A Roman Christmas Carol

After the visits from the Ghost of Christmas Past and the Ghost of Christmas Present, Dr. Mark Carleton had come to a realization that his hostile tendencies and disregard for expression of individuality amongst the teenagers had done nothing but dug him into a gargantuan pit of guilt and remorse. While with the Ghost of Christmas past, Dr. Carleton reflected on his childhood, and how, even in his own home, he was required to wear nothing but khaki pants, a purple oxford and a frumpy, navy blue blazer. His father saw it as a sign of maturity, while Dr. Carleton thought of it as sheer torture. The prohibition on wearing clothes he liked affected him in such a negative manner, that he promised to forever make children wear the same uniform.

After a flashback on his horrid past, another spectre arrives. The Ghost of Christmas Present, drenched in his own tears from witnessing the despicable wardrobe to which the students are limited, takes Dr. Carleton to Moser dorm to let him see the distraught among the students and flood of tears in the hallway – all of which is caused, merely, by the uniforms which they are forced to wear. Dr. Carleton sheds one tear. He understands the pain through which the students are going. He realizes that such treatment is completely unfair.

After a few minutes, the halls collapse, and Dr. Carleton is a white, padded room. His arms are tightly strapped to his chest, and there are wrinkles on his face; not the wrinkles from age, but those that occur when one is endlessly scowling. Over the years, after hearing endless complaints about the uniforms, he went utterly insane, and was thrown in an insane asylum. This…is where I come in.

“Do you understand what has happened to you?” asks an echoing, feminine voice. “No, no, no. I never intended on this,” replies Dr. Carleton, nearly having an anxiety attack, “I just wanted to release my own pain.” A man comes in and holds Dr. Carleton down, holds up a massive syringe, and gives him some sleeping medicine. When he wakes up, he is in nothing but his old uniform; the uniform is, in no way, altered to fit him, but instead, fitted to his childhood self. Immediately, he is struck with total embarrassment and shame. “I will never, EVER, enforce this kind of torture upon students again. I now remember how I had wished to get just a couple of dress days, but no. That’s not enough for these children. They deserve to express themselves.” And, henceforth, the students would wear the clothes they chose, within reason, of course.

Dr. Carleton finally wakes up, with a cold sweat, panting from terror. It is this dream that will change his decisions, and it is this dream that will change our school.

Dickens Mimicry

Waking up to a frigid breeze, blowing through a cracked open window, with a particularly strong aroma of butterscotch in the air, was the perfect morning. There had never been a more jocund six year old girl to have walked the earth. A New Jersey winter, as cold as ice, with snow piled three feet high, which encompassed the houses, provided an adventure in and of itself. The sheer joy of Christmas was unimaginable for a light-hearted little girl, who had never fully comprehended any true feelings which Christmas brought. Though terrified at the mere thought of Santa Claus, it was nearly impossible to resist dashing through the halls to see what gifts Santa, and mom and dad had brought. The Christmas tree was flooded with gifts of all shapes and sizes. Looking to the left, looking to the right, looking directly forward – presents surrounded the living room. Nothing could bring more happiness, except, of course, the early presents, Max and Heidi, the new additions to the family (German shepherd puppies) running into the room to greet everyone. It was difficult not to notice the brownies and cookies missing from the table, with a note from Santa, addressing each of us, by name, and telling us how good we had all been this year. The note was on a yellow sheet of notebook paper, almost exactly like the paper I always drew on in mommy’s office. Without one real thought on the subject, I skipped straight towards the tree, where Santa had placed his gifts for us, and sat on my new pink and white Barbie four wheeler, with a horn and car noises. When we had each opened our fifty-something gifts, my brothers and I immediately sprinted outside, into the three feet high snow, trudged through to the road, and rode around on our cool, new automobiles. The road was slippery from the frozen-over gravel, and the air was dry, from the freezing winds, but we didn’t care. It was Christmas. I was six, Iain was three, and Jacob was two. What care could we have had when it was Christmas? None come to mind.

Essay - First Trimester Exam

A social hierarchy is a system which groups classes based on their importance in society, with an apex at the top, representing a central figure of power. Excluding parts of Asia, society views hierarchies negatively and as unfair to those in lower classes. Such views were scarce when Paradise Lost and Tartuffe were written. John Milton, an english epic poet, wrote Paradise Lost with the intent of "justifying God's ways to men." He believed that rulers should justify their right to rule, so he did so, himself, for God, so that he would not contradict himself. Tartuffe, on the other hand, provides the unexposed truth of people in the various classes during seventeenth century France.

John Milton was born in 1608, when England was basically ruled by the King and the Church. His father was disowned, simply because he converted from Catholicism to Protestantism. Milton was devout in his religion, but spoke out against Charles, and, subsequentially, Charles was put to death. After his death, Oliver Cromwell appointed himself as a Lord Protectorate in a Puritanical Government, rather than a monarchy. The vast change in society worked out positively for Milton; he was a puritan and ended up working for Cromwell. After Cromwell's death, though, Milton had to hide, and the monarchy was restored, with Charles II as king. With Charles in power, the Anglican Church, or the main church of England, divided into three sects: High Anglican, Moderate Anglican, and the Puritan/Presbyterian sect.

