Antigone vs. Juliet

Written by Sophocles, Antigone is an ancient Greek tragedy that discusses two girls’ decision to bury their dead brother despite the fact that the king will execute anyone who tries to do so. Should they honor the god’s laws, but risk their own lives in the process? On the other hand, Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare about two young lovers from feuding families. The play ends in much grief as both of the lovers die due to unfortunate circumstances. While these two pieces of text are very different, they still share certain commonalities. For instance, the two main female characters, Antigone and Juliet, possess similar personality characteristics, such as rashness, loyalty, and courage, which help classify them in the archetype of a tragic heroine. To begin with, both Antigone and Juliet are very brave and rebellious. They are strong characters who fight for what they want and what they feel is right. For example, Antigone is willing to bury her brother Polyneices even though she knows that she is putting her own life on the line. Her sister Ismene warns her of the risks, but Antigone knows that she will put into action what she feels she is morally obligated to do. Similarly, Juliet shows these daring personality traits. During Shakespearean times, parents arranged marriages for their children, and daughters were expected to be obedient and respectful towards their parents. However, Juliet goes against her father because of her love for Romeo. She openly disrespects her authority, which leads to her being threatened of being left out on the streets; these actions certainly take a lot of bravery. Additionally, both of these characters use their fearlessness to rebel against fate when they commit suicide. Antigone is caught for burying Polyneices, but Antigone kills herself first so that she can die at her own hand. Juliet stabs herself with a dagger so that she can die with Romeo, her one true love. Both of these stubborn and defiant women refused to accept their fate, so they took it into their own hands. Clearly, these two ladies are strong and act on their own terms. Added to that, Antigone and Juliet are both impatient in their behavior. Their reckless and impulsive choices lead to misery in their lives. For example, Antigone is being rash when she decides to bury her brother. Instead of thinking of a logical and practical plan, she wants to immediately break the law to get it done. If Antigone had talked to Creon about her thoughts, she might have swayed his decision. After all, they are family, and Creon does understand that it would be the moral thing to do. Unfortunately, Antigone acts too quickly, and the tragic events unravel soon afterwards. Furthermore, Antigone kills herself in the tomb before she can be saved by Creon. She makes the hasty choice to end her life, but is unaware of the fact her life could have been saved just a few moments later. Comparatively, Juliet also shows that she is an impatient person. Firstly, her love with Romeo was very rushed. They meet, pronounce their love, and marry all in just a couple of days. The rational thing to do would be to slow down their relationship; Friar Lawrence advises them to do so because long love prospers. However, Juliet and Romeo disregard his advice, and they quickly profess to each other and become husband and wife. Their hurried actions create problems in the future. Sadly, both of the characters must suffer for the choices that they make. Lastly, Antigone and Juliet are very loyal. While they are rash and rebellious, they are still very honorable people. Being a tragic heroine, it’s important to be respected by the audience. Antigone shows her loyalty when she wants to bury her brother. Firstly, her strong desire to honor her sibling displays the love that she has for her family. Furthermore, she shows how noble she is because she wants to do the right thing no matter what. She chooses to honor the god’s laws instead of King Creon’s law. Juliet is also a loyal character because she always stays true to Romeo. Her love lies with her husband, and she does everything she can to be with him and she never betrays him. For instance, she disobeys her parents by choosing not to marry Paris, and she also takes a potion to fake her death despite her many fears. She fears that she will be killed by the potion, wake up before Romeo arrives to her in the tomb, or go insane because of it, but she throws her fears away and drinks it anyways because of her loyalty to Romeo. This shows a lot of her character and who she really is. Furthermore, she even goes as far as killing herself to be with her husband, even in the afterlife. No one can say that these two characters don’t stay true to what they believe in. In summary, these two characters’ rashness, bravery, and honor demonstrate how they are perfect examples of a tragic heroine. Their flaws have led them to mistakes in judgment and other future complications. In this case, both of these females are rash and impatient. However, they are still respected and are good people despite their faults, so they are still liked by the audience. These qualities, found in Juliet and Antigone, represent the epitome of the tragic heroine archetype.

Gender Roles In Primates Essay

Primate behavioral and biological research has resulted in a huge number of observations that has served as basis in understanding gender roles among their closest relatives, the humans. Earlier concepts of gender differences among primates only described that female primates influenced the organization structure of primate groups. After comprehensive analyses of primate behavior for several decades, it has now been determined that female primates serve as the foundation for primate social organization, acting as the prime individuals that shape the structure of the society, as well as mold the dynamics of primate groups (Gagneux et al. , 1999). More importantly, observations from kin selection among primates have facilitated the understanding of human sexual behavior. Primate behavioral studies have examined that the females of several primate species have diverse roles in their kin, as well as in the primate social groups. The significant increase in information associated with primate behavior has been observed in the past decade and the amount of information is massive that it has circumvented the previous knowledge on primate behavior and social roles in the past centuries. Another primate behavioral feature that has been of interest to primatologists and anthropologists is primate dominance. Earlier studies have described that male primates have an inherent characteristic of dominance, which thus can be translated to the dominant personalities among humans. However, a novel characteristic that was recently reported involved the behavior of female primates, wherein females were observed to be highly competitive among their groups, which explains the human aspect of competition among women over different issues in life. In addition, primate studies have also shown that female primates are very resourceful in finding ways in solving issues on daily living in the wild, including searching for food, a place to live and even finding worthwhile mates for offspring production (Pope, 2000). The female primates are also independent wherein they have the inherent ability of constructing contraptions and methods that would help in their survival in the wild. Such observation among female primates helps in the understanding of human females and their ability to easily adapt to different situations in life, better than their human male counterpart. Primate research has also reported that primate females are assertive in terms of sexual behavior. Primate females show the ability to control a situation when a primate male is present and they are the ones who will determine whether copulation will occur with a particular primate male. It is also interesting to know that female primates are more susceptible to promiscuity during stages of puberty than male primates. The social organization of primates is very interesting because these species also have hierarchies which determine which individual will have the right to choose his mate and this is mainly based on the level of aggressiveness of the male primate. The most aggressive male primate is thus given the first chance to pick his female primate of choice and the least aggressive male primate often ends up with lesser of a choice among the female primates. Such behavior is generally observed in human society wherein the most aggressive men often get to choose and pursue the most attractive woman and the shy and quiet men often end up with relationships with less attractive women. The female primates have also been observed to show prime responsibility over her offspring, just like the human female (Maestripieri, 1994). The primate males have also been determined to be responsible in finding food for his offspring, searching the forest for fruits and other plants that will be brought to their place of living to feed his young. The male primate has also been observed to protect their place of living from other predatory species as well as other aggressive and destructive male primates. Primate research has transformed our old concepts of human behavior and it is interesting to know that all primates follow the same behavior for specific situations. References Gagneux, P, Boesch, C. , and Woodruff, D. 1999. Female reproductive strategies, paternity, and community structure in wild West African chimpanzees. Anim. Behav. 57: 19-32. Maestripieri, D. 1994. Social structure, infant handling, and mother styles in group-living Old World monkeys. Int. J. Primatol. 15: 531-553. Pope, T. R. 2000. Reproductive success increases with degree of kinship in cooperative coalitions of female red howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus). Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 48: 253-267.

Acc349 Reflection Summary

Weekly Summary Love accounting! Another great week with lots of much needed information to grasp. One advantage of Activity-Based Costing system is it has more accurate overhead cost allocation because there are more cost pools, the costs in each pool are more similar, and allocation is based on activities that cause overhead costs. It is more effective overhead cost control by focusing on processes or activities and focuses on relevant factors by assigning costs to any cost object that is of interest to management.Lastly, it allows better management of activities by helping managers identify the causes of costs and the activities driving them. The disadvantages of Activity-Based Costing are its cost to implement and maintain ABC requires management commitment and financial resources and its uncertainty with decisions remain and management must interpret ABC data with caution in making managerial decisions.Cost drivers are selected based on the casual relation, benefits received and reasonableness or fairness. Most of the cost drivers are related either to the volume of production or to the complexity of the production or marketing process. An overhead rate is calculated for each cost pool using the following formula: Costs in activity cost pool/base. The base is, of course, the cost driver. Overhead costs are then allocated to each product according to how much of each base the product uses.Activity-based costing allocates overhead to multiple activity cost pools and assigns the activity cost pools to products and services by means of cost drivers. In ABC, an activity is any event, action, transaction, or work sequence that causes the incurrence of cost in producing a product or providing a service. A cost driver is any factor or activity that has a direct cause-effect relationship with the resources consumed.

