Thursday, August 22, 2019
HRM Consultancy Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words
HRM Consultancy Report - Essay Example perations of the form are imminent since they will have to be implemented to ensure congruity between the organizations to enable the smooth flow of activities. Ideally, unlike Akbar and Sons, BP is a global company that runs operations in various countries across the world thus it will have to institute workplace diversity by composing organizational teams that have varied characters to enhance a composition of employees from diverse backgrounds to ensure the company has a pool of skills and talent that will improve its overall performance. In light of that fact, the company ought to come up with relevant solutions that will solve the problems identified to ensure Akbar and Sons is efficiently integrated into BP. Some of the proposed solutions include, the human resource department reconstituting the organizational teams responsible for the day to day running of the operations so that they can be constituted with varied individuals from different backgrounds. Additionally, prior to the changes employees were briefed on the expected changes and thus given the option to embrace them or rather leave the company if they find them to be too harsh. That way the probability of resistance to change will be minimal since those who perceive the changes to be inconsistent will have the option of leaving without any form of conflict. Akbar and sons is an oil company based in the United Arab Emirates that has been operating for a significant period. BP oil an international oil company based in the United Kingdom is set to acquire Akbar and Sons and take over its operations. Akbar and Sons is a family owned company that maintains a tradition of social responsibility by always giving back to the society through projects and initiatives aimed at elevating the lives of the immediate communities within its operational environment. All the years the company has been in operation, it has been able to create cohesion among its employees that has culminated in the creation of a
Dream Is A Work Essay Example for Free
Dream Is A Work Essay A dream is a work of art which requires of the dreamer no particular talent, special training, or technical competence. Dreaming is a creative enterprise in which all may and most do participate. ââ¬â Clark S. Hall Dreams Nightmares I.introduction I. Dreams are the touchstones of our characters. Henry David Thoreau Have you ever been curious about what your dreams and nightmares actually mean? Dreams can be mysterious, but understanding the meaning of our dreams can be downright baffling. The content of our dreams can shift suddenly, feature bizarre elements or frighten us with terrifying imagery. The fact that dreams can be so rich and compelling is what causes many to believe that there must be some meaning to our dreams. People have always been fascinated by their secret night-time journeys. Over the years there have been many theories as to why we dream and the function dreams serve. II. What is a dream? ââ¬â What is a nightmare Nightmareââ¬â¢s distinction is its frightening and emotional content. People wake up in fear in the middle of a nightmare. Because of this, you are more likely to remember your nightmares than your good dream. Studies have said that sensiive people are more prone to nightmares because of of their empathetic surroundings. Dream is a series of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep. We all experience dreams while we sleep III. Facts about Dreams Dreams can be fascinating, exciting, terrifying or just plain weird. 1. Everybody Dreams 2. But You Forget Most of Your Dreams We forget most of our dreams just right after waking up because of our brain condition while were asleep. Although most dreams vanish, certain ones tend to remain. These dreams were so beautiful or bizarre, they captured our attention and increased activity in our DLPFC. Thus, the more impressive your dream or thought, the more likely you are to remember it. How to understand what your dreams mean The symbolism in dreams is often simply borrowed from recent events. The first time the above dream occurred was after the woman had been watching a television programme about sailing. The symbols are rather arbitrary; it is the feelings in the dream which hold the key to unlocking dreams and what they mean. The feelings in the dream are usually an exaggeration of feelings from the real-life issue which caused the dream. If you feel terror in the dream think of when recently, in your waking life, you felt a little frightened. Or if you laugh hysterically during a dream look for a recent time when you found something funny but were maybe constrained from laughing too uproariously. When you find the dreams match it often feels like a clicking into place like a perception rather than an intellectualisation. When you astral project, your astral self is leaving your physical, corporeal body and roaming around on the astral plane. If thatââ¬â¢s happening to you, you are extremely aware that itââ¬â¢s happening. Itââ¬â¢s not something that happens unconsciously. So, a true astral projection is when you leave your body and you maintain your awareness in your astral body while your physical body stays prone and asleep. So, that being said, however, what happens at night is your astral body becomes aware, it sort of wakes up, but it doesnââ¬â¢t necessarily leave your body. In that way, I could see why youââ¬â¢re asking ââ¬Å"Does the astral body hover over the body while sleeping?â⬠I can tell you that during the times that I have astral projected and gone to visit friends I can see their astral bodies moving out of phase with their physical bodies. So, usually I see a personââ¬â¢s head coming out of their physical head. So, I kind of see their incorporeal head here ââ¬â their astral head ââ¬â and their physical head just underneath them. And they usually look pretty shocked. I donââ¬â¢t know if thatââ¬â¢s because theyââ¬â¢re sensing my presence or thatââ¬â¢s how it looks normally. I would have no way to tell, but I can tell you that the astral self does move out of phase a little bit from the physical body while we sleep. At least from what I have seen. This would make sense to me, because when we sleep our bodies are going into sort of a hibernation that allows our astral self ââ¬â our astral body ââ¬â to separate and explore if it wants to. If we want to. Always remember that you are attached to your corporeal body with your astral cord, which is what helps you get back into your body after youââ¬â¢ve been out for a while. You donââ¬â¢t want that to get severed . Thatââ¬â¢s the end of the show if that happens. So, yes, I would say itââ¬â¢s true that every time you sleep your astral body becomes aware, that it is free to move around, but a true astral separation you would be very, very aware of. It would not be something that youââ¬â¢d forget. So I would say that yes, there is some astral activity every night when you sleep, but probably not a full separation. Good question. If you liked this article, sign up to receive free updates. - Top of Form The difference would depend on how you feel about the dream upon waking and what you see as a nightmare. A nightmare is more typically something dreamt where you may well have a conscious recollection of a specific terror. Being pursued by a relentless creature or thing that would harm you, for instance. What you describe may have more to do with a bad dream that is based on some conflict in your life. You dont name any particular thing