Friday, January 17, 2020
Beowulf Essay Essay
Throughout history there have been many stories about men who were considered to be a ââ¬Å"hero. â⬠The definition of a hero has changed throughout the evolution of society. In the days of Beowulf and the Vikings, a hero was a man who was strong, courageous, and willing to protect his land and provide for his people. In todayââ¬â¢s world, a hero is someone who is known for their selflessness and bravery. Beowulf is described as an epic hero before he even speaks a word in the story. He is described as ââ¬Å"mightiest man on earthâ⬠, ââ¬Å"the noble warriorâ⬠, and ââ¬Å"the man whose name was known for courage, the Great leader. â⬠These opening quotes about Beowulf alone make it seem like he was not only a great warrior and leader, but also a great hero. Beowulf displays the most common traits of a hero throughout his journeys. A hero needs to display bravery, courage, loyalty, dedication and determination to be considered a ââ¬Å"heroâ⬠. According to www. dictionary. com the definition of loyalty is having a strong feeling of support or allegiance to someone or something. Throughout the entire story of Beowulf he stays loyal to the people of Geatland. From the beginning of the story Beowulf showed loyalty when he sailed to Geatland for King Hrothgar just to repay the debt of Hrothgar saving his father in the earlier years. Beowulf pledged his allegiance to Hrothgar when he needed his most because he believes in the hero characteristic of loyalty to someone or something with importance to you. Even after Beowulf kills Grendel and has in some way repaid his debt to Hrothgar he still stays in Geatland and fights Grendelââ¬â¢s mother and at the end of the story he fights the dragon for the good of his people. Beowulf remained loyal to Hrothgar until he became king and then he stayed loyal to his people for the remaining years of his life. Throughout all of Beowulfââ¬â¢s life he has been dedicated to being remembered and to live on even after he has died. Beowulf did not want any type of reward or prize for doing the things he does, all he wanted was to have fame and be remembered by people. This dedication lead him into many difficult battles that risked his livelihood. This dedication to fame leads him through the battle with Grendel, Grendelââ¬â¢s mom, and the dragon. All of these battles were fought so Beowulfââ¬â¢s name would live on and he could die a ââ¬Å"heroâ⬠to his people. The most important characteristic of a hero is bravery. Beowulf displays how much bravery he actually has in three different battles. The first battle was his main reason for going to Geatland, to stop the man eating monster Grendel. Grendel is feared by all of the Danes but Beowulf was eager to meet Grendel in battle. Grendel had killed many of Danes before Beowulf arrived yet still Beowulf shows no fear. Also Beowulf tells the men in the mead hall how he will not fight Grendel with any type of sword or knife because the monster doesnââ¬â¢t use anything like that either. Even though Beowulf makes the fight an even one for his own personal reasons this action displays an immense amount of bravery. Beowulf kills the monster with his bare hands and restores peace to the Danes even if only for a little while. Courage also is an important characteristic of Beowulf. After killing Grendel with his bare hands this is a courageous act in itself, Beowulf is summoned to kill Grendelââ¬â¢s mothers. It took courage just to be on the journey to get to Grendelââ¬â¢s mother. Beowulf ventures into her lake home eager to meet her in battle just as he was with Grendel. Despite the fact that the lake is filled with creatures and evil things Beowulf shows no hesitation in going straight in by himself to fight Grendelââ¬â¢s mother. Once inside Grendelââ¬â¢s mother senses Beowulf and immediately drags him into her home. It looks like Beowulf is about to be killed when he takes a sword and cuts the throat of Grendelââ¬â¢s mother, defeating her. Beowulf re-surfaces and is greeted by the remaining men outside the lake. This journey into the lake and into Grendelââ¬â¢s Motherââ¬â¢s home was nothing short of courage. Even after Beowulf is king for many years he never loses his courage. When Beowulf is an old warrior his land is attacked by a sleeping dragon awoken by treasure being stolen from its cave. Beowulf immediately went on a journey to slay this dragon. It was said that no man had entered into the dragons cave and lived. Even with information known Beowulf still lead his followers into the cave to fight this dragon. Although the dragon takes Beowulfââ¬â¢s life, this journey is extremely courageous. Beowulf helped in the killing of this dragon and in return gave his life just so his people would be safe. It could be argued that Beowulf is not hero because heroes donââ¬â¢t gloat about their fights or accomplishments. Although Beowulf tells people he is the strongest person alive and he bragged about his accomplishments, it doesnââ¬â¢t take away from the fact that he displayed more than one characteristic of a hero. His bravery and courageousness are more prominent in his life than his gloating. Also it could be argued that heroes donââ¬â¢t accept things such as money or gold in return for doing a heroic act. Beowulf did accept gold from the Danes but during this time period it was a common gift for someone like Beowulf to receive gifts and gold. In some cases it might have even been seen as rude or disrespectful for