There is nothing wrong with being ignorant as long as you are contented Essay Example for Free

There is nothing wrong with being ignorant as long as you are contented Essay b) â€Å"There is nothing wrong with being ignorant as long as you are contented† Dicuss. This discussion topic is one that is regulary debated by philosophers and people in general. Surely if we asked ourself the question – if we can live in peace and happiness why should it matter if we live in ignorance or not? Surely we would just be jepodising our happiness for the â€Å"real† truth? Then again some may argue that how can we know what happiness really is if we are actually living in ignorance, because that happiness were feeling wouldnt actually be real. Platos stand on this evident; he believes that by living in ignorance you are living far from the truth. As a philosopher Plato argues that you should always question the world that you live in, whether you are contented or not. His attitude was simple: how can you be content with something thats not possibly real? His famous teaching was the analogy of the cave. In this he taught others that there was once a cave, and in that cave lived a group of prisoners who had lived there all their lives. One day one of the prioners decided to break free and walk along the path of unknown, towards the sunlight. Plato continued this story of saying that the prisoner was finally â€Å"englightened† by the real truth, and then returned to tell his fellow prisoners of what he had learnt. This evidently shows us that Plato did in fact agree with breaking free of ignorance, as it is the whole meaning of the analogy of the cave. Plato also believed that we as humans are ignorant, in the sense that we believe the real world is the Empirical world, and that no other worlds exist. Which Plato thought was complete and utter nonsense, because there is the world of forms: the Metaphyical world. If humans didnt believe that the Metaphysical world was not the world where all perfect forms lie, then we are all in fact ignorant. Plato b melieved that we all need to open our minds to all the possibilties and not be blinded by our ignorance. We also know, due to Platos theories, that in the question where it says, â€Å"there is nothing wrong with being ignorant,† we know for a fact that Plato would disagree with this. Stating that there is nothing wrong with something, from the Empirical world, was absurd in his eyes, unless in was in the Metaphysical world where everything is in its perfect form. However, some philosophers such as Aritotle (student of Plato), believed that the Empirical world was all that there was so therefore there is no ignorance to live in because the Empirical world is the world that exists. So in a way we can say that Aristotle would agree with this statment because his attitude is that we dont live in ignorance we live in this world, and this world alone. However some may also say, Aristotle is still a philosopher, he still questions this world. So for example, if he did think that we were living in ignorance, would Aristotle say that we should be content with that or should we question what content was? If we looked at another philosopher, Hereclitus, we can see how some of her ideas and theories may actually link to an idea that would agree with this statement. Heraclitus once said â€Å"reality is unstable†, surely if reality is unstable then ignorance must be bliss? Heraclitus also said that â€Å"you can never step in the same river twice†, teaching people that reality is ever-changing and is constantly in the process of change, therefore things go out of existance. Then surely, if Heraclitus is right, who would want to live in a reality that is unstable? Wouldnt you just prefer to live in a more stable world even if it was in ignorance? At least then you knew where you stood with the world rather than exprecting the Empirical world to always change. Therefore, this shows us that there was a philosopher that disagreed with Platos words and that ignorance should be aceepted if you are content with a stable world. Although in the film â€Å"The Matrix†, aired in 1999, it has a situation in the film which would apply to this statement. In the film the Morpheus tells the main characters Neo and Cypher that they have a decision to make. Do they take the blue pill which allows them to remain in the city where they live and live in blissful ignorance, or do they take the red pill, which would lead them to escape the city and to go into the â€Å"real† world, where they would embrace the sometimes painful truth of reality? The characters choose the red pill. They risk their happy life to understand the real truth. However, we soon see that they start to regret their choice. They wish they had taken the blue pill, even if it was living in ignorance. So even though at first it shows the characters disagreeing with the statement and that all humans, when faced with the decision of knowing the truth, they accept. It turns out that ignorance won in the end. It shows that though humans do like to know the truth, the majority of us are content with our lives and would rather live day by day and see where it takes us, rather than constantly questioning what is content? What is living in ignorance? Another example that we can discuss this statement on is: animals in captivity. Animals that are born in captivity are more likely to live longer than animals living in the wild. There a vets at the ready incase one of the animals get hurt and there are no fearful preditors about. The animals are completely safe. However, some argue that an animals natural habitat is the wild and that is where they should be living. Not in a confined cage. Many say that animals get stressed and its completely un fair for them to be living under the influence of humans. But surely, if the animal was born into capivity, they wouldnt know any different? No animal would know that their natural climate was maybe in the south of Africa (essentially the wild.) Really were saying should they be living in ignorance, where they are safe to bring up their young and can live a long, good life? Or.. are we saying that reality is better? Where animals could get hunted down before they even grow to be an adult? How are the animals supposed to know whether theyre living in ignorance or reality if they dont know any different? Linking this back to the statement, for me i think in this certain situation living in ignorance would be better than living in the harsh realities of the unknown wilderness. To conclude with, I believe that those who wish to live ignorance as long as they are content with it should do so. I can completely understand where they are coming from if they live a happy life. Why would you want to change that when reality may be bleak? Even though Plato said that we are blinded by this Empirical world and that we should widen our knowledge to venture into the Metaphysical world, the â€Å"real world†, my belief is that Plato took his theories a bit too far and that maybe he was questioning a bit too much and should just accept that this world is the only and real world there is. When we hit our head, it hurts. How can this not be the real world? I believe that an ignorant world does not exist, but a ignorant state of mind does. But as long people are content with that then why should it matter? Were not living their lives so it has no influence on us.

