Witches - A Discussion of Superstition and Myth Research Paper

Witches - A Discussion of Superstition and Myth - Research Paper Example Since the beginning of time, humans have attempted to understand the environment around them and make sense of occurrences that oftentimes had little to no reasonable explanation; or so it seemed. As a result of this, the creation of gods and legends helped to define what would otherwise be considered a very chaotic and disturbing environment; one in which death and acts of calamity were all too present. Oftentimes these myths were relatively harmless and did not contribute to any one member of society being persecuted or harassed. At other times, rituals and superstition demanded that a particular type of individual should be shunned, mistreated, or even hunted down and killed. The focus of this particular discussion is on the superstitious origins of the term â€Å"witch† and the manner through which this particular identification has come to be propagated for such a very long period of time. It is the further intent of the analysis to point to the illogical and unrealistic mechanisms through which a â€Å"witch† has been defined and correlate these to the manner in which individuals that are considered as â€Å"aberrant† to society are oftentimes grouped. Before delving directly into a discussion of witches throughout history, it is necessary to note that the definition or determination of a â€Å"witch† throughout history has been an individual that did not ascribe to the norm. As such, whether for reasons of disability, unsightliness, or mental illness, a witch has oftentimes been a societal label for an individual that could not integrate or fit in with the remainder of society (Schwartz, 2004). Naturally, within this understanding, it is vital to realize that the label of a witch has absolutely nothing to do with magical powers or some type of collaboration with a mythical dark spiritual force. Instead, it is merely a cruel way in which societies have chosen to label people that do not abide by a given set of norms and standards that they have set forward to group their society by.  Ã‚  

LCT Task 4 English Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

LCT Task 4 English - Term Paper Example The book focuses on the social and economic pressures that were rampant in England at the time it was written. The story is set in a fictitious industrial town called Coketown, which is based on Preston during the 19th century. One of the main focuses of this novel was utilitarianism which holds that the ultimate objective of every individual is to promote general social welfare. The social struggle depicted in this novel is mostly centered on industrialists and workers. The story revolves around various characters including Thomas Gradgrind who is a wealthy ex-merchant living in Coketown. Gradgrind has devoted his life to rationalism, fact and self-interest, and this philosophy is the one that he uses in bringing up Louisa and Tom, two of his children. Tom grows up to be a sadistic hedonist while his sister Louisa constantly struggles with confusion. She later marries her father’s friend, Josiah Bounderby, a rich banker and industrialist who is thirty years her senior. In the meantime, an impoverished Stephen Blackpool, is in love with a poor factory worker but he cannot marry her as he already ahs a wife who is drunk and not loyal to him. However, he learns from Bounderby that he cannot get a divorce from his horrible wife since it is only the wealthy who are allowed to get divorced. In the end, Bounderby dies alone in Coketown’s streets while Gridgrind abandons his philosophy and decides to devote his political position to help the poor (Dickens, 1854). Persuasion by Jane Austen Persuasion was the last novel completed by Jane Austen in 1816 (Faye, 2003). This is one of the author’s novels that reflects the changes occurring in England’s social order at the time (Faye, 2003). This period was marked by many members of the peerage group losing their high places in society. The book begins with a scenario where the Elliots, an upper class family, is considering moving to a smaller residence. They want to rent out their big mansion to a navy man named Admiral Croft. Baronets such as Anne’s father were finding it difficult to maintain their spendthrift lifestyles. Anne’s family refuses her to get married to Wentworth, who they consider to be poor. However, in the end, Wentworth is able to gain wealth and finally marries Anne (Austen, 1934). How Does Plot Reveal Characters’ Social Struggle? The plot of Hard Times is divided into three sections: sowing, reaping and garnering. Sowing focuses on Mr. Gradgrind and the way that he brings up his children, especially Louisa and Tom. His high-class life philosophy is inculcated in the upbringing of the two and this later is shown to have a serious impact on their lives. Mr. Gradgrind is a strong believer that ample education based on facts and calculations is the only way to live a good life. However, later on in the book, Louisa and Tom do not benefit at all from this philosophy of the wealthy. Tom becomes a hedonist and a thief and Louisa is confused with her life and ends up making the mistake of marrying a man more than twice her age. The second part of the book introduces workers who work at the mills. Stephen Blackpool is one of the poor workers and he is presented as a â€Å"man of perfect integrity†. It is through the development of Stephen’s character in the second part of Hard Times that the morality of the nobility is contrasted with the so called morality of the lower class. Through Stephen’s character some of the issues faced by the poor workers such as not being allowed

