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Friday, November 15, 2019
History of the Inca Religion
History of the Inca Religion Perhaps one of the most fascinating and awe inspiring religions in human history is that of the Incas. Countless people have been captivated by this religion over many generations. Many books have been written and movies made to capture the essence of this religion. After reading about this paper, it will be clear how incredible these people and their religion was. To first understand the religion of the Incas, you must first know the history of the people. The Incan civilization originated from a tribe in the Cuzco area of Peru. The Incas were one of the largest, richest and most powerful empires before pre-Columbian America as their territory covered a massive area at its peak. The Inca Empire crossed many boundaries as it conquered many countries and areas through a variety of means: from conquest to peaceful assimilation. This lead to the Inca Empire gaining a large part of South America. By its height in the 1520s, the Inca Empire stretched 3,500 miles from present day Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador to the area in which the Incas originated, Peru. It was the largest empire on earth at the time. After each area had been conquered, the Incas would take control of the area by imposing their language and organizational skills on the people. This would be followed by building improvements to the area such a s creating roads for the people to travel on, irrigation canals, stone buildings and fortresses. The Incas had astonishing and technologically advanced masonry techniques for their time. The estimated population of the Inca Empire at its peak was around twenty million people with the official language being Quechua. To control such a huge area, the Incas built roads, including both mountainous and coastal routes. The Inca Empire was ruled with efficiency in part because of a superb highway system that included intermittently paved roads up to 24 feet wide, tunnels, bridges, and stepped pathways cut into living rock. The principal highland road atop the spine of the Andes, ran 3,450 miles from the Colombia-Ecuador border to central Chile. Lateral roads linked it to the coastal highway. Ironically, the very roadways that made it possible for the Inca to control their vast empire, rapidly moving an army to quell a rebellion, were also the avenue of the empires downfall, giving the Spanish conquistadors under Pizarro direct access to the heart of the kingdom. One existing part of the road between Cusco and the palace of Machu Picchu is called the Inca Trail. The amount of control exercised by Cusco over the rest of the empire varied from place to place. Tribute paid to the Inca rulers ca me from farmers of cotton, potatoes, and maize, herders of alpacas and llamas, and craft specialists who made polychrome pottery, brewed beer from maize, wove fine wool tapestries, and made wooden, stone, and gold, silver and copper objects. Inca cities were as large as those of Europe, but more orderly and by all accounts much cleaner and more pleasant places in which to live (McEwan, 56). The Inca were organized along a complex hierarchical and hereditary lineage system called the Ayllu system. Ayllus ranged in size from a few hundred to tens of thousands of people, and they governed access to such things as land, political roles, marriage, and ritual ceremonies. Among other important duties, Ayllus took maintenance and ceremonial roles involving the preservation and care of honored mummies of the ancestors of their communities. In Inca social structure, the ruler Sapa Inca, and his wives, the Coyas, had supreme control over the empire. The High Priest and the Army Commander in Chief were next. Then came the Four Apus, the regional army commanders. Next, were temple priests, architects, administrators and army generals. After them, were artisans, musicians, army captains and the quipucamayoc, the Incan accountants. At the bottom were sorcerers, farmers, herding families and conscripts. The only written records about the Inca that we can read today are documents from the Spanish conquistadors of Francisco Pizarro. Records were kept by the Inca in the form of knotted strings called quipu. The Spanish reported that historical records, particularly the deeds of the rulers, were sung, chanted, and painted on wooden tablets as well. In the Inca Empirec several polytheistic religions were practiced by its different people. Most religions had common traits such as the existence of a Pachamama and Viracocha. The Incas controlled religion to give the empire cohesion by having conquered peoples add the Inca deities to their pantheon. Inca deities occupied the three realms: Hanan Pacha, the celestial realm in the sky, Uku Pacha, the inner earth, and Cay Pacha, the outer earth where humans live. The most important deities of Hanan Pacha were Inti, the sun god, and Mama Quilla, the moon goddess. Inti Raymi was the festival of the sun god, the largest and most important Inca festival. The lightning deity also resided in Hanan Pacha. Uku Pacha was the domain of Pachamama, the Earth mother, who is universal to Andean mythologies. Kanopa