Beowulf not to accept their gold. These two arguments have valid points but overall when you compare the heroic traits to the non-heroic traits of Beowulf the heroic traits outnumber the non-heroic traits. All in all Beowulf was a great man who led a great life full of accomplishments and accomplished missions. Everything he did was for a purpose that benefitted not only himself but more importantly the people he was loyal to and that were loyal to him. Throughout the story of Beowulf he has proven himself to be not only a great man but also a hero. Beowulf fought three non-human opponents and still with no fear or doubt he rose above and defeated all three of his opponents. Beowulf is the definition of what a hero should be like and he does a great job of displaying the traits one needs to have in order to be considered a hero.
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Comparison Of Holden Caaulfield And Catcher In The Rye
In contrast, JD Salingerââ¬â¢s character Holden Caulfield, from The Catcher in the Rye, would be characterized as a spoiled rich kid because he does not meet the requirements of a Hemingway code hero. Though this character may seem to fit into the category of ââ¬Å"code heroâ⬠because of his moral code, in reality he is too frail and emotional, he has no desire to free himself from societyââ¬â¢s constraints, and he has not endured through his struggles. Firstly, Holden is often overwhelmed by his emotions and feelings, to the point where they cause him a mental breakdown and he is admitted to a mental institution. Ernest Hemingway writes his heroes as men capable of controlling their emotions so that they will not get in the way of their life, which isâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then itââ¬â¢s a game, all rightââ¬âIââ¬â¢ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there arenââ¬â¢t any hot-shots, then whatââ¬â¢s a game about it? Nothingâ⬠(Salinger 8). Through this quote, the author shows the reader how Caulfield just accepts life as it is, despite being unhappy with it, and doesnââ¬â¢t make an effort to change his situation. In sum, Holden Caulfield is too accepting of reality and does not attempt to take control over his own life, which is uncharacteristic of a true code hero. Finally, Holden has not handled the pain and suffering in his life with the courage of a Hemingway code hero. When his brother died, he became depressed and started to see the world in a completely different way, which is somewhat characteristic of a code hero. Nonetheless, his extreme sadness over his brotherââ¬â¢s death took control over his life, which shows that Holden could not endure chaos and pain in life, unlike a true code hero. At one point Holden tells the reader, ââ¬Å"It took me quite a while to get to sleepââ¬âI wasnt even tiredââ¬âbut finally I did. Wh at I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. I probably wouldve done it, too, if Id been sure somebodyd cover me up as soon as I landedâ⬠(Salinger 104). This exemplifies Holdenââ¬â¢s lack of strength and endurance when facing struggle, in this case when he is confronted in his hotel room and
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
The Psychological Phenomenon Of The Bystander Effect
Paragraph 1 (introduction and thesis) Thesis not included From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the psychological phenomenon. For the bystander effect in radiobiology, see Bystander effect (radiobiology). The bystander effect, or bystander apathy, is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases in which individuals do not offer any means of help to a victim when other people are present. The probability of help is inversely related to the number of bystanders. In other words, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help. No thesis included...create one for your document. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect Paragraph 2 (narrative of Catherine Genoveseââ¬â¢s attack) On Friday 13 March in 1964, 28-year-old Catherine Genovese was arriving home in her built-up neighborhood from a late night shift as a bar manager in Queens, New York. She was suddenly attacked with a knife by a man named Winston Moseley. She screamed aloud ââ¬Å"Oh my God, I ve been stabbed! Please help me!â⬠We know what she screamed because people heard her. People who didn t lift a finger to help. People who didn t want to get involved , who did n t call the police. Moseley saw lights come on in the apartments nearby. He knew people were watching. He ran off, leaving Catherine to drag herself into a doorway where she lay bleeding - she could possibly have survived at this point. But her attacker decided to return toShow MoreRelatedBystander Effect : A Social And Psychological Phenomenon1655 Words à |à 7 PagesThe bystander effect is both a social and psychological phenomenon in which an individualââ¬â¢s inclination towards showing helping behaviours are minimised by the influence of other people. Research has found that the more people acting as bystanders in a situation, the less likely it is that helping behaviours will be demonstrated. However in the correct conditions, where conditioned cues increase self-awareness, it is possible to reverse the bystander effect phenomenon. The bystander effect is prevalentRead MoreSocial Psychologists : Bystander Effect1446 Words à |à 6 Pages The term used by soc ial psychologists ââ¬â bystander effect or bystander apathy may answer the question