International trade and specialisation

International trade and specialisation The nations economic structures was formed by the pervasive power of internationalisation which is a substantial phenomenon improved rapidly especially in the last decades. International business, one of the constituents of globalisation and liberalization in todays world, International business from Toynes perspective is the process that involves the exchange of goods and /or services across or within national boundaries between two or more social actions in different countries for commercial reasons (Vaghefi et al., 1991). A broad definition provided by Aswathppa those business transactions that involve the crossing of national boundaries which include, product presence in different markets of the world, production bases across the globe, human resource to contain high diversity, investment in international services, transactions involving intellectual properties ( Aswathppa, 2008) , these definitions embraces the immense global companies with high scale operations and coalition ar ound the world, and the small companies which run low scale operations and may be only with one country. International business is the major key drive behind the raising for a lot of economies like China, India and Brazil, also the backbone for thousands of the multinational organisations. Increasingly, world business was shaped by the flow of goods, services and investments among countries under globalization perspectives. The dynamicity of the international business is accessible in two major ways; the international trade and the equities or investments, this paper will discuss in a critically approach these two major categories of international business in favour of free trade, with clarifying the costs and benefits of International trade and specialisation. 1-International trade The first pace to international trade is the Mercantilism that promote to posses more gold and silver by enlarge exporting and shrink importing by tariffs and quotas. But this approach pours the benefits only to one side of the trade neglecting the other side of the trade (Piggott, 2006). However, Mercantilism from Heckschers point of view is a system provides a confederation to the country (Haley, 1936) but, mercantilism does not show the ideal paradigm for free trade it advocated barriers for the foreign investments and does not encourage the competition which can lead to monopolism (Tuldar, 1987). The actual step towards international free trade was the absolute advantage by Smith and it substantiates that trade is a positive-sum game, there are gains for both dealers, opposing the mercantilism that see the trade is zero-sum game. The basic concept of smiths theory is specialisation should be given to the goods which produced efficiently, and certainly not turn out commodities that can purchase it in a lower cost. For example, Saudi Arabia has an absolute advantage in oil, according to Smith Saudi Arabia will specialise on producing oil and within trade Saudi Arabia will export oil and import goods that she can not produce it effectively. Smiths theory is oversimplified because he assumed that the labor is the only factor of production and labor is uniform, nevertheless labor is skilled and unskilled, and labor is not only the comparative factor of production (Piggott and Cook, 2006). Not only absolute advantage in one good can be profitable but also for all good, Ricardo stated in the comparative advantage theory that the trade is also profitable for the state by specialise in the most efficient production and import the goods are less resourceful in production, therefore, the international trade streams is determined by a countrys product that comparative to another country. By an empirical study by Neven to find out the comparative advantage between the European countries using the production factors, he concluded that labor presented the dominated advantage and human capital offered the solidest disadvantage (Neven, 1990:27). Some criticism faced the Ricardian model, for example, the assumption of transferring factors of production and this has limited possibility, the transportation cost and economies of scale were ignored by Ricardo and Smith (Chacholiades, 1990) Alternatively, Heckscher and Ohlin argue that the trade is based on the endowments or the factors of production (land, capital, labour). However, they agree with Ricardo about the lucrativeness of international trade. Consequently, the countries which have abundant of labour should be specialised in products like textile and shoes, and the countries which have abundant of land should produce land intensive goods such as corns and wheat. Therefore, these countries will export those goods because they have a comparative advantage in it, and rare factors dependant goods should be imported. H-O theory was tested by Leontief on the US exports and imports and regarding to H-O theory US is capital rich country it will export capital rich products and import for example labor intensive goods. But, as a result for his test in 1947 and 1951, he found that US imports were more capital intensive goods. However, this result varied with the same test in the 1970s (Piggott, 2006:40). Baldwin claimed that Leontiefs result, in that time was directed by the American tariffs and non-tariffs, like quotas and safety and health regulations and if it was against labor consummate goods so, the capital-consummate goods was the only way to trade with US moreover, he confirmed that the economists who was highly confidences of H-O theory was diminished by Leontief empirical result (Baldwin, 1971). Like H-O theory Leontief ignored the Human capital that considered as one of the factors of production. It displays the knowledge and skills for the labour therefore; human capital intensive goods fo r example computer software and aerospace could be one of the determinants of the trade. (Hill, 2006 global business today) While H-O and Leontief ignored technology, Product life cycle theory takes in the account the technology as a comparative advantage. In the high-tech countries this model put forward that any product starts to be new product to become standardised, in the last stage, where the dispersion and the adoption of innovations form other organisations, the product will be produced massively, and the necessity of shifting production to get a low cost location arise and steadily the production in the host country will start to export the same product to the Home country for the product. Similarly, because the rapid growth of the multinational organisations around the world, it might be favourable for the organisation to produce the new product from the host or the foreign country (Ajami et al., 2006) Focusing on the economic of scale is the main concept of the new trade theory. By adopting this theory the country can specialise in a limited rang of goods with a high scale of production to gain the low-cost production, and then the free trade will expand the market size beyond national boundaries. So the availability for producing a variety of goods and conducting low cost will attain reciprocally beneficial. However, for the industries that conduct a substantial share in the world demand by accomplish the economies of scale the trade will support a few of the organisation or the first entrants to this industries like aerospace