To Be Or Not To Be... A Knight Essays - Cephalophores, Free Essays

To Be Or Not To Be... A Knight Essays - Cephalophores, Free Essays To Be Or Not To Be... A Knight To Be or Not To Be. A knight To be or not to be a Knight truly is the question presented through this story, which is a tale of Gawains trials and tribulations on his journey to the Green Chapel. First, before acknowledging Gawain as being or not being a knight, one must first know what a knight is. In reference to the Pentangle a knight or Gawain must be: first, he was faultless in his five senses, Nor found ever to fail in his five fingers, And all his fealty was fixed upon the five wounds That Christ got on the cross, as the creed tells; That all his force was founded on the five joys That the high Queen of heaven had in her child. The fifth of the five fives followed by the knight Were beneficence boundless and brotherly love And pure mind and manners, that none might impeach, And compassion most precious-these peerless five Were forged and made fast in him, foremost of men. (Ll. 640-655) This excerpt from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight demonstrates on what a knight should be when looked upon from the Pentangle mode of being a knight. What pertain to the Natural/Real Realm would be the five senses and five fingers. The five senses part is used to gain knowledge of the world and worldly wage. The five fingers are the deeds that are done. What pertain to the Religious, Spiritual, Christian Realm would be the faith in the five wounds of Christ would be Fealty and Force. Fealty is the faithfulness in the five wounds of Christ. Force or the force in battle is inspired by the five joys of Mary. What pertain to the Chivalric Realm are Beneficence, Brotherly Love & Truth, Pure Mind, Manners, and Pite. Beneficence pertains to the generosity that the knight bestows. Brotherly Love & Truth pertains to the fellowship and truth in which the knight bestows. Pure Mind pertains to the chastity that the knight shows through his encounters with women and their temptations. Manners per tains to the courtesy that the knight shows to the people that he comes upon. Pite, or piety, pertains to the compassion that the knight shows when he encounters different situations. (GP) The narrator defines Gawain as being: in good works, as gold unalloyed, devoid of all villainy, with virtues adorned in sight. (Ll. 633-635) This basically states that he was a model of a good guy. He kept himself out of trouble, we know this by reason of the narrator stating that Gawain was the Devoid of all villainy. This statement says that Gawain is lacking in any sort of evil. It seems to be that the Green Knight symbolically represents a villainous being that crashes in on a party to play a medieval Russian Roulette. In doing so causes an upheaval among the Knights of the Round Table. The Green Knight storms in and asks someone to chop his head off. At this part of the story it seems quite questionable as to his reasons for doing so. Gawain responds to the beheading game challenge in a humble, yet heroic sense. After the Green Knight barges into King Arthur's court and criticizes the Knights of the Round Table saying, Where is now your arrogance and your awesome deeds for all cower and quake(l. 87, 91) The Green Knight is now saying that the Knights of the Round Table are cowards. He is calling them out. The only one to accept the challenge is Arthur strictly to show that he is not a coward. Just as Arthur is about to decapitate the Green Knight Gawain speaks up and says, I beseech, before all here, that this melee may be mine. (l. 115-116) Here Gawain is speaking up and telling Arthur that if anyone will do this that it will be him. Gawain shows a great deal of courage in accepting this challenge for the reason that no one else, aside from Arthur, would except the challenge. Gawain finds hospitality and shelter at the castle of Bercilak, unbeknownst to Gawain, the Green Knight. Bercilak made an agreement that whatever I win in the woods I will give you at eve, and all you have earned you must

