The eNotes Blog Beyond The Great AmericanRead

Beyond The Great AmericanRead Prejudice and Tolerance If you weren’t following PBS’s The Great American Read, it’s worth catching up: this eight-part series discussed America’s best-loved novels as users voted for their favorite books. Some of us at even wrote about our personal choices for The Great American Read. Just this week, we learned which book was voted as America’s #1 favorite book: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. And no wonder- to quote host Meredith Vieira, the book â€Å"is a mirror of who we are in all our complexity. It shows us at our worst, and it ends tragically. But it also offers a way forward.† To Kill A Mockingbird is well known for the challenging themes it presents throughout the novel. Now, this may be because we’re huge book lovers here at - but we wanted so many of the books to win! To celebrate TKAM’s win and encourage more reading, we’re showcasing some of the other books from the original 100 that touch on similar themes. Prejudice and Tolerance #4: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Unsurprisingly, prejudice reappears again and again as an important theme in Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth continually makes hasty decisions, misreads others, and literally pre-judges others according to her own prescribed moral values- until someone else snaps her out of it, that is. #72: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison A story of self-discovery and identity, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison asks serious questions about race and prejudice as well as broader questions about who we think we are and what we can do in the face of injustice. Guilt and Innocence #19: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie Christie’s classic murder mystery invites the reader to join each of the characters in questioning who is innocent and who is guilty. She further complicates the question by writing moral ambiguities into the story at every turn. #64: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment examines of the psyche of the guilty. The novel asks the question, â€Å"Could someone get away with murder?† and then follows Raskolnikov as his guilt steadily drives him into deeper levels of mental instability. Knowledge and Ignorance #18: 1984 by George Orwell This dystopian novel follows an employee of the Ministry of Truth, a branch of the all-powerful government that edits historical documents and withholds information from the public. Although he works for the very branch that obscures reality, Winston of 1984 craves to learn the objective truth. #34: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Another dystopian tale, The Handmaid’s Tale first toys with the theme of knowledge and ignorance by being told by unreliable narrator and protagonist, Offred. As a member of the lowest class- literally a â€Å"walking womb†- Offred is kept uninformed of real news, and as a woman, she is not allowed to read or write. Courage and Cowardice #50: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Tolstoys ambitious novel explores myriad characters through times of, you guessed it, war and peace. Each character grapples with battling cowardice in order to find courage amidst the chaos of a country at war. Loss of Innocence #43: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Mary Shelleys Frankenstein has long captivated the imagination of readers. While popularized as an exploration of science gone awry, Shelleys novel does much more: it explores how a dream of a better tomorrow can be corrupted by pride and ambition, resulting in a loss of innocence and, tragically, life. #83: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad A ship’s commander for a trading company, Marlow travels deeper and deeper into Africa. He becomes appalled by the living conditions for black slaves and, as he travels deeper inland, becomes more suspect of everything he encounters. By the end of the novel, Marlow is changed.

