« All of his characters face the daily trials of unsatisfying jobs, emotional isolation, and violent family members, and their stale hopes of escape and ...» Document abstract
$5.95
6 word format
Language : english
literature
presentation
date published
24/06/2008
review : not yet assessed
level : General public
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SummaryIn his first novel, a collection of short stories meant to express the paralytic nature of turn-of-the-century Dublin, James Joyce establishes an image of the Irish urban center as a degenerate bed of unhappiness, deprivation, depression, and imprisonment. All of his characters face the daily trials of unsatisfying jobs, emotional isolation, and violent family members, and their stale hopes of escape and empowerment are unable to combat the dreary realities of Dublin life. Trapped in a world not of their own making, these individuals are consumed with loss, frustration, and failure, driven to drink and violence, the result of which being that they lose their capacity to effectively connect with one another, and so are forced to exist in a kind of emotional vacuum. It seems particularly important to Joyce to illustrate the inadequacies of love and marriage to ameliorate the lives of his characters, despite the dreams they have and the efforts they make to use love and marriage to better themselves. No relationship in the book succeeds in expressing that idealized bliss of marital status, and there are only brief moments when any of the couples in Dubliners manage to maintain even a moderate amount of happiness together. Joyce wastes no opportunity to demonstrate yet again the abuse, both verbal and physical, and mutual dislike so common in his Irish families, and demands that the reader acknowledge the unceasing cycle of victimization and failed escape that his characters face. From the youthful infatuation so bitterly dashed in “Araby” to the destructive truth of past love revealed in “The Dead,” no relationship is free from pain and suffering. Dubliners expresses an evolution of love which progresses from innocent infatuation, frustrated by immobility, to the onset of marriage as escape from family, poverty, and mundanity, to the ultimate realization that marriage is unable to solve the problems of its participants because love does not endure, and even if it did, Joyce seems to say, the problematic realities of life are too stable, too concrete to be destroyed by the tender emotion of love
Table of Contents- Dubliners expresses an evolution of love which progresses from innocent infatuation.
- One reason why Dublin's emotional life is so stunted - adults are already too scarred from youthful encounters.
- The development of romance in Dubliners.
- The idea of actually leaving Dublin, miserable though it is for Eveline is too great a departure from life as she knows it.
- Her plan is foolproof, but partly because neither her daughter nor Mr. Doran are fighting it.
- Lily's severe disillusionment about love and marriage may be a foreshadowing of difficulties to come for the happy couple.
« While radio in Madagascar is known for its integrity, journalists still face obstacles. . Radio Don Bosco is a nationwide Catholic FM station.. ...» Document abstract
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3 word format
Language : english
political science
presentation
date published
01/05/2008
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
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SummaryIn independent Madagascar, while citizens celebrate a free media system, their simultaneous struggle for media access puts them at great disadvantage. Formerly a French colony, Madagascar has only had its independence for several decades, little time to build an effective media and communication system. From government-run and privately owned radio and television to the massive telecommunications depreciation in the 1980s, Madagascar has had to fight to compete in the global arena. Throughout the 1990s, the telecommunications industry was able to recover, and in the past few years, new radio stations have been established (CIA). Still, Madagascar is one of the poorest nations in the world, making it difficult to compete equally with the West (Internews 5).
Table of Contents- Madagascar was a French colony until 1960 when independence was restored.
- Recently, independent station Radio Say was forced to shut down after 'broadcasting false news.
- While radio in Madagascar is known for its integrity, journalists still face obstacles.
- Radio Don Bosco is a nationwide Catholic FM station.
- Telephone and Internet access is sparse and newspaper delivery can take days.
- Madagascar, with its lush jungles and diverse wildlife population, is literally an island to itself.
« explains his morning routine, which is not only his validation of self but also his instructions, laws, on what it means to be fashionable: "If my face is a ...» Document abstract
$2.95
3 word format
Language : english
film studies
term papers
date published
18/08/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
requested 2 times
SummaryJacques Lacan’s description of the Other is that which gazes on you or exerts power on you, yet does not truly exist; the Other is an imagined gaze that is constantly looking over you (Willemen, 216). In the film American Psycho (2000), screenwriter and director Mary Harron personifies the Lacanian Other with serial-killer Patrick Bateman. The Bateman character is an embodiment of the Other in that he is represented as a dead eye that continuously emits the intradiegetic Lacanian gaze (in various forms) on everyone around him.