Oxidation and Reduction Reaction Example Problem

Oxidation and Reduction Reaction Example Problem In an oxidation-reduction or redox reaction, it is often confusing to identify which molecule is oxidized in the reaction and which molecule is reduced. This example problem shows how to correctly identify which atoms undergo oxidation or reduction and their corresponding redox agents. Problem For the reaction:2 AgCl(s) H2(g) → 2 H(aq) 2 Ag(s) 2 Cl-Identify the atoms that undergo oxidation or reduction and list the oxidizing and reducing agents. Solution The first step is to assign oxidation states to each atom in the reaction. AgCl:Ag has a 1 oxidation stateCl has a -1 oxidation stateH2 has an oxidation state of zeroH has a 1 oxidation stateAg has an oxidation state of zero.Cl- has a -1 oxidation state. The next step is to check what happened to each element in the reaction. Ag went from 1 in AgCl(s) to 0 in Ag(s). The silver atom gained an electron.H went from 0 in H2(g) to 1 in H(aq). The hydrogen atom lost an electron.Cl kept its oxidation state constant at -1 throughout the reaction. Oxidation involves the loss of electrons and reduction involves the gain of electrons.Silver gained an electron. This means the silver was reduced. Its oxidation state was reduced by one. To identify the reduction agent, we must identify the source of the electron. The electron was supplied by either the chlorine atom or the hydrogen gas. Chlorines oxidation state was unchanged throughout the reaction and hydrogen lost an electron. The electron came from the H2 gas, making it the reduction agent. Hydrogen lost an electron. This means the hydrogen gas was oxidized. Its oxidation state was increased by one.The oxidation agent is found by finding where the electron went in the reaction. Weve already seen how hydrogen gave an electron to silver, so the oxidation agent is the silver chloride. Answer For this reaction, hydrogen gas was oxidized with the oxidizing agent being silver chloride. Silver was reduced with the reducing agent being H2 gas.

Social movements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social movements - Essay Example Marxism is defined by Wikipedia as the philosophical, social theory and political practice based on the works of Karl Marx, a known proponent of a social revolution to achieve full transformation of the state from capitalism to socialism. Its aim is to achieve equal distribution of wealth to all members of the society. This is totally opposite to the theory of capitalism that is often the system observed in western countries. Here, the labor force is treated as the major factor in the production of wealth rather than capital which is held only by a few. Existentialism on the other hand is a philosophical movement that gives meaning to human's existence in this world and seeks to value one's existence. Here, the meaning of life is given paramount consideration over other aspects such as politics, economy and sciences. It is opposed to the western's ideology on rationalism. Its core idea is that reality is not the consciousness but "being in this world." The first three principles are somehow related to each other in the sense that nationalism is the moving force behind the pursuit to industrialization and Marxism. Thus, it is nationalism that justifies the continued attempts to fully industrialize the economy and to distribute the wealth of the nation.

Fashion and Consumer Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fashion and Consumer Culture - Essay Example The essay "Fashion and Consumer Culture" concerns the consumerism and fashion. Factors include religion, beliefs, climate, gender, and economic and cultural situation, among others. Though fashion may change as dictated by society, clothes are more than just about warmth and protection. In fact, clothes have become a representation of particular cultures that create them. Clothes are considered consumer goods. But then again, more than being consumer goods, it defines the cultural class that wears them. It is one of those consumer goods that are being used as tools for social mobility as stated in the ‘Conspicuous Consumption’ theory by 19th Century economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen. In his book ‘The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study in the Evolution of Institutions, he says that luxury goods are tools to display economic power, and that such display of discretionary economic power is a means of attaining or maintaining a particular social sta tus. Moreover, as an elaboration, these consumer goods have become tools to provoke envy from other people. Ultimately, consumer goods, and fashion is one of them, is a means of displaying a buyer’s superior socio-economic status. In the article ‘Consumption and the Consumer Society’, it says that the average United States resident consumes 275 lbs. of meat, uses 635 lbs. of paper and uses energy equivalent to 7.8 metrics tons of oil. Forty-five years ago consumption was about half of current statistics. In the U.S. there are 2 persons.

Critical evaluation - John Steinbeck-Of Mice and Men and Robert Ludlum-The Bourne Identity Essay Example for Free

