The House of Atreus in Classical Greek Tragedy

The House of Atreus in Classical Greek Tragedy Today we are so familiar with plays and movies that it may be difficult to imagine a time when theatrical productions were still new. Like many of the public gatherings in the ancient world, the original productions in Greek theaters were rooted in religion. The City Dionysia Festival It didnt matter that they already knew how the story ended. Athenian audiences of up to 18,000 spectators expected to watch familiar old stories when they attended the Great or City Dionysia festival in March. It was the job of the playwright to interpret familiar myth, slices (temache) from the great banquets of Homer, in such a way as to win the dramatic contest that was the center of the festival. Tragedy lacks a spirit of revelry, so each of 3 competing playwrights produced a lighter, farcical satyr play in addition to three tragedies. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the three tragedians whose works survive, won first prizes between 480 B.C. and the end of the 5th century. All three wrote plays that depended on thorough familiarity with a central myth, the House of Atreus: Aeschylus Agamemnon, Libation Bearers (Choephoroi), and EumenidesSophocles ElectraEuripides ElectraEuripides OrestesEuripides Iphigenia in Aulis The House of Atreus For generations, these god-defying descendants of Tantalus committed unspeakable crimes that cried out for revenge: brother against brother, father against son, father against daughter, son against mother. It all began with Tantalus- whose name is preserved in the English word tantalize, which describes the punishment he suffered in the Underworld. Tantalus served up his son Pelops as a meal to the gods to test their omniscience. Demeter alone failed the test and so  when Pelops was restored to life, he had to make do with an ivory shoulder. The sister of Pelops happens to have been Niobe who was turned to a weeping rock when  her hubris led to the death of all 14 of her children. When it came time for Pelops to marry, he chose Hippodamia, the daughter of Oenomaus, king of Pisa (near the site of the future ancient Olympics). Unfortunately, the king lusted after his own daughter and contrived to murder all her more appropriate suitors during a (fixed) race. Pelops had to win this race to Mt. Olympus in order to win his bride, and he did- by loosening the lynchpins in Oenomaus chariot, thereby killing his would-be father-in-law. In the process, he added more curses to the family inheritance. Pelops and Hippodamia had two sons, Thyestes and Atreus, who murdered an illegitimate son of Pelops to please their mother. Then they went into exile in Mycenae, where their brother-in-law held the throne. When he died, Atreus finagled control of the kingdom, but Thyestes seduced Atreus wife, Aerope, and stole Atreus golden fleece. Thyestes went into exile, again. Eventually, believing himself forgiven, he returned and ate the meal to which his brother had invited him. When the final course was brought in, the identity of Thyestes meal was revealed, for the platter contained the heads of all his children except the infant, Aegisthus. Adding another creepy element to the mix, Aegisthus may have been Thyestes son by his own daughter. Thyestes cursed his brother and fled. The Next Generation Atreus had two sons, Menelaus and Agamemnon, who married the royal Spartan sisters, Helen and Clytemnestra. Helen was captured by Paris (or left willingly), thereby starting the Trojan War. Unfortunately, the king of Mycenae, Agamemnon, and the cuckolded king of Sparta, Menelaus, couldnt get the warships moving across the Aegean. They were stuck at Aulis because of adverse winds. Their seer explained that Agamemnon had offended Artemis and must sacrifice his daughter to propitiate the deity. Agamemnon was willing, but his wife wasnt, so he had to trick her into sending their daughter Iphigenia, whom he then sacrificed to the goddess. After the sacrifice, the winds came up and the ships sailed to Troy. The war lasted 10 years during which time Clytemnestra took a lover, Aegisthus, the lone survivor of Atreus feast, and sent her son, Orestes, away. Agamemnon took a war prize mistress, as well, Cassandra, whom he brought home with him at the end of the war. Cassandra and Agamemnon were murdered upon their return by either Clytemnestra or Aegisthus. Orestes, having first obtained the blessing of Apollo, returned home to exact revenge on his mother. But the Eumenides (Furies)- only doing their job with respect to a matricide- pursued Orestes and drove him mad. Orestes and his divine protector turned to Athena to arbitrate the dispute. Athena appealed to a human court, the Areopagus, whose jurors were split. Athena cast the deciding vote in favor of Orestes. This decision is upsetting to modern women because Athena, who had been born from the head of her father, judged mothers less important than fathers in the production of children. However we might feel about it, what was important was that it put an end to the chain of cursed events.