what makes people to ignore others in need of help, and why? The bystander effect is a phenomenon in which people are less likely to assist another individual in an emergency situation when other individuals or bystanders are present (Schneider, Coutts, Gruman, 2013). In theoretical and practical sense, bystander effect plays important role in understanding the helping behaviour helpRead MoreBystander Effect Theory Essay775 Words à |à 4 PagesThe Bystander Effect Theory Have you seen a group of children bullying or pushing around another child? Did you stand by and watch the situation and not intervene? If so, even with such a minor situation, you fell into the bystander effect theory. The bystander effect happens every day in our lives and dates all the way back to the Holocaust and even further back in history. The bystander effect theory is a psychological phenomenon were people do not help others in emergency situations whenRead MoreThe Bystander Effect is a Cognitive Phoenomena 643 Words à |à 3 PagesThe bystander effect is a social psychological phenomenon that concerns the behavior of individuals that, facing an emergency situation in which another person is subject to violence or needs help, do not intervene if other people are present. The effect has been tested in the laboratory by John Darley and Bibb Latanà © (1968) after the murder of Kitty Genovese, stabbed to death by a maniac under the neighborhoodââ¬â¢s eyes while she was walking home from her work at 3p.m. She asked for help for half anRead MoreKitty Genovese1549 Words à |à 7 Pagesbut nobody went out to help her. Kitty Genoveses murder is a dilemma. If human beings are basically benevolent, why did thirty eight ordinary people do nothing when they heard Genoveses cries for help? Her murder case involved deeply roo ted psychological and sociological issues This incident shows that human behavior can get affected by the rough environment in big cities. Kitty Genovese was born in New York City. Her real name was Catherine Susan Genovese. She was 28 years old. Kitty GenoveseRead MorePsychological Research Into the Behaviour of Bystanders Essay example968 Words à |à 4 PagesPsychological Research Into the Behaviour of Bystanders The first researchers to investigate systematically the circumstances in which bystanders are and are not likely to intervene to help others were Latane Darley. The tragic case of Kitty Genovese in 1960s New York acted as a catalyst for research studies since the case highlighted concepts such as bystander apathy and the unresponsive bystander. Latane and Darley have shown through research that we are lessRead MoreThe Bystander Effect Is Caused By Diffusion Of Responsibility1470 Words à |à 6 PagesCritically evaluate the claim that the bystander effect is caused by diffusion of responsibility. The bystander effect (or bystander apathy) is a multifaceted social psychological phenomenon depicting that there is a lesser chance of an individual intervening and helping in an emergency if there are other bystanders present (Hogg and Vaughan, 2014). Diffusion of responsibility is one hypothesised cause of the bystander effect. A person assumes that others present will take action, resulting in aRead MoreCyber Bullying And Its Effects On Its Victims1651 Words à |à 7 Pagesdigital culture and anonymity, cyber bullying has become a prominent issue that can have negative psychological effects on its victims through the power of these technological advances. This new 21st century term is derived from standard physical bullying has become a prominent and revolving issue as cellphone, texting and social media sites take away oneââ¬â¢s privacy by causing harmful psychological effects on its victims (Siegel, 2012). With the advancement of technology, cyber bullying has becomingRead MoreThe Bystander Effect In Night By Elie Wiesel775 Words à |à 4 Pagesassailant returned twice to finish off the job people still did nothing to intervene. This is called the bystander effect. This is a psychological phenomenon that describes the decrease in a persons likliness to help someone in need when there are other witnesses around. As found in most everyday crimes, the bystander effect was also found during the Holocaust. In Night, by Elie Wiesel, the bystander effect is revealed due to ones inability to help others in need because of fear they will be persecutedRead MoreAnalysis Of Robert Frost s Mending Wall Essay1698 Words à |à 7 Pageswhy they do so, delving into the causation of the reclusiveness of humans and their negligence to interact with society. ââ¬Å"When Will People Help in a Crisis?â⬠is an essay written by two psychologists John M. Darley and Bibb Latanà ©, who through psychol ogical experiments, explain why people tend to turn their cheek the other way and be negligent of the situation when they come upon a stressful problem in their life. The essay opens with heartbreaking accounts of incidents where the worse could have
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Literacy, Schooling and Revolution, by Colin Lankshear Essay