Milton saw the church as an obstacle to one's true faith, so he believed that the church should have been abolished, all together. This was after he disconnected himself from the church in 1650. Though the division of the church began to meet Milton's wishes, it wasn't sufficient. Paradise Lost is John Milton's interpretation of the first few sections of the Bible, and the massive changes which England was going through had a massive influence on him while writing it.

Moliere's Tartuffe is a satire, based on religious hypocrisy in seventeenth century France. Written in 1669, almost precisely thirty years prior to the Age of Enlightenment, Tartuffe is highly controversial compared to what society has believed for centuries. The Pre-Enlightenment Era was based on tradition, faith, and supernatural laws. The concensus of the general public was that God was the only explanation for anything and that religious figures were holy. Aside from religion, politics followed tradition as well. Members of the clergy were supposedly the most intelligent and superior, overall. Though politics and religion are seemingly diverse, seventeenth century France combined them in order to keep politics and religion ruling the country, just as England had tried to accomplish.

Tartuffe provides sundry examples of figures that misrepresent the basic idea of their respective classes. Orgon, for instane, is a member of the clergy, yet he is possibly one of the dumbest men ever, despite the fact that he's merely a fictional character. He is duped by a so-called noble, Tartuffe, who is supposed to be saintly in every manner, when in reality, he is not. Tartuffe's religious hypocrisy is the prominent source of comedy throughout the play. Mocking religion and using it for comedic purposes was highly offensive in seventeenth century France. Society strongly disliked Moliere after the publication of his play. Its performance didn't cease until King Louis XIV was finally convinced to ban it.

A social hierarchy, though typically viewed politically, consists of all of the main sociological issues which influence literature: politics, religion and gener roles. All three sociological issues end up playing into one another in some form or fashion.

Vocabulary Story - First Trimester Exam

"What's wrong, Gertrude," asked Agatha, a devout Christian and strong believer of abstinance. "No, no, no. Nothing. It's just...uhhh...nevermind. Nothing is wrong," replied Gertrude, now beginning to recoil. Agatha knew that something was wrong; she had to find a way to elicit a confession from Gertrude. During the night, after Gertrude had fallen asleep, Agatha decided to rummage through her belongings. In Gertrude's book bad, Agatha found a pre-calculus text book, a couple of Hello Kitty spiral-bound notebooks, and a gorilla action figure. Agatha pondered, "A gorilla? These are the largest of all the anthropoid apes. They're terrestrial and vegetarian, and they are of west equatorial Africa and the Kivu highlands. Good thing it's only an action figure." While placing the toy back into Gertrude's book bag, Agatha discovered a not, folded up and torn in places. It read:

"Dearest Gertrude,
How are you? It's been a while. Well, I'll cut straight to the point - last weekend was horrible. I think our choices are soon to hinder our once laudable and chaste relationship. Our actions would be considered illicit, seeing as I'm 18 and you're 12. That minuscule factor never stood as an affliction in the past, but now, all I do is cry about my desregard for decency of speech, dress and behavious. I'm lacking the modesty I once had. And in today's world, who's modest? Such a characteristic is scarce, now-a-days. My immense and endless dolor has caused me to develop this horrid doughnut infatuation. You know? Doughnuts are so great. They're these small cakes of sweetened or, sometimes, unsweetened dough fried in deep fat, typically in the shape of a ring, or when prepared with a filling, a ball. They're absolutely divine. They provide just the solace I need. In case you don't know what solace means, they console me; the doughnuts comfort me and lessen the grief. I wish we had set up a conference, and discussed the situation together before taking part in such insolence. My parents threatened to tell yours, but I precluded their intentions. I couldn't let them expose that information. I was terrified that your family would overreact and repudiate you due to your actions. I suppose living in a convent can act perniciously at times; maybe not physically, but mentally and emotionally. Well, I guess that's all for now.

Kindest regards,
Your loving daughter, Gertrude.

Thanks for proving my initial belief that you were nothing but nosey and invasive. You tried to hide it through your subtle sweetness and caring act."

When Agatha was finished, the letter spontaneously combusted and Gertrude was gone.

European Populations' Opinions on Immediate Colonization of Africa

The intentions of European countries, when rapidly colonising Africa, were political and economic, for the most part, but were presented as based prominently on morality. Initially, Europe believed that power over African territories would provide an increase in political power and economic status. Such beliefs were semi-true at first, but as time passed, colonial power over Africa became the focal point of European leaders' lives.

Opinions on colonising Africa varied vastly throughout European populations; there weren't merely two groups agreeing or disagreeing, but instead, various points of view on the matter. Some people looked at colonising Africa as a step towards European progression, while others found it morally unsound. Others, still finding the imperialist takeovers wrong, had reasons aside from moral value; if the government focused on Africa, their attention was taken away from their own country and its inhabitants. European families would be ignored, when they should be the center of their countries' attention when referring to economy and politics.