Away in a Manger in Spanish

Away in a Manger in Spanish Here is a Spanish version of Away in a Manger, a popular childrens Christmas song. Dont understand the words? Give your Spanish a boost with the grammar and vocabulary guide that follows. The song was originally written in English, and it isnt well known in Spanish-speaking countries. The author is unknown. Jesà ºs en pesebre Jesà ºs en pesebre, sin cuna, nacià ³;Su tierna cabeza en heno durmià ³.Los astros, brillando, prestaban su luzal nià ±o dormido, pequeà ±o Jesà ºs. Los bueyes bramaron y à ©l despertà ³,mas Cristo fue bueno y nunca llorà ³.Te amo, oh Cristo, y mà ­rame, sà ­,aquà ­ en mi cuna, pensando en ti. Te pido, Jesà ºs, que me guardes a mà ­,amndome siempre, como te amo a ti.A todos los nià ±os da tu bendicià ³n,y haznos ms dignos de tu gran mansià ³n. English Translation of Spanish Lyrics Jesus in a manger, without a crib, was born;His tender heard slept on the hay.The sparkling  stars shed their lightOn the baby asleep, little Jesus. The oxen bellowed and he awoke,But Christ was good and never cried.I love you, O Christ, and look at me, yes,Here in my crib, thinking about you. I ask you, Jesus, to  keep watch over me,Loving me always, as I love you.Give your blessing to all the children,And make us more worthy of your great mansion. Vocabulary and Grammar Notes Pesebre: As you can guess by the title of the song, this is the word for manger, a type of box from which farm animals would eat. Because of its use in connection with the Christmas story, pesebre can also refer to a representation of the birth of Jesus, much like the English word creche. Nacià ³:  Nacer translates the phrase to be born. Cuna: A crib or other small bed made specifically for a child or baby. Tierna: This word is often translated as tender and is frequently used, as here, as an adjective of affection. By being placed before the noun it refers to, tierna here helps convey an emotional meaning. Heno: Hay. Astro: Estrella is more frequently used for star than is astro. Brillando: This is the present participle of brillar, which can mean to glitter or sparkle. In standard Spanish, present participles function as adverbs, so brillando should be seen as an adverb modifying prestaban rather than as an adjective modifying astros. Prestaban: The verb prestar most often means to loan or to lend. However, it is often used, as here, to refer to providing or giving. Dormido: This is the past participle of dormir, meaning to sleep. Buey: Ox. Bramaron: Bramar refers to the groaning sound of an animal. Mas: Without the accent, mas typically means but. The word isnt used much in everyday speech, where pero is generally preferred. Sà ­: Sà ­ most often means yes. As can the English word, sà ­ can also be used as a way of affirming or emphasizing what has been said. Mà ­rame: The verb mirar can mean simply to look. In this context, however, it also carries the meaning of to watch over. Mà ­rame is a combination of two words, mira (watch over) and me (me). In Spanish it is common to attach object pronouns to the end of certain verb forms - commands, gerunds (see amndome below) and infinitives. Pensando en: In Spanish, the phrase for to think about is pensar en. Me guardes a mà ­: This is a redundancy. In everyday speech, me guardes (watch over me) would be sufficient. Although in speech the addition of the grammatically unnecessary a mà ­ might be done for reasons of emphasis, here it is used to help provide the right number of syllables for the music. Amndome: This is a combination of two words, amando (loving) and me (me). Da: In this context, da is the imperative (command) form of dar (to give) used when speaking to a friend or family member. A todos los nià ±os da tu bendicià ³n: The standard word would place a todos los nià ±os after the verb. Spanish is more flexible with word order than English, however, so this sort of sentence structure isnt unusual,   Haznos: Another combination of two words, haz (the imperative form of hacer, to make, used when speaking to a friend or family member), and nos (us). Mansià ³n: Usually a dwelling place, but sometimes specifically  a mansion. In this context, tu gran mansià ³n figuratively refers to heaven.

Any thing realated to linguistics and teaching English as a foreign Essay

Any thing realated to linguistics and teaching English as a foreign language - Essay Example Littlewood (1983) noted "Learning refers to conscious process of internalizing a second language. Learning to use a second language freely is a lengthy and complex process. Different people have different criteria for learning language, few stress on accuracy (grammar, vocabulary, listening, written production etc.) while others on fluency (reading, phonology, spoken production, accent, etc.) but almost everyone agree that our primary purpose of language development is to be able to speak in the target language. However, in recent years the stress is on how to teach languages, which is increasingly guided by the dominant aim of promoting the learner's communicative competence. Similarly, all the recent definitions of language learning also involve communicative point of view by one way or another. "Language learning is a neutral response to communicative needs," says Littlewood (1983). The approach that needs to be taken according to is not all about sentence structure and vocabulary but "it must also involve an understanding of how people use these linguistic forms in order to communicate." suggested Woodhead; Miller; Oshea (1981). Bourges (1964) also claims that "some basic awareness of the total linguistic process" is very essential," otherwise students can never be competent to use the second language. There fore, the learners must be aware of the value of their learning and how will matter in all spheres of his life outside the classroom, in which it has to be written and spoken. English for what English is an international language. However, for most of the third world countries, it has a position of second language. At present, English is fast gaining grounds in Non-Western countries; most of them fall in 'developing' countries category. English is no longer a language of West but it has become a language of the person who uses it. Second language learning (English) has become a necessity to most of us, for some the reason is instrumental for others it is personal. Most of us, in this situation learn second language for instrumental purpose. Recently, it has been realized that most of the students will need second language for knowledge, societal, career, or entertainment's sake. River (1983) noted that "consumers are not only students, but also the society of which they are a part." Therefore, second language is one institution that learners must master in order to perform proficiently in other subject areas as well as in society. The main component, which makes English primary for learners, is that knowing a second language will more or less give surety of a better economic status. As job markets have become increasingly competitive now and it's not enough to know one language, since all the official work is done in English. For a perspective employee, English is a need and an added advantage to progress quickly by accessing any related knowledge through different channels. As River (1984) says "people's personal attitude towards the second language matters a great deal, as also a degree and nature of socio-economic demands for it." Spoken language is also required to keep the up social relationships. Colleges and schools have a role to perform since they introduce them to a wider

