English Commentary :: English Literature

English Commentary The following is a commentary on paragraph in P.G 211 a 212 in the Sorrow of War.. The paragraph from page 211 to 212 has a very important significance to the story as a whole. It has a lot of metaphors and similes that add to the sorrowful mood of the story. In the beginning, the paragraph is very poetic, juxtaposing past images of life to future and present images of death and destruction. In specific it juxtaposes the "eternal" beauty of his girlfriend Phuong to the tragic finality of war. The paragraph is written in the simple past tense, the perfect past tense which means the past before the past and the hypothetical "would" in order to emphasize Kien's deep longings to relive the past. It also shows us how Kien lost his spirit of fighting, and gave up hope. This is spiritual loss, and it is what most soldiers were experiencing. There is basically no more hope, no more life, just death. Overall, the paragraph reflects images of the sorrows of war. The sorrows and effects of war are clearly shown when the narrator reverses traditional symbols. The first very evident example of reversing traditional symbols is the narrator's use of the concept of "miracle" and "dream" not to talk about a future goal but about the past. Thus returning to the past and finding it "unchanged" becomes a "miracle" and a "dream". We usually dream of the future and hope for a miracle that would "change" our lives. However the miracle that Kien awaits is to find that the past still exists "untouched" and "untainted". Of course that miracle is impossible and consequently the paragraph has a deep nostalgic sadness. Like Kien, we can feel the painful irony of the impossibility of this miracle to happen. Other images function in the same way to show Kien's despair and loss of hope. He saw "a river stretching before him. He saw himself floating towards his death". Here the narrator compares the river to a path that ends life. However, we usually associate rivers with freedom and ongoing life. The narrator also says "fate waited to take him from the terrible present to the happy days of the past". The narrator is showing us how much he longs to relive the past and how he dreads the present, and views his future as a horrible period of time. In the beginning of the paragraph, the narrator creates a beautiful world untouched by war through many poetic images. The narrator says "she would have been untainted by war". This shows us how war has

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Essay

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, outlines how a society should be run under communism. The document provides truths to what is wrong with society; what causes these wrongs; how they can be fixed; and how this relates to humans and nature. Marx was a political philosopher of German ancestry. Marx and Engels split the document up into four sections: Section 1: Bourgeois and Proletarians, section 2: Proletarians and Communists, section 3: Socialists and Communist literature, and section 4: Positions of the Communists in relation to the Various Existing Opposition Parties. The first section, Bourgeoisie and Proletarians, focuses on the struggle between the classes created in society. Marx refers back to the Middle Ages to show how complicated the class system was. â€Å"In the Middle Ages, feudal lords, vassals, guild-masters, journeymen, apprentices, serfs†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (1) all made up different stratas of society. With all of these groups of different trades and economic stability, oppression was bound to happen. Society did not contain many groups and classes as in the middle ages. Society was formed from two basic groups, the Bourgeoisie and Proletarians. The bourgeoisie was a class constructed of people who owned property. These people were the wealthier half of society. The proletarians were those of the lowest class of society. Marx discusses how the bourgeoisie came to be such a strong member of society. This happened through the occurrence of the Industrial Revolution. New machinery changed all of industrial production. With these new advances, Marx describes that the middle class was destroyed and industrial millionaires resu... ...ss†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The fourth and final section, Positions of the Communists in relation to the Various Existing Opposition Parties, talks about how communists work with different parties. Marx describes their relationship by stating that they try to find parties that hold similar beliefs. Communists try to find parties that believe in power to the working class and believe in the overthrowing of the bourgeoisie. Marx concludes by saying that the working class must unite and use force to overcome oppressors. The Communist Manifesto, presents the basic beliefs of communism. Marx puts strong emphasis on the struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletarians. Marx believes that the proletarians must come together by recognizing that they are all alike and fight the bourgeoisie. Once this happens, then such oppressors will not hold down society as the bourgeoisie.

