Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Othello and Race Essay Example for Free

Othello and Race Essay In Shakespeare’s literary creation â€Å"Othello,† the protagonist, Othello, is a high ranking black soldier in a community of white people. Though he had gained his high marks by sheer perseverance and dedication, as it is in the old times, there are the people’s doubts. He was, after all, still a black man. Shakespeare, through this tragedy had shown the stereotypes of our modern times; that being white presents superiority or a sense of control over people of a different race, specifically those of a darker color. Shakespeare, however, did not mean to degrade or discriminate but rather, he seemed to point out the common mistakes of people that ultimately caused racism. Othello’s race and basically his skin color had played a major factor in the story’s main theme, progress and twists. The story mainly revolve on the struggle of a black man and how he found his happiness, but was cut short by other people’s jealousy and deceit. In his fight for love, the fact that he was black was used against him. It was presented to the woman’s father in a sense that generalizes black people as untrustworthy. It was also the main reason Iago used to point out that his wife Desdemona betrayed him for the love of another man, a man who happens to be of pure white ancestry.

Monday, August 5, 2019

The Tcp Service Model Information Technology Essay

The Tcp Service Model Information Technology Essay The transport service is implemented by a transport protocol used between two transport entities. The transport protocol have to deal with error control, sequencing, and flow control. UDP is a simple protocol and it has some niche uses, such as client-server interactions and multimedia, but for the most Internet applications, reliable, sequenced delivery is needed.UDP cannot provide this, so another protocol is required. It is called TCP and is the main workhouse of the internet. THE TCP SERVICE MODEL: TCP service is obtained by both the sender and receiver creating end points, called sockets. A socket may be used for multiple connections at the same time. All TCP connections are full duplex and point to point. Full duplex means that the traffic can go in both directions at the same time. Point-to-point connection contains exactly two end points. Another feature of the TCP service is URGENT DATA. When the urgent data are received at the destination. The receiving application is interrupted so it can stop whatever it was doing and read the data stream to find the urgent data. The start of the urgent data is not marked while the end is marked so the application knows when it is over. This scheme basically provides a crude signaling. THE TCP PROTOCOL: A key feature of TCP, and one which dominates the protocol design, is that every byte on a TCP connection has its own 32-bit sequencer. When the internet began, the lines between routers were mostly 56-kbps leased lines, so a host blasting away at full speed took over 1 week to cycle through the sequence numbers. Separate 32-bit sequence numbers are used for acknowledgements and for the window mechanism. The sending and receiving TCP entities exchange data in the form of segments. What should a segment have? 1.Each segment including the TCP header, must fit in the 65,515-bytes IP payload. 2.Each network has a maximum transfer unit, or MTU, and each segment must fit in the MTU. THE TCP SEGMENT HEADER: The following is the dissection of TCP header field by field. The Source port and Destination port fields identify the local end points of the connection. The source port number is of 16 bits and indentifies the sending host TSAP(client port number). The destination port number is of 16 bits and is used to identify the receiver host TSAP(server port number). The sequence number is of 32 bits size. Since TCP supports Byte-stream, in which each byte is numbered, big space is allocated for numbering i.e.(2 power 32=4096 million).With the help of these numbers only ,one can be able to differentiate the old delayed duplicate with fresh ones. The acknowledgement number is of 32 bits size. It specifies the next byte expected. The length of TCP header is of 4 bits size and indicates the number of rows. Next comes a 6-bit field that is UNUSED. The fact that this field has survived intact for over a quarter of a century is testimony to how well thought out TCP is. Lesser protocols would have needed it to fix bugs in the original design. Six 1-bit flags: 1. URG is set to 1 if the urgent flag pointer is in use. 2. The ACK bit is set to 1 to indicate that the acknowledgement number is valid. If ACK is 0, the segment does not contain an acknowledgement so the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT NUMBER is ignored. 3. The PSH bit indicates pushed data. 4. The RST bit is used to reset a connection that has become confused due to a host crash or some other reason. It is also used to reject an invalid segment or refuse an attempt to open a connection. In general, if you get a segment with the RST bit on, you have problem on your hands. 5. The SYN bit is Synchronization flag. It is used to establish connections. The connection request has SYN=1 and ACK=0 to indicate that the piggyback acknowledgement field is not in use. The connection reply does bear an acknowledgement, so it has SYN=1 and ACK=1. 6. The FIN bit is finish flag. It is used to release a connection. It specifies that the sender has no more data to transmit. CHECKSUM: A checksum is also provided for extra reliability. It checks the header, the data and the conceptual pseudoheader. When performing this computation, the TCP Checksum field is set to zero and the data field is padded out with an additional zero byte if its length is an odd number. PSEUDOHEADER: The pseudoheader contains the 32-bit IP addresses of the source and destination machines, the protocol number for TCP (6), and the byte count for the TCP segment. Including the pseudoheader in the TCP checksum computation helps detect misbelieved packets. TCP CONNECTION MANAGEMENT MODELING: The steps required to establish and release connections can be represented in a finite state machine with the 11 states listed below. In each state, certain events are legal .when a legal event happens, some action may be taken. If some other event happens, an error is reported. State Description CLOSED No connection is active or pending LISTEN The server is waiting for an incoming call SYN, RCVD A connection request has arrived: wait for ACK SYN SENT The application has started to open a connection ESTABLISH The normal data transfer state FIN WAIT 1 The application has said it is finished FIN WAIT 2 The other side has agreed to release TIMED WAIT Wait for all packets to die off CLOSING Both sides have tried to close simultaneously CLOSING WAIT The other side