was the God of Pregnancy. Con-Tici Viracocha Pachayachachic, The first god, creator of the three realms and their inhabitants, was also the father of Inti. Many ancient Andean peoples traced their origins to ancestral deities. Multiple Ayllus could share similar ancestral origins. The Inca claimed descent from the Sun and the Moon, their Father and Mother. Many Ayllus claimed descent from early proto-humans that emerged from local sites in nature, called Pacarinas. The earliest ancestors of the Inca were known as Ayar, the first of which was Manco Capac or Ayar Manco. Inca mythology tells of his travels, in which he and the Ayar shaped and marked the land and introduced the cultivation of maize. A prominent theme in Inca mythology is the duality of the Cosmos. The realms were separated into the upper and lower realms, the Hanan Pacha and the Ukhu Pacha and Hurin Pacha. Hanan Pacha, the upper world, consisted of the deities of the sun, moon, stars, rainbow, and lightning. Ukhu Pacha and Hurin Pacha were the realms of Pachamama, the earth mother, and the ancestors and heroes of the Inca or other Ayllus. Kay Pacha, the realm of the outer earth where humans resided, was viewed as an intermediary realm between Hanan Pacha and Ukhu Pacha. The realms were represented by the condor (upper world), puma (outer earth) and snake (inner earth). Huacas were widespread around the Inca Empire. Huacas were deific entities that resided in natural objects such as mountains, boulders, streams, battle fields, other meeting places, and any type of place that was connected with past Incan rulers. Huacas could also be inanimate objects such as pottery that were believed to be vessels carrying deities. Spiritual leaders in a community would use prayer and offerings to communicate with a Huaca for advice or assistance. Human sacrifice was a part of Incan rituals. Priests presided over sacrifices, an essential part of many rituals and ceremonies. The majority of the sacrifices involved animals, such as llamas or guinea pigs. However, in times of disaster or at very sacred ceremonies, a woman or a child might be sacrificed to the gods. These people would be given Chicha, a thick beer made from fermented corn to drink in golden goblets while the priest sang songs of their virtue before they were strangled. The bodies of the sacrificed were then buried in a cocoon of fine textiles and surrounded by gold and silver statues, bags of corn and other offerings. The ancient Inca chose children as young as 6, but also as old as 15, fattened them up for a year and sent them on a sacrifice pilgrimage (Inca Human Sacrifices). The Incan people thought it was an honor to die for an offering. The Incas also used divination. They used it to inform people in the city of social events, predict battle outcomes, and ask for intervention. The Inca were a deeply religious people. They feared that evil would come at any time. Sorcerors held positions in society as protectors from the spirits. They also believed in reincarnation, saving their nail clippings, hair cuttings and teeth in case the returning spirit needed them. The religious and societal center of Inca life was contained in the middle of the sprawling fortress known as Sacsahuaman. Here was located Cuzco, The Naval of the World the home of the Inca Lord and site of the sacred Temple of the Sun. At such a place the immense wealth of the Inca was clear with gold and silver decorating every edifice. The secret of Inca wealth was the Mita. This was a labor program imposed upon every Inca by the Inca ruler. Since it only took about 65 days a year for a family to farm for its own needs, the rest of the time was devoted to working on Temple-owned fields, building bridges, roads, temples, and terraces, or extracting gold and silver from the mines. The work was con trolled through chiefs of thousands, hundreds and tens. Ancestor worship was a central part of Incan theology. The souls of the dead played a protective role in the lives of their descendants. The bodies of ancestors were mummified and entombed. Often they were buried with their most prized possessions, women, servants, weapons, and ornaments in addition to an abundance of food and Chicha. Some groups of Incas placed the deceased on a large carved stone where they were mourned before burial. In some areas, the dead were sewn into fresh llama-hide and kept at their familys home. Descendants of the deceased would regularly visit the tombs of their loved ones in order to bring them food and precious goods. Mummies of dead rulers were the holiest Huacas in the empire. They were treated as if they were still alive: continuing to own the property they had when alive, eating with their descendants and each other, and enjoying important ceremonies. They were also considered to be oracles and were therefore consulted on a regu lar basis. This information listed in this paper is just but a taste of the rich history of these people and their religion. After reading this, it is clear why they are such a fascinating people and why they have been studied for so many years Works Cited/Bibliography Cobo, BernabeÃÅ' , and Roland Hamilton. Inca Religion and Customs. Austin: U of Texas, 1990. Print. Conrad, Geoffrey W., and Arthur Andrew. Demarest. Religion and Empire: The Dynamics of Aztec and Inca Expansionism. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1984. Print. McEwan, Gordon Francis. The Incas: New Perspectives. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2006. Print. Anitei, Stefan. Inca Human Sacrifices. Softpedia. N.p., 20 Feb. 2008. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Soliloquy Essay - Soliloquies of Shakespeares Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework
Soliloquies in Macbeth Shakespeare               Even though people in retributive justice feel satisfaction, the perpetrator can also suffer.               William Shakespeare’s powerful Macbeth shows the deterioration of an honourable and respectable general, Macbeth, who becomes a tragic hero after temptations from the witches and his wife to perform murders.               Macbeth soliloquies enable the audience to experience the conflict within Macbeth and thus, gain an understanding of the reasons for his behavior and decisions. As a result, the tremendous reversal of Macbeth’s fortunes in the end leaves the audience filled not with pity, but also awe, at the realization that people can suffer greatly.               Macbeth’s soliloquies before the murder of Duncan shows the vigorous internal struggle of himself, as his conscience is fighting against his evil minds. Also, they shows Macbeth has brought his own downfall upon himself. The audience will then feel pity about Macbeth’s deterioration brought by himself when witnessing his choice of following the evil.               Macbeth is a courageous and honourable general in Scotland. His success in the battle against the invaders of Scotland gains respect from the King Duncan and his fellow soldiers. However, the demonic forces, symbolized by three witches, temptates Macbeth. The witches hail Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis and Cawdor who will be king and hail Banquo, who is a nobleman of Scotland and Macbeth’s friend, as one who will become the father of a line of kings. Macbeth ambition deep in his heart starts growing at that time. In Act I, scene iii, when Macbeth is thinking about the fulfillment of the two prophecies given by the witches before, "My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes my single state of man"(I, iii, 139- 140) In this soliloquy, Macbeth reflects his idea about the "two truths" told by the witches. He is ambitious to become king, as he reacts nervously when the witches mention his fate. The very idea of murder "shakes his single state of man". However, at this point, he is loyal to the king, and he rejects the idea of murder, "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir."(I, iii, 143-144) The predictions by the witches may have strengthened the criminal intentions that he had probably never yet dared to express clearly, even to himself. He is not alliance with crime, he is neutral, but obviously temptation is working upon him. Soliloquy Essay - Soliloquies of Shakespeare's Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework Soliloquies in Macbeth Shakespeare               Even though people in retributive justice feel satisfaction, the perpetrator can also suffer.               William Shakespeare’s powerful Macbeth shows the deterioration of an honourable and respectable general, Macbeth, who becomes a tragic hero after temptations from the witches and his wife to perform murders.               Macbeth soliloquies enable the audience to experience the conflict within Macbeth and thus, gain an understanding of the reasons for his behavior and decisions. As a result, the tremendous reversal of Macbeth’s fortunes in the end leaves the audience filled not with pity, but also awe, at the realization that people can suffer greatly.               Macbeth’s soliloquies before the murder of Duncan shows the vigorous internal struggle of himself, as his conscience is fighting against his evil minds. Also, they shows Macbeth has brought his own downfall upon himself. The audience will then feel pity about Macbeth’s deterioration brought by himself when witnessing his choice of following the evil.               Macbeth is a courageous and honourable general in Scotland. His success in the battle against the invaders of Scotland gains respect from the King Duncan and his fellow soldiers. However, the demonic forces, symbolized by three witches, temptates Macbeth. The witches hail Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis and Cawdor who will be king and hail Banquo, who is a nobleman of Scotland and Macbeth’s friend, as one who will become the father of a line of kings. Macbeth ambition deep in his heart starts growing at that time. In Act I, scene iii, when Macbeth is thinking about the fulfillment of the two prophecies given by the witches before, "My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes my single state of man"(I, iii, 139- 140) In this soliloquy, Macbeth reflects his idea about the "two truths" told by the witches. He is ambitious to become king, as he reacts nervously when the witches mention his fate. The very idea of murder "shakes his single state of man". However, at this point, he is loyal to the king, and he rejects the idea of murder, "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir."(I, iii, 143-144) The predictions by the witches may have strengthened the criminal intentions that he had probably never yet dared to express clearly, even to himself. He is not alliance with crime, he is neutral, but obviously temptation is working upon him.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