To this day, their is a strong diversity within perspectives on how our government goes about fixing problems. The first attack on Iraq, for example (Duncan 12/4/08), elicited many different view points; some of our population saw it as the right way to clearly convey a message to the Iraqi population, when others believed that the attack would only initiate more conflict and provoke chaos, which, in turn, was completely true. History has a pattern; no matter what time period or era, leaders think in a similar manner and use parallel tactics. Therefore, I would believe that the way the population thinks on such matters would not have changed too incredibly.

Rough Draft (Not Finished)

Ignore these beads of sweat, and remain restless yet. Conscience will act as nothing but a hindrance to increasing and ever-lasting endurance - that of which will cease to cease, if, mutual are our wants and needs. Nervous? Yes. But notice, not, that minute factor. Contemplate the feelings after...after lights are silenced and noises are dimmed.

Revision of Tartuffe thesis.

Seventeenth century France was comprised of a social hierarchy that was based on three estates: the clergy and the priests, who were supposed to be the most intelligent and superior group; the nobles, who were at a lower status but still had power; and the peasants, who were treated unequally and unfairly by the other two. The involvement of priests in the utmost estate shows that religion, alongside power itself, was of considerably large value. Tartuffe challenges this hierarchy by presenting characters who act in ways the audience does not expect from their respective classes.

How did the social hierarchy in seventeenth century France inform the plot of Tartuffe?

A social hierarchy is a system in which various classes are placed at different levels in order to distinguish their “worth,” so to speak, in order from the highest rank to the lowest. Seventeenth century France was comprised of a social hierarchy in which there were three estates: the clergy and the priests, the nobles, and the peasants. Notwithstanding the saying, “Power corrupts,” power was valued greatly in society throughout all of history, and still is to this day. The fact that the priests were included in the upmost estate in France shows that religion, alongside power itself, was a considerably large value. Molière, a French satirist, wrote Tartuffe with the intention of spreading a controversial view on the sociological issues in France during the seventeenth century. Tartuffe, despite being a fictional story, exposes the unsaid truth about people of a higher status. The clergy and priests were supposedly intelligent people with nothing but good intentions. Orgon, a member of the clergy, provides proof that not all powerful people are alert or perceptive. Tartuffe, a religious hypocrite and the center of the comedic aspects in the play, puts on an act of holiness and purity, when in reality, his intentions are only to kick Orgon out of power and overtake his house. Focusing more on the lower classes, Dorine, a mere servant in the household, is knowledgeable of everything that goes on around her, which was believed to be unrealistic in French society during the seventeenth century.

The History of Guinea

Between the 10th and 15th centuries, today’s area of Guinea, at various times, when the region was associated with European commerce, was included in a number of large West African political groupings such as the Ghana, Mali and Songhai empires. During the mid-fifteenth century, Portuguese traders invaded Guinea. Later on, European countries, such as England, France and Poland, came to Guinea to trade gold, ivory and slaves. It wasn’t until the mid-nineteenth century that Guinea became colonized. Its colonial period began with the intrusion of the French military. Domination by the French was undeniable after being defeated by the armies of Almamy Samory Touré, a Malinke descendent, in 1898. This defeat gave France complete control over what is now Guinea and the surrounding areas.

On October 2nd, 1958, Guinea declared itself as an independent republic, ruled by Sékou Touré. Under Touré, Guinea became a one-party dictatorship, resulting in a socialized and closed economic status. Along with the newly instilled economy, Guinea suffered from a lack of tolerance for human rights, free expression and political opposition. Until his death on April 3rd, 1984, Sékou Touré remained in power, along side of the PDG (Democratic Party of Guinea). After Touré’s death, Colonel Lasana Conté made himself president. In September of 2000, the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) rebel army instituted extensive attacks into Guinea from Sierra Leone and Liberia. In November of 2001, the general public, nationwide, voted that the constitution should allow the president to run for an unlimited amount of terms, and that the years during a term should be extended from five to seven. Finally, in 2007, Conté stepped down because a protest against him turned into a violent strike.

Being about the size of Oregon, Guinea is a relatively small country. Its area is 245,860 square kilometers (95,000 square miles). It only consists of about fifteen cities, including the capital, Conakry. In general, the terrain is pretty flat, but getting closer to the interior, it becomes more mountainous. In respect to the generalization of the terrain, the specifics are hardly a comparison. Guinea only has four geographic regions: the narrow coastal belt; pastoral highlands, the source of West Africa’s major rivers; the northern savanna; and the southeastern rain forest. Throughout the entire country, there is one primary climate – tropical.

Today’s Guinea is a constitutional republic; there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial, just as it is in the United States. The branches, however, are composed differently than those of the United States. The executive branch is compiled of an elected president (chief of state), a prime minister (head of government), and a cabinet of civilian ministers. The legislative branch is simply an elected National Assembly, fitting 114 seats. Lastly, the judicial branch is merely a supreme court. In opposition to the government, the population in Guinea, today, is 8,444,559 people. The official language spoken by the majority of the population is French.

