Shakespeares Merchant of Venice free essay sample

In The Merchant of Venice how does Shakespeare present both Shylock as both victim and villain? Throughout the play, The Merchant of Venice, Shylock reveals many personalities; therefore making him such an emotionally complex and detailed character that shows elements of being both a victim and villain; and to come to my decision to whether Shylock is either of the two, other characters language towards him and his reactions will perceive different ideas from different eras in time to determine my answer. The first time Shylock is introduced into the play is in Act 1 Scene 3 where Antonio s to lend Bassanio 3,000 ducats to allow him to meet his love, Portia, in Belmont. However Antonios money is tied up at sea; which is why Shylock is asked to borrow money for him. The first sign of Shylock liking money is when talking to Bassanio about the bond. Also in this era Jews were to make profit when lending out money and Shylock saw this as a perfect opportunity to do so now. Shylock always seems a step ahead of everyone throughout the play as he knows correctly where Antonios money is tied up, while talking to Bassanio about Antonio he states: he hath an rgosy bound to Tripolis, another to the Indies; I understand moreover upon the Rialto, he hath a third at Mexico, a fourth at England and other ventures . This tells us that Shylock can be a greedy person as he seems to know pretty much everything about the bond. Furthermore as Shylock is a very intelligent man; his ideas that Antonios boats may not make it back within 3 months gives him an incentive to carry on with the deal. He knows that if he is to accept the bond, he has a very good chance of making a profit, and with different problems such as: land-thieves and ater-thieves as he knows about in this time, he will go about this bond with confidence and the bound that he has put on Antonio that he truly wants, and one he will get. During the play there is a lot of evidence showing how Shylock is a victim; due to how the characters refer to him. They rarely use his real name and Solanio showing an example here by regularly using: villain Jew; dog Jew as a reference to Shylock. Antonio is perhaps the guiltiest in Shylocks eyes for the abuse he causes: miou call me misbeliever, cut-throat, dog, [And spet upon my Jewish gabardine. As a abardine is a Jewish coat; this is an atrocious sin committed towards Shylock, giving him more reason to hate him. The fact he is described as an animal shows he thinks less of him than he does an animal. Afterwards in the play though in Act 4 scene 1 in the courtroom, Antonio presents powerful imagery showing himself as poor and helpless, as the lamb, and Shylock as the beg devil wolf. This is arguably the most important scene in the play as it shows contrasting ideas to whether hes a victim or villain. When Antonio says this hes at his most vulnerable, tied in the chair trapped nd says: mfou may as well use question with the wolf/ Why he hath made the ewe bleat for the lamb. This quote really enforcing that Shylock is the villain here, and victim is in the courtroom as he isnt treated correctly or with any respect; as the judge says: call the Jew into court. This injustice is displayed throughout the play and this anger must be built inside of him which is why he is so desperate to carry out the bond. In some ways this shows why Shylock can be perceived as a villain; he treats people the same way he gets treated. Within Act 3 scene 1 Shylock arguably says the most important speech throughout. It also perhaps sums up whether Shylock is a victim or villain. It shows great emotion abd really speaks from the heart, and during this time, most Jews would feel the same way Shylock does. He takes great harm from what Antonio has done to him when he states: He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses . Following on from saying what Antonio has done to him throughout his life, he asks perhaps the most important question. He says: and whats his reason? I am a Jew. Here Shakespeare has shown great sympathy for Shylock, and rightly so as n most respects he is correct, yet the Elizabethan audience never gave the Jew a chance. Reading the play its as if Jews are completely different to Christians, as if they are aliens. Here Shylock mentions this as he says: If yo u prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? . Shylock is basically saying that Jews are humans, not hell-born alienated humans. However Shakespeare has been very clever here; reading the play the first time you could say he has possibly made Shylock look the villain by making the bad points stand out, yet if you look deeper the play shows reat sympathy towards the Jew. He has hidden the sympathy towards Shylock so it pleases the crowd. Bringing all this speech together it shows all of Shylocks anger again, and he expresses this in a very powerful and emotive speech. On the other hand I believe that Shylock can react wrongly, and is too adamant to get his revenge which I think is a harsh revenge. An example of Shylock acting a villain is when losing his daughter Jessica; who then runs off with Lancelet and eventually changing her religion to become a Christian. As parents should unconditionally love heir children regardless of what they chose to do with their life; Jessica has committed the ultimate crime against Shylock, to change religion from being Jewish, and religion is supposedly Shylocks life. This is why Shylock reacted in the way he did as shown in Act 3 scene 1. In this scene Shylocks says a horrific statement directed at his daughter Jessica; which most of the crowd would consider Shylock acting a villain, including me: l would my daughter dead at my foot, and the Jewels in her ear. Nonetheless to realise that your daughter has run away and for her to be ashamed to e your child: To be ashamed to be my fathers [Shylocks] child; must be a horrible feeling for Shylock. Also if your daughter has stolen half a million ducats; your late wifes ring, and other precious sentimental items, Im not overly surprised how he reacted.