A Roman Revolution Essay Example for Free

A Roman Revolution Essay ? It was May 30, 1347.  Ã‚   The city was once at the center of the world, and varying nations vied to pay homage.  Ã‚   Since that time, however, its institutions, its buildings, and its very name seem to have been forgotten by time.  Ã‚   Local nobility compete for control while the rest of the populace starved, and banditry thrived.  Ã‚   The religious shrines and public buildings were dilapidated, and worn out from neglect.   From this one day, however, and from one such ruin, issued a declaration from a man who stirred hope in people’s breast.   Ã‚   Cola di Rienzo, who in the course of time would ambitiously set himself up as a virtual dictator in the city, at that moment declared the restitution of the Roman Republic, to the cheers of an excited throng.  Ã‚   The restless crowd seemed far disconnected from the reality of a Holy Roman Empire, independent Italian city-states, Norman and Spanish sovereignty in the south, or the hundred more kingdoms and treaties that kept Italy divided and the Republic from becoming reality, but no one cared.   A brief, tragic drama began to unfold, taking hold of the city and its dreamer alike.  Ã‚   For a few months, the Roman Republic seemed to breathe life and its Dictator Rienzo came close to uniting Italy.  Ã‚   The smaller city-states and principalities all sent their delegations and intentions to forming a loose federation with Rome.  Ã‚   And the Dictator put ambitious reforms and decrees, which championed the cause of the people.   His pride, however, got the better of him, and he soon alienated the senators and the Church.  Ã‚   The senators amassed armies against him, and the Pope called to the people to reject him.  Ã‚   Having lost all his allies, he fled the city, wandering Italy to find people to rally for his cause.   Ã‚  Dejected, beaten, his spirit finally broken, he surrendered to the Pope in Avignon, and was allowed to return to Rome where the people could not long stomach his disillusionment and killed him as a traitor[1].    This brief Roman Revolution was an early experiment of that age to attempt the reconstitution of an age that seemed lost in time.  Ã‚   The people of the Renaissance, from the artisan to the poet, was fascinated with ancient Greek traditions and culture and created works of art that mimicked Classic styles.  Ã‚   Ancient texts were gathered from the libraries where it was copied and preserved, and crude attempts at translation were made to introduce these historical artifacts to the world.  Ã‚   Most of the entire Renaissance was electrified at the thought of the old â€Å"heroic† Roman Republic, and the Caesars and Ciceros that once walked the Forum.    In due course, this paper would seek to identify the sources of the ideology behind the Italian Renaissance’s fascination with the ancient Greco-Roman, and how it seemed to suit their needs.  Ã‚   The paper will then explain the various attempts to reconstitute the past in the present, and how close they were in succeeding.    The thought of a restored Rome was not unique to Renaissance thought.  Ã‚   Even as the western portion of the empire collapsed under the pressure of barbarian migrations, the eastern emperor Justinian drafted ambitious plans of gaining back the lost lands of Gaul, Italy, Spain and Africa. This having failed, the Frankish kings, and later the German emperors, stylized themselves as Caesars that had legitimacy given to them by the authority of the Pope and the acquiescence of the eastern emperor.   Italian dreams of Rome, however, had political and cultural context.   They loathed the plain ugliness of Gothic and barbarian architecture, and largely preserved the Roman tradition and culture.   They lamented Italian as a bastardized form of Latin, and deplored Dante’s use of the former as the vernacular. Italian writers, at the beginning of the Renaissance, began to collect ancient texts from faraway libraries[2].  Ã‚   Petrarch, the Father of the Renaissance, was the first of the writers to amass Greek and Latin texts, and encouraged a fellow writer, Boccaccio, to pore into Greek research.   Unique also in the Renaissance, was the way the ancient texts were interpreted. In the medieval ages, the various ancient works of art were interpreted in Christian context.  Ã‚   Pagan ideals and traditions were explained with a Christian theme. Thus, a Hercules-like figure would be used to represent Christ.  Ã‚   The Renaissance began to separate the contemporary Christian thought from the ancient texts, and began to appreciate the latter in their historical context. They read into classical texts their appropriate classical meaning; they did not allegorize Latin writings as one to justify medieval Christian Europe, but in the context of ancient Rome[3].   The thought of a united Italy was sometimes reconciled with the restoration of the ancient Greco-Roman tradition.   Ã‚  Rienzo certainly thought of this when he donned the garb of the old senatorial toga and declared the return of the Roman Republic. Petrarch saw it when he asked King Charles IV of Bohemia to unite all of Italy [4] , and many might have seen it when the son Alexander VI, Cesare Borgia, began a long campaign to win back much of the lost cities of the Papal States.    For all the dreams and ideals of the Renaissance Italians, a Roman Republic could not be reconstituted from 14 th to 15 th century Europe.  Ã‚   The Holy Roman Empire, primarily, would not stand for a united Italy outside of their control or power, as they would, and have claimed, Italy as an integral part of the empire. Neither, however, can the Holy Roman emperors be able to unite Italy, as they become too embroiled in disputes with the Pope, who has nominal sway over the Italian city-states.  Ã‚   And the Popes, for all their universal spiritual authority, would not be able to wrest control of all of Italy from powerful independent Italian city-states, the Normans and the Spanish, the Germans and the French, and even the Greeks until their collapse in the latter half of the 15 th century.   The Italian Renaissance sought to reintroduce ancient Greco-Roman thought into the mainstream, envisioning a past that was nobly glorious.  Ã‚   Several hundred years brings distance and unreality to history, even when taken from historical context.   The Italian city-states of the Renaissance was freer in practice with its people than the ancient Roman Republic, which countless times brought down reformer tribunes, and curbed attempts to relieve the proletariat in keeping the wealthy in their state.  Ã‚   The ancient Roman Empire was less free as the centuries passed, and its economy was in nightmarish shambles, a thought that the Renaissance Italians might have shuddered at.   In the end, the Renaissance Italians might have fallen in the same way their medieval counterparts have: to see the ancient culture in their contemporary values.   Certainly the Renaissance wanted to detach itself from the â€Å"barbarism† and disunity, which seemed to plague Europe, but the reforms of a Rienzo would have shocked the ancient Roman aristocracy, and Byzantine intrigue would be far closer to Roman court morals than the Renaissance Italian sensibilities.   A final word must be said of the Renaissance dream: in the 16 th century, one man came closest to uniting Italy and much of Christendom under a loose â€Å"Roman empire†.  Ã‚   Politics and religion, in the end, got in the way, and Charles V of the Hapsburg dynasty and his successors would find himself humbled by an alliance of French, Turks, Protestants and even the Pope[5]. Durant, Will. The Renaissance . New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953. Durant, Will, Caesar and Christ . New York: Simon and Schuster, 1935. Rice, Eugene Jr., The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559 . New York: W.W. Norton and Company,1971. Krailsheimer, A.J., The Continental Renaissance: 1500-1600 . Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1970. [1] Durant, Will, The Renaissance (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953) 16-21. [2] Durant, Will, The Renaissance (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953) 67-69. [3] Rice, Eugene Jr., The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559 (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1970) 72-76. [4] Durant, Will, The Renaissance (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953) 46. [5] Krailsheimer, A.J.,   The Continental Renaissance: 1500-1600 (Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1971) 93-98. A Roman Revolution. (2017, Apr 01).