Manufacturing Industry Evaluation Research Paper

Manufacturing Industry Evaluation - Research Paper Example 1.6 percent, 51.1 percent and 75.5 percent for the fluid milk industry, women’s and girl’s cut and sew dresses and the envelopes industries, and the electronics computers industries, respectively. According to this census, the level of competition for the fluid milk, women’s and girl’s cut and sew dresses, envelopes is highest for fluid milk and envelopes considering that Herfindahl Hirschman index for 50 largest companies is 1060, 829.9 and 185.5, respectively. The level of competition for the electronic computers industry is extremely high, considering that the Herfindahl Hirschman index for 50 largest companies is one of the highest at 2662.0. This reveals that the level of competition is lowest in the envelopes industry, whose Herfindahl Hirschman index for 50 largest companies is the lowest at 185.5, respectively. Oligopolies can be defined as industries whereby there are a small number of sellers or competitors. According to this definition, some of the listed industries that qualify as oligopolists include the envelope industry and the fluid milk manufacturing, whereby there are only 166 and 315 companies in the industries, a small number of industries in consideration of the other industries that have large number of competitors. The electronic computer manufacturing industry, for example, has 465 competitors or member companies. This means that the industry cannot be described as an oligopoly, rather, as an industry that is experiencing perfect competition. Some of the firms that operate in these industries are listed below. In the envelope industry, these firms include Warren De La Rue and Edwin Hill. In the fluid milk manufacturing, these companies include the Elmhurst Dairy, Inc., the Southeast Milk Inc., the Oberweis Dairy, the Dairy Dynamics, LLC, and the Rutter Bros Dairy, Inc (McEa chern, 2012). According to the definition of oligopolies above, one is bound to think that oligopolies are always bad for society. However, the listed

Canterbury Television Building Collapse Assignment

Canterbury Television Building Collapse - Assignment Example vely under-productive for the first 5 months until February 22, 2011, when an aftershock occurred 7 km northwest of the city of Christchurch and caused 185 deaths and over 7,000 injuries. A major part of the 185 confirmed deaths are due to the collapse of the mid-rise reinforced concrete (RC) office building in the CBD known as Canterbury Television Building (CTV). 75% of the occupants in this 6 storey building died. 2. Analysis of Case Study This is a report on the key role players and stake holders in the Canterbury Television Building (CTV) collapse incident. The report concludes with conclusions and recommendations. 2.1 Key Role Players The following is a list of persons/institutions that played a pivotal role in the creation of the CTV building. 2.1.1 Consulting Engineer Mr. Reay, the Consulting Engineer, should have paid more attention to the work that was undertaken viz. the construction of the CTV building. Though he had high academic qualifications he did not spend reasonabl e time in the project i.e. he had a hands-off approach to it. 2.1.2 Structural Engineers Mr. Henry and Mr. Harding were employed by Mr. Reay in the capacity of structural engineers. Mr. Reay wanted them to design medium height multi-storeyed buildings. Mr. Henry was with Mr. Reay for a year, whereas Mr. Harding had two stints with Mr. Reay. 2.1.3 Structural Draughts men Many draughtsmen worked on preparing structural drawings for the CTV building project. After the engineer made the architectural drawings, the draughtsmen worked out the dimensions. 2.1.4 Deputy Building Engineer - 1 Mr. Graeme Tapper, was the deputy building engineer for Christchurch City Council (CCC). He raised the structural issue of the connection of the floors (diaphragms) to the north wall complex with Mr. Reay’s... This is a report on the key role players and stake holders in the Canterbury Television Building (CTV) collapse incident. The report concludes with conclusions and recommendations. The following is a list of persons/institutions that played a pivotal role in the creation of the CTV building. Mr. Reay, the Consulting Engineer, should have paid more attention to the work that was undertaken viz. the construction of the CTV building. Though he had high academic qualifications he did not spend reasonable time in the project i.e. he had a hands-off approach to it.Mr. Henry and Mr. Harding were employed by Mr. Reay in the capacity of structural engineers. Mr. Reay wanted them to design medium height multi-storeyed buildings. Mr. Henry was with Mr. Reay for a year, whereas Mr. Harding had two stints with Mr. Reay. Many draughtsmen worked on preparing structural drawings for the CTV building project. After the engineer made the architectural drawings, the draughtsmen worked out the dimension s. Mr. Graeme Tapper, was the deputy building engineer for Christchurch City Council (CCC). He raised the structural issue of the connection of the floors (diaphragms) to the north wall complex with Mr. Reay’s firm. Mr. Bryan Bluck was the building engineer for CCC at the time of the CTV Building. Reay convinced him that Tapper’s objections (see 2.1.4) were unfounded. Tapper was asked to sign on the design at Bluck’s behest. As found in the Summary and Recommendations in Volumes 5-7 & Section 6: Technical discussions on structure, Mr. Leo O’ Loughlin was the building inspector for CCC in the central city area at that time. He received the building permit application for the construction of the CTV building. He would check the documents provided with the application for missing information. He would also review parts of plans for legal compliance.

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf from Roald Dahl's Essay

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf from Roald Dahl's - Essay Example Consequently, she is able to be a mistress of her own, daring all kinds of situations, without outside help. She is also seen seen stripping herself of the â€Å"silly† red riding hood that was presented to her by an over-protective society (Dahl, 40). She is depicted as a young woman who has finally got rid of her self-image of vulnerability, imposed upon her by the society. Dahl has peripherally sticked to the original version of the story of Little Red Riding Hood until by the end. But by imparting the authorship of restoration to Little Red Riding Hood herself, he (Dahl) has banished the outside help that came to rescue her in the original story (40). The uniqueness of this story unlike many other popular fairy tales is in that it has always been open to new interpretations. There are many versions of the story already available and Dahl's attempt at a new interpretation hence seems to be becoming of the spirit of the story. Dahl has begun his story from the middle without introducing the heroine, Little Red Riding Hood (36). It is the wolf instead who takes center stage of the narrative (Dahl, 36). The story is reversed in an act mindful of the time that has passed since the story was first told. In other words, Dahl seems to believe that it is high time Little Red Riding Hood realizes the betrayal of the wolf and be prepared to handle it. So she is seen redrafting her original queries to the wolf once she arrives at her grand mother's hut (Dahl, 40). Parallel to this, it can be seen that the villainy of the wolf did not get updated in time (Dahl, 40). He is practicing his centuries old trick while Little Red Riding Hood has grown into the self-confident lass that the author meets later in the woods (Dahl, 40). The author (Dahl) has used Little Red Riding Hood material as a metaphor that tells the story of the empowerment of modern woman. She is once and for all breaking the stereotyped molds that the society has been putting her in since centuries (Dahl). She turns to be a little surprise for all as to the author (Dahl) of the story and he says, â€Å"But what a change! No cloak of red, No silly hood upon her head.† (40). Dahl has also got rid of the moralizing elements of the story-the dictate of the mother that the girl should not talk to strangers, and that she should not stray from her path. In Dahl's version, it does not matter whether Little Red Riding Hood talked to strangers on the way or whether she strayed a little from the forest path and picked some wild flowers. Windling has opined that this story, now told as a â€Å"cautonary tale†, meant to be a warning to the girls who disobeyed their parents' advice, had originally been a tale of â€Å"female initiative and maturation.† Windling has explained how this story was meant to be one of female initiation into sexual experiences. He has added that in the â€Å"Victorian middle-class† anxieties turned this tale into a moralizing one that t ells how led by her own â€Å"sensual drives†, Little Red Riding Hood fails to obey her mothers' cautions and nearly looses her â€Å"virtue†. On the other hand, in Dahl's tale, it might have been these very sensual experiences of straying from the prescribed path that could have given her the courage to put three bullets into the wolf's head, in the end (Dahl, 40). Dahl's Riding Hood is a woman who has sexual freedom and fearlessness. As Windling noted, in the original story, the wolf is a ware wolf, who can take on the shape of

Understanding Plagiarism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Understanding Plagiarism - Essay Example The kind of information that must be acknowledged and documented in written assignments include the name of the person who wrote the piece, the exact date of the publication from where the matter has been taken, the publication or the article that is being used with the exact title, page numbers, volume details and so on. All the pertinent information would then facilitate the academic writing checker to gauge the authenticity of the written piece. However those pieces written by the writer himself and are referred to as his personal thoughts usually do not require any citation or source at all. These written documents are usually the personal reflections of the people who are actually penning down what they think about a particular subject. Any viewpoint which is the writer’s very own must not be cited because this is exclusive to him and is considered his own work. If one is borrowing the same words of someone else, then it is a must that the citations are provided so that the work is not regarded as plagiarized. This is important as it gives the actual writer the much needed attention that he deserves with respect to his work. It also allots significance to the fact that the academic writer has made use of others’ works and properly credited them for their respective work areas (Cryer 2000). Outside sources must also be used when work is paraphrased because the main content is of the original author that made use of the text within his written piece in essence. This is an important barometer for measuring the depth of genuineness within work and hence gives a good indicator as to whether someone has taken information from someone else or written it by his own self. Paraphrasing is a good thing but it must be done in such a way that it brings the viewpoint of the academic writer within the written piece as well. He must not change the w ords alone rather provide his own inputs so that the written piece is elaborate