Boston’s Central Artery Project Essay

Boston’s Central Artery Project undertook a massive-large scale operation to shift their highway underground. This project was named ‘The Big Dig’ due to the large scale drilling to make tunnels that could support highway like traffic and be open all year round. Due to its large scale operations, the construction required a lot of investment that could only be funded by issuing bonds. This paper describes the calculation for the bond to make it successful for the construction to be viable. Methods The case gives some important information that will help in completing this problem. The cost of the bond is given as 15 Billion while the interest rate to be charged is given as 5%. Since most bonds have a semi-annual interest payments, this bond’s value will be calculated on this value as well. What we need to find is the cost for the bond to be returned and the total interest payments over the life of the bond till its maturity. With the sum of these two figures, we will get the total cost the government has incurred on this project. After this is we just need to calculate how many cars would pass from that highway in thirty years and then we will divide the sum of the costs by the total number of cars passed in thirty years to get the exact value at which the project will break-even. Results The result from the calculations driven by dividing the total cost to be returned by the number of cars in 30 years shows that a toll price of $17. 123 should be charged to break-even the cost for the whole financing operation. Recommendations The toll price is too high if we calculate the expected life of the highway to be 30 years (same as the finance life). However, in reality the highway’s life would be much greater than 30 years. Approximately the life is expected to be 50 years at least. Considering this factor, the answer would differ and would come to be around $10. However another factor to consider would be the increase in the traffic in the future that would further reduce the price of the toll. However at the moment this price is too high and would need to be brought down to allow the motorists to travel via this route.

The Selfish Hedonist

â€Å"I'll have a husband yet / who shall be both my debtor and my slave / [†¦ ] for mine shall be the power all his life† (Chaucer 262). In The Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath, also known as Alison, presents herself as the authority on marriage and marital life. She comments on the social and legal position of women in marriage and daily life. She claims she has her knowledge from experience, not from scriptural authority. She dictates her life story of her five previous relationships with her fellow pilgrims to show her experience. Rather than rejecting scriptural authority, she appeals to logic thus rejecting too strict interpretations of scriptural rules and commandments. She gives ridiculous details of her marriages, including her marrying old wealthy men so that she could get their money once they died. After telling the unreasonable details of her relationships, she goes on to tell a tale about an old hag and one of King Arthur's knights. The old hag forces the knight to marry her after she helps him with a life-saving question of â€Å"What do women most want in life? The Wife of Bath attempts to portray the idealness of a woman's domination in the end yet she fails because the old hag becomes passive again. Through the Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale in The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer portrays the Wife of Bath as a selfish hedonist and feminist trying to gain complete control over men. Her new stand on women's supremacy only shows her selfishness because she wasn't trying to make a difference or revolutionize anything, she was only trying to gain personal benefits. The Wife of Bath's prologue is used to explain the basis of her theories on authority and sovereignty. The medieval Church at the time of the Wife of Bath saw her as a wicked woman, and she boasts about it with pride: â€Å"If I turn difficult, God give me sorrow! † (262). â€Å"Her marrying three old men in succession is a violation of not only of the law of common sense but even of the law of Nature, who would bring together those of comparable age† (Oberembt 288). Marrying another man after already being married previously is already a scandalous crime for this time period. Now to marry someone much older than herself a few times in a row is wrong not only in the eyes of God, but it is wrong along the lines of common sense too. The text of the Wife of Bath's Prologue is based on an allegorical ‘confession' in which she tells her sins to her audience in her life story: â€Å"O Lord, I wrecked their peace / innocent they were, without remorse! † (Chaucer 268). She confesses to deceiving and tricking her husbands just so she could get money and admits to arrange a fifth marriage while still in her fourth. In doing so, she demoralizes herself to try to be better than a man. Having more power than a man means she gets to decide, yet she goes and ruins her own reputation just so she can have an edge over men. Her rebellion against patriarchal authority and the abusive treatment of particular men expressed by the Wife of Bath are really but the projections of her selfish attitude: â€Å"His pleasures were my profit, I concurred† (269). She does not care about anyone but herself and she chooses to display that willingly. She has a self-centered interpretation of the marriage. Oberembt uses the argument that she was only twelve years old in her first marriage and that she was unable to