Neurorehabilitation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Neurorehabilitation - Essay Example In addition, such programs call for intricate installations as well as competent personnel, reasonably dissimilar from the sports services provided by gymnasia as well as the like at the moment (Perez et al., 2007, p.143). Besides, numerous chronic MS patients find it exceptionally hard to depart from their homes as well as access places with the suitable facilities, thus hampering observance to programs (Perez et al., 2007, p. 144). Currently, there is no known treatment for the condition. However, various studies have suggested physiotherapy for primary progressive MS. In essence, my review critically evaluates a case report whose objective of was to present as well as test successful communal incorporation after physiotherapy intervention with a bias on enhancing autonomous workout routine in ameliorating of a person with MS. Moreover, RW (the patients’ name due to anonymity purposes), presented in this case study, is a fifty-year-old man diagnosed with progressive multiple sclerosis five years prior to self-referral to a pro bono physiotherapy clinic (Zalewski, 2007, p.40). During the intervention, RW (not his real initials) was a 58-year-old man diagnosed with primary progressive MS five years prior self-referral to a pro bono physical therapy clinic. RW reported that his inception of MS was unexpected as well as incapacitating; whilst at work as an electrician, RW underwent an unexpected electrocution that led to in inability to utilize his legs. He accepted as true he had been electrocuted in completing his work and was taken without delay to the hospital for assessment. Through consult as well as follow-up with a neurologist, he was notified that the symptoms experienced did not correlate to a potential electrocution, and he received his diagnosis of MS. RW stated that he never recovered entirely after that preliminary attack and

Advertising and Segmentation Brief Analysis Essay

Advertising and Segmentation Brief Analysis - Essay Example It has become a household brand and a generic name that always signifies the product as a window or glass cleaner. Recently it has also widened its range by even being used for other surface cleaners like the counter tops. 2) Create a detailed profile of the consumers that would likely purchase this item Windex range offers four products, a powdered or crystal form of Windex that can be used to clean bathtubs, wash basins, and kitchen sinks, a multi surface cleaner in the spray bottle that can be used to clean any smooth surface specially kitchen counters, marble tops, patios, stoves, Windex original is used to clean glass surfaces of windows and other glass tops as well in fact Windex is used as glass cleaner in general. The most innovative and the market leading product is the Windex outdoor, it has mop like cloth piece that can be attached to a rod that can be used to clean lawn’s glass doors. The product is like a gift from heaven for everyone. The most targeted customers are the housewives; they are the ones who are the main customers when households are concerned. They are usually responsible for the purchasing of grocery and other such house maintenance goods. The other users for Windex are bar owner and hoteliers; they purchase Windex in larger quantities for the mirrors in the lobbies, washrooms and bedrooms. Every person who is willing to have their glass surfaces cleaned is the target market for Windex. It’s a medium priced product and therefore, there are no affordability issues. It is a generic brand but not a premium brand and therefore, an affordable one(Muniz &O’Guinn, 2001). 3) Clearly identify which segment the attached advertisements are targeting and the bases for the segmentation. The segment that Windex targets are household and it also targets the whole of the window cleaning industry. But majorly they are targeting only glass users. They have been around in the industry for so long that despite people trying to make their own place in the industry they have practically failed to get hold of the market share of Windex. Windex came forward and introduced the all surface cleaner, this helped people again go for the Windex brand as it had already an established and trusted image in the cleaning sector. People went for the one brand that is already trusted. Their basic target markets are families and the offices at a lower level, at a major level their major target market is the window cleaning businesses. They had recently launched a pouch refill as well. This helped them make their own product more economical, this was specifically done to target the households. Mothers/wives found it better to purchase the bottled Windex once only then later use pouches to refill them. This way they also project a more environmental friendly image as they reduced the usage of bottles. 4) Identify the details in the advertisements that suggest the common needs of the consumers. The most conveyed message through th e ads of Windex is the importance of clear glass. They have conveyed this ad through a few demonstrations that they did in the middle of the city and which surprised the citizens. The technique that they have used here is a very unique one, it is guerilla marketing that is being used to target the customers. Similarly the recent ad about the cleaning of the window which uses two birds who decide to annoy the person at home spending his time leisurely, so that he spends rest of his time cleaning the glass, the person has Windex he sprays it on the glass and the spot disappears in seconds and the birds are disappointed. This type of portrayal of the product emphasizes the fact that the product cleans the spots or smudges very swiftly and without much effort. 5) Identify any cues and why they may used. In

