Protecting our Individual Rights essays

Securing our Individual Rights articles Singular rights are one of the foundations this nation is based upon. Truth be told, singular rights are the establishment of any majority rule government, and unquestionably discrete us from the hopelessness of autocracy, socialism, and dictatorship. Be that as it may, while numerous residents underestimate singular rights in our general public, there are other people who are determined to decreasing person rights for the sake of balance and wellbeing. Our individual rights are in risk from an assortment of sources, and securing them, while still ensuring society in general, ought to be principal in the psyches of all Singular rights are not another idea. They were chief in the psyches of our ancestors who produced another country. Three Constitutional specialists note, As ahead of schedule as 1646 there emerged in Massachusetts the interest for the 'pleasure in our lives, libertys and homes, as per our due and common rights, as freeborne subjects of the English country' (Barlow, Toll, and Masugi 169). This voracious requirement for opportunity originated from times of mistreatment and oppression in Great Britain, where just the highest echelons of society and business appreciated the most distinction and benefit. Recently settled Americans would have liked to fashion a land where there were no class differentiations, and everybody could appreciate similar benefits and freedoms. Truth be told, we constitutionalized these rights, which as a result implied the governing body couldn't just enact singular rights, they were ensured by the Constitution, and would require state endorsement to modify singular rights. These laws are likewise alluded to as principal law, higher law, or vital law (Barlow, Levy, and Masugi 170). Along these lines, law ensures our individual rights, and accordingly, we now and then take them Singular rights envelop numerous aspects regularly neglected in the battle for independence versus the benefit of the entirety. Remembered for the essential rights we appreciate are the privilege to... <!

Precise Molded Products Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Exact Molded Products - Case Study Example Likewise, the organization may go through some cash on the trainings and extra working hours for the entire division yet the outcomes will profit the organization over the long haul. Today is smarter to contribute on human capital and have the drawn out advantages than set aside cash today and constantly cause misfortunes in light of the rejects later on. The top administration will hold a gathering and converse with the individuals from the quality office and get some information about their issues and worries about their specialty, the items, and the organization in general. In the wake of assessing the issues experienced in the office, proficient learners will hold the preparation. The preparation will incorporate group structures to improve the representatives' relationship with one another so clashes and correspondence hindrances will be forestalled. Second, TQM preparing will be done on the grounds that it is presently generally used to guarantee quality in all parts of the organization. All out Quality Management is likewise fit for disposing of imperfections and mistakes in activities (Stark, 1998). Six Sigma will likewise be remembered for the preparation. This is currently a well known pattern in the executives where information serious philosophy is utilized to take out deformities in the organization's creation (Six Sigma). This will help Bob Thomas in decreasing the creation rejects of the organization utilizing systematical approaches. References Six Sig

This is where my decisions have taken me

This is where my decisions have taken me “Einen Faden in die Hand nehmen, der in jedem Fall, unter allen Umständen weiterläuft, an dem man sich, wenn es not tut, halten kann…” “To take in one’s hand a thread which continues always and through all circumstances, to which one can hold tight, when necessary…” from Nachdenken über Christa T. (The Quest for Christa T.) by Christa Wolf *         *        * I used to think of decision-making as a complicated optimization problem. There was some quantity I wanted to maximize (say, my happiness, or the good I could do for the world) and would maximize, if I could only be prescient enough to solve for the best combination of choices. Once solved for, I could plan my future by laying these decisions out in front of me; once in place, I could follow them where I wanted to go. So there I was one afternoon at MIT, talking to Dumbledore in his office, outlining the pros and cons of some decision. I guess my anxiety gave away my obsession with getting it all exactly right. Anna, Dumbledore said, Let me tell you a story. One day, as a young man, he got in an elevator. Another person got in the elevator. It was a slow elevator, I suppose, so they had time to talk. That person became a mentor to him, encouraged him to go to graduate school, and the rest is history. That anecdote probably got over-simplified while making a home for itself in my memory. But I think that the moral was this: you can try to micromanage your future, but ultimately you can’t predict or control what will happen to you. Your decisions set the initial conditions, and chance encounters will deflect you. You should work hard so that you’re prepared to take advantage of what comes (like a chatty stranger in an elevator) but that’s fundamentally different from, say, choosing the “right” major or the “right” career. I think that sometimes we reconstruct our paths in our memories so that it all flows logically, but I suspect that there’s more chance and arbitrariness than we’d like to admit. Could I have majored in something else and been just as happy? Probably. Could I have a different job right now and feel just as “right”? Almost certainly. Is