industry. Since the fast growing of international business and according to the trade liberalization , the need for some standards was raised, Criterions for international trade was established to control and arrange the international trade therefore, the idea of World Trade Organisation (WTO) had raisin with a structure designed to offer the coordinated polices and support liberalization in the global market besides the free flow for goods and services (Hornsby, 2010).In addition General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to insure about the reduction of tariffs and quotas. Moreover, trade blocs were a significant movement towards free trade for example: EU, G20, APEC, NAFTA and CARENS GROUP. (BBC, 2005) Advantages and disadvantages for international trade and specialisation One of the main benefits of international trade is economic growth and this concept was proved by Edwards (1992), the study defined that international trade have a significant influence on growth, how can the developing countries as poor nations attract and adopt the technological progress from the industrial economies the study was based on 30 developing countries and appeared that the more opened and non restrictive trade policies the faster growth. In the same vein specialisation support the economic growth, the economic development can conduct by an efficient specialisation (Enright, 1996). Growth could happen in a long-standing by specialisation as a result of Page study on small mining centres in Canada (Page, 2002). International trade can improve the environment, Bhagwati stated that the economic growth will consequence an expansion in production therefore, the countrys revenue will increase as such the state can spend for improving the environment (Bhagwati, 1993).however, (Mullen et al., 2009) argued that developing countries turn over from agriculture to industrial activities and they may produce for example chemical products which cause absolute pollution. From another side, the more production and the more exporting the more revenues that can spend to improve the environment. For example Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) that signifies in the first phases of the growth it is obvious the dilapidation for the environment and this degradation will decrease by the rising in the income (Gryz, 2008).Hence this could be a benefit and a cost in the same time for international trade. The increases of international trade and in turn the economic growth will raise the gross national product as a result it will recuperating the individual freedom (Mullen et al., 2009) furthermore, higher levels of educations will be an outcome also new initiatives and individual freedom(Mullen et al., 1996 cited in Mullen, 2009) Advance physical quality of life correlated to International trade, according to a study run by (Mullen et al., 2009) importing enhance PQOL since the importing process will increase the supply then decrease the prices so the individuals can satisfy easily they essential needs therefore importing enhance PQOL . But increasing exporting will increase the demand in the country and then will rise the prices consequently it will be difficult for the individuals to satisfy their vital requirements will increasing exports will lessen PQOL. Source: (Mullen et al., 2009) From the environmentalists shore there is a significant drawback for international trade, they see that the more international trade the more pollution, and the more progress of technology the more utilization of the natural resources and deforestation this confirmed by Gryz in a study focusing on the developing countries that international trade contribute in air pollution by enlarge the emissions of CO2 and SO2 (Gryz, 2008). Specialisation as the key driver for the international trade, it can enlarge production of products and services and consequently high quality with lower cost. Specialisation will increase the size of the market resemble international trade which make the option for conducting the economic of scale clear. Consequently, the competition will be a vital element which result low prices for individuals. From the other side, specialisation could bring risks. Using specialisation very excessively is able to bring inflation (Watkins, 1963 cited in Clower and beer 2009). Moreover, specialisation can affect inadequately on the stability of the economy (Barkly et al., 1999). 2-Equities The second category of the international business is equities which composing of: foreign direct investments (FDI) and foreign portfolio investments (FPI) 2-1 foreign portfolio investment (FPI) The investments by individual, firms or public bodies in foreign financial instrument like bonds and stocks or other financial assets and the portfolio proportion in the total foreign equity is less than 10% (Hill, 2006) without managing or controlling these investments. Although most of the barriers were fallen in favor of international business, the foreign portfolio investment is tremendously limited; Kang and Stulz justify this phenomenon that most of the investment was held by the domestic investors raising the home-bias issue as a determinant of FPI. (Kang and Stulz, 1995) Two main obstacles facing the FPI: First, political threat in the foreign market and the caution from impound the shares or the potentialities to return the investments so that, we find the majority investors in FPI are home residents. However, the risk in the short-term money market is less than the FPI equity because is more liquidity with low cost. Second, information asymmetric, Kang and Stulz stated the positive relationship between information and investments if the foreign investor has less information he will invest fewer. FPI could be a good source for foreign investors if they familiar with these investments abroad like the weighty exporters, and they concluded that the more organisations export the more shares possessed by foreign investors (Metro, 1987). In addition, Razin and Goldstein see the information problem arises when the investors need to sell the shares in advance, therefore the investors will go through the FPI if their probability to get liquidity shock fewer and invest in the FDI if they are less expected to get liquidity shock (Goldstein and Razin, 2006), liquidity shock could be considered a determinant for FPI. 2-2 foreign direct investment (FDI) FDI is the investment that happen directly in production or other facilities in a foreign country over Which it has effective control. (Shenkar and Luo, 2004) The main important feature that differentiates between FDI and FPI is control over the assets in the foreign countries by the affiliates, supporting these affiliates with management team locating near the selected market, therefore the decisions that related to this market will be effective. There are three types for FDI: First, Greenfield investment, and this form occurs when the company decides to start a new business in a foreign country. Second, mergers and acquisitions by merging with the local companies in the host countries or acquiring companies in the host market this, this is the widespread element to FDI, M As share in FDI raised from 80% in 1997 (UNCTAD, 2007).However, it is argued that MA will diminish the competition because there is no add to the capital, but the supporter for this pattern argued that MA is mainstay to stand in the global