has initiated a release LAST ACK Wait for all packets to die off Each connection starts in the CLOSED state. When it performs either a passive open {LISTEN}, or an active open {CONNECT}, it leaves the state. If the other side does the opposite one, a connection is established and the state becomes ESTABLISHED. Connection release can be initiated by either side. The state returns to CLOSED, after it is completed. Description of the figure: The heavy solid line is the normal path for a client. The heavy dashed line is the normal path for a server. The light lines are unusual events. Each transition is labeled by the event causing it and the action resulting from it, separated by a slash. The event can either be a user à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬initiated system call {CONNECT, LISTEN, SEND or CLOSE}, a segment arrival [SYN, FIN, ACK or RST}, or in one case, a timeout of twice the maximum packet lifetime. The action is the sending of a control segment {SYN, FIN or RST} or nothing, indicated by -.Comments is shown in parentheses. Figure: TCP connection management finite state machine. TCP TRANSMISSION POLICY: Windows Management in TCP is not directly tied to acknowledgements as it is in most data link protocols. If the sender transmits a 2048-byte segment that is correctly received, the receiver will acknowledge the segment. However, since it now has only 2048 bytes of buffer space (until the application removes some data from the buffer), it will advertise a window of 2048 starting at the next byte expected. The window management in TCP is shown in the following figure. Now the sender transmits another 2048 bytes, which are acknowledged, but the advertised window is 0. The sender must stop until the application process on the receiving host has removed some data from the buffer, at which time TCP can advertise a larger window. Senders are not required to transmit data as soon as they come in from the application. When the first 2 KB of data came in, TCP, knowing that it had a 4 KB window available, would have been completely correct in just buffering the data until another 2KB came in, to be able to transmit a segment with a 4KB payload. This freedom can be exploited to improve performance. On the following grounds the sender com still send segments upon receiving the win=0(window size) or (buffer available). When the window=0;the sender may not normally send segments, with two exceptions i)URGENT DATA MAY BE SENT To allow the user to kill the process running on the remote machine. ii)The sender may send a 1byte segment to make the receiver re-announce the next byte expected and window size. SILLY WINDOW SYNDROME: To transmit 1byte of message TCP overhead 20 bytes, IP are required.In other words just to transmit 1 byte, extra 40 Bytes are required. Whenever there is a 1 byte room available at the receiver buffer, the window update segment is sent. Since the receiver is requested for 1 byte the sender sends 1 byte which leads to the receiver buffer to be full over again. Asking for 1 Byte and sending 1 byte appears to be silly, hence the name silly window syndrome. To avoid Silly window syndrome, Nagle suggested NAGLES APPROACH: When the data comes to the sender 1 byte at a time, just send the first Byte and buffer, all the rest until the outstanding Byte is acknowledged. Then send all the buffered characters in one 1 TCP segment and start buffering again until they are all acknowledged. Nagles approach cannot be implemented for all applications. In particular, when as X-windows application is being run over the internet, mouse movements have to be sent to the remote computer. Gathering them and sending them in bursts makes the mouse cursor more erratically, which makes users dissatisfied. CLARKS ALGORITHM: This approach is to prevent the receiver from sending a window update for 1byte instead, it is forced to wait until it has a decent amount of space available and then advertise that. Nagles algorithm is with respect to sender and Clarkà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s algorithm with respect to solve Silly window syndrome. The overall goal is for the sender not to send small segments and the receiver not to ask for them. TCP CONGESTION CONTROL: When the load offered to any network is more than it can handle, congestion builds up. The Internet is no exception. Although network layer also tries to manage congestion, most of the heavy lifting is done by TCP because the real solution to congestion is to slow down the data rate. In theory, congestion can be dealt with by employing a principle borrowed from physics: the law of conservation of packets. The idea is to refrain from injecting a new packet into the network until an old one leaves.TCP attempts to achieve this goal by dynamically manipulating the window size. The first step in managing congestion is detecting it. A timeout caused by a lost packet could have been caused by either (1) noise on a transmission line or (2) packet discard at a congested router. Nowadays, packet loss due to transmission errors is relatively rare because most long-haul trunks are fiber. All the Internet TCP algorithms assume that timeouts are caused by congestion and monitor timeouts for signs of trouble the way miners watch their canaries. TCP TIMER MANAGEMENT: TCP uses multiple timers to do its work. The most important of these is the retransmission timer. When a segment is sent, a retransmission timer is started. If the segment is acknowledged before the timer expires, the timer is stopped. If, on the other hand, the timer goes off before the acknowledgement comes in, and the segment is retransmitted. A second timer is the persistence timer. It is designed to prevent the following deadlock. The receiver sends an acknowledgement with a window size of 0, telling the sender to wait.Later, the receiver updates the window, but the packet with the update is lost. Now both the sender and the receiver are waiting for each other to do something. When the persistence timer goes off, the sender transmits a probe to the receiver. The response to the probe gives the window size. If it is still zero, the persistence timer is set again and the cycle repeats. If it is nonzero, data can now be sent. A third timer that some implementations use is the keep alive timer. When a connection has been idle for a long time, the keep alive timer may go off to cause one side to check whether the other side is still here. If it fails to respond, the connection is terminated. This feature is controversial because it adds overhead and may terminate an otherwise healthy connection due to transient network partition. The last timer used on each TCP connection is the one used in the TIMED WAIT state while closing. It runs for twice the maximum packet lifetime to make sure that when a connection is closed; all packets created by it have died off.