Analysis of Stereotyping Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of Stereotyping - Article Example This way, they neither challenge nor are challenged by any other person or group. However, building one's own perceptions, ideas and ideals bring new discoveries. Those who believe in self and not in stereotypes prosper. They challenge the norms and make progress. It is commonly believed that females cannot hold the key managerial positions in an organization, because of the false belief that they do not have a strong decision power (Koenig, Eagly, Mitcell, & Ristikari, 2011). On the other hand, history is full of those females who brought a revolution in the world. The most common example is Mary Kay, who initiated a company, in which she hired females for all kinds of jobs, from assistant manager to watch person. Hence in this fashion proved to the world that females can do any work, and demonstrated a strong character and will that is evidence of her strong decision making, thus proving the stereotype of females’ weak decision making. False beliefs are also playing a role o f guiding principles in evaluating the leaders based on their skin color (Carton & Posette, 2011). This bias is based on the deliberately created belief by whites, which explains blacks as distrusting and naive, but in reality, it is not the case. The prominent presence of Nelson Mandela, who fought for the rights of colored people and gained the support of them, through raising voice for their rights, is an example of wrong assumptions developed over time in the society. Leadership is an influence which can come through anybody irrespective of the skin color. So, it is suggested to the believers of this stereotype that, they should learn to evaluate a leader based on his positive influence on people’s lives because it is the true measure of leadership. On the other side, African Americans are wrongly believed to be less talented regarding their educational pursuits, so teachers are found to be less than willing to help them in grasping the concepts that are taught in the cla ssroom (Isaiah, 2011), by neglecting their queries. But research designates them as hardworking and committed towards their education. In the light of this statement, it is suggested to teachers to consider all of their students as equals, because their duty is, polishing the ability among the students, rather than devastating it. At the same time, this kind of behavior will compel these individuals towards taking a road leading to crimes and make them more prone to the risk of becoming criminals. The attitude of teachers has the potential to make or break the career of a student. Conclusion This paper attempts to provide a sufficient amount of logic to counter various false beliefs prevailing in the world community. However, these beliefs are myths and appear to be trivial at best, when analyzed through logical reasoning. Therefore, it is the best interest of humanity to forego these differences of color, gender and race, because after all, we are humans and only that matters. On t he other front, these stereotypes are hindering humanity’s progress, because of lacking synergies between different groups and nations. This paper argues that females are fully capable of demonstrating strong decision making, regardless of the false assumptions on their capabilities.  Ã‚  

The USSR Under Stalin Essay Example for Free

The USSR Under Stalin Essay 1)a) Evidence in Source D that suggests that Stalins motive for the mass arrests of the late 1930s was to obtain slave labor is that â€Å"the mass arrest of the late 1930s may have been carried out to satisfy Stalins desire for slave labor,† and â€Å"more prison laborers were urgently needed.† b) In Source D, â€Å"absurd inefficiency† means that the overpopulation of the prison laborers in the camps made them disorganized and made it difficult for the camp commanders to be able handle them all. 2) In both Sources B and E, Stalins view of industrialization as a war economy is expressed as: Both sources share the view that the purpose of industrialization was for the making of a war economy, â€Å"to prepare for war against the capitalist enemies abroad.† However, for Source B, the view for the Five Year Plans is that, â€Å"Essentially the Plan was a huge propaganda project, aimed at convincing the Soviet people that they were engaged in a great industrial enterprise of their own making.† It was a propaganda project promoting industrialization for the purpose of war, but the Soviet people werent aware of the â€Å"war† part, only the industrialization. In Source E, since it is a poster that is used for the purpose of propaganda, it instead puts the Five Year Plan in a better light, showing that the Five Year Plan will be successful in the future, that it will surely benefit the U.S.S.R. in the future, and that the U.S.S.R. will be prepared to defeat its enemies abroad (the capitalist enemies) in case of future wars. 3) The origin of Source A is that its a speech by Stalin, 1st March 1927, to workers in the Stalin workshops of the October Railway. The purpose of this speech is to spread his view of the U.S.S.R. being able to industrialize on its own to the workers of the workshops, saying it with confidence. Filling the workers up with confidence will give them the will to work more for the sake of the industry. The value of this speech is that this is a primary source and its a speech by Stalin himself, so it clearly expresses his views on the U.S.S.R. industrializing on its own. The limitations of this speech is that it only shows Stalins perspective and it doesnt show the views of the public or of the workers on his view on industrialization. He was trying to express his idea in a confident way to the workers to convince them that this is to solely benefit the U.S.S.R. The origin of Source C is its an extract from Women in Soviet Society: Equality, Development, and Social Change by Gail Warshofsky Lapidus, Berkeley, 1978. The purpose of this extract is to tell of the reason for the increased employment of women. It was necessary to hire women to work because of the rapid expansion of the economy, so there was a need for more workers. It wasnt for the purpose of economic equality. The value of this is that it shows us that eventually everyone in the society, including women, were required to work to follow Stalins Five Years Plan. It shows us the economic status of women during this time period. The limitation of this source is that we dont know the publics opinion or a womans view on the increased employment of women. It is a secondary source since it is an extract from a book that was written after the time of Stalin Russia. 4) Stalins methods for a â€Å"change-over from a peasant country to an industrial one† include: In Source A, he expresses his view in that the U.S.S.R., unlike other countries like Great Britain and Germany, can industrialize on its own. He says it in a confident tone to instill that confidence in the workers in the Stalin workshops so that they will be convinced that industrialization for the means of production is beneficial for the U.S.S.R. as a whole. In Source B, Stalin declared that â€Å"he was promoting a war on the inefficiences of Russias past, a war on the class enemies within, and as preparation for the capitalist enemies abroad.† The U.S.S.R. â€Å"adopted a similar industrial pattern in its drive toward modernization,† but it would â€Å"take the path of socialism† instead of capitalism. The Plan itself â€Å"was a huge propaganda project, aimed at convincing the Soviet people that they were engaged in a great industrial enterprise of their own making.† In Source C, due to the rapid urban development in the U.S.S.R., â€Å"A new perspective emerged in official documents, one that viewed the increased employment of women not in terms of its effects on women but as essential to the fulfillment of the economic plans.† The purpose was to â€Å"ensure the fulfillment of the production program of the Five Year Plan, it was necessary to draw more wives of workers into production.† In Source D, it says that â€Å"the mass arrests of the late 1930s may have been carried out to satisfy Stalins desire for slave labor† because â€Å"more prison laborers were urgently needed.† There were camps where mass number of slave laborers were kept. The more the slave laborers, the more the work, and the faster the Five Year Plans goals would be achieved. In Source E, the poster is for the purpose of propaganda, showing Stalins idea in a â€Å"good light† to the Soviet public by showing the people that the Five Year Plan would be successful in the future, that the U.S.S.R. would be powerful in terms of military due to the mass industrialization, so that it could defeat its enemies abroad in future wars. Other methods that Stalin used to change the U.S.S.R. from a â€Å"peasant country into an industrial one† that werent mentioned in the Sources were: Stalin made all industry and services nationalized, managers were given predetermined output quotas by central planners, and trade unions were converted into mechanisms for increasing worker productivity. Many new industrial centers were developed and thousands of new plants were built throughout the country. Stalin, a pro-Socialist, used collectivization to improve agricultural productivity so that the surplus would be sufficiently large enough to feed the growing urban labor force, all for the sake of industrialization. Collectivization was also expected to free many peasants so that they would go into industrial work. However, Stalins forcefulness on collectivization on the peasants (who fiercely resisted) resulted in a disruption in agricultural productivity, but it still helped achieve Stalins goal of rapid industrialization.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Our Only Hope to Feed Seven Billion Peo