The sacrificial Egg Essay -- essays research papers

Chinua Achebe’s short story â€Å"The sacrificial Egg† illustrates the life of a young African native Julius Obi, and the arising conflicts between two cultures. This short story takes place in a very small village in Africa, called Umuru in the mid 1900’s. This young African Native, although no native of Umuru finds himself trapped between his own culture, beliefs and the westernized culture. Although Julius has embraced the western culture, after certain events he eventually finds himself coming back to his own beliefs. Achebe, uses these two very different cultures to demonstrate the clash it produces in this young men’s life and, how no matter how hard he has embraced the western culture he was always going to go back to his own beliefs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The small African village in this story has being taken over by the western culture. Westernization is shown in the beginning of the story. â€Å"Julius Obi sat gazing at his typewriter.† â€Å"There was an empty basket on the giant weighing machine.† In these two quotes the typewriter and the weighing machine, odd objects for the African native of this village show perfectly how this town has being westernized. â€Å"Julius Obi was not a native of Umuru. He had come like countless others from some bush village island. Having passed his Standard Six in a mission school he had come to Umuru to work as a clerk in the offices of the powerful European trading company †¦Ã¢â‚¬ This quote shows how Julius has himself being westernized. Westernization wasn’t welcomed by many of the Umuru natives. The natives had long prayed for their town to prosper and grow. â€Å"The strangers who came to Umuru came for the trade and money, not in search of duties to perform†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This shows that people who now came to town, came strictly for business and money, which tells the reader how the town isn’t what it used to be. â€Å"And as if it did not suffice, the young sons and daughters of Umuru soil, encouraged by schools and churches were behaving no better than the strangers. They neglected all their old tasks and kept only the revelries.† This show how even the young ones of this village have being westernized to the point, where they completely neglect their own traditions and beliefs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The small African village located on the bank of the river Niger has a story of its own, that only the old and wise are able to des... .... â€Å"He immediately set out for home, half-walking and half-running, for night-masks were not matter of superstition; they were real.† This shows how suddenly Julius, although westernized finds himself face to face with this culture he had decided to put aside. While running, Julius finds himself stepping on to something and realizes that he has stepped onto this egg, this egg that was brought for offering. Soon enough Julius finds himself onto the ground hiding from these night-masks fearing for the worst. You can see that Julius who had tried to run away from his old beliefs had finally come back to them and knew that by stepping onto the egg he had wronged Kitikpa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This story in general shows how people more often than we think forget about their origin, where they came from, and what their cultures and traditions are. â€Å"The trouble was that the disobedient youths had never yet experienced the power of Kitikpa themselves; they had only heard of it.† Julius being there that night had experienced the power of Kitikpa himself. He knew his life would now be forever changed. Julius was now going to respect these beliefs he had long forgotten about.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare Essay