Let us attempt to understand Lankshears argument. My interpretation of Lankshears position is that he supports the idea of literacy as being best understood as a concept which comes into affect by its application in day to day life. I further assess his statement as literacy being also considered as the formation of ideas which forms the uses of literacy as well as creating an image to convey its use (Lankshear, 1987, p.50). The uses of literacy may be to communicate with one another or to participate in society by working, or to help others in need. Without the idea one can not put literacy into use. Such ideas must make known their use, they do so by reflecting this use to theâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦Thus, a literate person has more and better opportunities than the one who isnt literate. Literacy produces good results and importance to the literate person as well as precious and valued qualities for him/her, the illiterate person gets none of these (Lankshear, 1987, P .39). Lankshear states a minimum of three similar misconceptions within the above views. He begins with the concept that literacy is unitary that is it is a single thing, that is it is the same for everyone (Lankshear,1987, p.39). He explains that literate people share (regardless of differences in their levels of literacy) their possession of literacy, where as what illiterate people have in common is that they dont have literacy or they have so little of it that it is regarded as negligible (Lankshear, 1987, p.39). In this perspective literacy is seen as a technology or otherwise seen as the ability to employ the technology of print (Lankshear, 1987, p.39). Lankshears second description of misconception is that literacy is a neutral process or tool, this is believed to be so due to the tendency to consider literacy to be a skill/technology. It is considered to be neutral in the sense that it is unattached from and not influenced by the concepts of power (Lankshear, 1987, p.40). La nkshear argues that for those who agree to literacy being neutral, its use is differentiated from the term literacy itself
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Tennessee Williams Free Essays
Tennessee Williams is of the greatest playwright of the American theatre and also the most important writer in the world of the twentieth century. Like other creative geniuses, he died depressed and alone, never knowing the popularity he would enjoy after the death. He has written many great plays one of his greatest work is ââ¬Å"The Glass Menagerieâ⬠. We will write a custom essay sample on Tennessee Williams or any similar topic only for you Order Now The plot, dialogue, setting and characterization were selected based on their potential to represent his experience and identity symbolically, the struggle between flesh and spirit was defined as he felt. When you live trying to meet the expectations of others, when you leave your dreams behind to please the other, or you hide what you really are, you live a confinement similar to that of an animal in captivity. This is what the characters experienced in this play. William explained innocence and spirituality through the imagery of tension, whereas for carnality he used imagery of flow. ââ¬Å"In their own way, the Wingfields were fighting against the things that were threatening their life. Tomââ¬â¢s had a fear of working with a job that leads to no future. So,he decided to create his future in poetry, and the results were very rewarding. Amanda was disappointed with her life and attempted to make her daughter more social and popular. Lauraââ¬â¢s had a fear of facing Jim Oââ¬â¢Connor That led her to underlying concerns like not being able to indulge herself into society and physical appearance. Laura also represented things related to spirituality. Everything in the play served as a symbol between and what she signifies or thinks. In the discussion, Barnard analyzed each character in turn, explaining the symbols which pertained close to her or him, after that, he showed the interaction of symbols as the play draws towards the end (The-Symbolism-of-Tennessee-William_s-the-Glass-Menagerie-an-Inductive-Approach-Barnard). Laura admits that she leaves a work session that allows her to get a job, her mother, Amanda, tells Laura should get married. Tom told Amanda that he would go to dinner with Jim Oââ¬â¢Connor. Amanda prepares herself extensively, hoping to become Jimââ¬â¢s matchmaker. After that, Jim left the house to meet his girlfriend; Amanda accused Tom that he did not tell that her about Jim engagement. Tom explains that after he left his family he was not able left Laura behind, he always felt a connection to her. Each character reaches a different climax in the play. Tomââ¬â¢s choice of not paying the electricity bill and use that money to leave the family looking for adventure revealed his decisive and initial break with the familyââ¬â¢s difficulties. While, when Jim broke Lauraââ¬â¢s unicorn horn and announced that he was engaged, the option of her helping him overcome his shyness and doubt was also defeated. When Amanda discovered Jimââ¬â¢s engagement, she lost confidence that Laura will reach the social position and popularity that Amanda herself has missed. Overall, in the play, Tennessee Williams has shown a tremendous work of art which proves that he will remain the most significant American writer and no other writer can reach his mark in theatre plays. The play showed difficulties people have to face which was the reflection of Tennesseeââ¬â¢s own life experiences and imaginations and how a person can sustain himself in the harshness. The climax was the most exciting part of the play. How to cite Tennessee Williams, Papers
Saturday, December 7, 2019
The Basic Dilemma of the Artist Example For Students