competition by insert new technologies and new management strategies (Shenkar and Luo, 2004:78) Third, reinvestment by using the profits in the foreign markets to make further investments. FDI theories Product life cycle theory, the same theory of international trade. Internalization theory, the way that the diffused operations in the foreign countries internalized by unified governance structure, it argues that because the deficiency of the intermediate products the internalization will create contracting. However, Shenkar and Luo see that the internalization a way to gain from intra-organizational system. (Shenkar and Luo, 2004:62) The Eclectic paradigm, this theory show the joint of microeconomic of the firm and macroeconomic of international trade by perceiving three interdependent factors: ownership specific factors like tangible assets and intangible assets, location specific factor like endowments and countries policies and internalization. It argued that this theory is broad-spectrum and does not propose a macro clarification for FDI and its factors is not reliant. Dunning the founder of the theory replied that he presented a general framework with interdependence level, and from a perspective of the country level he provides a macro-analysis of FDI. (Piggott and Cook, 2006) Reasons for FDI Penetrating the foreign market could be with exporting, licensing or FDI. Companies adopting FDI rather than exporting to keep away from the tariffs and quotas that imposed by host markets, and avoid the high transportation cost especially with the low value-to- weight ratio goods for example, cement products. Also firms choose FDI than licensing (allow certain foreign firms to produce home firms product and gain fees on each product) because the licensing does not give the stiff control over the production or marketing also, licensing could be a way to present a significant technological idea to a likely foreign rivals. (Hill, 2006) Increase sales and profits in the foreign markets is main reason for FDI most of the firms to fulfill considerable profits in the foreign markets especially if the local firms are not able to gratify the demand of goods and services, for example, Intel corporation, Coca Cola, Wal-mart, Carrefour, Pepsi Cola, CEMEX, Aflac and a lot of them. But there is a criticism on most of these opportunities seized in the same area for example Wal-mart has 72.36% (Wal-mart, annual report 2010) of his stores only in North America. Tesco has 73% (Tesco annual report 2009) of his Stores in Europe. Reducing costs is another motive for FDI, seeking for the low-cost production is crucial aspects for gaining profits so, firms decide to go through the foreign markets to accomplish low labor cost especially in the developing countries Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Moreover, low material cost, low power cost and low transportation cost. Acquiring a place in the powerful economic community like EU in Europe, NAFTA In North America and ASEAN in Asia, could be very profitable to a firm to gain alliance in one those blocs without any restrictions besides the entrants firms can acquire new technological and managerial concepts by observing and analysis the top competitors in the market. (Rugman and Collinson, 2006) Mostly the FPI located in the developed countries than developing countries because: first, the unambiguousness in the developed economics makes the FPI efficient. Second, FDI will not be profitable in the atmosphere of the high production cost of developed countries. So, FDI located in the low-cost environments apparently the developing countries. From an empirical study by Razin and Goldstein they stated that FPI is more volatility and more withdrawal rates that FDI. (Goldstein and Razin, 2006) Conclusion International business with its both significant categories: international trade and equities created an evolution in the global business. While the mercantilism established the theory on base of the restrictions to gain economic-political power, the follow theories stated that international trade is beneficial game and the key driver is specialisation with awareness of the control of inflows and outflows of goods and services (Warburton, 2010) through WTO, GATT or trade blocs. Equities was shaped with FPI and FDI, FPI is limited, less controlled and provides the investors with fast liquidity investments and FDI has the big share of equities and depend on control and management. The significance of these topics rises in its consequences. In other words the economic growth and quality of life for some of the developing countries attributed to international business. Vaghefi M., Paulson S. and Tomlinson W. (1991) International business theory and practice. New York: Taylor and Francis New York Inc. Piggott J. and Cook M. (2006) International Business Economics, a European Perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Haley, B. (1936) Heckscher, Mercantilism. The Quarterly Journal of Economics.50 (2) pp. 347-354 Tuldar R. (1987)subsidy polices for production automation mercantilism and liberalism revisited. Comparative Political Studies.20 (2) pp. 192-228 Baldwin R. (1971)Determinants of The Commodity structure of US Trade. The American Economic Review.61 (1) March pp.126-146 BBC (2005) BBC News: Business. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4510792.stm [Accessed 28th Oct 2010] Hornsby D. (2010)WTO effectiveness in resolving transatlantic trade-environment conflict. Journal of international trade law and policy. 9 (3), pp. 297-309 Warburton C. (2010)International trade law and trade theory. Journal of international trade law and policy.9(1) pp.64-82 Edwards S. (1992) Trade orientation, distortion and growth in developing countries, journal of development economics.39 (1) pp.31-57 Beer A. and Clower T. (2009) Specialisation and Growth: Evidence from Australias Regional Cities. Urban studies. 46(2) pp.369-389 Mullen et al., (2009) Effects of International Trade and Economic Development on Quality of Life. Journal of Macromarketing. (29)3 pp.244-258 Gryz A. (2008) Economic growth, international trade and air pollution: A decomposition analysis. Ecological Economics.68 (5) pp.1329-1339 Riley G. (2006) Economics: As markets and market system. Available at http://tutor2u.net/economics/revision-notes/as-markets-specialisation-trade.html. [Accessed 29th Oct 2010]. Kang J. and Stulz R. (1997) Why is there a home bias? An analysis of foreign portfolio equity ownership in Japan. Journal of Financial Economics.46 (1) pp.3-28 Merton, R.C., 1987. A simple model of capital market equilibrium with incomplete information. Journal of Finance 42(1) pp. 483 510 Goldstein I. and Razin A. (2006) An information-based trade off between foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment. Journal of international economics.70 (1) pp.271-295 Chacholiades, M. (1990) international economics. New York: McGraw Hill Neven D. (1990) EEC integration towards 1992: some distributional aspects. Economic policy. 5(1) pp.13-62 UNCTAD (2007) World investment report 2007.transnational corporations, extractive Industries and development. United Nations. Ajami R. et al. (2006) International Business: trade and theory. New York: M.E. Sharp Inc. Aswathappa K. (2008) International Business (3ed). 3rd ed. Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill publishing Company Limited.