Critical evaluation John Steinbeck-Of Mice and Men and Robert Ludlum-The Bourne Identity Essay Through the history of man; mathematicians, philosophers, teachers, and scientists have molded and shaped our world. These men and women, young and old, are responsible for the continually growing knowledge in todays youth. Upon studying the most influential educators, it was proven that writers and authors sustain every element of the society we live; love, passion, romance, adventure, drama, science fiction, and non-fiction. All of these categories exist for only one purpose, to entertain the minds who absorb the material. Entertaining authors make an exceptional story and none other than Robert Ludlum and John Steinbeck accomplish this feat better. In order to further understand these authors thirst to provide edge-of-the-seat entertainment, their past and present must be explored. Although these authors lived in two diverse locations, their driving desire for knowledge appears the same. Ludlum and Steinbeck attended college after high school, majoring in English. After graduating from Salinas High School in 1919, Steinbeck attended Stanford University from 1920-1925. Two years after Steinbeck left to pursue his writing career in New York, Robert Ludlum was born on May 25, 1927. Ludlum was educated privately and at the Chesire Academy, Connecticut. After appearing is school theatricals, he acted in the comedy Junior Miss on Broadway at the age of sixteen. His degree includes: B.A., Wesleyan University, Middletown, 1951. Having never graduated from Stanford University, Steinbecks life for the most part was low profile even after the publishing of his first books, Cup of Gold (1929), The Pastures of Heaven and To a God Unknown, which were all inadequately acknowledged by the literary world. Tortilla Flat (1935) was the noticeable turning point in Steinbecks literary career receiving the California Commonwealth Clubs Gold Medal for best novel. Steinbeck continued writing, and The Grapes of Wrath (1939) won him the Pulitzer Prize. The Nobel Prize was awarded to John Steinbeck for Literature in 1962 for his realistic as well as imaginative writings, distinguished by a sympathetic humor and a keen social perception. 1 Twenty-nine Academy Award nominations and four Academy Awards were given for revision of John Steinbecks stories. Literature lost one of its most accomplished and distinguished writers on December 20, 1968, in New York City; John Steinbeck died at the age of 66. However, on a more positive note, New York City was also the place where literature bore Robert Ludlum. Ludlum can be described as a modern day author. He is a well-known author writing twenty-one novels and selling over 290 million books in thirty-two different languages. Ludlum started his literary career relatively late because he was working in 1. Mobel Lectures; literature 1901-4967 the theatre as an actor and producer. One of the primary reasons Ludlum is such a suspenseful writer is due to the fact that he was born in an age where movies grabbed the attention of the public eye. In the 1950s, Ludlum worked as a stage and television actor. After producing 300 stage productions for New York and regional theatre, Ludlum wrote his first novel, The Scarlatti Inheritance (1971). Few writers are able to grasp global attention using unbelievable plots that spin into engrossing tales. John Steinbeck and Robert Ludlum are comparable writers. These two authors are very accomplished and their novels reputations speak for themselves. John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men and Robert Ludlums The Bourne Identity are the focus of this evaluation. Their works signify literary techniques that contribute to theme. The central theme in Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck: human fates are constantly controlled by outside forces. The techniques he uses for example: repetition and symbolism are extremely successful in getting across his very cynical views on this theme. Similar techniques are used in Robert Ludlums The Bourne Identity. Uniquely writing; many of Ludlums techniques are present in his writing, but the reader is too engrossed in the story to recognize them. However, Ludlum writes meticulously in his story plots. When evaluated, the reader can distinguish that repetition and symbolism are also used as literary techniques that contribute to theme. Steinbeck and Ludlum use the technique of repetition to effectively build up the climax of the tragedy. In Of Mice and Men, Lennie unintentionally killed his mouse when petting it. This situation repeats itself further in the novel when Slim gives Lennie a puppy. When playing with the animal, Lennie gave the puppy a disciplining thump for biting him and he killed it. An incident, such as this, will be the downfall of George and Lennie. Near the end of the novel, Lennie strokes Curleys wifes hair. He holds too tightly and she gets frightened. Lennie was in a panic. 2 Climaxing, he attempts to quiet her, Dont you go yellin, he said, and he shook her, and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck. 2 The repetition of unintentional death foreshadows a negative outcome for Lennie, his sealed fate. This action brought upon his own murder by George who shot him in the back of the head out of mercy for everything else that was weak and helpless. In this act of violence, George would not be considered a murderer, in fact, quite the opposite. George, instead, would be deemed a savor because he did Lennie a favor. 2. Steinbeck; 91 The Bourne Identity uses repetition in a similar fashion. The central character Jason Bourne faces memory loss, crippling him from discovering his true identity. His instincts and intelligence help guide him. The quote: You are not helpless. You will find your way. 3 is repeated on several occasions, which foreshadows success on Jasons behalf. Jasons rhetorical behavior when faced with stressful and difficult situations ends in same violent manner. Bourne grabbed the Frenchman in front of him now, his left arm around the mans throat, his right hand tearing at the mans left ear. 4 Without thinking, Jason reacts to the situation with poise and precision. Jasons rhetorical skills evoke his memory enough to enable him to think and act on his own to avoid death or capture. Whenever you observe a stress-and you have the time-do your damndest to project into it. Associate as freely as you can; let words and images fill your mind. In them you may find clues. 