that you recall of the dream, so the dreams may be more to do with a waking issue almost literally fighting wakefulness. We pass through an odd world of twighlight as we emerge from sleep. Dreams happen mostly just before waking and in a way we often drag them with us. The waking experience itself can be disturbing enough to a pleasant dream to generate the response you describe in some people. As we awaken we can go through a semi-waking awareness of sleep paralysis and some can fight that, lash out as if they are restrained by something unwanted. As the mind comes awake the muscles release this and begin to work on command and we lose our grip on the dream: perhaps even a nice one. Stuff to fight over? Depends on how you feel. If nightmares it is odd that you dont mention specific details. This really sound more related to a waking issue as sleep is released a combination of physical and mental influences driving an agitated response. In the past, when we didnt know the importance of the meaning of dreams, they were undervalued by everyone. Today we know that our dreams are very important not only because they show us a live map of what is happening inside our psyche, but because they give us objective information and guidance about everything that happens in our lives. How can your dreams help you? You have to start keeping a dream journal and a diary where youll take notes of the most important events of the day to begin receiving the help you require. Study the dream language according to the scientific method of dream interpretation the same way you study any foreign language, so that you may easily learn how to translate the dream images into words that make sense to your conscious mind. Your dreams usually talk about you and your life, especially in the beginning of your occupation with dream translation. Later they will give you information about other people and everything else you care about. This is why your diary will help you understand the dream messages. The unconscious mind that produces your dreams sends you answers to your questions in dream messages, information about the things that most worry you, and explanations about what is happening in your life. When you are worried about the results of your tests, the unconscious mind will relieve your anxiety by showi ng you that everything will be fine. When you are making mistakes, the unconscious mind will send you dream images about the past. You will see yourself as you were when you were younger, because you will be repeating a maladaptive behavior that characterized your personality when you were still immature. For example, in the previous day if you were thinking about quitting your job youll understand that the unconscious mind is sending you a warning. You must not be irresponsible like you were when you were a teen. You need this job and you should forget the idea about abandoning it. The unconscious mind will help you find a better job if this is the case, but you should be patient. Work where you are now, and learn everything you can. Tomorrow you may need the experience youll acquire for working in this job, or the good references youll have from there in order to work in a higher position there or somewhere else. You will see dream symbols that have a positive meaning in your dreams after making some progress in dream interpretation, and after transforming your personality to a degree. The personality change is a positive result of dream therapy. Then you may see that you have found a key in a dream. This dream symbol shows you that you have finally found the solution you needed in order to solve a difficult problem. You only need to learn the meaning of the most important dream symbols and understand how the information contained in your dreams helps you correct mistakes in your behavior or eliminate illogical concepts and bad ideas you have formulated to effectively change your life in a positive and rewarding way. In the beginning you should write all your dreams down and compare one dream to another, analyzing an entire dream collection, so that you may really learn the dream language. Once you get used with it, youll automatically translate all dream images into words, immediately understanding the dream messages. Christina Sponias continued Carl Jungs research into the human psyche, discovering the cure for all mental illnesses, and simplifying the scientific method of dream interpretation that teaches you how to exactly translate the meaning of your dreams, so that you can find health, wisdom and happiness.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Understanding The Issues Of Information Overload
Understanding The Issues Of Information Overload In this paper we discussed about Understanding information overload and the common causes of information overload, the disadvantages of information overload for an organization, managing information flow in order to minimize the effect of information overload for the organization, the role of information professional to overcome the information overload extract the useful information. Hope the readers will benefited. Information Overload is an increasing problem both in the workplace and in life in general. It is a state in which the amount of available information is so overwhelming a person is unable to effectively process and utilize it. Information overload is intuitively noticeable in our daily lives. Walking any street, we can hardly measure the amount of information we are exposed to. Information hits us from all directions, newspapers, television, voice mail, cellular phones, email, electronic memos, and the World Wide Web, to name a few. This increase in information, combined with the factor of change in many aspects of our lives, can lead to an unhealthy effect. Information Overload is when you are trying to deal with more information than you are able to process to make sensible decisions. The result is either that you either delay making decisions, or that you make the wrong decisions. . Understanding Information overload The first recorded use of the phrase information overload was used by the futurologist Alvin Toffler in 1970, when he predicted that the rapidly increasing amounts of information being produced would eventually cause people problems. Heylighen (1999) noted, People exposed to the rapid changes of modern life may develop a state of helplessness and inadequacy. Nelson (2001) defines information overload as the incapability to obtain a form of knowledge from a massive amount of information for one reason or another. Information overload can take place for one of these reasons: 1. Not understanding the existing information 2. Feeling inundated by the need to absorb huge amounts of information 3. Not knowing if the needed information exists or not 4. Not knowing where to obtain the information 5. Knowing where the information is but have no access privilege Causes of Information overload Information overload was experienced long before the appearance of information technology and electronic gadgets. Complaints about too many books echo across the centuries, from when books were papyrus rolls, parchment manuscripts, or hand printed. After Printing innovation books were produced and accumulated in unprecedented numbers, and, given their drop in cost, many more readers than before had access to more books than they could read. In the Internet era where millions of smart phones and gadgets are sold every day, zillions of tons of data are being produced. Thus making people spoilt for choices. With a touch, one can easily get almost any data from any corner of the