The Last of the Founders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Last of the Founders - Essay Example From this discussion it is clear that  unknown to her, she was invoking the Preamble when she honored the soldiers after each battle won since is it an action of common defense.   Isn’t it an act of promoting general welfare when she mobilized the society who contributed their own funds to reestablish Washington, the seat of the government, when it was destroyed by the enemies?   In effect she was demonstrating domestic tranquility when she tried to unite political parties by throwing parties bringing together two opposing political parties; introducing social etiquette and protocol included.   In renovating the White House she wanted every Americans to take pride of it; because to her, the White House is the representation of authority, and a common defense.  Ã‚  This paper outlines that  Dolley Madison had every right to be called the â€Å"last founders† because she put into practice the idealism prescribed in the Constitution long before it was penned in to law.   She created symbolic ties that brought the government closer to the lives of people which were never done before.   To me, she has earned that right to be called the Last Founder as she instituted manners and behaviors as a way to regulate human society and government.  Thomas Jefferson, for one, her husband’s predecessor, disliked the meddling of women in politics and those others who were settled that women should not indulge in politics and should stay as domestics.  ... To me, she has earned that right to be called the Last Founder as she instituted manners and behaviors as a way to regulate human society and government. Criticisms on this move favored her since it was said, â€Å"laws might regulate behaviors, but manners formed the heart and the mind† (Allgor’s Parlor Politics, p 55). It was theorized that this was extremely necessary, since manners played a crucial role in civilizing a society. However, there are those who would not agree on this. Thomas Jefferson, for one, her husband’s predecessor, disliked the meddling of women in politics and those others who were settled that women should not indulge in politics and should stay as domestics. This could practically be correct, because women at those times were denied of their rights. Others viewed it as the Scottish Enlightenment would say, that the presence of women in politics would confuse men, and that in some instances, contradict men’s ideas (Allgor’s Parlor Politics, p.55). Still others, particularly, the Anti-Federalists view the participation of ladies would introduce the government in a monarchy system, and would encourage the rise of aristocracy wherein ruling becomes a center of fashion. Dolley lived during the era of highly gendered world. Thus men were frightened of the â€Å"creeping monarchy† that would endanger both men and women†. Women were depicted with excessive longings for dresses and manner, thus it was said â€Å"the natural tie with women would sap the masculine vigor of the young Republic†,(Allgor’s Parlor Politics, p.55 ) and so therefore the title â€Å"last founder† does not describe of her. The Anti-Federalist viewed Madison’s presidency as a rising monarch. Everyone viewed this as a

