The Troubled Relationship Between Gertrude and Hamlet

The Troubled Relationship Between Gertrude and Hamlet In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Claudius murders his brother, the King of Denmark, and subsequently usurps the Danish throne. Shattering the purity of the royal family, he allures Queen Gertrude into an incestuous wedding so hastily that â€Å"The funeral baked meats / Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables† (I.ii.180-1). Lost in this sullied household is Prince Hamlet, shrouded in the black of mourning, who condemns his mother’s quick, lustful willingness to marry his uncle. Hamlet’s abject tears melt into vengeance, however, when the ghost of his father orders him to â€Å"Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder† (I.v.25). He complicates his command to the Prince by admonishing him to†¦show more content†¦Bradley’s point, however, that â€Å"[Gertrude] loved to be happy, like a sheep in the sun† ignores her active involvement in the court espionage and her struggle with guilt near the end of the play. On the other hand, some examine her through the words of her fellow characters. Marvin Rosenberg, compared with Bradley’s critique, presents a largely different view of the queen: But many who listen to what Claudius, old Hamlet, and his son say of Gertrude discern quite another queen – a woman of some power, described by such adjectives: cunning, deceptive, sensual, erotic, loving, shrewd, urbane, hard, conscienceless, lustful, sexy, the epitome of falseness, corrupted (71). Within this spectrum of analyses, Gertrude remains a complicated, enigmatic character; yet, at her core, she is the focus of love for three formidable men: old Hamlet, his son, and Claudius. Using the queen’s dialogue to decipher her complex connection and interactions with Hamlet, however, is challenging because she tends to eschew revealing oratory in favor of terse statements. Una Ellis-Fermor correctly argues: â€Å"In Gertrude’s speech there are remarkably few images, and those generally colorless and drawn almost entirely from commonplace themes† (89). For example, in II.ii she interrupts Polonius’s exaggerated discourse, saturated with rhetorical flourishes such as antanaclasis and antistrophe (â€Å"... cause of this effect - /Show MoreRelatedClaudius Character Analysis858 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, one of the most popular plays ever written. Claudius causes a war between passion and responsibility when he murders the father of Hamlet, the main character, and then marries Hamlets mother Gertrude. Claudius killed Hamlets father and then married Gertrude only so he could take the crown and become King. Clau dius put passion in front of his responsibilities as Hamlets uncle and as a result of Claudius’ actions, Hamlet is forced to find revenge on him for theRead More Strange Behavior and Ghosts in Hamlet by William Shakespeare1519 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout the play ‘Hamlet‘, we see that the protagonist seems troubled and quite isolated. The Shakespearean play is believed to have been first performed between 1600 and 1601 but not published until 1603. Hamlet is the young prince of Denmark, his mother Gertrude married her brother-in-law shortly after her husband (Hamlet’s father) died. In the Elizabethan era many people believed in supernatural forces and this is displayed within the play when Hamlet’s father returns as a ghost. Many peopleRead MoreFemale Empowerment By William Shakespeare s Hamlet Essay1202 Words   |  5 PagesElizabethan Era, during which William Shakespeare s Hamlet was written, the societal role of women was divergent to our c urrent beliefs. The play follows young prince Hamlet s revengeful journey to avenge his father s murder by his uncle Claudius; throughout which, we see the protagonist constantly delaying his revenge due to excessive contemplation and perpetual doubt. The two major female roles in the play are Hamlet s mother, Queen Gertrude, and his lover, Ophelia. Throughout the play, theseRead MoreHamlet Is The Longest Of Shakespeare s Plays Written During The Elizabethan Era1193 Words   |  5 PagesHamlet is the longest of Shakespeare’s plays written during the Elizabethan era in which the title character seeks revenge on his fathers’ death by Claudius. Consisting of 5 Acts, the first act contains 5 scenes. The first scene of Act 1 (the opening scene) illustrates an atmosphere full of fear and ghosts. Bernardo and Francisco both appear to be on edge. When Bernardo asks, â€Å" Who’s there?† Francisco responds, â€Å"Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself.† The scene is immediately set and widespreadRead MoreUnderstanding the Mind of Hamlet with His Soliloquies Essay678 Words   |  3 PagesUnderstanding the Mind of Hamlet with His Soliloquies The term soliloquy is a literary or dramatic form of discourse, within which a character talks to himself and reveals his inner thoughts without addressing a listener. Hamlet uses soliloquies to express his feelings towards his dead father and self loathing to the reader of the play but to none of the characters within it. Hamlet has a complex character and it is important for the audience to be able to understandRead MoreHamlet Film Adaption Vs. Play Comparison1216 Words   |  5 PagesHamlet Film Adaption vs. Play Comparison Shakespeare’s Hamlet has countlessly been formatted into film depictions of the play. Each film seemed to be on one end of the spectrum of either being closely interpreted or completely remodeled a different idea of what Hamlet is. The film version of Hamlet released in 2000 seems to follow closely to the play in some aspects, yet at the same time having its own unique identity Despite there being many differences with the play Hamlet and the film adaptationRead MoreHamlet, By William Shakespeare1413 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s play Hamlet focuses on Hamlet, a 30-year old man who tries to seek revenge for his father. Reading the play and looking at it through a contemporary lenses, one can assume the title character is homosexual. Even though Shakespeare does not mean for hamlet to be a homosexual, a contemporary reader can assume this argument; through Hamlet’s characterization and misogynistic relations. Hamlet social aspects has an apparent fluctuation, ever since he encountered his father’s ghostRead MoreHamlet Feature Article1087 Words   |  5 PagesWrite a review of Hamlet based on a viewing, whereby you ponder the question of the texts enduring relevance. A news feature based on the play where having seen the play, you analyse why the play remains relevant to modern audiences. In itself becomes a text of textual integrity. How do people value it? Discuss some aspects that you would argue to allow the text to view it as something engaging and valuable. Hamlet Through Time Hamlet. Not just your typical revenge tragedy, but something deeperRead MoreGertrude s Tragic End Of Shakespeare s Hamlet1907 Words   |  8 Pageseven of the purpose of the play itself. The character of Gertrude is no exception. Gertrude’s character and motives, being left ambiguous, have been interpreted in many different ways in various productions of Hamlet. Was she implicit in the death of King Hamlet, or was she merely a clueless bystander? Did she drink the poison as an act of motherly self-sacrifice, or was it an accidental tragedy? 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The Vampire Diaries Dark Reunion Chapter Ten Free Essays

