James Fenimore Coopers The Last of the Mohicans Essay -- Last Mohican

James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans The French and Indian War of the eighteenth century had uniquely complex qualities, matched by the gravity of its outcome. The myriad of cultures involved the French, Canadian, American, English, Algonquians, and Iroquois whom make this era fascinating. The multi-ethnic element made it a war built upon fragile alliances, often undermined by factional disputes and shifting fortunes. Violent as it was, its battlefields encompassed some of the most beautiful country to be found anywhere. Its richness in diverse cultures, the severity of its bloody violence, and the beauty of its landscape, all combine to make this an era with great depth of interest. It is entertaining and educational to witness a re-enactment event of a historical film and novel called The Last of the Mohicans. In the wake of the 1992 debates about Columbus, the discovery of the Americas, and whether terms such as 'holocaust', 'genocide', and 'racism' should be applied to what happened to Native Americans, Michael Mann's film remake of James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans continues a process of historical erasure or forgetting that Cooper and his contemporaries began. The sentimental racism expressed in Cooper's novel involves the ideas of the auto-genocide of 'savagery' and the inevitable extinction of all Native Americans. Though Mann purported to take great pains in his film to be historically accurate, the film is only accurate in relation to trivial details. It thoroughly scrambles major aspects of Cooper's text, including converting the ageing Natty Bumppo into a young sex symbol (Daniel Day-Lewis). More importantly, the film completely erases Cooper's sentimental racism by, for instance, turning Chingachgook rather than his son, Uncas, into the 'last' of his tribe, and th ereby overlooking the motif of the futureless child central to that racism. But in eliminating Cooper's racism, the film in a sense perfects the novel, because the sentimentalism that softened the racism was already a form of erasure or forgetting. Reading the novel, The Last of the Mohicans, I was actually able to appreciate Cooper’s work, as it was interesting and very different from the movie. While it is true that he is long-winded and very shallowly treats character development, I think that the original work does merit its study. I found that ... ...nd political correctness. There are no dialogs to speak of, no historical, anthropological, geographic, political, social, explanations or orientation. So you don’t learn much about world history from their conversations and dialogue. What you do grasp about the history of this period is by soaking in the environment, traditions, rules, surroundings, behaviors, clothing, and styles of living. The movie and novel of The Last of the Mohicans are both great representations of the French and Indian War as they are attempts to resurrect and redefine the American hero. There was an emphasis on the concept that no man has dominion over another. The novel and film both have strong and weak parts that help us understand and to learn the styles and ways of this time period. They are both great tools for learning about modern world history in their own ways about war and tragedy. The Last of the Mohicans is a bold and stirring story that will always be very memorable adventure years to come. Bibliography The Last of the Mohicans. Produced by Michael Mann. 1 hour 54 minutes. 1992. Cooper, James Fenimore. The Last of the Mohicans. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1983.

The Apocalypse of William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch Essay -- Apocalyps

The Apocalypse of William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch The roaring of lions, the howling of wolves, the raging of the stormy sea, and the destructive sword, are portions of eternity too great for the eye of man. (William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, p. 7) In 1980, William S. Burroughs delivered a speech at the Planet Earth Conference at the Institute of Ecotechnics in Aix-en-Provence titled ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’.1 In this speech, Burroughs, following religious tradition, says that the four horsemen of the apocalypse are Famine, Plague, War, and Death and moves on to prophesise a more contemporaneous apocalypse. In Burroughs’ apocalypse, War and Plague, for example, have become allies; this alliance, Burroughs announces, ‘was cemented with the first germ experiments’ (Burroughs, 1984, p. 12). The danger of these experiments lies in their ability to not only create new viruses but to also turn them into biological weapons. But for Burroughs there is a significant similarity between a twentieth-century-specific apocalypse, with its radiation and contaminants, and the religious apocalypse of the four horsemen. For Burroughs, both types of apocalypse ‘have no meaning outside of human c ontext, they are in fact human inventions’ (p. 17). More specifically, they are the essential flaws in what Burroughs calls the ‘human artifact’ (p. 17) and in our evolution as a species. For Burroughs, the only way out is to first understand that our biological destiny ‘is in Space, and that our failure to achieve this is the basic flaw in the human artifact’ (p. 24). This speech constitutes Burroughs’ first appearance in the scene as an apocalyptist. Previous to this, he was best known as one of the fundamental members of... ... and McCain, Gillian, Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk (London: Little Brown and Company, 1996) Morgan, Ted, Literary Outlaw: The Life and Times of William S. Burroughs (London: Pimlico, 1991) Mottram, Eric, The Algebra of Need (Canada: Beau Fleuve Series, 1971) Murphy, Timothy S., Wising Up the Marks: The Amodern William Burroughs (London: University of California Press, 1997) Pounds, Wayne, ‘The Postmodern Anus: Parody and Utopia in Two Recent Novels by William Burroughs’ in Poetics Today, 8:3-4, 1987, pp.611-629 Seltzer, Alvin, Chaos in the Novel, the Novel in Chaos (New York: Schocken Books, 1974) Ziegesar, Peter von, ‘After Armageddon: Apocalyptic Art Since the Seventies: Tactics of Survival in a Postnuclear Planet’ in Strozier, Charles B. and Flynn, Michael, eds., The Year 2000: Essays on the End (London: New York UP, 1997)