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, ambition, strength, and insanity play major roles in how the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth behave and react. In this twisted story about man slaughter and the thirst for power both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth represent all 3 of these behaviors at some point. However, their behaviors progress in very different ways. Throughout the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth gradually evolve into each other bringing out opposite personality traits from their previous opinions. It is well known that simply wanting something is not enough to actually get it. One must have the desire, the ambition and must work towards obtaining a certain goal. In the beginning of the play Macbeth has the desire to become king, but lacks the motivation and ambition to work for it. He doesn’t have the violent drive that Lady Macbeth possesses and is frankly just a moral man with moral values. He acquires the ability to see right from wrong and shows that he has a very strong conscience when he says, â€Å"I am Thane of Cawdor. / If good, why do I yield to that suggestion/[thought of killing Duncan] whose horrid image doth unfix my hair/ and make my seated heart knock at my ribs/ against the use of nature? â€Å"(1. 3. 146-150). Here Macbeth shows that the thought of killing Duncan makes him uneasy, nervous and frightened. Already his senses are warning him that what he is thinking is wrong, but unfortunately enough for Macbeth he is mentally weak and easily convinced. Lady Macbeth on the other hand has all the strength, ambition, motivation and desire to become royalty. She knows her husband well and knows that he will not take action against Duncan, so she decides to take matters into her own hands. Lady Macbeth calls upon the forces of evil to â€Å"unsex [her] here, / and fill [her] from the crown to the toe top- full/ of direst cruelty. Make thick [her] blood, / stop the passage to remorse† (1. 5. 48-51). In this speech there is no perplexity that Lady Macbeth is clearly willing to do whatever necessary to take hold of the throne. Her strength of purpose is contrasted with her husband’s tendency to waver and it will be her ambition and strength that questions his manhood, which will drive him forward to a life of misery and violence. Macbeth is a mentally weak character that undergoes a drastic mental change after committing cold blooded murder. He is progressively becoming more evil as his inhuman deeds allow his evil nature to take control of his thoughts and actions. Macbeth becomes paranoid about losing power and obsessed with proving his manhood. He associates manhood with fighting and bloodshed when he says, â€Å"What man dare, I dare. / Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear,/ The armed rhinoceros, or th’ Nyrean tiger,/Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves/ Shall never tremble. † (3. 4. 121-125) Just as Lady Macbeth was, Macbeth becomes a manipulative mastermind who is so power thirsty and driven by violence that he would kill anyone, even his best friend, to get what he wants. As Macbeth’s mind relocates to a state of paranoia and violence, Lady Macbeth’s conscience slowly starts to eat her away forcing her to resort to a life of misery, insanity, and eventually death. Her guilt is so strong that she is haunted in her sleep by the image of blood. Lady Macbeth could not rest peacefully without trying to wash all the blood off of her hands, â€Å"Out, damned spot; out, I say†(5. 1. 30) she would mutter as she wandered around the castle carrying a candlestick for light and rubbing her hands together trying to rub off all of the guilt. Shakespeare makes a valid point in this play that the future of your life does not depend on someone else, but is in entirely your hands. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth could have avoided their own misery and downfall if only they did things differently. Don’t get too caught up in yourself but be patient and be grateful for what you have because a lot of people would love to be in your position than their own. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth gradually become different people, one for the better and one for the worse.

Hardships of Slavery in the 1800s Free Essay Example, 1250 words

Causes of slavery There are numerous factors attributed to the sprouting of slavery. Among the various factors is poverty. Low living standards and the harsh economy in the 1800s fuelled the emergency of slavery as people struggled to survive. Poor people, especially from Africa and Asia, were pressured by poverty to work for rich people under unfavorable condition to get food. They also accepted or were compelled to accept low payment. Industrial revolution in Europe and discovery of new land (America) brought a need for more work forces. The industries required raw materials and labor force in the production process. A lot of people were required to work in the plantation. The only way to acquire cheap labor was through slavery (Harris 12). Therefore, the west took African slaves to acquire cheap labor force. The slaves were take unwillingly and forced to work. The issue of overpopulation triggered slavery as well. The overpopulated communities sold some of their people to work in the plantations. Consequently, overpopulation is associated with depletion of resources and excess labor. As a result people from the overpopulated areas, for instance, western Africa were left with no option other than working as slaves to earn a living. We will write a custom essay sample on Hardships of Slavery in the 1800s or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Ignorance and lack of education is yet another vector for slavery. In the 1800s education was not very popular in Africa and Asia. Therefore, nationals from these continents had little or no knowledge of their freedom and rights as human beings. In fact, in the 1800s there were limited association to fight for human rights and freedom. The lack of education for Africans and Asians limited their chances of acquiring skilled labor to work in executive post. Therefore, they were to work as slaves. Effects of slavery Slavery had both negative and positive impact on social, political and economical fields. For instance, slavery resulted in separation of families. Strong men were taken to work in the plantations leaving behind their family (Dunaway 63). Additionally, children were separated from their parents and this brought misery and social suffering. Additionally, Slavery led to emergence of social classes. The plantation owners emerged to be very rich and were perceived to be of high status. Consequently they became of the upper social class. Those who worked in the plantation and had less money become of the lower social class. Slavery led to hatred, rivalry and insecurity between societies. For instance, in western Africa the Europeans supplied the African with firearms to facilitate raiding of the slaves.