The Basic Dilemma of the Artist Biography We have a corporeal body. It is a physical entity, subject to all the laws of physics. Yet, we experience ourselves, our internal lives, external events in a manner which provokes us to postulate the existence of a corresponding, non-physical ontos, entity. This corresponding entity ostensibly incorporates a dimension of our being which, in principle, can never be tackled with the instruments and the formal logic of science. A compromise was proposed long ago : the soul is nothing but our self awareness or the way that we experience ourselves. But this is a flawed solution. It is flawed because it assumes that the human experience is uniform, unequivocal and identical. It might well be so but there is no methodologically rigorous way of proving it. We have no way to objectively ascertain that all of us experience pain in the same manner or that pain that we experience is the same in all of us. This is even when the causes of the sensation are carefully controlled and monitored. A scientist might say that it is only a matter of time before we find the exact part of the brain which is responsible for the specific pain in our gedankenexperiment. Moreover, will add our gedankenscientist, in due course, science will even be able to demonstrate a monovalent relationship between a pattern of brain activity in situ and the aforementioned pain. In other words, the scientific claim is that the patterns of brain activity ARE the pain itself. Such an argument is, prima facie, inadmissible. The fact that two events coincide even if they do so forever does not make them identical. The serial occurrence of two events does not make one of them the cause and the other the effect, as is well known. Similarly, the contemporaneous occurrence of two events only means that they are correlated. A correlate is not an alter ego. It is not an aspect of the same event. The brain activity is what appears WHEN pain happens it by no means follows that it IS the pain itself. A stronger argument would crystallize if it was convincingly and repeatedly demonstrated that playing back these patterns of brain activity induces the same pain. Even in such a case, we would be talking about cause and effect rather than identity of pain and its correlate in the brain. The gap is even bigger when we try to apply natural languages to the description of emotions and sensations. This seems close to impossible. How can one even half accurately communicate ones anguish, love, fear, or desire ? We are prisoners in the universe of our emotions, never to emerge and the weapons of language are useless. Each one of us develops his or her own, idiosyncratic, unique emotional language. It is not a jargon, or a dialect because it cannot be translated or communicated. No dictionary can ever be constructed to bridge this lingual gap. In principle, experience is incommunicable. People in the very far future may be able to harbour the same emotions, chemically or otherwise induced in them. One brain could directly take over another and make it feel the same. Yet, even then these experiences will not be communicable and we will have no way available to us to compare and decide whether there was an identity of sensations or of emotions. Still, when we say sadness, we all seem to understand what we are talking about. In the remotest and furthest reaches of the earth people share this feeling of being sad. The feeling might be evoked by disparate circumstances yet, we all seem to share some basic element of being sad. So, what is this element? .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346 , .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346 .postImageUrl , .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346 , .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346:hover , .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346:visited , .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346:active { border:0!important; } .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346:active , .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346 .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub33cecf90fcf87c9cae6e1c970d4e346:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Albrecht DurerWe have already said that we are confined to using idiosyncratic emotional languages and that no dictionary is possible between them. Now we will postulate the existence of a meta language. This is a language common to all humans, indeed, it seems to be the language of being human. Emotions are but phrases in this language. This language must exist otherwise all communication between humans would have ceased to exist. It would appear that the relationship between this universal language and the idiosyncratic, individualistic languages is a relation of correlation. Pain is correlated to brain activity, on the one hand and to this universal language, on the other. We would, therefore, tend to parsimoniously assume that the two correlates are but one and the same. In other words, it may well be that the brain activity which goes together is but the physical manifestation of the meta-lingual element PAIN. We feel pain and this is our experience, unique, incommunicable, expressed solely in our idiosyncratic language. We know that we are feeling pain and we communicate it to others. As we do so, we use the meta, universal language. The very use or even the thought of using this language provokes the brain activity which is so closely correlated with pain. It is important to clarify that the