Political Philosophy by Rousseau Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Political Philosophy by Rousseau - Essay Example He is free only if he can express his interest and individuality. He said, â€Å"Each man in giving himself to all, gives himself to nobody† (192). He was placing the individual in a responsible and responsive society that can create, run a government and participate in it. Collective decisions are the core of democracy, equality, liberty, fraternity. â€Å"As an ideal, the general will is, for Rousseau, a genuine universal†¦.It is the unity through which the addictive collection of wills gets its meaning,† Dyke (1969, p.23). Rousseau argues in favour of general will at every step. â€Å"The general will is the will of all when we are not thinking about our own selfish interests but about the general interest† Roberts (1997). . According to him if the laws of the land are good, it will reflect in the goodness of citizens and hence, the law is the root cause of good and bad both and so is highly significant. Especially the political, fundamental laws have to be wise and they connect the sovereign to people, one citizen to another, and connect the law to citizens. They also form the constitution of the state, which can wield power in every day life of the citizen. It is in the interest of all, it will affect all and rules all, and hence, participation of all is necessary. ... It is in the interest of all, it will affect all and rules all, and hence, participation of all is necessary. "Rousseau's theory has often been decried as too abstract and metaphysical. This is in many ways its great strength; but where it is excessively so, the accident of time is to blame" http://www.4literature.net/Jean_Jacques_Rousseau/The_Social_Contract/ He never talks of an individual without talking of collectivity. "The most basic convent, the social pact, is the agreement to come together and form a people, a collectivity"2.is "the real foundation of society," (p.59) and such general will must be "forced to be free" (64). His democracy is the most direct, extremely strong kind and it depended on the general will coming together frequently to make rules for themselves. They should identify each other and the common interests. We should remember that the states were smaller in those days. He did not want the common man to loosen his grip over the authority. "The constant will of all the members of the state is the general will; by virtue of it, they are citizens and free." He also says that liberty is impossible if the general will in majority ceases. "To renounce liberty is to renounce being a man, to surrender the rights of humanity and even it duties," he says on slavery and hence, making of law is the duty and right of the indi vidual. "This general will is supposed to represent the common good or public interest - and it is something that each individual has a hand in making. All citizens should participate - and should be committed to the general good - even if it means acting against their private or personal interests." http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-rous.htm Even though he calls sovereignty as inalienable and

Is Television-Broadcasting Policy Affected by Changing Media Research Paper

Is Television-Broadcasting Policy Affected by Changing Media Technology - Research Paper Example In 1952, the first cable television network started in Ontario due to the development of improved television broadcasting and supply technologies like the cable television, the first domestic communications satellite (1972), Direct-to-home satellite (1995), Community antenna television (1961)and the over the air television (2000). In addition, there was the inception of mobile television transmissions that allowed for portable television viewing through portable devices. Arguably, the changing media technology has affected television-broadcasting policies in Canada. Various policies formulated by the Canadian government influence the change in media technologies propelling the country in to international media standards. As such, this support the argument that television-broadcasting policy has affected by changing media technology. The policies formulated Essentially, policy formulation drew influence from technological advancements in the broadcasting and regulated structures for t he licensing of both the private and the public institutions of communication dissemination. On the contrary, the Canadian government formulated a policy regarding the ownership of broadcasting houses in Canada (Armstrong, 2010). The Act of 1964 also insinuated that the broadcasting stations within the country had to have effective ownership by Canadian nationals in order to safeguard the social, cultural, political, and economic attributes of Canada. The modification of broadcasting continued because of evolution in the technology industry that kept on constantly emerging. This evolution is still visible in the current times years after the first innovations in to the sector emerged. Remarkably, television broadcast has witnessed the PVR that allows for time shifting of television programming. It also allows for sending and reception of television programming over the internet, which makes television transmission easy. In this regard, viewers from across any continent are able to a ccess a wider international range of programming with relative ease. On the contrary, the Canadian government wishes to introduce Canadian programming that expresses their cultural and national identity through the emerged new technological forms. Essentially, this essay will delve on the whether the changing media has influenced television broadcasting policies. This will be in relation to Canadian television broadcasting with critical research in the past, present and estimated future. Influence by the American broadcast The rise in popularity of the reception of American broadcast stations contributed majorly in the development of television broadcast in Canada. In this regard, three main factors led to the memorable improvement on the television technology in Canada. For one, was the threat by the penetration of American media was a major influence on the stabilization of the Canadian television industry. This posed a great threat to them hence making the nation to accept the ne ed to advance technologically. Secondly, there was a language divide where a fraction of the Canadians spoke French or the third language. Subsequently, the Canadians had to improve in the media industry in order to target the different speaking populations and servicing their individual needs. Lastly, there was the government response to the above factors in which the government imposed certain policies that

Thanksgiving Rituals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Thanksgiving Rituals - Essay Example One might be inclined to think of it as limited to the holiday that everyone looks forward to as the month of November nears. This event does not occur only in a single day every year. It transpires whenever someone chooses to allow it to. There is an abundance of incidents to feel grateful for and extend appreciation to—from the healing of an illness or the beginning of new life with birth to the occurrence of long awaited paydays or simply waking up the next morning. These are all meaningful instances on the accounts of a person. How are thanksgiving rituals carried out? These do vary from culture, religion, beliefs and other personal influences. There is none other practice of gratitude grander and more elaborate than the Thanksgiving day most commonly observed in the North America or particularly the United States. This event happens every fourth Thursday of the month of November. The typical scenario on this day is a family gathering with an extravagant feast of Turkey an d wine before them. It started out as a tradition of the Native Americans who primarily acquire their food from their harvest planted on their own land. As the Natives reap their produce for the season, they hold a ceremony as a symbol of their gratefulness (Schuh 9). In the modern times, things have evolved for the more magnificent difference from before. Every year, they hold a large parade where people crowd to behold large floats and balloons. It is an event both for the young and old as they marvel at the huge and famous cartoon and children’s book characters such as the famous Mickey Mouse as well as Santa Claus. The people behind this thanksgiving parade have been investing a considerable amount of time and effort for the preparation of the renowned event that leads to the doors of Macy’s (Grippo 9). This is the practice of thanksgiving in the United States. Their festivity and grandiose is a signature all over the world. Moving on across a different region in t he United States of America, the indigenous tribes of the Iroquois have a different ritual for thanksgiving. Their religion and beliefs dictate a different method and period of thanksgiving. There are six occurrences annually based on their own calendar. The purpose of this event is to signify their gratitude and the continuance of the spirits providing the natural resources (Pandian 199). It mostly involves a gathering filled with expressions of gratitude and welcome. This is for the purpose of the continuance of the prosperity of their land and the crops that grow in it as well as the life that thrives in it (Roeber 186). The Chinese also have a colorful celebration distinct from those of the American people. It is composed of three phases and called inoko for the locals. This is a festival to commemorate the successful harvest and takes place every year. They first present fruits to the spirits they believe in and then perform the reaping of their crops. The last stage is the rit es of thanksgiving where every person regardless of social standing is signified (Hendry 21). The act of harvest itself is their way of celebrating their appreciation. This bears close similarities to the Japanese method of giving thanks or expressing of gratitude. The sole difference being that their traditional ceremonies are repeated for four times annually (Hendry 21). The modern way of celebrating Thanksgiving in China is called Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival after its timing. It has a considerable popularity all over the world because of their uniquely lavish way of celebrating their prosperous years bearing crops. Instead of the Americans way of feasting with

John Van Hamersveld Art style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

John Van Hamersveld Art style - Essay Example In the late 60s, John boosted his portfolio after he assumed the role as an art director at the Capitol Records. This position, gave him an edge in designing more posters for famed musicians (Surfing Heritage & Culture Centre Web). John has designed more than 300 album covers and the most popular ones according to Surfing Heritage & Culture Centre were, â€Å"The Beatles’  Magical Mystery Tour  and  The Rolling Stones’  Exile on Main St† (Web). In the present, embodied legacy of John Van Hamersveld is located in the Coolhouse Studio. John Van Hamersveld has exemplary art works that are likeable. The digital print on the canvas ‘Waiting on the Storm’, of 2009, ‘Johnny Girl’ of 1972, and ‘Pipeline’ on digital print on Vinyl 2009 are the remarkable drawing that the essay will describe. John Van Hemersveld drawing "Waiting for the storm" digital print on canvas 2009 was a classical drawing that I saw. Though the drawing is simple, a person can derive some information from the design. The design emphasizes the ideas that the drawing brings forth in the mind of the viewer. John Van Hemersveld drawing was insightfully done to differentiate the background from the foreground. The foreground print of the drawing has numerous clouds that were blue at the base and white at the top. The blue color in the drawing generally creates a calm and peaceful environment in my mind. The clouds with the blue base was capturing to my eyes. The drawing indicated to me that the storm is not necessarily detrimental as most people think. Hence, the drawing depicts that when I prepare for the storm, the calm moment is likely to be experienced. †Waiting for the storm† by John Van Hemersveld illustrates that a storm can yield time for meditation and a quiet moment of peace. According to the drawing, I learn that my preparation for challenges in life determines the peace I can experience throughout the moment. Typ ically, blue is a color for calmness signifying that in my life I really need to prepare for the storm all round to always have a calm state. Another drawing that also captured my attention was â€Å"Johnny Girl† which was John Van Hemersveld digital print of canvas 1972. The drawing was of John who was all smiles and very happy. Johnny Girl drawing showed a boy who had typically gotten a girlfriend for the first time. Therefore, the drawing depicted Johnny’s achievement, which to him the achievement was something out of the ordinary in his life. Although the drawing may have brought out the feelings a person encounters when in a relationship for the first time, I did not like it at all. The drawing reminded me of my first relationship in High School which did not last for long. The amazing moments I had and the thought of a beautiful future were the ideas going through my mind. Despite the insightfully designed canvas, my past memories were the reason of my dislike fo r the photo. The 2009 Vinyl print of â€Å"Pipeline† drawing was generally amazing. A person who is keen to understand the drawing could only appreciate the remarkable design. I also became a victim of bypassing the drawing because the drawing was not as striking as the drawing of â€Å"Waiting in the Storm.† The â€Å"Pipeline† drawing was showing a sharp wave with high amplitude and a narrow front. The wave looked dangerous than

