Allexa Bonner Essays (1230 words) - Greek Mythology, Mythology

Allexa Bonner English 3410 Dr. Hague 10/07/2015 T heseus Reincarnated "Man born of woman cannot outrun his fate" (Renault 332). This expressive retelling of the legend of Theseus is anything but predictable. The King Must Die both revitalizes Theseus' story as well as allows for a legitimate human connection. We are not given a modern update on an ancient tale, but we are thrown into the past. From Theseus' perspective almost everything is the hopefulness of a child . Poseidon may or may not be his father , and the Gods may or may not speak to him. For Theseus, the signs and warnings from the Gods are very much real. He is living in a world of fat e, belief , and destiny. The title itself is referring to the tradition of the year-king being sacrificed to the Gods to ensure the prosperity of the people. Renault has really brought together the enticing authenticity of the past and the down to earth reality of the present. Even when Theseus comes to learn that he may not actually be the son of Poseidon, he never really loses his connection to his beliefs. The all-encompassing religious power of the Gods and Goddesses is infused with the story though they are not, in so many words, definite characters. They are simply indications of how people interacted with the world. Renault has managed to add realism and practicality to the unfamiliar past without sacrificing the essential actuality of ancient Greece customs and the heroism of Theseus himself. Almost every aspect of daily life within Theseus' home-life feels authentic. Renault has taken objects from the Mycenae: the Cretan necklaces and face paint, the ox and the tripod, and the women. The combination of myth and fact has given the legend a new light. Though all the elements of myth are presentthe Minotaur, the declining reign of Minos, the labyrinth, and the hopeless love interestRenault has subtly transformed them into an ultimately human experience. Renault states that "a fairy-tale gloss may have disguised human actualities" (333). These changes make Theseus more plausible, understandable, and relatable as real experiences of growth; however, they do not lose their everlasting importance and impact as a mythological tale . It is natural and not much is implausible. Renault writes as if Theseus were a real individual in search of his place to belong , not a mythical being, by using history and a profound understanding of the cultures to set Theseus in a much more representative setting. Her descriptions of the lifting of the stone, the wrestl ing match in Eleusis, Theseus' arrival at the palace in Athens, and particularly his experiences in becoming a bull dancer bring the time period vividly to life in ways that are reliable with history. Theseus' devotion to and respect for Poseidon reflects his appreciation towards his own inconsequential self in comparison to the gods, and his glorification of the gods important to each of the kingdoms he visits show how Greek religion has progressively combined gods and goddesses to explain the increasingly complex mysteries of the world and of life in general . Theseus and his history are in no way incomprehensible. "A man is at his youngest when he thinks he is a man, not yet realizing that his actions must show it" (89) . Theseus is a credible and charming character. In the beginning he wishes nothing more than to grow and to be the epitome of a God's son. He feels that he is much too small and must prove himself in the most dramatic of ways. Nevertheless, h e is a fearless, natural leader that is willing to put his fate in the hands of his beliefs. Though the Gods may not expose themselves directly, they are believed to be completely authentic. Theseus himself has an electric energy about him . Pylas declares that he has "a strong life thread. Where it crosses other men's it frays them" (105). He is a strong-willed hero who seems to have a natural ability to seek out adventure and has no trouble finding companions. More than anything, this is a story about a boy coming of age. Throughout his journey, Theseus grows