King Lear and a Thousand Acres
King Lear and A thousand acres comparison The one social issue that hasn’t evolved since the 17th century is the ever present schisms between families. People have always cheated, parents have always chosen favorites, and the struggles for wealth and power have always torn families apart. Most notably, these conflicts have been portrayed in Shakespeare’s King Lear and Romeo and Juliet, but the theater of family argument has also shone through in modern works such as Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres.Both King Lear and A Thousand Acres are enduring pieces of literature that have redefined the family complex, portrayed the death of families through jealousy and greed, and examined the reoccurring theme of fate versus free will. Both King Lear and A Thousand Acres focus on the patriarch of a family and how he decides to distribute his assets. King Lear focuses on how Lear, the King of England, will distribute his kingdom amongst his three daughters, Cordelia, Regan, an d Goneril.A Thousand Acres, on the other hand, takes a much more modern approach by detailing the life of Larry Cook, a successful Iowan farmer, and how he attempts to evade inheritance taxes by dividing his farm amongst his daughters, Caroline, Rose, and Ginny. In both literary works, the father distributes his holdings before his death, which, while at the time seems like a savvy tactic, ends up having detrimental repercussions for both men. To highlight the actions undertaken by the main characters, both authors also develop a subplot focusing on a friend of the respective fathers and how he deals with his two sons.In King Lear, Lear’s friend, Gloucester, debates upon the merits of his two sons, Edmund and Edgar, wavering in his decision on which of his sons is loyal and which son will inevitably betray him. Similarly, in A Thousand Acres, Smiley develops the subplot of the tensions between Harold and his two sons, Loren and Jess. A major theme in both pieces is the issues of love, family relationships and the loyalty that can either be steadfastly present or blatantly nonexistent. In King Lear, Lear must decide how to distribute his kingdom.Instead of dividing it equally among his heiresses, he relies on superficial declarations of love from his daughters. Regan and Goneril flatter their father claiming unyielding love, while Cordelia, the daughter that Lear previously held closest to his heart, doesn’t quite flatter her father so blatantly. While Lear takes this as an insult, Cordelia is simply sure that her â€Å"love’s/ More richer than [her] tongue,†so there is no reason to even attempt to articulate her unabiding love for her father (I. i. 81-82).Lear’s egotism, however, prevents him from realizing that Cordelia actually does love him the most, so he capriciously disowns and banishes her from his kingdom. While King Lear’s naivete makes him disown a daughter that does love him more than the others, the distin ction in the quantity of how much a daughter loves her father is not nearly as evident in A Thousand Acres. In the novel, Caroline warns her father against incorporating the farm prematurely, which is shown in this dialogue between herself and Ginny: ‘He’s handling over his whole life, don’t you understand that?We have to receive it in the right spirit. And Rose and Pete and even Ty are ready to receive it. Just do it this once. Last time, I promise. ’ ‘That’s another thing. I’m not ready to receive it. I think it’s a bad idea for him, and it’s certainly a bad idea for me. Frank was appalled when I told him. ’ (Smiley 34) Like how Cordelia will take no part in complementing her father, Caroline refuses to go along with the transfer of the farm, citing that it will not only have deleterious effects on Cook, but herself as well.In A Thousand Acres, it doesn’t seem like Cook chooses how to distribute his farm ba sed on how much each daughter loves him, but the extent to which each daughter will stand up to him. Rose and Ginny go along with the farm transfer, but when Caroline stands up to her father, he â€Å"took the door in his hand and slammed it shut in her face†(39). So while Larry’s motives for why he disowned his daughter are slightly different, it doesn’t change the fact that out of rage and lack of thought he whimsically disowns a loving daughter.In both King Lear and A Thousand Acres, the concept of loyalty is ever present in regards to how the daughters treat their father once he no longer is in control. In King Lear, Lear chooses to divide his kingdom amongst his daughters Goneril and Regan. While initially doing so has no negative effects for Lear, eventually his daughters begin to treat him with uttermost disrespect. The below excerpt from the play depicts the turning point when Regan and Goneril begin to try to manipulate their father