With respect to the economy, Guinea doesn’t have many natural resources, other than bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, water power, uranium and fisheries. The good thing about the natural resources that they do have is that they are, for the most part, high in value, and bauxite, diamonds and gold are popular in the exports of Guinea. Major markets include the European Union, the United States, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, etc. Guinea is located on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Atlantic Ocean, and Guinea Bissau. Its trade with such diverse societies shows that Guinea is of good use to the world. When referring to currency in Guinea, the value of approximately 4833 Guinean francs are of the same value as one U.S. dollar.

Some points of interest in Guinea, when putting thought into the conversion of U.S. dollars to Guinean francs, should be taken into consideration. The capital, Conakry, for instance, is a beautiful city with cocoanut palm trees throughout it. It’s located on the island of Tumbo. Some others to think about would be the Cathedral, located in the town centre; the National Museum; the Kakimbon Caves in Ratoma, a suburb of Conakry; the Kinkon Falls in Pita, between Dalaba and Labé; and many more historical and beautiful landmarks. Aside from the incredible monuments throughout Guinea, there is great music and good food. Though Guinea is not known for their food, it is part of their culture and it is good, nonetheless. For the most part, Guinean food consists of rice and sauce. The main sauces used are leaf sauce (sweet potato or manioc leaves), peanut sauce, and soup sauce. Fish is also a primary part of the Guinean diet.

Even though there isn’t much of a variety when referring to the food, the music is not only fun to listen to, but it is also highly entertaining to watch as it is being performed. In Guinea, music is typically performed by members of a family. Families that are heavily involved in music in Guinea are known as jelis. They are expected to study the history of music and learn to play multiple instruments. Some traditional instruments used in the past, and still used today, are drums: kora, bala, and koni. The most well-known music of Guinea is from the culture of Maninka.

Lastly, Guinea isn’t the most popular or overrated country in the world, but it has its positive qualities. Guinea supposedly has the most reliable business for foreign investors, traders and companies in West Africa. Guinea is also one of the wettest countries in West Africa. This is seen as a better life style and it provides more food for society. The natural earthiness of Guinea is its best known trait.

The Age of Uncertainty

In nineteenth century Europe, uncertainty spread like wild fire, causing distress and confusion among all of the social classes, hence the name, the "Age of Uncertainty." The Age of Uncertainty began with the formation of alliances throughout Europe. An alliance, by definition, is a partership created with the intent of achieving a common goal. Some common goals that Europe yearned to achieve were defense against common enemies, safety and security, and an increase in economic status, as well as an increase in trade. Achievement of common goals was most definitely a positive aspect of forming alliances. The major negative aspect of forming alliances would be the possibility of creating mass conflict amongst the various nations.

Germany, during this time, was ruled by Bismark, who was a big fan of forming alliances. Germany's allies were Italy, Russia and Austria. The decline of the Balkans, formerly the Ottoman Empire, was caysed by mass conflict on freedom of religion and property ownage. The various Slavic coubtries each insisted that they should own the most land, because of previous time periods when their country had been larger than the rest. Seeing as how every Balkan country had, at one point or another, been the largest amont the rest, there was no way to fairly distribute the land. Austria was the protectorate over Bosnia during this age, but this caused overwhelming frustration in Serbia. So, eventually, Austria annexed the land in order to prevent possible uprising conflict.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there was more vast and immediate change - new science. In the past, science was viewed in a positive manner, because it could be tested and proven or disproven. New science, on the other hand, caused confusion all throughout Europe. For instance, Charles Darwin entered the picture, publicizing new views and perspectives of which no one had heard in the past. Darwin created the theory of natural selection; animals with the ability to adapt to their environment would thrive and survive, while animals who were unable to adapt would suffer and eventually die. Such concepts were the most controversial that the world had ever seen. They led to what was known as "Social Darwinism," which essentially provided justification for expansion and colonization.

Arthur de Gobineau spread great controversial thoughts as well. De Gobineau wrote an essay, "The Essay on Inequality of Races." The title is pretty self-explanitory with respect to the content of the actual essay. De Gobineau had a theory that focused on what was known as the "Aryan race." Most believe that the aryan race never existed and was a mere conspiracy. The aryan race was supposed to be the "perfect" race. This idea was later put into action by Adolf Hitler.

Friedrich Bietzsche believed that during the Industrial Revolution and forward, the proletariat had lost all human qualities and become more machine-like than anything. The factory workers followed the same routine, every day of their lives. Their reason to work wasn't pushed by a passion for what they were doing, and Nietzsche thought that passion was greater than reason, and reason without passion wasn't reason, enough. He also believed that those who were stronger shouldn't help the weak. This belief went entirely against Christianity, because God says for people to help those less fortunate. Such contradictory beliefs obviously caused conflict, but they were also inspiration to some, such as Franz Kafka, who wrote "The Metamorphosis," a book presenting a man who, every day of his life, followed the same routine and one day woke up and found himself to be a cockroach. "The Metamorphosis" is an extremely literal translation of Nietzsche's beliefs, and didn't become popular until well after Kafka dued. The bourgeoisie (factory owners) would, clearly, not want their workers reading such a book.