Newspaper article about possible war with Iraq Essay Example for Free

Newspaper article about possible war with Iraq Essay The newspaper article I have written is about the possible war in Iraq which expressed my opinion. It is an article that is totally against war and is to inform the readers the main objections by persuading them that it is right not to have another war. Im sure I am not the only one opposed to war in Iraq! The newspaper was aimed at teenagers and students alike. I felt that it was much easier to aim at this age group because I am a student myself so its like talking to your friends instead of addressing for example an older generation. The main points I want to get across were the American push for war in Iraq is illegal without UN backing, the Iraqi people have suffered enough, and the last thing they would want is another war. In this article, I am sometimes asking the reader a rhetorical question. Questions like Why would the training be so intense if there wasnt a war? It seems a bit obvious answer of yes because there were around 150,000 soldiers in the region at the time. As you read throughout, it seems like I ask the readers some question. I ask these questions because I want them to think about certain topics like America. For this topic I asked Would you believe them? when I was referring to America is saying Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. The article was aimed for teenagers and students so most of the articles language was easy to read and understand. The sentences were short and words were basic because if I put it too technical, they might not carry on reading it. I am a teenager myself so writing something aimed at them was easier than if I was writing for say a middle aged audience. You could say that it is more of a tabloid newspaper than a broad sheet one, this article is free and would be handed out to students who could pick them up from the college library maybe? The main theme for this article is against another war in Iraq so this is why I used in big and bold letter that reads out Dont attack Iraq! I did this so that it can catch the readers attention too. For example if they walked past and saw the title, they would be more likely to pick it up and see what it is about! In order not to confuse the reader, I have split the article in sections, the main article is about Iraq but some of the other sections include other threats, real reason etc. This layout makes it more easy to read and easier to understand than if I put everything under one subtitle. Plus I want people to know that behind the scenes America is trying something which they may not know so this layout would suit me getting that message across. When I did the first draft and got it handed back, I realised I made some mistakes with me going off the point. The main point was not to attack Iraq but I sometimes talked about other countries. This might have confused the readers and one more thing is that on the title it reads Making you be heard but this isnt true as I am expressing my own personal opinions so I changed that title to Getting the Point Across instead. The article improved much from the first draft I did, the sentences were longer and had around 1600 for the last one which was way over the limit so now I have nearly halved it. I also made it more newspaper like because the last design I had lacked an attractive heading. The structure of this article was made to set out more like a newspaper as possible. I gave the newspaper a big title along the top, the writing was all in columns, some relevant pictures were included and so were the dates and price. I gave the reasons not to attack in bullet points at the beginning and rounded it all up with a conclusion which was called Real Reasons. The pictures used were there to make the newspaper look more colourful instead of having just text in there. One of the pictures was some soldiers but you could only see their shadows with rifles in the arms which look un-welcoming, another is a picture of Osama Bin Laden. He is the most wanted man on Earth and a lot of people recognise him so the article would stand out more. Word count: 772 without header and footer

Challenges for HRM in Internationalized SMEs

Challenges for HRM in Internationalized SMEs 1. Introduction The international SMEs have some problem in human resource management structure, the mobility of personnel is fast, the salary compensation is weak, the employee education, training and teamwork management is not enough. In the international market, these problem need to be solved as soon as possible, therefore, some international SMEs have to make a revolution in its management structure, as some international SMEs often focus some process that can profitability immediately, and dont care about the future benefit, and their management structure is overstaffed and complex. So the international SMEs have to develop the new management structure to adapt the competitive in the international market, decentralization is the trend, which can motivate the employee and managers active and responsible, decentralization firstly requires the manager who have good knowledge and skill in management. The motivation system can raise the employees motivation, the equalitarianism is not appropriate, so the international SMEs need a change in their management structure. 2. The variation in the organization structure Most international SMEs have the problem in organization structure, the variation is quite big. Usually, the organization structure is line, the result of which can cause the overstaffed, bureaucracy, and the low efficiency. Therefore, the organization structure has to simplify the organization structure, reduce the hierarchy. A flatten of an organization is one of the solution, but not the only one, and it could not be enlarged forever. The purpose of the flatten is to reduce the cost of the management, more communication between up layer and down layer, it is necessary in the international SMEs, the company originally has the problem in the management, so this method of management can increase the efficiency, it is convenient to the top manager. 3. The globalization of HRM In term of the element of the law and policy, the international SEMs should make a completed investigation on the policy environment, including the characteristic of the labor organization, and it is necessary to make a survey in the law and regular of the employment. If it does not do like these, it will suffer from the criminal charge upon the labor discrimination and the right of the labor, and the labor dispute also need to pay more litigation cost, which damages the reputation of the company in labor market. In the part of culture, the international SMEs have to integrate in the business process, due to the different cultures in the different countries, the international SMEs have to adapt the cultureà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s differentiation, except respect their culture, it also need to understand and study the local custom and culture. This is the long à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½term program, the conflict will happen in the future, but the company should pay more attention on the culture, and base on it, creating its own corporate culture in the globalization market. In the aspect of economic, the achievement of the international SMEs depends on the labor cost, the fluctuation of the currency. In the international market, the corporate need to consider which countryà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s employees should be employed, the home national, the local people or the expatriate, and the benefit of the company and the labor cost balanced. 4. Government intervention in the HRM As the international company, no matter the size of the enterprise is big or small, when the market has some movements or the policy changed. The international SMEs should adapt the different situation and then make a right decision at the right time, but this process is quite hard for them. Because the government in order to protect the right of the labor, which sets a lot of policy or regular to limit the behavior of the corporate. The government intervention in HRM will increase the cost of transaction between the employee and the employer, at the same time, in order to cut the cost, the international SMEs need to recruit the professional personal who studies the governmentà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ labor policies and labor law as the law consultant to manage the HR. if the company can react the government policy as soon as possible, it will achieve the great successful. 5. The reputation of the company in the HR marketing In the HR marketing, many candidates want to find a company which has good reputation in the market, and it has comfortable work environment, high salary, excellent management experiences and future development opportunity. But all of the above, the Small-Medium enterprises cannot afford to the employees. Because of it is lack of enough capital, and successful human resource management experience and the capability of the executive. Without enough capital, the SMEs just only can employed the candidates who are lack of the professional skill and professional knowledge, as they have no money, so they also donà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½t want to waste more money on training these employees, or the opportunity for training is not regular. And then the employees who have not accepted the opportunity of training, they will lose working motivation, so the work efficient will be down. And the other hand, the employees who have more experiences want to leave the company, because the company cannot provide excellent working treatment. So the SMEs are easier to lose their good human resource. The successful human resource management experience and the capability of the executive are very important to the enterprise. But the Small-Medium Enterprises are weak in these, their management experience is quite limited and obsolete, most of that is traditional management approach. As we know, the excellent leader can change the life of the company, so the executive capability is the standard of measuring a good or bad leader. If the good leader will set up the strategy objective, during the process of the strategy, he or she will lead his or her company go in the right direction and make a right decision immediately according to the different changes, which can attract their employees, and work hard for the company.