A Comparison of the Roman and Mongol Empires

A Comparison of the Roman and Mongol Empires Contents Introduction The Roman Empire Julius Caesar Governance Religion Trade and Warfare The Mongols Empire Genghis Khan Governance Religion Warfare Mughal Empire Akbar the Emperor Governance Religion and Culture Common Characteristics of the Empires and Emperors Born to Wealthy, Political, and/or Kingship Continue from the foundation Governance Strength for source of power Warfare as a means of expansion Relevant lessons Bibliography Introduction ‘One of the lessons of history is that even the deepest crises can be moments of opportunity. They bring ideas from the margins into the mainstream’ (Mulgan, 2009). Empires have come and gone away but the lessons they brought to the world remain in the minds of the people and documented in the books of world history. The word empire has a very broad definition and some often misinterpret the word. To many it means dictatorship, war among civilisations, exploiting the poor, high profile palaces and Kings and emperors living in comfort ruling over a growing conquest. Although some part of all this is true all of this is history in the world we live in today all that is left is lessons that they brought and the teachings that we still abide by even to this day; history brings more to the table than most people come to think because the governance structures used today, religions, cultures and arts are all brought by the historical world that is passed. In this paper, we are going to discuss the brief history of three empires in history that came in different eras looking at their history, their similarities and the lessons that can be drawn from them. The focus will be mainly cast on governance and city planning but also taking a look at how religion and culture influenced governance and to what extent. How artistry also played a part in planning the cities of the past and how all of these play a major role in our cities today. The empires that are going to be discussed include: The Roman Empire, The Mongols Empire and the Mughal Empire. The structure of the paper is discussing the brief history of the above-mentioned empires individually then from there we look at the common characteristics that exist in each empire that made them successful, this paper will further discuss the differences, the lessons that we can take from history that are still relevant today in terms of governance and city planning. The Roman Empire Some scholars argue that the Roman Empire existed even during the ‘Republic’ although to some extent this is true it was just never visible. It all started in Rome a city-state that is located 25 kilometres from the mouth of the Tiber River. It consisted of high advanced culture and strong army which made it a powerful civilisation (Edward, 1979). Figure 1: Roman Empire (Anon, 2008) Julius Caesar Julius is seen as the engineer of the Empire, he was born to a patrician family in 100 B.C.E to a chief in the senate house of the â€Å"Roman Republic†. He rose in popularity in Rome. Popular with the troops and the people because of his conquest of Gaul; A brilliant military commander. He was murdered on the 15th of March 44 B.C.E; stabbed 23 times by the senate this triggered a civil war which saw Augustus take over the Republic and turning it into an Empire (Bladen, 2011). Governance Rome transitioned from a Monarchy to a Republic then finally to an Empire. This gave a clear distinction between the Proletariat and the bourgeoisie, the rich and the poor, women and men. Only a group of people were allowed to be citizens during the Roman Empire. It was ruled over by one individual who was given the divine power due to power, wealth or any other valuable contributor. The Empire spread all over the Mediterranean Sea as shown above by the picture, ruled by peace there was almost no warfare. This dictatorship system continued for the rest of the Empire (Garnsey Saller, 2014) Religion The Romans and conquered personnel brought many cults to the Empire; they worshiped in churches and their homes, they made sacrifices and held festivals in their honour. Rituals were the main threshold of Roman Religion. Rome was the birth of early Christianity (Garnsey Saller, 2014). Trade and Warfare With the emergence of trade routes and sea transport at the heart of Rome; trade and warfare where the big driving factors to the growth of empire. Winning wars and conquering new territories gave Rome more resources; they acquired new skills from captives, and more slaves that increased the working force (Hopkins, 1980). The Mongols Empire Boasting at twice the land area of the Roman Empire; The Mongols have the largest land empire in world history which stretched long and wide from Central Asia to Central Europe, over to the Sea Of Japan then to Siberia and Indian subcontinents and lastly to Arabia (Khan, 1984). It existed from 1206 to 1368. The Mongols were horse men which enabled them to grow their empire wider and further quicker. The acquiring of horses and other livestock enabled then to greatly enhance their military strength (Rachewiltz, 2013). Figure 2: Mongol Empire (Anon, 2010) Genghis Khan Born to a politically strong family during the year 1161. Brilliant organizer and military mastermind he built the foundation of the Mongols Empire. He died on the 18th of August 1227 which triggered unrest to his grandsons that saw it relevant to grow what he started in memory of his life (Weatherford, 2004). Governance The law was drawn up by Genghis Khan himself with a vital point of instating the ‘Death Penalty’ which made the civilisation to be more peaceful. It was safe and well run because anyone who goes against the rules set out would endure a hard penalty (Rachewiltz, 2013). The Non-democratic parliament central assembly was held at the ‘Kurutai’ where members where the bureaucratic members of the civilisation and the chief was the only one allowed to directly communicate with the Emperor to discuss political and civil related information This dictatorship system continued for the rest of the Empire. Trade routes and postal systems were invented during this time (May, 2012). Religion Although the Emperor allowed for religious freedom the transition of religious systems went from Buddhism to Christianity then finally to Islam. Although citizens were allowed to follow which ever religion they chose (Mumford, 1946). Warfare They were generally horsemen which gave them an advantage over they foot soldiered opponents; they travelled in 10s as they attacked (Saunders, 1971). Figure 3: Mongol Army (Anon, 2012) Mughal Empire In 1494 an 11 year old boy by the name of Babur inherited a Kingdom from his father, the elders thought it would better suit the interest of the empire to take away the kingdom from the boy and assume power driving him away from the land, but little did they know that the boy possessed the power to come back and rule over his father’s empire. After being banished he built an army so strong it could withhold any opposition. The conventional beginning of the empire begins when the army of Babur assumed victory over Ibrahim Lodi in the very first battle of Panipat in 1526. He was a brilliant general and a mastermind in war this is clearly shown by his conquest of an army that had 100000 troops with his army of just merely 12000. He laid the main foundation of the Empire leaving his children to take the throne after he died (Schimmel, 