The main themes of the story Christmas Carol Essays

The main themes of the story Christmas Carol Essays The main themes of the story Christmas Carol Essay The main themes of the story Christmas Carol Essay Essay Topic: A Christmas Carol Furthermore, Dickens uses effective language to give us a vivid picture of what the character of Scrooge is like. Firstly, he uses present participles to show the reader how important money is to him. Scrooge is described as a squeezing, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner. The verbs all emphasise that money means everything to Scrooge by associating with hands and thereby showing his desperation ; he is a money grabber. The rhythmic use of these verbs which are repeated could also imply that the list does not stop and that Scrooge is even crueler than depicted. This already makes the reader think negatively about the character from the beginning of the story, because it gives him the idea that he does not value important things in life, like family and friends, but that money takes precedence for him. Furthermore,Dickens uses cold words when describing his character to emphasise that he is not a kind person ; a frosty rime was on his head and his eyebrows and he carried his own temperature about with him. It tells us that he is a cold-hearted person, and that there is nothing warm or friendly about him. It also allows us to picture his features- they are cold and sharp, making him appear unapproachable. He does not care about what state other people are in; he only cares about himself and money. Dickens also makes use of pathetic fallacy to describe Scrooges character. In the first stave he again uses weather to give the reader insight into his character; The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. The harshness of the weather reflects Scrooges character; its as though wherever Scrooge goes, the atmosphere becomes cold and harsh. Scrooges character can be explained through his past as when he was young he had a tough life because he grew up without any love from his father. These descriptions of Scrooge reflect his unforgiving, unwelcoming and heartless personality. Lastly, Dickens used similes to demonstrate to the reader how unsociable and cold-hearted Scrooge is. They encourage interpretation as they let the reader imagine Scrooge in his own way. The first simile he uses is: as solitary as an oyster, which shows how unsociable he is. An oyster lives in a shell in its own little world; Scrooge is the same- he likes to be isolated away from the rest of the world and he avoids contact with other people as much as he can. It could also imply that he is a good person inside, but has a hard shell around himself and does want to get close to anyone. His enjoyment of isolation can be explained through his past as he was abandoned by his father when he was young, so he got used to being on his own. This brings in the theme of change, as the reader sees that Scrooge is like this because that is how he grew up and he didnt know any different, not necessarily because that is how he wants to be. It shows the reader that if Scrooge learned how much better it is to socialise with other people he would want to change and spend more time with his nephew. Moreover, the simile hard and sharp as flint tells the reader how heartless and uncaring Scrooge is. Flint is a piece of rock that is very sharp and hard and nothing can get to it. .The characteristic hardness of flint links to Scrooges character, showing how Scrooge is just as unchanging: nothing will make him feel sympathetic towards poor people, and nothing will make him a nicer, more caring person. It emphasises that he is very callous and only cares about how he is doing and how much money he has, but he does not care the slightest about other people. You can tell a lot about a character by observing the way they behave and by other peoples attitudes towards them. Firstly, we get to know that Scrooge does not like to socialise and be pleasant to people. We get to know this as we see that he is miserable towards his only relative- his nephew. When he invites him to Christmas dinner, Scrooge repeats Good afternoon to show that he is not interested in socialising and he does not wish to discuss it. He is infatuated with money, so on Christmas he wants to be in his office working. He also thinks that love is ridiculous, and he criticises his nephew for marrying for love: Because you fell in love growled Scrooge, as if that were the only thing in the world more ridiculous than a merry Christmas. Scrooge thinks love is ridiculous because when he was younger, his fianci e Belle left him because he became obsessed with money and started to love it more than her. He now does not have any time for love because it gets in the way of making money.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman v. David Foster Wallace Essay