that something to agonize over? No. At some point, there’s too much scatter between a set of options for yo u to be able to predict which one is “best.” You narrow things down to a reasonable set, then pick one and run with it. I picked grad school in astronomy. As a result, the contents of the binders on my bookshelf have narrowed in scope. They used to contain arrow pushing diagrams from organic chemistry, notes on plays by Tom Stoppard, and equations describing every conceivable combination of springs and swinging pendulums. Now, it’s all space physics: notes on the fate of stars, on how galaxies form and evolve, on runaway thermonuclear reactions, on the thermal history of the universe. This would horrify undergrad Anna, who was afraid of specialization, the consequence of making decisions. But it feels good to specialize. As a grad student, Im responsible for every detail of a project. I own it, even if goodness knows it wasn’t my idea. When my colleagues grill me on my research, its satisfying because I know the details. I did the details, I am the expert. It’s a kind of high, being so deeply engrossed in a topic. And I get to take this depth with me when I discuss science with the public. Last weekend, I gave a talk for the Santa Monica Amateur Astronomy Society, and the audience asked me questions I couldnt have answered a year or even a few months ago. I answered, and then I answered the follow-up questions, and was surprised to find that I could go deeper and deeper. I’ve found fulfilment in expertise and joy in obsession. Another reward of specialization is the community, united by the kinds of problems you think about or the approaches you take, and even a shared language. When I arrived in Germany (I spent a year there on a Fulbright, after I graduated) I remember thinking to myself that I had to learn two foreign languages: outside work I was surrounded by German, and at work I was surrounded by stellar spectroscopy and galaxy evolution. I had no idea what anyone was talking about, anywhere, anytime. I slowly picked up both languages, and now I find it oddly comforting to hear German, the same way I find it oddly comforting to hear particular astro-lingo. There is a danger in this: you might forget how to speak other languages. It’s eerie to ask someone what they work on and get a response that is technically correct English yet totally incomprehensible. It’s in your interest to be able to effectively translate what you do, to your colleagues and to the source of your funding. And it’s your responsibility to effectively translate what you do to the public, to do what you can to improve science literacy. Earlier this summer, I went to a workshop where the goal was to train graduate students how to effectively communicate their science with the public part of this was reminding ourselves what language we used to speak, before we arrived at our respective specialties. Another danger of specialization is to one’s self esteem. I’m only a year into grad school, but my impression is that an all-consuming occupation like research can sneak its way into becoming the sole way you judge yourself. Research progresses slowly, so the timescales on which you are rewarded are long, and in between you can feel aimless and frustrated. So, its important to pursue hobbies and interests that routinely make you feel happy, on a timescale much shorter than the timescale on which research rewards you. I identified what those pursuits are for me while I was at MIT: engaging with the public about what I do by giving talks,  teaching, volunteering. It’s not that “hard” in the sense that over time I’ve built up a set of materials that I can use over and over again, and I’m not scared of questions because I either know the answer or know how to find it. And it’s always immediately rewarding, and sometimes even deeply rewarding on longer timescales, when I stay in touch with old students and watch them grow. It is harder to pursue other interests now that I’m no longer an undergrad, where anytime I left my room I was bombarded with more interesting things than I could handle (and the interesting things even sneaked their way into my room, via a zillion mailing lists). But I’ve taken strands from MIT in hand, and pulled them with me to grad school. My senior year, I was bummed when the Paradise Lost seminar didn’t fit my schedule, and Prof. Arthur Bahr generously offered to read it with me. After I graduated, Arthur offered to put me in touch with a medievalist at Caltech “whenever you feel like your feet are planted enough to resume thinking about medieval literature.” Now, I have a reading group with this professor and two of my friends (including Becky ’12, another former student of medieval literature at MIT!) We’re making our way through Pearl, a beautiful haunting poem from the 14th century about coming to terms with love and loss. The reason I suggested Pearl is that Arthur wrote an essay (and is maybe even writing a book?) on it. I’m excited to finish the poem, read Arthur’s essay, then write him a note to let him know that Becky and I caught the Medieval Literature bug from him, big time. These other activities give me the chance to climb out of my specialist hole, dust myself off, have a look around, and remind myself what else is out there to be enjoyed and learned. Thats what Im doing right now, writing this at a cafe near Caltech. I’m just starting a new research project, and it’s frustrating to be a beginner again; I felt like I had a handle on my old project, and it’s tempting to hide in that old project forever. But I know that it’s good for me to do something new. And it’s an exciting problem (gravitational waves and merging black holes and radio interferometry, anyone?) but UGH, Ive been banging my head against the wall for the past couple of weeks. So, thanks for the excuse to take a break and blog, Chris. This afternoon, I’ll dive right back in again.