Meredith sat down on the knee-high wall of the ruined church. â€Å"You said it was going to be dangerous, Stefan, but you didn’t say you were going to let him strangle me.† â€Å"I’m sorry. We will write a custom essay sample on The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Ten or any similar topic only for you Order Now I was hoping he’d give some more information, especially after he admitted to being there when Sue died. But I shouldn’t have waited.† â€Å"I haven’t admitted anything! You can’t prove anything,† Tyler said. The animal whine was back in his voice, but on the walk up his face and body had returned to normal. Or rather, they’d returned to human, Meredith thought. The swelling and bruises and dried blood weren’t normal. â€Å"This isn’t a court of law, Tyler,† she said. â€Å"Your father can’t help you now.† â€Å"But if it were, we’d have a pretty good case,† Stefan added. â€Å"Enough to put you away on conspiracy to commit murder, I think.† â€Å"That’s if somebody doesn’t melt down their grandma’s teaspoons to make a silver bullet,† Matt put in. Tyler looked from one to another of them. â€Å"I won’t tell you anything.† â€Å"Tyler, you know what you are? You’re a bully,† Bonnie said. â€Å"And bullies always talk.† â€Å"You don’t mind pinning a girl down and threatening her,† said Matt, â€Å"but when her friends turn up, you’re scared spitless.† Tyler just glared at all of them. â€Å"Well, if you don’t want to talk, I guess I’ll have to,† Stefan said. He leaned down and picked up the thick book he’d gotten from the library. One foot on the lip of the tomb, he rested the book on his knee and opened it. In that moment, Meredith thought, he looked frighteningly like Damon. â€Å"This is a book by Gervase of Tilbury, Tyler,† he said. â€Å"It was written around the year 1210 a.d. One of the things it talks about is werewolves.† â€Å"You can’t prove anything! You don’t have any evidence-â€Å" â€Å"Shut up, Tyler!† Stefan looked at him. â€Å"I don’t need to prove it. I can see it, even now. Have you forgotten what I am?† There was a silence, and then Stefan went on. â€Å"When I got here a few days ago, there was a mystery. A girl was dead. But who killed her? And why? All the clues I could see seemed contradictory. â€Å"It wasn’t an ordinary killing, not some human psycho off the street. I had the word of somebody I trusted on that-and independent evidence, too. An ordinary killer can’t work a Ouija board by telekinesis. An ordinary killer can’t cause fuses to blow in a power plant hundreds of miles away. â€Å"No, this was somebody with tremendous physical and psychic power. From everything Vickie told me, it sounded like a vampire. â€Å"And there was another thing. You were in that house, Tyler. You made the mistake of grabbing Bonnie that night, and then you made the mistake of shooting off your mouth the next day, saying things you couldn’t have known unless you were there. â€Å"So what did we have? A seasoned vampire, a vicious killer with Power to spare? Or a high school bully who couldn’t organize a trip to the toilet without falling over his own feet? Which? The evidence pointed both ways, and I couldn’t make up my mind. â€Å"Then I went to see Sue’s body myself. And there it was, the biggest mystery of all. A cut here.† Stefan’s finger sketched a sharp line down from his collarbone. â€Å"Typical, traditional cut-made by vampires to share their own blood. But Sue wasn’t a vampire, and she didn’t make that cut herself. Someone made it for her as she lay there dying on the ground.† Meredith shut her eyes, and she heard Bonnie swallow hard beside her. She put out a hand and found Bonnie’s and held tight, but she went on listening. Stefan had not gone into this kind of detail in his explanation to them before. â€Å"Vampires don’t need to cut their victims like that; they use their teeth,† Stefan said. His upper lip lifted slightly to show his own teeth. â€Å"But if a vampire wanted to draw blood for somebody else to drink, he might cut instead of biting. If a vampire wanted to give someone else the first and only taste, he might do that. â€Å"And that started me thinking about blood. Blood is important, you see. For vampires, it gives life, Power. It’s all we need for survival, and there are times when needing it drives us crazy. But it’s good for other things, too. For instance†¦ initiation. â€Å"Initiation and Power. Now I was thinking about those two things, putting them together with what I’d seen of you, Tyler, when I was in Fell’s Church before. Little things I hadn’t really focused on. But I remembered something Elena had told me about your family history, and I decided to check it out in Honoria Fell’s journal.† Stefan lifted a piece of paper from between the pages of the book he held. â€Å"And there it was, in Honoria’s handwriting. I Xeroxed the page so I could read it to you. The Smallwoods’ little family secret-if you can read between the lines.† Looking down at the paper, he read: â€Å"November 12. Candles made, flax spun. We are short on cornmeal and salt, but we will get through the winter. Last night an alarm; wolves attacked Jacob Smallwood as he returned from the forest. I treated the wound with whortleberry and sallow bark, but it is deep and I am afraid. After coming home I cast the runes. I have told no one but Thomas the results. â€Å"December 20. Wolf trouble at the Smallwoods’ again. We heard the screams a few minutes ago, and Thomas said it was time. He made the bullets yesterday. He has loaded his rifle and we will walk over. If we are spared, I will write again. â€Å"December 21. Went over to Smallwoods’ last night. Jacob sorely afflicted. Wolf killed. â€Å"We will bury Jacob in the little graveyard at the foot of the hill. May his soul find peace in death. â€Å"In the official history of Fell’s Church,† Stefan said, â€Å"that’s been interpreted to mean that Thomas Fell and his wife went over to the Smallwoods’ to find Jacob Smallwood being attacked by a wolf again, and that the wolf killed him. But that’s wrong. What it really says is not that the wolf killed Jacob Smallwood but that Jacob Smallwood, the wolf, was killed.† Stefan shut the book. â€Å"He was a werewolf, your great-great-great-whatever grandfather, Tyler. He got that way by being attacked by a werewolf himself. And he passed his werewolf virus on to the son who was born eight and a half months after he died. Just the way your father passed it on to you.† â€Å"I always knew there was something about you, Tyler,† Bonnie said, and Meredith opened her eyes. â€Å"I never could tell what it was, but at the back of my mind something was telling me you were creepy.† â€Å"We used to make jokes about it,† Meredith said, her voice still husky. â€Å"About your ‘animal magnetism and your big white teeth. We just never knew how close to the mark we were.† â€Å"Sometimes psychics can sense that kind of thing,† Stefan conceded. â€Å"Sometimes even ordinary people can. I should have seen it, but I was preoccupied. Still, that’s no excuse. And obviously somebody else-the psychic killer-saw it right away. Didn’t he, Tyler? A man wearing an old raincoat came to you. He was tall, with blond hair and blue eyes, and he made some kind of a deal with you. In exchange for-something-he’d show you how to reclaim your heritage. How to become a real werewolf. â€Å"Because according to Gervase of Tilbury†-Stefan tapped the book on his knee -â€Å"a werewolf who hasn’t been bitten himself needs to be initiated. That means you can have the werewolf virus all your life but never even know it because it’s never activated. Generations of Smallwoods have lived and died, but the virus was dormant in them because they didn’t know the secret of waking it up. But the man in the raincoat knew. He knew that you have to kill and taste fresh blood. After that, at the first full moon you can change.† Stefan glanced up, and Meredith followed his gaze to the white disk of the moon in the sky. It looked clean and two dimensional now, no longer a sullen red globe. â€Å"Very clever,† said Meredith, and Matt said, â€Å"No kidding.† Bonnie wet her finger and marked an imaginary 1 on an invisible Scoreboard. â€Å"I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist following one of the girls here if you thought she’d be alone,† said Stefan. â€Å"You’d think that the graveyard was the perfect place to kill; you’d have complete privacy. And I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist bragging about what you’d done. I was hoping you’d tell Meredith more about the other killer, the one who actually threw Sue out the window, the one who cut her so you could drink fresh blood. The vampire, Tyler. Who is he? Where is he hiding?† Tyler’s look of venomous hatred changed to a sneer. â€Å"You think I’d tell you that? He’s my friend.† â€Å"He is not your friend, Tyler. He’s using you. And he’s a murderer.† â€Å"Don’t get in any deeper, Tyler,† Matt added. â€Å"You’re already an accessory. Tonight you tried to kill Meredith. Pretty soon you’re not going to be able to go back even if you want to. Be smart and stop this now. Tell us what you know.† Tyler bared his teeth. â€Å"I’m not telling you anything. How’re you going to make me?† The others exchanged glances. The atmosphere changed, became charged with tension as they all turned back to Tyler. â€Å"You really don’t understand, do you?† Meredith said quietly. â€Å"Tyler, you helped kill Sue. She died for an obscene ritual so that you could change into that thing I saw. You were planning to kill me, and Vickie and Bonnie too, I’m sure. Do you think we have any pity for you? Do you think we brought you up here to be nice to you?† There was a silence. The sneer was fading from Tyler’s lips. He looked from one face to another. They were all implacable. Even Bonnie’s small face was unforgiving. â€Å"Gervase of Tilbury mentions one interesting thing,† Stefan said, almost pleasantly. â€Å"There’s a cure for werewolves besides the traditional silver bullet. Listen.† By moonlight, he read from the book on his knee. â€Å"It is commonly reported and held by grave and worthy doctors that if a werewolf be shorn of one of his members, he shall surely recover his original body. Gervase goes on to tell the story of Raimbaud of Auvergne, a werewolf who was cured when a carpenter cut off one of his hind paws. Of course, that was probably hideously painful, but the story goes that Raimbaud thanked the carpenter ‘for ridding him forever of the accursed and damnable form.’ † Stefan raised his head. â€Å"Now, I’m thinking that if Tyler won’t help us with information, the least we can do is make sure he doesn’t go out and kill again. What do the rest of you say?† â€Å"All we have to do is relieve him of one of his members,† Bonnie agreed. â€Å"I can think of one right off,† Meredith said under her breath. Tyler’s eyes were starting to bulge. Under the dirt and blood his normally ruddy face had gone pale. â€Å"You’re bluffing!† â€Å"Get the ax, Matt,† said Stefan. â€Å"Meredith, you take off one of his shoes.† Tyler kicked when she did, aiming for her face. Matt came and got his head in a hammer-lock. â€Å"Don’t make it any worse on yourself, Tyler.† The bare foot Meredith exposed was big, the sole as sweaty as Tyler’s palms. Coarse hair sprouted from the toes. It made Meredith’s skin crawl. â€Å"Let’s get this over with,† she said. â€Å"You’re joking!† Tyler howled, thrashing so that Bonnie had to come and grab his other leg and kneel on it. â€Å"You can’t do this! You can’t!† â€Å"Keep him still,† Stefan said. Working together, they stretched Tyler out, his head locked in Matt’s arm, his legs spread and pinned by the girls. Making sure Tyler could see what he was doing, Stefan balanced a branch perhaps two inches thick on the lip of the tomb. He raised the ax and then brought it down hard, severing the stick with one blow. â€Å"It’s sharp enough,† he said. â€Å"Meredith, roll his pants leg up. Then tie some of that cord just above his ankle as tight as you can for a tourniquet. Otherwise he’ll bleed out.† â€Å"You can’t do this!† Tyler was screaming. â€Å"You can’t dooooooo this!† â€Å"Scream all you want, Tyler. Up here, nobody’s going to hear you, right?† Stefan said. â€Å"You’re no better than I am!† Tyler yelled in a spray of spittle. â€Å"You’re a killer too!† â€Å"I know exactly what I am,† Stefan said. â€Å"Believe me, Tyler. I know. Is everybody ready? Good. Hold on to him; he’s going to jump when I do it.† Tyler’s screams weren’t even words anymore. Matt was holding him so that he could see Stefan kneel and take aim, hefting the ax blade above Tyler’s ankle to gauge force and distance. â€Å"Now,† said Stefan, raising the ax high. â€Å"No! No! I’ll talk to you! I’ll talk!† shrieked Tyler. Stefan glanced at him. â€Å"Too late,† he said, and brought the ax down. It rebounded off the stone floor with a clang and a spark, but the noise was drowned by Tyler’s screaming. It seemed to take Tyler several minutes to realize that the blade hadn’t touched his foot. He paused for breath only when he choked, and turned wild, bulging eyes on Stefan. Little whimpers were coming from Tyler’s throat and there was foam on his lips. â€Å"I don’t know his name,† he gasped out. â€Å"But he looks like you said. And you’re right; he’s a vampire, man! I saw him drain a ten-point buck while it was still kicking. He lied to me,† Tyler added, the whine creeping back into his voice. â€Å"He told me I’d be stronger than anybody, as strong as him. He said I could have any girl I wanted, any way I wanted. The creep lied.† â€Å"He told you that you could kill and get away with it,† Stefan said. â€Å"He said I could do Caroline that night. She had it coming after the way she ditched me. I wanted to make her beg-but she got out of the house somehow. I could have Caroline and Vickie, he said. All he wanted was Bonnie and Meredith.† â€Å"But you just tried to kill Meredith.† â€Å"That was now. Things are different now, stupid. He said it was all right.† â€Å"Why?† Meredith asked Stefan in an undertone. â€Å"Maybe because you’d served your purpose,† he said. â€Å"You’d brought me here.† Then he went on, â€Å"All right, Tyler, show us you’re cooperating. Tell us how we can get this guy.† â€Å"Get him? You’re nuts!† Tyler burst into ugly laughter, and Matt tightened the arm around his throat. â€Å"Hey, choke me all you want; it’s still the truth. He told me he’s one of the Old Ones, one of the Originals, whatever that means. He said he’s been making vampires since before the pyramids. He said he’s made a bargain with the devil. You could stick a stake in his heart and it wouldn’t do anything. You can’t kill him.† The laughter became uncontrolled. â€Å"Where’s he hiding, Tyler?† Stefan rapped out. â€Å"Every vampire needs a place to sleep. Where is it?† â€Å"He’d kill me if I told you that. He’d eat me, man. God, if I told you what he did to that buck before it died†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Tyler’s laughter was turning into something like sobs. â€Å"Then you’d better help us destroy him before he can find you, hadn’t you? What’s his weak point? How’s he vulnerable?† â€Å"God, that poor buck†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Tyler was blubbering. â€Å"What about Sue? Did you cry over her?† Stefan said sharply. He picked up the ax. â€Å"I think,† he said, â€Å"that you’re wasting our time.† The ax lifted. â€Å"No! No! I’ll talk to you; I’ll tell you something. Look, there’s one kind of wood that can hurt him-not kill him, but hurt him. He admitted that but didn’t tell me what it was! I swear to you that’s the truth!† â€Å"Not good enough, Tyler,† said Stefan. â€Å"For God’s sake-I’ll tell you where he’s going tonight. If you get over there fast enough, maybe you can stop him.† â€Å"What do you mean, where he’s going tonight? Talk fast, Tyler!† â€Å"He’s going to Vickie’s, okay? He said tonight we get one each. That’s helpful, isn’t it? If you hurry, maybe you can get there!† Stefan had frozen, and Meredith felt her heart racing. Vickie. They hadn’t even thought about an attack on Vickie. â€Å"Damon’s guarding her,† Matt said. â€Å"Right, Stefan? Right?† â€Å"He’s supposed to be,† Stefan said. â€Å"I left him there at dusk. If something happened, he should have called me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You guys,† Bonnie whispered. Her eyes were big and her lips were trembling. â€Å"I think we’d better get over there now.† They stared at her a moment and then everyone was moving. The ax clanged on the floor as Stefan dropped it. â€Å"Hey, you can’t leave me like this! I can’t drive! He’s gonna come back for me! Come back and untie my hands!† Tyler shrieked. None of them answered. They ran all the way down the hill and piled into Meredith’s car. Meredith took off speeding, rounding corners dangerously fast and gliding through stop signs, but there was a part of her that didn’t want to get to Vickie’s house. That wanted to turn around and drive the other way. I’m calm; I’m the one who’s always calm, she thought. But that was on the outside. Meredith knew very well how calm you could look on the outside when inside everything was breaking up. They rounded the last corner onto Birch Street and Meredith hit the brakes. â€Å"Oh, God!† Bonnie cried from the backseat. â€Å"No! No!† â€Å"Quick,† Stefan said. â€Å"There may still be a chance.† He wrenched open the door and was out even before the car had stopped. But in back, Bonnie was sobbing. How to cite The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Ten, Essay examples