Charlotte Perkins Gilman v. David Foster Wallace - Essay Example Many believe that depression can lead to mental disorder which is not true but it can affect a person’s perception and attitude. The author states that the girl feels neglected as her parents are more concerned about â€Å"scoring petty points of each other† (P). It makes her feel that her parents have abandoned her with no help and or concern. The author further shows that a depressed person looks for support and comfort, which can help her gain confidence and strength to fight the situation. In the book the girl’s therapist finds that the â€Å"depressed person’s support system† comprised of girls who happen to be her childhood friends and few other who helped her at â€Å"various stages of her school career† (P). She calls these acquaintances in late nights to get support and â€Å"some realistic perspective on the day’s despair† (P). The context in which the author mentions the girl’s situation gives the readers a cle ar idea that depression cannot be purely called as a mental illness. Often situations lead a person to a sense of despair which causes emotional stress and trauma. There should be a proper approach to the depressed persons in order to get them out of that situation. They often feel that they are boring and blame themselves for being in that situation. This might be due to lack of proper support system required for an individual in the situation of emotional agony. Giving the example of the situation the girl is in, the author says â€Å"the depressed person always apologized for dragging them down or coming off as boring or self-pitying or repellant or taking them away from their active, vibrant, largely pain-free long-distance lives† (P). They also think that talking to others during depression can make others feel bored. Therefore, most of the depressed individuals like to be alone and isolated. More interaction with such people can help to improve their situation. A great deal of compassion and emotional attachment should be there to deal with depression. Many people are of the notion that depression is a kind of mental illness. This might be because they hear lot of stories and news on depressed people doing weird and horrifying acts. Therapists believe that depressed people do not like to mention their situation in details. They sometimes give only the outline of their emotional agony. People suffering from mental illness always suggest that others are being too harsh in this situation and most of them eventually break down in tears. The author further tells the audience that â€Å"her support system often told the depressed person that they just wished she could not be a little less hard on herself, to which the depressed person responded by â€Å"bursting involuntarily into tears† (Wallace 58). A person in depression is most vulnerable and any comments can affect their mental situation badly. Frequent talking to friends in such situations can make them feel bored and less responsive. Eventually, the depressed person will get a sense of shame talking to their so called support system and there will be an â€Å"inadequacy the depressed person experience about calling members of her support system† (Wallace 58). How to tackle this kind of situation is a big challenge. Besides, continuous depression can make the people in the support system feel bored. Sometimes, their gestures or â€Å"

Critical Thinking Case - Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical Thinking Case - - Essay Example The company should ensure its financial reports abide by the GAAP. The Microsoft Corp may have violated the rules and regulations of the security and exchange commission. Microsoft documented reserves minus a properly substantiated or recorded basis. The SEC noticed that from the year 1995 to 1998, the company maintained secret liability, allowances, accruals, and reserves accounts that are termed as reserve accounts or reserves by the SEC. These undisclosed accounts stretched from $200 million to $900 million on quarter-end in the course of those 4years. At the operational level, regional controllers upheld reserve accounts in conformity with the accepted accounting principles and were correctly documented and reviewed systematically by the internal audit department of Microsoft Corp. However, at the high-ranking company level, the journal entries were carried out to several reserve accounts without applying accurately based statistics, analysis or formulas. Additionally, there was minimal or no recording to support the alterations to these reserv e accounts. The main justification was founded upon the decision of the probability of forthcoming events. Therefore, these reserves lacked the needed documentation as required by the national securities statute and did not have sufficient substantiation as speculated in GAAP (Sandretto, 57). Microsoft Corp was not doing the right thing as all the reserve accounts were not being maintained according to the GAAP, and they were not reviewed accordingly with the company’s internal audit department. Additionally, the documentation and changes depended on subjective judgments instead of factual analysis and statistics. Furthermore, the actions of only maintaining some reserve accounts and having others undisclosed are termed as fraud, and this affects the company’s profitability. Therefore, the company should make sure there are no undisclosed accounts and all