and remove every ou nce of his previous power: Goneril: Not only, sir, this your all-licensed fool,But other of your insolent retinue Do hourly carp and quarrel; breaking forth In rank and not-to-be endured riots. Sir, I had thought, by making this well known unto you, To have found a safe redress; but now grow fearful, By what yourself too late have spoke and done. (I. iv. 191-197) In this section, Goneril is complaining to her father about his contingent of knights that have been causing distraction and disaster at Goneril’s palace. While her complaints are somewhat sensical, this shows the turning point where Goneril and Regan begin to no longer care about Lear’s own personal mental standing.The continued enlistment of Lear’s knights represent the last remaining token of Lear’s kinghood. By attempting to, and later succeeding in, disbanding Lear’s knights, the daughters take away the one thing that Lear still controls. He no longer rules over his kingdom, or even h is own house for that matter. This really shows how the daughters seem to care only for themselves and place little thought on Lear’s perspective. By contrast, in A Thousand Acres, Rose and Ginny don’t take away Cook’s power, but he actually forfeits it.Instead of staying active in the farm, Cook seems to be willing, on the surface, to take a backseat in the farm’s operation. Ginny describes Cook’s mentality accurately in the below quote: I paused at the kitchen door and watched the unyielding back of his head for a few seconds. When I drove past the front of the house again, he hadn’t moved. I couldn’t shake the sense that his attention menaced Ty, the guiltless cultivator, concentrating innocently on never deviating from the rose laid out before him. The green tractor inched back and forth, and my father’s look followed it like the barrel of a rifle. 67) While Cook may wish to be involved in the farm, he seems content sitting in his chair gazing over the fields that were previously his. Unlike Regan and Goneril, Rose and Ginny actually want their father to be more involved. When Cook drives under the influence and crashes his car, Ginny is incredibly upset with her father, saying that â€Å"They aren’t preventing him from working. He doesn’t want to do anything. He never goes out to the barn even to stand around. They do everything now, and that isn’t easy either†(116).So while Regan and Goneril want their father to become less active and be completely complacent, Rose and Ginny are urging their father to help with the farm and be a more active farmer. A major contrast in the two pieces is the differing motives fueling the daughter’s actions. In King Lear, Goneril and Regan’s actions seem to be empowered by greed and the accumulation of power. The daughters could care less about their father, but they dote him with complements because they know it will help the m gain control over more of the kingdom.In A Thousand Acres, on the other hand, it seems that Rose and Ginny want what is best for their father and the farm. While it is indisputable that their own interests are also at heart (due to the fact that the incorporation of the farm does leave Rose and Ginny with significant holdings), the character’s initial empathy for their father shows that unlike Goneril and Regan, the Cook daughters do care for their father’s best interest. Caring for their father’s standing shows that they are still loyal to him; unlike Regan and Goneril, Rose and Ginny do not betray their father, but their father betrays them.The characterization of the dramatis personae in King Lear, and especially how his daughters treat him, paint the character of Lear as a tragic hero. We feel for Lear and his tragic circumstances, while in A Thousand Acres, readers feel very little empathy for Larry Cook. Instead, Rose and Ginny act as the tragic heroes, who must face their father’s wrath and their sister’s frivolous demeanor. As with the main plots, the subplots in both pieces discuss the relationships between family members and the presence of loyalty versus betrayal. In King Lear, we note great loyalty in the character of Kent.Kent is the only character who stands up for Cordelia, and is the only character to warn Lear against her banishment. When Lear banishes Kent as well, Kent returns in disguise and acts once again as a loyal servant. This loyalty is repaid by Lear at the end of the play, when Lear decides to reward loyalty by passing the throne to Kent and Edgar. Conversely, the subplots in King Lear also show elements of betrayal, specifically in the relations between Gloucester and his two sons. Gloucester initially damns and mocks his illegitimate son, Edmund, and praises his legitimate son, Edgar, as is typical in the natural order.Edmund schemes against his brother, and eventually convinces his father that Edgar is in fact the one scheming against Gloucester. By turning in Gloucester to Cornwall, Edmund creates the situation that leads to Gloucester’s blindness, ultimately betraying him to the utmost degree. In addition to the concepts of loyalty and family relations, both authors breach the topic of women’s role in society. As an example, both the authors disrupt the natural order. Traditionally, kingdoms (and farms for