Fashion during the Elizabethan Era Essay Example For Students

Fashion during the Elizabethan Era Essay Keeping Up With the Fashion Field Clothing and fashion during the Elizabethan Era was complex, complicated, and too dramatic (Bloom). The Elizabethan Era, was a time period from 1558-1603 when Queen Elizabeth I reigned, and was a period when people expressed who they were through creativity and originality (Black and Garland 16). Some may say that the Era was important, as it was the Golden Age in English history. Fashion during the Elizabethan Era was very extravagant and over the top. Fashion and style were competitive, varied by gender, and also depended on ones social class. Keep up is a phrase to describe the attitudes toward fashion during the Elizabethan Era. There was always pressure to be up to date. Peoples attempts to stay in fashion cost them a lot of money (Lace). Land owners felt obligated to entertain the rulers such as the king and queen when they traveled, so they would arrange big parties, and they and their families wore the most expensive clothes. Even the royal court wanted to show off and out-dress everyone. When the royal court traveled, they often made the nobles go broke trying to keep up with their standard of display (Lace). All types of people from land owners to the royal court felt the pressure to keep up. Fashion and style were different for men and women who were not rich. It varied by gender. Women and men both had fashion rules to follow. Men had to wear cheap materials which included sheepskin and wool (Elizabethan Era). They had to wear dull colors such as brown, dull blue and beige. Men wore low, flat hats. They also wore cheap breeches made out of rough materials. Women wore material from sheepskin and wool like men. They also had to wear dull colors. Women wore aprons and bodices. The bodice fronts were often laced up. They did not wear Jewelry or any other accessory. Men and women of working class both had restrictions on clothes, however, the clothes varied by gender. No matter how rich a man or woman was, no one could wear what they pleased. Clothing during the Elizabethan Era was controlled by sumptuous laws. These laws were put in place to keep the class structure strict (Renaissance Clothing for Kids). Clothes defined who a person was and what class they belonged to. Upper classes wore bright colors. Their clothes were made from expensive materials such as velvet, satin, silk, taffeta and lace. They also wore costly Jewelry such as pearls. The upper class women would wear clothes that included several different layers of material, while others women wore thin materials. Typical people such as the working class wore simple clothes as described above. During the Elizabethan Era clothing was associated with rank. There were a variety of colors and choices one could pick from if they were in a high class or had a high rank (Sixteenth- Century Clothing). No one could wear whatever they chose because peoples clothing was controlled by laws. In conclusion, the Elizabethan Era as a time period when Queen Elizabeth I reigned, between 1558 and 1603. During the Era, many fields such as poetry and literature grew and flourished. An area that flowered included style and fashion. Some may say that the era was a time when people had the opportunity to express themselves. Others feel that fashion and style during this time was restricted. In todays world, fashion is not as restricted as it was during the Elizabethan Era and both men and women are free to wear whatever they want. Works Cited Black, Anderson J. , and Mange, Garland.

Tale As Old As Time Beauty and the Beast Essay Example

Tale As Old As Time Beauty and the Beast Essay Beauty and the Beast reflects Romanticism and Gothicism in a perfect way. Lets start with the settings of the story.You have the beautiful land and village that Belle resides in and then there is the dark, ominous castle where the Beast lives. Belle’s village is quaint and pure with light and nature. There is singing and dancing with happiness and love. The castle before the dark supernatural curse is quite magnificent and fit for royalty. The castle during the curse is scary with dark turns and gargoyles. There is sadness and despair. The beautiful architecture of the castle keeps it romantic but the gothic nature of it with the drab, stormy colors has it remaining gloomy. Belle is the persecuted maiden of the story. She is beautiful and innocent. She is full of hope. Belle has this need to give love and affection where it is normally not given. She is the object of Gaston’s desires and the Beasts need for love and goodness. She is smart and well read. Belle is gentle and kind. Gaston is the tyrant, cruel and mean. He wants to hurt others to gain objects (Belle) for his own satisfaction. His need for power over her makes her a sort of damsel in distress. Gaston also gets the townspeople, the bandits, to gather together to kill the Beast. He has help from Monsieur D’Arque, the madman, to help him blackmail Belle into marrying him by taking her father away. Gaston also has everyone in the tavern to believe that Belles father is a madman himself. We will write a custom essay sample on Tale As Old As Time Beauty and the Beast specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Tale As Old As Time Beauty and the Beast specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Tale As Old As Time Beauty and the Beast specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The Beast is the monster as well as the byronic hero. The Beast is awful. He doesnt know love or kindness. He doesnt understand how Belle can be so kind to him while he looks the way he does.He is stubborn and scary and makes him frightening.Until Belle shows him how to love and how to be kind does he start to change into the prince he always should have been. He was an outcast in the village and instead of letting it continue to anger him he rose to being the byronic hero by