universal language could well be a physical one. Possibly, even genetic. Nature might have endowed us with this universal language to improve our chances to survive. The communication of emotions is of an unparalleled evolutionary importance and a species devoid of the ability to communicate the existence of pain would perish. Pain is our guardian against the perils of our surroundings. To summarize : we manage our inter-human emotional communication using a universal language which is either physical or, at least, has strong physical correlates. The function of bridging the gap between an idiosyncratic language his or her own and a more universal one was relegated to a group of special individuals called artists. Theirs is the job to experience mostly emotions, to mould it into a the grammar, syntax and vocabulary of a universal language in order to communicate the echo of their idiosyncratic language. They are forever mediating between us and their experience. Rightly so, the quality of an artist is measured by his ability to loyally represent his unique language to us. The smaller the distance between the original experience the emotion of the artist and its external representation the more prominent the artist. We declare artistic success when the universally communicable representation succeeds at recreating the original emotion felt by the artist with us. It is very much like those science fiction contraptions which allow for the decomposition of the astronauts body in one spot and its recreation, atom for atom in another teleportation. Even if the artist fails to do so but succeeds in calling forth any kind of emotional response in his viewers/readers/listeners, he is deemed successful. Every artist has a reference group, his audience. They could be alive or dead for instance, he could measure himself against past artists. They could be few or many, but they must exist for art, in its fullest sense, to exist. Modern theories of art speak about the audience as an integral and defining part of the artistic creation and even of the artefact itself. But this, precisely, is the source of the dilemma of the artist: Who is to determine who is a good, qualitative artist and who is not? Put differently, who is to measure the distance between the original experience and its representation? After all, if the original experience is an element of an idiosyncratic, non-communicable, language we have no access to any information regarding it and, therefore, we are in no position to judge it. Only the artist has access to it and only he can decide how far is his representation from his original experience. .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423 , .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423 .postImageUrl , .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423 , .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423:hover , .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423:visited , .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423:active { border:0!important; } .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423:active , .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423 .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u6447d8ecee935d05175a7e9c35a34423:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Henri Toulouse LautrecArt criticism is impossible. Granted, his reference group his audience, however limited, whether among the living, or among the dead has access to that meta language, that universal dictionary available to all humans. But this is already a long way towards the representation the work of art. No one in the audience has access to the original experience and their capacity to pass judgement is, therefore, in great doubt. On the other hand, only the reference group, only the audience can aptly judge the representation for what it is. The artist is too emotionally involved. True, the cold, objective facts concerning the work of art are available to both artist and reference group but the audience is in a privileged status, its bias is less pronounced. Normally, the reference group will use the meta language embedded in us as humans, some empathy, some vague comparisons of emotions to try and grasp the emotional foundation laid by the artist. But this is very much like substituting verbal intercourse for the real thing. Talking about emotions let alone making assumptions about what the artist may have felt that we also, maybe, share is a far cry from what really transpired in the artists mind. We are faced with a dichotomy : The epistemological elements in the artistic process belong exclusively and incommunicably to the artist The ontological aspects of the artistic process belong largely to the group of reference but they have no access to the epistemological domain And the work of art can be judged only by comparing the epistemological to the ontological. Nor the artist, neither his group of reference can do it. This mission is nigh impossible. Thus, an artist must make a decision early on in his career: Should he remain loyal and close to his emotional experiences and studies and forgo the warmth and comfort of being reassured and directed from the outside, through the reactions of the reference group, or should he consider the views, criticism and advice of the reference group in his artistic creation and, most probably, have to compromise the quality and the intensity of his original emotion in order to be more communicative.