Understanding Iridium Flares

Our night skies are packed full of stars and planets to observe on a dark night. However, there are more objects closer to home that observers plan on seeing every so often. These include the International Space Station (ISS) and numerous satellites. The ISS appears as a slow-moving high-altitude craft during its crossings. Many people often mistake it for a very high-flying jet. Most satellites look like dimmer points of light moving against the backdrop of stars. Some satellites appear to move east to west, while others are in polar orbits (moving nearly north-south). They generally take a little longer to cross the sky than the ISS does. A pair of Iridium satellites flaring. Jupiter is to the right and the bright star Arcturus is to the lower left. Jud McCranie, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0. There are thousands of artificial satellites around Earth, in addition to thousands of other objects such as rockets, reactor cores, and pieces of space debris (sometimes referred to as space junk). Not all of them can be seen with the naked eye. Theres a whole collection of objects called Iridium satellites that can look very bright during certain times of day and night. Glints of sunlight bouncing from them are referred to as Iridium flares and for years they have been observed fairly easily. Many people probably have seen an iridium flare and simply not known what they were looking at. It also turns out that other satellites can show these glints, although most are not as bright as the iridium flares. Whats Iridium? Satellite phone or pager users are major users of the Iridium satellite constellation. The constellation is a set of 66 orbiting stations that provide global telecommunications coverage. They follow highly inclined orbits, which means that their paths around the planet are close to (but not quite) from pole to pole. Their orbits are roughly 100 minutes long and each satellite can link to three others in the constellation. The first  Iridium  satellites were planned to be launched as a set of 77. The name Iridium comes from the element iridium, which is number 77 in the periodic table of the elements. It turns out that 77 were not needed. Today, the constellation is used largely by the military, as well as other clients in the airline and air traffic control communities. Each  Iridium  satellite has a spacecraft bus, solar panels, and a set of antennae. The first generations of these satellites go around Earth in roughly 100-minute orbits at a speed of 27,000 kilometers per ho ur. The History of Iridium Satellites Satellites have been orbiting Earth since the late 1950s when  Sputnik 1  was launched. It soon became obvious that having telecommunication stations in low-Earth orbit would make long-distance communications much easier and so countries began launching their own satellites in the 1960s. Eventually, companies got involved, including the Iridium Communications corporation. Its founders came up with the idea of a constellation of stations in orbit in the 1990s. After the company struggled to find customers and eventually went bankrupt, the constellation is still in operation today and its current owners are planning a new generation of satellites to replacing the aging fleet. Some of the new satellites, called Iridium NEXT, have already been launched aboard SpaceX rockets and more will be sent to space to orbits that will likely not produce as many flares as the older generation has. What Is an Iridium Flare?   As each Iridium satellite orbits the planet, it has a chance to reflect sunlight toward Earth from its triad of antennae. That flash of light as seen from Earth is called an Iridium flare. It looks very much like a meteor flashing through the air very rapidly. These brilliant events can happen up to four times a night and can get as bright as -8 magnitude. At that brightness, they can be spotted in the daytime, although its much easier to see them at night or in twilight. Observers can often spot the satellites themselves crossing the sky, just as they would any other satellite. Looking for an Iridium Flare It turns out that Iridium flares can be predicted. This is because the satellite orbits are well known. The best way to find out when to see one to use a site called  Heavens Above, which keeps track of many known bright satellites, including the Iridium constellation. Simply enter your location and get a feel for when you might see a flare and where to look for it in the sky. The website will give the time, brightness, location in the sky, and length of the flare for as long as they continue to occur. Saying Goodbye to Iridium Flares Over the next few years, many of the low-orbiting Iridium satellites that have been reliably producing flares will be decommissioned. The next generation of satellites wont be producing such flares as reliably as the old ones did due to their orbital configurations. So, it may be that Iridium flares could become a thing of the past. Fast Facts Iridium flares are caused by sunlight glinting from the surfades of low-orbiting Iridium satellites.Such flares can be very bright and last only a few seconds.As new generations of Iridium satellites are being put into higher orbits, Iridium flares may become a thing of the past.