Lastly, Sigmund Freud - the father of psychoanalysis. Freud spread his thoughts on the Id, the Ego and the Superego, which caused mass questioning and confusion. The Id is the unconscious, consisted of one's feelings. The Ego is the conscious, also known as our filter. And, the Superego is also unconscious, but more about society's influence on us. Such thoughts, which were eventually proven, confused many people throughout both America and Europe.

Change is good, but most people fear it. In such a short period of time, all of this immediate change struck fear, uncertainty, etc. in a mass amount of people. Every idea created controversy and went against tradition. Everyone was thoroughly anxious of what their future held for them. The anxiousness was the very opposite of the intent of the Age of Uncertainty, because this age was meant to show improvement. Many changes were positive, while others inspired future leaders in vastly negative ways.

Tartuffe - Socioliogical Relevance

Seventeenth century Europe is known, among many other titles, as the Pre-Enlightenment Era. Before the Enlightenment, Europeans followed tradition, faith and supernatural laws, whereas during the Enlightenment, people followed progress, reason and natural laws. Molière’s Tartuffe is a satire, based on religious hypocrisy. During the seventeenth century, the consensus of the general public was that God was the only explanation or cause of any occurrences, but, in opposition, the eighteenth century presented new ideas of providing proof and moving forward, rather than staying constant to the traditional ways that society had strictly followed for centuries passed. Tartuffe was first performed in 1669, at the fêtes, held at Versailles. Almost immediately after the first performance, the play was censored by the complaints of the dévots. King Louis XIV was radically influenced by the dévots, and despite his strong aversion towards suppressing the play, such influence on his every decisions eventually led to his agreement to subdue the continuation of performing Tartuffe.

The play’s main character, Tartuffe, is a religious hypocrite on which the play’s comedy is based. “Yet Heaven is not averse to compromise; there is a science, lately formulated, whereby one’s conscience may be liberated, and any wrongful act you care to mention may be redeemed by purity of intention” (Molière 126). Out of all of the characters in the play, only two have positive opinions on Tartuffe. Madame Pernelle and Orgon and both blinded by Tartuffe’s supposed strong religious values, which leads to Tartuffe taking advantage of Orgon’s hospitality. To satirize religion in the seventeenth century was offensive and caused the majority of society to look down upon Molière.

The impending changes throughout society during the Enlightenment were essentially predicted through Molière’s Tartuffe. Being the main danger of the play, mocking religion, though not entirely controversial, infuriated the non-secular portion of Europe’s population and showed that not every religious man intends to go good onto others. The ever-important message being conveyed is that not all people are alike. Therefore, one shouldn’t judge people based on past experiences. The plot, all together, is unrealistic, but efficiently presents a vital and comprehendible message.

Imperialism: What Started It?

Imperialism was the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies. Such a policy was instigated in the late 19th century, by European countries, yearning to gain more power. There were three basic motives behind imperialism: political growth, economical improvements and morality. If a nation were to overrule a foreign country, the first nation would be expanding their boundaries to all over the world and have more land and people to control. With respect to economical growth, taking over another country provided raw materials and a wider variety of places to sell goods. Last, but not least, morality was supposedly the main motivation which prompted nations to take control of others. In “The White Man’s Burden,” Rudyard Kipling states his opinion on imperialistic acts and he, clearly, thinks of imperialism as a positive movement. He presents the acts as burdens on white men, but also as great deeds needed to be done.

In opposition to Kipling’s views on imperialism, Edward D. Morel writes “The Black Man’s Burden” as a way of expressing his feelings on imperialism. In “The Black Man’s Burden,” Morel states that the acts of the white men in the past had merely harmed the body, and though harming the body is not seen as positive, it’s not nearly as harmful to the person in full as it is to break one’s spirit, which is exactly what imperialism did to the Africans.

The tremendous diversity just between two perspectives on such a huge era show that imperialism needed to be experienced before being judged. Just as with Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” in which he explains a time when he was in Burma and he was essentially put into a situation with absolutely no positive aspects and he experienced a piece of imperialism, on which he had an extremely negative opinion.

French Revolution

The French Revolution was caused by economic difficulties, despite France being one of the richest and most powerful nations in Europe at the time. Louis XVI was king at this point, and he decided that it would be best for France to divide the people into classes, known as the Estates-General. In 1789, France was an absolute monarchy. The taxation in France was unfair in every way. The peasants, whose income was substantially lower than those of higher classes, were required to pay an immense amount of more taxes than anyone above them.

Aside from the economic issues and classification, the Enlightenment ideas were a large contribution to the start of the French Revolution. These new ideas affected the various classes in different ways. Some saw it as a cover for the self-interest of the bourgeosie.

To prevent the French Revolution, France could have chosen better leaders and they could have not diminished the worth of certain people, just to create a sense of order, when it really only created conflict. In my opinion, though, preventing the French Revolution would have been a bad decision. Despite all of the misfortunes during the Revolution, the progress of the country was vast.

