To be, or not to be Monologue Essay Example for Free

To be, or not to be Monologue Essay ‘To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?† Perhaps the most oft quoted of the bard’s words, this soloiloquy by Hamlet in Act III, Sc. 1 (58-62) defines the highest point of the dramatic conflict that is going on in the protagonist’s mind and reveals most insightfully the character of the prince and the crux of his great tragedy. Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is troubled by the ethical implications of committing suicide: whether to live and suffer the vagaries of fate that humankind is subject to; or whether to rebel against the utter helplessness of the human condition and end it all in death.   The character of Hamlet is of a philosophical and contemplative bent and he is deeply troubled by ethical and philosophical issues that can never be answered with complete certainty. The contemplation of suicide at the height of his troubles is yet another example of this turn in his character. Is it noble â€Å"to suffer/ The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune†¦?†, Hamlet reflects and we are reminded of another of Shakespeare’s great tragic drama, King Lear, where after being mercilessly maltreated at the hands of fate Gloucester arrive at a similar conclusion about the essential tragedy of the human condition, puny beings powerless in front of an omnipotent and hostile fortune: â€Å"As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport.†   Hamlet compares death to long-awaited sleep and reflects on the final peace and freedom it would bring to the tired and troubled soul: â€Å"To die,—to sleep,— /No more; and by a sleep to say we end /The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks /That flesh is heir to†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Persuaded by this metaphor, he decides in support of suicide, but soon realizes the limitations of the comparision and the deeper and far greater implications of death. Once again we find Hamlet oscillating and intrinsically incapable of deciding on a course of action which is the crux of his tragedy. Just as he is incapable of deciding whether or not to take revenge on his wicked uncle who had beyond any reasonable doubt, killed his father and married his mother, so is he incapable of moving any further than the philosophical reflections on suicide and actually taking his life.   This soliloquy by Hamlet actually brings into focus all the most crucial themes of the play. It directly addresses the issues of death and suicide the significance of which can not be understressed. Through Hamlet’s incapability of motivating himself into action, the speech problematises yet again the complex relation between human thought and action. And last but not the least, it brilliantly dramatises the impossibility of finding any certain answers in an universe which is essentially ambiguous.   The biggest mystrey of the play Hamlet concerns nobody else but the character of Hamlet, and there has never been any dearth of speculation about his real motivations, his psychology etc. However, the famous Romantic critic William Hazlitt provided an interesting angle of approaching this highly complex charater when he wrote: â€Å"It is we who are Hamlet†¦.†. Truly, Hamlet, more than anything else is a brilliant metaphor for the human condition; a perfect representation of modern man. In his inability to arrive at any fruitful decision to act on, in the overwhelming drama that goes on in his mind all the time making him suffer all the more intensely and in his almost masochistic compulsion to probe the darkest and most fearsome depths of his own mind, he is surely the most perfect figure in literature to voice the most fundamental of all human question: â€Å"To be or not to be†¦?† Works Cited    Hazlitt, William. â€Å"Characters of Shakespears Plays†. http://shakespearean.org.uk/ham1-haz.htm Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. R.A. Foakes. Surrey: International Thomson Publishing Company, 1997. Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Ed. R.A. Foakes. Surrey: International Thomson Publishing Company, 1997.