Easy Format for Teaching an Introduction to Accounting Course

Easy Format for Teaching an Introduction to Accounting CourseAn easy way to start when you're looking for an easy and interesting way to teach an introductory accounting course is to look for an easy yet educational format to teach your students a sample answer. There are so many online resources available that will help you with a short essay on your area of expertise. Find one with a reasonable amount of topics, at least 20 pages, and a fine grade point average as a minimum requirement for use in your class.An easy question to ask yourself would be: What is the difference between making a living from an online business and sitting in an office job? Your answers to this question can guide your students throughout the rest of the class.A second question might be: What has been your most challenging task to become a business owner? This question might give your students' ideas as to why they want to become a business owner. Your students are also looking to discover who they are as in dividuals. Therefore, you want to make sure that they are able to see that there is more to them than just a number.The last question to ask yourself could be, Why is it important to become a business owner? The answer to this question is usually more important than the question that you originally asked yourself. You want to help your students understand why they should do business, why they should invest money, and why they should continue to invest money. It is important to get them to recognize the value of their own money.The last part of this essay should really focus on the hard work that you put into learning about your area of expertise. It should include information that relates to all of the experiences that you have had as a student. This makes for a short but informative answer. Take some time to describe your experiences in detail, so that your students will appreciate your efforts.If you've prepared for your students to write an essay by asking them to find a simple a nd engaging answer, you may end up with your students write an excellent essay. Many of the easy formats for teaching an introductory accounting course are online. All you need to do is follow the directions that come with your online resource.So whether you need help creating a financial overview, or providing a brief explanation of any other important skills that you want to teach your students, using an easy format for teaching a sample answer will help you provide the perfect answer. It is certainly a great way to begin your introduction to accounting, so don't forget to look for these easy samples.