Business Law and Ethics

Question: Discuss about the Business Law and Ethics. Answer: In legal parlance the word negligence may be defined as a failure by the defendant to exercise, proper standard of care in a particular circumstances, which any prudent person would have exercised in such similar circumstances (Eades 2015). It is a lawful duty to exercise adequate care in the event when one can foresee that failing to exercise such care would likely cause damages or injury. To bring a legal action against the wrongdoer the aggrieved person must establish the following essentials of negligence: duty of care, breach of duty of care, causation and remoteness of the damage (Deakin, Johnston and Markesinis 2012). In the given case, Trevor has been negligent as it was his duty to ensure the safety of his tourists. He was supposed to take the tourists back within daylight but he got too involved in his work to bring back the tourists safely. He has committed a breach of his duty to take care. However, Anna was equally negligence in her actions. Despite being aware of the rules and regulations, she did not follow them. In such circumstances, Anna may bring legal action against Trevor for his act of negligence; Trevor may apply the principle of contributory negligence in his defense against such action. The essential elements of Torts of Negligence are enumerated as below: First Element: Duty of care Duty of care is the responsibility of one person towards another not to inflict injury to that person. In law of tort when one person acts recklessly or negligently which in turn causes injury to another person, the person causing such injury is liable to pay damages to the aggrieved person (Mendelson 2014). This essential element has been well established in the case of Donoghue v. Stevenson [1932] AC 562. The Civil Liability Act 2002 provides provisions in the section 5B and 5C of the Act. This landmark case has established the neighbor test. The principle that one should love its neighbor and that one must not hurt or injure its neighbor was put to question in this case. The court explained that a person owes a duty to exercise reasonable care to avert omissions or acts failing which, the person can reasonably anticipate that such act or omission would likely cause damage to his neighbor. Issue Did Trevor owe a duty of care towards Anna? Law It is a well established law that in order to succeed in a legal suit brought against the defendant for an act of negligence, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed to the plaintiff a duty of exercising standard of care to avoid any injury caused to the plaintiff due to the acts of the defendant. In Caparo Industries PIc V Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605 it was held that there must exist a relationship recognized by law as neighbor between the party owing duty of care and the party to whom the duty is owed. Application In the present scenario, Anna was one of the tourists who attended one of Trevors walks. Here, since Trevor was the tourist guide, it was his responsibility that he maintains all the safety regulations and make sure that the tourists follow the safety rules as well. The neighbor and the caparo test shall be applied to ensure that one must exercise care towards its neighbor. Conclusion It is established that there existed a relationship of neighbor between Trevor and Anna and he owed a duty to exercise standard of care to ensure the safety of Anna. Second Element: Breach of Duty of Care A person is said to have committed a breach of duty of care if that person fails to exercise the duty of care he owed to the aggrieved person. A person is personally held liable in case of breach if such breach causes injury to the aggrieved person. The court observed the objective test in Bolton v. Stone[1951] AC 850, [1951] 1 All ER 1078 to determine whether there was a breach of duty of care. The court explained that the defendant shall be held liable if he fails to exercise reasonable care which any reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances. If a prudent person fails to foresee detrimental consequences of his action, then the defendant shall not be considered negligent in taking safety measures (Giliker 2014). Issue Did Trevor commit a breach of his duty of care? Law If the defendant fails to exercise the standard of reasonable care towards the plaintiff which any prudent person would exercise in the same circumstances, the defendant is said to have committed a breach of his duty of care (Little et al. 2014). The defendant must take necessary precautions to avoid any detrimental consequences, he could foresee that is likely to cause damages or injury to the plaintiff (Guay III and Cummins 2013). Application Trevor himself asked all the tourists to put on sensible clothes and shoes for the walks and that he would conduct, the walk during daytime as there had been incidents of client injuries in the past during the nighttime walks. He failed to notice that Anna was wearing inappropriate clothing, shoes was carrying drinks. Moreover, he got involved with his work for too long and returned after sunset knowing it was not safe to walk in the midst of the forest in the dark. Trevor was could foresee the probability of risk that could result if the walk was conducted in the dark. He failed to exercise the standard of care he owed to Anna and the tourists. Any reasonable person would have exercised the standard of care in such a situation. Conclusion Trevor has committed the breach of his duty of care he owed to Anna. Third Element: Causation The plaintiff must establish the fact that the damages suffered by him were the consequence of the defendants actions. In Barnett V Chelsea Kensington Hospital [1969] 1 QB 428, the court introduced the but for test to determine if the damage caused was because of the defendants breach of duty of care. The test signifies that but for the action of the defendant, would the plaintiff suffered injuries? If the answer is yes, then the defendant is exempted , if no, then he is held liable. Issue Is Trevor liable for the personal injury caused to Anna? Law If the plaintiff proves that the damage suffered by him is a result of the defendants breach of his duty of care, then the court shall determine that if the defendant had not committed a breach, would the plaintiff still suffer such damages (Giliker 2014). If it is so, then the defendant is held liable for the damages caused to the plaintiff and if it is not so, then he shall be exempted from such liability (Goudkamp and Ihuoma 2016). Application In this case, had Trevor noticed that Anna was not wearing proper clothing and proper shoes; she would not have undergone the injury so caused. Conclusion Had Trevor been more cautious and returned during Anna would not have worn heels and sustained knee injury. Fourth Element: Remoteness of damages The plaintiff must establish that the damage caused to him by the defendant as a result of breach is not remote. The court applied the test in the Wagon Mound no 1 [1961] AC 388 that if the damage caused was foreseeable, then the defendant shall be liable for it. If the damage is not predictable then he shall be exempted from the liabilities. Issue Is the damage caused to Anna remote? Law If the damage caused is foreseeable then the defendant shall be held liable for the damage caused by his breach of duty of care. The damage caused must not be remote. It must be the immediate consequence of the defendants action (Iacobucci and Trebilcock 2016). Application Anna sustained knee injuries as she was wearing heels. If Trevor were more cautious, he would not have let her carry heels. Trevor knew wearing heels would result in injury in the forest. Conclusion The injury suffered by Anna was not remote and that Trevor was aware and could predict the risk wearing heels would amount to in the forest. Defenses The doctrine of Contributory Negligence acts as a defense to the defendant in the law of Negligence. This doctrine enables the defendant to defend himself on the ground that the plaintiff is equally responsible for the losses suffered and the injuries sustained by the plaintiff (VanDerhei 2014). The concept of this doctrine has been laid down under section 5R-5 T of the Civil liability Act. The plaintiff may be prevented from recovering damages from the defendant for the injuries sustained (Keating 2015). In the present scenario, Trevor has committed a breach of the duty of care towards Anna as he failed to notice that Anna was not wearing sensible clothing and shoes as was instructed to wear. Anna was also responsible for the injury sustained as she carried drinks. Although Trevor shall not be fully exempted but the amount of damages shall be relaxed to some extent as per the discretion of the court as stated in the case of Stapley v Gypsum Mines[1953] AC 663. Remedies Anna may be entitled to damages for the injuries sustained for the breach committed by Trevor under section 51 of the Civil Liability Act 2002. Although, Anna has committed contributory negligence by not wearing the instructed clothing and carrying drinks during the walk, Trevor shall not be fully exempted from the liabilities. References: Barnett V Chelsea Kensington Hospital [1969] 1 QB 428 Bolton v. Stone[1951] AC 850, [1951] 1 All ER 1078 Caparo Industries PIc V Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605 Deakin, S. F., Johnston, A., Markesinis, B. S. (2012).Markesinis and Deakin's tort law. Oxford University Press. Donoghue v. Stevenson [1932] AC 562 Eades, R. W. (2015).Torts Involving Personal Property(Vol. 1). Jury Instructions on Damages in Tort Actions. Giliker, P., 2014. Tort Law and the Legislature: Common Law, Statute and the Dynamics of Legal Change. Goudkamp, J., Ihuoma, M. (2016). A Tour of the Tort of Negligence. Guay III, G. E., Cummins, R. (2013).Tort Law for Paralegals. Pearson Higher Ed. Iacobucci, E. M., Trebilcock, M. J. (2016). An economic analysis of waiver of tort in negligence actions.University of Toronto Law Journal,66(2), 173-196. Little, J. W., Lidsky, L. B., O'Connell, S. C., Lande, R. H. (2014).Torts: Theory and Practice. LexisNexis. Stapley v Gypsum Mines[1953] AC 663. VanDerhei, J., 2014. Contributory'Negligence?'The Impact of Future Contributions to Defined Contribution Plans on Retirement Income Adequacy for Gen Xers.EBRI Notes,35(8). Wagon Mound no 1 [1961] AC 388