world. The rate of production of different kinds of data such as news, text, multimedia and graphs is breathtaking. For example: YouTube where 24 hours of video is being uploaded in every minute and the rate is increasing everyday. There are millions of sites are there and even the IP address is going to be exhausted. One could imagine the amount of electronic data that is available to digest. Organizations accumulate a huge amount of information about its internal operations and resources. Fifteen years ago only phone, fax and post mails were used for communication. There is a general increase in business communication by voice mail, e-mail, internet and online conferencing in addition to the above mentioned traditional methods which results information overload. Disadvantages of information overload for an organization Too little or too much information is not good for an individual and an organization. Too much reduces their ability to concentrate effectively on the most important messages. People facing information overload sometimes try to cope by ignoring some of the messages, by delaying responses to messages they deem unimportant, by answering only parts of some messages, by responding inaccurately to certain messages, by taking less time with each message, or by reacting only superficially to all messages. Persons exposed to excessive amounts of information are less productive, prone to make poor decisions, and risk suffering serious stress-related diseases. He becomes highly selective and ignore a large amount of information or give up and dont go beyond the first results in many cases, need more time to reach a decision, make mistakes, have difficulties in identifying the relationship between the details and the overall perspective and waste time. Information overload affects-and afflicts-both individual knowledge workers, struggling to perform their jobs while drowning in data, and entire office organizations, whose productivity and customer care suffer as a consequence. The abundance of information we enjoy today comes at a price. Less apparent is the tremendous hidden cost it imposes on the organization as a whole. In one study, for example, people took an average of nearly 25 minutes to return to a work task after an email interruption. Another study found that time lost to handling unnecessary e-mail and recovering from information interruptions cost Intel nearly $1 billion a year. An article in the October issue of HBR, found that forcing knowledge workers to take weekly breaks from email and other work distractions improved performance. Information Overload on an organization is to understand all the lost opportunities it causes and inefficiencies produced. The amount of information has increased for a number of reasons: there is a general increase in business communication, in-company and with customers and suppliers; trends such as globalisation and deregulation increase competition; companies are downsizing and fewer secretaries are employed to protect people from information; more outsourcing means a wider range of other companies with which it is necessary to communicate. There are also more ways to communicate: by fax, voice mail, e-mail, internet and online conferencing, in addition to the more traditional methods, telephone, meetings, post and telex. The cost to business Time is wasted. People spend too much time looking for information. 38% of managers surveyed waste substantial amounts of time just looking for information. Factors such as the holding of files in different software formats and the speed of the internet at critical times of day contribute to this. Decisions are often delayed: 43% of respondents though that decisions were delayed and otherwise adversely affected by analysis paralysis or the existence of too much information. 47% of respondents said that information collection distracts them from their main responsibilities. They find it difficult to develop strategies for dealing with the information they retrieve. It is interesting to imagine the potential increase in productivity if all distractions were removed. The human costs The study identified for the first time that information overload contributes to stress. Two out of three respondents associated information overload with tension with colleagues and loss of job satisfaction. 42% attributed ill-health to this stress. 61% said that they have to cancel social activities as a result of information overload and 60% that they are frequently too tired for leisure activities. National differences In general these were not considered to be of great significance. Managers in the USA and the United Kingdom get the most unsolicited information. Asian managers appear to need less information to make decisions: only 9% claimed to need enormous amounts of information compared with 31% in the United States. Their major decisions may be made through intuition to a greater extent. More United States managers (39%) agree that they suffer stress than those in the UK and Hong Kong. People can no longer develop effective personal strategies for managing information. Faced with an onslaught of information and information channels, they have become unable to develop simple routines for managing information. Technologies for managing information are often the problem, not the solution. They can create the M25 effect: more lanes just means more traffic. People create and distribute because they can, not because its useful. Intranets can become like the internet full of home-made home pages and dead links. Intelligent agents frequently do not live up to their name. Current research suggests that the surging volume of available information-and its interruption of peoples work-can adversely affect not only personal well-being but also decision making, innovation, and productivity. In one study, for example, people took an average of nearly 25 minutes to return to a work task after an e-mail interruption. Thats bad news for both individuals and their organizations. Theres hope, though. Innovative tools and techniques promise relief for those of us struggling with information inundation. Some are technological solutions-software that automatically sorts and prioritizes incoming e-mail, for instance-designed to regulate or divert the deluge. Others prevent people from drowning by getting them to change the way they behave and think. Who knows: Maybe someday even I will enjoy swimming in the powerful currents of information that now threaten to pull me under. Before we can take action / set the procedure to minimize the negative effect of information overload, we should do the analysis of information flows both individual and organisation. Not only for electronic information source such email, but also for spoken words, reading books and talking to friends and family. The analysis is started with identification what information we need based on our key information areas, when we need the information, to whom we should exchange the information with (information sharing), and why we need the information and how we turn the information into results. After understand the information flow, we will be able to set/construct the procedure of information handling which consists of filtering, information pruning, time management, to-do list and optimization the use of current technology as information organizing and distributing tool. There are two types of filtering information i.e. technical filter and daily communication filter. The technical filter is easier to manage as once we set our preference it will work accordingly. An example of technical filter