Analysis of A&P, by John Updike :: Essays on A&P

I quit! These words can be attached to so many things in life. At times in life things seem to be different then they really are, for instance the thrill and the excitement of having a summer job or even successfully getting a first job. There are certain moments in a person’s life that will always have an impact on them one could call this a definitive moment or an epiphany. In the short story A&P by John Updike the main character Sammy has an epiphany in that he realizes that a moral line has been crossed in his working environment. The story is a simple conflict followed by definitive action short story. It’s a wonderful portrayal of what a young man thinks and what he will stand for and what he will not. The fascinating part is how Sammy describes the young ladies as they enter the convenience store. Updike states â€Å"She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit, at the top of the backs of her legs†. Sammy is only talking about one of the three young ladies in this description. The descriptive words in the story are very thought provoking; Updike refers to the girls derrieres as â€Å"cans†. Imagery and symbolism are used frequently through out the story; Sammy describes the shoppers inside the A&P Updike uses this description â€Å"sheep pushing their carts down the aisles†. Updike uses Imagery to tell you where exactly where the A&P is located in the town, the lay out of the store and how Sammy’s co workers have a say in what he does and his work routine. Sammy is a nineteen year old man; he is no longer considered a minor by today’s’ society. He is trying to find out what he is doing working at a grocery store during the summer, in his mind he should be down on the beach checking out the ladies. The ocean seems to be just another aspect of the town, nothing too special. The following passage supports this Updike states â€Å"people in this town haven’t seen the ocean in twenty years†. Tourism is what drives ocean towns, and communities. It’s a simple matter of taxation the more money a city can make off of the natural or man made attractions the better off the city is.

The Latin Image :: Latin Americans Romance Love Movies Essays

The Latin Image "The romantic and erotic Latin image implied recognition that Latin Americans and Romance peoples produced persons of great beauty and attractiveness."(Rios-Bustamante,21) The most predominant stereotype that surfaces in "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" and "The Mark of Zorro" is that of the Latin Lover. This stereotype may be portrayed in a more positive light because in comparison to other demeaning Latino roles in early American film, the Latin Lover is characterized by "suavity and sensuality, tenderness and sexual danger."(Ramirez Berg,115) According to Ramirez Berg, "this stereotype we owe to one star: Rudolph Valentino."(115) In "The Four Men of the Apocalypse", Valentino plays the character of Julio, a man "destined to bear the burden of allowing both his grandfather and his father to relive their lives through him." Alexander Walker speaks of the classic scene. "Few film entrances are as stunningly designed as Valentino's in 'The Four Men of the Apocalypse'†¦..the sequence loses nothing by being so calculatedly staged: the impact on audiences was instantaneous." This description shows the impact that Rudolph Valentino had on audiences as the original Latin Lover of the American cinema(even though he wasn't Latino.) Julio is suave and sensual throughout the film, particularly while seductively dancing the tango. Although he is portrayed as this dangerous lover who is "worshipped by his models", he is not depicted as a true hero until he offers to fight for his father's country in the war. It seems as though "he actually changes into a man of honor-what anyone least expected from this spoiled son of privilege†¦" http://www.mdle.com/ClassicFilms/FeaturedVideo/video16.1.htm In "The Mark of Zorro", Douglas Fairbanks plays the role of the dashing Zorro, the "almost mythical superhero who battles tyranny†¦defends the rights of both gentry and rabble equally." This film is a good example of the sensuous, desirable Latin Lover stereotype because Fairbanks is portrayed both with and without his "mask". When Fairbanks is playing the role of Zorro, he is strong, valiant, and romantic. "The girl is much more attracted to the dashing Zorro, who romances her in her garden one day." When he embodies the character of Don Diego Vega, he acts timid and weak, and has trouble winning Lolita's affection. The much stereotyped Latin Lover image was portrayed only by the masked man until the very last scene when Don Diego reveals his identity and protects the woman he loves.