Modern Agriculture Farming experienced little change from the end of the medieval age until the middle of the twenty-first century. (Baker, 2014) When the tractor became the common farm tool and replaced the horse, crop yields remained much the same. (Baker, 2014) From 1866 until 1938, corn yields in the United States were reported at 30 bushels an acre. This, when compared to medieval yields, is not much higher than a good growing year in medieval times. (Baker, 2014) Innovation was drastically stalled by the Second World War and the Korean conflict. However, by 1951, crop yield began to steadily increase as new technologies like fertilizer and hybrid corn breeds became more readily available in the United States.(Baker, 2014) After the introduction of these innovations, corn yields in the United States, from 1952-present, showed an increased yield of 2 bushels an acre per year. (Baker, 2014) This simple increase, not only of corn, but other grain sources has led to a huge increase in the population of the world. The population has increased more rapidly in the last 200 years than any other time in history. This may seem like a relatively short time, but when compared to the history of agriculture this is a very short time period. Consider that it took over 1000 years for the world to reach a population of 1 billion and only 207 years to reach 7 billion. This is an exponential explosion in the population. Throughout history, agriculture, through several revolutions, has made it possible to sustain the world population. Through innovations such as the plow, crop rotation, and fertilizer, yields have grown and supported the population. But how will modern agriculture support a population of 7 billion people? There is n... ... Biosafety?" Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 9.2 (2002): 461-500. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. Levetin, Estelle, and Karen McMahon. "Chapter 11: Origins of Agriculture." Plants and Society. The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2008. 177-186. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. Paarlberg, Robert. "GMO Foods and Crops: Africas Choice." New Biotechnology 27.5 (2010): 609-613. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. Pray, Carl, Latha Nagrajan, Luping Li, Jikun D. Huag, Ruifa Hu, K.N Selvaraj, Ora Napasintuwong, and Chandra Babu. "Potential Impact of Biotechnology on Adaption of Agriculture to Climate Change: the Case of Drought Tolerant Rice Breeding in Asia." Sustainability 3(2011): 1723-1741. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. Xia, Lanqin, Youzhi Ma, Yi He, and Huw D. Jones. "GM Wheat Development in China: Current Status and Challenges to Commercialization." Journal of Experimental Botany 63.5 (2012): 1785-1790. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