is filter function that is available in e-mails. Filtering daily communication is more difficult because it depends much on the situation and current conversation at that time. Every reaction to another person is an indication of what you want to hear or not hear during the rest of the conversation. We often think that the information is important/useful for the recipient which actually not from recipient point of view. Filter prime our thinking and test whether the new information is important. However, the filter should not be too rigid, as it may exclude coincidences. We will no longer accidentally stumble across information, as is often part of searches on the internet. As regards of second information flow, we can decide more quickly to simply stop receiving it if the information is just nice to know instead of need to know. We will not miss anything as we dont use this information for making decision. Besides that, this less important information will leave us less time for really important information. There is a tool for technical pruning such as setting up the expiry date and which action should we take e.g. file, cancel, delete, etc. Time management is important as time is always in exceedingly short supply. We never enough with the time that we have. Therefore, attention and concentration are important aspect in time management. With full attention and concentration the time spent for managing information is more efficient. Because we need to remember increasingly more, we need an aid i.e. to do list of actions so that we can keep tracking what things we still need to do/settle. This practice alone will give us a lot of added value. Besides the to-do list, it is also good if we also make not-to-list so that when the time come, we are ready. Nowadays with high technology we can optimize the IT to help us to organize and distribute the information.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Vengeance In Shakespeare And Literature English Literature Essay
Vengeance In Shakespeare And Literature English Literature Essay Numerous dramas and works of literature by William Shakespeare are known for their intensely dramatic scenes. And because of violence enhancing the deaths of literature works, it is in favor for writers of literature to put much violence and death in their works and literature, after annotating Shakespeares use of revenge, and how it brings out the life of his plays. Shakespeares works use vengeance because it leads to the root of violence as well as draw excitement to readers, and by also showing the consequences of revenge, his works leave a notable and significant message that vengeance is not necessarily the best way to solve problems, and yet his use of vengeance in his works encourage the use of vengeance in literature. What is vengeance exactly? Vengeance is basically an infliction of injury, harm, or humiliation on a person who has been harmed by that person. Revenge and vengeance can be best described by the term an eye for an eye, a quotation from several passages of the Hebrew Bible (Leviticus 24:19-21, Exodus 21:22-25, and Deuteronomy19:21) in which a person who has injured the eye of another is obligated to give the value of his or her own eye in compensation. This mythological perspective is the main basis for many works of literature; most notable is that of Shakespeares Hamlet (DiYanni). The idea of vengeance for family honor causes great chaos and madness throughout the play Hamlet, and causes many more people who were beloved to get caught up in this circle of chaos, madness, and vengeance. Revenge causes the characters in Hamlet to act blindly and inattentively through anger and emotion, rather than through reasoning, intuition, and reliable thinking between actions and consequences. Based on the principle of an eye for an eye, this action is not always the best means to an end, nor is it righteous. The three characters Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet urged to avenge the deaths of their beloved fathers, whom were all murdered. All three characters acted on the emotion of rage driven by the thirst for revenge for their fathers deaths, and this led to the tragic death of both Laertes and Hamlet, and the rise of power for the Norwegian crowned prince Fortinbras who was heading for Denmark. This further leads to the perception that ones desire for vengeance can lead t o their downfall. Lost by his father, with all bonds of law, to our most valiant brother, provides information of Fortinbras, King of Norways, death which leads to the basis and understanding of how Fortinbrass thirst for vengeance arose (Hamlet I.ii.24-25). Fortinbras then aspires to recover the lands and power lost by his father as a way of honoring and avenging him (pinkmonkey). Polonius was an advisor to King Claudius and was a devoted member to Claudiuss ruling. Not only being a simple advisor, Polonius was the father to Laertes and Ophelia. How now! A rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead, gives detail of Prince Hamlet killing Polonius while he was secretly listening in on a conversation between Hamlet and his mother (Hamlet III.iv.25). Once Laertes figures out his fathers murder, he does not hesitate and proceeds for vengeance quite hastily. King Claudius asked Laertes, to show yourself youre your fathers son in deed more than words (Hamlet IV.vii.137-138). Laertes then replies back stating, to cut his throat ith , thus proving Laertess inner desire for retribution of the death of his father. As for Hamlet; after hearing of his fathers death, Hamlets initial reaction was not vengeful nor did a desire for retribution occur. Hamlet first fell into a state of melancholy and depression. Not until King Hamlets ghost reveals the truth to Hamlet that his whole melancholy and depressed attitude changes. King Hamlets Ghost says to Hamlet, Murder most foul, as in the best it is, but this most foul, strange and unnatural (Hamlet I.v.31-32). Hamlet then replies to his fathers ghost stating, Haste me to knowt that I with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love may sweep me to my revenge, thus interpreting that a whole new drive for vengeance has arose. Hamlet is almost totally sure that his uncle King Claudius had killed his father in order to take the power of the throne of Denmark (Hamlet I.v.33-35). But unlike Fortinbras, Hamlet does not act quickly or hastily because he is paralyzed by his own indecision and fear (pinkmonkey). The inability for Hamlet to take immediat e action becomes his main obstacle throughout the play. Eventually Hamlet does get his revenge, but the irony in the play is that Hamlet, by fulfilling his revenge, has destroyed the family whose honor he sought to avenge, which is a major turn around in the whole work, and gives readers an inner depth of feeling to this work (pinkmonkey). Fortinbras, Hamlet, and Laertes are burdened with the responsibility of avenging the murders of their respective fathers. The most interesting fact about Shakespeares work in context, that most readers would overlook, is the fact that while both Hamlet and Laertes find themselves in similar situations, they do not respond to their situations in a corresponding way for revenge (Sexton). Their display for vengeance is quite significantly different. Hamlet spends much of the play plotting on ways to take vengeance against his fathers murderer and is held back by his fear, while Laertes, on the other hand, reacts to the news of his fathers murder very quickly and rapidly (Sexton). These differences are based on both Laertes and Hamlets personality, values, initiative, and