Crime Prevention Issues: Murder, Organized Crime and Fraud

Crime Prevention Issues: Murder, Organized Crime and Fraud 1. Describe the various types of murder. Discuss the issues involved in trying to solve each type of murder. Which are most likely and least likely to be resolved? First Degree/Capital Murder – One of the serious charges it is often the one that requires premeditation, planning, and deliberate action to commit murder. Some states add additional attributes to first degree murder charge such as motive, the context of the murder, and in what manner the murder took place. An example would be someone plotting to kill someone, learning their daily routine and habits. Acquiring a weapon and stalking out the victim are all examples of premeditation and would result in a first degree murder charge. Issues in solving or defending first degree murder charges require understanding if the criminal admits to the killing and asserts self-defense or if the criminal indicates that they did not do the killing. Resolution could lie in justified homicide such as self-defense; mistaken identity, was the person accused at the scene of the crime; accidental death such as parental discipline or even insanity. The prosecution has to convince the jury without doubt that the defendant is the correct person placing them with evidence or they have to disprove insanity defense and/or self-defense defenses. This charge would be the hardest to resolve, the recent Hernandez trial proves that even though the defense may have put reasonable doubt as to the First Degree Murder charge (no murder weapon, no independent witnesses, circumstantial evidence by the prosecution), he still was convicted of First Degree murder. Second Degree Murder – This charge is seen as killing without malice; that there was no premeditation or deliberate planning. For example, if someone is in a heated argument and attacks the victim in anger resulting in that person’s death; the likely charge would be second degree murder as there was no pre-planning and it was done without premeditation. Issues in solving or defending second degree murder charges lay in the fact that most charged with this degree claim they did not commit the crime. There are also those that admit to the killing but indicate that the crime was justified. Resolution could lie in actual innocence; self-defense or insanity. Again, the prosecution has burden of proof that the defendant committed the crime. Felony Murder – The charge of felony murder is used when someone is killed during another felony. It usually isn’t planned out or intended but happens as a consequence of the other felony. If a robber shoots and kills a guard during the course of a bank robbery, felony murder charges would be brought against the criminal Involuntary Manslaughter – If negligence results in death, a person can be charged with involuntary manslaughter. An example could be when you drink and drive and get into an accident that results in a death. This is criminal negligence or involuntary manslaughter. Voluntary Manslaughter – Usually is applied when one person kills another without malice, in that they did not intend for that person to die. There are many times when higher murder charges (such as second degree murder) have been reduced to voluntary manslaughter, each state has its own definitions for manslaughter charges. Provocation is generally used here, meaning that voluntary manslaughter charges tend to occur when a victim is provoked into killing such as finding a spouse in bed with another person. Each degree charged brings with it, its own level of punishments each degree having gradual increase in severity. Murder versus manslaughter can be subtle in their differences, partly because an accidental killing (usually manslaughter) can be constituted as second degree murder. 2. Find three examples of how the internet has facilitated and expanded the variety and types of property crimes that are being perpetrated today. The internet is expanding its reach and making it easier for criminals to steal your identity.[1] One way is through phishing scams right into your email inbox. Phishing is when cybercriminals may send emails that look like they come from legitimate businesses such as a bank or credit card company. People that receive these emails are told there are problems with their account and in order to fix them, they need to enter their personal data into the linked website. Once entered, the hackers now have your personal data and can do a few different things, such as creating separate bank accounts in your name without your knowledge. They can gain access to your current accounts or create viruses that forwards their phishing emails to your contacts. Another way the internet has expanded property crimes is through the way we can easily download and obtain copyrighted material.