Henry James The Turn of the Screw Essay -- Henry James Turn Screw Ess

Henry James' The Turn of the Screw Peter G. Beidler informs us that there have been â€Å"hundreds† of analyses of Henry James’ spine-tingling novella, The Turn of the Screw (189). Norman Macleod suggests that James himself seems to be â€Å"an author intent on establishing a text that cannot be interpreted in a definite way† (Qtd in Beidler 198). Yet, the vast majority of analyses of The Turn of the Screw seem to revolve around two sub-themes: the reality of the ghosts and the death of Miles both of which are used to answer the question of the governess’s mental stability: is she a hero or a deranged lunatic? As Beidler points out, â€Å"It is an amazingly fine creepy, scary, soul-shuddering ghost story or, alternatively, it is an amazingly fine psychological case study of a neurotic young woman† (189). These two views of the governess seem to dominate the analytical world in terms of readings, typically being one view or the other and seldom being anything else. Unfortunately, most of the myriad readings focus only on the visible events as related by the governess. However, there is much that we are not told but that is pertinent to an accurate reading. Bruce Fleming argues that what we are not told in The Turn of the Screw is as important as what we are told (135). Wolfgang Iser suggests that there are â€Å"gaps† or holes within the sequence of the text. He further suggests that it is the reader’s responsibility to fill-in those gaps (Qtd in Beidler 226). The facts â€Å"not in evidence† are equal in importance to the information laid out before us. What happens â€Å"off-screen† or â€Å"off-stage† is just as important as what happens in front of the audience. Much of what we do not see and are not told impacts what we do see and are told so g... ...Couldn't Say.† Studies in Short Fiction 26.2 (1989): 135-143. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. BYUI Lib. 25 Oct 2005. http://search.epnet.com/. Groome, David, and Nina Grant. "Retrieval-induced forgetting is inversely related to everyday cognitive failures." British Journal of Psychology 96.2 (2005): 313-319. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. BYUI Lib. 26 Oct 2005. http://search.epnet.com/. James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw. Peter G. Beidler. Boston: Bedford, 2004. Matheson, Terence J. "Did the Governess Smother Miles? A Note on James's The Turn of the Screw." Studies in Short Fiction 19.2 (1982): 172-175. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. BYUI Lib. 25 Oct 2005. http://search.epnet.com/. Ormrod, Jeanne Ellis. Educational Psychology: Developing Learners. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2004.