5 This quote is nearly repeated again, Whenever youre in a stress situation-and theres time, of course-do exactly as you would when you project yourself into one youre observing. Let your mind fall free, let whatever thoughts and images that surface come cleanly. Try not to exercise any mental discipline. Be a sponge; concentrate on everything and nothing. Specifics may come to you, certain repressed conduits electricity prodded into functioning. 6 except there is added tactics, which suggests that Jason is constantly learning. Through repetition Jason persistently advances his skills to obtain his past by varying his appearance, Change your hairyou change your face. 7 Soon after his skills advanced, Jason learned that his real name is David Webb who turns out as a young Far East scholar. Webb received a new identity from the Central intelligence (CIA) as Jason Bourne, a black ops agent. His primary objective was to kill Carlos, another far more advanced assassin, but was betrayed. As the plot twists, the CIA has given Jason quite a few hoops to jump through for his own survival. The climax builds to this particular moment in the novel, when Jason reverses the situation and uses the training the CIA gave him to kill the assassin Carlos. The climax appears to have truth because not only has Jason stopped being on the defensive side of this live or die game, but also his proficient skills have drawn him to his past profession to kill or be killed; fate. The interfering CIA has lost control of Bourne; however he is drawn back to his past line of work, which could result in death, so he ultimately loses. It could be said that Jason Bourne was born to be a professional assassin under anyones control. 3. Ludlum; 39, 43, 83 4. Ludlum; 64 5. Ludlum; 50 6. Ludlum; 82 7. Ludlum; 116, 161 Another technique that demonstrates John Steinbecks view of fate is the symbolism. Near the end of the novel, A watersnake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope head from side to side, and it swam the length of the pool and came to the legs of a motionless heron that stood in the shallows. A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically. 8 The heron, stationary and patient, symbolizes fate, while the watersnake, vulnerable and unaware, its victim. The watersnake would most likely symbolize George. Not only does the Heron symbolize fate, it also symbolizes Lennie the burden to their dream. Steinbeck illustrates his view on fate once more by word choice. Words like lanced, plucked, and waiting suggest that Steinbeck believes that fate strikes assertively and specifically. Similarly, Robert Ludlum uses symbolism to project the same idea. Symbolism appears not as evident as repetition; however, present nonetheless. The CIA seems to be the entity or government corporation that symbolizes fate. Every element in the novel can be drawn back to something that the CIA has caused. Ludlum and Steinbeck believe fate to be all the same. In Ludlums case, the CIAs intricate plans and organized operations parallel Steinbecks idea that fate acts in the same manner, assertively and specifically. Of Mice and Men and The Bourne Identity are literally written in identical fashions. Steinbeck and Ludlum use character driven dialogue to tell the story. The point-of-views transpose between first person (the main characters) and third person (the narrator). The first person prospective uniquely projects to the reader each of the character thoughts and actions. The first person prospective gives a clear understanding of what exactly will happen, without all of the excess narration. However, the narration does an excellent job in describing the setting among other elements, such as flow between events. The events or chapters are present in both novels. Ludlum uses three books within his novel along with thirty five chapters because The Bourne Identity is far longer than the six chapters Of Mice and Men. This technique is apparent for the sole purpose of changing locations in the story with ease; in The Bourne Identity Jason and his companion travel to different countries, and in Of Mice and Men the only change of location appears within the town and ranch. These two books were written very similarly. Both switched between first and third person depending on what the best way to tell the story was. By changing point of views, Ludlum and Steinbeck were able to develop their themes more thoroughly. The technique of changing perspectives allowed the reader to identify with the main characters, but at the same time, know vital information that would be needed to understand the story. 8. Steinbeck; 99 Robert Ludlum and John Steinbeck are exceptional authors. There novels: The Bourne Identity and Of Mice and Men, respectively, have Robert Lattas praise. Woohoo, right? There are more positive, than negative, statements to be discussed. Particularly, Ludlums story is far more intriguing than Steinbecks. The plot and characters all are attention getters. The idea that a man with no memory has instincts that are above any normal man, and has answers to every question, except his name, is fascinating. The only downfall to Ludlums work appears to be the length of his novel, five hundred some odd pages, that turns out to be a lot of reading time. Steinbecks novel length; however, fits the taste well, only one hundred some pages. The olden story in Steinbecks novel, gets negative feedback because its entire plot stimulated nothing more than closing eye lids. Praising the literary device of repetition, this gave some indication that what was being read over again would prove useful in assembling a critical evaluation essay. The repetition also forces the information into your brain, meaning it holds significance. Moreover, the theme portrayed among these two novels had some relevance with our current lives, which also served another purpose to reading them Overall, the novels ended up balancing one another. A positive recommendation can be made for both these novels because something can be learned. WORKS CITED Lectures, Mobel. The Nobel Prize in Literature 1962. [online] http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1962/press.html Ludlum, Robert. The Bourne Identity. New York: Richard Marek, 1975 Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books, 1978