conceive a child with her first husband which could've lead to her â€Å"frustration† (Oberembt 288). Through her words, and mostly through her actions, the Wife of Bath expresses her views on a wife's domination through her own life story. The Wife of Bath's Tale is an exemplum, providing an answer to the question, â€Å"What do women want? † Chaucer uses the Wife of Bath to explain and give an example that women most desire sovereignty: â€Å"A woman wants the self-same sovereignty / over her husband† (Chaucer 186). The tale is Alison's idea of the perfect illustration of her point. The Knight gives in to his new old wife and therefore she becomes beautiful in his eyes because she has now been given the right to choose. But if one was to switch the roles of men and women in society, men would become a very meek and uncertain group of people who wouldn't know how to behave. â€Å"Thus the Wife of Bath comically inverted the conventional sex-linked male and female behaviors† (Oberembt 300). When the Knight of King Arthur lets the old hag make the decision, he abandoned the male's sovereignty in favor of the woman's rule: â€Å"My dearest wife / I leave the matter to your wise decision† (Chaucer 291). The Wife of Bath most likely sees her story as what she wishes would happen normally. But by her story, she's not changing anything or giving examples on how to change the present ways because no man is going to willingly give up his sovereignty only to have his wife rule over him. The Wife of Bath is an early extreme feminist who believed in women having the most power and command over their husbands: â€Å"You make the choice yourself† (291). â€Å"Through the Old Hag, Dame Alice persuades an unreasonable male chauvinist to renounce self-indulgence and to accept the only reasonable norm for human conduct† (Oberembt 300). She is the only person who believes that a woman's domination will make everyone happy. But on the man's side of the story, he is forced to give up his masculinity and become sensual only so that his wife can now become masculine. In the Wife of Bath's Tale, she attempts to convey her message that women want domination, yet with closer analysis one sees that her ideas do not seem to work out well. Chaucer seems to have made the relationship of the tale and the teller to force one to consider Alison's argument of domination. The argument in contrast to this belief is the idea that the Alison just wants a mutual relationship, one that is of giving and receiving: â€Å"His pleasures were my profit, I concurred† (Chaucer 269). If the Wife of Bath is telling us that marriage is all about having sex with your spouse just so that they could give you fancy things and money in return, there is no sign of a revolutionary idea. McKinley states that â€Å"each spouse's body becomes the property of the other by virtue of the new marital alliance† (371). If this is the case, then the couple has the right to each other and the right to have sex with each other and there shouldn't be any type of give and take mentality. In the end of the tale, the old hag relinquishes her power and never really becomes the dominant of the two: â€Å"‘And have I won the mastery? said she† (Chaucer 291). She becomes a passive wife when she gives up her power by giving the knight what he wants. This is because the knight gives her the choice to choose and it seems as though she now has complete control, yet she gives up her power when he wants to have sex with her and she resigns his power and listens to him. The Wife of Bath's Tale ultimately contradicts Alison's belief of female domination in that the woman never gains domination over the man: â€Å"My dearest wife / I leave the matter to your wise decision [†¦ ] [Sir,] Do with my life and Death as you think best† (291). The language and acts of self-sacrifice, obedience, and submission seem to suggest the very antithesis of self-actualizing, assertive behavior which feminism [and Alison] has championed (McKinley 373). † Throughout the Wife of Bath's Prologue, Alison stands strong to the idea that women should have complete control over their husbands. One might think that the tale she would tell contains support to her ideas, but it does not. For in the end, Chaucer shows us that the Wife of Bath's idea of domination wouldn't work because she would eventually give her power up again only after just receiving it. Therefore, Chaucer depicts Alison as a selfish woman who wants authority over her husband and yet in the end he shows how her ideas would never work. One must come to the conclusion that the Wife of Bath only tries to express her belief in a wife's complete supremacy over their husbands. In the Wife of Bath's Prologue, Alison uses her experience to verify her theories on a wife's supremacy. She also uses Biblical examples to support her ideas, such as previous Biblical characters that had multiple spouses. But her life story is evidence to her views and without her personal input one would wonder whether or not her beliefs really would work. In the Wife of Bath's Tale, Alison most likely sees her story as what she wishes would happen normally. But with a closer look at the details, she's not changing anything or giving examples on how to change the present ways because no man is going to willingly give up his sovereignty only to have his wife rule over him. Also, the tale ultimately proves Alison wrong because the old hag becomes passive in the end after being given the control. Alison proves her theory wouldn't work, and Chaucer tries to explain why a woman's superiority wouldn't work too well through the old hag and her decision to give into the knight's request of sex.