management :: essays research papers

Introduction: The report is about Teenstuff Magazine. The magazine was established 9years ago in Egypt by Manal El Mahdy to target teenagers in high school and university. Later on the magazine became more tailored to the high school youth. The purpose of the report is to analyze the management of this organization through review of it’s external and internal environment, mission statement and SWOT analysis. Interviews were carried out with the assistant marketing manager Sandra Adel and the distribution manager Yasser Hashem. Aside from the print magazine there is an online one and another Arabic magazine â€Å"Kelmetna†. II-Body: 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  External environment: a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  General: From the general environment in the external environment the economic and political dimension are considered to be the most two influential dimensions on the organization. The economic dimension affects a lot of decision in the organization including day to day business especially that the economy in Egypt is unstable. For example when the Egyptian pound was floated and the price of the dollar increased the costs of printing in the magazine increased and the price had to be increased like wise which had a huge effect on the overall organization and customers. Secondly, the effect of political dimension is manifested in the censorship practiced. When, the country is in state of chaos and instability censorship increases. The international dimension doesn’t have a very influential effect because the magazine’s market is mainly Egypt and the online version that aims to target Arabs outside Egypt is new too. There is no worry from the socio-cultural dimension since the maga zine whether content or appearance is highly adaptable to changes in the society. As for the technological dimension, the magazine benefits hugely of course from new developments as long as, its costs is reasonable and affordable by the magazine. For example the editors and designers use Apple computers and special programs for the layout and design of the magazine. b)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Task : The magazine is considered a category leader since it’s the first English youth targeting magazine in Egypt and till this moment there is no real direct competition. There is an indirect competition from other magazines such as campus and g-mag. There is only one supplier with whom the magazine deals with; SAHARA printing press. The magazine has a certain quality which only 2 printing press houses in Egypt can achieve, they left IBH because of problems that has to do with the paper binding and deadlines. management :: essays research papers Introduction: The report is about Teenstuff Magazine. The magazine was established 9years ago in Egypt by Manal El Mahdy to target teenagers in high school and university. Later on the magazine became more tailored to the high school youth. The purpose of the report is to analyze the management of this organization through review of it’s external and internal environment, mission statement and SWOT analysis. Interviews were carried out with the assistant marketing manager Sandra Adel and the distribution manager Yasser Hashem. Aside from the print magazine there is an online one and another Arabic magazine â€Å"Kelmetna†. II-Body: 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  External environment: a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  General: From the general environment in the external environment the economic and political dimension are considered to be the most two influential dimensions on the organization. The economic dimension affects a lot of decision in the organization including day to day business especially that the economy in Egypt is unstable. For example when the Egyptian pound was floated and the price of the dollar increased the costs of printing in the magazine increased and the price had to be increased like wise which had a huge effect on the overall organization and customers. Secondly, the effect of political dimension is manifested in the censorship practiced. When, the country is in state of chaos and instability censorship increases. The international dimension doesn’t have a very influential effect because the magazine’s market is mainly Egypt and the online version that aims to target Arabs outside Egypt is new too. There is no worry from the socio-cultural dimension since the maga zine whether content or appearance is highly adaptable to changes in the society. As for the technological dimension, the magazine benefits hugely of course from new developments as long as, its costs is reasonable and affordable by the magazine. For example the editors and designers use Apple computers and special programs for the layout and design of the magazine. b)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Task : The magazine is considered a category leader since it’s the first English youth targeting magazine in Egypt and till this moment there is no real direct competition. There is an indirect competition from other magazines such as campus and g-mag. There is only one supplier with whom the magazine deals with; SAHARA printing press. The magazine has a certain quality which only 2 printing press houses in Egypt can achieve, they left IBH because of problems that has to do with the paper binding and deadlines.