Political Parties and Unfair Elections free essay sample

This party system was the first ‘truly national system’, consisting of the Democrats (followers of Jackson) and Whigs (opponents of Jackson) fairly balanced in most regions (Wilson and DiIulio, Jr. 196). The Civil War split the political parties in several ways. There was a deep difference in opinion between the parties over the issue of slavery and sectionalism. Both parties tried to ‘straddle the issues’ to avoid dividing their followers and losing the election to their rival (Wilson and DiIulio, Jr. 196). But the old parties divided and new ones emerged. As a result of the Civil War the modern Republican Party began as a third party. The Republican Party’s strength lay in the North; Abraham Lincoln did not receive a single electoral vote from a Southern state in 1860. The Democrats in the North divided into War Democrats, who supported the war effort but claimed the Republicans were doing a poor job of leading the Union, and the Peace Democrats, or Copperheads, who opposed the war and were suspected of disloyalty to the Union. We will write a custom essay sample on Political Parties and Unfair Elections or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page To win the election of 1864, the Republicans reorganized themselves as the Union party to attract votes from the War Democrats and nominated War Democrat Andrew Johnson for vice president. When Lincoln was assassinated, Democrat Johnson became president. Following the Civil War, Republicans moved quickly to consolidate their control of the United States government. They quickly added a series of Western states to the Union, states that they expected would remain firm in their support for Republicans. The Republican Party’s pro-business positions played well in the industrial North and Midwest, while the Democrats held the solid South. The large number of immigrants who came to the United States, together with the growing industrial workforce, laid the basis for strong, largely Democratic political machines in New York, Chicago, and other large cities (CliffsNotes. com). So at this point there were basically two political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans. The Democrats dominated national politics for the next 20 years. Democratic dominance collapsed in the 1960s in response to the Vietnam War. There was unprecedented rioting against the principles of the war and Democrats blamed their party for the riots and the rise in unlawful behavior and protests. Due to that fact, support of the Democratic Party sharply declined. From the 1968 election of Richard Nixon to Bill Clintons 1992 victory, only one Democrat attained the White House: Jimmy Carter, whose term spanned 1976 to 1980. The Electoral College is a major factor in sustaining a majority two-party system, but does not necessarily keep elections fair. If the popular vote in a state is very close, the winner gets all of the states electoral votes. This makes it extremely difficult for a third party to win, i. e. the two-party system is reinforced. In many cases the Electoral College system has failed so far as keeping elections fair. Two instances in particular reveal the inadequacy of the Electoral College procedure. An example of a popular third party candidate that was denied any serious validation as a Presidential candidate would be Ross Perot in the 1992 election. Perot garnered almost 20 percent of the popular vote across the country but did not receive a single electoral vote due to the Electoral College rules. This discrepancy between electoral and popular votes has led to many wanting to put an end to the Electoral College system and replace it with popular voting. Another example of the failure of the Electoral College system was exemplified in the 2000 election, when Al Gore was not chosen to be president although he had the popular vote of the country. A systematic conspiracy to heavily manipulate the vote in the critical state of Florida to favor Bush in the 2000 Bush-Gore presidential election ultimately resulted in a Bush victory. The blatant manipulation methods used were enough to swing the election to Bush and away from Gore. The evident fraud in the voting process and the failure of the courts to intervene in a proper and non-partisan manner cost Gore the Presidency. When it became apparent on November 8, 2000 that neither Gore nor Bush had the majority of the electoral votes required to win the Presidency, the state of Florida became the focus of attention. Both candidates needed a majority in Florida to win the White House, but voting irregularities prevented the final tally from being reached for over five weeks. What voters didn’t realize was that the voting procedure wasn’t the only problem in Florida, but that the process to insure George W. Bush’s victory had been in place for over two years before the election. Florida Governor Jeb Bush, George W. Bushs brother, was elected in 1998. He immediately put a plan into action that would help his brother gain the Florida electoral votes in the 2000 election. Gov. Bush let special interest groups know that they expected political donations of $2 for every $1 donated to Democrats or defaulters would lose access to the governor and the legislative leadership, and their businesses would tank. The Governor also began replacing   Ã‚   Democrats throughout Florida state government, his first purge of Democratic voters. Governor Jeb Bush’s next step to eliminate Democratic power in Florida was to appoint staunch Republicans to control Floridas educational system, including state senator Jim Horne as Florida’s first Secretary of Education and most of the individual university presidents. He accomplished this feat by eliminating the Florida Board of Regents. The board was replaced by separate boards of trustees at all ten of the state universities According to Lance deHaven-Smith, in his book entitled The Battle for Florida, â€Å"the governor was given the power to make all the trustee appointments†. This created an enormous source of new patronage and also undermined the political neutrality of the state universities. With the Board of Regents out of the way, Republicans quickly replaced many of the university presidents with political insiders. (deHaven-Smith, 2005) The Florida Republican Party then began a drive to disenfranchise Democratic voters. They paid a private company to purge the voter registry of all ex-felons, even though Florida courts twice ruled that ex-felons whose civil rights had been restored before they came to Florida were entitled to vote. This would benefit the Republicans because blacks made up more than 50% of the ex-felon list and 9 0% of the black Florida population voted Democratic. In 1999, newly-elected Secretary of State Katherine Harris paid Data Base Technologies (DBT) $4. million to compile the most extensive scrub list possible. Race was a big factor in compiling matches for the list. After the election, DBT testified before a congressional committee that Florida officials had ordered them to eliminate voters by making incorrect matches. The information was gathered from the Internet and no verifying telephone calls were made. Five months before the election, Harris (who coincidentally was co-chairing the Bush presidential campaign) sent the list of 57,700 names to all the precincts with instructions to remove those voters from the rolls. Greg Palast revealed the story of the scrub list in The Observer, London, November 26, 2000. The story was ignored by American mainstream press. Palast has since provided irrefutable, hard evidence of fraud. His most recent estimate of qualified Florida voters barred from casting a ballot in Election 2000 stands at 90,000. On January 10, 2001, NAACP lawyers sued and won their case against DBT, Secretary of State Katherine Harris, and Bush loyalist Clay Roberts, Director of the Division of Elections. (Palast, 2003)   On Election Day 2000 in the state of Florida, however; Republican voters stood in short ines and used up-to-date equipment. The machinations of the Republican Party paid off in black districts. Highway patrol officers flagged down voters at roadblocks and checked their drivers’ licenses while others waited in long lines to vote on ancient machines. Innocent citizens were turned away and informed that their names appeared on the ex-felons list when they showed up to vote. Republicans found other ways to disenfranchise opposition voters. Two-page ballots with misleading directions were printed in Austin, Texas (the center of the George W. Bush presidential campaign), returned to Florida, and distributed in black districts. Some votes were simply later trashed by ballot handlers. In Duval County, 27,000 ballots were discarded, over half of them from black precincts in Jacksonville. No official challenges were filed within the 72-hour time limit, so thousands of mostly Democratic votes were lost. Sixteen-thousand votes for Gore disappeared overnight from the ongoing Volusia County tally and were reinstated only when an election supervisor questioned the subtraction of already registered votes. No voting machine company representative or election official was able to explain what happened. (Dover, 2002) Around 8 p. m. on Election Day exit polls from Voter News Service projected a Gore victory, but Bev Harris uncovered an CBS news report revealing that the erroneous subtraction of Gores votes in Volusia caused the election to be called for Bush. For several hours the race was too close to call, but shortly after midnight, Bushs numbers plunged rapidly and Gore gained the lead. Despite Gores numbers, at 2:16 a. m. Fox News announced that Texas Governor George W. Bush had won Florida and the other television networks repeated Foxs false information. (Harris, 2004) Gore heard the fake news of his defeat, phoned his congratulations to Bush and was prepared to deliver his concession speech to the nation. At that point, Gores chief advisors in Florida told him it was much too early to concede formally and advised him to hold off since there were still 360,000 uncounted votes. Out of 6 million votes cast in Florida, Bushs lead was reported to be a mere 537 votes. The Florida Constitution had no provisions for a statewide recount, so Gore asked for a partial recount in four southern counties where glaring irregularities had shown up. The last thing the Bush team wanted was a fair recount. They complained to the press that Gore was a sore loser, and the press largely agreed. (Posner, 2001)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On December 8, the Florida Supreme Court overturned a circuit court decision and ordered a manual recount. Based on findings in the circuit court trial, Gore was awarded 393 votes, reducing Bushs lead to only 154 votes. Thats when the Bush camp went ballistic. (Simon, 2001)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The National Party sent out-of-state operatives to intimidate Republican county clerks to amend over votes in Republican counties, to amend incomplete absentee ballot applications, and to accept late-arriving military ballots lacking signatures. When the recount actually began they became more radical, charged into the county administration building, threatening county canvassers, and halted the recount of Miami-Dade ballots. Despite court orders, eighteen counties never attempted a recount. The Bush campaign team and lawyers circulated misinformation about Floridas election laws, about the reliability of manual recounts (both Jeb and George W. claimed that only machines could count accurately), and about the likelihood of a constitutional crisis. (Zelden, 2010) The Florida Constitution specifies that the intent of the voter be paramount during ballot recounting. Because electronic machines had repeatedly failed to read, discern intent, and count ballots accurately, manual recounting was mandated. The law was actually quite clear and no constitutional crisis was imminent. That did not stop the Bush team from pressing the issue, for they wanted the U. S. Supreme Court to intervene and prevent the recount. Republican leadership called the legislature into special session while the judiciary branch still addressed election issues, an extraordinary move. Speaker of the House Tom Feeney, Jebs bosom political buddy, took the podium and criticized the Florida Supreme Court decisions. He warned that if the dispute continued to December 12, Floridas electoral slate would be excluded from the Electoral College vote. Florida had submitted its election results as they were certified, so the electoral slate was never really in danger. The Bush legal team, determined to delay or stop the recount, appealed to the U. S. District Court of Appeals, the Florida Supreme Court, and the U. S. Supreme Court. The justices had no business interfering in the election. The U. S. Constitution authorizes Congress to settle election disputes, not the Supreme Court. The first two courts denied the appeal. Then the U. S. Supreme Court gave them the nod. From that moment, the fix was in. Zelden, 2010) Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas had close relatives working for Republican organizations and should have recused themselves. Antonin Scalia’s son Eugene is a Washington law partner of Theodore B. Olson, the attorney who twice argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of George W. Bush. Scalia’s son John is an attorney with the Miami law firm that represented Bush in Florida. Clarence Thomass wif e, Virginia, worked for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, and had been helping to collect applications from people seeking employment in the Bush administration. But they, along with the three other right-wing judges on the court, issued a ruling instructing the Florida courts to find a recount method that would apply equal standards. The decision came down at 10 p. m. on December 12, 2000, two hours before the deadline to submit voting results. In short, the U. S. Supreme Court ran the clock out on American voters and handed Floridas electoral votes and the presidency to George W. Bush. (Thoreau, 2007) Reviewing the actual results of the statewide examination of 175,010 disputed ballots, on November 12, 2001 Robert Parry, www. consortiumnews. om, cleared away the media fog: So Al Gore was the choice of Floridas voters whether one counts hanging chads or dimpled chads. That was the core finding of the eight news organizations that conducted a review of disputed Florida ballots. By any chad measure, Gore won. Gore won even if one doesnt count the 15,000-25,000 votes that USA Today estimated Gore lost because of illegally designed butterfly b allots, or the hundreds of predominantly African-American voters who were falsely identified by the state as felons and turned away from the polls. Gore won even if theres no adjustment for George W. Bushs windfall of about 290 votes from improperly counted military absentee ballots where lax standards were applied to Republican counties and strict standards to Democratic ones, a violation of fairness reported earlier by the Washington Post and the New York Times. Put differently, George W. Bush was not the choice of Floridas voters anymore than he was the choice of the American people who cast a half million more ballots for Gore than Bush nationwide. Although the 2000 election was a travesty, one positive outcome was the renewal in the nation’s interest in The National Popular Vote bill.