Explain the Impacts the Vietnam War Had on Soldiers Essay Example for Free

Explain the Impacts the Vietnam War Had on Soldiers Essay The Vietnam was a war like no other and the nature of the fighting in this war had great impacts on the soldiers. At this time, communism was seen as a great threat, especially by Western countries, and so extreme emphasis was placed on the domino theory that when one country falls to communism, others would follow and that forward defence would be the only solution to this issue. Also during this time, Vietnam was artificially split into the communist South, led by Ho Chi Min who defeated and drove out the French, and the government led South, which was in the power of Diem who was clearly corrupt and had little supporters so the spread of communism was quite likely. In response, American and Australian troops were sent to fight for the South and stop this spread of communism but there were many difficulties. Firstly, the soldiers faced very inhumane and difficult fighting conditions. War itself is gruesome but in Vietnam, the conditions were different and in some ways, it was worse. The terrain was difficult since it is made up of open rice paddies, dense jungles and steep ranges that were filled with small villages containing civilians who were had to avoid. Also, the guerilla warfare made it hard for soldiers to identify the enemy since attacks may come from anybody, including normal civilians such as young children or even the elderly. The issues involved weren’t straightforward and both sides were fighting to convince the people that they had their best interests at heart but the Americans and Australians were seen as invaders with a clumsy fighting style and were seen as supporting the corrupt regime of the South. All these conditions impacted the soldiers negatively because they were disadvantaged; they had to fight in conditions that seemed to be unjust and against what they have been taught, causing many of the soldiers to question their role and also feeling lost and confused with the nature of the fighting and also because their actions aren’t even supported by the people they we fighting for and the people at home due to a social revolution. This caused soldiers to feel cheated but also feel as if they let the people down. This impact on the soldiers is significant because it was through this that led to other long-term issues. Also from the fighting, soldiers were physically impacted. Like in any war, many soldiers would have their health impacted by a vast range of circumstances. Many had wounds of various degrees that were caused by numerous explosions from bombs, shelling and landmines as well as from gunshots or flying shrapnel that affected many parts of the body, handicapping soldiers. Also, the landmines used were very serious. If they did not cause death, the injuries caused by these were extremely severe and terrible, as soldiers would lose a leg or even both legs due to this. Soldiers were also exposed to a strong chemical known as Agent Orange, whose original use was to kill jungle growth so that the enemy could be revealed, but there were many serious long term effects as a result of this which included nervous conditions, many forms of cancer, and genetic deformations which led to malformations of children conceived after the war, and continued on into future generations. So as a result of the fighting in Vietnam, many soldiers were impacted physically. Furthermore, the soldiers experienced extreme psychological problems. Due to the brutal nature of the war, soldiers ended up and were forced to kill many seemingly innocent civilians. This is against what many of the soldiers valued and what they were taught; instead of killing the ferocious enemy armies like what their fathers experienced, young children, helpless mothers and the elderly became the victims, which seemed very wrong. This has led to various mixed emotions, comprising mainly of guilt; guilt for killing the innocent and guilt for letting the South Vietnamese down after promising them so much and leaving them deserted in the end. In addition, soldiers would have lost many of their friends in battle but also returned to a home that has been changed by a social revolution (hippie movement) that resented war so instead of returning as heroes for fighting for their country, the soldiers were only quietly brought back and were isolated. As a result of all this, the veterans faced many mental health problems such as depression, schizophrenia, nightmares that eventually led to high suicide rates and many other social problems. In conclusion, many of the soldiers who went and fought in the Vietnam war never really returned; they have been through and experienced so many horrors and physical, mental and social pain, that they never really blended in with their society at home anymore and never really regained what they had before the war again.

Hamlet and His Many Roles Essay -- essays papers

Hamlet and His Many Roles In the Shakespearean play, Hamlet, the title character portrays many roles, and all of these roles intersect in one scene in the play, Act III, scene ii. This scene takes place at the exact center of the play and if broken up into sections one can see a different aspect of Hamlet’s personality for each one. The play-within-a-play scene suggests that Hamlet is putting on his own play and reminds us that in real life, a person can play many roles. Hamlet plays a different role with each character in the play, such as Polonius, Claudius, Ophelia, Horatio, and the players. In the play scene, these characters are in the same place at the same time. Bert States calls Hamlet â€Å"a succession of responses to rapidly changing stimuli†. As he reacts with each character, he must move from role to role very quickly. It can be asked which roles are parts of Hamlet’s true self and which are feigned? Shakespeare uses references to plays and acting throughout the play to keep in mind the theme of appearance Vs reality. Hamlet says, â€Å"Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well, when our deep plots do pall, and that should learn us/ There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will† (V, ii.lns 8-11). He is referring to the plot, the plan to alter the Murder of Gonzago, that he had earlier used to catch the conscience of the king. Hamlet also refers to a play when speaking of his voyage with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: â€Å"being thus benetted round with villainies-- or I could make a prologue to my brains, they had begun the play† (V, ii. lns 29-31). Here, Hamlet is claiming that his brain is working independently of his will and that a play is being, in a sense, written for him. He is just a... ...s by himself. The play scene highlights the significance of each role and what purpose it serves in Hamlet’s quest for truth and revenge. Bibliography: Works Cited Fisch, Harold. Hamlet and the Word: the Covenant Pattern in Shakespeare. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. 1971 Nevo, Ruth. â€Å"Acts III and IV: Problems of Text and Staging.† Modern Critical Interpretations: William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1986. Rose, Mark. â€Å"Reforming the Role.† Modern Critical Interpretations: William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1986. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. ed. Louis B. Wright. New York, NY: Washington Square Press. 1993. States, Harold. Hamlet and the Concept of Character. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press. 1992.