Photography Ideology Society

Photography Ideology Society For many years now sociologists, critics, and writers have been intrigued with the idea of photography and interested in the concept of ideology itself, as well as what ideologies have been or can be presented as using photography or visual representations. Both photography and ideology are strongly linked to sociological theories, philosophical theories and even psychological theories, but how is their relationship conceived? What has been discovered about how ideologies are presented within a photograph? And are they inevitable? Firstly when talking of the term photography, in disassembling it to its simplest form it is the process of recording pictures by capturing light on a light sensitive medium. This invention was believed to be extraordinary, as it was believed that there would be a bright future ahead of this invention based on the fact that moments could be captured in a single photograph. While photography goes far back to the 1820s, the word ideology was created and introduced by count Antoine Destutt de Tracy in the late 18th century. De Tracy defined his concept of ideology by simply stating that it is a science of ideas, it can be seen as a way of looking at things in terms of common sense or ideology in everyday society, through a normative thought process. The philosopher Michael Foucault wrote: ‘Ideology is a way of life for society In simple terms to define the word and to state that ideology was all around life in everyday society. Famous Sociologist and founder of Marxism, Karl Marx talked of ideology being an instrument of social reproduction in order for the elites to remain in control of masses, he states: ‘The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch of the ruling ideas which is ruling material force of society as at the same time is ruling intellectual forces Marx Engels, (1845) Marx and Engels states that the ideologies of society that are everywhere come from the ruling classes (which refers to those with power i.e. ‘the bourgeoisie) that they believe submit ruling ideas from the ruling material force of society which also rules the main academic or intellectual force. This could be applied to photography and its relation to ideology, their theories suggest that Marx and Engels would argue that mainstream photography could be produced to represent ideological ideas in order to benefit the elites. Another significant sociologist, Louis Althusser, (1969) looked at ideology and stated that there was an ideological state apparatus, he wrote: ‘Ideology, always exists in an apparatus and its practice and practices, this existence is material This may suggest that in terms of photography according to Althusser it can be seen as an ideological practice, as photography can also be seen as a practice and our our values, desires and preferences are all part of what he calls the idealogical state apparatus. And in summary if a photographer is capturing our values, desires and preferences in photographs this must mean that what is being reflected are our idealogical values, desires and preferences. It was not until photography began to be related to social exploration that photography became a form that could be discussed in a socially theoretical manner and could be related to concepts of ideology, when ideologies began to be identified in early photographs of war. In the beginning the story of photography began with just its technology. Writer Eugenia Parry Janis cited in ‘History of photography: the state of research wrote: ‘The story of photography would be the history of its technique This continued and it wasnt until the 1930s that photography became thought of as art. The model of photographic history as the history of its technical refinement continued to the twentieth century, nationalist overtones were most obvious in the 20s and 30s, as French and then German historians rendered increasingly factorial and self-serving versions of photographys first hundred years states R. Douglas Nickel, (2001). Photography gradually became reflective of society, but in the 1980s and 90s photography associated with social history, cultural history and theory. This evidently came after the work of Marx Engels, Althusser or (Barthes specifically on the concepts of photography itself and its concern with ideology in particular. Marxs work was Based on the notion of ideology, specifically, the idea that photography is not a medium of mere class of imagery but a commodity subject to the invariable distortions and ‘False consciousness that Marxist theorists state characterise throughout the super structural products of bourgeoisie culture. Marx also states that ‘capitalism traffics in photography is taken as pure ideology, an empty vessel of conduct for transaction of power relations. He states that picture photography is unconsciously ideological. Photography and sociology in particular have always had a strong relation and one of the most profound theories around photography is its ideology or its visual culture. When talking of ideology in a photograph one is talking of its sociology or the sociological theory around it that sociologists and writers have followed and researched. Photography and sociology have approximately the same birth date, and are both considered similar in terms of their work exploring society writer Rosenblum cited in ‘Photography and sociology writes: ‘Different kinds of photographers work in different institutional settings and occupational communities, which effect their product as an essential setting in which sociologists work effects theirs Rosenblum, (1973) In working in a particular place or community with particular surroundings, the community around sociologists affect the work they produce and it is the same aspect for photographers, in photographing a certain concept they are producing a photograph that is subject to its environment therefore it is unavoidable that ideologies would be projected. Becker, (1974) elaborates on this aspect, he states that the constraints of settings in which photographers did their work affected how they went about it, their habits of seeing, the pictures they made and when looking at society what they saw, what they made of it and the way they presented their result. Photography is somewhat seen as an exploration of society like said before, it can be used to find the reality of ways of life or hide them, and most importantly reflect ideologies within society like many writers argue. However another use photographs can have is telling the News, this has become increasingly important over many years, as they are used as a social exploration through photographic news journalism. Marxists would argue that some pictures or drawings in the news would be used to submit ideologies one example of this is the famous war picture featured in news papers which was used to recruit soldiers and had a soldier on it stating ‘I want YOU for U.S army. This picture was used to persuade young men to join the army to form an ideological opposition to defend ones country. Photographic journalism was around as far back as the civil war as Mathieu Brody and Horan (1955) photographed it, it was also largely utilised by the 1960s during the civil rights movements. Today photographic journalism can be used to form certain political ideas a simple example of this would be using the numerous pictures of leaders such as George Bush or Gordon Brown looking professional and dressed in a suit, this would provoke ideologies of civilised and democratic leaders whilst showing a leader such as many pictures of the late Yassire Arafat in an unprofessional looking position wearing his traditional head scarf would provoke ideas of a less professional man. Another example of ideology used in photographic journalism today would be pictures of young and thin looking models on the front magazines such as ‘vogue or ‘cosmopolitan which expose the ideal way a young lady should look in todays society. It is argued that some photographs have been based on political ideologies, it is evident that photography has a strong relationship with the concept of ideology, since the sociology of photography was explored, writers such as Roland Barthes explored this specifically in his work on mythologies to be precise which I will later explore. Writer Hadjincolau, (1978) cited in ‘the theory of ideology: bringing the mind back in Sates that a visual ideology is presented with both instances or exemplars of the system of representation in use (individual pictures) and with explicitly formulated rules of the system for example drawing manuals. In talking of the way ideology effects society and its subjects or products, Roland Barthes, (1957) in mythologies wrote: ‘The whole of France is steeped in this anonymous ideology: our press, our cinema, our theatre, our popular literature, our ceremonies, our Justice, our diplomacy, our conversations, our remarks on the weather, the crimes we try, the wedding we are moved by, the cooking we dream of, the clothes we wear, everything, in our everyday life, contributes to the representation that the bourgeoisie makes for itself and for us of the relationships between man and the world. One obvious ideological photograph that Barthes writes about is one of French imperialism, it is one of a black bow wearing military garments and appearing to salute the French flag on the cover of a French magazine named ‘Paris Match. It attempts to represent an ideological image that shows a French unity based on serving under the French flag and under France despite the ethnic origin or that fact that boy may be from a French colony. Barthes writes about his interpretation of this image in particular he famously wrote: ‘I am at the barbers, and a copy of Paris-Match is offered to me. On the cover, a young Negro in a French uniform is saluting, with his eyes uplifted, probably fixed on a fold of the tricolour. All this is the meaning of the picture. But, whether naively or not, I see very well what it signifies to me: that France is a great Empire, that all her sons, without any colour discrimination, faithfully serve under her flag, and that there is no better answer to the detractors of an alleged colonialism than the zeal shown by this Negro in serving his so-called oppressors. I am therefore again faced with a greater semiological system: there is a signifier, itself already formed with a previous system (a black soldier is giving the French salute); there is a signified (it is here a purposeful mixture of Frenchness and militariness); finally, there is a presence of the signified through the signifier. This photographs critique is linked to the concept of realistic vs. idealistic when talking of its visual culture. Photographs such as this reflect the ideal that French powers would have ideally liked to reach ain the 1950s, however even in contemporary France these issues are still evident and are reflected within visual culture. There is still a fairly clear divide between the French by origin and those from current or previous colonies. Pictures like these are produced everyday even today and as Marx Engels, Althusser, and Foucault would argue, those in power use the mechanism of photography as a way of fabricating ideology through visual art forms. However from time to time films such as Mathieu Kossivitz ‘La Haine (1995) reveals the reality rather then the ideal of societies such as the French society. La Haine produces some documentary like visuals and photographs that depicts the reality of French societies which disassembles the ideologies in dealing with contemporary issues such as integration, social exclusion, unemployment, or inequalities through visual imagery. This film was so successful and reflective of French society that French politicians and then president Jack Chirac organised a special viewing of the film within parliament. In discussing this, these issues only confirm that what we see from a picture like the one on Paris Match is constructed of semiological systems that reveals signifieds that have already been framed, which shows a clear signified from a signifier according to Barthes. Barthes mythologies also states that ideological pictures like the Paris Match cover were a signifying function created by a sum of signs that resulted in a myth. Relative to the Paris Match photograph Stuart Hall (1997) cited in the article ‘Illustrate and critically discuss the way in which semioticains problematise the concepts of representation by Roderick Munday,Hall states that the minority groups, or what he describes as people who are different in any way from the norm are frequently exposed to what he calls â€Å"binary forms of representation†. Examples of these are as he states them/us, black/white, good/bad, and ugly/attractive. He also states that minority groups or people who are in any way different are also expected to be both contraries at the same time. This is applicable to the Paris Match photograph as for example he is wearing uniform usually typically representative of white French boys yet he is black. It can be seen as a continuation or reemphasis of the traditional sense of representation as symbolising an abstract idea. An example of this is the representation of black people, and the possibility of them being viewed as the representation of white peoples ideas about them. One example of this is cited in Roderick Mundays essay and is a photograph of Linford Christie after winning gold at a major competition as an athlete in Barcelona 1992. As a result of this picture the British press could only focus on him wearing a tight athletic running suit and the apparent size of his genitals. This was an influence of ideological ideas and perceptions that black men in particular had large genitals. The ideology that black men had large genitals had been formed over a long period of time; Antonio Gramsci would argue has become a hegemonic belief, which means a popular belief amongst the majority or a hegemonic and ideological belief. One may be subject to thinking that if ideological ideas can be made about a photograph such as this, it can be made about any other photograph. When looking at this picture, like Althusser states a major ideological state apparatuses which is the media choose to ignore, they opt to sideline other representations within the photograph and focus of an a racial ideology. This suggests that as this is included in mainstream media many would have been familiar with this article and this could have influenced their views. However postmodernist critics state that individuals are not extremely influenced and can identify their own views, they argue that individuals are not that dependant or taken advantage of. Despite this argument in conclusion the British media chose to ignore the fact that he is holding a British flag and the representation of it, or the fact that his body language reflects his success his power and success or appreciation for the supporting crowd. Other work done on this subject is that of writer kobena Mercer, Mercer studied photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe that revealed photographs of what appears to be genitals of black man and their particular emphasis on their large size. Mercer wrote: ‘Mapplethorpe is serving a colonial fantasy, the sexual idealisation of the racial other Mercer, (2002) One photograph that Mapplethorpe produced was one that revealed a black man in a workers suit, with emphasis to his genital area exposed, from this photograph one could assume that the ideal is that he has large genital before the fact that he is just a working man. Mercers critic of his photographs argues that rather then taking the black man as a person Mapplethorpe is feeding the racial ideal. Amongst famous ideological photographs is photographer Joe Rosenthals 1945 Iwo Jima flag-raising photograph of for American soldiers raising the American flag symbolising the ideology of American nationalism, American power, and American spirit. One could analyse this image in the way that Roland Barthes does in a systematic way to uncover its meaning and ideology. Roland Barthes ‘rhetoric of the image states that there are three messages we need to ‘skim off. The three messages include the linguistic code, the coded iconic message, and the non coded iconic message. He looks at these three messages when analysing the ‘Panzani advert. When looking at the flag raising picture the first message is not evident within the picture as the picture does not contain any text therefore we must continue to the second message, the coded iconic message, this message looks at coded aspects which enable us to immediately identify just the pure image or any unconscious messages that have iconic significance. When looking at the ‘discontinuous signs as the coded iconic messages in Rosenthals image as Barthes calls them, the first instance the image represents is the notion of four soldiers who were currently engaged in a battle that ended in victory. The euphoric values within this photograph are firstly the idea of fresh success in winning the battle and celebration that will occur prior to doing so. The signifier for the signifier is the raising of the flag, one of the other signifiers the second signifier is the American flag itself representing ‘americanicity rather then ‘italianicity as Barthes describes in the Panzani advert. Another signifier would be the uniforms of the soldiers which would signify the immediacy of being in a battle and the equality amongst the soldiers. The third message, the non-coded message involves just looking at the objects in the image and the messages without codes or as Barthes describes this as ‘The literal Message or describing the simple structure of the image and the objects. The obvious non-coded messages within this photograph would simply be the soldiers themselves raising the flag in unity, and the American flag it self. The image has been one of the most famous iconic American images in history and has been reproduced countless times on, postcards, stamps, frames, and posters. The image is the representation of an American ideal, and of the fighting spirit of its soldiers that American forces talk off often. It also indicates the ideal of American power and how strong America is. However one of the reasons why I chose this picture as many believe that Rosenthal must have posed the figures in the photograph stating that he had told the soldiers to re-enact the flag raising for a second time. Rosenthal stated that this was not the case as he had first missed the first flag raising by soldiers but then naturally captured the second raising of a larger flag. Weather these allegations were correct or not, this may indicate a possibility that this ideological image used photography to submit certain ‘un-conscious American ideologies and ideas of patriotism weather done naturally or not. We may conceive that photography is being used to accomplish certain ideologies from the relationship that photography has with ideology. Discussing photography throughout its time and its strong connection with sociology in exploring society, it is clear that there have always been social ideologies and that photography has always been linked to them in one way or another, whether promoting them or challenging them, they are still used today. In simple terms we may conceive that photography just reflects most of societys ideas. This therefore insinuates that we may conceive of the relationship between photography and ideology as inevitable, this is exemplified in Roland Barthes analysis of the photograph showing the Panzani advert in the ‘Rhetoric of the image whenHe states that the advert promotes ideals of what he describes is ‘italianicity or the perfectly balanced meal based on what Italians eat. Therefore I ask weather it is possible to develop a photograph without some ideologies as Barthes states in his work on Mythologies, ideologies are all around us; in cinema, News papers, magazines and even the weddings we go to or the clothes we wear. Certain ideologies within any given photograph may represent a different ideal. I argue that even the least typical ideological photograph is an ideal of the ‘un-ideological photograph, or the ideal of an image opposite to an image seen as ideological. Even a photograph of mountains of sand in the desert photographed by photographer by Ansel Adams provokes ideas of Arabian nights, an Arabic camel walking to the beat of its humps, or Arabic Saharan way of life. This may be because we un-consciously relate ideas that are already set out for us as such as media or education Althusser would argue. Therefore weather or not we choose to use typical of un-typical ideals within a photograph to benefit our society and teach our society in the right way is up to us. Bibliography 1, Kobena Mercer ‘Reading racial Fetishiam: the photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe in eds. Evans Hall (1999) Visual culture: he reader London: Sage, open university 2, Becker, H. S. (1974) Photography and Sociology. Studies in the Anthropology of Visual Communication 1, 3-26. 3, Paris Match French ideology, Google images www.google.com accessed: 03/04/08 4, Lewis, W. (2005) ‘Louis Althusser and the Traditions of French Marxism Lexington books, 2005 5, Marx and Engels: The German Ideology Part I: Feuerbach. Opposition of the Materialist and Idealist Outlook http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/ch01b.htm 6, Robert Mapplethorpe, Google images www.google.com accessed: 03/04/08 7, Joe Rosenthal: raising the flag, Google images www.google.com accessed: 04/04/ 8, Roland Barthes Rhetoric of the image in ed Wells, L (2003) The photography reader London, New York: Routledge 9, Barthes, Roland, Mythologies, London: Vintage, 2000 10, Trevor Pateman, ‘The Theory of Ideology: Bringing the Mind Back In http://www.selectedworks.co.uk/theoryideology.html accessed:02/04/08 11, Linford Christie: Google image www.google.com accessed: 04/04/08 12, Hall, Stuart (Editor) Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, London; Sage Publications, 1997 13, Roderick Munday ‘Illustrate and critically discuss the ways in which semioticians problematise the concept of representation. http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/ram0207.html accessed: 04/04/08 14, photography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography accessed: 03/04/08 15, Roland Barthes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Barthes accessed: 03/04/08 16, Berger, John, Ways of Seeing, Hardmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1972 17, Roland Barthes, Panzani Advert: www.google.com accessed: 02/04/08 18, Ansel Adams gallery, http://www.anseladams.com/ansel-adams-photography.html accessed: 04/04/08