anger, which are the building blocks and glue to all acts of vengeance. Laertes can be described as an inflexible person and has a different sense of honor. Laertes acts out of great aggressiveness and pure anger, while Hamlets code of honor, on the other hand, can be portrayed as extremely different, because throughout Shakespeares work. Hamlet attentively plots and questions himself on which course of action is the utmost proper and effective way for his act of vengeance to take forth. This continues to support the theory that different men tend to different acts when it comes to vengeance. Unfortunately, this decision leads to the death of them both. Rather than approach vengeance as a task to be carried out in the most acceptable fashion, Hamlet and Laertes brainwash in their heads that murder is the only means of revenge, which is portrayed as a sociologic al aspect in literature: that a means of vengeance, particularly to men, has to involve death (pinkmonkey). Whatever happened to placing itching powder in ones underwear? Or just plain out of forgiving them, as one is supposed to in The Bible? Society now refers to vengeance as mere violence and bloodshed. Overall the plays conclusion makes it clear that the great distinction between Hamlet and Laertes is quite significant to Shakespeare because it develops a conflict in his work, and leads to deeper questioning whether vengeance is truly the best means to an end. Another Shakespearian work that displays a theme of vengeance in literature is Macbeth. In Macbeth the characters Malcolm and Macduff portray a desire for retribution for the deaths of their loved ones, whom Macbeth has murdered in his thirst for tyranny. He has no children. All my pretty ones? Did you say all? O hell-kite! All? What, all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop, explores Macduffs grief for the loss of his wife and son (Macbeth IV. iii. 216-219). Tyrant, show the face! If thou beest slain and with no stroke of mine, my wife and childrens ghost will haunt me still, explains that Macduff considers that he has the right to carry out vengeance (Macbeth V.vii.15-17). He may just have the right towards an eye for an eye, but just because one has a right to an action, doesnt necessarily mean that taking that action is the utmost right thing to do. For every action there is a consequence. In Hamlet the consequences of vengeance are exceedingly displayed. Although it never directly states that vengeance is the best means to an end, one can easily interpret that vengeance is not the correct motive. Hamlet proves that vengeance leads to more death that could have easily been avoided. To further display the negative aspects are sacred books such as the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible gives great detail of avoiding vengeance, and is the major source of answer to the question of whether vengeance is the best means to an end through a mythological perspective. God speaks out in the Bible stating: It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them, thus stating that God only has the right to avenge anyone, while we as his people do not the right to seek any vengeance (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30). God says that he will take care of everything. God never accepts vengeance from impure motives, such as taking part in vengeance for emotional distress. In Psalm 94:1, the psalmist asks God to avenge the righteous, not in a sense of anger, but out of justice from God, whose judgments are perfect. Although vengeance is a sin, and causes a negative impact to our society, it should still be encouraged to be placed in works of literature, and maybe movies, thats if the people who view such movies are competent enough to not act out upon such viewings. Who doesnt like a good story filled with vengeance? Vengeance in literature can play the role of an end to a magnificent plot, a ground-breaking intro, or encouragement for a friend to get his hands off the PlayStation every once in a while. To further prove vengeances impact on literature take note of best-selling books: Grendel by John Gardner, and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and how vengeance gives these works great value in the eyes of many readers. The Great Gatsby is basically the basic soap opera that ends with death, due to misunderstanding and the need of vengeance. In the Fitzgeralds work, George Wilsons wife, Myrtle, is killed in a car accident. And by just assuming that his wife was intentionally murdered, and that its the will of God for him to act put upon vengeance; he shoots Tom Gatsby while he is floating in the swimming pool. Tom Gatsbys death played the dramatic climax in Fitzgeralds work, leaving thoughts in the minds of readers as the story concludes. For instance, the most captivating quote was about the basis of Toms death and Georges revenge When a man gets killed I never like to get mixed up in it in any way. I keep out. When I was a young man it was differentI stuck with them to the endLet us learn to show friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead (Fitzgerald, 147). By placing vengeance in literary context, Fitzgeralds work went from simplistic to captivating, in the eyes of many reade rs. Grendel by John Gardner possesses vengeance as well, and some may argue that it possesses greater value of vengeance than The Great Gatsby. Grendels mother and Beowulf display the best aspects of vengeance. Beowulf is assigned the task to slay Grendel, and cease his routinely devastating raids. The slaying of Grendel plays the role of vengeance, and also redemption within Gardners work. After her sons dismemberment Grendels mother also takes her place to seek revenge, although vengeance was not needed, for it was Grendel who had it coming. However, Grendels mother is still a mom who loves her child, and her task is to obtain vengeance for her son. This epic story reveals how vengeance can make literature into a visionary cinematic pleasure. Most great authors themselves promote vengeance in their work opposed to philosophers. Peter A. French is one of the many authors that defended vengeance and demonstrate its prevalence throughout our history and our literature -Although most moral philosophers reject vengeance as a barbaric sentiment, Peter French argues that it has fallen into disrepute without being seriously examined with respect to its real moral value. In beginning his philosophical examination of the virtues of vengeance, he investigates the use of vengeance themes in literature and popular culture. Literary works from theà Iliadà toà Hamletà and modern film Westerns such as Clint Eastwoods Unforgivenà are reviewed in his exploration of the philosophical and ethical aspects of vengeance. He then concentrates on the conditions that could make acts of vengeance virtuous(kansaspress). Vengeance is the main foundation of a plethora of literary works, but most notable is that of Shakespeares. Vengeance plays a theme of most of Shakespeares plays, and is main component of its success. The portrayal of the consequences of vengeance shows that vengeance is most definitely not the best means to an end, and for those who are of Christianity, portray vengeance as a sin, because God strictly prohibits it. On the other hand vengeance, can be a positive impact in not just Western literature, but worldwide. By displaying vengeance in books, people can learn from mistakes, and speak towards their own thoughts on vengeance. Vengeance is an endless matter, and should also be endless theme of literature works throughout our time.