Enlightenment Themes

The Enlightenment themes were reason, progress and natural laws. From my perspective, John Locke's theory of tabula rasa, or blank slate, was one of the most controversial of all. Before he had let that idea out to the public, the traditional belief was that when one was born, he/she already knew right from wrong and had common sense. But once Locke publicized his thoughts, some people were upset and others were opened to the new ideas.

Other controversial ideas were the general themes of the Enlightenment Era, themselves. During the Pre-Enlightenment Era, beliefs were based on faith, supernatural laws and tradition. Obviously the change was controversial in and of itself. The philosophes brought new ideas and possibilities into the world, and it made some question their original views on life and made others, such as the church, hate the philosophes. The three main philosophes were Montesquieu, Voltaire and Diderot.

The philosophes impacted the lives of the europeans so vastly, that some of the ideas were carried on into modern-day belief systems.

The Second Industrial Revolution

The Second Industrial revolution was all about efficiency. Despite the fact that I find the old definition of efficiency during that time period, I believe that some aspects of the efficient tactics to have ben a profound improvement in the general society. The Second Industrial Revolution introduced an entirely new way of life; electricity was brought into the picture. Before electricity, people had to work harder and longer on tasks. But, with the help of the new source of energy, workers were able to get things done in a faster manner. Electricity was not only helpful, but it was cheap as well. Everyone had access to it and everyone benefited from it.

Not only did this new energy source help workers, but it was a great deal of help in everyday life at home. Electricity provided light at home and on the streets. Because of the street lights, crime rate went down a substantial amount. It also caused a decrease in air pollution, because of the lack of gases and fuels being exposed to the open air. Notwithstanding the negative outcome of the use of efficiency, the ideas that went into it were helpful in numerous ways; electricity is still used to this day.

Efficiency

The basic definition of efficiency during the first and second Industrial Revolutions was less input, more output. This essentially means that finding an efficient way to go about something or handle a problem means to come up with a solution that involves less effort while, at the same time, allows more production. In concept, efficiency is seemingly the right way to solve a problem, but in reality, it only created a dangerous atmosphere for factory workers. Despite the fact that this so called efficiency decreased the amount of time spent on one item to be produced, it increased health and economic issues within the working class. People of all types within the proletariat were forced to work in factories; children and women were not excluded. Children had to work starting at the age of five. At such a young age, these children were required to work thirteen hours a day, in an environment where the air was polluted and there were major dangers throughout their paths. Some children nine, ten and eleven years old were forced to work for fourteen or fifteen hours a day.

The effects of these working conditions on the proletariat included stunted growth, relaxed muscles, slender conformation, and in some cases, complete loss of appetite. Although the newly found “efficient” solutions to underproduction made a profound difference in society, they ruined the lives of those working in the factories. And, without the factory workers’ health, they would soon become too weak to work and eventually die. If this had continued much longer, efficiency would have failed, nonetheless.

Frame Story?

A frame story is a secondary story embedded within the main story. One prime example of a modern frame story would be The Princess Bride. In The Princess Bride, a grandfather is reading a book, titled The Princess Bride to his sick grandson, in order to comfort him and get his mind off of his sickness. The Princess Bride is a fictional story, written by a nonexistent author, S. Morgenstern. Starting off, the movie takes place in a young boy’s room, and the only characters introduced at first are the boy and his grandfather. Quickly after their introduction into the movie, the grandfather begins to read his grandson a story, which brings in a good amount more characters that eventually become the main characters. The plot of the film, The Princess Bride, is shown through the story as it is being read. The story, itself, has been passed from father to son for generations. It is a tale of adventure and love, and how the two coincide with each other. The purpose of the film is to get such ideas across to the viewer, but it is presented in a way that can be understood by those of nearly all age groups. Though the grandson and grandfather are the first to be introduced, their parts in the film become insignificant when referring to the plot.

Is It An Epic?

An epic is a long narrative poem in elevated style, presenting characters of high position in a series of adventures which form an organic whole through their relation to a central figure of heroic proportions and through their development of episodes important to the history of a nation or race (Downes 1). Lord of the Rings is an example of a movie using epic qualities. Lord of the Ring was filmed in New Zealand, but was transformed into what, in the movie, is referred to as Middle Earth. The aesthetic features of the setting range vastly throughout the movie. The hero in Lord of the Rings, Frodo, would not typically be classified as one of heroic stature, neither physically nor metaphorically. He is from The Shire, which is a land inhabited by hobbits. Hobbits are short, stocky beings of low rank in comparison to the majority of people in the movie. Despite his lack of heroic stature, Frodo leads a group of people on a journey to destroy a ring, created to instill immense power in whoever possesses it. The group is called the Fellowship of the Ring, compiled of various beings such as hobbits, elves, warlocks, dwarves and men (humans). Their motive behind their expedition to destroy the ring is the fact that the ring drives the possessor to use the induced feeling of power for evil, because absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Frodo volunteering to lead such a journey shows that he is extremely brave. With his companions beside him, the combination of valor and supernatural forces is seemingly unstoppable. The characters in Lord of the Rings speak in a British accent, which is considered to be “elevated style.” The ring is not brought to Mordor to be destroyed until the last movie of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and when it is, Tolkien recounts on the objective of the voyage of the Fellowship of the Ring and the deeds of the heroes. Thus, Lord of the Rings is a perfect example of a movie using qualities of an epic.