2004). Figure 4: Mughal Empire (Anon, 2013) Akbar the Emperor Babur’s son was the driving force in the small decline of the empire that was growing ever small because of his lack of brilliance in the war field. Akbar on the other grew the Empire through his knowledge and understanding of humans (Sharma, 1999). After conquering his opponents Akbar took the opportunity of growing the culture of his Empire by incorporating the cultures into his Empire. Governance He ruled as the divine ruler with the help from his Bureaucratic officials which formed part of a senate with the chief of the being the one that has direct communication to the Emperor. He approached the position with some element of ease. This dictatorship system continued for the rest of the Empire (Schimmel, 2004). Religion and Culture The Empire was well rounded with different cultures and religions due to the brilliance of Akbar with his ability to blend cultures, He allowed for freedom of Religion this meant that anyone in the empire could worship their own God he’s tolerance was seen when he married women from all different types religions and allowed them to practice in the palace (Schimmel, 2004). The official Religion in the Mughal Empire was Islam but the blending created a host of different cultures new ideas on education, art, politics and language (Sharma, 1999). Common Characteristics of the Empires and Emperors Born to Wealthy, Political, and/or Kingship The most remembered people that gave a foundation to the respective empires were all born to highly recognized families. First we look at Julius Caesar who was born to a patrician family with the father part of the higher order of society which gave him the platform to be greater than his father that is why he continued on to lay a foundation for the Roman Empire (Bladen, 2011). Genghis Khan was born to a political and wealthy family which gave him the power and popularity to go on and exploit this side and take charge to bringing the Mongol Empire (May, 2012). Babur was a son of a king that is why he was presented with the opportunity to rule, although his elders took it away he’s nature to rule was fulfilled when he conquered Ibrahim Lodi and took over (Sharma, 1999). Continue from the foundation The descendants of the foundation kings took over the Empires and grew them to greater heights. The children and grand-children grew the Empires to greater Heights. Augustus took Rome to another level of empire and so did the emperors that followed him (Bunson, 1994). Ãâ€"gedei Khan was assigned by Genghis Khan to be his successor this proved crucial to the growth of the empire (Rachewiltz, 2013). Akbar the grandson of Babur grew the empire to become the largest land empire in history (Sharma, 1999). Governance They all adopted governance structure according to what they thought would work for the current time, place and given resources. Strength for source of power The empires used the resources given to achieve what they managed to achieve. Looking at the Mongols they used horses to expand their territory because they could cover more land quicker and faster and it gave them an advantage over opponents at war. Warfare as a means of expansion They fought to keep their empires and they fought to gather more land and power which was common to all the above empires as a means of expanding their territory Relevant lessons Eventually the needs of the people are much greater than the needs of those in power, by addressing the needs of the people then you will be good in terms of popularity and your position in power will be solidified. This is shown by the Akbar in the Mughal he tolerated the conquered to continue their religion even after he’s captured them (Schimmel, 2004). Freedom of religion gives power to the ruling class because it keeps the dwellers happy. Well assembled civilisations in terms of governance are safe and well run because everyone is happy because they can do whatever they want but abiding by the given rules. The death Penalty by Genghis Khan was a relevant governance structure. This reduces high level crimes like murder so this is a good lesson (May, 2012). How such a small group of Mongols Empire managed to conquered such a vast piece of land was because they were contempt in incorporating they groups that they win over into their empire and this meant that they didnâ€⠄¢t have some kind of barrier that doesn’t allow for outsiders so this meant cultures were well engineered to meet the cultural dynamic unlike most cultures that don’t allow other cultures to enter. City building was influenced by arts and culture that was in the empire and the desired taste of the Emperor because he has the final say on the building of the city. Conclusion Each Empire has its own significant characteristics but at some point they overlap to some extent which means that they have some strong similarities as to how their Empires began which was due to the power hungry political children in an attempt to by-pass their parent’s success. How they handle their conquered territories is also different while some choose to incorporate cultures some just choose to instate their own into the lives of the captives. We can draw a lot from history although we refuse to take the lessons and incorporate them because we think we know better and that history is irrelevant although it plays a vital role in our lives now and it will continue to influence our ideas even in times to come Bibliography Anon, 2008. Roman Empire. [Online] Available at: http://www.crystalinks.com/romanempire.html [Accessed 20 March 2015]. Anon, 2010. Colonialism in India and China. [Online] Available at: http://colonialism-india-china.weebly.com/mongol-empire.html [Accessed 21 March 2015]. Anon, 2012. Badass. [Online] Available at: http://badassoftheweek.com/index.cgi?id=84324331289 [Accessed 22 March 2015]. Anon, 2013. Mr. G @ AHS. [Online] Available at: https://sites.google.com/site/mrgahs/home/period-4-global-interactions-1450-ce-to-1750-ce/mughal-empire [Accessed 22 March 2015]. Bladen, V., 2011. Julius Caesar. Australia: Insight Publications. Bunson, M., 1994. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. New York: Facts on File. Edmondson, J.C., 1989. Mining in the Later Roman Empire and beyond: Continuity or Disruption? The Journal of Roman Studies, 79(1), pp.84-102. Edward, 1979. The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire: From the First Century A.D. to the Third. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. Garnsey, P. Saller, R., 2014. The Roman Empire: Economy, Society and Culture. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. Hall, P., 1998. Cities in civilization: culture, innovation, and urban order. London: Phoenix. Hopkins, K., 1980. Taxes and Trade in the Roman Empire. Journal Of Roman Studies, 70(1), pp.101-25. Khan, P., 1984. The Secret History of the Mongols: The Origin of Chinghis Khan. Boston: Cheng and Tsui Company. May, T., 2012. The Mongol Conquests in World History. London: Reaktion Books. Mulgan, G., 2009. Ted. [Online] Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/geoff_mulgan_post_crash_investing_in_a_better_world_1/transcript?language=en [Accessed 20 March 2015]. Mumford, L., 1946. The Culture of Cities. 5th ed. London: Martin Secker and Wraburg Limited. Rachewiltz, I.d., 2013. The Secret History of the Mongols: A Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century. Asia: Brill. Saunders, J.J., 1971. The History of the Mongol Conquests. Philadelphia: Routledge. Schimmel, A., 2004. The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture. London: Reaktion Books. Sharma, S.R., 1999. Mughal Empire in India: A Systematic Study Including Source Material. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers. Weatherford, J., 2004. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. New York: Crown Publishers.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Americas New War :: Politics Government Essays

