Shylock as Helpless Victim in The Merchant of Venice :: Merchant of Venice Essays

Shylock as Helpless Victim in The Merchant of Venice      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1594 the Earl of Essex, an English Nobleman who lived during the Elizabethan period in England, was actively involved in the persecution and trials of Roderigo Lopez.   Lopez was a Jew of Portuguese descent, who was wrongly accused of attempting to poison the Queen of England.   Lopez, being the Queen's royal physician, was in no position to defend himself once he was accused.   Essex, who provided the evidence also presided over the trial of Lopez, leaving Lopez little chance of survival.   The innocent Jew was hanged, drawn, and quartered in Tyburn, England for all to witness.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story of Roderigo Lopez is similar to the story of Shylock, although, Palmer tells us "It is not suggested that Shakespeare in portraying Shylock, had any political or social intentions" ( 112-13).   Both Jews were placed in time where "anti-Semitism was in fashion" (Palmer 113), and both thrown into court where they would be tried unjustly.   The story of Roderigo Lopez sets the tone for The Merchant of Venice.   Lopez' incident occurred in 1594, The Merchant of Venice was written only two years later.   Anti-Semitism was prevalent during Shakespeares' time, and therefore we must understand that it was as easy for him to make a Jewish man the villain as it would be for us to make a Nazi the villain.      According to Sylvan Barnet "The Merchant of Venice [shows] the broad outline of a comedy (not merely a play with jests, but a play that ends happily). . . the villain in the comedy must be entirely villainous, or, rather, comically villainous; he cannot for a moment gain the audience's sympathy" (1). Shylock has often been portrayed as the villain in The Merchant of Venice.   From being more concerned with his ducats rather than his daughter, to demanding his pound of flesh, Shylock fits perfectly into the mold of the villain.   However, with   reference to Barnet's comment "he cannot for a moment gain the audience's sympathy" (1), Shylock oversteps the boundaries of his villainous character. The audience cannot and would not have rooted for Shylock during Shakespeare's lifetime, yet, now we do.   Shylock is merely a victim of anti-Semitism.

Shakespeares The Comedy Of Errors :: essays research papers

Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors The Comedy of Errors was Shakespeare's first comedy. It is a light yet dramatic play about a family of twins, their parents, and their twin servants, who have been separated for over twenty years due to a tragic accident at sea. The story, following the usual format of Shakespeare's work occurs and is concluded all in one day. The twins run into each other the whole day through and are mistaken for each other more than once. This confusion makes the tragedy all the more hilarious. The action is ended in a dramatic and whirlwind ending. All matters are cleared up, although the sanity still remains on the brink of collapse. However, the tone of the play is overall cheerful and upbeat and the ending maintains the mood. I particularly enjoyed the confusion that identical twins caused even to their close family members. The fact that Shakespeare was able to make the dialogue fit in with the scenarios made the action even more comic. The idea of the plot, although not completely original is still unique and is still used in modern work, such as the TV sitcoms like "Sister, Sister." Something that surprised me in the play was Adriana's character. She was insecure and portrayed the typical damsel in distress. She was completely dependent on her husband and this fact alone made the play somewhat out of date. Shakespeare is said to be "not of an age, but for all times," but Adriana's character, in my opinion, would not fit in to the modern world. I feel the most important part of the play is the message it conveys and should be used as a moral today. The whole play is based on family members who are trying to reunite. The play says that even though there are troubling issues in our lives, we must remember our