Good Night and Good Luck and Belonging

How has the film Good Night and Good Luck contributed to your understanding the experience of belonging? In your response identify 3 observations about belonging and analyse 3 techniques used to convey this experience. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- The 2005 black and white film Good Night and Good Luck is able to present multiple views and perspective of belonging through the threats of communism and the sense of belonging that is associated by this context. The three most prominent ideas placed forth throughout the film about belonging are that belonging comes at the price of conformity, that fear can be used to silence those who choose to challenge the authority of the group and that choosing not to belong requires great courage and the acceptance of ostracism. The idea of Belonging comes at a price of conformity is strongly represented throughout the film as McCarthyism is presenting the idea that to belong or fit in one must believe what everyone else must believe in and act likewise. At the beginning of the film no one is prepared to confront or disobey what is considered the ‘right’ thing by McCarthy and his committee as they were too afraid of being accused themselves. Those that did not oppose McCarthyism and their leaders felt that they could belong as they shared a common belief and all acted in the same way to keep their sense of belonging intact and preserved. Edward Murrow uses a metaphor to display this idea of belonging through the statement, â€Å"I see a chain reaction that has no end. This quote displays that if people are pressured to conform to the majority, it will be a never ending cycle with all choice and freedom taken from the individual. A second observation of belonging I observed in the film, Good Night and Good Luck, was that fear can be used to silence those who choose to challenge the authority of the group. Joseph McCarthy uses fear to control the country by accusing anyone that opposes him by declaring them to be communis ts themselves. This fear prevents people from speaking up against McCarthy as they are afraid of being ostracised and from not belonging. This is shown when Edward Murrow stands up to McCarthy and speaks against him, and in response McCarthy discredits Murrow by claiming he is a communist and cannot be believed. Throughout the film, particularly towards the end we get the sense that choosing not to belong requires great courage and the acceptance of ostracism. At the beginning of the story we see that McCarthy has everyone under his control and he has the power of the country. However as the movie progresses we see that Murrow and the CBS news team begin to rebel against McCarthyism and are required to show great courage to do what everyone else is too afraid to pursue. Also we see that as their movement persists, Murrow is framed by McCarthy as he attempts to be ostracised from the mainstream society and not allowed to belong. Good Night and Good Luck has altered my understanding of belonging as it has opened my eyes to the negative aspects of belonging and the harmful consequences that result from belonging. The film is a strong text to be able to create awareness of belonging requiring courage as it can bring fear and conformity among those in the group.

Leader of Influence Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leader of Influence - Term Paper Example He is commended for his fight for the independence of the people of India as a nationalist, theorist as well as an organizer. His outstanding achievements as a leader of the Indians amount to the legacy that he enjoys today. From his leadership, leaders in preparation have many lessons to learn including boldness, being the voice of the weak and humility. The purpose of this essay is to analyze the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and to show this is relevant for us as contemporary leaders. Being tactful and brave is an important character for any leader who wants to improve the welfare of his society. In many incidences, Mahatma Gandhi showed his bravery in representing the voice of the Indian people who had previously suffered under very harsh regimes. In his journey as leader, he began by serving as the voice of the Indians in South Africa, where he represented the rights of his people (Shafiulla, 2012). In a region where the Indians were seen as the minority, it required bravery and wisdom to air out the voice of the people and be heard by the country. Another incidence where Gandhi stood out as a brave leader is during the war for independence in India. After Gandhi returned to India in 1915, he became a member of the Indian National Congress only to be the chair of the congress in 1920 (Wolpert, 2001). During this time, India was colonized by the British government, a regime when the Indians suffered from oppression of their colonizers. In 1930s, Gandhi started t he journey of liberating the people of India. The congress declared independence for the country, and tactfully Gandhi led the people into negotiations for independence. This points out to his wisdom in using a peaceful process in achieving independence. When the negotiation process failed, Gandhi fearlessly demanded immediate liberation of his people, a response that received a lot of harshness from the British government (Deats, 2005). Ultimately, Gandhi was jailed together with other

Answer the exam Qs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Answer the exam Qs - Essay Example However, the power inequality acceptance varies between different cultures in the society (Varma & Budhwar, 2015). Individualism measures the basic interest sort by the members. In a society which is highly individualistic, the members are mainly concerned with their families’ interests (Varma & Budhwar, 2015). Contrary, members from the collective society seek to achieve more favor and loyalty from their groups. Uncertainty avoidance measures the unpredictable, unstructured and unclear situations faced by members. A high uncertainty-avoidance society is less aggressive, change intolerant, high security seeking; and vice versa in low uncertainty-avoidance society (Varma & Budhwar, 2015). Through the increase in globalization, there have been growing trends in the multinational and global business endeavors. Globalization as well as the varied cultures in different countries has resulted to the challenge of business competitiveness. Other issues include balancing between the head-quarter and the home based cultures, maintaining performance standards and productive inter-collaboration between units in the operating locations (Varma & Budhwar, 2015). According to Edgar Schein 1994 OC are the values instituted into a social group which are then passed to new members so as they can feel, see and think in response to problems (Varma & Budhwar, 2015). OC should be perceived as both pluralistic and holistic so as to shape the internal assumptions of the social group. OC is classified under 2 schools of thought where in the first, it’s seen as a variable where it can be introduced and manipulated by the organization. The second school of thought provides that OC is a situation the company finds itself in, caused by the complex and dynamic social interactions by the organization (Varma & Budhwar, 2015). Culture influences employees’ communication, the company’s products, goals and values as well as interactions with its customers and other organizations.