Douglas MacArthur Essay

Carlos Peà ±a Romulo once wrote that each of his careers â€Å"might have been lived in a different country and a different age.† Soldier, journalist, educator, author, and diplomat, he was a definitive world figure of the 20th century. Romulo grew up in the town of Camiling in the province of Tarlac in northern Philippines. He was born within the Spanish walled city of Intramuros, Manila, on January 14, 1898, at the twilight of one colonial regime and the dawning of another. His father, Gregorio, fought in the revolution for Philippine independence against Spain and, until surrender, America. The bitterness of the conflicts left an impression on the young boy—marking â€Å"the beginnings of a rebel,† as he called it—and he made a promise never to smile at an American soldier. His levelheaded father eventually welcomed American schoolteachers who came to Tarlac to teach English, however, becoming the first of the town’s elders to learn the language. Likewise, the young Romulo’s hatred abated not only because of his father’s example but also because he became friendly with an American sergeant. His father’s dream of an independent and democratic Philippines lived on. One of the last to take his oath of allegiance to America, the elder Romulo learned to accept the foreign power’s rulings except—as the young Romulo recounts in his memoirs—â€Å"in the manner of the flag.† â€Å"The American law says we cannot display our flag in any public place,† Gregorio Romulo told his family. â€Å"Well, my bedroom is not a public place.† In World War II Romulo was aide-de-camp to General Douglas MacArthur. As a journalist he wrote a series of articles, after a tour of the Far East, about Japanese imperialism, and predicted an attack on the United States. For this he won the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Distinguished Correspondence, and it was MacArthur himself who delivered to his friend the good news. His skill at using words made Romulo the logical choice to become â€Å"the Voice of Freedom,† which broadcasted news of the war effort to Filipinos and Americans alike. Often contrary to Japanese propaganda, Romulo’s reports earned the ire of the enemy, who put a price on his head. But Romulo kept broadcasting until the Fall of Bataan, and abandoned his post only after MacArthur’s strict orders to leave. He flew first to Australia, eventually ending up in the United States in exile, leaving behind his wife and four sons. In 1924 Romulo married Virginia Llamas, a local beauty titlist. They met at a picnic and they married not long after being crowned King and Queen of a Manila carnival. She once commented that she was the type of wife who preferred to glow â€Å"faintly in her husband’s shadow,† to which one acquaintance quipped, â€Å"this didn’t leave much room to glow in†Ã¢â‚¬â€a jab at Romulo’s height. Standing only 5’4† in his shoes, Romulo often made fun of his height. His book I Walked With Heroes opens with the anecdote about being the newly elected president of the United Nations—the first Asian to ever hold the post—and having to be â€Å"perched atop three thick New York City telephone books† just to see and be seen by all the delegates below the podium. When MacArthur fulfilled his promise to return to the Philippines, with Romulo at his side, it was reported that the American general was wading in waist-deep water. One correspondent, Walter Winchell, immediately wired back asking how Romulo could have waded in that depth without drowning. He also used his height to his advantage. â€Å"The little fellow is generally underrated in the beginning,† he once wrote. â€Å"Then he does something well, and people are surprised and impressed. In their minds his achievement is magnified.† A very early photo of Romulo Team members of the University of the Philippines debate team, with Professor Carlos P. Romulo (center). From left: Pedro Camus, Teodoro Evangelista, Deogracias Puyat, and Jacinto C. Borja. The photo was taken in San Francisco, California, April 18, 1928, and the caption reads: â€Å"Four students of the University of the Philippines, under the leadership of Prof. Carlos P. Romulo of the College Faculty, recently arrived in the United States on a tour of the world to debate the question of Filipino independence. The round-the-world debate on the Philippine question is academic and has nothing to do with politics.† This kind of understanding served him well as he began a career as a diplomat at the United Nations. Describing himself as the â€Å"barefoot boy of politics,† he had never before attended an international conference and was new to diplomacy. To add to this challenge, he was representing a small nation that had not yet achieved independence. (There already had been reports of Filipino delegates being ignored at international meetings.) Romulo—whose lifelong dream was to help build a body such as the United Nations—resolved to make the Philippines the voice of all small nations. As a signatory of the charter forming the United Nations in 1945, he spoke the famous line, â€Å"Let us make this floor the last battlefield† at the first General Assembly. There was at first silence, but then he received a standing ovation—the only one given to any speaker at the conference. Romulo launched himself fully into the world of international diplomacy, standing his ground against the big powers and committing himself to the causes of fledging nations. Dismissed by some, like Andrei Vishinsky, chief of the Soviet delegation, as a â€Å"little man from a little country,† Romulo was undeterred, fighting â€Å"like David, slinging pebbles of truth between the eyes of blustering Goliaths.† President of the UN General Assembly Carlos P. Romulo introduces US President Harry S. Truman to Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Vishinsky of the USSR, October 24, 1949, during the cornerstone laying ceremony of the UN headquarters in New York City. President of the UN General Assembly Carlos P. Romulo introduces US President Harry S. Truman to Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Vishinsky of the USSR, October 24, 1949, during the cornerstone laying ceremony of the UN headquarters in New York City. Dubbed by his colleagues â€Å"Mr. United Nations,† he was elected president of the United Nations General Assembly in 1949—the first Asian to hold the position—and served as president of UN Security Council four times, in 1981, in 1980 and twice in 1957. Despite all the triumphs, Romulo hit low points in his life. His eldest son Carlos, Jr., died in a plane crash in 1957, and his beloved wife died in 1968, near the end of his terms as president of the University of the Philippines, his alma mater, and, concurrently, Secretary of Education. â€Å"I had to be outstanding,† he wrote, â€Å"to make the greatest effort to win, to prove I was capable not in spite of having been born a Filipino but because I was a Filipino.†