Negative Screen Time Effects

Statistics show that screen time negatively affects children’s learning abilities and development. â€Å"The effects of so much screen time can include speech delays, aggressive behavior and obesity. † (Lavey) Since parents play a role in how much television their kids can watch, they can minimize the chances of their brains not developing correctly.â€Å"The first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. TV and other electronic media can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development.† (Kids Health)Children do not understand the damage that can be caused by excessive screen time, which is why parents need to become more involved and teach them. By minimizing the amount of time that children spend using television and other screen times, they will increase their levels of brain activity and have improved neurological development. Scre en time, of all types, can affect children in many different ways; some of them are positive, but many of them are negative.Watching television and using other types of screen times too much can affect many aspects of children’s lives, including their health and school performance. In order to stay healthy, kids need to eat right, as well as get plenty of regular exercise. This is not hard for most children since they are generally very active. However, when they are sitting in front of the television all day, they are not staying active. This will eventually start to take a toll on their weight and general physical well-being.â€Å"The difficulty really comes in that once a child is obese they more than likely will remain obese into and through their adulthood. There is no easy fix. It takes time, hard work and a drive to change habits that have been established for a long time. † (Sigman) So the sooner you get your child to start following good and healthy habits the better; this includes watching television because one of children’s favorite things to do while watching television is eat. School performance also can be drastically affected if children are exposed to too much screen time.They will not make time to do their homework, which will ultimately have a negative impact on their grades. Younger people are affected much more easily by what they see or hear on television or the computer. These things will have a bigger impact and influence on them than they would on someone older who knows better and knows what is right and wrong. There are plenty of commercials and shows on television that can be a bad influence on kids. Everything from violence and crime to drugs and sexual content can be found on both the computer and television.Even though parents try their best to teach their children right from wrong, if they see these things enough on a regular basis, it will have some kind of negative effect on them. When children see these b ad things happening on television, and they see that nothing is being done to stop them, they automatically assume that it is all acceptable for them to do as well. This, again, can begin to affect other aspects of their lives negatively such as school and their behavior. Research shows that the majority of screen time has a negative effect on children of all ages.Children ranging from ages two to 11, on average, spend anywhere from 25 to 35 hours a week in front of the television, or other forms of screen time. At such young ages, children should not be spending that much of their time watching television.There are many other much more stimulating activities that they could be doing instead that could help them in their development into adults including playing outside, reading, or writing. Parents are a big cause of this because the majority of them do not care how much or how often their children watch television.Some even encourage it, and think that it is good for their childre n. â€Å"Studies show that screen time cuts into the adult-child interaction that is crucial to developing language skills. † (Lavey) So, if parents do not pay attention to the amount of screen time their children are exposed to when they are young, it can affect their ability to learn how to speak correctly. Many programs on television teach kids things that are unacceptable or that can affect them in negative ways. Commercials and other ads, as well as many shows.Demonstrate unethical and unhealthy ways to live life, and children, at such young ages, can easily pick up on those things and make them habits of their own. Everything from stereotypes to violence, unhealthy eating habits to drugs, alcohol and sex is shown on television on a variety of channels.â€Å"Children who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching television are more likely to be overweight. Kids who view violent acts are more likely to show aggressive behavior but also fear that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them.Television characters often depict risky behaviors, such as smoking and drinking, and also reinforce gender-role and racial stereotypes. † (Kids Health) There are over two thousand ads on television each year for alcohol. If children are exposed to these things, especially at such young ages, they will definitely be impacted by them.They will begin to think that things they see on television are acceptable, and will eventually start to copy what they see. Children are known for wanting to copy anything they hear or see when they are young, so parents should be sure that they surround their child only with positive influences.Although there are a number of negative effects of television and other screen times, they are not necessarily all bad. Certain things can be reversed so that there are more positive effects resulting from all the screen time. Parents can play a role in their children’s exposure to television and othe r screen times. If they monitor them, and teach their children what and what not to believe from what they see on television, they may have the power to reverse it into something good.When used in moderation, screen times can actually benefit children, usually those who are over the age of two. Watching television with your children, and teaching and educating them about what they are watching will help because then they will not be affected as easily.They will come to understand, with help from their parents, that just because they see something on television does not mean it is right or tolerable to do themselves. Studies have shown that television and other screen time can be educational for children to a certain extent.â€Å"Good educational programs can provide lasting benefits to children at many ages, but it may be especially important to provide such fare for very young children because they are less likely than older children to be exposed to formal preschool instruction, and because stable habits of viewing may be formed in the first few years of life.† (Huston, Science Daily)There can be just as many good things to be found on television and the computer as there are bad. Since we know how entertaining television is for children, we can definitely use it to our  advantage, by only allowing them to watch education programs and keeping them away from all of the negative things.This gives parents a way to keep their children happy and entertained, but also at the same time help to expand their knowledge and keep them away from all of the negative things that they may see or hear on television. The most important thing to understand and keep in mind is that children have not finished fully growing until they are well into their teenage years, when they are young their brains are still developing, so they will retain negative information easier and pick up on bad habits more quickly.Children will benefit more from decreased use of screen times, which will also help improve their attention span and overall academic performances. Watching television and using other screen times in moderation is acceptable and can also be beneficial; it is only when they are abused and over-used that they become a problem. With the known negative facts about children overusing television and other screen times, monitoring the amount of time they spend using them will increase chances of improved brain activity and development into adulthood.