America's New War America is currently at war against some intangible entity called Terrorism. I know that seems like and unnecessary statement of the obvious, but sometimes I feel the need to be reminded of the fact that we are really fighting a war. It is almost laughable how easy it is to avoid thinking about â€Å"America’s New War†. How can a nation go to war without the involvement of its population? The American public is not being asked to unite in support of our troops overseas; there has been no request for sacrifice or conservation of resources. Instead, we are being urged to consume, travel, and go on with our routine lives. According to an article titled, â€Å"Our World War†, by Jonathan Rowe, â€Å"the advertising industry has wracked its clever brains to conjure from the ashes of the World Trade Center an upbeat buying mood† (Adbusters Jan/Feb 2002 no. 39). The world has changed and we are asked to return to life as usual. I find this concern with consumer confidence somehow incongruent with the events that are taking place in Afghanistan right now. The economy is, without a doubt, a defining characteristic of the American way of life, and a weakened economy would jeopardize its stability and security. "’Sept. 11 dealt a very serious blow to the economy, demonstrating the cost of inaction,’ says White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan. New security measures are needed ‘for the sake of the economy and the safety of the American people’" (Ramstack). Our economic stability should be monitored and increased security measures should be taken after an attack like the one on September 11th. However, I feel a lack of concern for the lives that are at stake in the Middle East. I have to question whether our economic status is more important than the thousands of soldiers that are engaged in the war abroad. So much emphasis has been placed on the continuation of the â⠂¬Å"American Dream†, that after the drama of the attack wore off, the American unity and mobilization have been directed towards malls and car dealerships. Maybe someone can explain to me how my next purchase will benefit those sacrificing lives on the front lines.

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Spiritual Shallowness in The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

Spiritual Shallowness in The Great Gatsby The American Dream was based on the assumption that each person, no matter what his origins, could succeed in life on the sole basis of his or her own skill and effort. The dream was embodied in the ideal of the self-made man. The Great Gatsby is a novel about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s, a period when the old values that gave substance to the dream had been corrupted by the vulgar pursuit of wealth. Spiritual shallowness is portrayed in The Great Gatsby through the characters' pursuit of power and pleasure, the character groupings and images and the forgotten past. The characters of The Great Gatsby are Midwesterners who have come east in pursuit of this new dream of money, fame, success, glamour, and excitement. Tom and Daisy must have a huge house, a stable of polo ponies, and friends in Europe. Gatsby must have his enormous mansion before he can feel confident enough to try to win Daisy. The energy that might have gone into the pursuit of noble goals has been channeled into the pursuit of power and pleasure, and a very showy, but fundamentally empty form of success. Fitzgerald employs clearly defined character groupings and various images and symbols in developing the theme. Character groups include Nick, the observer and commentator, who sees what has gone wrong, Gatsby, who lives the dream purely, and Tom, Daisy, and Jordan, the "foul dust" who are the prime examples of the corruption of the dream. The primary images and symbols used are, the green light, the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg, the image of the East and Midwest, Owl Eyes, Dan Cody's yacht; and religious terms such as grail and incarnation. Both the character groupings and the images and symbols suggest a second major theme that may be referred to as "sight and insight." The novel contains many images of blindness, perhaps because hardly anyone seems to "see" what is really going on. The characters have little self-knowledge and even less knowledge of each other. Especially Gatsby- he lacks the insight to understand what is happening. He never truly sees either Daisy or himself, so blinded is he by his dream. The only characters who see, in the sense of "understand," are Nick and Owl Eyes. Spiritual Shallowness in The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays Spiritual Shallowness in The Great Gatsby The American Dream was based on the assumption that each person, no matter what his origins, could succeed in life on the sole basis of his or her own skill and effort. The dream was embodied in the ideal of the self-made man. The Great Gatsby is a novel about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s, a period when the old values that gave substance to the dream had been corrupted by the vulgar pursuit of wealth. Spiritual shallowness is portrayed in The Great Gatsby through the characters' pursuit of power and pleasure, the character groupings and images and the forgotten past. The characters of The Great Gatsby are Midwesterners who have come east in pursuit of this new dream of money, fame, success, glamour, and excitement. Tom and Daisy must have a huge house, a stable of polo ponies, and friends in Europe. Gatsby must have his enormous mansion before he can feel confident enough to try to win Daisy. The energy that might have gone into the pursuit of noble goals has been channeled into the pursuit of power and pleasure, and a very showy, but fundamentally empty form of success. Fitzgerald employs clearly defined character groupings and various images and symbols in developing the theme. Character groups include Nick, the observer and commentator, who sees what has gone wrong, Gatsby, who lives the dream purely, and Tom, Daisy, and Jordan, the "foul dust" who are the prime examples of the corruption of the dream. The primary images and symbols used are, the green light, the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg, the image of the East and Midwest, Owl Eyes, Dan Cody's yacht; and religious terms such as grail and incarnation. Both the character groupings and the images and symbols suggest a second major theme that may be referred to as "sight and insight." The novel contains many images of blindness, perhaps because hardly anyone seems to "see" what is really going on. The characters have little self-knowledge and even less knowledge of each other. Especially Gatsby- he lacks the insight to understand what is happening. He never truly sees either Daisy or himself, so blinded is he by his dream. The only characters who see, in the sense of "understand," are Nick and Owl Eyes.