[2] It is illegal for people to download music, movies, or books through the internet, they are all considered theft of property (piracy) and yet the internet has allowed the practice to flourish through websites and file hosting sites. Piracy costs the industry billions of dollars and the ease with which the internet allows the transfer of data is why it is so rampant. With internet usage increase comes the expansion of fraud online through the acquisition and resale of illegally obtained goods and merchandise. This is classified as etailing fraud and the internet has allowed the growth of merchandise sold online illegally. 3. Pick one of the white collar crimes and present a case for why it is or is not more harmful than a violent crime. I read about Adoption Scams[3] for this question and the emotional toll that is thrust upon the victims is hard to read about. In many adoption scam cases, couples seeking to adopt are contacted by the criminal indicating that they know of a baby from Russia up for adoption, or birth mothers promise their unborn child to multiple couples or even cases of bringing in and involving kidnapped children. The criminals provide just enough details to string the couples along, such as photographs and email trails. The criminal is simply doing this for the monetary gain, not taking into account and pain the couple may feel. Many couples get invested once they believe that a child is its way to them. These are couples who, perhaps, have spent years struggling with conception and may have invested time, money, and emotions into alternate ways to conceive. This journey has probably already been an emotional rollercoaster for the victims and the hope of having a child through adoption will set them up for another emotional ride. These victims are preparing for the arrival of a child into their lives, filled with hope. They may have started decorating a nursery, expanding on their homes or scheduled maternity leave at their jobs. Monetary investment aside, many of these victims will suffer when they realize they have been scammed and there is no child â€Å"For some victims, it’s like losing a child.†[4] Crime of any kind is harmful and its impact will resonant over a wide range. Someone commits a violent crime, those that are impacted are not solely the person attacked or killed. Family, friends, and loved ones are impacted by the attack and/or death of the victim so violent crimes don’t only affect one but many. White collar crime such as the adoption scam not only harms the victims but also the victim’s families. In the case of kidnapping, multiple families are involved. If we are comparing violent crimes to white collar crimes and weighing life or death, than yes, the adoption scam is less damaging but there are no victimless crimes (in my opinion) and we should consider the emotional and financial impact of this scam. 4. Discuss the different types of transnational organized crime. Present possible ways for combating these types of crimes. Transnational organized crime is when a crime has been committed in more than one state or nation and usually involves the coordination and planning of numerous people and groups. Much like organized crime before the internet, transnational organized crime is compromised in a hierarchical manner with a leader supported by close advisors. The main purpose is to engage in criminal activity at a global level such as money laundering and computer crime. They use electronic communications to communicate and push forward their illegal agenda. Social networks are used by members to communicate with each other and sometimes to spread their message. Some types of transnational organized crime include groups that are involved in money laundering, drug and arms trafficking, and human smuggling. They endorse and are involved with trading in narcotics, pornography, illegal weapons and prostitution. Combating these groups multinational organizations are difficult. There is always someone else to step in when a group or gang is eliminated. Drug money is a huge source of foreign revenue many of these groups and the corruption of police and military makes suppression hard to enforce on any scale. Federal agencies are charged with combating transnational crime, they do so through international working groups that share intelligence and plot out strategies and directives to take against these cartels. [1] http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html> [2] http://law.jrank.org/pages/11992/Cyber-Crime-Intellectual-property-theft.html> [3] http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2006/august/adoptscams_082806> [4] Ibid.