Amazon The Leading E Commerce Organization - 1592 Words

HR Relevance With Amazon.com currently reigning as the leading e-commerce organization in the world, it would be hard to fathom this would be the case without major efforts from human resources. According to my review of the literature in the coopetition case study, Amazon believes in serving the customer and creating value for that customer. This value creation and customer service would be difficult to achieve without an important HR function; recruitment and selection, and the staffing of organizations. â€Å"Staffing is a critical organizational function concerned with the acquisition, deployment, and retention of the organization’s workforce† (Heneman, Judge, Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012, p. 6). In simple terms, Amazon would not be the organization it is today without being able to hire the people it needs, use them effectively, and keep them from leaving. Additionally, as noted by Heneman, Judge, Kammeyer-Mueller (2012), â€Å"staffing is arguably the most criti cal function underlying organizational effectiveness, because â€Å"the people make the place,† because labor costs are often the highest organizational cost, and because poor hiring decisions are not easily undone† (p. 6). Second, successful negation is another element Amazon uses with its coopetition-based business model in essentially letting their competitors win. â€Å"A seminal game theoretic rationale by Brandenburger and Nalebuff (1996) is that â€Å"letting your competitors win too is ok, as long as you win yourself.†Show MoreRelatedAmazon Business Strategy 11203 Words   |  5 PagesAmazon Business Strategy BIS/219 Amazon Business Strategy Successful business partnerships are the driving force behind competitive online retailers. Innovated strategies, business techniques, and customer relations management (CRM) will further enhance Amazon’s customer satisfaction and loyalty. 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The competitive advantage and evolution of Amazon can b e analyzed by determining if the company if movingRead MorePestel / Pestle Analysis Of Amazon971 Words   |  4 PagesAn Organization I am familiar with I want to speak about its Pest analysis is Amazon. Amazon.com Inc. successfully shelters the issues shown in the PESTEL/PESTLE examination of its e-commerce business and remote or macro-environment. The PESTEL/PESTLE Analysis model is a tool for classifying the external factors that shape the conditions of a company’s remote or macro-environment. In the case of Amazon, the circumstances of the online retail market are measured. As the largest firm in the marketRead MoreThe Company Amazon.com Inc. An E Commerce Based Industry Essay1289 Words   |  6 Pages Political The company Amazon.Com Inc. an e-commerce based industry can be affected by the country’s political external factors for example: A) political stability of developed countries. It could creates an opportunity to expand . 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Slaughterhouse-Five and Beloved Free Essays

string(63) " novel is from the point of view of a severely disturbed mind\." The modern human attitude is largely framed by the philosophy of science, in America. According to this philosophy the world is governed by the fixed laws of physics, through which humans find intellectual enlightenment. In this world of science, knowledge is power, and this power renders humans more able to shape their destiny. We will write a custom essay sample on Slaughterhouse-Five and Beloved or any similar topic only for you Order Now The American ideal of the self-made individual, (although usually vouched in the terms of religion), is structured upon this science based premise. But a contradiction lies at the heart of this blending of scientific philosophy and individual identity. It is that a physically and scientifically determined universe does not allow for free will. The modern headlong march towards scientific utopia thus carries grave peril because a philosophy that denies the inexorable human desire for free will ultimately is not self-sustaining. It is as if people are surrendering to destiny at the price of believing that the will is empowered by science. It recalls Franklin Roosevelt’s memorable comment that â€Å"freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved† (qtd. in Singh 143). This crucial issue is dealt with by Kurt Vonnegut in his novel Slaughterhouse-Five. Although many readers view Vonnegut’s novel as advocating fatalism, the opposite is true. Billy Pilgrim, the novel’s protagonist, clearly advocates that humans must overcome fatalism in order to restore free will and sustain forward movement. Toni Morrison, in her novel Beloved, suggests that humans also should overcome the fixity of time. To move forward, both Sethe and Paul D must learn to redefine themselves by psychologically releasing themselves from the physical chains of their previous slavery. The central message of both authors is that there is no looking back. A vigorous free will must always look forward. Sociological and psychological factors may be challenges, but they are not impediments to the free will. The only such barriers are those that exist within humans. The crucial factor is the orientation of people’s vision. Both texts stress the importance of escaping the grip of the past by focusing on the future, and thus are aimed at nourishing hope. The guiding motif in this analysis is thus time. The novels can also be read as reminders of the American ideal, and what it means to be a successful American in the modern era. The American outlook has always resisted historicity. Its orientation is to leave the old world behind and focus on the forging of the new. But modern Americans are surrendering to historicity once more, and thereby squandering their freedom. By chasing synthetic and materialistic dreams (which is merely slavery to past success), we lose our moral orientation, and this is a failure of the American ideal. If we hope to recover from this decadence we must re-establish our freedom, which should be in the spirit of Emerson’s â€Å"nonconformism†. The novel Slaughterhouse-Five is intensely personal to Kurt Vonnegut, though Billy Pilgrim is not necessarily the alter ego of the author. He draws on his experience of having fought in the Second World War, been taken prisoner, and surviving the blanket firebombing of Dresden. He survived by being trapped as a prisoner-of-war in an underground locker of a slaughterhouse, and