Biblical Women in Popular Culture

In today’s culture where individualism is emphasized and especially that women are encouraged to assume equal roles as men would normally take, two or three decades ago, it is very difficult to see eye to eye with how women are portrayed in the Bible during biblical times. â€Å"Girl power† or women empowerment is the rule of the day for women nowadays. Although, of course, all women as all men have the right to lead in the sense that they have the same intrinsic capacity to influence, the role of leadership has been blown out of proportion by feminist groups as they apply it to women.The result of this over blown leadership role of women has been the constant battle between members of opposite sexes in many significant areas within society. It has affected the homes, government and non-government institutions, down to the smallest entity that has within its membership men and women. The aim of this paper is to draw a comparison between Biblical projection of women (as portrayed in the Bible and the movie â€Å"One Night With The King†) and today’s popular culture’s endeavour to depict the function of women (McMurray, 2007).While at the moment, the common cry of women is equality to both genders as it is reflected in women’s roles in the family, in public places, and the obliteration of the stereotyped designation of females in past decades which until now has its bearing in the minds of the general public the consequent outcome of this campaign is prevalent in almost every area where function is concerned. In the late 1960s, women’s movement began to blossom.It was stirred by the then sentiment of repulsion to the tasks being typecasted among women. Women’s movement of the 60s aimed to question the menial duties relegated to women such as getting married, becoming a housewife and afterwards attending to household chores (including raising children), and when outside opportunity comes for them to work, the y’re consigned to answering phones, photocopying, etc (Encarta, 2006). The scenery has been changed and is no longer the same as in the past 30 or 40 years.The typical woman today is one that is among the working class – no longer confined to house premises, but working and providing as much as her male counterparts. She can be the manager or an executive of an established firm where most of the male employees are under her command. Equality in roles has now been achieved. Whereas this status and depiction of women in itself is not outright negative, the undercurrent force that it has created is the programming of the minds of today’s women to be resistant to the biblical description of their role as they are teamed with men.Instead of seeing male and female partnership as complimentary to both sexes, the danger of too much emphasis on equality especially when it is defined merely in domestic and public functions is the threat that masculinity poses to womanhood . It is good for women to fight for their basic equal rights with men as members of this global community, but if it results in certain imbalances because the aim has become the dethronement of the opposite gender, then the battle for equality has now turned into fight for superiority of the female sex.Biblical Women in Biblical Text The movie â€Å"One Night with the King† has successfully showed to modern world the right balance when it comes to understanding the woman’s role. In the film, the first of these lessons on womanhood could be derived from the example of Queen Vashti, King Xerxes’ dethroned Queen. Vashti’s removal as Queen was hastened by her attitude towards her King as she turned down King Xerxes’ request â€Å"to show her beauty to the people and the officials† (Esther 1:11, NKJV The Holy Bible 1982).At the very outset of this biblical narrative, there was already a sort of struggle as to whether the King should be obeyed in whatever demands he make or not. The whole picture of the Persian Kingdom’s celebration included not only King Xerxes’ feasting with people and officials but also Queen Vashti’s party which she arranged for â€Å"the women in the royal palace† (Ibid). In biblical times, kings command absolute obedience to their subjects. They could do everything at whim even the execution of their citizens.However, to what extent should Queen Vashti needed to â€Å"show her beauty to the people† at the King’s bidding, one cannot determine for sure. If it meant the exposure of the beauty of her naked body before the expectant public, it was wise and courageous for her to refuse even if it was a direct violation of the royal protocol. She was submissive to the King until this point of their relationship. Esther, however, as she is the main protagonist in the story, much of the lessons on women can be extracted from her life’s example. The first is her c ourage to risk her life for others.When she was finally raised to the high position of a Queen, she did not forget but rather remained committed to the preservation and welfare of her people. Until today, this virtue of selfless courage is admired in the world. It is one of the sought after virtues of leadership which unfortunately is lacking in many of those occupying leadership positions. The courage that the life of Esther showed in the story was not independent courage which resulted from a stubborn will. It was a courage constantly tempered by another life, the life of her cousin and mentor, Mordecai.She allowed herself to be constantly advised and influenced by the one who helped her reached her current high position. She remained as humble as she was in spite of the great changes and promotion that happened to her. She did not forget where she came from and did not abandon her people. It was Esther’s submissive attitude that brought her to the high position of being Qu een to King Xerxes in stead of Vashti. Contrary to what is being promoted today by our culture, Esther continued living her life (even as Queen) in a responsible manner.It is the dream of many young women today to wade their way through life to reach the point where there will be no one to hold them accountable anymore or have somebody to check them. Example after example of young celebrities have been the focus of media and news headlines that project the common outcry of many which hailed them to be the representations of American dream. Most of these modern-day models are strong-willed, carefree, and want to believe that life can be lived irresponsibly with no accountability. Esther’s example, on the other hand, stands in stark contrast to common perception of women in popular culture.Effects of Non-Biblical Portrayal of Womanhood Because of this non-biblical portrayal of women in our society, a lot of damaged has been inflicted on the minds of the majority of people. For one thing, the current trend of thinking is resistant to the Biblical teachings regarding women. The common minds have been preconditioned to reject and to not understand the Biblical ideals of what females should be. As a result, when femininity is the question, people would rather look to non-biblical sources as authority than the Bible.Non-biblical portrayal of women has pre-programmed people to reject biblical standards. When that happens, society begins to have problems because the standards have become different. Its negative effects include the entertainment of a different kind of criteria by which we look at what qualities should our average women possess. This is reflected in the women’s attempt to pursue what are not beneficial to them, simply because they have adopted rules or guidelines that are to them may put them in better position in this very competitive society.Other things that are currently occurring include the perversion of the role that women play befor e the eyes of the greater public. Roles that actually begin to evolve and never to bring the women to healthier assessment of themselves but either a view that makes them as simply objects of perversions or whimsical creation of a role that is not only sickening but also in reality, harder than the real, and more biblical portrayal of women.Femininity then, is very important to be defined and assessed according to real thing: the biblical benchmarks. Women will begin to see themselves the way God sees them then. As partners in the fulfilment of God’s grand design and when women start to accept the roles as defined by the bible, they then develop into healthy â€Å"organisms† capable of even settling into times when to be in the background is still very acceptable. Reference:1. Encarta Dictionary 2006. (DVD) 2. Maxwell, John, 2000. Commentary on Esther. P. 600. The Maxwell Leadership Bible. 3. McMurray, Sheri. â€Å"One night with the King† review. Christian Spot light. Accessed Sept. 24, 2007. 3. New King James Version, 2000. Maxwell Leadership Bible. Maxwell Motivation , Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishing).