Table of Contents- Throughout American Psycho, Bateman personifies three main qualities of the Other
- But the tone of Bateman's speech sounds indifferent, and to the viewer and Bateman's friends it is an ironic lecture
- Bateman's gaze is evident during the scene in which he has lunch with Detective Kimball
- Laura Mulvey notes that the look cast by the spectator can be in fascination with the image of like, identifying with this ideal ego, and thus, the spectator can gain control and possession of the desired object within the diegesis
- Bateman continues to let Paul Allen refer to him as Marcus Halberstrand rather than confront Paul Allen about his error
« the lesson material, like the claim that violence is exclusively a male problem versus a human problem, are responsible for the oppression women face every day ...» Document abstract
$9.95
12 word format
Language : english
social sciences
school essay
date published
19/10/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
requested 10 times
SummaryOn June 28, 1998, Ally McBeal graced the cover of Time magazine; not in the name of television or Hollywood or fashion, but in the name of feminism. According to The American Century Dictionary, feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights and sexual equality. So how does an upper-class woman who complains about her weight and puts dating before all else qualify as a feminist? Simple: in the misdirected world of the modern women’s movement, Ally McBeal is as much an icon of feminism as the women who shared the cover with her, women like Susan B. Anthony and Betty Friedan, two of the most celebrated founding mothers of feminism. The prior successes of the movement have been overshadowed by these new, ludicrous ideals and haphazard ventures into the mainstream media. Feminism, which at is core strives for a higher quality of life, is one of the main opponents of progress in the United States. As necessary as the feminism was in the past, its continuing presence is completely counterproductive in today’s society.
Table of Contents- Introduction
- Feminism as a successful philosophy
- First wave feminism and the right to vote
- Second wave feminism for equality in the work force
- Second wave feminism for equality in education
- Third wave feminism for women's choice
- Feminism as an unsuccessful philosophy
- Backfire of feminism's successes
- Reasons behind the backfire of feminism's success
- Feminism as an untruthful philosophy
- Feminism as an anti-family philosophy
- Feminism as an anti-gay philosophy
- Lesbians a threat to feminist movement
- Feminists a threat to lesbian movement
- Lesbianism assumed to be a feminist tool
- Feminism as an exploited philosophy
- Feminism in music
- Feminism in television and theater
- Feminism in pornography
- Conclusion
« within his culture, a constant reminder of his complacency, and Okonkwo, the epitome of stoicism, carried much the same look on his face, especially after the ...» Document abstract
$3.95
4 word format
Language : english
literature
school essay
date published
17/12/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
requested 0 times
SummaryChinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the definitive post-colonial, African novel, focuses on a character who is in constant struggle with his tribe and with himself. Okonkwo, a purveyor of masculinity in his society, has many reasons for his actions in the novel. The continuing cultural violence in the novel and within the culture (often started and ended by Okonkwo), some argue, is inherent in the contradictions of the Igbo culture (Hoegberg, 69-77). Okonkwo’s actions, as well as the actions of others in the novel, explain a culture very sacred to Achebe, and through Okonkwo’s various actions and thoughts throughout the novel, the culture seems both precious and brutal, cultural relativism aside. Okonkwo is a character whose chi is in constant conflict, and Okonkwo himself is in constant conflict with himself over the masculinity, overall violence demanded by his honor based Igbo culture, and his relationship with his father.
« homoeroticism. This speech causes a profound effect upon young Dorian; his face, as Basil is painting him, becomes transfigured. ...» Document abstract
$3.95
4 word format
Language : english
literature
book review
date published
08/08/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : Advanced
requested 3 times
Summary“What if someone wrote a novel about homosexuality and no body [sic] came?” Ed Cohen writes of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (75). Actually, at the time the book was written, the term “homosexuality” was nonexistent. Wilde, himself, became one of the leaders of the movement that defined homosexuality. Oscar Wilde, one of the most (in)famous homosexuals of the nineteenth century, portrays through the three main characters in Dorian Gray, the difficulty of coping with the life of secrecy that unavoidably went hand in hand with being a homosexual male in nineteenth century England.
Table of Contents- The Picture of Dorian Gray most likely reflects Wilde's own feelings and experiences regarding society's perception and treatment of homosexuality
- Obviously, Wilde was well aware of his society's homophobia, but perhaps he did not know exactly what he was up against
- Lord Henry Watton theorizes about indulging in one's passions but never actually does
- As the title suggests, the plot of Dorian Gray revolves around a picture that is painted of Dorian by Basil Hallward
- On the other hand, Wotton's massive influence over Dorian does lead the latter to begin to investigate his own desires
- Sensual descriptions such as the previous one, although shocking to the nineteenth century public, are quite prevalent in the novel.