Modern Macbeth

In my modern-day version of Macbeth, the setting would be in Pallet Town. Duncan is the top Pokémon trainer in the world, and he rules over all of the Pokémon. They used to run wild and free until Duncan decided that he was higher on the food chain than them and took over the land. He uses them for competition against other trainers around the world. The Pokémon are desperate to regain their freedom, and they’re willing to do anything and everything in their power to do so. One ambitious squirtle, known as Lady Macbeth, wants her freedom more than any of the other Pokémon, but she doesn’t just want her freedom. She craves power. But the fact that she’s a female Pokémon makes it to where she has no say in anything. So, she contemplates every possible way of gaining power over the land, and the conclusion to which she comes in her head is to gain it through her rad boyfriend, Macbeth, who just so happens to be a Pikachu. Pikachus are loved all across Pallet Town, because there are very few of them in that area of the world. So what they say is usually taken into account more so than that of others. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plan and scheme for days on how to take the place of Duncan as ruler of Pallet Town. Their final plan is to kill Duncan. Macbeth, at first, is squeamish about the mere idea of murdering him, so Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s masculinity.

After she finally persuades him to kill Duncan, they have to make the plan full-proof. So, they invite Duncan to their house to help them practice their attacks for the next tournament. While Macbeth is practicing with him, Lady Macbeth distracts Duncan, and Macbeth strikes him with a quick attack and then finishes him off with a thunder bolt. Once he realizes what he has done, he isolates himself for a couple of days in order to cope with the reality of what he had done. After his seclusion, he kills again in to lessen the extremity of the first murder. So, Macbeth becomes king over the Pokémon, and he becomes corrupt. He eventually evolves into a Riachu and rules by tyranny. His becoming king had ended any possibility of the Pokémon regaining their freedom. Once Macbeth has been corrupted, he is essentially unstoppable. The amount of power instilled in him has ruined him for good. He even ends up killing his best friend, Banquo the charmander, simply because he knew about everything that had been going on and all of the murders that Macbeth had committed. Macbeth didn’t want anybody but his wife and himself to be privy to that sort of information. Things that would have, at one point in time, shattered him, had no effect on him whatsoever; he murders the family of Macduff, the bulbasaur, because he had fled to Lavender City. Macduff, though, keeps his cool for the type of situation and dealt with it like an honorable Pokémon would deal with it. He deals with his emotions first, and then goes to Macbeth to take revenge. Macbeth had been avoiding Macduff because he was the only person that struck any fear in him. There was an epic battle between the two, but Macduff ended up taking Macbeth out with a vine whip and a razor wind. This just shows you that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I chose to set Macbeth as a Pokémon story because I grew up watching Pokémon, and thoroughly enjoyed it, and still do enjoy it, as a matter of fact. So, I believe something like this would even catch the eyes of young children and get them to be more appreciative of Shakespeare’s work through a more simplified version. I used Pikachu for Macbeth because Pikachu was the main Pokémon in the show, and Macbeth was the main character in the play. Lady Macbeth was a squirtle because if a Pikachu and a squirtle were to be in a relationship, it’d be highly dysfunctional. If they were to get into fights, their tactics would be irrational, as Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s tactics were. The electric charge along with water would wind up killing the two. Macduff was a bulbasaur because bulbasaur is a chill Pokémon, but when he needs to handle a situation or battle, he does so in an extremely intense manner.

Political and Religious Factors in Paradise Lost and Beyond

“Paradise Lost” is an epic poem, written in free verse by John Milton in the mid seventeenth century. Milton was born on December 9th, 1608 in London, England. During the seventeenth century, England, along with the rest of Europe, was going through vast changes politically and religiously speaking. England went from being a monarchy, to being ruled by a Lord Protectorate, Oliver Cromwell, in a Puritanical government, back to being ruled by a king. When Milton was born, England was ruled by King James I, a Scottish man who was the main influence of Shakespeare’s book, Macbeth. Charles I was put into power after James, starting on March 27th, 1625, and was the king of England, Scotland and Ireland until his execution on January 30th, 1649. Charles was an advocate of the Divine Right of Kings, which stated that rulers acquired their right to rule based on the law of God and of nature. By the divine right doctrine, power is said to be appointed to a ruler of an erstwhile authoritative ancestral line whom had been put into authority by God himself. If one was to resist the rule of a king, it was sure that they would be damned. The Divine Right of Kings falls into a category combining religion and politics. In layman’s terms, the belief of Divine Right was that the king was a harbinger of the word of God.