Free Essays on Descriptive Essay

The life of a coffee addict is not an easy one. It is full of anxiousness and stress. I can only start my day after I’ve downed that first cup of Java. It’s the only way to survive. I wake up just early enough to throw on a pair of ratty old sweat pants and my favorite sweater, tattered from years of abuse. Fumbling with my sneakers, I hear a sharp snap as an unexplainable pain runs down the tip of my finger. My precious, perfectly manicured nail! There is no time to fix it. I can already feel the caffeine deficiency wreaking havoc on my brain. I must get to the corner coffee shop. As I open the door to the real world, I am hit by a sharp burst of cold air. Shivering, I pull my sweater even closer to my tired body and trudge on. I would much rather be sleeping in my warm cozy bed, but this is the only way I can survive the day. Tweet! Tweet! Tweet! The sound of those miserable, winged creatures is going to make my head burst. Each step is an increasing effort, but a necessary evil in order to obtain that single cup of dark liquid that will inevitably ease my pain and mark the beginning of the day. As I walk further away from my precious abode, the air bites furiously at my ears and nose. Quickening my step, I veer away from fellow coffee seekers, not yet ready to utter a good morning. The unmistakable scent of coffee is in the air. Knowing that I can’t be far, my steps quicken and my pulse begins to race. My lungs fill with the sweet assuring scent of fresh scones and muffins. I see the shop! Momentarily, my heart stops. Unable to contain myself, I let out a little â€Å"Yippee!† I reach for the door to heaven, and as I pull it open I’m hit with a burst of hot air entangled with the luscious scents of espresso and warm bakery delights. I feel a thud as my heart drops, and I notice the mile long line to the counter. Filled with anticipation, I join the throng and wait my turn. I listen to the pop... Free Essays on Descriptive Essay Free Essays on Descriptive Essay The life of a coffee addict is not an easy one. It is full of anxiousness and stress. I can only start my day after I’ve downed that first cup of Java. It’s the only way to survive. I wake up just early enough to throw on a pair of ratty old sweat pants and my favorite sweater, tattered from years of abuse. Fumbling with my sneakers, I hear a sharp snap as an unexplainable pain runs down the tip of my finger. My precious, perfectly manicured nail! There is no time to fix it. I can already feel the caffeine deficiency wreaking havoc on my brain. I must get to the corner coffee shop. As I open the door to the real world, I am hit by a sharp burst of cold air. Shivering, I pull my sweater even closer to my tired body and trudge on. I would much rather be sleeping in my warm cozy bed, but this is the only way I can survive the day. Tweet! Tweet! Tweet! The sound of those miserable, winged creatures is going to make my head burst. Each step is an increasing effort, but a necessary evil in order to obtain that single cup of dark liquid that will inevitably ease my pain and mark the beginning of the day. As I walk further away from my precious abode, the air bites furiously at my ears and nose. Quickening my step, I veer away from fellow coffee seekers, not yet ready to utter a good morning. The unmistakable scent of coffee is in the air. Knowing that I can’t be far, my steps quicken and my pulse begins to race. My lungs fill with the sweet assuring scent of fresh scones and muffins. I see the shop! Momentarily, my heart stops. Unable to contain myself, I let out a little â€Å"Yippee!† I reach for the door to heaven, and as I pull it open I’m hit with a burst of hot air entangled with the luscious scents of espresso and warm bakery delights. I feel a thud as my heart drops, and I notice the mile long line to the counter. Filled with anticipation, I join the throng and wait my turn. I listen to the pop...

How to Make Fitzroys Storm Glass

How to Make Fitzroys Storm Glass Admiral Fitzroy (1805-1865), as commander of HMS Beagle, participated in the Darwin Expedition from 1834-1836. In addition to his naval career, Fitzroy did pioneer work in the field of meteorology. The Beagles instrumentation for the Darwin Expedition included several chronometers as well as barometers, which Fitzroy used for weather forecasting. The Darwin Expedition also was the first voyage under sailing orders that the Beaufort wind scale  was used for wind observations. Storm Glass Weather Barometer One type of barometer used by Fitzroy was a storm glass. Observing the liquid in the storm glass was supposed to indicate changes in the weather. If the liquid in the glass was clear, the weather would be bright and clear. If the liquid was cloudy, the weather would be cloudy as well, perhaps with precipitation. If there were small dots in the liquid, humid or foggy weather could be expected. A cloudy glass with small stars indicated thunderstorms. If the liquid contained small stars on sunny winter days, then snow was coming. If there were large flakes throughout the liquid, it would be overcast in temperate seasons or snowy in the winter. Crystals at the bottom indicated frost. Threads near the top meant it would be windy. Italian mathematician/physicist Evangelista Torricelli, a student of  Galileo, invented the barometer in 1643. Torricelli used a column of water in a tube 34 ft (10.4 m) long. Storm glasses available today are less cumbersome and easily mounted on a wall. Make Your Own Storm Glass Here are instructions for constructing a storm glass, described by Pete Borrows in response to a question posted on NewScientist.com, attributed to a letter published in the June 1997 School Science Review. Ingredients for Storm Glass: 2.5g potassium nitrate2.5g ammonium chloride33 mL distilled water40 mL ethanol10g camphor Note that man-made camphor, while very pure, does contain borneol as a by-product of the manufacturing process. Synthetic camphor doesnt work as well as natural camphor, perhaps because of the borneol. Dissolve the potassium nitrate and ammonium chloride in the water; add the ethanol; add the camphor. It is advised to dissolve the nitrate and ammonium chloride in the water, then mix the camphor in the ethanol.Next, slowly mix  the two solutions  together. Adding the nitrate and ammonium solution to the ethanol solution works best. It also helps to warm the solution to ensure complete mixing.Place the solution in corked test tube.  Another method is to seal the mixture in small glass tubes rather than using a cork. To do this, use a flame or other high heat to crimp and melt the top of a glass vial. No matter what method is selected to construct a storm glass, always use proper care in handling chemicals. How Storm Glass Functions The premise of the functioning of the storm glass is that temperature and pressure affect solubility, sometimes resulting in clear liquid; other times causing precipitants to form. The functioning of this type of storm glass is not fully understood. In similar barometers, the liquid level, generally brightly colored, moves up or down a tube in response to atmospheric pressure. Certainly, temperature affects solubility, but sealed glasses are not exposed to the pressure changes that would account for much of the observed behavior. Some people have proposed that surface interactions between the glass wall of the barometer and the liquid contents account for the crystals. Explanations sometimes include effects of electricity or quantum tunneling across the glass.