Anti Obama Care Persuasive Speech

On July 25th President Obama paid a visit to the town of Jacksonville, Florida home to a large percentage of goods imported and exported that helps fuel the economy. The purpose of his visit was to indoctrinate the principle of Obama Care. In his speech the president informed the public of an agglomeration of ideas as to why Obama Care will help the economy. And like most of his ideas it requires more spending and a bigger wage for the federal government.As most hardworking Americans know the government does like to take its eye off the financial difficulties of the middle class. But in reality the most devastating impact on the economy is the future existence of Obama Care. When Obama care is put into use this will require every American to have health insurance. And if not they will have to pay 90$ a month or up to 1% of their salary. Mr. President with unemployment at 7. 6% how is it constitutional to force millions of Americans to pay for insurance they simply cannot afford? The answer is it’s not.The Obamacare law mandates that individuals must maintain health ­insurance coverage for themselves and their dependents or pay a penalty. Similarly, it requires employers with 50 or more full ­time workers to provide those workers with health ­insurance coverage. When obama was sworn into office he took and oath that stated â€Å"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States†

Purpose and Meaning of Human Existence Essay

One of the great ironies with respect to Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is that one of the world’s greatest plays is so poorly understood. There are, to be sure, many conflicting interpretations. Precise themes or intentions have been difficult to discern from the play’s text. These interpretive difficulties have been complicated by the fact that Beckett was often evasive when asked about the exact purpose of certain characters in the play or the meaning of the text. This is not meant to suggest that certain themes and intentions cannot be determined, for there certainly appear to be certain thematic patterns, but instead to suggest that the play does appear in certain ways to be open to different types of interpretations. A review of the scholarly texts and articles, for instance, reveals academic arguments to the effect that the play is about God, salvation, the French resistance to German occupation in the historical period in which the play was written, the purpose of human existence, and the meaningless of time. With such a variety of interpretations, supported by specific references to the play’s text and other historical circumstances, it would seem nearly impossible to identify an overarching or unifying theme. A careful examination of the play’s text, however, suggests that such a dominant thematic element can be found. The thesis of this paper, therefore, is that the dominant theme in Waiting for Godot is the human being’s search for purpose and meaning in a world that human beings either do not understand or cannot understand. In support of this thesis, this paper will attempt to harmonize the different critical interpretations and demonstrate that the main characters through their dialogue on a number of different subjects consistently illustrate the human quest for purpose and meaning in a world that seems hopelessly beyond their comprehension. Critical Confusion and Multiple Interpretations: Harmonizing Different Perspectives As an initial matter, before proceeding to an examination of the play’s text, it is useful to present the critical confusion that has arisen from multiple interpretations of the play. This is useful because even these different interpretations can be harmonized to some extant if the truly dominant theme of the play is said to be the human search for purpose and meaning in a complicated or complex world. It is well-established, for example, that the play presents a series of universal questions; specifically, as one academic has observed, â€Å"Waiting for Godot, in many ways, simply extends those uncertainties: Why are we here? Are we alone in an uncaring universe, or not? What are we to do while we are here? How can we know? And, ultimately, what does it matter? â€Å"(Hutchings x) These types of questions, to a large extant, transcend many of the conflicting interpretations. If Godot is God, as some have argued, then Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for God. They freely admit that they are not particularly familiar with Godot and this admission reflects and reinforces the fact that these two human beings do not have a perfect knowledge of the creator of their world. If Godot is not God, as some have argued, then Vladimir and Estragon are perhaps waiting for some type of intellectual spark in order to tell them why they are waiting, whether they should leave, or whether it might be better to leave their spot by the tree and take affirmative steps to go and find the mysterious Godot. In either event, whether Godot represents God or a figurative type of intellectual illumination, the core theme is one of two human beings who seem consistently unable to determine what to do. They engage in a series of superficial conversations, they consider suicide as a way of ending their confusion, and in the end they remain firmly planted on the country road much as the tree where they wait is firmly planted in the ground. Even if one is to assume, as some scholars have, that the play is really an artistic allusion to the French resistance or the onset of the Cold War, this does not necessarily undermine the notion that human beings are somehow trapped within a world or social circumstances in which they have little control or little understanding. The important point, for purposes of this paper’s thesis, is that the conflicting interpretations can be transcended if one assumes that the transcendental theme is one