Art and Nature in Shakespeares The Tempest Essay -- Tempest essays

     Ã‚   Shakespeare is one of the greatest artists the human race has ever produced.   In the Tempest, he decides to determine which is more powerful – art or nature?   He symbolizes art through civilization and nature through man and his natural place on Earth.   Through the plot, Shakespeare reveals his own beliefs concerning which force is greater.   The Tempest shows the respectable differences between art and nature, but eventually concedes that art is weaker and must bend itself to nature. In The Tempest, Shakespeare’s Prospero has gotten himself into trouble by entertaining an insatiable thirst for knowledge.   Prospero’s downfall was brought about because he valued knowledge and art over pure power.   Through Prospero, Shakespeare questions the validity of man’s quest for art and beauty.   However, the question is resolved in the end of the play when Prospero once again becomes a Duke, doing so through art.   In this, Shakespeare shows that art is in fact useful.   In the beginning, art is questioned, but in the end it proves to be Prospero’s most powerful saving grace, all the while ultimately bowing to nature.   Shakespeare presents the influences of both nature and art throughout the play, ultimately with nature prevailing.   The tempest he creates in the first act, the anchor that sets into motion the events of the play, is wholly dependent on nature's own capacities.   Ariel stirs up the winds and sea to fr... ...ween nature and art.   He is careful not to dismiss art as unworthy simply by being the weaker force, but rather regards it as a unique force that must succumb to that which is superior. Shakespeare's stance on the subject of art versus nature is aesthetic, allowing both forces to compete equally, yet ending with the ultimate success of nature.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bibliography Meller, A., Moon, G.T. Literary Shakespeare Sydney: Canon Publications 1993. Lecture on "The Tempest" C. Holmes 1988. Shakespeare, W. The Tempest. Ed. Sutherland, J.R. 1990. Mikhail M. Morozor, The Individualization of Shakespeare's Characters through Imagery", Shakespeare Survey. 1989. "Tempest & Court Masques" By H. C. Sherwood

Child Devlopment Essay

Cognitive Development consists of imagination, sequencing, problem solving and memory, all these are featured in the boy I observed, Aaron King who was the little boy I chose to observe. He is a four year-old preschooler at the above named learning center. I started observing Aaron at the beginning of their circle time. During the circle time, Aaron amongst other fourteen kids in his classroom, sang the popular American Song: â€Å"IF YOU ARE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT, CLAP YOUR HANDS†¦. † While singing this song, the children’s voices were up and loud which indicated that they enjoyed singing songs. Aaron’s participation was great, he was so excited about the choruses, clapping & stomping of his feet. All the children in turn repeated and imitated all the actions of the teacher; as she needed the audience and focus of the kids for easy understanding of the wordings including choruses of the song. Aaron standing close to two other kids, a boy and a girl sang the song with seriousness while clapping their hands & stomping their feet at the same time. The teacher taught the Safety signs briefly. The children’s literacy is very high while learning safety signs as they were very interested in the emphasis laid in the safety signs. In order to ensure that the children understood what they were taught, the teacher asked Aaron what a particular sign stood for which he answered correctly. For example, stop sign is signified by a red color while â€Å"no bicycle† sign is signified by a cross on a bicycle, so on and so forth. The teacher taught the kids about â€Å"Me† book which described the parts of the body, however, she asked Aaron to touch his hands, elbows & cheek which he did correctly. After singing the clapping song and some other songs, the teacher changed the activity to coloring books. Meanwhile, Aaron moved from one place to another. He jumped and hopped around the classroom showing excitement. At a time, the teacher had to sit him down â€Å"Aaron sit down and do your coloring†¦ † He sat down to color while another boy watched him doing the coloring. Bryan & Joy who sat together sharing the same table with Aaron were also coloring; they also talked to one another in friendly manner while looking at each other’s work. Aaron was as excited as he was coloring his book. He finished his coloring using nice colors to color different animals indicating that he had a good taste. He also made a ship with legos, I asked him why he made a ship, and he told me that he would like to be an architect. Aaron amongst others was able to write their names and figure out pictures on the paper. For example, the letter Bb for ball and drew a line to join the letter to the picture of ball. He was able to do that for all the alphabetic letters to compliment individual pictures on the paper. Soon, Aaron stood up to go to the library; as he got to the place where the inscription of â€Å"Quiet Zone† was, another boy ran towards him and pushed him together with the book that he just picked – â€Å"Alphabet adventure†. He staggered, but he immediately got control of himself while he looked so surprised that he was pushed without doing anything. He reported the matter to the teacher â€Å"Ms. Patty, Josiah push(ed) me†¦ † then the teacher told Josiah to say sorry to Aaron which he did, then they both hugged one another. Thereafter, he went to sit down quietly in the library corner to read his book. He opened up the book so fast as if he knew where to read, then he stirred at a page that really caught his attention and started reading quietly. In