The Influence of Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Influence of Media - Essay Example Media technologies bring a number of considerable benefits to people some of which include reduced distances, improved international relationships, enhanced level of interactivity, low-cost communication, and improved reach to information. Media also has a strong influence on the world of businesses. People use it to remain updated with ongoing issues related to their particular businesses. For example, people related to the business of stock exchange make continuous use of the internet and television to remain updated with the ups and downs of local and international stock markets. Similarly, marketing professionals make use of a variety of media technologies, such as television and internet marketing to make people aware of new products and services. Moreover, some companies also use social networking websites and the internet to expand their businesses, as well as to introduce their products and services to local and international customers.  Looking at these examples, it is obvious that media has a strong influence on people from all fields of life.

Acoustic Emission and Vibration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Acoustic Emission and Vibration - Essay Example The process of early detection has proved to be a very crucial factor in condition monitoring as well as serving as a basic extended CBM component (Zamada and Masuda, 1999, p. 160). Though the two sensors are effectively applied in this process, there exist several differences in their applications as well as a number of advantages and disadvantages over each other. The acoustic emission normally abbreviated as AE refers to sound waves that are normally produced in the event that a material is subjected to stress due to internal changes and external forces. A good example of this phenomenon is the mechanical loading which generates elastic wave’s sources (Lokajicek and Sikula, 1996, p. 312). Over the years, acoustic emission has steadily replaced the use of vibration techniques that were used traditionally. This transformation is closely associated with the better working conditions witnessed while working with acoustic emission. Vibration sensing has been associated with a nu mber of mechanical conditions such as processes that result in energy loses like friction and impacts, machinery deteriorates, and frequencies that come in a broad range. Acoustic emission on the other hand makes use of much higher frequencies when it comes to vibration movements that are synchronous. By using such frequencies, this technique makes it possible to detect signal parts experiencing high signals and also allows the detections of miniscule activities that come in large amounts like brief impacts, slight rubs or crushing of single lubricant particles. This means that acoustic emission technique is in apposition to detect failures that are impending before they take place and goes further to monitor their progress afterwards (Mori, Saruhashi and Mogi, 1994, p. 375). Though vibration analysis has been in operation for many years, it is associated with a number of disadvantages including its knowledge levels that are unsustainable and its requirements being costly while tryi ng to achieve a good diagnosis. The above setbacks make vibration analysis valuable but overly complicated compared to acoustic emission. Acoustic emission offers detecting warnings early enough on small defects and wear while vibration sensing has to wait until a defect occurs before it detects it. Acoustic emission technique also picks up more information as compared to vibration sensing. Some of the additional information picked up by acoustic emission include; friction, lubrication and cracking. Vibration sensing is in no position to pick up such information. Despite this realization, it is evident that the total information that can be picked by acoustic emission is limited as compared to that obtained by vibration analysis (Mori and Obata, 1998, p. 340). The Differences between Acoustic Emission Sensor and Vibration Sensor The acoustic emission signal processing is complicated in such a way that it cannot be conducted by every individual due to its high frequency signal. It ca lls for expertise in the interpretation of the oscilloscope’s squiggly lines. This technique allows machines to be run continuously, slowly, for a duration that is short and to be operated intermittently. Acoustic emission also permits for problem diagnosis on machines to be carried out in its early stages, gives room for maintenance procedures and allows for the monitoring of the improvement. By allowing such procedures and process, the technique provides early information that is real time on faults applicability and sensitivity to a broad speed rotational (Simpson, 1991). Contrary to vibration sensing, acoustic emission

How to Improve public Schools Essay Example for Free

How to Improve public Schools Essay Since the 17th century, American public schools have provided its children with a wonderful opportunity of receiving a free education that ensures a general understanding of various subjects such as mathematics and literature giving generation after generation the foundation of knowledge. Public schools have made several positive leaps since its begging from teaching only males students to teaching all genders, as well as becoming desegregated in 1969. Public schools provide a peace of mind for parents who desire the best for their children because they provide state certified teachers, free transportation, extra-curricular and after school programs, and are accountable to the state (web). Most notably, public high schools prepare students for life after school and provides a foundation for further education; however, behind all the wonderful aspects of public schools there are certain disadvantages that can hinder the academic progress of a student. Parents as well as students should be aware of these disadvantages that include: underfunded schools may not have certain materials or may have to cut some programs and too much emphasis on standardized test that creates a lot of stress on students and hinders their learning environment. Considering such disadvantages, parents and students may wonder â€Å"how can we solve this dilemma?† Nationalizing public school funding and giving less class and standardized test in order to allow students to focus on learning the curriculum are both steps and proposals that have the potential to settle the troublesome disadvantages of public schools. Different schools in different regions and states receive a wide range of funding which creates a conflict where some schools are underfunded while other are prosperous. The schools that are underfunded may not acquire certain materials that are essential for the course which hurt the process of learning for many students. Some schools are so underfunded that they result to eliminating certain courses or programs. Nearly half of the funding for public schools in the United States are provided though local taxes, generating large differences in funding between wealthy and impoverished communities. There have been efforts make public school funding more equitable yet have only provoked controversy. Some people, such as Eric Hanushek, argue that although different schools receive different amount of funding, the amount of money spent is not â€Å"systematically related to student  achievement,† therefore the wide range of public school funding is not an issue. On the other hand, people such as reviewers Rob Greenwald, Larry Hedges, and Richard Laine believer that â€Å"school resources are systematically related to student achievement,† and therefore school funding is educationally important. Although public schools in the Unites States are funded from federal, state and local sources, the funds from local property taxes generates large funding differences. A logical proposal to solve this problem would to nationalize public school funding therefore every public school depending on its level ( elementary, middle/junior, high, academy, etc.) would receive the same amount of funding which would eliminate the differences of funding for different regions. Some parents may argue that their local property taxes are higher than others and so it should go towards the funding for their child’s public school funding; however, if school funding is nationalized and standardized then each school regardless the location would receive enough funding to secure an adequate education for all children. Also, funds from local property taxes could be used to better individual communities such as building parks or community buildings as well as providing better roads instead of funding public schools. Federal taxes may rise due to nationalizing public school funding however it is for a good cause which is providing all students of America with an equal opportunity to a great education; however this proposal will be difficult to enact because it requires to federal approval and may take time to become a law. Many petitions will have to be made along with thousands of signatures so there would be a lot of support required to enact nationalizing public school funding yet if accomplished it would set a strong foundation for knowledge throughout the nation. With the creation of the No Child Left Behind act endorsed by president Bush, there has been a increasing emphasis on standardized testing for public schools that has ultimately hindered the learning environment by narrowing the curriculum, teaching to the test, and reducing the love of learning which helps drive students out of school specifically high school students. In several classes, the curriculum is taught based on the maximum potential for students to pass standardized test. This has created a sort of teach to pass instead of teach to learn class routine amongst several teachers. Consequently, several students miss out on valuable information due to the  narrowed curriculum by eliminating lessons not needed to pass a certain standardized test. The pressure put of students nowadays ,especially in high schools, can be extremely overwhelming and be a driving factor for several dropouts. Of course students do not decided to dropout of school solely on the large emphasis on standardized testing yet it is difficult to argue that it does not put a lot of stress on students who are already struggling to pass. The alarming emphasis on high-stakes standardized testing has become apparent to students,parents, as well as legislation and so there have been events that occurred with the purpose to lessen the emphasis of testing. For example, the Senate Education Committee passed a bill that â€Å"eliminated the use of scores on standardized test,† that would determine if tens of thousands of schools were to be considered failing or not. Although this is a remarkable step to lessening the power set by standardized test scores it does not solve the problem of the collateral damage in public schools caused by too much testing. Indeed, tests are important to determine if a student is learning and not simply sitting in class daydreaming of irrelevant things; furthermore, students should worry about test and strive to make good grades on them. The problem with testing is not its existence but its intensity and worthiness. In the average class, test scores are worth much more compared to class work and homework. This places a huge stress on students to past test therefore they focus only on test scores instead of learning the material and applying what they have learned to real life situations. Standardized test are important in determining the progress of individual students and schools and therefore should not be eliminated however states should set a minimum of high-stake standardized test. For example there should be a maximum of one end of instruction test for important subjects and extra test that are not directly relevant to the curriculum such as benchmark tests should be eliminated. The specifics of such a policy should be left to be determined by the states due to the difficulty to enforce it as a federal policy. To make a state law that put a minimum on standardized test would require some time, petitions, and convincing for certain people but the final accomplishment would bring less stress to students and promote a better learning environment. State school boards should also divide the percentage of value of homework, classwork, participation grades, as well as class test equally. This would allow  student to focus on the important of turning in homework, participating in class, and test equally as opposed to stressing when a test is coming for it could considerably harm their grade in the class. Lessening the emphasis of test both standardized and class test would allow students to focus on the material being taught as well as allow teachers to improve the curriculum to provide the best possible educational for their students. Students can greatly benefit from the previous feasible proposals if they were to be enforced. By passing a federal law that endorses a nationalized federal funding of public schools as opposed to leaving half of public school funding to local property taxes, all American public schools would receive an equal amount of funding to use for the arts, after school programs, academic technology, or school renovations that all promote a heather and more engaging learning environment for all students. Although the process to get a bill that would enforce a fully federal funding of all public school passed by congress would take time and a lot of effort, it would provide equality for all public schools regardless of reputation or location giving students an equal opportunity. Placing a minimum on the amount of standardized test required by public schools within each state as well as making the value of class tests towards a students overall grade equal to homework and classwork would lessen the stress brought on my too much emphasis on testing which would allow students to focus on their eduction instead of simply passing the test. Such a policy would require several petitions and time to figure out what tests are more essential and which test could be eliminated; however, it would greatly reduce the stress of school making it more pleasing and allow teachers to provide the best possible education to their students. These policies can help improve the American public school system by allowing each student to take advantage of a learning based eduction that provides the knowledge needed to succeed and make a positive impact on our ever changing world.