Shiseido in China

Case- Shiseido: Channeling Cosmetics in China 1. Marketing and distribution channels for cosmetics products performed mainly transactional and logistical function. Distribution channels such as the voluntary specialty chain stores perform transactional function when they buy these cosmetic products from the manufacturer and sell them in their individual stores. They share risk with the producer (Shiseido) as they stock merchandises in anticipation for sales.On the other hand, counters at departmental stores and door-to-door selling perform logistical function, whereby they gather, sort and disperse these cosmetic products at these specific counters. For example, some departmental stores may place all the cosmetics counters together on a single level/ specified area in order to serve its customers better. They can also store these products together at a single venue. Door-to-door selling brings the products directly to the consumers.Facilitating function can sometimes be performed in departmental stores as well, where they highlight the bestselling cosmetic brands/products through their own advertisements. Transactional function is generally more important than logistical function, as the former involves the exchange of value (transaction) of products and money, as well as the potential risk the intermediaries are taking up when they chose to sell these products. If the stock the intermediaries purchased is unsold, they suffer the loss and not the producer.Hence, this function involves tangible gains and losses of the intermediaries, which usually tend to value these aspects more. 2. Channel Length Channel Intensity Creation of the Aupres brand which was sold in 350 departmental stores in 2004 shows the approach of intensive distribution Shiseido undertook, Shiseido in China continued on this approach as it attempted to open specialty model stores for its own brands of cosmetic products (some imported from Japan- Shiseido UV White, and some locally produced bran ds such as WHITIA, ASPLIR) in China.This started in March 2004, which expanded to 800 stores by August 2005, and over 5000 stores by end-March in 2011 due to its success. Channel Type There are various channel types adopted by Shiseido in China. Generally, Shiseido in China is specialised and it initially focused on an exclusive group of consumers through the Aupres brand, which targeted top one percent of Chinese population. Additionally, Shiseido started to expand into medium-priced brands (Za, Pure Mild China, UNO, ASPLIR) and lower-priced brand, DQ, in 2010.It has now changed its target group towards the mass Chinese women and seeks to enhance their beauty and health. It generally segmented its range of products to suit the needs of the different consumer groups (looks for different price range of products). Under store retailing, Shiseido focuses on specialty stores through its voluntary specialty chain stores concept and selling its products through counters in departmental st ores. In 2011, Shiseido has plans to commerce in e-commerce initiatives (non-store retailing) to expand existing points of contact with customers.In 2010, Shiseido also launched a website for Chinese Mail-Order market. Factors influencing channel design and strategy †¢Customer Number/Dispersion The wide range of customers’ purchasing power in China results in the dispersion of consumer segments. -> More brands to target different marketing segments. †¢Market Practices/ Availability of Channels Large number of channels available in China – departmental stores and voluntary speciality stores. †¢Market Penetration and Coverage Initially selective (only in departmental stores) for high end products -> Intensive distribution through specialty stores. Service Quality and Response †¢Resources and Profits Improvements to be made to channel design Current channel design: Indirect channels Marketer/ Producer -> Retailers -> Consumers Shiseido can implement ot her channel designs to broaden its availability to consumers -> Implementing the multichannel marketing Shiseido can start a transactional website to increase sales and target a different consumer group from those who buy its products from retail stores. Eg. Males who find it difficult to purchase cosmetics good from retail stores. Promotional website to provide information about Shiseido’s vast range of products will also be helpful in targeting cross-channel shoppers. 3. What retail strategy does Shiseido in China adopt? How is this strategy related to its segmentation, targeting and branding strategies? Shiseido in China adopted a voluntary specialty chain stores concept and departmental stores promotion as well as drugstores recently for its in-store retailing. This uses indirect channels to distribute its products to consumers.This relates to segmentation as departmental stores and specialty chain stores cater to different groups of consumers because of the different bra nds of products they carry. More high-end and exclusive products are available in departmental stores and specialty chain stores. Medium-priced products specially designed for the China consumer market can also be found in these stores. Lower-priced brand such as DQ, can be found in drugstores instead. Evidently, different brands cater to consumer groups with diverse affluence. Shiseido is using multi-branding strategy to reach out to its consumer market.