Friday, August 2, 2019

Guilt and Innocence in ”The Scarlet Letter” Essay

Knowledge and sin connect in the Judeo-Christian tradition in the story of Adam and Eve. Sin becomes the outcome in the story of Adam and Eve when they get thrown out of the Garden of Eden. After their banishment from the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve must work and bear children. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale experience similar situations as Adam and Eve in the novel _The Scarlet Letter_ written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. For Hester, the scarlet letter becomes her ticket to go places no one else would dare go to. However, for Dimmesdale, the weight of his sin gives him close and personal sympathy with the sinful brotherhood of mankind, so he feels a kinship with them. Hester and Dimmesdale reflect on their own sinfulness on a daily basis and strive to resolve it with their own knowledge. In the novel _The Scarlet Letter_, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the theme of guilt and innocence through Hester Prynne, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Pearl to show that sometimes guilt or innocence is a conscious decision. Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes the theme of guilt and innocence throughout the novel by displaying how Reverend Dimmesdale’s guilt affects him. In Chapter Ten, Roger Chillingworth and Reverend Dimmesdale talk about why black weeds would spring up in a buried heart of a dead man to represent an unspoken crime. Reverend Dimmesdale speaks that no power above the Divine mercy reveals the secrets that bury with a human heart. The minister replied, â€Å"The heart making itself guilty of such secrets, must perforce hold them, until the day when all hidden things shall be revealed† (Hawthorne 118). Reverend Dimmesdale says that the heart forces itself to feel guilty for keeping those secrets concealed in itself. The heart must inevitably hold those secrets in itself until judgment day when all hidden things reveal themselves. A person’s own impression of sin can keep him/her away from making the right decision like Reverend Dimmesdale. True blockage from his own logic of crime prevents Reverend Dimmesdale from meeting Hester and Pearl on the scaffold, which points him towards adding to his sin (Bloom 16). Reverend Dimmesdale’s sense of personal sin becomes too overwhelming for him from the pressures as a minister. He does not stand next to Hester and Pearl on the scaffold since his label as a minister keeps him form  admitting to his sin. In Chapter 12, at nighttime, Reverend Dimmesdale goes out to get a reasonable perspective of what it would maybe feel like to stand on the scaffold. He believes that no one except him walks the streets at that late hour, but he finds Reverend Mr. Wilson walking past him to his home from Governor Winthrop’s death-bed. The narrator describes, â€Å"And thus, while standing on the scaffold, in this vain show of expiation, Mr. Dimmesdale was overcome with a great horror of mind, as if the universe were gazing at a scarlet token on his naked breast, right over his heart† (Hawthorne 134). Reverend Dimmesdale feels as if something revealed his guilt and sin to the universe. He does not want others to know of his guilt, but rather of his pure heart and innocent mind. Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes the theme of guilt and innocence throughout the novel by exhibiting how Reverend Dimmesdale allows his guilt to affect him and his actions. In Chapter 12, Reverend Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold that Hester Prynne stood on seven years earlier. Hester Prynne comes from Governor Winthrop’s house to find Reverend Dimmesdale on her way home. â€Å"Come up hither, Hester, thou and little Pearl,† said the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale. â€Å"Ye have both been here before, but I was not with you. Come up hither once again, and we will stand all three together† (Hawthorne 138). Reverend Dimmesdale finally reveals the guilt that he kept to himself for seven years. He admits that he sinned and will stand by his guilty partner when he feels the need to. In Chapter Ten, Roger Chillingworth and Reverend Dimmesdale argue about whether or not a man should reveal his secrets to rid themselves of the unutterable guilt. They cannot agree on why a man w ould not get rid of his guilt sooner. The clergyman says, â€Å"Why should a wretched man, guilty, we will say, of murder, prefer to keep the dead corpse buried in his own heart, rather than fling it forth at once, and let the universe take care of it† (Hawthorne 119). A man guilty of murder may prefer to keep it buried in his own heart because he knows the results would label him as sinful and evil. Man does not want others to know him as a sinner, but as an innocent churchgoer. The importance of sin in the society where Dimmesdale lives seems to center around the townspeople’s lives and beliefs. Hawthorne writes his story covering the fundamental statement that sin becomes extremely important as within the days and philosophies of the earliest  Puritans (Bloom 10). Puritans believe that because public lives and private lives link together, sins of friends and associates could taint one’s name, like guilt by association. The public holds Dimmesdale high in society and mark him with great importanc e. Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes the theme of guilt and innocence throughout the novel by demonstrating how Hester Prynne deals with her guilt from the sin she commits. In Chapter Two, the narrator describes the scene of Hester Prynne walking out of the prison into the daylight. Hester’s reaction as she walks out of the prison into the crowd of people on her way to the market-place illustrates her motherly instincts. The young mother stands before the crowd with an expression that looks as if she might grasp the infant close to her chest; not to protect the infant, but hide an item sewn onto her dress. She quickly realizes that she cannot hide the shame sewn onto her dress with the shame she holds in her arms, and she then gazes around at the townspeople. A fine red letter A surrounded by fancy sewing of gold thread appears on her chest (Hawthorne 47). The young woman knows of the guilt and shame placed upon her, figuratively and literally. She knows it figuratively by the guilt and shame of having an affair. Literally