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Machavelli Essays - Machiavellianism, Niccol Machiavelli, The Prince
Machavelli Machiavelli and the President Lately, the president of the United States Bill Clinton, has pursued some policies that have been very unpopular not only with the general public but the electorate as well. Besides the whole Monica ordeal he feels that these unpopular policies will effect the results of the next election. The presidential advisors have formulated countless plans but no plan has seemed to work. One idea would be to leave the unpopular policies as they are because of the president and advisors belief that they are the best for the country. Another option would be to just present the unpopular policies in a new way to maybe change public opinion on them. Still another would be to just ignore the policies and concentrate on the election. No matter what option , if any, should be chosen one must be thought up quick and it must not only address the problem but solve it and fast. Since I have recently learned about Machiavelli and his work titled The Prince I feel his opinions would help to influence some decisions for the president and his advisors. A first and very important view of Machiavelli would be his view of the prince and his advisors. ?It is an infallible rule that a prince who is not wise himself cannot be well advised.?(p.117) As it is up to the prince to be well advised it is also up to the president to be well advised as well. The president's advisors, as well as the president, are not sure what actions to take, which in Machiavelli's view would not be a good characteristic of a leader and as a result would not help gain friendship of the people. Good relationship with the people is one of his greatest points because without the people there is no leader. The leader, the president, must have the support of the people and if not he will not stay in power long. The president is not doing a good job of this because of his very unpopular policies. Machiavelli would never choose to just continue on the same path and peruse unpopular policies. ?It is necessary for a prince to possess the friendship; otherwise he has no recourse in times of adversity.?(p.65) In response to this he would abandon the unpopular policies and concentrate on winning the election, keeping the people happy. Not only should the leader concentrate on the present and the future but consider the past. ? The prince ought to read history and study the actions of eminent men, examine the causes of their victories and defeat in order to imitate the former and avoid the latter.?(p.82) History is bound to repeat itself if not watched very carefully. The leader must avoid repeating the blunders of the past and take note of the victories preceding him. Another view that would help the president out in his policies would be Machiavelli's view on boldness. The leader is far better of to be bold instead of cautious. If you expect for the worse and be prepared for bad times even if its not the best strategy you will be better off in the long run. ?For if it happens that time and circumstances are favourable to one who acts with caution and prudence he will be successful, but if time and circumstances change he will be ruined, because he does not change his mode of procedure.?(p. 121) The leader must at all times be prepared for the worst so he does not get caught off guard and make the people mad. If these views of Machiavelli seem straight forward or to direct maybe Leo Strauss or J.G.A. Pocock could explain these methods of leadership to the president. Pocock would elaborate on the subject of historical awareness. He could help the president understand that we have to look to our past to help better ourselves for the future. Strauss on the hand would compare Machiavelli to the greeks and thier writtings. He would go in depth though about how the greeks, Mr. T in particular, were kings in understatements while Machiavelli was very straightforward in his writtings. After presenting these views to the president I hope my knowledge of Machiavelli and his way of thinking could help influence the policies in place and maybe help the president win the up coming election. Maybe after my essay is read and I graduate Southwest Texas with a Political Science degree maybe I could get a job at the White House and someday take over
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