emerged a few days later to apprehend the charred desolation. In the novel, Billy Pilgrim goes through the same experience which turns out to be the defining moment of his existence. He has become â€Å"unstuck in time† through his experience of this event, meaning that the flow of time does not effect him anymore, and that he can shift at will from one moment in time to another. He experiences only episodes, in random order, and over and over again, but they always refer back to the Dresden massacre. He does not realize what is happening until much later, when he is abducted by alien creatures known as the Tralfamadorians. They reveal to him that free will is only an illusion, and because they exist in four dimensions – the fourth dimension being time – they observe past, present and future simultaneously, and the entire life as a unified whole. Time itself is indestructible, and, therefore, one lives one’s life over and over again. One only has free will to the extent that one chooses to concentrate on the better moments in life. This is the way Tralfamadorian literature is written, as one of his captors reveals to him, â€Å"There isn’t any particular relationship between the messages, except that the author has chosen them carefully, so that, when seen all at once, they produce an image of life that is beautiful and surprising and deep. There is no beginning, no middle, no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects. What we love in our books are the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time (Vonnegut 88). † After this encounter, Billy is confirmed in his fatalism, and he is described as living the episodes of his life over and over again. Before his violent end in the year 1976, he reveals to the world the secret about the nature of time which he has learned from the Tralfamadorian. He does so with calm and collected purpose, because he knows beforehand that his message will be accepted. He even avoids bearing a grudge towards his own murderer, knowing that it is all fated, and that death itself is of no consequence. The vital clue that the novel as taking place frozen time is found in Vonnegut’s introduction, in which he says, â€Å"This is a novel somewhat in the telegraphic schizophrenic manner of tales of the planet Tralfamadore, where the flying saucers come from† (Ibid, title page). The tales told on that distant planet take place in static time, and by pointing out this similarity the author is acknowledging the existence of dynamic time, which the Trafalmadorians deny. Regarding this weird theory, there is ample evidence that what is told about the aliens is nothing more than a figment of Billy’s imagination, and that much of the novel is from the point of view of a severely disturbed mind. You read "Slaughterhouse-Five and Beloved" in category "Papers" It is his own fixity in time which he tries to rationalize with his tales of the aliens. The description of the aliens as upside down toilet plungers is laughable, and this is a clue from the author that we are not supposed to believe in them and their outlandish concept of time. Even though Billy is portrayed as a weakling, readers should not judge his fatalism as abnormal, or his ideas about time as merely the products of an unsettled imagination. Vonnegut is passing judgment on the ethos of the human age, and readers know this because the world accepts Billy’s revelations in the end, also, because the narrative is rooted in the Second World War. This is the event that finally shatters the notion of â€Å"progress† as in the eighteenth century Enlightenment. The consequence of the two world wars is the paralysis of cultural will, and this is captured through Billy’s fantastic notion of time, also rooted in the Second World War. Billy’s particular circumstance, allied with his curious nature, allows him to come to vital understanding that he lives in an age of stagnancy. But even though the novel is mainly concerned with depicting the human age, there are also enough clues that point to the way out of this nightmare. For example, Vonnegut, in his own character in the novel, talks about its composition to his publisher in Chapter 1, and says, â€Å"People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore. I’ve finished my war book now. The next one I write is going to be fun. This one is a failure, and had to be, since it was written by a pillar of salt (28). † Whatever deep secrets it conveys, the novel is declared to be a failure, and Vonnegut admits that he too is subject to frozen time in writing such a novel, describing himself as â€Å"a pillar of salt†. The reference in to Lot’s wife, who is described in Genesis as turning into a pillar of salt because she chose to look back with attachment to the incinerating city of Sodom. Looking back is made to be the most fatal destroyer of the will. So he promises he will not do it again, and his subsequent novels will be situated in dynamic time. For Vonnegut, hope resides in leaving the past behind. Toni Morrison delivers the same message in a very different context. Slavery is an integral part of the birth of the American nation. It is now universally admitted to have been a cruel institution. But, as E H Carr puts it, history is only â€Å"the key to the understanding of the present† (14). It is very difficult for us to empathize with the motivations of the slave-owners, and any effort in this direction is bound to be controversial. But in her novel Beloved, Morrison is not intent on giving the reader further history, or even a commentary of history. The advocacy is clear, that humans should leave history behind. Sethe is a former slave, now living out her freedom with her teenage daughter Denver, and recently having admitted another former slave Paul D as her partner. She is trying to suppress her horrific past, but the arrival of Paul D brings it back to her. Once, when fleeing from her sadistic owner, she had murdered her 2 year old daughter, thinking that capture was inevitable, and she did not want her children to suffer slavery. Soon after the arrival of Paul D, the embodied spirit of her murdered daughter appears, calling herself Beloved. Her appearance brings new life into all that come in contact with her, because she infuses tension into their lives, by which they must react. She becomes a demanding presence in the household, and Sethe finds herself at her beck and call. The shy and retiring Denver find herself forced out of the household and in the process acquires maturity. Even Paul D learns to open up