most specifically related to the human being’s search for purpose and meaning in a confusing physical world. Whether Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for God, a real person, intellectual knowledge of social circumstances, or the laws of the universe is fundamentally tangential to the fact that they are helpless in the circumstances that Beckett has created. They are petty, feeble, and passive. The rest of this paper therefore proceeds from the assumption that the conflicting interpretations can be unified by treating the fundamental theme as the search for purpose and meaning in life. This fundamental theme will be discussed in the following sections by referring to specific features of the play. Significance of Human Companionship: Pairs, Dependence, and Shared Searches One of the most important structural features of the play is the fact that human beings are portrayed as being extraordinarily dependent and unable to exist in isolation or individually. This is most evident in the fact that the play’s characters come in pairs and seem in many ways to be inseparable. The main characters, for instance, are Vladimir and Estragon. It would appear that they have arrived as a pair, they continue to wait as a pair, and although they never leave they do talk about leaving as a pair. They have different personalities, they would appear to have different backgrounds given the different stories that they tell, and yet they seem unwilling or unable to separate and go their own ways. This notion of human inseparability, a common fear or ignorance about the meaning of human existence, is particularly clear when Vladimir and Estragon are discussing the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the two thieves on the cross next to Jesus. Specifically, the fear of being alone and the emphasis of human companionship is provided in the following passage VLADIMIR: Ah yes, the two thieves. Do you remember the story? ESTRAGON: No. VLADIMIR: Shall I tell it to you? ESTRAGON: No. VLADIMIR: It’ll pass the time. (Pause. ) Two thieves, crucified at the same time as our Saviour. One— ESTRAGON: Our what? VLADIMIR: Our Saviour. Two thieves. One is supposed to have been saved and the other . . . (he searches for the contrary of saved) . . . damned (Becket n. p. ) This passage illustrates the need for human companionship and also the need for human beings to depend on each other. This companionship is necessary because human beings must face the uncertainties of the world and human existence together. The dependence is thus caused by a fear that individuals will be unable to cope with these uncertainties whereas humans sharing these fears can at least confront these uncertainties together. This common bond, in short, helps human beings to deal with their confusion about the meaning of human existence better than if they pondered these questions alone. An examination of the entire play consistently reinforces these notions of companionship and dependence. Later on in the play, for example, Vladimir and Estragon are considering suicide and the pair again grow concerned that one will successfully commit suicide and the other will fail. The prospect that one of them will die and one will live is a frightening thought for both men because one will be unattended in death and the other will be unattended in life. Again, because the purpose and the meaning of human existence is unknown both in life and in death, the pair refuse to split up or pursue any action that might destroy their emotional and physical bonds. At another point in the play, Estragon states that â€Å"There are times when I wonder if it wouldn’t be better for us to part† to which Vladimir responds rather matter-of-factly â€Å"You wouldn’t go far. † (Beckett n. p. ). The play could not exist as it was intended if the pair ever did separate. The quest for purpose and the meaning of human existence is therefore a common human quest rather than an individual’s personal burden. These notions of human companionship and a shared quest are even more powerfully presented with the human pairing of Pozzo and Lucky. In their first appearance, Lucky is a slave and yet he prefers being a slave and being dependent to being set free. Lucky is ridiculed, he is called a pig, and yet he reacts angrily when someone other than Pozzo attempts to help him; more particularly, he kicks Estragon in the shins. A telling scene in this respect is when Lucky appears to faint after dancing and giving his rather incoherent speech; more particularly, Pozzo is deeply fearful at the prospect of losing his slave when he says Don’t let him go! (Vladimir and Estragon totter. ) Don’t move! (Pozzo fetches bag and basket and brings them towards Lucky. ) Hold him tight! (He puts the bag in Lucky’s hand. Lucky drops it immediately. ) Don’t let him go! (He puts back the bag in Lucky’s hand. Gradually, at the feel of the bag, Lucky recovers his senses and his fingers finally close round the handle. ) Hold him tight! (Beckett n. p. ) Even a human master is dependent on his slave, the companionship of master and slave is intimate because both fear facing the uncertainties of life alone, and like the bond that exists between Vladimir and Estragon, so too does a very real bond exist between Pozzo and Lucky. This bond is reinforced in the second act when Pozzo returns blind and his neck is tied to a rope being held by Lucky. Pozzo could not sell his slave and the slave is now leading the master. As if these two clues were not enough, Beckett included yet one more human pair to emphasize the common fears that human beings have about the purpose of their lives and the meaning of human existence. This final human pairing is the boy sent as Godot’s messenger. The boy and Godot constitute a final human pairing and the boy recounts to Vladimir and Estragon that Godot is real and that Godot â€Å"beats my brother. † (Beckett, n. p. ) Despite