Religion What Is Religion - 2567 Words

What is religion? Remember to advance a claim, make an argument, and support that argument with evidence from our readings. A Way of progress/life goal Primal Religions= Confucianism= To become a Chun Tzu Taoism= To follow the Way and attain or maintain te. ‘‘two great sanctions: the moral requirements visible in nature and the inner conviction of what is right and wrong The eastern religions of Taoism and Confucianism, as well as, the primal religions discussed by Smith are far different than any religion I have ever known. However, I know that these are still religious beliefs, and while studying them I have come to expand and change my belief of what exactly a religion is. Now, I see religion as an organized set of beliefs that affect the way a person thinks, acts, and reacts. Religious views are centered in or founded by a higher or ideal figure and believed in by a dedicated body of believers. There is a given pathway towards a goal or achievement in this life or the next one. While a religion may not explicitly state what is right and wrong, it is understood what is right way to live. The guidelines for the belief comes from a sacred written or oral record that gives organization to the belief system. Religion offers explanations to it believers as to the very beginning (origin of creation and man), the present (the purpose of creation and man) , and the very end (whether or not there is an afterlife). While a few of these are merely possible characteristics ofShow MoreRelatedReligion : What Is It?902 Words   |  4 PagesReligion: What is it? There are many different religions that people believe in today. When I think of religion I think of a group of people who believe in a god or gods that created the world and determine your faith. There are different forms of theist religions, some of these religions believe in many gods and some only believe in one. That to me was the main part about being religious, is that you had to believe in a god. I never believed or knew that religions could be non-theistic, so I alwaysRead MoreWhat is Religion?1045 Words   |  5 PagesWhat is Religion? Religion has many meanings; a way of life, belief, and practices. In America people have different views on religion; it was indicated in the constitution. What is the constitution? The constitution is set of laws approved by the state. Religion and constitution are separate. As stated in the constitution of the United State of America, the first amendment, â€Å"congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.† I n other words the constitution and religion are notRead MoreWhat Is Religion1838 Words   |  8 PagesWhat is Religion? Is religion a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny or is it a system of symbols, myths, doctrines, ethics and rituals for the expression of ultimate relevance (Carmody, 2008). Religion is the human quest for experience of, and response to the holy or sacred and a combination of all individuals desire to attain the promise of a better life than that here on earth, human spirituality. Religion is the voluntary subjection of oneself to God (CatholicRead MoreCulture And Religion : What Is Religion?1758 Words   |  8 PagesCulture and Religion What is Culture? What is Religion? Which predates the other? Are they different from another? Is one a byproduct of another? Or are they one in the same? These fundamental questions will dictate whether people and their beliefs make up the interpretation of their environment or have definitive proof beyond that of a theory, substantiating Religion not just as a social construct of culture, but an absolute for acknowledgement and submission of an individual and more importantlyRead MoreWhat Is A Religion?1317 Words   |  6 PagesWhat is a religion? A religion is a set of beliefs based on a common principle shared by a community. Some of the most famous religions are Christianity, Buddhism, and Judaism. The goal of Christianity is to be one with God. Key Christianity practices include Sunday service, reading bible, praying regularly, and pilgrimages to hold the community together and have a strong relationship with God. Christians also have a strong devotion to saints. In Buddhism, p eople practice detachment from everythingRead MoreWhat is Religion?2214 Words   |  9 PagesReligion comes from the Latin word religare which means to â€Å"to tie, to bind.† It is a belief in something sacred which binds a number of people together based on a common purpose. Religion is just not an organization but it is also a platform of seeing the world. It is like a prism which shows different light to different people. India is a country where people of different religion has come and has settled down. There are the fire worshipping Hindus, the Kitabia Muslims and Christians, the minorityRead MoreWhat Is a Religion?585 Words   |  2 Pages A religion is a system of beliefs, collective ideas, traditions, and rituals that serve the purpose of gathering, unifying, educating, and enlightening a group of people by influencing and guiding their insights, thoughts, and ways of life. Religion has been highly influential through the course of human history as a source of influence. A large proportion of people in the world today believe in a religion. Religion is most like a system, or collective structure designed to encourage beliefsRead MoreWhat Is Religion? Essay1614 Words   |  7 PagesWhat is religion? Each person’s definition of religion is different. Each person’s faith is different. This is a question that has been asked for centuries, and regardless of the answer given there is no right or wrong answer. Religion can be defined as a group of people who have shared beliefs who feel their life has purpose or meaning. This feeling or belief that their life has meaning can come from outside of themselves, as well as within. Taking this one step further, these shared beliefsRead More What Is Religion Essay1653 Words   |  7 Pages What Is Religion nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;What is religion? According to an Oxford dictionary, religion is the belief in the existence of a supernatural ruling power, the creator and controller of the universe, who has given to man a spirtual nature which continues to exist after the death of the body. Religion appears to be a simple idea on the surface, but in reality it is a very complex system of ideas that many base their lives upon. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;There are many religionsRead MoreWhat Makes A Religion?946 Words   |  4 Pagesare the same. What makes us so similar? Is it that rhythm in our chest? Is it out compassion and love for one another? Is it the desire to create art and feel inspiration? I believe religion is the key to all of these. Even if one don’t follow a religion, they can still admit that there is something spiritual about the likeness of each living, individual soul. Like humans, religions are also vastly similar at their core. Yes, they have many many different qualities and beliefs, but what you look at