Perception About Fairness Creams Essay

Research Problem: There has been an increase in the advertisement for Fairness cream for men. Several new brands have cropped up following the lead of Fair and Handsome from Emami, the House of Fair and Lovely, the most popular fairness. We now have Vaseline and Nivea running the race to capture the market of men who wish to have fairer skin. We wished to analyse how the youngsters of today perceive this cream for fairer men, which breaks the conventional image of â€Å"Tall, Dark and handsome†. Hence, the question, â€Å"What do the Indian youth think about the Fairness Cream for men?† Objective: To understand the perception of the youth towards Fairness Cream for men. Research Methodology: As the first step towards finding the answer to this question, a qualitative research was needed. The projective technique of Association was used. Association tasks, the most commonly employed projective technique, require subjects to respond to the presentation of an object by indicating the first word, image, or thought elicited by the stimulus. The respondents were provided with two stimuli. First, Fair and Lovely to gauge their idea about fairness cream in general and fairness for women. Next stimulus was Fair and Handsome, the fairness cream for men from the same house. This was done to understand what they felt about fairness for men. Apart from the projective technique, the next method of data collection was obtrusive observation. The respondents were observed to understand and cross check the response of the respondents. Some of the respondents were further probed to understand the reason for their response. Observations: After collecting the data from a sample size of around 50, which were a good mix of both men and women, ranging from the age of 20 – 28 years, following observations have surfaced: 1. Majority of the people associate fairness cream with the brand ambassador, who generally represent beauty and grandeur. 2. While the most obvious and common association for Fair and Lovely cream was fairness or beauty, the response for Fair and Handsome was mixed. While some people associated it with handsome men, many people responded â€Å"Gay†. They believe fairness is associated with women and not something men desire. 3. The third type of response was of those people who believe fairness for men or women is more of stereotyping and not good for the society in general. These people were further probed to inquire  about the reason for the same. The response was, â€Å"India was ruled by the Whites for a long time. Somehow, Indians associate fair skin with superiority. This is also what the fairness cream advertisement also imply. A girl with fairer skin fares better in all aspects, be it personal or professional life. Similar is the scenario for men with fair skin.† 4. The last perception about fairness cream for both men and women was that they do not work and are just a gimmick to which people fall prey to.

Recruitment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Recruitment - Essay Example The labor market conditions determine a number a factors that will affect our recruitment plan. The demand and supply of labor will determine the market mechanism. The equilibrium of the demand and supply of labor will determine the wages or salaries. Besides this, other factors that could affect our recruitment plan include government regulations in the market. These regulations could be a minimum wage set by the government or could also be other regulations regarding the number of employees that can be employed etc. According to research carried out by the Human resource department of Eatwell, the skilled labor present in the region we plan on opening our next branch does not belong to any sort of trade unions. This is an advantage for us because no trade union means that the labor will not be strong enough to influence our decisions. However, a throughout England, there is a minimum wage law set by the government and we will have to consider this before deciding on wages for our u nskilled labor. Secondly, since there are not many superstores in the area where the new branch is being opened, we have many opportunities that we can make use of. The labor over there does not have much choice, giving us an advantage of excess labor supply. This will allow us to choose the best possible employees for Eatwell from a wide range of labor supply. In order to calculate the number of vacant jobs in our new superstore, we will need to consider a number of aspects. First of all, we will consider the number of employees in the other branches and compare it with the branch's size. This will give us an estimate of the amount of vacancies available for our new branch. Then we will consult various departments and ask them their requirements of employees. These requirements will also be considered and formal job descriptions will be developed for each job identified. These job descriptions will be useful later on in the recruitment process when the jobs will be advertised. Another aspect that needs to be considered is hiring the number of recruits which will most profitable for the firm. Too many employees hired could result in diseconomies of scales while fewer employees than required mean lower output. This is how the exact number of available jobs will be identified and employees will be recruited accordingly. In order to be efficient, a firm needs to be flexible. Atkinson gave a flexible firm model in 1984 according to which flexibility in an organization depends on workers of two kinds, the core workforce and peripheral workforce. The core workforce consists of those employees that are regular and permanent. The organization has a standard contract with them. On the other hand, the peripheral workforce consists of those workers which are semi-permanent. They are hired when they are required and fired when the work is done. They are also called just-in-time workforce and disposable workforce. The peripheral workforce is actually what makes a firm flexible. The firm can hire a worker whenever the need arises and dismiss him as soon as there is no more need. This model will give Eatwell a competitive advantage over rest of the supermarkets in the market. This practice allows a firm's average cost to decrease and the efficiency to increase. This model can be applied to our recruitment plan a s well. All the low paid and low skills jobs will be included in the peripheral wo