the beatings, the boy and his brother remain with Godot as is established at the end of the second act. This scene is also notable because it establishes that Godot exists and that the most essential human relationships are about the aforementioned human pairings rather than about Vladimir and Estragon waiting for Godot. The waiting, as it were, may simply be the context within which Beckett sought to establish the shared human bonds with respect to their confusion about the meaning of life. The question thus becomes how these dependent and mutually burdened companions ought to approach their lives. Function of Idleness: Fear of Action and Aversion to Failure In addition to their unwillingness to separate, Vladimir and Estragon seem also quite unwilling to commit to any action despite a great deal of conversation. To be sure, the play is marked almost exclusively by dialogue rather than action. The pair carry on a series of seemingly endless conversations, most of them rather childish and inane, and these conversations in the end seem to represent a rather firm commitment to making no commitments at all. Vladimir, for example, recognizes this fear of action or commitment when he says to Estragon Let us do something, while we have the chance! It is not every day that we are needed. Not indeed that we are personally needed. Others would meet the case equally well, if not better. To all mankind they were addressed, those cries for help still ringing in our ears! But at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it, before it is too late! (Beckett qtd. in Brater 147) Vladimir and Estragon, for all of their apparent desire to actually meet Godot, are wholly unprepared to take any affirmative steps to actually go and locate him on their own initiative. They admit that time is passing, that they represent â€Å"all mankind†, and that it will be â€Å"too late† if they do not do something. It is this very inability to do something, an inability which they represent figuratively as all human beings, that characterizes their function in the play. There are several clues to the effect that they can find Godot if they were not inhibited or afraid in some way. First, Vladimir and Estragon have obviously followed a country road to the tree where they are waiting for Godot. The fact that they have walked this particular country road, and selected this particular tree, suggests that they know in which direction the mysterious Godot resides. Presumably, if their actions were not somehow constrained, they would simply continue walking along the same country road until they found Godot. They could ask for directions or assistance along the way and they could become more active in pursuit of their ultimate destination. The problem, however, is that both Vladimir and Estragon perhaps do not know their precise destination. The second clue to the effect that the waiting of Vladimir and Estragon is a product of their own doing rather than Godot’s apparent tardiness is the fact that a boy appears twice in the play as a messenger. The boy admits quite literally that he and his brother know Godot, that they are employed or otherwise beholden to him in certain respects, and that he will return to Godot as soon as his message has been provided to Vladimir and Estragon. Why, then, could they not have simply followed the boy home to Godot? Indeed, this is a curious question that can only be resolved if one assumes that Godot is irrelevant to the waiting. Some interpretations, it must be acknowledged, have suggested that Beckett intended Godot as God and that they boy messenger was intended as a type of angel ( Mercier 27); such an interpretation, whether accurate or not, does not undermine a thesis to the effect that the predominant theme remained man’s tentative quest to understand himself and the universe in which he lived. This is true for a couple of reasons. First, when asked whether he intended Godot as God, Beckett repeatedly stated that there was never intended to be any relationship between Godot and God. Presumably, the play’s author knows what was intended. That many interpretations have focused on Godot as God, however, is not surprising. The names are almost the same and the quest to understand the nature and the meaning of human existence necessarily implicates some questions related to God and how the universe was created. Thus, although these interpretations are somewhat rational, the evidence that can be derived from Beckett’s own statements and the play’s text taken as a whole counsel against such an interpretation. God is relevant, as one possible explanation for the meaning of human life, but Godot is no more God than Vladimir and Estragon are hoping for salvation. Godot is Godot and the human pair waiting by the tree are seeking understanding and illumination rather than salvation. Second, the play’s theme is more about the waiting and the rational underlying the waiting than it is about Godot. The entire play, to be sure, takes place in one setting. Other settings, including Godot’s, are tangential and not central features of the play’s structure. The waiting, in this respect, transcends the distant character vaguely known as Godot. One leading scholar of the play has noted how the waiting is more important than Godot by arguing that The play’s minimal plot and action are accurately described in its title: throughout the duration of the play, and throughout an undeterminable amount of time that elapses in their lives, the two central characters await an event that does not happen and may never happen. Meanwhile, necessarily, they pass away their time in some- times abrasive conversation, in chance encounters with a pair of odd passersby, and in expressions of mutual if sometimes exasperated compassion and the long-standing concern that can develop only between inseparable friends. (Hutchings 23) Taken together, the best argument