La Belle Dame sans Merci By John Keats Essay

â€Å"La Belle Dame sans Merci† is a poem written by John Keats who was a romantic poet. The first three stanzas of this poem are spoken by the narrator who is talking to the poet, asking him why he’s wondering by himself and looks so sad. He addresses the poet as â€Å"wretched Wight† roaming outside, all alone. The narrator who’s out in the countryside talks about the night and the surroundings what it’s like presently. There are no sedges or birds in the trees. Everything seems to be complete as the harvests are done which marks the end of the year and the fact that there are no leaves tells us it is autumn too which is a time of the year when it seems as though all forms of life have come to an end. Out of curiosity he asks the poet what is wrong with him. The rest of the poem is the poet’s reply. The poet tells us that he saw an extremely beautiful lady somewhere as in the line â€Å"I met a lady in the meads, full beautiful, a fairy’s child†. The poet further describes the lady. He says that she was so beautiful and graceful that she couldn’t have been a human. With such long hair and the grace as she had, she had to be a fairy’s child though her eyes seemed to be wild† or â€Å"disturbed†. The poet makes her sit on his horse and in her presence, sees nothing else as in the line â€Å"I set her on my pacing steed and nothing else saw all day long†. She sings a song of such music and melody that’s it’s definitely not human. A place where there seemed to be no sound of birds is now enchanted by music. The music is not ordinary music or song but that of a fairies and the immortal as in the line â€Å"for sideways would she lean and sing a fairy’s song†. The fairy in this poem represents the poetic inspiration which inspires poets and artists to write and compose. Without this they feel that they are good as dead. The poetic inspiration casts poets into a delightful mood out of which they are able to compose their poetry. It changes a poet’s life when it enters it by brightening it up and leaves it in a nasty way. Just the way poetic inspiration can change the life of a poet when it enters the previous picture of dull and lifelessness also brightens up when the lady is mentioned. In the third to fifth stanza the poet describes the experience in the presence of the lady and the poetic inspiration which are alike. The poet under the â€Å"spell† composes poetry with â€Å"words† as though decorating the fairy that seems to enjoy him poetry [decoration] very much and urges him to continue. He seems to be enjoying all the sensual pleasures which are of taste, sight, music, fragrance and touch. In the lines â€Å"she found me roots of relish sweet and honey wild and manna dew†, the words â€Å"relish sweet†, â€Å"honey wild†, and â€Å"manna dew†, symbolize or express rather, the pleasures experienced by the poet while writing poetry. In the next stanza we find key words which tell us something about the lady. In the lines â€Å"and there she gazed and sighed deep and there I shut her wild sad eyes so kissed to sleep†, the words â€Å"sighed deep† and â€Å"wild sad eyes† tell us that the lady is not happy about something and that she too is troubled over something. The lady who happens to be a fairy, one that belongs to the world of the immortal cannot stay with a person for long. This is because she is from a different world and so after a period of time she must desert the person no matter what and this is what has caused her grief. Even the best of men this world can offer, kings and warriors are no math and she must leave them all. In the same way, the poetic inspiration cannot stay with one person for a long time. It must move on and go to other people and inspire them to compose as well. In the next stanza we see how the poet tries to enjoy his few moments of ecstasy at the most and dream even if it’s on the cold hill side. The poet knows that he too, like those before him will be deserted. In the next stanza he describes his dream, or rather nightmare in which he sees the people who have already been deserted by the lady and become severely ill their life to them was as good as death. Without the fairy that they loved, they had nothing to live for. In the same sense the poetic inspiration allows poets to do what they love to do i.e. write poetry but once that is taken away, so is their ability of composing and they loose interest in life. The men are left with starved lips and pale faces with nothing worth living for. And when the poet wakes up, he find himself in the same situation and all alone on the cold hill side. And so the poet tells the narrator that he had been deserted by the one he loved most and it didn’t really matter what time of the year it was because his life was as good as death.

Difference between Eastern and Western Philosophy Essay

The history of philosophy is full of dichotomies.   Concepts such as empiricism vs. rationalism, permanence vs. change, appearance vs. reality, monism vs. dualism, and the problem of the One vs. the Many, all have become part of the history of philosophy.   The same is true for Eastern and Western Philosophy.   While at certain points these two philosophies converge, the dichotomy between the two philosophies is not merely geographical but substantial as well. Eastern Philosophy is the philosophy found in the Asian continent which includes Indian Philosophy such as Hinduism, Chinese Philosophy such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, Japanese Philosophy, such as Zen Buddhism and Iranian Philosophy such as Zoroastrianism.   On the other hand, Western Philosophy is the philosophy found in the Western countries which is classified according to era beginning with Greek Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Renaissance Philosophy and Modern Philosophy. Both philosophies also differ in their concept of Religion.   In Eastern Philosophy, their religion is integrated with their philosophy and is considered as their way of life.   For instance, Buddhism is not only a school of philosophic thought but is also a religion for Chinese.   On the other hand, in Western philosophy religion is either opposed or considered separate from their philosophy.   For instance, doing the right thing is a desired end not because of religion but because it is considered as the ultimate good for man. Both philosophies also differ in how they see the relationship between God and the physical universe.   Eastern philosophy considers God as one with the physical reality. (Tony Page 1)   For instance, Buddhism sees God as present everywhere and can be found in trees, soil, or even water.   On the other hand, God is either disavowed by atheist philosophers or considered distinct and separate from the universe.   Cited Works Page, Tony.   â€Å"God in Buddhism: Is there One?†Ã‚   Hollisticshop.co.uk.   2005.   January 2, 2009.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