by the scarlet red letter â€Å"A† sewn onto her gown with gold thread. She will not allow others to place fault on her for covering up or taking off the letter â€Å"A† from her clothing, giving her some sense innocence. In Chapter Three, Reverend Mr. Wilson tries to pressure and persuade Hester into giving up the name of the father of her baby. She refuses to speak of his name because she does not want him to bear the burden of the guilt. Reverend Mr. Wilson harshly cries out at Hester that she should not sin further than the limits of Heaven’s forgiveness. The baby in her arms will reveal to the counsel the name of Hester’s fellow sinner. He bargains with her that she can take the scarlet letter off her breast if she reveals his name. She refuses to speak the name or take the scarlet le tter off her breast. Hester will bear the burden of his guilt and hers so that he can feel innocent and free (Hawthorne 61). Reverend Mr. Wilson tries to find out what man committed the sin with Hester and now should label himself as a father of her child. She knows that unless she speaks his name he will not need to feel guilty. Hester Prynne stands up and fights for what she believes in, instead of  allowing herself to become vulnerable. The issue of who controls the letter, and the vulnerability of Hester’s identity, occurs at the end of the first scene, when the Reverend Mr. Wilson tries to persuade Hester into naming her lover by suggesting the information will allow her to take the scarlet letter off her clothing. Her response tells him that it will take more to intimidate her. Hester weakens their ruling by her extreme truthfulness toward the scarlet letter. She becomes the front line of communication and character (Bloom 101). Hester knows that she committed a sin and believes that she needs to pay the price by wearing the scarlet letter. She presents herself to others as guilty by wearing the scarlet letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes the theme of guilt and innocence throughout the novel by revealing how Hester Prynne overcomes her guilt through many years of grief. In Chapter Five, the narrator says that Hester will become the example for the preacher and moralist to use in their teachings. Hester must move on from that and live her life in the fullest. The days will continue onward, still with the load of burden for her to carry with her, but never to drop; for the many coming days and years would stack up their sadness upon the mound of shame. Throughout all of them, giving her individuality away, she would become the symbol for preachers and moralists to use, and in which they might bring life and embody their pictures of women’s weakness and wicked passion. The young and pure would learn to look at her as the figure, the reality of sin (Hawthorne 71). Hester’s guilt becomes the highlight of the preacher’s and moralist’s teachings. She no longer feels innocent from guilt or shame. In Chapter 15, Hester takes Pearl into the forest for a walk, so she can talk to Reverend Dimmesdale about Roger Chillingworth’s secret identity. Pearl asks many questions about different people and items like the scarlet letter and the minister putting his hand over his heart all the time. The narrator describes, â€Å"In all the seven bygone years, Hester Prynne had never before been false to the symbol on her bosom† (Hawthorne 164). Hester never denied her guilt before in the past seven years, until Pearl nags Hester to tell her the reason for wearing the scarlet letter. She does not know why she denied the guilt the scarlet letter reminds her of. Mothers teach their children everything they needed because the mothers know the children the best. The consecrated union in  which the mother teaches her offspring about the letters of communication that expresses her character and position within the town, becomes broken from the lie about the letter. Hester teaches Pearl the alphabet and Pearl acknowledges the letter _A_ from the hornbook Hester taught with. Pearl fails the test of knowing her true identity from Hester not telling her the real significance of the letter (Bloom 64). Hester chooses not to tell Pearl the true meaning of the letter A on her chest, so she makes herself feel guilt and shame for lying to Pearl. Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes the theme of guilt and innocence throughout the novel by illustrating how Pearl becomes a symbol of Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin. In Chapter Two, Hester realizes that no one but her stands on the scaffold, with an infant in her arm, and the letter â€Å"A† sewn onto her gown. She does not want to believe in the truth. The narrator describes, â€Å"Could it be true? She clutched the child so fiercely to her breast that it sent forth a cry; she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real. Yes!-these were her realities,-all else had vanished† (Hawthorne 53). Hester realizes her guilt and shame for a moment while standing on the scaffold. In this case, she realizes that no innocence will come to her and free her from her guilt. In Chapter Six, Pearl does not see the entire reason as to why no one will become her friend. She also doesn†™t understand what she did to deserve loneliness. The narrator says, â€Å"Nothing was more remarkable than the instinct, as it seemed, with which the child comprehended her loneliness; the destiny that had drawn an inviolable circle round about her; the whole peculiarity, in short, of her position in respect to other children† (Hawthorne 84). Pearl displays herself as innocent, but gets caught up in the guilt of her mother because she bears the same label as her mother, a sinner. Hester lives with the guilt of putting this burden on her daughter. Arthur Dimmesdale fears that Pearl will figure out that they possess similar facial appearances. The infant’s uniqueness carries someone else’s: that, like a letter, she possesses the evidence to the complete understanding of someone else’s personality-_A_ condenses Adultery, or even Arthur. Pearl’s father’s initials include the first two letters of adultery. Pearl reflects the form of her father, just like she notices in  the reflecting creek, the face that outlines her father’s appearance and could allow her to reveal Reverend Dimmesdale as Hester’s fellow sinner. Pearl lives as a symbol or reduced form because her parent’s linguistic misinformation and dishonesty define her. Denying that would