The Bolsheviks and the Tragedy of the October Revolution Essay

The Bolsheviks and the Tragedy of the October Revolution The majority of the people are with us. The majority of the working and oppressed people all over the world are with us. Ours is the cause of justice. Our victory is assured."1 "October was a classic coup d'à ©tat, the capture of governmental power by a small minority, carried out-without mass engagement."2 The October Revolution was perhaps the most momentous event of the twentieth century. It led to the creation of the Soviet Union, the first avowedly Communist nation in history, which was to become a global superpower, an inspiration to many, an object of the hatred of many more. Possibly more important was the role the memory of the October Revolution played in the mythology of the Soviet Union throughout its entire existence. Along with the doctrine of Marxism-Leninism and the Communist Party edifice, the legacy of October was one of the pillars upon which the Soviet Union supported itself and justified its form and existence.   " Whatever legitimacy the Soviet regime could once claim, in its own eyes and in that of the outside world," claims Martin Malia, "depended - on the socialist reality of October."3 In the Soviet Union, the October Revolution was officially viewed as the ultimate endorsement of the Communist Party and Marxism-Leninism by the people of Russia.   The toiling masses, achieving class-consciousness in the turmoil of the revolutionary cauldron, placed their vanguard at their head and entrusted it with control of the new Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.   They then defended it against the attacks of the counterrevolutionaries, and would continue to do so until the worldwide socialist revolution, the establishment of global communism, and th... ...dy, 507. 25.   Sukhanov, Russian Revolution, 550. 26.   Daniels, Conscience of the Revolution, 64. 27.   Ibid., 63. 28.   Robert Daniels, ed.   A Documentary History of Communism (New York: Random House, 1984), I, 102. 29.   Lenin qtd. in Daniels, Conscience of the Revolution, 65. 30. Ibid., 63. 31.   Figes, People's Tragedy, 506. 32.   Daniels, Conscience of the Revolution, 147. 33.   Figes, People's Tragedy, 464. 34.   Richard Stites, Revolutionary Dreams: Utopian Vision and Experimental Life in the Russian Revolution, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), 43. 35.   Sukhanov, Russian Revolution, 553 - 555. 36.   Figes, People's Tragedy, 519. 37.   Daniels, Conscience of the Revolution, 110. 38.   Ibid., 113. 39.   See Figes, People's Tragedy, 590 - 594. 40.   Daniels, Conscience of the Revolution, 119. 41.   Ibid., 121. 42.   Malia, Soviet Tragedy, 103 - 104.

Steroid Use By Athletes Should be Banned :: Argumentative Persuasive Steroids Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is amazing what athletes will do to achieve higher levels of performance and to sometimes get the extra edge on the competition. Most of the time people do not realize the long-term effects that result from the decisions they make early in life. This resembles the use of steroids in a person’s life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Steroids became an option to athletes in the Olympics and other major sporting events during the 1950’s. But this use of steroids among athletes only became widely apparent when Canadian sprint runner Ben Johnson tested positive for steroid use after winning the gold medal for the one hundred-meter dash during the 1988 Olympics (Francis, 45). Now a skinny fifteen-year-old can just walk down to the local gym and find people who either sell or know how to get in contact with those who sell the drug that will make him envious of his friends. Steroids are an attractive drug. While steroids seem harmless to the unaware user, they can have a risky effect. Most of the time whether the users are new or experienced, they do not know the dangerous consequences steroids can have on their bodies and their minds. Though steroids cause a relatively insignificant number of deaths in our society, the banning of steroids is justified because steroids have a lot of side effe cts not known to the uninformed user.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even though steroids are known as a somewhat dangerous substance, they are legal to have and to consume. There has not been a study that proves such possible side effects are linked to medical problems of steroid users (Rogak, 89). There are those who have pointed out several cases where someone has died and an autopsy has shown that the person was using steroids, but they claim this does not mean that it is a deadly drug as some medical professionals have stated (97). Some advocates of steroids believe that because steroids are legal, and because it is the decision of the user to take the drug, steroids are not causing a problem in society. Alcohol and cigarettes are consumed by millions of people, causing a lot of deteriorating effects on their bodies, but there has never been a ban on these items because of the dangers that they can cause. Why should steroids be different? Some people say that the wide spread use of steroids among athletes is forcing the young athletes to use steroids, even though it is against their standards.