his â€Å"rusted tin tobacco box† of a heart in her presence. In the end she disappears just as suddenly, and all the tensions are at once relieved. But she has touched lives in such a way that in her aftermath they are all restored to life and hope. Beloved clearly represents a horrible past, and one which must be dealt with finally. Even traces of the tale itself must not be left behind, and so the novel ends, â€Å"This is not a story to pass on† (Morrison 324). The past must be completely extinguished, and once this has been done, there is the possibility of shaping one’s destiny through the exercise of free will. These novels by Vonnegut and Morrison raise the issue of what it means to be successful in America today. Traditionally, historicity had been part of the old world, and that which the new world tries to leave behind. But these novels suggest that historicity has certainly caught up with modern America, and is the root to modern decadence. But to review the exhortations of the greatest Americans of the past is only to confirm that the nation was established on the basis of freedom, and freedom necessarily entails the letting go of the past. In the early period of the Puritan fathers the message use to be couched in terms of religion, and which we may detect in the sermons of Jonathan Edwards. In his speech â€Å"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God† there is no reference to anything in the past. It is entirely aimed at striking terror in the heart of the sinners, by evoking the visions of the hell that awaits them, laced with such warnings as: â€Å"There is nothing that keeps wicked men, at any moment, out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God† (Edwards 90). Edwards relies on the immediacy of his message, and thereby strikes a particularly American note. The calm transcendentalism of Ralph Waldo Emerson may seem to be at a polar opposite, yet projects the same obligation to freedom. In his essay â€Å"Nature† he says, â€Å"Our age is retrospective. It builds the sepulchers of the fathers. It writes biographies, histories, and criticism. The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes† (Emerson 181). Writing in the middle of the 19th century, he warns that the true American spirit of freedom is being quickly eroded, and will not be recovered until we relearn how to apprehend nature with immediacy. â€Å"Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist,† he says in his essay â€Å"Self Reliance† (Ibid 269). Any sort of conformity is compromising to the freedom, and therefore is a betrayal of the American ethos. Mark Twain conveys the same message in his classic children’s adventure story Huckleberry Finn. Set in the context of slavery and emancipation, it is more truly about the slavery of the whites than that of the blacks. Huck is fleeing from his drunken father, but he also becomes wary of the pious and benevolent reach of society that tries to civilize him. He sets himself up on a floating raft, with an escaped slave, and only here he feels free and himself: â€Å"[T]here warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft† (Twain123). Huck’s suspicion towards society and civilization is the central point of the novel, and this makes him a true American. Vonnegut and Morrison would say that modern American is a betrayal of the founding spirit of the nation, where conformity to a media constructed reality in the norm. It is a historicity of a different sort which America enslaves itself to. It is as if history is rewritten by Hollywood, and such false history tends to become the worldview of the average American. The media projects crass materialism in every aspect, where fame is the highest criterion for judging worth. So, Americans not only follow the dress code of celebrity film stars, they also follow the history and sociology of celebrity historians and sociologists. This in conformity of the most enslaving form, and represents a total loss of freedom. The judgment must be that, without the recovery of the Emersonian spirit of nonconformism there is no way out of this predicament. Americans must strive once again to succeed as human beings, and must stop chasing the fame and fortune of film stars. The crucial necessity is to recover free will. Both Vonnegut and Morrison bring the message that the barriers to the exercise of free will lie not in external conditions, but within each human being. If people believe that they lie with social, psychological or emotional factors, then they subscribe to the thinking of the Enlightenment, which believed that a scientific approach to understanding external conditions will result in their gradual removal, and generally in the direction of utopia. Vonnegut intends to explode this myth, and tells readers that such determinism renders the free will paralyzed, and he depicts the modern world as having met this unacceptable end. Like Morrison does in her novel Beloved, Vonnegut advocates that humans must overcome the past if they hope to exercise control over their future. Morrison’s specific concern is the fixity of Black America in the past of slavery, but she is in fact addressing a wider malaise in America as a whole. The common message is that slavery to the past is destructive to the free will, and therefore disastrous to the American ideal. Works Cited Carr, E. H. What is History? New York: Penguin Books, 1967. Edwards, Jonathan. A Jonathan Edwards Reader. Eds. John Edwin Smith, Harry S. Stout. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Selected Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Eds. William H. Gilman, Charles Johnson. New York: Signet Classic, 2003. Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Vintage International, 2004. Singh, M. P. Quote Unquote. Twin Lakes, WI: Lotus Press, 2007. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Signet Classic, 2002. Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-five, Or, the Children’s Crusade: A Duty-dance With Death. New York: Dell, 1969. How to cite Slaughterhouse-Five and Beloved, Papers

Willy loman vs. Oedipus The King Essay Example For Students

