and think about the world is influenced by our language (â€Å"‘Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society) (Sapir cited in Chandler, 1994: 1). This theory can be divided into two contrasting ideas: strong determinism and â€Å"weak’ determinism. According to the first, language and thought are identical. Moreover, the language’s structure is said to influence or determine the individual’s sense of existence and to provide a framework for acquiring knowledge throughout life. This theory is nowadays generally rejected because it is hard to prove, and it suggests that bilingualism and translation are not possible. Many linguists have, however, accepted the †weaker† version of determinism, which says that language merely affects or influences the way we think but does not determine the way we act (University Of Virginia, 2006: 1 – 2) . Additionally, this is thought to be a ‘two-way process’; the type of language one uses is also affected by one’s â€Å"world view†. The social context of the language is also emphasised (example: the pressure of using a certain kind of language in specific contexts) (Chandler, 1994: 3). The second principle, linguistic relativity, shapes the idea that people brought up in different cultures, therefore speaking different languages, will not think or see the world in a similar way (â€Å"‘We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native languages( )We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it in this way an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language†. ) (Whorf, 1940 cited in Chandler, 1994:1). Various languages carve up and sketch the world in various ways. This not only underlies that the language one speaks will affect the way in which he thinks about the world but that it will also influence one’s way of reasoning in different circumstances (University Of Virginia, 2006: 2). Challenges: Having explained the basic principles behind the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, it is, however, important to note it’s limitations as well. To what extent the Sapir-Whorf theory can be used has been a high subject of debate for several decades. (Thompson, 1997: 85-86) One point often highlighted is that, whilst the hypothesis indicates certain correlations between one’s language and one’s culture, it does not prove clearly that the individual’s view of the world is somehow changed (Thompson, 1997: 86). If people of Zimbabwe who speak Shona have only three main terms for naming colours, that does not mean that the way they see the world is different from a French speaker’s. They see the world in a similar way; their eyes are not biologically different. It simply means that for them is more difficult to describe colours. â€Å"Their ‘code’ is not so handy; the colours’ codability is lower† (Thompson, 1997: 86). Specialists argue that all humans see the same reality; the only distinction is in the way the language is constructed: different words and phrases to express that reality (Thompson, 1997: 87). The Inuit population might have more words for snow than Americans do, and Americans might have more terms for cars that Eskimos; however, that does not signify that one or another are unable to understand the things described with a different vocabulary (He, 2011: 3). Furthermore, given the current high  profile  debate  of this subject, other limitations can be added as well. For example, it also suggests that people speaking the same language share the same ‘believes and social practices’ and they all look at and interpret the world in the same way (He, 2011: 3). In fact, even if they share the same language, members of the same community might develop their own understanding of life and see the world in a ‘unique light’. This is mostly determined by various other factors, social or psychological experiences. Moreover, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis does not give a concrete explanation of the fact that we sometimes think about things that are hard to express in our native tongue but easier in others. That does not stop us from thinking about them or understanding them (He, 2011: 3-4). A third possible critique of extreme Whorfianism is the notion of translatability and the possibility of learning additional languages, both deemed to be impossible if we are to believe the language’s predetermining role on cognition and thought (HE, 2011: 3). If we agree that one’s language determines one’s way of thinking, then it could also be said that some ideas and concepts would only make sense in the language that they were first ‘born’ in. As an example, the poet Pablo Neruda stated that when his poems are translated into other languages, the words do not correspond in terms of â€Å"vocalization, or in the placement, or the colour, or the weight† (Neruda cited in Parr-Davies, 2001: 2). Nevertheless, he admitted that the general meaning of what he was trying to transmit was well captured (Parr-Davies, 2001: 3). Evidence: It can be seen from the above analysis that many linguists disagreed to a certain extent with the Whorfianism view, and continued to deny some of its principles. However, evidence to support or to deny the existence of a connection between language and behavioural patterns was proved hard to find; one cannot ask random people whether their language determines their conduct and thinking; it would be fruitless, for the language is so deeply ‘stamped’ into their subconscious that it would be impossible for them to think of another way of understanding the world (Thompson, 1997: 84). While such failures must not be discounted, there are some theories and experiments that tend to confirm to a certain extent the validity of moderate Whorfism. Vocabulary differences have behavioural effects. One example supporting this theory is the fact that the way in which the grammatical structure is constructed can have a certain impact over one’s behaviour. The structure of Navajo verb forms suggests the shape and the flexibility of certain objects (University Of Colorado, 2007: 2). Carroll and Casagrande conducted an experiment to see how Navajo children group certain objects. They were given a blue stick and were asked which one goes better with it: a yellow stick or a blue rope? English children chose the blue rope (colour) while, unsurprisingly, the Navajo children chose the yellow stick (shape) (University Of Colorado, 2007: 3). Further proof for linguistic relativity can be found in the experiment conducted by Carmichael, Hogan amp; Waller (cited in Parr-Davies, 2001: 4). The subject was shown different shapes with a description underneath. To exemplify, one would see this image: This was either given the label the letter C either the crescent moon. The subject was then asked to redraw from memory what he had seen; invariably, the drawing was changed to look more similar to the label given, therefore proving that language can affect thought (Parr-Davies, 2001: 4). Conclusion: Whilst this does perhaps partially prove the theory, there is evidence for the contrary. The fact that there are up to 7,000 different languages spoken around the globe (BBC, 2007), each with its own culture, is to a certain extent a supporting evidence for Whorf’s theory (Thompson, 1997: 86).