Musical Style and Innovations of Beethoven Essay

Musical Style and Innovations Beethoven is viewed as a transitional figure between the Classical and Romantic eras of musical history. Above all, his works distinguish themselves from those of any prior composer through his creation of large, extended architectonic structures characterized by the extensive development of musical material, themes, and motifs, usually by means of â€Å"modulation†, that is, a change in the feeling of the home key, through a variety of keys or harmonic regions. Although Haydn’s later works often showed a greater fluidity between distant keys, Beethoven’s innovation was the ability to rapidly establish a solidity in juxtaposing different keys and unexpected notes to join them. This expanded harmonic realm creates a sense of a vast musical and experiential space through which the music moves, and the development of musical material creates a sense of unfolding drama in this space. In this way Beethoven’s music parallels the simultaneous development of the novel in literature, a literary form focused on the life drama and development of one or more individuals through complex life circumstances, and of contemporaneous German idealism’s philosophical notion of self, mind, or spirit that unfolds through a complex process of contradictions and tensions between the subjective and objective until a resolution or synthesis occurs in which all of these contradictions and developmental phases have been resolved or encompass ed in a higher unity. Beethoven continued to expand the â€Å"development† section of works, extending a trend in the works of Haydn and Mozart, who had dramatically expanded both the length and substance of instrumental music. As Beethoven’s major immediate predecessors and influences, he looked to their harmonic and formal models for his own works. However, both Mozart and Haydn placed the great weight of a musical movement in the statement of ideas called the exposition, for Beethoven the development section of a sonata form became the heart of the work. Beethoven was able to do this by making the development section not merely longer, but also more structured. The very long development section of the Eroica Symphony, for example, is divided into four roughly equal sections, making it, in effect, a sonata form within a sonata form. The first movement alone of this symphony is as long as an entire typical Italian-style Mozart symphony from the 1770s. His focus on the development would, like others of his innovations, set a trend that later composers would follow. Although Beethoven wrote many beautiful and lyrical melodies, another radical innovation of his music, compared especially to that of Mozart and Haydn, is his extensive use of forceful, marked, and even stark rhythmic patterns throughout his compositions and, in particular, in his themes and motifs, some of which are primarily rhythmic rather than melodic. Some of his most famous themes, such as those of the first movements of the Third, Fifth, and Ninth symphonies, are primarily non-melodic rhythmic figures consisting of notes of a single chord, and the themes of the last movements of the Third and Seventh symphonies could more accurately be described as rhythms rather than as melodies. This use of rhythm was particularly well suited to the primacy of development in Beethoven’s music, since a single rhythmic pattern can more easily than a melody be taken through a succession of different, even remote, keys and harmonic regions while retaining and conveying an underlying unity. This allowed him to combine different features of his themes in a wide variety of ways, extending the techniques of Haydn in development (see Sonata Form). He also continued another trend – towards larger orchestras – that went on until the first decade of the 20th century, and moved the center of the sound downwards in the orchestra, to the violas and the lower register of the violins and cellos, giving his music a heavier and darker feel than Haydn or Mozart. Gustav Mahler modified the orchestration of some of Beethoven’s music — most notably the 3d and 9th symphonies — with the idea of more accurately expressing Beethoven’s intent in an orchestra that had grown so much larger than the one Beethoven used: for example, doubling woodwind parts to compensate for the fact that a modern orchestra has so many more strings than Beethoven’s orchestra did. Needless to say, these efforts remain controversial. In his Fifth Symphony Beethoven introduced a striking motif, drawn from a late Haydn symphony, in the very opening bar, which he echoed in various forms in all four movements of the symphony . This is the first important occurrence of cyclic form. He was also fond of making usual what had previously been unusual: in the Fifth Symphony, instead of  using a stately minuet, as had been the norm for the â€Å"dance† movement of a four-movement work, he created a dark march, which he used as the third movement and ran into the fourth without interruption. While one can point to previous works which had one or more of these individual features, his music, combined with the use of operatic scoring that he learned from Mehul and Cherubini, created a work which was altogether novel in effect – too novel, in fact, for some critics of the time. On the other hand, his contemporary Spohr found the finale â€Å"too baroque†, though he praised the second movement as being in â€Å"good Romantic style†. His Ninth Symphony included a chorus and solo voices in the 4th movement for the first time, and made extensive use of fugues, which were generally considered to be a different form of music, and again unusual in symphonies. He wrote one opera, Fidelio. It has been said that he wrote beautiful vocal music without regard for the limitations of human singers, treating the voice as if it were a symphonic instrument – even though his conversation books note his desire to make his music singable and include references that indicate that he had remembered his father’s singing lessons. Beethoven’s development and works are typically divided into three periods: an early period in which his works show especially the influence of Mozart and Haydn; a middle, mature period in which he developed his distinctive individual style, sometimes characterized as â€Å"heroic†; and a late period, in which he wrote works of a highly evolved, individuated, sometimes fragmented and unorthodox style sometimes characterized as â€Å"transcendent† and â€Å"sublime†, where he tried to combine the baroque ideas of Handel and Bach with his icons Mozart and Haydn. In his late years he called Handel â€Å"my grand master†. In contrast to Mozart, he labored heavily over his work, leaving intermediate drafts that provide considerable insight into his creative process. Early drafts of his Ninth Symphony used rough vertical marks on the score in place of actual notes, to indicate the structure he had in mind for the melody. Studies of his sketch books show the working out of dozens of variations on a particular theme, changing themes to fit with an overall structure that evolved over time, and extensive sketching of counter-melodies.

Brownies Packer

The writer ZZ Packer's short story, â€Å"Brownies,† is about a troop of African-American Girl Scouts from south Atlanta that takes a camping trip; unfortunately, almost instantly, imaginary tensions build up between them and Troop 909, a group of white girls; struggle that later in this story develops as the main external conflict. Arnetta and Octavia, appear as the leaders of the group, and insist that the 909 girls called one of their group a derogatory word which is the starting point of the conflict.Consequently, a confrontation rapidly takes place between the teams, but this uarrel turns awry when the African-American girls realize the white members of Troop 909 are developmentally disabled and it becomes clear to the reader that Octavia and Arnetta probably make the accusation up. Nevertheless, the short narrative by Packer goes further than a simple camping conflict between rival teams. This story argues that when individuals have seen or experienced suffering for so l ong, in this case the African-American girls, they unintentionally react by becoming the agent of despair to others regardless guilt of innocence.To begin with, it is suitable to state that the encounter of the two Brownie Troops, black and white, early in the story is mainly based on skin color differences. At the start of this narrative, Lauren, the narrator of this account says: By our second day at Camp at Cresencio, the girls in my Brownie Troops had decided to kick the asses of each and every girl at Brownie Troop 909. Troop 909 was doomed from the first day of camp; they were the white girls, their complexions a blend of ice-cream: strawberry, vanilla (177).The girls n the two groups had never spoken to each other, yet the desire to fght the â€Å"Wet Chihuahuas† as the African-American girls once called the girls in Troop 909, was evident. Furthermore, later in the story, Packer reveals that the African-American girls' prejudice, bitterness, and mistreat towards the w hite group is a consequence of their parents' deep antipathy shown to the white community. â€Å"Shot† the narrator describes on page 187 â€Å"We have all been taught that adulthood is full of sorrow and pain, and taxes and bills, dreaded work and dealing with whites, sickness and death†.In this excerpt ZZ Packer clearly points out that the aversion the girls feel towards the whites is not based on their own experiences, but rather their families. According to their parents, dealing with â€Å"whites† was a problem every adult had to face. Lauren's statement clearly exposes the young African-American girls' lack of reasoning on racism, and thus portrays the parents as the responsible for the children's behavior. Resentment on behalf of the parents did indeed have a huge impact in the brownies.Pursuing this situation further, racial segregation the African American brownies xperienced in their communities, is the major cause of affliction in the young children. Lauren affirms: When you live in the suburbs of Atlanta, it was easy to forget about whites. Whites were like those pigeons: real and existing, but rarely seen or thought about†¦ everyone had seen white girls and their mother coo-coing over dresses; everyone had gone to downtown library and seen white businessmen swish by importantly, wrists flexed in front of them to check the time as though they would change from Clark Kent into Superman†¦ ose images were a fleeing as cards shuffled in a deck, where as the ten white girls behind us were real and memorable community. Everything about them somehow seems to exude a kind of reigning beauty that results in an â€Å"enw and hatred† the blacks have against the whites. Even little things like hair could produce these hostile feelings, according to the fourth grader. â€Å"Their long, shampoo-commercial hair, straight as spaghetti from the box†, as Lauren describes, nutrients the prejudices that finally help bring a bout racism.The orced separation that troop experienced in addition to exposure of only glimpses of White people, can explain the white girls as â€Å"invaders' and hence, the enemy. It is not concretely clear that the White girls used a racial slur, but if they had it seemed because of their disabilities it would not have been intentional. However, the White girls may have indeed repeated what they had heard. This would point directly to prejudice that still exists in Modern day times. In society, racial conflict might be understandable among adults; nevertheless, resentment is young children must not e tolerated.Packer deliberately sets the characters as children dealing with adult issues in order to convey a higher impact with her argument. The author intentionally presents two historically rival groups in America, blacks and whites, to prove the argument that when individuals, have experienced discrimination, prejudice, and inequality for so long, it is understandable if uninte nded retaliation takes place. Some of the girls in the African-American group did not even want to encounter the girls from Troop 909, yet Octavia carried so much hatred inside, that he forced all the other girls to comply with her suffering.Octavia not only experienced the segregation everyone else did, but she also had to deal with her parents' divorce. The reality is that when an individual is resentful, he or she may involuntarily yearn for people to suffer the same as he or she does, or did. . In the final analysis of the short narrative by ZZ Packer, â€Å"Brownies†, the most compelling evidence of the author's argument can clearly be seen as the end of the story. The narrator retells an account she had with her father, when they were at the mall andLaurel's father deliberately asked a religious white group to paint their porch. Shockingly, the Mennonites could not refuse to do so because it is part of their religion to â€Å"help others†. However, it is not unti l Laurel retells the story when she finally understands, and explains the cause of resentment in his father. She recalls her father's words as she was speaking: â€Å"it was the only time he'd have a white mad on his knees doing something for a black man for free† (193). Laurel's father railed against whites because of the historically rivalry in the United States.African Americans were considered slaves for more than a hundred years until 1865, and have been discriminated ever since. They worked for the white for free, suffering the worst treatment a human being can receive. They were considered property. Consequently, on Packer's point of view, resentment towards the white community is expected even in contemporary days. Because as Laurel pointed out at the end of this narrative â€Å"When youVe been made to feel badly for so long, you Jump at the chance to do it to others† (194).