PEST Analysis of Nike Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

PEST Analysis of Nike - Term Paper Example Political Analysis The US government has sought to create economical policies that are essential to foster the growth and development of business that either are situated or have their headquarters in the United States. Nike is a major beneficiary of these policies that have been implemented by the US government. In order to support the Nike brand, the US government has established fundamental measures that include low interest rates, an international competitive aspect of the tax system, stable economic environment, and vital economical resources for the benefit of the company. This has demonstrated to be a factor in the development of Nike. 1(Thottam, "A New Push against Sweatshops") The nature of the political situation in various countries is a vital factor that has played a part in the growth of Nike into a multinational company. The organization has expanded to China, which boasts of a highly stable government and political environment. It has proven to be a vital factor that h as motivated the US Company to establish a plant in the country to reach a larger audience, especially in the eastern region of the world. Political stability in a country is critical in terms of establishing a solid platform for business growth in a region. A lack of political stability will generate uncertainty regarding a business’ future and hence a company will not seek to develop in a country posing political uncertainty. Economic Analysis The biggest problem that serves to affect the level of a company’s business is recession. When the latter occurred, Nike was adversely affected thus reducing its growth. With the US economy facing a down turn, it has resulted to reduction in consumer purchases. Consequently, this has affected the sales volume for the company. Nevertheless, Nike being a multinational company is able to rely on sales from other regions, particularly Africa, which was not as much affected by the recession 2(Stepp, "Nike is Right"). The main proble m with the case of the recession is that it affected other regions such as Asia and Europe. Nike has a high volume of sales in Asia and Europe, in comparison to Africa. The fact that Asia has a high population density and Europe has popular sports brands, the sales level was adversely affected. Nike was among the companies that suffered from this recession. The recession limited the growth of the company, and may have resulted in the company having to close a number of stores in various regions to avoid continuous loses. Aspects such as labor costs and materials for production were increasing, which meant that Nike was constantly in the red (recording losses). If the situation continues with the weakening of the Euro and the Asian currencies, Nike may be in a recession as well based on shrinking growth, and Africa may not be the ideal solution in maintaining company sales (until Africa is eventually affected by the Recession). Society Analysis The general trend in society is the con cern on health. The major stereotype in the United States is the fact that there are an increasing number of obese individuals. This has led to the increase in individuals joining fitness clubs. Nike can seek to capitalize on this factor by selling merchandise that is essential to those seeking to join fitness clubs. Shoes, overalls and accessories such as water bottles

A Task on Geotechnics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

A Task on Geotechnics - Coursework Example Since in our case and , point L has such Figure 1. coordinates . At the same time, x coordinate of point M equals , while its z coordinate equals . Since in our case , , , and , point M has such coordinates . Points L and M are shown on Figure 1. We look for equation of the dam slope adjacent to the water reservoir in the form where and are constants. Since points L and M lie on this line, and can be found from the solution of the following system of equations (1) Solving the first equation of this system for we obtain the following . (2) Substituting the right hand side of equation (2) for in the second equation of system (1) we obtain the following . Therefore, . From equation (2) it follows that . Hence, the equation of the slope adjacent to the water reservoir has the following form:. The water level is equal to . Since and , the z coordinate of point A equals 43. Moreover, point A lies on line LM. Therefore, its x coordinate satisfies the following equation . Solving it for x we obtain that point A has such coordinates . In its turn, the difference between x coordinates of points L and A is the following:. Point F on the water surface at distance from point A has the following coordinates –. The difference between x coordinates of points F and O is the following: . ... Table 1. 0.2*H 0.4*H 0.6*H 0.8*H H x= -0,539 11,579 31,774 60,048 96,400 z= 8,600 17,200 25,800 34,400 43,000 Problem # 2 In the second problem we are supposed to correct the shape of the phreatic line in the vicinity of point A. Therefore, we draw a curve that intersects line LM at right angle and â€Å"meets the base parabola smoothly and tangentially at a convenient point say,† N (Vijayendra, 2010, p. 15). The final shape of the free surface is shown on Figure 2. Figure 2 Problem # 3 Curve KNA shown on Figure 3 is a free water surface. Hence, the pore water pressure along this line is constant and equal to the atmospheric pressure (Vijayendra, 2010, p. 11). We assume that the pore water is incompressible. The hydraulic head is given by such the expression where here and below is the water density, is the acceleration of free fall, is pressure of the pore water (Wikipedia, n. d.). Therefore, the head loss between any two points belonging to this curve is proportional to the difference in their vertical coordinates. Since curve KNA is a phreatic line, it is a flow line (Vijayendra, 2010, p. 11). Segment LO shown on Figure 3 is the interface between the soil and the impermeable boundary. Therefore, it is a flow line (Vijayendra, 2010, p. 4). We draw the equipotential lines that start at points , , , and N making smooth transitions between their â€Å"straight and curved sections† (Vijayendra, 2010, p. 5). These lines are perpendicular to flow lines LO and KNA, as it is shown on Figure 3. Segment LA shown on Figure 3 is the â€Å"soil and permeable boundary† interface. Therefore, it is an equipotential line (Vijayendra, 2010, p. 4). The toe drain is a pipe