Othello :: essays research papers

After reading Othello by Shakespeare over about 3 times, I came to feel sorry for a man that I can easily say was gulled into tragedy by his own purity. I can see Othello as a man that could sit at the ‘Round Table† with King Arthur and rank among those wonderous knights of chivalry. At his end, he had nothing. The Duke calls Othello ‘Valiant Othello’ (1057) Othello also stands ready to face Brabantio, Iago tells him to run. Othello - ‘Not I; I must be found. My parts, my title and my perfect soul Shall manifest me rightly. (1054) As grand as his internal characteristics are, he also stumbles with his own susceptibility to become betrayed. Othello also has no sense of grey. He sees things are either good or evil. To Cassio, Othello – ‘Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter, making it light to Cassio. Cassio, I love thee, But never more be officer of mine’ (1078) For his one transgression, Cassio is stripped of his rank and cast aside. Othello seems to place his trust in people that have not demonstrated a reason to be mistrusted. Iago at no time gives cause to be mistrusted. Othello had to see the reason, something tangible. The external pressures on Othello are partially due to his being black. Iago starts his scheming of destruction using Othellos color against him, when he beckons Barbanito to action. Iago – Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe. Arise! Arise! (1051) This prejudice may have damaged his self-esteem, where he believed he was unworthy of Desdemona. Iago drops doubt in his mind, Othello begs for the suspicious thoughts. Othello – â€Å"By heaven, I’ll know thy thoughts.’ (1087) This opens the door to Iago’s deceit. Iago – ‘O, beware my lord of jealousy!†¦ which doth mock.’ (1087) Othello – ‘Farewell, Farewell,†¦.. Set on thy wife to observe. Leave me, Iago.’ (1089) Here is where the splinter drives deeper. From this point, there is more falls of the seal the fate of poor Othello. The mind bending Iago plants deep the seeds of wicked thoughts.

The Crucible – How does Miller effectively create a sense of tension and conflict between John and Elizabeth Proctor at the beginning of Act two?

Miller effectively creates a sense of tension and conflict between John and Elizabeth Proctor at the beginning of Act two. Act two follows directly on from a very highly charged and climatic note. At the end of act one Abigail and the girls accuse many people in Salem of being witches and a state of hysteria is reached. It is therefore a surprise that act two is not a court scene or trial, merely a domestic scene between John and Elizabeth Proctor. This variation is a good thing I believe as it helps to keep the reader interested and keeps the play from becoming monogamous. This is a very important scene. Miller I believe created this scene and the love interest between Abigail and John Proctor to make the ending of the play far more dramatic. If a significant rift is created between John and Elizabeth, then surely the ending will become more impressive, because as soon as they have conquered their problems and regained trust in each other following John's fight to free Elizabeth, John is hanged. This scene is also important to help us understand Elizabeth's dilemma in act three when Danforth asks her whether John had an affair with Abigail. John is unable to tell her what to say so Elizabeth has to decide for herself whether or not to tell the truth, she is unaware that John has confessed to the affair so denies it happened so as not to incriminate him. Act two helps us to understand that she most definitely did know about the affair and had not forgotten, so therefore is lying to protect John in act three despite their rocky relationship. The audience have already by act two heard only bad words about Elizabeth, so it is likely that they have come to the conclusion that she is not a very nice person. This is due to Abigail bad mouthing Elizabeth and saying that she is â€Å"†¦ a sickly wife† and a â€Å"†¦ cold snivelling woman†. Because we do not meet Elizabeth until later on in the play we only have the opportunity to form an opinion on Elizabeth's character from what Abigail says about her, which is unfortunately all malicious and derogatory. The language used by Miller in the crucible is archaic, rural American. Because the play is based upon events, which took place around 311 years ago, to make it seem realistic it is crucial that miller does use such language. An example of the language used, is when John says to Elizabeth, â€Å"Aye†¦ its warm as blood beneath the clods†, this is definitely not an expression we would use today. Although nowadays we may not understand the language used by Miller perfectly it is important for him to use it in order for the play to become genuine and believable. In his autobiography Timebends, Miller discusses the language he found in the court records. He said that he wanted â€Å"to study the actual words of the interrogations, a gnarled way of speaking† Miller also admitted to unintentionally, â€Å"elaborating a few grammatical forms himself, the double negatives especially†, although Act two is not a court scene I believe that Millers research into the language of the inhabitants of Salem in the 17th Century helped the play to achieve its sense of authenticity. It is important for Miller to create tension within the play to keep the audience interested; he uses this technique in Act two with great affect. The audience is already aware of the Proctors strained relationship following John's affair with Abigail, and Miller highlights the damage that has been done by the affair perfectly in this scene to create a excruciating sense of tension. At the start of Act two Miller using stage directions and has John on his return from the field taste the meal the Elizabeth has been preparing, he is displeased with it so seasons it. This appears at first perfectly normal and harmless to the audience, however when John hears Elizabeth coming downstairs he jumps away from the stove and proceeds to wash his hands. It becomes obvious to the audience at this point that their relationship is so strained that John racked with guilt about his affair with Abigail avoids doing anything at all which might aggravate or offend Elizabeth. This huge effort on John's behalf to not offend Elizabeth is blatant when he tells her that the rabbit is â€Å"well seasoned† Elizabeth gratefully accepts this praise replying that she â€Å"took great care†, this is an awkward scene because both are trying to be friendly to one another but it is easy to see they are uncomfortable in each others presence. It is ironic that John complimented her on the seasoning on the rabbit, since he seasoned it himself; this in particular highlights the conflict between them. At first glance the proctor household appears homely, welcoming and peaceful. John returns home to work and finds his supper ready, cooked for him by his wife who has just finished singing their children to sleep. However this is all very misleading, the conflict between the proctors is highlighted at the very start of act two with the use of monosyllabic sentences from Elizabeth in reply to Johns attempts at conversation. John, full of good intentions, begins to tell Elizabeth about the farm and tries to engage in conversation with her, however she meekly replies to his questions with short, abrupt sentences such as â€Å"That's well†, â€Å"Aye, it would† and â€Å"Aye, it is†. By manipulating the sentence structure Miller is able to show Elizabeth's reluctance to speak to her husband, and highlight the distance and awkwardness present between them. After complimenting Elizabeth on the meal John, talks about the farm and says with a grin â€Å"I mean to please you Elizabeth. And she answers, â€Å"I know it John. † However, before she answers, she pauses, and â€Å"finds it hard to say. † This means that she might not think he honestly wants to please her, or make their marriage work. Since this is quite a dramatic moment, I think that on stage at this moment the lighting should focus on Elizabeth, and if present the orchestra should be silent to emphasize her hesi tation. It becomes very clear in this scene that John is desperately trying to regain Elizabeth's trust. The fact that she is cold and distant towards him creates a great sense of strain and the conflict is plain to see. Miller is able to illustrate this conflict between them by using stage directions, he has John walk over to Elizabeth and kiss her, Elizabeth receives his affection with disappointment, she is still cold and unforgiving. Miller shows us that words are not necessary to convey feelings, the expressions of the actors and their body language is enough and can sometimes be more convincing in a subtle way. When I watched the film made about the play it struck me that in the scene between John and Elizabeth a table had been positioned between them, this acted as a physical barrier. This is actually of great significance and subtly shows the audience that there are obstacles that stand in the way of the proctors, keeping them apart, namely Abigail. Watching the film helped me to see that stage props can be used to great effect, and can often play a significant part in the enhancement of dramatic scenes such as this one. Gradually the tension between the Proctors escalates and soon they are arguing, this is bought about when Elizabeth says â€Å"You came so late I thought you'd gone to Salem this afternoon† to John. We know from the stage directions, which direct the actor's body language that John realises Elizabeth is implying that he went to see Abigail. Miller portrays the tension between them by using exceptionally short sentences that help to show the coldness and curtness that they show towards each other. In this act John and Elizabeth have several blazing arguments and between each argument there is a lull, it becomes apparent that all the personal disagreements and grudges within the town are coming to a head. Like in a crucible, which is a melting pot everything is being brought to the surface and is breaking down, society is collapsing within the town and amongst the town's people. Because Miller builds up several arguments between John and Elizabeth, he prevents this scene from becoming boring and keeps the sense of tension between John and Elizabeth very much alive. Whenever the audience begin to believe that the Proctors have resolved their problems another argument breaks out, this stopping and starting prevents the audience becoming frustrated with the constant squabbling and makes sure the sense of tension and conflict is maintained. The series of smaller outbursts between them then conclude into a huge argument in which Elizabeth says to John † She (Abigail) has an arrow in you yet, John Proctor, and you know it†, this is true, despite the fact that Abigail is in Salem and far away from the Proctors she is still causing arguments between them and is driving a wedge between them. Elizabeth knows that John is still physically attracted to Abigail and that she has a hold on him. She creates a strong sense of conflict because John hates Elizabeth's accusations and resents her for continuing to bring up the past when he simply wants to be forgiven and allowed to have a fresh start and be a good husband to her. It is excruciating to watch this scene between the Proctors and see jealousy, suspicion and mistrust tearing them apart however the tension and conflict created is so strong that the audience feels compelled to watch on. When Hale interrupts the Proctors argument and invades their privacy the sense of conflict between the Proctors eases and the tone of the play and atmosphere changes. John and Elizabeth realise that they must work together to eradicate any suspicions or accusations of them being witches, this causes great tension because it is very hard for them to join forces and act as though nothing between them had happened. Following a huge argument they must help each other and keep up appearances. This is a very subtle and clever way of creating tension. Throughout Act two in the crucible Miller creates a sense of conflict and tension between the Proctors using a number of different methods. Doing this I believe is a brilliant way of keeping the audience interested and making the ending of the book more dramatic. Not only however does this in particular scene help to ensure that the audience wish to watch on, but it also ensures that they understand key events in the play, such as Elizabeth's denial of Johns affair. In act two the audience discover that Elizabeth does know about Johns affair so therefore can work out the later on in the play Elizabeth says that John did not have an affair to protect him, not because she simply did not know. I think that were it not for this scene then the whole of the story would be a lot more complicated and harder to understand. So in conclusion although the tension and sense of conflict that Miller creates between the Proctors make Act two an interesting scene, it also affects the rest of the play and the audiences understanding of events to come as a whole.