that one can derive from the play’s text is that there is a dominant theme; that dominant theme, in turn, is that human beings are collectively and inseparably bound together by the fact that they do not know the purpose of the human race or the meaning of their own existence. Such a lack of knowledge encourages closer types of human dependence and simultaneously inspires caution, uncertainty, and fear. All the while, amidst this uncertainty and fear, time passes by and all human beings are faced with dying without ever having understood why they existed in the first place. Life is a tree to which we are all tethered much in the same way that Vladimir and Estragon were figuratively tethered. Conclusion In conclusion, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is best read as an artistic rendition of the greatest human dilemma of all time. Human beings, in this respect, are born with an imperfect knowledge of themselves and of the universe in which they exist and are expected to function. This imperfect knowledge lends itself to much speculation of the purpose and meaning of human existence, as the many religions around the world forcefully attest to, but in the end it is nothing more than idle and meaningless speculation. Godot, whether he is God or not, is irrelevant in the play. It is the waiting, the search and the confusion that all human beings share, that is the play’s common lamentation. That all of the critics tend to characterize the play as tragedy or comedy somewhat misses the play’s essential nature as a lamentation for a quest for knowledge that can never be fulfilled. We are better advised to forget Godot and get on with living rather than waiting for divine inspiration that will probably never arrive. Works Cited Beckett, Samuel. â€Å"Waiting for Godot. † Samuel Beckett. net Brater, Enoch. â€Å"The Globalization of Beckett’s Godot. † Comparative Drama 37. 2 (2003): 145+. Questia. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. Hutchings, William. Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot: A Reference Guide. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2005. Questia. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. Mercier, Vivian. â€Å"The Uneventful Event. † The Critical Response to Samuel Beckett. Ed. Cathleen Culotta Andonian. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998. 95-96. Questia. Web. 10 Dec. 2009.

Greed and Evil Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucher Essay

In Chaucers section of the Canterbury Tales, The Pardoners Tale various literary elements occur. He displays personification, and makes death a character, giving him life. He includes a moral to his tale which is greed is the root of all evil(Bible) and gives the story meaning. Chaucers plot is another key part to the story, because it proved greed can bring evil. Chaucer wrote the Pardoners Tale with the theme greed is the root of all evil he was able to show this by using various literary elementsThe moral, greed is the root of all evil(Bible), is displayed through the greediness of the three characters. When the youngest leaves, his mind was able to devise an evil plan caused by greed. His selfishness caused him to do the following, And deftly poured the poison into two. He kept the third one clean, as well he might, For his own drink, meaning to work all night(Chaucer 217-218). The youngest was tempted by greed to commit an evil action. Chaucer wanted the reader to realize money and greed are problems with society. They cause people to commit evil acts. Killing someone for money shows Chaucer wanted one to read this tale and recognize the problems of greed. The Characters are essential to this tale also. Chaucer displays death as a character giving him human traits and personifying him. This personification of death adds a sense of doom and gives a slight fear. Death adds these qualities because dying is like a journey to the unknown, and it naturally scares people to think about it. When Chaucer writes, There came a privy thief, they call him Death, Who kills us all round here(Chaucer 15-16) he attempts to add a sense of fear and terror by saying there is a person who goes around and kills everyone. It is far scarier then using death as a thing that happens instead of using death as a person. Chaucers personification of death improved the story by creating suspense, and terror. The plot of the story is the most important, and uses irony to gives entertainment. The three men went looking for death, and find it to be a heap of gold. The irony of this was that the characters ended up getting killed themselves and on their search for death they met their own death, which was the heap of gold. This ironic occurrence is almost comedic when all three men plan to kill one another and all three men succeed in doing  this. Chaucer writes Thus these two murderers received their due, so did the treacherous young poisoner too.(Chaucer 237-238). The irony here also criticizes greed in humans. It makes fun of the fact that greed really is the root of all evil. Chaucer created this irony for both entertainment and to make a point about greed. In conclusion Chaucer wrote his story with the theme greed is the root of all evil (Bible) and used the literary elements of plot, moral, and characters to achieve this. Chaucer struck fear and added suspense when he personified death. Without personifying death Chaucers story would have been less exciting. Chaucer was ironic with his plot and those who were looking for death found it. This comedic addition also criticized humans and their tendency to be greedy. Chaucer was successful in creating a story which explained how greed is the root of all evil(Bible). Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, ed. Larry D. Benson (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000). New Testament in Paul’s first epistle to Timothy (1 Timothy 6:10).