The Monkeys Paw and The Withered Arm Essays

The Monkeys Paw and The Withered Arm Essays The Monkeys Paw and The Withered Arm Paper The Monkeys Paw and The Withered Arm Paper Essay Topic: Literature The Monkeys Paw and The Withered Arm are tales of great suffering and pain in your opinion who suffers most what makes this character interesting? Compare and contrast the supernatural elements of each and finally which made the greater impact upon you and why? For this piece of coursework I have studied two short stories written before 1900 both are tragic tales of fate and its consequences. The Withered Arm by Thomas Hardy is a tragic story about how one womans feelings of jealousy towards another, spiral out of control until it ends with the death of her only son. The Monkeys Paw by W.W.Jacobs is also about how a mans feelings of greed lead to the death of his only son. The characters in both stories suffer tremendously as a result of their feelings but I feel that The Withered Arms main character Rhoda Brook had suffered the most compared to Mr. White from The Monkeys Paw. Rhoda Brook had suffered long before the supernatural element of the story occurred. Rhoda is alienated from the rest of the farm workers as she had a son with the farms owner, Farmer Lodge. A thin fading woman of thirty milked somewhat apart from the rest. This shows that Rhoda suffers as she is all alone and has noone but her son for comfort. Farmer Lodge abandoned Rhoda and her son and got remarried to a much younger, prettier woman than Rhoda. This caused Rhoda to become besieged with jealously and orders her son to spy on the new Mrs Lodge. You can give her a look, and tell me what shes like. Her suffering furthers as she soon she becomes obsessed with comparing Gertrude with herself and is filled with jealousy, anger, resentment and desperation so much so that she has a disturbing dream where she visualises Gertrude taunting her as she lays in bed. The figure then thrust forward its left hand mockingly so as to make the wedding ring it wore glitter in Rhodas eyes. This dream furthers her misery and changes the course of her life. One day Gertrude visits Rhodas cottage out of kindness, bringing new boots for Rhodas boy. In looks, Gertrude looks just as Rhoda pictured her but her manner and character take her completely by surprise. This adds to Rhodas suffering because she feels guilty about the feelings she had about Gertrude. She did not wish to inflict upon her physical pain. Gertrude becomes a regular visitor to the cottage and she and Rhoda develop a friendship. They share their private thoughts and feelings. Gertrude confides in Rhoda a worry she has about an injury to her left arm. On seeing the bruise marks, Rhoda immediately recognises them as the marks she had made on Gertrude in her dream. Rhoda immediately feels guilty. Rhoda begins to wonder whether she has witch-like powers to put a curse on other people and her worst fears are confirmed when she sees that Gertrudes arm is becoming shrivelled. But she had a haunting reason to be superstitious now; and she had been seized with sudden dread that this might prove her as the malignant influence which was blasting the fair person of Gertrude. Rhodas suffering continues as Gertrude trusts her and confides with Rhoda and when Gertrude tells her about her failing relationship with Farmer Lodge because of her withered arm. Rhodas never ending feelings of guilt drain her mentally. She wants to do whatever she can to help her new found friend but is still scared of being found out. Rhoda suffers when Gertrude begs for her help. Rhoda brings her to Conjuror Trendle to see if he can help, even though she is aware that she could be found out. When they reach Conjuror Trendles home he reveals that Gertrudes withered arm had been caused by the work of an enemy but only Gertrude could see who it was. Tis the work of an enemy. If you like, I can show the person to you, though I shall not myself know who it is. This made Rhoda suffer because she didnt know whether Gertrude knew that she was behind her discomfort. Rhodas suffering furthers when word got out that she was a witch and people taunted her until it got so bad that she and her son had to leave the town. The latter kept her own counsel about the incubus, but her face grew sadder and thinner and in the spring she and her boy disappeared from the neighbourhood of Holmstoke. The next time we see Rhoda is when Gertrude goes to cure her arm by touching the corpse of a hanged man and finds out that the dead body is actually that, of Rhodas son. This is obviously a great cause of suffering on Rhodas part as her son has just been hanged and she now has noone from her family left. Rhoda spends the rest of her life suffering. She is old and alone working on the farm yet again until she dies. Her monotonous milking at the dairy was resumed and followed for many long years, till her form became bent, and her once abundant dark hair became white and worn away at the forehead. My opinion on Rhoda Brook is that she is a very lonely person and I feel very sorry for her. I respect her too for her fierce loyalty to Gertrude even though she was the cause of her discomfort. Rhoda is an unselfish person who cannot help but to let her feelings and emotions get the better of her. Rhoda is a very interesting character as she seems to be lonely and boring yet such unlikely events happen in her life. What makes her very interesting is that she has some kind of supernatural element to her personality which makes terrible things happen without her wanting them to. There are many similarities in both stories. Both stories are pre-occupied with the idea of fate and supernatural elements. In The Withered Arm the fate of Rhoda is that she loses her son due to human weakness and is destined to live her life sad and alone. Her monotonous milking at the dairy was resumed, and followed for many long years. In The Monkeys Paw the fate of Mr and Mrs White is that they lose their son due to greed and subsequently live the reset of their lives in sorrow. The days passed, and expectation gave place to resignation the hopeless resignation of the old, sometimes miscalled apathy. Sometimes they hardly exchanged a word, for now they had nothing to talk about, and their days were long to weariness. Fate is the main theme in many of Hardys novels. Fate rules peoples lives and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. Both stories are about human weakness which results in death and pain. The two main characters, Rhoda and Mr White lose their sons because of human weakness but both believe it is coincidence but fear that a more sinister element is at work. After the burial of their dead both characters spend their days in silent suffering. Rhoda Brook returns to her sad and lonely state living and working on the farm Her monotonous milking at the dairy was resumed and followed for many long years. and Mr and Mrs White are withdrawn and miserable and spend their nights in subdued silence and bereavement. Sometimes they hardly exchanged a word, for now they had nothing to talk about, and their days were long to weariness. There are also many differences in both the stories. In The Withered Arm the human weakness is jealousy, Rhoda is jealous of Gertrude and in The Monkeys Paw it is greed, Mr Whites weakness when offered an item which would award him with three wishes. In The Monkeys Paw the weather is caught up in the tragic destiny outside the wind was higher than ever and the old man started nervously at the sounds of a door banging upstairs. In The Withered Arm it is the landscape that reflects the atmosphere of near tragedy, it was a long walk; thick clouds made the atmosphere dark, though it was as yet only early afternoon; and the wind howled dismally over the slopes of the heath. Another difference is that in The Monkeys Paw there is a magical item in it. The monkeys paw is a charm given to the Whites by a soldier who warns them of the consequences of its three wishes. The paw brings great misfortune with each wish and is the cause of all tragic occurrences whereas the tragedies caused in The Withered Arm are caused by human weakness and a supernatural element inside Rhoda. Both stories had a great impact on me as they are both astonishing and exciting stories but the one that had the greatest impact on me was The Monkeys Paw. I liked this story as it was quite short and all the events in it happened quite quickly and unexpectedly. The language used in this story is quite nice as it flows together well. The plot to the story is quite surprising especially in the end when Mrs White wishes for her son to come back from the dead. The ending is very good, but part of me wanted to find out what would have happened if Mr White hadnt wished his son dead again. In my opinion The Monkeys Paw is the more exciting story although I enjoyed The Withered Arm also.