Willy loman vs. Oedipus The King Essay Although they were composed around 2,500 years apart from one another, Oedipus The King by Sophocles, and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller are known as two of the best tragedy plays ever written. Both of these plays twist and turn with tragedy, and irony. Oedipus was bore to the king and queen of Thebes. At a very young age, they disowned Oedipus and drove metal pins through his ankles and gave them to a shepherd. The shepherds job was to put Oedipus on top of Cithaeron and leave him there to die. The shepherd gave the baby to a fellow shepherd he met on the mountain from the city-state of Corinth. Soon enough the child ended up in the household of the childless king and queen of Corinth. As a young man he learned of his fate to kill his father and marry his mother. Fleeing his family and seeking refuge from his terrible future in a distant city-state of Thebes only brought the actualization of the forecast. Unbeknownst to Oedipus, he had killed his father on his journey and entered the bed of his mother. We will write a custom essay on Willy loman vs. Oedipus The King specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now He lived in his relationship and as King of Thebes for many years until at last he painfully revealed the blinding truth over the course of one shocking day. Realizing what he had done, he blinds himself with the golden pins of his wardrobe and has himself banished to a far away land where he will cause nobody harm. Death of a Salesman is a modern day tragedy based on the life of Willy Loman, a New England traveling salesman in the mid 1900s. Willy, the average American Joe is married to Linda Loman, a deep and caring woman, who he had two sons Biff and Happy with. The play starts out when Biff and Happy are in their twenties, and Willys sales career is on a downward spiral, with his whole family there to watch it. Willy has never had a great relationship with either of his sons, especially Biff. Willy feels he is failing his family. Willy lives his life in a series of illusions of the past. All of these illusions are of great family, and career memories. Willy stays in these illusions because I feel he is too afraid to live in reality where he would be forced to examine his affair in Boston, his philosophy and all of his family and financial debts. Willy loses his job and is on the brink of suicide and forever failing his attempts to make his family better than average. Willy commits suicide so his family can receive the insurance check and so Biff can live a successful life without worries. I feel that both these characters life came crashing down on them, and I feel for each man and play, but more for Willy and Death of a Salesman. Willy had his reason to die, but even in the end his plan didnt work as expected. At his funeral no one except for his family and best friend Charlie showed up. He worked so hard to accomplish so little. The impact of this play was amazingly strong. I feel for this man because his life is so common, unlike the strange and horrible life of Oedipus. He was an ordinary working Joe with a family and wife to support. As any man, Willy had big dreams, but to see them come crashing down upon him left me with a sense of pity for the man. He seemed like a crazy man who had lost his mind. But we all know he was just a guy whod had it all rough and simply couldnt take it any more. Death of a Salesman hit home with us all, and that is why I feel it is the more tragic play. Aristotle and Arthur Miller have theories of tragedy in which they can be somewhat compared and contrasted. Aristotle believes that the tragic hero should be one of higher society, in which his downfall and emotions effect the lives of many people around him. Miller on the other hand believes that the tragic hero should be one of the common man, some sympathetic character that everyone can relate to, someone stuck deep in the virtues of society. Both men though feel that the character either in their mind, or publicly have a supreme pride in which must be abolished, adding to the tragedy of the tragic heros life. Both once again, feel that the tragic hero must have a sense of vigorous protest. Both Oedipus and Willy know their pain and situation but try not to realize it until it is too late. Oedipus by never believing he killed Lauis until he was shown with evidence. Willy, by never really accepting the fact he was failing his family and job. Aristotle feels that the turning of the Gods on the characters life is what causes his downfall. .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 , .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .postImageUrl , .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 , .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:hover , .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:visited , .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:active { border:0!important; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:active , .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Pop Culture WarsReligion The Role of Enterta EssayMiller believes that the heros fall is blamed on something superior, not the Gods, but society in which case is like a god to Willy. The tragic hero should not be perfect, nor should he be so dull and stupid or so young as to be incapable of understanding what is happening to him, stated by Aristotle, in which Miller agrees greatly. They also both believe that the protagonist may be a victim, but he must also know and bow in total acceptance of his destruction. Aristotle believes that the tragic figure makes choices and takes actions that result in his consequences. You can strongly feel that Miller believes that some, if not most of the figures downfall is caused by his words towards others (This also is where most of the irony is in his play, why Sophocles relies mainly on dramatic irony). I feel that Millers approach to tragedy and the tragic hero prove to be most valid. I think that Aristotles approach is somewhat outdated. I believe that in the times of his life, society and the arts were based mainly on the lives of the noble, therefore never reflecting the lives or emotions of the common man. Miller gets somewhat a little of both worlds into his theories. He still follows some basic rules formed by Aristotle (as noted above), but yet changes the view of the tragic hero in ways that the common mans life is tragic, and needs to be recognized in all that it is. I enjoy that. Although societys outlook on people do change over the years, Miller was very well able to produce theories in which any man, from any time would be able to relate to. To sum it up, I feel overall tragedy must preach revolution, and that is exactly what Miller does. Both plays have a sense of true tragedy other than that of just the tragic hero. The plots of these two plays is a good example. The very complex plot in Oedipus