How does Arthur Miller make passions and desires so memorable Essay

Given that Eddie Carbone only ever explicitly expresses his passions and desires once in the play, how does Arthur Miller make them so memorable? Much of Arthur Miller’s play A View from the Bridge works to create the impression that Eddie Carbone is disgusted by Rodolpho’s effeminate appearance and supposed homosexuality. He uses this as an argument against Rodolpho’s suitability as a husband for Catherine. When Eddie’s own homosexual desires are revealed, then, they strike us as completely antithetical to these sentiments. It is this irresolvable and perplexing contradiction that makes his repressed homosexuality, rather than his incestuous desire for Catherine, so memorable for the audience. Eddie lives in a community where intolerance greets any man who does not conform to the most parochial definition of masculinity, an intolerance that Miller clearly articulates through the minor characters Mike and Louis. While Mike and Louis reverently point out Marco’s physical strength when working at the docks, Rodolpho, â€Å"that blond one,† is instead said to have â€Å"a sense of humour.† This remark isn’t obviously pejorative, but Mike and Louis â€Å"grin,† â€Å"snicker,† and become â€Å"hysterical† as they voice it. The discrepancy between their speech and behaviour points to an underlying and unspoken insinuation. Of course, â€Å"a sense of humour† is a stand-in for what they see as Rodolpho’s difference compared to Marco. Marco conforms to their definition of masculinity: he is physically strong, and works quietly and diligently. Rodolpho does not, and they mock this difference, revealing their intolerance . Eddie is similarly appalled by what he sees as Rodolpho’s effeminate appearance, giving voice to both this and his belief that Rodolpho is a homosexual in his conversation with Beatrice. Eddie remarks on Rodolpho’s â€Å"wacky hair,† declaring he’s â€Å"like a chorus girl or sump’m.† Similar to Mike and Louis, Eddie calls attention to Rodolpho’s hair, implying that Rodolpho bleaches it. According to Eddie, a preoccupation with his appearance is a strictly feminine trait and therefore casts doubt over his masculinity. The simile that compares Rodolpho to a â€Å"chorus girl† makes this all the more clear. The intolerance and resentment this provokes in Eddie is revealed through Eddie’s reference to Rodolpho as â€Å"that† and the assertion that he’s â€Å"like a weird.† By â€Å"weird,† Eddie means homosexual. Eddie uses Rodolpho’s alleged femininity and homosexuality to argue against his suitability as Catherine’s husband. Seeking legal counsel from Alfieri, Eddie claims that Rodolpho â€Å"ain’t right.† Again he calls attention to Rodolpho’s â€Å"platinum blond† hair, as well as the â€Å"high† notes he hits when he sings. The thought of such an effeminate man with Catherine seems to deeply disturb him as he admits that â€Å"when I think of that guy layin’ his hands on her I could – I mean it’s eatin’ me out.† Eddie struggles for words, his incomplete and incoherent sentences revealing his intense anger. He’s disgusted by the idea of an effeminate homosexual touching the niece he says he seeks to protect. Given Eddie’s sentiments, how, then, are we to respond to him kissing Rodolpho? The kiss is deeply unsettling because it is so antithetical to everything Eddie has said and done leading up to it. Miller’s stage directions vividly call to mind the moment when Eddie kisses Rodolpho: â€Å"Eddie pins his arms, laughing, and suddenly kisses him.† The use of the verb â€Å"pins† underscores the violence and brutality of this sexual act. It’s likely that the ferocity of this expression of homosexual desire corresponds with the ferocity of Eddie’s suppression of that desire leading up to this moment. Furthermore, his â€Å"laughing† suggests a frantic sense of relief. The aggressive expression of homosexual desire is incompatible with every impression we might have formed about Eddie before this moment, and we are left struggling to reconcile these two wildly disparate sides of his character. In summation, the homosexual passions and desires of Eddie Carbone are an astonishing revelation in Miller’s play, making them both unfathomable and memorable. Their eventual and painful expression leaves us wondering how well we know Eddie, despite having formed what appeared to be an accurate impression of him. It encourages us to consider more generally the extent to which any person’s true nature is knowable when we can only observe them from the outside.

An Analysis of the Armful

An analysis of the poem â€Å"The Armful† by Robert Frost In Robert Frost’s â€Å"The Armful† the speaker in the poem is not defined, but that is of no consequence, as the feeling of frustration that is conveyed in the poem’s first four lines could have been expressed by either a man or a woman. The speaker is not speaking to anyone in particular in the poem but it can be inferred that he is speaking to the reader on a higher level as, speaking literally; everyone can empathize with the feelings of frustration a person struggling to carry and balance too many packages conveys.In the poem the speaker has gone for groceries, probably without help, over shopped and is having a difficult time with all the bags he must carry. The packages slip from the speaker’s hands and he tries to catch them with his knees all the while still trying balance the rest of the his packages. In the end the he is forced to drop the groceries and find a better way of packing them back in the bags. Although the tone from the onset is that of frustration by the end it changes to something more positive. It can then be inferred that the theme of this poem is one of hope.The poem creates an image of someone who is in need of help and is alone, not necessarily lonely as in need of social capital, but alone on the inside. The constant, repetitive use of the word ‘I’ supports the idea and feeling of isolation even though, as the reader, it is easy to put one’s self in that situation and to feel as if you were there watching. It has to be assumed that the author is not literally writing about someone’s troubles during a routine shopping trip. Take, for instance, lines three (3) and four (4) ‘And the whole pile is slipping, bottles, buns, Extremes too hard to comprehend at.Once’. One can connote that it has more to do with the abstract, inner most problems of the authors mind as opposed to actual contents of a brown paper bag. These Images are brought to life in this rhythmic poem by the use of figurative language, particularly through the use of metaphor and symbolism. The rhythmic patterns of the poem can be seen at the end of each line. Here are the first two lines of the poem as an example of the rhyme scheme ‘For every parcel I stoop down to seize I lose some other off my hands and knees’.An example of alliteration can be seen in the second line when the author writes ‘ And the whole pile slipping, bottles, buns’. The implied comparisons or metaphors are abundant in this short poem. In fact it can be said with certainty that the poem is one big metaphor. Robert Frost uses this poem to explore deep feelings within himself and within everyone. Once again using lines three (3) and four (4) as an example ‘And the whole pile slipping, bottles, buns, Extremes too hard to comprehend at once’ is a metaphor for the complexity of the mind.The author’s problem s are like a whirlwind that makes his mind slip. Whether the problem is heavy symbolized by the bottles or lighter symbolized by the buns they hold equal weight in the space of the mind, that to this date we barely understand the inner workings of. In the next two lines, ‘Yet nothing I should care to leave behind. With all I have to hold with hand and mind. ’ Foster is implying that his problems are so great and unmanageable that he cannot stop thinking about them.In the next two line, lines seven (7) and eight (8), he gives the reader a glimpse that his problems may be more than in his head. It reads ‘And heart, if need be, I will do my best. To keep their building balanced at my breast’. This infers that his problems may also be emotional and he is trying hard to balance the two. In the last four lines is where the theme of the poem starts to take shape and one can see that all is not lost. In lines nine (9) and ten (10) the speaker says ‘I crouch d own to prevent them all as they fall; then sit down in the middle of them all’.The speaker at this point realizes that he is carrying too much both mentally and emotionally and decides to stop and analyze what is happening to him, take it slow and figure something out. By the time line eleven (11) and twelve (12) come around one can surmise that the speaker has had enough of his problems and is actively looking for a way to fix things, a way to deal with his problems, as the speaker states ‘I had to drop the armful in the road and try to stack them in a better load’. In The Armful Robert Frost has written a piece that almost anyone can relate to.Everyone has had problems that seemed insurmountable but have mustered the courage and the will to supersede these hurdles and have gotten through them. In all, the author has used imagery, rhythmic sense, syntax that is not overly complicated and figurative language to forge a poem that can be considered a metaphor for l ife. Holding on to things can over complicate our lives and if one stops and thinks about what is really important ones loads will lightened. The poem is also symbolic of mans need to overcome adversity.