Monday, August 19, 2019
The Harleian Manuscripts :: Chaucer Canterbury Tales Essays
The Harleian Manuscripts, Ha2 and Ha3 My research on the Harley manuscript versions of Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales", Ha2 1758 and Ha3 7333 from the British Library led to the finding of little information except what was to be found in the footnotes of articles and books describing the Ha4 7334. The little information I did find might lead to reasons why the manuscripts, particularly the Ha3 7333, are difficult to research and why they are seldom mentioned. I spent most of my research time on the library's fifth floor and went through the stack of Chaucer books, particularly the publications by the Chaucer Society. I also searched the internet for articles and research pertaining to Chaucer and the many manuscript versions of "The Canterbury Tales", including the library's electronic resources, Infotrac and JSTOR. Most of the descriptions I found on the Ha2 and Ha3, however, came from the footnotes of articles on these electronic resources and from the footnotes of the books I found discussing the textual history of "The Canterbury Tales". One possible explanation as to why the Ha2 and Ha3 are rarely found or mentioned in comparison to the overwhelming supply of information on the Ha4 is that the Ha2 was "mostly used to supply Gg.S. or Cambridge". Similarly, the Ha3 "mostly supplies Lansdowne"(Koch 4). Therefore, maybe what is to be found of these manuscripts, the Ha2 and Ha3, is the combining of these manuscripts with the Cambridge and Lansdowne manuscripts, since it is described that the Harley versions supply these manuscripts. This theory is also supported by the fact that the Harley manuscripts contained many similarities to Shirley. I inferred from my readings that Shirley was a scribe of one of "The Canterbury Tales" manuscripts, since the Harley 7333 is often times mistaken to be his work(Pace 21). This presents another possible explanation that the Harley was combined with another manuscript and was therefore almost completely lost. This is only a possibility though, because the Harley is still referred to, no matter how seldom, as its own manuscript and is not combined in description with the Cambridge or Landsdowne. In lists of the available "The Canterbury Tales" manuscripts, provided by various books, the Harley is still referred to as its own manuscript and is not represented as part of another. The only information I found regarding the Ha2 1758 is that it lacks ten fols.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Conflict in Alls Well That Ends Well Essay -- Alls Well That Ends We
Conflict in All's Well That Ends Wellà à à à à One of the themes that emerges from Shakespeare's comedy All's Well That Ends Well is the conflict between old and new, age and youth, wisdom and folly, reason and passion. As one critic points out, a simple glance at the characters of the play reveals an almost equally balanced cast of old and young. "In performance it is apparent that the youth of the leading characters, Helena, Bertram, Diana and Parolles, is in each case precisely balanced by the greater age of their counterparts, the Countess, the King of France, the Widow of Florence and the old counselor Lafeu."1 Indeed, the dialectic between youth and age is established in the first act as the Countess sees a mirror of her former self in Helena's love sick countenance in scene three when she exclaims "Even so it was with me when I was young," and Bertram's worthiness to the ailing King of France in the previous scene appears to hang upon his youthful resemblance to his deceased father. As the King explains, "Such a man might be a copy to these younger times,/Which followed well would demonstrate them now/But goers-backward" [I.2. 49-51]. Like so many literary youths of his day, Shakespeare went backward for his source material for All's Well and based the play on Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron. Boccaccio's early sixteenth-century story revolves around Giletta of Narbona, the daughter of a wealthy and respected physician. Giletta, like Helena (the daughter of the deceased--and indigent--Gerard de Narbonne), falls in love with young count Beltramo, follows him to Paris where she remedies the King's incurable disease, and, because of her newly-acquired royal favor, is granted the right to demand a husband: Beltramo. Despite ... ...ng the confusing and difficult landscape of gender politics and postmodern deconstruction. And rather than accept Helena's all too confident statement that "All's well that ends well," we might more willingly embrace the King's more ambiguous statement," All yet seems well." 1 J.L. Styan, All's Well That Ends Well (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984) 15. 2 W.W. Lawrence, Shakespeare's Problem Comedies, 1931 rpt (New York: Ungar, 1960). 3 Anne Barton, "Introduction," All's Well That Ends Well in The Riverside Shakespeare ed. G. Blakemore Evans (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974) 501. 4 Ibid, 500. 5 David McCandless, "Helena's Bed-trick: Gender and Performance in All's Well That Ends Well" Shakespeare Quarterly 45 (1994): 455. 6 Richard A. Levin, "All's Well That Ends Well, and 'All Seems Well'," Shakespeare Studies (1980): 131. 7 McCandless, 450. Ã
Saturday, August 17, 2019
How do the opening chapters serve as an affective introduction to the rest of the novel?