The public's interest should be taken more into account when the Essay

The public's interest should be taken more into account when the decision is made to disclose a person's health details. Discuss with reference to public health law and confidentiality - Essay Example The Human Rights Acts validates the responsibility of medical personnel to avoid disclosure of confidential medical information. However, Article 8 provides exceptions to confidentiality rights when public interest is involved (Garside & Branthwaite, 2006). The Access to Medical Records Act of 1988 also gives the right to patients to review medical information contained in their records which may be submitted to their potential employers. Along with other relevant health-related legislation, these provisions take note of the public’s interest in considering possible breach of confidentiality agreements. In child abuse cases, public disclosure of health records is important. Many family members prefer to keep information about the child’s health and condition within the family. â€Å"The most difficult dilemma of all often arises in cases of possible child abuse or other criminal activity where individuals refuse to allow disclosure of information, despite the fact that silence puts other people at risk of harm† (Wilks, 1999). The potential for violence that might befall the child is often not prevented when social workers and other health care givers, who are privy to vital health information, have their hands tied by the confidentiality agreement. Public interest is important where â€Å"disclosure to the relevant authorities of suspected abuse or neglect of a patient who does not have the capacity to consent, such as a young child or someone with mental disability is considered to be in the patient’s best interest† (Tranberg & Rashbass, 2004). In cases where the patient has the capacity to consent, his wishes must be respected, except where the abuser may also potentially harm the minor children of the patient. For the greater interest of the minor children and other people who may also be harmed, medical records should be disclosed to authorities. â€Å"The rights of family members to

Know-How and Knowledge Intensive Organizations Essay

Know-How and Knowledge Intensive Organizations - Essay Example These are the ones who the organization relies the most for problem solving. Sveiby suggests that there comes a point in the organization’s life cycle when the professional transfer their knowledge to other system for the sake of the organization’s growth. The author suggest that at this point, the organization is not reliant so much on the professionals as their knowledge has been transferred into other systems where those who are less skilled can still be trusted to do the jobs as the system guides them. An example is an accounting firm where the professionals pool their knowledge in an information system where the less skilled personnel will just do the heavy lifting involving inputting data and the program does the rest. Whereas this may be true for an accounting firm, the same cannot be applied in the production of a book where the professional must be on hand because what the apprentices print is not always the same. In the book ‘Human Capital and the Balanc e Sheet,’ the author defines the value of human capital as one that should not be underestimated. In many ways, the author recognizes that the value of the human capital could wane meaning that the person will not be worth as much as he was but the circumstances differ with some having remedies. Sveiby notes that the pooling of knowledge in the information systems can make some experts redundant. In the same breathe, Washer and Nippani note that it is only possible in four scenarios: the death of the professional, disability, compulsory retirement and voluntary retirement (Washer & Nippani 2004, p. 16). Death and disability can be either fully or partially hedged by taking out a life insurance policy while retirement could either be accompanied by the full value of the human capital in case it is voluntary or a partial value of the capital if it is compulsory. The authors concede that organizations do not usually recognize the full value of the human capital. While it is poss ible for a conventional balance sheet to reflect a decline in profits; for example from $200,000 to $100,000, the difference can be very minimal considering that the value of the human capital will inevitably have increased in this period from the experience garnered. Welcome to the Knowledge Organization versus On the Nature of Knowledge-Intensive Organizations: Strategy and Organization in the New Economy The book ‘Welcome to the Knowledge Organization’ is focused on the management of knowledge throughout the organization. It refers to the knowledge based organizations as being learning organizations. Here, the author states that knowledge has to be shared for the organization to grow. This book clearly focuses on the need for there to be a pool of knowledge in the organization that can assist it to grow. It refers to the leaders in the knowledge intensive organizations as being in charge of learning as they ensure that the experts push themselves in the generation of better ideas while ensuring that this knowledge gained is shared with the other employees. Most organizations hire employees and then train them in the specific line of work that they expect them to be in. the knowledge int