In some ways, the Divine Right could have influenced “Paradise Lost,” but in other ways, it contradicts Milton’s opinion that a ruler should have to prove his right to rule. Milton’s main intention of writing “Paradise Lost” was to justify the ways of God to men. If the Divine Right states that kings were essentially God’s messengers, then Milton’s justification of God’s right to rule over mankind, in a way, was justification of the kings’ right to rule. Despite the fact that this was not an intention of Milton’s, it can still be considered true. Milton was a puritan throughout the entire course of his life. He believed that power corrupts human beings and that a ruler should show proof of his right to rule, but at the same time, he believed that people should have to serve those above them in the government. Living in a country run by a king was not something he wanted to do. He spoke out against Charles and soon after Charles’ execution, Oliver Cromwell came into power. Milton worked for Cromwell while he was the Lord Protectorate of England. The puritans’ intentions were not to separate from the church, but merely purify it, hence their name.


Two years after Cromwell’s death, the monarch was reestablished, and Milton had to hide. He championed absolute freedom of the individual. This absolute freedom included freedom of religious and political views. The Anglican Church was the main Church of England, and eventually, it divided into three parts: the High Anglican sect, the Moderate Anglican sect, and the Puritan/Presbyterian sect. This change, though seemingly minuscule, created remarkable changes in British society; it presented citizens with a wider variety of religious practice options, which began to satisfy Milton’s wishes. Even though the division of the Church was closer to what Milton had wanted to see in England, it still didn’t agree with his complete opinion on religion. Milton “believed that each individual Christian should be his own church, without any establishment to encumber him” (SparkNotes: Paradise Lost: Context). In time, “Milton advocated the complete abolishment of all church establishments, and kept his own private religion, close to the Calvinism practiced by Presbyterians but differing in some ways” (SparkNotes: Paradise Lost: Context). Milton thought of the church as an obstacle to one’s true faith. His idealistic and completely arbitrary views on Christianity establish “Paradise Lost” as more than a slightly altered version of the first few sections of the bible, but as his personal interpretation of the word of God.


This is just one example of how incredibly influential the culture and events in society are on the art and literature produced all over the world. Art and literature represent the feelings and emotions evoked in the artist by the ever changing society in which they live. In Japanese culture, for example, art is highly influenced by major political and religious issues or events. The seventeenth century, for Japan, brought forth art of the Edo period. During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate gained control of the government, without resistance, and committed to stabilize the country politically and economically, along with bringing the country peace. For the most part, this plan succeeded and the shogunate lasted until 1867. “One of the dominant themes of the Edo period was the repressive policies of the shogunate and the attempts of the artists to escape these strictures” (Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Path: Japanese Art).


The Edo period imposed strict codes on Japanese society, affecting every aspect of life. There were limitations set in place in respect to the clothes they wore, the person one married, and even the activities one could or could not pursue. Before the shogunate fully impacted Japanese life, however, the early years of the Edo period produced some of Japan’s most exceptional and admirable paintings and architecture. Katsura Detached Palace, a famous example of impeccable architecture, was inspired by Genji’s palace and is surrounded by a beautiful garden with walkways for people to view the entire scope of the palace. As to paintings during this time, there is one famous painter, Tawaraya Sotatsu, whose techniques influenced many aspiring artists, even centuries after his death. Sotatsu created his own decorative style by incorporating concepts from the natural world and using magnificent colors in his figures. Most of the art created in the Edo period utilized vibrant colors, serene settings, and natural beauty. This general theme was probably to express the amount of peace increasing throughout the country and to represent positive change within their society.

TONE of Macbeth

One quote that expresses the tone in Macbeth is located on page 125, lines 90 - 92. It's in Act 4, scene 1.

"Be bloody, bold, and resolute. I augh so scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth."

Why do we read?

We read for various purposes; to gain knowledge, for entertainment, to understand cultural diversity, etc. When reading literature, rather than a text book or a biography, it's for entertainment more than anything. Writings is an art; a form of expression. It is also a way to communicate points of view, feelings or thoughts on subjects. When writing about something you have strong beliefs in or something just of high interest, you tend to put more passion into it and exemplify your feelings on the matter more thoroughly. There will always be more of a crowd for literature that has a certain amount of excitement behind it. We read the thoughts of others and they begin to become our own to an extent. Literature conveys past experiences of others and becomes a part of history. Writing seems as if it could be boring, but if you get involved enough with one piece, then it becomes captivating. When writing or reading, you force your brain to work harder. When you have exercised your brain, you feel better about yourself, just as you do when you have exercised, physically. When you work your brain, it creates a stronger and more efficient thought process. Therefore, you have more energy and better skills to write more. It feels good to be able to express yourself. Even though writing may take time, it’s worth it in the end. The author isn’t the only person that enjoys their work; others get enjoyment out of reading it. It’s very fulfilling to finish a task. So, writing a novel, or even a short story, can be very pleasing and rewarding. As corny as that sounds, it’s true. Reading and writing can both be classified under entertainment, depending on who you ask. But, writing gets you thinking, and once others have read your work, they begin to understand your thoughts on subjects. Literature can have a very significant affect on peoples’ points of view - so much that it can even completely change them, at times. In layman’s terms, literature is a commonly used art, used for communication of feelings towards a topic or a personal analysis of a time period and expressing it through words.