Chess vs Human

It is hard to distinguish between that that is better in chess Human or Artificial Intelligence. Some would say humans because of their critical thinking and throwing computer off guard. And others would say artificial intelligence like Deep Blue because of its capability to calculate upto 4,000,000 chess moves per second as compare to human chess player who could only calculate upto three moves in a second. But in my opinion I think human has the upper hand. Human plays better chess than Artificial Intelligence. We know that presently computers can only use the intelligence that is load in it.It is not capable of thinking anything else as human minds can do so. All the moves that computer make are based on the series of calculations and this all based on the positions of the pieces on the chessboard. A computer chess program like Deep Blue makes its move by using its evaluation function. The evaluation function is an algorithm that measures the chess position. Positions with positiv e values are good for ‘White’ and positions with negative values are good for ‘Black’ (IBM Research – Deep Blue – Overview).Here is where I think that human has the upper hand while playing chess with an artificial intelligence. Human chess players use their skills, judgment and previous experiences to decide about the moves they are going to make next (Connor, 1993). And artificial intelligence moves are based on its algorithms and so a human chess player can disturb its algorithms making an unusual move that artificial intelligence does not recognize. In 1996, Gary Kasparov beat Deep Blue by 4-2 in a â€Å"regulation-style match† held in Philadelphia.Although Gary Kasparov lost the opening game to Deep Blue but he came game back and won the game 2. â€Å"Gary Kasparov won in an interesting ending, though due to programming errors the computer in that game played without any opening database. Two draws followed. Kasparov's second win came in Game 5 after the IBM programmers refused a draw offer even though Deep Blue considered the position roughly equal. In this game, Deep Blue demonstrated its lack of understanding of the danger of a kingside pawn majority.In Game 6, Kasparov totally outplayed Deep Blue by gaining a ecisive space advantage and by avoiding any weaknesses. In this game, Kasparov trapped the computer's rook and bishop, in part because the IBM programmers had never properly adjusted a parameter that signals when bishops are trapped† (Lesson 4: Deep Blue vs. Kasparov). Here a human player skills, experience and critical thinking helped him to win the match against artificial intelligence. Also it also shows that artificial intelligence has flaws in its. And how can it not have flaws. Artificial intelligence is created by us ‘Humans’. And we are not the perfect being on this planet.So how could we create something that is better or at our level in every circumstance of the life? We could not. We tried cloning and we failed in it to. So how could we create an artificial intelligence that is by no means different from us? We are not God, so we could not create anything like what He has created. â€Å"Although Man has done a pretty good job in creating his own complexities here on Earth, they're still nowhere near what Nature has done on her own†(Artificial intelligence vs. Human intelligence). Furthermore, the human brain has the capacity to do anything.Its possibilities are endless, which is why the imagination is so powerful. And computers lack the traits of humans; they are tools for our use and are limited physically. Computer cannot do anything on its own. Series of arguments and methods are inserted in it in order to preform an action. â€Å"But humans have the capacity to store information indefinitely, seeing as how we cannot be rebooted or turned off/on†(Intelligence: Artificial vs. Human). Also â€Å"The human brain is the most complex part of the human body if not the most complex subject known to human kind.Although a computer may work on a complicated series of circuits and processors it is a relatively simple item to understand in comparison to the human brain. So many important functions of the brain is beyond our understanding and has un-quantifiable properties† (Artificial Intelligence). Thus a simple program, which uses artificial intelligence by no means, is capable of beating a complex human brain. Another important point is that Howard’s mentioned is that intelligence suddenly changed in the last 30 years, while several putative causal factors had been present since 1920, such as the fact that chess became a popular sport, many illions played.Also chess participation rate was very high, chess was taught in schools and factories, and was identified early and given special training, sizeable government salaries, and overseas travel. Howard’s reasoning is that if these factors, rather t han rising general intelligence, were the explanation for the decreasing age of younger chess top players after 1970 (Howard 1999). Its would not be reasonable to say that humans minds have no limits to its critical thinking but it has the power to make the correct decision while the artificial intelligence may not be capable of doing that.All the artificial intelligence has is memory and the programs that are in it to perform the action. It cannot think on its own. It works on the algorithms and as soon as it is disturbed, artificial intelligence gets confused and makes the wrong moves. But a human chess player if in the same situation can make the right move that is need using his critical thinking, which is why I think that human play better chess than artificial intelligence.