Define and explain Orientalism Essay

Europeans used the term Orient to describe the peoples and places of Asia and the Middle East. While widely accepted prior to the late twentieth century, this term has aroused criticism among historians. The purpose of this essay is too define and explain Orientalism, and how the term Orientalist applies to Christian missionaries in the Far East. Two main examples of these missionaries are Matteo Ricci and Francis Xavier who served in China and Japan respectively. Both of these missionaries fall under the definition of Orientalists as defined by Edward Said. Edward Said defines Orientalism in multiple parts; the first of which is the academic1. Academic Orientalism is the study of the Orient for the purpose of understanding and learning. Modern historians view the term Orient to be too vague for an area as large as Asia, but it is still widely used throughout the world. Academic Orientalism attempts to study and understand the Orient from afar. Professors of Chinese language who have never spoken with a Chinese person are a common example of this detached intellectualism. Often in 18th Century Europe the Orientalist would study and judge the Orient based on second hand knowledge and conjecture. This view of understanding the Orient better than the Oriental without living it leads into the second part of Orientalism2. The second part of Orientalism as defined by Said is the justification of subjugation. Europeans believed that due to their better understanding of the history of a culture, and their superior culture they needed to dominate other cultures in order to improve them. Arthur James Balfour, a member of the British parliament once said in reference to Egypt; â€Å"We are in Egypt not merely for the sake of the Egyptians, though we are there for their sake; we are there also for the sake of Europe at large3.† Balfour meant by this that British occupation of Egypt was necessary for the protection of the Egyptians and for the benefit of all Europe. Balfour and other Orientalist believed that they understood Egypt better than the Egyptians themselves, and for this reason governed Egypt for the benefit of Egypt. This form of justification was used throughout the Orient. China, India, Philippines and others were all subjugated on the justification of the white mans burden. The idea of th e burden of the white race to civilize inferior races was a key part of Orientalism.4 One of the main points of Orientalism is the division of humanity into us and them. The Occidental and the Oriental, East and West, these are divisions created by Europeans in order to dominate the other. By separating the peoples an Orientalist can justify the subjugation and forced change of other races. Said’s overall point is that Orientalism was created by Europeans in order to justify the subjugation of the Orientals. Cultural and intellectual superiority and the separation of us and them led to three hundred years of European imperialism in the so called Orient.5 In order to understand how Orientalism affected Missionaries in China and Japan, one must first understand the Orientalist’s views of foreign religions. Most Orientalists were Christians and therefore believed all none Christians were destined for hell. â€Å"This, oddly enough, even applied to pre-Christians such as Aristotle and Abraham. In Dante’s Inferno both these men are in the first layer of Hell, even though Christianity did not exist during their lifetimes. So from this intolerant view one can see the basic attitude towards non-Christians. Muslims, Hindu and Buddhists were all considered heathen that needed the word of Jesus to save them from eternal damnation. â€Å"The Church’s commission to preach the gospel of Christ to ‘every creature’ also lays upon her the task of inviting all to accept Christ as Lord and Saviour and to join his Church through baptism.6† With this belief in mind Christian Missionaries went to the Orient to â⠂¬Å"save† the heathens and convert them to the one true faith, whether they wanted too or not.7 One of the earliest Christian Missionaries Father Matteo Ricci of the Society of Jesus, better known as the Jesuits, arrived in China in 1582 after a four month journey from Goa. He was a Roman Catholic priest who was trained the Rome in numerous subjects. The Jesuits were the most well educated order within the Catholic Church; for this reason they were particularly well suited for missionary work in Asia. The Jesuit tactic was too convert the social elites and then have their support in the conversion of the masses. This worked particularly well in Asia due to the strict social structures and relatively good education of the elites. Also the widespread belief in Confucianism fit well with Christianity. Ricci said in his work â€Å"The True Idea of God†, â€Å"the Confucian Classics contained allusions, albeit in an inchoate manner, to such Christian notions as God and a future life.8† Well educated bureaucrats in China respected Ricci’s education and intelligence, and were interested in the Western ideas he possessed9. Techniques such as Ricci’s Memory Palace interested the Chinese and often spawned further interest into the religion Ricci brought with him.10 Ricci’s view of the Chinese is full of contradictions. Many aspects of Chinese culture and government Ricci respected, such as their dress and level of education; the hygiene of the people and the relative order imposed by the Chinese bureaucracy11. At the same time that Ricci praised aspects of Chinese civilization, he abhorred a great deal of Chinese practices. Among these are the corruption rampant throughout China, the worship of heathen religions and their disrespect for human life. Ricci once remarked â€Å"This country is full of slaves. 12† Most importantly Ricci despised the widespread homosexuality within China13. There are two main reasons for describing Ricci as an Orientalist. The first is his reason for being in China. Ricci sought to convert all of China to Catholicism. He cared little for the established religions in China and sought to impose his Christian faith upon the peoples of China. Ricci once remarked â€Å"†¦Buddhism violated the very first of the Ten Commandments, and it had not raised moral standards in China despite its two thousand years during which it had been preached.14† Viewing his own faith as superior to any other and being so disdainful of all others, Ricci can be labeled an Orientalist. The second reason for labeling Ricci an Orientalist is his general disdain for all things Chinese. While he may admire certain attributes he generally views everything Western superior; for example his disgust with open prostitution in the streets of major Chinese cities. Ricci completely glosses over the fact that prostitution was legal within Rome itself. In fact prostitution within Rome was widespread. Montaigne on visiting Rome remarked, â€Å"Taking coach rides or strolling to view the prostitutes was a major Roman pastime.15† In his criticism of homosexuality, Ricci also ignores the previous acceptance of homosexuality in Europe. Montaigne remarked during his visit too Rome, â€Å"several marriages between Portuguese males had been celebrated in the church of St. John a few years before, and that the couples had went to bed and lived together for some time before being arrested and burned at the stake.16† This method of criticizing China while ignoring the fact that the same problems existed within Europe labels Ricci as an Orientalist. Ricci had additional goals beyond simply the conversion of the Chinese. Along with the conversion to Christianity Ricci hope to rebuild China along European lines. Ricci spent a great deal of time extolling the virtues of European civilization, and purity of the Catholic faith17. Ricci hoped to rid China of corruption, create a perfect Christian society, and cleanse China of heathen practices such as abstaining from meat year round and homosexuality18. These goals of changing Chinese society certainly label Ricci to be an Orientalist. Father Francis Xavier of the Society of Jesus arrived in Japan in 1549 aboard a Chinese junk. Xavier had many initial difficulties in Japan; the first of which being his inability to speak Japanese, and later to understand it. His interpreter caused Xavier many troubles later on due to his using Buddhist names for Christian figures, and forever linking Buddhism to Christianity in the minds of the Japanese19. The other difficulty for Xavier was his misunderstanding of Japanese society. When Xavier first arrived he hoped to convert â€Å"the king of Japan†, by this he meant the Shogun20. But when Xavier met the Shogun he found him to be a man of little importance who could barely maintain his own territory, let alone the whole country. Japan was in the period of sengoku, or country at war, and was divided among many feudal lords all vying for power. This state of civil war later benefited the Christian missionaries greatly, but initially confused Xavier21. Xavier spent the majority of his time in Japan attempting to convert Japanese daimyo and kokujin to Christianity. He succeeded in a few cases largely due to his link with Portuguese trade ships. Daimyo within Japan were looking for a way to gain advantage over their enemies, and trade with the Portuguese greatly enriched many lords. The Japanese believed that converting to Christianity would give them more favorable trade with the Portuguese, and for this reason many converted22. Xavier can be labeled an Orientalist for two main reasons. The first is his overall goal of converting the heathen Japanese to Christianity. His total disdain for Buddhism is apparent when he refers to the religion of Dianichi, â€Å"an invention of the devil, as also were all the other sects of Japan.23† The second reason for labeling Xavier an Orientalist is for his views on homosexuality. Ricci’s beliefs on homosexuality among Asians stem from Xavier. When Xavier was the head of the Far East mission he declared that homosexuality was an evil to be combated in Asia24. For these reasons Xavier is clearly an Orientalist the same as Ricci. For all of their efforts to convert the peoples of China and Japan, neither Ricci nor Xavier succeeded in any significant way. The problems in China were numerous; deep seated beliefs in Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism kept many from converting, also the lack of interest by the elite made any type of wide scale conversion impossible. In addition the basic fear of outsiders made the Chinese distrustful and angry towards the Christian missionaries25. In Japan the eventual consolidation of Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate forced all Christians too abandon their faith. The Tokugawa did not want any opposition to their regime and barred any foreigners from entering Japan. Also deep seated religious beliefs and xenophobia as in China caused few too embrace Christianity. Neither Ricci nor Xavier succeeded in their goal of converting the Far East; the task they committed their lives too. One must wonder; if they had taken a more open, non Orientalist approach, would they have been more successful? 1 Said, Edward W. Orientalism. (New York: First Vintage Books Edition, October 1979.), 2. 2 Ibid, 3. 3 Ibid, 33. 4 Ibid, 33-36. 5 Ibid, 83. 6 Manikam, Rajah B. Christianity and the Asian Revolution. (New York: Friendship Press, 1954) 185. 7 Spence, 73-75. 8 Ching, Julia. Confucianism and Christianity. (Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1977) 10. 9 Hellyer, Robert. Lecture. â€Å"The Jesuits in Asia.† Allegheny College. Meadville, Pa. 11 February 2002. 10 Spence, Jonathan D. The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci. (New York: Penguin Books, 1985.) 2-5 11 Ibid, 210. 12 Ibid, 219. 13 Ibid, 224. 14 Ibid, 252. 15 Ibid, 208. 16 Ibid, 226. 17 Ibid, 2-5. 18 Ibid, 217. 19 Elisonas, â€Å"Christianity and the Daimyo,† (Cambridge History of Japan, volume 4, 301-372.) 307-310. 20 Ibid, 311. 21 Ibid, 312. 22 Ibid, 323. 23 Ibid, 309. 24 Spence, 224.