summary, Cognitive Development is a very important outcome of learning for preschoolers as they always have their brain developed through creative arts. This consists of imagination, sequencing, problem solving and memory; all these are featured in the boy I observed. Acting drama is acting another character by putting on the costumes – for example, acting as a professional doctor or a lawyer or a nurse can be an eye opener to the preschoolers on what profession they may aspire to be in the near future; Aaron wants to be an architect, he says he likes to put up beautiful buildings. A good imaginative skill is very important for preschoolers to become smart; similarly, sequencing – doing things in an orderly manner is also a good learning skill. Ultimately, Aaron Kingsland has all these qualities. Child Development 201 A Preschool Language & Literacy Development Observation Child’s Name: Aaron Kingsland (An imaginary name) Date: October 7th, 2011 Time: 9:00am – 11:30am. Observer’s Name: —————————————- Location:Early Creativity Learning Center Classroom LANGUAGE & LITERACY DEVELOPMENT OBSERVATION OF A PRESCHOOLER – 4 YEARS OLD. My observation of language and literacy in a preschool classroom for children of four and five years old was interesting. Aaron Kingsland (four years old) was the preschooler at the above named learning center whom I chose to observe. I started observing Aaron at the beginning of their circle time. The kids in the classroom were seventeen in number – eight girls and nine boys. I observed Aaron in particular in the class for two and half hours from the beginning of the circle time till the end. The primary language used by the teacher was English; Aaron also speaks same language as well as the whole class. Language is said to be a means of communicating ideas, & feelings. There are four basic developmentally appropriate practices and clear language outcomes in the preschool classroom I observed. They are Literacy Development, Intellectual, Physical, Social and Emotional Developments. Literacy is a very important developmental appropriate practice. The four basic skills which young children need are Speaking, Listening, Writing and Reading. These were ultimately displayed by Aaron in the circle time activities performed that morning. During the circle time, Aaron amongst other seventeen kids in his classroom, started to sing the popular American Song: â€Å"IF YOU ARE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT, CLAP YOUR HANDS†¦. † If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ } Thrice. If you are happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. } If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ } If you are happy and you know it, stamp your feet †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦} Thrice. If you are happy and you know it, nod your head †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ } Thrice. If you are happy and you know it, do all three †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. } Thrice. While singing this song, the children’s voices were up and loud which indicated that they enjoyed singing songs. Aaron’s participation was great, he was so excited about the choruses, clapping & stomping of his feet. All the children in turn repeated and imitated all the actions of the teacher; as she needed the audience and focus of the kids for easy understanding of the wordings including choruses of the song. Aaron standing close to two other kids, a boy and a girl sang the song with seriousness while clapping their hands & stomping their feet at the same time. The teacher taught the Safety signs briefly. The children’s literacy is very high while learning safety signs as they were very interested in the emphasis laid in the safety signs. In order to ensure that the children understood what they were taught, the teacher asked Aaron what a particular sign stood for which he answered correctly. For example, stop sign is signified by a red color while â€Å"no bicycle† sign is signified by a cross on a bicycle, so on. After singing, the teacher changed the activity to coloring books. Meanwhile, Aaron moved from one place to another. He jumped and hopped around the classroom showing excitement. At a time, the teacher had to sit him down â€Å"Aaron sit down and do your coloring†¦ † He sat down to color while another boy watched him doing the coloring. All the Children talked and cooperated with one another in friendly manner. Bryan & Joy who sat together sharing the same table with Aaron were also coloring; they also talked to one another in friendly manner while looking at each other’s work. Aaron was as excited as he was coloring his book. He finished his coloring using nice colors to color different animals indicating that he had a good taste. Soon, Aaron went to the library and sat close to the place where the inscription of â€Å"Quiet Zone† was hanging. He picked a book – â€Å"Alphabet adventure†. He went to report a boy who pushed him on his way to the library to his teacher, he said†¦ â€Å"Ms. Patty, Josiah push(ed) me†¦ † The teacher took an appropriate action by telling Josiah to say sorry to Aaron and he did, then they both hugged one another. Thereafter, he went to sit down quietly in the library corner to read his book. He opened up the book so fast as if he knew where to read, then he stirred at a page that really caught his attention and started reading quietly and studiously. In summary, Language and Literacy development is the use of words to communicate ideas, listen and comprehend others’ ideas. Reading, talking and expressing what they do and following directions go a long way for preschoolers Through reading, Aaron amongst other peers has book knowledge, comprehension and appreciation of what he read. More importantly, literacy goes a long way in our society and even in the world.