Black Swan Psychology Review Essay

The Black Swan is a psycho thriller film that narrates the demise of a young talented twenty-some year old ballerina named Nina Sayers. The story begins with the main character Nina anticipating her lead role as the Swan Queen in the upcoming new production of Swan Lake. This new version of Swan Lake as presented by the artistic director, Thomas Leroy, tells the story of a virginal girl that is trapped in the body of a White Swan. The White Swan desires to be free but only true love can break her spell. Soon as a handsome prince falls in love with the delicate White Swan and is about to announce his love for her, the White Swan’s lustful twin (the Black Swan) steals the prince away. Devastated, the White Swan kills herself, where in death she finally finds freedom from her curse. Once Nina successfully obtains the role as the Swan Queen, she is to portray both personas of the innocent and fragile White Swan, as well as the destructive and devious Black Swan. As expected Nina could easily capture the essence of the White Swan since they both share very similar personalities. Nina is a well-structured dancer and is always in control of every movement she makes, but her overall timid and fragile character cannot gain the essence of the Black Swan. The Black Swan represents a looser and sensual structure of dance that becomes difficult for Nina to embrace. With such frustration in Nina’s inability to fully grasp both characters in one dance, Nina begins to suffer from delusions, hallucinations, and amongst other irrational behaviors, all of which later contributes to her diagnosis of the borderline personality disorder. Nina’s abnormal behavior becomes more consistent as the date of the show’s premiere approaches. Her disorder develops more as she shows patterns of impulsivity with high levels of instability and anxiety. Borderline personality disorder is known to show a pervasive pattern of unstable self-image that may later lead to an erratic self-destructive behavior. Another symptom that is known to be common with this disorder is having minor to severe episodes of delusions, hallucinations, and/or certain dissociative effects. It is also noted that many people that suffer from borderline personality disorder partake in self-mutilating actions or in more extreme cases much like Nina’s, commit suicide. In the DSM-IV-TR, there are a total of nine criteria for the borderline personality disorder, of which to be characterized with this disorder you must demonstrate five characteristics. Nina Sayers demonstrated 6 criterions and if treated with the behavioral psychotherapy, in time it would have saved her from her ultimate demise. Behavioral therapy focuses on changing observable behavior with the use of learning theory-based principles. Since the development of such learning theories, therapists have been able to control anxiety type behaviors. In the case of Nina, where she is constantly scratching her shoulder under severe stress and partakes in impulsive actions by sleeping with multiple partners, behavioral therapy can model theses pathological behaviors and emphasize learning rather than point fault on herself that may even cause more distress. By decreasing the number of undesirable behaviors that Nina begins to demonstrate throughout the film, a behavioral therapist could use operant conditioning to change future behavior as a function of its previously experienced reinforcement. For the purpose of this case study, I will demonstrate that by using behavioral therapy Nina would have gained control of her impulses and stopped her from harming herself with the use of operant conditioning and even later introduce her onto Dialectical Behavior Therapy. As any therapy session should begin, Nina would first go through a behavioral assessment. Considering Nina’s shy and timid personality, a clinical interview would suit her more efficiently. It is important that Nina should feel that the therapy session is a safe and secure environment where she can talk freely about any concerns especially such deeply personal issues like hallucinations or delusions that come with the territory of those who suffer under borderline personality disorders. This clinical interview should be conducted unstructured in Nina’s case that will strengthen the relationship between the therapist and patient. Remember we want Nina to feel safe and comfortable to freely confine in her therapist of her most personal issues. Another important interview component would be the mental status exam that will try to reveal any signs of symptoms of any psychological problems. An easy observable behavior of Nina would be her low and brief responses to any one she feels inferior to. Nina rarely keeps eye contact to whoever speaks to her directly. She may even reveal delusions, specifically about Lily, another dancer in the film, whom Nina believes is out to steal her role as the Swan Queen. Nina also might share an experience of her night out with Lily where Nina engages in alcohol and drug abuse, as well as promiscuity. All of these observable behaviors may help lead to the overall diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Once diagnosed Nina will