The opening chapters of Wuthering Heights help give us an insight to the rest of the novel. We are able to start to think about foreshadowing events that might occur during the rest of the novel such as love and anger. The opening chapters are the most important in any novel or story, this is because they often help to set the scene, they introduce us to the main characters and give us a little insight in to what might happen during the rest of the novel. The beginning chapters of Wuthering Heights are like any other novel in terms of introducing to us the setting, characters and foreshadowing main themes. Emily Bronte lets us explore the settings around Wuthering Heights, which enables her to set the scene and enables us to visualise it more clearly. She has cleverly chosen a secluded place to home her characters on as it is a remote and desolate place and therefore the characters are thrust upon each other as they have no where else to go in the months of the snow. We do not explore a variety of settings during the novel, as she has restricted the places in which she explores, this means we get to know very little about the outside world and it enables the reader to see exactly how restricted and secluded the area actually is. By keeping the settings to a minimal it adds to the feeling of intensity. Thrush cross grange and Penistant Crag are the only settings explored in Wuthering Heights. The settings may seem irrelevant to a reader at first, but as the novel progresses they play an important part as they reflect the character personalities especially the linkage with Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights. An example of a linkage between the two is that they both lack positive welcoming vibes. This is shown in the house by ââ¬Ëno signs of roasting, boiling, or baking, about the huge fireplace'. This can give us the impression that the house is not a very homely place and we also get a hunch from the quotes ââ¬ËStraggeling gooseberry bushes' and ââ¬Ëbleak hill top' ââ¬Ëblack frost' ââ¬Ëmade me shiver through every limb' that even the scenery does not seem welcoming. This is as the gooseberry bushes represent thorns trying to warn away any sort of visitors for example Lockwood. The atmospheric scenery is also not a friendly, pleasant, warm and welcoming but a dark, rough, miserable atmosphere. Similarly this is shown in Heathcliff by ââ¬ËI don't keep accommodation for visitors' this gives us the impression that he is not welcoming to guests and that he does not attempt to make any effort. Another example of inhospitality from Heathcliff's side is ââ¬Ëâ⬠¦ ould you spare me one? ââ¬Ë ââ¬ËNo I could not. ââ¬Ë This shows how unwelcoming Heathcliff is and how his character can relate to the settings. This is a very clever way to introduce Heathcliff and the house to us because indirectly Bronte has given us many similarities between the two, and if we did not know that he was the owner we would be able to automatically assume that he was as quotes such as ââ¬ËBlack eyes withdrawn so suspiciously under their brows' which is descri bing Heathcliff. Contradicting with' heavy black ones lurking in the shade' which is describing the house contemplate with each other. We also see that there is a distinctive contrast between Wuthering heights and Thrush cross Grange Wuthering heights is a dull, boring place where no fun or leisure takes place whilst Thrush cross grange is full of laughter, music and dancing this is also reflected into the people living at these houses because the Earnshaws who live at Wuthering heights are strong, willed and dark and the Linton's at thrush cross grange are clam, gentle and kind. In chapter one we get the impression that later on in the novel Heathcliff may have a connection with the theme on violence and anger this is because of the objects in the house which are described ââ¬Ëvillainous old guns, and a couple of horse pistols'. This tells us that some one who possesses such items may be a fierce person or the opposite so a coward, but judging from the tone and the manner that Heathcliff's character portrays to us in the beginning chapters it is more likely that he is going to be a fierce character and the guns may show a sign of control or power within the character himself. Uttered so savagely' â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦ ââ¬ËThe toneâ⬠¦. revealed such a bad nature'. Bronte has also linked other events in the beginning chapters with the theme of violence such as the ghost supposedly Catherine Linton, who comes to Lockwood ââ¬Ëlet me in, let me in' ââ¬Ërubbed it to and fro till blood ran down' these quotes tell us that the novel defiantly contains more images and expanded themes on violence which could lead to a dramatic ending. The theme of brutality and violence is dwelled upon even further as the novel prolongs. The incident with the dogs and Lockwood is an example of violence ââ¬Ëbroke in a fury and jumped on my knees' and the incident with Heathcliff and Cathy ââ¬Ëclenched his fist with every appearance of a meditated assault. ââ¬Ë We are able to get an idea into what themes may be used in this novel and at the same time we are able to find out more about the character by their actions taken. Heathcliff is not the only character that is introduced to us in the beginning chapters, but we are also introduced to Lockwood. We are introduced to Lockwood as the narrator, but Bronte has cleverly disguised it is him speaking until the middle of the page. This could be because she wants us to get an impression that Lockwood is going to be a character who is never a part of things ââ¬Ë I began to feel unmistakably out of place', but always in the lives of others. We also learn that Lockwood is a bit waffled he likes to speak a lot of nonsense and puts his foot in it at times ââ¬Ëa beautiful animal' ââ¬Ëunlikely a pile of dead rabbits' this could mean that Lockwood is going to be someone who can never be taken seriously and we are forced to make our own judgments on things as he can not be trusted so say or think right. Lockwood is a significant character as we get to learn about Catherine through him we learn that Catherine is going to play a major part in the novel too, as she is introduced into the novel not as an actual person, but as a ghost, a spirit. This again can be linked back to the theme of death, violence and haunting. The way that Catherine is introduced to us makes us speculate on why she is coming to haunt the place and especially why to Lockwood as we already know that she is or was a real character when Lockwood finds her diary ââ¬Ë took a form of a regular diary'. When Catherine is introduced Bronte refers to negative cold descriptions such as ââ¬Ëicy cold hand' and ââ¬Ëshiverlingly'. These images could relate to Catherine's character and it could resemble her. Again, Bronte may want to indirectly inform us of what her character is likely to be and from these descriptions it tells us that Catherine is going to be a cold hearted character and someone who does not care about anyone else apart from herself. ââ¬ËThough everybody hated and despised each other, they could not avoid loving me' this tells us how self-centered Catherine may be. The introduction to Catherine was an effective and interesting way as it enables Bronte to make the readers imaginations run wild and it keeps them reading on as they want to find out why Catherine is now a ghost and why she has come back to haunt the house. During the opening few chapters we are also introduced to another character who is Hareton. We do not learn a great deal about Hareton in the opening few chapters, but