deny the existence of Pearl all together (Bloom 65). Innocence radiates around Pearl, but others, such as Arthur and Hester, see her as a symbol of their guilt and shame. Pearl chooses to feel innocent, so that she might cheer up her mother. It is evident that the conscious decision of guilt or innocence can create an easy or hard decision for a person as in _The Scarlet Letter_. Hester Prynne, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Pearl all faced the decision of whether they wanted to feel guilty or innocent. Unlike Pearl, Hester and Dimmesdale struggled with their conscious about whether they should feel guilty or innocent for their sin they committed. Hester and Dimmesdale present themselves as a different version of Adam and Eve in the novel _The Scarlet Letter_. The townspeople ostracized Hester and Dimmesdale for committing a sin against God. God forced Adam and Eve to work and start a family after God banished them from the Garden of Eden for committing a sin against Him. In the Judeo-Christian story of Adam and Eve, sin and knowledge relate to each other. Works Cited Carton, Evan. â€Å"The Prison Door.† _The Rhetoric of American Romance: Dialectic and Identity in Emerson, Dickinson, Poe and Hawthorne_ (1985). Rpt. in _Modern Critical Interpretations: The Scarlet Letter_. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 97-120. Print. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. _The Scarlet Letter_. New York: Modern Library, 2000. Print. Kaul, A. N. â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne: Heir and Critic of the Puritan Tradition.† _The American Vision: Actual and Ideal Society in Nineteenth-Century Fiction_ (1963). Rpt. in _Modern Critical Interpretations: The Scarlet Letter_. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 9-20. Print. Ragussis, Michael. â€Å"Family Discourse and Fiction in _The Scarlet Letter_.† _ELH_ 49 (1982). Rpt. in _Modern Critical Interpretations: The Scarlet Letter_. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 59-80. Print.

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Dark side of technology Essay

The nature of these machines makes it possible for discrimination against ordinary persons. Ordinary persons who may have a predisposition towards certain tendencies could be found out and victimised even though they have yet to commit a crime they have the brain pattern of a criminal. This is the dark side of technology.  More research is needed to determine whether or not there are differences between criminals and ordinary persons. There is room for these tests to be manipulated by either the prosecution or the defence. Which ever team pays for the tests can get the results that they so desire.  Over sensitivity of the machinery needs to be controlled for in the tests in order for their reliability to be increased, and their usefulness enhanced.  More research needs to be done to determine if there are genuine differences between the brains of criminals and ordinary persons.  If the tests are genuinely able to discover differences between criminals and ordinary persons then maybe abnormalities can be controlled for before criminal behaviour is expressed. Deregowski  Depth Cue- Depth cues are (hints, guides, cues) which provide information about the spatial (positioning relative to each other) relationships among objects (three dimensional) in a picture (two dimensional).  Familiar Size- The cue whereby objects, which are further away in the picture, are drawn smaller than objects of the same size which are closer.  Overlap Cue- The effect of a nearer object obscuring parts of a more distant object.  Perspective- This is given by the convergence of lines depicting edges which are parallel in the real world, but which appear to come together as they move into the distance e.g. a railway track. A person using a depth cue will extract a completely different meaning from a picture than will a person who is not using such pictures.  Various drawings of an elephant, an antelope, a person, a tree, a road, some hills and a flying bird were shown.  Empirical Test  The tests are empirical because numeric information was collected. How many persons made different responses e.t.c  These tests involved showing pictures and asking questions.   What do you see?  What is the man doing?  Which is nearer the antelope or the elephant? Methodology The questions were asked in the subjects, native language. This means the results were not affected by confusion resulting from the use of the interviewers language or from translations. They understood exactly what they were being asked.  There was a potential problem with classification. If questions were answered correctly according to western standards it was automatically assumed that they were three dimensional perceivers. This could have impacted upon the results.  The tests may not have been measuring cultural differences as noted but instead, educational and social levels. Evidence for this is provided by persons of better educational and social levels performing better on the tests. Remember children have better access to western culture and education than do adults. Additionally higher educational and social levels provide persons with access to western culture. Deregowski reviewed Hudson’s work and put forward some different opinions. This means the results could have been a consequence of interpretation.  The study includes information from different time periods. The results may have been as a result of this time elapse. For e.g. the info collected from Zambian school children-information was presented from both 1960 and 1972. There culture and circumstances may have changed tremendously during the time elapse.  Adults and children were differentiated. Therefore a comparison could have been made to take into account changes in culture. Note Hudson found that children had higher rates of three dimensional perception than did adults. [note-Deregowski found that both adults and children had difficulties making three dimensional perceptions] Ecological Validity  The Subjects may have been put in artificial categories which were a consequence of the test-three dimensional and two dimensional perceivers.  Persons are not normally required to view pictures under these conditions (circumstances) as existed during the study.  The tests may have been picking up differences in educational and social levels and not culture as was suggested.