then be able to undergo the behavioral therapy process to identify her issues and resolve them through reinforcements. Behavioral therapy revolves around the idea of changing one’s observable behavior that can be controlled through stimulus or reinforcements. Nina portrays many insecurities and a lack of social skills that can be interpreted due to poor modeling by her mother. Her mother is very controlling and aggressive over Nina, which is shown in one specific scene where Nina’s mother is undressing her adult submissive daughter. Another case is where Nina develops a social avoidance towards others, only to have regular social interactions with her mother. With no subsequent positive reinforcement from other people, other than maybe her mother, Nina has become very suspicious of the intentions of those around her, which might explain why she is often alone and has no friends. A treatment approach for Nina would include the operant conditioning. By identifying the undesired behaviors (i. e. , self-mutilating), we wish to decrease in frequency and use negative reinforcement that will allow Nina to avoid an aversive state that would later decrease the likelihood of that undesired behavior. We would first want to identify the cause to her self-mutilation and attribute a particular behavior to carry on the negative reinforcement. So as Nina’s anxiety begins to escalate and begins to profusely scratch her shoulder, Nina should practice certain breathing exercises that will reduce her stress and possibly even decrease her chance of experiencing a hallucination. Self-monitoring would help to ensure that this conditioning technique is being applied and progressing. More importantly, to successfully treat this disorder it is best to use an approach that was developed for these difficult-to-treat patients with the borderline personality disorder. This therapy is known as the dialectical behavior therapy that places much emphasis on the interaction between patient and therapist. Dialectical behavior therapy uses individual therapy, group skills training, telephone contact, and therapist consultation to add more variety within this unconditional relationship. Within this course of therapy, it is organized into stages of hierarchies of targets in each stage. Stage one focuses on suicidal behavior and therapy-interfering behaviors. Nina would reveal her underlying reason for self-mutilation and delusions that interfere with her daily life. She finds herself having hallucinations of harming herself, like peeling the skin off her finger, that later advances to other behaviors such as excessive scratching on the shoulder. The delusions against Lily, the other ballerina, interfere with her ability to perform the second act of the show because she is on constant alert of what she believes Lily is going to try next to sabotage her lead role. She would need to come to terms with her behavior and find ways to eliminate them from acting out. Next, stage two in the dialectical behavior therapy deals with post-traumatic stress disorders. Here we can attribute the abusive stress Nina has to endure with her mother. Since her mother had to give up her own dreams of becoming a star ballerina due to her pregnancy, she now lives her unfinished dreams through Nina’s career. Nina’s mother keeps Nina in a submissive child-like mentality; minimize her freedom with no lock doors and a child-like room despite the fact that Nina is past twenty years of age. Such trauma makes it difficult for Nina to secure an emotional connection with another person, therefore explains why she is alone most of the time. Others easily victimize Nina, for example Thomas the director, often abuses Nina sexually to arouse her to perform the Black Swan character more vividly for the show. In this stage, Nina should learn new mechanisms of which to deal or completely bypass these situations. The last stage focuses on self-esteem and individual treatment goals. Nina will be able to work on her self-image that can lead her to accept herself for who she really is. Nina seems to have a problem with not being able to naturally satisfy her desires without conflicting with her own moral. In the case where she goes out with Lily for the night, Nina is very intrigued with how promiscuous Lily is with other men. Nina shows signs of sexual deprivation that later, on impulse, Nina engages in drug abuse that later leads to sexual interactions with multiple partners. In this stage of therapy, Nina will be able to build up her self-esteem that is constantly brought down by her mother and production director. Nina is shown submissive to both characters throughout the beginning of the film, until she has a complete psychotic meltdown and begins to act on impulse and hallucinations. As unfortunate as Nina’s death was in the end, it’s not hard to notice there were many chances for which intervention would have been great aid before matters had gotten worse. Although it is common that individuals with borderline personality disorder do not consider themselves ill-willed and seldom seek help, if Nina had, she would have been able to decrease her undesired behaviors and had found more appropriate measures of dealing with her problems.