- Like Oscar Wilde himself, Dorian Gray does not hold that critical distance from his passions that is so necessary to avoiding the dangerous consequences that he subsequently experiences
« Temptation can make you do things that you would never dream of doing, because once that dream is dangled in front of your face, you'll stop at nothing in ...» Document abstract
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6 word format
Language : english
literature
presentation
date published
12/10/2007
review : not yet assessed
level : General public
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SummaryTemptation preys upon what we wish for and what we dream for. Want a flashy car: a cherry red, nitrous infused Lamborghini with leather seats, a thumping sound system and a set of wicked hydraulics? Sure it sounds good, but how possible is that on such a measly salary? Maybe, but only after working 60 hour work weeks and cutting your budget so that you’re surviving on toast and ramen noodles. Do this for the next decade or more, working to the break point and sacrificing everything comfortable, and only then would you be able to afford your dream car. But that is why your dream car is still a dream; the plausibility of purchasing it is so far out of your reach that you can only imagine it and dream about one day owning it. You continue to dream and hope, thinking about your fantasy becoming true, but you are positive the closest you will get to owning a Lamborghini is when you ogle it at the dealership as you drive by. What would happen if a person just offered a Lamborghini to you? That mysterious new guy from accounting approaches you and tells you he can grant you anything you want…all you have to do, is wish for it. Would you do it? Of course you would! If someone could offer you your dream car for doing no work at all, automatically, your first response would be “yes!”, but after a minute, you would remember nobody offers anything for free and you would ask: “Ok, what’s the catch?”
Table of Contents- Temptation preys upon what we wish for and what we dream for. Want a flashy car:
- There is never a free lunch; there is a consequence for every action, however direct or indirect it may be.
- Dr. Faustus knew the power of temptation all too well.
- The monkey's paw may hold the power to fulfill wishes, but it is Sergeant-Major Morris, the visitor to the White's house, that enlightens the family about the power of the paw.
- . The Sergeant could have brushed aside the story behind the monkey paw, but that would mean he would have to die with the power of the paw dying with him as well.
- Despite the subconscious thought that the paw brought about the death of her son, Mrs. White cannot resist the temptation to cheat death.
- One night, Charles walks to the playground and is greeted by a solemn little boy that is in fact the son of his friend Thomas Marshall.
- In both The Monkey's Paw and The Playground it is a person that offers a Faustian-Bargain to the character or characters.
- As if the lake could hear the fearful sounds of Hugh's wishes, it responded by forming into a familiar shape. And a shape began to emerge.
- The devil tempts a person with an unattainable wish being granted, but the consequences of dealing with evil usually cost that person his life.
«. Crop failure is not the only trouble T'ao Ch'ien must face. . the poetry of the reclusive scholar T’ao Ch’ien seems like a layman’s simple affirmation ...» Document abstract
$3.95
4 word format
Language : english
humanities/philosophy
presentation
date published
05/06/2008
review : not yet assessed
level : General public
requested 0 times
SummaryAt first glance, the poetry of the reclusive scholar T’ao Ch’ien seems like a layman’s simple affirmation of Daoist life in the country. But even though T’ao Ch’ien feels he has chosen the right principles for himself, his poetry contains a definite tension: the weather threatens the crops, often he lacks bare necessities, his family is unhappy with his decision and he himself still longs for the old world. The essential Daoist text, the Tao Te Ching, with its many injunctions and advice on how to be a proper sage, promises that the Way will provide if only it is followed. T’ao Ch’ien’s material circumstances seem like an eyesore in that light, but throughout his poetry T’ao Ch’ien uses natural imagery, metaphors of drunkenness, and other literary techniques to illustrate how he is able to detach himself from worldly sorrows and cares and achieve an understanding of the Way.
Table of Contents- T'ao Ch'ien sets up this tension almost immediately in the chronology of his poetic world.
- Crop failure is not the only trouble T'ao Ch'ien must face.
- T'ao Ch'ien has inserted many dissenting elements into his poetry, his own doubts and the doubts of others.
- Another way that T'ao Ch'ien creates distance from the cares of the world is through metaphors using drunkenness
- T'ao Ch'ien's almost philosophical love of wine recalls another of the joyful elements of Peach Blossom Spring
- T'ao Ch'ien does not try to justify one choice of life over the other solely through logic.
« assumption that heroes can only come from sophisticated and complex individuals superior in form who are exceptionally courageous in the face of adversity. ...» Document abstract
$6.95
7 word format
Language : english
literature
research papers
date published
27/05/2008
review : not yet assessed
level : General public
requested 0 times
SummaryArthur Miller once wrote that the reason so few tragedies exist is because the world is in lack of heroes and the common man thinks too little of himself to be otherwise. The reluctance to be anything more than ordinary is attributed to the inherent assumption that heroes can only come from sophisticated and complex individuals superior in form who are exceptionally courageous in the face of adversity. Intimidated by such a misconception, persons fully capable of committing virtuous acts are unable to. The pedestal that heroes are put on seems impossibly and hopelessly high from a distance, but at a closer look, it is in fact within reach. Even the most laudable of heroes who during great moments of peril choose altruism and put the lives of others before their own walk on earth afterwards like everyone else. Though putting one’s life at stake is heroic, a hero is not merely defined by that one act but by his or her state of mind and admirable qualities that are put to use in matters of serving the greater good. And for the common man, because human beings are intrinsically entitled to govern their own lives, he has the choice to be more than himself and by that, choosing to fight for a just cause regardless of its outcome merits him the title of a hero in his own right.
Table of Contents- Introduction.
- Hamartia.
- Expectations.
- Death and effect.
- Conclusion.
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