A&P vs Araby

In this essay I hope to show differences between John Updike’s A&P and James Joyce’s Arbay. Some of the things are that both of the authors talk about the same idea of a young boy’s growth for their adolescences. These boys need a lot more experience with the real world this comes with time, age and also experience. What is it like for Sammy to grow up with his parents and arbay to grow up with his aunt and uncle? In these essays what would you do if you were in the same situation as these boys? How do these boys need to grow up and mature?Or do you think that their actions might be a little overboard Even though John Updikes’s and James Joyce differ in stories they both are talking about the same type of situation two boys that are growing up from their different situations from their adolesonces. This common ground becomes clear through the way both of the authors wrote their essays. In John Updike’s essay Sammy Works for A&p when he saw a group o f girls come into the store while he was working right away he judged them on what they were wearing and how they looked not even to stop to think about anything about there personality’s.In James Joyce’s essay the author refers to the girl of his his dreams as Megan’s sister? What is her name does he know anything about her. You can see where these stories are starting to one another to relate to one another. In John Updike’s essay A&P Sammy Is telling the story from his perspective witch makes the essay less interesting in my opinion. On the Other hand with James Joyce’s essay Arbay he is a little bit more Experienced and very articulate with his words witch makes the essay more interesting.Sammy from A&P has become very aggravated at his job because the customers are very inconsiderate for many different reasons: As he mentions â€Å"She’s one of the these cash register witches† (227). That gave him hell beause he rang up a box of Hiho crackers two times by mistake. Sammy really got aggravated after that incident happened at work I think that really started to get him aggravated at that point he was really starting to think rationally and not in a mature manner. We see the author and main character of Araby as he battles with his adulthoodEmotions as he tries to understand his feelings towards Megan’s sister every morning He follows her but hardly speaks to her Still â€Å"her name was like a summons to all my Foolish blood† (227). He is still a boy, since he is too scared to approach her but dealing With adult feelings which he does not understand? His anger is shown at the end of the Story, since the bazaar is closed and there is nothing he can get for her and he says â€Å"he Sees himself as a creature driven and derided by vanity† This again shows the battle ofHormones as he sees his feelings being based on how he can impress Megan’s sister. Both boys are going through growing into adulthood differently in their stories Sammy being at the A&P sees his store as the average place where the boring, ugly Average people go the girls he sees come in represent a fantasy of his the better Merchandise that is better than average the main character of Araby also has a fantasy But in his turn to adulthood he tries to buy the girl of his dreams an object Therefore, It’s a subject shown as the boys are growing into adulthood it is frustrating to bothSince the boy in Araby is unable to attain anything for the sister, and Sammy sees the Merchandise at A&P as average and meaningless anyway Vanity is frustrating because a lot of girls like physical things and gifts from boys and for the boy in Araby he is not able to get this and therefore has failed in being able to impress the girl Sammy sees the A&P as not being good enough for the bathing suit girls which maybe why he decides it is not good enough for him either. One thing I want to point out is that in A&P we see the difference between omeone in adulthood and someone growing into it While Sammy wishes to see the girls in their bathing suits that come into A&P, his manager scolds the girls, telling them they have too little clothing Sammy here represents one side of pre-adulthood, where in his mind the girls are better than the average woman who shop in A&P, the ones who are â€Å"house slaves in pin curlers† and â€Å"women with six children and varicose veins mapping their legs† (64).His manager is the other side well into his adulthood who sees the girls as being indecent, and even says something about the next time they will ave to come in â€Å"with their shoulders covered† (64) Sammy is so angered at this he quits which shows the level of emotion in the theme of growing into adulthood His Hormones have gotten the best of his reason and he acts upon his emotions. Although there are definite differences in â€Å"Arabay† and â€Å"A&P,† we see the sam e theme of growing into adulthood in both stories This is not an easy task Both Sammy and the boy from Arabay find themselves frustrated as they go through their thoughts Sammy is concerned with quality which is something he sees little of in theA&P, in both his judgment of the A&P and women that usually are shopping in it The author of Arabay is also concerned with quality on a different level He hopes to get a good present for his friend’s sister that is the girl he is feeling his adulthood directed on. He is unhappy when he comes to the bazaar, and sees that most of the things are gone and he is unable to provide something to the girl of his dreams that satisfies him. In both stories the boys share a common frustration with their feelings and change in attitudes, which show the inner turmoil of hormones, and their progress to adulthood.