we are introduced to his appearance ââ¬Ëthick brown curls were rough and uncultivated' ââ¬Ëhands were embrowned' Hareton's presence in the beginning chapters is vital as it creates a relationship triangle with himself, Heathcliff and Catherine and we are soon very confused with Lockwood to how each of them are related to one and other. You're amiable lady' ââ¬Ëmy amiable lady! ââ¬Ë ââ¬ËNot my son assuredly'. Emily Bronte has purposely added Hareton to show the first signs of confusion among characters and this confusing relationship triangle is carried on throughout the novel such as the love triangle between Edgar Linton, Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff where both men loved one woman and she was torn between wealth. We are also faced with many clues into foreshadowing future events that might develop as the novel progresses. The ideas are hidden and the reader will only be able to find them if they take the events further and think about what the symbolism may be in the rest of the novel. We touch upon the theme of love and passion in the first few chapters we see signs that the novel is going to be based on love ââ¬Ëcome in' ââ¬Ëoh do once more my hearts darling' the way that Bronte has written this part feels so passionate that we instantly get the feeling that a big part of the novel will contain feelings of love, but we also know that it will not be so straight forward there will be complications. We can tell this from the connection with the ghost, the ghost represents something from the dead and it makes the reader feel at unease and have a sensation of something not being true or right this can be portrayed in the novel such as Heathcliffs and Catherine love at the beginning, but Catherine soon become tied with Edgar and ends up marring him or Heathcliff's and Isabella's marriage, Heathcliff only married her so he can get back at Edgar but Isabella's intentions were true. All these are signs of love existing in one place or another but it is problematic twist somewhere in-between that love, such as death, separation, jealousy, cruelty or neglect. I have already mentioned before the fact that violence and brutality will also be linked into the rest of the novel and the clues that we are given for that are the guns and the way that Heathcliff seems to snap and his actions at times reflects anger with in him. Heathcliff lifted his hand' ââ¬Ëspeaker sprang to a distance'. We can also link the theme of violence with Heathcliff and Hindley. Bronte has made sure that she has informed us of a conflict that went on between two of the characters, and after reading about this it enables us to predict that as the novel develops the conflict between Hindely and Heathcliff will continue until one will win. ââ¬Ëâ⬠¦ Heathcliff went to loose the beat'â⬠¦ Hindely knocked him to his feet' this shows how we see violence and conflict between the two characters at an early stage in the novel. These are really the main themes that Bronte has introduced us to as she has given us quite a lot of information in the opening chapters to make us carry on reading to find out what happens she has provided us with little bits of the story on what happens so that we get a taste to what are the main ideas that will be explored through the novel. The language in the novel changes in the opening few chapters as Bronte approaches the flash back, there is a contrast between the way that Bronte presents Lockwood, and the way he speaks and the way that Nelly dean speaks. Emily Bronte has used a contrast in characters as narrators so that we as the reader can now be more certain that Lockwood's views are unreliable ââ¬Ëit's swarming with ghost and goblins'. His views can not be taken seriously as we could say did he really see a ghost? This is because we get an account that he was dreaming before so the ghost could also been apart of his dream. Bronte makes Nelly Dean speak she gets straight to the point, on the other hand Lockwood's character would take the space of fifty words to mean one thing for example take these two quotes ââ¬Ëone fine summer morning' compared with ââ¬Ëthe first feathery flakes of the snow shower'. Emily Bronte shows a distinctive difference in the two characters, this is a technique that she has used so that is forces us to believe everything that Nelly Dean will say in the flash back as she is the only character who was present all throughout the time when the conflicts, deaths, fights and marriages took place between the two families the Earnshaws and the Linton's therefore we have only one side of the story to believe and Emily Bronte has made Nelly Dean convincing enough for us to believe her. As we read further into the novel we are faced with a letter from Isabella ââ¬Ë I got a long letter', Emily Bronte's idea to add a letter was very effective as we are able to get another narrator in the novel. This provides us with more information into what Wuthering heights is like ââ¬ËAn untidy, dingy hole' and what life with Heathcliff is like ââ¬Ëpromised me that I should be Edgar's proxy in suffering'. After re-reading the first few chapters of Wuthering heights I realised that the beginning chapters served as an affective introduction to the rest of the novel. This is because Emily Bronte has indirectly given us information towards forth-coming themes and she has given information into some of the main characters which will appear in the novel. She has also given a clue about the atmospheric settings and where the characters are homed. I think that the main reason to why Emily Bronte may have written a novel like this one is due to the social and historical influences she came across during the 1800. Emily Bronte grew up in a very isolated place herself so there are personal references reflected in the novel such as the emphasis on the intensity of the settings. Also as Emily Bronte lived in a very isolated place she was not touched directly by the industrial revolution this is probably why she did not base her novel on relevant social issues such as authors like Charles Dickens and Jane Austin who did. I also think that the period of time that she wrote this novel in has reflected in some of her characters. In the 1800 women were seen as being ââ¬Ëdegraded to their husbands', I think that this has affected the way that Bronte has written the novel as she has made the women in this novel to not obey and do what ever their husbands say, but to have a mind of their own like Catherine. Later on in the novel we see that Catherine's character is of a strong headed and powerful woman. She has also given more importance to the women in this novel for example if you look at Nelly Dean, she is the narrator. Nelly Deans character has a very important part to play in this novel as without her present in all the events that have took place between the two families their would be no one to tell us what happened apart from Joseph. But again you can see that Bronte has made Nelly Dean a woman to tell the story and not a Joseph who is a man. So many aspects have influenced the writer Emily Bronte into creating such a novel that astonished everyone. Many people were astonished by the topics she wrote about and many were astonished at her work. Over all the first few chapters of the novel have created the base for our knowledge to expand and run wild on, Emily Bronte has made sure that she has included the most bizarre and unique events in the beginning so that it make us the reader carry on with the novel. Her technique has worked and the novel only gets better from the first chapters.
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