The King is both filled with horrible views of incest and disgust, while it also delivers a sense of pity for the character. This play includes a complete reversal in the situation of the play. This occurs in Oedipus when he begins to feel that he is the one that murdered Lauis and slept with his mother, after trying to tell himself and the country that he was not that man. That shows a sense of recognition also, in which Aristotle believes is a true element of tragedy. I feel though the more affective plot, although simple, is that of Death of a Salesman. The story starts off with the reader already realizing Willys downfall and his losing life, which brings the pity to the play. This play I think is very strong because it is full of drama all the way through, not consisting of a reversal or recognition. Recognition is not shown in this play because Willy is just ignorant to realize his life, in which no change occurs. That dramatically effects the plays strength. The structure in these two plays is a key element in their tragic effects towards the reader. In both Oedipus and Death of a Salesman. flashbacks play an important role in the play. In Oedipus The King, it is through flashbacks that Oedipus realizes he is the murderer of his father, bringing the downfall on him. The flashbacks in Death of a Salesman are a lot stronger in effect towards drama, because the Willy lives his life in them. It is through flashbacks that the reader realizes the true drama and irony of both the present day actions and words of Willy. The play is illusion vs. eality. If this play wouldnt of been structured around Willy Living his life in the past, it would not be considered one of the greatest dramatic plays. The reader realizes the downfall of Willy and his Family through them. The transition from time periods in a lot more obvious in Death of a Salesman and a lot more important than that of Oedipus, in Oedipus The King there is a are a few scenes in which he visits the past, while the text clearly shows the transition. In Death of a Salesman, Miller shows the transition of the past and present by a few notable things. .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 , .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .postImageUrl , .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 , .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:hover , .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:visited , .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:active { border:0!important; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:active , .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Observation phase EssayIn the present, Millers writing and tone is more serious and dark, while in the past, the tone becomes a lot more brighter and optimistic. Irony plays another key role in the success of these dramatic plays. Most of the power of Oedipus derives from dramatic irony. The reader is clued in on this in the prologue, in which is the richest in dramatic irony. In that scene, everyone concerned is still in complete darkness to the truth and their ignorance therefore causes their words and actions to carry much greater weight. In Death of a Salesman, it is that of situational irony that brings the reader closer to Willys downfall. The entire play is carried almost completely by the dialog, which is vital to the plays success. One such incident is Willys views of Biffs career track. Biff is a lazy bum! , shortly after, Willy states: Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such -personal attractiveness, gets lost. And such a hard worker . Theres one thing about Biff-hes not lazy. (Death of a Salesman 16). Another example is when Willy wishes that cars today would have fold down windshields, They just dont make them liked they used to Willy said. Linda soon reminds him that he told her he was driving with the windshield down on the way home from his trip. Situational irony drives this play to greatness, without it, the plot would be lost. Oedipus The King is weaker in the irony part, compared to Death of a Salesman, because in Oedipus it just answers the questions, doesnt tell the story. The tragic man is the key role in both of these plays. Oedipus in Oedipus The King, and Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. Through Oedipus a man is presented whose good side causes harm and whose bad side works good. Oedipus himself is one vicious irony, for his virtues devolve into virulent vices that wreak his complete destruction. Oedipuss main tragic flaw was that he had a lack of knowledge, and because he thought he was doing good only to find out that what he was doing was bad. His power fell just as quickly as he got it. Oedipus was born a helpless pawn of fate. Willy on the other hand is a far more tragic hero in Millers eyes, and somewhat in Aristotles eyes. According to Arthur Miller, The tragic feeling is invoked whenever we are in the presence of a character, any character, who is ready to sacrifice his life, if need be, to secure one thing, his sense of personal dignity. Willy Loman was willing to do that no matter what the cost. This makes Willy an excellent example of Aristotles tragic hero also. Willys one tragic flaw is his lack of a grip on reality. He couldnt differentiate the difference between the current time and the past. His flashbacks are a part of his everyday lifestyle, only he doesnt know that he is experiencing them, because he lacks awareness, bringing on his downfall. He died for money and most of all for the love of his family. That is where I feel the word hero in Willys life comes from, and tragic comes from the everyday struggle for Willy Loman to do two things, achieve the American Dream and be known as a great man like his father was, with everyone knowing your name. To finish it off, I feel that the common man, Willy Loman, In Death of a Salesman exceeds the tragic greatness of King Oedipus in Oedipus The King. Throughout my research on both of these Tragic plays, I have realized that the common man and his everyday struggle just to make it through society and the changes brought by industrialization is a viewpoint that more people can really hit home with, instead of a play that seems like an episode of Jerry Springer. Death of a Salesman was filled with pity for Willy, the weak, old, struggling family man. Oedipus the King was plainly just filled with disgust. Willy Loman, the average American family Joe, and his lifestyle and family make Death of a Salesman the superior tragedy.