Essay --

Morality is the single most controversial and mind-boggling train of thought currently known to human-kind, and no particular individual more so exemplifies this conflict (or better summarizes my own personal beliefs) than Niccolà ² Machiavelli. Few writers in the whole of the human history have inspired the kind of personal hatred that Machiavelli has in the last 500 years, and few works have been as vilified, (or as popular) as The Prince. Machiavelli has been slandered and portrayed as a defender of tyrannical government, an atheistic promoter of immorality, and a manipulator whose interests were all self-serving. Today, the Oxford dictionary still characterizes "Machiavellian" as "of, like, or characterized by the political principles and methods of expediency, craftiness, and duplicity set forth in Machiavelli's book, The Prince; crafty, deceitful, and so on." Folk legend holds that "Old Nick," a slang term for the Devil, is derived from Machiavelli's first name, Niccolà ². Wi th that context kept in mind, isn’t morality founded on a specific set of core ideas? Isn’t it always defined by the acknowledgement of a central moral allegiance dominating all the others? From individualism to families, from tribalism to racism, from nationalism to religious fundamentalism or the allegiance to a totalitarian party what we see is the drawing of different â€Å"circles† centered on a basic, paramount moral norm. And Machiavelli is definitely not isolated in positing the interest of the nation as the foundation of his moral thinking. At the beginning of the 21st century we are still living within that same ideal nationalist realism. What could be more â€Å"Machiavellian† than the saying â€Å"My nation right or wrong†, which seems to be a still very popul... ...day? How can we maintain that, in an era when, from migrations to terrorism to the Tsunami to Chernobyl to aviary flu to AIDS, we are obliged to cope with challenges that are global, â€Å"group ethics† (be it tribal, religious or nationalistic) matches our reality, our needs, our stage of human development? We are definitely not on the eve of a global state, and yet we are no longer able to confine our economic, political, cultural but also moral scope within the limits of the borders of our national republic. There is no easy solution to our moral quandrums (another much discussed idea in the Discourses. Machiavelli’s daring, his awareness of unadorned reality, his honesty and anti-hypocrisy, his republican commitment can help us, if we are able to grasp the essence of his politics and his ethics, also in this very complex and problematic stage of human development.

Documentary films Essay

Documentary films have paved way to show the reality of life. More often than not, it provides awareness of the present situation that was not addressed accurately in films and television shows alike. Documentary, like other discourses of the real, retains a vestigial responsibility to describe and interpret the world of collective experience, a responsibility that is no small matter at all (Nichols, 1991 p. 10). In making a documentary film concerning the community life in a distant foreign country, several issues would need to be addressed. The first thing that we need to discuss is the culture of the people living in that place. It would be an important factor as it tells a lot about the people and the place itself. Its history would generally be included in determining how the culture came about. Social norms and practices should also thoroughly discuss to identify the difference and uniqueness of their society. Furthermore, the documentation should explore the different beliefs of the people and how it affects the way they live and how their society copes up with modernization. The main focus of the documentary is how the culture and beliefs would affect the health of the people in that certain area. It would thoroughly explore the different misconceptions and traditional health management that these people have. This is a critical issue to discuss because it may directly or indirectly affect their socio-economic progress and their lifestyle. If by chance, the documentary could discover the need to re-educate the people regarding their health beliefs and fallacy, then proper authority should be inform. This is to insure that people would have the opportunity and the appropriate resources to improve their knowledge as regards to their health condition. REFERENCES Nichols, B. (1991), Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary, Indiana University Press, p. 10