that matter) would transfer from fathers to sons, not fathers to daughters.In both King Lear and A Thousand Acres, the male patriarch decides to pass on his land to his daughters. While it would be custom for the female heir to forfeit power to their husbands, neither Goneril or Regan allow their husbands to take control. In the following quote, Goneril debates with her husband on the merits of his passivity: Milk-livered man! That bear’st a cheek for blows, a head for wrongs; Who hast not in thy brows an eye discerning Thine honor from thy suffe ring; that not know’st Fools do those villains pity who are punishedEre they have done their mischief. Where’s thy drum? France spreads his banners in our noiseless land; With plumed helm thy slayer begins threats; Whiles thou, a moral fool, sit’st still, and criest ‘Alack, why does he so? ’ (IV. ii. 55-64) In this excerpt, Goneril is asserting herself against her husband, Albany. While Albany sympathizes with Lear, Goneril argues that all sympathy towards Lear and the French will end the â€Å"noiseless†state of the English kingdom. Goneril, the wife, is standing up to her husband and telling him how things should be done.Finally, Goneril ends the argument by saying â€Å"Marry, your manhood now†(IV. ii. 75). By saying this, Goneril is essentially asserting herself as the man in the relationship who will be making all future decisions. In A Thousand Acres, Smiley also touches on the theme of feminism, but more specifically womenâ₠¬â„¢s independence. Similar to the circumstances in King Lear, Rose and Ginny take over their father’s farm. Instead of the girls taking over the daily running of the farm, their husbands handle all of the farming and the women revert to their original roles: cooking, cleaning, and homemaking.When Pete dies, Ginny runs off, and Ty eventually leaves for Texas as well, Rose is left to handle many of the daily farming tasks herself. At one point, Rose is the only person farming their thousand acre farm, which is undoubtedly an arduous task. By ending the novel in this manner, Smiley is showing that while women in the sixties still had a demeaned role in society, they did have the ability to match or even supersede their male counterparts’ actions. A final theme present in both pieces is whether fate or free will dictate our daily actions and routine. In King Lear, the prevailing life force is definitely free will.All of the characters, even Lear, make numerous decisions ( note: these are decisions made by the characters, not decisions thrust upon the characters) that determine their final circumstance. An example would be how Goneril and Regan chose to treat their father. Their poor treatment of their father leads to a family schism, a war between nations, and their eventual death. Lear’s opinion of fate versus free will is also rather interesting. You see me here, you gods, a poor old man, As full of grief as age; wretched in both! If it be you that stir these daughters' hearts Against their father, fool me not so muchTo bear it tamely; touch me with noble anger, And let not women's weapons, water-drops, Stain my man's cheeks! (II. iv. 294-300) While Lear’s actions seem to fall under the category of free will (for he chose to disown Cordelia and to distribute his kingdom), his above statement makes it seem like he places merit with the Gods. He says to the Gods that if it is in fact them who have been meddling with his daughtersâ€℠¢ hearts, then they should just put him out of his misery by ending his life. In A Thousand Acres, by contrast, the bulk of the characters’ lives seem to be guided by fate.Rose didn’t choose to get cancer, Ginny didn’t bring on her miscarriages, and judge’s decision was out of the daughter’s hands. Similar to how the patriarchal figure has opposite beliefs as the majority of the other characters in King Lear, Cook seems to believe in free will. Ginny, describing her father’s beliefs: â€Å"The lesson my father might say they prove is that a man gets what he deserves by creating his own good luck†(137). Cook’s thought is that waiting for fate to act in your favor will do nothing for you, but instead, you need to make your own luck, which is a major concept in free will.Many people believe that A Thousand Acres is simply a copy piece of Shakespeare’s King Lear, but in fact, many elements give autonomy to Smiley’s n ovel. A Thousand Acres is a unique piece, with unique characterization, unique circumstances, and unique narration. In King Lear, Lear is the tragic hero and Goneril and Regan are the antagonists. In A Thousand Acres, however, Larry’s abuse of the daughters make him much more of the antagonist, with Ginny and Rose as the tragic heroes.While the reader’s alliances change between literary works, both pieces show the necessity of loyalty and the consequent disaster of betrayal. Additionally, the thematic value of both pieces at points can differ greatly; while King Lear focused on women’s independence, A Thousand Acres takes on a more modernistic approach by discussing what women must do to gain this independence. Overall, while the pieces do have many similarities, when read congruently, the contrasts only further enhance the overarching themes and morals of both works.