Manot Cave - Early Modern Humans Out of Africa and Into the Levant

Manot Cave - Early Modern Humans Out of Africa and Into the Levant Manot Cave is an active karst cave with abundant speleothems, and, more to the point, evidence of multiple Middle and Upper Paleolithic occupations likely associated with both Neanderthals and  anatomically modern humans (abbreviated AMH). The cave is located in what is today Israel, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of the similarly dated Neanderthal site of Qafzeh Cave and about the same northeast of the four Neanderthal sites at Mount Carmel, and about 220 meters (656 feet) above sea level. The interior of the cave is an elongated main hall (80 m [262 ft] long, 10-25 m [30-80 ft] wide), and it has two lower chambers connected from the north and south. A skull cap (calvaria) from a hominin skull was found in the side chamber extending eastward from the northeastern wall of the main cave, covered by a thin calcite crust. The chamber is 7.7x4 m (25x13 ft) in floor area and 1-2.5 m (4-8 ft) high. The skullcap was resting on a flowstone ledge, without loose sediment nearby, and is not associated directly with any stratified archaeological layers found elsewhere in the cave. The calcitic crust directly covering the calvaria was direct-dated by Uranium-Thorium methods to 54,700 /- 5,500 years ago: researchers suggest that given the constant wetness of the cave today, the crust date likely approximates the true age of the skull. AMH is thought to have arrived in Europe ca. 45,000 years ago (bp). Chronology Excavations indicate the cave was intensively occupied during the Upper Paleolithic period, and, to a lesser extent, the Middle Paleolithic. Dates include both Accelerator Mass Spectrometer radiocarbon dates and Uranium-Thorium dates. Collapse of the cave, 30,000 years bpUpper Paleolithic (Areas C and E)  Levantine Aurignacian  (39,000-35,000 bp), carinated and nosed endscrapers on blades, bladelets and antler spear points, comparable to Hayonim Cave and Ksar Akil Rockshelter; Columbella rustica and Nassarius gibbosulus shells, some perforated, presumably for personal ornamentationAhmarian (46,000-42,000 bp): long, narrow blades with punctiform platforms, burins, endscrapers and el-Wad pointsTerminal Middle Paleolithic/Initial Upper Paleolithic (60,200-49,200 bp): blade cores, endscrapers, Levallois-like blades, similar to Ksar Akil, Ucagizli Cave, Boker TachitMiddle Paleolithic (Areas A, C, D): Levallois cores and flakes, some of which were found in the later assemblages Features of Manot Cave Features associated with the habitation of the cave include Area E, a thin living surface associated with the Upper Paleolithic component. Area E included charcoal remains, flint artifacts, animal bones and two combustion areas, one of which is a hearth with white calcified wood ash, surrounded by a layer of burnt clay. Artifacts in Area E included endscrapers, burins and Dufour bladelets. Area C is primarily an Early Upper Paleolithic occupation, with a scatter of Middle Paleolithic tools. Flint tools include Aurignacian-like blades and blade tools, el-Wad points, and antler points. Area C also included perforated shells and red ochre. A recent study of the lithics from Area C (Weiner et al) suggests that 19 of 20 examined artifacts were heat-treated, a characteristic of AMH first definitively used about 70,000 years ago in South Africa. The faunal record of the cave indicate the inhabitants were exploiting mountain gazelle and Mesopotamian fallow deer. See the Manot Cave project gallery page at Antiquity by Marder et al. for details and photographs of the artifacts and site features. Calvaria at Manot Cave A large intact portion of a human skull was recovered from Manot Cave, including of the uppermost part of the frontal bone, two nearly complete parietal bones and the occipital. The calvaria is relatively small and gracile, but is believed to be from an adult. Cranial capacity is estimated to be 1,100 milliliters, well within Anatomically Modern Human  (AMH) ranges. Indeed, most aspects of the skulls form fall within the range of modern humans, although others, including a coronal keel and an occipital bun, do not. Excavators Hershkovitz and colleagues argue that the skull cap contains a mosaic of archaic and modern traits like other hominins found across sub-Saharan Africa and the Levant as recently as 35,000 years ago. Given the date and formal aspects of the skull, Hershkovitz et al. argue that the Manot 1 individual likely was a member of a population that migrated  out of Africa  and established itself in the Levant during the late Middle Paleolithic or Middle-Upper Paleolithic interface. Thus, say the scholars, Manot 1 is either an early local Levantine Anatomically Modern Human, or it represents a hybrid between Neanderthals and early AMHs. In either case, suggest the scholars, the residents of Manot Cave did live in close proximity to Neanderthals, and thus the Manot skullcap may have been one of the first descendants of AMH populations to have interbred with Neanderthals prior to the migration into Europe. Archaeology Manot was found by construction workers in the early 21st century and excavated by an international team led by Tel Aviv University between 2010-2014. Sources This article is a part of the About.com guide to the Upper Paleolithic, and the Dictionary of Archaeology. Hershkovitz I, Marder O, Ayalon A, Bar-Matthews M, Yasur G, Boaretto E, Caracuta V, Alex B, Frumkin A, Goder-Goldberger M et al. 2015. Levantine cranium from Manot Cave (Israel) foreshadows the first European modern humans.Nature in press. doi: 10.1038/nature14134 Marder O, Alex B, Ayalon A, Bar-Matthews M, Bar-Oz G, Bar-Yosef Mayer DE, Berna F, Boaretto E, Caracuta V, Frumkin A et al. 2012. The Upper Palaeolithic of Manot Cave, Western Galilee, Israel: the 2011–12 excavations. Antiquity Project Gallery. Weiner S, Brumfeld V, Marder O, and Barzilai O. 2015. Heating of flint debitage from Upper Palaeolithic contexts at Manot Cave, Israel: changes in atomic organization due to heating using infrared spectroscopy. Journal of Archaeological Science 54:45-53. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2014.11.02s wasahave come from