Leonardo Da Vinci and Pierre Renoir Comparative Essay

The two renowned artists Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) and Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) are both good role models for the progressing art society but when comparing these two gifted men it is evident that their artworks both relinquish a different message to the viewers and are portrayed using different art techniques and equipment. Leonardo, born to be known as the archetype of a Renaissance man, was an Italian painter, inventor, mathematician, writer, and engineer. He was explicitly known for his realistic, geometrically designed and religiously inspired paintings. Renoir, however, was a French man who devoted his life to introduce the impressionist style to the art community. As a true worshiper of natural beauty and feminine aura, Renoir’s painting symbolized the entire liveliness of French culture and European scenes. Leonardo’s style of painting was influenced greatly during the formation of the Renaissance period that first emerged in Italy during the 14th to the 17th century. It was a new era in which European scholars craved for greater knowledge of medieval times and Italy was their primary source for it contained the great art and architecture of Rome and held manuscripts that scholars studied to learn the lives of the early Romans and Greek. Thus most themes of Leonardo’s paintings portray religious beliefs and mythology. Its art revolved in finished images comparable to reality and the colours conservative, brush strokes concealed, leaving no trace of the artist’s emotions or techniques. Impressionism, however, opposed the entire concept of Renaissance art. Initiated by French artist, Claude Monet during the late 1870’s in France and soon followed by more painters one of which leading them is Pierre Auguste Renoir, conflicted the techniques of French art Schools and ignored their Euclidian perspectives and took advantage of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution brought the popularity of the camera, metal tubes were invented and so paint was achieved in a fast yet cheap way, people had more leisure time and places such as parks, malls, stores, circuses were easily established. Painters like Auguste Renoir had more subject matters and the opportunity to paint and observe the fleeting moment of light outside instead of relying on their memory and paint inside a studio. Most of Leonardo’s buyers are wealthy church organizations such as the Catholic Church that value realism as they will use them as either for cathedral decorations or another image worthy for worshiping. During the Renaissance period, if a patron is willing to buy for an artwork, he or she controls the subject matter, the completion date, the materials used and a set payment. Artists were also required to show preliminary plans to be approved by the patron before the actual artwork was painted. Renoir, however, had buyers that appreciated his colorful artworks for the purpose of house decorations or family portraits. Artists like Renoir had more liberty in exhibiting and selling their works. Artists like Renoir painted outdoors and so people had the chance to observe how they capture the scenery in front of them thus, making it easier for them to be recognised. Renoir and Leonardo share different subject matters in their paintings yet they both possess the ability to dazzle the viewer. Leonardo’s inspiration revolved mostly in religion which he greatly portrays in â€Å"St John the Baptist† where St John wears pellets and animal skin while holding loosely a reed staff with a cross at one end and uses his right hand to point up a feminine hand to heaven. On the other hand, Renoir’s passion relied on his deep adoration for feminine sensuality which he greatly conveys in â€Å"Nude in Lanscape† where a raven, shoulder length haired, naked woman sits on a rock covered with a long white sheet that she also uses to wipe her left ankle. The woman’s body is facing sideways but her whole face is seen as she looks downward on the withering grasses. The scene is in a tiny forest during a lazy Sunday afternoon. Upon thoroughly studying these two artworks it is evident that the two artists use different colour schemes and art techniques in order to show the theme of their artwork. Leonardo portrays St John’s wavy, curled hair in an intense reddish brown colour to imply shadows while a neutralized pinkish brown to show a tint of shininess. Leonardo also provides an empty, darkish background to achieve negative space in order to enhance his use of chiaroscuro on St John’s face and right arm. St John’s innocent, auburn eyes are darkened due to the heavy amount of yellow light coming from the foreground. St John’s pale lips are curled enigmatically giving the viewer the impression of whether he is pure good or evil. Renoir, on the other hand, uses a dark brown colour with short strokes of a midnight blue colour instead of black to darken it. Renoir provides a vibrant background by using a cool orange to show shadows from the overlapping grasses and warm yellow to show the effects of light on the tree trunks and the withering grasses. The neutralized green on the tree’s foliage recede. The woman’s body is yellowish due to the amount of yellow light but her face is darkened. The highlights on her body are white. He uses cool purple to show shadows on the white sheet and the shallowness of the lake while a warm red on her body especially on her chubby breasts, slender back and rosy cheeks to create a sense of form. It also makes the cool colours contrast with warm colours. The artist’s however both use gestural lines to implicate movement but have used them in different areas of their paintings. Leonardo uses gestural lines to show the liveliness of St John’s hair and contour lines to impeccably form St John’s realistic face, muscular right arm and while using the technique sfumato (which means applying translucent layers of colours) Leonardo was able to achieve a feeling of a three dimensional shape to the viewer finished with a smooth surface. In contrast to Renoir who uses short, thick, gestural lines to show the continuous movement of his brush strokes in the entire painting providing a simulated texture. He applies wet paint to wet paint without waiting for the successive applications to dry, producing softer edges and intermingling of complementary colours Leonardo and Renoir share equal importance for how balanced light and dark are in their paintings. The intense dark background and the vibrancy of ellow light on St John’s face and arm provides a symmetrical balance and value contrast that can easily make St John’s face the emphasis and focal area. Conversely, Renoir uses the trees surrounded by deep shadows to poise the woman’s plump body in an asymmetrical balance of visual elements. Her face like St John also is the focal area in which the strongest light and dark value contrasts. St John the Baptist and Nude in Landscape are both oil paintings. But St John the Baptist was painted on walnut wo od using tempera paints while Nude in Landscape was painted on canvas using the average metal tube paints. St John’s pointing gesture towards the heavens shows the complete message of the painting that baptism which St John symbolizes is important in order for a human being to gain salvation. In Nude in Landscape, Renoir has the sole intention of conveying to the viewer his great love for portraying nude women and how he sees the fleeting changes of light on their tender flesh. Leonardo’s passion for portraying religious characters or biblical matters showed the world the great importance of religion and how it should never be forgotten. He portrays his figures in a realistic manner to show viewers his great understanding of the human anatomy and how science and its necessity for thorough observation are related to art. Renoir, however, paints not to share a message to the world but rather show people the majestic effects of light in everything and to remind people that art is not a competition for talent, observation and fame but rather a deep visual expression for one’s perspectives and feelings in life.