Friday, November 8, 2019
Creation vs evolution essays
Creation vs evolution essays If you're planning a vacation later this year, better make sure it's not in Kansas. According to recent reports, the state's overall IQ has just taken a nosedive. What has caused this "giant step back into the nineteenth century" as one person called it? Quite simply, the State Board of Education voted to de-emphasize evolution in state testing and to give local school boards the option of deciding whether or not evolution would be taught. Nationwide, the reaction has been vehement. On ABC's "Politically Incorrect," Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, Inc., referred to the Board of Education members as "Neanderthals." Invectives like "embarrassing," "backward," "insane," "intellectual backwater," "blotting out the light of truth and knowledge," peppered the Letters to the Editor of the Wichita Eagle's online edition. Even PBS's Bill Nye, "The Science Guy," weighed in on the topic. The Associated Press quotes Nye as saying "to reject this fundamental, beautiful thing about the world around us is harebrained. It's nutty." What is striking about the reaction to the Board's decision is not that some people disagree with it. Anything as controversial as the creation/evolution debate is bound to generate a diversity of opinion. But the ferocity of the responses reveals something at work other than a simple difference in points of view concerning educational policy. After all, the Board of Education did not mandate the teaching of a particular view of creation. They did not endorse fundamental Christianity, or Judaism or Islam. They didn't even order the teaching of creation alongside of evolution. They chose merely to de-emphasize evolution and allow local school systems to decide how or if it is taught. If you listen to the voices raised in protest, you might conclude that creationism is inherently anti-scientific and anti-intellectual. Th ...
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Misused Words Ironic and Literally - Proofread My Paper
Misused Words Ironic and Literally - Proofread My Paper Misused Words: Ironic and Literally We try not to be too pedantic here at Proofreading Towers. After all, language changes over time, and there’s not much we can do to stop that. But there are some words whose widespread misuse makes us feel a bit sad, such as â€Å"ironic†and â€Å"literally.†Ironic (Against Expectations) In everyday language, â€Å"ironic†is often used to mean â€Å"coincidental†or â€Å"unfortunate.†The most famous example of this comes from the Alanis Morissette song, which lists a range of things that fit this definition of â€Å"ironic,†such as: It’s like rain on your wedding day. The problem is that a rainy wedding day is not technically ironic. The actual definition of â€Å"ironic†is â€Å"opposed to what you’d expect.†Consequently, rain on your wedding day would only be ironic if weddings were notoriously dry. Unfortunate, but not ironic.(Photo: Tom Godber/flickr) The word â€Å"irony†does have other meanings, mostly related to drama and literature. But all of these rely on the same basic idea of something happening against expectations. As such, finding your lost keys just as you’ve had replacements made is not â€Å"ironic,†no matter how annoying it might be. It’s just an unfortunate coincidence. Literally (In Actual Fact) Misuse of â€Å"literally†is possibly even more common than misuse of ironic. It’s also more problematic, as people often use â€Å"literally†to emphasize a metaphor: When Alanis finds out, she’ll literally explode with anger. We wouldn’t usually take this to mean that someone is about to actually explode. It’s just a way of figuratively stressing how angry they’d be. The repressed rage is plain to see.(Photo: Justin Higuchi/wikimedia) However, the original meaning of â€Å"literally†is â€Å"exactly†or â€Å"actually the case.†As such, using â€Å"literally†to emphasize something that isn’t actually true is the exact opposite of this! We’re then left in a situation where one common use of â€Å"literally†is opposed to its â€Å"literal†use. Now that is ironic (in the literal sense of the word)! Does Any of This Really Matter? Yes, we know that using these terms wrongly doesn’t hurt anyone. And so we try not to worry about it too much. But if, like us, you prefer to avoid mistakes in your written work, it makes sense to use these words correctly.