Pride and Prejudice Themes and Literary Devices

Pride and Prejudice Themes and Literary Devices Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is a classic comedy of manners that satirizes 18th-century society and, particularly, the expectations placed on women of the era. The novel, which follows the romantic entanglements of the Bennet sisters, includes themes of love, class, and, as one might guess, pride and prejudice. These are all covered with Austen’s signature wit, including the literary device of free indirect discourse that permits a particular style of in-depth, sometimes satirical narration. Love and Marriage As one might expect from a romantic comedy, love (and marriage) is a central theme to Pride and Prejudice. In particular, the novel focuses on the different ways love may grow or disappear, and whether or not society has room for romantic love and marriage to go together. We see love at first sight (Jane and Bingley), love that grows (Elizabeth and Darcy), and infatuation that fades (Lydia and Wickham) or has faded (Mr. and Mrs. Bennet). Throughout the story, it becomes apparent that the novel is arguing that love based on genuine compatibility is the ideal. Marriages of convenience are presented in a negative light: Charlotte marries the obnoxious Mr. Collins out of economic pragmatism and admits as much, while Lady Catherine’s imperious attempts at forcing her nephew Darcy to marry her daughter to consolidate estates are presented as outdated, unfair, and, ultimately, an unsuccessful power grab. Like several of Austen’s novels, Pride and Prejudice also cautions against infatuation with overly charming people. Wickham’s smooth manner easily charms Elizabeth, but he turns out to be deceitful and selfish and not a good romantic prospect for her. Real love is found in compatibility of character: Jane and Bingley are well-suited because of their absolute kindness, and Elizabeth and Darcy come to realize that both are strong-willed but kind and intelligent. Ultimately, the novel is a strong recommendation of love as a basis for marriage, something that was not always the case in its era. The Cost of Pride The title makes it pretty clear that pride is going to be an important theme, but the message is more nuanced than just the concept itself. Pride is presented as perfectly reasonable to some degree, but when it gets out of hand, it gets in the way of the characters’ happiness. Thus, the novel suggests that an excess of pride is costly. As Mary Bennet says in one of her memorable quotes, Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.  In Pride and Prejudice, there are plenty of prideful characters, mostly among the wealthy. Pride in social position is the most common failing: Caroline Bingley and Lady Catherine both believe themselves superior because of their money and social privilege; they also are vain because they are obsessed with maintaining this image. Darcy, on the other hand, is intensely proud but not vain: he does initially place too high a value on social station, but he is so proud and secure in that pride that he doesn’t bother with even basic social niceties. This pride costs him Elizabeth at first, and it is not until he learns to temper his pride with compassion that he becomes a worthy partner. Prejudice In Pride and Prejudice, â€Å"prejudice† is not as socially charged as it is in contemporary usage. Here, the theme is more about preconceived notions and snap judgments rather than race- or gender-based biases. Prejudice is a flaw of several characters, but first and foremost it is the main flaw of our protagonist Elizabeth. She prides herself on her ability to judge character, but her observations also lead her to form bias very quickly and deeply. The most obvious example of this is her immediate prejudice against Mr. Darcy because of his dismissal of her at the ball. Because she’s already formed this opinion, she is predisposed to believe Wickham’s tales of woe without stopping to think twice. This prejudice leads her to judge him unfairly and to reject him based on partially inaccurate information. Elizabeth and Darcys relationship embodies many of the themes of Pride and Prejudice (Photo credit: Focus Features). Prejudice is not necessarily a bad thing, the novel seems to say, but like pride, it is only good so long as it is reasonable. For instance, Jane’s total lack of bias and over-willingness to â€Å"think well of everyone,† as Elizabeth puts it, is detrimental to her happiness, as it blinds her to the Bingley sisters’ true natures until it’s almost too late. Even Elizabeth’s prejudice against Darcy is not entirely unfounded: he is, in fact, proud and thinks himself above many of the people around them, and he does act to separate Jane and Bingley. In general, prejudice of the common sense variety is a useful tool, but unchecked prejudice leads to unhappiness. Social Status In general, Austen’s novels tend to focus on gentry- that is, non-titled people with some land holdings, although of varying financial statuses. The gradations between the rich gentry (like Darcy and Bingley) and those who aren’t so well off, like the Bennets, become a way to distinguish sub-strata within the gentry. Austens depictions of hereditary nobility are often a little satirical. Here, for instance, we have Lady Catherine, who at first seems powerful and intimidating. When it really comes down to it (that is, when she tries to stop the match between Elizabeth and Darcy), she is utterly powerless to do anything except yell and sound ridiculous. Although Austen does indicate that love is the most important thing in a match, she also does match up her characters with socially â€Å"appropriate† matches: the successful matches are all within their same social class, even if not of equal finances. When Lady Catherine insults Elizabeth and claims that she would be an unsuitable wife for Darcy, Elizabeth calmly replies, â€Å"He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman’s daughter. So far, we are equal.† Austen does not upend the social order in any radical way, but rather gently mocks people who obsess too much about social and financial status. Free Indirect Discourse One of the most important literary devices a reader will encounter in a Jane Austen novel is free indirect discourse. This technique is used to slide into a character’s mind and/or emotions without stepping away from third-person narration. Instead of adding a tag such as â€Å"he thought† or â€Å"she supposed,† the narrator relays a character’s thoughts and feelings as if they themselves were speaking, but without breaking from the third-person perspective. For instance, when Bingley and his party first arrive at Meryton and meet the people gathered there, Austen uses free indirect discourse to put readers directly in Bingley’s head: â€Å"Bingley had never met with pleasanter people or prettier girls in his life; every body had been most kind and attentive to him, there had been no formality, no stiffness, he had soon felt acquainted with all the room; and as to Miss Bennet, he could not conceive an angel more beautiful.† These are not statements of fact so much as they are a relay of Bingley’s thoughts; one could easily replace â€Å"Bingley† and â€Å"he/his/him† with â€Å"I† and â€Å"me† and have a perfectly sensible first-person narration from Bingley’s perspective. This technique is a hallmark of Austen’s writing and is useful in several ways. First and foremost, it’s a sophisticated way of integrating a character’s inner thoughts into third-person narration. It also offers an alternative to constant direct quotations and tags like â€Å"he said† and â€Å"she thought.† Free indirect discourse allows the narrator to convey both the content of a character’s thoughts and the tone, by using language that resembles the words the characters themselves would choose. As such, it’s a crucial literary device in Austen’s satirical approach to country society.

Describe how the writing process fits into a list of quick takes, Essay

Describe how the writing process fits into a list of quick takes, detailing each step - Essay Example Fortunately, Arlov uses pithy clichà ©s only as a starting point to offering real advice on how even beginning writers can improve their writing skills by practicing some simple techniques. These techniques, once learned, also serve as handy tools for the amateur or professional writer to help break the symptoms of writer’s block when it occurs. The basic process advocated by Arlov involves a simple, step-by-step process to writing as well as attention to the five ‘Quick Takes’ she offers regarding this process. The ‘Quick Takes’ offered by Arlov include taking things one step at a time, taking writing seriously, taking it easy, taking it to the limit and taking it with you. Examining these ‘takes’ in backward sequence, taking it with you indicates that an individual who wishes to improve their writing skills should not consider writing to be an occasional activity, only embarked upon when a teacher or supervisor requires it, but should instead be a regular lifetime activity. The more writing one undertakes, the easier the practice will become. Also, by writing often about a variety of topics taken from real life, a writer can find an interesting story or topic to write about in another context. â€Å"Sometimes we are so busy looking for something that we don’t realize the answer has been right there in front of us all along† (Bailey, 2006). Journal writing, for instance, provides room for practice writing, building self-confidence, even as it allows space for some forms of prewriting when preparing to write something more public. This ‘quick take’ should also remind one that writing should not be considered a relatively ‘dead’ practice, done only when exploring topics that are somehow removed from the rest of the world. Writing becomes more interesting when one is involved in the topic in some way. In addition, when one explores a topic in the real world, this interest can be