Monday, November 4, 2019
The relationship between creative written and verbal expression and Dissertation
The relationship between creative written and verbal expression and attitudes toward violence - Dissertation Example This quantitative study proposes to use a post-test only quasi-experimental design to address the research questions (Shaddish, Cook, and Campbell, 2002). Quasi-experimental design seems appropriate since the researcher finds it immpossible to randomly assign research participants, and also to conduct a pretest. As such, only a post-test will be distributed and non-random assignment of the participants is to be undertaken. Quasi-experimental designs are used to test whether educational practice makes a difference for individuals (Creswell, 2003). The treatment is defined in this proposed research project as a creative writing workshop, in which students are taught the elements of written and verbal expression. The treatment is considered to be complete once students construct a written creative expression and verbally share the written creative expression with the members of the treatment group. Neuman (2003) describes the concept of treatment as stimulus or manipulation, and in this case, the stimulus is the participation in the creative writing workshop. Post-treatment measures or the dependent variable that is considered in the research is the attitudes toward violence, and this will be collected and compared in order or determine whether there were significant differences in the attitudes changes of control and sample groups. . Research Design Research Instrumentat The Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) will be used as post-test for treatment and control groups. The test authors developed the SAVRY to provide a standard rubric that could be used by a variety of systems that need to assess and manage youth violence. The instrument is composed of three domains of risk factors, containing 24 items. The Summary Risk Rating... The purpose of this quantitative study is to explore the relationship, if any exist, between creative written and verbal expression and attitudes toward violence. To accomplish this purpose, the researcher intends to employs the quasi-experimental research design. Chapter three explained the research method and the dependent and independent variables. Context of the study was explained, the African American Males residing in what is considered the of the United States. Instruments involved were also explained which included the defined measurement. The primary data collect in the present study includes the scores from post-tests of the treatment and control groups. Data analysis to occur was explained along with limitations, threats to internal validity, and assumptions of the study. Population and sample size were defined, along with the geological location of the proposed study. In the following chapter the nature of findings and prospective areas of discussions of the study will b e presented. In the writing of this research, certain assumptions are deemed as influencing the researcher in the course of study. These assumptions are: first, juvenile violence is a contemporary phenomenon brought about by factors present only in this period. Second, the study assumes that there is no single entity or individual solely responsible for solving the problem. Third, the problem of juvenile violence will affect not only the youth of today, but also will have an impact on the children of tomorrow.
Friday, November 1, 2019
BUS503 - Org. Change and Transformation Mod 5 Case Assignment Essay
BUS503 - Org. Change and Transformation Mod 5 Case Assignment - Essay Example Bahe (2005) tells us that the average employee responds to each change in the following way, disbelief and denial, anger and blame, reluctant acceptance, and the final stage. In each of these stages the employees are very needy and need to be kept informed. Unfortunately today, change happens so fast that the employee often only has time to get through this process and then start again making change a time consuming process for managers as well (Sherman, 2009). The possible sources of resistance from the structural point of view are many. Bahe (2005), tells us that there are six sources of resistance that are typical of most organizations. Those are identified as structural inertia, limited focus of change, group inertia, perceived threat to expertise, and threat to established resource allocations. Structural inertia is the process of actually running the business, policies and procedures etc. The idea is to keep the company moving forward so the question is, is there a threat to that? The focus of change, we have all seen. This happens when no everyone makes the change. For example, one department decides to go on and do it the way they always have even though the rest of the departments have changed. It might even take a little while to discover. When group inertia happens, there is usually a specialized group that attempts to stop the change such as a union. There is of course the perceived threat to expertise. If we make this change will my knowledge not be important any more, will a robot be doing my job? Power relationships are what leadership is all about. It can be good power or bad power but everyone needs certain amount of power to get the job done. It is not unusual for a leader to have spent some time building up different kinds of power in his position. If that is possibly going to be affected there is then huge resistance and a lot of that will come from managers.
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